#BUT SHRIMP….. SHRIMP MY BELOVED….. SWEET LITTLE CREATURES

[area51-escapee]

I love shrimp as an animal not as a food

[icedmetaltea]

Duuuuuuuuuuude Upturned fanart lets go!!!!! Such a good game, and Ick is such a sweet boi, happy to see art for them 🥺

IKRRRRR the game is hilarious, the designs are silly and funny and Ick is the goodest of bois. Or creatures. Whatever he/it is

I was pretty surprised to see it was made by the same dev who made Lethal Company so hopefully it will increase this game's popularity because it's pretty obscure, I haven't seen many well-known people talk about/play it, which is sad because it's just such a little horror/comedy gem

For those who haven't heard of it:

Art I made for my ex-friend a while back cause Ick DESERVES a happy ending and a nice chill hotel in purgatory (excuse the Cindy head)

Also Shrimp my beloved

[frostbite-the-bat]

tell me about your fucked up petz creatures

I WILL GO OVER My Main Cast. alphabetically as they appear in my funny box !

Starting off with ABYSS!! i love her dearly. she's a spamton mixie! specifically a blue addison + spamton + sparkle kittling. she's got no eyes or colors (she's got blue paw pads, thought!), leading to an unsettling appearance. i love her dearly, though! she's full of cheeky personality and she loves jumping through the hoop, if she isn't knocking it out of my hand. (or doing other things... she loves to mess around)

up next is... asshole! yes. thats his name. he's my oldest spamton i currently have! he was originally a different spamton neo, but for petzspamton creator's comfort i converted him to be dib's spamton neo. being based on a siamese - he's picky and he's mean. he's an asshole. that name stuck with him. he used to wear an iconic sweater but this spamton neo kinda breaks shirts so he has a santa hat now!

also spamton neos in petz are known for. their. uhm. Thoughtful Gaze.

next is... BIG BOY! MY BELOVED!! he is a gift from petzspamton for me based on my mega spamton neo design! he came named bigboy and since even my mega spamton neo's nickname has been bigboy. :] he's big, he's cuddly, he's gentle and he LOVES food. he also flops. a LOT. and genuinely when i say he loves food i mean it, he's based on a persian and those love food in petz. he seems very eepy today he's flopping less than usual but probably because of how wacky the room layout is + he's too interested in buck plush

OLD BAD ART ALERT I DONDNT DRAW LIKE THIS NOW I DREW THIS IN MY FLOP ERA but heres mega sneo design. just for context!! (ye he got swapped wings but who cares)

if you see similarities between this hair and the way i draw high roller, no you dont. no you fucking dont.

up next is cap'n! i'll be honest i dont play with him as often since i converted everyone from petz 5 to petz 4 - losing k_k in the progress </3. he just loves starting fights with everyone its no fun </3 but ANYWAYS!! this is a hexie made by YOURS TRULY! hes goofy

can't show off cap'n without.. SWEET! oh boy after glados this is my most complicated hex. DO YOU KNOW HOW PAINFUL IT IS. TO MAKE A CUBE. OUT OF (SPHERES) (AND LINES THAT ARE VERY FUCKY) ITS HORRIBLE. sweet sweet sweet my dearest friend sweet they start fights sometimes too but are calmer than cap'n. they like playing with plushies a lot as you can see

next is creature! a funky little spamton mixie. seriously this thing is like generation 7 and listing everything thats In Their Blood may take a while. they've got lovely spots and neat textures + are pretty big!!! their tip ends with a pink which is a fun contrast compared to the blue/white gradient. very silly fella!!!

next is cupcake! one out of two silly kitties i got from bad_death ! they did a thing where they gave out unique textured/patterned fellas to people on petzcord. so these guys are unique! like everyone elses. i have other petz i got from other people that are hexed, but i don't have them in the playable petz folder right now. cupcake likes to flop around, too! what a lovely fuzzball... they also get scared of everything which isnt characteristic of a persian personality but. hey. the wordl is scaresy...

next is dragonfruit with their funky shrimp tail !! also a spamton mixie - you can defo see similarities between them and creature. i believe they're related? anyways - the main breed they take from is cubus! they have calico personality so they are very playful!!

next is fledgeling! Bird. i dont even know whats in them .

FROSTBITE. MADE BY PETZSPAMTON FOR ME. THIS smug-ass cursed entity. they're a little bastard beast. theyre just me but petz. smug ass. likes to 🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨. friends with some but enemy to many. LOVES DANCING. PLAY MUSIC INGAME AND THIS THING WILL SHAKE TAIL. dear god even this frost made it to hr's , they will kill.

also the iconic gif with them and spammo.

next is GLADOS! or catdos if you will. i made this with my own blood sweat and tears it was a nightmare. but look! glados !

im getting tired and i havent eaten today yet because im autism SO. SHORTER DESCRIPTIONS.

iceshock!! silly ice spammy kitty.

MANGO MY DEAREST BELOVED. YOUNGER BROTHER TO OTTERPOP. THOSSE TWO ARE BASICALLY MY MASCOT SPAMTONS. I LOVE THEM SO MUHHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHC. THISSECTION IS FOR THEM BOTH MWA MWA LOVE THEM. also that was ttheir bday gift a year ago They Didnt Like It. btw otterpop blue shirt mango flower shirt

onion .

....and i hit the image limit so...! feel free to ask for more...!

[twocoursemeal-blog]

TCM Eats: Taqueria el Carrizal

Taqueria El Carrizal (Allston)

If you love something, go review it (at least, we think that’s how the old saying goes). Perhaps too long of a time coming, we’re finally getting around to an old favorite - Taqueria El Carrizal. Though the restaurant’s interior may be simple, the foods and drinks it has on offer are excellent. This week, we’re excited to share our review of one of our most beloved Allston-area restaurants with you!

We ate:

Pupusa Queso y loroco

Tostones Con Chicharrón

Combinacion Mexicana

Camarones A La Diabla

We drank:

Angela’s Thoughts

Taqueria El Carrizal is one of my favorite restaurants in Boston. One of the first things I wrote for TCM was a little blurb about how much I loved this place. For years, this little restaurant has offered my favorite Latin food in the area, and has hosted my birthday party dinner for three years running. It also introduced me to the wonder that is El Yucateco hot sauce. To be honest, I was a little nervous reviewing Taqueria El Carrizal… the TCM review curse had struck quite a few of my favorite places, bringing dreadful dining experiences where I’d only had enjoyment before (Harry’s Bar and Grill, Picco, JM Curley).

We decided to start with a few things that we knew we love, and add in something new for some review flair. Though I generally prefer sweet platanos maduros to savory tostones, Taqueria El Carrizal’s tostones are a favorite of ours, and given that they come with Taqueria’s chicharrón, fried pork belly that is otherworldly-levels of delicious, we can’t resist ordering it every time! The chicharrón is greasy, and crispy-crunchy, with a strong, savory pork flavor; it is an item that we don’t visit Taqueria El Carrizal without ordering.

Speaking of things we can’t leave without, you can’t go to Taqueria El Carrizal without ordering a margarita. Their margaritas are beautiful in their simplicity -- crushed ice, salt rim, tart sour mix, tequila, and lime. They are cheap ($6.50 each, iirc), and they do not skimp on the liquor content. Two or three margaritas will turn dinner into a *party*, so be careful (or have fun, if that’s what you’re aiming for).

As for our “new review flavor,” Matt ordered a queso y loroco pupusa. Loroco (as we learned when we googled it at the table that night) is a flower bud that is often used in Central American cooking. We got two queso y loroco pupusas (we overordered without even trying, this time). The pupusas were soft, fluffy, and well made, but the predominant flavor to me was cheese; if I’d been blindfolded, I would not have been able to identify a secondary flavor at all. That’s not to say they weren’t good -- they were! Perhaps my expectations for the flavor of the loroco were too high.

As you may know from reading our prior reviews, I am a creature of habit, and my go-to order at Taqueria El Carrizal is the Enchilada Verde. The first time I ever visited the restaurant, I ordered the Enchilada Verde, and they were so delicious that I’ve never ordered anything else as my entree since… until now. I’m not sure what I was thinking; I’d opened the door to the TCM curse in one of my favorite restaurants. Thankfully, my gamble paid off.

During this visit, I ordered the Camarones A La Diabla, shrimp in a spicy sauce, with a side of rice and beans. By the time we’d gotten to our entrees, I was so full that I only ate one of my shrimp… but what I had was quite good. The shrimp were cooked well, and the sauce was bright and spicy without being overwhelming or too rich for the seafood. Though I couldn’t fully enjoy them at the restaurant, they made for excellent leftovers.

I’m glad my faith in Taqueria El Carrizal’s menu was rewarded -- I think you’d have to look *hard* to find something bad on their menu. For all the people I’ve brought to the restaurant for friend gatherings or birthday dinners (omnivores, vegetarians, pescetarians, etc), I don’t think I’ve witnessed anyone not enjoy their food. Taqueria El Carrizal remains solidly atop my “Favorite Restaurants in Boston” list. Join me next May for my fourth-annual Taqueria El Carrizal Birthday dinner. I’ll be going back for as long as I can!

Matt’s Thoughts

Angela introduced me to Taqueria El Carrizal, and my life just hasn’t been the same since. The combination of extremely warming, comforting, well-cooked food plus cheap and delicious margaritas just can’t be beat. We went for date night, and decided to give it a review.

Taqueria El Carrizal’s interior is slightly sparse, but decorated with colorful paintings on the walls. The other diners there always seem to be at ease, which lends a pleasant relaxed atmosphere to the restaurant. Once you’re seated, you’re brought a basket of chips, a thin salsa, and TWO different kinds of El Yucateco (another wonderful thing that Angela introduced me to - if you haven’t tried this hot sauce yet, definitely grab a bottle at the next chance you get).

Normally, the chips are a solidly middle-of-the-road, but this time, through some stroke of providence, our chips were excellent. Slightly thicker than normal, these were also more well-done and golden. The crunch was strong here, and they carried and contrasted the sharp salsa well. Add a dash of El Yucateco here, a dollop there, half the bottle somewhere else, and bam, you’ve got yourself a great pre-dinner snack.

Dear readers, if you’re reading TCM for the first time, you’re in for a treat, because you’re about to learn something new and exciting: Angela and I overorder. A lot. The way I think of it, we’re just extremely talented at ordering with our stomachs. Perhaps our enteric nervous system is simply more developed than the average diner’s. Perhaps we simply lack the common level of self-control your average adult might have. History is told by the victors.

So, we ordered. Chicarrón, tostones, A SINGLE pupusa with loroco, and our entrees. We probably didn’t expect to accidentally the whole basket of chips. We definitely didn’t expect to get TWO pupusas. I still maintain it’s not our fault. History is told by the victors.

The chicharrones were wonderful as always - exceptionally porky, with a crisp-crunchy exterior, chewy meat, and plenty, and I mean plenty, of fat. They are just wonderful. If you love pigs, you will love these - don’t go here without ordering some. The tostones were a little bit underseasoned for my own taste. I wish the garlic was more pronounced, and they could have done with a bit more salt, but I can never turn my nose up at a fried plantain, and these were fine. The pupusa was excellent. Rich, with a wonderful fried bread flavor that just sang. I have a hard time describing how good they were, and can only point to the fact that I voluntarily burned the shit out of my mouth on them. Twice.

When I go to Taqueria El Carrizal, I normally get the carne asada, but this time I felt adventurous, and went with the Combinación Mexicana. I love sampler plates, and couldn’t resist the allure of a chile relleno, a flauta, a enchilada, rice, beans, and guacamole. Let’s gloss over the part where this was obviously too much food and get to the good stuff (conveniently, right in the next paragraph).

The flauta was great! Fried to a deep golden brown and shatteringly crisp. Though the filling wasn’t strongly seasoned, it was a perfect item to have one of on a plate. More would have caused a certain amount of palate fatigue, but I am wise in that way. The chile relleno was good, but not mind-blowing for me. Since I don’t order them often, I don’t have a great barometer for standards, and this one just didn’t sing for me. The pepper was soft, and the filling was fine, but something about the sauce on the outside and the seasoning on the inside just didn’t really do it for me. The star of the show was absolutely the enchilada. This tender tortilla was fully of well-seasoned shredded chicken and robed in a dark, not-too-sweet enchilada sauce. Next time, I may have to get a full order of them.

Eventually, partway through our entrees, Angela and I looked at each other aghast, and realized it was time to admit defeat. The fact that we had both eaten so much is surely a testament to how good Taqueria El Carrizal’s food is. We have been to Taqueria el Carrizal before, we went for this meal, and we will go again. I lived too much of my life without knowing this place existed. And, dear readers, when you do go… make sure you overorder.

Overall:

The menu is extensive, and strong throughout (trust us, we’ve tried many of their offerings). While there are too many things for us to have tried them all, whenever we venture off-course from our go-to items, we’ve never been disappointed. Go, take your time enjoying their many offerings as you crunch at some chips and salsa and sip a marg, and if you can, make sure to order the chicharrones.

We give Taqueria El Carrizal 4 dishes too many out of 5.

[thecoroutfitters]

Written by R. Ann Parris on The Prepper Journal.

//

For a lot of us, companion animals are as much family as the people we don’t really want to see even on the holidays. For some of us, they are working partners, part of our mental well-being, and our therapy all rolled into one. While most of our companion animals are going to be cats and dogs, there are also birds, pigs, goats and even horses that fit the bill of a pet as opposed to solely being livestock. Livestock or pets, we took responsibility for a feeling creature’s life, and we owe it to them to take care of them.

That means adding to the long lists of things we need to do, buy and plan for should our worlds fall apart on either a small-scale or a large-scale.

I’ll mostly focus on the cats and dogs, but a lot will apply to anything, from ferrets to pot-bellied pigs.

Water for Mr. Whiskers

Just like people need food and water, so do our animals. Ferret to bunny, pony to puppy, if the animals dehydrate, we’re in a world of hurt.

Water is going to really be a biggie should the world or nation ever collapse. Try to monitor the water use in winter and in summer, or in high-activity seasons, so we keep at least a week or so on hand for them (ideally more).

With animals, we also have to remember that a lot of them pant. Whether it’s a stress action or cooling action, panting will dry them out and we’ll need to allot extra water for them.

It may be possible to do sub-cutaneous fluids for even very small livestock if it becomes necessary, but ideally, it’s not necessary. In an emergency, we’ll have to monitor our animals just like we do small children and seniors.

Bathing animals may take an even lower priority, but in that case, we may need to come up with a smell and-or pest plan.

Commercially Available Long-Storage Foods

Food might be simple, or it might be more complicated.

There are “normal” commercially available freeze-dried pet foods. There is no way I’d buy them. I’d be totally broke and then my beloved fur-balls would be in a shelter anyway.

There are long-term storage foods available in buckets. The Ready Store sells one, and  MayDay makes another. One of the wholesale bulk warehouse stores sells a bucket of food for cats or dogs as well.

I consider them about on par with Ol’ Roy, on top of being expensive. I do have a couple of buckets of cat food (I really think they came from Costco) but I have every intention of using a Pearson Square to make it part of the protein component and it’s mostly there for helping to clean their teeth.

MRE Depot sells doggy biscuit treats and at one point sold those “quart” #2.5 cans of dog and cat food. However, MRE Depot tends to … think very highly of their products, and I have dogs who consider those single-serving cans.

Plus, again, this is not Blue Buffalo or Nutrish level dining here.

Therefore, I tend to avoid the commercial long-storage options. I either repackage, or I create “normal” food storage for my furry friends.

Repacking for Rufus & Rex

I pack Milky Bones and Alpo squares in mylar and oxygen absorbers, and in canning jars with oxygen absorbers. I keep in several bags of food that get rotated, even with the oil-rancidity risks of our hot Southern summers. (Wowser article that I ignore)

I have tried to repackage bagged pet food in Mylar with oxygen absorbers, but it tends to barely extend the life by 2-4 months – which is not overly worth it to me. In cooler climates, with fewer or smaller animals, it might be worth it to be able to open smaller increments.

Stocking Up for Socks & Spot

I could just buy cans of cat and dog food, but we rarely feed it. That means whole stacks of flats end up donated on a regular basis as it comes time to rotate, and the deductible barely dents replacement costs every year.

While I don’t mind giving some extra love to unwanted shelter animals, I need to be able to take care of mine.

Years ago when imported foods started making animals sick, I started making homemade food. There are a million and five recipes available, with the best options very home and animal-specific.

We had incredible results from it. The older dogs perked up, leaned down, tightened up, and played more. Periodic tummy sensitivities and Gassy Gus went away almost overnight. Attention, retention, and stamina went through the roof.

I no longer make all of our pet feed, but I do still make a portion of it and I tend to make extras of certain foods to add to the scraps our animals get.

For us, a casserole or soup worked best. I make up enormous kettles in one go, freeze a portion, and pull out three days’ worth at a time to defrost. It’s then as easy as scooping.

For an emergency, it won’t be quiet that easy, since I won’t have fridge and freezer space for the pets’ foods, but I will still be making them basically human foods.

Storage Foods for Pets

Powdered Eggs make up the backbone of the protein and fats that are stored for the dogs and cats. Commercially, they’re available as whole eggs or scrambled egg mix. They can also be dehydrated at home if inclined.

Oatmeal, barley, brown rice & white rice are my go-to feeds for the dogs, both in daily life and in the stored foods. The oatmeal especially is cheap, fast, and easy. The grains make for a decent calorie base and belly filler for dogs and rodents.

Potatoes are stocked for both the cats and the dogs, home-dehydrated as well as commercial buckets and #10 cans of slices, dices and grated shreds. I even can baked potato skins, although the cats won’t touch those. They’re full of good nutrients for the dogs.

Apples, Carrots & Sweet Potatoes are present for the cats and dogs, with the dogs a little heavier than the cats on the apples and sweet potatoes or sweet African yams. Again, I can dehydrate them at home, or buy them in affordable bulk to repackage or already set in cans and buckets. The veggies give the animals much-needed vitamins, just as they do us.

Peas are no longer part of my animal-diet plan. Some dogs handle them, some don’t. There are enough other options, I tend to just skip them now, but for years I included them.

Berries are fine for cats and dogs most of the time, but they tend to be expensive and human favorites so with the exception of copiously producing cranberry-equivalent bushes, I don’t allot many to the animals. Cats and dogs are less likely to eat the bitter berries than birds or ferrets.

Greens are dehydrated, purchased dehydrated, and grown in tin soup cans, small Dollar Tree cubes and planters, and outside. They’re also foraged wild. While the animals may not be super wild about them, and the greens should represent a smaller proportion of feed than even something like apples or carrots, they are another one that is stacked-legit with nutrients – especially the nutrients we’ll find lacking in lean animals and winter.

Boiled with something meaty or flat-fried or baked-and-chipped eggs, our cats, dogs, rats, and ferrets will dive on greens just as fast as they will a chunk of salmon jerky or broth from meat trimmings.

Milk gets stored as a calcium source and calorie boost. My animals handle whey milk and soy milk without any problems, so I can buy whatever’s cheapest at the time. Previous animals have handled raw milk and goat milk even if pasteurized was off the table.

Most long-storage milk is fat-free, so I have to be aware and get their fats in from something else.

When’s lunch?

Fish is a major part of my dogs’ and cats’ long-term food storage plan. For a few dollars a year, I can spend days in the sun collecting dozens and hundreds of pounds of feed for them. Skins and some of the organs we don’t even want help boost proteins and oils for the animals.

Especially important with cats, pressure canning or drying fish for storage creates something I can open or soak-and-simmer to create an enticing scent. If cats can’t smell food, they won’t eat.

Without a fishing license or with prohibitive keeper restrictions, tuna in oil and then tuna in water (which will last longer) can make somewhat less-expensive food-flavoring options. There are places that sell cod, shrimp, and salmon, but it tends to be freeze-dried and pretty pricey.

Repacking well-dried jerky-like treats to extend the storage life might be another option to consider to induce kitties to eat.

Peanut Butter Powder is also in my storage for the animals, but it’s there mainly to make them homemade doggy “biscotti” biscuits that will give them something to gnaw and help keep their teeth in better shape.

Wheat & corn are in my storage, but not for my animals. A lot of dogs and cats don’t actually process much corn, and some are sensitive to wheat. With potatoes, rice, and oats inexpensive and compact, I can easily avoid having wheat and corn be their base calories.

Transitioning Foods

Pets or people, we’ll want to plan transitions between foods – almost always. While some animals don’t need it, even transitions between types of kibble or canned foods should be done slowly.

You replace 1/10 to 1/4 the feed for 2-5 days, then another 1/10 or 1/4. If an emergency requires it, you can go ahead and skip to 50-50 blends or 70-30 new-old blends.

My preference is to have dry food as a finisher or by itself at least several times weekly, because it really is better on their teeth. When we transition to smokes and raw bones, we use a step process as well.

It’s my personal belief that because my animals do get scraps and leftovers, and do get trimmings and bones stewed for them, their guts stay ready to process more foods. Skipping a meal or a few days of their usual feeds doesn’t bother my animals’ stomachs at all.

Just like people, animals vary widely, so consult a vet and add those transitions slowly.

Goodies for Evac Kits

Red Cross and FEMA sites are happy to list out supplies to consider for our animals. Whether we’re evac’ing alone, with a cat, or with a trailer of six crated dogs, two goats and three horses, there are some goodies we might want to add to make everybody more comfortable, both during the trip and after.

Portable, battery-operated fans (blow into crates)

Misting systems/bottles

Umbrellas, portable pavilions (shade, rain coverage)

Animal entertainment

Spare towels

Tarps

Treats (even hooved livestock like treats, such as applesauce or sweet pellets)

Hoods

Fly screen/fly hoods/mesh, and-or tiki torches or various Off fan types (flies and mosquitoes are bears)

Pool mattresses (elevated bedding)

Nail trimmers & file (to save the air mattresses)

Garbage bags, kitty litter, shovels (waste cleanup)

Medications

Remember that cats, especially, can’t take a lot of human or dog medications. Those need to be sourced and stocked separately. There are, however, a lot of overlaps between species, fish to humans, pigs to dogs.

We have to research any meds our animals are on or can be anticipated to be on, just like with humans. Contraindication can delay recovery and set animals back if we combine the wrong things, or push them at the wrong intervals. Just like human meds, we’ll want to stock up on prescriptions and OTC drugs our animals have used in the past, or that we can anticipated them needing in the future.

Flea and tick preventatives, dewormers, heartworm preventative, mange washes, lice and flea dips, and ear cleaners are just a few of the things we might consider stocking up on.

Prepping for Furry Friends

There’s a lot to think about with our family disaster plans, big and small. Figuring out how we’re going to take care of our critters – pets or livestock or working animals – just adds to the headache. The moisture content in animal feeds and the expense of some types of feeds can make it seem impossible at first, but with some twitches, we can use standard, inexpensive storage foods to keep the animals fat and happy. There are also things like a water plan and sport umbrellas or mesh screens that will not only make us and animals happier, they can help reduce diseases, illness and heat stroke. It takes a little forethought, be we can absolutely prepare to keep our animals in personal crises or nation-altering events.

The post Prepping for Our Furry Friends – Stuff for Spot appeared first on The Prepper Journal.

from The Prepper Journal Don't forget to visit the store and pick up some gear at The COR Outfitters. How prepared are you for emergencies? #SurvivalFirestarter #SurvivalBugOutBackpack #PrepperSurvivalPack #SHTFGear #SHTFBag