Diesel Rogers Dining with Diesel www.sunlive.co.nz

I guess we were all young once, but I don't remember having anywhere near the energy that little Rosie unleashed in our household this week.

Agreeing to dog-sit a three-month-old lab cross pup seemed like a good idea at the time. But after the first 20 minutes I was exhausted. After 40 minutes, she was just a blur and after an hour, I had to go for a lie down.
Not that there was any escape from this turbo-charged nightmare.
Even in my special reclusive corner under the stairs, there was no getting away from the onslaught of youthful exuberance.
I asked the boss if we could roll her over and find out where the battery compartment was, so we could disconnect her for a while. But he was too busy putting the furniture back on its feet, repotting the plants and hanging pictures back on the wall.
And I thought the German bitch was, well, a super bitch. She has nothing on this wayward missile of flying fur. At least the German has some discipline, even if it is excessive.
Rosie, however, was simply full-on mayhem.
Within in the first hour she had found out, the hard way, that:
1. Ralph the cat has a very good backhand. And a forehand. And a flying roundhouse drop kick. And can spit at the same time.
2. Ralph the cat does not have a reverse gear, only ‘forward attack' mode.
3. Small Labrador-cross puppies cannot walk on water such as the fish pond. Though it looks like it has lily pads that can be run across, it is actually two feet deep and full of sticky green duck weed.
4. The dog flap in the laundry will not automatically open to allow passage of a Mach II puppy; it needs to be carefully nudged with a paw first.
5. Shoes, cellphones, newspapers, cleaning products and anything else not nailed down, do not need to be perforated then re-distributed throughout the house, yard and neighbourhood.
6. 'Shut up, lie down and go to sleep” does not mean 'chew my ears off.”
7. Small dogs, or any dogs for that matter, are not supposed to be jumping all over the furniture, tables, appliances, spa pool or other members of the household.
8. Small dogs cannot pass at speed through the stately space between my rear legs and the ground, without causing massive mis-alignment to my portly undercarriage.
9. No, we cannot get away with cornering the cat in the washing machine and switching it to spin cycle.
10. Rosie is welcome back at my house anytime. As long as I get to stay with grandma for the duration.

Meanwhile, here's something substantial to gird your loins, courtesy of John the Aussie Butcher.

Spicy loins

Ingredients
4 pork loin chops
1 Tbsp chicken seasoned stock base
1 ½ cups hot water
¼ tsp orange peel
¼ tsp thyme
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground allspice
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1 Tbsp onions, minced
Method
Preheat oven to 300F. Brown pork chops in a heavy frying pan then arrange in a casserole or baking dish. Dissolve the chicken stock base in hot water. Add orange peel. Crush thyme and add to stock with cinnamon, allspice, pepper and onions. Pour over chops.
Cover and bake for 1½ hours or until chops are tender. Skim off any excess fat. Serve hot from baking dish, using the sauce as gravy.
That's it for this week, take care and remember, if someone mentions the word ‘sleepover,' involving young 'uns, run for the hills.