Skip to main content

Overtime

 



The word was “pourover”. It caught my eye in a Facebook advert and set my mind spinning into a sort of dizzying word association game. Why are there so many words that end in “over”?

Voice over

Flyover 

Layover

Do over

Popover

Run over

Hungover

Pushover

Boilover

Stopover

Makeover

Turnover

Takeover

Leftover

Turnover

Holdover

Carryover

Changeover

Spillover

Sleepover 

Rollover

And so on, and so on

So, pourover. I know what that means. It’s a method of coffee preparation. That must be why this product was recommended to me by Facebook. It’s pretty clear that I love, love, love coffee. 

But, no. The photograph depicted something that resembled a juice box, or a gourmet soup in aseptic packaging. This was not coffee.


I started at the top of the box and read to the bottom. When I got there I was startled to read, “meal enhancer for dogs.”

Yes, friends, this is some tasty concoction that you “pour over” your dog’s food to make it taste better. They come in different flavors, even. The Honest Kitchen makes what they call Human Grade Pet Food: wet food, dry food, and dehydrated food. This is fascinating. Is this a line of gourmet toppings to make unappetizing dry dog food appealing?

I have so many questions. Here are the two top contenders:

1. Are dogs that finicky about their food? In my experience they are pretty much all-opportunity eaters. It’s cats that you have to tempt and wheedle.

2. If you make a really tasty dog food to begin with, why would a pourover be necessary?

Okay, one more: If it’s human grade dog food, is anyone out there actually eating it? And do the pourovers help it go down more easily?

I have in my life owned a dog and a cat.(And that was a bad plan, allergy-wise.) But the only time I can imagine having need of a meal enhancer was in raising children. What I would have given to have a range of tempting tasty pourovers that would magically make my child eat their dinner. Imagine the possibilities!

Child: I won’t eat this crud!

Mom: How about a pourover, Honey?

Child: say, this is great, Mom! Can I have some more?

(Maybe that's what ketchup and Ranch were doing all along.)


Have you ever heard of this kind of pourover? If you have a dog, would you try it? Bonus question: have you ever tasted pet food? I have, on a dare. But that’s another story altogether.



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else.  Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not  chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...