Taco Day: Remembering Jazzi

Today I am remembering my dear sweet friend Angel Jazzi, and celebrating her favourite day of the year.

But I think it is time my readers learned the truth about how Gail and I celebrate Taco Day in Aberdeen, so here is a step-by-step guide.

Step 1: We google 'Mexican food, Aberdeen' and come up with a short list of restaurants that is, er, very short indeed.


Step 2: Gail heads off on her bike to some new eatery in the city centre that promises to bring authentic Mexican cuisine to Aberdeen.


Step 3: She returns home with a box containing an over-priced but underwhelming combination of corn tortilla, meat, lettuce and salsa.


Step 4: She then proceeds to eat the contents of the box, reserving a MINISCULE piece of meat for Yours Truly.


Step 5: Finally, Gail assures me that Mexican food really can be great, so long as you are somewhere in or near Mexico, or a Mexican community, neither of which is the case if you live in Aberdeen.

Oh well, at least this year I was able to comfort myself with the lovely piece of green blanket from Addi's bed, which arrived in the parcel with the monkey toy I told you about in my previous post.
 

And anyway, it is impossible not to smile and feel all warm inside when remembering Jazzi.

The five year wait for a REAL TACO

Stop Press! Hold the front page!

The five year long wait is over.

But first let me backtrack...

Here in Aberdeen, we are not blessed with an abundance of Mexican food outlets. So when it comes to celebrating Taco Day with our dear (now departed) friend Jazzi, a soupçon of creative improvisation has been required.

I wonder if any of you remember our 2011 effort, the Aberdeen MacTaco? (Haggis and oatcakes were involved and actually, it was rather good).

In 2012, my Human Grandad was in hospital and we missed the event entirely.

The situation was not much better in 2013 - in fact some might say worse - when Gail forgot until the last minute and I ended up with a photo of a taco, printed from the internet…


Last year things just got weird, when a certain human decided we should celebrate Jazzi's favourite colour and, with the aid of some food dye, fashioned a taco out of 100% pink ingredients.


Well this year I opted to take matters into my own paws.

A short session on Google and I discovered that Uncle Sabino's Mexican Restaurant & Takeaway  is now open on Little Belmont Street, only a mile away from our house.

So I suggested that Gail might like to bicycle into town and pick up a REAL taco for me.

You know, sometimes she is surprisingly obedient.

Mmm these tacos are yummy. Wee Jazzi had good taste, for sure.

And didn't Gail do well too?  If the oil price continues to drop, I'd say she has a promising future as a taco delivery lady...

A PINK taco?

Oh I am so thrilled to be taking part in Angel Jazzi's Taco Day. 

We all remember Jazzi don't we? The funniest, cutest and all round most adorable Scottie you could ever hope to meet. She left us far too soon.

Now Jazzi was world famous for her love of tacos, and what better way to remember this incomparable character than by sharing in her appreciation of her favourite foodstuff?

Oh look, there is something that Gail tells me is a taco on the table here. 

As tacos are not part of the Scottish diet, you will forgive the, er, 'unusual' interpretation of this dish from across the Pond.

Oh, I get it. This a PINK taco. 'Cos if there was one thing Jazzi loved almost as much as tacos, it was the colour pink. Gail and I  always looked forward to seeing her wearing her pretty pink dresses. Her she is modelling the 'Back to School' outfit, one of our favourites.

Mmmm, back to the taco. Although the combination of ingredients is unusual*, I think I might try some. For Angel Jazzi's sake, you understand.

 

Nom, nom, nom. I do wish Addi were here to share it with me. I could show her my manly scar too...

*Pink taco ingredients: ham, red onion, beetroot and sesame paste, radishes, prawn cocktail, and raspberries in yoghurt, all held in a soft taco shell which had been dipped in pink food dye and baked until crisp. 

Bye bye, dear sweet Jazzi

Oh dear I was distraught to learn that my sweetheart Addi's sister Jazzi had to say goodbye to her earthbound family last week.

This wee Scottie lass was full of life, fun and mischief (and tacos). I loved her so much, even though she did often refer to my gorgeous girlfriend as 'Dog-zilla'.

Gail and I are thankful we had the privilege of sharing a small piece of Jazzi's too-short life, and also that of her lovely and loving family. Jazzi's posts not only made us smile, always, but were so full of warmth and happiness that they left us feeling the world was a better place.

We send heartfelt condolences to all who are feeling sad at the loss of such a wonderful character.

Oh and if Uncle Ed is looking for a new pup to spoil, well he just needs to get in touch…

(Comments are turned off).

Bertie's International No Taco Day...

WANTED: A new assistant.

(For real tacos, visit Jazzi).

Sledding day: awaiting Addi's arrival

 As many of my readers will know, today is Sarge's sledding day. Well I wasn't at all sure that I would get to take part, but right at the last minute I learned from Jazzi's blog that my dear darling partner in crime beloved Addi is coming all the way from Illinois to join me for fun in the snow in Scotland.

Oh I am so excited! I just had to go and check out Addi's favourite tank.

You can go sledding in a tank can't you?

Oh I so adore Addi. You know Addi don't you? Such a beauty (I have been advised before not to use the phrase 'strapping lass' so I won't).

My kind of a girl, totally. 

I really had better make sure that our tank is all spick and span and in good working order.

What's that I see on the horizon?

It's Addi, it really is. Addi, I'm on my way to greet you. We are going to have such fun....

See Jazzi and Addi's blog for the next instalment...

Halloween mayhem with Addi and the tank..

So this was the scene in our kitchen as Gail said "goodbye" and "have a great time with Addi" and "please remember to keep your cape nice and straight".

Well you'll have to pop over to Jazzi Addi's blog to see exactly what happened next...

... You won't be surprised to learn that Addi was about as enthusiatic about her 'Target Dog' eye patch as I was keen on my Dracula outfit...

You can rest assured we had those costumes off faster than you could say 'trick or treat'. And as for the notion that we would then just "play nicely" with a pumpkin on a Scottish beach.

Well I think someone was forgetting that Addi and I have a far superior toy at our disposal... 

Oh Addi is a girl after my own heart. We are so alike in our thinking. I mean I know that some pups might be going all "how cute" when given the option to romp around together in a patch of jolly, smiling pumpkins.... 

But we had other ideas..

This was the scene after Addi and I laid waste to that old pumpkin patch...

Oh I can't tell you how much I adore Addi. What a fine, strapping lass she is. I am well and truly lovestruck. Do you know, before I set off for our date I thought and thought and thought about what present she would most like. Gail (who, let's be honest, is a strong contender for the world's most unimaginative gift giver) suggested flowers or jewellery, can you believe?

Luckily, with the help of Addi and Jazzi's Mom, I found something so much more suitable.

I am delighted to report that Addi was thrilled with her Halloween gift, and rewarded me with one of her most awesome ever smiles. She says she will treasure the finger for as long as it takes to totally decompose back in Illinois...

I am such a happy chap. 

Must Addi really return home? 

PS: Thanks to Addi's Mom for the fabulous photos

Addy: my date for the Valentine Party!

Yes, it really is true.

It took some nerve (sometimes us Adventure Animals are not so bold in affairs of the heart), but finally I plucked up the courage to ask a certain feisty lady bulldog to the Blogville Valentine's Day Party.

And guess what?

She accepted!

Oh I am quite overwhelmed. I have been secretly admiring Jazzi's sister Addy (a.k.a. Addison) ever since she first arrived on the blog scene last year.

She is just such a splendid, strapping lass isn't she? And what a bonnie smile! Plus, it seems we have much in common, despite living on different continents. Like, me, she is a sporty-dog with little time for dressing up and so forth. She is quite capable of creating all sorts of mayhem in the home too. As far as I'm aware, Addy does not yet share my scientific interests, so I am going to resist the temptation to suggest my 'Higgs Boson Diet Plan' to her, despite the evident disparity in our sizes..

(Gail is telling me this last sentence might be construed as a tad ungallant? Bear with me, friends, I am new to this dating game.)

On to safer territory then..

I am currently on the look out for a suitable vehicle, to transport Addy to the Valentine's Dance in the style she surely deserves. I shall be reporting back on my findings and asking readers for advice on this matter sometime next week. Watch this space...

Meanwhile, reminded that it's Burns Night, I'm sending "ae fond kiss" all the way across the Pond to the incomparably gorgeous Addy in Illinois.

The Aberdeen MacTaco: for Jazzi

Several of you reading this will know my wee Scottie pal Jazzi. She lives in Illinois, has a troublesome bulldog sister Addy, and every single one of her frequent blog posts will make you smile. (For evidence of this, click here to see her special post for my Earth Science class last year....)

Well anyway, Jazzi has a bit of a thing about tacos. 'A bit of a thing' - that's British Understatement, by the way. So today, 4th October 2011, she is celebrating National Taco Day, and she has invited all her friends to participate by posting a photo of themselves eating a taco..

Oh this has caused me so much stress and anxiety. I have never seen a taco, except on Jazzi's blog. They are not part of the Scottish diet. Plus, Gail cannot drive while she recovers from 'the belly button thing', so I am not in a position to scour the length and breadth of Aberdeen to hunt down taco ingredients. Whatever they are anyway. What to do? I so wanted to join in.

Well I wrote to Jazzi about my dilemma and she kindly suggested I could 'improvise', and indicated that the definition of what constitutes a 'taco' would not be interpreted too strictly.

So Gail allowed me to have a rummage around the food cupboard and the fridge, and this is what I have come up with. An original creation, I am sure you will agree.

In this 'MacTaco', I feel I have achieved a successful blend of the traditional and the novel, and incorporated a uniquely Scottish flavour with the oatcakes. Gail has suggested that it might be helpful to readers if I label all the ingredients....

Can you believe Gail confiscated the chocolate almonds before I even had a chance to taste one!

PS I want to thank Jazzi specially for organising such a fun event. Do visit her blog for more on National Taco Day. I am so over the rugby.