I bought a waffle maker this weekend. Because I wanted waffles. And the waffle maker I did have was a round waffle maker. It was a cast off waffle maker that we had after the glorious four square waffle maker died. That waffle maker was amazing. I swear, my mother may have tried to scramble eggs in a microwave and bake a cake with powdered sugar instead of flour (they were both fluffy and white substances) - but the woman could make waffles on that thing.




I remember having to retrieve Grampy one day. I was 6 or 7 years old. It took 11 hours. But I found him. You would think it would be easy to find a 3-legged dog but it wasn't. Grampy had 3 legs because he like to get out out the yard. When Burger King opened on East Cypress 30 years ago Grampy was TWICE found sitting in the grass in front. Grampy had a front leg amputated after getting hit by a car. We really didn't know there was an issue until he kept rubbing the leg against the wood stacked on the side of the house and gnawing at it like a wild animal trying to get out of a trap.




My sister and mother had waffle batter ready to go as soon as I got home with Grampy. The waffles were the best I ever had more because of what they meant than how golden and perfectly crispy they were.




My mother now goes with a Belgian waffle maker. My new waffle maker is a four-square but I haven't perfected making waffles with it, yet. There are a lot of variables.




One day after school we came home and Grampy was gone. "He got out, again." That's all we were told and for several years we did not have a dog. Just Calico (she was a cat...and drooled when you pet her - it was cool). Years later I found Grampy. He was at a corner house in a fenced yard near Alta Mesa. My mother and step-father apparently gave him away.




It wasn't the best option but I understood. Even when I was 14 years old I understood why. It was tough to take and for whatever reason there wasn't a lot of rage. He was happy trompelling back and forth in that yard. So how could I be that upset? I did want Grampy to meet Sadie and Lew. But that never came to pass.




But whenever spot I a four-square waffle maker and get just a whiff of baking batter I get a nice warm feeling in my belly and elsewhere.