The legal tender has landed

The good news just keeps coming! Talked to General Mills today, and they will recoup me for the soup-can losses (two days of missed work, prescription, medical supplies and out-of-pocket medical expenses)! The timing couldn't be better, what with our new addition. You wouldn't think two dogs that weigh less than 25 pounds combined could be be so expensive, but everything doubled adds up quickly!

Dog days

Two peas in a pod? Not quite yet, but things are going surprisingly smoothly between the dogs. Angus has had some minor "Fangus" episodes with Esther, but nothing serious. Mostly he just doesn't like it when she gets near his lap/cuddling space.

The first picture is from yesterday, when Angus kept a safe, disinterested distance from Esther. Today, as you can see, Esther hopped right up next to him, though his body language says it all. This pose lasted about five minutes before Angus hopped out of the frame and went back to his cow chair.

And Esther makes four!

Here is one of the exciting new photos I promised. OK, maybe not what you had in mind, but very exciting to us (and I was planning to post more, but the photo feature on this site seems to be acting up at the moment). Didn't want to spill the beans until we had actual proof, and besides, we didn't get her until today. We met her at the shelter Monday and picked her up today (she was being spayed in between). Apparently her owner had four dogs, was moving and couldn't take them all, so she and another Chihuahua ended up at the shelter. It's a sad story, but don't feel too bad for her. The shelter (Dumb Friends League) is a super-cushy facility with an amazing staff (see the link for an explanation of their name). And besides, she ends up with us, so double bonus!

Her given name was Champy, but she didn't respond to it, so we figured we could change it to pretty much whatever we wanted. Michael thought she looked like an Esther, and I agreed.

We introduced her and Angus at a nearby park to cut down on Angus' territorial response. He seemed really excited to meet her, but she was scared to death. She also doesn't do great on the leash. We think she may have been a lapdog in the truest sense and rarely gotten walks outside. Since we've been home, she has warmed up some, but Angus seems less interested, especially if he's on a lap and she tries to get near it. She is fairly skittish and doesn't trust us yet, or maybe the situation, though she definitely likes to get near our laps to sleep. As I type, Angus is sleeping on one chair, and Esther is curled up asleep in Angus' travel carrier. We thought she might like a spot that felt secure, and she walked right in and fell asleep on her own.

The shelter said she was about 2, but we are thinking she's more like 1, as she seems like she has some growing to do. She's about 9 pounds -- a tiny, dainty thing. We thought Angus was about a year older when we got him, then realized he wasn't finished growing.

That's all for now. Will post more photos once the system cooperates better. Looks like they are taking this site down for a little bit this afternoon, so it could be related to that.

P.S. Contrary to what many of you are probably thinking, that is a dog brush on the newspaper in the background! I noticed it after I posted the photo and didn't want to redo it.

Having my picture taken

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay! The camera's back! And it works! Let's hope the third repair is a charm.

Check this space in the next day or two for some really exciting new photos.

Quote of the day*

"We have a lot of animals, but there's no anthropomorphizing. We don't put little ballet dresses on the dogs or kiss them on the mouth. I respect animals. I don't insult them." -- Tommy Lee Jones, The New Yorker, Jan. 9, 2006

Great quote that I just had to share (and thanks to BKP for the clipping!). I don't suppose he would care much for the Chihuahua meetup.


*Not to be a regularly occurring feature

One-hit wondering

A comment I just wrote in the previous post got me to wondering everyone's favorite songs by one-hit wonders. Off the top of my head, I will say Alan O'Day's "Undercover Angel" (1977). The lyrics and sentiment are crazy, but it's still catchy, and I never get tired of it. One of my all-time favorite songs from the era is "You Sexy Thing" (1975) by Hot Chocolate; that one even made our self-produced wedding-reception music. It was their lone hit in the U.S., but, according to the Web, technically they are not one-hit wonders, as they had dozens of chart hits in the U.K.

Winters' passing

Who knew that Shelley Winters was 85? I'm telling you, Abe Vigoda is going to outlive everyone (side note: I realized I did my math based on 2005, and he will be 85 on Feb. 24, not 84 as I'd said earlier).

Anyway, in memory of Winters, who recently died, I urge everyone to check out a couple of her classics: "A Place in the Sun" (1951), a tearjerker if there ever was one (though I can't think of anything sadder than either version of "The Champ," Ricky Schroder remake included). Monty Clift and Elizabeth Taylor are the beautiful people in this one. Shelley Winters is not, and you will hate her for it. Sad but true. Her character is so whiny that you really don't feel bad when ... OK, I won't give anything away.

Also check out "A Patch of Blue" (1965). This was one of my absolute favorites when I was little. Don't ask me why; I was a weird kid. All I can figure is ... I somehow identified with a blind girl who strung beads and fell for Sidney Poitier? Winters plays another unlikable character.

And, no, I've never seen "Lolita," so I can't recommend it one way or the other. But do NOT, I repeat NOT, ever watch "What's the Matter With Helen?" (1971) with Winters and Debbie Reynolds. It still gives me the creeps all these years later.

And now a fun fact: Shelley Winters' given name was a real humdinger: Shirley Schrift.

Broncos spot

It just occurred to me that Blogspot's color scheme is the same as the Denver Broncos' colors. If you lived in the midst of this frenzy, you'd notice it too.

Primate exploitation?

On Thursday night, we saw "King Kong," and, as I expected, I cried my eyes out at the end. Yes, he's a computer-generated ape, but what an expressive one. Of course, it's the message that's the saddest, because you know it's exactly how our society operates.

On the flip side, however, a day later, I laughed until I cried after I went to the Whiplash Rides site. Our friends Barry and Hillary attended the National Western Stock Show and said Whiplash was a highlight of their visit. I asked Barry if Whiplash seemed exploited, and he said, "He seemed like a happy little monkey." Barry is a smart, thoughtful guy, so I trust his judgment. I also read the bios of Whiplash and the border collies and feel pretty confident they are living the good life. Yes, they are used for entertainment, but then, so is Mr. Winkle. You be the judge.

Wild west in the streets

I love a parade! Especially when it's in the middle of a sunny, mild day, five minutes from home and involves cattle and sheep running through the downtown streets. We got just such a parade Tuesday as part of the events surrounding the 100th National Western Stock Show, which is a huge deal in Denver.

The parade highlights were the longhorn and the sheep-herding border collies. Oh, and the rodeo queens and princesses, who wear getups to die for. There was also a tiny covered wagon pulled by two shetland sheepdogs. Talk about cute overload!

Fishing for answers

Michael has installed a new feature on our Web browser (we use Mozilla Firefox) -- the Abe Vigoda status bar! Apparently a magazine reported his demise in the '80s, so the question of "alive or dead" often comes up. You'll be happy to know that Detective Fish will celebrate his 84th birthday next month. The only downside to this feature is when his status changes. We've been wondering what other "I thought he/she was already dead" actor or actress might get the next toolbar. Ideas?

Sports night

Michael & I caught our first Denver Nuggets game last week. It was my first (and only other) NBA experience since a handful of Blazers games while living in Oregon. We chose this particular game because it was against the Indiana Pacers. I saw the Pacers in Portland, too, just so I could see Isiah Thomas coaching on the sidelines. Never got to see him play in person, so it was the best I could do.

This time I chose the Pacers because, in the last draft, they got former New Mexico Lobo Danny Granger. I saw him play many times at The Pit in Albuquerque and couldn't pass up a chance to see him in the pros. Still, I decided it was only right to cheer on the hometown team, so I rooted for the Nuggets and for Granger. The Pacers were a bit sluggish, and their shooting was off. The Nuggets won 106-86.

But the best part of the game? Hot-shot star Carmelo Anthony? No way. It was Earl Boykins (B-B-B-B-B-Boykins! as the announcer was fond of shouting every time Earl "the Squirrel" scored). This guy is FIVE-FOOT-FIVE and amazing to watch. He and Carmelo "the Sweatband" tied for the highest score of the game (23 points).

Sadly, a kid sitting behind us asked his dad, "Why isn't No. 11 (Boykins) a starter?" The dad: "Because he's not good enough. He's too short." Michael and I looked at each other in disbelief, as Boykins had already scored well into the double digits at this point. I say it's better to be small in stature than small-minded.

After the game, we headed downstairs at the Pepsi Center to the log cabin-esque Blue Sky Grill to catch the end of the Rose Bowl. Before I met Michael, the only football I'd watched was my high school team, initially because I was in marching band and it was required and later for the social/checking-out-the-boys factor. I don't remember that I understood anything about the game then (beyond the obvious get-the-ball-to-the-other-end). I understood just as little when I played powderpuff my junior year and was outsized by the senior I was supposed to be blocking.

Now, I won't say that I've become a football fan, but I have definitely gained a comprehension of and appreciation for the game. Being married to a college football fanatic (namely, the Oregon Ducks, who got screwed by the BCS again! [See what's happened to me!]), it's pretty much become a required pastime at times, especially if I want to see my husband during football season. OK, that's overstating it, but I enjoy being a part of his passion, and I reckon he feels all smart and stuff being able to answer every little question I have ("Why do they grab the face mask when they know they shouldn't?" "Why does the guy with the ball run straight into a pile of other guys instead of going around them?" "Why does the clock keep counting down even though nothing's happening?")

But back to the Rose Bowl. Even I could appreciate the end of this game. No. 1 vs. No. 2. Both undefeated. A close game throughout. I pulled for Texas because I figured yet another USC championship would just be plain wrong. Despite the fact that Oregon's only regular-season loss was to USC and the fact that half of Michael's family are Longhorns, Michael still rooted for the Trojans (Pac-10 Pride, he says), though he was happy with the Texas win, as he would cheer for them under other circumstances and it was a well-deserved win. It was a nail-biter and great fun to watch.

Still, I'll take college basketball any day.

Loose ends

CAMERA: I was ready to trash the thing, which first conked out six months after purchase (and on the day of our wedding, I might add!) and had been returned to Canon twice for repairs under warranty. But you know me, never wanting to throw anything away (you'd think I'd learn after the soup-can episode), so I checked the Canon Web site to find out whether there was any kind of recycling program (there is, but for a fee). I decided for kicks to check out the "service notices" section of the site and found that Canon has offered to fix, for free and regardless of warranty status, problems with the image sensor, which sounds exactly like the problem I've been having. I mailed the camera back (postage-paid) and will get a new part if they deem that to be the problem (in the past they just "repaired" the part, which apparently was faulty). My only concern is that I'd taken to banging the camera on the floor when I couldn't get an image in the LCD screen, which was more and more often, so I could've ruined my chances of repair. Will keep you posted.

CAN: I finally gathered all the documentation on the exploding-soup-can incident and mailed everything off to General Mills. All they said was that they would take the matter under consideration, so we don't know what the outcome may or may not be, and don't expect anything for our pain and suffering but would greatly appreciate it. Will keep you posted.

KITCHEN: The cold kitchen no longer is! The furnace guy who visited deemed everything in proper working order but made some adjustments and closed off vents in the front two rooms, thus forcing more heat through the kitchen vent and the upstairs vents. It's like having a whole new turn-of-the-century apartment! Of course, it's also been unseasonably warm since he dropped by, but we have great faith that he fixed the problem, and we no longer have to wear our winter coats while flapping the jacks. We'll find out next week when the cold and potential snow return.

Cute overload

This is just a sampling of what you can find at cuteoverload.com. I couldn't resist sharing. Happy new year! We're off to have black-eyed peas with Michael's Texas relatives.