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.

Of transvestites (Part II)

Well, the new year is almost upon us, so I figured I'd better get one more entry in for good measure. We had a terrific visit with Michael's mom, and, in keeping with the transvestite theme of her trip, picked "Breakfast on Pluto" for our Christmas evening movie. It's the latest from director Neil Jordan ("The Crying Game"; "The Butcher Boy" -- a movie that a few of you out there know highly disturbed me and I ultimately wish I'd never seen) and starring Cillian Murphy ("Batman Begins," "28 Days Later").

Now, Cillian highly creeped me out in "Batman" (one of my favorite movies of the year and the best of the franchise that I've seen) even before he got into his bad-guy Scarecrow getup, but he is now a new favorite. He is absolutely adorable and perfectly cast as Patrick "Kitten" Braden in this movie, which is sweet, endearing and bittersweet and has a fabulous soundtrack (everything from Bobby Goldsboro to T-Rex [While we're on the topic, I vote for Cillian to play T-Rex frontman Marc Bolan should there be a biopic] ).

Kitten is an orphaned boy but really a girl (or is it the other way around?) in 1970s Dublin who is on a search for his mother (who, he's told, looks like Mitzi Gaynor and was swallowed up by the big city of London). The movie follows his Dickensian life and escapades (set against an Irish Republican Army backdrop), which ultimately lead him to the family he didn't expect.

Cillian Murphy gets a well-deserved Golden Globe nod for the role. He's up against Johnny Depp, who everyone knows is one of my loves, especially when it comes to the characters of Edward Scissorhands/Crybaby/Gilbert Grape, but I think I'd give it to Cillian this time. He's that good. I haven't seen any of the other movies in the category but can't really imagine that Pierce Brosnan rivals either Murphy or Depp, and Nathan Lane already got his props for "The Producers" with a Tony, didn't he? Don't be greedy! I reckon Jeff Daniels in "The Squid and the Whale" is quite good, but I just don't know what to make of Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash. Then again, I've only seen the previews.

The sweetest lei

For a real treat, go here to listen to "Hawaiian Gardens" (parental advisory: F-bomb alert, but in lyrical, ukelele style) by my friends Champipple (including members of Love Jones). Michael and I were lucky enough to get a preview in Louisville at Derby time. (For my few Coloradan readers, that's Lou-ah-vul, Ky., not Lewis-ville, Colo.)

A Christmas classic

OK, call me a dork, but I have loved this ever since I took it to read during show & tell in elementary school. Yes, Virginia, I was naive and out to prove to my classmates that there was factual evidence of Santa (I didn't know of the existence of credit cards at the time and figured there was NO way my mom could afford the gifts lavished upon her only [some would say spoiled] child). Enjoy and happy holidays!

Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus
(Editorial Page, New York Sun, 1897)

We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:

I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, "If you see it in The Sun, it's so." Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus? Virginia O'Hanlon

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a sceptical age. They do not believe except what they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The external light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus? Thank God he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

And BINGO was her name-o!

Michael has always told me that, every year for Thanksgiving, he, his mom and sister would go to what inevitably ended up being an inappropriate movie to see in mixed company. In keeping with their family traditions, we decided to take Becky (Michael's mom, who is visiting for Christmas) to a charity fund-raiser. Inappropriate, you say? Let me elaborate: a charity fund-raiser put on by the Denver Cycle Sluts, a local group of drag queens. What's so inappropriate about drag queens? you may ask. Nothing whatsoever. Until, in addition to the usual bingo fund-raiser, the event includes a pre-show of sometimes naughty, often downright raunchy holiday songs lip-synched by said drag queens.

Regardless, Becky has a great "What I did during my holiday break" story to share. She is in insurance, so we're guessing she'll be the only one in her office with a drag queen bingo story. She even got some flirting from a really drunk guy who, as she later pointed out, was also flirting with Santa.

As for the bingo, it was pretty much your standard fare, though in addition to "basic" five-in-a-row bingo, there were games like "Four hookers, one on every corner." Some games were in keeping with the raunchy theme, and I won't repeat them here. The prizes were nothing too outstanding; one of the sponsors is Coors Light, so there were a few beer signs. There was also a gift certificate to a local store.

I wasn't really too intrigued by any of the prizes until the last one, on "blackout" bingo (cover every square on your card). It was a fairly sizable metal Corona Light cooler that I thought would be a great addition to our back porch come summertime. Anyway, I was down to one number, and three times, people called bingo who had to wear the wig of shame because they called false bingos. They finally called my number, and I went up front to claim my prize. Lo and behold, another woman -- dressed as a reindeer, no less -- had the same numbers. Both sets were deemed good, so it was a bingo-off. This involved one of the drag queens holding a bottle behind his/her back, and at the count of three by the audience, the hand it was in determined the winner -- left for the reindeer, right for me, and it was the right hand!

I won the cooler with two CDs inside, which I graciously chose to give to the reindeer, apparently a sore loser, because as I handed them to her, she said, with her face screwed up all sarcastic, "Thanks!" But I won the cooler. It is a major award, even better than the fraGEElay lamp from "A Christmas Story."

Oh, and in case you're wondering, our camera is still broken; I found this image on eBay, where the same cooler recently sold for $79.95!

A mess of Chihuahuas

We had our first Chihuahua meetup yesterday, and what a hoot. I can't imagine there's much that's cuter or more entertaining than a dozen dogs ranging from 2 pounds to 14 pounds (Angus) running around, some decked out in playclothes, some with nothing more than the fur on their backs.

Angus seemed to have a blast, though probably not as much as I did. We had young Chis, old Chis, itty-bitty Chis and, well, Angus. He looked like a great Dane next to the tiniest, a brindle named Belle, who was wearing a T-shirt the size of my palm and a "diamond" choker. Unfortunately, in the continuing saga of the broken camera, I have no photos of this momentous occasion, though a guy there took some that I hope to get ahold of. Besides, the meetup is a monthly event, so we will get another shot at photos once we get off our duffs and buy a new camera. (And in case you're wondering, the photo above of my two favorite guys is from last Christmastime. Now you see the real horrors of what is Angus' sad, miserable existence and the lengths to which he must go to please his people.)

A weather update

Since my last missive on the weather, things have changed a bit, you could say. We still have lots of sunshine, but wintry weather has definitely set in. It snowed the night of Dec. 2, and there has been snow on the ground, to varying degrees, ever since. We have still lucked out with some days in the 30s-40s, but we've been seeing highs of 20 and below and are coming up on more lows in the single digits. It's still bearable; our biggest complaint is the uneven warmth of our old townhouse. Michael has sealed every window in the place and weatherstripped, but our kitchen is like an icebox. Lately we have been spending as little time in there as necessary. Apparently our neighbors have the same problem; even so, our landlord is having a furnace person come by tomorrow to make sure nothing's amiss.

A Golden day

Had a great visit with in-laws Leah and Kyle. I must say the highlight was a trip to Golden, Colo., home of Coors. Now, I have never been a fan of Coors (especially Coors Light) and have never hesitated to say so, but after visiting the brewery, I have to admit I'm a bit of a convert. I won't be rushing out to stock the fridge with Coors products, but getting a firsthand look has given me a new appreciation.

Golden is a picturesque Wild West town nestled in the mountains (that's Leah in the middle photo with a true Western backdrop). The Coors sign looms over the land, and the brewery takes up 5.5 miles, as we were told by our trusty tour guide, Jeff O. (Kyle insisted he was more of a Justin.)

The tour starts on a bus and includes a quick spin through the heart of town (that's the main strip in the bottom photo) before you return to the brewery. The smell of hops and barley smack you in the face immediately upon entering. You're put in a circle with other free-beer seekers; then you get carded, stamped with a "21" and slapped with a wristband.

This was only my second alcohol-manufacturing tour (went to Maker's Mark in Loretto, Ky., in May), and parts weren't quite as interesting as the bourbon tour -- where you get to stick your finger in a gigantic vat of mash that looks like oatmeal. We also were a bit disappointed with the final portion of the tour -- a view from above and behind glass of the packaging room. There's no bottle-down-the-conveyer-waiting-to-be-capped a la "Laverne & Shirley"; pretty much all we saw were Keystone cans being packaged into 12-packs.

The initial highlight of the tour is a stop in the "Fresh Tasting Room" (see first photo), where you can mosey up to the bar for a sample of Coors or Coors Light and sit on plastic "ice blocks" to enjoy them. The ultimate highlight is a stop in the lounge for three free full-size samples. I think we all liked the Winterfest best; there were also samples of Blue Moon, Zima, regular and light versions of Coors and the untasty nonalcoholic Coors. Me? I had a frozen black cherry Zima smoothie -- like an Icee with a kick!

We finished off our evening with a stop in Boulder (actual home of "Mork & Mindy," though I haven't sought out the house yet; sadly there's no Mork statue in town that we know of) for pizza and more beer, and returned home for Trivial Pursuit 90s edition, where Michael started out pieless, then clawed his way back to victory. His winning question (paraphrased)? "What Western city's state-of-the-art airport suffered setbacks over its faulty baggage-handling system?" Answer: Denver!

Heat wave

After Denver saw record lows for the date yesterday (high of 3/low of -13), a veritable heat wave moves in today, with a high of 39 (feeling like 34) and low of 20 (feeling like 14). Before you say, "See, we told you so," you need to know this: We went out to dinner last night with Wisconsinites, and even they said it was cold. It also probably felt much colder to us because we walked to the restaurant, Piscos, about four blocks away. And four blocks in negative degrees feels like it will never end. (And Leah and Kyle, if you are reading, you will be happy to know that we shoot up to 46/26 the day you arrive!)

We spent much of yesterday working on weatherizing our creaky, old windows, and then we went to a book sale at work. We found a copy of the new Chris Elliott novel, which, frankly, sounds really bizarre, but he's doing a book-signing next week at The Tattered Cover, and I am not about to miss that! The Tattered Cover is an amazing bookstore, though I think Powell's in Portland is still best, as it also sells used books. We also found copies of "Tab Hunter Confidential" and Tatum O'Neal's "A Paper Life," which reminds me I forgot to list one of my favorite movies in my profile! I've already started reading the latter and was saddened to find out that neither of Tatum's parents were there when she won her Oscar!

Last night we watched "Kicking & Screaming." Despite a few moments of Will Ferrellness, it was barely worth the $1 we spent on its rental. I am a sucker for Will Ferrell movies, even though I am disappointed half the time, but this one was just plain mean-spirited, and don't even get me started on the kids jumping out of a butcher truck in bloody aprons. For classic Will Ferrell, "Old School" gets my vote every time. His small role in "Wedding Crashers" is worth the price of admission, too. Thc coolest part about the movie rental is that we got it from a kiosk at our local grocery store. You put in your debit card; the machine charges you $1/day and dispenses your disc.

Amen!

"I think it's more important to put Christ back into our war planning than into our Christmas cards." -- the Rev. Bob Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of Churches and a former Democratic congressman from Pennsylvania

A little visitor

Our soon-to-be 2-year-old friend Emma visited with her parents, Jon & Fran- chesca, and Angus seems to have found a new best friend. He LOVED her. He has never met kids in his own house, just at the park.

I worked with Jon & Franchesca in Oregon, and they graciously put me up for a week here while the apartment was being readied.

There's really not much more to say about any of this; I just wanted the chance to post this cute photo!