Too adorable not to share

Ahh this guy looks like Chester (everyone reading this knows who Chester is right). And I just love how he looks kind of like a seal in the bath towel. Dogs look so precious with stuff on their heads:)!! Why is that? If you don't believe me put a towel or a bed sheet over your dog. Instant cute.

Craiglisters

In my last post, I mentioned I was waiting for someone come by and pay for the privilege of taking away my old loveseats. Well, I waited. To be fair, they did email to tell me they would be late, 1/2 an hour after they were suppose to be here. At about 9:15, CornyT wanted to go to a 9:45 movie and I, in a sad example of girly, scaredy-catness decided I didn't want to be at home by myself when these strange, flaky people came. Anyway, I am not sure if they did come by but the next day she still wanted the loveseats. However, I am not giving my old, uncomfortable furniture to flakes and told her they already sold. I did have a young couple, who didn't look much older than Mame, look at the couches the next night. I don't think they were all that impressed. I also displayed a strange fit of greed wioth them. When they asked me how much for both I upped the price to 30 ffrom 25. Not sure why I did that but they didn't call me on it. They also haven't called back. Guess I am stuck with the ratty old things for a little longer. The guy's need to reassure me was cute though. When the girl said they needed to look at other stuff and would call me later, he piped in "don't worry we will be back." Yeah right. Not that I really care though. I am sure I'll eventually get the sad sacks out of the house if I have to drag them out to the curb. I wonder how long it would take for someone to carry the couches away if I did that? Maybe I could set up a poll and have people bet on how long they will last in front of my house. That would be more fun than actually selling them, I think. That reminds me, the weirdest thing is going on at the house across the street. The house belongs to an old couple who have moved (possibly temporarily/possibly not) to assisted living while she recovers from a broken hip. They have been gone for several months and their kids were taking care of the lawn but in the last week a lot of random junk has started to slowly pile up in the yard; a broken lawn chair, a lamp shade, a collapsed, wire shelf. Every day there seems to be one more thing out there. I have been tempted to throw it in our dumpster but haven't yet.

Weekend

This weekend felt jam packed with activity but as I think about it we didn't really do too much. I started Saturday by talking to Mame and going to the shelter. After the shelter, we ran some errands and stopped for lunch at a local crepe place we had been wanting to try. The crepes were good, very small and very expensive. Although that wasn't by far the worse part. What was even worse was that the "restaurant" is really just an air stream trailer with a few bistro tables for diners out front. This is very charming and cute in October or in Seatlle. However, in Austin in August, especially this dry, apocalyptic version of August, it is just plain mean. After I recovered from heat stroke, we spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning up for an evening of pizza and movie watching with friends. I have to tell you how sweet these friends are, not only did they bring a bottle of wine over (that I drank a lot of- very yummy Beaujalais (sp?)) they also hauled a mattress we bought from Costco over in their truck for us. What great friends huh? We are so excited to have a Queen size bed and to get such an amazing deal. Less than 500 for both a Sealy mattress and box springs. And even better, now any of you who come to visit me have a place to lay your weary heads! The only drawback is it didn't come with a frame and unbeknowest to me those are really hard to get at a reasonable price. The mattress stores, in my opinion, obsecenly over charge for them and no where else seems to carry them. So, I have done what every person with a laptop and need for crap does...no not ebay, but close. I went to Craigslist and begged for a bed frame. So far I have gotten a couple of offers. In fact, right now I am waiting for someone to buy the old loveseats we had in the apartment. They are ratty and I am shocked someone is willing to pay even 25 bucks for them. But hey, I 'll take the cash - hell I'd pay them to get them out of the house but I like this arrangement better.
Anyway, Sunday was a lot of fun too because we went over to a friends for a waffle brunch - yum yum. The whole occasion for the brunch was to try the homemade maple syrup that one of our friends brought back from his uncle's grove in up-state New York. Very tasty stuff. So light and flavorful. Mmm Mrs. Butterworth's is forever ruined.

Shelter Ups and Downs

This Saturday I went to the shelter at 8:00 instead of 10:00 AM to get a head start on the day. I soon discovered there are a few pros and cons to coming in as soon as the shelter opens. The good thing was the dogs were so excited to see you and because I was the only "green" volunteer there that early I was able to walk all the green dogs- yes, I am such a dork. The down side is well that's a lot of dogs to walk and clean up after. Although, it did really appeal to my sense of completion to get all 8 of those green dogs walked and cleaned up. There was also a nice sense of celebration at the shelter. A little terrier, named Tommy, who had been at the shelter since January battling various health problems was finally adopted on Friday. Now the fluffy chow, Cole, who has been there since May needs to be adopted.

Book Club and other reads IV

Thursday I had my book club meeting and we discussed Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson. This is the author's first book in twenty-five years and only her second novel of her entire career. That is a long time to wait for a book and not all books are worth it but this one certainly is. I loved this book but I have to tell you it wasn't exactly an immediate love. At first, I wasn't even sure if I liked the book. The pace is extremely slow and there is no real plot and very few characters. It was about 100 pages in when I realized this book is much like listening to an instrumental song for me; I always anticipate the lyrics to start and it takes me a while to realize it is just music. Essentially, the novel is structured as a letter a dying pastor is writing to his young son telling him all the things he will not be around to tell him as the boy grows up. Sounds depressing, I know, but it is actually quite a life-affirming book.
For next month, we are reading I'Claudius by Robert Graves. I thought this book would be very esoteric and dry about Roman history. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it reads a lot like a Mafia story. Those Romans were full of alliances and betrayals and bloody assasinanations. My favorite line so far which I think is very famous is "Augustus ruled the world and Livia ruled Augustus."

OK OK I know I need to get to work

and I will in 5 seconds...but I had to share this t-shirt. As I read on the blog I was browsing, "it is funny because it is so true!" Have a great Wednesday.

Wasting Time

CornyT is out getting his car fixed so I am plopped on the couch wasting a good hour surfing the net. All is not lost though, I found some really fun sites. The best is this blog, HatetoHelp.blogspot.com. The writers divest you of any object that has negative sentimental value, your boyfriend's old t-shirt for example, and pass these items out around the world to people who really need them. If you don't have the item or got rid of it yourself they can still help you. You simply tell them about a creative way you got rid of this object of misery ("fed your med-school rejection to a very large animal"), take a picture and they will blog about it. Pretty cute idea, I think. Right now, I hate these girls though because they are running all around the world without a care seeing fantastic things like the Everest Base Camp, and getting paid to it by travel writing for magazines. What a fantastic job.

Stuff on My Cat

Just when you thought the web sites I go to can not possibly get any sillier, I bring you stuffonmycat.com. This also is taking me dangerously closer to being the crazy dog and cat lady, I know. But putting things on cats is really quite entertaining. We like to drape t-shirts on Livia occasionally and watch her struggle to get them off. Ah our Friday nights are wild!

Home Kevetching

My cousin, aka Shoe Goddess, said that if I am not careful I am going to end-up the crazy, old dog lady! She's probably right, but it is slightly better than cats, isn't it? But while we are talking about dogs, I thought I would share with you that Faith, the timid dog I walked on my first Saturday, was adopted yesterday. She was so sad and skittish at the shelter, poor thing. I am sure she will be much happier in her new home.
Anyway, I spent the rest of the weekend running errands, doing housework, and continuing my the-house-isn't-cute-enough freak out that I started last weekend. Last week, I was fixated on a lack of furniture. The front room in the living area has nothing in it and it looks so tacky. Also, the walls are so dingy and marred. Everytime I look at them I notice a new scratch or smudge. Anyway, it is probably better to paint before I fill the place up with furniture so now there are Behr paint chips decorating all the walls. The problem is now I can't decide what color and the choices are overwhelming. Poor CornyT, I am following him around every room making him look at paint chips and choose the one he likes. Yes, our life has come to this I told him. So far, he isn't crazy about many of them and I am not really either. Also, I want to install crown molding but the more I read about it the more nervous I get. It also seems to require a lot of tools; a mitre saw, a nail gun, a ladder;). Ah the joys of home ownership.

More Doggie Goodness

Cole

It is Saturday and you know what that means. Yep, me boring you to death with my stories of shelter dogs. Today, there were less green volunteers and more green dogs to take for walks. So, I got lots of doggie loving. Also, there were less mishaps today and just pleasant doggie bonding. Although, the last dog I took out, Riley Jane, a shepherd mix almost got into 2 dog fights. She is a little feisty for a green dog. I was pleased that I was able to calm her down with out too much fuss though. Distracting a stressed out dogs with treats seems to work surprisingly well. The first dog I took out was, Dawn an Australian shepherd. She is definitely one of the sweetest dog I have walked so far. She couldn't get enough petting and loved to play fetch. She is going to make someone a great dog. I also spent time with a sweet beagle named Bernard. He had the sweetest droopy ears and weepy hound dog eyes. I also took Butter out again this week and he was much better behaved this time around, no wild escapes this weekend. I also took a very calm and friendly Chow, named Cole out for a walk and petting session. She is one mellow dog, I can't imagine her ever being a feisty Chow. So far the saddest thing about this volunteer gig is putting the dogs back in their kennels. Bernard howled when I put him back in and Riley Jane had to be coaxed with a trail of bacon treats. Poor guys, it must be so miserable in there.
Oh and I can't forget the fluffy pups, Blondie and Tux. We can't touch the pups because they haven't got their shots yet but you can oggle them from their kennels. And boy did I. Oh they were the most adorable, sleeping balls of cuteness. Ah puppies make everything right in the world!!

Riley Jane

Celebration and Other Entertainment

The publishing celebration was so much fun. We had been waiting to have that celebratory dinner for a long time. I am not sure of the exact number of rejections CornyT has recieved for all of his stories but I know that one story alone was rejected 29 times. This shows that his perseverance is paying off a little though and I think this is just the affirmation he needed to keep going. I am so proud of him and I can't wait to see his story printed up in a slick, little journal. We dined at a local Cuban restaurant that just reopened after a kitchen fire about a year ago. The fire seems to have been somewhat of a blessing because the food was even yummier than before. Although I think their mojito recipe must have been a victim of the flames because the watered down version they served us was a pretty pathetic. Anyway, it was a wonderful meal and very well deserved on CornyT's part. He has worked so hard and I am glad that he has gotten this accomplishment.
Continuing the theme of literary achievements, last night we stopped by CornyT's favorite coffee shop, the Green Muse, to listen to a fellow writer and Green Muse regular give a reading with a folk band accompanionment. Truly an Austin thing to do. CornyT felt obligated to attend because he knows this guy pretty well and the free beer was enough incentive for me!!:). Also, when I say that Green Muse is CT's favorite coffee shop and that he is a regular it doesn't properly describe his relationship with this establishment. Think Norm on cheers. Yes, the Barrista's often greet him by name when he walks in. And we regularly go to movies with one of the owner's. I tease him a lot about how he should pay the owners rent for the table he sits at all the time but I think it is nice that he has a place he can feel so comfortable in to write.

WOO HOO

CornyT has just been published in the Seatlle Review. We are off to celebrate! I am so excited for him!!

Oh My legs hurt

I spent yesterday afternoon rock climbing with some my BBBS networking group and boy are my limbs sore. Before you get really impressed with me I have to tell you that I was actually in a well air conditioned building, with fake rock walls and a soft, foaming ground. If it were the real thing I would probably have a lot more than sore arms and legs. But honestly just because it is fake doesn't mean it's easy. I still had a hard time summiting anything but the beginner walls. There is always next time though. When I told CornyT (he opted out this time) there were automatic belays (rope and pulley system keeping you up on the wall) and you didn't have to trust some punk kid to hold you up he was all for it. So, next time I will conquer that harder walls.

Doggie Saturday

Shadow
Butter (escapee)

This morning I got up bright and early and headed with great enthusiasm to the Humane Society. Luckily, when I got to the shelter I ran into the volunteer who trained me last week and she reminded me of some of the procedures so I didn't feel too lost. After she gave me a refresher and I had my sanitized leash ready I headed over to my first "green" dog kennel. A green dog is a dog suitable in temperment and behavior for a novice volunteer. Anyway, when I got to the green dog kennel there were two spunky dogs scampering in the kennel, one golden, fluffy collie-mix and a small, black lab. So, how do you get one dog on the leash and keep the other in kennel? Um well I am still working on that. Sure enough as soon as I got the black one, Shadow, on the leash his buddy, Butter, brok free and charged to the end of the hallway riling up every dog in the entire shelter it seemed. After, much coaxing with treats I eventually got Butter back into her kennel before anyone came back into the room to see me struggling to control the dogs. Later, I took a small shepherd mix named Faith who had a freak out in the hallway and refused to move for at least five minutes.

After Faith, I took Amelia, an eight month old dalmation/spaniel mix. She walked on the leash like a dream and I took her to the auditorium area to play ball for a while. She was a blast, she had a set system. We had two balls on the floor and as soon I threw one ball she would catch it, drop it next to the other ball, pick up that ball and bring that one back to me. So funny. After Amelia, I took the escapee, Butter, out for a walk around the auditorium and nice brushing. She looked so fluffy and shiny. Oh it was so much fun hanging out with the dogs and I already can't wait until next week.

Faith

Amelia

Return of the Girl's Night

Before my dear friend Aimee ran off to be with her boyfriend in New Hampshire, we would routinely meet for drinks, finger-food, and chatting. These girls-nights would usually take place at her cozy South Austin apartment behind a local wedding reception venue. I can't tell you how fun it was to sip wine and giggle amid the dulcet tones of the chicken dance wafting in through the open window. Needless to say, I cherished these nights a great deal and have been sorely missing them. Don't get me wrong I have had some great girl time this year- girl's day with my cuz is the high-light of the year and the craft night was fabulous- but I have missed the more regular girl bonding. Luckily, I have started to get know a pal's new girlfriend and on Monday we met for a Chile Margarita at El Chile. Yep, you read that correctly, a chile the Chilango is a "Spicy orange infused frozen margarita" with the rim of the glass lined with the most delectable and savory red chile salt concoction. If my sparkling personality is not enough to lure you to Austin, you should make the trip down here just for this amazing Margarita!! My favorite moment of the night was when I saw my gal pal ravenously lick the chile goodness from her forefinger. As I proceeded to the same, I knew I liked her tons:). Hopefully, there will be many more gab sessions with yummilicious margaritas.

You know your sister loves you

when she takes a picture of a dog in a dress just for you!! Don't let the fire ants bite you too much Mame!
For everyone else don't forget to check out how Mame is doing in Americorp at her blog.

Puppies Puppies Puppies

Lately, I have been thinking more and more seriously about adding a puppy to our little household. We have been in the new house and had the cat for almost a year now and are getting very comfortable in our routines. So, I think we need something to shake us up a bit and a frisky, sweet puppy would be just perfect to do that:). To prepare myself for this enormous commitment I have been reading lots of dog training books from the library ( I highly recommend The Other End of the Leash by Patricia McConnell), made CornyT place the Dog Whisperer in the Net Flicks queue, and started volunteering at the local Humane Society. I thought volunteering at the shelter would expose me to a lot of dogs so I can get a feel for the type of dog I want, teach me more about training, and just give me more experience around doggies. The shelter also offers a lot of dog training classes so what better way to supplement my doggie education.

Now, when I start a new volunteer experience I always worry if this will be something I will really enjoy donating my time too or if I will regret my sacrificed Saturdays and feel like it would have been better spent pulling weeds, raking leaves, or spackling. But after the first training class and one hour dog walking stint I had NO doubt I had made a good choice. I was so HAPPY being around all the dogs, walking them, learning how to train them etc. that when I came home I was in the best mood. CornyT suggested I go over on my lunch hours to relax me because work has been so stressful lately- not a bad idea. Also, it really helps that we don't have to do any of the yucky work like clean their cages or their messes. Another set of volunteers who are working off community service have to do that. It is pathetic but I actually am just dying for Saturday to get here so I can spend 10 to 12 in doggie heaven petting, walking and playing with as many sweet pups as I can get my hands on.

Family website

Yesterday, I learned from an out-of-the-blue call by my Mom that a meteor crashed outside of Austin, Dallas and Houston are flooding, and my family has their very own website. All of these tidbits were very interesting to me but none more so than the Besahra family website. And I have to say it is a very nice site, with great old family pictures and a nice contact form I happily filled out this morning. Those of you reading this who have any real interest in the website have undoubtedly seen it and I am sure I sound hopelessly out of touch but I was so excited by it. I am a sentimental dork and really get into family stuff, so I was very excited by the pictures and the possibility of keeping in touch.