No BYOP Here

After exhaustive, dizzying discussions which Chad politely endured, I've decided not to host a BYOP (Bring Your Own Pumpkin) Party this year. The reasons for not hosting the party are many and varied. At the risk of sounding like "The Grinch Who Stole Halloween", I'll list my top three reasons.

1. Overall, less people carve a pumpkin each year at the BYOP party. Last year guests mostly stood around the kitchen or sat in the living room drinking and chatting. Which is fine, but kind of frustrating when I put so much time, thought, effort and money into throwing a pumpkin-carving party.

2. The record-breaking drought this summer left our yard with huge cracks, craters and exposed rocks, many opportunities to twist an ankle, or to trip and fall on one's face. I'd hate for a candy-fueled child to get hurt running amok in our yard. Plus the backyard isn't a pleasant place to congregate currently, unless you like the dust bowl aesthetic.

3. I just don't have the energy this year. I'm tired.

My curmudgeonly ways do not affect your ability to carve a pumpkin at your house. Have fun. Be safe. Send photos.

Car Chat

My first Saturday free from working in many months was spent test-driving cars with Chad. The day started with a slightly used 2011 white BMW 128i with 15K miles. I was bored. It drove like my current BMW. It had a backseat, but should not have. I'd rather make a few minor repairs to my current car than drop the major coin to drive a smaller version of my current car in a boring color. Plus the older man trying to sell me the car called me "young lady" which brought all negotiations to a screeching halt. You're not my (dearly departed) dad, and I'm not in trouble. Don't dare call me "young lady", unless I may call you "old man jerkface".

Next we popped up the block to the Mini Cooper dealership and drove the Mini Cooper S-coupe, or I should say Chad drove the six-speed manual. What a fun, gorgeous, FUN ride! I need more practice before I confidently drive a stick shift, but I'm in LOVE! No pretense, no fuss and no backseat, because who are they kidding?

Fed, caffeinated and properly medicated for allergies, Chad and I both had the energy to continue the test-drives at Volkswagen. I drove the 2012 Beetle. Charming exterior with glimpses of old-school Porsche made me drool just a bit. Unfortunately, the ride was bumpy with a bit too much road noise. Like the BMW 128i, the new Beetle has a nearly useless backseat, but for much cheaper than a BMW.

Chad test-drove a new GTI. (Full disclosure, Chad drove a GTI a couple of years in the past, and I loathed that car.) In a nutshell, I think we both found this newer GTI quick-footed, but claustrophobia-inducing with a rattly ride.

Verdict: I want to make a few minor repairs to my current BMW and leave well enough alone. I love the color of my current car, the handling, the safety features, the non-dead leatherette interior with a semi-comfortable backseat.

I want Chad to sell his car to buy a new Mini Cooper S-coupe with all the custom bells and whistles. He works so hard, and deserves to have a car that is both safer and much more fun than his current ride. Plus, I get to ride in the fabulous new Mini Cooper and learn to drive a manual transmission.

Seasonal Affective Disorder and the To-Do List

Here it is. That point in the summer when I'm so sick of relentless drought and record-breaking high temperatures that I wilt like the dead plants around my yard. I'm very tempted to hammer a "For Sale by Owner" sign into the front yard. Seattle sounds like a nice place to live. The plants there get plenty of rain! I enjoy clouds and cool temperatures!

To-Do List:

• Rip out all the dead plants from yard and planters.

• Rake and bag dead, dry leaves.

• Remove the dead baby tree from front yard, dead tree from back yard and dead bush from back yard.

• Replace the melted automatic timer for the landscape lighting.

• Be thankful our house was not affected by recent wildfires.

• Pray that some motorist or pedestrian does not toss a smoldering cigarette butt into our parched yard.

• Buy gravel and cacti for that huge patch of dry sand around our house.

• Buy "For Sale by Owner" sign at hardware store?

• Buy condo in Seattle?

But we are...

When Chad feels stress in his jobs over the years, he often says, "We're not saving lives here," as a way of putting the situations into perspective. When I worked as a professional pet-sitter with The Furry Godmothers for a few years, I couldn't say that. The pets depended on Jody, Merry and I for food, water, medications and bathroom breaks / tolerable litter box conditions: life functions at or near the base of Maslow's Hierarchy. In my current position at the Tarrytown location of Austin Pets Alive!, I also can't borrow Chad's comforting phrase. If Shorey, Erin and I complete ten adoptions in a week to good and lasting homes, we've saved some lives. If I have a slow weekend like this past Labor Day weekend in which I don't complete a single adoption, I feel as though I'm failing to save lives, when I very much should be saving lives.

My terribly honest admission to you, gentle readers: in my next job, I don't want lives to hang in the balance. I just want to make things pretty in my next job.

Trunk Show!!!

Visit me Saturday at Austin Pets Alive Tarrytown from noon - 4:00 PM for a pet accessories trunk show! Saturday just happens to be the last day of Austin Fashion Week, and your fur-friend needs a new collar for the catwalk... or the dog walk. Speaking of dog walks, Lizziebees makes adjustable length leashes that match her fabulous collars! Feeling snoozy after all the social scene making? Greenpoints hooks you up with beautiful pet beds for catnaps and doggy dreams! Don't have a fur-friend? We can help you with that too. Cats, kittens and puppies will be on site and ready for adoption! Feeling peckish? Veggie Heaven donated catering, yum!

This Saturday 8/27 noon - 4:00 PM

Austin Pets Alive! Tarrytown

3108 Windsor Road

50% of all trunk show sales benefit APA!

Lady Gray Got Adopted!!!

Lady Gray got adopted today! I'm so happy for her and her new human! I got a little misty-eyed right after she left with her new human. I kept it together through her adoption process.

Congratulations, gorgeous! I'll miss you, but know this is the best thing for you.

Black Tie and Tails

Visit me at Tarrytown Austin Pets Alive! at 3108 Windsor Road this Saturday from noon - 5:00 PM. I'll give you a great deal on a sophisticated, stylish, sweet, mostly black fur-friend. Black is the new black. It matches everything.

Thai Food, Irish Book

I crave books like some people crave food. Lately I'm hungry for the new Maeve Binchy book. With the hotter-than-the-Devil's-crotch weather in Austin, I need to read about verdant Irish landscapes where it rains and people congregate in dark pubs.

However, my stomach wants Thai food, not Irish food. I think I can fill both the Thai and Irish bills if I get a meal at Titaya's and then cross the parking lot to Half-Price Books. Mmmm... yummy.

They Grow Up So Fast...

After only two days of going to work with me at Austin Pets Alive! Tarrytown, my sweet babies, Rowena and Raleigh, got adopted by a great family! I'm so happy for R&R and their new family, but I was hoping to keep the crazy-cute-kittens at the 1952 House for a little longer. *sigh*

The fabulous family also adopted APA! Tarrytown's resident loverboy, Shanti. Eight year old Shanti had a rough life as an outdoor cat before getting dropped off at the shelter. He has a funny bottom lip, a missing piece on one ear and some scars from past scrapes. Yet, he is the sweetest, melt-in-your-arms, affectionate, lanky boy cat I've ever met. And I've met a lot of cats.

Best wishes, fur-friends, to you and your new forever family! *sniffle*

Foster Kittens!

A few months ago, when I still had the time and energy to volunteer for the Austin Pets Alive! Bottle Baby Nursery, I got to name a litter of tiny kittens that just arrived from the city shelter. The names all had to start with the letter R, because of the way we track kittens in the program. There was a fat little boy kitten with no tail who I dubbed Rounder, a gorgeous girl kitten with a nub of a bunny tail who looked like a Rowena to me, and finally a torbie boy kitten with a long tail, huge ears and a certain noble spirit who struck me as Raleigh. I fed the babies and filled out their charts. Whenever I returned to the nursery over the next week, I checked on "my" R kittens first thing.

The next week, the kittens went into a great foster home. Though I knew they were in good hands, I missed Rounder, Rowena & Raleigh. I got to see them when they were seven weeks old, because their foster mom scheduled a meeting with a potential adopter at Tarrytown Austin Pets Alive! A month passed, and all three were still up for adoption. How people could turn down these gorgeous, exotic-looking kittens, I have no clue!

Finally, sweet Rounder got adopted and went to his forever home last week. Raleigh and Rowena went on the waiting list to enter the Tarrytown cat adoption center, but their foster mom needs to start traveling for work soon. Rowena and Raleigh, now twelve weeks old, needed a temporary foster home. (I promise I asked Chad before I consented.) Two of "my" R kittens now live in the dressing room of the 1952 House! Temporarily, of course. They are so stinking cute!

Self-Assured Raleigh

Look at that fluffy tail!

Busy Rowena half-hops / half-runs. Must be that bunny tail!

Rowena says play, play, play!

Do You Have Treats?

Our Persian and our Pittie-Lab-mix: both princesses!

Hijinks of Lady Gray

Lady Gray can open the sliding glass door to her cat enclosure. It takes time and determination, but she's opened the door once when Erin and I were working at Austin Pets Alive! Tarrytown, and once after hours.

When Erin arrived Monday to open the store / cattery, Oreo (one of Lady Gray's roommates in the "Ladies' Lounge" cat enclosure) met Erin at the front door. Oreo looked pretty pleased to be roaming free. According to Erin, "they had a grand old time with all of the little plushies" after raiding a basket of cat toys we sell at the store. Erin added, "I found the plush toys everywhere! Just when I thought I got them all, nope, there was another one. You could just tell the cats were having an absolute blast being bad."

That's Lady Gray for you. She's all purrs and adoring looks when you sit with her. However, Lady Gray also possesses a willful nature. I admit that's a quality I like in a cat. It keeps one guessing and laughing at the hijinks.

Sweet Lady Gray really wants some space to roam and a lap to call her own. I know it would be irresponsible of me to adopt her and add her to an already crowded house. I hope she finds a good home soon!

Save Me from Myself

I want to adopt Lady Gray. She currently resides in the Tarrytown Austin Pets Alive! cattery where I work. I love her so much. She wants nothing more than a good lap to lounge upon and a place where she can run around a bit. She could use some exercise. Some might call her fat, but I think of her as a sweet chunky monkey.

I get a little misty-eyed each time I put Lady Gray back into her enclosure. She loves running around the store and napping on a lap as we work on the computer. Lady Gray also likes to curl up on the retail shelves, and nearly got to spend the night outside her enclosure one night. We were closing up, and forgot she was out, because she was so quietly contented.

With all the cat & kitten adoptions discounted to $25 tomorrow at Austin Pets Alive, I'm SO tempted to bring home Lady Gray (a.k.a. cat #4/pet #5 for the 1952 House).

She has a cute way of drinking water too.

Day Off? Um...

Between auditions, my work with Austin Pets Alive!, dinner theater and volunteering with Austin Pets Alive!, it's been a while since I had an entire day off from work. However, the schedule page looks clear next week for some me-time! Hooray! I'm going to use that free time to eat some food -- seriously, my skinny jeans are baggy. I'll go to the gym. Maybe even start reading a new book. Yeah... that's how I roll.

However, before that glorious time off, I get to see LOTS of adoptions happen this weekend at Austin Pets Alive! Tarrytown! Visit me noon - 5:00 this Saturday & Sunday at 3108 Windsor Road. Special reduced rate of $25 adoptions for all cats and kittens plus all dogs over 35 pounds. Many thanks to our awesome sponsors at Frost Bank.

No Time to Eat

My schedule has been nuttier than a fruitcake. I hate fruitcake.

However, my schedule should start to look more like chocolate chip cookies without nuts soon. Mmm... chocolate chip cookies without nuts.

My clothes are fitting more loosely lately, but I'm holding onto those bigger sized clothes for when I have some time to eat again.

I'm hungry.

I Tried to be Reasonable

I tried to be reasonable and set my sites on an affordable car, but I just don't like affordable cars. I've come to accept this about myself. No Fiat or Mini Cooper in my future. Like a moth to a very expensive, well designed, shiny flame, I want another BMW.

My one concession: I'll downgrade to the 1 series this time with the 135i coupe. Now then, that's quite reasonable of me! And, vegetarian that I struggle to be, I'll opt for the vegan leatherette interior.

Off to buy a lotto ticket...

Dorothy Rocks!

Dorothy is a ten-year-old volunteer who works with me almost daily at Austin Pets Alive! Tarrytown. She cleans the cat boxes, does dishes, sweeps, washes windows, fills bowls and snuggles the cats that are up for adoption. She also inspires me to be a better person. Below is an email she sent to everyone she knows.

Hi everyone!

I am a volunteer at the new Austin Pets Alive in Tarrytown next to Texenza Coffee on Windsor Road.

Next Thursday, June 23, 7:30 - 9:30 a.m., Austin Pets Alive will host a free "Cats and Coffee" get-together to introduce the neighborhood to the great kittens and cats of all kinds that need homes. I will be out of town next week, but really hope you will stop by and meet the animals and the women I work with -- Jenn and Lexa, the store managers.

If you are not ready to adopt a new furry friend, you can support APA by purchasing a cool T-shirt or other fun gift items (good for camp care packages!). Please say hi to all the cats for me!

Your Friend,
Dorothy

Almost Summer

Janie's summer wardrobe

fruits of summer

summer landscape

Give it to a Busy Person

Chad likes to quote his friend Steve, who is probably quoting some other person with this: if you want something to get done, give it to a busy person.

I'm experiencing a very different lifestyle since I traded volunteering many varied hours each week for getting paid to work mostly set hours each week. I sleep on a regular schedule now. I'm still a night owl, but I go to bed at 2:00 AM most nights, instead of 8:00 AM some days and 3:00 AM other nights. I shoehorn chores and trips to the gym into my schedule; rather than laying on the floor and fretting about stuff I should be doing whilst suffering serious sleep deprivation. I'm eating healthier, and dropped six previously stubborn pounds like magic.

I'm generally happier even though I complain about any grumps that visit my workplace. Yeah, former fellow volunteer, It's real easy to come in and criticize the paint job once it's all done. Where were you for the five weeks when I volunteered with only a few other people planning, cleaning, scraping and painting? Butthead.

Yesterday at work a teenage lady visited some of the cats we have up for adoption. She cuddled a nine-week old kitten on her lap while also petting a twelve-year old cat curled up at her side. The lady said to the cats, "I'm having the best day." I wanted to cry sappy tears of joy, but held it together.

Our (Totally Imaginary) Housekeeper

Good help is hard to find. In the past our (totally imaginary) housekeeper made the bed most days, vacuumed twice a week, kept framed items on the walls hanging straight, dusted religiously, usually stayed on top of the laundry and ironing, and emptied the trash receptacles most days. My only ongoing complaints centered around kitchen duties: the kitchen cupboards and refrigerator tended to be a bit bare coupled with a general lack of interest in planning meals.

There's been very little evidence of our (totally imaginary) housekeeper's work lately, which leads me to believe that she may have quit without even giving notice. The nerve! Leaving Chad to tend to all of her chores last weekend and many evenings this week. If only I could remember her name, I'd call her and give her a piece of my mind... not that I can spare a piece.