Friday, May 23, 2008

Behold.....

The Dog Door. I don't know who invented this thing, but give that woman (or man) a cigar! Sydney took to the concept of free access right away. In and out, in and out. Blu, on the other hand, took some persuading. At one point, we even had Jacob crawling in and out just to show Blu it was okay. Don't laugh...that's how we got him into his Igloo dog house when we first brought that home, too. Jake actually had to crawl inside and call Blu in after him. (Which made Jake getting out a bit of a challenge, but that's another story.) We've had this installed for about a week now and the dogs have adjusted quite well to it. Tomorrow we're going to do a "test run". We're going to leave the dogs alone all day while we check out the Dr. Pepper Museum in Waco and the Dublin Dr. Pepper Bottling Plant in Dublin (Texas, of course). I think they'll be fine, but we'll see how Sydney does with his abandonment issues with us away for the whole day. Hopefully, we won't come home and find him sprawled out in our bed with a bottle of tequila and a pack of cigarettes, lamenting the fact that his family has left him.... (BTW, thank you to Scott for briefing Randey on the stupidity of taking a pet with us on our Mini-Moon. It really was his idea, as you so accurately surmised. Really, it was! lol)

I have to tell you about something we saw at a new restaurant here in town. They had just opened when this happened, and you could tell that they train their employees using a "repetition" method. The employee who was handling the waiting list wasn't at the door when we arrived, so we gave our name at the hostess stand. Shortly thereafter, the list person showed back up. We took seats near the entrance and watched as other patrons came in and were placed on the waiting list. The girl with the list asked the same questions to every single party that came in. "How many?" "Smoking or non-smoking?" (they still have smoking sections here) "Will you be needing a high-chair?". Yeah. The 2 men with the teenaged boy who came in were asked if they needed a high-chair. The man and woman who came in and asked for a table for 2 were asked if they needed a high-chair. The guy who came in all by his lonesome was asked if he needed a high chair. I thought I was going to fall off the bench laughing at the looks on their faces. They'd all sort of pause after she asked...and then seeing that she wasn't kidding, would answer "nooooo" like they were talking to the village idiot. Which maybe she was, who knows.

Some of you already know this, but it's not something I'm overly happy about myself; my husband is a Nascar fan. Yessir. Randey loves him some Nascar. Go figure.

As my father says, what's the point of this "sport"? You already know they're turning left at every corner and the only time it gets exciting is when someone doesn't. But whatever, it makes him happy to watch so who am I to complain? However, there's a couple of things about Nascar that just scream IRONY to me! Like the fact that their weekly qualifying races for the pole position are sponsored by a beer company. Uh-huh. What the heck does that say to America? "Don't drink and drive! But have a beer to celebrate driving the fastest!"???? Another thing, the drivers refer to themselves as "athletes". (Because sitting in a car going 200 miles an hour every week is almost like running a marathon, right?) But these "athletes" biggest sponsor was a cigarette company up until the '90's. Because nothin' says Athlete like a pack of smokes and a twelve pack of Bud (or Coors or whoever it is that's sponsoring the pole race these days), right? To (loosely) paraphrase The Bard...Nascar, thy name is Irony.
One more totally unrelated and nonsensical thing...why is the word "kidnap" and not "kidnab"? I mean, if you grab someone against their will, are you doing so to lay them down for their afternoon sabbatical or are you taking them in an underhanded and snatching manner? Stupid question, I know, but something that I wonder about. (Yes. I hear you. "Kari, get a hobby".) Fine. I'll stop trying to understand the evolution of the English language. It's probably too much to comprehend anyway.

P.S. Just as a matter of interest, how many of you know what a "curmudgeon" is? (Yes, I'm seriously asking this question.)

13 comments:

  1. Merriam-Webster says
    kid*nap
    Etymology: probably back-formation from kidnapper, from kid + obsolete napper thief
    Date: 1682

    And I know what a curmudgeon is, but isn't it usually a masculine connotation? Are you implying that you might be one or that you know one?

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  2. I thought it was a mean person?

    I've never been a nascar fan either...

    Thanks for your sweet comments Kari.

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  3. way back when I was still married for the first time we had a samoyd,those dogs are extremely unhappy if their persons are not around.we had her in the car while going shopping,come back to the car to only see that she had trashed the back seat.the seat covering was torn to shread and she had started on the drivers sid as well.

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  4. LOL at the image of showing the pup how to use the doggie door. That's almost as funny as my then 3 year old instructing the kitty in how to use the litter box..yes she used it herself. Curmudgeon, isn't it someone crochety(sp?)? And do tell why are you asking? hehe

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  5. A curmudgeon,and this is taken entirely from context,is a cranky old bastard..
    ..don't ask me how I know that.

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  6. I was going to suggest that you take the little spoi errr Sydney with you, but then I decided that nahhh...and and don't get me started on NASCAR...Charlotte's Humpy Wheeler (Lowe's Motor Speedway Vice Pres) just retired and the only thing I could scream was "the man's name is HUMPY? WHY?" I won't tell you what I said after that...yes, I will...I wondered outloud if when he was a kid did he misbehave like dogs often do? and everyone fell down laughing...because I didn't put it quite that way...Humpy Wheeler...say that name three times without breaking up...Randey, you really need to get a hobby!
    hugs and love to you both
    your indecent Aunt
    Sandi

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  7. ROFL! I know what a Curmudgeon is! But the only reason I do, is because my dad signs all of his creations with that word.! ROFL! When he first started doing it, I had to look the word up in a dictionary! And after reading the meaning of the word! I thought "YEP" it fits! ROFL!

    Hope all goes well, while you are away on your fun trip!

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  8. Hey Kari
    I am in Nascar fan country too, and I don't get it either. How many times around???? Just go around once and declare a winner for crying out loud!!! And then everybody kiss the stripper who hands out the awards!!!

    I also have a question---cured ham? What has it been cured from????????


    Hey, have a great weekend fellow great mind!!!

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  9. A dog door sounds like a good idea - around here *I* am the dog doorman (or doorwoman rather), opening it to let the dogs out, let the dogs in, let the dogs out.....

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  10. So I have been meaning to comment on some of your post, but I am slacking these days. Wish I had found that Granny statue, I would have got it for you. I am still working on my 200th post, but I did post something today that was funny. So go see it. We went to the zoo yesterday, which was fun. I can't beleive Maddy will be leaving in a few weeks, it's going to be crazy quite here without her. Thanks for the recipes, I can't wait to try them. I plan on ordering those stamps soon, so I will let you know when they come in. Hmm I know I had more to say but I am too tired to think. Will talk to you soon. My mom lands tomorrow night. Have a good weekend. Love ya!

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  11. Aunt kari, is this a door one can get at umm say home depot or do you have to drill a little whole in the door you already have, I'm looking for something like this but I live in an apartment and would rather not mess up their door.

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  12. Can't wait to hear how the dogs do after their first time alone? They may take over the house and lock you guys out. Hehehe!

    I think Sling is right with his description of curmudgeon. LOL

    Hugs!
    Kat

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