Tuesday, October 19, 2010

The last two weekends, not very briefly

You guys, I am totally alive. Thanks for waiting. I'm no longer sick, which is awesome. We're experiencing a period of cool weather, which is even more awesome. I turned on the bedwarmer last night. I may have jumped the gun, because I woke up sweaty and had to turn it off again. Included in this post, sad + happy dog stories, a movie review, lots of pictures of unrelated things.

We might have a puppy. Not us, specifically, but the family in general. One of the family crises the other week was that my sister lost one of her beloved dogs. NO ONE START CRYING YET. I'll spoil the story and tell you this: we found her. Thank god. Sis had gone out of town for vacation and the dog sitter accidentally let Joey out within 12 hours. So by the time they got home, Joey had been missing for a week. Only fellow dog owners could understand how frantic my sister was. Joey (short for Josephine) was a rescue dog, and she's terrified of strangers, so the chances of anyone else catching her were low. We blanketed the neighborhood with flyers and everyone spent hours walking around. Two days later, by random good luck, my sister talked to someone who'd seen her and then found her huddled under a motorhome. She's back and everyone is happy although I'm pretty sure we've all developed some extra gray hair.

What does this have to do with a puppy? On the first day of searching, someone called my sister and told her that she'd found her dog. Rena arrived, beyond herself with excitement, only to find a dog that in no way resembled Joey. Also, it was a male. And a puppy. She explained that it wasn't her dog and the woman (clearly not a dog owner) suggested that perhaps she had lost her dog for a reason, and this was the universe's way of giving her a new dog, the right dog. Very tactful, lady. Rena starts crying. Then the woman tells her that if Rena refuses to take the dog, she's putting him back out on the street because she can't be bothered with him. Definitely not a dog owner. My sister takes him (obviously), drops him off with my parents.

We have flyers up so that the real owners can get in touch with us. It might be terrible to admit but we're kind of hoping that he really was a stray and no one wants him. You see, Circe is in love with him. She's notoriously cantankerous with most other dogs, but this little guy has won her over. They play, constantly. He follows her around. She lets him snuggle with her when she's napping, which is sort of unfair because she gets annoyed with me if I try to pull that move. My parents weren't looking for another dog, but sometimes the universe sends you a dog, I guess, at least according to the dog hating lady. Even if the owners turn up and all we get is this week of puppy love, it's pretty sweet.

D and I saw a movie. That doesn't sound groundbreaking, but it kind of is when you consider that the last movie we saw was Up in the Air. Almost a year ago. We've been busy. I have a hard time making time for movies. I always have something I should be doing, and when I have free time I feel like I need to make the most of it and actually sleep. Also, movie theaters tend to stress me out. It's mostly the people. They are so unpredictable. You could get a weird laugher, or a loud popcorn eater or a woman who files her nails (that happened yesterday - luckily her humiliated companion convinced her to stop, after a heated debate). I also hate it when people clap at the end of the movie. The actors aren't there, so I find the clapping bewildering. I guess it's just a signal to the rest of the audience that you liked the movie, but who are you applauding? It seems so self satisfied. D says I'm unbearably weird and that his greatest fear is that I'll get even crankier as I age.

Anyway, we saw The Town. I loved it. Good car chases. Ben Affleck was not annoying. No one clapped when it was over although someone coughed and I thought they were going to clap and I got tetchy and D sighed. We'll chalk it up as a win.

baby puppy
new puppy
{baby puppy}

driving, driving, driving
driving, orange
{driving, driving, driving}

laundry
{laundry}

udon
{udon}

playing around
{playing around}

coffee, sunday morning
{coffee, sunday morning}

 Actual posts coming up this week, which I'm looking forward to. Food and probably a crafty giveaway included. Check back.

28 comments:

  1. oh, i hope circe gets to keep him! crossing my fingers for you guys - that's a pretty perfect dog origin story. good to hear about the town, as well - i might have to get over my antipathy for blake lively and give it a try. so glad you're back, rachel!

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  2. happy you're back! baby puppy is too adorable, i hope you get to keep him too.

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  3. People clapping at the end of movies is my PET PEEVE. I will never understand it. Glad you're feeling better and that all dogs are safe and sound!

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  4. So glad all the puppies are where they belong. And wasn't The Town a blast? I liked it so shockingly much.

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  5. dang that puppy is sooooo cute. welcome back. <3

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  6. So glad you're feeling better! Bad stuff has definitely been going around LA. I feel your guys' pain on losing the dog, I thought my heart would break when mine got away for an hour before I found him making friends with the neighbor's kids. I then immediately (and finally) went and registered the chip he came with. :)

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  7. Oh, that dog story makes me both so effin angry and happy all at once. So glad that the puppy seems to get a loving home, and that other lady.. seriously. I bet she'd say the same thing to someone who'd lost their child. My kitty is my baby, I could never replace her.

    About the movies, I so agree with you, the clapping at the end is annoying. Luckily there's really not a tradition of doing that here in Sweden, so we're quite happy with our movie visits. Also, I don't know why, but if you avoid the mid day showings where the kids and youngsters roam about, there rarely is someone who disturbs you even in a fully seated salon. Are swedes just well behaved, or maybe boring?

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  8. you're the only other person with as many quirks as me when it comes to going to a movie theater. a few weeks back we went to the movies to escape the heat and i sat next to a guy that made me nervous. i convinced G to move before it started and i've never been so proud of a decision in my life. turns out, we could almost hear his panting/laughter/coughing fits nearly 10 rows back and i was able to enjoy the movie (coincidentally 'the town') without paying too much attention to him.

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  9. The dog/puppy story was great. But the stuff about the movie theatre was the most enjoyable reading I've done all day! Thanks for that.

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  10. @ lauren - you will be glad to hear that blake lively is a pivotal character, but not a very present one. she doesn't get a whole lot of screen time, so unless your antipathy is truly deep and abiding i think you'll be fine with the movie.

    @ Trude - microchipping is critical! so smart to do it. unfortunately for us, joey is microchipped, but she's damn near impossible to actually catch, so she never made it into the shelter. she was actually hiding out in the neighborhood for over a week, on her own. she's a scrappy little thing. but for normal dogs, microchipping would have saved us from the trauma.

    @ Detailing Life - Swedes sound more polite, to be honest. although there's only ever one or two people in a theater who get on my nerves, and sometimes it isn't their fault (i don't blame people for having a weird laugh, but it still distracts me!).

    @ em - and that's why i go to movies with you! we get it.

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  11. So glad the dog was found. I'm a dog owner of 3 and each and every one of them mean the world to me. I always think one cares about your dog (cat or whatever) as much as you. I don't leave let my mom in law baby sit - long story to that one.

    I like the new little doggie. very cute!

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  12. so happy to see a post from you.

    my husband and i are so slow to get to the movies too. we are actually receiving up in the air this week via netflix as we never made it out to that one, ha.

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  13. Rachel, I always stay to watch the whole of the end credits, out of respect for the people who made the movie. Would that freak you out too, as they aren't there? (I don't clap!) Nail filing in any public place (esp on public transport) is just unacceptable. My other pet peeve is people putting makeup on on public transport. I digress....

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  14. @ Lynne - Nope, I find nothing weird about sitting through to the end, although I don't do it. I think it's sweet of you! For some reason it's just the clapping that weirds me out.

    I'm terrified watching people put makeup on while riding the bus. I'm just waiting for us to hit a bump and for the mascara brush to impale an eyeball.

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  15. I'm with you. The clapping is unnecessary and weird. It's much more common in LA than the other cities I've lived. People take their movie-going so seriously here!

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  16. Ha! I feel EXACTLY the same way about movies, and if I do go, I usually wait until everyone else that wants to see it has probably seen it, and then I go. And usually at a weird time so I'm hopefully the only one in the theater. :)

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  17. Thank you so much for telling us ahead of time that the missing dog story had a happy ending. I almost passed out when I read she had been missing a week, and that after I knew she was safe and sound.

    The whole part about the movies, on the other hand, had me in stitches. I'm the same way! Actually, worse. And my tetchy extends to most venues outside my living room. My husband can't complain too much, though, because he's getting to be the same. We're equally insufferable.

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  18. So glad you're back and feeling better! Thank goodness Joey was found and returned home. That must have been awful. The new little guy is precious. I hope he gets to stay!

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  19. That puppy is a Westie, or mostly a Westie, and they are the sweetest, merriest divine companions you can wish for! I know--I had such a little guy for 14 years, and still think of him on a daily basis. They are comical, very smart, and pretty stubborn, so if you get to keep hanging out with him, convince him early that he loves to be brushed, and you are the one he must follow!

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  20. ewwwwww to the nail filer in the theatre!! that is just crazy! LOL

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  21. i guess i've clapped before...but it's more for me than anyone that i'm excited enough about a movie to cheer it. *shrugs*

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  22. Yay for dogs! Cute story, and that puppy is so lucky to have you guys!

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  23. The puppy is such a cutie! I'm glad your sister didn't leave him with that clueless woman, she probably thinks that dogs eat jam sandwiches or something.

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  24. aw, puppy! i love this story. so glad it had a happy ending. and hooray, i don't feel so bad about movie theater quirks. That's so funny...In all the years I've gone to the movies, I have never heard an audience clap afterwards. It actually sounds rather sweet, but maybe it would annoy me if people broke into applause every time. What gets me is the constant talking. Ugh.

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  25. First of all--THANK GOODNESS your sis found her dog! It has been almost a year since we had to put down our beloved Maxie :-( and to be a dog owner is rewarding and so painful when things go wrong. Second...filing your nails in a movie. i mean really....haha. that is ridiculous!!

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  26. Eeep! That puppy is adorable!!! So glad you're feeling better.

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  27. haha another post making me laugh. I CANNOT stand when people clap at the end of movies either, so I, unlike D, don't think you are weird!! It is the most annoying/bewildering and as you said, self-satisfying thing ever. Who ARE they clapping to? Each other. ? It drives me crazy. I hold my breath when movies end hoping my audience is mature and socially-skilled enough to not start clapping.

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