The new corner store

Growing up in California you get used to seeing people seeing things on the streets. At freeway off ramps you'd frequently see people selling flowers or produce so I understand seeing people seeing oranges or onions out of the back of a pick up. It makes no sense to me, but but I also somewhat understand people who try to sell AKC dogs on the busiest streets here in the town I live in now. I can also somewhat understand people with empty lots that sell furniture over the weekend. I personally wouldn't buy things from most of these people (produce maybe but that would be about it, not furniture, a puppy or most other things.

The way things are portrayed on tv, lots of odd things are sold on the streets in NY. I've never been to NY but I almost get that. I personally it's all stolen merchandise and I do think that even here in Oklahoma that can certainly be the case.

The thing that totally boggles my mind though are why are people buying sheets and other bedding from people selling it in the makeshift "stores". Frequently around here on the weekend you can drive down a busy street and see that someone's set up a little weekend business area for selling sheets that are supposed to be Egyptian cotton. They also have comforters for sale. The price is something like $20 any size.

I understand that they're business people and the logical thing to do when selling something is to go where people are willing to buy what you're selling. What I want to know though is how is it that there's so many people keeping these people in business? I can honestly say that I've never said to my husband at a red light. "Look Dear, they've got sheets for $20. We were gonna get sheets soon. We've got an extra five minutes. How bout if we stop and get some?" Yet clearly, at least here in Oklahoma, there are plenty of people every weekend saying along those lines. My question to those people is simple. Why? Why would you buy sheets from someone you don't even know, being sold here on the corner? You do realize you can't take them back if something's wrong with them, right? You do realize the odds of something being wrong with them is like 100% more likely than buying the cheapest sheets Wal-Mart sells, right? Just exactly how many times were you dropped on your head as a baby?

I want a puppy. Now dang it!

Wow. So, it's been almost a month since we've decided to get a puppy. Can I mention this has been a horribly long time? I also get the feeling the time frame is going to be even longer. Places I've checked for puppies include the local animal rescue websites including dog pounds within about an hour's drive, newspapers and craiglist. Sadly I haven't seen many puppies screaming "pick me" but with all the looking and reading I've been doing it's made me more concerned about my cats in case my husband and I die together. I'm sure the sister that lives nearby and watches them when we go out of town will be more than willing to take them and look after them, but I'm not sure the boys would be happy there. The boys are horribly spoiled right now since it's just the two of them and at my sister's house there's a cat and three notacats. The boys have been over there before and seen one notacat up close and personal but they were 1. not really impressed and 2. not sure they like the idea of notacats. This has me wondering if my other sister would take them. She's not got pets so they'd like that, but based on how they reacted when we moved out of the apartment and into the house I'm not sure they'd be too keen on the idea of moving from Oklahoma to California to live with some lady they've never met in a house that's very busy.

My husband thinks someone in his family would take care of the boys, but.....well, I don't know them well enough to trust them to not give my babies up for adoption or something, so basically I've decided we're both going to have to outlive the cats. I say both because I've already told my husband he's not allowed to die without me.

In the meantime we continue to look for a puppy. I want a puppy. Puppies are so sweet and I really don't get why I haven't found the perfect one yet. What's up with that? I don't recall it ever taking me this long to find a dog before. Of course that being said, I've never looked for a toy size dog so maybe that's what it is. The good news is that a co-worker thinks her dog is preggers and if so, we'll probably get one of those. The problem? If the dog is preggers she's only a few (as in maybe 3 at the most) weeks into it and at this rate it'll be foever before those puppies are born.

Dude! Seriously. I'm not that patient of a person.

*waits impatiently for puppies to hatch*

All about me??

I was tagged to do this a few weeks ago but hadn't. Better late then never, right?

So, I typed my name into google to see what I could learn about myself, and here it is:

1. Lottie looks like:
Lottie looks like it might be fun. (Last time I looked I was still a woman, not an "it")
Pretty Lottie looks like a very happy girl!!!!! (yes I am)
Looks like Lottie is going to be the next graphic designer in the family. (I don't know if I should be confused for not knowing we had one in the family already or be confused because I don't know anything about graphic design)

2. Lottie likes:
kids and people in general she knows everyone should love her (Of course I do)
the window seat in the playroom(Yes, yes I do)
making new friends, playing with people in the street and together developing skills in nurturing, destroying, scaling, undermining....(no comment)

3. Lottie says:
"Put me down women, I want to see what's going on over there!"
"I did model clothes and stuff before I started to play, but DJing for me is great!" (The 70's, 80's and 90's are a blur for me.)

"You looked like a dragon."(A fire breathing dragon at that)

4. Lottie wants:
to obliterate the past but also to obliterate the passage of time. (Yes, yes I do)
to be YOUR AGENT FOR LIFE (not really)
to spend the holidays with her boring uncle (yes, right after I've spent time staked to an ant hill, naked with honey poured all over me.)

5. Lottie does:
YouTube (I do?)
not currently rank in the top 1000 names in the United States(which is a good thing since it's easier for me to know who which Lottie they're talking to)
NOT Like Jordy!! (No, I sure don't. Who's Jordy?)

6. Lottie hates:
my Bread Machine(When did we get a bread machine?)
pink and purple so it's not going to get any wear from our house(Just teasing, I love pink and purple)
all medicine (Not nearly as much as I hate going to the doctor)

7. Lottie can:
’t come to the blog right now” (as it's past her bedtime)
you do a close up of me? (again???)
sometimes be hopelessly laid back(yes, I sure can)

8. Lottie goes:
birding (I do?)
to Africa (to see the elephants)
back into the kennel for a short while (to play with puppies)

9. Lottie is:
veteran teacher and lecturer (need some coloring lessons?)
The Best Smile(awww, thank you! I agree)
the kind of girl who breaks into giggles every time any one says anything (I call it a giggle, my husband calls it a cackle)

10: Lottie loves:

Angel Food Cake (No, no no, google. Not me, my mother does. I think it's like eating a sponge)
blue. (Of course I do. How can you not love blue?)
Daniel (yes, I do. He's my nephew)

Adding to the family

Hubby and I have finally decided that the boys, Hobbs and Gus both almost two need to have a little sister. Hobbs and Gus are our cats, but we've decided their little sister will be a notacat (also known as a dog). They've only had a little contact with my sister's notacats so this will come as a big change for them. Firstly, Gus already thinks he's a puppy. He loves to play fetch and he loves to cuddle. Hobbs is much more cat like. We're hoping that maybe having a little sister will help keep them in line. lol. Ok, not really but we figure it should make things even more interesting than they already are.

So, now that task is set before me. Hunting for the right dog. We're looking for a dog that will be no more than 25lbs fully grown. I'm also hoping for a female as with a husband, Gus and Hobbs, I'm already pretty outnumbered. It really doesn't need to be 4-1. I've never had a small dog before. For me a basset hound is small but we've decided to start with something that's smaller and then later once we have a good fence up get a bigger dog.

I've started by checking with the local pet adoption places here in town and I'll continue looking until we find something we both like. I've done purebred dogs before which are nice, but this time I'm looking for something healthier so I'd like the dog to be some sort of mix. Of course that being said I'm also fussy as I don't really like terriers much and long haired foo-foo dogs are just a little too much. I've seen some of the designer crossbreed dogs they've come up with, but 1.I'm not paying $300+ for a mut (unless it's been rescued) and 2. people never seem to combine dog breeds that I like.

So, we shall see how long the hunt takes and from there, hopefully I'll be good about updating with news on how the cats are getting along with their sister.