Today

* * chirp * *  * * chirp * * * * chirp * *

That sound of crickets means only one thing...

It has been very quiet on the Dotopotamus for awhile.

A time of change and challenges, saying goodbye and saying hello.

But today? 

Today is about new beginnings.

And new stories.

But first?

A hello from Dot and Randy.

Dot's first visit to the ocean about one month ago.

Trying again.

"Life is no straight and easy corridor along

which we travel free and unhampered,

but a maze of passages,

through which we must seek our way,

lost and confused, now and again

checked in a blind alley.

But always, if we have faith,

a door will open for us,

not perhaps one that we ourselves

would ever have thought of,

but one that will ultimately

prove good for us."

A.J. Cronin

To new beginnings!

The Shadow Knows

Do you ever get that eerie feeling that you are being followed?  Jack told me that he does.

 

But stalker Dot needs to be careful because she doesn't yet fully understand the universal law that what goes around comes around and her actions may come back to haunt her.

Oh dear....

Dot and Dash

Regrets.  I have many.  It's true.

One big regret is not having taken more pictures of Dot when she was a puppy.  Especially when she was a little, bitty brand new puppy.  I didn't take a lot of digital pictures then and the few that I did take were lost when an old hard drive crashed.  I literally have no pictures of Dot during her first year.  It makes me sad because she was such a cute, cute, cute little Dotopotamus.  100% mutt.  To this day I change my mind daily when trying to figure out her dominant breed.  Sometimes I think schnauzer, sometimes poodle, sometimes dachshund.  I suspect a real Heinz 57 blend of everything.

It was December 2003.  I was finally ready for my own dog and I was looking hard for her at all of the area animal shelters and pounds around Austin.  I wasn't sure what kind of dog I wanted, but I knew that would be revealed in due time.

Christmas that year was rare because all of my family was together at the Last Stop.  Matt and Shana were there and Mason was 8 months old.  On December 22 we all went together and visited a few different shelters in the small towns around Eastland.

Needless to say,  some of these small town shelters are a bit grim.  Old, cramped, depressing.  Lots of big dogs - basically your pit bull mix.  Sad.  This was the case when we arrived at the Brownwood shelter, about 40 miles from Eastland.

Unrelated side note, I LOVE BROWNWOOD.  Home of Underwoods Barbecue.  THE quintessential cafeteria that can instantly transport me back to childhood when I was visiting my grandparents in Eastland and we would drive here to eat ribs and  peach cobbler.

So, there I was, alone in the Brownwood shelter trying to convince myself that the sickly, sad looking little white dog with the drippy eyes that I was petting might be my girl when I heard the rest of the family around the corner in a commotion.  My brother Matt came jogging back to me and said, "We found her.  We found your dog."

Sure enough.  I rounded that corner and there was 3-month old, 7-pound Dot in my sister-in-law Shana's arms.  Weirdly, I didn't even really spend time with her at that point.  I just knew in my heart by looking at her that she my dog and I had to get her adopted right that minute or someone else might beat me to it.  So Dad and I hot footed it up front and completed the paper work and paid the $25 adoption fee.  When all of that was complete, I came back around and that's when I really held Dot for the first time.  She made little baby Mason giggle and I knew that was a good sign.

The thing  about Dot that was so funny was her high energy personality.  You could tell that she was a little bit wild, with one paw over on the crazy side, but she was so adorable.  She didn't look sad or abandoned or concerned about a thing.  She just wagged her tale and had that "come on, let's play!" look about her.  I took her home that night and the rest, as they say, is history. 

That was seven years ago this December.

So where is the regret? 

Well, Dot had a brother there in the pound with her.  Another 3 month old little dude that looked almost exactly like Dot except he had longer legs, so he was a little bit taller.  But super cute and just as playful.  However, at that time I knew I wanted a female and it just wasn't in my realm of possibility to get two dogs.  Today?  Heck yes, I'm a seasoned dog owner who loves the little buggers like crazy and I would have snapped them both up right away.  But I couldn't do it then.

So we left "Dash" (that's what I would have named him...Dash) behind and I just crossed my fingers that some other person or family would come along and adopt him.  I honestly have wondered over the last seven years what might have become of that little guy.

WELL TODAY I FOUND OUT! 

Check out this coupon advertisement I received in the mail today from Pottery Barn! 

Can you believe how much this dude looks like Dot?  The only difference is he has a longer beard.  I keep Dot's face trimmed shorter so she'll look a little bit more like a girl, but this big daddy has a beard and I THINK IT'S DASH!

Well Dash has done alright for himself, hasn't he?  Since he left Brownwood with that fancy couple from California, Dash has obviously moved up in the world and now works in the big leagues for Pottery Barn!  He poses sweetly on fleece blankets on distressed leather chairs by the fire!  I bet he gets a great employee discount, too!

When I saw this, I had to waive it around a little bit and ask Dot WHAT UP?  Why couldn't this be you?  Why don't you get out there and get a high-profile job?  Why aren't you selling fleece blankets and distressed leather chairs?  You need to get a j-o-b little mama!  You owe me $25!

I figure if Dash can do it, Dot can too.

Ah, well.  It's just nice to know that little Dash made good.

And besides.  Dot is too preoccupied to work at the moment.  She is STILL confused by that strange little hole in the door going to the garage in our new house.  She sits and ponders it deeply.  She knows it somehow has something to do with her, but she just can't quite figure it out.  Which is probably a good thing because should the light bulb ever go on and she actually try to get through that doggy door I highly suspect she would high center and be stuck like a cork in a bottle.

That's my girl!

Hanging at the Hollidays

Is there such a thing as too much togetherness?  The Holliday Clan seems to think not.

The true humor here?  This is totally normal.  This wasn't a how-many-clowns-can-you-fit-in-a-clown-car gag or a there-aren't-enough-seats-for-everyone-so-we'll-all-pile-on-the-love-seat thing...this was pretty much just everyone coming into the room at different times and being drawn to the couch.

There's papa on the couch, with his crutch because he just had major knee surgery - no danger for damage there!  And there are two pretty fabulous under-tenners in the forms of Mason and Ruby who everyone wants to be close to, plus there's Matt who decided to check out his "crutch" from a play he was in 30 years ago, and best of all there are animals everywhere including three dogs and two cats, and Shana who was at least smart enough to position herself in the "eject" seat so that she could get out of there fast when Jack - who weighs 150 pounds - decided to jump on board.

Okay everyone..."Say cheesy"...I mean "cheese!"

Sure Cooper, there's plenty of room for you.  Come on up.  Jack, I know you want to but you would sink the ship, buddy!

Poor nervous Dot doesn't know what to make of the whole thing.

So she just jumped up on Randy's lap instead because it was much less crowded on his chair.  What, Randy?  You look a little freaked out.  You aren't used to having crazed animals and under-tenners crawling on you when you are relaxing in the living room?  Well welcome to the family My Dear!  I'm not sure who looks more terrified...you or Dot.

So where was mom during the family meeting in the den?  Not too far away....

My Sacraficial Lamb Barks

Dot is the greatest dog I could ask for. She's funny - but that is really her only redeeming attribute. She makes me laugh.

Which is her saving grace, because she causes me so much grief pretty much on a daily basis.

Here she is sitting in her favorite chair, earlier this evening. Moping. Seriously moping. And possibly dieing. All because she drank the nectar of the gods.

My neighbor across the street is a tiny, elderly Asian woman. I have lived here for three years and have never once, not one time, had a successful conversation with this little person. She is nice enough - she'll give me the occasional wave or nod - but she isn't very social and doesn't speak much English, so long ago I resigned myself to the smiling and nodding. She does a lot of work out in her yard, which I suspect is meditative for her because she rarely looks up. She can spend - literally - three and four hours at a time squatting down and slowly pulling weeds from her grass by hand. It's a thigh-busting squat that she can maintain for hours.

My mom was visiting once and she went outside to get something out of her car after dark, and came back inside totally amazed because she had been startled by the little woman across the street hunched down pulling weeds in the dark. You've got to know my fun-loving mom to appreciate the humor here, but after yelling out "Whoa!" when she was startled, she shouted out "Wow, how can you see what you're doing?" and of course didn't get an answer, which made it all the funnier.

But I like my elderly, tiny, 4-foot Asian neighbor, whose name, I believe, is Li. She's peaceful. And calm. And she keeps a nice, tidy yard. She's one of the characters that adds to the crazy quilt fabric of my neighborhood, and I like it that way.

Best of all, she has this big, old stump in her yard that she uses as....an alter. She leaves all sorts of things on the alter, but it always includes something to eat and drink. Sometimes there are other things - like figurines, or coins, or little pieces of paper with things written on them. I love her alter and I spend lots of time wondering to whom she is offering her gifts. What are her thoughts, or prayers, as she leaves these things. I love the connection she has with nature, so I usually pretend that this might be a fung shui practice, or an act of gratitude, for the gifts of the natural world.

Dot and I have walked by this alter every day for three years.

But this evening we're walking by, and Dot decides it's time for her to go. She usually doesn't go on this lawn so I'm a little surprised given what a creature of habit Dot is. As I'm bending down to pick up after her, I'm not paying any attention to where Dot is going, other than I know she is pulling on her extend-a-leash. I get everything cleaned up, look up, and was mortified to see that I had let Dot pull her leash out so long that she was EATING EVERYTHING ON THE ALTER.

I dropped the poop bag and, for some reason, decided to scold Dot using a stage whisper! What was that? Why didn't I just tell her "no!", in my normal voice? I guess I felt like Dot was desecrating something sacred and I shouldn't shout out in church, so instead I'm in the wide-open outdoors whispering "NO! DOT, NO! DROP IT! PUT THOSE CHOP STICKS DOWN! STOP! GET THAT SAKI CUP OUT OF YOUR MOUTH!". Well of course, Dot totally destroyed the whole thing. Knocked every item off of the tree stump and drank and ate whatever food was in the little dishes. You have to know Dot - she didn't care one bit that I was throwing a fit - she was having a great time!

I still don't know why I was so paralyzed, but I didn't know what to do. I felt like such an idiot standing there, but I was really embarrassed and the whole thing just felt WRONG. Like my child had tagged the outside of the First Baptist Church with purple spray paint. Your dog can't just go busting up into someone's alter and eat all their stuff! That isn't right!

I felt weird touching everything, trying to put it all back. That felt so...personal. So I decided I needed to say a little prayer that went something like, "God, please apologize to whoever is supposed to get this!"

And then the absurdity of it all hit me and I started to laugh. Uncontrollably. Which looked even more strange. I didn't want little, elderly Li to think that hoodlums had been messing with her Chi, so I felt the need to tell her what had happened. Tell her as best I could given that we don't understand each other and haven't had a real conversation in three years.

But she didn't answer her door. Her car was there, but she didn't answer. Maybe she wasn't home, or maybe she was watching me out of a window. I don't know. Instead of letting it go, I felt the need to go home and write a little note that said, "I'm sorry my dog disturbed your offerings". I left the little note on the tree stump under the tiny gold Buddha.

To make matters worse, Dot started acting sick about 30 minutes later. She threw up twice. I started to get really worried about whatever it was she ate and drank. As Dot moped around, I called the Vet and felt the need to EXPLAIN THE WHOLE LUDICROUS TALE. The Vet was sort of silent - probably overwhelmed by my over-the-top drama more than anything else - but he basically said to watch her for another hour and if she didn't seem to perk up to bring her in. He suspected that she might have eaten raw rice or maybe alcohol (Saki?), which didn't sit well on her stomach.

Sure enough, Dot wasn't down for the count for long, so I think the gods forgave her and spared her life. I should have taken a picture of the little alter, but going back with my camera would have been more than I could deal with.

I'm hoping that on our walk tomorrow Dot will tear up one of the bunches of fake flowers from the garden that my other neighbor "planted" over the weekend, or that perhaps she'll pull a pair of the ENORMOUS granny panties off of the clothes line of the lady down the street.

A Picture Is Worth a Thou... $4.99

When will I learn?

When will I learn that MARKETING is spin. It's trickery and seducery and mockery. It's the work of evil whose goal is to separate you from your money.

But DANG marketing works and I fall for it every time.

The packaging on this little disposal Halloween camera said that I wouldn't believe my eyes! It said I could scare my friends and make them believe the unbelievable! It said I would be popular at parties.

It said that when developed, a GHOST would appear on each photo.

How cool is that? 27 shots of Halloween fun that would be sure to please. I could see the blog entries in my mind.

Here's my $4.99 - GIVE ME THAT CAMERA.

What a rip off.

Check this shot out. The scariest part of the whole picture is Dot's red eye and my Grease album from the fifth grade sitting in the background by the chair (ask me...just ask me). If you look oh so closely over by the ottoman you'll see a woman's face peering from behind.

Um, not scary.



And this one? It looks like Dot and skeleton head are posing for a candid in the "as seen about town" section of the paper...


OOOOOOOO..... I have a ghost that looks like an over-exposed spot in front of my house...



This one? You've got to work at it, but if you look closely, you'll see that La-La is pawing at a screaming man's face. In theory, this one could be funny. In practicum? Totally lame.



And the best ghost shot of all? MY PICTURE DIDN'T EVEN APPEAR!


What a gip. Almost as disappointing as the thigh buster that broke the FIRST TIME I SQUEEZED MY LEGS TOGETHER and that blackhead remover I bought from an ad in the back of Archie Digest.

Trick or Treat

Laa-Laa is yellow and the second youngest Teletubby. She is the happiest and most smiley of the Teletubbies. She loves to dance and sing. Her favorite word is "nice". Laa-Laa loves the way her ball bounces. She always wants to know where the teletubbies are. She has her own special La-la-la-la-la song.

OMG, Dot was DEFINITELY not the happiest and most smiley of the teletubbies on Halloween!She hated wearing the LaLa Halloween hat almost as much as she hated wearing the Santa Hat.

Grump.

Guess Who Turned Four?

Dot's Uncle is 8 Weeks Old

It is beyond my wildest imagination how someone can be so cruel as to dump unwanted puppies in the country. Special bad things happen to the person who does this.

But sometimes special good things can happen, too. Like you get a new family member!

Meet Jack. This little guy was put in an empty beer box and dumped by the side of the road near County Road 199 in Eastland, Texas. Dad found him yesterday morning. After a bath and some good food, he's officially a Holliday.

The cats are a little freaked because now the teams are tied - 2 dogs, 2 cats. And let's review... that's 2 cats dad rescued when they were just weeks old by jumping into the burning brush fire when they mewed, 1 14-year old dog they rescued from the craziness of two baby girls at my brother's house, and now an 8 week old puppy rescued from being dumped by the side of the road in a beer carton. When Dot and I visit - Dot, who was rescued from a cage in Brownwood - it's a menagerie for sure.

Grump and Her Squirrel

Separated at Birth

This Ewok

And Dot

I'll keep working on this shot until I get the one of Dot that is JUST PERFECT and you'll see that she, too, comes from the forests of Endor.

Life in the Hood

My neighborhood is quirky. The kind of quirky that borders on weird.

This morning, I’m walking Dot at 6:30 a.m. and the sun is just coming up. It’s quiet and I’m enjoying the birds chirping, feeling all zen and stuff.

As I’m nearing a rather nondescript intersection, I hear a startlingly loud roar. I look up and yank Dot back on her leash, because barreling down the road – going at least 70 miles an hour – is a big, yellow bulldozer.

I’m serious when I say it was going wide open. I’ve never seen those things going much faster than about 30 mph, but this one had its front shovel sky high and the driver was hunched over the wheel yelling “YEE HAW!” as he blazed by.

Was he steeling the dozer? Was he out of his mind? Was he late for a job? Was he just joy riding for the thrill of it?

I don’t know, but it was one of the more random things I’ve seen lately. And dangerous, too, given that this is a total residential neighborhood full of mammaws and papaws who tend to be up at the crack of the dawn puttering around their yards. Look out little old people – bull dozer coming through.

For the last week, and the coming two, I’m having to work hard for my money, so I haven’t had time to share stories. But I look forward to getting back into the swing of things soon. Working hard for my money is seriously hampering my blogging habit!

Best in Show

Remember beautiful James, the English Springer Spaniel who won the Eukanuba dog show? That sassy guy won Westminster last night! He’s such a stunning dog and I was not surprised that he won.

I’ve been watching enough dog shows in the last year that I now recognize almost all of the finalists who made it to Best in Show at Westminster, the granddaddy of all dog shows. As I’ve said before, I’m truly becoming one of those dog show weird-ohs parodied in the movie, Best in Show. I find the whole thing fascinating – from the long history of dog shows, to the dogs themselves, to the strange pomp and circumstance of it all, to the obsession of the owners and trainers. It’s so odd! It’s the same feeling I got when I first started watching Iron Chef years ago…such an over-the-top show but totally intriguing.

While watching Westminster Monday and Tuesday nights, I immediately recognized the Dandie Dinmont Terrier who won the Terrier group, the Petits Bassets Griffons Vendeen who won the Hound group, and the Bouviers des Flandres who won Herding. (Have you ever heard such ridiculous breed names in your life?) The Toy Poodle won the Toy group and he’s the one that always sets Dot off when she sees him prancing around the ring. The only new dogs I hadn’t seen before were the Akita who won the Working group and the Standard Poodle who won Non-Sporting. But I was rooting for James, all the way.

My plan now is to go to a big dog show in person this year, something I’ve never done. There’s a big 2-day event in Dallas that I have my eye on.

What a dork.

Last night I had the TV remote control smoking, I was working it so hard. Flipping between the dog show, House, and a fabulous documentary our production team at work put together, I was multitasking a number of different story lines. The occasional stop over on American Idol would get me sidetracked, too. I don’t consider myself a TV junkie, so having so many programs working at once was funny.

I’m missing my little Dot, who is at the Last Stop right now where she’s been for a week. She gets to go there when I travel and she has a blast. Apparently, she has taken to barking at the cows when they are eating up at the barn, then hauling A when they come at her. Probably not the best practice for her, but it does create a visual image that makes me laugh. My dad says she has the heart of a lion. I’ll pick her up next weekend, but it sure is quiet around the casa without her.

What did people do for entertainment before TV? Or dogs? Or the Internet? Or pizza? (Note to self…GET A LIFE!).