Sunday, September 9, 2007

Naming the pups...

My sister lives in Anchorage, where her husband is an Iditarod dog sled racer. This means lots of dogs, often 50 or so, and a regular supply of new puppies. I'd never though much about naming puppies-- in my world, a puppy comes along perhaps once every ten years, and sort of names itself.

When you have lots of puppies on a steady basis, however, names become a problem. My sister and her husband have approached this thematically. For example, there was the spice litter, of which Curry, Spicy and Mustard are examples. There was also the cheese litter (Muenster), and the duck litter (Daffy, Daisy, Donald, Aflac)-- you get the idea.

So when my sister reported on the most recent batch of pups, she noted there were seven of them, and asked for suggestions. Seven? There were the Seven Wonders of the World, but somehow Acropolis or Great Wall don't seem to work. Then there are the Seven Seas, but there is some disagreement on exactly which ones they are, and Mediterranean or South Pacific are poor names for a puppy.

Eureka! how about the Seven Deadly Sins? Gluttony, Greed, Envy, Anger, Pride, Lust, and Sloth? I suggested those, and my sister was taken with the idea. No idea what her husband will think, since he is the one who actually has to call out those names when mushing on the trail, and introduce the dogs to the press. Stay tuned....

Saturday, September 8, 2007

Two Car or Not Two Car, is that a question?

Sigh.

John the Tech and I have something in common lately, beyond both of us owning Inferno Red PT Cruisers and working for the same company. And that is part of the problem-- two, or too many cars. Both of us bought newer cars, and now are running short of garage/parking space.

John now has 4 cars, between he and his wife, and I have 6, between my husband and me. All our cars are nice cars, and getting rid of any of them seems cruel and unusual punishment for vehicles that we have enjoyed and that have served us faithfully. The next owners will undoubted treat them like Black Beauty was treated, which is to say, poorly. Shabbily.

John suggested selling the Cruisers as a pair, and offering some sort of freebie. We then considered which car would sell first. John's is older, but has lower mileage; his has an automatic transmission, but mine (with a stick) gets better gas mileage and the brakes last longer; his has a scratched rear bumper and features a roof rack, but mine has cool pinstriping and teeny flames. He pointed out that his was owned by a mechanic, to which I responded that knowing mechanics and their cars, this was not a plus. Mine, on the other hand, was owned by a little old lady who drove with care and caution, with nary a scratch on it. Heck, mine even wears a bra!

My feeling is to advertise all my cars (except the newest) and see which one sells first. Let fate decide what stays and what goes, without me having to make the decision. For John, this will be easier. He, after all, sold the love of his life, the Miata, without a second thought. Heartless, I tell you!

My new car is a white Toyota, my first ever venture into Asian Automobiles. So far the marque's I've owned have been British (the MG), German (VW, DKW, Porsche, Mercedes Benz, Karman Ghia) and American (Chrysler, Cadillac, Ford, Plymouth, Oldsmobile, Chevrolet, Pontiac). There was a Jeep in there, but I never really owned it, I was married to its owner.

Part of the lifelong continuing saga of The Cars....people who don't have an emotional attachment to their cars, who view them as "Transportation" mystify me. My sister is one of those people, and this is part of her personality I'll never understand.