Questions and Answers

TW was just in the bathroom, she is in there a lot but this trip she discovered something new – puppy points.  She asked me to go to Cottonellepuppy.com so I umm did.  I discovered TW isn’t hallucinating about puppies on toilet paper packaging.  Cottonelle has a new loyalty program!  Puppy Points!

If you save your puppy points you can buy nifty puppy products for a reduced price!  Umm ok.  I don’t want any puppy points stuff but some people might.  And that’s troubling.  But what is more troubling is Kansas.  Or people in Kansas.  Or people from Kansas.  I’m not sure exactly which, maybe all of the above.

You see people in Kansas are only allowed to purchase the puppy frame.  No puppy purses or puppy cellphone bags or puppy pajama bags for Kansas people.  Why is that?  TW said maybe people in Kansas have outlawed incredibly ugly puppy purses?  I’m sure that’s not it.  I know people from Kansas and this seems right up their alley.  I think it more likely that Kansas lawmakers had to pass laws preventing their population from going puppy purse mad.  I’m sure they all would be carrying puppy purses non-stop if their government didn’t keep them under control by restricting their puppy purchases.

What do you think?

Someone on a search engine wants to know which came first, Slurpee or Icee? Well, that’s like asking which came first, the chicken or the egg. OK it’s not the same thing but it’s just as confusing and debatable. Contrary to popular Flamingo House opinion, ICEE and Slurpee are the same thing.


I give you evidence of this unpopular fact – Slurpee history and ICEE history. Omar Knedllik invented the machine that made the frozen “concoction” in 1959. In 1965, the machines were sold to 7-11. In 1965, the trademark “Slurpee” was born.


Now when I was a child watching Happy Raine and longing for her to give me a coupon for a free “frozen concoction from 7-11” they were originally called ICEE and I did not like it one bit when they changed to SLURPEE. In fact, I still dislike “SLURPEE” even though I’m grown up and should understand it’s just a name. IT IS JUST A NAME. They are the same doggone machine. Same doggone ingredients. Polar Bear on the cup does not make it taste different. So there.


Technorati Tags: slurpee, icee, 7-11

In January, I posted about a mysterious bird that appeared in our yard. Today, that mystery was solved!

The 1/2 child was wandering the neighborhood today, trying to solve a little vandalism problem that’s been going on around here. Well not solve it, but at least find some evidence that would allow someone else to solve the problem. In his wanderings, he stopped to talk to a woman who lives up the street. She said she’d pass the word and see if she could find someone who might have some clues.

Later, she stopped at the house to see if he’d had any luck. We were sitting outside on the stoop. The 1/2 child went over to her car to talk to her. I eavesdropped. And then I heard her say something that directly effected me “I’m the one who is responsible for the parrot.”

I jumped up and said YOU!?! You did that?? She laughed and said that she and her husband loved our flamingos so much that they wanted to give us a gift. So she snuck up to the front yard, or tried to since her husband thought it would be funny to blast the horn a few times and get her caught (which didn’t work, oddly enough).

I thanked her and told her how I’d tried to figure out where the bird came from. I told her I’d blogged it. It was funny. What is funnier is she owns the restaurant that my son works at. She had no clue that he lived in the house where she left the parrot. Heh. Life is funny. Mystery solved.

Technorati Tags: mysteries, flamingos, parrot, yardart

I don’t own chickens.  I’ve never owned chickens. In fact the only chicken experience I have had is with Mr Jones’ chickens and that experience isn’t something I’d consider to be "good experience".

Mr Jones and his family moved into the Reverand and the Piano Teacher’s house (after they moved out) which was next door to my house growing up.  It was a good neighborhood, mostly.  Normal suburban 3.5 kids, 2 cars in the drive and stay at home moms.  No farm animals except at the farm which was on the fringe of the neighborhood. 

Mr Jones brought some of those big metal barrels to his backyard and after awhile we realized what he was doing with those barrels.  He was turning them into houses for his chickens and his one lone, very loud, rooster.  The neighborhood was not pleased with Mr Jones and his chickens.  My parents weren’t thrilled either.  Property values and stuff. But they weren’t willing to sign any petitions or do whatever it is you did back in the 70’s when one of your neighbors brought home chickens.  I was willing to sign that darn petition though because my bedroom was very close to Mr Jones backyard and that rooster was loud.  And I was a teenager who liked to sleep past 6am every now and then.  (Now that I think about it, Mr Jones and his rooster might be the reason why I can rarely sleep past 6am now!  I wonder if the dude still lives there?  I should go and tell him how his rooster totally ruined my sleep, for life!)

Anyway, that’s it.  My only chicken experience.  Growing up in a middle class subdivision with Mr Jones and his chickens next door. 

The reason I’m telling you about Mr Jones and my lack of chicken experience is because I have noticed an alarming trend in blogs.  All of you people in the blogosphere seem to have chickens!  And I don’t!  I’ve never had them.  (TW would like to have some but ummm no)   I’m wondering if you have to have more chicken experience than I have in order to be a real blogger.  Am I going to have to give in to TW’s chicken dreams in order to be accepted amongst you amazing chicken owning bloggers?   Do you chicken blogging people still like me, even if I don’t do chickens? 

I wonder if podcasters have chickens.  Maybe I should try my hand at podcasting instead?

Technorati Tags: chickens, roosters, blogging, bloggers, blogosphere

Answers to those arriving here via search…

To the person in Chili looking for dingbats car, I have it and you can pick it up anytime.  If you’re planning on driving it to South America well ummm good luck.  I can include a phone number for a mechanic if you like.

To the person in the UK looking for empty Voss Water bottles.  I’ve got them, quite a few of them, but first I want to know why you want them.  Are you like TW? Do you have some plot to use an as seen on TV bottle cutter to make weird stuff that you don’t need from them?

Does a toilet trained dog mean stubborn?  Ummm no, I believe it is the other way around. 

To anyone looking for cupcake toppers, (and there are an awful lot of you) – good luck!  I am considering opening a cupcake topper store, I’ll get back to you if I find the time and energy to do so. 

To "mom ran over a…" just know you aren’t alone.  Moms seem to run over everything from lemons to peacocks to homeless men.  The search results for "mom ran over a…" are incredible.

And those of you looking for advice regarding sons and skirts… bless your sweet hearts.  Here’s my advice…. Be supportive.  Kids wear all sorts of weird clothes.  They’re trying to find themselves.  Sometimes it takes a skirt for a boy to find himself, or to find herself.  Your son is still your child and will always be your child.  Sometimes they decide skirts are no longer for them, just like girls sometimes make this decision.  Sometimes they find that skirts are exactly who they are and that’s good.  Knowing who you are in this world is difficult enough – imagine having to "be" a boy and wear a skirt in order to find out.  Thank (insert deity) I didn’t have to do such a thing.  Thank goodness you probably didn’t either.  Sons who find themselves when they put on a skirt are incredibly strong people.  Support them.  Applaud their strength and their courage.  And if you really still need help with this – dtanton at gmail dot com works.

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