What are the odds?

Lets talk about odd things. I see lots of odd things while I am out and about. For some reason the pet store is always full of things that make me ask, "What the hell why?"

Here is a nice set of doggie goggles. I don't know if they were for swimming or to be used as sunglasses, but I can tell you Lucy would have them off in 2 seconds.




Here is a doggie t-shirt (odd enough already) that features 2 dog's backsides with the caption "Tunnel of Love". No backside EVER should be captioned "Tunnel of Love". That's just nasty. Who is the target audience here?









This is a chenille mitt for drying off the dog after a bath. God forbid you use an old towel. Actually, though, it was very, very soft. I think they could sell more of these if they sold them for drying off mommies.









This (and I am not making this up) is a cat in a bag. It is a fake tabby fur "cat" that holds a hot water bottle. When you add batteries it purrs and has a heartbeat. It is supposed to comfort your new kitten, but again, I'm thinking I know a lot of women who would like a cat that keeps your feet warm but doesn't need to eat or use a litterbox. Good idea, bad marketing.






Last Saturday I went to the antique/flea market at the Anoka County fairgrounds. There was more odd stuff there than you could shake a stick at. (An odd expression, by the way and not just because it ends in a preposition).

This is a "breast ball". It is about the size of a softball and filled with a red gel. (I know it was red because several of them were leaking.) Yes, it has a nipple. The box says they have "I love you sound" whatever that is. I tried to get one to make a sound and that is when I got red gel all over my arm. EEEWWW. It did feel like a breast, though, especially because they were warm from the sun. Oddest of all, the box warns, "do not hit with bat"! Right. Because THAT would be wrong.






Here are more of the stalls at the "antique" sale. There was a child's quilt that had beanie babies sewn on to it. (The teeny beany, McDonald's kind). The maker must have thought that they stuck out too much, so she cut off the back half of the beany babies before sewing them on. They were then kind of flat. They looked like beany baby ROADKILL! The salesman looked kind of fierce, so I didn't get a photo, sorry.





Saturday was also my birthday, and Paul was out of town, so the boys and I went to Applebee's (their favorite restaurant). Nick told our waiter that it was my birthday, so several of the waitstaff came and sang a birthday song to me. (See? my face is still red). That was odd, but I got free ice cream!







Did you think I was done showing you the neighborhood pets? Not by a long shot. This is Izzy. I met her at (yep) a garage sale. She is a young African spur-thigh tortoise (or something like that.) She was found marching down Hennepin Avenue in Mpls a couple of years ago. The owners call her their reformed "Hooker Tortoise". Izzy is extra bumpy due to poor nutrition in her early years. She is now eating the finest veterinarian-approved diet. Her owners say she is quite curious.

Curiouser and curiouser! (also means odd).


I bought an odd book at the book store (brand new!) It is "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies". This is a VERY odd book. But I like it! Someone has taken Jane Austen's book and added zombies. You will be glad to know that Elizabeth is a kick-butt zombie slayer. So is Darcy, so they have that in common. They have it at the library, if you are interested. I should have picked it for book club, it comes with discussion questions.

I'm spoiled for choice in the "odd recipe" quest. I'm going to have to write a whole posting about that. Here, however, is my favorite birthday treat from my childhood and an odd drink.

Cherry Condensed Milk Pie

1 graham cracker crust
1 can sweetened, condensed milk (not evaporated)
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 can cherry pie filling

Stir together milk and lemon juice until thick, pour into crust, spread pie filling on top, chill before eating.


This drink is like a vodka mojito. I just like the name.

Poison Ivy

1 (6oz) can frozen limeade
1 (6oz) can vodka
10-12 ice cubes
10-12 spearmint leaves

Blend and drink! (Don't drink too many or you may behave oddly).