tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post2717534135598144009..comments2024-03-25T09:03:39.020-07:00Comments on The Uncrushable Jersey Dress: Betty by the Numbers: PetsBetty Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16446092401692468002noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-1300419358857893352013-10-31T10:08:16.420-07:002013-10-31T10:08:16.420-07:00If I'm ever in a position to have a dog (alrea...If I'm ever in a position to have a dog (already have a feline owner), I want an Irish wolfhound. Count me in on the "large dog" side of things.Janet Lingel Aldrichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05633969913976791146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-83586573815215486162012-02-08T07:48:02.335-08:002012-02-08T07:48:02.335-08:00Dear Betty van den Betsy, you are a treasure and I...Dear Betty van den Betsy, you are a treasure and I'm sure there are some organizing-type heroines (making short work of the clutter and papers for a crabby but brilliant writer/scientist?) with whom you would bond. In the meantime, any chance you could mail me 3 books on temporary loan: All Else Confusion, At the End of the Day, and A Star Looks Down? Thanks,<br /><br />Your favorite sister,<br />Betty B. BlemmyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-80776385788335561352012-01-29T18:00:30.335-08:002012-01-29T18:00:30.335-08:00I got the honor of taking the Jonkheer's favor...I got the honor of taking the Jonkheer's favorite girl into the vet on Friday (30 minute drive in rush-hour traffic with a cat in my lap, her cute little velvety front paws on my forearm so she could see out the window and I could have the entertaining challenge of steering and shifting with the same arm -- she'd scream if thwarted, so please don't berate me), and there was an active little human girl in the waiting room. Her grandma just got a cat and was soliciting ideas for names. I wanted to suggest Flotsam, Nelson or Mr. Mogg, but believe in encouraging the young to exercise their imaginations. It looked like "Zack" was in the lead as I paid over my $70 and toddled along, six pounds of irritated feline shrieking from her basket (by which I mean kitty crate -- basket my eye.)Betty van den Betsynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-83018391003251809772012-01-22T12:53:48.059-08:002012-01-22T12:53:48.059-08:00A friend kept a Shih Tzu that I found utterly char...A friend kept a Shih Tzu that I found utterly charming. She was a tough and affectionate little thing with a ridiculous but necessary bow clipping her hair into a fountain-style ponytail on top of her happy little head, and she clearly had no conception of herself as a "toy." She was a friend with strong managerial skills.Betty van den Betsynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-11322970850189705242012-01-15T15:26:45.384-08:002012-01-15T15:26:45.384-08:00I love this kind of information and I'm so gla...I love this kind of information and I'm so glad someone had time to do this for our benefit! What an enjoyable afternoon I am having!opramumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04576604368249554678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-92068722559618144462012-01-15T08:35:59.524-08:002012-01-15T08:35:59.524-08:00No Lhasa Apsos, ey? I'm rather fond of them my...No Lhasa Apsos, ey? I'm rather fond of them myself. Though they are termed companion dogs, let's not forget that their forebears used to be herders. And they haven't forgotten either. They will herd their adopted family members (butting them with their little heads) and guard them too. They are wary of strangers, and if they feel the situation calls for it not averse to nipping them. Which they shouldn't of course. They are small enough to carry if the need should arise and they don't have that typical doggie-scent. And if I didn't have such a "poky little bedsitter"...(Haha.)<br />Betty AnonymousAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-83835376047695697192012-01-15T07:50:21.081-08:002012-01-15T07:50:21.081-08:00Well! I didn't really believe she meant Lawren...Well! I didn't really believe she meant Lawrence, but it seemed such a nice thought.<br />Betty AnonymousAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-59830725643552744392012-01-14T17:30:52.096-08:002012-01-14T17:30:52.096-08:00Well! I was feeling rather more happy about Titus...Well! I was feeling rather more happy about Titus on reading about Lawrence "Titus" Oates, the Antarctic explorer who sacrificed his life for the good of his fellows (noble, but a bit grisly for a cat's name, in my opinion), and then I got to this bit: "A biography by Michael Smith, <i>I am Just Going Outside: Captain Oates – Antarctic Tragedy</i>, (Spellmount Publishers 2002) has revealed that a 20-year-old Oates fathered a daughter as the result of a brief affair with an 11-year-old Scots girl named Ettie McKendrick."<br /><br />What the wha........!!!!!Betty van den Betsynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-28688950291463926842012-01-14T17:30:09.701-08:002012-01-14T17:30:09.701-08:00That was really amazing! Great work and its amazin...That was really amazing! Great work and its amazing to see those statistics with all the funny stuff. Thank you, very lovely! One of my favourite parts are when the animals and their names...Nelson and Flotsam, so good.<br /><br />Betty Mary - I did wonder about that exchange and was too lazy to research but now I know...'escutcheon' what a great word, she's amazing, that Betty.<br />Betty AnHKAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-39285489434827189052012-01-14T15:31:31.542-08:002012-01-14T15:31:31.542-08:00Betty van den Betsy,
Better and better! This was t...Betty van den Betsy,<br />Better and better! This was the funniest yet. (And each time I ask myself, can there be more, will there be more to come?)<br />Reading the Dogs section I noticed that the heroes not only get to have the guard dogs they also own most of the larger breeds plus the largest breeds of them all. Is that because they are large themselves (and therefore considered more capable of handling them)? Or because they have larger homes?<br />Why do heroines get only hunting-type dogs and the occasional herder? Well, I've given that question some thought. They cannot very well keep large dogs in a bedsitter. Most of the dogs live at home with the family in the beautiful English countryside where goodwill and good people abound. There doesn't seem to be any need for guard dogs. When I think of the British countryside I also think more in terms of herders and hunters. Not only because of watching a zillion episodes of "All Creatures Great and Small", but because hunting is still a great part of country life. And herders are usually good watch dogs as well, aren't they?<br />Betty AnonymousAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-74966343808613065192012-01-14T12:40:00.993-08:002012-01-14T12:40:00.993-08:00He was in the hall with the three dogs when she we...He was in the hall with the three dogs when she went down. JB and Flotsam were standing belligerently on either side of him, eyeing the newcomer with ill-concealed dislike. 'Hullo, Harry,' said Friso. 'Have you a name for your friend? If so will you call him over to you?' She didn't need to call, for the dog had heard her step on the stair and turned to prance on clumsy paws to greet her. She saw that he had been bathed and combed, and carried all the signs of a dog recently well fed. He sat down beside her, facing the other dogs. She put a hand on his head and he grinned. He belonged. 'I thought Moses would be a good name — the water, you see.' Friso smiled. 'A splendid name. JB and Flotsam will think he's yours; they're more likely to accept him in that case. Shall we go and have breakfast? ...<br /><br /><br />'How's Moses?' asked Harriet, very conscious of Friso's calm stare across the little table.<br />'Eating me out of house and home. Oh, don't worry, he'll be worth his keep — I'm sorry for anyone who tries to get into the house uninvited. The three of them would confound the enemy, tear him limb from limb and bring me the pieces in ...<br />(Tempestuos April)<br /><br />She packed happily, bade her grandfather goodbye and got into the car with the boys and Moses in the back, and with them there it was easier to be on friendly terms with Colin. There was a good deal of talk and giggling as they ...<br /><br />She gave him a bemused look. 'Oh, yes, thank you, Grimstone. Sir Colin has had to go to the hospital — I'm not sure how long he'll be.' She went back to the drawing-room and sat down again with Moses and Madam Mop.<br />(A Suitable Match)<br />Betty AnonymousAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-78624500684071498362012-01-14T12:29:01.748-08:002012-01-14T12:29:01.748-08:00I think it more in keeping with the Venerable Neel...I think it more in keeping with the Venerable Neels as we know her that she was thinking of this "Titus" Oates:<br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titus_Oates_%28explorer%29<br />Betty AnonymousAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-49247173452341620982012-01-13T16:47:10.916-08:002012-01-13T16:47:10.916-08:00In An Independent Woman, the hero's housekeepe...In An Independent Woman, the hero's housekeeper had 2 cats, Portly and Lofty. Those were my favorite Neels cat names, followed by Podge. Podge. Sounds stodgy and pudgy at the same time. Incidentally, in An Independent Woman, Julia's pet cat Muffin had a sex change...twice. Muffin was a he, then a she, then a he. Check it out.Betty Luluhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17634519999898307583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-40500623689307121002012-01-13T15:51:20.509-08:002012-01-13T15:51:20.509-08:00“’Blot,’ he said. ‘Escutcheon or landscape?’ ‘Land...<i>“’Blot,’ he said. ‘Escutcheon or landscape?’ ‘Landscape,’ said Sophy. ‘We haven’t got an escutcheon.’”</i><br /><br />Wow, that's some lovely repartee. Which totally escaped me until I just looked up escutcheon! Am I the only one who'd never heard of "a blot on one's escutcheon" - being a stain on one's honor and escutcheon being the shield behind the family crest. I knew what a blot on the landscape was, but didn't catch the reference from the above. Not sure if that's ignorance or sometimers. Either way, YIKES!BettyMaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12676458096380002508noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-84619219596650282652012-01-13T13:26:37.331-08:002012-01-13T13:26:37.331-08:00Yuk! Thank you for that, Betty Barbara, but my go...Yuk! Thank you for that, Betty Barbara, but my goodness. What a vile person for whom to name a beloved pet. I'm going to continue to pretend there's a popular story in English children's histories about one of those Romans distributing porridge to little Saxon children. That Betty Neels was what they call "a woman of parts," wasn't she?Betty van den Betsynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-16577529336171622282012-01-13T12:56:04.235-08:002012-01-13T12:56:04.235-08:00Betty Barbara here--
Oh wow! Betty van den Betsy--...Betty Barbara here--<br />Oh wow! Betty van den Betsy--you have outdone yourself this time. That was great stuff. (But the best part was the essay on real-life pet ownership!).<br />As to Titus the cat who liked porridge. It's a play on words--Titus Oates was a well-known British historical figure. Wikipedia has a nice article about him <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titus_Oates" rel="nofollow"> HERE</a>.Barb in Marylandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11374278685536530837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-63235548821811687712012-01-13T09:18:32.707-08:002012-01-13T09:18:32.707-08:00Lump me in with the 'nouveau riche vulgarians&...Lump me in with the 'nouveau riche vulgarians' (HA!) if you like. Casa van Voorhees is pretty pet free (Thank heavens I have a kiddo who is mildly allergic to dogs, thus providing an excellent reason without making us look terribly heartless.) I accidentally killed a goldfish once and never heard the end of it. Our neighbors have a Standard Poodle (without the lame haircut) which is hypoallergenic so the pledges of my affection can trot over there and get their fix.<br /><br />My favorite pet names in the canon might be Flotsom...or maybe Moses. (Can't remember which books but I love how cheerfully The Venerable Neels chucked her pets into murky canals for the purpose of plot progression.)Keirahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10802633046486840052noreply@blogger.com