Low Brow FTW

[botias]

Eee! The mail brings me garden temptation and VERY low fiction: a High Country Gardens catalog and a cheezy Harlequin with the teaser subtitle of 'Missing Husband Found Alive!'. Tonight there will be snuggling while watching 'Justified'. For now things are pretty quiet, broken occasionally by croupy coughs. So far I stand immune to the crud. Why am I writing this post? I've already forgotten. I may not be ill, but my brain seems to be made of soggy cotton. Ah! News. My tenants have given their 30-day's notice that I must muster my amateur land-lording skills. I feel fairly confident. I have a secret weapon you see. I allow a dog.

My clients of yesterday have earned three demerits! *frowns* First they called for delivery to the hospital, but when I arrived they had departed for a very long walk. While I'm glad for laboring women to spend time outside the hospital, I can't rent something to absent people. Then they paid with a unprinted check when my terms are cash. THEN they called me at 1:30 in the morning to let me know they were done with the tub. I don't need this information at 1:30 in the morning. Fortunately, my cell was in the office and I didn't discover this final gesture on their part until 6:30 a.m. when 5yo woke me by squeezing in between myself and 8yo, neither of whom were in my bed when I went to sleep. I got a very large bed precisely for these sorts of scenarios, but four people and a cat is still a bit of stretch. I extracted myself and read in a hot bath until I got a repeat call at the much more reasonable hour of 7:30. 'Missing Husband Found Alive!' was not yet in my possession and I was forced to fall back on The Voyage of the Beagle by Mr. Is Absolutely Burning In Protestant Hell If One Exists. I keep it in the bathroom and have been reading it in the pre-dawn hours bit by bit for a couple of years now. I regret to report that what he had to say about Australia this morning would not charm its fine citizens.

Jane Austen fans, do find you a copy of Lady Susan if you haven't already. I found the ending of the novella a bit unsatisfying--because of its abruptness rather than its content--but the eponymous sociopath is not to be missed.

ETA Dear Santa, Please bring me a Domesticated Fox from Siberia for Christmas. It seems I can have one delivered to my door for a mere $6,975.

Comments

[petzipellepingo.livejournal.com]

ETA Dear Santa, Please bring me a Domesticated Fox from Siberia for Christmas. It seems I can have one delivered to my door for a mere $6,975.


Nods. Petzi Sis was telling me about those. Crazy, crazy.

[zanthinegirl.livejournal.com]

I saw them on PBS; gorgeous!

[botias.livejournal.com]

Aren't they purdy? And the science is actually pretty fascinating. There's another video that talks about the white markings that show up and why that happens.

[botias.livejournal.com]

The foxes are gorgeous and the experiment is fascinating. It seems that one of the ways animals become 'domesticated' is that one of their metabolic pathways is relatively inactive compared to wild forebears. This metabolic pathway produces a number of end products, the particularly relevant one behavior-wise being adrenaline, but another of the products is melanin, so the animals start showing up with white areas on their coats, and blue eyes.

[kitmarlowescot2.livejournal.com]

Yes my mother and I have had to discover the pitfalls and rewards of being landlords. Because until April last year, almost to the week my grandfather died he was in control of that. So it's been a experiment, let me tell you I will never try to get three houses remodeled at one time again.
As for a domestic fox, they are cool looking, but I am still cautious. They maye be domestic but so are pet skunks or for the last 100 years. But they are still be quite destructive, look at ferrets, they have been domesicated for 2000 years but would I want another one ? No way !!!!
Cats and dogs are far less destructive, with cats being a bit less so because of size.

[botias.livejournal.com]

The first time I selected a tenant it was complete fail. I used a property management service; ironically it made the effects of my inexperience greater rather than less. They found a student coming in from out of the area. She fell off the wagon I guess, and moved in a bf who was dealing drugs. They trashed the place. Big holes in the walls, burned areas. I'm lucky they didn't burn it down.

I think they are gorgeous and such fun to watch, but in reality I don't know if I would take one if it was given to me. OK, I'm dumb like that, I would totally take a chance on it, but I would be prepared to regret it.

[zanthinegirl.livejournal.com]

Those sound like annoying clients all right! Let's just hope the un-printed check goes through

And good luck avoiding the creeping croup. It seems to be a bad winter for whatever virus is infecting airways!

[botias.livejournal.com]

I ran it right down to their bank and cashed it, and that worked out, fortunately. They avoided a fourth demerit.

Thanks! I'm thinking I may just avoid it.