Glossary
Big Lug, the – Jarlaxle. Puppy Extraordinaire. When adopted from the shelter, he was about 7 months old, weighed in at 76 pounds and still growing, and is the classic Big Black Dog. An apparent Lab-Newfie mix Lab mixed with something BIG (like maybe a mastiff? Or a pony?), he currently weighs in at just over 100 pounds. Oh, and a serious drool machine. Isn’t he a cutie, though?
Catnip Incident, the – Oh, this was just the saddest thing. Several years ago, I thought I’d start an herb garden. The idea was, ultimately, to grow some fresh herbs for summer cooking, maybe make up some basil pesto, and perhaps a bit of catnip to make Stupor Kitty’s day. Surly Boy got up bright and early one morning and dug up a patch of horrible sandy soil for me, and we went ahead and put out some plants. Some basil, a bit of mint, some oregano, and a couple of catnip plants.
I came home from work the next day, and I swear, every single cat in the neighborhood had been there, invited its friends to the party, and completely demolished the garden with their enthusiastic rolling in the catnip. I came home to these sad, tired, limp bits of stems where the catnip – and the rest of the herbs – used to be. A few bits of oregano recovered, and that was it.
GBD – Alton Brown‘s acronym for “Golden Brown & Delicious” as defined on his Food Network show Good Eats. We’ve found that the best way to reach a state of GBD is to fry something. Or use butter. Or both. 
Harley Family, the – Our next door neighbors. The family consists of Harley Guy, Harley Wife, and Scooter, their toddler, Thunder, the friendliest Rottweiler in the world, and a couple of Harley kitties (one of which is, in fact, named “Harley”). Extended Harley family, who live around the corner, include Harley Mom and Harley Dad. Harley Brother lives. . . somewhere else and occasionally makes an appearance. The entire family is what we used to refer as “good peoples” – always around, always friendly, welcoming and more than happy to lend a hand wherever they can. Oh, in case it wasn’t completely obvious, Harley Guy rides. That Harley roar is pretty unmistakable, isn’t it? Harley Dad also houses a bike in his garage, though he’s kinda old for that stuff, I’d think. But then, what do I know anyway?
Mon Capitán – ToyLady’s employer. The lawyer. Oh captain, my captain. And so on. A girl needs a paycheck, you know.
Pretty Girl – The latest addition to the Dark Side family – Princess Gretchen is a very pretty girl. Gretchen the Great Dane was presumed to be about 2 years old and was just 85 pounds when she was found dumped on a farm outside Syracuse. A local rescue organization took over her care, and when we started looking for a “baby sister” for The The Lug, we saw and adopted her in August 2011, she was well on her way to health. We suspect she’s a little younger than they thought – she’s just like a toddler. A fuzzy, 115-pound toddler.
SIUB – Suck It Up Buttercup. Pretty much self-explanatory once you know what the acronym stands for, isn’t it? It’s what Stupor Kitty needs to do. Really.
STFU – Shut The Eff Up. Again, pretty much self-explanatory once you know what the acronym stands for, isn’t it? It’s what The Big Lug needs to do at times. And most politicians. Especially Chuck Shumer.
Stupor Kitty – Stupor Kitty came to us the cutest little fuzz-ball ever. Over the years, however, she’s developed a particularly bad attitude. And a very large, uh, self.
She doesn’t just look cranky – she IS cranky.
The Boy – The son formerly known as Surly Boy. He’s significantly less surly than he used to be (most of the time), and a guy needs a chance to outgrow his childhood. The Boy left home at 19, and he’s currently living with the family of one of his friends learning how to be a welder living and working as a welder in New Hampshire back home. He’s really not living up to his potential, but what’s a mom to do? He needs a haircut – of course!
Tomato Episode, the – Labor Day 2005 – Peeps and the ToyLady learned the hard way that it’s a really, really bad idea to try to process three bushels of tomatoes in one weekend, make tomato purée for the first time, rear a teenager, and get to work on time the next day. A colossally bad idea.
W.T.F. – What The Eff. Again, pretty self-explanatory. Some things just don’t make sense or are so incredibly, well, incredible that you can’t help being flabbergasted, that’s all.
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loving the story…loving the actors…attitude everywhere. Brings back memories of my cockapoo dog and my family of MOM cat and 2 babies. The household did not sleep for weeks but finally we ended up with a love fest that was fun to watch.
judy