It's all in the timing.

Here's a little update on us adding a third animal to our current brood - we have not added a third animal to our current brood, but not for lack of trying. We were delivered some sad news this past Friday about a dog that we were hoping would be ours (he will not be), and so now we are questioning whether or not we even want a third pet. I mean, this is probably just not in the cards for us right now. We'll just keep waiting and if the right one comes along then we'll act. If we get it, great. If not, then we don't. The timing just has to be right.

I really thought the timing was right this time, though. Girl Chris mentioned to me last week that a coworker of hers had to send one of his dogs back to the breeder, the male, because he needed to focus his attention on the female. Z is a 6 year-old coton de tulear, a stud who is just about the cutest dog you've ever seen. Almost exactly like this: (Photo courtesy of Dog Breed Info Center.) Z's owner brought him back to the breeder on Wednesday; on Thursday I emailed the breeder to get more info on Z and to find out about adoption; and on Friday I learned that Z was gone. Gone really before he was even brought back to the breeder - she had someone lined up for him already. The breeder did tell me that she had coton puppies available, very nice females and some sweet males. A puppy! Imagine the cuteness there! But of course I had to ask how much they were before I said yes, we'd take one, and of course they were just way, way too much for us. More than the Scottish fold! We could put at least three new, vinyl, energy-efficient windows in our house for the price of the puppy. So we had to say no (and more evidence that a shelter dog is the way to go - at least it won't break the bank!). And now we're back to the drawing board, waiting around for the right pet, while enjoying enjoying Meg and Sasha's company just fine (though the walking-on-the-stovetop-when-the-burner-is-on thing that Sasha does is a little annoying, I admit).

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We saw our friends Jessica and Neil last night. Ate dinner at Shawarma King and saw Mademoiselle Chambon. Doug and I hadn't spent an evening in Coolidge Corner in quite some time, and we're not quite sure why. It took us all of 20 to 25 minutes to get there, and probably even less to get back. I guess we're just habituated to our little neck of the woods, and habits are hard to break. Our dinners may have been enough to encourage us to break habit a little more often, though, because you can't get good Middle Eastern around here, really. There is a place in Norwood that we've been to, and a new Lebanese restaurant opened up near the Home Depot we go to in West Roxbury, but still. When we lived in Allston we could - and did - walk to Coolidge Corner to Shawarma King, Trader Joe's, Gourmet India (no longer there, but still), Lemongrass... it was all right there within walking distance. There really isn't much near us within walking distance. Nothing that seems as convenient, anyway. That, of course, got us all to talking about living in a condo in the city or living in a house in the burbs. There are pros and cons to both options, really, but I do see advantages to urban condo living (and so does my stomach).

Though we do have a good movie theater here in our zip-code, and it's where we saw I am Love, the movie that I thought was essentially the same as Mademoiselle Chambon, only in Italian. Both had minimal dialogue and told their stories through visual and other audio cues, like music. Both were about people (a woman in I am Love and a man in Mademoiselle Chambon) in the middle of their life who were apparently unsatisfied with it, and chose to find satisfaction in the company of someone other than their spouse. I won't say more about either, in case you want to see them, but I will say that I while I do recommend both I would not take either too seriously. Because the directors did, in Mademoiselle Chambon especially. Some of the lines - right out of the playbook. How can I still recommend it, then? Because, it's a French movie, and I'm biased towards anything even remotely French. French fries, for example, are my favorite vegetable :)

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In other news, I've finished the back part of my quilt. I have a photo, but just didn't upload it. You'll see it next time. Next step is to get some batting and to start assembling! Hopefully I'll have it done by next summer, but it all has to do with timing (as in having enough free time and being motivated enough in that free time to work on it). Seems that's a theme these days!