Bendy straws are good even without the split lip.

They rocked mightily when I had a broken jaw (and, thankfully, still a gap between my front teeth) though, so I guess I can see why they get even shinier when there is injury involved.

Do I want to ask why ita has a split lip?

Liese, re entrances and thinking zones: There is a lot of non-business trafic through a front door. That, and the beneficial effect of leading a client through several layers of separation from the outside world, makes me think the offices should be further from the front door.

Anatomy: (Christina/Burke) She totally wanted to kiss him. He was totally into it.

Hallelujah! Clearly my lackluster dining experiences earlier this weekend were due to all the restaurant fu being saved up for tonight. After seeing two different write-ups this week for a refurbished tapas bar with a new Mediterranean slant, I decided to go try it for myself. As I was crossing the street, I was spotted and flagged down by Aimer Shtaya, the former owner of my favorite restaurant. It turns out he has essentially re-opened his Morocco Cafe with a new location and name but the same menu, instantaneously knocking all the other Middle Eastern restaurants in the area off my Eat Here Regularly list.

(You know you were appreciated as a regular when a chef recognizes you crossing the street at night half a block away and starts yelling to draw your attention.)

Since it was already closing time there, I went ahead with my original plan and discovered that the tapas bar makes excellent cod tagine and has a very interesting menu of hot and cold small plates.

Note to self: Begin exercising more so as to avoid 100 lb. weight gain.

I'll post pictures when we get his schedule a little more settled. He had a big day.

Miniature dachshund? Like they weren't short enough to start? :-)

Right! He'll still get to about 8-10 lbs. though. I got him a little carrier that will likely be donated to my friend's chihuahua in about 8 months. I just didn't want him sloshing around in something too big.

Do I want to ask why ita has a split lip?

You know, the usual. Okay, not usual. But slightly predictable -- I muffed a defense when teaching against a tricky cross. Not big enough that stitches are required, but I suspect the lip will be lumpy for months. Probably just me-lumpy, but still. These are my lips.

Miniature dachshund? Like they weren't short enough to start?

Picture a stretch chihuahua.

Picture a stretch chihuahua.

With floppy ears, and cute wrinkly puppy feet and soft brown eyes.

OK, I'll stop.

Is there a size below which adult dogs pretty much need to be carried, for practicality's sake? Or is it just that you can, and it's fun, so why not?

I'm very much a big dog person, so these ways are alien to me.

Little dogs, particularly chihuahuas, yorkies, stuff under 15 lbs. or so can get tired working their little legs that hard. Plus we don't want the puppy to be left at home too much. We want him around other dogs and people, but he's still a puppy, so he needs to be able to go back to his little cocoon when he's tired.

Big dogs aren't supposed to be walked to much as puppies either, because of the hip thing (We've also been looking into large dogs for when we get a bigger place).

Most dachshunds I've known were sausage dogs. The only fit dachshund I ever met belonged to my cousin who kept three horses in a back pasture. Bandit was an outdoor dog, spent all day every day running around the pasture, annoying the horses and digging for gophers. He looked like a greyhound with zero ground clearance.