Know & Tell Friday: Animal Edition

It's time for the next installment of Know & Tell Friday over here at my blog while Heather & Reese are kickin' back over at Kicking It In Crazyville. Just in case anybody wondered, the girls had prior knowledge of all four weeks' worth of questions I'd be posting over here, so hopefully you'll enjoy them as much as they thought you would. We're going with the Animal Edition this week, and we've run the gamut of the animal population with these questions. Have fun!

1. What dog do you most resemble?

I pick the Coton de Tulear, primarily for the appearance in hair type. I was going to go with the Afghan Hound, but since I'm a super shorty, and the Afghan Hound isn't, I went with a smaller dog.


On the TerrificPets dot com website where I found this picture, here's some of the information I got on the Coton de Tulear:

"The Coton de Tulear is different from most breeds of dogs in that the cotton, dry textured coat is more like hair than it is like a traditional dog fur. This makes the coat appear very fluffy and light, almost tussled in appearance. This dog has a wonderful, lively and intelligent personality that makes them ideal for any type of home or family situation. Training the Coton de Tulear is a very pleasant experience although they are occasionally a bit headstrong and stubborn. They are quick to learn both good and bad habits and will find many endearing little things to do when they think they may be in trouble."

Sounds like I picked the right dog.

2. What is your favorite zoo animal?

Hands down, the giraffe. Every single one of my kids and Hubby could even answer that question for me. I don't know if somewhere along the way I did some subliminal "I'm short, I like the tallest animal" thing, but I just love that animal.

3. What zoo animal reminds you most of yourself?

Well, I'm thinking the giraffe is obviously not going to be the answer. And although I need to lose some weight, it's not the hippo, rhino, or elephant. I'm a loud-mouth. My voice carries really well, especially when I want it to. I used to get shushed all the time when I was growing up, and Hubby still shushes me sometimes when I think I'm talking soft and I'm not. So I'll go with the lion, because their roar is loud and you can hear it throughout the zoo. Although if you happen to be at the zoo when the Galapagos turtles are mating you can hear them throughout at least half of the zoo, too. True story. Philadelphia zoo. The kids still think they were spitting on each other. Um-hmm. And they're going to read this. I'm going to have some 'splaining to do.

4. Do you have any pets? If so, how many, what kind, and what are their names? If not, would you like one?

We have one cat whose name is Peka. We got him at PetSmart in May, 2003, a few months before Hubby left for Kuwait. He was about a year old when we got him. His name was Topeka, like in Kansas, and Caboose could only say "Peka" or "uh-Peka," so we shortened it to just Peka. We all liked it better anyway because it seemed to fit him without completely changing it, and four kids were never going to agree on a name I would like. Especially when one of them was only three and his world revolved around different Thomas the Tank Engine trains. Peka likes to drink water from the sink in a Dixie cup. Fresh.

5. Have you ever ridden a horse?

I rode a horse a few times when I was in fourth grade with my best friend. She was really into horses, so we went out to a local horse stable and went on a trail ride, just the two of us with the leader person. When I was leaving the house I made a conscious decision to go back in my room and grab a baseball cap (the non-hat head girl). That turned out to be angels watching over me.

When we were going back up the gravel hill to the stables, the other two were leading the way and started their horses into a gallop or something, and my horse followed. There was a turn in the gravel trail, and as my horse and I made the turn my saddle started sliding off towards the down side of the hill. My right foot, which was also on the down side of the hill, was stuck in the stirrup. It came out about when my baseball cap bill hit the ground. I wore glasses then too, and they didn't hit the ground only because my bill hit first. They slipped off somehow in the first bounce, and then my right eyebrow hit the ground. I still have a scar in my right eyebrow and the hair won't grow there, so it makes the shape of my eyebrow a little funny. It could have been so much worse than it was if I hadn't had that hat on. I think the stable people were afraid we would sue, so they told us we could come back out and have a free trail ride another day. So we did, because apparently we were fearless and so were our parents. Or crazy. Yes, Mom, I said that. Did you remember about that?

6. Have you ever milked a cow?

My Great-Uncle Bill had a farm in Missouri, and I know he had milk cows, and I know I used to spend time out there with him and my Great-Aunt Ola, and I know he had unpasteurized milk in his refrigerator that we had to drink when we were there, and I know I thought that was gross, and I know he used to tell me not to stick my fingers under his garage door when it was cracked open just a little bit and his guard dogs were inside or I would get bitten, and I know he bandaged me up when I disobeyed and stuck my fingers under his garage door and one of his mean dogs bit my finger, but I don't remember if I ever actually milked one of his cows.

7. Why don't sheep shrink when it rains?

Several answers from my kids:

Only the wool should shrink, not the whole sheep, because the whole sheep isn't made out of wool.

Because sheep aren't jackets.

I say, "How do you know they don't."

Spoiler alert: I sort of cheated and did a google search, so if this is accurate information, this could actually be why:

"When the wool is on a sheep, it's full of oil, and this oil is replaced by the skin of the sheep if it washes off. Once the wool is cut off and washed, the oil is gone and no longer repels water."

Mr. Linky gave me a little problem last week, but hopefully he'll show up when I hit the publish button. If he doesn't, I'll do like last week and add him in his own special post. Maybe that's what he wanted all along? Or if he just never shows up, leave your link in the comments so we can find you. Happy Friday!

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