New Additions

Well, I got the call last night. I'm adopting a dog! They approved me for the 9 mo Miniature Poodle. They've been calling her Sileshia, but I'm renaming her Leia. Yep. Star Wars wins. [g] It was on my list of potential names, and when I met her she reminded me of one of my favorite scenes in the original trilogy. The one where Han says "There's no time to discuss this in committee" and Leia says "I am not a comittee!". (Empire Strikes Back.) So there you have it.

Here's a not so good picture of her from the shelter's website. She's much cuter in person:

I'm also going to foster the 2 year old Yorkshire Terrier, Neil. There's a court case and they don't have custody of him as far as an adoption goes. But I can foster him, and am first choice once they do have custody. So it looks like I get two dogs on Friday. I want to rename him, but am not sure if I should or not. I have a hard time remembering "Neil". Dunno why. Max is the name that comes to mind for him. Clear as a bell, that name is, whenever I think of this dog. I'm undecided on if I should rename him now or wait a few weeks until (hopefully) the court case is resolved.

But in the meantime, I'm elated. It'll be nice having dogs in the house. Although Mom M laughs and says there'll be a ghost dog war. Because Scully came to me last night. I was having a nightmare, and was woken up by the feel of her doing the little walk in circles before laying down manouever. Just like she would do when she got cold in the middle of the night and pushed her way under the covers. I felt her steps on the bed, and then her curling up against my back. It wasn't until I reached over to pet her that I realized she wasn't physically there. But it pulled me out of the nightmare!

And as much as I love her and miss her, and believe she loved me, we can all be agreed on this: Scully wouldn't want me to have another dog. [lol]

Banned Books Week 2009

During the last week of September every year, hundreds of libraries and bookstores around the country draw attention to the problem of censorship by mounting displays of challenged books and hosting a variety of events. The 2009 celebration of Banned Books Week will be held from September 26 through October 3. Join the celebration of our freedom to read, visit http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/

A little over a week ago my Little Sis called me in hysterics because her mom was threatening to restrict her from finishing the latest installment in the Gossip Girl series she was reading. Her mom also wanted to know why I don’t “monitor” what Little Sis gets when we go to the library.

Honestly, it really hadn’t occurred to me. Until this past year, the books she got were from her school or public library recommended reading list.

I was surprised her mom was this upset. Little Sis is on book 5, and has been telling me about each one ad nauseum since discovering the series. How her mom hasn’t heard about them until now I’ll never know. I’m thinking she just tuned it out until one day she didn’t. Her objection is that the series is too adult for Little Sis. Too much sex, etc.

Apparently she was threatening to have to read any books first before Little Sis could read them. [Like she has time!] I told Little Sis it was her mom’s right to monitor what she reads, and told her to say “Ok Mom.” I also told her to tell her Mom I’ll read the books myself to see what’s what. [May all the Gods save me!] Little Sis is still reading the book so I guess they worked something out.

But I've never seen either of them get this worked up over the appropriateness of a book before. And I haven't really known Mom M to threaten restricting a book, either. She's as big a reader as I am.

Top 10 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2008
Out of 513 challenges as reported to the Office for Intellectual Freedom

(Books in bold are ones my Little Sis, her sister KT, Mom M and I have all read)

1. And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
Reasons: anti-ethnic, anti-family, homosexuality, religious viewpoint, and unsuited to age group

2. His Dark Materials trilogy, by Philip Pullman
Reasons: political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, and violence

3. TTYL; TTFN; L8R, G8R (series), by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group

4. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
Reasons: occult/satanism, religious viewpoint, and violence

5. Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya
Reasons: occult/satanism, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, and violence

6. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: drugs, homosexuality, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, suicide, and unsuited to age group

7. Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily von Ziegesar
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group

8. Uncle Bobby's Wedding, by Sarah S. Brannen
Reasons: homosexuality and unsuited to age group

9. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group

10. Flashcards of My Life, by Charise Mericle Harper
Reasons: sexually explicit and unsuited to age group

http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/21stcenturychallenged/2008/index.cfm

Did You Know?

There are 1 million deer in West Virginia, and about 1.8 million people.

In Montana, drivers have a one in 104 chance of hitting a deer.

In Hawaii, one in 9,931.

Just a few facts I picked up from an article about State Farm's ranking of car vs deer crashes. No surprise to me, my state ranks in the top 5. I mean, our town has implemented a deer culling policy for our town herd. Seriously. The city pays to have so many deer killed each year to keep the town from being overrun. Not that that is working all that well.

Just last week I saw a two-point and a three-point buck meandering around in the heart of town, along the busiest street.

Smoky Weekend Wanderings

Well, it was quite the weekend! Friday afternoon Morning Owl and I went down to B to visit a couple of potential dog rescues. The first was a 5 yr old male Poodle. Turns out to be a Poodle/Lhasa Apso cross. Food aggression, child aggression (although food was also involved in that incident). A saveable dog, but not one I can have as I travel for work and need a dog that can be around kids now. Then off to the animal shelter to check out a 9mo miniature poodle. Love her. She’s very timid due to no socialization. She definitely wasn’t cared for! I very much hope to be approved to adopt her. There is also a Yorkshire terrier there, about 2 years old, male, and all of 10 pounds. Smaller than I ever thought I’d get but there’s just something about how quiet he is. He’s not free for adoption yet as he’s part of a court case. But he and the poodle have bonded. More so on the poodle’s side. I planned to have 2 dogs eventually…So I told them I’d like to adopt both of the dogs. There are several applications on both dogs, so….Hopefully I’ll get some news this week. I hate waiting. Driving back into H about quarter to five we noticed a huge plume of smoke to the west of town. Someone started a fire up on the pass, east and south of the highway at one of the campground trailheads. They aren’t sure yet if it was arson or not. But it’s definitely human caused. Second one of those around the valley in 1.5 weeks. It’s less than 300 acres and only about 30-35 homes were evacuated on Saturday. But it was a bit nervy there. We had 60 mile per hour winds and it was hot…luckily the winds actually worked in our favor – kept it from going uphill and whipped it back around itself. But it got to within 6 miles of H so everyone was on edge. It's not contained, but doesn't appear to be a threat to the city anymore. Cool front coming through (snow forecast for higher elevations!) and rain by Wednesday should help. Although there is a potential now for it to jump the highway and move west. Saturday went to M. with Little Sis and her mom & sister. It was KT’s birthday last week and she wanted to go shopping in the mall. So off we went. The drive the pass was clear (just down to 35 mph due to emergency responders for the fire), but you could definitely see the smoke off to the south of the road. All in all it was a fun day. I got to go to the “big” bookstore, found some adorable clothes for my new niece and the coolest outfit for niece G who has a birthday coming up. Now I need to get a present for nephew N who also has a birthday coming up. And Dad. Then yesterday there was a fire up by Morning Owl’s place. Scary. Like being in the path of the M Pass fire wasn’t strain enough for her! At least the one in O. Gulch stayed in the grass and didn’t get up into the trees. It’s all the dead pine trees due to the Pine Beetle infestation that is worrisome. There are dead pines everywhere. That fire took 4 hours to be put out. Considering she’s about a 15 minute drive from downtown H, that fire could have been a disaster. So in the last week and a half, we have had 4 fires in the county/valley. Keep your fingers crossed we get that snow in the mountains!

Catching Up, Hanging in There

I'm doing okay after losing Scully. Last weekend sucked, big time. But I'm making progress. Still teary eyed thinking of her, heart aches, etc. Going to the shelter in B tomorrow afternoon to look at several possibilities. Keep your fingers crossed I make the right decision!

It figures...I wait over a year and a half before caving in and buying my Wii, and a mere two months after they reduce the price 20%! (That's $49.80 for my fellow math-challenged out there.) Of course, I don't have the extra cash on hand to buy it now. But that's not the point! [g] My boss' college age daughter was diagnosed on Monday with pneumonia and on Wednesday with H1N1. He's banned from the office this week. Good thing he was already planning to be on the road all week. Of course it sucks for him to be away from his daugher when she's so sick. So now we're sanitizing even more than usual. Which sucks for me because everything is scented. Good thing the office I'm now in has a door to the outside. I can air it out. :0 My sister is still doing well, although very tired. Apparently this baby is a bit more like I was as an infant, and prefers to sleep rather than eat. G (their first child) isn't so thrilled the baby sleeps so much. [g] Mom & Dad are there doing what they can to help...Dad a bit bored, I think. He should just head up here and visit. Let Mom do the Grandma thing. But those two are joined at the hip! We haven't told my sis about Scully yet. I don't think she'll be heartbroken or anything, but I'm sure she'll worry about me and then feel guilty that Mom & Dad are staying there instead of coming to be with me. But I'm handling this much, much better than I thought I ever could. So they don't need to rush to my side! Besides, I wouldn't have anywhere to sleep since the upstairs rooms aren't done. Which brings me to the remodel. All is on track for my upstairs to be finished by October 6th. Whoo-hoo! After deciding to focus on siding, we discovered only the front and back are not asbestos siding. So only repairs I could get done without an asbestos abatement team (talk about pricey!) were on the front. Which is where the worst damage was. So. That got done and then apparently we decided to do the upstairs walls too. Paneling gone, new wiring & lights (love those cam lights!!!), new drywall, new subfloor. It looks a million times better than before. Taper comes next week on Monday, and the floor gets put down the Monday after that. :) There's one weekend in there where I can paint without worries. I'll probably wait until after the floor goes in. Was able to do that in the bedroom and it worked better for color selection. But anyway. Enough of this novel. I think I've had enough coffee this morning!!!

Goodbye, Scully

EPITAPH TO A DOG Near this spot Are deposited the Remains Of one Who Possessed Beauty Without Vanity, Strength without Insolence, Courage without Ferocity, And all the Virtues of Man Without his Vices. This Praise, which would be unmeaning flattery If inscribed over Human Ashes, Is but a just tribute to the Memory of [Scully], a Dog Who was born at [Aregua, Paraguay August, 1995,] And died at [Helena September 17, 2009.] ~Lord Byron written in memory of his dog Boatswain.

Welcome to the World!

My niece was born just after 5pm last night. She weighed in at 5 lbs 13 oz and 19 inches long. Mother and daughter are both doing well at last report. I can't wait to meet her! :) It's a great day in my neck of the woods.

I'm going to be an Aunt! :)

Just got the call that my sister is in labor. Yippee. Only 12 days early this time. (Four weeks early for her first child!) I'm so excited. I hope my sister is okay, and the baby. Going to be another girl. That will make it 4 nieces, 1 nephew. Gonna be a great day after all! :)

Wading In

So I've been preoccupied, naturally, with the health care reform attempts going on in Washington. Especially now, since my employer lost a government contract that provided a third of our income. It also cost us three full-time and two part-time employees. We are a small business. Even smaller now. Only 5 of us. And our premiums increased 35% last year, when we had 8 on staff. Who wants to bet our premiums won’t increase again in January? Didn’t think so. Odds are it will go up substantially (especially since I’ve had some medical costs – about $2000 out of pocket so far. And several co-workers have had health issues this year. We are also predominantly over 50. Only 2 of us are under that.) I’m expecting to have to start paying part of my monthly premium. Which is at $383 now. If it stays the same, if I only have to do maybe half, I could squeak by. But all extra spending would go out the window. And if energy costs or gas costs go up… After months of thought, research, and unending news coverage (ad nauseum!), here's what I keep coming back to: The free market isn't working for health care. We need a public option. Frightening, no? Especially for me. Because as the years progress, I have developed a less-is-better mentality when it comes to government. You could say I'm Anti-Federalist. But the fact of the matter is that the free market/capitalism isn't working when it comes to health care. A) It's not really a “free” market. Example: limited competition. For instance, we have 3 carriers in my state. And one of them only became available in my state about 3 years ago. So we have one big player, and two small ones. Making it easier for insurance companies to do business across state lines may help, especially in more populous areas. But not for me. There’s just not enough population, ie premium volume, in my state. Too many small businesses. B) The market is going to focus on profitability, economies of scale, supply & demand, etc. That's just the way it works. Which means there will always be a section of the populace insurance companies won’t cover, and a section they’ll try to drop, and coverages will decrease as premiums increase because costs will keep rising. C) Health isn’t a product. It isn’t a commodity. It isn’t a thing. But insurance is. So we are combining the two. I just think the public option should be a choice. Is it a perfect one? No. Will there be problems? Yes. Do I entirely trust our government to manage the program efficiently when it comes to money? Not entirely. But while the insurance companies might manage money more efficiently, they’ll cover fewer people, with less benefits. Arghh. I’m giving myself a headache. I want the public option. But I also want cost cutting. Price standardization (ie, same price for same procedure for same area regardless of who you have insurance with, or if you have insurance at all.) Reform of the court system (you think changing health care is bad…the lawyers are worse!). Something has run amok here. Maybe an easier solution would be for small businesses and individuals (whether because self-employed or pre-existing conditions) who can’t get affordable insurance on their own should be considered federal employees for the purposes of health insurance and allowed access to the vaunted federal insurance program. That would allow entry into an already existing pool, allowing for more affordable premiums. Supposedly. An intermediate step, so to speak. All I know is the system so far isn’t working. More of the same isn’t an option. The Republicans have had nearly 16 years (8 of them with White House control) to do something. It’s time to put up or shut up. Seriously. To me the rancor has more to do with the fact that they not only lost the presidential election and control of congress, but they lost to a black man advocating change. The bogeyman is in control. Sorry, but I really believe for many that is what they subconsciously feel. Racism is alive and well. They’re angry and they’re scared. The system as is, the status quo, has served them all quite well. But when you aren’t the one orchestrating the change…yeah. Reactionary fear.

New Orleans. Bourbon Street.

Sitrep: Walked 4+ miles last week and over weekend.

I was in New Orleans last week for a conference. Wandered around the French Quarter Tuesday morning. It was the nicest day there. Just wonderful. Meetings didn't start until the afternoon, so I had a half day. The conference was at the Hilton, right on the edge of the French Quarter. I wandered up Canal Street to Decatur, and then down it to Cafe Dumonde for breakfast. Beignets and Cafe au Lait. OMG. Are those beignets fab-u-lous! Managed to eat them just about every day, including for breakfast my last day there. Thank goodness for the beignet stand at the airport! That breakfast Tuesday morning was lovely. Sitting on the outside patio with a slight breeze, some coffee, those beignets, and live music. Just perfect. The cafe is right on the corner of Jackson Square, the sun was shining, there were trees, lots of greenery, a park is right in the square. Was bummed all the museums and other attractions closed by 5pm. What the heck? We were in meetings all day! So no aquarium, zoo, or WWII museum. I really wanted to see that last one. And the factory that gave tours on making a Mardi Gras float, start to finish. That would have been interesting. Had dinner at Gordon Biersch, a microbrewery. Yes it's a chain. No I didn't eat cajun/LA food. I don't do seafood, or really spicy stuff. Loved the beer at Gordon Biersch. The last night in New Orleans a group of us "did" Bourbon Street. Much less crowded than I expected, and a lot more run down. Not sure what I thought it would be like. Honestly, the buildings reminded me a lot of Paraguay. Makes sense, given their age. Wasn't enjoying the smell of pee and throw-up that wafted by occasionally. Makes me wonder how disgusting it is for Mardi Gras. Being a lightweight, I had a beer with dinner, then nothing else until we got to Pat O'Brien's about 11pm. I wanted that Hurricane glass, so waited. Drink was okay. (Half rum, half hurricane mix, which I would swear was kool-aid). Strong, though. I don't like the taste of rum, so that's probably why I didn't like it. I did like the grenade drink one of my compatriots got. That was melony/lemony or something. We also stopped at the Cat's Meow bar, which is karaoke. A few of our group got up on stage. I did not. I also got some beads, and didn't have to do anything for them! [g] Some girls were up on a balcony and threw them at the guys in our group. All I knew was beads were raining down around my head, so I grabbed them up. ;) And now I'm home and back at my desk. Ah, joy. I haven't been in the office for most of the last 2 weeks. It's no fun being back now. :(

The Canine Health Wars

I'm on the road again. Fourth business trip of the year, two more to go. And this is the second one since end of August. I get back from this one Saturday only to leave Monday afternoon for New Orleans. The South. In September. Hot. Sticky. Hurricane season. Oh, joy. I hate traveling for work. Especially with Scully being sick. She's got pneumonia for the second time since June. She's been on one antibiotic for four weeks (two more to go for that one), another antibiotic for one week, plus pred.nisone, a bronchodilator and an inhaled steroid. {sigh} Excessive to some, I suppose, since she's "just a dog". But how can I justify not doing for her what I'd do for me? She's a living breathing being. I can't just consign her to pain, distress, because she's a dog. Doesn't seem right to me. Not when I can see her struggling. I've had the talk with the vet about if it's time to let her go or not. She's 14, and the health is going. Even non-dog people I know have noticed. But the vet doesn't think so. After all, Scully is still eating well (most of the time), is moving around, going outside, etc. The fact that she begs from the neighbors when they are outside grilling is a good sign. I suppose. Although my neighbor T feels guilty if she doesn't give Scully anything. {rolling my eyes} I am forcing myself to face the fact Scully might not be with me much longer. I have several friends promising to tell me when I need to let go in case I can't face up to it myself. I'm hoping we can knock out this pneumonia soon. At least keep her comfy until Mom & Dad get her the end of September.