Warp Speed Ahead!

Sitrep: Painting low walls & sloping ceilings = squats. Oy, do my butt muscles ache this morning!

Mom & Dad arrived Friday evening. It's great to see them again. The dogs are doing okay with them, I supppose, although they were both intimidated by Dad. Max warmed up to him first. Leia is still a bit skittish. But whenever he or mom walk into a room the dogs are in and I'm not there, they freak out barking. Ughh. And this morning, when Dad got up, Leia flipped out which set Max off. Poor thing. Half the time I don't think he has a clue why they're barking. Just knows something upset her so he must need to bark as well! But he settles down much quicker when I tell them to be quiet. Definitely need to start working on that!

And oh, Max can fly. [g] We painted the upstairs yesterday. To keep the dogs out of the way, I put up the baby gate in the doorway from the living room into the kitchen, so they couldn't get to the stairs (off the sunroom you access through the kitchen). Well, they didn't like us upstairs without them. The usual whining, barking, scratching at the gate, etc. After a few minutes of painting, I heard the pitter-patter of little feet on the stairs. And there was Max, looking mighty pleased with himself. The gate was still up, and Leia was still on the other side. So I had to put a second gate up in the doorway above the first. [g]

Later on, Mom didn't realize Dad & I were outside cleaning up the paint trays (she was in the kitchen cooking dinner) and she let the dogs out. Ooops. Of course, they charge through the wet grass & paint splatters. I chased them back inside and Leia went right through a paint spill on the cardboard we'd placed on the sunroom floor. I yelled at Mom "Catch her! She walked in paint!" Of course, the second Mom moved for her Leia dodged and made it to the living room.  I had to come in and catch her because Mom couldn't.Then had to clean up the little white paw prints on the nice laminate flooring. LOL. At least it cleaned up easily. We should have gotten that on tape. One silly little 6.5 lb dog successfully evading two adult women. Sheesh.

Today I'm going to get color samples for upstairs and hopefully we'll paint that tomorrow. Wednesday the trim, and maybe Thursday we'll be able to move all the stuff back upstairs. Whoo-hoo!

First Sighting of the Pink Beast

We do not quit playing because we grow old, we grow old because we quit playing.
~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

I've been forced to drag out my winter coat. It's warm, but a bit on the bulky side. And purply pink. Unbelievably so. You can't miss me when I'm wearing this thing. Wind chill was 8* this morning. Ughh.

It doesn't help that I'm fighting off whatever bug is going around. I'm sitting here at work, alone, all wrapped up in a fleece wrap and I'm cold. I better not get the flu. Especially not with Mom & Dad arriving in one week. Way too much to do.  But I'm tired, and have had this headache since yesterday afternoon that nothing helps, and starting to feel achy. Thankfully it's Friday.

Dog Update
The dogs are doing good. Lots of progress with Max. He even ate his breakfast today without my having to stand next to him. I was able to move to the other side of the room and fix my own, only redirecting him to his bowl once. He's been like a shadow. Outside, he doesn't just hide behind my legs, he'll wander now. He and Leia were actually playing the other night. Too bad it was our last potty time before bed...Not the best time to play. [g] But I let them for a few minutes.

Leia is just too adorable for words. They both are. She is a hoot. Every once in awhile while running around the backyard she'll suddenly pick both back legs up and run forward a few steps on her front feet. It's bizarre, and hilarious. I remember Cherie, the mini poodle we had growing up, was finicky about walking on grass. I'm hoping I can eventually teach Leia to do this on command. And why not? There's a reason poodles are circus dogs! I'm thinking of training them as therapy dogs to visit M's group home. They are a good size to cuddle, and love cuddling. Especially as their resident dog is nearing her final years. We'll just have to see how they do at obedience training. So far so good though, just with the commands I'm using at home. Leia is beginning to understand "drop it" and "leave it" as well as "off".

Book Review
But enough on the dogs. I just finished listening to J.Evanovich's last Stephanie Plum novel "Finger Lickin' Fifteen" on audio. I must say, I was a bit disappointed. Was there this much reliance on bodily funtion humor in previous books? I don't remember it that way. Maybe I'm too much of a prude. Maybe I'm just being female. But I don't like the majority of the "humor" being about farts, etc.

Had a couple other quibbles. Like Ranger hiring Stephanie to figure out who was doing the break ins. Huh? Like the guys working for him wouldn't know she'd report everything back to him. And then when they did catch who it was, they never explained how they knew enough about the accounts to be so particular about what they stole. Because the crooks were from outside his organization. And great emphasis was placed on the types of things stolen, etc. I just find it hard to believe that someone with Ranger's background, skills and supposed experience could be stumped that easily...

And the whole Chipotle killer ending...I don't know. Just was off to me. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood.

And seriously. How many years has Stephanie been a bounty hunter now? How many times has she had someone go in the other room to get dressed/used the bathroom/whatever and then sneak out? Or put handcuffs on one of their wrists and they take off? She's not the best bounty hunter, but she's not as stupid as in this book, either. It's getting irritating.

And the paint thing, flour thing, where Stephanie is the only one that gets hit with the stuff, and Ranger never does, even when standing next to her for the paint...Yeah, right. He'd get splattered a bit.

And speaking of Ranger. In this book his interest in Stephanie didn't seem good to me. I can't quite explain it. It just came across as he's just toying with her, she amuses him because she's less. You know, the blond bimbo type thing. More of a paternalistic/superior attitude. I don't know. It's hard to put into words.

I'm starting to wish Evanovich would just finish the series.

Next on the list to read: The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien. Part of the "Big Read in the Big Sky" events this month. The author is going to be here to discuss the book. I'm thinking of going.

Next on the list to review: Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard (Young Adult book). The book series Little Sis and her mom were arguing over.

Puppy Pics

Sitrep: 30 minutes treadmill, 15 minutes swimming pool. Climbing team starts again tomorrow, so my 2x week trips to the gym are back on! Yay!

These are funner to look at and blog about than the snow we've been getting. First snow in town for the year. Whoo-hoo. :(

Here's Leia (much cuter in person)

Here's Max

I'm starting to think Max came from some type of puppy mill situation or one where he was never let out of his crate. Because when left home alone he will pee on his bed and still lay on it. {sigh}. He doesn't go in the house if I'm home...only when I'm at work. Even though I come home at lunch to let them out. So I'm going to have to get him used to feeling clean & liking that, and reinforce potty training. Crate training not really an option since he'd pee in his crate. Lovely.

I'm liking having them around, although it's hard to be out of the routine Scully & I were in. I'm very much a routine type of person. :)

Book Censorship Map

Another lovely Goo.gle Map. Here's one compiled by the ALA showing book bans and challenges from 2007-2009 in the US.


View Book Bans and Challenges, 2007-2009 in a larger map

Dogs in the House, Part Two

Meet Max

Turns out his name is actually “Neo” and I heard “Neil”. Neo sounds too much like “no” to my ears, and I don’t like it much anyway. Even though I’m just fostering him, I’m changing his name. Max is the name that came to me when thinking of him the weekend I first met him & Leia, so Max it is.

He is very timid. More so than I expected. I got him to the house and showed him the kitchen, where food & water are set out, and then the sofa. And that was that. He jumped up on the sofa and hid in a corner of it. Wouldn’t come out. I carried him outside to go to the bathroom, to the kitchen to eat. He wouldn’t eat or drink that first day. When I took them out just before bedtime, Leia came back in on her own but he didn’t. Even though he’d used the doggie door when we first arrived. I had to get a flashlight to find him. He’d bedded down in the tall grass along the side of the house. He was trembling so when I got him and took him inside for the night. He stayed where he was put those first days. On Saturday evening, he inched closer to me on the sofa while I was reading. And later that night he came running across the sofa to me when I patted my leg. I’m trying hard to ignore him when he’s being timid…no soothing pats to reinforce the timidity. It’s tough. Poor little thing.

Also Saturday I got him to follow me to the kitchen where he drank; he wouldn’t eat until I tried desensitizing him to my presence/hands with kibble. Sunday he followed me outside. Now he comes outside most of the time when I take them out together, and comes back inside when I tell him it’s okay. Yesterday morning he started wandering around when I wasn’t in the room. Today he learned how to get on and off the bed using the stairs. That was great. I also put the leash on him for a few minutes so he can get used to it.

So slowly we make progress. He is going to be tougher than Leia. I’m not sure on too many details of his past; the shelter wasn’t very informative. I think they can’t say too much because there is a pending court case. I do hope I can keep him. At the least, I’m going to do my best to get him stabilized and have more courage.

I’m currently reading Cesar Milan’s “Be the Pack Leader” which is pretty insightful. If you watch his show enough, you already know most of it. That’s what the first half of the book is about. But now it’s getting to the nitty-gritty. If he is stable enough, we’ll do dog training in January as well.

Dogs in the House

Friday afternoon Little Sis, Mom M and I went down to the shelter in B___ to pick up the dogs. I think we made record time getting there! I was so excited. Nervous, too. Did all the paperwork (they are very thorough, and gave me tons of great info), and then they brought out the dogs.

Meet Leia

The nine month old poodle is adorable. She’s timid, not sure what all is going on, but adapting much easier because she’s so young. She is a hoot. She took to the doggie door fairly easily, and now runs in and out like it’s the coolest thing on the planet. I guess it is, to her! Second best was when she figured out the stairs to get up on the bed. That was on Sunday night. It was up-down-up-down-up-down until I thought I’d go mad. I invited her up on the bed, and then moved the stairs away. She promptly went to sleep. She listens well, but is still a bit skittish coming to me, especially when I put my hand down or lean down to her. But we are working on it and she improves daily.

This morning I actually walked her a few minutes in the house with a leash on. I’d put in on her for a bit yesterday and let her walk with it dragging. Just so she’d get used to it being on. The trainer we’re going to recommended this. The next scheduled training class starts in January, but the trainer is great. She gave me tons of advice and told me to call her if I have any questions or need advice before the class starts.

Today she also started playing with the little stuffed toy I gave her. It was quite cute. We’ve been playing, but without toys. She really wants the Yorkie to play with her, but he’s a bit too timid right now. I'm going to focus on training her on the leash, and getting her to learn her name. Those are the priorities on top of the usual house rules. She's doing great so far.

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.

Skeptical Me

Sitrep: Move Office. (uck)

So much is going on in the news lately I hardly know where to start. I want to blog about health care, but I haven't quite sorted stuff out in my mind. And then there's Mi.chael V.ick. I had the misfortune of watching/listening to him on 6.0 M.inut.es last Sunday. I don't know about anyone else, but I firmly believe the man is lying. He doesn't give two hoots about animals. His opinion about animals and the way they ought to be treated hasn't changed. He said he was brought up with that attitude toward animals. Well, those kinds of attitudes don't change because he lost his NFL contract (temporarily) and went to jail (temporarily). Oh, he might not participate in dog fights anymore. He might pay lip service and do appearances with the HSUS to save face and get his career back. Frankly, I think it's a crock he's getting back in the NFL. What punishment did he really get? Not much if you ask me. Personally, I think the publicity surrounding his crimes, punishment and subsequent release have only served to increase the popularity of dog fighting, made it more "cool", and encouraged those participating in the minimal consequences endured if caught. More info: http://www.hsus.org/acf/fighting/dogfight/dogfighting_fact_sheet.html http://hsus.typepad.com/wayne/2009/08/vick-60-minutes.html http://www.hsus.org/acf/

Icon or Eyesore, It's the End of an Era

This morning at 7:40 am the three large smokestacks at the A plant in EH came down. I stopped on main street, just a block from Smith's Bar (the only other business remaining from A's hey-dey), to watch.

I'm glad the weather was overcast and damp. Definitely kept the dust from blowing across the street into EH. But just to be on the safe side, I shut the windows on that side of the house before leaving for work.

It will be nice not to have them in plain sight from my backyard. I won't miss them. But for many of the valley's residents whose families made a living there for several generations, it was a sad moment. A lot of people are disappointed they couldn't stay. But it was part of the EPA cleanup of the site. But whether they're an icon or an eyesore, it's definitely a marker of the end of an era. EH isn't a company town any more. And the outward signs of that time are disappearing.

Water Thoughts

For some reason, I’ve had water on my brain for awhile now. Perhaps it’s because we’ve been having a fairly wet summer, or the Flood classes I’m arranging for work, or going to the water park in June. It startles me sometimes how much we take water for granted here in the US. I suppose we do so in most of the “first” or “developed” countries. On the History channel the other day there was a show on bottled water and how that phenomenon evolved. A few weeks ago there was one on the power of water and it’s uses through the ages – including such things as the Bellagio fountains in Las Vegas, etc. Last night there was a show on Discovery about extreme water parks. I only watched a bit, but apparently in Wisconsin Dells, WI there are over 20 water parks on 19.5 square miles. Between them, those water parks hold 15.7 million gallons of water. Think of it. Fifteen point seven million gallons of water. For entertainment. Then I remember the lack of water in Paraguay. People just minutes walk from the town I lived in struggling to capture and store water. I read articles about the lack of potable water around the world, and how people (mostly women and children) walk hours, many times taking most of the day, to get water for household use. And what about right here at home? There are so many articles about towns having water shortages or running out (some town in GA had to bring water in by truck this summer; or was it last?). Especially out in the West. Watching American Experience: We Shall Remain this past spring on PBS, they had a short film after one of the episodes about the Navajo Reservation in Arizona (I think that was where it was). Half the reservation, about 80,000 (?) are without potable water. They have to haul water. It seems unreal to me. Water issues are intense in the West. I guess I’d thought that was really a thing of the past in the US. It’s just one other way to highlight the large discrepancies in our culture/society. Water parks that feature one ride using 35,000 gallons of water a day. Hotels in the desert with fountains that use so much fresh well water? I’m sure they attempt to recycle and reuse as much as possible, as do the water parks. It just seems so extravagant when people in the same country are hauling water to drink, wash and cook with. Absolutely bizarre. It’s not like I’m naïve enough to think closing down the Bellagio fountains or the water parks will help people across the world or in the US that don’t have water. More likely it would just hurt the people in those areas economically. But it does make me uncomfortable, and squirm in my seat at my own waste of water and how even with my experience in the Peace Corps I take it for granted.