Several of my on-line friends are doing a daily reading meme this month and have encouraged me to join. Me, being me, I'm waiting until the 21st to post any of my answers, and plan to do it in probably three hunks. With any luck, I'll finish with my answers before the end of the year:)
Day 1 - What was your favorite read from last year?
I had a slower than usual year last year, what with the various tragedies in my life and a crazy job, so it should have been easy to pick? Not so much. I've narrowed it down to two: The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford and The Guinea Pig Diaries by A. Jacobs. In the end, I'm voting for The Guinea Pig Diaries. Every month, A. J. conducts an experiment--outsourcing his life to India, following George Washington's Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior, and practicing radical honesty. Like his other books, very funny and entertaining.
Day 2 - Name a book that you have read more than three times.
I am not one who rereads a lot of books, but I think I have read Krakauer's Into the Wild three times, although I only have it documented twice. I've read Midwives by Chris Bohjalian and Next of Kin by Roger Fouts twice and will likely reread them both at some time. And if I decide to read the Discworld series in order, then I will have read The Color of Magic thrice. :)
Day 3 - What is your favorite series?
Terry Pratchett's Discworld books. So fun, so quirky. Fabulous characters. I also enjoy the Midnight Louie mysteries by Carole Nelson Douglas and Lilian Jackson Braun's Cat Who books.
Day 4 - What is your favorite book from your favorite series?
Mort. You just have to love Mort.
Day 5 - A book that makes you happy.
This is a really hard one for me. I enjoy books, I love books, and they give me pleasure, but I don't really think of them as making my happy. I know that some people have books that they come back to whenever they need a pick-me-up. So I'm just going to go with all of the Calvin and Hobbes anthologies. Nothing like naked Calvin butt to make me smile. Of course, given recent events in my life, I don't know if I could read them the same way right now, but they do make me smile.
Day 6 - A book that makes or made you sad.
So, pretty much every 'based on a real story' animal book I've ever read. Dewey, Marley and Me, etc. Face it. We all know how all of these books are eventually going to end, but we read them anyway.
Day 7 - Name a book that you think is underrated.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon. It had it's brief moment in the sun, but is a fabulous book.
Day 8 - What, in your opinion is the most overrated book?
Ok, I could start a flame was and say the Twilight series, but I won't. I do think that they are overrated, but they are not the most overrated. I'm going to go with The Celestine Prophecy on this one. Seriously, the man didn't say anything that dozens of other new age folk hadn't said before. I'd also like to give an honorable mention to The Secret.
Day 9 - A book you thought you wouldn't like, but ended up loving
This is another hard one, as I don't usually pick up books that I don't think I'll like. Let's go old-school on this one. In school, I had heard horror stories about Johnny Tremain and how awful it was and how I'd hate it. I didn't. I actually really enjoyed it.
Day 10 - Favorite classic book
Dracula. Anyone surprised by this? Come to think of it, I've read this one at least twice, too. Might be time for a third go:)
More soon. Or soonish. Probably.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Tribute to Hobbes, Part 1
June 28, 2011 - January 17, 2012
My husband and I adopted Hobbes (and his brother Calvin) on October 30, 2011 after losing our buddy Thrasher in September. Little did we know that our time with Hobbes would be so short. About two weeks after we brought the boys home, Hobbes got sick. We went to the vet and were given antibiotics for a respiratory infection. After a week on them, Hobbes was almost back to normal. The next day (the day before Thanksgiving), he took a sudden turn for the worse and ended up at the kitty hospital. He came home from there that Friday with a diagnosis of Feline Infectious Peritonitis, a horrible, fatal disease.
We were lucky to have almost two more months with him before he walked himself across the Rainbow Bridge, leaving us all a whole lot sadder. While there had been many days when I thought the end was near, it became very apparent on his last day that he was leaving. I am very grateful that he chose to sleep with me that whole night instead of getting out of bed at 3am like he had been doing for weeks, but when he got up and could barely walk, I knew it was time to say goodbye.
I had been telling him for weeks that it was okay if he wanted to go, and his buddy Bodhi had just recently taken the same trip, so I told him that Bodhi was waiting for him. I told him that we loved him and that we would miss him, but that we would never forget him. I gave him a kiss and scratched his chin and left him alone for a bit to decide.
When I went back upstairs, he was gone. As much as it pained me, I am so grateful to my brave little boy for leaving on his own and not forcing me to make the decision to end his life. One of the awful things about this disease (one of many) is that it causes extreme anemia as well as neurological problems, both of which resulted in Hobbes not being able to groom himself. I had promised him that I would make sure he was pretty and clean and soft again when he made his trip, so I washed and brushed and dried him.
It was also very important to me that his brother Calvin be a part of this in the hopes that somewhere in his little mind he understands that his brother is gone. They hadn't really been able to be around each other once Hobbes got sick because Calvin plays very roughly and Hobbes just couldn't handle it, so it was important to me that they had this time together now. Amazingly, Calvin seemed to understand and was very gently with his brother.
Calvin tried to 'wake' his brother up. He'd paw his nose and at one point (when I walked away for a minute), he even brought his brother his favorite toy. This absolutely broke my heart.
Once Hobbes was clean, I just sat with him for a while. I cuddled him and stroked him and looked at his beautiful face.
The next day, we took Hobbes to Paws, Whiskers, and Wags to have him cremated. The sun came out that day, and it was so nice to see him in a sunbeam one last time. The staff were surprised to see us back so soon and we assured them that we had not wanted to see them again. Lisa was wonderful and gave us all the time we needed to say our final goodbyes. While we waited to get his remains back, we went and saw his foster mother, Gwen, at Camp Kitty. We shared some laughs and some tears before going back to pick up our precious Hobbes. He is now nestled with Thrasher on our mantle.
Dear, sweet Hobbes, we miss you. We miss you so much. I hope you are having fun with your little pal Bodhi and I'm sure my Thrasher is watching out for you two now.
My husband and I adopted Hobbes (and his brother Calvin) on October 30, 2011 after losing our buddy Thrasher in September. Little did we know that our time with Hobbes would be so short. About two weeks after we brought the boys home, Hobbes got sick. We went to the vet and were given antibiotics for a respiratory infection. After a week on them, Hobbes was almost back to normal. The next day (the day before Thanksgiving), he took a sudden turn for the worse and ended up at the kitty hospital. He came home from there that Friday with a diagnosis of Feline Infectious Peritonitis, a horrible, fatal disease.
We were lucky to have almost two more months with him before he walked himself across the Rainbow Bridge, leaving us all a whole lot sadder. While there had been many days when I thought the end was near, it became very apparent on his last day that he was leaving. I am very grateful that he chose to sleep with me that whole night instead of getting out of bed at 3am like he had been doing for weeks, but when he got up and could barely walk, I knew it was time to say goodbye.
I had been telling him for weeks that it was okay if he wanted to go, and his buddy Bodhi had just recently taken the same trip, so I told him that Bodhi was waiting for him. I told him that we loved him and that we would miss him, but that we would never forget him. I gave him a kiss and scratched his chin and left him alone for a bit to decide.
When I went back upstairs, he was gone. As much as it pained me, I am so grateful to my brave little boy for leaving on his own and not forcing me to make the decision to end his life. One of the awful things about this disease (one of many) is that it causes extreme anemia as well as neurological problems, both of which resulted in Hobbes not being able to groom himself. I had promised him that I would make sure he was pretty and clean and soft again when he made his trip, so I washed and brushed and dried him.
It was also very important to me that his brother Calvin be a part of this in the hopes that somewhere in his little mind he understands that his brother is gone. They hadn't really been able to be around each other once Hobbes got sick because Calvin plays very roughly and Hobbes just couldn't handle it, so it was important to me that they had this time together now. Amazingly, Calvin seemed to understand and was very gently with his brother.
Calvin tried to 'wake' his brother up. He'd paw his nose and at one point (when I walked away for a minute), he even brought his brother his favorite toy. This absolutely broke my heart.
Once Hobbes was clean, I just sat with him for a while. I cuddled him and stroked him and looked at his beautiful face.
The next day, we took Hobbes to Paws, Whiskers, and Wags to have him cremated. The sun came out that day, and it was so nice to see him in a sunbeam one last time. The staff were surprised to see us back so soon and we assured them that we had not wanted to see them again. Lisa was wonderful and gave us all the time we needed to say our final goodbyes. While we waited to get his remains back, we went and saw his foster mother, Gwen, at Camp Kitty. We shared some laughs and some tears before going back to pick up our precious Hobbes. He is now nestled with Thrasher on our mantle.
Dear, sweet Hobbes, we miss you. We miss you so much. I hope you are having fun with your little pal Bodhi and I'm sure my Thrasher is watching out for you two now.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
2012, the stakes are high for you
So, even if I don't post another post the entire year, I have been pretty good at doing a year-end numbers type post. Not going to happen this year. I figure that any year that would include a statistic about "number of crematory visits" doesn't really deserve a year-by-the-numbers review. And as I am waiting for one more visit, I'm not sure that I'm ready to start 2012. Maybe we'll start at Chinese New Year. I'll get back to everyone after I know.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Someone owes me a pair of socks now.
And she knows who she is:)
But anyway. (Please excuse the blurriness of tho photos--I was taking them in bad light and I have no idea what settings the camera might be on right now.)
I declared today, September 4th, the first official day of Halloween sock season. Yes, it may seem early to some. For me, not so much. I didn't actually make it through my entire collection last year, and I don't want to see that happen again. By starting today, I should have a little wiggle room, as long as I don't buy too many new pairs and as long as I don't consider all of the solid-colored (yet predominantly orange, purple, or green) socks that came in Halloween multi-packs as actual Halloween socks. (They are in general rotation, so I consider those one every day socks.)
So far, I've worn one pair. (For those who need to know, I wore the white ones with the black cats in the bottom row of the second photo.) The knee socks are a particular challenge as I need the rest of my ensemble to show them off sufficiently. And if anyone is curious, I am open for new donations.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Random statistics for 2010
And posted on January 1, 2011, no less:)
And for continuity's sake, I decided to copy the basic format, if not the exact same content, as the 2008 report. I apparently felt no need to do this last year.
Books read: 92 (sad)
Letterboxes found: 201 (quite the opposite of sad)
Summits of Stone Mountain: Many
Slip and falls coming off the summit of Stone Mountain: 1
Late night, fully clothed, not especially legal swims at Stone Mountain Park: 0 (Ok, I admit I'm only leaving this one in because it's funny to think back to 2008.)
National Parks visited: 4 (Yosemite, Kings Canyon, Sequoia (2 districts), Shenandoah (again, 2 districts))
National Battlefields visited: 2 (Antietam and Kennesaw Mountain)
National Historical Sites visited: 1 (Portage Railroad)
National Forests visited: 1 (also Sequoia. I think we actually went through another near Yosemite, but I don't recall seeing any big signs.)
National Scenic Trails visited: 1 (Appalachian)
National Monuments seen from a distance but not really visited: 1 (Fort Pulaski)
Times lost in forests of giant trees: 2 (Ok, perhaps not totally lost, but definitely not really sure about where we actually were other than "still inside the park, we think.")
Giant Sequoias seen: Let's just say a whole bunch of 'em.
Pairs of sunglasses lost: 0
Total miles biked: 1595.55
Miles biked outside: 1446.4
Miles biked inside on very boring trainer while watching mindless television or reading: 149.15
Best biking month: September with 278.4 miles (all outside)
Pairs of fancy socks purchased: Many, once again. There was supposed to be another blog post about this shortly after Halloween, and it could still occur. I did take the pictures.
New Halloween decorations purchased: Quite a few. It's best if I don't count these things.
Number of kittens adopted: 0 (But there were temptations)
Promotions: 1
Postcrossing cards received: 50
And once again I have reached the point where I'm just going to start making up really weird stuff. (And yes, some of you are thinking, "You mean some of this other stuff wasn't weird?") For now, we're off to start a new year!
And for continuity's sake, I decided to copy the basic format, if not the exact same content, as the 2008 report. I apparently felt no need to do this last year.
Books read: 92 (sad)
Letterboxes found: 201 (quite the opposite of sad)
Summits of Stone Mountain: Many
Slip and falls coming off the summit of Stone Mountain: 1
Late night, fully clothed, not especially legal swims at Stone Mountain Park: 0 (Ok, I admit I'm only leaving this one in because it's funny to think back to 2008.)
National Parks visited: 4 (Yosemite, Kings Canyon, Sequoia (2 districts), Shenandoah (again, 2 districts))
National Battlefields visited: 2 (Antietam and Kennesaw Mountain)
National Historical Sites visited: 1 (Portage Railroad)
National Forests visited: 1 (also Sequoia. I think we actually went through another near Yosemite, but I don't recall seeing any big signs.)
National Scenic Trails visited: 1 (Appalachian)
National Monuments seen from a distance but not really visited: 1 (Fort Pulaski)
Times lost in forests of giant trees: 2 (Ok, perhaps not totally lost, but definitely not really sure about where we actually were other than "still inside the park, we think.")
Giant Sequoias seen: Let's just say a whole bunch of 'em.
Pairs of sunglasses lost: 0
Total miles biked: 1595.55
Miles biked outside: 1446.4
Miles biked inside on very boring trainer while watching mindless television or reading: 149.15
Best biking month: September with 278.4 miles (all outside)
Pairs of fancy socks purchased: Many, once again. There was supposed to be another blog post about this shortly after Halloween, and it could still occur. I did take the pictures.
New Halloween decorations purchased: Quite a few. It's best if I don't count these things.
Number of kittens adopted: 0 (But there were temptations)
Promotions: 1
Postcrossing cards received: 50
And once again I have reached the point where I'm just going to start making up really weird stuff. (And yes, some of you are thinking, "You mean some of this other stuff wasn't weird?") For now, we're off to start a new year!
Friday, December 31, 2010
As another year ends...
Once again, we find ourselves at the end of a year--all of us saying how fast it went and that we can't believe it's over. You would think we'd get used to this. It does happen every year, after all.
As usual, I didn't get a tiny portion of the things done that I wanted to get done. So I spent some time thinking about that on my last bike ride of the year. (Side note--I want to thank Mother Nature for making the last day of December the nicest day we've had in weeks!) People are always saying that they don't have enough time to get all of the things done that they want to get done. Or they don't have enough money. Or they don't have enough talent. Well, while pondering this on my ride, I realized that none of that is really true. No, I don't have as much "me" time as I would like, but I do have a lot of time. And I may not be making as much money as, say, Donald Trump, but my husband and I are living pretty comfortably right now. As for talent, I know I have it, I just don't trust myself.
Now, I'm not going to make a resolution because I think that setting aside one certain day a year to decide to try to change your life is stupid. And I'm not even going to set a whole bunch of goals like I've done (and failed to accomplish) in past years. What I have decided is that I need to start making more conscious decisions about my life and about those things I chose, or chose not, to do. I need to make those things I want or desire to do a priority. I need to quit allowing myself to say, "I'll do that (whatever -that- is) in a minute," and start doing those things right when I think of them. Perhaps I'm deluding myself and just rephrasing what I've told myself in past years in a slightly different way, but I really hope I'm not.
So if any of you catch me lounging around saying, "I'll do it in a minute," please give me a kick in the butt. I won't mind. Much.
To end, I thought I'd share one of my favorite pictures from the trip my husband and I took to California this year. (Yes, a trip that almost nobody has seen pictures of except for the paltry few shots that I managed to get on Facebook. See, this is one of those things.)
As usual, I didn't get a tiny portion of the things done that I wanted to get done. So I spent some time thinking about that on my last bike ride of the year. (Side note--I want to thank Mother Nature for making the last day of December the nicest day we've had in weeks!) People are always saying that they don't have enough time to get all of the things done that they want to get done. Or they don't have enough money. Or they don't have enough talent. Well, while pondering this on my ride, I realized that none of that is really true. No, I don't have as much "me" time as I would like, but I do have a lot of time. And I may not be making as much money as, say, Donald Trump, but my husband and I are living pretty comfortably right now. As for talent, I know I have it, I just don't trust myself.
Now, I'm not going to make a resolution because I think that setting aside one certain day a year to decide to try to change your life is stupid. And I'm not even going to set a whole bunch of goals like I've done (and failed to accomplish) in past years. What I have decided is that I need to start making more conscious decisions about my life and about those things I chose, or chose not, to do. I need to make those things I want or desire to do a priority. I need to quit allowing myself to say, "I'll do that (whatever -that- is) in a minute," and start doing those things right when I think of them. Perhaps I'm deluding myself and just rephrasing what I've told myself in past years in a slightly different way, but I really hope I'm not.
So if any of you catch me lounging around saying, "I'll do it in a minute," please give me a kick in the butt. I won't mind. Much.
To end, I thought I'd share one of my favorite pictures from the trip my husband and I took to California this year. (Yes, a trip that almost nobody has seen pictures of except for the paltry few shots that I managed to get on Facebook. See, this is one of those things.)
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Thanks, Janice!
Ok, this is probably not going to completely satisfy my friend Ernie who has been on my case to blog more, but this is too good not to share. My friend Janice sent me a link to a blog post that she described as, "This is so you." And it is. So without further ado, I share with you the elusive 'alot' from Hyperbole and a Half. Well, actually, he's not that elusive.
And Ernie, since I just had to get up and remind myself how to turn text into a link, consider your point made. Not that it will change my behavior, but the point is made.
And Ernie, since I just had to get up and remind myself how to turn text into a link, consider your point made. Not that it will change my behavior, but the point is made.
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