Pawprints From Space

The suspense is killing me.   Okay, not literally "killing me" but distracting me, making me wonder, getting impatient here ...   What over you ask? Well it ain't what Santa's bringing me for Christmas! Nope, it is Mars Rover Curiosity's "big find".   It appears that SAM (Sample Analysis on Mars) a piece of equipment on the rover found something that has mission control "very excited". But they aren't talking. In fact the date of release of info keeps getting pushed back.   Bloggers are going nuts, conspiracy theorists are ranting and raving, even Fox News has gotten into the act. In fact: John Grotzinger, the Project Scientist for Curiosity, said in an interview, "This data is gonna be one for the history books. It's looking really good." And thus he launched the imaginations of everybody out there.   What worries me isn't that this is some ground-breaking find that will put theories and conservative ...

As we move through life we change perspectives.   When we are children we see our world in one way and as we mature that view evolves (ideally) with us into a more mature view. Granted you have to wonder about some people who seem to remain stuck in the toddler's perspective of what's mine is mine and by the way EVERYTHING is mine. But overall I like to think the majority of us move along the path towards, for lack of a better term, enlightenment.   Certain exceptions must be made for political campaign season obviously. But I digress...   So ... perspective and growth. I find it interesting that some people of my acquaintance believe that when you're young it is understandable to be idealistic and thus have a live and let live, take care of each other and the planet. But that as you age you "grow out of that" and realize what life is all about. Really? And what is life all about then according to this perspective? Making money and keeping it as much ...

Autumn ... change  Not the dying of the world but sleep. Plants seem to die and yet they do not. They go to sleep. The roots are nice and cozy down deep in the soil, or the seeds tucked quietly away waiting for the returning sun. Leaves whisper along the streets, skipping ahead of the wind and chasing each other along paths and across grass .. like laughter skips along with children. Nature at play. Cooler air makes animals frisk and frolic, the oppressive heat of summer a fading memory. Even indoor cats get all puffy tailed and race around the house with sudden bursts of kitty-insanity. Horses play tag in pastures and even normally calm cattle suddenly kick up their heels. Cooler air is invigorating to all. And yet ... Change is difficult, change is sadness as well as joy. The bright flowers of summer have faded away, the sweet birdsong of spring is a memory. These warmer months enchant poets to craft words of love. Autumn and winter coax forth phras...

Where have they gone? The dedicated community service folk. You know the ones, the people who get involved and roll up their sleeves. The sort that jump right in there and "do what needs doin" regardless of the cost in time or money. Service clubs across the area - perhaps across the country - are asking this question. So are nonprofits struggling to find board members and volunteers - let alone donors. School districts long for parents to get involved and actually DO something other than complain. It's sad.  Whatever happened to civic responsibility? To giving back to a community that has given you so much? And more than on the national "make a difference day" - I am not talking about one day a year. I am talking about working to make your community a better place EVERY day. Whether that is by being a vocal cheerleader for what's great where you live, shopping local or actually being part of something greater than yourself. Your communi...

Guess what: This is NOT a political piece! So relax, you can breathe now ... maybe   It is always SO much fun to have to explain what you meant when you said what you said because some overly sensitive/paranoid individual (or group of individuals) jumped to a conclusion. Just ask a political candidate.   As a person who specifically says exactly what she means, this drives me nuts.   For example: I will say that I "have" to be somewhere to do something. And I do. Why? Because I have made a commitment to be there.   Maybe that is to show up for work. Maybe it is to help my mother out. Maybe it is to attend a party I have RSVP'ed to in the affirmative. Maybe it is an event. Maybe it is a volunteer organization. Maybe it is a meeting for an organization. Whatever "it" if I have somehow, some way committed to be there then .... I HAVE to be there. It is that simple. If something unforeseen gets in the way I call and let someone know I can't be ...

I am reminded recently, daily it seems, of a phrase ... why can't we all just get along . Probably paraphrased but poignant all the same in the midst of all the negative advertising, mud slinging and viciousness of the political "season". And that's just among friends on Facebook!! Never mind what the various candidates in local, state and federal elections are saying about each other. That rhetoric might be nasty but it can't hold a candle to the way people are bashing - and defriending - each other online for daring to have a different opinion. There is apparently no such thing as civil discourse these days when it comes to the election. People who are supposed to be friends are ripping into each other and simply being cruel. There is no call for it. None. Part of what makes it great to live in the United States is the fact that we can voice different opinions! You can have a say (by voting) in what goes on. To hear some of these people talk it is t...

Like so many people I've decided I need to take off some pounds. This is a common goal for women of une certain age I know but I have had enough of going through several items in the closet before finding the one thing that fits. This is eating into my sleeping time! Have to get up earlier than I'd like just to figure out what'll fit the figure. On the up side the proportions are still in the hourglass category - there's just too much damned sand in said hourglass. Plus there is a wedding at the end of September and I have a dress I'd like to wear but at the current levels of hourglass "sand" I'll be lucky to get one leg in it. And the bride is a size zero so PRESSURE!! I have discovered a couple of new tools to aid me in this quest: a web site and phone ap called "Lose It!" which can be found here: http://loseit.com/  The aps for the phone works with both the iPhone and Android platforms and it is free. The other thing I like is that ...

It doesn't matter what your political leanings are, if you are female at certain points in your life you're going to be told you need certain screenings (Pap test, mammogram). You may find out that you have certain medical issues that require medications typically used for contraception (endometriosis, menopause, control of acne, regulation of the menstrual cycle, etc.). You may have some insurance, no insurance, not enough insurance or one of those so-called Cadillac plans.  And you might wonder why a drug for men's reproductive "issues" is mandated to be covered by insurance and yet the mere idea that a type of drug for yours is causing such a ruckus. Within weeks of Viagra's hitting the market in 1998 more than half of all prescriptions for the drug were covered by insurance. The Pill? Not so much. Which is REALLY silly since The Pill is cheaper than a pregnancy. AND contraception tends to mean that there are fewer abortions as there are fewer unplanne...

Don't you hate it when relatives fight? When two best friends beat each other up (verbally or otherwise)? When companies rip into each other? How about when two organizations whose mission is to serve their membership, the public, and/or the greater good suddenly get ugly? For no real good reason. Let's say you are Organization #1 and you are in dire financial straits. Your group has one regular source of income - a weekly event. People like this event, nearly 200 attend every week. However, there aren't enough volunteers to run it properly and it has been in steady decline. Organization #1 doesn't make much from it as costs keep increasing. Some months they don't make anything at all and actually come out owing their vendors more than they took in. Eventually the Board of Directors decides this can't continue and votes to shut the event down. It'll be hard but they will get by, God willing. So they get out the contract they have with Organizati...

The 2011 elections are a mere 19 days away. Local elections have generated a fair amount of silliness - incumbents who are indignant, challengers who are clueless and issues that confuse the populace because, really, who is going to read the massive insert in the paper this week that attempts to explain it all? Those of us inclined to read it already understand the issues. Those not so inclined will not read it, remain confused or ill-informed and vote whichever way the wind is blowing. This is not merely an Ohio affliction.  If you thought it was an Ohio affliction I call your attention to the hoopla over the so-called GOP "debates". Can you call it a debate with no set questions, no real moderator and a bunch of people on a stage who just yell at each other for a couple of hours? That may be an ordinary day in Congress but it isn't a debate of the issues by well-informed candidates. It is instead that aforementioned "every which way wind" blowing across T...

Imagine if you will sitting in a church - a nondenominational congregation with great music and charismatic preacher who goes on for nearly two hours about forgiveness and God's love and it is a really, really great sermon. Now imagine that you're a person struggling in life. You've been through some horrific things as a child. Things that have turned your world upside down. Things that have (perhaps) led you down a certain path. Perhaps it wasn't those things you experienced. Perhaps your DNA is such that you were born with a certain preference for same gender relationships. However you got there. There you are. Someone who is struggling with who they are; someone who has studied the Bible. Someone who has it bookmarked and highlighted and knows it inside out and backwards. Okay so after listening to nearly two hours of how God loves us no matter what, who will forgive us no matter what - who, like our parents wants the best for us and who will never turn His back ...

So I got to thinking about stuff today - it was too nice to be inside at work so the mind tended to wander all over the place. Fortunately when it does that it does find its way back home... eventually. One of the things I was thinking about was the whole Occupy Wall Street brouhaha. Now granted I haven't been paying too much attention I admit it (which is SO not like me) but I have had other things on my mind - work's been busy, the Humane Society event I am trying to put together for next week is in the panic phase, kitties are nuts and two of the five now have ear issues (one has mites, the other an infection). Anyway, lack of attention to the Occupy Wall Street and the 99% thing. From what I gather this appears to be the left side of the fence's version of the Tea Party "uprising" of a couple of years ago. They got all fired up about taxes, etc. and the so-called left pretty much sat back and thought they were nuts. Now of course Congress is nearly be...

Click here to view this photo book larger Shutterfly photo books are the new way to preserve your memories. Create your own today.

We have a mandatory recycling program here in Lima Ohio, have had for a while now. It took quite a while to get it up and running - to get the City's residents to use the recycling bins the City provides. But now everyone is pretty good about sorting their recyclables from their regular trash. We have nice, large rolling trash bins for our recycling items (having graduated from the small brightly colored curbside boxes a few years ago).  We aren't asked to separate clear glass from colored, paper from the various levels of plastic, fold cardboard a certain way or even thoroughly wash out the jars and cans as I had to do in Connecticut. It IS nice not to have to run the dishwasher just so you can put things out to be recycled. Very simple here, if you can recycle it, put it all in the same bin. We even have separate bins you can buy (for a mere $20) for your yard waste. We get yard waste clear bags from the City as well (just have to show your utility bill), so long as ...

It's been a while and folks are wondering (yup, all 2 of you) what's going on so it is time for some randomness and catching up... The trip to Dallas was great! Very comfortable meeting the rest of my family. As my sisters and I noted on that Tuesday (our Sister Day) even though we didn't grow up together, it feels as though we've known each other all our lives.  All the calls, emails and Facebook postings since "first contact" no doubt helped. Connected well with the nieces as well. Wonderful young ladies all! The older girls have wonderful guys in their lives and little great-niece Presley Elizabeth is an absolute doll! The younger two girls are fabulous young women as well. One still in high school has a great deal of energy about her, which goes well with her spunk and freckles. Her older sister is a deep, gentle soul who has had more than her share of troubles at so young an age but her compassion outshines everything else she is struggling with ...

Purrcy is enjoying full run of the house, basement included. So much so in fact that he missed the big excitement in the breezeway. Excitement that kept the other kitties occupied all day (I assume). A small female sparrow somehow managed to fall into the wood stove's chimney and get herself stuck. I did not hear her this morning as I was rushing to get out the door to a client meeting (although I did wonder why Honey and Rumba were fixated on the stove) but I did hear the poor little thing when I got home fluttering around.  The kitties, including the clueless Purrcy were shooed out of the room and both doors and the windows were opened wide. The little soot covered bird flew out of the stove and spent the next twenty minutes flying around perching on everything but not finding her way out the door. Finally I was able to shoo her in the direction of the door and off and out she went. Her tail feathers were slightly damaged but she flew well and straight so once she gets all the ...

There was this neighborhood association garage sale thing that sucked up all the time to keep everyone updated about Purrcy and Company. Now we are in catch up mode... The "big kitties" are being to play with Purrcy more regularly. Honey is prone to giving mixed messages. One minutes she wants to play chase and the next she is lapping and hissing the little guy. Rumba got annoyed yesterday at being prevented from doing something she wanted to do so she decided to slap Purrcy quite hard and repeatedly. All he was doing was napping in a chair. Unfair! Big sisters are mean!! Lucky has fallen back into her habit of "ohmygoditsisakittenwhowantstoplaywithmytailRUN!!" which of course means that the kitten in question will give chase thereby increasing her sense of panic. Sigh. She never learns. Bon is presently pissed off at everyone. Although he has been seen touching noses with Purrcy when he thinks I don't see him. This weekend the basement will cease to be Hone...

I don't have the cats wear collars being as they are inside babies. However, when they are little they are belled. Considering how kittens get into everything can seem to be everywhere at once and get themselves into all sorts of situations it's best to at least be able to hear them when you otherwise can't find them.  Of course the ding-ding-dinging at 2 a.m. during the Kitty Olympics is annoying. What you ask are the Kitty Olympics? Games that have been going on since 1986 when Pouncequick and Chaos launched the wee hours romp through the house at break neck speed. Yup in 25 years I haven't had a night of truly uninterrupted sleep or a meal in peace. Not complaining exactly ... except for the meal thing. That's really bothersome. I have always tended to wake up around 2 a.m. for no apparent reason anyway. And now when I do I get a kitty cuddle.  Purrcy is quite upset over the motorcycles and large trucks that roar passed the house. Poor little bug has no idea w...

Since the big kitties have yet to master the fine art of cornering when racing through the house as if their tails were on fire it is no wonder that little bitty kitties have a hard time with it too.  Of course little bitty kitties aren't real good at stopping either and the take off is funny when the back feet can't gain a purchase. It is like watching a cartoon. You know, the sort where the feet blur for a few frames before the character zooms out of the picture. What I really like though is the straight up in he air kitten-got-startled by something. In this case it is usually Rumba zooming by that causes the boing! straight up, spin about in mid air and land all puffed up.  When you take a sharp corner when running on hard wood floors you have to be careful that your front paws don't end up going one direction while the back paws go in a completely different direction. When stopping try to use the paws not the head that slams into the footstool, sofa or anything els...

When Bonzai was a kitten his nemesis was a broom (he still hates that broom by the way). Purrcy has decided that the dust mop deserves to die. He has pounced on it, attempted to shred it and basically rode the thing around the room while Mama tried to use it. It made for an interesting bit of house cleaning. Unlike Rumba, Purrcy is not waking me up every two hours for something to eat. But once I do get up he stuffs his whiskers.  All in all this is a MUCH easier integration than any since Pouncequick met Chaos WAY back in 1986. Today he tried to get Bon to play by doing the boing! boing! boing! kitten dance followed by a pounce right at the big guy. Bon just sat back and looked confused. Should he bop the kitten, play with the kitten or... he chose to walk away. Probably the safest thing to do... for Purrcy.  Lucky's tail was eyed from the safety of Purrcy's "fort" she caught on and dodged the paws reaching for her tail. Purrcy's "fort" if you recall...