Owner: Karen Shanley: My life as an author, mom, dog nut URL:http://karenshanley.com/blog/ Join Date: Sun, 18 Feb 2007 06:12:51 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Author, Karen Shanley, shares her humorous and insightful views on life as a writer, mom, and lover of three dogs: one Australian Shepherd; one Border Collie Mix; and one dog in a Maine Coon cat\'s body. Site statistics:Click here
A Bit Drab Today 2007-03-16 06:46:03 As I stand by the door, waiting for the dogs to do their business, I look up at the heavy gray sky; there’s a winter storm brewing. It reminds me of a conversation that took place on our way to Lake Placid a while back.
Andrew and I were in the front seat, and McLean and Caitlin were in the back. We were happy to have Mac with us, as he was home on break for a short while and also needed to fit in all his visiting with friends before he took off again.
“It’s a bit drab today,” Cait observed as we drove along the highway.
I nodded. It was.
“Drab,” McLean said from the backseat. “Who uses the word drab?”
Andrew and I smiled at each other. Andrew, looking up in the rear view mirror, replied to McLean, “I’d say drab was the appropriate word.”
We knew what McLean was really saying. He often expressed appreciation for his little sister’s vocabulary, for his little sister’s intelligence in general.
“At colleg Read more:Today
Thinking Blogger Award 2007-03-17 06:49:53 You might have noticed that I have a spiffy new button on my sidebar. Michelle from Scribbit: A Blog About Motherhood in Alaska honored me with it, saying that she selected me because “she (meaning me) thinks about words and is a good writer.” Those words are high praise. Thanks Michelle.
Which brings up something else I’ve been thinking about… Maybe you’ve noticed that some blogs are great with adding photos or images to go with nearly every post. I must admit, I enjoy seeing all those photos; they’re always great additions. But I often don’t think to add photos to my own posts. And I even got a new camera to help inspire me (to be reviewed in an upcoming post).
I think it’s because words are my primary medium. It’s my job as a writer to help spark my readers’ imagination so they can create their own images in their own minds. I don’t feel that I’ve done a good job unless I’m fairly certain that my painting Read more:Blogger
, Award
, Thinking Blogger
, Thinking Blogger Award
If I were King, All Doctors… 2007-03-19 06:12:55 would either figure out a way to keep their appointments on time. Or pay us for the time we spend sitting in their offices waiting.
Read more:Doctors
, hellip
Wanderings –20 Computer Security Tips 2007-03-18 06:41:09 Here are two articles with great information on how to keep your computer clean as a whistle and running at top speed.
The 20 Minute Guide to PC Security
http://www.itsecurity.com/features/20-minute-guide-pc-security-021307/
Virus-proof your PC in 20 minutes for free.
http://www.slate.com/id/2102230/
[Sorry I can’t provide live links. Because the first one is so long, if I link them, they mess up my sidebar.]
Read more:ndash
, Computer
, Computer Security
Professional Dog Trainer? 2007-03-20 06:23:33 Andrew, reading the morning paper in one hand with a cup of coffee in the other, started quoting an article on one of the more popular dog trainers du jour. Every time he was about to say what the problem was, I absent-mindedly pre-empted him with the correct evaluation and training procedure.
Finally, he looked at me and said, “Why don’t you become a professional dog trainer? Any time I mention any article or magazine piece on dog training you always know the answers.”
At first I thought he was just jokingly pointing out the ridiculous amount of knowledge I have stuffed into my head about dogs. But he wasn’t. He continued, “You’re already helping all your friends and family for free.”
And here was his punch line. “These guys are making a couple of hundred dollars an hour!”
Even though 95% of trainers would laugh at hearing those numbers, it was a legitimate question. I actually do have enough training to get certified in my sleep. Read more:Trainer
, Professional Dog
If You Were Only Allowed Five Songs 2007-03-23 06:14:45 I’ve been tagged by Rory at Hamelife to do this meme.
“If you were only allowed five songs, what would they be? Take five, and only five, that you would happily hold onto if all the rest of your music was demanded from you.”
I used to love music… This is actually a really hard meme for me because the older I get, the less I’m able to listen to music — or even watch TV. I know it sounds hokey, but it’s true. I don’t like anything that works to subconsciously manipulate my mood; it really bugs me. I can only listen to music sparingly and I haven’t turned my car radio on in years. The only TV I can watch are those shows that aren’t working to pull my emotional chain, like HGTV, or the Food Network, or… you get the idea. I’m sure there’s a name for someone who has become so sound-sensitive, I just don’t know what it is.
But I do have favorite sounds that I would never want to do without, so I’m ho
Wanderings — The Socio-biology of Empathy 2007-03-25 07:13:17 Here’s a great article on the socio-biology
of empathy and the roots of moral behavior in animals.
The NY Times article begins:
“Some animals are surprisingly sensitive to the plight of others. Chimpanzees, who cannot swim, have drowned in zoo moats trying to save others. Given the chance to get food by pulling a chain that would also deliver an electric shock to a companion, rhesus monkeys will starve themselves for several days.
Biologists argue that these and other social behaviors are the precursors of human morality.”
We’ve all come across two or three dead squirrels or possums in close proximity on the road. As though they were family trying to help each other after one of them got hit. And haven’t you seen a dead squirrel with another squirrel almost getting hit because it seems to be hanging around the body?
Animal compassion doesn’t make me wonder, as it wouldn’t anyone who shares their lives consciously with animals, but I ho Read more:mdash
The Morning Routine 2007-03-26 07:16:27 Cait’s and my morning routine goes something like this:
I get up around 4:30 a.m., go downstairs, get the coffee going, let the dogs out, go back upstairs with coffee and dogs, and write for a few hours. Then I wake up Cait, get her breakfast, sit and chat with her while she eats, wait for the first bus to go by (which means there’s exactly five minutes until her bus will arrive), double-check that she has everything she needs for the day, kiss her upturned face good-bye, start up the stairs to get a little more writing in, have her run back for one more kiss, and then watch the door close behind her.
Then I make my way back to my desk to finish whatever I’m working on before I head into the office or on to other things.
But this morning, Cait has added something a little extra. I sit at my computer, reboot the screen, and this is what’s looking back at me.
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I love you Mom!!!
.
That, right there, is one of the big reasons I keep looking forward to each new day Read more:Morning
, Routine
Riding to Nowhere 2007-03-27 07:46:41 Graidy, Kiera and I are in the car riding to nowhere. As we breeze down the road, I think about how it was we got here.
Anyone who’s had a rescue dog before knows to expect that there may be little quirks that show up here and there. Graidy is no exception. Graidy’s early life was a difficult one. He was found as a starving street stray in a New Jersey city. Even though all’s been well since he’s come to live with us for the past three years, there are still remnants of his past that will always affect him.
One of the major issues is that he doesn’t want to leave our property. He doesn’t want to be taken for walks. He doesn’t want to go for rides in the car. He doesn’t even want to go in the front yard. When asked to do any of these things, he panics. Not just a little bit. A lot. We’re talking full-blown panic attacks.
He just wants to stay home. He’s happy here. He feels safe here. Why would anybody in their right mind want Read more:Riding
, Nowhere
It’s Official - Lyme Season Has Begun 2007-03-29 02:15:20 Just pulled four dear ticks, the carriers of Lyme disease, off of Kiera today — in March. Let the Lyme wars begin! :(
I’m too bummed to explain our Lyme protocol for you today, but I will give a refresher soon. Until then, you can review here where I have a photo of what a Lyme bullseye looks like, and here where I outline various options for tackling Lyme.
Read more:Official
, Season
, Begun
A Review of My Canon Powershot SD600 2007-03-30 07:34:31 Have you noticed there’ve been more photos recently? That’s because I finally got a new camera. I’d been using Cait’s Polaroid Izone 300. While it’s a fine kid’s first camera, it just wasn’t getting the job done for me. I am now the mostly thrilled owner of a Canon
Powershot SD600 Digital Elph.
After doing some research and narrowing it down to the Sony Cybershots, and the Canon SD600, I went with the Canon. The price fit my budget (you can pick them up for under $200 now), and it had all the features I wanted without adding any extra cost for features I didn’t want.
It comes with 6 megapixels (plenty for me), a 2.5 in LDC screen, a view finder (which was a must) and a digital zoom of 4x. I went with the Elph because I wanted a camera that was lightweight and would fit in my pocket. The camera also has a a bunch of scene presets, plus a VGA movie mode, which is helpful, because at this time a point-and-shoot is about all I can manage. Tho
Wanderings — Building Paper Airplanes 2007-04-01 07:32:45 Cait and I are bored. We go through our usual craft stuff, try a little origami, and decide we’d rather build paper airplanes.
Here are some great instructions for planes that fly really straight and really far.
Read more:mdash
, Building
, Airplanes
10 Ways to Marry a Dog Lover 2007-04-02 07:32:06 There’s a funny article by Alan Goldsher where he talks about the hazards of a non-dog nut dating a dog nut. Whichever camp you’re in — dog lover or other — you’ll find something with which to identify and laugh about.
As Andrew is not a natural dog lover and, out of his love for me, has always made the effort to embrace my dogs, it got me to thinking about what some helpful DO’s and DON’T’s would be for anyone thinking about marrying a dog lover.
Do marry thinking that your dog lover (DL) will want to share with you all the myriad ways in which DL’s dog is the most amazing, the most astounding, the most intelligent, the most funny, the most lovable thing since fill-in-the-blank.
Don’t marry thinking that eventually you’ll be able to change DL’s behavior toward DL’s dog. Even if you seem to succeed in the short run, it will find a way to come back to bite you in the butt (no pun intended — well maybe a Read more:Marry
What It Takes to be a Successful Writer 2007-04-03 07:00:22 Several people have asked what it takes to be a successful writer. In order to address this question, it requires that I ask a question in return: What is your definition of success? Because there are many kinds of successes–and failures–one can experience in writing. The writing experience can run the full gamut from simply loving something you’ve written, to getting it published, to experiencing writer’s block, to not being able to get a foot in the publishing door.
As I wrote to one of my blog friends, the thing about writing — especially writing with the intention to be published — is that you will fail. There’s no question about it. All published writers (self included) have failed — not finished a project, been rejected by publishers, etc. It comes with the territory.
But you have to think of it the way Edison did. When he was inventing the light bulb, he never looked at his failures as failures but as valuable information needed t Read more:Writer
Bedtime for Bonzo 2007-04-05 07:56:13
If you’d just rub my tummy… And maybe one bedtime story. I promise, I’ll be a good boy and sleep through the whole night!
Read more:Bedtime
Growing Older Together 2007-04-06 07:29:06 Cait’s sitting on her favorite seat in the house — me. As she’s done since she was a baby, she brushes the hair back from my face with both her hands so she can see my whole face.
“Mom!”
“What?”
“You’re getting white hairs!”
Cait has announced this with some alarm. As though, for the first time, she’s realizing the clock’s not standing still.
“You can’t get old,” she adds with a hint of worry in her voice.
I joke, “I’m not getting older, I’m getting better!”
“Just don’t get any older, okay?”
“I’ll do my best,” I reply.
Fast forward a few days. For the first time, while petting Kiera, I notice that she’s gotten some white hairs around her eyes. I think, When did that happen? As Cait doesn’t want me to get older, I don’t want Kiera to get older. I don’t want to move any closer to the day when she will no longer be in Read more:Growing
Wanderings — Pet Artist 2007-04-08 07:44:12 Portrait artist, Katja, uses pencils, oils, and watercolors to create stunning and life-like portraits of pets. This is an Australian Shepherd she did in pencil.
Read more:mdash
, Artist
I’m a B.A.D. Blogger 2007-04-07 07:09:15 I’m a B.A.D. Blogger
. It’s fun being B.A.D., as in “Blog A Day” bad. Liz Strauss over at Successful Blog has created another opportunity for bloggers to get to know each other. As Liz says:
I’m calling a Blogger A Day every day. I’d like to do a voice chat with you. Would you like a call? I’d like to get to know who you are, what you do, and tell you a little about me too.
It’s one more way to link up the blogosphere. It’s one more way that we can get smarter. It’s a way we can take blogging to the next level. It’s a way you and I can meet to say a real “hello.”
After we talk, I’ll call you a B.A.D. Blogger and I’ll post a word and link on Successful-Blog. It’ll be fun. It’ll also be great promotion for you and your blog.
I have to admit, the reason I asked Liz for the privilege of joining the ranks of her B.A.D. Bloggers was for the chance to talk with her.
I’ve always had an eye for interesting people. And I can’t help
Lessons Learned from Solitaire 2007-04-09 07:05:40 It’s the middle of the night. I’m tending to a sick child. Cait’s sleeping peacefully at the moment. I know that won’t be the case for long. So I do what I always do when it’s the wee hours and I know I won’t be getting much sleep. I play solitaire.
It’s a game that suits me on so many levels.
My dad taught me how to play long before there were such things as home computers, never mind computer solitaire games — back when we actually played with real cards. He also managed to pass along a few life lessons under the guise of having fun playing cards.
I think about my dad a lot still. I especially miss him in this deep silence of the night. So to comfort myself on the long vigil ahead, I conjure his voice as I start a game.
“So, Dad, do you want to pull up a seat and play?”
“My pleasure, sweetie. That red eight can go on the black nine.”
“Dad, I’ve just set up the cards. Let me at least take a look before you tell me the moves!”
“Just trying to be help Read more:Lessons
, Learned
, Solitaire
, Lessons Learned
Are Bull Terriers Good With Children? 2007-04-10 07:21:46 I know. What am I doing including an article on Bull Terriers? Aside from the fact that a good friend of mine breeds them, try substituting your breed’s name and see how much of it would apply to your beloved–unless, of course, you have one of the smaller, delicate breeds.
The following story titled “Are Bull Terriers Good With Children
?” by Peggy Arnaud appeared in The Bull Terrier Club Of South Australia magazine in February 1994.
Haven’t we all been asked this question many times [are bull terriers good with children]? Yes, if raised with children, a bull terrier is a perfect companion; gentle and aware of the child’s fragility. Haven’t we all watched a great lump of dog play quietly on the floor with babies, then without warning hurl itself upon an unsuspecting adult with sufficient force to practically land him in the intensive care unit. So I would like to ask this
The Piano Concerto 2007-04-12 07:30:51 It is both brilliant and amiable,
especially in the slow movement;
a clear second theme contrasts with the first theme and a brief closing theme,
and is so completely easy to understand
that even the commoners looked on with appreciation…
Read more:Concerto
How Best to Show Love for Wild Animals? Keep Your Distance. 2007-04-16 07:45:29 I know I’m preaching to the choir here, but this kind of thing drives me nuts. Recently, there was an article in the Anchorage Daily News about a wolf named Romeo who had become a regular visitor to the lake in town. As often happens when people have a love for wild animals, they want to get close. They want to have their own personal experience. But the ways in which people do this can spell trouble for themselves and for the wild animal. Usually without a happy ending for the animal.
In Romeo’s case, because he had become somewhat of a regular and people had become acclimated to seeing him without incident, some of the town folk started letting their dogs run and play off leash with him. I think you know where this story is going…
With the help of the likes of Disney, and zoos, and now even some national parks where wild animals have learned to come right up to the car window to be hand fed, some people seem to have lost rather than gained a deep understanding and Read more:Animals
Wanderings–Home Cooking 2007-04-15 07:14:18 With the whole Pet Food Industry debacle, it’s not a bad time to think about how you can begin switching your dog from kibble to cooked to raw. This site written by a vet, The Doggie Bag, A Bistro for Dogs, is kind of generic, but it will help get you going if you have any interest.
Read more:ndash
If You Build It, They Will Come 2007-04-19 07:12:51 If you’ve been a regular reader, you’re probably almost as familiar with our pond as we are; it’s in nearly every outdoor shot. If you’re not, here are a few pics through the seasons.
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What you may not have guessed is that we built it. The year before Cait was born, we reclaimed it from a mosquito infested swamp. For the first year, there was no life in or around the pond; all was still. In the second year, the pond grasses, and the ducks and geese came. The third year brought the fish and frogs, the King Fishers (birds) and Fishers (weasels). The forth year gave us the Great Blue Herons, snapping turtles, and muskrats. With each passing year, the pond has come more fully to life.
Now we have a steady stream of regulars. We’ve seen coyotes, deer, fox, rabbits, turkeys, opossum, a mountain lion, and all manner of birds — even a Snowy Egret.
Our little pond has become the equivalent of Starbucks Central for all the animals in our neck of the woods. Read more:Build
Best Friends 2007-04-20 07:45:19 Cait and I are making a batch of lentil soup together. She asks her signature question, “Mom, what should we talk about?”
Concentrating on chopping veggies, I answer, “I don’t know, Sweetie. What do you want to talk about?”
Cait loves hearing about my past, so I’m not surprised by her request.
“How about if you tell me again how you met Ceres?”
Ceres is my best friend.
“Okay,” I say, handing her the lentils to pick through and wash. “Ceres and I were both the new kids in 4th grade. And since we both had naturally curly hair, we decided that was reason enough to become fast friends. We traded one shoe, so we each were wearing one of our own and one of the other, and that sealed the deal. We’ve stayed best friends through all the decades since.”
“How did you fix it so that you could still live near each other all the way up here?”
We both originally come from another state.
“That was just luck Read more:Friends
, Best Friends
Wanderings — Do Not Call Registry 2007-04-22 07:27:35 To stop getting telemarketing calls, register your home and or cell phone number for free with the National Do Not Call Registry
and within 31 days, you’ll be sales call free for five years.
Read more:mdash
We Give Our Dogs This Respect. Why Not Our Kids? 2007-04-23 07:18:12 It’s a good thing I get up early, because one of the walkers (with dogs) on our road passes by around 6:30 am. I make sure my dogs are inside and the dog door is closed, so that this woman can walk by in relative peace. Relative peace, I say, because Kiera and Graidy both seem to find it constitutionally necessary to get off at least a few barks each from inside the house.
As the day unfolds, a parade of walkers will pass by. I can pretty much set my clock by their schedule. As they can set their clocks by mine. We’ve worked out an arrangement where we know certain dogs shouldn’t be forced to be on the road with certain other dogs. Because they just don’t get along. And we all plan accordingly; it makes life easier and more pleasant for all of us.
None of us feel compelled to pretend that our dogs like dogs that they don’t. None of us feel forced to try to have them be “friends.” We know it’s nothing personal — some dogs like each o
A Confession 2007-04-27 07:44:05
I have a confession to make. I’ve never really been a cat person. Don’t get me wrong–there’s not an animal on the planet that I couldn’t find something about to enjoy–but, on my own, I would not choose to have a cat.
So, of course, Finnegan wants to be wherever I am, and preferably on me or my possessions — my laptop being one of his favorite spots. It’s not that I don’t love Finnegan, our Maine Coon mix — I do. He’s a really cool cat. But I find that I don’t have the natural patience for him that I do for my dogs. I’ve thought about this a lot and I believe I’ve figured out why.
I understand dogs. By that I mean I understand dog behavior deep down in my bones. I know why they do what they do. And I know how to train away from some of the more annoying dog-like behaviors, like jumping, to more acceptable human behaviors, like not jumping and just wagging madly. This is stuff that comes naturally to me.
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