Guaba baby pics

Oct. 1996 with a sibling.

I have nervous energy since tomorrow I leave for the field for 4 days, but Guaba's really lethargic and I can't do anything about it.  So I scanned his & Yoda's baby photos.  My housemate will keep him fed while I'm gone.  But next weekend might be the big decision.

Jan. 1997 when I adopted him.

With Grendel my iguana.

3 mon. old Yoda Oct. 1998.

First meeting.

Figuring out Yoda is ok to play with.

Guaba getting old

Guaba is getting old and has been sick since October.  He's really skinny, and has something growing in his sinus that we were keeping under control with antibiotic shots.  But the past week it's grown and is making his eye swell shut.  He still acts normal, just slower.  Just wanted to update everyone about little Guaba.

knitting pets

The Lawrence paper has a section featuring the cats & dogs that live in the downtown stores, which made me think we should have the same for knitter blog. So post your pet photos here with an update! (feel free to edit this blog rather than posting by comment).

Sally and Rusty are cattle dog mixes adopted from Lawrence Humane Society (these are their shelter pics). Sally is around 6yrs old and really turning gray. The shelter got her from Topeka when she was 3 mon. old and had her for 6 more mon. before I adopted her. She's still shy of new people and fearful of paper and feet. Rusty may be 5 yrs old. He was found in Baldwin with a leather studded collar, and is way over protective of me and slinks around like a coyote. Guaba is the 1st cat I got while living on my own. He is 13 (wow). I got him as a kitten in Nebraska, and he's traveled all over NE with me. He's always had a heart arythmia, but seems to be aging well. Yoda is from Red Cloud NE and is 11 (holy cow) but I still think of him as the kitten and he acts like it. His mom was Siamese, which my explain why he's so chattery and likes to play in water.


Mister Splashy Pants was a drop-off from a young woman I'd never seen before (or since) last July. We named her after the famous greenpeace whale . Since turning one (May 1) she has not become any less kitten-like. She's very cute, pampered, and completely unaware of how her world is going to turn upside down in a few weeks.


Benjamin (grey and white) was a gift from my sister in 2001. His world changed when I inherited Maddy (with the floppy ears) two years later from another graduate student who thought her personality was obnoxious. Benjamin and Maddy were far from friends at first sight, but are now devoted to each other.

A mutual friend gave us Franny the guinea pig. When she was small she was particularly shrill and squeaky, and so was named after Fran Drescher. Franny would hear the rustle of a sack or the refrigerator door open, and would squeal for food. She would chirp quietly when contented, and sometimes while I worked we'd chat back and forth. I miss her. She died while we were in New Zealand this past February.

Lucy, a Jack Russell Terrier, was originially a temporary foster pet, just until my sister and I could find a new home for her. She was two years old and sick with heartworms when we first got her, and her rabies vaccination tag was from Kentucky. Other than that, her past is a mystery. She stayed with us for a couple months before she was first placed in a "real" home--in Richmond, with an older woman who realized that Lucy was much too high-energy for her, returning her to us after only a week. I was mopey and sad the whole week she was gone, and overjoyed when we found out she was coming back home. She's been my dog (and now Brian's) ever since.

Treated lumber vs. not treated

I have plans to put in a new wood fence, and have to decide on treated vs. untreated lumber. My environmental side says go with untreated. But will it rot away in 10 yrs? Or does that not matter, wood is supposed to rot away. Untreated would be cheaper. I should research what the compounds do to dogs and wildlife.

From Home Depot: The most common types of chemical used to treat wood are Alkaline Copper Quaternary (ACQ), Copper Azole (CA), and, the newest type, Micronized Copper Quaternary (MCQ). Pressure treated lumber can last 20 years or more, and most pressure treated wood comes with a limited lifetime warranty.

KNITTING GROUP REUNION

In case any of you happen to be in town, please join us on Saturday Mar. 28 at 6pm for a KNITTING GROUP REUNION at Sally's Sister's with co-hosts Sparkling Squirrel, Jenny, and Jennifer. We'll make gourmet pizza. Here is a list of food requests. Let me know what you would like to bring.

· Everyone bring your favorite pizza and salad toppings to share

· Anyone have a good pizza sauce?

· Appetizers

· Dessert

· Wine

· Jennifer = brownies, salad greens, wine

· Sally's Sister = pizza dough and cheeses

Don’t forget your knitting (or other) projects! Children are welcome, but let me know so I can anticipate what to do with Rusty.

RSVP to Sally's Sister

Rowan was found! :-)

So my Dad found Rowan under a shedd in the yard of a neighbor two lots down (it's the next house down but there's a wooded lot between them). I guess she was hiding underneath and it took about an hour to coax her out even with treats. But when I talked to them last, Rowan was fast asleep on my Dad's lap while they were watching SNL. phew. They've been taking down/apart a downed tree in the wooded lot so I'm guessing that it was just too far and too scary for her to get back to the house. Now, to convince them to put a bell on her....

:-)

Rowan

So, Rowan, my old cat, who now lives with my folks got out on Wednesday night. She's still missing but we hope she gets hungry and returns. I'll let everyone know when I hear anything else and if you have any ideas/suggestions for my folks to lure a kitty back home please share.

She's way bigger now.

And just as cute, but the photos were all overexposed.

bunny vibes

Would you send healthy thoughts in the direction of our rabbits? Our normally spunky, exuberant (i.e. somewhat bratty) Maddy is ill, and her bunny partner in life and crime is consequently a bit distressed.

A River in North Africa

There's lots of summer left. I will still somehow submit papers for publication, go to the dentist, go to the eye doctor; make a grand research plan; re-do my syllabi, hang a clothesline; install a ceiling fan and write lots of personal letters before school starts, even though I officially started back at work this morning. Yep, plenty of time to do things this summer. And my cat has fruit flies. And denial is de river in Egypt.

Mr. Splashy Pants

If you must know how this adorably little female cat became Mr. Splashy pants, check out the Sparkling Squirrel Blog.

dehumidifier water safe for pets?

Does anyone know about giving dehumidifier water to pets to drink? I started putting it out in the bird bath, then because it rained last night and everything was watered or filled with water, I poured it in the water bowl inside. I suppose I should drink it too if I'm giving it to them!

Blog Roll

I just added a blog roll on the side. I figure that generally we want each other to read our blogs and that we don't necessarily want random on-line friends navigating here (thus no direct link from my blog to the GBKD). In any case, if you don't want your blog included, move it, and if you want a blog added, add it.
On a side note, my parents just returned from a wedding and their 45th high school reunion and returned to a cat-less house for the first time in 30+ years. They are pretty upset but were moved to tears by the kind notes on my blog. Thanks. (complete aside, Mom asked if I had any thoughts about going to me 10th. I had to laugh because well, it was 8 years ago and I broke my ankle in many places that day, so my parents had to wait outside my apartment for the friends who were taking me. I hadn't thought about 20 until she mentioned it. Anyway, at 18 years out of high school I have spent almost exactly half of my life as an "adult".)

Much ado about Hector and Frances

As we start planning for our upcoming move, many details need attention. One major issue is what to do with our cats. Initially, I assumed that we would shell out the $1,000 to move them with us. It would be expensive, but they're my babies! But in thinking it over, I think the move could be very stressful for them. Hector in particular. He takes several weeks to recover from a trip to the vet. So, I am dealing with the prospect of leaving them with someone else. Sniff!

It really breaks my heart to even think about it, and I will only be able to do it if I can find them a good home. I know that many of you are cat fanciers, and thought that you might know someone who would provide a good home for them (even if somewhere other than Lawrence). It could be a temporary thing (i.e., until I finish my postdoc and move back) or permanent (with visitation rights!) if their new caretakers preferred that. They are both about 9 years old and right now are indoor/outdoor cats, but could be indoor only if necessary. Any leads are appreciated. Any emotional support will also help.

dog, cat, bird, fish, hottub sitting

Plus they have a computer! So I thought I could relaxingly post a blog while I sip my morning coffee with a parrot on my shoulder, like those yuppies out there (minus the bird), rather than sneaking it in at work, I mean my lunch break. I broke through to the technological side and got a ... drum roll... cell phone! But I'm doing the pay $15 every 3 months plan, which equals just enough minutes for when I'm out and about and trying to meet up with someone, or if my car goes into the ditch. Does the phone have to be ON for them to track it? So if I'm ever trying to catch up with any of you in a busy airport in Australia, I'll make sure you have my number. PS - the Kenya trip was cancelled - the violence keeps escalating.

I'm procrastinating so I thought I'd share something fun

So I'm supposed to be at school in my office getting ready for Monday - the start of classes. Instead I'm at home neither working on classes or working on my faculty officer work but surfing on the Chronicle of Higher Ed (and playing with the puppy). But I found on Miss Mentor's site a funny question and answer.

Question: If I get tenure, will I feel (a) ecstatic, knowing They do love me; or (b) sad, fearing I'll lose all ambition forever; or (c) relieved, seeing as how I got by again, and they still don't know I'm a total fraud?


Answer: Yes.

I thought that we would appreciate this question even if its reality is farther away that we'd like.

Things are going well with me just busy. I presented at the National Association of Biology Teachers and the Society for Integrative Biology meetings in November and January. Our 7.5 month old puppy is 100 lbs! He's very cute and getting bigger every day and as an added bonus he's very warm when he decides to be a "bundling board" on the bed at night (woohoo newlywed life). I'm totally not ready for classes to start next week. Mentally I still want a longer break - maybe the problem is our break was too long. Oh well. My hubby's business is getting ready to launch and I'll be sure to get the URL out to everyone when it does. :-) And our holiday cards will be extra late this year but do include pictures of the puppy and the hubby!

Hope things are going well with everyone else - it's time to go tackle the mess of my office.

Scary Mega Dog Brawl.

This one isn't cute like the other. I thought I'd record it for posterity. I house sat for Jennifer D. out in the country, and when it was time for me to leave Sunday morning, I carried Rusty to the car thinking I could get there and get him in before Billie showed up. Billie is the alpha dog at Jennifer's and a stout female bully who once picked Rusty up by the abdomen and shook him. So they hate each other and I keep them apart. Unfortunately, Billie caught up with us, my overnight bag had slipped off my shoulder and was dangling from my elbow so I was awkwardly hurrying to the car, and I couldn't get the car door open b/c it was so cold. Rusty was snapping at Billie from my arms, and Billie tried to get him. So I got him on the roof and thought it would be all ok - just get him in the car and close the door. But then I needed to get Sally in and thought Rusty would just cower in the corner, but he came charging back to get at Billie who was halfway in the car by then, so I tried to shove my overnight bag between them, then got bit twice in the arm by Billie. I had a thick fleece coat on and a sweater and long shirt, but it still left huge bruises on my arm and abrasion sores. Then I got the door closed, but Sally was still outside, and the three dogs, Billie, Dusky, and Sally, were all in a fight - I thought Billie and Dusky were attacking Sally - but it was Sally and Billie against Dusky! Sally was charging in and biting her. So I pushed them around with my feet and somehow got Sally away and into the car. The last part I don't remember. So then I went back inside to recover and keep an eye on Jennifer's dogs to make sure they were ok. They were bleeding. Rusty had chomped down on Billie's upper jaw and wouldn't let go - so her nose was bleeding horribly. But after about 1/2 hour I went back out to check on them and they didn't seem as bad as they 1st appeared. And Billie tried to lick Dusky's wounds and she wouldn't let Billie near her at 1st. The darn dog had just been attacking her a short while ago. But eventually they started grooming each other, and I was more composed for driving, so we left. And this was after waking up to water POURING down from the ceiling in their mud porch and the new bathroom area. The pipes had been frozen, and then thawed over night. I had gotten the water to the house turned off, and was relaxing and planned on coming back up to stay last night. But then the dog fight happened and we didn't go back. Now Rusty's lower eyelid is swollen. He looks like he had been in a fight. Sally is unscathed. I'm sore and still physically and emotionally tired. This is why I didn't become a veterinarian - can't handle animal emergencies.

confessions of a consumer

Since I initiated consumerism boycott, I thought I should fess up on my spending habits. 1st was the fake finger/hook I bought for my boss - he was with me when we found them and is missing 2 pinkies, how could I resist? Made in China, 95 cents. I bought 2 museum catalogs of the Dead Sea Scroll exhibit at Union Station. I'll never see them again, the info was a bit overwhelming, my best friend in PA loves archaeology. Yes it was a book, but not a novel, $5 each. Dog treats - bought a bag at the Merc - the Good Dog brand made locally by homeless people. I also buy them at the farmer's market. So in sum, the finger is the only frivolous thing. Oh - and the 25 cent cheapo headband at the rec center. Forgot my scrunchie, miserable in aerobics with hair hanging down, had to do it.

On another note, I put my 35 gal. rain barrel together yesterday afternoon, and it's full. Once I make sure it's not leaking, I'll make my 50 gal. one. The back yard turned into a small pond of water, along the fence line which the dogs run, so I can't put my rain garden in the pooliest parts of the yard, but it's right next to it. Check out this ironic dog rescue:
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2007/may/07/rain_forces_road_closures_across_county/
Rescue teams from Douglas County and Osage County help Gail Jackson and her dog "Rocket" into a rescue boat at the FOB range near Lone Star Lake. Rising water stranded six women and five dogs that were part of a Boxer rescue program which used the site as a retreat over the weekend.

My working buddy

Working with Ally...


Good company, doesn't talk too much, doesn't attack the mouse, only walks on the keyboard occasionally.











Reading can put me to sleep, too!