Oh Where Have I Been?

In case anyone has noticed my disappearance from this blog, I wanted to assure you I haven't gone far. I've simply moved to a blog next door.

My move to a new bloggerhood came about from being on the Board of Directors for an animal shelter in Northeast Tennessee. A shelter that isn't yet built. Last spring I was appointed as the PR person and I've taken to it like, well, a dog to a bone.

Since accepting the assignment, I have somehow managed to build a pretty darn good website (she said modestly.) You can check it out here.

I also write a weekly article for the local paper which gets published most of the time. And I've started a new blog, right here (on Blogger) called, "Claiborne Animal Shelter Updates and News." Catchy title, eh?

It's been an interesting learning curve that has helped me hone my writing skills. With the news articles I figure I've got three seconds to engage my readers before they turn the page to see what's on sale at the United Grocery Outlet. I've set a 150 word limit for myself and stick strictly to one topic. The one topic rule is really hard!

I update the blog once a week which is not easy since there's not always something new to say. But, the shelter Board wants to keep people updated on the progress of the building (sloooooow but still moving) which we hope will convince them to donate money. It's a real challenge thinking of creative variations of, "we need cash!

All of this writing has energized my brain and, surprise-surprise, spawned an idea for a non-fiction middle grade book! Who'da thunk? So that's it. That's all I wanted to say.

(How many words is this?)

Gone Fishin' - Back in June

I've been so quiet lately you probably thought I fell into a snow bank and couldn't get out. (If you wondered at all - heehee) Well that's not what happened. I've left the Great White North behind and headed south to here:



No, wait! Don't let your abandonment issues run away with you. You can keep up on my very interesting life and deep, philosophical thoughts by reading my other blog, A City Slicker on a Country Road.

Hope you give it a look!

A Christmas Song for Kids Young and Not-so

Greetings to all. It is time for the annual posting of a Christmas song by my own dear brother, Peter. As you may know from last year, he is a squirrel nut. Every year, to celebrate the holidays and honor his favorite rodent, he writes a song. This is something you do not want to miss!

If you click Here you can read this year's squirrel newsletter; always an inspiration.

Or, if you'd rather go straight to the song, click Here then sit back and enjoy.

Happy Holidays!

Liza the Brave

Yesterday morning I was sitting in my favorite chair sipping tea and feeling at peace with the world. My pup, Cody scratched on the door and I let him in paying little attention to the clump of soggy vegetation he had in his mouth.

As I went back to my chair, Cody deposited a large leaf on the floor then stretched out for a nap. I idly studied the leaf, it was red in the middle with brown tips. I decided it was a Maple and it was probably staining the rug.

I went to pick it up but as I reached for the stem I realized it was a long, skinny tail. I looked more closely, the autumn hue I'd been admiring was guts and the brown leaf tips were claws. It was a mangled, half-eaten mouse!

I must pause for a moment to explain my feelings about mice. Not only do I cringe at the thought of a them, I go into screaming-meemie-hysterics if I even suspect there might be one in my house.

I needed to act fast before the fleeing portion of my fight or flight instinct kicked into overdrive. With bare fingers, I lifted the rodent by the tip of its tail. I dangled it at arms-length as I walked through the kitchen, dropped the disgusting remains in the waste basket, slammed the lid, then scrubbed my hands so hard the skin almost came off.

I returned to my chair and tried to feel proud of myself for walking into my fear but my revulsion was too strong to let me feel anything but grossed out. After giving myself a stern lecture about how courageous I'd been, I went to make lunch.

I rolled some cheese into a pita bread and went to stick it in the microwave. The microwave next to the waste basket with the dead mouse in it! I made myself breathe deeply while after-shocks of disgust wracked my body.

When I tried to eat the sandwich the oozing melted cheese almost made me barf. All I could think of was that dead mouse. I needed to get the damn thing as far away from me as possible.

I grabbed the plastic bag out of the waste basket, ran it out to the trash can in my garage, and threw it in. I locked down the heavy duty lid to prevent the mouse from escaping if it had a spontaneous healing, then hurried back into the house to wash my hands Lady MacBeth style - over and over and over - until I felt that I'd removed any airborne mouse cooties that may have gotten on me.

Now I'm worried. Are there mice outside my house trying to get in? And what about Cody? He's a mixed-mixed breed. Does he have some kind of mouser in him? Will he continue to hunt rodents and bring them to me? Will he get tape worms from eating mice? Or die if he chews on a mouse that has recently been dining on D-Con?

These are a lot of questions for which I have no answers but of one thing I am certain; that dog is never going to lick me again.

I Been Had

I am a person who has no business having two blogs. But I do. Why? Because one is for recording my deep and often captivating thoughts (that's this one, by the way.) The other, City Slicker on a Country Road, documents my amazing experiences as an Appalachian Mountain-girl wannabe.

Now, here is the hard part to admit in a public forum: neither one of my blogs is read by anyone. Well, hardly anyone. A big week for me is two hits.

So, this morning as I responded to an email from a friend who had commented on my recent blog entries, advising him he is one of my only readers, I got an email from Blogger. It was a comment to one my older blogs. From a complete stranger!

"You write very well," the person said. I couldn't believe my eyes! The timing was perfect. I quickly sent a p.s. to my friend and told him I now have two readers.

Then I went to the blog that was commented on, as I read it my head began to swell. It was pretty good. I modestly thanked the sender in the comments section. Then I decided to snoop. Who was this secret admirer?

It was an insurance company! Yep. The link to this person took me straight to a site that is all about the good deals that can be had if one purchases this particular brand of insurance.

I am deflated. I had to send a p.s. to my p.s. advising my friend he is back to being my only reader. What a let down.

A Room by Any Other Name...

Today I got a gigantic urge to show the world my absolute favorite room in my house. I sometimes call it my reading room or, when I'm in a more formal frame of mind, The Library. It's dark without being dingy, and while the wood paneling is knotty pine rather than mahogany, I still think it gives the room tone.

I realize as far as urges go, posting a picture of a room seems pretty lame. So, rather than trying to convince you of the merits of this room, (and therefore, of this blog entry) I'll post the photograph and be done with it. Except, well, seriously....



...waddya think? Is that a humdinger of a room or what?