More puppies!

BFPA rescued another pregnant dog from a high-kill shelter about a week and a half ago. Last Wednesday, Onyx gave birth to 10 puppies!

We're all having lots of fun guessing what the "mix" is. Onyx appears to be a pit mix, but the varying colors of her babies are very interesting. Any guesses?

The first pic is of a very pregnant Onyx.



The second if of mama Onyx and her 10 pups.

Foster puppy

I will be bringing this cutie home in a few weeks - just before Christmas. His name will be Oliver. I can't wait! He is such a sweet puppy and I look forward to helping him find his forever home.

Lucas officially a Glazener

Lucas' adoption was finalized on the 5th. The adoption coordinator always takes a photo of the dog with his/her new family on the day of the finalization so here's our new family portrait! Zoe and I are happy to officially have him as a part of our family.

New BFPA additions

Puppies!

I went to visit Annie and her six puppies last night in Chapel Hill. Annie is the most loving, sweet dog - even around her brand-new babies. Annie was named after little orphan Annie, so we're throwing around ideas about using names from the musical for the puppies. There are 4 girls and 2 boys, so my votes are: Molly, Pepper, Tessie and Greer for the girls and Oliver and Drake for the boys.

They haven't even opened their eyes yet and are all eeps and grunts, "swimming" around in their bed until they can walk!

Annie



Two of the four girls



All six puppies: the boys are on the left and the girls are on the right.

Ridiculous mosquitoes

Is anyone else noticing these huge monsters at their house?! They are constantly swarming by my back door, and there is no standing water or any other obvious attraction other than my two doggies and myself. I've always been a tasty attraction for mosquitoes - maybe my blood is super sweet?

The one plus is that they are very slow-moving, so thwacking them with a shoe is pretty easy - I think I've successfully swatted at least 2 dozen in the last four days. But still, what gives?

I'm curious about whether this is a localized problem to North Carolina - or is it even more localized to Durham - or even more localized to my house?!

Strangely enough, I have not experienced a rash of mosquito bites on myself. Perhaps that is due to the colder temperatures and my being more covered up when outside. However, that situation brings up an oxymoron - WHY are these mosquitoes persisting in the colder/often freezing weather?!

I'm not exaggerating - at any given time there are at least a dozen of these pests flitting around by my back door. Would love to hear if anyone else is experiencing such an unwelcome mosquito infestation.

The Kindness of Strangers

The Kindness of Strangers was a difficult book to read - not as difficult as The Lost Dogs - but TKOS was on a whole new level of disturbing. Thank goodness it's fiction.

The book is narrated by separate characters each chapter. Unlike some other books that employ this technique, I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of needless overlap.

As an overview I will admit that I was reading this book while having my hair cut at my local Great Clips (yes I am cheap). I'd seen this particular girl a couple of times and she remembered me as "the reader", so she asked me about my current book. I described it to her as delicately as I could and she just said, "Wow. I'm fairly certain I couldn't read that."

It's true, but I'm glad I did. It's a story told in reminiscence - and that last scene in the book - from the past - is truly uplifting. Amazing. I can't think of another way to describe it.

After reading this book you'll want to immediately run out and volunteer for some underprivileged organization!

Read more about The Kindness of Strangers here...

Predictions of an unstable future...

I have recently spent more hours than I would ever care to dedicate to anything to the effort of locating a medication that I have been dependent on for more than 10 years. Apparently the manufacturer of said medication has either decided to abandon all of the millions of people prescribed this medication, or they are following through with an elaborate plan to continue making money off of brand name drugs that have no generic - both scenarios are evil and they suck for people like me - the patient.

I'm currently at the end of a month-long battle to procure my meds. I've spoken to countless pharmacists (who unfortunately and dispassionately laugh at me when I ask about said meds) and now my doctor's office is ignoring me. REALLY?!

I'm supposed to take 2 pills a day of the aforementioned medication. I've been rationing my limited stash to 1/4 of a pill a day. This will come to stalking - I promise you. Updates to come.

BFPA's recent stars

I attended Best Friend Pet Adoption's recent event at the Apex Petsmart on 10/22/11. Below are two of the total cuties who stole my heart:

1st is Winnie, who honestly looks to be talking to Susan in that shot. She is still a puppy - 6 months old - shepherd mix - currently 35 pounds but will get bigger. She has one brown and one blue eye - totally gorgeous.



2nd is Taco, a heartbreakingly adorable tiny shepherdish mix - not sure of his weight but he is much smaller than foster sister Winnie. He has a precious underbite and a little puppy yippy bark. Beautiful coat and very loving!

Embracing a change

I started seeing a dermatologist regularly in the spring of 2007. I will call her S. I love S a great deal and we became quite good friends over the years that I spent in her care.

She recently moved away and recommended a colleague of hers for my continued care. Knowing S I was not worried, but still felt weird not knowing what to expect given our easy banter every time I saw her.

I was very pleasantly surprised by my visit on Thursday. My new dermatologist is beyond sweet, very accommodating and one of the most gracious healthcare professionals I've ever met. She told ME thank you for absolutely everything!

Without question I recommend Carolina Medispa and Central Dermatology Center of Chapel Hill for any and all dermatological needs.

I will be getting a skin scan at CDC before the end of the year. I recommend that to anyone over 26. It's covered by insurance and will keep you from being blindsided by a melanoma or any other strange skin anomaly. Be smart and take the time to get your skin checked!

Recycling motivation

in the Spring of this year, I decided to follow in my father's footsteps and collect aluminum cans to be exchanged for cash. I take my cans to J&D Recyclers in Durham on Cheek Rd - they pay $.55 per pound/$.60 per pound to senior citizens.

My co-workers and friends faithfully collect and deposit cans into my collection - it really is very little work on my part. All I do is rinse most of the cans and smash them with my foot. (Quick tutorial: slightly squeeze the can on both sides in your palm. Lay on flat surface, tab side up, and stomp on the top of the can with a sturdy shoe. TaDa: very compact can.)

I bought a 96 gallon trash can that I keep in my back yard, and the last time it was full I hauled 57 pounds of aluminum to J&D.

I'm keeping my receipts and at the end of the year I'll write a check to my fave dog rescues/organizations. It's tax deductible and I'm helping sweet furry animals. What else is there to ask for?

Having said that, I've posted this in the hopes that more people will recycle, for whatever reason. Start your own can collection and do with it what you want. Start a fashion-want fund, support a local women's shelter, keep the money for your savings - just recycle!!!

Luke duty

How sweet is that face? S-W-E-E-T! and he's the best dog ever on top of his suave looks.

In addition to impeccable house manners I was pleasantly surprised by his "house guarding" tactics. He reminded me a lot of Zoe from years back - every time I leave the house he goes over to the closest window to the door and makes his way under the blinds and into view. He keeps his eyes on me/us at all times. The noise of the blinds being rattled as he noses his way into view has become a source of comfort - I love that he's on the lookout!

Lucas will soon be a permanent fixture in my house and I eagerly await his induction into all that is TARHEEL.

Larger-than-life Lucas

He really doesn't know how big he is, but he manages to be the most well-behaved dog I've ever known in my life. He's a prince!

Lucas lumbers - but out of the way. He never crowds me or runs in to me in an attempt for attention.

That's not to say that he doesn't get excited and prance, but he's oddly reserved in his joyous celebration of my daily return home from work. Hence another reason to LOVE him :)

Lucas is a rare find and I know I am SO lucky to be the one to have rescued him!

Quote of the day

A fellow BFPA volunteer has this quote at the end of her e-mail signature and I love it.

"By adopting an animal, you have saved the lives of two; the one you have adopted and the one you have made room for at the shelter."

Think Adoption First!

Dismantlement = Freedom

From the book jacket: "Henry, Tess, Winnie and Suz banded together in college to form the Compassionate Dismantlers. Following the first rule of their manifesto – “To understand the nature of a thing, it must be taken apart” – these daring misfits spend the summer after graduation in a remote cabin in the Vermont woods committing acts of meaningful vandalism, and plotting elaborate, sometimes dangerous, pranks. But everything changes when one particularly twisted experiment ends in Suz’s death and the others decide to cover it up.

Nearly a decade later, Henry and Tess are living just an hour’s drive from the old cabin. Each are desperate to move on from the summer of the Dismantlers, but the past isn’t ready to let them go. When a victim of their past pranks commits suicide – apparently triggered by a mysterious Dismantler-style postcard – it sets off a chain of eerie events that threatens to engulf Henry, Tess, and their precocious nine-year-old daughter Emma. Is there someone who wants to reveal their secrets? Is it possible that Suz did not really die – or has she somehow found a way back to seek revenge?

Full of white-knuckle tension with deeply human characters caught in circumstances beyond their control, Jennifer McMahon’s gripping story and spine-tingling plot prove that she is a master at weaving the fear of the supernatural with the stark realities of life."

Sounds good don't you think? While the book received widely conflicting reviews, once I picked it up I did not want to put it down. I was rapt. I was spooked. I was intrigued. I was perplexed. Again I say, I was rapt.

There are annoying aspects of the book - as noted by one reviewer, I never want to hear the word "babycakes" again - but the writing is solid and actually pretty funny at times. I love quirky OCD Emma and her intuition regarding her parents' precarious relationship.

The author utilizes a multi-narrative style, in which each chapter is told from the perspective of a different character. This doesn't always work (in some books it becomes annoyingly repetitive) but I think it is very appropriate for this novel. When done properly, this style allows the reader to more closely identify with each individual main player. Here it works.

Spine-tingling is such a cheesy word, but fitting when describing this book. It'll keep you guessing until the end. A great weekend or beach read. Definitely worth checking out at your local library!

Butternut squash soup

I bought some fresh butternut squash at Costco on Saturday. It was already peeled, chopped into large pieces and came in a 2 pound plastic clamshell. Having always loved butternut squash soup, I did some research online and came up with my own recipe and the finished product was delicious. Sorry, no pictures.


Ingredients:

- 5-6 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash
- 1-2 tbsp fresh diced garlic (I used it from a jar)
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 3 cubes chicken bouillon (can sub veg or chicken stock for H20 & bouillon)
- 1/2 tsp dried marjoram
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/8 tsp Louisiana Cajun Seasoning
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 2/3 to 1/2 package cream cheese
- garlic salt and pepper to taste

1. In a baking dish, add squash, diced garlic, olive oil, garlic salt & pepper to taste. Mix with a large spoon to coat all squash pieces. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes, stirring at least once.

2. In a large saucepan, add water, bouillon, marjoram, pepper, cajun seasoning, nutmeg and squash. Bring to a boil and then simmer for approximately 15 minutes.

3. In a food processor, add the squash mixture and cream cheese in batches until smooth. (I used my Blend-tec blender on the soup setting so it was a no brainer for me).

4. If serving immediately and soup has cooled, add soup back to saucepan and heat throughout. Do not allow to boil.

Makes 5 servings.