Tuesday, May 06, 2008
It's Tuesday
The Electronic Records Advisory Committee meeting went well - especially getting to know some of my fellow committee members better. Everyone has such interesting areas of expertise and there is always something new to learn.
I ventured to St. Louis over the weekend to meet Beau and Maggie and Aunt Dorothy, of course. Dorothy is a great person and is doing outstanding work being both an adopted mom and a foster mom. Beau and Maggie were quite cute and adorable and very sociable but the feeling just wasn't right - I think primarily because two active young pups is a bit much for me to handle right now. I visited with Doc late yesterday and he gave me some other pointers but also said not to overthink it all - my heart will know when I meet the right pup. And I do tend to overthink on lots of things but am trying to do more listening to my gut.
On Sunday I ventured to some area shelters and the facilities of the Humane Society of Missouri are simply outstanding - it's clear they are doing a great job with the animals and providing a conducive environment for adoption.
Seeing friends in St. Louis Saturday evening for dinner at Maya Cafe was also fun. We never would have met one another without TAH grants.
I met with my face to face class yesterday for the last time before the final next Monday. The final will be all multiple choice as one way to get students ready for the Praxis II 0081 test now required for graduation to ensure we have the desirable pass rate. I enjoyed talking with some of the students individually about their future plans.
Then, after visiting with Doc, I made it out to the farm in time to do some of the outdoor work, including planting some transplanted ivy, before the big storms came in for the next two days. Later today I will call around to some of the area shelters and maybe go visit some of them. I found a possible poodle for me online when Doc was looking with me but she is already in a foster to adopt home. The right one will come along, I'm sure. However, as you already know, patience is not one of my virtues.
I ventured to St. Louis over the weekend to meet Beau and Maggie and Aunt Dorothy, of course. Dorothy is a great person and is doing outstanding work being both an adopted mom and a foster mom. Beau and Maggie were quite cute and adorable and very sociable but the feeling just wasn't right - I think primarily because two active young pups is a bit much for me to handle right now. I visited with Doc late yesterday and he gave me some other pointers but also said not to overthink it all - my heart will know when I meet the right pup. And I do tend to overthink on lots of things but am trying to do more listening to my gut.
On Sunday I ventured to some area shelters and the facilities of the Humane Society of Missouri are simply outstanding - it's clear they are doing a great job with the animals and providing a conducive environment for adoption.
Seeing friends in St. Louis Saturday evening for dinner at Maya Cafe was also fun. We never would have met one another without TAH grants.
I met with my face to face class yesterday for the last time before the final next Monday. The final will be all multiple choice as one way to get students ready for the Praxis II 0081 test now required for graduation to ensure we have the desirable pass rate. I enjoyed talking with some of the students individually about their future plans.
Then, after visiting with Doc, I made it out to the farm in time to do some of the outdoor work, including planting some transplanted ivy, before the big storms came in for the next two days. Later today I will call around to some of the area shelters and maybe go visit some of them. I found a possible poodle for me online when Doc was looking with me but she is already in a foster to adopt home. The right one will come along, I'm sure. However, as you already know, patience is not one of my virtues.
Labels: adoptions, dog, farm, grants, human society, rescue, shelters, St. Louis, TAH
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Sunday - More Progress
I was able to get another chunk of course prep done yesterday - finally getting some of it done early. Each semester I overwhelm myself trying to figure out new approaches to the requisite topics covered in whatever classes I'm teaching. From now on, instead of teaching a class that is usually almost 90% new each semester, I'm going to tackle new topics and new teaching strategies as I run across them and not put myself under the gun almost every week of every semester. Working smart instead of working too hard, maybe?
The students at my university hosted their annual international food fair. I had some great Indian Behl from the African students and some interesting crepes and Charlotte cake from the Russian students and some potstickers from the Chinese students. And it was fun to see some familiar faces.
Not unusually, I got off to a late start this morning with the time change. I went to the humane society just before noon and the poodle pup was back. He had had to have surgery - not something genetic, thank goodness, and probably just a possible fact of being abandoned. I waited til last to play with him. He's a cute little guy but I'm not convinced he's full poodle - his hair isn't quite curly enough and there's white at the front of his two toes and a bit on his chest and the rest of him is black. I gave all but one of the two more shy dogs treats and stayed longer than I had planned because of the poodle. I called my friend June because I had mixed emotions - he didn't seem to be "it" but I felt guilty leaving him. She reminded me that if he was the right one, I wouldn't be thinking about it so hard. And new poodles do show up every week on Petfiner. As Aaron at the shelter said, he won't have any trouble finding a good home and will go right away. Oh, I did hear back from the Fluffy Butts foster mom but the more I think about it, I'm just not sure about two dogs. I can carry along one dog lots of places that two won't go and my guess is that most dog-friendly hotels will prefer only one per room.
I have some prep for tomorrow to do, work on grading, and my taxes to do for Tuesday. All before I leave.
It was warm enough (51 degrees) to wash the car this afternoon and then I ventured into cleaning out the main component of the garage cabinets. Most of the stuff actually in the cabinets (and not on top) was put there when I moved in thirteen and a half years ago. As I picked up everything, I thought "why am I still keeping this?". And, as I've been learning from research and actually cleaning over the last few weeks, sometimes it becomes very easy to identify the emotional tie of a particular object and remind myself that the tie is not going to go away just because I throw away a thing. I wiped out the cabinets and put a great deal of the stuff on top the cabinets in them - where they should be. Now to get some more mice bait to put at the back to deter them if they get in the garage again next winter.
The students at my university hosted their annual international food fair. I had some great Indian Behl from the African students and some interesting crepes and Charlotte cake from the Russian students and some potstickers from the Chinese students. And it was fun to see some familiar faces.
Not unusually, I got off to a late start this morning with the time change. I went to the humane society just before noon and the poodle pup was back. He had had to have surgery - not something genetic, thank goodness, and probably just a possible fact of being abandoned. I waited til last to play with him. He's a cute little guy but I'm not convinced he's full poodle - his hair isn't quite curly enough and there's white at the front of his two toes and a bit on his chest and the rest of him is black. I gave all but one of the two more shy dogs treats and stayed longer than I had planned because of the poodle. I called my friend June because I had mixed emotions - he didn't seem to be "it" but I felt guilty leaving him. She reminded me that if he was the right one, I wouldn't be thinking about it so hard. And new poodles do show up every week on Petfiner. As Aaron at the shelter said, he won't have any trouble finding a good home and will go right away. Oh, I did hear back from the Fluffy Butts foster mom but the more I think about it, I'm just not sure about two dogs. I can carry along one dog lots of places that two won't go and my guess is that most dog-friendly hotels will prefer only one per room.
I have some prep for tomorrow to do, work on grading, and my taxes to do for Tuesday. All before I leave.
It was warm enough (51 degrees) to wash the car this afternoon and then I ventured into cleaning out the main component of the garage cabinets. Most of the stuff actually in the cabinets (and not on top) was put there when I moved in thirteen and a half years ago. As I picked up everything, I thought "why am I still keeping this?". And, as I've been learning from research and actually cleaning over the last few weeks, sometimes it becomes very easy to identify the emotional tie of a particular object and remind myself that the tie is not going to go away just because I throw away a thing. I wiped out the cabinets and put a great deal of the stuff on top the cabinets in them - where they should be. Now to get some more mice bait to put at the back to deter them if they get in the garage again next winter.
Labels: adoptions, animals, car, clean, dogs, food festival, garage, humane society, international food, rescue, wash
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Puppy Mills
As I research to be better prepared to adopt a rescue dog at the right time, I am finding out a great deal of interesting information - some of it very hard to swallow but all needs to be acknowledged. If you want to know why you shouldn't buy dogs in pet stores - most buy from puppy mills and not home breeders who specialize in a breed or a few breeds and genuinely care for their pets - they aren't just a commodity - take a look here.
You can also find several recent posts by over at mamamusings about her family's recent adoption of a shelter dog and the joy it is already bringing their family.
There are so many purebreds and unique mutts at your local shelter, please consider checking one out before you decide on a new pet - esp. if they are primarily a pet. With a little time, patience, and willingness to drive a few hours, Just go to petfinder.com (click here) and you can find almost any type of dog or cat that interests you. And they will certainly appreciate their new home!
You can also find several recent posts by over at mamamusings about her family's recent adoption of a shelter dog and the joy it is already bringing their family.
There are so many purebreds and unique mutts at your local shelter, please consider checking one out before you decide on a new pet - esp. if they are primarily a pet. With a little time, patience, and willingness to drive a few hours, Just go to petfinder.com (click here) and you can find almost any type of dog or cat that interests you. And they will certainly appreciate their new home!
Labels: dogs, missouri, pet adoption, puppy mills, rescue
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