Lois the Librarian

Quick Update

Homework avoidance behavior.

Finished last week:

I'm far from a yarn snob. This is made with 100% acrylic yarn. Let's be practical. I have two BIG dogs and two cats. This needs to be machine washable.

Started and finished today (although I have to fix some problems):

Modge Podge and beautiful Kaffe Fassett cotton fabric on my 12-panel door.

I didn't anticipate the fabric shrinking away from the edges as it dried. I worked to stretch it with a kitchen scraper, but I have some edges that need attention now that it has dried.

I may also apply a sealer coat to make cleaning easier - but to be honest, cleaning is rarely a priority for me.

I'll live with it a while and decide what to do later. The door needs painting anyway, so I may be able to trick the eye with paint.

For now, I think I'll do some homework.

Shopping at Home

I have so much to do I can't do anything! I was about to head out to the fabric store when I realized that I have fabric tucked away all over my house that I haven't looked at for years!

I was shopping for kitschy doo-dads on eBay when I realized that I have the kitschy-est house anywhere.

So today I will be shopping at home. It kills two birds with one stone. I'll have something listed on eBay by the end of the day, and I will avoid buying even more supplies for as-yet-undetermined projects. I am working on a specific project, but I need to test application methods to decide what works best. I'll post images when I get it worked out.

I'll post images of my most recently completed granny square afghan soon, too. I was so excited to finish it that I forgot to post anything. I also have to get over the notion that it's too pretty to use.

I need professional help.

Suddenly Super Slammed!

So I DID get the adjunct faculty position I noted in the previous post. I'm very excited, but frankly I am too busy to dwell on it for too long.

Teaching a Foundations class should be a relatively straight-forward thing. It's not. I was given documentation and syllabi from two different instructors about 10 minutes before walking into a classroom with a full roster of students.

I also have my own coursework to complete. This is a lesson in organization and discipline. I'm just chipping away at it as best I can.

In the meantime, the weather has been all over the place. Snow and ice less than a week ago, and this morning it was 57 degrees F, then rain, thunder, howling winds and tornado warnings. This evening the howling winds remain, but it is dry and 33 degrees F.

I am also checking in on my friends' 15 year old Labrador Retriever and three cats while they are on vacation. AND, little Ms. Parker has had some tummy trouble. It seems under control after one week of restricted diet and veterinary care. The real hero? Pureed pumpkin. She's feeling better and all the critters in the house are enjoying the fiber and regularity the pumpkin provides. That's all I have to say about that.

Maybe I will start a garden on the kitchen floor - goodness knows the dogs have tracked in enough dirt to grow asparagus.

 

Looking Up

The other night we enjoyed a Halo Moon. It was magnificent. While the unseasonably warm weather is so pleasant and inviting, it makes me a bit uncomfortable. Looking up at that Halo Moon, nearly 11:00 pm and 45 degrees outside, my mind didn't wander.

Today, as my first official day of the semester ends, I am getting ready to take Parker for her first obedience class. She should do well - it's me that might need an inproportionate amount of assistance.

As I was getting prepared for her class, I received a message from a collegue who may be in a position to offer me an class at my alma mater as an adjunct instructor in their foundations program. It may be only one class, but it would be a thrill for me. I hope it comes together.

Things are looking up.

 

 

 

Looking Up

The other night we enjoyed a Halo Moon. It was magnificent. While the unseasonably warm weather is so pleasant and inviting, it makes me a bit uncomfortable. Looking up at that Halo Moon, nearly 11:00 pm and 45 degrees outside, my mind didn't wander.

Today, as my first official day of the semester ends, I am getting ready to take Parker for her first obedience class. She should do well - it's me that might need an inproportionate amount of assistance.

As I was getting prepared for her class, I received a message from a collegue who may be in a position to offer me an class at my alma mater as an adjunct instructor in their foundations program. It may be only one class, but it would be a thrill for me. I hope it comes together.

Things are looking up.

 

 

 

Planning and Preparation

My final semester of graduate school officially begins on Monday. I would like to think I am ready.

I am upgrading my internet speed tomorrow, as all of my classes are online. I haven't had any trouble with my current connection in that regard, but I do think it best to be safe rather than sorry.

Yesterday I took Miss Parker to be evaluated for a group training class. This dog is VERY smart. She is thankfully getting so comfortable at this point that some sort of job is in order for her. She has let me know how strong her herding instinct is by herding Wilson - something which mild-mannered Wilson could do without. Thankfully, Parker responds to the slightest disappointment in my tone, so correcting her before she really freaks Wilson out is fairly simple.

We are going to a small clicker training class with other dogs. I have not tried clicker training before, but I love the concept - especially for Parker. The socialization will be the best thing, I think, as Parker seems even more tuned in to me even after her ride in the car and evaluation around other dogs. If things go as well as I expect them to, Wilson will go next. He's so aloof, yet well-behaved, that he and I would benefit from the routine if nothing else.

Wish me luck. I have applied for several jobs. The purpose of taking no face-to-face classes this semester is to allow for interviewing. I am hopeful to be employed before graduation.

 

New Year Notes

I've found myself calling Parker Olive more than once. That's a good thing for a dog with some pretty big issues coming in to the family. Olive had issues, too, I just knew about them for most of her life. Parker still has some mystery to her, but she's showing herself to be a playful puppy - something that I'm not sure she had much opportunity to be prior to her surrender to the Humane Society. We're all misfits here, in one way or another, so I'm happy to report that she's fitting right in.

More often than not, I have found myself laughing at Parker's antics. Less than two weeks after bringing her home, I am ready to start her on a training regimen. Nothing too rough, but because she is clearing more comfortable, gradually scaling up to her ideal weight, and sufficiently clumsy, I think a little obedience is in order.

School for me starts very soon and my new schedule will be very interesting, I think.

My family Christmas consists of my parents coming to town, usually with my older brother, sometimes my sister, and we go to the Chinese Buffet and a movie. This year it was War Horse. It was okay, sure, but I think Spielberg has become a caricature of himself. There were so many Disney moments, and even more scenes that were nearly identical to O'Selznick's Gone With the Wind. The animal lover in me was nauseated more than once at the suggestion of suffering to horses. It wasn't graphic, and I realize it it more realistic than thinking animals and people have happy endings when it comes to war. It is worth seeing, but I won't see it again.

Our family meal and gift exchange comes on the Sunday after Christmas, which allows for greater relaxation. I'm looking forward to that, but know that my Great Aunt Helen's funeral will be the following Tuesday. Aunt Helen was quite a character. At the age of 69, she enrolled at Purdue University as a freshman. She graduated with a degree in English at the age of 73. Her GPA was higher than that of her eldest granddaugther, who graduated beside her. This was a woman who got a lot out of her 97 years, and she will be missed and remembered.

For my mother, who likely doesn't read this blog, I have remembered her sweet cat Ilene. My mom adopted Ilene from a foster family, and little was known about her background, but she had only three legs. She got around fine, but eventually succumbed to a medical problem that got to be too much for her - and for my mom.

  I know Mom's decision to humanely euthanize Ilene was a very, very difficult one for her. I believe it was the right thing, and I know everyone who knows the story would agree.

 

 

 

...thinking of those who think they've been forgotten

 

 

A Christmas Eve Story

I said to Fnn, "Yesterday, I accidentally locked you in the bathroom for more than an hour and a half. Today, it will be on purpose."

Big Progress and two notes about me.

The house was still standing when I got home.

Parker had evidently either attempted an escape, or just rooted around on her kennel pad, but there was no other evidence of drama. I believe that it probably happened right after I left, and not at some mid-point interval. She was happy to see me and happy to be let out of her crate.

We went outside for a while, then came in and took a short nap. Parker slept in her crate with the door wide open.

That afternoon we had an appointment for her initial veterinary exam and rabies shot. While I hated taking her out into a stressful environment so soon after bringing her home, but it was both necessary and educational. No trouble with the car, and the only trouble she did have was navigating the slick concrete floors at the vet. A rubber mat in the room did the trick and we were soon on our way home.

Last night, like now, Parker slept near my feet in the living room with Wilson next to her. When I turned in, there was no late night whining, but I left her crate door open all night and only noticed her heading out to the kitchen for a drink twice.

This morning, after breakfast, Parker climbed up onto my bed and snuggled up to me. This, much to the incredulous look on Wilson's face, was a big deal. A really big deal. After our walk, Parker ran around in the back yard, again with Wilson looking on a bit dumbfounded. I knew that she liked to run and play, but this was the first she had done it here.

Note about me, 1:

Two big dogs and two cats is maximum capacity for me and my little house. While I would love to have dozens of animals, this is it. Anyone who knows me might worry that I might become a 'collector', but there is no danger of that. I have even told friends that they are now much safer because I no longer peruse the adoption sites, so I won't be forwarding links to them about dogs all the time (for them). Unless, of course, they ask me to.

Note about me, 2:

While my entire world for the past several days and for days to come has been about helping Parker and my other pets adjust to things, it will eventually return to more diverse subject matter. I think this is more evidence that Parker was meant to be here, with me and my menagerie. My classes are complete for the fall semester, I am working very limited hours, and my spring classes are online and self-directed. My GPA is solid, I am applying for and interviewing for jobs already, and hopefully by graduation in May, I'll have a new routine and a house full of well-adjusted critters (myself included).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah, right.