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By Mom Unplugged, August 19, 2007 12:35 pm

I apologize for my silence these past few days, however I have been haunting the halls of the local Humane Society in a quest for a kitten. We ended up with some kittens (yes, that is plural, I really AM crazy).

We also ended up with another stray dog. We named him TJ and he is an awesome Australian Cattle Dog (also known as a “Heeler” since these dogs herd cattle by nipping at their heels). No, I wasn’t looking for another dog, and I don’t have too many cows that need herding, but here at the Humane Society you unfortunately have to walk past some dogs to get to the cat room.

With willpower, you can turn your head the other way and ignore all the dogs except for whoever is in Cage B6. I call Cage B6 “The Sucker Cage.” It faces the door so you have to look at the occupant when you open the door to enter the hallway. That is the cage my existing cattle dog Belle was in two and a half years ago when I went to adopt a cat and I ended up with her too.

TJ was also in “The Sucker Cage.” I managed to not adopt him for three days, and then I couldn’t stand it anymore and HAD to go back. Could you have refused that face?

So far he gets along wonderfully with my kids, my cats and Belle. I think he is bringing quiet Belle out of her shell a little bit. Plus, it is absolutely AMAZING to see what he can do with a ball or a frisbee. (For example: Back flips to catch in midair!) My dog-agility friend Amy is very impressed with him.

This afternoon I am taking both dogs over to her huge backyard agility field for lots of ball and frisbee time. Couch potato Belle will just want to sniff around, but TJ is going to have a blast. It’ll be fun!

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By Mom Unplugged, July 25, 2007 9:25 pm

Wow! First a Rockin’ Girl Blogger Award, then I make the Vegetable A-List, and now I have been awarded the Schmooze Award! What a month! Perhaps I should go away more often.

Meeyauw has kindly bestowed upon me, the Blogging Community Involvement Award, aka. The Power of Schmooze Award. This is what the Schmooze Award means:

“As it goes, schmoozing is the natural ability “to converse casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection.” Good schmoozers effortlessly weave their way in and out of the blogosphere, leaving friendly trails and smiles, happily making new friends along the way. They don’t limit their visits to only the rich and successful, but spend some time to say hello to new blogs as well. They are the ones who engage others in meaningful conversations, refusing to let it end at a mere hello - all the while fostering a sense of closeness and friendship.”

Thank you Meeyauw! As a naturally shy person, this is an unlikely real-life award for me. Obviously Meeyauw and I have never met at a cocktail party otherwise she might feel compelled to reconsider her choice of recipient. However, I am grateful and am eager to bestow this honor on other bloggers whom I have come to “know” through mutual schmoozing as defined above.

There are several friendly bloggers out there who I have recently “met” via comments and the occasional email. I always enjoy their thoughtful comments and since they are spending time reading my blog, they obviously are not seeking out the “rich and successful”!

I pass this award on to the following blog friends (take it and put it on your blog (or not if you don’t want), and pass it on to others):

- Jen of Never a Dull Moment

- Gattina of My Cats and Funny Stories and Writer Cramps

- Heather (aka. Celtic Mommy) of Ramblings of a SAHM

- Jules of Andamom.com

-Cheryl of A Day in the Life of our Homeschool Journey

Thanks again to Meeyauw who also would have been on this list had she not been the blogger to award me with this one!

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By Mom Unplugged, July 8, 2007 2:44 am

It is hot here. These are the weeks of the year where I feel like I am in reverse hibernation. It is too hot to garden, or ride bikes, or de-clutter the house. I just want to lie around. But this year has been hotter than usual. Rumor has it that it was 100 degrees in the parking lot of the grocery store a few days ago, and we are at a 7,000′ elevation!

Most people in my town have no air conditioning of any sort in their homes, including me. At 7,000′ it just doesn’t usually get all that hot, and it cools off dramatically at night. But for two or three weeks of the year, right before the monsoon season starts, it gets hot and the humidity-level rises so as to be noticeable. Although most of you US residents reading this would laugh at my definition of noticeable humidity, bear in mind that when it is usually as dry as a bone, you can feel even the smallest change in the humidity of the air.

We all eagerly await the monsoon, the daily afternoon thunderstorms that bring lots (hopefully) of rain and cooler air. They are actually a mixed blessing. They bring much needed rain, but they also bring lots and lots of lightning. Lightning is a frightening thing around here since lightning causes fires in the tinder-dry forests that surround us. Having lived through one massive wildfire, none of us want to do that again.

Here are some photos to cool you off if you are hot too. I thought I would save them for these uncomfortable, pre-monsoon weeks. If you live in the Southern Hemisphere and are freezing through the winter right now, then don’t look!

These real, unaltered photos were taken after a record-setting, MASSIVE, lake-effect snowstorm that happened this past winter in the little town on Lake Ontario where I grew up. My father sent them to me. Warning: put on your parkas before proceeding further!

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By Mom Unplugged, July 3, 2007 9:31 pm

Wow! Jen at Never A Dull Moment has awarded me a Rockin’ Girl Blogger award. Thank you!

I am a nerd, and “Rockin’ Girl” is not a term that is ordinarily applied to me. At first I thought that it must have been because of my confession over at Obsidian Kitten’s that I am a closet Lords of Acid listener. That might have misled people into thinking that I am cooler than I really am. Actually, Jen says it is because: “Anyone who not only has no TV, but actively teaches her kids cool stuff instead of tossing them in the basement with the Legos and Hot Wheels (my non-tv activities of choice), is a rockin’ girl blogger in my book.”

I will share with you all my secret for not locking them in the basement: I have no basement.

Seriously though, thanks! I feel so appreciated. Now I am supposed to pass that warm and fuzzy appreciation on to five other bloggers, which I am more than pleased to do.

The first blogger that comes to my mind (and she comes to my mind a lot these days) is Whymommy from Toddler Planet. Although she might not always think so, she is an example of amazing strength and grace in facing breast cancer. Whymommy rocks the universe!

Next, I must choose the very energetic Canape of Don’t Take the Repeats, for all her amazing efforts at organizing bloggers in support of Whymommy. Canape is definitely someone to have on your side when times get tough. Thank you from all of us who wish we could do more for Whymommy! You rock!

I also select Wendy of Mother Rising, a blogger I have only recently discovered. Not only is she is an awesome, involved mother but she is also a wonderfully talented artist. You can see her work here.

I also must choose Jackie Morris of We Three, Ginger Cats Tales. The photographs on her blog of her cats and the dramatic scenery around her Welsh home are breathtaking. I stop by often to look at the lovely photos and read her poetic posts. Jackie is another amazing artist. She illustrates, and even writes, gorgeous children’s books. Her work can be seen at her professional website, here.

Last, but not least, I choose Wishy of Wishy the Writer who is a real-life friend of mine, and I can tell you all that she rocks too. She is a writer and smart and funny and nice and a great mother and a dog agility champion and, as if that wasn’t enough, she is TV-free too! Despite all those positives, any friend that I get to watch win first place on national TV (and her husband won first place in his dog category too!), is, by definition, totally cool.

I don’t want anyone to feel burdened with having to pass this on if they don’t have the time, energy, inclination or whatever. I simply wish to thank you five for being out there “rocking” the blogosphere!