Confession

I admit that I became a reluctant cat owner. When my husband insisted that he wanted a cat I was not enthused. I thought about the hair that would surely accumulate on our furniture and, most likely, on our bed. I had never owned a pet and didn't know what to expect. Eventually, I relented and we adopted "Chubby." She is a timid tiger tubby and, to this day, afraid of everything. She does not like people and is happy when no one comes by. A year later, we adopted Roxy as a companion for "Chubby." What we got was a companion for ourselves.
The first three months were tough. Roxy chewed on the furniture so much that even repellent didn't work. Finally, she broke that habit, but we kept covers on quite a few pieces of furniture ever since. I wasn't even sure if we should keep Roxy, but I'm glad we did. She was very friendly and well-liked by everyone who stopped by. As she filled out in weight she became very pretty. Whenever we came home she ran to the door to greet us. And when I went out of town she moped through the house looking for me.
The house is very quiet now. I miss her quiet presence and even miss having to prepare her special diet. It doesn't hurt as much as last week, but I will never forget our sweet Roxy.

Tribute to a Cat

Yesterday, our sweet cat Roxy lost her battle with her numerous health problems. After she could not go to sleep and cried out in pain, we consulted one last time with our vet and decided with a very heavy heart to relieve Roxy's suffering. As a fairly recent pet owner she is the first pet I ever lost. She leaves a great void in our home.
Roxy was a very passionate cat and lived life to the fullest. She ate, played and ran around with gusto. She was very sociable and I remember a contractor who came by with a proposal lying on the floor and playing with her. Everybody loved her, but I was her favorite and she was mine. She waited for us when we came home and got upset if we were outside. She spent winter evenings on my lap, her favorite place besides the register.
Her weight had decreased for a few years and we noticed that she often vomited. A couple of years ago our vet suggested an ultrasound and we learned that she had kidney problems, inflammatory bowel syndrome, and Pancreas anomalities. She was treated with medication and a special diet, but grew less and less active. She even stopped playing with her favorite feather toy. Last week she suddenly stopped eating and we tried our best to get food in her with no success. She was 11 years and 9 months old. Rest in peace, Roxy.

Kitty's Health Update

Last night I had to take our second cat - aka Skinny - to the vet for the second time in three week. During her annual check-up I learned that her weight was down to 4.5 pounds. The vet advised that we should give her any kind of food she likes in an effort to let her gain weight. However, she seemed to get bonier by the day. She didn't eat at all for the evening meal and ignored the dried food we keep out for her at all times. She didn't even seem to be interested in treats, which she usually gobbled up.
Lo and behold, yesterday Kitty's weight was up to 4.7 pounds. The vet concluded that she had bad breath and could use a teeth cleaning, but did not want to put Kitty through anesthesia. The next best solution is to give her antibiotics twice a day and start a teeth cleaning regimen. We're hoping that she'll start eating once the pain gets better. She does not have any weight to lose. Now, if we could only transfer a few pounds from cat no. 1 (aka Chubby) all would be well...

Women's Health & the Environment

Yesterday I attended the conference "Women's Health & the Environment" in Pittsburgh. It was a sobering experience and I learned some disturbing facts:
Babies born today still have DDT in their bodies.
Chemicals we use every day have never been tested, so there is no way of assuring us that they are safe.
The following disorders have been linked to toxins: attention deficit disorder, learning disabilities, diabetes, obesity, cancer, infertility, even Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.
Women were targeted because they make most of the purchasing decisions in a home. The idea is, of course, that we go out and use what we learned in our everyday lives, work, and our homes.
A great website I learned about is the Environmental Working Group, http://www.ewg.org and http://www.ewg.org\women. One of the many goodies on this site is a link to a cosmetics database (www.skindeep.com) where you can search for non-toxic cosmetics. I also received a free book, "Slow Death by Rubber Duck" by Rick Smith & Bruce Lourie, who also spoke at the conference.
Because nowadays there are many more non-toxic cleaning products available than there were years ago, I have already been using them for a while. I came away from the conference with the resolve to replace our personal care products with safer ones. Some other tidbits I learned:
Buy organic
Eat low mercury fish
Filter drinking water
Avoid canned food whenever possible
One of my concerns was not addressed yesterday: If the products we use are so toxic to our bodies, what is their effect on the much smaller bodies of birds, insects, and aquatic life?

A New Officer

When I joined a Toastmasters club one and a half years ago, I had no intention of becoming an officer. After all, I just joined to gain speaking experience before starting my new endeavor of giving presentations about backyard habitats. Fast forward to now, and I am suddenly the newest officer of Toastmasters Club #144, the Vice President PR. My role will be to promote our club in the media, send out newsletters, and greet guests, among others.
Are you wondering whether Toastmasters is for you? Check out www.toastmasters.org to find out more information or to locate a club near you. Whether you are a student or professional who needs to improve his/her speaking skills, or simply want to join to make new friends--you will be welcome with open arms at a club near you.
I'll see you at our next meeting!

If the Shoe Fits...

Women are supposed to love shoes, right? But if your shoe size is 6 1/2 WW (in other words, if it's like mine) you probably hate buying shoes. The reason is, of course, that no one makes shoes in that size. Things got even worse for me when my doctor prescribed insoles. I recently went to a shoe store that sells nothing but shoes that fit insoles. Guess what: they didn't have my size and had to order a pair. Of course, when it arrived it was too tight and I had to order yet another pair. This time I hope they fit.
What's a writer to do when faced with such a dilemma? Write an essay about it, of course. For years, I have submitted a humorous essay about my not so funny misadventures of shoe shopping. Last week, I sent my updated version to a women's magazine and hope they will accept it. After all, we can't all be like Imelda Marcos, can we?

Snow be gone

We are experiencing unusually sunny and warm temperatures. For the first time in over a month we can see our backyard and driveway again.
The sunny weather brings out some strange creatures inside our house: our cats! During the long winter they only emerged from their sleeping positions to answer calls of nature. Somehow they always managed to show up right before feeding time, but other than that I was beginning to wonder if we actually had cats. Now they are up in the windows again or staking out the sunny spots on the floor.

March 2

For the past few weeks I've been posting about the wildlife in our backyard at my other blog, http://birdswithpersonality.blogspot.com. Come on over and check it out.

Snow and Icicles

We're well on our way to experience the snowiest February in Pittsburgh history. And on the weekend we can expect more snow. Getting bundled up and clearing off the cars, the walk, part of the driveway and the trail to the bird feeders takes so much time we're exhausted. And now we have to worry about ice dams as the temperature crawls above freezing during the day and then refreezes everything at night. All the salt on the roads brings an early start of pothole season. Potholes are sprouting like garlic mustard in the spring. I wonder what they do our suspensions.
There are more and more tracks in the snow. Who visits our yard when we aren't looking? A deer, a turkey, a dog? All of them? If I could actually venture out into snow that reaches over my knees I might be able to read the tracks.

Snow, snow, snow

We were told to expect 6-12 inches of snow on Saturday. We got more than 21 inches. It is the most snow I have ever seen in a place I actually lived. The snow is so high it reaches my upper legs.
Worst of all, this storm has no name so far. In Pittsburgh, storms usually get colorful names, such as: St. Patrick's Day Parade Blizzard, Valentine's Day Massacre, etc. But this storm has no name. I guess "Day before the Super Bowl Storm" does sound awkward.
And now we're told to expect another storm system tomorrow. We sincerely hope that our roof and our trees can handle all the weight.
Let it snow? Bah humbug!

Critter food

It is one of Murphy's Laws that no good deed goes unpunished. It is equally ironic that my last post was about being a pack rat.
For quite a while I've been buying peanuts, which my husband throws out every morning for the birds and squirrels. Those peanuts are a big hit. Even though we started putting our bird seeds into a plastic tote, for some reason the peanuts ended up on top of the tote the other day. This morning I took my car in for inspection and mentioned to the attendant that my "check engine light" came on the other day. A few minutes later she returned and told me that the light was on this very moment. I grudgingly agreed to a costly diagnostic check. She then informed me that 1. the knock sensor had to be replaced, and 2. that there were peanut shells in the engine!
I laughed, until I learned how much it would cost to replace the sensor. Those were the most expensive peanuts I ever purchased.
I guess we should have learned our lesson the first time. A couple of years ago we opened up the hood of my car and found so many peanut shells in the engine that it took us an hour to vacuum them out. The reason is probably that there is a hole between the bottom of our garage door and the wall, just big enough for a critter to slip through. And the garage is a lot warmer than the outdoors right now. So, until we can figure out how to plug that hole I'm parking my car outdoors. After all, three is not always a charm.

Fighting clutter

January is the perfect time to conquer clutter because there isn't much else to do. It often seems as if the clutter is winning. Not only is it taking over our small house, but it also has taken over our computer. Before I know it there are over 500 messages in my e-mail inbox that have to be deleted or filed under a category. If I don't keep up with that it takes hours to do. When it comes to computers I'm a packrat. I don't want to delete anything, unless I make a copy first.
Last weekend, my husband informed me that there were only 3 GB of free space on our hard drive left and I had to delete my photos. I reluctantly did, but not before I made sure that I had two copies: one on our external hard drive and one on my portable hard drive. Did I mention I'm a packrat? I acquired a portable hard drive a while ago after hearing stories about external hard drives that crashed. Of course, in a few years I will a. probably realize that many of my photos are not as great as they once seemed and that I got much better ones now; or b. our external hard drive will be full too.

Walking down memory lane

Like most serious photographers we have hundreds and hundreds of 35mm slides stashed away in our closet. We haven't looked at them in years, except for those that I had scanned into our computer years ago. However, when we bought a new computer it didn't have a connection for our trusty little scanner anymore and my scanning project came to a shrieking halt. What to do with all those slides? I would love to convert them into saleable photos and recently learned that I could get them scanned onto DVDs.
Now I am looking at all those slides, trying to decide which ones to get scanned first. It is a walk down memory lane. As I am glancing over images of city sights, fall foliage, a locked bicycle with missing wheels, a dead mouse (don't ask), flowers, waterfalls, rocks, churches, signs, palaces, street cars, covered bridges, etc. I realize that these photos are snapshots of our lives. How many of us write a journal every day? Not too many, I guess. Yet, most of us would remember a funny or sad incident connected with our photos. Whether it was that trip to Norway where I froze in July (and then ate enormous soft serves), the hike in Ohiopyle where I tripped over a root, our quest for covered bridges, our blossoming love for wildflowers, or shop signs in Germany--all of these are highlights of our lives and our photos recharge our memories about them. They are indeed photo journals.

A Fresh Start

Last week, we woke up to see this winter wonderland outside our windows. Knowing it wouldn't last long before a breeze would drop the snow off the branches, I grabbed my camera and took a few photos after breakfast. In case you're wondering why our arbor is lying on the ground, it was felled by a gust of wind around Thanksgiving.
The New Year is off to a busy, if not frigid start. Meetings that discontinued during the holiday season are resuming and everyone is making resolutions. My resolutions consist of writing, photography, and networking. The order is determined by the weather--meaning, I won't do any bird photography this week since my fingers are freezing inside the house. That means buying a better pair of gloves is high on my to-do list. Therefore, I am planning on decluttering my filing cabinet and the house, so when the weather does get better I can go out and enjoy it.
Happy New Year!

Around the world in three hours

One of the perks of being a freelance writer and photographer is that I can pick the assignments I would like to cover and then pitch them. And so I was happy to be able to photograph the Nationality Rooms at the University of Pittsburgh while they are decorated for the holidays.
The first room I photographed was the Austrian Room with a nativity scene that was handcarved in Austria. A wreath and guitar commemorate the origin of the song "Silent Night."
The German Room looked also very pretty with its Advents wreath and Christmas tree, but then I'm biased.
My goal was to photograph holidays in different cultures. The Chinese New Year is celebrated with an elaborate display of symbols, while the African room shows a simple Kwanzaa scene. From Russia to India to Italy, I photographed traditions around the world. But a photo shoot like this does not come without problems. The French Room, for example, showed a large creche under glass--impossible to photograph, especially when there are chairs posted in front of it. If you want to see how the holidays are observed in different cultures, I suggest a trip to the Cathedral of Learning. You will never get a cheaper deal on traveling around the world.

Party Like It's 1939

Perhaps 1939 wasn't the best year to choose as a party theme, but that's when my Toastmasters Club was founded. So, last Monday we celebrated our 70th anniversary with a phantastic wingding. Most of us played period roles and the illustrious crowd included Glenn Miller, Charles Lindbergh, Bob Hope, President Roosevelt, Rosi the Riveter, yours truly as John Steinbeck, and many others.
At the last minute I was asked to bring my camera to the festivities, and so I was pulling double duty as both photographer and participant. There was a lot of talent at the event - we had dancers, singers, a DJ, two photographers (Ansel Adams was the other one) and speakers, of course - and I'm glad someone recorded everything. I can't wait to see the movie, especially the parts that I missed because I was too busy.
Happy birthday, Toastmasters Club 144!

End of an Era

All good things must end. For years, I've been part of a writers group that met in a church in the South Hills. I was there from the beginning and have seen quite a few people come and go. But life got in the way and "members" drifted out of it, one after the other. While it lasted, we have seen novels written and rewritten, babies born, articles published, and Christmas parties held.
Yesterday, the three people of the hard core decided to quit our group until further notice. Now, some of them are also Pennwriters and I know that I will see them again, but it was still a bittersweet experience.

An Anniversary to Remember

Tomorrow marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. As I recall those days the first thing that comes to mind is that I was occupied with other things. As a newlywed, I had just decided to vacate my bachelor efficiency apartment. Scraping wallpaper, arranging the move of my few belongings, and finding a bigger apartment were foremost on my mind.
Disbelief was the first reaction I felt at the news that the most visible symbol of the Cold War had fallen. Just a few years before I had stood in front of the Brandenburg Gate in East Berlin--a mere two months after visiting West Berlin. The contrast between the bustling West Berlin and the almost empty streets of East Berlin (we could almost walk on the main street at night, that's how empty it was) could not have been greater. If I returned today I probably would not recognize the city.
A history buff, I have always been fascinated by castles, old houses, and museums. But back in 1989 it occured to me for the first time that I was living history. I had seen the Berlin Wall rise and fall in my lifetime.
For the first year, a shopping frenzy began. East Germans were buying cars, furniture, and traveled. They had a lot of catching up to do. And then reality set in as more and more of them lost their jobs. As with most things in life, euphoria does not last forever. It will take many years for the formerly two Germanys to be truly one. Tearing down a wall made of concrete is a lot easier than tearing down the walls in people's minds.

Work in progress

For several months now we have been looking for a contractor to have a minor bathroom renovation done. After talking to two contractors (who of course had different ideas of what we needed) we researched online. Contractor No. 2 decided that we needed a complete overhaul even though we had told him we only wanted a surround and other small upgrades. Therefore, his estimate was out of this world. Back to Contractor one. We now had an idea of the surround we liked. But... it turned out that the window that is in our bathroom is a big problem, and cutting the surround might crack it. So, we finally settled on the solution we had looked at at the beginning. Did I mention that we also talked to Contractor no. 3, recommended by Contractor no. 1? Fortunately, said person can do the job very soon. At this point, we just want the project done so we can move on with our lives, even it it means painting a small bathroom with lots of corners and tiny spaces. You know you're in trouble when you check out surrounds and vanity tops in every venue you visit.

Reflections

I have been very busy lately. Last weekend, I attended a wood duck photo workshop in Ohio and posted about it on my other blog, http://birdswithpersonality.blogspot.com. Such a trip requires almost as much time packing as the workshop takes. I was grateful for packing a parka and gloves because it was about 10 degrees colder up there than here in Pittsburgh. I haven't even put away my luggage yet and am still editing almost 800 photos.
Last night, my husband and I got free tickets to see Jean-Michel Cousteau at Heinz Hall. It was a very entertaining and thought-provoking speech. He showed several clips from his DVDs about Midway, an endangered fish, and a toxic test on Orca whales and humans, including himself. A woman (a vegetarian, no less) and her 4-year old son tested the highest in toxic elements in their bodies. One reason is that they live in California, which has a law requiring many household items to be flame-retardant. Evidently, those chemicals pass into the bodies of humans. Cousteau compared Orcas and humans because they are both at the top of the food chain. Orcas absorb toxins that are released into the water over decades, such as garbage, chemicals, sewage, etc.