Jenn sent me this photo of Nushi, who was excited to see them when they came home from being out. I think the name "Bugs" that he got as a newborn still suits him, don't you? What a silly dog!



Sunday morning, Marc went out to the diner around the corner for what has become a winter Sunday morning tradition - pancakes and bacon. Two weeks ago, the bacon wasn't done enough for my taste, so I put it on a place and threw it in the microwave for under a minute. Biz was hanging around looking sad because there wasn't any pancakes for him, so at that time, I let him lick off the bacon plate. This week, I took out the bacon and went to nuke it, but could hardly walk because Biz was underfoot every step of the way. Then it dawned on me - he remembered this routine and wanted to lick the plate again! Just to tease him, I sat down to eat my breakfast, and he gave me the old fish eye, staring at me, then looking at the counter where the plate was, then back to me. After Marc and I both got a good laugh out of it, I did let Biz have the plate. He's too damned smart!

I got an order from Petedge today; puppy collars and puppy toys. Biz was jumping up and down the entire time I was unpacking the box - he was sure those toys were for him. Not this time - as it is he has so many toys in his crate, along with his blanket, that I wonder how he can make himself room to sleep. Usually he has them all piled at one end and uses a few for a pillow!

Later I'll sort out the collars and put them on the pups. It'll be much easier to see who is who without trying to unroll the fabric collars they have on now. Then it will be time for a new photo

Tammy tagged me for this meme, an invention of Eva (A Striped Armchair).


Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews?

The Kite Runner. For some reason I just feel it would be too gut-wrenching for me.


If you could bring three characters to life for a social event (afternoon tea, a night of clubbing perhaps a world cruise), who would they be and what would the event be?

Jamie Frasier from Outlander, Dumbledore from the Harry Potter series, and Bennie Harper from Earlene Fowler's series, for an afternoon tea. Now if Bennie will behave and not vamp around Jamie, we'll be all set!


Borrowing shamelessly from the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde): you are told you can’t die until you read the most boring novel on the planet. While this immortality is great for awhile, eventually you realize it’s past time to die. Which book would you expect to get you a nice grave?

Wuthering Heights. I tried it a few times and my eyes would cross and my brain would go numb.


Which book have you pretended, or at least hinted, that you’ve read, when in fact you’ve been nowhere near it?

Can't think of one....


As an addition to the last question, has there been a book that you really thought you had read, only to realize when you read a review about it/go to ‘reread’ it that you haven’t? Which book?

Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain.


You’re interviewing for the post of Official Book Advisor to some VIP (who’s not a big reader). What’s the first book you’d recommend and why?

That's tough. Maybe something by James Patterson - short chapters, lots of action, and hard to put down. Once you can get someone hooked on reading SOMETHING, its easier to branch out from there.

A good fairy comes and grants you one wish: you will have perfect reading comprehension in the foreign language of your choice. Which language do you go with?

Spanish. It seems that it would be a beautiful language to read.

A mischievous fairy comes and says that you must choose one book that you will reread once a year for the rest of your life (you can read other books as well). Which book would you pick?

All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot. I've read it several times and it never fails to entertain me.


I know that the book blogging community, and its various challenges, have pushed my reading borders. What’s one bookish thing you ‘discovered’ from book blogging (maybe a new genre, or author, or new appreciation for cover art-anything)?

I've discovered that after a lifelong distain for it, that there is some science fiction and fantasy out there that I enjoy.


That good fairy is back for one final visit. Now, she’s granting you your dream library! Describe it. Is everything leather-bound? Is it full of first edition hardcovers? Pristine trade paperbacks? Perhaps a few favorite authors have inscribed their works? Go ahead-let your imagination run free.


I don't really care very much about first editions or pristine condition, as long as my favorite authors were there. I'd really like a big cushy leather couch with a fluffy, soft comforter, and a table for my cup of tea. A fireplace would be a nice touch, and lots of big windows would be a requirement.


And the final portion of this assignment is to tag four others: JandR Learn at Home; http://pastorbear.livejournal.com/,http://anotherbookonthestack.blogspot.com/,http://cigarettesandshalimar.blogspot.com/

Here they are at 5 days old - they are growing like crazy and have just about doubled their size since birth. I've already had to put new collars on them because the originals were getting tight!

Bryan is 28 years old today - now he's closer to 30 than 20, LOL! The old instamatic cameras didn't take great photos, but here's a picture of him at about 10 months old. When he was born, his head was distinctly egg shaped and he was bald as a bowling ball. We called him Eggbert for a long time :)



I think he got his birthday present early this year, when the Giants won the Super bowl!

Tim Stelzl died today. He was the husband of my friend Donna, and the father of 4 children; Topher, Steven, Paige, and Tim. He loved to ride his motorcycle and spend time with his family; enjoyed having his friends over to watch football games and drink beer; and he had a twisted sense of humor that he was able to hold onto until almost the end. Tim was only 41 years old, and died of lung cancer. He started smoking when he was around 12 years old, and this is the toll it took on him.

Now I hear people say, "Oh, a smoker, what do they expect?" But let me tell you, nobody deserves to suffer the way Tim did because of a bad habit. He fought long and hard against the monster, but in the end, he just couldn't bear the pain anymore and asked Donna and the doctors to take him off the respirator and let him go.

Any of you who might be reading this and think it can't happen to you, think again. If you smoke, stop now. If someone you love smokes, go ahead and show them this post. And then dig down a bit in your pocket, and make a donation. Lung cancer is still one of the cancers that is pretty much a death sentence - more research and more treatments are needed to try to extend the life of someone more than 20 months after diagnosis.

Please make donations to the LUNGevity Foundation for research of Lung Cancer.

Here is the direct link to Tim's page.

http://events.lungevity.org/goto/tim.stelzl