Tomorrow is my first day back to teaching after my late summer/fall break. I’m nervous. After thinking about juggling teaching, writing, family, and critters, I’ve decided to cut back on blogging for a stretch. I have the usual reasons which you might have, too, when too many things call out to you to be done… Read more
Last spring, I read The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown for Pierce County Reads. The story wrapped me up, and I couldn’t help but tell my hubby. I told Phil of the rowers from the University of Washington. I told him about the rower Joe Rantz and the odds he beat after taking care of… Read more
Yes, I said three beginnings. The Glitter who first stole my heart refused to love our dog or even to acknowledge his right to coexist in our home. She hissed, spit and charged at him even when he was cowering three floors away from her kittens and quaking in his doggie boots. Yesterday, I scrunched down… Read more
(A short break from the Kitty Channel) I listen to the Rob Cast every week without fail and this past week gave me some way to pay back the deep joy I’ve gotten from his words. In his podcasts, Rob speaks of how to move from a false shallow happy light, to a place of crushing… Read more
Caution: This story involves poop. I have found that poop is always involved when working with little people and animals, so maybe you won’t be surprised. But I thought I should warn you. My friend LeAnna, a horse lady from way back, said: “Fostering kittens is like having a tiny herd of horses in your house… Read more
The first time Glitter saw our yellow lab she hissed and charged, thowing all of her 6 pounds (mostly fur) at his quivering 90 pound dog body. My dog is not thrilled about the newcomers and I can’t say I blame him. The two of them are now beginning to tolerate each other but we like… Read more
The only thing slightly more syrupy than kitten stories has to be a story with kids and kittens. Brace yourself for syrup. This week Quinton started helping me to change the blanket in the kittens’ basket by holding the tiny ones in his lap on a blanket. We had thought Glitter might want to roam a… Read more
My friend Lynn won with the most original way of saying it: “You are taking in a teenaged mom!” I am. Here is Glitter. I fell in love with this very young mama cat at a local animal shelter but couldn’t take her home because she had just had kittens who needed to grow up before they could… Read more