#74 Social Petworking

I have to admit, I created a webpage for my cat Emma on Catster. It was fairly easy, though I had some trouble finding her breed, and it was really slow to load after I had finished filling out the information. Even her picture is up there. I also did a diary entry on Emma's Day, all about her rather dull day at home. It was sort of fun, and something I may keep up with. Checked out Pet.doc, and got advice on how to trim her toenails.

I don't feel a great need to do social networking for my cat. Emma and I are both rather lone wolves, so to speak, and are content to be as such. I can see why many people enjoy doing it, finding folks with the same breed of cat or dog as your own, or just enjoying the company of others. I talk about Emma at work, we all share our pet stories, and she is a very important part of my life. But I would rather not disturb her privacy any more then necessary. :)

#73 Losing a friend

Having lived a good long time, I have lost many pets over the years, most commonplace, some more exotic. It has never been easy, whether they died at home, or when the decision had to be made to end thier life. After looking at the websites listed in the exercise, I found the information useful, and was pleased that some understanding of the grief at the loss of a pet has, over time, has been more accepted as the norm rather then something odd.

The worst time I had was when I had to make the decision alone as to putting two of my cats down within 6 months of each other. Squeaker, a very large Tabby with a very small voice, was found in a parking lot, had been with us for 10 years, and unfortunately had severe diabetes. He had some kind of episode, and needed to have his suffering ended. It was horrible, the feelings I had. But, I was with him to the end, and he was sorely missed.

My other cat, Ming, a Siamese, was 14, and my late husband's cat. A true character and aristocrat he was, sat with Dan and had coffee in the morning, loved deli turkey and peas, very skittish and extremely loving animal. Used to sit by the pond and lay his tail on the water, even though he hated getting wet. He was my companion, along with Squeaker, when the world turned upside down. Unfortunately, he developed cancer of the liver, and there was nothing to be done. When the time came, I took him to the vet, and stayed with him until he was gone. The doctor was kind, there was no other choice. The devastation was complete, and I miss that amazing animal to this day.

#72 Pet Health Online.

I answered all the questions on CatAge, and in their opinion, my Emma is 22.7 years old in human time. I was quite pleased that she was such a young age. However, I may have messed up a bit. The question was asked, "can you feel your cats ribs?" and yes, of course I can do that. This question was about weight and shape. When I went home, I hugged Emma, and realised that I really can't feel her ribs unless I do more squishing, so I believe she is a bit on the chubby side. Will have to work on that. I was interested to learn that cats shouldn't have garlic, which made me grateful that Emma has no taste for Italian food, just a bit of watermelon on occasion.

I also read the articles and arguments on Spaying and Neutering with great interest. I have had many pets over the years, and all of them were "fixed", the procedure just makes for a better tempered animal, easier on you and them. I don't know how people can not get their pets neutered, its simply cruel not to. My Emma is a rescued cat, taken to the pound with her unwanted litter of kittens, the kittens were taken, she was not. Someone loved her once, but she was thrown away because her former owner wasnt responsible. They lost a wonderful animal. My gain.

Picking a Pet #71

I have always considered myself a cat person, and have always had cats, with an occasional dog, rabbit, turtle or snake thrown into the mix for variation. I was rather suprised when the Pet Picker decided a bird would be a good pet for my life style. Oddly enough, I had been considering a getting a bird, probably a canary or budgie, just because I enjoy the chatter and color. However, it also seems cruel to keep a lunch munchie hanging in front of my beloved cat, Emma, and to keep a bird in a state of nervousness.

I looked at the adoption sites, and could not figure out a way to fit the 321,000+ cats into my house. My cat is a rescue cat, and once we got used to each other, she is one of the joys of my life. So many pets are thrown away, and I was so glad to see the rescue societies that are willing to step in and give unwanted animals a home. My cat is an only kitty, and the one time I tried to bring another cat into the house, it was not a good situation, and I have not tried again. However, I did find the address of a animal rescue locally that I will send a donation to.

#65 Coin Collecting

I have always found coins fascinating. Collecting wheat pennies and Kennedy half dollars when I was younger, stashing some state quarters or gold dollars when I run across them. Just like the feel of coins, the heaviness in the hand. This was one reason why I liked England, they use a lot of coins. I have never seriously collected, outside of change jars, where the contents is just tossed in coins, waiting to build up to a point where one can afford something or need change for tolls. I do have a few silver dollars that are quite old, and will get the Red book out to see if I can identify them and if they are worth anything. I have a family member who is a very serious collector, not only for value but also for beauty and history. Many of the coins in his collection date back to the Roman era and earlier. There is a wonderful store called Numismatic in Rice Village who not only deals in coins and gold, but in jewelry too. Fun place to look around in. I dont think I would ever become a collector, one needs money to collect money.

#66 Knitting and Crocheting

Ah, a warm fire, your loving pet snuggled at your feet, a cup of tea, and your knitting needles clicking away, creating a Sweater? A tea cozy? A tangle of yarn resembling a large rats nest? This has been my experience with knitting. I have made a complete scarf, with fringe, several years ago, and have since started another, probably 2 years ago and its stuffed in a bag, waiting for me to finish it. I enjoy the experience, its very soothing, but am never sure what to do when I make a mistake. As for crocheting, its lovely, and I made many long, long crocheted strings in my youth, because I didn't know how to put them together. I would like to make an afghan or a prayer shawl, and probably with concentration and some help I could do that. Unfortunately, we don't have a knitting group at our branch, something we have discussed on several occasions, but as yet have found no one to facilitate it, or a good time for it. I am hopeful though, because I would like to learn the proper way to knit.

#54 Social networking...what are YOU reading?

I belong to our Branch book club, Atascocita Reads, and have for going on two years. The group itself was formed about 7 years ago. I also belong to Goodreads, and have several friends that I swap titles and reviews with, and Librarything, on which I mostly add titles. I prefer the more intimate nature of a book club, with real people with real opinions and conversation, rather then discussions on the internet. I personally don't find communicating with people on the net very satisfying, unless it is a chat situation and real time. The best part of any conversation is what is showing on the other persons face, one can see if they really liked a book or story, or if they are pulling your leg, being ironic or sarcastic, or truly entranced with a story or author.

As for forming a book club, I have considered possibly a club devoted to the classics, or one whose members read and compare books of humor, either a humorist, such as David Sedaris, or just funny stories, such as some of Christopher Moores' work. Erma Bombeck, Dave Barry, even Bill Bryson, whose Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid is one of the funniest books I have ever read! In these uncertain times, with job loss, and the economic downturn, everyone could use a laugh, and a funny story or two. For a classics club, we were all forced to read The Scarlett Letter, Lord of the Flies and 1984 when we were in high school. Actually I managed to avoid all those, but recall being devestated by Steinbeck's The Pearl, and Hershey's Hiroshima. It might be interesting to go back to these well-hated books and look at them from an adult perspective. After checking on Goodreads, I found lists of books of lists of classic literature, "must reads" which were helpful in choosing titles for the club. They suggested, Pride and Prejudice by Austen, The Three Musketeers by Dumas, The Secret Garden by Burnett and a personal favorite, My Name is Asher Lev, by Chaim Potok. For my laughing book club, I also found lists on Goodreads, suggesting Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, by Adams, RightHo, Jeeves, by Wodehouse, Lamb, the Gospel according to Biff by Moore, and for those who are feeling particularly naughty, Napalm and Silly Putty, by the late George Carlin. All the lists had been complied and voted on by members of Goodreads, and ranked accordingly.

After checking various social websites, I was very pleased that the book Katherine is so highly thought of and fondly remembered. Apparently, it was read by many women of a certain age, and recommended to their daughters, who also enjoyed the story. I looked at Goodreads, Amazon, Shelfari and Librarything, and all of them had ratings of four and one half stars out of five for the book, and the commentary was very gracious. So I am pleased to see that some stories just stick around and are loved by several generations.

#53 Finding Books Online. Where oh where?

There were actually several bookstores listed in the Houston directory that were fairly close to the Atascocita Branch. None of the small, independent stores listed had on online presence, Books by Rita had a page under construction. Bookstop and Crown books, at least the online addresses, were more lists of links for finding more books. Crown books seemed to be more into the religious books end of the business. Barnes and Noble is not too far from us at the Deerbrook Mall, and of course they have a huge online database where one can purchase books either at the store, or online sent to either your home or the store.

When looking for copies of used books, I used the book Katherine, by Anya Seton that I had read in the previous post. At Booksamillion.com, I found a paperback copy, used for $10.15, and one with library binding for $21.55. At Powell's, a used copy was $10.50. ALibris had copies from $1.99 to $10.75, and Bookmooch had no copies at all. A new copy at Barnes and Noble was $13.45.

I searched through several different websites, Amazon.com, Netlibrary.net and Bartleby.com, and did not find an audio version of Anya Seton's Katherine. It is an older book, it is a shame no one has thought to voice it. With the new non-fiction book by Alison Weir, titled, Mistrss of the Monarchy, the life of Katherine Sywford, Duchess of Lancaster, perhaps there will be a renewed interest in her story.

I downloaded an ebook from the Harris County Library site, titled Ammie,Come Home, by Barbara Michaels. This was another favorite book from my younger years, which I first read in a condensed Readers Digest version, and from which, a cheesy made-for-tv movie starring Barbara Stanwyck, was inflicted on the public at large. Anyway, I digress. I had some trouble with the downloading process, but eventually, the deed was done, and I sat in my uncomfortable desk chair, trying to read the screen. It was not a bad experience, The letters were large enough to be seen, and I can see where some people would find it advantageous to be able to read books, while on their computer, especially on your break at work, or needing some down time from your web designing. For me, I prefer a comfortable chair and the weight of a book in my lap, or the ability to read in bed, focusing on the story and tuning out the world. Holding a book is much more of joy to me then downloading it on to my computer screen.

#52 What to read? Decisions, decisions...

To look for read alikes, I used an older book, Katherine, by Anya Seton, a favorite of mine. On Novelist Plus, the database recommended authors, Elizabeth Chadwick, Daphne Dumaurier, Diana Gabaldone and Cecilia Holland. All enjoyable authors that I have read before. My search was not terribly difficult, once I figured out how it worked.

My experience with Fiction_L was a bit different. I had to chose from a genre, and after several tries I finally hit the jackpot with Historical European Fiction, which recommended the authors Seton, Cecilia Holland, Sharon Kay Penman and Jean Plaidy, and Ellis Peters "Brother Cadfael" series. Once again, authors I had read before.

On, What do I read Next?, the spectrum was a bit more broad. Here Be Dragons, by Sharon Kay Penman, which is an excellent book. The Shell Seekers by Rosamund Pilcher, Robert Gellis, and The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald. I found this website to be much more of a gamble, I opted not to sign up for it, and sometimes I got some rather odd recomendations.

I found animal books for the 4th grade girl on NovelistPlus, one, Animal Groups: how animals live together by Etta Kaner, and The Kitten That won First Place & other animal stories by Martin Greenburg. I then used What Do I Read Next? to find Mayor of Central Park by AVI and Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo. The website had no non-fiction for kids, but it was easy to find titles because they sort by age and grade. For the 13 year old boy, I also used NovelistPlus and What Do I Read Next, Finding Restless: a Ghost Story by Rick Wallace, Ghost Host by Marilyn Singer and a manga series called Ghost Hunt. In non-fiction I found Ghosts & Haunted Places by Rosemary Guilley and Ghosts and Spirits by Rebecca Stefoff. These titles are on Novelist. On What Do I Read Next?, there were Genres for Read if you Dare and Haunting Stories for Fall Nights. I chose More Horowitz Horrow by Anthony Horowitz and Daemon Hall by Andrew Nance.

On NovelistPlus, readalikes for Dean Koontz that were mentioned were Greg Bear, John Saul, and Dan Simmons. On What Do I Read Next?, Stephen King, James Patterson and Phillip Margolin were all recommended. According to Novelist, Koontz doesn't stick to a particular genre, which may be why the authors recommended were so different.

I had some real trouble using the What's Next? series site, my searching criteria didnt seem to be what the website wanted to hear. Operator error no doubt. However, I did find Tamora Pierce and her series, and the titles are,Song of the Lions, In the Hand of the Goddess, Woman Who Rides Like a Man and Lioness Rampant.