(At Left: Marsha said: Oh, My Nose!  Nowadays, guys may be walking into the surgeons office and saying “Give me Bobby’s!”  Nose, that is.  Read on.)

I had some downtime this afternoon after a busy morning, and was sitting down and flipping through the channels. One channel was playing reruns of “The Swan.” You surely remember that show, or at least the premise. It rode the beginning wave of the Frankenstein makeover shows. Of course, it was from the same time frame as “Extreme Makeover,” which later begat “Extreme Makeover Home Edition. The difference was that “Extreme Makeover” chose individuals of either gender, and often chose people who had disfiguring complications like an eroded jaw that made for bad teeth, or an injury that was never fixed. However, there were plenty of people who looked just fine, but lacked confidence. Often the people turned into a prettier version of themselves.

On the other hand, “The Swan,” for the most part selected a group of women, and put them through fitness, better eating habits, counseling, and of course…the knife. The biggest difference was that all the women somehow had the same exact nose after surgery, making me wonder if the surgeon had some fatal attraction and made everyone look like this woman. Of course, in addition, one was chosen as “THE Swan.” It was like getting “Most Improved” in spelling class except you were turned into a fembot instead of getting better grades.

With elective cosmetic surgery procedures being so widely accepted for women and no longer in the realm of recapturing youth or reconstrucion, cosmetic surgery for men is growing as well. It truly has left the “Doctors Without Borders” realm of fixing people up, and into the typhoon of vanity.

I wonder if guys will start getting plastic surgery in such numbers that we will begin to recognize “the new chin” or the “new nose” because it looks like everyone elses. I also wonder if guys will start walking in with magazine photos or baseball cards and saying “I want HIS chin.” With some facilities like Mya Cosmetic Surery in the UK offering payment plans, and convenient schedules, a guy could come back with that “you look different but I can’t put my finger on it” statements from coworkers.  Maybe so.   I wouldn’t like it if I was dating a guy, and they suddenly showed up with a whole different face, but of course I am going overboard.  I don’t think they would let anyone do that with out a psych evaluation.

On January 16th, the Doobie Brothers will play at the Detroit International Auto Show Charity Preview.   The preview gives attendees an exclusive look at this year’s auto show with a cocktail in their hand.  Attire is Black Tie, and the event runs from 6 PM until 9 PM.  Ticket sales are divided up between several area children’s charities, and over the years, millions of dollars have been raised for worthy causes.

Tickets are $400, of which $390 is tax deductible as a donation.  Attendees will be treated to a special performance by the Doobie Brothers right at the show!  In addition, attendees will receive a ticket to a concert by the Jonas Brothers over the weekend as complimentary.  The Jonas Brothers will open up the remainder of the tickets to their local fan club, but Charity Preview participants receive them as a special “thank you.”   Because people are more reluctant this year to shell out money for an event, the group graciously agreed to be used as an enticement to generate sales of tickets.

So let us recap what you get:

You get to see the Jonas Brothers.  I looked up regular ticket prices and their next concert is $105.93 - $138.03 a pop

As far as the Doobie Brothers, their tickets run $40-$70 depending on venue and how far back you are

So we are running $145-$208 right there.

Regular ticket to the auto show $12 each

Champagne you will consume at the event - Anywhere between $8-100 depending on how many and the quality

Okay, if purchased seperately, you are already running in the $320.00 range, and that is way before you factor in any appetizers or  hors d’œuvres, or figure in what you would have had to have paid to check your coat at a regular event.

In addition, you get to write off $390. So, they are actually paying YOU to come to the Charity Preview. Isn’t that generous?? You get to claim honors as the good guy or good girl, yet YOU are being paid to come and be treated to music and tickets and champagne, and the chance to walk around in that dress or tux you never get to wear.

For all of the accountants out there, I know the statement is not true. It really usually means you will get $195.00 off your taxes at the end of the year (half of $390.00), which could be a refund or a tax deduction. So, really when you factor everything out, you are really only spending $100.00 or less for the whole hootenanny. You still come out AHEAD though compared to the wonderful time you have. Still, think of it as them paying YOU because you won’t have to think about the picky detail until NEXT year. Whoop-de-doo.

To purchase tickets to the Charity Preview, please CLICK HERE

Unless you were on an extended African Safari, or a trek through the Andes Mountains, you have probably heard about the loan given to Chrysler and GM by the Federal Government.  There are many schools of thought on this.  I was surprised to see, instead of folks thinking that it is a sign to stick to the tried and true, or to look at how they are running their own business, even if that business is a household, many people have a different rallying cry: Bail me out too.  Some of those people have no problems that are being caused by any downturn in the demand for their business or their skills.  Some people are just irresponsible in their money management.

It may be very tempted to start your pet boutique or bail out your rescue with a Merchant Cash Advance, but you may want to take a look at a few things first. Number one, you will have to pay it back. Number two, will the money actually help you be able to do more business or make more of a difference, or is it just throwing good money at bad?  Being able to accept credit cards may grow your business and allow you to serve more out of town customers.  That may be a plus.  If you have creditors, you can try to negotiate with them first.  Taking out a loan to pay regular bills may be just postponing the inevitable.  Also, some landlords rather give a small discount and keep a long term tenant than trying to find someone else.

Whatever you do, use your options wisely. Don’t think of a loan as a “grant” as you will be scrambling to pay it back later and will be in the same situation you are in now, just with a delay.

This morning, I opened my inbox to discover an email from Ingrid, our favorite Coonhound Advocate.  She forwarded along this from volunteer Suzanne.   Good news for dogs and cats, especially in Chattooga County, Georgia.  This is the kind of news I like to hear!  Hopefully, the new management will be in place for a long time and Ms. Walker and Ms. Powell are able to work out a system and not get overwhelmed or complacent like so many others.  Remember: just because it is rescue friendly does not mean they do no euthanize.  When they are full, or time is up, it is up, so please still hurry.

Chattooga County Animal Control has new management !!!!!! The new AC Director is Felicia D. Walker and she is very very very Rescue Friendly. She much prefers Rescue rather than euthanization. She will meet Rescues at the shelter after hours or on Sundays if you need for her to. Please be patient with her and her assistant Selena Powell while they learn the ropes. There will be big changes for the better at Chattooga. Ms. Walker has already done much to clean the shelter up. Volunteers have provided medications and vaccinations. When the last director and his staff walked out, they left it FULL of dogs - and most of them had not been put on Petfinder. Now that local people have found out that he is gone, they are all turning in their animals right and left. So we have a very full house and the Dept. of Agriculture only allows this shelter to house 38 dogs at one time and we are close to full. So we need help ASAP. We found out that the euth rate at Chattooga has been close to 100 % for the last 3 months. Please help us make January a better month !!!!!!!!!!!

The information for the shelter is as follows:

Chattooga County Animal Control

464 Red Oak Road

Summerville, GA 30747

706-857-0679 FAX: 706-857-0676

http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/GA316.html

I would imagine, like any other shelter, rescues must fax or have on file a 501(3)c or a GA Department of Agriculture license.  Of course, adoptions are welcome too!

The photo is of Bruce, a “Lab Mix” who is actually a smaller dog.  He is very sweet, and likes people, but seems to have never seen a leash before and is very uncertain about it.  He has mange, but will certainly be very handsome if someone would give him some care to kick it.  Please contact the shelter if you are interested in giving him a good home! 

Sea World has had commercials in the past where a child either hugs or kisses Shamu. A loved one of mine always thought one of these days, Shamu was going to decide that the kid was mighty tasty and decide to eat one.  It would happen at Sea World Orlando, not in California.  I have never heard of that happening before, but you never know. Stranger things have happened.

The park that interests me more is Aquatica, Sea World’s water park. It is a standard water park with a twist. One of the water slides takes you through a lagoon, where Commerson’s Dolphins, a striking black and white species, can be seen on the outside of the tunnel, swimming in the lagoon.  It seems to provide a much more natural habitat versus what one would normally picture at an ocean theme park, much more spacious and with more topography than a “tank.”   There are restaurants, snack bars, and you can even rent a private cabana to enjoy the eighty five degree water.

Whether you are out to enjoy Aquatica, or think you can predict the day when Shamu will go AWOL, orlandofuntickets.com has discounted tickets and “second day free” passes to most of the parks you would want to see.

I have heard bits and pieces about individuals reacting to the crowded shelter conditions in Georgia.  Supplies are being collected, such as dog food, fencing, and dog shelters.  When these individuals hear of someone desiring to surrender their dog to the shelter, they are being asked why.  If they say they have no fenced in yard and either the dog is wandering or too rambunctious because they can’t walk him/her all the time, they get donated supplies to put a fence up in order to keep the dog.  If they do not have the money to continue feeding the dog, they are given food.  There are other similar needs that I cannot name off the top of my head.  In otherwords, if there is a will, there is a way.

Of course, there is no stopping someone who doesn’t care about the life of the animal, just wants to be a jerk, or is adamant.  There are enough people out there, I think, who are compassionate or love their pet but just don’t see an alternative.

If you read or hear any more specifics about this effort in Georgia - contact numbers, names, or specifics, please comment and let me know or write to hounds good at gmail.com (Take out the spaces).

Thank you so much, alert and attentive readers!

Many products and companies are jumping on the conservationalist bandwagon. Since 1924, Citizen Watch has strived to be “close to the hearts of people everywhere,” hence the chosen name. Now, since alternative energies and enviornmentalism is at the heart of the people, Citizen introduced a gift you could give as a late holiday gift or a Valentine’s gift that will convince your significant other that you have style as well as conscious. (It has not been tested on animals, either!)

The Citizen Eco-Drive gets its moniker from the earth friendly fuel it runs on. It does not require battery placement. Rather, it runs purely on natural light. Artificial light will do it just fine, too. That may make you hesitate, remember your solar calculator from third grade that you tried to “trick” into fading out by covering the little solar panel.  Back in the day, solar watches quickly fizzled out as well. Instead, a solar cell is behind the dial, versus relying on making sure a pinpoint area is exposed to light. This converts the light into electrical energy and runs the watch. There is a lithium ion battery that the watch constantly recharges on its own.

I find most of the time I wear a watch until it ends up in the drawer until I am able to run to the right store and have the battery changed. It involves a special tool, most of the time, so i am not able to buy a battery and do it myself. I couldn’t pry the back open and I couldn’t seal it shut either.

I guess some jobs just need a pro and there is no way around it!

They are almost there!  The puppies are straining at the leash in excitement.

Another donation challenge has been offered for the fifty puppies in the Puppy Promises program that Saving Shelter Pets so graciously and proactively runs.  $2500 was the original amount needed.  Through generous donations, and a matching donation challenge, only $600 remains to be raised.   A generous donor has decided to set up a new match of $300.  So, every donation made will double.  SSP needs ten people to donate $30 each, or twenty people to donate $15 each, or 60 people to donate $5 to reach the goal.

All funds are used to keep the program going, to spay mom dog, and all the relatives, plus get the pups to safety.

Read more at the SSP blog here.

You can learn more about the past efforts of Saving Sheter Pets, Inc., here. 

Christmas was a lot of fun this year, especially since I was able to see a cousin I hadn’t seen in ten years!  We both moved out of state and kept missing eachother the times we would come back to visit.  So, this time, all of the cousins, age fourteen to thirty-eight were in one room for the very first time in ten years.  Of course, we forgot to take any pictures of all of us together!

We really loved Lincoln Logs and all sorts of building toys as kids.   Nowadays, many Building toys have magnets as a central component and you can make many structures that may defy gravity just a little bit more than one used to.   In fact, all the “big kids,” who are in their late twenties and thirties, plus an uncle, were sitting on the floor in the spare room at my Grandparents, supposedly playing with the next generation of three to eight year olds that were the children of some of my cousins.   It seems that the “little kids” slowly migrated out of the room and the “big kids” remained.  If you ask what they are doing, they say they are busy watching the “little kids,” and in fact had not noticed their charges had wandered off.   That was the way it has always been, with the right of passage that we were now replacing our uncles in the hogging of the toys.

I noticed that the Megnext toys are like Legos in the sense that when you get some pieces, you can add more pieces to make an even bigger toy rather than the sets being obsolete without eachother.   In otherwords, you can add to a kid’s (or adult’s) collection with not a very large investment.

I don’t know if it is just our generation who is hanging on to their toys longer than normal, but we all have fun.  The kids learn that they are never too old to be a kid.

I just got an update that the 50 puppies and Momma Bulldog (no, of course ALL the puppies don’t belong to that one mother dog) that Saving Shelter Pets is helping is 935 short.  This is not too bad, considering that the goal was $2500.   $50 saves one puppy, gives them the vaccines they need and also goes towards spaying and neutering ALL the other adult pets in the house (dogs and cats) so there will be no more accidental litters.   The shelters are full with record numbers of owner turn ins in rural Georgia and the metro Atlanta area, that doing this will possibly prevent someone from surrendering yet another cat or dog to the shelter.

Right now,  a generous donor offered a donation challenge.  Your $5 donation turns into $10, your $25 donation turns into $50.  Up to the first $200 will be matched! Look at this beautiful pup with one blue eye and one brown.  Surely this one will be a stunner when an adult too and deserves a great home.

To see more adorable pictures of the puppies in need, go to the SSP page and check out the blog area for updates.

Call me weird. When I was a teenager or just prior, I sometimes bought the marbleized, fancy paper to write letters on or draw on. I thought it was very sophisticated to do so.  In fact, sometimes I would keep a sheet or two and not use them just to put on the desk to look like I was some sort of important person, perhaps.  I don’t really know why.  I read all sorts of 19th century novels at the time so maybe I fancied myself some sort of intellectual.  However, nobody told me they didn’t exactly probably have marbled paper back then.

 To get it,, you had to buy it from the copy or print center. I found that on papers-papers.com, they sell all of that. Marbled, heavy stock, foil envelopes, and everything else so you can create your own fancypants stationary and notes.  Now that it is widely and wildly available from the comfort of my home, I don’t write letters by hand anymore.  My penmanship has deteriorated to the point that someone would have asked if I had broken a finger prior to writing the note, or the like.  I have nothing to hide, I am not ashamed to admit that I consistently earned “C’s” in second or third grade penmanship class.   Standard letter I aced, but when we switched to cursive things got very tenuous.

In modern times, of course, I could choose a script font and feed it through the printer.  It would simulate the idea of writing a personal note, but with none of the pain from my reader.   No more phone calls asking exactly what I said!

(Apparently it is more believeable to tell someone they are the long lost distant relative of Frederic Chopin, at left. It would be too over the top to say Beethoven).

Do you believe it?

Remember spam’s “greatest hits?”  Every day it seems that you are winning the lottery in a foreign country, or are the last known relative of an oil tycoon.  It morphed from the version that was going around about a dozen years ago now that you were in Princess Diana’s will.  I have been named as Frederic Chopin’s long lost heir through my mother’s side before as well.  I have learned to hit “spam” on many of these messages, but sometimes they sneak by my spam filters.  Now, they are getting more creative.   Some of these similar love notes are being left as comments on my blog!  The spam filters don’t catch them as they appear to be real messages, not just a spattering of links to various unrelated sites.  (By the way, my favorite spam commentof all started out with, “Stop Oval Haired Woman.”  Was this referring to a gal with an assymetrical 80s hairdo, a bad Toni home perm or is she a newscaster with helmut head?)

The story remains the same.  Someone is in trouble and somehow, I am the only one who can save the day if I would only send a certified check, accept a certified check, or give out my banking details.  My response remains the same, in not responding.

However, sometimes I receive them with phone numbers and addresses from some out of the way island.  Perhaps I should forward their information to missionaries in the area to check to see if they really exist or are really in trouble?  Maybe I will go onto a forum and ask someone from that country to look up who their next door neighbor is, alert them to the situation, and have them knock on their door, unravelling the whole scam….and of course helping them with that heart condition they are having which caused them to reach out to me as the last traceable heir of their family in case they die.

My interest in the etymology of words and the origin of different sayings has never waned, especially if it involves animals.  I know, I am a total dork.  Yesterday, I got thinking of the old nursery rhyme involving a rodent and a grandfather clock. However, it could have been a grandmother clock as well.

Hickory dickory dock

The mouse ran up the clock

The clock struck one

The mouse ran down

Hickory dickory dock

This was first published in 1744. The “hickory dickory” part is meant to mimic the sound of a clock and if you think about the individual words it is really just that and nonsensical. Dock is a weed that has medicinal properties. Hickory, of course, is the hickory tree, shortened from “pohikory,” the tree’s name up through at least the late 1600s. The name came from the liquor pawcohiccora, which was a native american word for a beverage that was derived from pounding hickory nuts.

Why the mouse? Could this have to do with the image of the counterweight going up and down? Or is this nonsense also? Maybe it was just an indication of the living conditions. There were just mice everywhere!

I think the 18th century mouse that was the star of the show would have been VERY confused if he/she saw this Howard Miller Clock. It is indeed a Grandfather clock, believe it or not. I wonder what would happen when the clock struck one with this one, however. Does it bob up and down? I think this one would be a test of balance for the mouse.  It would be:

Hickory dickory plop

The mouse fell off the clock

The clock struck one

The mouse downed some liquor for his/her aching head

Hickory dickory plop

For me, I think that a mantel clock would be less likely to be barreled into by overzealous canines. However, how would the nursery rhyme have gone with a mantel clock?

Hickory dickory dock

The mouse jumped over the clock

The clock one

The mouse hid behind it

Hickory dickory dock

No, not nearly as neat and tidy, is it? I am sure that one wouldn’t have caught on, but a mantel clock is infinitely easier to move. You don’t have to bring someone in to adjust the counterweights.

In Honduras, there was a woman who mended clothing for a living.  When she became very farsighted, she kept her granddaughter home from school so she could thread the needles.   There are also many other people in impoverished areas who lose their jobs because they are unable to read, or unable to do the close up work that a factory job, sewing job, or artisan trade requires.

I just discovered a cause that helps return these people back to employment, and I have never written about them before.  PRVAIL (Partners in Restoring Vision and Improving Lives) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit which sources sunglasses and reading glasses.  Missionary efforts and agencies serving the poor in other countries, as well as the United States are supplied with them for a nominal fee.  The sunglasses are not for vanity, they help prevent cataracts and ptyergi, especially people that work outside in tropical areas.  In the last five years, 650,000 glasses have been distributed.

Travel costs are covered because they work with programs already in existence.   Donations go right towards sourcing reading glasses and putting them on the faces of people that need them.  This is a great cause, and goes far to help people help themselves in a very important way.  They often find that they can retain their jobs, support their family, and also feel more in touch with their world by being able to see things clearly.

If vision is an important cause of yours because you suffer from an eye condition yourself and it is close to your heart, it might be a cause that is worth taking up for you.

This little boy looks mightily confused. I am sure the photographer or the ad agency told him to “look like he was getting his bat out to play with,” but instead his character motivation was not as strong as his honest reaction. He seems to think that some evil parents have put all of his sporting equipment in a medieval torture device, and he almost hesitates.   He sort of has the look of shock or marvel.  Perhaps he just wonders who touched his stuff.  What is that on the top shelf?  It looks like a can of spray that you waterproof boots with, the center thing is either a big container of dog vitamins or it is baby wipes.  Okay, not baby wipes but the new kind that is for multiuse.  I can’t tell if the red and white one is a thermos or bug spray.   You know…random things with sports equipment.

I found this while I was on my little bent of looking at organizational items and storage, and I think if I had a kid, I would have to have a cabinet for them to throw their junk in so they had the illusion of being a little disorganized.

There is a whole site out there, premiergarage.com, where you can buy cabinets and a whole system to organize your entire garage. I have seen those nice garage floor coatings before too, and was amazed at how much you can make a garage into a rec room, rather than a catch all with an oil covered floor.  In fact, I have been playing around with the garage builder where you can choose the cabinets and flooring and see how it would look together.

That would be pretty sweet to have all the dog stuff organized.  Also, with a better floor and just adding a space heater, or piping in some air, it could be an apropriate place in a pinch for a dog emergency.  I can’t tell you how many times I have found a dog on the weekend and couldn’t find the family for a few days.  I didn’t want to mix the dog with mine in case they didn’t get along or the dog had an illness.   I just hated the idea of putting them in the garage when weather apropriate, but I think a garage could be pretty posh with the right elements.   Hmm…I wonder if they would come in and want to do the basement, too.