Saturday In The Park: october

Showing posts with label october. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Free Association

Thanks to KnitIsAFourLetterWord for the idea of Free Association as a blog post. Let's see how this goes!

Goes
Shoes
Run
Fun
Happy
Cat
Fuzzy
Lint
Socks
Hole
Dirt
Construction
Summer
Swimming
Aquarium
New England
Foliage
Orange
Pumpkin
Halloween!

And I'm going to stop there! What's better than Halloween? I love how when I think "Socks," I think "Hole." Methinks I need to replace some socks...

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

I can haz home now?

I currently work at an animal shelter, and it just amazes me how many pets we get in when the economy goes south! It just saddens me that pets seem to be the first thing to go when people have to cut down on spending (but I would much rather have the pets get dropped off with us than have them be neglected because of money troubles). So what I'm saying is that chances are, because of the economy here in the US, wherever you live, your local animal shelter is filled to the brim with pets (especially cats) looking for loving homes!

If you have the room, a little money and a lot of love, I guarantee there's a pet that's right for you at your local shelter! Many shelters right now have deep discounts because we're just inundated with pets, so if you are in the market for a pet, but keep putting it off, consider getting one now! You'll save money on the adoption fees, in addition to bringing home a new, fabulous family member!
Take a look at the Petfinder website to see what awesome animals are waiting for you in your area!

A quiet cat to give you company while you work? A lively and talkative cat to brighten up your day? A friendly dog? A fuzzy bunny? Pets for all personalities (or purrsonalities, if you like cat puns)!

And if you're not able to adopt a pet right now, consider volunteering, or donating dry or canned pet food to your local shelter! Trust me, with all the pets we've got, we're ALWAYS happy to see donations of food and other sundry items. Even just a can is a big help!

Sorry for the push about pets. Working around so many awesome and wonderful pets (and wishing I could give them all a home) makes me emotional sometimes. Thanks for listening!

Thursday, October 8, 2009

My attempt at a sugar skull

Okay, so I didn't have any sugar skull moulds (molds? Neither one looks right, but apparently I can use either! Love the word "mouldering" when used on gravestones - like in the historic cemetery near where I live. "Here the bones of Ezekiel Burrows lie mouldering..." So creepy!), so I decided that making a "sugar cookie" skull in preparation for el Dia de los Muertos (November 1) would be good enough. *Sigh. My frosting decorating skills could sure use some work. Here's the result:

Scary, huh? But not in a good way. Or at least, not the way I wanted it to come out. His upper teeth look more like a wiggly mustache, the red for his nose bled (ha ha. Pun intented) outwards making it look more like a squished strawberry, and we're not even going to talk about the eyes. Overall I'd say I succeeded more at making a nightmarish clown than a Mexican sugar skull, but at least it tasted good (albeit giving me a huge sugar rush. I'm a big frosting fan)!

Monday, October 5, 2009

Random Acts of Kindness and almost ending up with a baby

So a few nights ago it was absolutely pouring rain here in Maine. I'm talking pouring cats, dogs, ferrets and possibly a llama or two (or maybe an alpaca. I get them mixed up), along with thunder and lightning. But my husband and I needed to go to the store, so we drove to our local supermarket, picked up what we needed and headed for the exit.

At the exit we could really see that it was coming down even harder than before (it's raining hippos now!) and the lightning was pretty much right on top of us. Also looking in dismay at the current weather conditions was a mother and her young daughter in a loaded shopping cart. I heard her say quietly to her daughter, "I can't take you out in this!"

Now I know how sketchy it may seem for two perfect strangers to offer to watch your baby, and I considered that she might react angrily at the suggestion, but I figured, why not offer and see how it goes. So I said, "would you like us to watch your child while you bring the car around?" Her face lit up and she said, "really?!? Would you? My van is just right over there!"

Now I know that many people would balk at leaving their kid with two strangers, and maybe if this had happened while I was living in Boston, the mom would've immediately declined, but I'll give two theories why she trusted us: 1) Portland may be a city, but it feels more like a large town in many ways (good ways). And 2) My husband and I look like very friendly and trustworthy nerds. Seriously. I was at a club in NYC with some friends, sitting at a table and a stranger asked me if I would watch his drink for him while he went out for a smoke. My NYC friend said, "you're not afraid she'll roofie it?!?" (meaning put drugs in it) and he said, "you look trustworthy." This gets me in trouble sometimes because homeless people ask me for money all the time and if there are any drunks or crazies around, I'm apparently fair game to talk to. But hey, it comes in handy on occasion!

So she ran out into the rain to her van, which we could see from the exit and started to pull around. Unfortunately, this made it look like she was driving away from the supermarket and my husband said, "great. Now we have a baby...(looks at the food poking out of the shopping bags) and a package of M&M cookies. Sweet!" But within seconds she was right in front of the exit! Phew!

It felt good to do something nice for someone on the spur of the moment, and not only that, it felt good to know that someone was willing to trust us with her most beloved possession (if you can call a kid a possession), her child. Warm fuzzies all around! It made our soaking mad dash for our car not feel so bad! And I hope you enjoyed the awesome drawings I made to illustrate the story!

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Blogtoberfest begins!

Well, I signed up today for Blogtoberfest (an October-long challenge to blog each and every day)! I'm looking forward to it, although I may have to do a few photo-only days (I've got my cousin's wedding coming up next weekend. Yeah, I know, NO EXCUSES! JUST BLOG)! So we'll see how this goes! If you'd like to sign up, go to TinnieGirl's blog and join in the Blogtoberfest Fun!
I mean, how could I refuse the challenge? It's a lot like National Novel Writing Month, but with blogging instead of noveling! Fun times! So without further ado, I'd like to share a few funny blogging comics from one of my favorite webcomic couples ('cause I know so many, right?): NatalieDee and her husband Drew. They have several including "Married to the Sea," "NatalieDee," and "Toothpaste for Dinner"and both Natalie and Drew each have their own funny blogs! Enjoy!