Violetismycolor asked in her comment to my previous post: “How did your dog learn all that?” I think she was referring specifically to the number of words he understands, and maybe to his insistent communication with me about my cat’s behavior on one occasion. But there’s a lot involved in both, and it has to do with our overall approach in how we live with and train our pets. My answer went long, so I decided to make it a new post. (more…)

Pics added 08-18-2005

He doesn’t speak English, but he understands quite a bit of it, mostly words related to food. He knows how we spell b-o-n-e, and one of his favorite words is soup.

His version of soup isn’t the canned or homemade variety we eat, but the stuff that results when we deglaze the pan with water after cooking plain meat, then let it cool. We eat lean cuts of meat, so it’s not full of fat, just meat flavor and water. Sometimes we add a bite or two of leftover meat. He adores it, and it’s one of the few human foods he’s allowed, because he has a touchy stomach. Actually it’s not a human food—we never eat plain weak broth, ourselves. But because we call his version “soup” every time he hears the word “soup” he hopes for some. (more…)

If I were perfect, I’d be able to write books really fast and post on my blog every day, like those amazing, super-productive super-people out there. You know who you are.

Unfortunately, I’m terribly slow at both, and I need to focus on one or the other for extended periods of time in order to get much accomplished at either.

I’ve been busy working on my book, so I’ve been away from this blog, the other blogs I love to read, and even my email.
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In The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron recommends periodically going an entire week without reading—anything. If you choose to try this, you’ll discover just how much the written word permeates your life, whether you read many books or not. (more…)

I came across the text of a graduation speech given at Stanford University this month by Steve Jobs. Here’s the link. He includes three stories, one about dropping out of college, the second about being fired from Apple, and the third about his brush with death.
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I’m not a fan of hot weather. Even what others consider warm weather. I’ve always believed it was a mistake that I was born in a place where it never even snows. I love to knit with wool, and regret having to put away my long sleeves and sweaters.

Since I’m not likely to change the fact that summer rolls around every year, I try to focus on the pleasant things about summer. One of the best things about the warmer season is the food.
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I pay a lot of attention to my dreams. Often they’re no more than mental regurgitation of a day’s events, or nonsense, if I recall them at all. But some stand out in my mind and provide important insights. Do you ever act on your dreams?

This morning I dreamed I met a two-time Pulitzer Prize winning author. The author in the dream doesn’t exist in real life, as far as I know. He let me take a look at his latest prize. It was a large silver disk, nothing close to what is actually presented to winners, I’m sure. (more…)

Excuse me, but I think your fault line just bumped into my fault line.

It feels like earthquake season. Yesterday’s quake, so soon after the previous one, and fast on the heels of a little tsunami scare for California and Oregon, make me wonder what the earth has in store for us next.

In case you’d like to check up on seismic activity anywhere in the world, I’ve linked online resources below.

Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS)

USGS Earthquake Activity World Map

USGS California and Nevada Earthquake Activity Map

I’ve noticed a hush over the Internet lately that gives me the idea people are sick and tired of bad news. My desire for a lift sent me in search of news that isn’t always gloom and doom. Do you ever feel the need for that? Something that focuses on the world but doesn’t bring you down? A few sources advertise positive news, but most use the term “good news” and look at things primarily from a religious viewpoint, which isn’t what I was looking for.

I’m a romantic who likes to think this news simply makes the idea of chemistry between two people a scientifically verifiable fact. “See? We weren’t just being silly when we fell in love, honey.” But a potion? Scientifically engineered trust? I have trouble with that. Maybe I’ve read too much George Orwell. (more…)

Vikk Simmons at Down the Writer’s Path asks Why write every day?

I read yesterday in The Writer’s Mentor that Mark Twain began writing the story of Joan of Arc six times over the course of twelve years. He said, “There are some books that refuse to be written . . . only because the right form for the story does not present itself.” Of course, he didn’t let that not-ready-to-be-written story stop him. According to the site linked under his name, Twain published nine works including Life on the Mississippi, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer Abroad, and Pudd’nhead Wilson during the twelve-year period prior to Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc.

Regarding the need to write every day, the only question a writer in that situation ought to ask is: Do I want to write? If the answer is yes, even though what you think you want to write may be stuck for now, that doesn’t mean you should stop writing. (more…)