October 2011 | Kate's Point of View

Month: October 2011 Page 1 of 5

What I’ve Been Checking Out This Week

By Kate

On October 28, 2011

In uncategorized

Here are some of the things I’ve been clicking on this week:

I know books are going digital but I still love the heft and feel of a paper book. Ever since I was a kid I’ve loved the idea of reading nooks. My childhood dream house, which I still would like, has a turret that is lined with book shelves. At the top is a cozy landing for reading. I don’t know if I’ll ever get that, but seeing a reading room with a hammock or this hidden reading room only makes me want a proper reading spot more.
The next best thing to a reading nook in my house would be a hidden passageway. This door would provide the perfect front.
I feel like I’ve got too much going on right now so I should want for something else, but for some reason I am craving a little more chaos. I learned about an online sewing class that seems pretty decent. I’ve never taken an online class that was about something I was interested in or wasn’t for work, so I don’t know how good of a match it would be for me.
One thing that’s going to make my life less hectic is this great idea for something to bring to holiday parties. It’s cute and, more importantly, easy!
I stumbled across this editorial via Twitter about someone deciding to give veganism a shot. I was pretty fascinated to learn that Mike Tyson was a vegan. Did you know that? Trying out a vegan diet is still on my 100 list but I don’t know if I have the willpower to try it out yet.
Finally, this Trevor Project video shot in Cincinnati was recently shared with me on Facebook and I love it.

New Additions

By Kate

On October 28, 2011

In animals

Wonder Boy and I have fostered a lot of cats and dogs over the years. I should have done a better job of keeping track but I lost count a while ago. Fostering is a special experience to me. I know I play a big role in raising the animal in safe environment and socializing them so they will be a good candidate for adoption. Of course, there is also the hugely selfish reason I like to foster – it’s like an injection of cute into your life and who wouldn’t want that!

Early in 2006 I fostered Curtis and Clarice, sweet puppies who made my life a living hell. Later in 2006 we fostered Cotton, Candy and Charro. I remember Charro being a really spunky gal. Among my favorite fosters were the 80s cartoon kittens (Jem, Cobra, Optimus Prime and Voltron) because fostering them led us to adopting Optimus Prime. There are plenty of other cats I could feature, but enough about the cats I have fostered. How about the ones I am fostering!

On Wednesday we picked up our newest fosters and they are adorable. Introducing Matzah Ball and Latke! Below are some pictures shared with me by the Ohio Alleycat Resource and Spay / Neuter Clinic (OAR), the rescue / clinic at which I volunteer.

Latke’s start to life was a tough one. She lost her mom when she was 2 weeks old, and lost two of her siblings soon after. She was bottle-fed by an OAR volunteer, and is very loving and people-friendly because of it. She gives the best kitten hugs, and loves to snuggle up in your neck. Like a normal kitten, she loves to race around a room, chasing toys and investigating new places; but then she wants to settle down in your lap, purring and content. She deserves a happy ending after her tough beginning!

Matzah Ball is one tough little guy! Like his sister Latke, he lost his mom when they were just 2 weeks old, and had to be bottle fed to survive. On top of that, Matzah was very sick when he was little and barely survived. Now he has a condition called Cerebellar Hypoplasia – which means he wobbles when he walks and jumps, and his little head shakes. But even though he might fall over while he’s chasing another cat, he’s still all kitten: running, jumping and playing as if nothing ever happened!

These cats are super adoptable. Contact me if you’re interested and I can give you details about the process. In the meantime, I’ll be enjoying some playtime with a laser light and two playful kittens.

Misnamed for Charity

By Kate

On October 27, 2011

In uncategorized

I consider myself a pretty charitable person. I give away compliments all the time, always donate a sum in memory of people (friends, family, family of friends, friends of family) who have died and support a number of charities. But I admit that my motives are not pure. Occasionally, I donate money to an organization so I can get some nice address labels or a cute calendar. Horrible, right? You might be thinking that my selfishishness is cancelled out because at least I am donating money. That is too nice. For charities I really care about, I call the development offices and ask to be taken off of every mailing list so my money goes towards the charity and not towards printing and mailing costs.

Wonder Boy has apparently donate money to every bleeding heart, liberal, animal loving charity on the planet. Nearly every day he gets a donation request from someone and he has more mailing labels than he could possibly know what to do with. I wanted to get in on the action so I made a targeted donation to the ASPCA. I was expacting mailing labels with cute dogs and cats or maybe a calendar featuring adopted animals. Wonder Boy, who claims not to have made as many donations as out mailbox would imply, gets these things. Me? I got a thank you note. Bah!

Yesterday I got a mailing from Habitat for Humanity and I could tell straight away that it was going to be something good. The envelope was thick and when I opened it up I found some cute holiday address labels and was pumped. Until I looked closer.

Is my name Hilda? No it is not.

Here is my question to you. Do you think I should 1) pitch these and call it a day, 2) mail the booklet off to Hilda or 3) use them anyway and confuse my family and friends? I look forward to your input.

Photos in an Aquarium

By Kate

On October 26, 2011

In animals, photography

This past weekend Wonder Boy’s mom and step-dad took us and two of their grandkids to the Newport Aquarium. I’d been there once before but never brought a camera because I didn’t think I’d ever pull off a good picture there. I was incredibly wrong!

Chucks and Va-Jay Jays

By Kate

On October 25, 2011

In family / friends

When Chaos and Loving it had their two boys, my nephews, I ate it up and took my job as aunt very seriously. I developed a major shopping / gift giving problem and loved to find cool outfits and toys for them. I still do and usually have a stockpile of gifts for them in my attic. I love those boys! But, when I found out my sister was pregnant, I was a little hopeful for a niece just so start looking for girl clothes and toys, too. As luck would have it, I’ll finally get my chance to shop for girl clothes! The rules I made up for my nephews will still apply: nothing cutesy; aim for cool.

Over the past months I’ve been appeasing my shopping addiction with nice gender-neutral gifts that every cool kid needs like Chuck Taylors.