Category: Animals

How to Build a better Mousetrap: Recollections and Reflections of a Family Caregiver

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Via Poem: “The Owl and the Pussycat” by Edward Lear

Re-Blog: The Owl and the Pussycat: A Poem by Edward Lear

My Books

My Ideal Partner: How I Met, Married, and Cared for the Man I Loved Despite Debilitating Odds

How to Build a better Mousetrap: Recollections and Reflections of a Family Caregiver

My Other Links

My Ideal Partner: How I Met, Married, and Cared for the Man I Loved Despite Debilitating Odds

Thursday Book Feature: Words of Life

Words of Life: Essays and Poems

By Ann Chiappetta

From the author of Upwelling and Follow Your Dog comes a short collection of poetry and prose on family vacations, vision loss, animals, and other topics. It also includes a work of flash fiction. An introduction by the author explains what inspired this compilation.

I met Ann Chiappetta through Behind Our Eyes, an organization of writers with disabilities. I like how she writes about the lighter and darker sides of life. My favorite piece is one in which she describes how she rescued two baby sparrows, only one of whom survived, and the hard lesson her eight-year-old son learned from this experience. I recommend this book, which not only provides insight on vision loss but on other negative and positive aspects of life.

My Books

How to Build a better Mousetrap: Recollections and Reflections of a Family Caregiver

My Other Links

My Ideal Partner: How I Met, Married, and Cared for the Man I Loved Despite Debilitating Odds

Thursday Book Feature: AWOL on the Appalachian “Trail

AWOL on the Appalachian Trail

By David Miller

In this memoir, the author explains how and why he left his job and family and hiked the entire Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia for five months in 2003. He describes conditions on the trail, shelters, hostiles, and other places where he stayed, and his encounters with other hikers and wildlife, inserting snippets of information about his life into his narrative. At the end, he gives advice to anyone wishing to hike the Appalachian Trail.

This book helps put life in perspective. My minor aches and pains are nothing compared to the agony David Miller suffered on the trail as a result of foot infections, a sprained ankle, and other complications, some of which nearly caused him to abandon his hike altogether. When I work out, I tell myself I’m only exercising for an hour at the most, not walking for ten hours a day through rough terrain. On frigid winter nights when I burrow under my blankets in bed, I’m thankful not to be soaking wet, trying to get dry in an equally wet sleeping bag.

Hiking the Appalachian Trail is quite a challenge. If you’re up to it, great. If not, I highly recommend this book. You’ll successfully hike this trail from the comfort of your own easy chair.

My Books

How to Build a better Mousetrap: Recollections and Reflections of a Family Caregiver

My Other Links

My Ideal Partner: How I Met, Married, and Cared for the Man I Loved Despite Debilitating Odds

Song Lyric Sunday: Me and You and a Dog Named Boo

The theme from newepicauthor this week is “animals.” Although this song is about traveling and living off the land, it reminds me of the time when my father and I took a road trip in 1971 when I was ten. We drove from our home in Tucson, Arizona, to visit my grandmother in Sheridan, Wyoming, and stopped to visit other relatives and friends along the way. Spring is coming, so maybe you’ll feel like getting back on the road again soon.

Lobo–Me and You and aDog Named Boo

Lyrics Courtesy of Google

I remember to this day
The bright red Georgia clay
And how it stuck to the tires
After the summer rain
Will power made that old car go
A woman’s mind told me that so
Oh how I wish
We were back on the road again
Me and you and a dog named boo
Travelin’ and livin’ off the land
Me and you and a dog named boo
How I love being a free man
I can still recall
The wheat fields of St. Paul
And the morning we got caught
Robbing from an old hen
Old McDonald he made us work
But then he paid us for what it was worth
Another tank of gas
And back on the road again
I’ll never forget the day
We motored stately into big L.A.
The lights of the city put settlin’
Down in my brain
Though it’s only been a month or so
That old car’s buggin’ us to go
We’ve gotta get away and get back on
The road again
Songwriters: Kent Lavoie
Me And You And A Dog Named Boo lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

My Books

How to Build a better Mousetrap: Recollections and Reflections of a Family Caregiver

My Other Links

My Ideal Partner: How I Met, Married, and Cared for the Man I Loved Despite Debilitating Odds

Thursday Book Feature: The Cat Really Did That?

Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Cat Really Did That? 101 Tales of Miracles, Mischief and Magical Moments

Edited by Amy Newmark

This book speaks for itself through the title. It’s one in a series of many anthologies of true, uplifting stories produced by Chicken Soup for the Soul. Here, cat lovers share all kinds of stories about their feline companions: rescued cats who thrive and become part of a family, cats who save people’s lives, and cats who alter negative behavior and comfort the dying. A quotation about cats precedes each story, and there are plenty of pictures.

I enjoyed reading of the antics of many cats in this book. According to the introduction, those reading it are encouraged to adopt a cat. I hope these stories inspire others to adopt cats, but I’m not one who will do so, at least not now.

Although I love cats and have many pleasant memories of the ones in our family when I was growing up, after six years of caring for my late husband, who was paralyzed by two strokes, I’m still not ready to care for another living thing. I realize a cat wouldn’t require as much maintenance and the reward would be worth it, but that doesn’t make the responsibility any less daunting. Maybe someday I’ll be ready. Meanwhile, I’ll socialize with cats when given the rare opportunity and continue to read books about them such as this one.

My Books

How to Build a better Mousetrap: Recollections and Reflections of a Family Caregiver

My Other Links