Welcome, Lucy Begonia

Yes, dear Juliette, we did say that you would never be replaced--and you haven't.  Lucy Begonia is her own girl with her own story.

Lucy was originally adopted from the MSPCA Nevins Farm shelter by friends of our son.  Although just a kitten, she quickly became the companion and comfort for one of Brian's friends--a friend that left this life all too young.   The ensuing changes left Lucy living with two other cats, and she was not happy at all.   Then, I got the call:  "Mom, just go see her.  She's really a nice cat."  So I did, and she is. 

Four-year-old Lucy has been with us just over a week and has found her favorite window, a nice hidey hole when she wants to be alone, and (best of all) she's drawing a bead on our resident mouse.

So, dear Juliette, you haven't been replaced.  We've just opened up a new place in our hearts for Lucy Begonia.  We know you will understand.  Besides, you never really did get that whole "the cat in the house is supposed to catch the mouse" thing.

Just Another Statistic

You think that the day will never come--the day when an iconic New England retailer files for bankruptcy and the going out of business sale begins. And that day comes. Then you think, well, they will need me around a little longer as things wind down. Then you find out you should have just stopped thinking as you have the inevitable meeting with your boss where he "with regret" tells you that your services are no longer needed.

After brushing off the damage to your ego and psyche and making those first necessary steps to become another statistic in the unemployment numbers, you're back to thinking. You've been working since 1960 when you made $.10 an hour at the local public library, and now you have a chance to do whatever you want to do all day--and that isn't so bad.

Another chapter begins....

A New Granddog!

This is Louie!

Relaxing with big brothers Trot and Frankie...

A New Year, A Blank Page, and Promises to Keep

Again, we are at the convergence of looking back and hoping forward. I did (for me) do a lot of reading in 2008 but for a number of reasons didn't keep things up to date here at Owlsfeathers. So, I begin anew.

My basic reading goal is the same as ever: To read what I want when I want. That said, I do feel the need (after trying to reconstruct my 2008 reading) to pay a little closer attention to what I am reading and have read during the year. There are many reading challenges out there on various blogs, and I've informally lised them in my pen and paper reading journal just to see where the books will land as they fall open to me.

OK...sounds like a plan.

Happy New Year!

Dunkin' Karma

Everyday work life fell into a tidy routine. Out at just the right time to be ahead of the school buses crisscrossing town; out at just the right time to be ahead of the long coffee lines; out at just the right time to enjoy a half hour of quiet in my office before the whole office erupted in the daily hum of activity. It was all so perfect—even down to Dee, seeing me pull into the Dunkin’ Donuts parking lot, having my coffee waiting on the counter. Then, I did the unthinkable and changed the routine.

One morning I passed by an unusual early morning crowd at Dunkin’ and opted for Panera—just this once, I said under the pressure of having to finish preparing for a nine o’clock meeting. Walking in, I noticed the calm of the moment—a young man locking his bicycle before ambling in for his coffee; two elderly women deep in conversation; a gentleman of a certain age with The New York Times opened in front of him. These people impressed me—they all were doing their “morning thing” but it all looked so relaxed. I was hooked. Panera was close enough to work that I could spend a half hour there, sipping my morning brew and reading! I was going to make a great trade—a half hour of work preparation for a half hour of reading and coffee.

Then, to make the trade seem even better, my Kindle arrived from Amazon. No longer would I be slave to a tote bag with four or five different books. (You never knew what would strike your fancy as you sat down to enjoy your half hour gift!) Now, I had book choices at the ready in a lightweight, ready-to-go format. Even if I didn’t like my current book choices, I could always add another—right on the spot through the wonders of Kindle WiFi. Oh, mornings couldn’t get any better than this.

What’s that? We’re closing the corporate office? My commute will now be a telecommute? But wait—I have this new morning routine, and it’s really neat.

Well, I now have an even neater morning routine—totally relaxed, don’t even have to put on make-up. I bunny slipper to the kitchen, grab a coffee from the Keurig machine, and head to my newly created home office. Oh, and my Kindle? A lifesaver when it came to clearing out the spare-room-now-an-office of the accumulated piles of books—read and unread. Available on Kindle? Goes in donation pile. Amazing the space that a 10 ounce, 7x5” device can create.

I’m waiting now for the ceiling fan to be installed in my office. When my son comes to do the job, maybe we’ll celebrate with a Dunkin’ Donuts coffee!

Itch

After being away for two months, I decided that maybe a post now and then would be a good thing. My hesitation is that the fiddlin' and fixin' of blogging reminds me too much of what I do every day in work. So instead of enjoying keeping a blog, I often feel that it's just more work.

There is the intimidation factor, too. I don't take pictures, travel, or have a lot of time left over at the end of too long work days. Crafting an appealing blog takes time, patience and constant care. Somewhere between my inadequacies and self-imposed expectations, there must be a happy medium. So, if you will bear with me, I'll try to find that happy medium among the Owl's Feathers.