Thanks for the Mwah!

First award for the Two CAT Blog comes from Laurie over at Three DOG Blog. As a Cat Person, I know I've really made it if I'm touted by a Dog Person! I enjoy reading your stories, Laurie, and aspire to write as well as you.

Thank you, Laurie! I'm tickled pink!

A Neighborhood Rescue

As you can see, this is not a cat story! It's a dog story. I hope the Two Cats who own this blog forgive me! I think Hamilton will understand.

My friend, N, who lives across the street, has adopted a little poodle. His name is Rudy. She got him from a Poodle Rescue Group near St. Louis. He spoke to her heart because the photo online looked so pitiful. He's an older dog, with several issues, but none of this stopped N from saving this little fellow. You can tell by the way he stands close to her, that even after just a few days, he is devoted to her. Her kids love him already and are gentle with him. They all try to hold him as much as possible. He is settling in nicely.

I'm so proud of this family for saving such a beautiful little guy! You're the best!

Ode to Laurie's Three Dog Blog and Amy's Blog to the Bone

She doesn't know it but I'm a lurker on Laurie's wonderful Three Dog Blog. I am not a dog-person at all, but reading her blog makes me realize I might have been in another life. I love her adventures that aren't dog related, too: the Russian Series, the Birth of a Hack Series, her Family Photos Stories, and yes, I even love her Walks with the Dogs Stories.

I found her blog by skipping off a link on Amy's Blog to the Bone. I am in a new phase of my life, having just retired from over 30 years of teaching high school science. Now I work for a Paramedic-EMT Association called Memsa and I actually get breaks and a lunch hour in this job. I usually read, but one day I didn't have a book and since I've read ALL of Amy's Blog, I skipped over to Three Dog Blog and printed it out, all 136 pages of it. And I read it all, and by the time I'd reached the end, there was more up on the site to read!

So you could say I was hooked. Of course, the BIG difference between Amy and Laurie and me if they are Real Writers, and I'm a Hobby Writer. Which means I know good writing when I read it.

And Laurie got me thinking how interesting reading about three dogs and two people taking walks in the rain can be. I wondered if my very different life with one husband and two cats could be at all interesting. Not that I can compare my writing to Laurie's or Amy's. But at least I feel emboldened to try.

I have a connection to Amy because she's married to my brother, and I love her and her wonderful family. She's been a blessing for my brother and all of us in our family. She devoted her life to the girls and is just now back into a more personal adventure. I'm proud of her--to the end of time.

And I have a connection to Laurie, however tenuous, because Warren and I started out in the grand city of Minneapolis over 33 years ago. I can relate to the places in her blog, Duluth--I used to take my Hopkin's 6th grade students to a camp north of Duluth, the bridge that came down--I drove over it one month earlier while driving from my Dad's place in St. Paul to my girlfriend, Carol's, house in Richfield. She is living that alter-life I might have had, if we had stayed in Minneapolis instead of heading south in search of radio jobs for Warren.

So thank you, Laurie and Amy. I'm gonna give it a try!