The big huge "implement the 9/11 Commission recommendations" debate is on the Senate floor this week. Cheye and a couple of other NCSL head lobbying people are on Capitol Hill (I expect in the Senate office buildings) literally going from one office to another opposing a couple of specific amendments. I'm plugged into my headphones tracking the debate on the floor via C-SPAN (which shows a little TV monitor on my computer screen), and talking to Cheye on his cell literally every 30 minutes. At one point, he called and said he'd just come out of an office that is in favor of the amendment, so I had to call our people in that state immediately to get them to call the Senator to oppose it, and then fax them our talking points. It's taken me 10 minutes just to type this paragraph because I had to stop and send a couple of emails here and there about this thing. Lobbying, usually, is not this fast-paced and multi-faceted all at the same time. It's interesting! The speeches are still going (and will all week), but right now, not about something we're so concerned with, so I can take a minute.
My thought about the homepage is pretty basic - our Insanity Inc. logo that we had on all those shirts with the 2 palm trees and 8 rays on the sun, a current picture of everyone, and a list of links sorted by our order in the siblings with family ones like the blog at the top. Nothing complicated. Just something that looks nice and has the links organized so they're easy to figure out.
I'll post about the traditions later - it's been something I've been thinking about since last spring ... remembering what we did as kids, and what I want to either start or continue. I haven't settled on anything solid yet, beyond "decorate for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving" (that's definitely happening - with lots of lights), so I'll get back to you on this one.
Thursday, September 30, 2004
Traditions
Before I talk of traditions, Jared is finished with college on December 18, 2004. His graduation is not until Sunday, February 27 at 3PM. Everyone in my family went to community college or technical schools, so this will be the first university graduation I will go to. Hooray!
My family's traditions were generally very low key, possibly with a touch of down home-county. At Christmas, we went to my grandparent's small frame house. Normally 80-100 people would show up and sit on any available floor space. For the down home part, banana pudding, macaroni, and dumplings were always served along with ham and more traditional fixings. Of course, the football game was always on no matter what holiday it was. Presents was generally a free for all at my parent's house Christmas morning. I don't know, my memories of holidays and such are good ones. We never really took vacations, but we went to Six Flags and local attractions a lot. That was fun.
As far as traditions I want in my family, hmm. I guess those form over time and then without knowing it you have a tradition. I'm generally opposed to trick-or-treating, because it is dangerous. Instead, we go to a fall festival with candy, stories, bounce houses, games, ect. That's more fun any way. For Christmas, I love going to the light parade each year. I love parades for 4th of July, New Years, Christmas, Thanksgiving, anytime. I would like to buy a tent and start camping in the spring and fall when the weather is nice. I guess that could be a tradition. Since, Bryan loves sports so much, I see that in the future also. Well, don't want to ramble on forever.
Michelle
My family's traditions were generally very low key, possibly with a touch of down home-county. At Christmas, we went to my grandparent's small frame house. Normally 80-100 people would show up and sit on any available floor space. For the down home part, banana pudding, macaroni, and dumplings were always served along with ham and more traditional fixings. Of course, the football game was always on no matter what holiday it was. Presents was generally a free for all at my parent's house Christmas morning. I don't know, my memories of holidays and such are good ones. We never really took vacations, but we went to Six Flags and local attractions a lot. That was fun.
As far as traditions I want in my family, hmm. I guess those form over time and then without knowing it you have a tradition. I'm generally opposed to trick-or-treating, because it is dangerous. Instead, we go to a fall festival with candy, stories, bounce houses, games, ect. That's more fun any way. For Christmas, I love going to the light parade each year. I love parades for 4th of July, New Years, Christmas, Thanksgiving, anytime. I would like to buy a tent and start camping in the spring and fall when the weather is nice. I guess that could be a tradition. Since, Bryan loves sports so much, I see that in the future also. Well, don't want to ramble on forever.
Michelle
The First Page
Good morning everybody (well, good afternoon to Trina and Adam),
I've heard from both Trina and Jared (via Mom) about a homepage for the website other than the blog. Personally, I don't mind having the blog as the hompage with links on the right side to the new features we create. However, this is not MY website, but ours. So, we will need to come to some agreement about how the website should be organized. You can create your own pages in your own folder (e.g. insanityinc.net/emily) and do whatever you want to do there, but the blog and the homepage are community property.
Disagreements on this are a little tricky though, since we are all adults here, but if Mom and Dad are willing, it would be nice to have them act as the final decision makers once all the input has been put in (including their own).
So let the discussion begin! What should the homepage be, what should be on it, who should create it, and when should it be done? (Am I missing any questions?) If we agree that the blog should NOT be the homepage, then I'll switch over to a temporary homepage that will be replaced with whatever we come up with. Also, this doesn't have to be permanent. We can always come up with a new homepage every year or something.
Also, I'm preparing a document on how to access the FTP site (and some basics on HTML and webpages for the newbies among us). This will go out via email in PDF format. If you would prefer Word format, let me know.
Okay, that's all for now. Take care, I love you, read Emily's book, listen to conference, and that's all.
Love, Eric
I've heard from both Trina and Jared (via Mom) about a homepage for the website other than the blog. Personally, I don't mind having the blog as the hompage with links on the right side to the new features we create. However, this is not MY website, but ours. So, we will need to come to some agreement about how the website should be organized. You can create your own pages in your own folder (e.g. insanityinc.net/emily) and do whatever you want to do there, but the blog and the homepage are community property.
Disagreements on this are a little tricky though, since we are all adults here, but if Mom and Dad are willing, it would be nice to have them act as the final decision makers once all the input has been put in (including their own).
So let the discussion begin! What should the homepage be, what should be on it, who should create it, and when should it be done? (Am I missing any questions?) If we agree that the blog should NOT be the homepage, then I'll switch over to a temporary homepage that will be replaced with whatever we come up with. Also, this doesn't have to be permanent. We can always come up with a new homepage every year or something.
Also, I'm preparing a document on how to access the FTP site (and some basics on HTML and webpages for the newbies among us). This will go out via email in PDF format. If you would prefer Word format, let me know.
Okay, that's all for now. Take care, I love you, read Emily's book, listen to conference, and that's all.
Love, Eric
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
Update on the Story
Dear family,
The second chapter of The Elfmarked has arrived. BUT before you read that you must read the NEWLY EXTENDED first chapter. Otherwise, the second chapter will not make any sense, because it picks up where the new scene in the first chapter left off.
Emily
P.S. Chapter Three: "Departure" should be coming soon, probably Friday and if not then Monday. I hope you will enjoy it.
The second chapter of The Elfmarked has arrived. BUT before you read that you must read the NEWLY EXTENDED first chapter. Otherwise, the second chapter will not make any sense, because it picks up where the new scene in the first chapter left off.
Emily
P.S. Chapter Three: "Departure" should be coming soon, probably Friday and if not then Monday. I hope you will enjoy it.
Congrats to The Expecting Ones
Congrats to Petey and Polley on their hopeful future arrivals! That's exciting!
Everything is going well here in Provo-land. I have finished the last assignment for my ASLP class. Now I just have to take the final. And then I really have to buckle down and work on my Anatomy class.
Work is going well. I love going to work every day, even with my 40 minute commute. I have borrowed Harry Potter 5 on CD and listen to it on the drive. It makes the drive much more entertaining. (I just have to keep my stereo in my car.) But it's not the commute that I love about work. I really love working with the kids. It's great. I'm almost always in the 4th grade and it is wonderful.
I have a lot of fun playing on the weekends. This past weekend we had an unofficial EFY counselor reunion. It was a blast seeing a lot of people again. And I am always goofing off with my roommates. Amy and I stayed up until 4 a.m. talking on Saturday night (and even though we slept in until 10:20, we still made it to church on time at 11:00!! But I have been trying to catch up on that sleep all week long.
Anyway, there's an update on me. Call me if you want more details (preferably on my apartment phone since I NEVER get calls on that and I still have to pay for it!)
Love,
Tawnia
Everything is going well here in Provo-land. I have finished the last assignment for my ASLP class. Now I just have to take the final. And then I really have to buckle down and work on my Anatomy class.
Work is going well. I love going to work every day, even with my 40 minute commute. I have borrowed Harry Potter 5 on CD and listen to it on the drive. It makes the drive much more entertaining. (I just have to keep my stereo in my car.) But it's not the commute that I love about work. I really love working with the kids. It's great. I'm almost always in the 4th grade and it is wonderful.
I have a lot of fun playing on the weekends. This past weekend we had an unofficial EFY counselor reunion. It was a blast seeing a lot of people again. And I am always goofing off with my roommates. Amy and I stayed up until 4 a.m. talking on Saturday night (and even though we slept in until 10:20, we still made it to church on time at 11:00!! But I have been trying to catch up on that sleep all week long.
Anyway, there's an update on me. Call me if you want more details (preferably on my apartment phone since I NEVER get calls on that and I still have to pay for it!)
Love,
Tawnia
Monday, September 27, 2004
Emily's book is online!
Hi All!
The first bit of Emily's book is now up on the website, and that makes it the first thing up besides the blog on the family website. I'm very happy about that. So check it out at insanity.net/emily.
And Theresa and Ray are getting married this Sunday... not much more to tell. We got an invitation and RSVP'd. I figured the news was out and about already. Sorry.
And the Angels beat Texas tonight. Yee-haw! (as it were)
Eric
The first bit of Emily's book is now up on the website, and that makes it the first thing up besides the blog on the family website. I'm very happy about that. So check it out at insanity.net/emily.
And Theresa and Ray are getting married this Sunday... not much more to tell. We got an invitation and RSVP'd. I figured the news was out and about already. Sorry.
And the Angels beat Texas tonight. Yee-haw! (as it were)
Eric
This is a long question.
Sorry I didn't get this posted earlier. Last week was a bit hectic for me. I was sick with a miserable cold and even missed a day of work. I slept all day on Wednesday.
On Saturday we went to Washington for Baby Rachel's funeral. It was the most spiritual funeral I've ever been to. Max's talk on the plan of salvation was simple and profound. He elaborated on the scripture. "Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted." First he explained that we're supposed to mourn and be sad because it is an expression of our love. He then explained how we are comforted through the promises of the atonement. Both Ben and Mary spoke and their messages were also incredible. Ben shared some very spiritual experiences that I'd never heard before. Mary told about dreaming of her little girl, Rachel, when she was pregnant with Maxwell and she told about Rachel's birth and her life. There was so much love there. You really had to be there to experience it.
Afterward we all had lunch at Ben and Mary's and we went over to Sid's to get the tour of his house. It's going up and when it's finished it will be over 7,000 square feet. You'll have to go and see it. If you include the tower it's 5 stories.
Now for the question: Tell about your own family traditions: Christmas, birthdays, graduations, Fourth of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, hunting, funerals, Memorial Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, weddings, etc. Since most of you have grown up in the same family, perhaps you can tell about traditions you want to establish in your own homes.
On Saturday we went to Washington for Baby Rachel's funeral. It was the most spiritual funeral I've ever been to. Max's talk on the plan of salvation was simple and profound. He elaborated on the scripture. "Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted." First he explained that we're supposed to mourn and be sad because it is an expression of our love. He then explained how we are comforted through the promises of the atonement. Both Ben and Mary spoke and their messages were also incredible. Ben shared some very spiritual experiences that I'd never heard before. Mary told about dreaming of her little girl, Rachel, when she was pregnant with Maxwell and she told about Rachel's birth and her life. There was so much love there. You really had to be there to experience it.
Afterward we all had lunch at Ben and Mary's and we went over to Sid's to get the tour of his house. It's going up and when it's finished it will be over 7,000 square feet. You'll have to go and see it. If you include the tower it's 5 stories.
Now for the question: Tell about your own family traditions: Christmas, birthdays, graduations, Fourth of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, hunting, funerals, Memorial Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, weddings, etc. Since most of you have grown up in the same family, perhaps you can tell about traditions you want to establish in your own homes.
Hello from Emily
Eric, I've sent you the prolouge and first chapter of my story -- well, the first half of the first chapter anyway; I still need to do a little bit more revising. So, please tell the family when it is available.
I started classes today. History is going to be interesting, but I don't know about American lit yet. I still haven't figured out how the whole on-line thing really works, since teachers usually do things a little differently. Clarissa is also taking classes on-line.
Love,
Emily
I started classes today. History is going to be interesting, but I don't know about American lit yet. I still haven't figured out how the whole on-line thing really works, since teachers usually do things a little differently. Clarissa is also taking classes on-line.
Love,
Emily
Theresa's wedding?
This is the first I've heard of it - details?
We're fine too. I also went to the Relief Society broadcast on Saturday, along with doing some stuff for work at home. Yesterday - one of our home teaching families - their 8-year-old son was baptized so we went to that right after church. Our home teachers came over. I slept for a long time. That was nice.
Mom, are we getting another question? The pet one seems to have been answered, even though we haven't heard from Jared and Michelle yet about the guinea pig. What did Brooke name it? I can't remember, but it was funny.
P.S. Eric, Adam still can't post. He's signed on and all, but when he goes to blogger.com, there's nothing there. No option to post to our blog. Now what?
We're fine too. I also went to the Relief Society broadcast on Saturday, along with doing some stuff for work at home. Yesterday - one of our home teaching families - their 8-year-old son was baptized so we went to that right after church. Our home teachers came over. I slept for a long time. That was nice.
Mom, are we getting another question? The pet one seems to have been answered, even though we haven't heard from Jared and Michelle yet about the guinea pig. What did Brooke name it? I can't remember, but it was funny.
P.S. Eric, Adam still can't post. He's signed on and all, but when he goes to blogger.com, there's nothing there. No option to post to our blog. Now what?
Is everyone okay?
No posting over the weekend hey?
I hope everyone is okay. Laurel and I are well. We had a nice weekend here in sunny CA. I was sick last week, but felt better this weekend. We worked on Laurel's website Saturday (there's nothing up yet, so don't check it) and Laurel went to the RS broadcast. Yesterday I went hometeaching all afternoon, and we went to Rachel's at night. The Angels won Saturday and Sunday, so I'm baseball-happy anyway.
We're looking forward to conference and Theresa's wedding this weekend. Plus this Thursday we're going to the college (CSUF) where a guy who took a solo trek to the North Pole will be speaking.
And that is all from us. Again, we hope everyone is happy and well.
Love, Eric
I hope everyone is okay. Laurel and I are well. We had a nice weekend here in sunny CA. I was sick last week, but felt better this weekend. We worked on Laurel's website Saturday (there's nothing up yet, so don't check it) and Laurel went to the RS broadcast. Yesterday I went hometeaching all afternoon, and we went to Rachel's at night. The Angels won Saturday and Sunday, so I'm baseball-happy anyway.
We're looking forward to conference and Theresa's wedding this weekend. Plus this Thursday we're going to the college (CSUF) where a guy who took a solo trek to the North Pole will be speaking.
And that is all from us. Again, we hope everyone is happy and well.
Love, Eric
Friday, September 24, 2004
Emily's Book
Hi Emily!
Check your email, because I wrote you a message about posting your book on the website, but not on the blog. If you want to start sending me chapters (to my allvantage email address) this weekend, that'll be great since I'll be working on Laurel's website this weekend as well as a practice site for school, so I'll be in web development mode tomorrow.
I don't think any of us really knows what it takes to get a book published because none of us have done it. I know it's like a lot of creative activities... there's a lot of people who want to do it, and it's hard to get attention. I don't know about writing, but I know in art it generally helps to have some sort of agent, a representative, to sell your work. Same thing with acting and most other creative endeavors. Beware of scams, but maybe start doing some research on literary agents, maybe those who specialize in Sci-Fi and Fantasy.
Also, I know there are magazines and compilations out there that might be a good bet for getting "discovered". Publishers are running a business and they only want to buy what they can be reasonably assured they can sell. Someone with a proven track record (published somewhere) is a better bet than someone who has never been published. Keep working on those short story contests, big and small... I think they're your best bet.
And don't give up! Keep working on your craft and writing the stuff you would love to read.
Love, Eric
Check your email, because I wrote you a message about posting your book on the website, but not on the blog. If you want to start sending me chapters (to my allvantage email address) this weekend, that'll be great since I'll be working on Laurel's website this weekend as well as a practice site for school, so I'll be in web development mode tomorrow.
I don't think any of us really knows what it takes to get a book published because none of us have done it. I know it's like a lot of creative activities... there's a lot of people who want to do it, and it's hard to get attention. I don't know about writing, but I know in art it generally helps to have some sort of agent, a representative, to sell your work. Same thing with acting and most other creative endeavors. Beware of scams, but maybe start doing some research on literary agents, maybe those who specialize in Sci-Fi and Fantasy.
Also, I know there are magazines and compilations out there that might be a good bet for getting "discovered". Publishers are running a business and they only want to buy what they can be reasonably assured they can sell. Someone with a proven track record (published somewhere) is a better bet than someone who has never been published. Keep working on those short story contests, big and small... I think they're your best bet.
And don't give up! Keep working on your craft and writing the stuff you would love to read.
Love, Eric
back to Emily
Because it's your story, yes, I will read it. If it were anyone outside our family (I would also read anything by any of our other siblings, like Jared's Star Wars story), I would have to politely decline.
P.S. I just emailed you about this as well.
P.S. I just emailed you about this as well.
Thursday, September 23, 2004
avid readers
Yes, I am an avid reader - I'm currently an avid reader of state laws about medical malpractice lawsuits. Fuuuuuuuuun ...
I've said this before, and I'll say it again: the way to get into the writing industry, or any industry or profession for that matter, is TALK TO PEOPLE ALREADY IN IT. In politics and government, it's all about "who you know." I did not get my DC job based on my qualifications. I got my job because of Ramona, and I met Ramona because of Karyn, and I met Karyn because I got off my butt and joined Model UN. My qualifications help me keep my job. They did not help me get my job.
It's the same thing for writing. Your first step should have been, and still should be, to get involved in some of the online message boards in the writing community. Those people will tell you much better than any of us how to write a novel better. From there, I'm sure you can meet people in Portland. You are not going to publish your books by locking yourself in your room chained to that old computer. While we, your fantastic family, are indeed avid readers and probably really good editors as well, we don't know anyone already in the writing community.
For your book in particular, I would just advise you to be ready to accept a lot of criticism because that's exactly what you've asked for, and don't get upset when people tell you what could be better about your story. As for me - quite frankly, fantasy books do not interest me. I enjoy fantasy movies - Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, etc ... But the books are very difficult for me to get through.
And this advice goes to everyone, no matter what job you want (or if you also want to publish a book). You need to meet people in your chosen profession. Skills and talent will take you far, but only so far. You also need connections.
Thank you for your patience in reading my rant. *end soapbox mode*
I've said this before, and I'll say it again: the way to get into the writing industry, or any industry or profession for that matter, is TALK TO PEOPLE ALREADY IN IT. In politics and government, it's all about "who you know." I did not get my DC job based on my qualifications. I got my job because of Ramona, and I met Ramona because of Karyn, and I met Karyn because I got off my butt and joined Model UN. My qualifications help me keep my job. They did not help me get my job.
It's the same thing for writing. Your first step should have been, and still should be, to get involved in some of the online message boards in the writing community. Those people will tell you much better than any of us how to write a novel better. From there, I'm sure you can meet people in Portland. You are not going to publish your books by locking yourself in your room chained to that old computer. While we, your fantastic family, are indeed avid readers and probably really good editors as well, we don't know anyone already in the writing community.
For your book in particular, I would just advise you to be ready to accept a lot of criticism because that's exactly what you've asked for, and don't get upset when people tell you what could be better about your story. As for me - quite frankly, fantasy books do not interest me. I enjoy fantasy movies - Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, etc ... But the books are very difficult for me to get through.
And this advice goes to everyone, no matter what job you want (or if you also want to publish a book). You need to meet people in your chosen profession. Skills and talent will take you far, but only so far. You also need connections.
Thank you for your patience in reading my rant. *end soapbox mode*
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Concerning elves
Okay, fambly.
I've finished yet another manuscript for a fantasy novel (entitled The Embodiment of Magic, Book One of the Elfmarked Trilogy) which I shall attempt to have published. (If anyone has any ideas how to get into this industry, please feel free to tell me.) I am now looking for people to read it, sort of a test run. Yes, you can review the spelling and the grammar, but any computer can do that. I really need someone to tell me if it makes sense. Does the plot flow smoothly? Did someone's eye color suddenly change in the middle of the story? What did you think about the different characters? Did I use the same phrase seven times on one page?
So, how should we go about doing this? Should I e-mail you the individual chapters, or do you want all 72 pages (single spaced) in one massive e-mail? Should I post it on the blog one page at a time? Should I send you one chapter and refuse to send the next until you tell me how you liked the first?
How many of you will read it and give me feedback?
I know you are all very busy, but I also know that everyone in my family is an avid reader. Really, it's up to you if you want it in one or twenty e-mails. Remember, if you don't respond, I won't send it to you.
Love,
Emily Palmer, Author
I've finished yet another manuscript for a fantasy novel (entitled The Embodiment of Magic, Book One of the Elfmarked Trilogy) which I shall attempt to have published. (If anyone has any ideas how to get into this industry, please feel free to tell me.) I am now looking for people to read it, sort of a test run. Yes, you can review the spelling and the grammar, but any computer can do that. I really need someone to tell me if it makes sense. Does the plot flow smoothly? Did someone's eye color suddenly change in the middle of the story? What did you think about the different characters? Did I use the same phrase seven times on one page?
So, how should we go about doing this? Should I e-mail you the individual chapters, or do you want all 72 pages (single spaced) in one massive e-mail? Should I post it on the blog one page at a time? Should I send you one chapter and refuse to send the next until you tell me how you liked the first?
How many of you will read it and give me feedback?
I know you are all very busy, but I also know that everyone in my family is an avid reader. Really, it's up to you if you want it in one or twenty e-mails. Remember, if you don't respond, I won't send it to you.
Love,
Emily Palmer, Author
missionaries
Just a random sidenote - Neil Tolman gets home from his mission today, and Paco Nava leaves the MTC for Russia today. They're probably both already on planes as I type this. And Tren Nowling got his call to Venezuela. He reports to the MTC on Nov. 3. So I'm still maintaining my "quota" of 2 missionaries. I don't believe I've ever NOT had a missionary to write to since my friend Kevin left on his mission 3 months after I turned 18. Crazy.
Mindy, I should send a package to Paco soon, since his birthday just passed (and I didn't even send him a letter - SHAME on me!) and Christmas is coming. What should I send him that he can't get in Russia? What did you wish you had when you were there? I haven't done very well with writing letters consistently in about the last year (since just before I left Oregon, so Adam can't be blamed for that), but I really need to get back on the ball. Tren and Paco aren't just buddies or friends - they're my Montana family ... who I'm really missing right now, so I'm going to shut up and get to work.
Mindy, I should send a package to Paco soon, since his birthday just passed (and I didn't even send him a letter - SHAME on me!) and Christmas is coming. What should I send him that he can't get in Russia? What did you wish you had when you were there? I haven't done very well with writing letters consistently in about the last year (since just before I left Oregon, so Adam can't be blamed for that), but I really need to get back on the ball. Tren and Paco aren't just buddies or friends - they're my Montana family ... who I'm really missing right now, so I'm going to shut up and get to work.
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
I had different pets in my childhood
I never had a pet of my own but we had several family pets during my growing up years. When I was little I remember my mom’s dog Skipper who had about 20 puppies. We had other dogs, too. When we moved to St Paul Street I don’t know what we did with the dogs but they didn’t go with us, except for Buster. He was part German Shepherd, part Collie, I think, and supposedly part wolf. He was everyone’s best friend at our house. One time, when Sylvia was three or four, our neighbor boy, about the same age, had come over. He was riding his trike and chasing Sylvia around the yard. All of a sudden Buster grabbed him by the seat of his pants and stopped him from moving. He ran home crying, “Buster bit me!” There was not a mark on him because Buster only caught his clothes. Another interesting story was when someone came to our home while we were gone. He’d been there several times and thought he would just come into the house, which was never locked, to wait for us. Buster barked and growled and wouldn’t let him in.. Not too long after that some of Dad’s relatives came while we were at church. When we got home they were inside waiting for us. Dad was shocked that Buster let them in. He either recognized them as family or he knew who to trust and who not. When we moved from St Paul Street, after 8 years, we left Buster behind. Dad figured he was too old and too independent to move with us.
Another dog we got, that we did take with us, was Nina. Speedy had gotten her while he was working in the forest service. She was a Brussels Griffon, a very tiny dog with short light brown hair. He got her when she was a puppy and she was constantly picking at Buster. If he got tired of it he would just walk away. He never hurt her. Speedy left for college the fall after he brought her home so she became our dog. We lived in Arizona when she got pregnant. Our neighbor was very worried that she’d have one or two puppies and it would kill her. But when the time came for her puppies to be born there were 6 tiny puppies. Daddy could hold all of them in one hand at the same time. One died, and four we gave away. We kept one but I can’t remember his name. He was a black and white fur ball, who grew to nearly twice the size of his mama. A few years later, after we had moved to Washington again, Nina got sick and died.
My mom also had Parakeets while I was growing up. The first one I know of was Roscoe. He was a very fun bird. Mom was teaching him to say “pretty baby” when Sylvia angrily corrected her. She said, “That’s not a baby, I’m your baby. That’s a bird!” One time, when my cousin Susannah was visiting she heard a wolf whistle as she walked into the kitchen. She asked which of my brothers had whistled at her and didn’t believe them when they said it was Roscoe; especially because he wouldn’t do it again. We had a game, similar to checkers, called Teko. Whenever anyone tried to play the game Roscoe would fly down and push the pieces onto the floor. He loved to fly free. Once he was on the floor and someone accidentally stepped on his tail and pulled out most of his tail feathers.
My mom had a few other birds over the years, including one named Teko. After I was married Dad gave her a bird. She was trying to figure out what to name it. Dad was always trying to convince us kids to name a son Guy, so Frank suggested Mom name the bird Guy, which she did. Daddy got his Guy and he never bugged us about using that name again.
Another dog we got, that we did take with us, was Nina. Speedy had gotten her while he was working in the forest service. She was a Brussels Griffon, a very tiny dog with short light brown hair. He got her when she was a puppy and she was constantly picking at Buster. If he got tired of it he would just walk away. He never hurt her. Speedy left for college the fall after he brought her home so she became our dog. We lived in Arizona when she got pregnant. Our neighbor was very worried that she’d have one or two puppies and it would kill her. But when the time came for her puppies to be born there were 6 tiny puppies. Daddy could hold all of them in one hand at the same time. One died, and four we gave away. We kept one but I can’t remember his name. He was a black and white fur ball, who grew to nearly twice the size of his mama. A few years later, after we had moved to Washington again, Nina got sick and died.
My mom also had Parakeets while I was growing up. The first one I know of was Roscoe. He was a very fun bird. Mom was teaching him to say “pretty baby” when Sylvia angrily corrected her. She said, “That’s not a baby, I’m your baby. That’s a bird!” One time, when my cousin Susannah was visiting she heard a wolf whistle as she walked into the kitchen. She asked which of my brothers had whistled at her and didn’t believe them when they said it was Roscoe; especially because he wouldn’t do it again. We had a game, similar to checkers, called Teko. Whenever anyone tried to play the game Roscoe would fly down and push the pieces onto the floor. He loved to fly free. Once he was on the floor and someone accidentally stepped on his tail and pulled out most of his tail feathers.
My mom had a few other birds over the years, including one named Teko. After I was married Dad gave her a bird. She was trying to figure out what to name it. Dad was always trying to convince us kids to name a son Guy, so Frank suggested Mom name the bird Guy, which she did. Daddy got his Guy and he never bugged us about using that name again.
here kitty kitty
Besides all the other kittens we adopted (for very brief amounts of time), and the rodents we always tried to say, Lucky was always our first real pet. She liked to wag her tail, climb up the door, and spend as much time in the house as she could manage. There was one time when we couldn't find her .. I was reading in my room, and had set up a little display of my stuffed animals .. when suddenly one of them moved! There was Lucky, sleeping in the middle of them all. We later got Mau Mau from the Saunders, and she had her 4 kittens .. all very cute.
As for me, I've had a couple of fish. Stormy was the first (of the SSS group), and was named such because it was raining the day that I got her/him/it?. I got the fish because I had read enough books at the library's Summer Reading Program. I believe that is where Sunny came from too, but Spot was a little bit nicer - angel-tailed or something like that. Last summer I had another fish - which I named Little Buddy. It was originally Amber's beta .. which Nathan had .. and then they broke up .. and he still had it .. so I adopted it. Miraculously he lived, even when he jumped onto the counter when I was changing his bowl. He died though, shortly after I left for Canada.
The only other pet I really had was while I was in Russia. My family got a little french bulldog puppy .. Shayla. She was a handful, a pain to potty-train, whimpered all the time, and loved to chew on people's pant legs and slippered feet. My Russian Mom got tired of it quickly, and gave her away.
I'll try and get Jason to the computer to answer the pet question .. I know he's got several interesting stories about pets he's had in the past, including his pirhana "Angry Over-sized Goldfish."
We've had the first snow of the season yesterday! Nothing stuck, and it only snowed for about 15 minutes, but it was really snow. And then this morning there was frost on the ground. Once the sun comes out though, the weather is beautiful.
As for me, I've had a couple of fish. Stormy was the first (of the SSS group), and was named such because it was raining the day that I got her/him/it?. I got the fish because I had read enough books at the library's Summer Reading Program. I believe that is where Sunny came from too, but Spot was a little bit nicer - angel-tailed or something like that. Last summer I had another fish - which I named Little Buddy. It was originally Amber's beta .. which Nathan had .. and then they broke up .. and he still had it .. so I adopted it. Miraculously he lived, even when he jumped onto the counter when I was changing his bowl. He died though, shortly after I left for Canada.
The only other pet I really had was while I was in Russia. My family got a little french bulldog puppy .. Shayla. She was a handful, a pain to potty-train, whimpered all the time, and loved to chew on people's pant legs and slippered feet. My Russian Mom got tired of it quickly, and gave her away.
I'll try and get Jason to the computer to answer the pet question .. I know he's got several interesting stories about pets he's had in the past, including his pirhana "Angry Over-sized Goldfish."
We've had the first snow of the season yesterday! Nothing stuck, and it only snowed for about 15 minutes, but it was really snow. And then this morning there was frost on the ground. Once the sun comes out though, the weather is beautiful.
all the same pets
Well, see there Emily, you put a new angle on the question. We all had the same pets (if we were home at the time), so everyone can say what they remember about them. I remember that you younger kids got the fish right around the same time I left on my mission, and in my first area, I got a cassette tape of everyone talking. Nathan gave a fine impression of sorrowful wailing as you told me that the fish had gone to the great toilet bowl in the sky. Lucky came along right before I came home from my mission, and we had her all that next summer. The thing I remember most about her is that Dad meant for her to be an outside cat. She wanted to be an inside cat, so she'd get in every chance she got (and Mom was sometimes rather slow in putting her back out). I would always find her sleeping in the laundry bins that used to be above the washer and dryer, usually in the load that had Mom's nice silky garments.
Eric, please get Laurel to post about your pets. I would so love to hear The Adventures of Petey and Polly!
Eric, please get Laurel to post about your pets. I would so love to hear The Adventures of Petey and Polly!
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