Katrina, you ugly-ass bitch...

Pray (or dance in a circle, burn eucalyptus leaves, or whatever you do to create good karma) for these folks and their beloved pets who may have been left behind. Give until it hurts. Skip dinner out. Don't buy those shoes. Buy cheap shit for yourself and send help now!

Two-legged:

American Red Cross Hurricane Fund

FEMA-approved charities for cash donation or volunteers

Four-legged:

Noah's Wish

Humane Society of the United States-Disaster Relief Fund

American Humane Association Animal Emergency Services

Years ago, I went down into Missouri to work flood relief after the waters had receded weeks later and still came back with both salmonella and e. coli despite rubber boots and gloves. These people are really up against rough times for a while. Keep them in your hearts and prayers.

Poor N'awlins...

Go to the NOLA blog: Nola.com

Thanks to Blue Ridge Blog for the link.

Autumn Kitty

A new mini-painting on Ebay:

bumper wisdom

I saw a bumper sticker the other day that simply said, "Remember who you wanted to be."

well, um...

Well, I think I feel a little better. My headache is finally starting to dissolve after about 12 hours of pounding. Things will get better (slurp of wine); things will get better (gulp of wine); things will get better *klunk*

Ok, I don't have any wine, but it sounds awfully good right now. No more willy-nilly for today. Tomorrow, we start again. Tomorrow, we try again. Tomorrow, we will have grown up and past who we were today.

duck and cover...

(Last Home, this post ain't got nuthin' to do with you.)
There are times when I think my head is going to pop off. This is one of those times. Next week I start a 56 hour work week for 9 months (and I need to squeeze a hysterectomy in between semesters). I'm a little nervous because I'm not a morning person and I have to start coming in at 7 am every day and after I put in 8 hours, I have to go to my intership where I need to have lots of energy to learn.

Work has been super busy and I swear the harder I work the more criticism I get. I have really just shut down at work and only let my nutty personality out every once in a while. Work harder; get appreciated less. What's the point? Since Daddy died I am just not in the mood to put up with stupid shit from people and I've jumped on a couple of people when it was not advantageous to do so.

I know I'm working through the anger stage of grief, but being in PR right now is an even worse match for me than usual. I'm not good at ass-kissing--never have been. I guess I get that from my Dad. I like to think we're all worth the same precious amount. And we are as far as I am concerned. Hierarchies be damned...which I may be muttering to myself one day in the unemployment line.

At least I think I'm going to avoid the root canal. My dentist altered by bite a little and that seems to have helped. I'm still having the splint made so I won't grind my teeth so hard at night.

I think I've just worked myself up into a frenzy again...like I haven't been for months? I can't seem to calm down to pre-disaster emotional levels. It doesn't take much to push me over the edge, or make me mad, or make me cry.

With that said, I'm taking off Thursday and Friday. Half of Thursday is a skills lab in social work, but after that, I'm free. And I need it.

I am going to have more paintings up by the weekend. I have about six nearly-finished canvases. I'll be ok...just way too tense these days.

absenteeism and such...

Sorry, y'all, things have gotten too busy to breathe...pant, pant, pant. I'll be back soon.

Henry is Leaving...

HENRY WANTS CHEESE will be gone this morning. Last chance to bid. I was hoping he'd go for a little more...I liked him. Update: Henry made a run for it on the homestretch and brought in some roses for me. Plus, he's going to a good home. I like the gal who "adopted" him. :-)

But look at this

my frienship bracelet from LoLo!!! My little camera phone snap doesn't do the colors justice. Thanks LoLo, I love, love, love it! This picture also makes my arm look gi-normous. I ain't no wrastler, I swear...

Where's the Love!?

**********UPDATE!!!!! Brandy is going to a home in North Carolina. Just in the nick of time! Yay!!!!***********
This is a cross-post for poor Brandy. Nana's sister. If you or anyone you know is in the market for a cute fuzzy companion, please help. Nana was a real sweetheart--quiet and well-mannered, though shy. Pass it along!!!!!

PLEASE, is there anyone that can help Brandy before Friday 8/19? You might remember Brandys story...she was abandoned when her owners left her, along with Nana, at a house when they moved in Columbia, TN. They spent several weeks at the shelter in Columbia. Nana was adopted and transported to VA a few weeks ago. Brandy was pulled from Columbia and moved to the Dickson Shelter to give her more time. She has grieved the loss of Nana and has lost weight and is depressed. She is a really shy, sweet girl who loves to play. She does great at the shelter with other dogs and is fine with cats. She has suffered so much and deserves to have a safe loving home. She is a lab mix approx. 2 years old. She is fully vetted and I can help with transport costs. I have to go out of town on Friday and she must be moved before then or she will be euthanized.

You can contact me at 615-426-8123, or the Dickson County Humane Society at 615-446-7455.
Thank You!!!

Laura Mucerino
Luvabull Foster & Rescue
Dickson, TN
615-426-8123

Everybody needs one...

In my case, it would be liposuction, but in this case, it's a great first aid booklet for pet owners. It's put out by the American Red Cross. Information courtesy of Leigh-Ann at Over Coffee.

Henry Wants Cheese...

I finished this little 6 x 6 painting called "Henry Wants Cheese." It was inspired by a photo I took of my spirited little Rooney.

Can't you just read his mind? "Are you going to eat all that cheese? Every bite? Can I have just one nibble? Just one? You're not going to eat the whole thing are you? Are you? You really don't need the whole thing. That cheese sure does look good. I sure would like to have a piece. Can I have a piece? Can I, please? Can I...mmmmmm. Thanks! More?"

Feeling better today. Thanks for the support (I always think of those old Bart1es and James men on the porch when I say that.) You're too young if you don't remember that commercial. Have a great day.

P.S. THANKS CJ, who bought Cat in the Bag!

In the key of Be-Flat...

I am in a monotone-soul mood. Must get up, must go to work, must eat, must poop, must distract myself, must sleep...

At the end of this month I'll finally go back to school and start my fieldwork (internship) in social work. Ah, a mere 16 extra hours a week for the next nine months...phah...who's counting.

I am.

Because the only thing that's making me happy right now is painting and the only time I have to paint is when I'm not at work, which is when I will now be working another job that pays nothing by college credits.

Even though I know I have to do it.

Even though it will be great experience.

Even though it is terribly important.

Even though...even though...even though...even though...even though...even though...even though...even though...even though...even though...even though...even though...

I am so tired from being through the ringer for so long. I'm grinding my teeth so hard at night that I have to get a splint and a root canal. We just went through a terrible, terrible health scare with hubby and I thought I was going to come apart at the seams. Fortunately it was a false alarm, but I'm just fucking ragged, man. Ragged.

It will get better. I will be a real person again one day. Gotta run...picking up Rooney from the vet (he's getting more IV fluids today). Gah.

Please help Daisy Mae...Tuesday she leaves this world...

The shelters of this country are running over with our irresponsibility-cats and dogs by the hundreds of thousands are put to sleep for no reason. Daisy Mae is just such a victim; stuck in a high-kill shelter and heartworm positive, she doesn't have much hope unless someone decides to grow a halo pretty quick. If you have room to foster or adopt Daisy Mae, please contact Molli below ASAP. I already break the city laws wtih seven animals and Sadie will not tolerate a doggie guest...I'd take her if I could. PLEASE CROSSPOST.

p.s. Sadie had heartworms and was fine after being treated.

--------MESSAGE----------

Please crosspost!!Tuesday deadline!!
Daisy Mae is the sweetest dog and has the best personality! She will make a great family pet but very sadly, she is heartworm positive. She is on preventative but still has contracted heartworms. Daisy Mae will be happy as an inside or outside girl. She just wants and needs her very own family!

Even more important than the funding at this time is the need for a home or rescue that will take her. The shelter where she lives will not let her stay there through treatment and they have absolutely no foster home open to take her.

She appears to have alot of Dobie in her but I'm not sure if it's enough for a Dobie rescue to take her into their program. She is spayed and up to date on vaccines.
The director of the shelter has set Tuesday afternoon as the deadline for Daisy Mae to find a home or she will be put to sleep.

If you can save Daisy Mae's life with a home (permanent or foster), please contact Molli at mollibo111@yahoo.com or 731-217-6196. Donations will gladly be accepted to assist with the treatment but money is of no use at this time without a place for her to live besides the shelter. Transportation assistance will be provided if necessary.

Thanks so much and PLEASE spread the word for Daisy Mae. She is too sweet for somebody to not have room in their heart and home for her!

Buddy went home!

I was involved in another transport for a rescued dog this past weekend. Buddy was a 1-2 year old lab who was rescued from a high-kill shelter in Kentucky. He was lovingly transported 100-200 miles at a time to a town in Florida on Saturday. I had a hard time giving him up! He was a perfect gentleman. I tagged my mom to go with me and we drove from Knoxville to Wildwood, Georgia. I kept Buddy company on the way down and on the way back I drove and took my mom out for a nice lunch in Chattanooga. To follow are some photos I snapped with my camera phone.

GOOD LUCK, BUDDY!

Mem-o-rama...

I don't usually do memes, but...

Write down five of your own personal idiosyncrasies.

1. I can stand my own mess, but I can't stand someone else messing up my messy area. My "studio" can be a disaster area, but if you move one little thing I'll will immediately notice and get mad. It's my own crazy version of organization.

2. Despite the rest of the mess, I cannot and will not sleep in unorganized sheets. My husband rolls them up into knots while he sleeps, and even if it wakes him up (I usually go to bed last), I have to retuck the sheets and blanket in.

3. I can't stand any drink in a can. Yuck. Give me a glass, please. And absolutely no straw unless there's a plastic top made for it.

4. I have to sweep the sheets off with my hand before going to bed. The kitties leave "crunchies" among the cotton and I can't stand the slightest of crunchy dusties underneath the bod whilst I sleep.

5. I have to eat salty foods before sweet foods on my plate unless the sweet and salty tastes are meant to complement one another simultaneously. So macaroni and cheese has to be eaten before sweet potatoes. Absolutely.

Thanks to Curlie Girl.

Noogie Takes A Nap...

I put up a new little wood panel painting on Ebay (9 x 12) last night. Noogie has been naughty again. Click on the image to go to the listing.

and there's a "Cat In The Bag," too...



There's a lot of serious, heavy stuff going on right now, but I can't really talk about it ad nauseum in vivo publico...if you know what I mean-o. I'm hoping if I close my eyes it will just go away. Denial, it's what's for dinner.

I reckon...

Harry Potter Personality Quiz by Pirate Monkeys Inc.

..even though I've never picked up a Harry Potter book. Oh, shut up.

Help Bruno!

The following is a cross-post from a list I am on (the same folks I helped out when I was part of the dog transport)...

*****

PLEASE CROSSPOST WIDELY!

Please look at Bruno's pictures and see how handsome he is! Not only is he the most handsome but he's the sweetest and best behaved boy that has come through the shelter doors in quite some time!! He is at the Jackson Madison County Humane Society in Jackson, TN. It is shelter policy to not treat for heartworms due to the large number of dogs that arrive with heartworms combined with the cost of the treatment. Because Bruno has tested positive for heartworms, he will be euthanized if somebody cannot be found that can help him.

Bruno needs two things: sponsorship to assist with the financial aspect of treatment (usually less then $100 from the vet clinic that works with the shelter) and a foster or permanent home for him to recuperate in. Without both of these things, Bruno will have to be put to sleep before the end of the first week of August. I can buy more time if somebody thinks they might possibly be able to do something but he'll have to be moved fairily quickly.

Please contact me directly at mollibo111@yahoo(nospam).com for more information. Assistance with transportation can be provided if necessary.

Thanks and please please spread the word about this awesome boy!!

******