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I don't have any current entries there yet.. I'm moving over the old ones before I post new ones. When I actually start posting new ones, I'll leave a missive in my blog here! - Zu

from zuzus-petals :

Oh yeah. and I adore Spain. I hope you had a stellar time! Welcome home!

from zuzus-petals :

Oh no... he's not a woman hater. I think that's so misunderstood. Most of his stories are about men rendered impotent by war, wealth, luxury, comfort and very very rarely a wealthy and strong woman. I LOVE the short story, "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber" - this guys wife is SO strong and powerful (and so fearful that her impotent husband will become something she's not sure she could tolerate.. well... read it... what a great story!) The man with gangrene in the Snows of Kilimanjaro.. sure, the gangrene is a metaphor for what's happened to him since he's subjugated himself to his wife's wealth and stopped living life, taking risks, being "virile" in the world... he's not saying the "wife" was evil and wrong.. the man was wrong, rotting inside, for ceasing to take risks, live, express himself passionately and creatively - as he simply rolled over on life - he was seeking nourishment for his soul in barren lands where no life could grow - but it wasn't the woman, really, who was the problem, it was his relationship to luxury. Most people, I think, think of Hemmingway as this virile dude - the hunter, the fisher, the ultimate "man" - but nearly all of his male characters are castrated in some way, due to weakness, trauma, war, soft living, etc. His characters were mostly very far from "virile" - and indeed, so many of the women in his works were tremendously strong, potent and magical. Well.. I just think he's poorly understood.

from zuzus-petals :

It sounds like the student carrying around all her completed assignments has ADD.

from ittyfitz :

Congrats!!

from zuzus-petals :

I studied English Lit in college and did a semester abroad in London - where near twice a month it seems we were heading to Stratford to see this or that play that we'd just finished reading. My most dreamy favorite was seeing Ben Kingsley play Othello with the Royal Shakespeare Co. Often in drunken moments I cry out, "Iago, my reputation!!" Isn't there something oddly anticlimactic upon learning that "Iago" is Spanish for "James"?

from ittyfitz :

I'm so excited to see your BarleDuc-ed living room! Also, if you feel stressed out about the end of the semester, your students probably do too. It's a feeling I remember well... so don't feel too alone.

from zuzus-petals :

Ed and I are becoming interested in Texas. What's the best places to live (and why) and do you know anything about Port Isabel? - Zuzu

from zuzus-petals :

That's tall order. Butterflies and hummingbirds but not bees.... Ican't even imagine what would fit that bill! My parents put up a hummingbird feeder with a bee guard that seems to work great.

from zuzus-petals :

It doesn't freeze here in the winter either, but there are mild weather lilacs (I have them planted by my driveway...) that don't require the freeze. It doesn't usually get below 40 at night here.. and that's a bit rare even.. mostly in the 50's and 60's all winter. IN terms of a trumpet tree. Check out these links: http://www.lagomania.com/angeltrumpet.jpg http://www.cehwiedel.com/factualreports/Flora/Garden/image/AngelTrumpet3.png There are several variety. I like the angel trumpets..

from zuzus-petals :

I have no idea what grows there.. but what about lilac bushes or wisteria or trumpet trees?

from ittyfitz :

t'inquiete pas, you'll be with me AND Brandon

from ittyfitz :

That sounds way nice. It won't stop raining here! Tomorrow there's supposed to be a break in the rain so I might scurry out and do some laundry. Liked Otto's post a lot. Only 9 days! (or something like that)

from ittyfitz :

I don't think S smokes in the condo. At least he didn't when I was there. Also it might be good to know that crack apparently smells like cigarette smoke too (a cop told Jeannie C this when someone broke into her house and left it smelling like cigarettes). Not to, um, freak you out or anything.

from zuzus-petals :

CONGRATS!!!!

from ittyfitz :

Me again--I quite liked your holiday posts. I read them all in one bunch since I just got back. I was the last Xmas visitor to leave the Z's today.

from ittyfitz :

Actually I believe the speaker of the house is right after the vice president.

from zuzus-petals :

What a great entry! Too bad about the bro-in-law diet thing - Im convinced (as a Californian) that it's a form of eating disorder and some deeper psychological imbalance - a belief that death is failure and instead of continuing Judeo-Christian beliefs of a potentially punishing God, people wrap it all up in food and death. If they don't eat right they'll get cancer or something - all the world's ills come down to a sandwhich of sorts. On some level, you've got to admit, it's attractive. -Zuzu

from zuzus-petals :

I miss tornados.... dramatic weather. We had 78 mph winds here a few day ago... Secret was so terrified she hid under the bed. Happy New Year! - Zuzu

from ittyfitz :

are you really watching dr. who?

from zuzus-petals :

Awesome! - Zu

from zuzus-petals :

Wet Paw Prints On The Sofa/ Poodle In The Rain/ He Will Always Be Muddy. - Zuzu's Haiku for a Texan in October (grin)

from zuzus-petals :

The little one slays me... looks like there' so much mischief in his mind. I bet that one is the subtle instigator in all kinds of mayhem! - Zu

from zuzus-petals :

I love Otto best! - Zu

from zuzus-petals :

Most absolutely certainly. I'd love to be a lady who lunches with you!! If you're ever in the Bay Area, drop me a line. - Zu

from zuzus-petals :

Loved the Boris/Otto update! Boooooo computers! - Zu

from zuzus-petals :

Sorry to hear about the debacle with the stove top... having ran the spectrum of home improvement disasters (and a few successes) I commiserate and empathize. - Zu

from zuzus-petals :

Go back to the gentle leader - I swear, my neighbor's dog, the most amazing, BEST leash trained dog I've ever walked.... how did she do it? First entire year she used the gentle leader. After that she began leash training like the rest of us do - but simply carried the gentle lead - if the dog would pull, she'd immediately put it on. Pretty soon, all the dog had to do is see the gentle leader and she'd stop pulling. Now she rarely uses the gentle lead - and she's AMAZING. I figure she MUST be happier walking because of this and certainly anyone walking her is happier to walk her as well. Oh yeah.. congrats on the AP! - Zu

from zuzus-petals :

It's been years and years since I've had a puppy. I gravitate toward young rescue dogs, but they're already been housetrained for the most part. The only advice I have is that most SPCA/Humane Societies have a free behaviorist advice line - you could call them for ideas.

from zuzus-petals :

That's hard... commencement... end.. beginning... end... beginning... hard to tell the difference. Thoughts are with you. - Zu

from zuzus-petals :

That's soooo sad. The multinational corporations are destroying our land and our communities. It's so sad.

from zuzus-petals :

Hmmm... as to the male/female dog issue. Female dogs are much more loyal and bond very deeply - male dogs bond too, but they're a bit more like the male of our species.. they'll take a cuddle from anyone given half a chance.. heh. Secret is a female, the first female dog I've owned (all male before her) - and I'll say that I'd probably gravitate for girl dogs after having her. It's not that I have an issue with male dogs - before her I only had male dogs - I was surprised at home much I liked having a female dog precisely because they're such deep bonders. They'll defend you to death (very protective by nature too - moreso than male dogs.) Of course there are exceptions, male dogs are great too obviously. The male dogs I've had before were also very loyal and bonded, etc., but Secret is really special. Yes, she's more aloof (but I don't think this is a female trait, per se), but once you're in her pack, it's just all about the love! ((And isn't that funny.. I was thinking just before I logged on that you should consider Jonas and Paloma or Scott and Zelda. Now that you're going with two boys... hmmm.. now that just opens up a whole new school of thought.... - Zu

from zuzus-petals :

Bella!!!! - Zu

from zuzus-petals :

Congrats on the move! Did you ever say what you decided on re> the dog's names? - Zu

from zuzus-petals :

I like Boris and Natasha.. very cute... here's a few others to consider: Emma Peel and Q; Humphrey and Lauren; Emma (Goldman) and Ben (Reitman); Gertrude (Stein) and Ernest (Gert and Ernie)...

from zuzus-petals :

It's very wierd.. I got a notification in my buddy list that you'd updated.. but when I went to your journal it was the same entry for yesterday. I hit the 'back' button, to see if perhaps I missed something and I noticed in the"five most recent" entries that there was a newer entry called "OWL!" - so I trie to click on it but dland sent me an error message. Wierd. Just FYI. - Zu

from zuzus-petals :

for the cached pages you have to do "no archive" - for more information, go to google.com, click the "about google" link on the home page. Under the red bar "more google," hit the "contact us" link... at the bottom of that page it will give you instructions for removing all or parts of your webpage from the search engine. To remove cached pages, I think you may have to do the 'no archive' thing. I'm not sure what that gets you above and beyond no index (which may remove the entire site and so the cache issue re: archive might be irrelevent.) me. .I'm no technology maven... maybe no index does it all... you got me! -Zu

from zuzus-petals :

I think you're fine and would worry about it. Likely no one will ever find your blog and really, you rarely vent about work-folks in it. BUT, if you want to be on the safe side, consider doing what I do. Firstly, I put in meta tags so that my entries aren't cached on google search engines. Right now, for example, even if you deleted a particular entry, it would still be available through search engines if someone selected the "cached" page. you can put in tags that won't cache your pages. Secondly, just scan through the old entries periodically and delete any entry that you think might be offensive to colleagues. That allows you to "get it out" and vent and share, etc., but it also lets you take it down so in the unfortunate event someone happens upon your blog that you'd rather not.. they don't find anything that you'd feel bad about having up. Don't edit yourself, per se.. just periodically do a big sweep of it and delete old stuff you don't feel comfortable with. Personally.. I haven't read anything in your blog that I think warrants deleting.. but mostly, it's about what YOU feel comfortable with. Hope that helps! (Did the puppies arrive?) - Zu

from zuzus-petals :

I think that there is some sort of after life that includes dogs. My first dog, Charlie Brown, is tooling around the neighborhood, waiting for one of us to come hang out with him. Really, I think, that when we lose our dog(s) part of what we miss (not "all") is that higher part of ourselves - the part that loves so selflessly, purely, without expectations. I can't imagine losing Secret - my heart would break so profoundly. I know it's going to happen one day - it's more likely I'll live through the arc of her life than it is that she will live through the whole arc of mine. I feel like to adjust to that fact, to the grief of it, I need to remind myself what an honor that is - what a gift to give her to be able to be such a constant - how much it would mean to me if she were here at the hour of my death. The solace, maybe is that you got to be there with Izzy through her entire life - to palliate some of that grief with the honor of being able to be with her from her proverbial dawn to dusk. My thoughts and heart are with you - to place in your life in the places you need them in order to heal. - Zuzu

from zuzus-petals :

That WAS the KD Lang version, couldn't you tell.. (grin)! - Zu

from zuzus-petals :

I don't think markets depend on eventual resale. I think they depend on people throwing things away and/or "changing their mind" about their internal decor every year or so. I think second-hand absolves us of something - I'm not sure what - but something in that reduce-reuse-recycle kind of way (even when it proves non-efficient to do so.. it's good for the soul and that counts.) But back to the Amish table and the muslim carpet.... did you find the Amish online or did you stop at some roadside showroom in your travels? Tell me more about where you got this Amish table... - Zu

from zuzus-petals :

Maybe it has to do with things being lost in translation.. for every eight words you say, that's like ten in Canadian - maybe he can't keep up... - Zu

from zuzus-petals :

She'll try and paw it off, rub her nose up against things.. she won't like the feeling of the lead around her nose... but just ignore her..it will take awhile for her to adjust. While I'm sure she won't like the sensation on her nose, it's FAR better than that constant straining on her neck. And she will adjust to the lead, and even while she's adjusting I'm sure it will be a much saner walk for YOU.. she just might find she's getting more walking because you enjoy it more! - Zu

from zuzus-petals :

Zosia, have you tried a "gentle leader" collar with the dog? They work AMAZINGLY well - the humane society recommends them. They look a little like a muzzle, because they fit around the nose and wrap around the back of the neck. Essentially how they work is that they alter the sensation on the dog. When the dog pulls forward rather than putting pressure on the front of their neck (which then causes them to pull harder), it changes the locus of pressure to the back of their neck.. when they feel the pulling or tightening sensation there, the dog's natural response is to back up. So when they pull against the gentle leader rather than continuing to pull forward, their native response is to slow down and back up. I walk with someone who just started using a Gentle Lead with his seven year old dog with amazing results. I've been walking a friend's dog and using one and it's very effective. When you first start with them, it takes a little for the dog to get used to.. they'll paw at the leader around their nose area and try to rub it off. If you use it religiously, the dog grows accustomed to it and they stop trying to paw it off. With the one dog I walk, the owner used it for the first year she had the dog, daily. Now the dog, even without a gentle lead, is the best leash trained dog I've ever walked. (We're only using the Gentle Lead with this dog again now because the owner tore her ACL and she can't have the dog pulling at all.. even in a rare random moment of being overly excited.. so it's better to use the Gentle Lead all the time then just the times the owner is walking her.. let's the dog adjust and not paw at it.) It's considered much more humane than a choke chain or a pinch collar. It doesn't cause the dog pain, it just alters the direction of the pressure and plays off the dog's natural response to that. There's also something called a "sensation harness" that is supposed to help with pulling, but I'm less familiar with how those work - again it's something the humane society recommends as an alternative to choke chains and pinch collars. Hope that is helpful! - Zu

from zuzus-petals :

/blush! My spied (and captured) fungi are honored to top your desk! (If you ever want a larger image size of something, let me know.. I shrink them significantly to accomodate dland.) Cheers! - Zu

from zuzus-petals :

It hasn't yet crossed my emotional mind to be angry. Bewildered, stunned, betrayed somehow... even relieved on some level (at least it was over and I slept for hours and hours and hours yesterday... I got in bed at 10 am, woke at 2:30 to walk the dog... went out for dinner and fell asleep on the sofa by 8 pm.. was out like a light until 9:30 this morning.) They called with more apologies today and explanations and more apologies still... They really didn't do anythign wrong.. on some level, it really was a very honest mistake (the regs had recently changed the new rule which disallowed my involvement wasn't in the new rule book.) ..ah.... sigh... sigh again... - Zu

from iamthatiam :

Hi, I am writing this purely because my name is also Zosia, or Zofia usually nowadays. There's none I've met in Britain. I am very happy that you are a scienctist as I love maths mtself. My diary is a bit of a mess so it probably won't make sense if you try to click over. Just thought I'll spread the Zofia love.

from zuzus-petals :

That's so funny! I loathe the autospellcheck.. I enjoy the ability to make mistakes and live with the consequences..../sigh.

from zuzus-petals :

I don't know. I think MY sick dog is more important than a strangers dying friend (and since I'm pretty much a dog-tropic girl, well... you see why I'm curious and concerned.) So do you have any idea why trilosane was removed from the US market in 1994? I note it appears only used for short-term therapy.. were their significant safety problems that lead them to remove it from the market.. and if it's only for short-term use, what will they do in the longer-term? I'm just curious. And as to my friend.. it's been a long-time coming, no surprises - and you never know... miraculous turn-arounds have been known to happen. I'm at peace with where our relationship is at so I'm all good - though it's hard to see anyone that vulnerable and I suppose the more so when there is an emotional/spiritual connection with someone. Anyways... DO you really want to move to a new City? - Zu

from zuzus-petals :

I'm not a biochemist (but I play one on TV..er.. kidding.) I studied literature - I'm just geeky enough to see the art and poetry in science, however. (It's like they divide up the world into humanities, arts and sciences, etc.... but don't realize it's all invented, it's all beautiful, it all just helps us order our world and gives us something to believe in...) - Zu

from zuzus-petals :

They're beautiful! Is that a hidden conserved region in their pockets.. or are they just happy to see me (grin)? - Zu

from zuzus-petals :

Well, I hope you don't mind if you have a new reader (if you do, let me know..and I won't keep checking in... but I have to admit I've read everything to date.. I hope that doesn't make me an unwelcomed voyeur.) "They" say if you want to cool off the dog that you can do stuff like just shave their underbelly. Their fur is supposed to provide an insulation effect - keeping them cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter... and if they're terribly hot it's best to just spray their bellies and paws with cool water (not the fur on their back, etc., as this becomes equivalent to wearing a hot wet towel in grueling heat.) Did his fur ever return to the "normal" color again? - Zu

from zuzus-petals :

So after reading through your blog.. well.. firstly.. HOLY SHIT.. what the hell IS that Stapelia thing.. THAT is amazing! (Can it grow outdoors!?) And secondly, I'm trying to figure out..and I do think I read every entry and remain wanting here.. why did you shave the dog in the first place? And finally.. good luck on the interview. - Zuzu

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