Mixing pet fun and photo fun

I didn’t realize it had been so long since I’ve posted anything here. So, here’s a little something I posted on examiner.com not too long ago:

What better way to spend a sleepless night than to write about my favorite pet supply store? It’s Pet Food Express in Petaluma, one of about 34 stores in a Bay Area chain that, in addition to helping pet owners care for their furry treasures, is responsible for “Pets Around the Bay” on Fridays at 7:20 p.m. on Channel 5.

A couple of weeks ago I snapped pictures in the store while looking for some Bach Flower Remedy to calm our Maltese at night. (Since he’s become elderly, he transforms after about 7 p.m. into something more like a large wild rat than the cuddly little lap dog he is during the day. We still love him, of course, although one member of our family does call him The Germ from time to time when he’s being particularly obnoxious. Luckily, since he’s only about 9 lbs. and slightly feeble, he hasn’t bitten through any of our pant legs.)

Back to the pictures. I felt the need to explain myself when one of the salespeople looked at me with kindly curiosity when I stood pointing my Cool Pix at the Honest Kitchen display. I said I planned to write something about the store since it’s my fave and all that.

A week later, I was back buying some Primal (it’s raw, frozen food in handy little nuggets) for our canines (we have a Maltese-Shih Tzu cross, too) and the salesperson I’d spoken with the week before said, “Weren’t you going to write something …” And I said I still intended to, but just hadn’t gotten around to it. Shortly thereafter I got a lovely message from Michael, the Pet Food Express owner. He gave me his phone number, said I could interview him. But, now that my attention is finally focused on the store, it’s 2 a.m., and, well, I sure wouldn’t want anyone calling me at 2 a.m.

So, here’s why I love the store:

1.The people who work there are friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. They listen excedingly well and offer excellent suggestions. I never get the sense that they’re trying to push anything on me.

2. The store is clean, well stocked, well organized and just the right size. It’s a pleasure to browse there. Dogs are welcome; in fact, they even have a dog washing area. (I keep wanting to try this, but Jim, my husband, reminds me it’s just as easy to stick our little dogs in our kitchen sink and wash ‘em up.) And whoever does the buying for the store stays abreast of healthy new products and so forth. If I read about something, say, in “Whole Dog Journal,” I can usually find it at Pet Food Express.

3. Like some other pet food stores I shop at, the business offers “buy three, get the fourth free” for purchases of certain high-quality pet food. The great thing about Pet Food Express is that you get the discount from the store at the time you buy the food. The other stores I’ve visited that offer something similar make you deal with the pet food companies yourself to get the discount (I can’t recall exactly how they worked it because it seemed like too much trouble to me, but then I have admitted to being lazy in a prior article.)

4. They offer dog training on site through Unleashed Dog Training, and at least one evening is on a drop-in basis—which is very good for, well, flakes like me who sign up for a series and can’t seem to make it to all the classes.

5. They are involved in the community in innovative ways. One is that they do pet adoptions through their website. As of right now, they’ve done 47,686 such adoptions.

So, if you want to know more, stop in at 383 S. McDowell Blvd. in Petaluma, call 707-781-3333, or visit www.petfoodexpress.com.

A slideshow accompanies this post on my examiner page, http://www.examiner.com/x-7978-SF-Sonoma-County-Examiner. I was experimenting with special effects on www.befunky.com and http://labs.wanokoto.jp/olds. The latter gives a vintage effect to photos and is in Japanese, so you’ll likely have to click “English” in the upper right-hand corner to make use of the site.

 

What to pack for healthy travel

I recently posted at examiner.com some advice from my friend Naomi Caspe, a licensed acupunturist. Here it is:

Naomi’s five tips for healthy travel

Jim’s watching “Quantum of Solace” while I tap away on my iBook. The crashing, jolting soundtrack is the opposite of the soft, flowing music Naomi Caspe turned on just before she left me for a while, stuck full of needles, in the treatment room this afternoon. Acupuncture isn’t for everyone (nor is James Bond), but since the treatment, my pain is greatly reduced. (I wrote about aggravating an old whiplash injury this morning if you want the back story).

After the treatment, Naomi and I ate lunch at Bombay Garden, an all-you-can-eat, Indian buffet-style restaurant at Fourth and Lootens streets in San Rafael. The food was fresh and yummy. I didn’t take notes about the food though because I was collecting advice from Naomi on how to stay healthy while traveling. And here are five tips she passed on to me:

1. Pack White Flower Oil. You can find it at any Chinese grocery, and it comes in small (even tiny) sizes, so it’s easy to take on planes. It’s a mixture of lavender, eucalyptus and wintergreen oils and is used to stop the spread of germs and prevent colds and infections. When in an airport or on a plane, dab a drop under each nostril. It is also good for soothing headaches; just put some on your temples.

2. Pack Po Chai pills to treat travelers’ diarrhea. These are tiny pills sold in any Asian grocery and are renowned for their ability to rebalance the digestive system.

3. Don’t pack your !#X? with you, i.e., have a bowel movement before you board a plane. This will greatly reduce or even eliminate jet lag symptoms and contribute to overall well being on the trip. Eating lightly the day before your flight will help with this, as will drinking lots of water. (If elimination is a problem, acupuncture directly before the trip might also help.)

4. Pack Bach Rescue Remedy. This is a calming flower remedy that can reduce emotional stress while flying (turbulence, fear of plunging into the sea, all that awful stuff). It’s also handy to keep in the glove compartment in the car in case you have a near-accident on the road (caused by someone else, not you, of course).

5. Pack No-Jet-Lag, a homeopathic medicine sold at Trader Joe’s and some drug stores. Naomi recommends taking it just before any flight and every two hours on a long flight.

That’s the end of the post containing Naomi’s advice. To see more of my work at examiner.com, please visit www.examiner.com/x-7978-SF-Sonoma-County-Examiner

 

Uncarved Block takes shape

I’ve been posting a few times a week at examiner.com

Here’s one little piece I posted today.

When ny husband, Jim, first brought me along on one of his many visits to the Uncarved Block on Santa Rosa Ave. in Santa Rosa, it seemed to me like an out-of-place puzzle piece, one you try to force in even after you realize it’s not the right fit. There was no foot traffic, and the storefront didn’t even face the street.

Now, located at 110 N. Main St. in downtown Sebastopol, the store is sweetly nestled between the Sonoma County Repertory Theater and Incredible Records (which houses The Sonoma County Rock ‘n’ Roll Museum), it’s as though this one-of-a-kind find has always been there.

On sunny afternoons, you’re likely to see young musicians plucking banjos on a bench just outside of People’s Music nearby. This is fitting, because in addition to featuring an extensive collection of minerals, rock crystals and jewelry, and now some nifty duds by Treehouse 28 (another local enterprise), the shop carries all manner of Grateful Dead paraphernalia — including a $25,400 refrigerator once owned by Jerry Garcia.

The Dead memorabilia is what draws Jim in. He lived across the street from the band for a spell as a teenager, and he’s been a fan ever since (oh, the stories he tells about that).

But it may be a ruffled Treehouse 28 organic cotton shirt that pulls me back. Paul Forster, who mans the store most days, says you can special-order Treehouse clothes via the company’s Web site (www.treehouse28.com) and have the items sent to the Uncarved Block, where you can try them on before purchasing them.

I took a few pix when I stopped in to get Jim a gift certificate the other day. They’re in the slideshow accompanying this post. The store is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. (closing time is negotiable). Questions? Call 707-829-7625.

To see more pictures of the Uncarved Block, as well as other articles I’ve written for examiner.com, please visit www.examiner.com/x-7978-SF-Sonoma-County-Examiner

Note on Jerry Garcia's refrigerator

 

Five things to turn a lazy gal green

I’ve posted three short articles on examiner.com so far. Here’s one of them:

Five things to turn a lazy gal green

I languished on the couch the other day, expecting to spend the afternoon sipping tea and reading “Naked, Drunk and Writing,” Adair Lara’s latest book. But then I heard my husband, Jim. “Come outside, quick,” he called from the yard.

His urgency caused me to suspect a cougar had meandered from Sonoma Mountain to the branches of the maple in our back yard (highly improbable).

I dashed out barefoot. Jim pointed to the wisteria blooming atop the gazebo housing our neglected hot tub. Then I understood. Wisteria blooms come and go so fast, all the lovely, lavender petals could be on the ground before nightfall. I darted inside, got the Nikon Coolpix, took a few shots.

Which brings me to the tarp, lawn furniture, and odds and ends piled on the tub.

Jim, who is no fan of hot tubs, said when we moved here if I wanted to use the thing, I’d have to maintain it. I dutifully dropped in at The Hot Tub Store on Cleveland Avenue in Santa Rosa and purchased about $35 worth of chemicals.

Years later, they’re still in my closet. Who wants to sit in a tank full of dissolved toxic beads anyway?

Which brings me to something I found in Real Goods’ catalog yesterday: the natural hot tub cleaning bag. Drop it in your hot tub, and minerals control bacterial growth and purify the water for a year. Which led me to this list of five things to turn a lazy gal green:

1. That would be the natural hot tub cleaning bag.
2. Rechargeable batteries—plugging them in is far easier than recycling alkalines.
3. Watering globes—fill ‘em, stick ‘em in soil and they water plants slowly for two weeks .
4. Wildflower seedballz—made of seeds, soil, fertilizers and clay. Just add water.
5. Anti-bug CF light bulb—lasts longer than incandescent, and repels bugs to boot.

For plenty more ways to go green, drive a tad over the county line to Hopland. The Real Goods Solar Living Center is on the right just south of town.

To read more, please visit http://www.examiner.com/x-7978-SF-Sonoma-County-Examiner

 

Another glorious day

Just about to watch “In Treatment.” Here’s my favorite image of the day. I’ll be writing a story about it later this week for examiner.com.

A throwback to simpler times

 

Too tired

Too tired to write. Too tired to think. Too tired to try. Too tired not to yawn. Too tired to imagine. Too tired to eat. Too tired to get up from the floor. Too tired to read. Too tired to celebrate. Too tired to rage. Too tired to believe I matter. Too tired to sing. Too tired to remember. Too tired to revise. Too tired to know better. Too tired to get help. Too tired to stop gritting my teeth. Too tired to wash my face. Too tired to plan for tomorrow. Too tired to care. Too tired. Too, too tired.

 

smithmag.net

From a member of Redwood Writers, a group I belong to, I just found out about smithmag.net. Cool site. Six-word memoirs are one of the forms featured. Here’s one I just submitted:

Awake at night again I scratch.

Working within an arbitrary structure can be so surprising.

 

A layoff hits home

Layoffs. My husband is just one of millions now collecting unemployment. He’s accustomed to waking before the morning light peeps through our shutters so he can get on the road before rush hour traffic more than doubles his commute time. The hours he had to keep now seem like such a small thing compared to the thick stack of bills my salary can’t possibly cover.

Worries. I know fretting about the economic conditions that led to the difficulties many of us are experiencing isn’t helpful, but it’s not easy to keep my mind from drifting into dark terrain.

Grace. So I take a deep breath and listen to the delicious sound of rain tap, tapping on the skylights above. I look into the fire burning in our stove, knowing we have enough wood stacked outside to last us through this winter and next. I’m grateful to have a home today, even though it’s now worth less than we owe on it. No one knows what lies ahead. I may as well not assume the worst.

There is wisdom to be gained at each of life’s many turns.

 

I lowered my cholesterol 58 points in 2 months

When my doctor gave me “lipid panel” results from a Dec. 12 blood test, he suggested I consider taking statin drugs because my total cholesterol was at 261, and I have a family history of heart disease. I rarely even take cold medicine, so taking drugs every day to keep my cholesterol down isn’t something I want to do.

So, here’s what I did:

Stopped eating cheese almost entirely. I ate it maybe three times between Dec. 12 and Feb. 5, when I had my second blood test.

Starting having oatmeal every other morning for breakfast.

Added a whole clove of fresh garlic to a meal (after the meal was cooked so the garlic was raw) on the days I didn’t have oatmeal for breakfast.

Cut way back on eating omelettes and egg salad, having a serving of eggs less often than once a week.

Began incorporating a monounstaurated fatty acid (MUFA) into each meal. I used avocados, olives, peanut butter, almond butter, mixed nuts, pumpkin seeds and very dark chcoclate.

Got a pedometer and upped the number of steps I take in a day from about 3,000 to about 6,000.

Started using the elliptical trainer in our family room, maybe four times a week, sometimes only doing 10 to 15 minutes, other times doing 30 minutes.

Started listening to Learning Strategies Corp.’s “Perfect Health” CD either before I fall asleep or upon waking almost every day.

So, that’s it. This was fairly easy to do. I feel better overall, lost 10 lbs. in the process, and now have LDL at 127 and HDL at 64, which is a very good ration of “bad” to “good” cholesterol in addition to being what is considered to be a normal level of cholesterol. And it took less than two months.

I just thought it might be helpful information for anyone else whose cholesterol needs to come down.

 

Keeping our country safe

From within the blur of information I’ve taken in but not exactly digested over the last week or so, George W. Bush’s claim that he’s kept the United States safe came to mind as I was downing a teaspoon of Umcka cold and flu medicine this morning. What????? a little voice inside of me said. How can he claim that as part of his legacy? Can I really let that slide?

What, per chance, since Pearl Harbor has happened on any U.S. president’s watch that is anywhere near to the horror of 9/11?

Since that fateful day in 2001, Bush has done what he feels is right to protect our country. But there’s no way to know whether any of his measures to protect our shores have been effective.

And what about the ill will he has engendered toward our country in pockets throughout the world due to his preemptive war in Iraq and go-it-alone approach to world affairs? Does he really think those have contributed to our safety?

How can any of this be measured anyway?

A superb editor once gave me feedback regarding a press release I’d written in which I’d gone way too far over the top in describing a product: “Stick with the facts, Laura. They will speak far more effectively than any beautifully crafted spin you could dream up. Readers will appreciate it and know they can rely on you.”

Wouldn’t it be nice if politicians stuck with the facts?

Here’s hoping Barack Obama really does herald in a new era in Washington. Here’s hoping he turns out to be a president we can all rely on, one who will foster understanding and good will nationally and internationally, one whose sound judgment will truly help foster a safer, more prosperous world for us all.