Dragon Dreams Come True

I have always loved dragons. The idea of them, the look of them. Dragons are majestic and beautiful. As I have always been an avid reader, I would search for and read any book that dealt with dragons. Then I came across one set of books that I immediately fell in love with. The Pern series by Anne McCaffrey. The dragons in her world were loving and gentle and worked as a team with their human caretakers.

I loved this premise. People and dragons bonding for life, taking care of each other, always there for each other. Her dragons looked like the ones I had always pictured in my mind as the proper look for a dragon. Anne McCaffrey wrote other stories too, some that didn't include dragons, but I had grown to love her writing by the time I found them and enjoyed those series' too.

Then one day, I heard about a convention called DragonCon. It was taking place in Atlanta, GA. Anne McCaffrey was a guest and speaker at this convention. I had to be there. I just had to. Anne lives in Ireland, and the sad fact is she is getting older. This might be my only chance to ever see my favorite author, ever. It is a long trip to take and probably one she wouldn't be making again.

So, I needed to be there. The problem was, I lived in Kansas City. Way too far to just drive over. It seemed impossible for me to make it. But luck was on my side. Some other people from a discussion group I was involved with were going as well. I managed to get with one of them in an agreement to share a hotel room and some expenses for the trip. I bought a plane ticket, ordered convention tickets online. Yay, I was going to go to DragonCon.

Then some bad news. Anne wasn't feeling well, and may not be able to make it to the convention. I didn't like this news at all, but I would definitely give up my chance to see her in person to keep her healthy. So I resigned myself to the fact that even though I was going, the reason for my attendance may not be there.

The day finally arrived and I was in Atlanta, entering the convention hall, still not knowing if my idol was there. I wandered around looking at the booths and performers and suddenly a shock when through the whole area. It was like everyone stopped breathing at once. The whisper came through, Anne was here, she made it. I was thrilled.

I won't bore you with details of the whole convention, but some of the highlights were I bought a copy of Pern music on CD, I met Teal'c and Bratac from Stargate SG-1, talked with them both for over an hour. Met and spoke with my favorite cover artist Rowena.

But the absolute best thing is not only did I see Anne McCaffrey, I met her, and sat with her and a few other people for a few hours. We chatted and shared a bag of pretzels. Her son, Todd, was there as well and I won a galley copy of the first book they co-wrote together.

That was one of the best days of my life. Sitting and chatting with my favorite author, even sharing a snack while we chatted. That is a memory I will always treasure and hold close to my heart. Anne McCaffrey to me is one of the best authors ever, and if you read at all, I recommend her books very highly.

She is not just a great author though, she is also a warm and friendly person. I will always be honored that she chose to share her worlds with us, and I admire her strength and determination in coming to that convention for her fans, despite her poor health at the time.

Anne McCaffrey is a role model, even a hero to me. I love her books, her dragons and her strength. Meeting her, spending most of a day with her, made my dragon dreams come true.

Thank you, Anne, you mean the world to me.

What Do They Want From Me?

If you have a pet or ever had a pet, you know exactly what I mean. As I type, right at this moment, my beagle is sitting nearby, just staring at me. There is a pillow not too far away, where he could lie down comfortably and take a nap. But no, he sits on the hard tile and stares. I can just see him out of the corner of my eye.

After awhile, it starts to bug me. He has food and water in his dishes, he has been outside recently. His needs are all met. Yet, there he sits.... just staring. What does he want? More staring. He just won't stop. Finally, I break down. I look over at him, I meet his eyes. He just stares. His tail wags a little, but he stares.

I wonder what he is thinking. Is he sitting there wondering when he gets more food? Is he hoping he gets an extra trip outside? Oh gods, is he sitting there planning the easiest way to kill me? He stares... I stare back.

I can't take it anymore. I blurt out "What do you want from me?!" He jumps up, tail wagging, runs to me. Ah, I think, he just wants a bit of attention. I reach out to pet him. He runs away and back to me. Maybe he is out of food already. I go and check. He follows.

Nope, still plenty of food and water. I turn to look at him, he isn't in the kitchen. I go back to the main room, and there he is curled up on his pillow... calm, relaxed, dozing off even.

Wondering what the heck that was all about, I sit back down and get back to my essay. A bit later i see something out of the corner of my eye. He is staring at me... again.

I have two dogs and my puppycat. They all do this. Sometimes singly, sometimes together. They just sit and stare. And stare. I just can't figure it out. Maybe you know?

What do they want from me!?

Confessions of a Pioneer Woman

Today I would like to change up the topics a little and talk about something a little different. I have been reading other peoples blogs for quite awhile now and I have come across some really good blogs. So I would like to tell you about my favorite blog.

It is called Confessions of a Pioneer Woman. The author is a woman named Ree who lives on a working cattle ranch. She writes about herself, her children and family, and many other topics as well. I haven't missed a day of reading since I have come across this blog. It is the first web page in my list of favorites and I highly recommend it to anyone. Confessions of a Pioneer Woman has something for everyone, funny kids' stories, loads of great pictures, and much more.Ree has a great writing style, her tone is light-hearted most of the time, and she comes across as open and friendly.

To be frank, Ree was actually my motivation for starting this blog of mine. I have never met her, nor spoken with her. I don't think I have ever commented on her blog, up until now I didn't tend to write anything to anyone. I was the type who would read and enjoy, but never reply. But Ree has such a great style of writing, I decided that if I was ever going to come close to writing even half as well as her, I needed to practice my writing and hopefully improve one day.

So, if you enjoy funny stories, great recipes, and awesome pictures, I highly recommend that you take a minute and check out Ree's blog at Confessions of a Pioneer Woman. I am confident that you will enjoy her blog as much as I do. Oh, check out her calender too, she has some awesome pictures in it, it is a reasonable price, and if I had any income at all that calender would be hanging up on my wall right now.

Gray WHAT?

Yesterday started out as a normal day. Woke up, got my coffee and sat down at the computer. Simple enough things I do every morning. Check my email, read through my favorite blogs, have a glance at what is going on in my classes.

The puppycat curled up in my lap, saying good morning to my friends online, sipping on my coffee. Looks like it will be a normal day. I get done checking everything, then log in to make my daily blog post. All is well.... so far.

My first cup of coffee is gone, time to get another. Since I am up and moving and more awake by this time, I do a bit of housecleaning, feed the animals, and do my morning clean up. In the bathroom, the last step is brush my hair. Lol, it gets messed every morning from the snuggles and cuddles I get from the dogs in the wake up greetings. Not thinking about much, I attend to my morning routines.

But wait! I have something in my hair. What the heck? I know my pets shed a lot, but I have my own hair on my head, I don't need theirs there too. Ah, well, I will just brush it out. Umm, it isn't coming out with the brush... ok then, I will just pick it off. It's attached to my head? This isn't a pet hair, it is my own hair. But how can that be? My hair is dark brown, almost black. This hair is lighter. Much lighter.

Oh my gods, it is GRAY! I have a gray hair. Whoa, how did this happen, when? I am only 34 and I am getting gray? This isn't right. Not yet anyway. I won't have gray hair yet, so a tug and it is gone.

But I know it will be back. And it will be bringing friends with it. Soon I may have a whole party of gray hairs on my head. So I guess this is it, I am getting older. I know it had to happen, but I wasn't expecting it quite this soon.

A Dog? A Cat? No, it's a Puppycat!

I have never been much of a cat person. I have always liked dogs. I would study them and read about dogs and wolves and any other canine type. I am good with dogs, I know them very well. But I never really paid attention to cats. Oh sure, I thought some were pretty, and I would pet them if I could. But I never spent any time learning about them. I didn't hate cats, I just never really thought about them. My sister liked cats and so did a few of my friends, and I used to joke around with them when cats came up in discussion. My favorite line was: Cats are great, they are self-propelled dog toys.

Three years ago I was living with my sister. I had a dog, she had a dog and 3 cats. I barely ever noticed the cats, they were just kind of there, no more noticeable to me than before. One day, she brought home this tiny kitten. It was in poor shape and it was not certain it would survive. It had been neglected and was very sick and almost starved to death. Sure, I felt sorry for it, but it didn't really catch my attention. My sis was taking care of it, it was her cat to keep or find a home for if it survived. It was just another rather unnoticeable cat to me.

Until the day I had to go into the room she was keeping it in. This tiny, pathetic kitten struggled to climb up to a high spot. Once it did it looked at me and gave this pitiful little mew. I looked down at this miniature bundle of bones and spoke without realizing it:"Oh Rogue, you are gonna be just fine."

This caught me dead in my tracks. I had just spoken a name for this cat. The only other times that has happened, that I have named an animal, was when it was mine or meant to be mine when it was old enough. "Oh no," I thought, "I think I just got a cat." I went and found my sister and asked her if I could keep it. She thought it over and Rogue became mine 2 days later.

This was the first cat I had ever owned (or been owned by, lol) and I had no clue how to treat a cat. So I treated as I did my dog. My sister's cats spent most of their time outdoors, so this tiny kitten spent most of his time around dogs. Plus, he had me for an owner. Is it any wonder he turned out to be a rather unusual cat?

That is, if he is a cat at all. :) He looks like a cat, he purrs, he uses the litter box. But other than that he is a great dog. He comes when I call him. He sits up pretty for treats. He gives kisses when allowed, he sleeps on the bed, sometimes under the covers. A few times he has barked at loud noises. Well, kind of, he makes a short, abrupt "mrowf! mrowf! Sure comes close to being a bark, lol.

In short, Rogue is a pretty cat, and he is the best dog I have ever owned. He is my Puppycat and I love him with all my heart.