Angels for Animals

Rather than buying a tree for Christmas I decided to buy a dog house for an outside dog this year through PETA's "Angels for Animals Program."
To learn more about this program go to:


https://secure.peta.org/site/Donation2?df_id=6700&6700.donation=form1&set.custom.Campaign_Code=H11LECXXXXG&autologin=true

Pictures with Santa

The first 7 pictures were taken at the Foley's in downtown Houston. Foley's always had the real Santa. The last 2 were taken in New Orleans. The snowman in the second to last picture is Mr. Bingle, the Christmas mascot for Maison Blanche. Anyone who grew up in New Orleans will remember the song: Jingle, jangle, jingle here comes Mr. Bingle with another message from Kris Kringle...

Our beautiful, formerly feral kitty enjoying the good life indoors.

How we spent our Thanksgiving

This is how Rosie and I spent our Thanksgiving. We were really thankful that our mom (fourdogmom) was invited over for dinner by some friends from our old neighborhood so we could get some much needed rest.
Ginger

Victoria and Raphael

Here are 2 turkeys I'm sponsoring through The Farm Sanctuary. Their names are Victoria and Raphael.

To learn more about Farm Sanctuary and maybe sponsor one of their many farm animals go to their website: http://www.farmsanctuary.org/

Hood Brigade Celebration

My grandfather, Arthur L. Huebner is the first person on the left. This picture was probably taken during the Bryan Centennial Celebration.

Huebner Family

When my grandmother married A.L. Huebner my father acquired not only a terrific step-father but a really wonderful and colorful extended family. Although I don't know much about the family history I know the Huebners were a German family from Shiner, Texas. The Huebner name is listed in the Shriner newspaper several times dating back to the late 1800's.
Other than my grandfather, the other Huebners who were an important part of my life were Jo and Eddie Huebner. They had a beautiful old house in the Norhill section of the Heights in Houston decorated with beautiful Victorian furniture. Even though they never had children, their house was full of toys, especially at Christmas and they always welcomed all the neighborhood children and their families to their home during the holidays. I can still remember an electric train that circled their huge Christmas tree. Aunt Jo was a wonderful baker and cook and always had lots of homemade cookies and other goodies to share. They also had an old Victrola and would crank it up and listen to old favorites and dance. I have the Victrola now and it always reminds me of them and the love they had for each other.
Thankfully, my father wrote the names of all the Huebners on the back of these pictures before he died.

From left to right: Laura, A.L. Huebner, Mrs. Huebner, Mr. Huebner, Clara, Norman, Verna.

Mrs. Huebner

Mr. Huebner is the person in the middle behind the bar. According to a note by my father on the back, this picture is in the Texas Museum in San Antonio.

Jo (1906-1984) and Eddie Huebner (1903-1991)

A.L. and O.H. Huebner

Huebner brothers: Norman, Eddie, Arthur, O.H.

Unidentified Huebner brothers.
This is such a great picture I had to include it even though I'm not sure who they are.

Bluecher Lodge No. 20

Happy Birthday Rosie

Rosie turned 12 yesterday. That's 64 in human years. We celebrated with mini-cupcakes from Whole Foods.

Chia Seeds

Now that I've discovered how to use my DVR I've been recording the Dr. Oz show everyday.

A while back he was talking about how amazing chia seeds are so I've added them to my diet. I've been on a super anti-cancer diet for a few months now and have lost 15 lbs. too.

I found this on http://www.sharecare.com/

What an amazing seed with an amazingly long history of delivering on taste, health and performance for humans dating back to the Aztec Warriors! Chia seeds are truly nature's most powerful and delicious grain and besides really enjoying their taste, I found them to be a critical source of nutrients and energy during my day to day routine in the clinic or hospital or while out on missions as an Army physician. The seeds are perfect mixed into a smoothie, yogurt, on cereal or part of a bar. When I am in a hurry, I also mix several tablespoons of the seeds together in water, let sit for 5 minutes, add a touch of agave nectar or honey, and then grab a spoon and dig in! I call this “chia-meal” and it replaces my over the counter fiber supplements and I love it. The seeds are jam-packed with an array of disease-fighting and health-promoting nutrients. Chia is loaded with protein, very high in fiber, antioxidant content (they contain similar antioxidant power as blueberries!), and lots of water molecules which helps you stay hydrated when needing to perform your best and aids in digestion. They are also very high in an Omega-3 called ALA. Sources rich in ALA have been shown to reduce cardiovascular disease and heart attacks. Note: Omega-3 ALA does not appear as powerful however as the other two dietary Omega-3s, EPA and DHA). To me, the Omega-3 ALA in chia though is just a small bonus on top of a ton of other nutrients. Chia seeds are also high in important minerals including calcium, phosphorous, and manganese that further help improve bone mineral density. There is something else interesting about chia seeds --the seeds dissolve inside your stomach and intestine to form a smooth, soft, gel-like substance that helps your body digest carbohydrates more efficiently before the glucose enters your bloodstream. This means a slower blood glucose and insulin rise, leading to better glucose stability and energy. This makes chia a “low glycemic index” food. Studies show that diabetics, who especially need to control their blood sugar, really benefit from adding chia to their diet. The unique combination of nutrients, great taste, energy profile, and physical properties of the chia seed make this a true (and proven) winner for endurance, bone mass, heart health, gastrointestinal health, and general wellness. As the Aztecs Warrior believed, chia seeds are part of my essential "nutritional armor" for internal cellular health and performance--Daniel T. Johnston.

Last night I put some in my blueberry smoothie but it made the smoothie too thick so I think I'll start adding them to oatmeal. I was able to find them at Whole Foods, raw and organic.

If you don't want to eat them you can always use them for this cute pug costume. Rosie would not be happy.

Ginger

I almost became onedogmom this weekend when my sweet little Ginger ate a leaf from an oleander plant at my apt. complex. She has been at the vets office since yesterday morning and will probably have to stay at least another day. They have run lots of tests and it looks like she'll be ok but when I visited her yesterday she sure didn't look ok. I'm not even sure she knew I was there. Oleander is one of the most deadly plants for dogs and is often fatal. She threw up the leaf which may have saved her life.

Friday 10/21: Ginger came home Wednesday night. I stayed home yesterday to make sure she was ok. So far so good. This morning she was back to her old self. She has 3 medications she has to take 1 hour apart so we started at 5 am with the first, then one at 6 and the last at 7. The bill from my vet was over $1300 but well worth it. So glad I sold my house and have some money from that to cover dog emergencies.

Not So Feral Anymore

Now that the weather is a little cooler I've started leaving the patio door open in the afternoons. The cats who were once very feral are getting friendlier and coming in. They all love Ginger and the male Siamese walks with us when we go on our evening walks. He also purrs when I feed and pet him. He is in the first picture and Cinza is in the second. I really need a name for him. Right now I just call him "Pretty Boy"

Family

Bon Anniversaire Erin!

The cute little girl in this picture is my niece Erin who is all grown up now and living in Madagascar.

And More Owls

Rice Owls (part 4)

Tommy LaVergne took this picture of the 3 little owls on the Rice campus.

Rice Owls (part 3)

Rice Owls (part 2)

And then there were 2.

Rice Owls

With the help of the circ staff, I found this little owl right outside of the Fondren Library this morning.

Ginger with her Cats

Ginger loves our little cat family and they seem to like her too. She enjoys finishing up the cat food they leave on the plate and they like playing with her leash. When I open the door every morning they all rush in the apartment but only the male siamese lets me pet him.

Old Pug

Ginger

Last night the gray kitty I call Cinza wandered into our apartment and she and Ginger touched noses. That reminded me of this really cute picture of Ginger touching noses with a calf on John's farm in Anderson. Of course as soon as the calf's mother saw what was going on she charged and Ginger and I had to run to get out of her way. The farm where we spent so much time is in the middle of all the wild fires in Grimes County and the surrounding areas and I have no idea whether the house is still there or has burned down. I'm pretty sure the beautiful pond that Ginger and the other dogs used to swim in has dried up. We haven't had any rain in this part of Texas in months and have had record breaking temperatures.

Here is a picture I took of New York from a plane as we were taking off after a trip in 1998 or 99. I hope to go back someday and see the 9/11 memorial site.

Fourdogmom the Tiger Mom

I have always loved cats, especially big cats like the one in the 2nd picture so when I had the opportunity to actually be this close to one I jumped at it. My long time significant other, John, wasn't so happy about me doing this. He was afraid I would get mauled. I did it anyway and had a great time.

My mother with her nieces Beverly and Eileen Herring and her nephew Russell Dan Herring.

I've always loved this picture of my mother and me.

Student Runs Secret Banned Books Library from Locker

Found this great story on Care2:

Student Runs Secret Banned Books Library from Locker
by Anna K.
September 2, 2011

A Catholic school student who identifies herself by the avatar name “Nekochan” started an unofficial library of banned books that she runs out of her locker at school. She began to lend books to her classmates when her school banned a long list of classic titles, including The Canterbury Tales, Paradise Lost and Animal Farm.

Concerned about getting in trouble for violating school rules, Nekochan wrote a letter to an online advice column to ask if it was “ok to run an illegal library” from her locker.

Nekochan wrote about the recent book ban: “I was absolutely appalled, because a huge number of the books were classics and others that are my favorites. One of my personal favorites, The Catcher in the Rye, was on the list, so I decided to bring it to school to see if I would really get in trouble. Well… I did but not too much. Then (surprise!) a boy in my English class asked if he could borrow the book because he heard it was very good AND it was banned! This happened a lot and my locker got to overflowing with banned books, so I decided to put the unoccupied locker next to me to a good use. I now have 62 books in that locker, about half of what was on the list.”

I understand the appeal of reading banned books because they are banned. When I was eleven, I bought a banned books poster at a school book fair and proceeded to read each of the titles on the poster, crossing each one out as I went. It still hangs on the wall of my childhood bedroom.

Books are banned for many reasons, but in a lot of cases, such as Nekochan’s, the complaint originates in religion. Amelia T.’s Care2 post discusses the case of a public school that banned books for “contradicting the Bible.” In that case, only one member of the school board had read all of the books under consideration for banishment. Books are often banned by school boards whose only knowledge of the books is a brief, out-of-context quotation.

Nekochan recognizes the risk that she could get in trouble for supplying her classmates with banned books, but she believes that she is in the right. “Before I started [the library], almost no kid at school but myself took an active interest in reading! Now not only are all the kids reading the banned books, but go out of their way to read anything they can get their hands on. So I’m doing a good thing, right?”

I hope that this brave student can keep her contraband library a secret from the authority figures at her school. The thrill of a “secret” library is surely driving her classmates to read the very books that their teachers and parents do not want them to have access to. Her violation of school policy is in the spirit of bigger and better things — literature, freedom and the eternal fight against censorship. Well done, Nekochan.