Dog People

My dogs spend quite a bit of time in my front yard when the weather is fair as it 

has been lately.  Living near several public places, (the historical society, the 1912 

Center, the high school), ensures a good amount of foot traffic past my house and 

both Nosey and Seamus have their regulars - friends and admirers who stop to see 

them, pet them, give them treats and throw the frisbee.  Occasionally some cold 

hearted person will walk by without even a glance at their sweet and friendly faces, 

but that doesn’t happen very often.

And then some times you get someone like today. A guy stops, pets them, talks to

 them for a minute and then - WAVES to them and says "b’bye".  Wow.  What a great 

guy!

Dog Advice on Metafilter

I’ve had a couple of promising second interviews and in hopes of starting full time work 

soon, I asked the following on Metafilter:

“Dog advice needed - How to keep my dogs happy while I'm at work?”

I’ve gotten some great responses including this one:

Other things - get a big Kong for each of them and fill it with treats in the morning. Hide 

treats around the house. Leave the TV on. Get someone to check in on them during the 

day. Hire a walker. If your house is set up that way, some folks swear by a doggie door 

so they can go in and out at leisure.

Sometimes I call home home and talk to my dogs when the answering machine picks 

up. I have no idea if they listen or not, but it makes me feel better (and kind of weird, 

but whatever.)

Read all the responses here.

Boycotting Urban Outfitters

I like Urban Outfitters but their propensity for copying
the designs of independent artists is just plain greedy.

Why not buy from the artist, instead of creating knock-
offs?  Here's their latest copy and for now, I've decided
not to shop there anymore.

Broken Ankle: Six Months Later

This week marks the six month anniversary of my ankle fracture: 

a trimalleolar fracture that resulted in surgery and metal plates and 

screws being put in my ankle.

If you came across my blog by searching for “broken ankle” because you have just 

experienced this yourself, I’d first like to send you warm and empathetic thoughts.  It 

hurts like hell, doesn’t it?  And it’s a bit traumatic.  But believe me when I say that things 

will get better.

Here’s my first post about my break, then there’s one here and here and here is the 

three month update.

Six months later I am walking pretty well.  I have a slight limp, but my guess is that if you 

do the physical therapy you won’t have a limp at six months.  I didn’t have medical 

insurance, so couldn’t get the physical therapy.  My limp is lessening though so I hope in 

another month or two it will be gone completely.

I used a cane from month four-five.  I don’t use it much now but I keep it around for certain 

things like shopping at the mall with my daughter or anything else when I am going to be 

doing lots of walking on a hard surface.  I’d say I am without it 95% of the time

I still have ankle pain every day - though it is MUCH, much less than the first two months.

My ankle still swells every day.  I’m not sure when that will end.  Some days it is bad enough 

that I put ice on it,  some days it isn’t that bad. My right ankle (the broken one) is still bigger 

than my left ankle.  (See photo above) Maybe it will always be this way.

If you have friends and family to help you, things will be easier for you.  (I couldn’t have 

made it without my 18 year old daughter - Thanks Del! And my dogs were my constant 

companions - Thanks Nosey and Seamus!) 

 If you don’t have much support I’d advise surrounding yourself with your favorite books 

or watching seasons of your favorite tv shows on Netflix.  During my non-weight bearing 

time I watched all of PBS’ Bleak House, Battlestar Gallatica and the first four seasons of 

Rescue Me.  I also read lots of Henning Mankill and Jasper Fforde.

The time I spent with Esther Summerson, WIlliam Adama, Tommy Gavin, Thursday Next and 

Kurt Wallander saved me from a slow death by boredom.

So things do get better.  Keep the faith.  The first three months are the hardest but then things 

look up considerably.  Warm wishes going out to you for an easy recuperation.

Now... if I could just find a job...

Employment Issues on Metafilter

Conducting an efficient job search 

ASKED: How do I prioritize all the tasks that come with being unemployed, 

from getting help to finding a job?

I liked this kindhearted answer:

“Have a plan. Stick to the plan. Keep yourself healthy. Keep perspective. Be 

gentle on yourself and realise that you WILL get a new job. It WILL be a bit 

rough in the meantime. There's a lot you can do to make it LESS rough.“

And this on Temping

ASKED: “Should I apply for a temp agency to kickstart my stalled career??” 

I found this answer by “Patheral” interesting:

“San Francisco is big enough that you can sign up for several temp agencies 

and get enough work (if you're skilled enough) to make a good living and get 

the experience you need and desire. I did this for many many years in a 

different city/state but for different reasons. Don't just go with one temp 

agency, sign up with two or three - I had my resume in at five and I hardly 

ever wanted for work. Yes, some weeks I made a little above minimum wage 

but others I made a lot more than minimum wage - that was one of the things 

I liked about working temp... that and the variety of work places.” 

Laser Monks No More

A few years I wrote about a monastery company called Laser Monks, that sold 

printer cartridges to fund their monastery and other nonprofit entities.

I raved about them, citing their “900 year tradition of community service 

and outreach.” 

 I  have been ordering from them for years now but my last order, made March 

29th, never came.  I tried to log into their website but it was down for repair - and 

still is.  I finally found a number to call (their other number had been disconnected) 

and received a call back this morning from 303-468-0962, the number of Laser 

Monks Distributors.  He informed me that Laser Monks has liquidated and the only 

way to get my money back is to dispute the charges on my credit card, which I have 

done.

Apparently there are many, many people who had their money taken, and never 

received their orders.

Not what I expected from monks. But I guess being a monk-owned business doesn't
give one sanctuary from the recession.

Whole Wheat Shortbread

I set out to make Ina Garten’s shortbread but had no white flour.  

So I substituted whole wheat flour.  To compensate for the heavier 

flour I double sifted it and changed it from 3 1/2 cups to 3 1/4 cups.  

It was still quite heavy and dense so I added a splash of lowfat milk 

and then everything came together nicely.  It took the whole 25 

minutes to cook them and they turned out  scumptiously well.  

Here’s the recipe - my changes are in italics.

Whole Wheat Shortbread Cookies (adapted from Ina Garten’s recipe)

3/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature (3 sticks)

1 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling (I used colored sugar for the top)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 1/4 cups whole wheat flour, double sifted

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup milk

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, 

or use a regular hand mixer, mix together the butter and 1 cup of sugar 

until they are just combined. Add the vanilla.

3. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them 

to the butter-and-sugar mixture.

4. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together.

5. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. 

Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes. Roll the dough 1/2-inch thick and 

cut with a 3 by 1-inch finger-shaped cutter. Place the cookies on an un-

greased baking sheet and sprinkle with sugar. Alternately, roll the dough 

into a long, 2-inch cylinder before refrigerating. Once chilled, slice the 

cylinder into 1/4-inch circles. Place the cookies on an ungreased baking 

sheet and sprinkle with sugar.

6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow 

to cool to room temperature. Makes 20-30 cookies.