In which I make a request…Animals in shelters

by Jillian @ http://blueshelled.com . December 21, 2010 . 5:08PM

Christmastime is special to me, as it is to most people. I’ve never lost my childlike wonder for the lights, the tree lots, the snow, the gifts, really, any of it. As I grow, though, parts of the holiday that are less enchanted seem to hit me like a truck and I can’t seem to shake them, no matter how hard I try.

I’ve spent quite a bit of time in the last couple of years reading about shelter animals and rescue dogs, and the number of puppies and kittens that are brought back to shelters after the holidays is staggering. I’m not going to get on my soapbox for long, but I would like to make a request in that I’d like for anyone that is considering a puppy this year to consider a couple of options.

One option is to consider a fully grown dog or cat from a shelter or a rescue site. Dogs are often trained and do well with children. They can be just as cute and cuddly as puppies and need just as much love. They are silly and friendly and sweet. They also piddle on the floor a lot less. Cats are independent and don’t need much to be amused. They are easily potty-trained and if you ever wanted to know what to do with empty toilet-rolls, now you know.

If you absolutely must have a puppy or kitten, please find them at a shelter, if you can. Shelters are overrun in the cold weather and the number of animals that are put to sleep is astounding.

Lastly, when you get your new animal, please take care of it’s doggy/kitty parts and make sure it can’t procreate. It helps keep the pet population down and animals from being stuck in poor situations.

My dog, Sophie, is one of the joys of my life. She was rescued by a family about 2 hours from where I live and I wouldn’t trade her for anything. When I’m sick she sleeps by my side. When I wake up in the morning she cuddles me. When I leave the house, she cries because she can’t go with me. As I type this, I sit cross-legged on my recliner. Sophie is at my feet. She wasn’t a puppy when I got her and she’s not the most beautiful dog in the world. I love her tremendously and she is one of my best friends.

You can see my right sidebar for Dogs in Danger, which is a site that lets you know about dogs that are in Kill shelters and need a home near you. You can also donate to the humane society there. You can google for shelters in your area and Petfinder.com often allows shelters to use them as a resource.

Please help save an animal this season. Dogs, cats, turtles, you name it, need a good home. If you choose an animal this year, please be a responsible pet owner.

Carson and the candy corn

by Jillian @ http://blueshelled.com . December 3, 2010 . 11:36PM

Thanksgiving was ample opportunity for me to see my family in action. Holidays tend to brief out the best and worst in people, even the littlest ones. Perhaps the proper commentary on this is that the littlest ones recognize that, in the hub of activity among the adults, the opportunity for mischief is unbridled and they can get away with…well, anything. This past Thanksgiving was no exception and the littlest of my extended family were out in full force keeping the adults on their toes.

When people say it takes it a community to raise a child, they aren’t kidding. The main reason for this cliche being that children have the energy of ten adults at any given time and they can wear an adult down in the time it takes for one of them to throw an energizing temper tantrum. In a medium-sized home on a holiday, the nooks and crannies to hide in and do whatever your little heart desires are endless. Carson, my cousin’s son who is a new toddler, took this to full advantage.

It helps that when Carson smiles the adults in our family will give him whatever he wants.

During the day, each table in the house had a bowl of peanuts and candy corn resting upon it for guests to snack upon while waiting for a meal or recovering after a meal. There were plenty of these and they were refilled throughout the day. Carson discovered the bowls immediately upon entering the house and would sneak a tiny handful whenever no one was looking. At one point, my cousin Ashley noticed that something was wrong with Carson’s belly button.

It was orange.

He’d stuck a candy corn in there until he got hungry later.

He would climb chairs and adults would sneak him candy corn.

He would crawl under tables with a bowl of candy corn.

Nothing in life had ever tasted as good to him as candy corn.

Carson rarely even babbles. How did I know that he loved candy corn?

At the end of the evening, I watched him slyly walk over to the coffee table. His little eyes were shining and drawn to that bowl of orange. He pinched his fingers together and grasped a single candy corn and raised it to the sky in victory. A look of pure bliss crossed his face as he placed that candy corn in his mouth, closed his eyes and smiled as he chewed.

I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a human being in such a state.

It was beautiful.

Yes, Carson loves candy corn.

We checked his belly button before he left.

We wanted to make sure there were no rogue candy pieces there.

Yes, there was a candy corn thief at my Thanksgiving celebration. And I am thankful for him.

And for this we give thanks…

by Jillian @ http://blueshelled.com . November 26, 2010 . 7:19PM

In a year where, at times, I would rather have given up than given thanks, Thanksgiving rolls around and I am once again reminded that there are holidays to come that will be filled with joy and happiness if I allow them to be as such. There are circumstances beyond my control and people and situations that cannot be changed that cause me unhappiness, but there will always be days during the year where people will come together for the better and it is a reminder that few things in life are permanent.

Thanksgiving is always a loud affair. There is no real way that it can be less when you pack around 50 people into a small house. It can’t be a quiet, completely civilized affair when there are at least 10 children in that bunch. We started the lunch at my aunt’s house where she had set up the Wii for the kids and found a surprise: my cousin had me a Mii of great-grandma. So, the superstar of the day was Great-Grandma Z as all the great grandchildren wanted the chance to use her Mii to hula hoop, play tennis and cross country ski.

There was a moment of prayer and the kids jumped into line for what looked like way too much food for the amount of people that were in the house. Casseroles and noodles and turkey and ham and rolls and every carb you could ever want lined counters, the stove and multiple tables. As the little ones picked through the foods they would eat, the adults sat at the tables and talked. The rain turned to sleet but no one was concerned. There was plenty of food and no one needed to be anywhere immediately. The scents of holiday food enveloped us in comfort and we ate plate after plate of food.

And did it again.

And then again.

And had some dessert.

And then ate more food because you can’t waste food.

And ate some more and there was still MORE food.

About that time, the wind howled and the sleet turned into fat flakes of snow that hugged the cars and the sky turned dark. AJ, who rarely sees snow of any real accumulation in TN, yelled that there was snow and he was going sledding! The adults started to get groggy and talk of naps and Black Friday shopping.

As the snow continued, there was a thief on the lose…a candy corn thief…

To be continued…

Merry Christmas!

by Jillian @ http://blueshelled.com . December 25, 2009 . 12:30PM

In the last year, I have been fortunate in so many ways. I have added more people to my life that have given me enrichment and love and support and I am lucky, blessed, loved and thankful. This is the first Blueshelled.com Christmas and I want to thank you for sharing yours with me.

Merry Christmas. And if you don’t celebrate, thanks for coming here anyway. You are important to me.

Merry Christmas from Mr. and Mrs. Blueshelled