Score!

During my first solo trip many years ago, a pair of gold earrings that had been a gift to me were stolen from the top of the TV where I set them while I went to my car to get something. The maid was working a few doors away when I left and my hotel room had been cleaned by the time I returned - I didn't think I was gone that long - and my earrings were never recovered. I guess the poor maid gets blamed for everything.

Travel tips I've read since then recommend taking only cheap jewelry such as a necklace of wooden beads in case of theft or forgetting and leaving it behind so the loss is minor.

The problem is that I don't like wooden beads nor the majority of the inexpensive jewelry I've seen. I did find a cheap pair of earrings while I was in Los Angeles in 2007, but the ear wires irritated me so I never wore them again.

Heading to Hobby Lobby to see what it has for making jewelry, I found two long aisles that were nearly overwhelming. There were glass beads, metal beads, letter beads, stone chips, crystals, pendants, findings in gold, silver, bronze and black; and various types of cords for making earrings, bracelets, and necklaces along with tools.

I selected a silver leaf, a filigree piece, and a tear drop of paua shell for pendants, rectangles of paua shell for earrings, an assortment of jump rings, 1 mm stretch cord, and pulled 25 leaflets of free instructions for more inspiration. I also got hypoallergenic ear wires.

The best part was that many of the items were 30-50% off. Score!

Another customer and I started discussing our projects. She agreed about traveling with only inexpensive jewelry because one of her necklaces had been stolen from her motel room.

"It doesn't matter if you hide it. If the thief wants it, it'll be stolen," she said.

I admired her necklace that reminded me of those worn by Emily Deschanel's character, Dr. Temperance Brennan, in "Bones." It was multicolored with turquoise, red, gray, and other colors that would go with just about any colored outfit.

"Thank you, this and the (matching) earrings were my first project. I got the stones from an Indian fair that's held in September. I hope the people will be back this fall because I'd like to get more."

After checking out the satin cords in the sewing department and getting three-quarters of a yard for US$0.59 for a necklace for one of my new pendants, I paid for my selections and went to Walmart where I bought a three-in-one jewelry tool that has round nose pliers for curving wires into loops, holding/crimping edges, and a wire cutter.

Sometimes, I think preparing for travel is almost as much fun as actually traveling.

Black Saturday

Before Thanksgiving, I had a couple of topics I thought I'd write about. However, with the surfeit of feasting and napping, I've forgotten them completely and have only a few stray thoughts to share:

1. As we were getting ready to leave the office on the day before Thanksgiving 1999, my office mate asked me what I was planning to do on Thanksgiving.

"Write my letter of resignation," I replied.

It's hard to believe that was ten years ago. For a moment, I was despondent that I still don't have a book ready to submit for publication, but considering that I've been away from home for nearly six out of the ten years and learned a lot about the craft of writing during the rest of the time, it doesn't seem so bad.

2. I laugh at the TV commercials that say, "Black Friday starts on Saturday..."

3. If I didn't already have a good vacuum cleaner, I'd be tempted to buy the Shark Multi-Vac that's advertised during the infomercials played during the wee morning hours.

4. I don't think I'll miss the TV series, "Monk," but I will miss seeing Natalie Teeger, Captain Leland Stottlemeyer, and Lt. Randy Disher. I keep thinking of Hector Elizondo, the actor who portrays Dr. Neven Bell, Monk's psychiatrist, in the role he played in the movie, "Pretty Woman," so haven't gotten used to him in this role. I never did like Sharona.

5. Although I still have a couple of stores to check, it looks like I'll have to order my toothpaste online because three local stores no longer carry it. My guess is that because so many people want whitening toothpastes, a gentle toothpaste such as Arm & Hammer Dental Care doesn't sell as well. Why people would brush their teeth with silica, i.e. sand, a high abrasive that contributes to the wearing down of enamel much more than baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), the mildest abrasive that also happens to be an excellent cleaner, is beyond me. It must be because they don't read the ingredients and don't know that sand is silica.

While I'm at it, I may as well mention that it's so much simpler and less expensive to swish with water after eating to rinse out sugars and acids than to use a so-called "restorative" toothpaste that may also, oxymoronically, have silica or hydrated silica as an ingredient.

I've thought about brushing with plain baking soda, like people used to do back in the old days, and using a fluoride rinse to prevent cavities until I read the label on a rinse that said "sodium fluoride" which is a toxic industrial waste by-product.

Unfortunately, sodium fluoride is also the active ingredient in my toothpaste and others which is the reason for the warning to immediately contact the Poison Control Center if more than the amount used for brushing is swallowed. (All you need is the size of a pea, not the long, toothbrush-covering strip shown in TV ads to persuade you to use, and subsequently buy, more of the product.)

Of course, we're not supposed to swallow toothpaste. However, I can't help remembering that the inside of our mouths are so much more effective at absorbing that sublingual tablets for everything from vitamin B-12 for energy to nitroglycerin for angina are used instead of pills that need to be swallowed.

And, haven't we all seen a movie scene in which a drug addict rubs cocaine on his or her gums?

No, please don't try to tell me we're not getting any sodium fluoride in our bodies because we don't swallow toothpaste.

I remember when stannous fluoride, the safer, quality fluoride, was used in toothpaste. When did the toothpaste companies switch to the toxic waste by-product? Was it when the type of fluoride for fluoridating public water supplies was switched from sodium fluoride to hexafluorosilicic acid that's considered to be even worse than sodium fluoride?

Maybe I should look for a toothpaste with stannous fluoride or sodium monofluorophosphate. The problem is that I haven't found any without silica or hydrated silica. What are the chances of my finding a toothpaste with one of the good fluorides that also doesn't contain silica?

So, either I put poison into my mouth or wear down my enamel with an ADA-approved product that's supposed to be good for my teeth that really isn't or let my teeth rot by not using a product with fluoride. Some choice.

Maybe it's a good thing that I drink tea that has fluoride naturally.

That's all I have. I hope your Thanksgiving was full of thankfulness for the blessings you have and that your holiday shopping is hassle-free.

Flat Stanley Project

I've been busy with personal projects, one of which was responding to the request for help with her Flat Stanley Project from a daughter of my friend, Roxie. The stated purpose for the students of Kathryn's class was for them to learn how to write friendly letters by asking the recipient to take Flat Stanley on an adventure. The result is that family and friends help teach the children by returning a letter and photos of Flat Stanley enjoying his adventure with them that are then shared with other students by reading the letters and posting them and the photos on a bulletin board.

Excited about the fun I could have playing with the paper doll and what knowledge I might convey to the youngsters, I settled on the concept of geographic antipodes inspired by an HBO documentary about the making of "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency," a show set in Botswana that reminded me that Botswana is the antipode for the Big Island in Hawai`i.

If you are a resident of the U.S., do you remember thinking or hearing someone else say that if you dig a hole straight through the center of the earth, you'd come out in China? Well, it isn't possible because vast majority of places in the U.S. have antipodes in an ocean.

The following are exceptions:

1. A place in northern Alaska has an antipode in Antarctica.

2. A place near the border of Montana and Saskatchewan in Canada has an antipode on Kerguelen Island in the south Indian Ocean.

3. The eastern part of Colorado is antipodal with St. Paul Island and Amsterdam Island, also in the south Indian Ocean.

4. The Big Island in Hawai`i and the Okavango Delta in Botswana.

The highlight of Flat Stanley's visit was when it snowed overnight. We rushed out the next morning to play in the snow before it melted and Stanley made a snow angel.

After mailing the letter that was hand-printed with Noodler's Baystate Blue fountain pen ink on Crane's stationery, I realized that the paper itself was educational and sent another letter:

"Dear Kathryn,

Since I already mailed Flat Stanley back to you yesterday morning, this is a second letter to share with your classmates. Flat Stanley watched me write my first letter, but I didn't remember to tell him the following information that's neat for everyone to know about paper and U.S. paper money in particular.

For hundreds of years, cotton was used to make paper. In the late 1860s, wood pulp from trees began to be used and, today, over 95% of paper is made from wood pulp.

The lowest grades of paper are used for paper such as newsprint. Better grades of paper use a combination of wood pulp and plant fibers. The best grades of paper use only plant fibers such as cotton and linen.

Fine writing paper is watermarked by the company that makes the paper. You can see a watermark by holding the paper up to the light. This paper has 'CRANE & CO.' with '100% cotton' underneath. Do you see it? Lesser grade paper will have a smaller percentage such as '25% cotton' in the watermark while the majority of paper won't have any watermark at all because it's made of wood pulp only.

Where my stationery is 100% cotton, U.S. paper money is 75% cotton and 25% linen. That's why it doesn't come apart when it's accidentally washed like other paper that's made from wood pulp. Crane & Co. has been making the paper used by the U.S. Treasury Department for our paper currency since 1879.

I hope you and your classmates enjoy knowing this because you'll be using paper in one form or another for the rest of your lives."

Please feel free to visit my website for more information about paper for social correspondence and for links to other manufacturers of fine writing paper.

Hmm...

I caught the end of the "Walker, Texas Ranger" episode in which Walker (Chuck Norris) and Gage (Judson Mills) are to fight "The Hammer" to the death. That is, to their deaths. "The Hammer" chooses to fight Gage first and promises Gage that he'll die slowly. He then promises Walker that he'll die even more slowly than Gage.

In the final shot, Walker and Gage turn away from the camera and walk out side-by-side, their back muscles rippling beneath their gleaming skin, looking good, and a sudden thought struck me:

Has Jet Li ever appeared in a movie topless without a shirt? What about Jackie Chan? Steven Seagal? Sonny Chiba? I'm pretty sure Bruce Lee did.

A Clearer View of "In Plain Sight"

Every story, no matter if it's a book, a play, on TV, in a movie, or told around the campfire, has the elements of plot, characters, and setting. When it's told on television, additional elements such as music, photography, and allowing for commercials are also important.

I don't have any squawks against the plots or settings of "In Plain Sight." The music and photography are fine, also. That leaves the characters.

Considering each of the regulars, I decided that they're all okay except for the lead, Mary Shannon. But, she's the main character! What can possibly be wrong with her?

It's simple. She speaks.

When she's yelling or on the phone in the throes of fake passion, anything where her voice isn't her normal speaking voice, she's fine. However, when actress Mary McCormack's speaking normally or doing the voice-over, the two of which are most of her lines, something in her near-monotone voice clicks on the "BORING" switch in me.

Something similar happened before with the movie, "Hero," starring Jet Li. I like Jet Li and his films aren't boring, yet I kept falling asleep. As many times as I tried to watch the movie were the number of times I conked out. I finally realized that it was always at about the same point and eventually figured out that the problem was the music. The first time, and every time since, that I watched the movie with the sound off, I was able to stay awake the entire time. It's a beautiful movie, too.

So, there I was last week, watching "K-Pax" starring Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges when Mary McCormack comes on portraying the wife of the character Jeff Bridges is playing.

Guess what happened.

It's a good thing she didn't have many lines.

Then yesterday, during the "Law & Order" marathon on the USA Network, there's a man in the witness protection program and U.S. Marshall Mary Shannon is flying into New York from Albuquerque.

So now, not only is it doubly confirmed that McCormack's normal speaking voice drives me to distraction, I also know from where the premise of "In Plain Sight" came.

The mystery is solved.

"In Plain Sight"

One word describes the first show of this new series on USA Network: "Boring." It was so boring that I wanted to read a book. Not turn to another channel, mind you. Read. A. Book. So, I did. I dutifully watched the entire show, then, gagging for something decent, reached for "Echo Park" by Michael Connelly. I'd never before read a book by him, but anything had to be better than that TV show. And it was. Much better.

132nd WKC Dog Show - Part 1 of 2

I miss having a pet. Even though I was greatly blessed to have been owned by the perfect cat for many years, I often think about getting another dog. The little white Bichon Frise that's opened a couple of the television commercials for the 132nd Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at New York City's Madison Square Garden persuaded me to watch the show with an eye for figuring out what kind of dog I might want.

Although I've owned both mixed breeds and purebred dogs and found the purebred puppies turning out as expected more reliably than the mixed breeds, I used to engage in reverse snobbery when it came to show dogs thinking that they were nothing more than kenneled runway models for whom appearance is everything. My respect was reserved for dogs competing in the obedience and field trials. A lot of my poor attitude for show dogs came from the few dog shows I attended as a teen and young adult where it was really hard for a spectator like me to see anything more than how the dogs got fussed over and primped and trotted around before the judges.

My attitude started getting adjusted with an invitation from a coworker to attend a dog show in which he and his wife entered three or four dogs. Meeting them at their van in the parking lot, I watch while two dogs are unloaded and one is turned over to a professional handler who heads for the building. Another handler comes over with a dog to speak with my host.

"Is that your dog, too?" I ask after the second handler leaves.

"Yes, some of our dogs board with their handlers in different parts of the U. S. so they can make the shows we can't get to and we sometimes get to meet at the same shows. Here, go ahead and take her in," he says, handing me the leash for the second dog from the van.

"Oh, dear. Do you think that's wise?" his wife asks. I'm not sure about it myself because I never held the leash of a champion dog before.

"Sure. Gail's used to German Shepherds. She'll be fine," he replies.

"You are?" she asks me.

"I have one. It's the second one I've owned."

"Well...just be careful," she says as we merge with the fringe of the crowd entering the building.

Was I in a position to break the dog?

"What do I need to be careful about?" I have to raise my voice above the low din.

"She doesn't like other dogs," he replies as we enter. "Just keep hold of her and you'll be fine."

She doesn't like other dogs and we're at a dog show? Oh, man! I cast a quick eye around for the nearest dog while I check the collar at the end of the leash I hold. Was it put on her as a slip chain so I can use it as a choke collar?

"She doesn't like children, either," his wife yells above the noisy crowd of families with their children and dogs.

The steps to the seating area are close enough that I don't have time to freak out at the thought of that scenario and we soon reach the seats staked out by the German Shepherd Dog crowd. A handler claims the dog I hold before I sit down. We have a good view sitting right above the second of four rings on our side, but things are happening too quickly for me so I focus on the chit-chat around me.

A German Shepherd soon leads his lady down the row, returning from his turn in the show ring, pausing to check me out.

"Hi, baby," I say. In that moment, he deduces that I'm his long-lost best friend forever and stops all conversations within earshot by climbing onto my lap and trying to lick my face.

"NO! DOWN! GET OFF! I'm so sorry! He hasn't done that to a stranger before. I'm so sorry!" The dog's lady apologizes profusely after pulling him off of me.

"It's okay." I'm laughing. "He's just a big baby."

"Really? Are you really okay?"

My host leans forward to speak across his wife, "She's okay. She's one of us. She has a Shepherd of her own at home."

"You do?"

I nod.

"Oh, good," the woman visibly relaxes. "So many strangers think of German Shepherds as fierce, mean dogs when they're really just a bunch of babies. I used to have Dobies, but never again. They really are fierce and after one of my own dogs bit me, I said, 'That's it,' and got rid of them all."

I agree. Most dogs don't mind puppies, but when I lived in Texas, a neighbor's Doberman came from three houses away and bit a little Collie-mix puppy I had badly enough to require stitches.

The group of us spend the rest of the morning swapping dog tales, finishing up at a nearby restaurant.

That's all it took to start changing my attitude toward show dogs; I'm that much of a sucker for dog kisses.

----- Continued in Part 2 -----

132nd WKC Dog Show - Part 2 of 2

My concern that the commercials would be so much better than the actual show is quickly overcome by Michael Lefave's fabulous announcer's voice and by the USA co-host/analyst David Frei and his co-host Lester Holt providing commentary. Unlike the boring segments I watched in previous years, they actively work to dispel the high fashion model image of the show dogs and provide information to prevent the mismatching of owners with inappropriate dogs. Several times during the two-day broadcast of the semi-final and final events, Frei and Holt say, "Do your homework." On the last night, Frei says, "The dog you get will live for 7, 10, even 13 years. That's a long time so it's worth your spending an extra month finding out what the dog was bred to do. Go to the Westminster Kennel Club's website, click on the parent clubs, find a dog show and talk to the handlers. Read a book. Make sure the dog's temperament and needs fit your personality and lifestyle."

Through it all, LaFave tells us:

"This dog is not for the first-time dog owner."

"You have to be an alpha human with this dog."

"The Poodle used to be a water retriever and its haircut was designed to protect its vital organs and joints from the cold water it swam in."

"This dog loves children."

"This is the ultimate family dog." Unfortunately, I don't catch which dog he's talking about. It might be the Labrador Retriever.

"The German Pinscher is manipulative, but loves to learn if you take the time to teach it."

"This dog wants to please its people."

"The Doberman Pinscher used to be bred for fierceness, but is now bred for intelligence, obedience, and to be an affectionate companion."

"The Chihuahua thinks it's a big dog. It doesn't know it's a small dog."

"This dog is independent."

"The Anatolian Shepherd is highly territorial and considers its family as part of its turf."

"The Australian Shepherd, despite its name, originated in the Western United States."

We hear early on from Frei and Holt that all the show dogs are pets, some volunteer as an Angel On A Leash or work as certified therapy dogs while others provide service in other ways. From them we learn:

One dog from Colorado revived his mistress by licking her face when she fell unconscious from a heart attack.

A dog from Alaska works as a sledge dog and part-time as a certified therapy dog.

The Kuvasz from Helena, Montana has had run-ins with bears and once saved his mistress from an attack.

The Anatolian Shepherd from Texas had an ear ripped off by a bobcat while he was protecting a herd of goats. His owner sewed his ear back on.

The Siberian Husky loves to run and we shouldn't ever trust it and let it go off-leash.

The dog that likes McDonald's cheeseburgers, barks whenever they drive by a set of Golden Arches because it recognizes from where its favorite food comes.

The Samoyed does whatever is asked of it, whether it's hunting or hauling. The one that won Best of Breed was the maid of honor at the owner's wedding. Holt adds, "The Samoyed should be the mascot for a vacuum cleaner company because it really sheds."

Then, there are the dogs enjoying their celebrity status like Vikki who snacks on Special K cereal and has her own website as well as the dog who started showing only six months ago and has already won the Best of Breed at Westminster, the show where over 2,600 champion dogs representing 169 breeds compete against their breed's standard for Best of Breed, Best of Group, and the grand title of Best of Show.

As with other dog shows, it's hard to see much personality in the dogs trotting around all bathed and brushed to the nth degree, but a few make an impression on me:

The little French Bulldog, bound and determined to sniff THAT spot, finally puts on the brakes and plants his feet in the carpet only to slide along because his handler keeps going, not even breaking her stride.

The Bulldog that decides it isn't going to trot for anything. Walk fast, yes. Break into a trot, no.

Another dog figures out that it can speed up for a few steps and dive down to snatch a treat accidentally dropped by another contender's handler, successfully munching its prize without its handler noticing.

Finally, there's Uno. Only 15 inches high at the shoulder, the little Beagle has the confidence and projects the stature of a large dog with the presence and charisma of a movie star. I'm impressed although I don't particularly appreciate Beagles, except for Snoopy. I had one, or part of one because he was mixed, and knew two purebreds owned by a neighbor and they were always wanting to go off rabbit-hunting as soon as they were out the front door. That we lived with rabbit-filled fields on almost three sides was especially convenient or inconvenient depending if the point of view was that of a Beagle or a human. At least, we humans never had to worry about them running out into traffic.

I'm not the only one taken by the little beast. Uno gathers more of the crowd's support as the show progresses from Best of Breed to Best of Group causing Holt to exclaim, "Look at that! He's a rock star!"

During the final round in which only the seven winners for Best of Group compete for Best of Show, spectators are strongly encouraged to cheer for their favorites. You don't need an applause meter to be able to tell which dog is the audience's favorite. Evidently, Dr. J. Donald Jones of Marietta, Georgia, who remained in seclusion in another part of town until it was time for him to depart to judge the final round, agrees.

The crowd erupts into a standing ovation as Ch K-Run's Park Me In First, a.k.a. "Uno," is awarded the trophy for Best in Show.

Frei is surprised, "We have never had a reaction like this! I've never seen a standing ovation given for a dog!"

It's a great dog show, the best I've ever seen in person or on TV.