David M. Dosa, M.D., M.P.H
"Making Rounds with Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat"

It wasn't until my second photo sitting with the Dosa family that I discovered that David was the creator of the incredible story of Oscar the Cat.  I had heard about Oscar in the news and was very excited that I was photographing the "soon to be" author and his wonderful family. 

The story of Oscar became famous around the world after an essay written by David was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.  

Book description (taken from another website):  An otherwise ordinary cat, Oscar has the uncanny ability to predict when people in the Steere House nursing home in RI are about to die.  Dr. Dosa tells the stories of several patients and examines end-of-life care as it exists today.

Please visit David's website below to read more about his book and where to buy a copy. 

http://www.daviddosa.com

The book release date is in early February.  I will be attending the first "Book Signing, Question and Answer" gathering at Borders Books in the Providence Place Mall in RI on February 10th at 7 PM.  
Everyone is invited to this free event.  There will be other Book Signing events if you can't make it to this one.  Please see his website for the places and dates.

I personally can't wait to read this story that has been described as both heartfelt and inspiring.  I plan on buying more than one copy on Feb. 10th.  This book is going to make great gifts for my family for birthdays, Mother's Day and Father's Day.  My dad is very excited for this book to arrive!

I'll be posting my own review....

I really think that this is a valid excuse for NOT exercising today in a public place.  I was truly all set (in my mind) to head for the "Y" but decided to have a little snack first.  Although the carrots were very healthly...and harmless, I proceeded to dip about 15 of them into my husband's very delicious and VERY garlicky blue cheese dip/dressing. 

About half way through my snack, it dawned on me just what would happen if I exercised today.  I would work up a sweat and the garic would ooze through my pores and literally "knock out"...no, KILL anyone exercising within 10 feet of me.  Really, this is a strong dip. 

Being the thoughtful person that I am, I decided; for the good of the entire YMCA, that I should stay home and finish off the dip so there could be no temptation tomorrow that may prevent me from getting my "much needed" post holiday workout. 

I'm heading for the bank and CVS soon.  Wish those people luck. 

My neighbor called to tell me to get my camera and come over and see the biggest spider she had ever seen.  Yikes!  Guess she was right!  This is her son, getting a good look at the NOT so itsy bitsy spider!

 

Meet Skittles and Bella, our cute little tweety birds.  Ed & Annie are so excited to have some new treats friends.  We got them from my daughter's friend and we just love them.  They love us, too!  They are great company to have around.  I love the sound of birds chirping up a storm!!  Now every day will seem like Spring and Summer around here!!

 

Poor Ed doesn't understand that he can't drink from the faucet this week.  We have a "boil water" advisory going on after a water sample taken from a home in my town tested positive for E.coli.  Ed sits and stares at the faucet and empty sink many times a day.  Don't worry, he's getting fresh boiled water in his kitty bowl even though it's not as exciting.  Each morning, we find the bowl of water in the middle of the kitchen floor.  Think he's trying to tell us something?



Meanwhile, Annie could care less about the water crisis.  As long as she has the smallest box possible to squeez herself into, she's just fine.  Notice her empty big cozy cat bed just behind her.  Haven't we all learned anything yet about cats and kids??  They don't need expensive plush beds and extravagant toys!  Just give them a box, wrapping paper and an empty toilet paper roll and call it a day.

Meet Popcorn the cockatiel and his adorable human friend.  

Making new friends....

I love to visit my longtime friend and her husband at their beachfront summer home in Old Saybrook, CT.  I've known Vi for over 30 years and worked with her for 10 years before her retirement many years ago.  I'm so happy that we've continued to keep in touch.  My husband and I used to rent her home for a week each summer before we had kids.  Oh, how I miss this beautiful place. 

My kids had a blast yesterday playing with two of Vi's grandchildren.  They spent close to 7 hours in the water or playing on the sand bar at low tide while I had a wonderful time with Vi, her husband, and two of their daughters.  My cousin from New Hampshire and her daughter were visiting me for a few days and I'm so happy that they got to come along, meet my good friends and enjoy the day with the rest of us.  The weather could NOT have been more perfect!

This is the thanks I get??  I opened the door to the deck and this little guy continued to "go to town" on my cushion!  Does he look like he's afraid of me?  I've created a monster!!  No more granola bars, popcorn, trail mix, grapes and nuts for you mister!

This is Ed's favorite position.  No, he's not looking for action.  He's just lazy, overweight, and wants his belly rubbed. 

My kids are done with camps for the summer so I'm trying to keep them busy whenever possible.  They can only take so much of me sitting at my computer editing photos for hours on end.  So...they have been after me to take them to a water park in Wareham, MA.  It's only about 45 miles away.  My daughter went there with a friend and loved it. 

We were there for 8 hours!!  My kids never stopped except to eat the fabulous fried dough with about an inch thick (no lie) of powdered sugar.  It's my new favorite food.  It's worth the trip for that alone.
 
The minute the place closed, they asked if we could go back next week.  I might consider returning sometime this summer if they promise to eat only cereal and toast 3 times a day for the next 3 weeks.  I might be able to swing the $30 PER PERSON admission fee if I stop buying groceries for a while.

I spent a good part of the day relaxing in a lounge chair, surfing the waves in the wave pool or floating on down the lazy river in a tube.  The kids, however, enjoyed the scariest water slide called "Pirate's Plunge" over and over again.  It looked like a blast but I stayed off for fear of losing my leg.....really.

The nice thing about this place is that you can bring a cooler with all your own food if you want to save a few bucks.  Need a day to keep your kids busy for 8 hours without complaining that they're bored???  Go to Water Wizz!  You'll all have a great time.  Don't forget to eat the fried dough!!

This is one of the newest members of the ever-present squirrel family living on our property.  This Spring baby was just taking a break high up in a backyard tree.  Thanks to my newest zoom lens, I was able to get this close shot of my new little rodent friend.  I can't help it.  They are just too cute.

My sister was visiting for a few days last week and while enjoying food & wine on the deck;  well, so were three of my squirrel friends.  They were actually walking under our chairs and eating right beside us.  I swear they would walk right into my kitchen and help themselves if not for our cats.

An Illinois man left the snow-filled streets of Chicago for a vacation in Florida. His wife was on a business trip and was planning to meet him there the next day.

When he reached his hotel, he decided to send his wife a quick email. Unable to find the scrap of paper on which he had written her email address, he did his best to type it in from memory.

Unfortunately, he missed one letter and his note was directed instead to an elderly preacher's wife, whose husband had passed away only the day before.

When the grieving widow checked her email, she took one look at the monitor, let out a piercing scream and fell to the floor in a dead faint. At the sound, her family rushed into the room and saw this note on the screen:

DEAREST WIFE: JUST GOT CHECKED IN. EVERYTHING PREPARED FOR YOUR ARRIVAL TOMORROW.
P.S. SURE IS HOT DOWN HERE.

I'm guilty.  I've been a bad blogger lately.  I could tell you all my excuses for not blogging for over a week, but I won't.  I'll just go ahead and punish myself by not buying popcorn and ice-cream for the next month.  That'll teach me!! 

Truth is; I have done so much and have had so much to say, that I just couldn't get myself to blog it all down.  I tried one day but got too overwhelmed so I stopped writing and went back to editing photos (which I should have been doing anyway).

This week has been especially crazy with final exams for my 7th grade son.  Today, I actually wrote six pages of Math problems for him to complete.  I thought I was done with school!!

On a fun note, I bought a new camera body and zoom lens last week.  I love them!  The body is a newer model of my other camera body with features that I was longing to have...and needed, of course.  My other camera body will ride along in my camera bag as a back-up.  Don't ya just love new toys? 

1. The butcher backed into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work.
2. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.
3. Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.
4. A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it.
5. I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger.  Then it hit me.

I made some brownies and the kids weren't home to claim the bowl.....sweet.  I think I did a pretty good job of "cleaning" out the bowl without sticking my whole head in there to lap up the rest.

It truly is a pet's world....

Annie refuses to believe that she's not invisible.  Whenever I start to work at my desk, she plants herself smack in between the computer screen and me.  Did you ever try to erase something from a photo in Photoshop and then realize that it's really just cat fur stuck to your computer screen??

My weekly pic....

Fact Friday 

• Your brain is 80% water.  (I swear mine must be 80% ice-cream)
• Mosquitoes prefer children to adults & blondes to brunettes. (I'm changing my hair color)
• In older people, memory is best early in the morning and then declines during the late afternoon. (beware of your kids hitting you up for money in the morning and then again later in the day)
• The average human body contains enough fat to make seven bars of soap.  (I have a neighbor friend who is going to start making soap for her on-line business.  Next thing ya know, we'll be reading about a mass amount of disappearances in our neighborhood)

Lessons in Life

I received an email today from an old friend.  It was called "45 lessons life taught me" written once by a woman who is now 90+ years old.  I'll share with you a few of my favorites....

1.  Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
2.  Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
3.  Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
4.  However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
5.  The best is yet to come.
6.  Your children get only one childhood. (I love this one)

I am the last person that would want anything to do with bugs of any kind crawling anywhere near me, but I must admit; this scene straight out of Charlottes Web truly fascinated the dickens out of my family and me today.  This is a photo of a cluster of baby spiders that had hatched earlier today on the outside of our glass slider door.  They have already begun spinning webs in order to make their first journey into the wild...if you can call Barrington, RI "WILD".  As long as they move far, far away, then I can live with it.  I just don't want them hanging around until they start growing long furry legs. Can you imagine ALL these spiders full grown staring at you through the glass door??!!