mp3rude

Who is in the photo at right? Sadie is a mixed breed with some obvious Yellow Lab. She recently turned 6 years old. My son rescued her after she was picked up by Beaumont TX Animal Control; she and her mom were living in the wild, and Sadie (named by my son Ross) had serious health issues including heartworm, which is normally fatal to dogs. A dog DNA testing service analyzed her DNA and found lab and no other significant breed DNA meaning her parents were mixed breed, her grandparents were likely mixed, and maybe her great grandparents. She is a mutt, just like most Americans. I'm Scott MacDonald. I have had a long career in real estate, often working for investors to fix troubled companies and projects throughout the world. My last full time assignment was CEO of the Investa Property Group in Sydney Australia. I wrote a book about that experience: Saving Investa: How An Ex-Factory Worker Helped Save One Of Australia's Iconic Companies. I am now semi retired but still provi

Who is in the photo at right? I’m Allie Larkin, author of the novels Stay, Why Can't I Be You, and Swimming for Sunlight, which all include lovable literary pups. I’m having coffee with my friend, Stella, who is an eleven-year-old German Shepherd. What's the occasion for Coffee with a Canine? After she’s hit the yard and eaten breakfast, Stella likes to herd me over to sit with her for our usual quiet time. I have a folded futon mattress in my office that makes for an excellent meditation spot/dog bed, and we like to sit there while I drink my coffee. It is so peaceful. What's brewing? I’m pretty no frills about coffee. I like pour over best. Black or with a little soy milk. My two favorites are Philz Philharmonic roast and Caffe Appassionato’s Organic Shade Grown Emperor’s Blend. Any treats for you or Stella on this occasion? Stella is just getting over a tummy ache, so I’m doing the lame thing where I pretend her regular kibble is treats. It feels like the equivalent o

This post contains affiliate links – using affiliate links from Homeschool Coffee Break helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!    Some of the things around the web that I've been reading or exploring during recent coffee breaks: I keep seeing articles all over the web about the importance of handwriting, especially cursive. The latest is this one on Quartz – Keyboards are overrated. Cursive is back and it's making us smarter. Increased brain activity, better processing of information, and limiting distraction are just a few of the benefits. I've written about the same thing here: Books in Print and Handwritten Notes and here: Do You Teach Cursive Handwriting? Getting ready to go back to homeschool? I'm not, having graduated my youngest, but I still found Kristen's Top Five Ways to Prepare for Back to School: Homeschool Style on A Mom's Quest to Teach really interesting. Yep, we did a lot of those things! But enough about academics! Did you k

You've read the reviews. Now read the book. THEATRE'S LEITER SIDE, 2012-2013 A Brief Memoir and Reviews  “Three Strong Women”    Let me begin this report on Little Gem, Elaine Murphy’s 2008 rumination on modern Irish motherhood, at the Irish Repertory Theatre, by setting the picture for you. Other than the dialogue placing most of the action in Dublin (a few moments take place in Paris), the play’s locale is undefined. Since women’s issues tie the narrative together, director Marc Atkinson Borrull and designer Meredith Ries have set it in the minimalist environs of a women’s health clinic waiting room, with its standard chairs and medical posters. Wonderfully, Michael O’Connor’s sensitive lighting makes this sterile space emotionally evocative. (Murphy, be it noted, wrote the play while working in a women’s health clinic.) Brenda Meaney. Photo: Carol Rosegg. Little Gem isn’t a conventional play. Except for several glancing exchanges toward the end, it’s written in the

Who is in the photo at right? This is Rita June and I! I’m Laura Testino, a life and culture reporting fellow at NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. It is ridiculous that my job exists, because it requires that I write about some of the most interesting and entertaining people and places in New Orleans, coincidentally one of the most interesting and entertaining cities in the world. Rita and I are both from the South; her from Alabama and myself from Georgia, but I adopted her a couple of years ago when I was living in New York City. She’s a spunky and energetic cattle dog mix, but gets along great in the city. The best guess for her age is around 5 (she celebrates her birthday in October), but most people who meet her think she is much younger. What's the occasion for Coffee with a Canine? Rita loves walking to this library in our neighborhood. It used to be an old home (once the residence of film star Marguerite Clark!), so it has a large and hilly lawn with several pockets for her

Who is in the photo at right? I’m Shelley Sackier, here with Haggis—seriously, he is the smartest hound I’ve ever had the pleasure of keeping company with. Haggis is a nine-year-old golden doodle who probably shares half my brain, and definitely half of my food. What's the occasion for Coffee with a Canine? Haggis is with me nearly 24/7, so whatever I’m cooking/baking/drinking/eating, he offers up his palate as beta taster. Brave of him. And kind. What's brewing?  Usually my cup is full of some small farm organic, Fairtrade, South American grind—something so strong it’ll scrape the tartar off your teeth. Then, once my eyes have gone to their fully opened position, I switch to herbal teas—but punchy, tart, and tangy ones. Any treats for you or Haggis on this occasion?  Our coffee is always accompanied by a large spoonful of almond butter. Make that two. One for me, and always one for Haggis. How were you and Haggis united? I met Haggis about a day after he was born. He was pi