thank you again, Boni

well, i know it wasn't 'sposed to be for her, it was 'sposed to be for me, but my poopy (don't tell my Mom i said that again) sister has decided that she loooooooves the heated bed. and you know what that does? it means that at night, when i want nothing more than to sleep under my Mom's chin and purr for her, i don't have to fight with Casey over that privelege. the last two nights she's been down in the living room in the heated bed! all night!!! yea!!!!

oh, and thanks to those of you who have sent me comments 'bout the tigers losin' the world series. we thought they were the better team, but they just fell down on the job. they did not deserve to win the way they played. so, once again i will have to pin my hopes on the red wings........and we know what happened last year.........

Fall

sorry if this picture of me is a little blurry, but my photographer had a tough time gettin' one of me stayin' still 'cause i didn't want to be out there and was tryin' to get in the house. do you see all those yellow things??? those are dead leafs. the trees are gettin' all bare and it's gettin' downright chilly. we got somethin' called a World Series with some cats and some birds playin' in it here tonight and i'll tell you, they're gonna be cold!!

but, i'm not gonna be cold! nope, no way!! you know why?? 'cause the sweetest Tuxedo Gun Moll in the whole wide world sent me a present (for Sweetest Day???). it's a heated bed! (is that way cool or what???) a while back i was complainin' that the Dad wouldn't share his heated thingy 'cause he "said" it was for his back. so Boni, lovely, sweet Boni, sent me this so i would be warm in the upcoming cold, cold winter. who could ask for a nicer Gun Moll???? ~~thank you Boni!!~~

To our Friends

When Edsel and I joined the blogosphere in July of 2005, we thought that we were signing up to do something cute, kind of a hobby. What we didn’t realize was that we were becoming part of a community. I don’t know if that community was already in place then, or if it started to form later. What I do know, is that many of you have become our friends, almost like an extended family, as I hope we have become yours.

Many things have happened. There have been new members, lots of them. Some members have dropped out. There have been new poodins added to families, unfortunate deaths, moves to new homes, new jobs and illnesses. I know from experience how many of you came together to support me this past summer when I was faced with a very scary, life changing event.

There have also been job losses. Some have been in households where there is more stability because of two wage earners. One that has not is what I’d like to talk about today.

Many of you know Brandi and her Mom Carol from Catitude. After having a job for three years, Carol was laid off from work in May. Carol is single and didn’t have much cushion to fall back on because she was still recovering from being laid off five years ago and losing her savings. After being laid off, she was out of work for two years, including a six month period when she went back to school. In addition, her brother who was able to help her some the last time she was laid off was, due to a reorganization at work, laid off just days after Carol was. So her family is unable to help her this time. She has been diligently job hunting, however, she has a lot of challenges that make it difficult for her to find a job that will work for her. Carol does not have a car, so a job needs to be close enough to walk to, or needs to be on the bus route. Carol is diabetic and has other health problems, needing $600 worth of medication each month. A new job would have to offer her insurance that would cover preexisting conditions, from day 1, and that is rather rare in these times. She currently is receiving her meds thru a government program, and if she goes to work, that coverage will stop. So, besides the fact that there are many, many people out of work, vying for the same jobs, Carol is limited in the ones she can even apply for.

Some of you also know that there have been efforts to raise money to help Brandi and Carol (Oreo and his Mom; Sanjee, Boni, Mini, Pepi, Gree and their Mom Robyn) and many of you have generously contributed. Brandi and Carol are so appreciative of these efforts. It has meant the difference between having a roof over their heads, food and things that most of us take for granted like electricity and a phone or being evicted and hungry.

The contributions have slowed, as many of us think “I did that already.” Robyn and I were talking recently, too, about the fact that the Holidays are coming, and many people become so caught up in the festivities, shopping, baking, planning events, that we forget that there are people who still need our help.

Robyn and I came up with a plan that we are going to follow, and I thought I’d suggest it to all of you, as a way to continue to support one of us who needs our help.

Every year as the Holidays come around, I start making lists of all the people I need to buy gifts for. Some are important people that I will buy for this year. Others are the “token” gifts, the extended family members who have so much, the coworkers, the mailman, the manager of the bagel shop, etc. In most cases, I usually give something to them that they appreciate, but the gift certainly doesn’t make a “difference” in their lives. And, I know that I am going to receive things from these same people. Things I don’t need, often things I stick on a shelf and watch as they collect dust. It’s not that I don’t appreciate the thought, but this year, I feel strongly that the money could be used to help someone who truly needs it.

Robyn and I have decided that now, before these people complete their shopping, and before we shop, we are going to contact them and tell them this:

"As the Holidays approach, I want to be able to feel good about the fact
that I have “done the right thing”. To that end, this year, I am not going
to be giving you a gift. Instead, that money will be contributed to a family
who needs it in order to pay their rent and buy food and pay for medical expenses.
I hope you will regard this contribution as not only a gift from me, but a gift from you.

And, if you were going to give a gift to me, I ask you to consider, instead,
a gift to this same family. You can go to:
http://www.crystalsandjewelry.com/private/brandi.html to contribute
online with your credit card, PayPal account, or e-check, or you can give/send a
check to me (no amount is too small) made out to Carol Zunker and I will forward
it along. And, even if you weren’t going to give a gift to me, a small gift to Carol
would brighten her life and help to get her through the winter months.

I thank you for your understanding. And, if you choose to make a contribution,
I thank you for your compassion. "

And, independent of the coming Holidays, if any of you fellow bloggers would like to help Carol and Brandi out, it would be greatly appreciated. Robyn is letting us contribute through her business Paypal account and is absorbing all the processing fees. Just go to: http://www.crystalsandjewelry.com/private/brandi.html

Thanks to all our “Family” members. May we all have a happy holiday season – Edsel and Susan

i'm so embarassed

clearly my idea of a "pimped up" name was not in synch with your ideas. i wanted to have a "cool" name, something that portrayed my badness. but, my Mom says you, my friends, obviously don't see me that way. and, as i opened up the forum to "vote", i have to go with what the majority rule is. so, my official "pimped up" name is:

Delicious Edsel Beautiful

i think i will go outside and hide (it's more like a "wimped up" name.......)

whoa

Zeus (http://zeusexcuse.blogspot.com) posted yesterday 'bout his pimped up name. i decided as a gansta' i should have a name like that too so i went there. just like Zeus, there were too many good choices and i'd like you to vote to help me pick.
a. Deacon Dr. Edsel Flash
b. Delicious Edsel Beautiful (i swear i didn't make it up)
c. Reverend Doctor Jackson Glide
d. Mr. White Chocolate Jackson Glide
e. Big Playah Jackson Glide
f. Fine Ass E. Ice
g. Papa E. Love

so, if we could get some votes, 'specially from the ladies, i would 'ppreciate it.

not fair

well. i don't think it's fair that they keep secrets from me! hrmmph!! you know what i just found out today??? do you??? i found out, by accident 'cause she took her rolley bag out, that my Mom is goin' out of town!!! she's leavin' Saturday on a work trip to some place called las vegas. her friend Laurie from work is goin' with her. besides i'll worry 'bout her, i am gettin' pretty tired of this leavin' me at home garbage.....and, i bet she won't even bring me anything!!! what??? the last time you brought me somethin', a tuxedo collar from noo orleans, i lost it?????? well, gosh, i'm just a poodin, it's not like i am a responsible adult or somethin....sigh....so anyway, she's goin' away and won't get home 'til toosday. i will miss her a lot. i hope she'll be safe and get lotsa sleep and stuff. she promised me she would, that it will be a very easy trip with lotsa sittin'. she said the hardest thing she'll do is eat a lot!
but, i also wanted to show you somethin'. it's growin' in our backyard. it kinda looks like some alien thing landed. my Mom says it's a mush-room. look at it, it's huge!
it's next to my Mom's boot here and it's bigger than any i've ever seen. hmmm, and that's a question i have.... why do they call it a mush-room? my Mom told me what mush is, and i don't see anything here even close to mush, let alone a whole room full of it. again, these bean things can be so very, very confusing.
anyway, if anybody wants to telerport over to visit this weekend i'll be pretty lonesome, so just come on by. i won't be able to get on the computer for a few days 'cause the Dad is a little lame and probly won't even turn it on.....hey! i need my own laptop......

birthday refrigermator

well, here it is. the new refrigermator. my Mom got all the stuff to fit in it (barely) and it works. she's a little unhappy 'cause the salesladyperson told her that 'cause it's "faux" stainless magnets would stick to the front. but they don't! (the Dad is real happy, he said all our cool magnets were "tacky.") plus, 'cause it cost so much it wound up bein' her birthday present!!! (is that fair??)

but, my Mom said she had a great birthday today. she took the day off work. she and the Dad went to a town where there are lotsa cool stores so they could walk and window shop (they bought chocolate cupcakes!) and just enjoy the day (my Mom said they held hands ~giggle~). plus, my sister Casey and i got her these really pretty flowers:

and, her fav'rite part was the Dad made her some new joolry, just like he used to do when they used to do art shows. they're real pretty neck thingys that you put on long chains. we tried to take a picture of them but the flashy thing made them all shiny lookin' so we'll take a picture outside when it's light to show you how pretty they are. they made my Mom cry a little 'cause she was happy with them. (she cries at a lot of things lately. i wish she'd stop 'cause i never know what to do.....). so, happy birthday to my Mom. i'm so glad she's here with us to celebrate!

baad refrigermator

this is our regfrigermator. it made my Mom very unhappy this weekend. it looks like a perfectly nice refrigermator but it started makin' REALLY LOUD noises. my Mom checked and 'cause of it's age she decided that it wasn't worth tryin' to fix. so, my Mom and the Dad went shoppin' for a new one. they found a bunch a ones that they liked, but my Mom said it was like a conspearacy. the ones they liked in the price range they wanted to be had to be ordered and wouldn't be here for two to four weeks and she said we'd be crazy listenin' to that REALLY LOUD noise for that long. if it even kept workin'. so they had to buy one for waaaay more money than they wanted to spend. it's comin' tomorrow. then, my Mom had to spend a bunch of time today gettin' the old one ready for the Dad to get the stuff outta it and into the new one 'cause when they deliver it they'll haul the LOUD one away. i don' know... it seems all complicated......i just hope our cat food and half and half stays cold, not like our ice cream that all melted.....