Free Rice!

Play the FreeRice vocabulary game. For each word you get right, 20 grains of rice is donated through the UN World Food Program to help end hunger.

Sam the Cat gets a job...

I've been a bad blogger, finding nothing new or interesting to write about since way back in November. I'll skip the excuses and break the long silence with a better-late-than-never "Happy New Year!" and one of my favourite photos of handsome Sam.

Sam still scores his (mostly) weekly face time as 'The Bookshelf Cat', even when things are quiet here at stillpoint...which, when you think on it, is exactly how things should be at stillpoint.

Sam goes after a real-life Grinch...

This week, Sam is giving the evil eye to a real-life Christmas Grinch. Please take a few minutes to read and find out why. Some very special people will thank you!

Readers of this blog may remember me writing about my son, J. We two have enjoyed some fun and blog-worthy times together over the years with many more to come, I'm sure. What I may not have shared, is that J. is a young man with special needs. He copes with remarkable grace and humour but I'm sure every parent reading this will understand when I say that his challenges can sometimes seem overwhelming, especially to those who love and support him. That's why we all feel truly blessed and grateful to be part of The Centre for Dreams in Markham — a day program providing education and vocational training to intellectually challenged adults, helping them lead independent, meaningful lives.

Last Sunday, November 25th, Dreams staff, clients, families, and friends got together to host a community event and fund-raiser, the Festival of Trees. It was a fun-filled day of fabulous Christmas trees, magical entertainment, culinary delights and, of course, Santa Claus. Money raised was intended to support the centre's operations and help grow the building fund — a dream that will someday give J. and other group members the chance to live independently in a safe and supportive environment.

The day was a wonderful success. Nearly $8,000 was raised for the Centre. Sadly, that hard-earned and desperately needed money was stolen by a thief or thieves — real-life Grinches — who broke a car window, grabbed the cash box, and ran. Much more than theft of money, this was literally a theft of dreams. Read the CityTV News account here.

So now you know the "why" of Sam's evil eye. He hopes you'll visit The Centre for Dreams web site, find out about the program, get to know the Dreamers, and if you're moved by the spirit of the season, click the "donate" button. Help keep the dream alive!

Join Sam and his Santa hat on board this week's Friday Ark — a guaranteed Grinch-free zone — and at Carnival of the Cats, hosted this week by This, That & The Other Thing

is that turkey I smell?

Mmmmmmmmm...yum!

Join Sam for leftover turkey gibblets on the Friday Ark, and at his other gig as The Bookshelf Cat.

Kindle ...ing (a little shameless self-promotion)

I was pleasantly suprised this morning to discover one of my books for sale in Amazon's new Kindle store. Available only in the US (for now), this nifty new e-book reader looks like it might be the one to please folks who don't like reading on-screen. Technology includes no-glare electronic paper and unlimited free wireless connection. Users won't even need to own a computer to enjoy a portable library that includes books, newspapers, and magazines. I want one!

For more about the book, visit Cheryl Cooke Harrington or go directly to the Kindle Store.

rethinking the whole basket idea...

After three weeks of stubbornly avoiding it, Sam looks pretty relaxed and comfortable in his new basket, doesn't he?

He might climb out long enough to board the Friday Ark and pay a visit to his friends at Carnival of the Cats on Sunday.

on second thought...

Over the years, friends have accused me of being a hopeless Pollyanna and, I admit, I do tend to look for the good in people and situations. Last week I tried looking on the bright side of the construction currently underway next door to my office. This week, I've changed my mind. Here's why...

The view from my office window, March 18, 2007

The view from my office window, September 18, 2007

'Nuff said.

Sigh.

end of a (fishy) era

Norbert, the splendid Betta splendens, has been our office mascot at the day job for nearly five years. Content in his big bowl on the corner of my desk, he was always ready to interrupt his bubble nest building to play a game of mirror-mirror or charm visitors with a display of his magnificent blue fins and a flare of his gills.

Today, as always, feeding Norbert was my first task of the morning. But today, for the first time ever, he didn't come rushing out of his root hammock to greet me. Sadly, at some point over the weekend, Norbert the Betta swam off to fishy heaven. We're really going to miss the little guy.

you can lead a cat to basket...

This is Sam.

This is Sam's brand new basket.
(Note the cushy-comfy blanket,
thoughtfully scented with catnip, even!)

And this is Sam investigating his lovely new digs.
Mmmm. Nip!

But this old cardboard boxtop is where Sam still prefers to nap.
(Note the abandonned nip-scented basket, sitting empty on the left.)

What is it with cats and cardboard boxes, anyway?!

Sam will be napping aboard the Friday Ark and at Carnival of the Cats, hosted this week by Hot(M)BC. You'll also find him wide awake and helping out at his other gig.

not quite serendipity

Walking up the street yesterday afternoon, on my way to collect the office mail from the group mailbox, I was distracted from my blue-sky-and-fluffy-cloud-gazing by a sheaf of papers, fluttering in the gutter. Not your usual bit of junk mail litter, this was blue-lined homework paper, covered with neat, cursive script. I stopped to read from a brief, bulleted list:

Reasons why you might not hand in a completed assignment:

• your computer crashed and you forgot to save what you had written


• your brother fell off his bike and you had to take him to the walk-in


• your mom was late picking you up from soccer practice

Sadly, the writer forgot to include the point that would prove, without a doubt, that good reasons do exist for failure to complete: "My notes are lying in the gutter on Anderson Ave!"

Still in the not quite serendipity department, we're enduring a major construction project on the lot next to our office building. I say 'enduring' because it sometimes feels as if the noise and disruption and dust will never end. The dust, especially, is driving us all to distraction. It coats the windows, creeps in through the tiniest cracks and leaves our desktops feeling gritty. Our cars, parked between our office and the construction site, look like rolling sandboxes. Ugh. The serendipity? They're building a carwash.