Kim Moog and her daughter Sarah
Michael and Kim Moog are friends and co-workers of ours at Pilot. I worked for Michael for the first couple years at Pilot, and he and Kim and their three daughters have been good friends who have helped us in the past. They are both into Cycling, and their enthusiasm could surely be credited with getting me off my cushioned rear end and out on the bike on occassion. They are also involved in the Tour-de-Cure program, which rasies money for Diabetes research. Unfortunately, last Saturday Kim was in an accident while riding in the tour. The accident was very serious, and she was air-lifted to UT Medical center, where she has been since. If you get a chance, please swing by her CaringBridge page, which is essentially a blog of sorts where the family can let people who want to know what’s happening be updated without a thousand calls, and also a place for people to leave messages of encouragement. You do have to setup an account, but its just a quick formality so they can track visitors for her. Here’s the link.
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/kimmoog
On the home front, things have been relatively quiet of late. Paige completed her first semester of college with an A and is looking forward to continuing in the fall, perhaps adding a second class as well. Buddha (see previous post) has adapted well, and even gone hiking with me with our Trekker Club. I need to upload some pictures of the hikes I’ve taken with them, I’ll make a post about that later. Megan finished First Grade and got her advanced reader hat (which she was excited about) and is currently in the YMCA summer camp program. They have a great program that mixes play, education, swimming, field trips and “clubs”. These clubs are new to us, as Megan is now at a different YMCA. But basically they have clubs for different activities, and the kids pick which one they want to join. I hope everyone has a great summer, and I’ll post about my hiking trips soon.
Booda, then called Josh.
We have a new addition to the household, and its a dog. His name is (apparently) Booda (spelling may change) which is what Megan has started calling the new dog. Booda is a smaller dog than Whiskey and Brandi, so it makes sense that Megan would lay claim to the new addition. As a mutt, its difficult to tell exactly which breeds make up this feisty little dog. My guess is beagle and grayhound, although the people we got her from guessed beagle, spaniel and hound dog. The truth is probably 10 generations of mixed breed.
Booda is an abandoned dog, having been dumped out of a moving truck on a rural road in north Knoxville. As you can see from his picture, he was neglected and is mal-nourished. he also has some behavioural issues we are going to have to work on. I heard about Booda through one of those emails that circulate around describing a desperate puppy looking for a home. Despite the description in the email, Booda is a full grown dog (albeit extremely skinny) and NOT neutered. We’re going to have to schedule a visit to Cedar Bluff Animal Hospital to take care of that last part, as well as vaccinations.
On the whole Booda is a good dog, who appears to be house-broken and understand basic concepts like getting in and out of cars. That said, the dog is very skittish around people and will take any oppurtunity to grab food and run with it (Bread Loaves, Trash, Marshmellows, whatever is within reach). I imagine his previous owners fed him rarely, because he treats food as if every snack or meal is a desperate affair. Booda will not be an easy addition, but he will find a home here, with regular meals, walks and a couch to sleep on.. and a little girl to hug him.
Pellissippi State
Today is a special day for Paige, it is her first day of college! We agreed that she should go back to school and get a college degree, and she has done admirably in organizing this day and making it come to fruit. After her placement exam, the college has scheduled her to take a number of math courses to get her back up to speed. It has been almost twenty years since she was last in school, so she’s going to have to catch up to date. Luckily her written an oral skills were up-to-snuff, so she can begin college level classes there when she is ready.
Her long term goal is to become a Pharmacist, a career we think she will find enjoyable and rewarding. The Pellissippi State Campus is very nice and a straight shot up I-140 from our house. In a strange turn of events, this is one of the colleges my dad took me to see, when I was just finishing up High School. Funny how things come full circle like that.
Alpen WordPress Theme
I have shelved the Album theme in favor of one that is more in tune with WordPress. Specifically, one that supports plugins and multiple posts. I guess I am more of a traditionalist that I suspected. The Alpen theme is very efficient, but a little sterile. But the layout is exactly what I was looking for. I am changing the colors and images to match my own needs. Anyone interested in the Alpen theme can find it here. I hope you like the image I am using in the above title. I used this same one in part of the prior site design, because frankly its my favorite picture of Megan. The Picture was taken at Biltmore mansion in Asheville, NC.
UPDATE! After posting a question about a WordPress 2.7 issue with the Alpen theme, Lewis Wolfe over at CodeScheme posted an update that fixes a problem with Images. Thank you!
Album WordPress Theme
Today I downloaded and Installed my choice of Word Press Theme. I chose Album, which I found on Brian Gardner’s Website. I chose this theme because it looks good, and puts an emphasis on pictures with its posts. I am pretty happy with the decision, and its working nicely for me.
The theme comes with a variety of color schemes, but does not seem to support widgets, feeds or links.
Family News | Matthew McBrearty | 
June 11, 2009 1:36 pm | 
Comments (12)