Where Genres Collide Traci Dowe YA Author

Tips for Moving with Animals

Traci Kenworth

We’ve all been there at one time or another: moving with animals. It can be a frustrating experience if you let it. Here are some tips for moving with animals. I’ve found it helpful to not let them know they are getting ready to move. As in, don’t bring the cat carriers out until almost the last minute. If they don’t see the carriers, they don’t get as nervous.

Although, they are a bit nervous with the furniture and other boxed items disappearing up to this point. One at a time, sneak them into the carriers. The others will gather around the one in the carrier to investigate their cries and make it easier to catch them. I find placing a small covering over the carrier helps as well.

They’re going to cry, they’re going to yowl on the way to the new place, that’s normal. Just try to speak to them every now and then with soothing words. It reassures them you’re there, with them. They like to be reminded their people are there. It won’t stop the noise, but it’ll get you all through.

When you get to the new house, have a room or rooms set off to shut them in, still in the carriers until the movers are gone. The last thing you need is a scared kitty running out the door to a new place they know nothing about. It’ll also calm them if you keep the lights off for a bit and just let them settle.

I’m sorry, I’ve only moved with kitties. We’ve had other animals, but they’ve all been acquired after the move and then passed away before the next one. It had been eighteen years since the last time we moved and that was three years ago. This next move will be sooner due to unforeseen difficulties. If you’d like, leave advice in the comments on other animals during a move. Thanks!

Happenings: When a higher-priced home came on the market, we realized we’d need a couple thousand more of a downpayment for it. It was one with better choices and less to no work which would prove a plus. So, we’ve decided to hold off and save further for now. Unless, of course, something else comes along that meets our price. We got an increased loan amount but again, that would take more money to meet that. This future goal is about halfway to that number.

I had to go back to my primary doctor for my diabetes as my chronologist hasn’t responded to my asking for prescriptions for the past couple of months. Same with my dexcomm service who’s been trying to get in touch with him for 2 1/2 months. I let another doctor go for my HS for the same reason. The chronologist is the same doctor that told me on the last visit that it didn’t look good for me and basically wrote me off for dead. I don’t have time to waste on doctors like those two.

My most recent pc broke down on me at last. It’s been going the last few months from blue screen to black screen and back again. It was hard to get any work done on it and keep up with things. My daughter just bought me a new hp all-in-one (the kind I usually get) that was on sale for the 4th. It arrived Friday night and we started setting it up on Saturday. This is my first full day with it (Sunday) and I need to try and knock out a blog post for tomorrow within the day. The post itself is written. It’s just setting it up for the site and getting the happenings and links put in.

Elsewhere, my schedule should be changing for the better after this week when I’ll have more time to write and take care of myself, the household, and things. As well, as the kitties. My son is going to switch to working at my daughter’s company. It pays better and the hours are better. Afternoons, which means no more early morning hours or separate runs. My schedule will take on a better shape and I can get back to more of what I love. That’ll change even more when I get one or both trained to drive and get other vehicles. The other vehicles have to wait until after this park though as there’s no room for any other than my car.

Here are some links around the web you might like!

1. Entertaining Stories https://coldhandboyack.wordpress.com/2023/07/02/other-duties-for-me-today/ Otto and Frankie allowed me to sleep in a bit this morning, and I was grateful for that. This allowed me to feed them, make coffee, etc. before I called my mother. This has been a weekly arrangement since I moved to Idaho decades ago. I like chatting with her, and we tend to spend a lot of time on it. After that, it was time for Dutch Baby 2.0. This time I incorporated a few changes. One was offered by John Howell, and that was to make sure my ingredients were all room temperature. I came up with a couple of others on my own. First, I think the 10 inch pan was overkill, so I opted for an 8 incher. This made me adjust the timer from 15 minutes to 12. That was a guess, but it worked out well. Definitely looks delicious!
2. Annette Rochelle Roben https://annetterochelleaben.wordpress.com/category/attitude-of-gratitude/ I am thankful for reading on the weekends! It’s been so long since I’ve been able to enjoy a good book! Time and other things have kept me away from the enjoyment. Hope to fit it back into my schedule!
3. Rosie Amber https://rosieamber.wordpress.com/2023/07/02/%f0%9f%8c%baenchanting-gardens-today-we-visit-topdock-in-his-alabama-garden-gardenigntwitter-lovegardening/ Please tell us where in the world you live and how long you have had your current garden. My home garden is situated in the Southern USA and specifically in Vestavia Hills which is a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama. The area is in Hardiness Zone 8A which changed a few years ago from Zone 7B. Although that should mean we might expect milder winters, that was not the case last December when we experienced record cold temperatures for several days and that cold caused significant damage to many of the plants in my garden. I have lived in my present home since 1981 but my intensive gardening began in 2014 when I retired. I am a big fan of flowers!
4. Syl’s 65 blog https://syl65.wordpress.com/2023/07/02/soulfulmusic-%f0%9f%8e%b5-youth-edition-anything-is-possible/
5. Chris the Story Reading Ape https://thestoryreadingapeblog.com/2023/07/02/publishing-contracts-you-shouldnt-sign-by-erica-verrillo/ When writers finally get that long-awaited offer of publication, their first reaction is jubilation, rapidly followed by “Yes, yes, a thousand time YES!!!” But with contracts, as with marriage proposals, it’s better to step back before making a commitment, because divorces are long, messy, emotionally draining affairs. Here are a few of the red flags – taken from real contracts I haven’t signed – that should serve as indications that your work deserves to be in better hands. A must-read!
6. Smorgasbord Magazine https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2023/07/02/smorgasbord-blog-magazine-podcast-tales-from-the-garden-trouble-in-paradise-part-two-by-sally-cronin-2/ This week the king of Magia faces the repercussions for his dalliance with a lady-in-waiting! You can listen to here to Part One
7. Fiction Favorites https://johnwhowell.com/2023/07/01/stream-of-consciousness-saturday-prompt-rock/ Jessica continues to hold the gun on me. I ask her kindly if she might be willing to aim it at the big guy driving the car. She chuckles and gives me a smile that says, “Fat Chance.” A look out the windshield lets me spot a coffee shop on the next corner. I suggest we all stop in hopes that everyone else in the car is suffering a brain bleed from the lack of caffeine; Jessica scoffs and reminds me that if our destination turns out to be a hoax, I won’t need caffeine ever again. My mind is racing, trying to figure out a diversion. A well-placed rock thrown with some velocity could be a good diversion. Just as my brain centers on the idea of running for my life, we stop; the guy in front says, “We are at the address.” Jessica looks out the window. “This is a Costco,” she whispers. “How the hell did the statue get into Costco?” She turns to me with fire in her eyes. “This better not be a trick.” To make her point, she shoves the gun under my nose. My stuttering explanation of the logic of hiding something in plain sight causes her to lower the cannon. She motions for me to get out, and the guy standing outside the door thwarts the thought of running. He opens it and motions for me to step out. Jessica comes around the car, and the gun is hidden somewhere. Her eyebrow lift tells me it is hidden but easy to pull out. “Move it,” she orders. We stroll toward the entrance. When we get inside, a person asks for our membership card. “Show her your card, big shot.” Jessica does not sound pleased. “I don’t have a card.” My voice comes out in a squeak. Jessica turns a shade of red never before seen by humans. Her snarl causes the Costco person to step back. The big guy comes forward and asks about the next move. Jessica puts her hand to her chin. Her eyes brighten. “Let’s go to the service desk and sign up.” She turns to the Costco person and says. “We can do that, right?” The Costco person nods, and we are off to the desk. That rock would be handy about now.
8. Writers in the Storm https://writersinthestormblog.com/2023/07/media-software-for-writers-that-wont-break-the-bank/ Video has become such a powerful tool on social media that authors, whether independent or traditionally published, can’t afford to ignore the medium. In one of my previous posts here on WITS, I talked about building a Mobile Media Kit to make recording videos on the go easier.  But now that you have the raw footage, what software can you use to produce your videos without emptying your wallet? Let me introduce you to some of my favorite programs to help you get started without busting the budget. This won’t be a tutorial, as there are online communities and hundreds of great videos on YouTube to help you learn the software, but more of a “why I like this program” article.
9. Marcia Meara Writes https://marciamearawrites.com/2023/07/03/letstalk-marketing/ Happy Moon’s Day, Everybody! Hope your day is going well, and that at least some of you are in the mood to talk a bit about marketing today. Confession time: I have never marketed my books anywhere but on my blog or at my local wildlife talks, and I think it’s way past time to change that. The question I’m posing today is, what inexpensive marketing have you tried, and how did it work for you? I’m not in a position to do something as costly as Book Bub, though I’ve heard it’s well worth every penny, but there are quite a few smaller, less expensive alternatives out there that would likely be far better than not doing any at all. (Fussy Librarian comes to mind, but I know there are other affordable options around, too.)
10. Entertaining Stories https://coldhandboyack.wordpress.com/2023/07/01/trying-new-things-and-learning-along-the-way/ I wanted to sleep in this morning, but the dogs weren’t having it. After I gave up, I did my morning chores then went to work on my MS. This story is something new for me and I may, or may not, pull it off. It’s a mystery box style. I have a lot going on with character development which serves to delay the larger plot reveals. It sounds bad when I write it that way, but there is good stuff happening as the story moves from box to box. One of the things it’s forcing me to do is modify my personal goals for chapters. I have some that are the target of ten pages, but there are some that only reach seven and a couple in the neighborhood of fifteen. I know this isn’t wrong, but it still bugs me and here is why. I am using more section breaks in this story. It would be easy to eliminate some of them to even out the chapters to a degree. Meaning I could move the pages before a section break up to the previous chapter that came in short. An example might be in order. I have Cody meeting this new girl that I previously posted about for a drink. As they are leaving the tap house together, I closed the chapter. I opened the next chapter when they changed locations and things got steamy. After that, I had to use a section break to show his mother worrying about him while trying to get some work done. (Cody and his mother Jenny are co main characters.) I think this opens up a good discussion chapter lengths. I’ve always believed they should end where they end. However, that doesn’t mean a chapter length of 5, 7, and then 2. Moreless as equal as possible with the occasional varying one.
11. Writers Helping Writers https://writershelpingwriters.net/2023/07/character-type-and-trope-thesaurus-the-chosen-one/ DESCRIPTION: This character is predetermined by fate, prophecy, or a higher power to save the world or do something equally heroic that no one else can do. They frequently possess special abilities—magical, supernatural, or symbolic—that set them apart from others. FICTIONAL EXAMPLES: Harry Potter (the Harry Potter series), Frodo Baggins (The Lord of the Rings trilogy), Rand al’Thor (the Wheel of Time series), Paul Atreides (Dune), Buffy Summers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) COMMON STRENGTHS: Adventurous, Ambitious, Bold, Courageous, Enthusiastic, Focused, Honorable, Hospitable, Independent, Industrious, Observant, Persistent, Private, Resourceful, Responsible, Talented COMMON WEAKNESSES: Apathetic, Cocky, Cowardly, Indecisive, Inhibited, Insecure, Uncooperative ASSOCIATED ACTIONS, BEHAVIORS, AND TENDENCIES Having special birth circumstances or lineage Being driven by purpose Being highly responsible Eagerly accepting new challenges Being respected or well-liked by supporters and allies Feeling like they were made for more Ah, the chosen one.
12. Roberta Writes https://roberta-writes.com/2023/06/30/roberta-writes-thursday-doors-cffc-and-sunday-stills-fondant-animals-poems/ This week, I’ve rolled a few challenges together again as Thursday Doors and CFFC go well together. I have a slightly different agenda for Sunday Stills but it is flora and the other two are fauna so it goes in my head. The doors below for Dan’s Thursday Doors challenge, are from our trip to Welgevonden Private Game Reserve in December. We stayed at a game lodge called Nedile and these are doors from the lodge. You can join in Thursday Doors here: https://nofacilities.com/2023/06/29/independence-doors/ So talented!
13. Books and Such https://teripolen.com/2023/06/30/blogtour-the-night-it-ended-by-katie-garner-bookreview-mystery-thriller/ Finding the truth seems impossible when her own dark past has her seeing lies everywhere she looks… From the outside, criminal psychiatrist Dr. Madeline Pine’s life appears picture-perfect—she has a beautiful family, a successful mental health practice, and a growing reputation as an expert in female violence. But when she’s called to help investigate a mysterious death at a boarding school for troubled teenage girls, Madeline hesitates. She’s been through tragic cases before, and the one she was entangled in last year nearly destroyed her… Yet she can’t turn away when she hears about Charley Ridley. After Charley was found barefoot and in pajamas at the bottom of an icy ravine on campus, the police ruled her death a tragic accident. But the private investigator hired by her mother has his doubts. If it were Madeline’s daughter who died, she’d want to know why. Arriving at the secluded campus in upstate New York, Madeline’s met by an unhelpful skeleton staff and the four other students staying on campus during winter break. Each seems to hold a piece of the puzzle. And everyone has secrets—Madeline included. But who would kill to protect them?
14. Story Empire https://storyempire.com/2023/06/30/benefits-of-rabbit-trails/ Hey, SE Readers. Joan with you on this last day of June. In my last post, I talked about the importance of getting facts straight when using real-life events in fiction. Doing that requires one of my favorite things. Research. I’ll admit when I first began writing, I didn’t want to bother with “pesky little details.” All I cared about was getting a story written. At that time, I didn’t have a clue about the ins and out of writing fiction. Since then, I’ve learned a lot more work goes into writing a novel than simply writing. I’ve come to love research. So much so that I can pause to look up something, then find that an hour or two has passed because I’ve gone down several rabbit trails—none of which I planned. I have to admit to annoyance myself at the rabbit holes but I’ve come to enjoy the tales they might inspire within the story or in one of their own.