where have all the pets gone

Recently, C-U superstar blogger Lori Stewart (founder of Toys for Troops) posted something that disturbed me gravely. Lori detailed the heartbreaking story of a soldier stationed in Kosovo who returned home on leave to find her dogs malnourished and on the brink of death, her house trashed and unkept. The caretaker she had entrusted with her beloved companions and her home had basically abandoned those responsibilities, and the story only gets worse from there.

So my ears perked up when I saw a news story on a local Chicago television station about a couple fostering a dog owned by a Carbondale man deployed in Afghanistan. This arrangement was brokered by an organization out of Arkansas called Guardian Angels for Soldiers Pets. Its mission is to “support our military service members, veterans, and their beloved pets to ensure they are reunited with their owners following deployment or emergency hardship.” Another organization providing a similar service is NetPets.

I wish I had known about this program sooner, and I wish it hadn’t taken such a tragedy to sensitize me to the issue. But we’re in no position to take on a foster pet right now, not with a baby due in five weeks. So I’m calling on you to answer the call — and pass it on.

the squeaky wheel gets the bench

Over the course of the spring and summer the Champaign Park District “renovated” our neighborhood park, adding a walking path that has truly re-energized the park and given it new purpose. It also has driven a lot more traffic to the park’s playground, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s not crazy overcrowded, but it’s nice to see other kids there.

The walking path has benches and even doggie clean-up stations that have remained filled with plastic bags. As part of the makeover, the two benches at the playground were removed and replaced with ones that match the rest of the park’s bench motif.

Well, that’s when the problem arose. The trouble was, only one of the benches was replaced. And the one they reinstalled was right near the sand, the last place I really wanted to hang out. You see, I am one of those parents — and I’m not necessarily proud of this — that will do anything and everything to keep my child out of the playground sandbox. I’m not usually such a germaphobe, but I find the playground sand to be nothing short of repulsive.

After waiting several weeks, thinking that the second bench was just delayed or stuck in a warehouse somewhere, I decided that I couldn’t wait any longer to speak up. So I wrote a simple, friendly email to a CPD staff member with whom I’d had contact. She thanked me for bringing the issue to her attention and assured me it would be addressed. I imagine I wasn’t the only neighbor who pointed out the omission.

The long-awaited second bench finally appeared last week, near the swings — better late than never. Sure, we’re not spending much time at the park these days. But it will be a comfort I look forward to as I dream of spring.

get your shopping groove on

Forget Black Friday. If you want to keep your money local and/or get a good deal, head out this weekend to:

• Another edition of “Local Luxury.” Five locally owned businesses teamed up to pull off this promotion over the summer, and are trying it again this Saturday. Everything will be on sale at Findings Boutique, Paris’ Boutique, Checkered Moon, Maggie’s Place and Confidentially Yours. Discounts depend on the store and the item.

• For the young children on your list, head on out to Art Mart Toys. The Urbana institution will be offering a 25 percent discount on all Thomas the Tank, Brio and Playmobil products on Saturday. (If you’re at Lincoln Square Village in the morning, you can check out the Holiday Market, which runs every Saturday until Dec. 20).

• Check out the local vendors who will be on display at the Festival of Trees’ Gift Gallery.

• If unique gifts are your cup of tea, head over to the 26th Annual Art Fair presented by the Craft League of Champaign-Urbana on Saturday or Sunday.

tis’ the season — or oh, to be a jew in c-u

Last Friday evening, I headed over to Great Harvest Bread Company to buy a loaf of challah, the traditional Jewish bread served on the Sabbath and other holidays. GHBC is one of the few retailers in C-U where one can purchase a freshly baked challah — you generally can’t find it at the “bread” chains, Panera or Atlanta. Schnuck’s carries it, but I believe the bread is baked in St. Louis and shipped up here. I’ve seen that Pekara has challah listed on its rotation, but I haven’t had the opportunity to taste it.

Anyway, the Great Harvest challah is simply delicious, a true treat. Sometimes I use it to bake with, such as this recipe for baked french toast. So I understand that it is not just a holiday bread, nor is it just a Jewish one. But there is a reason why it’s made on Friday afternoons at GHBC. I’d be willing to bet that the majority of the customers buying it on a Friday evening are using it for their Sabbath observance.

I’m rummaging around in my purse for my wallet to pay for the bread while the clerk, a young woman,  packs up my purchase in a (very unnecessary) plastic bag. “I put a copy of our Christmas specials in the bag for you,” she says, as if she’s doing me a favor.

Oh, to be a Jew in C-U at the holidays. Not even the challah can give it away.

little white lies

Peanut is in her “mac and cheese” phase. Every time I ask her what she had for lunch at school or some other time when I wasn’t around, that is her automatic answer — even if that’s not remotely close to what she actually ate. Every time I ask her what she wants for lunch or dinner, that’s her response. Lucky enough for me, she will eat other things, that’s just her default meal of choice.

It was no big shock that when we went out to eat at a national chain restaurant the other night that Ms. Peanut had a one-track mind for her order. But when I read off her options, I conveniently left that one out. She retorted with “mac and cheese.” When I told her that this restaurant didn’t have it, I didn’t realize that the waitress was standing at our table.

In all her U of I student brilliance, she says, “Oh we have that.” Well, gee thanks. Mustering everything I could to not give her a dirty look, I simply put my finger up to my mouth and gave her the universal shushing sign. I’m not sure if Peanut caught this exchange or not, but she ate almost every bit of the cheese quesadilla I ended up ordering for her.

Later, I gave the waitress a tip of the non-monetary kind: if a parent ever tells a child that her restaurant doesn’t have a certain dish — when they do — there’s probably a good reason. Somehow I don’t think she’ll make that mistake again.

social network with me

I’m now on Facebook. Don’t know what took so long, just thought it would be fun to “meet” the readers and be able to interface with you on a different level.

Mr. lbotp thinks that Facebook is silly and voyeuristic. He got that idea because this guy we both know — who barely would talk to me in real life — friend-requested me on Facebook. When I saw the request I was giggling for an hour. I had to spend a lot of time around this guy once upon a time (mostly in a professional context), and I could count on one hand the number of times he actually acknowledged my presence. Then he moved away, so maybe his friend request was regret tinged with nostalgia. Or perhaps it was just voyeurism, like the Mr. thinks.

Friday random follies

• Tomorrow marks the last Market at the Square for the season, and I’m crying in my free coffee. I want to thank Lisa and all her tireless work for another great year — I know it’s her job, but it’s obvious that it’s much more than that to her.

• The new store dedicated to green living, B. Lime, will celebrate its grand opening in downtown Champaign on Saturday morning. That’s presuming that the cops reopen the streets after Friday’s fire madness. I’m particularly jazzed about their offerings for babies and kids. It seems that Babyland in Savoy is also amping up their inventory of organic baby products.

• It looks like Krispy Kreme is about to invade Champaign somehow. At least that’s what some billboards around town would have us believe. I believe you can get KK donuts at Jerry’s IGA, and there are probably gas stations that sell them too. Donuts — not on the gestational diabetes diet.

• The Mr. and I had a rare evening alone earlier this week and decided to give Silvercreek’s “New Prairie Cookin’” menu and new chef a chance. It had been almost two years since I swore off that place, and I was pleasantly surprised with what we found. My entree was simply delectable, one of the better meals I’ve had out in a long time.

unnecessary media pandering

Illinoishomepage.net, the Web site for Channel 3, conducted a “poll” asking how long voters had to wait in line during yesterday’s proceedings.

The great majority who responded didn’t have to wait at all. They must have not have been at my polling place, which felt it was fulfilling its civic duty by making sure that each one of its voters had a “I waited to vote for X in the Great Change Election of 08″ story to tell the grandkids.

What took 30 minutes (OK, I know that’s not that long — my cousin in South Carolina waited three hours, with a toddler in tow) should have taken half that, if not for one election judge who must not have realized that her role was actually to facilitate voting. I understand these are volunteers, and that being an election judge is a thankless job. But why volunteer if you don’t want to do the deed?

This woman had it made. She was one of two people assigned to give voters — who had already been ID’d, easily a tougher job — pens, ballots and the other paraphernalia. But for some reason, when all the voters in the precinct all lined up in front of the man sitting next to her who was shepherding the voters through the process — she did not say one word. She just let all the lemmings fall off the cliff. Hence, the 30-minute wait that should have been 15.

Ugh.

sos … support our schools on election day

As Peanut is just a toddler, I don’t have much direct contact with the public schools. But Mr. lbotp does, and the stories he tells and the things he sees … it’s downright scary and heartbreaking at the same time.

I am in favor of passing the 1 percent county sales tax referendum in tomorrow’s election. I know that this is not a great time for most people to think about paying more taxes. I also know that many believe it is the state’s responsibility to fund our schools soundly and equitably, but we’ll all be rotting somewhere before that happens.

Why pass this? Because our schools are aged and have outlived their usefulness. They are technologically, and ecologically, obsolete. Our teachers and our students deserve to have a proper place to teach and learn.

Check out this Web site, developed by the group who is championing this cause, for more information. I also realize others have major concerns about this tax. Make your own decision.

For many of us, education is our livelihood. Yet for a community that seems to place education as a prime value, the support for our public schools is questionable at best. This is an opportunity to help redeem ourselves. I am not naive enough to believe that this tax will solve all the problems with our public school system. But it’s a start. If it passes, it will show that this community does indeed value our most important resource — our children, our future.

Oh, and after you vote, go get yourself some free Starbucks.