An important decision is to be made tomorrow (Election Day) – it’s a cause near and dear to my heart… the Charleston County Public Library. We have a small branch a short walk away. We need our library for so many reasons other than to check out a book (my reason), it offers valuable resources for children, it offers computers to those who don’t have one, it’s a place that provides endless programs, all for free, to better the county.

Now they need your help… after many, many years (our library hasn’t changed a bit since we moved here almost twenty years ago, and I bet it hasn’t changed much since it first opened).

Brian Hicks, a columnist for the Post & Courier wrote a great article: “Library Referendum Shouldn’t Get Lost in Election Year Burnout”.

So. True.

TOMORROW… November 4 (Tuesday), if you live in Charleston County (SC) – the county is asking voters to approve $108 million in spending for the county library. With that money they can rebuild three libraries that sorely need it, add 2 new libraries and update 13 branches, including the one within a short walk from my house.

Voters haven’t been asked for help with our libraries in almost 30 years – despite the huge population growth that we see (27%) – Our library circulation grew by 289% within that same time period. TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHTY NINE PERCENT. They need an update.

The impact on your property taxes won’t be much, for example, the owner of a $100,000 home would only have their property tax bill increase a little LESS THAN $1/month ($11.20 to be exact). It’s hard to say yes to increase taxes for every reason – but this one… important!! Don’t you agree??? This ends my political post for the next year ;)

Our libraries are lacking… they fall far below minimum state standards in many areas including:

-Libraries should have 1.25 square feet of public space per resident -Charleston County Public Library (CCPL) has .43 square feet of public space per capita!

-Libraries should have three public computers per 1,000 residents in the county (only 3?) – CCPL has .9 public computers per 1,000 residents.

Check out the library website for more info: www.ccpl.org

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Charlie looks a bit like he’s ready to hop in the pool and float around… Dogs need cones for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it’s after an injury, sometimes it’s when they have skin allergies that cause them to bite, chew or scratch causing more harm than good. We took Charlie to our local vets office… we have to stop the chewing/biting… It truly only takes a very short time and the results aren’t good. Our vet recommended the ProCollar. My heart sunk, when he mentioned it, I was thinking the old timey plastic hard cone that fits around their neck, but blocks their view entirely. This ProCollar is amazing. It’s almost as if it makes him more comfortable. He’s happy with it on, he rests well (easy to take a nap when you have a pillow ready at all times!). There is fabric around a sturdy blow up ring, so you can inflate it however you like. It’s not perfect, but nothing is. At times he can still reach something, but only occasionally does he even try when the collar is on. We call it his “Mikimoto’s” hee hee… and when we put it on, he gets a carrot. He’s thrilled with that.

When we go to bed we take off the ProCollar, but if he wakes us up scratching or biting, the collar goes back on and he immediately falls asleep. The collar is made by Contech, you can purchase it from your vet, Petco, Amazon, etc. If you have a dog or cat that needs a collar for whatever reason, this one works well for us! We just ordered a spare. Can’t be without this! He won’t always need it… soon (I HOPE!) it should cool off and the allergies lessen. We’re looking forward to that!

As you can see below, it doesn’t stop him from doing what he loves… watching for the kitty cats!

 

Catch you back here tomorrow!

I received the most beautiful orchid for my birthday… what a surprise! And, may I say, what an awesome gift! I am trying hard to make it live forever! If you have tips on how to make that happen, let me know!!

[Art]  Top painting is Ride Down Powell by Darrell Hill. Bottom painting is Bowens Island by Ken DeWaard. Wooden Bowl by Joe Fidler (Thanks dad!!)

Bright orange key chain… made by me, hee hee… why did I hang it there?

Catch you back here tomorrow!