I Finally Made it to the Animal Control Shelter

We were supposed to have a photo shoot at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department Animal Control Shelter on Monday, but it didn't work out. It was my first time at a "kill" shelter and it was so sad. On the up side the place is clean, and modern and friendly (we are in Charlotte, of course the officers are friendly). But it was just heartbreaking to see the dogs and kittens. I'm attaching some photos, not to upset you, but just so you can see how stupid people are. They take on the responsibility of a pet and then decide it's too much to handle, and they do the easiest thing possible, make it someone else's responsibility. We will go back to the Shelter and do the story, probably about the people who work there full time and the volunteers. They really do good, and necessary work.

Here's a shot of my little boy helping me out at my desk. There's nothing nicer for me than to get a surprise jump on my lap. It slows me down for a minute, but sometimes you need to slow down and take a deep breath.

The magazine is at the publishers! This long weekend is messing us up time wise but hopefully we'll have it on July 12th as I originally wanted. HOT, HOT, HOT announcement! I just made a hand shake deal with Peak Fitness to serve as a distribution point for Cats & Dogs of Charlotte. They have 10 health clubs throughout Charlotte and I couldn’t be more excited! I’ll post distribution addresses on the website as soon as we’ve actually got them at the sites.

Tomorrow's a new day. Tomorrow will bring new adventures to share with you. Everyday is a blessing, everyday I will try to visualize peace, not only for myself but for everyone I love, and those living in turmoil.

Sara Abrams

I think I got poison ivy! Yippee!

When I bought my house I fell in love with the back yard, which resembles a small forest (very small). One of the things that really made me happy was that the owners said that they just "left it natural", which to me meant, no more yard work! Cause in Cali, a large part of my free time was spent in watering the lawn, tending to the fruit trees, weeding. Well, in reality "no yard work" would mean that my beautiful back yard here in Charlotte would be overgrown and hideous. I must admit that the work is minimal but on Friday morning I just couldn't stand the overgrowth and I set out to do some weeding. Well, the bottom line is that by Friday afternoon I had a nice smattering of itchy bumps on one arm. Now, why, you ask, would my blog title state, "Yippee!", and the answer is because I'm almost 50 years old and I'm re-living my youth! Probably last time I had poison ivy was summer camp as a very young girl. Of course my dad will be shaking his head in despair with me, since every nature trip we've ever had he's tried to train me on what poison ivy looks like. And he did warn me that he found some poison ivy in my side yard, but I've got to be hard headed. I just plunged in there with a short sleeve shirt on. Duh.

I rode my bike to the pharmacy to get some anti-itch stuff and ended up talking to a lovely 83 year old gentleman at the pharmacy. He just lost his wife of 58 years. Of course I asked him if he had a pet, for a photo shoot, but he didn't. Oh well!

Speaking of pet shoots, the magazine is with the designer for the second clean up and then we're off to the printers. I can't wait to see the reaction to the second magazine. We ran out of the first very fast. Everywhere we put it, it flew off the shelves. I also heard from the Mayor's assistant that a lot of people have mentioned to him that they've seen him on the cover.

Getting ready for the third magazine. It will be our holiday extravaganza. Should be HOT!

Here are some photos from Dale Newman's birthday, and a surprise. The painting in the photo was painted by my grandmother (mom's mom) and was delivered as a surprise to me by Bob Bornman, my father's college roommate and life long friend of our family. When I touched it I could feel energy, just a little, but I think Bella Abrams is happy to be represented in Charlotte.

Tomorrow's a new day. Tomorrow will bring new adventures to share with you. Everyday is a blessing, everyday I will try to visualize peace, not only for myself but for everyone I love, and those living in turmoil.

24 Hours of Magic

The magic 24 hours started out last night with a visit to Gallery Crawl in Noda with my friends Terry and Nina. I had invited a bunch of other people but I'm learning that in Charlotte, similar to L.A., "yes" means "maybe", so that was a bust. We did hook up with Michelle and her family but they didn't last long. The two teenage girls weren't really digging the scene. And my friend Alan was somewhere with four friends, but he wasn't answering his phone so we never found them. BUT the three of us (see photo of Terry and Nina) had a great time. Noda was a little dead which was surprising since the weather was awesome. We started out at The Boulevard where my little retail space, Sara's Spot, is (sorry, but I've got to self promote, got to!). Then went to Allison's gallery, Green Rice Gallery. From there we headed down the street where there was a drum circle, which we had to drag Nina away from. Then we explored Mamalu's and the gallery next to it, which I can't remember the name. Center of the Universe was already closed by the time we got there so I'm taking the girls back to that. I love that gallery. Then it was time for pizza at Mellow Mushroom, and one of us was asked for her phone number by a MAN (and it wasn't me!) so that was nice. And of course the evening ended with a beer at Dog Bar, the most fun bar in the world (if you like dogs). On the way back to the car we stopped at Rat's Nest, which consists of vintage clothing at very reasonable prices.

Then this morning I had a meeting for the volunteer committee for which I serve on the board. We're bringing a statue of Mahatma Gandhi to 5th and Tryon. It was an excellent meeting and we all finally felt like we were making progress. I don't know how the Asian gentlemen in the group put up with me and my big mouth, but I guess we're okay. I just get so enthusiastic when things are going in the right direction. Well, they haven't asked me to leave, so I guess I'll just keep being true to myself.

And of course Tryon was closed, again. Yet another event. Last time we had our Saturday meeting it was Taste of Charlotte, today it was some basketball thingy, 3 on 3. There were baskets all down the street and some kind of basketball games going on. The photo of the little boy (3 years old) was from one of the games and then the Ralley Cats were doing some cheers. They were awesome. Also, the band is from that event. And of course Police Officer Mark Nemitz and his "vintage" VW. I told him it was a chick magnate. I don't think he believed me.

From there I went back to Noda to arrange some merchandise and met some nice people with, yes, you guessed it, dogs, because Pink Paw is located in The Boulevard. It was great to see everyone poking around the displays and enjoying themselves.

Should I keep going? You're free to stop reading if you're bored. I don't usually write so much. So then I hit Goodwill and bought some awesome outfits for under $18 (oh, a perfect day). Came home, had a late lunch and then went for a bike ride on the Greenway, and made it to the end!!!! That's a total of 9 miles from the house and back.

Boy, I sound like such a commercial for Charlotte. I wish I could tell you that the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce or Visitor's Authority was paying me to write all this, but the truth is I really, really like and enjoy Charlotte.

Tomorrow's a new day. Tomorrow will bring new adventures to share with you. Everyday is a blessing, everyday I will try to visualize peace, not only for myself but for everyone I love, and those living in turmoil.

Sara Abrams

Peace Prayer Vigil

This evening I went to an interfaith prayer for peace vigil at the Myers Park Baptist Church. We were in a tiny chapel, in the absolutely beautiful church in a beautiful neighborhood. There were only about 25 people. At first I didn't know what to expect but after silent prayer people began to speak and the words were deep and profound and very moving. This is the second meeting in Charlotte. In Gaston County they've been doing this for 3 years. They're going to go to different religious venues for each monthly meeting. If anyone wants information, check my calendars through the website or email Megan Guhl at meganguhl@aol.com to get on the email list. Above are some photos from the event. I would have taken more but I felt I was intruding even with these few.

Tomorrow's a new day. Tomorrow will bring new adventures to share with you. Everyday is a blessing, everyday I will try to visualize peace, not only for myself but for everyone I love, and those living in turmoil.

Sara Abrams

It's Gloomy Out!

It's nasty out, cold, wet and dark. But all's good. Here are some photos of my retail spot, Sara's Spot. It's a lot of fun to hang out there. I'm also including a photo from a networking event last night where this fancy limo showed up. That's Sherman, and two Jennifers.

Until next time, I remain, Sara Abrams, your friendly publisher. Please send emails with photos of your pets! But only Cats & Dogs.

Aha! Gotcha!

I still don't know who's reading my little blog so I just installed software that will give me the amount of traffic. I still won't know WHO you are, but I can tell how many of you are viewing it. We all know it's just Mom, Dad and Emily, but that's okay. By the way, happy 52nd wedding anniversary to Mom and Dad (that's a photo of them while they were visiting in Charlotte).

The other photos are from Canine Cafe's 1 year anniversary at their new store in Southend. They had a "beach pawty". It was quite the affair! Dogs in bikinis and sunglasses. Pretty funny. If anyone's looking to adopt, check out Bailey with the "adopt me" kerchief. He's six months old and very sweet, and smart.

Until next time, I remain, Sara Abrams, your friendly publisher. Please send emails with photos of your pets! But only Cats & Dogs.

Charlotte is Not Just a Banking Town!

Take a look at these kids I ran into, Sasha, Jamie and Kelly. Bankers? I think not! They were waiting for a concert at the Tremount Music Hall for a group called Twizted. I know they look kind of intimidating, but they were as sweet and nice as most people in Charlotte are. The concert was going to take place later but they were hanging out in the parking area hours before, kind of like a freak tail gating party, without the George Foreman Grills.

And the second photo is Charlotte destroying some more trees, in NODA, a place that could use some old trees. I love this city but my blood boils when I see this kind of destruction. If I ever pick a political cause it will be to save the trees in this city from developers, but it's probably too late.

All's good in magazine land. I just gave the second issue of Cats & Dogs of Charlotte to the designer (Allison Hertzler) so that's always an exciting moment. Allison's new retail store opened on Friday during gallery crawl. I have a little space in there, selling funky knick knacks. I was told that I sold some t-shirts and some jewelry! What a rush. I've never had any kind of retail experience.

Until next time, I remain, Sara Abrams, your friendly publisher. Please send emails with photos of your pets! But only Cats & Dogs.

I've Been Busy!

Photograph by Ron Deshaies


For those of you breathlessly awaiting my blog, SORRY! It's been so busy. We're almost done with the magazine and have been tying up loose ends and finalizing ad sales. It's been very exciting. We did three photo shoots over the Memorial Day Weekend, including our celebrity cover. Should I tell? Well, okay (most of you know since I blab so much anyway). Greg Biffle and his girlfriend and 4 dogs. Greg's one of NASCAR top 10 drivers and it just seemed very appropriate for the summer issue. He and his girlfriend Nicole Lunders have a rescue organization that raises funds for local rescues (www.gregbifflefoundation.com). They're a very nice couple and we did the photo shoot at their lovely home on Lake Norman.

I also finalized my retail spot at The Boulevard in Noda. I need to cram it with merchandise so if any of you out there are doing some cool handicrafts and want me to try and sell it, send me an email! (Emily, no need for you to respond. I know you're the only one who reads this blog and you and I already connected about merchandise. Hope you're having fun on your cruise!)

That's it. Friday is Gallery Crawl. Should be fun.

I almost forgot. I heard something very non-PC, but so funny. A new friend, Maureen, was talking at dinner about her sister, "My Irish twin. We're 10 months apart." I almost fell on the floor laughing.

Until next time, I remain, Sara Abrams, your friendly publisher. Please send emails with photos of your pets! But only Cats & Dogs.