Blog + Dog, Books, Reading Lists

Literary Puppies; Big Names For Little Paws

We’re doing a massive throwback to when the puppies were still babies and I was the proud mama of fifteen dogs. Keeping in the vein of: I’m so far behind in writing content for the blog, I’m showing up with these pictures taken in the middle of May 2020 when the babies were tiny and I had yet to realize I had lost all motivation. So content I meant to publish well over a year ago is finally seeing the light of day.  

This was as haywire as it looks.

As of right now, the puppies have been in their forever homes for a year and three months. I ended up keeping four and the mama along with my first rescue dog. The house is chaos, and I love it. 

When it comes to names, I believe a name is important. It is an identity. The utterance of a name evokes an entire being. I’m the owner of a unique name with meaning. My dogs are my children, and I wanted to bestow them with unique and meaningful names; even if those names would only be with them for a short time. 

Beau is the first baby I named. Her full name being Beauvoir for Simone de Beauvoir, the French writer, feminist, and existentialist. I wanted her to be strong and smart and full of character. All things that she very much is. When Tess came along, she was a pregnant teenager alone in the world, so I named her for the titular character in Tess of the D’Urbervilles. Let’s just say, her story has a much happier ending than the novel. 

Tess brought the puppies into the world on March 3 and 4, 2020. Dylan and I went back and forth naming them. To say the least, the names were not necessarily equal in creativity. No paws pointed in any direction… Just to inform, the names I chose were largely literary or historical and sometimes both. The exception being Noski, meaning socks in Russian because he had four white paws, creatively uncreative. 

My favorite thing was sitting down and letting them climb all over me.

March—Everyone thought I named her March because she was born in March. That would be coincidental. I named her for the March sisters in Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. Now named Vienna, for Vienna sausage because she looked like a tiny sausage puppy.

Hardy—Named for one of my favorite authors, Thomas Hardy, who wrote Tess of the D’Urbervilles. He was a Victorian novelist, who wasn’t afraid to tackle difficult subjects and women’s struggles. Now named Marcus, for Marcus Aurelius, so yay for a creative furever dad.

Hera—[Dylan Named] He wanted to name a few girls after ancient Greek goddesses, who are strong. Yay for mythological stories. So I’m not mad about it. Still named Hera.

Boudica—A warrior Queen of the Iceni tribe, who met and conquered the Roman forces in 60 AD. Maybe not literary, but there are some great books about her! Now named Lucy!

Makeda—Named for a highly disputed woman who may or may have not existed in Ethiopia and/or the Middle East, depending on tradition. She is better known as Queen of Sheba and first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. 

Lily-May—A combination of Lily Bart from House of Mirth and May Welland from The Age of Innocence both by Edith Wharton. Now named by Sadie.

Athena—[Dylan Named] Another girl named for an ancient Greek goddess. She’s still named Athena, but she goes by Teena.  

Oryol—The hometown of Ivan Turgenev, a Russian writer, known for exploring nihilistic themes in much of his work. Fathers and Sons is a particular favorite. He now goes by Murphy. 

They were chaos, but they were cuddly chaos.

My house has three girls and three boys. The girls were all named by me: Beau, Tess, and Makeda. Dylan named the three boys: Knight, Duke, and Bear. None are literary names. I did make Knight’s name fun by pronouncing it K-Nig-Hit. It is pronounced phonetically and not with a silent k, g, or h. People look at me weird, and I love it. I like to tell people Duke was named for Duke Orsino in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, and Bear was named for Professor Behr in Little Women. Neither is true, but I can pretend. 

bisous un обьятий,
RaeAnna

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11..., Lifestyle

11… Books for Women’s History Month

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Hanging out in the Iowa State Law Library in Des Moines, Iowa. | Skirt | Sweater | Shoes |

Every year, I like to read books dedicated to a few of the heritage months. Last month, I did not read as much for Black History Month as I’d hoped, oh well. I use the heritage months as a way to educate myself. 

The one month I don’t celebrate through my reading list is Women’s History Month. I don’t need to. Not that I’m the most educated person on the topic, most of the books I crack are written by and about women. I find them more interesting. Gender studies is one of my favorite topics to read about. I tend to have to go out of my way to read books by and about men in the fiction genre – history is another story altogether. I just don’t care as much about the protagonists when they’re men. Sorry, but not actually. I have always thought a woman’s story, no matter who she is/was, is far more engaging to me than those of men. Men are great, sure, but I’d rather spend my time reading about my people. 

I completely and full-heartedly support Women’s History Month, but I don’t make a point of dedicating my reading list to it. My entire reading list, all year long is a devotion to women, our history, our issues, our future. If you want to read more books about and by women, here are eleven of the books and authors who opened my mind and enthralled me as a young reader, as a student, and as an adult!

  1. Rose in Bloom Louisa May Alcott
  2. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Harriet Jacobs
  3. The Awakening Kate Chopin
  4. Funny in Farsi Firoozeh Dumas
  5. All The Single Ladies Rebecca Traister  
  6. Americanah Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
  7. Reading Lolita in Tehran Azar Nafisi
  8. Homegoing Yaa Gyasi
  9. Herland Charlotte Perkins Gilman
  10. The Second Sex Simone de Beauvoir
  11. To the Lighthouse Virginia Woolf

bisous und обьятий,
RaeAnna

Blog + Dog

Adoption Day

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Where has the time gone??? | Under $15 and super duper comfy shirt. | Yoga Pants for days!

It’s adoption day!!!!

Two years ago today, Beau came home with me. She is the best Valentine’s Day gift I could ever ask for. I honestly have no idea where the time has gone.

I saw Beau at the shelter two days before I brought her home. She had to have an exit visit with the shelter vet before I could take her home. It broke my heart leaving her in the shelter for those two nights, but I was so excited to finally have her home.

On the way home, she was sweet but so nervous. She had been through a lot in her short year and half on this Earth. I didn’t know it at the time, but she was very sick. Lots of issues. In the car on the way home, she took a big runny poop in the back seat. It was memorable. Thankfully, over the first year, she went through lots of vet visits and medicines to get all better. Now, she is the picture of health.

I named her Beauvoir after Simone de Beauvoir. She goes by Beau because it’s easier.

In the two years I’ve called her mine, we have done a bunch. We have traveled to both sides of the country. We spend a lot of our time snuggling in bed while I work. She enjoys treats, long runs, and stealing people food. She went through a lot before coming home with me. She’s still growing and opening up. The last year, she has become a crazy new dog. Beau is the light of my life, and I wouldn’t trade these past two years for anything.  

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