<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Callen Kropp, Author]]></title><description><![CDATA[Callen Kropp is an author of children's books.  She is that grandmother out on the interstate who shouldn't be referred to as "grandma." Find out why.]]></description><link>https://www.callenkropp.com/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Mon, 12 Oct 2026 06:52:24 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.callenkropp.com/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[Don't you just HATE data centers?]]></title><description><![CDATA[Turns out, storing your data in "the cloud" doesn't mean it's tucked away in a happy little cumulus overhead. It's sitting in a data center, in row upon row of servers, all housed in a building the area of twenty-plus football felds.   Last night, someone asked me if I was for or against data centers--and if we need more of them. Ironic, since just yesterday, we drove by several gigantic data centers going up or recently built in Mesa, Arizona. I recognized the names of some of them: Meta...]]></description><link>https://www.callenkropp.com/post/don-t-you-just-hate-data-centers</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6acbe085600a7efb21595f3e</guid><pubDate>Sun, 11 Oct 2026 19:32:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0522b6_3a337d0fc64b43fda55c00609d66ce53~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_990,h_410,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Callen Kropp</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[On Orange Shirt Day: Learn the truth]]></title><description><![CDATA[ They faced cruelty and abuse—physical, mental and sexual—as part of their daily regiment. Where any reference to their Native life, customs, or traditions were forbidden and punished.]]></description><link>https://www.callenkropp.com/post/orange-shirt-day-is-your-day-to-remember</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6abd3e70dea0b5f5d31bd6b4</guid><pubDate>Wed, 30 Sep 2026 17:07:25 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0522b6_489dcf43874a4ee1a16a3e6609fe7a61~mv2.webp/v1/fit/w_780,h_728,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Callen Kropp</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Shocked to my socks!]]></title><description><![CDATA[Ozzy Ox's Stand Against Socks  earned him a Purple Dragonfly Award!]]></description><link>https://www.callenkropp.com/post/shocked-to-my-socks</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6aaf21b7fbd0b41196c71255</guid><pubDate>Sun, 20 Sep 2026 00:19:21 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0522b6_f2645c6426de4fda8ab62e4d1c0c6210~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_500,h_444,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Callen Kropp</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Don't call me grandma--unless you qualify]]></title><description><![CDATA[I used to think that entering old age was like shifting down a gravel truck.  You’d be roaring down a smooth asphalt road, when all of a sudden, you’d hit a rut and spin out on gravel--frantically hitting the clutch and brakes as you struggled to keep all four wheels grounded.  I am old now, and so far, haven’t met that fate.  Gratefully, I didn’t wake up one day feeling like my thought processes had been hijacked and replaced with a fog that never quite lifted.  A person who didn’t have an...]]></description><link>https://www.callenkropp.com/post/don-t-call-me-grandma-unless-you-qualify</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6731210954e82ebfc6d7dd0f</guid><pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 20:09:44 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0522b6_799ffe931b6347288c1fc99f03d41c5c~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_768,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Callen Kropp</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Love of country--and a good dog]]></title><description><![CDATA[Twenty-five years ago tonight, my husband, our three kids, and I went to bed in tears. Our Chocolate Lab Otis—still centered in our hearts as the most beloved dog to ever pace the earth—died that day. Reflecting on the memory of Otis, I can still feel all 141 pounds of him cozying up against me while I worked at my computer. I can still remember how he could read my heart. He’d cuddle when I was sad and playfully attack when he greeted me with a drooling mouth and wiggly tail each day after...]]></description><link>https://www.callenkropp.com/post/love-of-country-and-a-good-dog</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6aa384c9f8e732467fdb9094</guid><pubDate>Fri, 11 Sep 2026 05:04:18 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0522b6_773214ed109c4893b050e9c95b923895~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Callen Kropp</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[I want to be a part of it...]]></title><description><![CDATA[It is good to be back to this blog! I know blogging needs far more consistency than what I have offered. No excuses are better than bad excuses, so I will save you an explanation. I still find immense delight in hearing from children who read Ozzy Ox. That's the greatest reward and I want to thank all who have introduced the lovable Ozzy to their children. He is out there on Amazon and in bookstores. So if you haven't met Ozzy, please do so! I hope to someday add onto the Ozzy Ox series and...]]></description><link>https://www.callenkropp.com/post/i-want-to-be-a-part-of-it</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a1f9f02b63f5fb828ea8d8b</guid><pubDate>Wed, 03 Jun 2026 03:56:24 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0522b6_4283d2fc8e0a40adafac1447b9ecd2df~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_712,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Callen Kropp</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[No, it's NOT all about the Benjamins!]]></title><description><![CDATA[I t began as a fundraiser. An effort by a couple dozen people to help a family who is stricken with grief after losing a patriarch and...]]></description><link>https://www.callenkropp.com/post/no-it-s-not-all-about-the-benjamins</link><guid isPermaLink="false">675fa27527406be9b1cef539</guid><pubDate>Mon, 16 Dec 2024 03:51:15 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0522b6_a938e7e5a3414044a9bac7aa06fbefa5~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Callen Kropp</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Moms, you deserve Christmas, too!  ]]></title><description><![CDATA[Mom's deserve a place in every Christmas story - and not just as the workhorse.  ]]></description><link>https://www.callenkropp.com/post/moms-you-deserve-christmas-too</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6744164890c1ab21920ac58e</guid><pubDate>Fri, 06 Dec 2024 05:37:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0522b6_4ec0b211375041d594d62e0de6a90f21~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Callen Kropp</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[And the winner is...]]></title><description><![CDATA[So!  As promised, today we are going to reveal the WINNER of our "Toys Have Feeling, Too!", the original canvas by Illustrator Emily Hagen...]]></description><link>https://www.callenkropp.com/post/and-the-winner-is</link><guid isPermaLink="false">674c90a4d536db5bba83db14</guid><pubDate>Sun, 01 Dec 2024 17:39:58 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0522b6_9088a075e49340408cea86a7667e3a4f~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_610,h_674,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Callen Kropp</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Saving your life from Black Friday]]></title><description><![CDATA[We are used to hearing about Black Friday crazy — the middle-of-the-night long lines that broke into brawls when big box stores opened...]]></description><link>https://www.callenkropp.com/post/surviving-black-friday-not-for-sissies</link><guid isPermaLink="false">674a122d06eabf8ca1559112</guid><pubDate>Fri, 29 Nov 2024 19:13:28 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0522b6_3bc86c42c7e74555b57ec5b755d0c97b~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Callen Kropp</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Almost 9.2 million beds, and what for?]]></title><description><![CDATA[We have a friend fighting for his life in a nearby Intensive Care Unit.  I cannot believe what he and his family members are going...]]></description><link>https://www.callenkropp.com/post/healing-saving-and-changing-lives-how-do-they-do-it</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6745114cab2e23aa572f83f6</guid><pubDate>Tue, 26 Nov 2024 00:38:22 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0522b6_881f7a5e5fe045908bc250917f3dfea4~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Callen Kropp</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[For lifelong success, all you have to do is give your kids a million]]></title><description><![CDATA[I didn’t go to kindergarten.  Back in the 1800s (and also in the 1960s!), public kindergarten wasn’t a thing in North Dakota.  Thank goodness, that has changed.  My grandson, Eddie, turns six tomorrow.  Like most kids his age, he attends full-time kindergarten and is reading like second-graders used to  “Grandma, I started reading chapter books!,” he proudly announced recently.  While authors like me see NOTHING wrong with sticking with pictures books long after age six, there is a whole lot...]]></description><link>https://www.callenkropp.com/post/are-you-part-of-the-50-percent-depriving-your-child-of-a-million-words</link><guid isPermaLink="false">673b7480de2b8aac0757476e</guid><pubDate>Mon, 18 Nov 2024 17:23:54 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0522b6_7bfb79c98eb146b2a1f1ca062d0ea1e7~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Callen Kropp</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Move over, Pony Express, for the Packhorses!]]></title><description><![CDATA[I think we are all familiar with the book mobile — basically a library on wheels.  But how many of us ever heard of a library on a...]]></description><link>https://www.callenkropp.com/post/move-over-pony-express-for-the-packhorses</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6735822831756b3948e286c7</guid><pubDate>Thu, 14 Nov 2024 04:56:24 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0522b6_c3ca3e6f5cc447b789e3ca445ecbe090~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_450,h_547,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Callen Kropp</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Meet him while he's still local! ]]></title><description><![CDATA[As the November Spotlight Author of the Moorhead Friends Writing Group, I feel it is high time I post a little about the group.  It began...]]></description><link>https://www.callenkropp.com/post/meet-him-while-he-s-still-local</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6732cd1831756b3948d94449</guid><pubDate>Tue, 12 Nov 2024 04:08:09 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0522b6_9cb5d93490c74abea60124b7f708786e~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Callen Kropp</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[For Veteran's Day:  Do More Than Wave a Flag!]]></title><description><![CDATA[For Veteran’s Day:  do more than wave a flag It’s a day off of work and school for many—Veteran’s Day.  While a streak of patriotism is...]]></description><link>https://www.callenkropp.com/post/for-veteran-s-day-do-more-than-wave-a-flag</link><guid isPermaLink="false">67322d2331756b3948d736fa</guid><pubDate>Mon, 11 Nov 2024 16:23:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0522b6_85293c97262444c0971497207d9b1c50~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Callen Kropp</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Election reflection: turn it around]]></title><description><![CDATA[I have often wondered what life is like for a middle-aged woman who aborted as a youngster.  Does she scan crowds looking for the face of...]]></description><link>https://www.callenkropp.com/post/_blog</link><guid isPermaLink="false">672bfd6ba77b027388b58ab4</guid><pubDate>Thu, 07 Nov 2024 00:12:59 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0522b6_ff7f47b238ee401fa69da4ca31d6d96f~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_720,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Callen Kropp</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Heads Up!  Your clocks are WRONG! ]]></title><description><![CDATA[As we pulled up to the church—what?  Something was missing.  Those other families.  Their cars. The priest.  The sister.  ]]></description><link>https://www.callenkropp.com/post/heads-up-your-clocks-are-wrong</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6727ef996308391e76978cb5</guid><pubDate>Sun, 03 Nov 2024 21:53:58 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0522b6_700528e10c7c4075a306c8cc69450cca~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_778,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Callen Kropp</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Let the Season Begin! Happy Holidays!]]></title><description><![CDATA[I think it was by design. That summer in North Dakota waited until November 1 to depart is unusual, to say the least. To go to football...]]></description><link>https://www.callenkropp.com/post/let-the-season-begin-happy-holidays</link><guid isPermaLink="false">67263c778aa18c055ae33f6e</guid><pubDate>Sat, 02 Nov 2024 14:59:46 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0522b6_3775fd88b0464edf99773854ec5e9ecf~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Callen Kropp</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Happy Isaac Houdini Day!]]></title><description><![CDATA[I want to dress as an ox for Halloween.  Most people say I wouldn’t have to do anything different!  I'm not so sure that’s a compliment...]]></description><link>https://www.callenkropp.com/post/happy-isaac-houdini-day</link><guid isPermaLink="false">671bacf393a53ae42f1a0ecf</guid><pubDate>Fri, 25 Oct 2024 15:02:21 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0522b6_cb44b00260bf46da9edcee6b21f56a19~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_430,h_635,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Callen Kropp</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[No bologna—I am resurrecting this blog!  ]]></title><description><![CDATA[My, it’s been awhile.  My new resolution on this, National Bologna Day (yes, that’s a thing!), is to awaken this blog from its inertia....]]></description><link>https://www.callenkropp.com/post/no-bologna-i-am-resurrecting-this-blog</link><guid isPermaLink="false">671afa89eadec1dcc1fa10a3</guid><pubDate>Fri, 25 Oct 2024 03:10:08 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0522b6_e181f969b9734f27a4c1bba73127f113~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Callen Kropp</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>