Happy Post #8 - #12

Look at that tongue....Cinder isn't a tongue wagger unless she gets really hot and today was that day. She loves the sunshine but being almost all black her little body heats up pretty quickly. Today the sun was shining, the birds were out and about and Cinder was enjoying every last light beam she could handle before she became so hot that the tongue began to reveal itself. She would eventually give it up and jump off the couch to land where the beams weren't streaming. Very shortly tho, she would be back in that sunlight, basking again. Please don't remind me she needs a good groom, I know, she knows, and the groomers know. It's coming.  Cinder basking in the sun with tongue out is my #8 on the happy list.

Now you do realize that this list of 75 things that make me happy are in no particular order...please keep that in mind as my brain wanders through this list.

Yesterday 6 of us girls went to see "The Shape of Water". Have you seen it? All I'm going to say is the writer/director has quite the imagination. I did think both Sally Hawkins and Richard Jenkins were outstanding in their roles. Just a heads-up, you may come out of that movie theater with a big hmmmm. It's quite a journey.

Our WOW (Women on Wednesdays) Bible Study began again in January after our holiday break. Liz Curtis Higgs is the author of "Bad Girls of the Bible" and what a hoot she is. There is a video with each lesson and her descriptions and tales are a complete delight. Being with like minded women each Wednesday is always a delight whatever we are studying, but having Liz Curtis Higgs as our study guide makes my #9 happy list.

#10 has to be blooming plants indoors in February. Right now it is 14 degrees outside, but my blooming cyclamen plant is toasty warm inside on my table next to my winter chair with a pile of books to read.. I say winter chair because in the good ole summertime my wicker chair on the backporch is my summer chair. Both are my "safe havens" my "nests" my "relaxing" spots and my, yes, my "napping" spots. A  short snooze in the afternoon with those winter rays warming me is my #11 happy thing.

And #12 is my granddaughter's blog Cooking.Cats.Charisma  Bailey has quite a sense of humor and she loves to cook. Combine those 2 elements and you get recipes and a chuckle to boot. Check her out, you'll enjoy her witticism.

So tomorrow is boob smashing day...aka mammogram. This does not go on my list as a happy thing, along with Dr's appointments, colonoscopies, and trips to the dentist.

Until next time.....

The Sad/Happy Post

Dear Blog, I have this bad habit of telling myself that I'm going to begin being more consistent in writing to you, but somehow OK, I'll admit it, pure laziness seems to get in the way. I have these great thoughts on what I could write about, and what do I do...nothing, absolutely nothing. I certainly can't blame anything on "I'm so busy", because let's face it, unless you have a full-time job (did at one time), small children (also did at one time), are a care-taker (double did at one time), I can't come up with anything else that might keep me from writing a simple blog post. I get up every morning to "must have a couple of cups of coffee", read emails, read the morning paper (on-line) check facebook and instagram and start the circle again....check email etc. I'm in a rut. I'm blaming it all on my I-PAD....it's too easy, too convenient and I have to blame someone, something, certainly not myself.

I'll admit the last few months have not been the easiest, losing my sweetie in September and then losing my Toby this month.  Somewhere I think it's written that you are not supposed to lose your husband and your favorite pet within months of each other. If it's not, it should be. Toby had been with me for 11 years, got him as a puppy, and honestly the BEST dog I ever had. He was with me all through those bad times struggling with my sweetie's Alzheimer's and then being a comfort to me after my decision to place my sweetie in a care facility. He had not been acting quite right for a couple of weeks, not eating well, having trouble getting comfortable, restless. I thought probably a flu or a virus. Brought him to the Vet on a Monday evening and left without him. He was diagnosed with lymphoma and since I could tell he was already suffering with his not acting right, I made the decision to have him put to sleep. One of the top 10 toughest decisions I have made in my life. But I did it out of love, so he would not have to suffer. I would only be keeping him alive for myself, not for him. I know many of you have had to face this decision and it ain't easy. Will I get another dog, absolutely. Cinder is lonely, she looks for Toby all the time, and she also will be leaving me soon, she has breast cancer and she is too old to have the radical surgery she needs. So I'm facing this again before too long. Right now she is OK, but tumors are popping up in her mammary glands. I've loved my kids with all my heart. Sorry to write all this sad stuff, but this has been my life lately. I do try to keep busy, book club, bible study, movies, reading, but I'm in a rut and I need to change my lazy habits.

I do have several great trips planned for this year and I'm looking forward to all, but it's this day to day shit (pardon me) that I'm having trouble with. My 75th birthday is coming up in March and a couple of  years ago I wrote 73 things that make me happy in my blog posts. Maybe that will help. I'll start with these two...

1) Crunchy Peanut Butter on Trader Joe's Classic British Muffins toasted with Stonewall Kitchen's Peach Amaretto Jam spread on top. Try it, you will like it.

2) Reading a really good book, just finished "The Woman in the Window" by A J Finn.  If you enjoyed the old Hitchcock movies, you will enjoy this read.

Ok I'm on a roll. Maybe this will keep me going. Inserting a few picture, they have absolutely nothing to do with this post. Just some pretties to look at.

See you next time.....

All Those Beautiful Colors

I just read that you should never ever apologize for not blogging....apparently readers do not like this so from this moment going forward I will never again apologize for not blogging, altho that guilty side of me always wants to. But no, not going to do it.

My little Cinder had dental work done on Friday.  She had 8 teeth pulled, 4 up and 4 down.  Now I know the first question is..."how is she going to eat." The good news is, that all 8 of the teeth were her front teeth, leaving her back teeth aka grinders, in tact. The grinders are just that, the teeth that grind and chew. Right now I have her eating soft foods, but so far she has had no trouble handling anything that has gone in her mouth. Not only did she get her teeth pulled and cleaned but she had 2 non-cancerous tumors removed on her body. When they brought her out to me after all this surgery, she looked at me with a "what the hell did you do to me?" look. She wasn't happy at all and pretty much ignored me for almost 24 hours. But she has perked up and is close to resembling the dog I took into the vet, minus 8 teeth, 2 tumors, and with the remainder teeth sparkling clean...Hallelujah!! Her breath was a "real knock you over crappy air flow smell" prior to the surgery. But no more and just $$$'s later she has a minty clean mouth.

It is definitely Fall here. Last night we had our first light frost, pretty much wiping out the remainder of my flowers. But that's OK, I am done with gardening by this time of the year. I have carried my camera with me whenever I go anywhere, trying to capture the stunning colors that are only here for such a short time. We have had quite a bit of wind lately which makes focusing challenging. But I managed to capture a few beauties through my lens....

The berries are just wonderful in the Fall.

A little accidental color match in a parking lot...

Glorious leaves in yellows, reds and oranges....

I love when these leaves turn color in the Fall, climbing up the tree trunks, but I honestly think it might be poison ivy...look but don't touch...

I hope that you have been enjoying your Fall color.

Bittersweet October. The mellow, messy, leaf kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter

    ~ Carol Bishop Hipps

Until next time......

That Time of the Year

Spring came, Spring left, and now it seems to be returning again.  I did say that it was a fickle season and this past couple of weeks proved my point.  A week ago Monday it was 70 degrees, this Monday we had a snow-fall of about 5 inches, wet, heavy stuff.  Today there is hardly any trace left of that 5 inches.  "Hope for the best. Expect the worst. Life is a play. We're unrehearsed." ~ Mel Brooks  That about sums up Spring around here.  I did manage to find a robin or two during the snowstorm, sitting on the rose bushes in the backyard, patiently waiting for the snow to stop.  

Now we are back to this.....

Linking up to Theresa's Good Fences 

I get real antsy about this time of year.  The holidays are long gone, the winter has gone on too long, my getaway to Arizona is over, too early to even think about planting flowers, it's that ho-hum time of the year for me.  I start getting real lazy....sitting around reading, binge watching TV shows, playing solitaire on my I-Phone, ya know all really important meaningful ways to spend the day. 

I volunteered to take pictures of the animals at our Humane Society, thinking I would go a couple of times a week.  But after further discussion, I think they want someone that can come practically every day.  I don't know if I want to be that committed to a volunteer undertaking.  They did say they needed photographers for their events, which is a consideration.  I was so excited about the possibility of being around animals and photographing them, but it's just a might much for me to commit oneself to.  I know my limits.  

We have been studying Joanna Weaver's "Having a Mary Spirit" in Bible Study.  This last week we focused on forgiving others.  Sometimes we have been hurt and the person responsible isn't even aware of the hurt.  Many times we carry this burden of hurt and don't want to forgive.  I found this quote today and thought it was so appropriate for letting go....  "Holding on to anger, resentment and hurt only gives you tense muscles, a headache and a sore jaw from clenching your teeth. Forgiveness gives you back the laughter and the lightness in your life." ~ Joan Lunden  Isn't that just perfect. And I also found this on Pinterest and decided to add it to an Arizona image of mine. 

Yes, we can count on God and his love for healing old wounds and help us to forgive.  Who wants to carry around old hurts, not me. 

Until next time.....

Going to the Birds

OK, after my more than usual serious post on Saturday, and I do appreciate all the encouraging and positive words of encouragement more than you know....I am back to my more light-hearted self.

Ask me what I have done today, just come on ask me.  I filled up the birdfeeder before our whoopin' snow storm a week ago Sunday. I know I am always a little behind in doing this, should have been hung and filled in early winter but I figure as long as there is bare ground and seeds on the trees the birds probably have enough to eat.  Now that the ground is covered in white, I'm thinkin' they would appreciate their local diner to open for the winter season.  I guess the birds thought the diner was closed for the season because it took them darn near a week to realize it was open for business.

So this AM I have been standing at the window, (which really needs a good cleanin') still in my PJ's and robe, snapping away.  You won't see any pics of sparrows in this group. Sparrows are the most populous bird in this area. Maybe they ought to pass a law like they did in China limiting a family to only 2 children per household nest, up 1 from when the law was passed in the 70's stating that each family could only have one child.  Somehow I don't think the bird world would adhere to that mandate.

I digress....

I know this is some kind of woodpecker, when I searched the internet I just got more confused. There is another one that has red on it's breast that I have seen but haven't been able to catch her/him in my lens.

Not sure what this is either, I think some kind of a wren.  Not crazy about the non-sharpness, but was excited to see this rarely seen bird in my yard.

And the Junco's so sweet, only see them in the winter-time here.

And then Mrs. Cardinal landing on the trellis.  She stayed for quite awhile, and just like a woman kept turning to make sure I had her best side.

 

And now a week later and after the snow has melted quite a bit, Cinder is much more willing to go outside.  She can maneuver through the banks and trails.

"You cannot be lonely if you like the person you're alone with"  -  Wayne Dyer

Until next time....

It Snowed!!!

Oh boy did it snow here today. and it was that nice heavy "heart-attack" kinda snow that just sticks to everything.  Perfect for making a snow man.  It started before 11:00 PM last night and the last I checked it was still snowin' and a blowin'.  Needless to say I barely stepped out today except to shovel a pathway for my kids to do their thing.  Speaking of doing your "thing" I still remember my grandmother's outhouse.  Oh Yuck!!  We only visited in the warm months and it was bad enough then but can you imagine traipsing out with snow up to your knees with the wind howling. Oh no....so glad I am a 21st century woman.  How did I get off on that train of thought!!??

These are my snow angels.  They are the family that live across the street and every time it snows they come over (all of them) with shovels in hand and shovel my driveway and walks.  You can see by the pic how heavy it was snowing.  God bless the good neighbors in this world!!

Toby loves the snow....he jumps and runs and buries his nose in the white stuff.

While Cinder, on the other hand, is just fine staying in the nice warm house with her new sweater to keep her extra warm.  She only goes out when it is absolutely necessary, if ya know what I mean.

OK now it is the morning after and Toby has managed to burrow his way through the snow...you can tell by the huge piles just how much snow actually fell yesterday.  I saw on facebook someone measured 16 inches on their back porch but I don't think it is quite that much.  It's still a pile whatever the actual measurement is.

And another shoveling angel stopped by this morning and snow-blowed my driveway and sidewalks. I am so grateful for my neighbors who do this for me.  I have enough trouble just keeping a walkway cleared for the kids.

And to remind us that Spring is on it's way....(altho today being Ground Hog's Day and the critter saw his shadow which means another 6 weeks of winter) we will think warm thoughts and enjoy flowers from TJ's until they begin their emergence in the warmth of April May June.

Stay warm, stay safe!!

Until next time.....

It is Coming......

Well, the kids are back in school, Labor Day is upon us, and shortly the leaves will begin their yearly burst of oranges, reds & yellows.  I gotta admit that I have a hard time choosing between spring and fall as my two favorite times of the year.  Altho based on the fact that winter follows fall I will have to go with spring.  We all know I did quite a bit of moaning and groaning last year, alright let's call it like it really was, I bitched about the long, cold & snowy winter and I keep hearing that it will repeat again this year.  So prepare yourself for more bitchin' if that does indeed come to fruition.  I just hope that I handle it with a little more grace than I did last year.  A great way to handle it would be to leave for a warmer climate....say January thru March but that ain't gonna happen.

OK, enough already....one indication that Fall is quickly approaching are the little crab apples that are constantly dropping off of the tree in my side yard.  Now if I was really ambitious maybe I could use these little fruits in a jelly or jam but instead I will just use them as props for a photo.

I love this little hand-painted cup.  My Dad's sister was an artist and she painted this in 1962, over 50 years ago.  I love that I have a rememberance of her and her talent.  PS...the reason that bokeh looks so weird is that I took this on my back porch and that is the screening in the background.

Another reminder is the latest blooming hosta is now sprouting her final show

And finally, and this has absolutely nothing to do with fall....the kids went to the beauty shop and got their hair and nails done.  Aren't they adorable.  I just love those two....

And one last thing....I am joining Good Fences, TexWisGirl's weekly meme.  I know this isn't much of a fence, but I promise it is, an 8 foot one that obviously is used by many a bird to perch on.   And again this has absolutely nothing to do with Fall except that the sparrows never leave, Fall or Winter they stay no matter what.  I wonder if they bitched as much as I did last year??

"But the struggles make you stronger and the changes make you wise...And happiness has its own way of taking its sweet time. " ~ Gary Allen

Until next time.....

The Week That Was....

After seeing a glimpse of Spring on Monday & Tuesday, Mother Nature decided our winter and snow was not over yet.  But this time she gave us a glorious, magical snowfall.  The kind of snowfall that can spell danger for possible heart attacks because it is filled with ice crystals and wet, wet snow.  As beautiful as it may look, it is the worst kind for clean-up.  But since I am not part of the clean-up crew my perspective is more positive.  I am seeing pure beauty.  You know the kind of snow I am talking about, the kind that clings to everything it touches leaving behind blankets of pure white snow.

Now we have had our fair share of snow this past winter....what am I saying fair share??? I mean we have almost topped the all-time record for snow this year, but it has always been that light puffy snow, easily removed, but not the good snow-ball - snow man making kind of snow.  I need to go on a treasure hunt to find some good home-made snowmen, but unfortunately I think because everybody is so fed up with winter and snow, that not even good packin' snow is enticing many to venture out as it would have earlier in the year.  Even the ducks and geese are ready for this winter to "be gone"...

Well, it is now Saturday, didn't even finish this post that I began on Wednesday....oh inspiration please return.  Even tho I have moaned and complained (and by the way I am definitely not the only one complaining about this winter, just to be clear) one good thing that has returned to my life is my love of reading.  There was a time that I literally devoured books, finish one, immediately start another.  But then, something happened, don't know what, I stopped reading.  Well, not completely, but the only books I read for probably the last 4 years was whatever my book club was reading for the month. And many times I skipped those.  Books enrich your life, so why did I stop?  Still a mystery to me....but anyway with this lengthy winter I began reading again and it's brought me a lot of the joy I used to feel as I read good books.  I love the way some authors can just literally mesmerize you with their style of writing, their way with the written word.  And with the lightweight of the Kindle it makes it easier to hold books for long periods of time.  I gotta admit as this aging process takes over my body, the arthritis in my fingers has progressed to the point where it just downright hurts to hold a book, especially a hard back book for long stretches.  I still would prefer to have the "real" book sitting by my bedside table, but for comfort and ease I have fully embraced my kindle.

Spring is on it's way....slowly, very slowly.  After the wet snowfall we had on Tuesday night, it began to warm-up again with the melting snow piles getting smaller.  And ofcourse the mud, and the dirty paws, but that comes with Spring, part of the ritual.  The birds are returning, you can see them gathering bits to begin their nesting, green is beginning to make an appearance underneath the melted snow.  I know winter is not over yet, but at least we are on the downhill swing.
 
 

And one last pic.....I couldn't resist.  The only thing that Cinder cannot  pass up is a piece of paper that has fallen on the floor.  A napkin, a paper-towel brings Cinder to inspect and and begin to rip and chew until I stop her with just a word.  She usually does this in secret, but somehow one of the "pieces" caught on her tooth and there was no hiding the guilt.  It's like the proverbial "kid caught with the hand in the cookie jar".

And another Lenten thought.....

Do more than belong: participate.
Do more than care: help.
Do more than believe: practice.
Do more than be fair: be kind.
Do more than forgive: forget.
Do more than dream: work.  ~ William Arthur Ward

Until next time.....