Happy New Calendar Year To One and ALL...

More On Love

"I think I fall in love a little bit with anyone who shows me their soul. This world is so guarded and fearful. I appreciate rawness so much."

Sorry to say I don't know who wrote this… A friend of mine took it offa Facebook. So, thanks to whoever did as I love the quote and them!

More New Friends

Love

You can't ask "why" about love...

Another bookend day!

Yesterday I spent time with two individuals who are at opposite ends of the age spectrum.
They also appear to be in different relationships to the Life adventure.

My 7 month old buddy, Gavin, is just beginning his exploration of...well, everything! I am truly fascinated watching him relate to the world. No joke. It brings me to tears quite often to see the ways he interfaces with humans, animals, sounds, etc. and the way his little system "processes" his experience. To be honest, it has brought to the surface a sense of regret at not having kids...or being a parent. But, I get to be an auntie and that's great, specially cuz I get to sleep through the night!

I spent the afternoon with my 95 year old friend, HarveyLee. It, too, is fascinating to watch her process of disengaging from life. While she is very much still here, part of her is also elsewhere. We got to laugh and talk though it's getting harder for her to actually hear which can make it hard for her to understand things. She's in a wheelchair now which, like many people, she resisted at first. But, once she got in and was made mobile again, she signed on!!!

I was so happy to spend time with her.

A Bookend Day

Some howlin', meowin' ho!

Hope this tickles your Christmas Eve heart!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynFWe6TssU0#t=215

Welcome Home Ho Lights!

Love That Golden Orb...

Snails

"The snail gets up and goes to bed with very little fuss."

Kobayashi Issa

1763-1828

Get Yer Ho On!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNrDjtDXddo

Commute With A View

Many years ago I heard an herbalist talking about pet food. It was her opinion that giving our pets dry food was the equivalent of giving them potato chips. Though I didn't immediately change my pets diet after hearing this, it certainly started me on a big and broad exploration of the topic. Sometime after that I was at a workshop where a homeopathic vet talked at length about raw food diets for our pets. That sold me. I remember trying to convince my cats it was a good idea for them to eat raw meat. It took them a bit before they agreed!!! Liza, in particular, really ended up loving her turkey meaty balls (and most other human food as well...she was a hard core foodie!)

Simon, on the other hand, has always shown more interst in love than food!

Well, except for hunting...he does love his gopher and mice friends!  

So, for years I've been feeding him wet cat food. It felt like a good enough compromise. And he seemed to enjoy it. That is, until recently.

When Simon and I moved to our new digs in July, he showed great interest in our neighbor cat's crunchies. It got to the point that when I would go to my neighbor's house Simon would dash inside as fast as he could and start wolfing down Max's crunchies. Both my neighbor and I would try to put the crunchies away when Simon was around...but I think it was too late. The boy had already developed a habit! He was hooked. And then within the last couple weeks he gradually quit eating his wet food. He also started wanting to be let out as early as possible in the mornings so he could race down and get his fix! No joke. It was clear he wanted his junk. As his person and caretaker, I couldn't figure out what to do. Finally, I had to put aside my moral, ethical and health concerns and switch to feeding him dry food.

It gave me compassion for parents who really want to do right by their kids but find themselves compromising what they believe to be "right" because that's what life asks of us sometimes.

However, at 4 a.m. When Simon was pawing loudly at the crunchy bag, it gave me pause to reconsider my decision!

"See, I don't NEED my crunchies. I'm just as happy chillin' with the closed bag. Really."

"Sometimes I talk to the bag...see if I can get it to open. It's just for fun, though."

Bone Voyage...

Hope lucy went to a frisky place in the land of eternal cuteness!

Grinch Be Gone

This is a holiday xspearmint...

I have seriously disliked "the season" for many years cuz I felt it had been co-opted and manipulated into something Disneyesque or Hallmarkish. It all seemed so contrary to what the essence of this dark time of year is about. Anyways, I decided this year I would try on a different holiday attitude! So, I've been wearing these pretty green lights around...and so far I have been met with loads of smiles, kids staring all oogly-eyed and several strangers starting conversations with me. To be honest, it is working. I do feel differently...more of the light, so to speak!

Oh Joy

Once again I have the great good fortune of hanging out with a delight full oldster.

I must have good karma in that dept. as I  get hooked up with such sweet, kind folks who also happen to live in lovely locales.

I think I've rattled on about this before but one of the things I really do love about this generation is that they, for the most part, have lived and thrived very independently of technology as we know it today. It sometimes feels like their cells are made of something different because of that. My person said today in regard to a possible family reunion: "I'm not going to pay if kids are going to come and sit with gadgets in their hands."

Though I have one of those gadgets and have become increasingly reliant on it, it is not at all hard to imagine how weird it must be for someone like her...like she is living in some strange and less relational world.

*******************

Somehow we got on the death topic...

One of the things she said made me smile a big smile:

"If anything were to happen to me tomorrow, I want you to say yipee!

She's had a great life and is ready to go...

Head Holding

When he is sitting on my lap my boy, Simon, likes my hand to either rest on his head or to hold his throat. A friend happened to photograph the former...and I thought it was an interesting photo.

HarveyLee

Well, my old friend has been pretty sick lately. I called her to see how she was doing. Despite bein' "sick as a dog" her sense of humor is still good. She said: "I lost my memory and my hearing AND my looks!"

I am so darn fond of her. While I know she's had a good long life and I've been oh so blessed to have had time with her, I will still  miss her sumthin fierce when she's gone. 

New Friends!

Old Time Values

My mom has been a customer of the same farmer for 20 years...long before it was trendy! Mom told me that the other day she called Sally (her farmer) cuz they hadn't   talked since before mom got sick. Mom was telling Sally that she isn't currently driving so Sally told her that she would send one of her boys to pick mom up and bring her to their holiday sale. Though a simple gesture, it totally warmed my heart.

Tis The Season

Amy Dickinson On Homophobia

http://www.upworthy.com/read-the-witty-suggestion-an-advice-columnist-gives-to-a-homophobic-parent?c=bl3

Stoking The Fire

I went to hear an herbalist speak the other night. One of her suggestions to warm up the body and hence, aid digestion was to put salt in our bellybuttons (sorry outies!) and then use a Moxa stick in a clockwise circle around the belly. The salt helps the body absorb the heat.

Probably a useful idea for those people in cold climates, too.

Sounds yummy to me!

Satsang With Gavin

Purple and Pink Friends

A friend just sent me this beautiful amethyst. I thought it would be nice for it and the rose quartz to hang out together.

They are a potent pair.

Magic!

After an exhausting time on the phone with my mom and being hung up on twice earlier in the day, I decided it was best not to answer if she called again. However, when she called again tonight I decided enough time had passed that maybe the  conversation might be different. As we were talking and she asked if we could talk about the "hot" topic, I told her we could but only if she were nice. I told her that otherwise I would hang up. So, after not very long she started to have a "tone"  in her voice. I stopped her and reminded her that she had to be nice or else. Short of the long is that as a consequence of her being nice she got the results she was after...which were that when she is scheduled to take her driving test she will call to let me know and her car keys (which my sister and i took from her) will magically appear. At the end of our conversation I kind of jokingly asked her what the moral of the story was and she said: "when you are nice, magic happens."

Pie, Pie, Pie!

I went to a pie auction this evening.

I'd never been to one before and it was some kind of quirky. What follows are photos of some of the contestants!

Feline Company!

This is Max.

He is my neighbors' cat and she has been out of town the last few days. So, this eve I decided to invite max over for dinner (wet food instead of crunchies...yum) 

Ummm, don't tell his mom, kay?!

Anyways, this is him meditatin' upon The New York Times with a full belly!

Humpty, pre-fall!!!

Offensive?

Shopping?

One of the ways Camp Forum celebrates the holidays is by doing a coat drive for a local charity. Residents can put new or gently used coats into a barrel that sits in the main hallway. Apparently, my mom and two of her friends went "shopping" in the barrel and found a brand new jacket with the tags still on. Between them they decided my mom should be the one to keep it...which she did. After the dirty deed she felt so bad she went home and got two of her jackets to put in the barrel. I guess it didn't occur to the three shoplifters that whoever donated that brand new jacket to charity might not appreciate seeing it on one of the Camp Forum residents.

Last year around the holidays my mom and one of the other gals in the previously mentioned trio stole and relocated Father Christmas because they thought he was ugly!

I'm glad we are just at the beginning of this years holiday season as it still leaves plenty of time for more Camp Forum holiday theatrics!

However, I hope I'm not mom's first or only call from jail!

The Last Word!

One of the residents at Camp Forum is a wizard practical joker. He told some hilarious stories from his younger years. It's a wonder he's still alive! I had the pleasure of playing a couple jokes on him while I was there. He'd loaned my dad an electric shaver so one day I said to him: "geez, you wouldn't believe it but my dad cut himself with your electric shaver." I watched his face all of a sudden get serious with concern. He sincerely asked if it was a bad cut and I said with a completely straight face: "well, no, i mean it didn't require stitches or anything!"

Then I busted up and said: "I got you!"

He smiled though I knew the game was on and I had better watch out  as I was going to be the recipient of one of his jokes.

Fast forward to the day before my departure from Camp Forum. I was hugging he and his sweet wife goodbye and as they got on the elevator I said: "remember, I can still get you from afar."

So, I hope he got a good chuckle (and not a heart attack) when he found a big ol fake spider I had my sister (who claims she wore gloves when handling said spider so as not to be implicated) leave in their mailbox after my departure!!!

The Simple Series

Tub Cat, Sadie!!!

"You should try this..."

Post shower "do!!!"

"How's my hair, now?"

After shower photo op.

Meet Jack...he's 30

Potato Chip Head!

Preparation H!!!

My mom's OT told her that Preparation H could be used on eyelid bags, too.

Who knew?!!!

And how did someone figure that out?!

Teenage Football Players Conspire To Do Something Unexpected | KarmaTube

Teenage Football Players Conspire To Do Something Unexpected | KarmaTube

THIS is the kind of story that should be making national  news.
So very beauty-full...

The Simple Series

Good Friends