Quote of the Week

On particularly rough days when I'm sure I can't endure, I like to remind myself that my track record for getting through bad days so far is 100%...and that's pretty good. 
- Unknown.

You've all heard the expression about hindsight being 20/20.  That usually refers to something that you should (or shouldn't) have done.  Our old friends shoulda, coulda, woulda, and if only gather around, often making us look back with regret.

Here's a way that hindsight can make us feel better instead of longing for a do-over.

For example, you're having a bad day, the boss yelled at you, someone ate your chicken sandwich and you just lost your last dollar in the vending machine.  Or, your sitter called at the last minute to cancel because she has the flu and she sat for your kids yesterday.

Whatever the situation, you will get through it.  Why? Because you always do, and when you look back on the incidents or issues that caused such distress at the time, you see two things.  First, you are here.  You got through it. And second, it was not nearly as bad as it seemed, or maybe not as bad as it could have been.



Hindsight can provide a little insight into how your next jog in the road will turn out.

Please share your thoughts or stories in the comment section.


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Tis The Season!

Tis the season!  This phrase has many meanings.  The Holidays are nearly upon us, but for those of us with trees, it is now leaf blowing/raking season as well.  Remember when you could rake them up into a big pile and after an afternoon of running and jumping into them, you would rake them back into a pile and burn them? I guess some folks can still do that, but not us city-dwellers.  Nope, we rake, blow or otherwise collect bushels and bushels of leaves to deposit at the street for the city to come by with their huge leaf-sucking machines and vacuum them up.

Now for a look at the more traditional season.  That's right, Turkey Day is just around the corner. Christmas parades, tons of food, long siestas, and of course, football, team up to make the fourth Thursday in November, not just any day, but Thanksgiving Day.

I must one of the few people on the planet who doesn't get all wound up over a big Thanksgiving Day meal. It is a day that gives us license to make enough food to feed a starving army - to serve a half dozen people, and then eat as if we were that starving army.  I realize that many gatherings are much larger, so just multiply by your gathering by a factor of 10 and you will have comparatively the same amount of food per person.

Thanksgiving also gives us license to eat as if it's our last opportunity to feed for the next year.  

Picture this:

Frank: "I'm stuffed."

Bob: "I can't move...I can't even breathe."

Ron: "Alice, why did you let me eat so much?"  [belch]

Then you hear a voice from the kitchen.  "Does anyone want more pie?"

Frank: "Yeah, I'll take a slice."

Bob: "Me too!"

Ron: "Maybe just a small piece."

Do you hear conversations like this around your house after the big meal?  It's like we become bottomless food pits, and despite all the moaning and groaning, we continue to pick away at the leftovers until they are secured in plastic take-home containers for us to recreate the feast the next day.  No one walks away empty handed.

Guess what? Christmas is only 47 days away, and we can start all over again.  Click here for an update on how long you have left to shop!


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Word Challenge

We've all played scrabble, done crosswords and word find puzzles, and in the age of technology we play with (or against) people across the street or around the world.

This challenge is a little different.  There is no list of words to find, no points to count and no competitor to defeat.

All you have to do is sit back, look at the chart below, and write down the first three words that you see.

What are your three words, and do you think they describe you?

Explain why they do or don't describe you.

If your first words don't describe you, choose your own three self-descriptive words.

Bonus:  In 50 words or less, write a paragraph describing yourself using those words (or your own three words).

Have fun, and please share your words and/or stories in the comments section.

Remembering Rosie

This week's quote is in memory of Rosie.

Another cat? Perhaps. For love there is also a season; its seeds must be resown. But a family cat is not replaceable like a worn out coat or a set of tires. Each new kitten becomes its own cat, and none is repeated. I am four cats old, measuring out my life in friends that have succeeded but not replaced one another. -Irving Towns

It has been one year since I bid my Rosie a final farewell, and not a day goes by that I don't think of him in some way.  Remembering him with smiles, laughter and tears, he will always be a part of my life.

I clearly remember the day we brought him home as a kitten.  He was four months old, with big feet and big ears.  He had so much long hair in his ears that the folks at the Humane Society called him Mr. Tufts.  He eventually grew into his feet and ears - hair and all, and developed the most magnificent mane.  My mom came over to see our new addition, and the first things she said was "He's so gray!"  Well, yes, he was.

Rosie was special not only in his overwhelming sweetness, but also his breed.  It was only after his passing that I discovered what kind of cat he was.  In my post What is a Nebelung?  I talked about that, and included a video describing the Nebelung breed.

Mr. Towns measures his life by the number of feline friends with whom he has shared his life, no one replacing the other, but adding to the fullness of his life like the rings on a tree.  I am many cats old, and currently share home and heart with the two other sweet felines who enjoyed lazy days and warm sunbeams with Rosie.

Fall Fungi

A while back, I told hubby that I was doing another post on the interesting fungi I found in the back yard, and he said "Oh really, is that a bunch of fun guys having a party?"

So without further ado, here are the 'fun guys' I found hanging around my back yard.

I scanned hundreds of photos in an attempt to ID these fungal visitors.  Alas, I was unable to determine what they are.   So who's having a party in your yard this Fall?


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