Yesterday we said “goodbye” to our almost 17 year-old little dog, Stinky Stell. It was a hard decision, but a necessary one. Stell was blind and deaf, she rolled down our 16 steps like a little tootsie roll more than once and had to be carried up and down, her teeth were falling out, and she waddled because her little lady legs were gnarled with arthritis. She could no longer jump onto her corner of the couch, which had come to be the only place she felt safe, and she was afraid to jump off of the couch because she could no longer see the floor. There were days she wouldn’t eat and days she threw up after she ate. She didn’t really like going out of the doggy door, which was another jump for her and couldn’t always jump to get back in through the doggy door, which in Florida heat could be a little dangerous, especially if we weren’t home. Yet, with all of this, she still seemed fairly happy. Isn’t that the wonder of dogs? No matter how horrible they may feel, they will still wag their tail for us, just to let us know how much they love us.
Not Today…
I am on a quick, mini-vacation with my husband and my sister. When we return I will have stories to tell. Stay tuned and have a wonderful week!
Winnie the Pooh ~ Which One Are You!
I’m tired of being “puzzled”. I’ve completed all of the ones I own and most of the ones I’ve found in closets that no longer have boxes but live out their existence in plastic bags. Yes, they’re that old. So old, that some of them don’t even have a picture to go by. Tired of being tired and bored, I turned to facebook, which is always amusing if you scroll through the whining parts.
And there it was, a Disney Princess test! Who doesn’t want to know what Disney Princess they are? I was sure I’d come up as Merida from Brave, after all, I’ve got the hair, the ethnic background, and I liked archery in high school! I never turned my mother into a bear, at least not on purpose, but that’s another post for another day.
I came up as Mulan. Not sure how that happened. I’ve never ridden a horse, nor have I have I ever had any inclination to go to war in place of my father. I probably did dress up as a guy for Halloween when I was a kid. It was a cheap, easy costume. AND, I am married to an Asian who does love Mulan, so that’s probably it!
Squatty Happens
When I first began teaching, I did an exercise in adjectives with my high school students. They had to go around the room and use two adjectives to describe the person next to them. Of course, they had to be kind. It was going fine until we got to the last student, a young man who shall remain nameless, that had to describe me. His first adjective was “funny”. I didn’t mind that one at all and then came his second adjective…”squatty”. Excuse me? Squatty? How did he even know that word? Squatty?! Who uses a word like “squatty”? The worst part was, I knew he was right. I was squatty. Squatty can happen when you’re 5’2″ tall. The worst part, squatty creeps up on you.
Squatty for me, happened when I turned 50. That was the year that the fat hit the fan, literally. Before 50 I could eat anything, anytime, anywhere, and barely gain a pound. I remember glorious days when my kids were young. Days of hiding in the bathroom to eat an ice cream or some cookies and milk all by myself. The kids always knew, of course. Mostly because it was the only time I locked the door. When I came out it was usually to an inquisition. “Mommy, what were you eating?” “Nothing.” Convinced that I was lying, they would stare me down and make their demand. “Let me smell your breath.” I knew I should always brush my teeth before I left the bathroom, but I always forgot. Those were good days.
A Vegan Apocalypse?
When I was a little girl, the dinosaurs had pretty much died out, but hippies began to roam the earth. They stayed around for awhile, but by the time I was 11, though they didn’t die out, they did hang up their “love beads” and settled down. The hippie movement introduced Americans to all sorts of new ideas, Eastern philosophy, pot, bell bottom pants, pot, folk and rock music, pot, free love, pot…you get the idea. One of the healthiest things the hippie movement introduced us to was the idea of vegetarians. You know, the people that don’t eat anything with a face, or a mother, or pretty much anything that tastes really good, like hamburgers.
Just This…
Hello Everyone!
Due to circumstances beyond my control, there is no blog today. Next week I will be there with bells on and, hopefully, something to make you smile!
In the meantime, let’s focus not on a virus or the news or social media of any kind. Instead, “…let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…” ~ Hebrews 12:2
He and only He is safe to trust!
See you all next week, same bat time, same bat channel and remember in the light of all eternity, none of this is that big a deal!
To Encourage You…
Lately, if I allow myself to watch the news or spend too much time on facebook, the world can seem like a scary place. We can be easily overwhelmed by all that is happening and we can easily forget that this is not all there is to life.
So, I’ve Been Noticing…The Home Version
We have all of us been mostly in the house for quite some time now. I don’t know about you, but I’ve started noticing things, Cliff and I both have. Some things one or the other of us have been noticing for a long time, other things I have noticed and they are just kind of strange. Continue reading
Belly Busters and Bolder Holders
And now a “Public Service Announcement” from your sponsor…
This post is for and about women. Men you may divert your eyes if you choose. If not, you have been warned.
In these days of “Corona Junk,” as one of my middle school students so accurately named it, we are often left to our own devices and our own personal demons. From what I’ve been reading and from my own personal musings, I have found that a lot of our demons are the same. They lurk in our pantries and reside quietly in our refrigerators and freezers. They only make themselves known when we are tired and bored and our will power has gone on vacation, lingering somewhere else when we need it most. And what do we do at those times? We cave. We eat. Sometimes we eat a lot.
Long Life Birthday
Birthdays were always an important part of my childhood, probably because my Mom loved hers so much that it would last for the entire month of her birth. When my children were small, I always enjoyed coming up with themes for their birthdays. Superheroes and Teddy Bears, Sesame Street and the Little Mermaid, all played their part as our children’s birthday themes. It was especially fun to make pink cupcakes with the requested purple frosting that came out in a putrid shade of grey, but thrilled our little birthday girl just the same. Wonderful memories of simple birthday parties. This past weekend we celebrated a birthday of a different sort.
I was always taught as a child and continue to learn as an adult, that there is much to be celebrated about culture and its differences. My husband’s family is Chinese in ancestry and though my father-in-law is first generation Chinese, there are a few Chinese traditions that have carried over for us; traditions of Chinese New Year, a particular favorite of mine because of the amount of food involved; First birthdays, a big shindig for all of the family, and Long Life birthdays, which begin when you turn 60 and are celebrated every 10 years. An interesting fun fact, some people in China don’t celebrate any of their birthdays until they turn 60!
Round chinese calendar with signs animals (years starts from 1935 to 2026)
There is also the Chinese Zodiac. Though I don’t put much stock in zodiac’s of any kind, the Chinese Zodiac is intriguing because each is an animal and they repeat every 12 years. I am a pig, which in regard to my love of food, is appropriate. My father, who is 24 years older than me, is also a pig. Again, the man loves food, which makes me think there may be something to this thing. My father-in-law and husband are both horses; though my husband’s gets a little wonky since his birthday is in January and he tends to land on the cusp of things. He may be a snake, but he prefers to think of himself as the horse.
This past weekend my father-in-law turned 90, sort of.
The Chinese culture, like many cultures, has its own set of superstitions. My father-in-law was the 5th of 6 children. When my father-in-law (let’s call him Howard because that’s his name and it’s easier to type) was a baby he had pneumonia and was very sick. He was only 6 months old at the time and in order to trick the “evil spirits” into thinking he didn’t exist, his family did not acknowledge his birthday. Howard’s birthday wasn’t celebrated for quite some time, but living in America where birthdays are a thing, eventually they began to celebrate his birthday again on May 31st.
Fast forward 50 plus years. Howard is retiring and has dug his birth certificate out of the archives of his important papers. We were all there. We all witnessed the look of complete and total shock on the face of a man whose usual countenance is extremely placid. Imagine the surprise when he unfolded his birth certificate and discovered that his birthday is not May 31, 1930. His birthday is May 21, 1930. After they were done fooling the “evil spirits” his Mom began celebrating his birthday on the wrong day. In her defense, she did have 6 children. I’m sure it was hard to keep track. But, still kind of funny. He continued and we still continue to celebrate him on May 31st, since that’s the birthday he’s always known, this past weekend included.
This past weekend our home was transformed. My husband had been planning his Dad’s Long Life Party for the past year. He ordered myriads of Chinese food, hung paper lanterns and Chinese dragons, contacted his siblings and gathered videos. He did it all in honor of his Dad. This past weekend, surrounded by his son, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, we celebrated 90 years of Howard’s life. It’s been a wonderful life! In a few weeks we will take Howard to the airport for his annual trip to Montana. The man goes every year to West Yellowstone to escape the Florida summers and to do what he loves best, fly-fishing. He has a townhouse there right outside of Yellowstone National Park. I asked Howard, being 90 now, how much longer he thought he’d want to go to Montana. His reply, “Until it isn’t fun anymore.” A wonderful life, indeed; but to Howard, it’s really not that big a deal!
