Cool Hand Luke loves running past open doors and she has been deprived of late. She dashed downstairs and minutes later she returned and ran through the door. Again. (or through the door again) She is the only pet left from the three I had when I entered my marriage over ten years ago. She loved running through open doors. Open one she will dash through it and open the door a little later she will return running at top speed. She is a black female who does not get along with our other six cats too well although she is more aggressive than the others when it comes to eating from one of the two bowls we use to feed our seven cats especially if we had not put food out in awhile.
Tags: cat running through open doors, cats, Cool Hand Luke, Cool hand Luke and doors, pets, seven cats
Posted in humor, local, marriage, pets, relationships |
It was a typical cold and wet March day. It certainly is not as cold as parts of winter were. Nevertheless, all I wanted to do was stay in. We are planning a movie date and a nice dinner. That was something to actually agree on a movie. That usually is very difficult for us to do. I found a comedy we had never seen. Warmer weather is on the horizon. I just have to keep that in mind. And enjoy the Sunday inside.
Tags: cold and wet March day, comedy movie, March, movie date and dinner, Sunday, winter
Posted in local, marriage, seasons |
Both my wife and I appreciated the orange Gerbera daisy that bloomed in our house. The two plants were left over from last year. The plants were annuals that would have died in the cold. Recently she moved both plants closer to the window. And one bloomed. Both looked healthier. I counted three buds on the other plant. Let us see if that one blooms, too. And what color the flower will be. Every morning we look at that orange bloom both of become a little happier. This was an experiment that worked to our surprise.
Tags: flowers, gardening, Gerbera daisy bloomed inside, Gerbera daisy's survival, orange daisy
Posted in beauty, flowers, knowledge&learning, local, marriage, nature, seasons, time |
Coco immediately found the chocolate bar. It was a Hershey bar that my wife put down briefly on the table after tearing it open and taking a bite. She was not paying attention. She heard a rustling of paper. One of my dogs Coco was slowly making her way through the medium sized bar. She thought no one would notice but the crinkling of the wrapper gave her away. My wife took the chocolate away from the dog and I put the remains on top of the refrigerator. There was no way she was going to eat the chocolate after Coco nibbled it. I was not that particular.
Tags: Coco, Coco and the chocolate bar, dogs, Hershey chocolate bar, my wife, pets
Posted in animals, humor, local, marriage, pets, relationships |
It is so easy to become unhappy. It is so easy to center on what you don’t have. I have to center on the multiple blessings I have been given: food, shelter, a loving wife. Humans have the capacity to want things they don’t have. It only makes me unhappy. For the rest of the Christmas season and New Year I will thank the Lord for the many blessings I have been given. There is so much I have to thank the Lord for. I will think about those things the rest of the year.
Tags: blessings, Christmas, count your blessings, food and shelter, God, gratitude, it is so easy to become unhappy, loving wife, multiple blessings, New Year, thank God, thank the Lord
Posted in balance, God, knowledge&learning, life, local, love, marriage, mental health, seasons, time, wisdom |
NYC is another world. I was there briefly–forty-eight hours. So many people. All, seemingly, in a rush. Surrounded by thousands of people. I took the subway to get around. It is a world I am not in too often any more. I was glad to get back home surrounded by trees and quiet. My dogs gave me a terrific greeting jumping all over me when I entered my house. I left my wife for my trip. It is difficult for us to go away with our menagerie–all four dogs and seven cats. Maybe, once a year my wife and I go away usually to the NJ shore. I was glad to get home. To peace and quiet although I was glad to see part of my family in New York if only briefly. NY city is just another world.
Tags: dogs, four dogs, my wife, New York, NJ shore, NYC, peace and quiet, pets, see my family, seven cats, subway, the peace and quiet of a small town, thousands of people, trees and quiet
Posted in local, love, marriage, pets, relationships, time |
Our “monster” cactus in my office bloomed today. That is something we never expected when we moved the plant in when it became cold. I meant to show the large pink flower to my wife this morning but I forgot. The flower was five inches long from stem to tip and four inches wide. There are four more buds on it. One that received the least amount of light fell off. I never had a cactus bloom in my house. It was a miracle.
Tags: "monster" cactus bloomed, large pink cactus flower, my office, plants
Posted in beauty, flowers, local, marriage, time |
One of our dogs was in real trouble. My wife had baked five loaves of pumpkin bread and lined them up on the counter. And left them there alone for awhile. She came back later and one of the larger loaves had the whole top of it missing — just bitten off. She then had a Mom to Dog talk with three of our dogs. We could not blame Pax: he is not capable of reaching any. He is just too old and arthritic. We did not think “Sweetie” did it. But we definitely suspected our two black dogs. She spoke sternly to both of them. They did not look too guilty. Tilla definitely had been spotted several times in the past his hind legs stretching tongue extended to reach any crumb he could find on the counter. More than once. And we would not put it past our female Coco. She certainly was capable of this dastardly act, too. This happened yesterday and today I walked Tilla and he let loose with a big soft poop. That made him a strong suspect for that bread had plenty of butter in it. I am sure he has forgotten about that incident hours ago.
Tags: Coco, dog ate pumpkin bread, dogs, Pax, pets, Sweetie, the Mom to Dog talk, Tilla, tilla and the pumpkin cake
Posted in animals, humor, local, marriage, pets |
I was depressed lately. Depression is not something, necessarily, to stamp out. I was aware depression was something I had to work through. Nothing happens in a vacuum. I knew I could not do this alone. And needed someone’s help to do that. I don’t think my wife could help me. I had to seek the help elsewhere. Someone who was not invested in me personally. Depression is an indicator. There are reasons for every state. I just had to “work” through them.
Tags: depression, depression is an indicator, mental health, my wife, needed someone's help, working through depression
Posted in balance, local, marriage, mental health, relationships, time |
Every night we play a game of scrabble. It is a fierce rivalry. Often it goes down to the last turn or two before we can declare a winner. I taught her everything I know about playing the game and getting more points. I think she has learned her lessons well for she beats me all too often.
We play a open game with a computerized scrabble dictionary. It is more fun that way. We use a deluxe game which swivels although it is “patched” together with duct tape. There is one “build” allowed each game. In other words you are allowed once a game to enter your seven scrabble letters in the dictionary to see whether you can come up with a seven letter word, for there is a bonus of fifty points if you use all your letters in one turn. This is such a powerful “weapon” that we limit its use to once in each game. We have come up with some strange words that way. I really think she has become a better player than me, though we seem to take turns in winning. I hate losing.
Tags: bonus fifty points, game, getting more points, I taught my wife all the "tricks" I know regarding scrabble, Scrabble, Scrabble build, Scrabble dictionary, scrabble rivalry, seven letter word
Posted in knowledge&learning, local, marriage, relationships, time |
There are too many clothes in my closets. I found eight long sleeved shirts and grouped them. There are so many shirts I hardly wore. I don’t even know where they came from. I still think my clothes breed in secret. I did not buy them. There is a clothes giveaway in town and my wife must have gotten some of them there. I am ready to give some back. My favorite ones get lost in the shuffle.
Tags: closets, clothes giveaway, eight long sleeved shirts, give some back, my wife, shirts, the shirt breed in secret in my closet, too many shirts in my clothes closet
Posted in balance, life, local, marriage, time |
The last day of summer the “Monster” cactus bloomed. I was thrilled about this. The pink flower was five inches in diameter. It has one more bloom to go. When we bought it home months ago, it was blooming all over it. I never had a cactus bloom on me. It must have liked the sun it received in that spot. Its tentacles hanging from a tree are several feet long. It truly is unusual. If I remember correctly, she bought it for my birthday (in April). She was amazed by it, as I am by it now.
Tags: "the monster" cactus with several feet tentacles, cactus, last day of summer, my birthday, pink flower, plants, the five inch cactus flower
Posted in beauty, flowers, local, marriage, nature, time |
