Category: happy

Another … Only in the movies

Posted on Posted in family, grateful, happyLeave a comment

I thought I had already shared this once yet I can’t see where or if I really did so, here it is because, well it’s just to good not to share.

My son had been out of town.  I asked his wife if I could pick him up from the airport. 

While I was waiting for him, there was a young man standing next to me, also waiting for someone.  He was obviously nervous. He told me that he met a gal online.  They’ve talked and now she’s coming to spend a weekend with him.  His nervousness was worrying that she’s changed her mind or will turn around and leave.  I was doing my best to just talk to him so he could calm his nerves.

The time has come, I see my son walking towards us.  I almost wanted to stay with this young man until she arrived. 


My son comes through the glass doors and walks right to me.  Or … actually right to this young man.  My son tells him that she is in the bathroom and she is so excited to see him and spend the weekend together. 

My son sat next to her during the flight.  My son saw the young man’s picture and instantly knew who he was when he saw me standing next to him.


I still get teared up when I think about it.

I love tear-jerker movies.  In the beginning and end of the movie, “Love Actually” there are airport scenes with people happy to see each other or hugging before someone goes through security.  Every time I’m at an airport, I’m teared up from watching all the people waiting to pick someone up and the hugs when they see each other.  

Brush ME, no ME

Posted on Posted in animals, dogs, dogs-puppies, happy, humor, petsLeave a comment

Rosey always loved being brushed!  Since we’ve had her she gets excited when she sees me picking up the brush.  I was given one of the “brush” mitts.  I wasn’t sure she would like it but it seems that she likes it just as much as the brush.  Whether I get the brush or the mitt out, she is so excited she can hardly stand it.  

She’s always first.  I begin to brush her and she stays still and soaks up all the attention.  When it’s Clarks turn it becomes very comical for us.  She runs around him; she tries to get between Clark and the brush and she rubs on the back of it (while I’m brushing him).  She dances around and around wanting to be brushed again.  No matter how much she’s brushed, it’s never enough.  It’s amazing how much energy this 13 1/2 year old dog with arthritis has when it’s brush time.

More “new dog” tales/tails

Posted on Posted in animals, dogs, dogs-puppies, grateful, happy, petsLeave a comment

It was last April that we rescued a sweet old girl.  She has great energy, no longer acts her age and makes me giggle every day. 

Well we rescued another dog.  My old lab passed last January.  I’ve had labs for about 40 years.  I love labs and I love big labs.  I’ve wanted another, although I felt it was more important rescue a dog that really needed a safe and loving home. 

I’ve been looking at many shelters for about 2 months.  I have certain criteria also.  Over 4 years old because I’m too old and my mother is way to old for a puppy or very young dog.  It must be good with other dogs and cats, as well as young kids because I still have young grandkids.  I also want a black dog.  Black dogs are my favorite but also they are often not adopted. 

We thought we found a dog that would fit our home well.  He wasn’t large but the same size as our Rosey who was adopted last year. This one to needed a safe, loving forever home as much as Rosey did when we found her.  As it turned out, they told us that he didn’t like kids  but had forgotten to mention it in his description.

As far as labs … I first had black labs.  Then when my kids were young we had yellow labs.  We had a beautiful 100 lb, (white) yellow, female.  Later I had a black lab again.  I also prefer the English labs with the stocky body, shorter nose and block heads.  My older son has only had and only wants chocolate labs.  I never imagined getting a chocolate lab but there they were.  If you know me at all, you know that when it comes to dogs … my preferences mean little as as soon as I’m face to face with them, I love them all.  The bigger they are the quicker I melt.

Two chocolate labs were at the shelter.  This big boy is 4 years old; good with other dogs, cats and little kids.  One of the labs was a beautiful 100 lb boy.  We were instantly drawn to him.

We went to see them, brought our dear old dog, Rosey and left the shelter with Clark.  He is the most lovable dog.  He is the biggest love.  He wants to be loved on constantly, which is difficult for me to resist because I melt.  He isn’t energetic.  He’s kind of a lazy boy.  The ball thrown 4 -5 times is good for him and he’s ready to roll in the grass or watch Rosey play.  Walks is how this boy will get exercise I believe.

Hosting my First Thanksgiving and then some …

Posted on Posted in family, food, grateful, happy, healthy, humor, kids, nostalgia, perception, the things we doLeave a comment

This morning I was thinking about Thanksgivings of my past. Thank goodness our challenges are funnier in hind-sight.

The first couple of years that my husband and I were married, we had Thanksgiving with either my parents or his. Then I wanted to host Thanksgiving at our house. Our first born was a little guy so this was a very long time ago. I was excited and had my butterball turkey ready to go. These bigger turkeys cook for hours anyway but as the day progressed into evening and the turkey still wasn’t done, we began to believe that the oven was broken.

At closer look, I had cleaned the knobs on the stove and replaced them upside down. The turkey had been in a 250 degree oven for almost 10 hours. Ugh my first Thanksgiving feast felt like a disaster. Many years later. My eldest son and his fiancé were hosting their first Thanksgiving dinner. She was a bit defensive, emotional and … competitive.

She asked me to make the stuffing because by this time I had perfected stuffing and my boys loved my stuffing enough to brag about it. Over at their home, I was given a double box of stuffing and was asked to make one. Stuffing is stuffing right? It’s kind of hard to destroy boxed stuffing.

… or so I thought. My stuffing came out just as presumed that it would. My son’s fiancé made the second box of the double box of stuffing. She looked at mine and looked at hers and had a melt down. Hers looked like … baby poo.

I tried to reassure her that everyone’s first time hosting a Thanksgiving dinner, something doesn’t turn out right. And of course, these are the times that we reminisce and laugh a about for the rest of our lives. I am so grateful that we have these memories and can laught about them.

Antique or Comfort Yard Sale?

Posted on Posted in happy, humor, nostalgia, the things we doLeave a comment

For years when I’d hear anyone talk about their style of furnishings I’d look around and think, hmmm I have that unique look of Comfort Yard Sale. My husband wasn’t always thrilled with my easy going taste (or lack of) but we were always comfortable. With a bit of a shoulder shrug I’d think, comfort and used doesn’t have to be worn or distasteful, we’re good.

Years ago (1990’s) when my boys were young I had a very large tea pot collection. Our living room had a vaulted ceiling and looked into the kitchen. Looking towards the kitchen there was an archway and since the living room was vaulted, this archway was quite high. My husband put up shelves on the living room side of the archway for my teapot collection.

I loved teapots but was cheap so I only bought used teapots and typically from yard sales. I had a $5.00 limit on myself so I didn’t get carried away. I always liked the older looking teapots as well. They always looks great along side my grandmother’s old teapot.

One day we were having pizza delivered. I opened the door and for some reason both my husband and I were both their at the door. The teapot collection was not only visible but somewhat of a focal point from the door.

The delivery driver (pizza guy) pointed to and described one of the teapots. He told us how he had seen one just like it on the Antiques Roadshow and it it had a four-digit number on the bottom, it could be worth a fortune. While the pizza guy stood and watched curiously, my husband anxious, shacking and nervously got the ladder and carefully got the teapot. His back was turned to the pizza guy and I as he slowly turned the teapot over.

The pizza guy and I immediately knew when my husbands shoulders sunk down with disappointment. Although I have many antiques and many of those teapots are indeed antiques, antiques don’t always equal valuable. I no longer have most of those teapots yet I chuckle every time I think of those teapots.

The silver lining

Posted on Posted in Extraordinary things, grateful, happy, healing, healthy, nostalgia, over-coming fears, peace, perception, the things we do, unexplained mysteriesLeave a comment

I love movies and have for a long time. When my boys were young there were movies we’d watch over and over and never grow tired of them. I’m still that way. I love the movies that surprise me at the end like Sixth Sense, The Others and Shutter Island. I love the romantic comedies, tear-jerkers and a good drama. I love the Pixar and Dream Works type animated movies, especially the ones that make me laugh. I am a sucker for sappy romance movies too.

I’m grateful that during many challenging times throughout my life, I’ve found the silver lining. Sometimes it’s not some ah-ha moment, divine wisdom or a sense of grateful lesson but a gift within the challenge.

My TBI was at the end of 2003. During 2008 and 2009 was by far the most challenging time of my decreased cognition. My short term memory was … well, very short. Some … well quite a bit of my long term memory wasn’t so good either.

The most entertaining silver lining as a result of my TBI came during 2008 and 2009 when my cognition was at it’s worst. I could watch movies over and over again and not remember a thing. Even the movies I had on VHS that I had watched for years became new again. It was fabulous! The only one I didn’t like was City of Angels because every time, the ending would rip my heart out and each time, I never saw it coming.

I am grateful for all the silver linings that I’ve been fortunate enough to recognize.

New dog misunderstandings – Part 1

Posted on Posted in animals, dogs, dogs-puppies, happy, humor, the things we doLeave a comment

We rescued a senior dog from a shelter 10 days ago. She is 12 years old and it doesn’t seem that she’s had the greatest life. She doesn’t know what a toy is and doesn’t know how to play, other than what appears to be how she played with another dog. She isn’t house-broken and doesnt know any command either.

She’s turning out to be an amazing dog. She is kind and gentle. She doesn’t make a sound and we were sure that she must’ve had her larynx removed but a few days ago she heard something and barked. Yay! In this short time, she has come to trust me, which at times takes awhile for a rescue animal.

She’s doing great at learning to potty outside and head for the door when she needs to go. So I thought the next thing is to learn something new.

I decided to teach her to fetch so we got a couple of toys that belonged to my other dog. We stood at each end of the hallway and tossed a ball and a toy back and forth. My hope was that if we acted excited about the game, she would join in. I could swear that each time we tossed a toy, she’d look at me as if to wonder why on earth we were doing that. I think I caught her rolling her eyes at us too.

Ok, so that didn’t work. She had absolutely no interest in the toys, any of them. A couple of times she got excited and began nibbling at a cushion and a throw blanket. This got me thinking, she needed something to naw on and she didn’t like what I had out for her. I got 5 old socks that were in a bin to be used for dusting, (a couple of them were heavy winter socks). I tied two knots in each of them. Years ago I had dogs that loved to play tug-of-war with old socks with knots. I did my best to encourage her to play with it but she wasn’t interested in them. The next day she’d occasionally pick one up and naw on it a bit. The next day she’d pick one up and carry it to the couch with her.

Yesterday she brought three of them to the couch, one at a time. YaY! She has something of HERS that she loves. Here’s my chance to teach her to play fetch, right.!?

I took the heavy sock that she seems to like the most and threw it a couple of feet. She ran to get it! I cheered her on and encouraged her that this was a great thing that she just did! She came running to me and I cheered her on again! I took the sock from her and threw it further. I cheered her on as she got it and started running back towards me! I was so excited, we were playing fetch … but oh, I guess we’re NOT. She ran by me and went into the other room with her sock.

Today I attempted to play fetch again with the same results. I know, I know the same thing will produce the same results. Clearly she did NOT understand why I’d cheer her on and then take it away from her.

One day we’ll get it down, I’m sure of it … really I am.

Fireflies – We’re never too old

Posted on Posted in Extraordinary things, happy, humor, kids, nostalgia, the things we do, Wild LifeLeave a comment

In the mid-90’s I was working in Tennessee. I spent two-three weeks at a time there. One of the gals I worked with and her husband took me to dinner one evening. We went to the New Orlean’s Manor. It was daylight when we went in to the restaurant.

The sun had gone down by the time we came out. There was a yard right out front, across from the driveway. There were twinkling lights all over in the yard. I asked what the twinkling lights were.

Fireflies! OMG. I had never seen a firefly other than on tv. I ran out into them like I was 7 years old. I was in awe of them. I feel a twinkle in my heart and get warm fuzzies every time I think of them.

A dirty computer screen

Posted on Posted in happy, humor, the things we doLeave a comment

I was on a Zoom call with the ‘gallery’ view set so that I could see everyone. There was just three of us this call so each image was fairly good size.

I was looking at a gal while she was speaking and a spot on my computer screen, near her shoulder distracted me. I wanted to ignore it so I could give her my full attention but knowing it was there, my eyes kept going to the spot.

It was a small spot. I assumed I must have been eating something the last time I was at the computer and some food leapt from my mouth onto the screen.

I reached to wipe it off, finger to the screen and … it wouldn’t wipe off. Not only did it not wipe off but I couldn’t feel a raise like hardened on food either. Hmmmm, I thought it was distracting before, yikes.

I decided to let it go and I’d take a closer look when the call was over. Only a few moments later, the gal who had been speaking got up. The spot on my screen was actually a ball on the top of the back of the wooden chair she was sitting in. The way she was sitting, I couldn’t see the back of the chair, just the ball on the screen right above her shoulder.

We all got a good laugh over that one.

Irresistible Rescues

Posted on Posted in animals, cats-kittens, dogs-puppies, happy, humor, kids, nostalgia, petsLeave a comment

Warning: This may start off a bit emotional. If you want to skip that part, go down to the fourth paragraph.

I love animals large and small, large like bears and lions; small like pet (domestic) rats. When I was young I wanted to be a veterinarian and even had the opportunity to begin an apprenticeship of sorts when I was 14 years old. I found that I couldn’t handle watching animals who had to be put down and I never returned.

We had a few pet rats when I was a kid. They were very friendly and sweet. They would cuddle and lick and never nip or bite. We had dogs and cats I loved them all. My weakness is the baby animals.

From the time I was a young adult, I always had rescues. My first as a young adult was a black lab pup that was found. A work colleague called and asked if I wanted it, knowing the answer of course. Unfortunately he died when he was only six months old. When my boys were very young my husband and I got a black lab. When he was about 4 years old he had a neurological issue and became vicious and eventually had to be put down.

When my boys were still pretty young we got a lab pup from a nice small kennel. She grew to be a large lab. This was my third lab. She was a beautiful yellow lab and almost white. Her AKC name was Accents of Ivory Jasmine.

I had never had a small dog and thought it would be nice. My husband went to the pound and found a half-chihuahua/half-terrier. We named her Sugar.

One day (while Sugar was still a pup) the boys and I went out garage sale-ing. My oldest boy needed a bathroom so we went to a former baby-sitter’s house. She was happy to see us and told my son to use the bathroom in her bedroom.

Only moments later my son was making all kinds of strange noises. He yelled for me to come and I bolted into the bathroom only to find a litter of kittens. The garage sale-ing stopped because we needed to go to the store and buy whatever our new kitten could possibly need. Her name was Spice. (Her name was Spice because I was starting a theme, not because I baked a lot).

Next we bred Jasmine (a one time thing and we gave away most of the pups to our friends). One of the pups had to be resuscitated shortly after birth. We kept her because her feet were huge and we knew she’d be a big girl. Thank goodness we kept her because she was developmentally challenged. She was such a sweet dog but much like Odie (of Garfield) and was like a 4 month old puppy her entire life. My husband named her Comet. Comet? After a ball of fire in the sky or a cleanser? Who knows. Obviously there was no respect for my pet-name theme.

Our next pet came to us, much like all the kids selling whatever. There was a sign above our door that read “Sucker” or “Softy”. Regardless it seems that we were the only ones that couldn’t see it. There was knock on the door one evening. There was a person with a kitten. I melted and my husband (standing behind me) said, “No” before this person even spoke. The person pleaded and said they were moving and that the mother cat was hit by a car and … oh my what a story. Who knows if it was true or not but my husband still said no. And me, well I don’t need a story.

The next morning, my husband left for work and within 15 minutes there was a knock on the door. It was the same person with the kitten again. I can’t even remember what was said, probably, “Please”. I, of course took the kitten. The boys went off to school and I went off to get kitty stuff. I’m not sure why I wasn’t at work that day but thank goodness.

When the boys got home from school I told them not to say anything to their dad when he got home. Ha! He walked in, the boys were standing there with grins as wide as their faces and he knew. He said, “You got the kitten didn’t you?” His name was Cinnamon.

Halloweening

Posted on Posted in balance, happy, healthy, humor, nostalgiaLeave a comment

Just a bit of reflection and nostalgia-tripping. When my kids were young Halloween seemed to be the time of the first snowfalls of the season, in these parts. There was definitely more snow.

When we chose Halloween costumes, they had to be large enough to go over the jackets. I do remember one year (when they weren’t so young) that the neighborhood boys all dressed as female cheerleaders. If I remember correctly, I think they were very cold. I’ll post a photo when I come across it.

For years now I buy bags of selected party favors so I have about 15 varieties of little toys. I avoid sugar and don’t want to support anyone else’s sugar habits (it’s just not healthy). The Teal Pumpkin Project is about handing out treats to kids that are allergy free so that if kids have allergies to certain food, they can still enjoy the treat. I heard of them a couple of years ago. It’s actually less expensive to buy the little toys and the kids LOVE them! I have kids return each year excited to see what’s new. For the first and second year trick or treaters I usually have small bottles of ‘bubbles’ or something toddler-friendly. I get such a kick out of seeing them have fun.

Although during this pandemic I’ve social distanced, I chose to hand out these treats this year. My safety though was, once I open the door the kids choose their toy from a large tray and they leave. We don’t have too many conversations and they are not there very long. It seemed safer than a grocery store, as far as spreading. Most of the kids (few that we did get) this year were wearing masks.

The older we get…

Posted on Posted in grateful, happy, healthy, humor, kids, perceptionLeave a comment

Isn’t it amazing how regardless how old we are, our grown children don’t seem to age. My oldest by is getting close to 40 years old. That’s amazing to me because for many years I haven’t felt older than 35 years old. Over the last couple of years I see myself aging, I’m feeling more like … 45 years old now.

When I think of the age of my boys I’m truly amazed. Funnier yet (to me), when dreaming they are still little boys. When I see them, I still see my ‘boys’. It’s difficult to change the dialog to men, even though they’ve been men for a long time now.

When I see anyone close to the age of my boys, I think of them as kids. I wasn’t so appreciative of older adults calling me a kid when I was 30, 35 and 40 years old. I sure understand it now.

Cookie Sneaking

Posted on Posted in happy, humor, siblingsLeave a comment

My sister and I didn’t always have the best relationship, thank goodness it’s good now. We live a long way from each other so time spent together is precious … right?

Almost ten years ago she was having surgery and I went to stay with her while she recovered. One day, prior to the surgery we went to the store to pick up a few things. We passed a display of cookies and I commented (like a little sister would), how yummy those samoa- type cookies are. My dear sister thought so too and put a package of them in the cart.

Later that evening we were sitting around and I continually yawned. She mentioned a few times that I should go to bed, insisted was more like it. She is my older sister.

I was sleeping in the living room during my stay. The bathroom was at the end of the hall, past the bedrooms. I had already been to the bathroom and was settling in when I needed to go to the bathroom one last time. As I headed down the hall, I see my sister going from one room, across the hall to her bedroom, sneaking the unopened package of cookies in with her. I gasped and said, “Oh no you don’t”! My own sister was pushing me off to bed so she could scarf down those cookies herself. Well, being the little sister (regardless of age), I sat up with her and to makes sure that the cookies were shared with me, (like any little sister would).

This is one of those times that we continually laugh and tease about.