Category Archives: Sammy Brave Dog

Dancing Sugar Plums

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Public Service Announcement:

Some of you have asked if I could record these epistles. Yes, I can and No, I can’t. In other words: Sometimes. But if you, dear reader, have a vision problem, you need something a bit more reliable than my vocal cords, and I think you very probably have it. I may be wrong, but…IF you use MS Word, there is something called Narrator you can use. I can’t begin to tell you how, but you can go here for information on how to set it up for a PC, and click here for a Mac.You should be able to hear either your own documents, or a page on the web. A great way to check what you’ve written for syntax, etc.
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Weather in the Tries:
It’s getting warmer —the highs will not only be above freezing this coming week, on Wednesday the high will be in the 50s!! The lows will get almost kissing close to freezing, but not quite. Such a tease.        

Dancing Sugar Plums:
I don’t know about you, but I always considered sugar-plums dancing through the kidlet’s heads to be, well, sugared plums. I have been shown the truth. There are no sugared plums in sugar-plums. Did Clement Clarke Moore lie to us? No. (phew. that’s a relief). I found a fascinating 22 minute program on YouTube, Tasting History: Victorian Sugar Plums.

I don’t know if Max Miller, who hosts Tasting History, is a trained chef or a trained historian, or both, or neither. Obviously, he loves history, at least he loves kitchen history, and cheffing. Should that be chefing? 

I really implore you to watch the video. You deserve a break today, besides this one, of course. Pour yourself a cuppa your favorite warm libation—tea, coffee, mulled wine—and sit back, relax, and enjoy this instructive video. The subject of sanity arises in the video—well, you’ll see what I mean when you watch it.

I strongly hope you will quell the urge to make your own, and just go out and buy them, instead.

Wee tiny small quilts:
When I moved back to the Tries from ABQ, I decided I wanted to spend my time on small quilts—table toppers, wall hangings, placemats, no more bed sized quilts. Wee quilts are easier, for the most part, to work on. And take up less space. 

Somewhere along the way, I was told about Lisa Flowers Ross. My wee memory, what’s left of it, tells me I was in correspondence with her father when writing Madame Dorian, Her Journey to the Oregon Country, and somehow quilting came up in one of our conversations. Or perhaps he was just evincing Fatherly Pride in his daughter, Lisa, and her accomplishments. It really doesn’t, at this point in the story, matter. I became a fan of her art and signed up for her newsletter. Be sure to watch the video on the opening page of her website (linked above), it’s about 23 minutes long.

Her last newsletter, had some wee tiny small quilts that were as big as the opening in an 8×10 matt—roughly 3.5” x 5.5” in the matts and frames I bought. I made two as ‘drafts’ before tackling the final ones. I don’t know how she does them, but I strongly suspicion there is very little actual sewing, that most of the pieces are fused. In looking closely at the picture she sent, it looks like the quilting is very minimal. So here are my first two:

Photos of the Week:
This is my first one, Snack Time (apologies for the pinked up white matte and the reflection.)

This is my second, Desert Sunset

from the desk of the sleepy chihuahua;
my human is really weird, but what else is new. it’s winter, it’s cold, and it’s dark. she lets her phone make noise early in the morning. then she lets me out for a few minutes and I go back to bed. does she/ no. she stays up which puts me in a terrible bind. my dogness says I should really be by her side to protect her, but it’s dark outside, and my body says it needs more sleep. I’m very glad she doesn’t get upset with me. now, I’m going back to sleep.

Earworm of the Week:

This isn’t really an earworm, but more of a parody, and I fear I will see it every time I think of the OP. When I Think of Trump, a Yiddish song on YouTube. Enjoy.

Now this is an earworm:
Burl Ives singing the first cover of Ghost Riders in the Sky, recorded 1949. This has been one of my favorite songs since I was a kid, a little kid. My three favorite songs as a kidlet were Ghost Riders in the Sky, Oh Buttermilk Skies by Hoagy Carmichael, I’m Just Wild About Animal Crackers by Mel Blanc. 

The Funky Mood has Abdicated

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Weather in the Tries:
Somewhat warmer, high 30s and low 40s with Sunday on deck to be 49F! Break out the swimwear!! One of the ‘problems’ with the warmer weather  in the winterly months is it usually means wetter weather, too, which robs the air of its warmth.  Somedays I just don’t get no respect. (Thanks Rodney D for a great saying.)

The Funky Mood has Abdicated: 
Well, the funky mood has, I hope, passed. Finally dawned on me that when the dr. changed my neuropathy meds the new ones weren’t quite the same, and the side effects weren’t the same, either. Where the other ones let me sleep a good night, all night, every night, the new ones don’t care if I sleep or not. The old ones were originally used as anti-depressants and for other things like neuropathy, as secondary, so of course I wasn’t in a funky mood. The main thing, though, is the new ones are not as good as controlling the neuropathy pain. I may have to go back to the first ones. 

So a couple weeks ago, I wore my Women’s Army Corps cap to a meeting. Like a good (ex) WAC, I removed my cover (hat) when inside, and laid it on a chair next to my purse. A lady in the meeting saw it, and asked if it was mine. She then proceeded to tell me there’s a group of Lady Veterans in the Tries, and they were having their next meeting Dec 7 and would I like to come. I did like and I did attend. It’s the first time I’ve seen so many Lady vets all in a group since I received my discharge back in 1969.  What fun to have so many gals together. We had quite a gathering, and Santa even left some gifts for everyone! 

And we have a Veteran’s Center! I had no idea. I looked Veteran’s up once, but could only find the clinic, and I don’t qualify. Yes, my discharges were Honorable, but I have excellent insurance through The Boeing Company, so I can’t use the VA system, even on a sliding scale. I’m not complaining.

The other fun thing that happened is I bought a new Roku stick, it came the other day, and I got it all connected and one of the free Roku channels is Midsomer Murders. OMG, I can binge and sew at the same time. I love the Midsomer Murders, I’ve seen several, but so far they’re all new to me. Great fun.

Photo of the Week: 
Here’s my baseball cap. It’s like the other military ones, but for the WAC. I laid out a bunch of my new fat quarters (FQ) to put some color in the picture. A FQ is a quarter yard of fabric, only instead of  cutting 9” off the width of fabric (WOF). It’s 18” of the WOF and that cut in half at the fold so it’s 18” by ½ the WOF. More things can be made from FQs that skinny pieces. I’ll wear my hat, sans the FQ when I attend the Coffee Bunker at the Vet Center this Friday morning.

from the desk of the brave chihuahua;
my human is spending more time in the living room now. she’s watching the telly and sewing. sometimes, she sits on the sofa so I can sit with her and snuggle while she watches the telly. my favorite is when she’s on the sofa. then I can get close and get lots of pets. after all, that’s my primary job description—collect pets and snuggle.

Earworm of the Week:
this isn’t an earworm, per se, but one of several I play while writing. It’s kind of like white noise but prettier. There are several of these ambient soundtracks on YouTube, check them out, find one that works for you. Samurai Meditation For 11 Hour https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kch_zrI1YO8&t=2382s

Quote of the Week, courtesy Reader’s Digest https://www.rd.com/article/veterans-day-quotes/ :

“Freedom is fragile and must be protected. To sacrifice it, even as a temporary measure, is to betray it.” —Germaine Greer

“Re-examine all you have been told. Dismiss what insults your soul.” ~Walt Whitman

Funky Mood

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Weather in the Tries:
Colder. All praise the creator of electric blankets!!

Funky Mood:
Housemate Dan and I are both in a funky mood of sorts. I don’t think either of us is depressed, but I might be close. I think I’m more scared. I’m scared of what’s going to happen to my country that I love come 20 Jan 25? How could any Veteran vote for the Orange Menace? Or any woman? Or…???

But something came to my inbox on 26 Nov that is just beautiful. From the Friendly Atheist, came this invocation to the Tulsa, OK City Council. I am reprinting it here, with Amy Hardy-McAdams permission. This prayer was inspired by a Medusa sigil and Ritual created by Laura Tempst Zakroff and Ms. Amy asked that full credit be given, and I certainly agree. And here is the prayer:

As a Priestess of the Goddess, I invoke the Gorgonaea, champions of equality and sacred rage. I call to Medusa, monstrous hero of the oppressed and abused. I open the Eye of Medusa, the stare that petrifies injustice.

I call upon the serpent that rises from this land to face the Stars, the movement of wisdom unbound.

May these leaders find within themselves the Embodied Divine, the sacred essence of the spark of the Universe and the breath of the Awen.

Place in the hands of these leaders the sacred work of protecting the sovereignty and autonomy of all our people.

Gorgon Goddess, make them ready and willing to be champions for all in this city, not just those in power.

Shine a light for them, that they may walk the path of justice, protected and prepared, illuminating the darkness.

Endow them with the fire of courage, the waters of compassion, the air of truth, and the strength of the earth itself.

As Above, so below.

As within, so without.

As the universe, so the soul.

May there be peace among you all.

And so it is.

This prayer has brought me more comfort than anything. 

The dog and I had a quiet Indigenous Day. I sewed a little bit, and finished the top of a table topper/wall hanging. And started watching as a binge, Doom at Your Service. A Korean RomConFantasy. I watched it about 3 years ago, and loved it, and am loving this one, too.

I also signed on to Bluesky. So far, none of the Hate from Twitter, though some of the “guys” from Facebook are moving over. “Dear Lenora, I just love the way you write, it’s so clear. I have followed you, would you do me the honor of following me so I can get your posts?” And they use the same photos they used on FB. So, no, I’m not following them.

Foto of the Week:
This is the table topper or wall hanging. It’s 22” x 42”. Frankly I really like the picture better than the actual. The points aren’t right, I’ll probably use it to line my sock drawer.

from the desk of the cold chihuahua;
as my human says, boy howdy, it is cold outside. my early morning walk is fast, short, and over as quickly as I can leave appropriate offerings to the grass gods and human can pick them up and place in the altar box. then it’s home, and back to a warm bed.

You Undoubtedly Noticed

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Weather in the Tries: 
Cold

You Undoubtedly Noticed:
I didn’t post a blog last week! I was with a couple of friends who died, one on Wednesday and the other on Monday. They weren’t close friends, but they were friends.

And then I read an article in (I think) the London Times by a man who was nine years old when his mother was diagnosed with cancer. I don’t remember what happened to Dad, but he wasn’t there. And this young boy became a primary care giver for his mom. She died when he was thirteen. He would take care of her in the morning, before school, and rush home to take care of her after school. He did everything, and when the pain got to be too much, she was taken to a psychiatric hospital, where she spent her last weeks without pain meds, and he would come buy every day on his way home from school to be with her, to help, to care.

He is a politician now, and when the vote comes up for medical assistance in dying in the UK, he will vote against it, because he thinks every child should have the same opportunities he did, to care for his dying parent, like he did. Do watch and listen to them scream in agony. Have you ever heard such selfish drivel? Not once did he think that maybe his mom was in enough pain she would have liked to exit earlier and to spare him the agony of watching her die. Maybe he’s a sadist in disguise.

I don’t know, but I sure think he was being mighty selfish. There was another letter a few days later, by a woman, a priest of her church, I forgot her title. Her letter was a little different, but it came down to suffering is good for the soul and I guess her god likes his humans to suffer now so they won’t suffer later. 

The subject of death came up in our Death Café this afternoon. (now is that a co inky dink? or what? /snort/) and I mentioned that in this state we have Death With Dignity for those who want it and qualify. Yes, people have to jump through hoops to partake, and every effort is exerted to be sure it is what the client wants, and 2 prescribers, one a doctor, agree. And they have the right to say, “No.” at any time. One person asked me if Death With Dignity was euthanasia. Another gal said no, euthanasia is what we do for our pets. I thought that was a good response and agreed with her, and gave the patrons of our café two sites to go to for information.

I think about Death With Dignity like I think about Abortion—if you don’t want either one, don’t have it—but don’t force your god’s peccadilloes down other people’s throats. They have enough to deal with, with their gods and his peccadilloes.

So, that’s why I didn’t write a post last week. I was grieving for two new friends I’d made who died before we could even have an argument, and then read those two letters. I was in no mood to write. Anything. Deal with it.

This Week’s Photo:
Took this photo two years ago this week, at Sheryl’s home. Thomas loved this tree, and could no longer see it as it was in the back of the house, and we couldn’t get him there, so I took the picture so he could enjoy the vibrant reds second hand.

from the desk of the mighty chihuahua;
it’s really cold out, and dark. the sun doesn’t come up until after 7 in the morning, and goes away before I can eat dinner and go for my afternoon walk. my human says another month and the days will start to get longer. I think the sun should be out half the time and the stars the other half. but I’m only a dog, and I don’t get no respect.

Home Again, Home Again

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Weather in the Tries:
A whole lot cooler than when I left, and where I was! Feels kinda good, actually.

Home Again, Home Again:
Had a marvelous trip. There were a couple of changes, but nothing serious, and one was quite beneficial. I remembered we had a new home to go to, but the fact the date slid one day to the right totally slipped off my eyeballs. I figured it would take 3 days for a leisurely drive from Kennewick to Dallas and the AirBNB we rented. So, as I’m leaving Kennewick on Saturday, I called Goodest Friend Dixie, back in Virginia, and told her I was on my way and would see her on Monday.

Pregnant pause: Monday? I thought we were meeting on Tuesday?! 

Yep, we were. Well, I was already on the freeway and no way to turn around, so I kept going. Loverly day through Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming. Spent Saturday night in Rawlins, Wyo. Had a loverly drive through a gray and drizzly Colorado (had a time, distance warp but me back on the Dark Side of the Cascades?). New Mexico was sunny, and Texas was a mash up. Sun, drizzle, sun, drizzle and by the time I got to Wichita Falls, it was drizzly (sort of) and dark.

NO signs on Texas highways or roads as to what’s available next exit. If you don’t know, you don’t go. I missed a whole row of motels and got off at the next exit and tried to back track. Uh, no. I stopped at an all-night grocery and asked the young man where I was. I realized the mistrake as soon as I saw the expression on his face. I laughed, told him I knew I was in Wichita Falls, and missed the last exit up the road, and wanted a motel. He assured me I could continue going north, but if I went south a few blocks, there is a very nice motel across the street from the Arby’s on the off ramp I took.

Why didn’t I see the sign for the motel? Because it was dark, and almost midnight their time, and the lights were off. Both at Arby’s and the motel. But I found it. Right where the young man who thought for a couple of moments he had a crazy lady on his hands. (Oh, if he only knew….)

It was an old Econolodge. The room was clean, neat, the bed comfy and I took it for two nights. It was also very, very quiet.

Since I was a day early I had an extra day to sight-see or sleep or whatever. Yes, I chose the last door and did whatever.

Doing Whatever:
I brought about 2.5 inches of poems printed out. That’s probably a good 400+ pages. The room had a cabinet with a large top, maybe 5-6’ x 3’. Perfect for sorting poems. I went through them, put them into 8 or so categories, then went through one more time and got rid of the obvious doubles. Then, I put each category in alphabetical order by title. Found a few more doubles. Then, I got really OCD and pulled out my file folders brought just for this, and wrote on each folder, in alphabetical order, the poems therein.

That made it much easier to find yet more duplicates. And there were some. Then, I began putting them in reading order, by category. The upshot is, I think I’ve got two books of poetry. One on Thomas and Grief, and one on everything else. I had no disruptions, I did get hungry at one point, looked at Arby’s across the street, looked at my project, and voila! I ate some of the junk food that was in my car 😉 Peanut butter filled pretzel bits, a bit of Pub Mix, and Peanut M&Ms. I opted to work and eat junk food. And water. Drank lots of water. I kept working instead of going through the old cemetery next door. Do I know how to have fun, or what?

The next morning, I checked out, and sat in the lobby reading Inside the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin by Erik Larson. I tried reading his book about the Devil in White City, and couldn’t get to page 60, let alone beyond, but this book was a page burner. The main reason I hung around is, I was only 3 hours from Dallas, and couldn’t check in until 3, so I sat and read. 

Photo in the AirBNB:
This was a photo of a sculpture that hung in the living room. The Dallas Skyline. The art appeared to be actual size. 

from the desk of the brave dog, Sammy;

my human is back, my human is back, my human—happy dance, happy dance 

And there it is. More next week. Right now, it’s time for yet another nap. 😉

For those of you who followed it, here is the Opening and Closing theme to Dallas. And, no, I have no idea who shot J.R. For that matter, I’m not even too sure who J.R. is/was.

Darth Vader Will Speak No More

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Hot Links in this Blog:
Carole King, I Feel the Earth Move https://www.smoothradio.com/features/top-songs/carole-king-songs/

Weather in the Tries:
One 80F day, and the rest are high 70s. Not parka weather, yet, but it’s a comin’. A couple of Dark Days (cloudy) but most sunny, or a combination of Dark & Light 😉

Darth Vader Will Speak No More:
I loved that voice. David Prowse, of course, played the character of Darth Vader and did a bang-up job of it, but speaking through the filter in his Darth mask made his British accent almost beyond the ability for Americans to understand. So, James Earl Jones was hired to do the voice over. He felt that Prowse did the work, he should get the credit, so he requested his name be left off the credits!

I have seen some of the movies in which Jones acted, for me, he always stood out. He became that character, and that voice. For me, he will forever be the voice of Darth Vader, and of course, can anyone forget, “This is CNN!”

Railroad Spikes:

The two tiny little pins came out of my toe a week ago today. I asked the doctor if I could have them, but he said they had to go into the Sharps box. The point of those little suckers was sharp! So, I just have two photos. It really went well. The doctor poured something on my toe that was cold, and said I’d feel a pinch. He then said, ‘pinch’ and repeated it a second time and both the pins were pulled out. He was pleased I didn’t jump, flinch, etc. I learned years ago, to relax, at least as much as I can, before medics get near me with things that could hurt. I also tell them if they hurt me, I’ll scream. They treat me very gently.

More Medic Stuff:
Went to pharmacy to get my latest vaccinations on Tuesday. Needed three, and really wanted them before I took off on my road trip. The last thing I need or want, is to get sick on the trip! I’ve had just about every vaccination offered by pediatricians when I was a kidlet, the military, and every one that’s come out since. Yes, some affected me. I do now and then have a sleepy day or two, but it’s so worth it not to get the disease, whatever it is.

I remember when the polio vax came out. I remember some of my friends at the time had died of it. Yes, the shot hurt, or I thought it did, and I probably cried being the wuss I was and am. But it’s so much better than having the disease. I’ve also had friends who had it as kids, survived it, and then relapsed when they were in their 70s or so. I’m so glad my kids are grown. I’d hate to send them to school in this day and age where they not only have to fear live shooters, but school mates whose parents won’t let their kids get vaxxed. 

And now RFK, Jr. is touting his anti-vax crap. Or is it Junior? Does Junior speak, or does the worm in his brain speak? I dunno. Only the Shadow knows.

Knew Addition to Coffee Break Escapes:
I have a few friends who have been diagnosed with Macular Degeneration and find reading to be more and more difficult, and they’ve asked me to record my blog, so I shall attempt to do that. The recordings will be posted in Spoken Word. If there are hot links mentioned in the recording, they will be in the body of the written blog. Or maybe at the very beginning of the blog as well as where called out within the body? Ideas?

Photos of the Week:

OK, here be the two pins that were in my dainty toe. They are a touch over an inch. The ‘T’ in BEASTS is 3/10th of an inch. Best guesstimate is they were about 1/20th of an inch in diameter.

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I drove by the Duck Pond the other day, a bright, sunny day, and had to stop the car as a platoon of geese crossed the street. Not sure what they wanted on the other side of the street, but here they are. 

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from the desk of the brave dog;
we have cooler nights now. it’s wonderful, and i can snuggle my human all night long, now. my human likes the cuddles. I remember last dark time when it was really, really cold, she called those three dog nights, and said I had to snuggle like three dogs—or let her adopt two more. I snuggled. not gonna share my human with other dogs. or those other furry fiends so many humans have and can’t even bark.

Earworm of the Week:
Carole King, I Feel The Earth Move, #9 on the top 10 of her songs

,LALA
Let Americans Laugh Again

Road Tripping in 3 Weeks

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Happy Labor Day. Support Unions.

Weather in the Tries:
Oh, dear. the temps will range from 100 (one day) as a high to 88 (one day), most in the warmer side of the 90s. The lows will be the low side of the 60s. That really makes it pretty livable.

Road Tripping in 3 weeks: 
I am getting ready to leave on a month-long road trip. The other day I sat down, and figured my traveling, dates of travel, dates of visit, etc. Got it all finalized, and then some friends in Berkeley let me know I need to stop and see them, too. Oh, the price of fame, poetry, family, and friends! 

One week from today, Monday the 9th, I get the pins taken out of my toe. I hope, oh how I hope, that I will be able to walk, if not like an Egyptian, at least with a modicum of normalacy. I don’t know how long it will take, but to be able to walk on my whole foot, not just the outside edge. A two-footed happy dance 😉 Happy, happy, dance, dance, dance!!!

For the first time since my surgery 5 weeks ago, my toe hurts. Sometimes. Housemate Dan figures it’s the nerves getting back together (yeah, it feels like needles in my toe.) Bad enough when I’m up, but oh, when it happens at 0:Dark:00 it’s enough to bring me out of a deep sleep.

Photos of a Few Weeks Past:
Ice Dragons Dancing. Don’t you just want to shiver looking at them? Save them for those really hot days!

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from the desk of Sammy brave dog;
oh, look. it automatically capped my name. it caps my name and if I type I it caps that, too. my human has a neat computer. and when she goes on her road trip, maybe housemate dan will turn it on and I can practice my typing. and send her emails. 

MALA

Make America Laugh Again

A Kinda Sorta Political Post

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Weather in the Tries:
Oooooh! Temps will be mostly in the 80s with a couple dips to the 70s, and the weekend in the 90s. Can ya dig it? And the lows will be in the 50s with the weekend being low 60s. A few years ago, this week, I went to the hospital to give birth to my Favorite Daughter. It was sunny, warm, and summer. When I came home a few days later, it was cold, rainy, and fall. Ever since then, I’ve associated her birthday with the advent of cooler weather. Her birthday is Wednesday, which should be spelled Wensday.

A Kinda Sorta Political Post:
I watched most of the DNC in highlight snippets, but the last night, I watched live. What a blast!  What humor! I don’t recall any of it being put-down, with the possible exception of one guy who said he was very impressed with the AI audience that filled the auditorium. He even managed to deliver the line and keep a dead-pan face, for a couple seconds.

The night before, I watched Tim Walz make his acceptance speech and was truly impressed. I would gladly sit at the table in the Walz kitchen and share an iced tea and maybe a white man’s taco/Bwahahahaha. One of the biggees of my admiration for them is the way they have raised their kids. OMG, that young man, Gus! Wow!! He was so proud when Dad gave his speech, Gus stood with tears of joy running down his cheeks, pointed at his dad on the stage and said, “That’s my Dad, That’s my Dad.” I nearly had tears running down my cheeks, too, from sharing his joy. 

I’ve tried not to go political here, but, alas, I’ma gonna do it. Admittedly, I watched only the highlights, and darned few of them, of the RNC, but the biggest difference I saw between the two was Joy. The DNC was full of it, the RNC sorely lacked. In seeing the snippets on the news, the MAGA crowd are always not just serious, but angry, vindictive. Or they look that way. As do a tremendous number of the evangelicals supporting the MAGA movement, whereas the MALA (Make America Laugh Again) people, whether democrats or republicans, find humor in their lives. MAGA wants to destroy, tear down, lock up, kill. MALA wants to build, unify, help, laugh. Pessimists v. Optimists.

Several years ago, when I was a good bible-toting Christian, Pastor brought up the subject of humor in church one Sunday (Baptists allowed humor? /snort.). Based on the adage that the nut seldom falls far from the tree, he decided Yahweh, father of Jesus, had a sense of humor—somewhere. But he had biblical proof that the son, Jesus, had humor: Matthew 19:14, Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” New International Version.

Yep, that was his proof. Remember when you were a kid at the park, and at one end was a guy yelling at the adults and any kids who wandered by, shouting about sin and salvation, heaven and hell, with more about the latter than the former? A ways down the park was a guy making balloon animals and telling funny stories? Where did you and your mates go? I can pretty much guess—you went to the guy who smiled, who made you and your mates laugh. You went to the guy who told funny stories, who made you laugh and feel good about yourself and being alive. Unless, of course, your masochism made an early debut and you went to the angry preacher and reveled in the pain.

Jesus tells stories that make children feel good about being alive, who makes them laugh. I don’t know why so many (alleged?) Christians are so severe, so lacking in humor, so angry, unless it’s power. Some will have power and therefore will continue the severity, the beatings, the hate, until morale improves. Because everyone knows if you make people fear you, especially through your God’s anger as delivered by his “chosen” modern day prophet ie, you, that person, that prophet, will   have   power! The great Walt Whitman once said, “Re-examine all you have been told. Dismiss what insults your soul.” [emphasis mine]

Photos of the Week:
The Great Blue is usually on the big pond, this is the only time I’ve seen him on our pond, and yes, that’s ice next to and on top of, the water. The pix were taken Jan ’23.

from the desk of the confused chihuahua;
my human got stitches out of her toe last week, and then her toe was taped down. I don’t understand, was it flying away. and why would she have stitches in her toe, was it falling off. anyhow housemate dan is walking me. my human says her toe doesn’t hurt, but it isn’t comfy. I still wonder how she got her toe in her sewing machine. and why she would do it. and why couldn’t she pull her stitches. humans are very, very strange. 

MALA

Make America Laugh Again

Something Different

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Weather in the Tries:
Oh my goodness gracious sakes alive! The highs this coming week, according to my phone, are all in the 80s! With the night lows dipping as low as 59, but most at 60. In other words, we have reached perfection! 

Something Different:
I figured y’all were probably not looking forward to any more one-legged happy dances, besides which I overdid it this last week, and I’m doing my Happy Dance sitting in my chair. You know, waving my arms. Oh, sigh, at my age, one would think I’d know better. I don’t. But I do get my stitches out in a couple hours;-)

I’ve spent the last few days at my computer, wondering what to write about besides my personal happies or woes, and it wasn’t until last night that I saw the most fascinating video on YouTube that it dawned on me. So, yes, a shorter blog, but a longer video. It’s something like 28 minutes long, but I was spell bound the whole time, and hope you are equally fascinated by “the process of making a cello. A high-end Japanese cello crafted by one artisan in six months.”

One of my all-time favorite movies is Departures. It’s a delightful Japanese romcom about a young man who buys an expensive cello and then learns the orchestra in which he plays is being disbanded. He and his wife move back to his hometown and his late mother’s tea shop. He answers an ad for a job for ‘departures’ thinking it’s with a travel agency or travel-related job. He shows up, and is hired on the spot, and it’s for a mortuary, the ad had a typo—it should have read ‘departed’. If you don’t know, Asians have a real phobia of touching/dealing with corpses. (I saw an interview of the ME of a large and populous county in Florida (Dade?). She was Asian (Chinese?) and when asked how her family accepted her profession, she laughed and said they didn’t know. They thought she was a practicing physician. Fortunately, she said, they lived in Canada and didn’t watch American tv.

Back to the movie, if you like cello music, you really ought to look for it. As of this writing, I think YouTube is streaming it as well as Apple TV. Possibly other places. However, if you would like to see how cellos are made, clickhere.

Photos of the Week:
Watch the video. Pour a cuppa, settle in, and watch.

from the desk of the ferocious guard dog;
I don’t understand you humans. you sit around watching a screen all day, and if you were outside, you could watch birds and squirrels, and if you got your nose closer to the ground you could smell the most delightful messages from other dogs. my human doesn’t even walk right. she needs to get down on all fours and have fun.

Make America Laugh Again!

One-Legged Happy Dance

3 Replies

Weather in the Tries:
Holy Kamala! Monday is the only triple digit day forecast for the week. Gonna be all the way down in the 90s. Oh, can you see me do my one-legged happy dance? Now, where is my parka……

And why, you are asking, is it a one-legged happy dance?
Because on Tues last, I had the double hammer toe of my right foot fixed. I can put weight on my heel, and only my heel, and I cannot pass Go or collect any moneys. Shuckins, I can barely make it from my bedroom to my desk, to the kitchen. My walker helps, but if I’m taking dishes with food in them, I have to use my cute little pink steno chair so I have something to set them on. A steno chair makes a fair walker, but probably not as safe as the real McCoy. 

I was told if I wear a bra, make it a sport bra, but nothing with an underwire. I had to ask the nurse why? Was I going to have a scar from my toe to my boob? Anyhow, Dr. uses a cauterizer, and though they have a grounding pad under me, they just want to be sure nothing untoward happens. Believe me, that was a relief. But that woulda been some kind of scar!

I spent the first 4 days either on my bed with my foot elevated, or at my desk with my foot elevated. No swelling. And really good drugs that did nada, so after two of the pills, I moved over to over the counter NSAID instead of the oxycodone. Those NSAIDS worked a whole lot better. And 6 was all I required! Last one was Thurs morning.

Housemate Dan has been in charge of the hound during this fun time. Since I can’t put any weight on the toe part of my foot, it’s a tad difficult to pick dog dishes up from and put them down again on the floor, and no way can I go outside and walk him, let alone bend over to pick his offering to the Grass Gods then throw it into the Alter/dumpster. Sammy is very happy that the Grass Gods always accept his offering. Me, too./snort/ 😉

Photo of the week:
Wounded foot. Isn’t that exciting? I have YES on my right leg, as well as the dr’s initials, and NO on my left leg. Indelible ink. The ink is still on me. I can’t get my foot wet, and even with a plastic taped to my leg, I can’t stand in the shower to scrub, I have to sit. And scrubbing the ink off is not a high priority. Yet.

from nurse chihuahua;
sorry, folks, can’t sit in my chair when my human is in it. and if she’s not in it, I have to be next to her and act as guard dog. it would be easier to take care of my human, if I had longer legs and opposable thumbs.