A Grand Dog’s Tail

Never in our wildest dreams did we anticipate our daughter would leave California and move to Austin TX. She not only relocated permanently, but later forged the path for others to follow!

What does this have to do with a dog’s tail? Everything! Our parting gift to her was the puppy of her choice – a perfect specimen of man’s {in this case, girl’s} best friend to serve as her constant companion and protector. She chose the chunkiest, spunkiest, joy-filled, tail-wagging dog of the breeder’s litter and she named him Duke – later to be affectionately known as the Duke of Austin. Continue reading →

Our Garage is so “Decking” Organized – At Last

So we’ve lived in Austin for five years now and at last we’re getting the “garage” space organized and the “stuff” put away in appropriate and permanent places. Okay, so we know all you neatnik friends are laughing, and yes we’ve seen your pristine garages with everything in its place and a place for everything! You are so flipping organized. Go ahead laugh at us – but none of you have a garage that is decking organized, now do you?

It’s about time you say? You have no idea! Continue reading →

The Quality of Mercy is not Strained ……..

I recently encountered an interesting discussion between a father and daughter that grabbed my attention and riveted me to the conversation. In a way, I found it a fascinating study in human behavior, yet simultaneously I was flooded with a sense of melancholy.

The father was evidently a man with a kind heart toward animals – with a greater regard for some than others – and it seemed his depth of compassion varied in intensity according to whichever species happened to be the underdog at the time, his sympathies always favoring the most defenseless creature. Let me expound. Continue reading →

Tripping Lightly through Sunday the Dorset Way

Sunday again – how time flies! A whole week has slipped away since we rode around the model railway track in the steam train, just seven days ago. Time is forever illusive and marches on relentlessly and swiftly, sometimes as our friend when we would have it speed up through unpleasant circumstances – at other times our foe – when given the chance, we’d slow it down to savor the moment. Continue reading →

The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round…….

Our youngest grandson Nicholas is just 18 months and when we sing one of his favorite songs, he becomes extremely animated as he goes through the twisting motions of steering the bus. Then his face lights up and he laughs in obvious delight as he flings his little arms wide and then closes them again in perfect rhythm to the pretend doors flying open and snapping shut. We adults momentarily turn child-like as we sing the song and flail our arms in the air, completely oblivious to how ridiculous and juvenile we may appear to any onlookers. The grandparents are having way too much fun to care what others think! Continue reading →

LOL – Lots of Little – Leads to Abundance Over Time

LOL is “laugh out loud” or “lots of laughs” in common internet slang … you all know this … but I like to use it in a different way – perhaps a way that suggests a more profound meaning:

LOL – Lots of Little!

What a concept in this world where “more is better”, “bigger is better” and “I must have it all and have it NOW”! We are so caught up in pursuing abundance in anything and everything that we’re missing out on the true essence of abundance.

If we don’t make enough money, we’re consumed with having MORE … if time is scarce we fight to create more time and we’re brainwashed to think that the only way to achieve our dreams is to make a lot, do a lot, have a lot and be a lot … and do it now. Continue reading →

100% to Zero in Nothing Flat

Sometimes it pays to listen to your gut. Your body really does have a built-in sensor that communicates valuable messages to your instincts … LISTEN and HEED! I am exceedingly healthy and rarely get sick … if I do … I’m over it FAST. I am in tune with my body.

So two weeks ago I was on top of the world … 100% healthy and going flat out … next thing I knew I had crashed and burned! My instinct and experience tells me it all started with a seasonal allergy that turned into a sinus infection. Having experienced one or two episodes in the past – I know a sinus infection when it arrives. No big deal, right? You go to the doctor – they give you a Z Pack and voila – infection gone. This is where it gets interesting and the downward spiral began for me! Continue reading →

It’s Not Happiness if the Joy Doesn’t Last

I just realized something! I’ve gone beyond the proverbial “turning into my mother” and may have morphed directly into my grandmother. How cool is that?

Since I adored both my grandmothers, I’m totally fine with that idea. I learned so much about courage and loyalty and the important things in life from my Grandmas. Despite the eye-rolling and sighing at them as a teenager who thought she knew better, and apart from often dismissing their words of wisdom as corny or redundant, much of what they said permeated my being and over the years their words have echoed in my head at times when I most needed internal wisdom, courage and strength. Thank God for that. Continue reading →

Would I be unlike myself, had I been a hi-tech junkie growing up?

Aside from growing wiser and mellowing out some, there are many good things about growing old. Like the flood of memories that provide us with flashbacks of yesteryear – glimpses of bygone times when life was less complicated, less automated and less impersonal. No email, no text-to-text back then but a lot more face-to-face interaction. Communicating in the flesh. Imagine that! Continue reading →