On Thankfulness..

I just watched an hour of 'Nature's Most Amazing Events' on the Green Channel.  It's been a long time since i watched a television show that brought tears to my eyes.  Tears of grateful happiness.  This one did.  It was about the creatures of the Serengeti Plain and their struggle to survive throughout the year.  The program focused a lot on lions and wildebeests.  The scenery took my breath away.  But i was most enthralled with the annual wildebeest migration.  In springtime, thousands of these animals migrate back to the fertile North Serengeti Plain where they live through the dry season.  Many die from starvation, predation, drought, etc.  I watched a female give birth to a calf after surviving all these obstacles.  It reminded me that nature can be cruel, but it's also wonderful.  The entire natural world is miraculous.  And i'm grateful for the beauty of it.  For the fact that we live in a Universe where, though discouraging things happen, there is also much love, stunning beauty, grace, faith in humanity and the natural world.  We are animals, after all, we humans.  I try to count my blessings often, and this show was yet another reminder to be grateful for all i have.   My family, my friends, my community, the roof over my head.  The food i eat, my good health, and that of my family and friends!  The little things.  The opening leaves in springtime; the life giving rain we get. :)  (Sometimes we seem to get more than our share in OR.)  I try not to complain, but sometimes i weaken in that respect.  I love the trees big and small.  The beautiful shade giving ones, and the little growing maples and pines.  I love it all.  Grateful there is medicine to cure many illness and diseases.  Though i know we have a long way to go.  We've also come a long way.

Above on the right is a pic of a little rose in our yard about three weeks ago.  It made a valiant effort to open.  Alas it was not to be.  Too much rain.  Not enough sunshine.  Still beautiful though, and i wanted to capture it while its soft beauty lasted.  Sometimes i wish that all it needed was a few kind words and it would pop open.  Come fully to life.  You see, inside, sometimes, i'm still a little girl.  I hope, and i wish.  But the adult in me is realistic.  But i'll remember it was here.  I have the photo to prove it!  :D

And above is our Calico girl Tortie.  S and i are thankful for her too... and all our four awesome kitty-cats!  It was a year ago this month that she had a piece of one of her lungs removed due to cancer.  She's cancer free now.  Healthier than ever.  We are so very grateful.

As always, i wish you all love and happiness this Thirty First Day of January, Twenty Twelve!  L for Love.  Lots of it!

Happiness.. Part II!

So i find myself thinking about happiness again this evening.  I'm in our cozy, warm home while it's cold, drizzly and dark outside writing on the box and waiting for S to return from a work related trip to Tel Aviv.  He'll be home around midnight.  :)  Can't wait to see him.  I love that i feel a little tingly and full of anticipation at his homecoming.   Such a sweet feeling after twenty years together.  It feels the same as when we were dating before we moved in together.  It's as if we haven't aged at all.. when we obviously have.  Lol.  Love makes all people feel young, i guess.  Isn't that fantastic?!  Rhetorical question there.  Anyway, i wanted to post a little more about things that make me happy.  I promise i'll be brief, and won't drone on 'all night'...  :D

Well, one thing that makes me happy is a day of the week.  Monday to be exact!  I think i'm in the minority here.  This picture below is of a note i attached to the fridge the day after Christmas, because i kept forgetting what day of the week it was.  That's what i do when i forget 'stuff.'  I list it and put it on our refrigerator.  It works.  Since i spend lots of time in that part of the house; i can't help but see 'the writing on the wall!'  I happen to think Mondays are fabulous.  Kind of like a brand new year.. except on a much smaller scale.  I love to make plans for the week on Monday.  It's the day i start or finish projects and whatnot.  Fresh and rested from the weekend.  A clean slate every seven days so to speak.  No?  Have many good friends who think i'm bonkers when i tell them i enjoy my Mondays and think they sell that day short.  Give Monday a chance!  I say.  Snort!  The hilarious looks i get...

Another thing that makes me feel vibrant.. lively.. happy.. is blue sky.  Whether in Winter.. ( i especially love it then).. Spring, Summer or Fall.  The other day; i said i love gray sky too, and i was telling the truth.  But there's something about a beautiful, sparkling Wedgewood blue.  Clear. Cloudless.  I take pictures of sky sometimes.. so i can remember what it looked like on a given day.  Like today.. in early January.  The Oregon Winter is full of clouds and rain.  Which i've grown to love.. (and it took years for me to feel that way.  YEARS!)  But an intense blue sky is a gorgeous thing to behold.  Hence the profound happiness.  Like the sky pictured below..  Now who wouldn't LOVE that?  Excuse me while i kiss the sky!  Jimi Hendrix.. wasn't that?  :D

And speaking of colors like vivid blue, the green of an Oregon Winter makes me happy too.  The green of the grass.  Of the evergreens.  The Douglas Firs.  The Sequoias.  The Spruce trees!  Such GREENNESS.  It's wonderful, really.  Every once in awhile i get little pangs of homesickness for a snowy Maine Winter, but i've truly become accustomed to the green.  And the reason things stay so green is... all that rain.  So how bad can rain be?  Not bad at all.  See below.. GREEN!

And while we're on the subject of color.. my favorite of all is... yellow.  The color of Autumn leaves.  Yellow gold.  The color of sunshine.  Lemonade.  Meyer Lemons.  A yummy Lemon-Drop Martini.  Yellow is the color of happiness.  Remember the yellow smiley faces of the early seventies?  I loved those.  Smiles and happiness.  Yes.  Yellow is magnificent.  Yellow leaves.  Aren't they pretty?  Another rhetorical question.  I really should stop asking those.. shouldn't i?  :)

Anyhow.  I said i'd be brief.. so here you are.  It's Friday evening and all.  Hope you're enjoying this end of the week.  And by the way.. Friday is a day that makes me happy too.  Don't think i'm in the minority this time.  Peace and a Splendid Weekend to you all.. this Friday, January Sixth, Twenty Twelve.  M

Happiness..

Some things.. objects.. make me happy.  Love and peace make me the happiest, but it's hard to picture those feelings.  The photo below is of two desserts that S and myself shared one day before Christmas when we were out shopping on a beautiful afternoon.  A divine piece of Mexican wedding cake and a peppermint whoopie pie!  :)  Yes!  Powdered sugar, chocolate and butter cream make me feel ecstatic!  And the real reason for the happiness here is that there's so much joy to be had in sharing something delicious with the one you love..  Sharing is joyful!  One of the best things in this Universe of ours!

And here is a scene that made me practically squeal with happiness!  He is not my pup, but he is wonderful, as are all dogs!  Those ears!  Look at them.  How can you not feel 'tons' of love and joy in your heart when you look at him?!  Just sitting in there full of loyalty waiting patiently for his human.  What a sweetheart.  Yes.  Animals make me extraordinarily happy!

Excellent comfort food makes me happy.  And this meal.. eaten on a cold, damp Northwest December day was super yummy and hearty-savory.  Nothing quite like a Reuben and a little corn chowder to warm one's heart!  Two of my favorite things in the world.  I was also able to share this meal (and lots of excellent 'girl talk',) with a beautiful friend of mine!

Seeing a kitty enjoy the sunshine makes me incredibly happy!  This is our Tennessee.  Felines are excellent at finding the sunniest spot in any house or outdoors!  Our boy had such a hard time before we became his.  Hungry, cold, dehydrated, homeless.  Now he has the run of our home.  He'll never be hungry or scared again.  He deserves love as all animals do.  They are our true blue companions, and give us oodles of unconditional love.  :)

And this our young girl kitty Snickers.  She makes me happy.  Especially when she tries to make conversation with me like she is here.  I love to hear her voice in all its variety.  Here she's saying 'i love you M' .. i know she is.  And i'm telling her i love her right back!  Like i do every day.  S and i love sharing our love with her.  Yep.. lots of joy day in and day out 365 days a year!

And last, but certainly not least.. excellent reading makes me happy.  I spend a lot of time with books.  And poring over the awesome shelves in many a bookstore and library.  I feel much love, peace, happiness and contentment when i'm around books.. magazines.. newspapers..  Happy sigh.

So there you have it.  Just a few 'things' that make me feel happiness.  Of course, cats and dogs are not objects.  They're wonderful, extraordinary and magnificent breathing, furry, warm and loving creatures.

Gotta go for this Thursday, January Fifth, Twenty Twelve.  Time for supper.  For myself and our four fabulous felines! See you soon.. B.. for Beautiful Joy!

The Many Shades of Gray..

I reflected on many things this afternoon.  Was fortunate to be able to spend a couple of hours in one of my favorite places.  Powell's Books in Portland, Oregon.  Spent my time in that book lover's paradise poring over the shelves with a fine toothed comb.  What a treasure trove!  Brought home quite a few used books to fill many dark winter hours with reading happiness.  While i was in dreamland looking at books; it also occurred to me how much i've come to love these gray Northwest winter days.  The many, subtle.. matte shades of gray have grown on me.  lol.. Both emotionally and physically.  And here.. i'm speaking of the gray in the sky AND the gray hairs growing in on my head.  The gray on my head is no surprise.  And neither is the gray weather.  I am an Oregonian after all.  Though if only temporarily.  (S and i want to move back to Maine one these days after he retires!)  But i will admit that those 'things' growing on my noggin give me a bigger jolt.  Like tasting a piece of sour grapefruit that needs to be sweetened with a little sugar.  I'm trying to decide if i'm 'okay' with the gray up there.  Not the kind in the sky.  Would I rather be a Summer Blonde?  An Autumn Red, perhaps?  Or am i fine with the Winter Gris?  :)  Guess i have some pondering to do.  Going 'that color' is not the end of the world, I know.  And it might grow on me more.. hah!  if you know what i mean!  I'll just say i'm going to take my sweet time making up my mind.  No rush to make a salon appointment.  I'm still more dirty blond than grayish right now.

Lately.. i've been loving the gray, rainy, foggy skies!  I've checked for webbed feet.. and no.  Don't have those.  And i've not grown moldy.  The dark skies are beautiful.  Quiet and kind of cozy.  Of course.. come mid March, i might feel differently.  I'll be grateful by the time Spring comes.  And i adore the intense sunshine of a dry Oregon summer.  The late daylight.  Wait!  I'm getting ahead of myself.  This post is about clouds.. not sun!  I've come a long way baby since S and i moved out this way sixteen years ago.  Since the days i whined a lot.. (and i mean a lot) about the amount of rain we get in Oregon between late October and early April.  I've done a lot of growing up.  I'm an optimist.  Gray is good.  Beautiful in its own way.  The seasons are perfect.  By the time the hot summer is over; i'm anxious for the rains to come.  Hah!  And come they certainly do.  I want to post a picture of some Winter sky i took just this afternoon.  Lovely, i think...



And no.. :).. i won't post a photo of my head with its blossoming grays!  Anyway, i think the matte gray sky to the left is pretty.. in a dark kind of way.. Probably a good thing i think so.. considering we have this weather for about four to five months a year!  :)  The reading material i brought home today will come in handy for these dark, cold, rainy afternoons and evenings!  And when Springtime 'finally' comes; i'll be extra ecstatic to see and feel it.  But, until then, this gray isn't bad.  Not bad at all.  I also realized, today, that you've not yet been introduced to two of our four cats.. Tortie and Otis!  I believe i made a post one day about our magnificent Otis.. part Maine Coon Kitty with the banner tail.  But you've yet to meet Tortie.. our gorgeous Calico girl!  Shall post a picture of our handsome boy, (the older of the two brothers, Tennessee being the younger, ) and our gorgeous girl, (the older sister,) right this minute!

Our sweet Otis!  Isn't he wonderful?  I try to do justice to his emerald eyes when i take a photo, but most of the time.. he closes his eyes on me.  This time, i managed to catch him with eyes open.  I think of him as my Familiar.  He works especially hard Halloween Day and Night finessing his magic tricks!

And below is our wonderful Tortie.  She and her sibling would love to wish you all a belated Happy New Year!

Well.. here it is 8:48 pm here on the lovely (gray) Left Coast, and i've yet to eat dinner.  Quite hungry i am.  Time for a little repast!  And time to slip a classic film into the DVD player.  Tonight's feature is 'The 39 Steps'.. (1935.)  One of my very favorite of Mr. Alfred Hitchcock's greats!


So.. finally.. my brevity seems to have left me again.. i'll let you go for this Tuesday, January Third, Twenty Twelve!  Enjoy what's left of your evening!  Just about January Fourth on the Right Coast.  And.. must feed my hungry furry little kitty bears.  They've become quite vocal while i've been here on the box not being brief.  Tonight, it's F,for Fabulous Winter Gray & Fantastic Kitties!