Getting and Keeping a Complex

Anyone remember the basic personality issues from their college Psych 101 classes?  I'm definitely getting a complex from the blog.  I can write a pity or heartfelt post and get maybe 14 views from readers, but post a picture of my son's menagerie and VIOLA!  Readership doubles or triples.  Or even more if it's a day when the trolls from Russia decide they must also view cute cat picture.  Not click on cat? Nyet!!

I humbly bow to my readerships devious  subtle behavioral reinforcement.  Here, again, is the incorrigible Mr. Macaroni.  When I ask the son about the antics of his cat the reply is usually "he's a cat" whereas the Divine Miss M will regale us with amusing stories of derring do and feline mischief.  And she's fantastic with supplying our photo library with fresh images of "the boys".

Meowmaste

Anticipation

We're expecting!  Well, not us personally, and not another child, being a bit past childbearing age.  However there is a new little love that has made his debut and will become part of the family in about 6 more weeks.  Mac and Ral will have a rambunctious second little brother to instruct in the fine art of shenanigans.  This may send The Spousal Unit into seclusion if my exposure to a PUPPY triggers my heartfelt desire to add another little love to our house.  We sort of agree having another dog would be fine, a rescue this time as neither of us have the energy for potty training.  The negotiations are about breed at this point, yet another Sheltie vs a Corgi.  Bless his heart he is a mite stubborn.  We'll get to ease into the decision after a puppy Christmas when the son takes his rapidly growing beast back East with him.  I can hardly wait to pick up the puppy for some quality snuggling!  Who can resist a puppy??

Rawr - Somday I'll be big and fiercesome 

What do you mean there's a puppy coming? Neither of us ordered a puppy,
and we might be allergic. You'd better rethink this decision.

fiercesome:

fiercesome, as opposed to fearsome, is singular in meaning. "fearsome" is an oxymoronic word meaning, dually: "causing fear" and "afraid; timid" {Webster's Collegiate Dictionary}. "Fiercesome", invented in 1999, is primarily used as a more efficent word to express great strength or ferocity.

My soda firing class has given me some fun new pots, always a new skill set to master in ceramic studies.

Namaste 

Happy Halloween

It's the same thing every year, we buy the super sized bags of candy expecting 80 to 100 trick or treaters to  arrive on the doorstep, extorting treats.  Invariably we open the candy early and eat "just a few" and then make an emergency candy run to Walgreens before the ritual commences.  I figure in another decade or so we'll have paid off the karma debt from our son's far ranging trick or treat territory by paying it forward to the minority kids who view this as a safe neighborhood for fun.  And yes, our area is so white bread Scandinavian that it's really obvious who lives here and who's visiting.

May your evening be pleasantly spooky and safe from little goblins in the night. Boo, ya betcha!

Proverbs 22:9

It was a busy weekend, here on the edge of the Prairie.  Saturday was an open call for potters to throw bowls for our high school's Empty Bowls fundraiser.  I did a modest 20 bowls in four hours, and watched in absolute awe as volunteers from a production studio cranked out bowl after bowl after bowl.  Oh to have the upper body strength those young guys have for slinging clay like a boss.  What a fun morning and for such a good cause.  The funds go to supply nearly 600 children with a backpack of food for their weekends if they live in a home with food insecurity.  What a quaint expression meaning they have nothing to eat after Friday's school lunch until Monday morning's school breakfast.  It makes me quite militant toward those who vote to cut funding to needy families,  I suggest they forgo eating every weekend to learn what it must be like for those children.  How can they possibly come to learn on Mondays after being hungry for two days?

The husband and I spent a pleasant autumn afternoon raking the leaves and he's out mowing the lawn one last time.  The garden decorations are cleaned and put away until Spring's arrival.  We are very cognizant of the storm of '91 which dumped 31 inches of snow on us Halloween night.  The very young future service son was the Lone Ranger that year, and had to be stuffed into his snow suit under his costume,  when he and his dad returned from their trick or treat travels his cowboy hat had 6 inches of snow atop!  Just like the Scouts, we're prepared.

Hope your weekend was also productive - did any of you find an art colony close to home?

Namaste.  Proverbs 22:9 Blessed are those who are generous, because they feed the poor.

Not all Readers are Equal

This week has seen a surge in views from Mother Russia, outnumbering my own modest readership by a margin of 50 to 18.  It's both unnerving and unwanted.  I hope it won't be necessary to pull the plug on this blog, just a heads up if it disappears. If anything inappropriate should appear - that won't be from me either.

Namaste friends.

Autumn in Eden

With the change of each season, I go about professing this is my favorite.  The first snows of winter are favorites, the soft chartreuse leaves of spring are favorites, the balmy summer days, and the deep reds, oranges and amber leaves of autumn. Each beautiful day might be the last, before the temperatures plummet and the ground freezes and the snow flies.  So when a gorgeous autumn days presents itself I head to a favorite park to hike the trails and paths through an old oak savannah.  We're so fortunate to have such fabulous parks in our home area, and they are available year round with trails in the winter to hike and snowshoe and cross country ski upon.

Today was sunny and the air temps had risen from our frost on the pumpkin morning to near 60, so I joined the crowds of families and trail runners out enjoying the woods.  The leaves crunched underfoot, and the geese honked as they v'ed overhead on their migration.  No horses met me on the paths although there was ample evidence of their passing with piles of their apples dotting the trail.

It was just the most perfect day until, as the biblical creation myth of Eden presented the serpent in the garden, one such creature slithered across my path.  When you're hiking at a good pace it takes a step or two to halt, and for the brain to recognize it's survival signal: SNAKE!!!

Because it's an involuntary response, of course I screamed. And waved my hiking poles and poked the ground to encourage it to move away from me, immediately! And then I could feel this sensation of a thing wrapped around my upper back and neck and my brain fired off another warning.  I flung my head back and forth, stooping and straightening rapidly while shrieking, trying to keep both feet off the ground to prevent the snake on the trail from joining the one I was convinced had dropped off a tree onto my neck.  Eventually whiplash stopped my trail performance, and I realized Sir Hissss had slithered off, and the cord from my hoodie was wrapped around my neck trying to strangle me, not another serpent.

The family behind me had stopped a safe distance away,  the mother had her hands covering the toddler's eyes while their young sons gaped at me with equal parts awe and horror.  Without making eye contact the parents herded their young away down a different path, and I continued along my path, chastened and oddly invigorated.  At least my heart rate met it's workout goal today.

Our family has more than met it's quota of snakes this year.  I look forward to their hibernation.

When I was the Forest

Today the tree canopy is growing sparse, leaves rain down in a shower set off against a brilliantly blue sky.  I know winter is coming, but for today, this moment, I shall live in golden light.

Peace.