Simply Moments

About five years ago, I was given an orchid for helping out one of my neighbors.  It was a pale, delicate yellow orchid.  I was thankful, though at the back of my mind I was already worrying about what to do with it.  I knew they had to be treated like the fragile plants they are and though I am an avid houseplant advocate (currently with 17 wonderful plants about the house), I knew zip about orchids, other than that scary fragile factor. The plant kept that lovely, single yellow bloom for many days and I marveled every time I stopped to admire it.  I read up on how to care for them, bought orchid food, followed all the instructions on how to water, when to water...but it never bloomed again.  After about two years, I finally got a large, new leaf, though alas, no flowers.  Over time I got two more leaves, healthy and green, but again, no blooms.  Ah well, the leaves were really pretty, so I was good with that. It sits on the credenza in the bedroom with just enough light/shade and

In early Spring last year I stumbled across this weird word whilst reading an article.  Bujo.  What in the world?  Was it some ancient sorcery like voo doo, or a different way to say bad juju?  A bit of research later and I discovered it meant bu llet jo urnal, which led me further to find out what that was. A bullet journal (for those of you late to the party as I was) is a journal with tiny little dots rather than lines or graph squares.  They're designed to make your own layout rather than the usual planner-type journal or diary already done for you. I've been a diary-keeper since I was a kid and probably have at least 15 adult journals stashed around the house right now, none of them finished.  I either forget to write, get too busy to take the time, or just plain lose interest.  The bujo idea intrigued me enough to want to give it a try. I watched several YouTube videos, read lots of online stuff, bought some books, then in April I ordered my first journal.  And totall

For those of us who have furry family members, you'll understand the sadness and grief when we lose them.  Their lives are so much shorter than most humans, and yet they give freely and unconditionally of their love, each and every day.  Would that we could do the same. My sister and brother-in-law lost their 12-year-old wee Jack Russell, Cooper, last week.  He was a rambunctious, adorable guy who loved to go on walk-about with his dad, bark his head off at anything that moved, and tear the living daylights out of any and all toys.  I spent many an hour trying to find The Toy He Couldn't Destroy over the years.  And never did.  A few weeks past he seemed to develop a doggy cold, but then suddenly last week he inexplicably went blind.  Immediate trip to the vet; many tests later and he was diagnosed with a brain tumor.  There was no hope of any positive outcome. My neighbor, JR, a man with advancing Huntington's, had a 8-year-old, beautiful Golden Lab named Bud.  Several

Here we are, one week into the new year.  I can't say the year is off to a happy start, or a positive one, but we've still got 51 left to make it happen. My 30-Day Yoga Challenge has been brutal.  Seriously.  I'm not a novice, I practice 5 days a week, but I'm realizing that having weekends off was a very good thing!  It allowed me to catch my breath, chill for a few days to regroup, then hit Monday fresh and ready to go.  Day after day with no break is starting to wear me down a bit.  I'm going to keep slogging along here, though three more continuous weeks seems like torture right now.  Too stubborn to quit, but man, it's tempting. The Middle East is enraged again, thanks to the total incompetency of the wanna-be Emperor of America.  Arbitrarily, no contact with Congress--and clearly a ploy to distract from impeachment--he stirs the pot, inciting a country that doesn't need help or an excuse to start yet another terrorist holy war.  I'm at a los

Yesterday I was going through my photo program searching for a particular picture when I stumbled across this one, a photo I had totally forgotten about!  My sister sent the donut toy to Benny for Halloween, and after a long session of playing, he plopped down on his blanket with the donut under his chin.  At some point it flipped over his head and... ...I'm still laughing, however, you can see by his face, he's not amused.  It's always the little moments that are so great, right?

Wow, here we are, at the beginning of a new year and a new decade.  Although, for some reason all this newness has me feeling more...I don't know, fraught, nervous, a bit scared maybe? We're at our own place in history right now as 2020 has arrived.  But instead of looking forward to it, I find myself dreading that catchy, cheerful combo of numbers because it means election year.  UGH!!!  I can't even imagine what chaos and crap is coming over the next several months until November. So, to balance my sense of impending doom (okay, a bit dramatic, but still...), I going to do my best in this new year to be positive and hope for the best; try to hold tight to what's good in this world rather than be swallowed by the terrible; cherish the little, simple things in life that really matter. To start out the way I mean to go on:  Early this morning I watched the Rose Bowl Parade while making beans and sauce in the crock pot for red beans and rice, my go-to meal for e