A Dog's Purpose

Reblogged from benzeknees:

I am not sure who actually wrote this, but it was too good to not share.

Do you concur?

"A Dog's Purpose" (from a 6-year-old):

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife Lisa , and their little boy Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle.

Read more… 416 more words

Since we're coming up on the second anniversary of my beloved Bandit's passing, I thought I would re-post this beautiful story. Please excuse me for recycling but I'm too fragile just now to do another heart-wrenching post.

Scary!!

Credit: Microsoft Clip Arts

Yesterday I posted my 200th post! I didn’t even acknowledge it because I didn’t realize what was happening until I’d already pushed the Publish button. You see, I’ve been a little distracted the last couple of days.

On Sunday, I had a bit of a fall – nothing serious, don’t panic.  I stepped on the wood piece used to make the transition between our hardwood floors & the slate in the bathroom.  It has a slight slant, I was barefoot & because my foot hit it just right I went sliding, overcompensated & ended up landing on my knees & hands, banging my hip on the door jamb on the way down.  But due to knee problems & lingering effects from my broken wrist, I needed help from hubby getting up.  The fall hurt me in mind, body & spirit.

My mind was hurt because I panicked when I couldn’t get up by myself which of course triggered a panic attack.  I couldn’t go into my normal desceleration routine because I was on the floor & panicking about not being able to get myself up.  The first panic attack triggered another & then another.  With that much adrenaline in my system, it was difficult to get the panic attacks under control.  Panic attacks leave me feeling tired & vulnerable for days afterwards.

I was hurt in my body by banging my knees, one shin, jarring my previously broken wrist & bruising my right hip.  My upper arms are also paining me because hubby put his hands under my arms to help me up.

I was hurt in my spirit because it slammed home to me that I am getting older & I’m not in as good shape as I used to be.  The last time I fell I fractured a wrist & being in pain from a fall again I was concerned I might have broken something.  This fall has left me feeling fragile & afraid.  What if hubby hadn’t been home?  What if I had broken something again, maybe this time a hip?

It’s going to take a while to get my confidence back & to stop feeling so fragile.

Tickle Me Tuesday – 060513

Senior Moments

An older guy goes to his doctor for his physical and gets sent to the Urologist as a precaution. When he gets there, he discovers the Urologist is a very pretty female doctor.

The female doctor says, “I’m going to check your prostate today, but this new procedure is a little different from what you are probably used to. I want you to lie on your right side, bend your knees, then while I check your prostate, take a deep breath and say, “99”.

The old guy obeys and says, “99″.

The doctor says, “Great”, now turn over on your left side and again, while I repeat the check, take a deep breath and say, “99″.

Again, the old guy says, “99”.”

The doctor said, Very good. Now then, I want you to lie on your back with your knees raised slightly. I’m going to check your prostate with this hand, and with the other hand I’m going to hold on to your penis to keep it out of the way. Now take a deep breath and say, “99”.

The old guy begins, “One…two…three…”

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Seniors Bumper Sticker

Seniors Bumper Sticker

Seniors Bumper Sticker

Invitation To Help Save A Rhino!

Reblogged from Serenity in the City:

My friend and neighbor, Jonellen Thompson, recently returned from a fabulous trip to South Africa where she volunteered at the Balule Wildlife Conservation Project for two weeks.  Jonellen is an ardent animal advocate and when she learned of an opportunity to save four rhinos from poachers, she immediately grabbed the chance to help.  She tells her story below and gives directions so that anyone who may be inclined to help may do so.

Read more… 1,020 more words

Long time no hear from Marguerite. Re-blogging so maybe some of my followers might be interested in donating. Also I think Robin Rhino is a cute name!

Dream of Time by Nancy J. Price – A Review

Imagine going to sleep tonight as one person & waking up as someone completely different – in a different time & in a different place.  This happens to Robin, a divorced 21st century mom of two.  As far as she can tell Jen should have died from a head injury, so what is Robin doing here waking up from a coma in her body with none of Jen’s memories but all of her own?  Add in finding out the fall causing your head injury may not have been an accident.  What is Robin’s purpose here?  How can she live someone else’s life for them?  Is any of this real or only just a very vivid dream?

I found this book grabbed my attention from the start & I wanted to keep turning pages to see what would happen next.  The premise of the book is intriguing & the characters are interesting.  I would have preferred to understand the villains’ motives better, but it did not detract from the story.

“Dream of Time” was categorized as supernatural & so appealed to me as a reader.  Nancy J. Price has managed to expand my definition of supernatural to include a less obvious meaning of the term.  I would highly recommend this book & give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Published by Synchronista LLC, “Dream of Time” is due for publication on June 11, 2013.

I received a copy of this galley free in exchange for an unbiased review.

More About Me and You

Name a smell you love, a smell you hate, and/or a smell you never really notice.  This was part of a tag Rarasaur set for me way back in February.  I always fully intended to do it, but just ran out of time – so I’m going to use it as a prompt from time to time.

Credit: Microsoft Clip Arts

The smell I love the most is freshly baked bread!  When my daughter was in kindergarten, I ran a creche in my home because I was unable to find adequate daycare for my daughter that did not cost more than my salary.  I cared for 2 babies under 6 months in my home.  Every Monday morning I would make my own bread.  My first baby came at 7:30 a.m., so I would get up early & have my dough rising before the first baby came.  A couple hours later, both babies would go for a morning nap & I would punch down my bread & set it to rise again.  After lunch when the babies went for their next nap I would punch the dough down again & put it in the loaf pans to rise before baking.  I would always have a little dough left over so I would make dinner buns or cinnamon buns as well.  I would make a stew or chili (something that goes good with fresh bread) for dinner.  All day Monday & most of Tuesday as well my house would smell like freshly baked bread.  Mmmmmm.

Credit: Microsoft Clip Arts

A smell I hate is the smell of raw meat.  It started when I was pregnant with my daughter.  I suffered very badly from morning sickness for the first 5 months of my pregnancy.  I had trouble keeping down soda crackers.  My diet consisted of a Golden Delicious apple & a few soda crackers a day.  Finally, the doctor had to put me on medication because the baby was not growing.  For the balance of my pregnancy, I went to my parents’ cafe at least once a week so I wouldn’t have to smell meat cooking.  Even just this past Sunday, hubby brought home a strip loin of beef for steaks.  As hubby was cutting the meat, I was packaging it for the freezer.  I was gagging the whole time.  If I have to fry up ground beef I add a bit of garlic right away to mask the smell of the raw meat.

When I smoked, I never noticed the smell of cigarette smoke & I could rarely ever smell cigarettes on another smoker.  Since I quit smoking, I can smell a cigarette half a block away.  If someone in our complex is smoking on their balcony, I can smell it.  When I walk by a smoker I can smell it now.  Once in a blue moon, a cigarette still smells good to me, but mostly I hate the smell now.

What about you?  What smell do you love?  What smell do you hate?  Is there a smell you rarely notice?  You know you want to tell me.

Explain Yourself!

Credit: City of Edmonton

Have you ever considered why you live where you live? Do you even know why you live there? Is it because you have always lived there & never even considered moving anywhere else?  Or have you lived in a lot of different places – if so, which was your favorite?

I have followers from all over the world – Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, India, Brazil, Portugal, Canada & the US.  Hello, Hola, G’Day, Bonjour, Namaste, हेल्लो, Olá – I hope I hit them all for greetings.

Credit: City of Edmonton

I live in the City of Edmonton, in the Province of Alberta, in the country of Canada.  I have lived here since 2007.  I know why I live in Edmonton – hubby & I came here looking for work after we lost our store.  In 2007 there were a lot of jobs available in Alberta because of boom a few years before & there were not enough people to fill all the jobs.  Hubby & I were both older, we had been out of the job market for many years running our own business, so we needed to be where employees were in big demand. We arrived in Alberta with a job interview for me & a couple of prospects for hubby.  I got the job, so we found a place to live nearby & went from there.  After my job interview here, we drove to Calgary & stayed with cousins for the Canada Day long weekend while we tried to line up job interviews for us in the area.  If one of us had gotten a job in Calgary first, we very well could be living in Calgary right now.

The City of Edmonton has a population of approximately 1.2 million people in the metro area & is found just north of central Alberta.  The city has 4 seasons every year & boasts both a professional football team (Edmonton Eskimos) & a professional hockey team (Edmonton Oilers).  Edmonton is also home to the Gold Medal Olympians in Men’s Curling (the Kevin Martin team) for 2010.  The city is ahead of its time in the area of waste & water management & is working diligently on upgrading the LRT (light rail transit) system.  Approximately 1.5 hours west & north of the city will find you in Jasper in the Rocky Mountains, where you can ski or nature hike to your heart’s content.

Credit: Travel Alberta (Marmot Basin, Jasper)

So now I challenge you – tell me why you live where you live.  Whether it’s Alabama or Brazil, Portugal, Ohio, Iowa, Kansas or Nebraska, New Zealand, Hamilton, Vancouver, London or anywhere else.  Give me the “dets” in my comments or write a post of your own & link back to me.  I’m really interested.  So explain yourself . . .