Mr. Beaver and Ground Hog Day

Ground Hog day is coming on Feb 2.
Punxsutawney Phil in Punxsutawney Pennsylvania is a big deal out there you know.
But I have my own groundhog.
My daughter calls him Mr. Beaver and their relationship goes back a few years to when she was attending religious school.
She sometimes came in through the back door of the cottage if there were papers, etc to throw in the trash bin in the backyard. This day that was the case and she was walking through the back gate and adjusting her school uniform when she caught sight of a furry person on the ground.
He was sitting eating Ziti that had been thrown out. His two fists were holding a huge wedge of it and his face was covered with sauce and cheese.
He saw her too.
He screamed.. she screamed, they both leapt high in the air and turned running and screaming to their respective corners for safty. His was under the shed where he had dug an escape route.

That was the beginning of Mr. Beaver the name she gave him when she entered the house to tell me of the great disasterous first meeting.

"There's a huge beaver in the back yard eating your Ziti!!" she yelled.
We were to discover that Ziti is one of a ground hogs most favorite foods.

Not long ago in the spring I saw Mr. Beaver's first little family. Three little chubby balls of fur playing in the back yard and munching merrily on tender spring grass shoots. So cute.
Mr and Mrs were no where to be seen but I know they were close by.

I have never seen Mr. Beaver come out of his home on February 2 though and I do know they pull Punxsutawney Phil out of his.
If I see him this year early on that decisive day I will let you know! I will examine the situation closely to see if a shadow doth appear or not.
Who knows , maybe Ziti loving Mr. Beaver will be the new Season Predictor!

Wednesday

It snowed last night and I got some very pretty photographs of it falling.
Today its raining and foggy a bit.
When I was a kid I used to like days like this. I loved the slushy puddles that I saw on the way to school.
I think what I really always have loved is the warmth on such days once you get where you are going. There is nothing like that warm cozy feeling you get on a cold day in winter.

I spent some time today making email signatures. I have to break now for dinner so this will be a short post.

And! Tonight is LOST! Oh my I can't wait.

The Great Kitchen Adventure

The great kitchen rearrange adventure is going quite well if I do say so myself.
A place for everything and everything in it's place is the motto that is behind it all.
I got sick of looking around for odds and ends even if it was occasional. Things need to be right at hand as far as I am concerned, if you are going to call them convenient.
So with that in mind the drawer emptying, rearranging and great dumpster toss was on!

I know... I know.. complain , complain.

At it's height it looked as though the kitchen had been hijacked by the plastic trash bag man.
How did I accumulate all that stuff?

The late George Carlin had lots to say regarding stuff... all of it true I tell you!

I had more dishes than any normal human being could use in a life time so I packed up a couple of sets for 2000 and have them now sitting in boxes awaiting the daughter's pick up .
She lives around the corner. Sigh.
Now trash bags are gone and boxes sit in their place.
"Scream"!

Well I think I am nearer the end of the adventure than I am near the start and once the cabinets are free of clutter and froufrou the great painting adventure can begin.

Stay tuned and man the lifeboats incase of emergency.

Atlantic Sunrise

Sunrise at the Atlantic Ocean .

What a pretty sight it is .

Sometimes at night you can see a moonpath when the moon is full but at sunrise you can see the Sunpath that leads out to sea.

It is a magical view.

When I was small I used to imagine that I could walk on that path all the way to Europe!

Kids have the best imaginations I think.

Early in the morning when everyone is still asleep and the mist is still in the air the sun rises in pink glory and sends it's path twinkling out along the waves to the shore. It undulates and grows in intensity as the sun nears the horizon then begins to fade as the sun gets higher in the sky.

Life Happens?

I named the blog the pink blog because the basic template that I used was in pink. In making a background and header I thought, why not just go with the pink and call the blog pink too.
I don't really have a deep reason why, just kind of happened that way.

One time a long while back I remember hearing a man say that too much of our lives is lived that way too, just falling into things.
As children we decide to be firemen, nurses, cowboys, astronauts, anything that fires our imaginations but we grow up and often take jobs we never even thought of much less dreamed of. We fall into things, life happens to us, we don't plan it well enough.
There are some who will say you can't plan life because things happen, but that is a lame excuse if you think about it. You can plan and just because roadblocks or street signs deter you from one way doesn't mean you can't go another with equal design and intent.
What I mean is that we don't have to just let life happen to us. We can take the reins and direct life where we would like it to go or at least in an approximate direction.

Planning is a good way to direct life and see to it that you don't end up in free fall too often.
We can end up off kilter from time to time but we don't have to stay that way I think. We can grab on and pull life back on course to our own liking even in the smallest of ways.
We can refuse to allow outside influences to completely manage us and maybe we can begin to manage them even on a mental basis. We can refuse to be side tracked from goals and ambitions and we can remain positive most of the time if we remain focused on the goal.

People fall into too much. Jobs, careers, marriages, relationships...especially friendships and business relationships that can drag you down. We are loathe to end them sometimes because of pity, habit or fear even if they are taking down the quality of life.
We are loathe to begin anew because of fear and habit too, but is it ever too late ?

How much does mental outlook have to do with our state of being?
Scientists says we use only 10% of our total brain power.
The head is the executive office of the whole body and its well being. It can direct the entire operation so to speak.
We can talk ourselves into lower blood pressure, out of anxiety and into peace. Mystics of the east have done this for years. Lowering blood pressure through breathing and relaxation is quite easy.
We can lessen pain, increase energy, even fight disease through mental processes. One biofeedback method had a person imagining blood cells attacking disease and winning.
The person got well.

Remember the man who cured himself through laughter? He simply took tanach(bible) at it's word that a merry heart does brings health and began to laugh often.
His disease was "incurable"...he was cured.

Adele Davis, a nutrionist who wrote books on health and healing through nutrition said she never met an arthritis sufferer(adult) who was not in some way harboring bitter feelings.
Again the bible speaks of bitterness harming the bones, so the reverse would heal.
It seems we can literally tear ourselves down physically through thought and attitude and build ourselves up though better attitude too.
This is not to say all disease is from attitude. Thats just not so for otherwise the sweet dear children of the world would be exempt .
But I think we can help ourselves more than we know. It might not heal us completely, but we might notice that the fight is easier or somehow more managable if we take the reins and change our mind set a bit? It's a question, not a statement.
I am wondering , that's all. And, I am hoping that this might be true.

Research shows that people who pray and are prayed for have better outcomes than those who do not/are not.

So is there hope for us to manage our lives and not allow haphazard life to manage us?
I hope so.

Lunch and Shopping

Went out to lunch with my friend today for her birthday. She was given a gift card for lunch so we used that and had a really nice time eating Italian food!

I looked all over for the Nancy Drew Mystery game but the stores were just sold out. So maybe another time.

I bought Kat a little sweater at Target that I hope she will enjoy. Its cotton pointelle and a nice blue color. It would be nice in spring over a little tee or blouse.

It was nice out too, not too cold and that was a relief. The sun was downright warm when you stood in it and there was plenty of it to stand around under.

I noticed as we were driving all the stores that are going out of business and I suspect it's not going to stop. Very sad.

We have some sunny days now.
The only negative is that the kitty has fleas and frontline isnt working.
I really need to get Advantage because I know it works for sure.
Frontline was too expensive for only 3 viles.. The advantage gives me 4 and that's two months for 2 kitties and besides it actually works while the frontline doesnt. I dont know why it doesnt either cuz they charge enough for both brands.

They are not outdoor guys so I dont know where the critters are coming from either.
Well I need to get rid of them wherever they come from. So, thats now on the list of to do.

Its time for coffee and then laundry, so short post for today.

Snow and More Snow

Snow is busting out all over!

Snowed most of the day yesterday but sunny today.
I have to babysit tonight while H and V go out for a dinner date.
Not sure of the time, as I was not really told yet. So I am waiting to see what happens.
Trying meanwhile to stay warm in the winter weather.

Frozen Water, Bird Food

Yet more snow!
The bay yet again frozen in spots.
And cold, cold, cold.
I fed the birds this morning including ones whose call I could not recognize at all.
Strangers in the area?
They appreciate a bit of food in the winter and of course the ponds have plenty of cold water to drink.

If only the squirrel would not eat all the food on them sometimes.
He is also chewing on the chalet feeder.. doggone it.


I don't want to have to replace that. But, he seems to like to crib on it for some reason.
Do their teeth need filing like beavers? I don't know but they do crib on wood.

Snow!

We have snow!
It began during the night and now falling intermittentlly. Its pretty outside but no real accumulation to speak of. Just a bit.
But enough for a wintry look. I hope it melts quickly though as I don't have boots.
There is a story behind that.
If i buy boots, it will not snow. So I rarely bother to buy boots and so then it does snow.
I suppose I should own a token pair just to keep the snow from falling too much in the winter.


Well what can I tell you. Thats life in the slow lane.

Movie Reviews

I was reading a movie review from 1933 of the Claudette Colbert movie "I Cover the Waterfront".
It seems that then as now movie critics find fault with almost everything. They seem to rarely like a movie and when they do I often wonder what in the world they are thinking anyway.
They didnt like "The Majestic" but I loved it. It was a really nice movie.
They also didn't like "Return to Me" but, again it was a lovely film full that makes you smile.
I wonder if one reason they find so much fault is that telling people a movie is nice won't get them readers?
People seem to like bad news and bad reviews. Controversy seems to be more popular than anything else .

So even in 1933 the critics were not easy on Hollywood.
Not that all Hollywood pictures are great. Many aren't but, I think the reviews could be a bit more easy going and less brutal sometimes.
It is amazing how many people work on a film. When the credits role, sometimes way way too fast, you see all those many names that it took to make that movie. Its amazing, like a small corporation really.
I like to see til the very end, all the credits and etc and I love to hear the music as it finishes up.
That has to be quite a job too..the music.
Some of it is just so beautiful.

Well, since this review was from 1933 I suppose one good thing is seeing that some things never change much.

Joyfully Sunny Days

A chilly but nice weekend. A bit of rain but we didnt get the snow the north got at all.
Sometimes when the wind is blowing very hard out.. a Winnie the Pooh blustery day, the sky is wiped clean and a sparkling crisp blue sky appears . Sky that's Bluer than blue with wisps of pure white cloud scudding across it like ships on the open sea.
Its a beautiful sight and makes you feel good about life and things in general.
The yellow sun seems brighter also on days like that and without the gray that winter sometimes brings it is.
Sometimes after a good hard snow storm the sky is bright vivid blue and you can hardly stand the brightness of the white that is all around you. It is a sunglasses day for sure.

I hope tomorrow is that kind of day, minus the snow of course, but bright, sunny and joyful.

Sunny Day Lunch

Today was and is as blue and sunny as ever I saw it. Its windy too though. But a glorious day.
I used to like rainy days more than I do now. Now I appreciate the sun and the deep blue skies a lot.
Suddenly it is 2009 and it seems like we were just worrying about 2000 and y2k and all that.
The years just fly by sometimes.
I had lunch with my friend today. She stopped by with chicken and salad and we had a bite and talked for a while.
She had been to have her hair cut and then as I am on the way home, came by for a visit and brought lunch.
I was nice to sit in the sunny kitchen and talk. The days have been too cloudy and this lunch was a pick me up for sure.
she left a while back and now I am here with a cup of hot coffee surfing the net for a wee bit.

Rain, Cupcakes and a Birthday Party

What a night of rain.. what a day of rain. It has completely refilled the ponds with fresh rain water. Wonderful, but will the gutters and leaders stand it on the house? Film at 11.
The sky is white with rain filled clouds. Mr.Squirrel is hunkered down in the chalet bird feeder eating the sunflower seeds as he waits out the storm, poor birds can't fit with him in there.
All is right with the world and the day is going well so far. now if we can get some sunshine, it will be a very good day today.
Tonight is a small dinner for little Meredith. Salisbury steak and cupcakes! all the rage today in place of large cakes.
It is her first birthday so I will take photos galore!

Rainy Day Sunshine

There are days in winter that there just is no sun at all. Today it's raining and I thought, how many days without sun can there be in winter?
Then I thought that maybe you can call this rainy day sunshine since, its light outside, just not like the light on a brilliant sunny day.
But it's sunny in it's own way so no complaining from here on out!

Monday

I stayed up late last night reading a book and so overslept by quite a lot today.
It is a dim, dark , cloudy and chilly day.
The heater is working well on the pond, I borrowed it from a friend who has no fish in her pond. It began to thaw the pond immediately til a big hole was in the ice for air to enter.
In trying to move a hose on the filter it broke since it was frozen. Stupid on my part since the ice was just too thick. But enough of the hose remains to make a good waterfall and the pump is very powerful. As soon as more ice melts I will set that up to prevent more freezing.
Powerful falls only freeze in the coldest of weather.

title

Auld Lang Syne

Auld lang syne means really once upon a time or in olden times or times gone by.
I guess when a new year dawns our minds go back to the years that came before and we ponder what we did, what happened, the news headlines, etc and we consider how to make the new year better.
It would take a concerted effort by the entire world to make the world better since everyone would have to try to do a good job at living their life. There would need to be standards of what a good life is.
That isn't about to happen I think.

On the home front its freezing outside!
The ponds are frozen over and even the birds are quiet while they snuggle in their nests to keep warm.
I snuggle in the house to keep warm but I see that I have some repairs to make on leaks where cold air is rushing in and hot air escaping.

I can't believe the weekend is over already. It was just Sunday morning and now the sun is down...later though, not at 4 oclock anymore.. whew.
When the sun goes down so early you get sleepy too soon. The dark must have some kind of influence on how we feel too.

The New Year begins.+

It is a new year. 2009 already and it seems like just a small bit ago we were thinking of 2000 and what trouble that might bring with computers and etc.
None of that seemed to be a problem. There are enough problems but then every year people complain about problems in the world and how this year has to be better. So, its a cycle we live with I guess.
Its really cold out today but H and I are going to Barnes and Nobel to look at books.. if they are open that is! I hope they are. Icould use a few books to read. I have read everything in the house already.
B&N has tables with bargains on them that no one has bought and sometimes the books on there are really cool.
That will be the day today.