* Staying Busy & Looking for Joy *

“The key to success is often the ability to adapt.” -- Unknown

                                                                                                         

"Believe in love. Believe in magic. Believe in Santa Claus. Believe in others. Believe in yourself. Believe in your dreams. If you don't, who will?" -- Jon Bon Jovi

 

"Christmas is a day of meaning and traditions, a special day spent in the warm circle of family and friends." ~Margaret Thatcher

(All photos taken by Becky Dec. 2010)

I'm trying to stay as busy as possible, so I don't have time to sit around and miss Tiger Girl too much. It gets a little better every day, until something happens to trigger a specific memory. I know we did the right thing and she's in a better place....but that doesn't stop me from missing her constant presence. 

I hope to get back to my "normal" self soon.....to post often, to write again, to not have an ache in my heart.

"Dogs are miracles with paws." ~Attributed to Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy

* Tearful Goodbye to Tiger-Girl *

We had to bid a tearful goodbye to our beloved Tiger Girl this morning. She has been my constant companion for almost 14 years and I can't begin to express how sad I am. She was such a good and sweet dog. She had ovbiously slowed down the past year, but was doing fine, for an older dog. Then the past couple of weeks, she wasn't eating well and was sleeping more. This morning, we knew something was terribly wrong. Fortunately, I was able to reach Mark, and he came home to go to the vet with us. We held her close, and told her goodbye at approximately 11:00 am, CST.  The following photos are from various years, mostly the past two or three. One of my favorites is of her, napping on her bed, complete with her special pillow. *NOTE: I forgot to mention that we got Tiger at a shelter when she was only 6 months old. After we'd had her for only a couple of weeks, she was diagnosed with Parvo. Not able to see our regular vet that night, I was told we should just "give her back" before we "get too attached to her"! Can you imagine? We already were attached to her, so she got the treatments and obviously survived!

I will miss her so, so much. There will never be another dog like my Tiger Girl.

* Old Man Winter Has Arrived *

My part of the Midwest isn't buried under record snowfall, thank goodness, but we did get a bit of the white stuff here....about 3 inches of powdery snow. The wind has been strong and steady, too, making the wind chill VERY cold! Luckily, I didn't have to leave my nice, warm home at all today. I continued working on my Christmas cards, baked a couple dozen chocolate chip cookies (oh yeah!), did another load of laundry, wrote a few e-mails, lit and enjoyed the flickering & aroma of candles, read a little while, watched some TV, took a nap, let Tiger out....let Tiger in....let Tiger out...you get the idea! All in all....a very blissful day!

*One other note: For some reason, I seem to have lost a follower. Just when I annouced and thanked my newest followers, reaching the fabulous number of 150.....I look at my blog this evening and there are only 149. I don't know what happened and I'm sorry if I upset someone.

"O Winter! ruler of the inverted year, . . . I crown thee king of intimate delights, Fireside enjoyments, home-born happiness, And all the comforts that the lowly roof Of undisturb'd Retirement, and the hours Of long uninterrupted evening, know." -- William Cowper

* Anthologies, Friends, Book Store, Food Bank *

Patchwork Path; Treasure Box has arrived! I really love this book. The patchwork design on the cover and back is so unique, and the quality of the entire book is great. It has quotes here and there all throughout the book, and y'all know how much I love quotes! I've only read a couple of stories so far, but enjoyed them very much.

    Here's one of the unique things I like. The photo below is a portion of the back of the book. I took the picture this way because I wanted everyone to see my name, plus my wonderful blog friend, Claudia McKinney Mundell's name!! Besides the fact that we're both in this book, Claudia's story is the one right before mine! I consider that one of my serenditpitous happenings!! Congrats again, Claudia! I'm happy we share yet another thing in common! (love of books, writing, doilies, tea cups, etc..)



Speaking of friends and anthologies; a lot of you may have already seen Linda's and/or Tammy's blogs where they mentioned participating in a book signing tomorrow. Well, now it's my turn to mention it, too! (Theresa doesn't have a blog.) The following part is taken directly from Main Street Books website:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL Special Event

Four St. Charles/St. Louis area Chicken Soup for the Soul writers will participate in a multi-author book signing on Saturday, December 11th, 2010 from 1-3 p.m. at Main Street Books, 307 S. Main Street in St. Charles, MO.

Customers may bring in a canned good to be donated to a St. Charles food pantry and receive 20% off their entire purchase that day!

Participating authors include: T’Mara Goodsell, Linda O’Connell, Becky Povich, and Theresa Sanders.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Although I have stories in previous editions of Chicken Soup for the Soul books, I'll be signing the Thin Threads and Patchwork Path books this time. And as I've been mentioning the past couple of weeks, I'll donate $5.00 per book to the local Habitat for Humanity office, for every Thin Threads book I sell.

Those of us who have a warm home and plenty of food to eat most likely have never had to endure a time without having these necessities of life. Please come by, bring a canned good or two and buy at least one book. You'll be helping many people! Happy Holidays!

(Also, thanks to my four newest followers! I am excited because with the 4th one: Miss C.C., I have reached an unbelievable number of 150 Followers!! Thank you everyone, so much. I truly appreciate each and every one of you! The four newest are: C.C., Pam, Stephen Tremp, and a name I just love....Bill, The Old Fart!)

*Speaking of followers, here's something really cool. I was just recently one of four winners on Lydia's "500 Followers Contest". I received a $15.00 gift card to what I commented my favorite independent book store was....and yes, you guessed it.....Main Street Books! Thanks again, Lydia! I'll most likely spend that money tomorrow! Go check out Lydia's blog: "The Word is My Oyster" and you'll see why she now has over 540 followers!!

"When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around." -- Willie Nelson

"There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude, a quite joy." -- Ralph H. Blum

* That's Not Very Lady-Like! *

You know about going to a dollar store intending to buy just a couple of things?? Well, when I went to Dollar Tree today, my "couple of things" turned into about 35 things. They were all vital necessities, though....you gotta believe me....except for this little lady below. She's one of those 6-inch-tall-ceramic-pieces-of-art that I normally would not care to buy....but she made me laugh, so I had to bring her home, too! AND, she was among other little statuettes that were priced 2 for $1.00.

 Look how she's standing!! She looks like she's SCRATCHING HER BUTT!!

Plus, she has a look of discomfort on her face!! I swear!!

Nothing like a 50¢ item to just make my day...and hopefully yours, too! ☺

“I base most of my fashion taste on what doesn't itch.” -- Gilda Radner

Classic TV and a Ridiculous Warning

CLASSIC TV

You get what you pay for! I found the DVD pictured below at Dollar Tree, probably at least 2 years ago, put it with the rest of the DVDs and never got around to watching it....until, that is.....Friday night. For the mere price of one dollar, this little gem contains three "classic" television shows from the 1950s. If you think you see Betty White on the cover, you are correct. She and the actor with her (Bill Williams) were in a short-lived TV show called A Date with the Angels. (Don't you just love Betty White?? I hope I'm still doing what I love and still enjoying life as much as she is when I get to be her age!)

They played Gus, an insurance salesman and his new bride, Vicki. They aren't "real angels"....that's their last name. Gus and Vicki Angel. If you're a baby boomer and have never heard of this show, don't feel bad. I'm a 1950s TV junkie and had never heard of it, either. Probably because it only lasted one season. Anyway....this particular Christmas episode, Santa's Helper, was really cute and typical of a 50s TV sitcom. Besides the two main actors, the guest stars are very recognizable actors, too: Burt Mustin, Richard Deacon, and Nancy Kulp. Very cute episode, which I just discovered can also be seen on You Tube.

The other two shows on the DVD were truly awful, in a hilarious sort of way. I won't even go into them, because it would take up too much room!

A RIDICULOUS WARNING

The Ronald and I have owned a Bunn coffee maker for a couple of years, but I never took the time to read the Warnings on the carafe until this morning. (Why, you make ask? Well, I just assumed I would know all the wrong, bad, stupid things a person should NOT do with a glass carafe.) Ahhhh, but I was wrong! I did not know this particular one: "Do not hold over people." Wow! Thank goodness they put that important message on there! OMG! Now I know not to hold it over people!! BUT, do they mean while it is empty? Full of hot water? Full of cold water? Full of hot coffee? And do they mean "don't pour it over people's heads? Or do not threaten to break it over people's heads? I just don't get it.... I think we people who buy coffee makers need to have the warnings spelled out a little more clearly! I don't want any accidents to happen, because I wasn't cautioned properly.

“I am so busy doing nothing... that the idea of doing anything - which as you know, always leads to something - cuts into the nothing and then forces me to have to drop everything.” -- Jerry Seinfeld

* Thin Threads Continue to Connect *

Late last night I wrote about having an amazing, magical, serendipitous day. (I always think of you, Lisa, when I hear or use that "S" word!) ☺

When I woke up this morning, I realized I can't write about it yet. I need to hold it in my heart a while longer. Then, maybe, I can possibly share it.

**NOTE** My friend, writer, and blog buddy, Donna Volkenannt, wrote a beautiful post on her blog this morning about (what was just) the beginning of my serendipitous day yesterday, which she witnessed and was part of! Please hop on over and read it. Donna said it all much better than I could have! Thank you, Donna. I'm really glad you wrote it and said such nice things about me, too.


I do have a new call for submissions that I can share! Kiwi Publishing has a new book in the works for their Thin Threads Series and they need your stories! It's called Women and Friendship. Doesn't that just have OUR names in it already?! Deadline for submissions is March 1, 2011, so no need to fret about having enough time, especially in the midst of holiday celebrations. No submission fee and if your story is chosen, you receive $100.00.

Please meet: Mary Jones. Mary is a writer and motivational speaker. Mary has her own radio show, does podcasts & TV segments & hosts workshops. I just "met" Mary and she will be working with Kiwi Publishing on this book. I know she will be wonderful to work with! Here's info from Mary's website about Thin Threads:

We invite you to contribute a true story or anecdote that will bring hope and happiness to all those who realize the possibility in each moment. We are looking for personal stories (800-1200 words) that are real, capture the essence of a thin thread event, and evoke an emotion from the reader. Events related to friendship that changed you forever.

Friends hold a deep, special bond and connection for women. We are looking for your story. A story from your heart. A story that will bring a smile or tear to others. For example, the story of how a friend was a lifeline for you, or a story about your life at a time that you realized the power, strength or value of a woman friendship.

I've also gotten to know Stacey Battat really well through our numerous e-mails and recent phone calls! Stacey is co-founder of Kiwi Publishing and is the President and Editor-in-Chief of the Thin Threads series.

I just love the definition of thin threads:"Moments, events, setbacks, crossroads or encounters that connect us to a person, place or opportunity and change our lives for the better." (As I said, those thin threads have really been weaving their magic around and through me lately!)

"Follow your bliss. If you do follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while waiting for you, and the life you ought to be living is the one you are living." -- Joseph Campbell

* A Serendipitous Day! *

♫♪ What a day this has been! What a rare mood I'm in!
Why, it's almost like being in love!
There's a smile on my face for the whole human race!
Why, it's almost like being in love!
All the music of life seems to be like a bell that is ringing for me!
And from the way that I feel when that bell starts to peal,
I could swear I was falling, I would swear I was falling,
It's almost like being in love. ♫♪

Today was such an amazing day. I honestly need to reflect on it some more and then maybe try to write about it tomorrow. It was as if one magical thing after another happened to and/or around me. I'd say there were definitely some Thin Threads moments going on!

"What you need to know about the past is that no matter what has happened, it has all worked together to bring you to this very moment. And this is the moment you can choose to make everything new. Right now." Unknown