Category Archives: Thoughts On Life

A Day at the Beach

Country Life, Thoughts On Life, ,

We may not live near the ocean but we are fortunate to have a Great Lake just over an hour away. So, we spent Monday on the beach. The weather was perfect. Warm with just enough cloud cover to keep us from roasting. And let me tell you, that SPF 50 sunscreen is good stuff! Previous years I used SPF 30 and was burnt for days afterwards. With the 50, I was just nicely tanned.

The day is also special because my husband and I spend it with our grandchildren and our daughter. We have traditions to go with our annual day at Lake Erie. Most revolve around food, especially the ice cream before we hit the road to head back home. I got the Lake Erie Salt Mine again this year-dark chocolate ice cream with swirls of salty caramel and caramel truffles. Yum!

I’m already looking forward to next year!

Such Days As These

Dogs & Other Animals, Thoughts On Life,

Many of our best days are spent here at home, but not all of them. Today, hubby and I went to the zoo with our dear sister in law and two nieces. It was a stellar day!

The chance to hang out and bond with Niece 1 (The Child of Questions And Amazement) and share the experiences of seeing all the animals was priceless. And Uncle (aka hubby) and Niece 1 even got to ride a camel together!

And what a blessing to share a zoo day with Niece 2 (The Child of Boundless Joy). She is happy to share everything we see and do together. Every new encounter was met with a smile. (She, would refer to herself as Miss I Talk a Lot). That was her catch phrase for the day.

After a hot and satisfying day, we partook of our zoo tradition. We all had ice cream together to cool off and round out the adventure.

Such days as these help to make our lives complete

Don’t Forget…

Dogs & Other Animals, Thoughts On Life,

Life is better with a belly rub!

-Quote by Baxter

A Wonderful Gift

Dogs & Other Animals, Thoughts On Life, , ,

I had a wonderful 4th of July holiday last week for numerous reasons. Not the least of which was my brother had this piece of art commissioned as a surprise gift for me. There was no occasion, my brother is just thoughtful and awesome! The work is of my dog Duncan, who I still miss immensely and will always be a part of me even though he has been gone for some years now.

The drawing was done from one of my favorite photos of Duncan. You can see the bond we shared reflected in his eyes.

The piece now resides in my office at work so I can enjoy it there. The portrait was done by a family member in my brother’s extended family. Thanks Chris Whitaker! I would recommend Chris if you are interested in something similar of one of your own furry or feathered family members. He has an Etsy Shop called WHITSwhiskers.

Hope your days are blessed with such thoughtful and talented family as well.

A Peek Inside My Head

Gardens, Thoughts On Life,

If there was smellovision, I would always keep it tuned to the Peony Channel and hope for lilac commercials.

Scientist As Artist

Gardens, Thoughts On Life, ,

This is what you get from a gardener who is also a scientist.

A visual and olfactory experience.

Enjoy!

Lessons From the Dog

Dogs & Other Animals, Thoughts On Life, ,

Dear Human,

Don’t stress out about things.

This too shall pass. No matter what it is.

Spring will come. As will summer, fall, and winter.

Your child or pet will outgrow the terrible two’s, three’s, and teens.

That time you spend wishing you didn’t have to go to work, one day you won’t.

Be in the moment. Enjoy the now.

From the Dog

With Love.

(And could you pet me while you’re enjoying the now?)

The Time Keeper

Thoughts On Life

This is an excellent book. I would highly recommend it to my literary-minded friends. It held my interest the entire time. It has an interesting plot, character development, and is fast paced enough to keep you intrigued. The description on the dust jacket does not clue you in to the empathy and attachment you will feel for the characters.

Nourishment

Cooking, Thoughts On Life

Even in the midst of winter weather, there is still food from the garden to be appreciated.

In a pot of soup, there is thyme and oregano dried from the garden. Also, potatoes and leeks grown and given to us by two different friends.

A simple pot of soup says so much. It reminds us of warmer, sunnier weather and thoughtful, dear friends. All of these things nourish us.

Teaching Assistants

Dogs & Other Animals, Thoughts On Life,

I am currently teaching a class in Therapy Dog Training at our local vocational and adult education school one evening a week. It is so much fun! Above are my co-assistants. Shelby, on the left, accompanies me to every class. She is extremely reliable. The only reason I don’t say 100% reliable is because no one is perfect. My other sheltie Nikki helped this week too. Shelby demonstrates the exercises and both girls fill the role of “the neutral dog” when we work on distractions.

Our class is held in the school’s animal lab. That’s why there is a bunny in the background. There are lots is small animals: rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas, lizards, fish, turtles, and an assortment of birds. They provide quite the distraction for the “student dogs” in class. Shelby and Nikki are not impressed by the menagerie.

The dogs taking this class are a huge golden retriever, a Norwegian elkhound, and a pit bull. All are under three years old so, it is an exciting time. They are all great but I’ve wanted a pit bull for a few years so, I can’t get enough of petting his big head and scratching his ears.

This is a labor of love. When the school asked how much I wanted to make, I said “I don’t care, I would do it for free”. I believe that it’s important to get more dog and handler teams available to visit nursing homes and other care facilities. I know if I lived in one, I would want someone to come visit me with their dog. I even had one lady who thought I was bringing her dogs in to visit her! That is a great reward.