Store

It was a large store and I did not like to go in it because its brightness was cold, like sunlight on distant ice.

~ Chaim Potok

- - - - -

One afternoon I was sitting in the backyard watching and listening to the birds. Suddenly, I heard someone yell, "WHAT MAKES ME LOOK LIKE I WORK IN INGLES?!" The someone was Leslie. This would be a different kind of story if the someone was someone who worked at Ingles. Anyway, apparently while she was at the store a woman asked her, "Do I want mild or medium salsa?" Then another woman asked her where the pickled okra was.

Leslie said (to me, not to the okra lady), "I mean... I don't even have a pleasant disposition!"

Time

Time is the wisest counselor of all.

~ Pericles

- - - - -

Remember that if you ever add "In short..." to a story you are telling or something you are writing down, you are not making it short. You are making it longer.

And we don't have time for that.

Also, it probably wasn't that good a story to begin with.

Helpful

 Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every day.

~ Sally Koch

- - - - -

When people contact me on my phone and they have the wrong person, I like to be helpful and let them know they made a mistake. I like to think that in the case of the message above I was helpful also to Nicole.

(pause)

I wonder if she got her solar panels.

Conversation

One good conversation can shift the direction of change forever.

~ Linda Lam

- - - - -

I agree, Linda Lam. And also I don't think the conversation above is one of those kinds of conversations. 

 

Celebrating

It's a fine line between Saturday night and Sunday morning.

~ Jimmy Buffett

- - - - -

Aurora: What are you guys doing today?

Me: Seeing motorcycles and going to jump on the bed.

Leslie: We told GiGi she could jump on the bed, but just on her birthday.

Aurora: Today IS her birthday!

Leslie: I know!

Aurora: I jump on the bed sometimes and the couch, but my mom says not to.

Lighthouse

Lighthouses don't go running all over an island looking for someone to save; they just stand there shining.

~ Anne Lamott

- - - - -

This is a lighthouse in Canada that we haven't seen for a couple of years.

(pause)

I shouldn't complain. There are a lot of people who have never seen it ever.

Walking

Now, shall I walk or shall I ride?

"Ride," Pleasure said;

"Walk," Joy replied.

~ W. H. Davies

 - - - - -

"LET'S GO," Lily said.

Lily

He had the appeal of a very young dog of a very large breed -- a kind of amiable absurdity.

~ Dorothy L. Sayers

- - - - - 

A year ago today I started a blog for Lily that I didn't keep up with. I have a few entries, but then I just started writing about her here. Anyway, here is what the first post was.:

July 24, 2020:

What. The. Heck? So, I was born on May 30th. I am not even two months years old yet. Up until yesterday, I hung out with my 12 siblings. Ate, slept, wandered around, slept, and also slept a lot. I was out in the country near Starr, SC. That's what I thought my life would be. Playing and sleeping.

Nope.

Yesterday these two strangers came and got me. One of them said, "That one" immediately and pointed at me. The other one said, "You're the dog expert."

Then I got a shot. The guy who had been feeding me gave them a paper and I went for a ride. Now I am being held captive in this house in town. I don't mind it. So far. I was nervous at first. And there are still things that concern me - sounds, smells, etc.

They played with me and then I took my morning nap. Then I peed on their floor. I guess that isn't their preference because they keep taking me out by a tree to do that now. I did pee on their floor again last night, but that's on them. They didn't take me to the tree. At least it was the same floor as where I peed earlier.

I had to sit in the car in the afternoon for a while, so that's where I took my next nap. They were picking up food and a crate and some toys for me, so I figured sleeping nicely was the least I could do.

They gave me a bath in the kitchen sink. That sucked. Pardon my language. I did not like it at all. Then I took my next nap.

Then I got to eat and I LOVE FOOD. Have you ever had it? Food is SO GOOD.

Then I took a nap behind a chair while they ate. Then I met "The Amazons" on Zoom.

I played with a ball and a blue thing called a... I don't remember but it's a thing I like. And I played with a little Kong which I liked.

Somewhere in there I pooped (outside) napped some more, chewed on a towel, barked in my sleep, and did some other things.

While I was having my pre-bedtime nap, the two weirdos put together my crate. They woke me up a few times saying bad words. I think they had to break part of my crate to get it to work, but it works. I don't hate it, but I was more than a little annoyed that after I took my next nap and woke up at 2 a.m., all that happened was that I was taken outside to pee (which I did) and then put back in the crate and expected to go to sleep.

Don't they know that after sleep and pee/poop comes playtime? Apparently not. They also got it wrong at 4 a.m.

Wake up
Whine
Pee / poop
Play

It's not complicated. They just keep forgetting the Play part.

All in all a strange day, but not a bad day.

Lily.

Lily

We have had Lily for a year today.

 

Bubbles

I think we all see the world from our own little unique bubble.

~ Julie Taymor

- - - - -

Except Glinda. She has a big-a** bubble. She can ride around in it like a car. Or like the invisible jet Wonder Woman drives. 

(pause)

I bet Glinda and Wonder Woman are related. They both have invisible transportation, the both drive invisible vehicles, and they both know "how to keep young in spite of the many years [they] have lived"- at least that is what L. Frank Baum wrote of Glinda. Also true of Wonder Woman.

Additionally, Glinda's last name is Carter. 

Frolic

 frolic: from the Dutch, vrolijk (16th century) meaning "merry" and "cheerful"

- - - - -

There aren't a lot of great quotes including the world "frolic" that I could find. Probably because we don't frolic as much as we should. I bet on the dog internet there are a lot of quotes about the word "frolic". 

(pause)

I wish I knew how to access dog internet.

Light

Stories are light. Light is precious in a world so dark. 

~ Kate D. Camillo

- - - - -

You know that song about letting your light shine? The one with the line "Hide it under a bushel? No. I'm gonna let it shine." You know that one? Well, someone should tell the lyricist that if you hide a flame under a bushel of say... wheat - it will only make the light shine more brightly. Of course if the song is about glow necklaces, then their light would be hidden under a bushel. However, I think the song was written before we had any glow necklace technology.

Cars

Americans will put up with anything provided it doesn't block traffic.

~ Dan Rather

- - - - -

I think little kids play with cars because they want to drive and grown ups won't let them. I think grown ups won't let them because you'd have to be an idiot to let a little kid drive a car.

Books

So many books, so little time.

~ Frank Zappa

- - - - -

I think that what happens to avid readers, librarians, bibliophiles and the like at the end of days is that they all get picked up and taken to the most phenomenal library/bookstore in the universe. I think when that happens it is called "The Chapture.'

For what it's worth, I'm not sure if Roberta Price has Head Lice is in that place.

Attention

Attention is vitality. It connects you with others. It makes you eager. Stay eager.

~ Susan Sontag

- - - - -

It's important to pay attention when you are headed somewhere. The small sign above says "Peace Bridge." That is something different from "Piece of a Bridge" or "Peace Badger." Read carefully, but also keep your eyes on the road or you might run over the Peace Badger and then where would we be?

Snake

                

 

When you see a snake, never mind where he came from.

~ William Gurney Benham

- - - - -

Leslie removed a dead black snake that got tangled in our pomegranate tree netting. That night we were watching Restaurants on the Edge and they were talking about Snake Soup. The guy said that the snake tasted "just like chicken." 

I asked Leslie, "So if someone grew up eating snake and then was given chicken for the first time, would they say "Wow. This tastes just like snake!"?

Mountains

 The summit is what drives us, but the climb itself is what matters.

~ Conrad Anker

- - - - -

Sometimes the car is what drives us to the summit. It's much, much quicker that way.

Sun

Here comes the sun 

And I say

It's all right

~ George Harrison

- - - - -

I think the sun is alright when it comes up or out. I get freaked when the sun comes directly at me, though.
 

House

As an architect you design for the present, with an awareness of the past for a future which is essentially unknown. 

~ Norman Foster

- - - - -

I really like buildings. Except not some of them. I mean the other ones. Those are the ones I like.

Family

 Being a part of a family means smiling for photos.

~ Dexter Morgan

- - - - -

I have seen so many people post things like "I'm so glad to be apart of my family." Some people see that and correct those people and say, "I think you meant 'a part' of your family." I correct them and say, "I think you meant 'apart from' your family." We can all have different ideas and still be friends -- even with sisters who pinch us when our photo is being taken. Right, Leslie?!

Graffiti

Imagine a city where graffiti wasn't illegal, a city where everybody could draw whatever they liked. Where every street was awash with a million colours and little phrases. Where standing at a bus stop was never boring. A city that felt like a party where everyone was invited, not just the estate agents and barons of big business. Imagine a city like that and stop leaning against the wall -- it's wet. 

~Banksy

- - - - -

What is the difference between graffiti and vandalism? What is the difference between art and defacement? The eye of the beholder, I guess. 

Unless the vandalism is pouring concrete mix down a toilet or pouring bleach on brand new carpet. Then it's probably not art.

Pens

 I hear better with a pen in my hand.

~ Alan Judd

- - - - -

I also hear better with a pen in my hand. That's why I take so many notes. It's not so much to go back to them later (although sometimes it is). It's more about retaining what is being said in the moment.

I used to get in trouble for doodling in school. However, I could focus more if I was doodling. Later in life a colleague called me out for writing during staff meetings. I did that because it helped me listen better as well as being a way for me to take down notes on what was important to me. 

I just looked up to see if there's a name for "people who take a lot of notes during meetings" (that's what I entered). The first thing that popped up was, "Why People Who Take Notes Are More Likely To"

Before I clicked on the link, a number of things rushed through my mind. More likely to...

Fail?

Struggle?

Be brilliant masterminds?

Be evil masterminds?

Be good at the game Mastermind?

Turns out the rest of the sentence was "Be good at the game Mastermind."

(pause)

Not really. It was "Why People Who Take Notes Are More Likely To Be Successful." I don't know if that is true or not. 

I just wish they would have left me alone with my doodling in elementary school.

Of course when I did my extensive research for this post, there was also a link to why taking notes is bad for your memory. I don't think that's why they told me to stop doodling. I think they just didn't "get me." 

That is a bit of a recurring theme in my life.

(Totally just doodled this in my journal so I could add it here.)

Places

If you don't know where you're going, you might end up someplace else.

~ Yogi Berra

- - - - -

Leslie: Spell Muskegon.

Me: M  U  S  K  O  E  G  E  N

Leslie: (pause, there irritably) WHAT?

Me: You just told me to spell "Muskegon." 

Leslie: I said, "Somebody's phone is beeping!"

She mumbles. Also, I didn't know how to spell Muskegon.

Talent

Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.

~ Stephen King

- - - - -

So what that means for me is that hard work is the only thing keeping me from success and also talent.

Gratitude

There is still no cure for the common birthday.

~ John Glenn

- - - - -

Sometimes I'll be scrolling through social media and someone will post, "Thanks to everyone for the warm wishes yesterday. It was a great birthday!" For a moment I feel guilty because I was not one of the people who wished them a happy birthday. Then I look more closely and most of the time I think, "Who IS that person? Why are we friends on Facebook?"

Then I'm glad because I don't feel so guilty anymore.

P.S. Thanks to everyone for the warm wishes yesterday. It was a great birthday.
 

Birthday.

 

Fireworks

I'm shining like fireworks over your sad, empty town.

~ Taylor Swift

- - - - -

Every time a fireworks store shuts down, everyone is sad, but not until around July 4th or New Years or some other time they wish that fireworks store was still open.

Here

Hell is empty and all the devils are here.

~ Shakespeare

- - - - -

"I hope they're making eggs!" 

~ Michelle Boettcher

Adventure

Adventure is worthwhile in itself.

~ Amelia Earhart

- - - - -

I'm glad Amelia Earhart never asked me to go on an adventure with her. I think it would be weird for her to ask a baby that wasn't going to be born for 30 or 40 years to go on an adventure with her.

 

Joke

 Train the dog in front of you.

~ Denise Frenzi

- - - - -

I just learned that today is National Joke Day. As a result, here is a great joke to tell kids: 

Q: How do you make a hot dog?

A: Don't make your dog too hot or they will get sick and maybe die. What's wrong with you, kid?