Life is better with a dog!

There really is a Santa!

Paul and I went out for breakfast on Saturday morning to our favorite place the “The Dairy Bar” 😀 😀

We had the usual,  his BIG Breakfast – eggs, pancakes, bacon, toast and home fries and my Eggs Bennie! YUM, YUM, YUM!

When we first walked in, the restaurant was packed, lots of people wearing santa hats, chatting, laughing the mood of the restaurant that morning was amazing, everyone smiling.

From where we were sitting I had a clear view of the street, which I love… I can do my people watching 😀 .  We were having our coffee talking when all of of sudden I saw this guy peeking in the window….it was SANTA!

Santa came in and said hello to everyone,  there was a family sitting near us, two little guys and a baby probably around a year old.  It brought tears to my eyes to see their faces when he walked over to them, the baby had the funniest dumbfounded look on his face, he was in awe of the man in red! 😀

I also noticed I wasn’t the only adult in the restaurant with a huge grin!

After his visit with the kids he made his rounds saying hello to everyone ordered a coffee and took a seat by the window 😀 😀

Loved it!

Santa walks up and down the main street of town for most of the month of December, he is not paid by a company or the town to do so, just a retired man dressing as Santa bringing smiles to everyone.  Many honk, wave and yell Merry Christmas!

I can only imagine the feeling he gets everyday, bringing such joy to so many.

Thanks Santa.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For my Children

Just thoughts

I know Social Media is a supposed to be a place where we can share thoughts, ideas, passions…which it is, but please stop posting horrible crimes towards children and animals on facebook!!

While I’m scrolling through to see what friends and family are up to BANG there it is, a picture of a guy being abusive to  a pit bull or horrific pictures of baby pigs, cows, chickens, puppies and children… I’ll say no more 

I don’t live in a bubble , although sometimes I wish I did!

I don’t often watch or listen to the news, someone once said I was ignorant …ummmm no

definition of ignorant in the dictionary is as follows :

1. Lacking knowledge or awareness in general; uneducated or unsophisticated.

I am a very sophisticated lady I know which fork to use with what and I have impeccable manners 😀 I am kind and caring  , I am educated and I have knowledge and awareness in all aspects of life.  

2.   Lacking knowledge, information, or awareness about something in particular:  “ignorant of astronomy”.

Well I’ll admit I’m ignorant of astronomy, I can only find the big dipper and the little dipper….I do not lack knowledge,information or awareness on animal or child abuse, or any other crime.

My sister and I were having a conversation about friends and family that post photos of animal cruelty and child abuse on Facebook. Personally I do not need these images forever engraved in my mind, I am well aware of what the human race is capable of, I grew up in a large city and was exposed to a wide variety of things good and bad,  I have worked/volunteered at Animal Shelters here and in Toronto and at an Endangered Animal Sanctuary in Toronto for Bill Valliere as a co-op student , who I have never forgotten, this is where one of the many residents at the Millwood Road location was a full-grown panther who called this place his home only because he had been de-clawed and had teeth removed so he could be used as a “prop”, a tiger who had been de-clawed and abused ,monkeys that had once been loved then chained and forgotten, birds that had been smuggled in suitcases and then found to be too loud or messy, snakes, all kinds of exotic animals smuggled into the country neglected and abused.

I have friends who have had to deal with their own monsters.

I have seen first hand what people are capable of and don’t need it displayed in photos to convince me to stop eating meat or stop animal abuse, or to get involved.

If I choose to get involved, which I do, I will , but please don’t display it and sensationalize it.

To the people that take the photos and make them available for re posting on facebook and other media … why not do something about it????  Don’t just take the picture to see how many likes or shares you’ll get!! Report these people.  To post a photo and say “lets get this guy” is outrageous!  It just enrages people, it doesn’t make them get involved it pisses them off and de sensitizes them it becomes just another photo.   Stop what is happening, this is something we/I forget, someone is taking that picture/video!!!  Sometimes I feel people do things and post photos for this very reason.

In my “bubble” I do what I can to help make a change.

We have 2 shelter/rescue dogs in our home and 2 cats, the cats had the usual “cat” life, their owners just could not care for them any longer, the same holds true for Scamps.  Simba has a much different story, she is our “special needs” girl.

Simba, had been taken from an extremely abusive situation, the animal control officer that rescued her didn’t think there was much hope in adopting her out.  I had never seen a dog so thin and timid, she just crawled across the floor, didn’t know or want to play and wouldn’t leave my side, at 4 years old she was eating puppy food, even after a few months at the shelter just to put her weight back on slowly as not to “shock” her system, we were only able to foster her before actually adopting her and after the adoption was approved we had home visits to see how she was adjusting, when Simba finally came to live with us it was recommended that there be no other pets in the home, wellll, we already had Murphy”the big orange hunter”, and I “constructively reasoned” with the shelter and brought Scamps home then  Gordo,she is the most loving dog I have ever known, she lies at my feet, sleeps with me and is my constant companion and loves Scamps to the moon and back 😀 the cats not so much 😀

I have actually “blocked” a couple of “news feeds” belonging to friends of mine, because they post extremely graphic photos of harm being and having been done to animals and children.

If I choose to learn about these things I’ll google it or go to an organization where I can really help make a difference, we as a family make every effort to cut down on how much meat we eat, but let’s face it, unless the whole planet decides to go meat free we are never going to be rid of slaughter houses, chicken and dairy farms etc. People will continue to abuse children, animals, horses, pigs, dogs, cats and even reptiles.

I understand in order to get the “word out” and make a change you need to be proactive.  But I don’t feel using graphic photos is going to do the trick….it forces me to block or not watch.

I know it raises awareness, it’s certainly got my attention, but even before the social media, people were becoming proactive without the graphics.  I know Greenpeace, PETA and WWF and others do it that’s how my awareness began.

Not a sermon, Just a thought 😀

Stair Bumping

In each house we grew up in, we had a set of stairs.  Personally my childhood would not have been complete without the glorious art of stair bumping!

We’d go down on our bums and run up to the top again…we’d go face first, feet first and on occasion share the stairs and go down together, all the while Mum was yelling “alright now that’s enough!”, “someone is going to get hurt” or my favorite to this day “show some decorum girls!” Hahahaha

In the late 1970’s there was “extreme stair bumping”, in a previous post I wrote about my brother riding in his baby walker down a flight of stairs……they were legal in the 70’s.

There are many different styles of “Stair bumping”  people have been known to use garbage bags, sleeping bags, mattress’ and of course cardboard, it’s just like tobogganing inside where it’s warm and cozy 😀

A definite “bucket list” item.

The best kind of bumping is just setting off from the top step on yur butt and to try to pick up speed as you go 😀

As the photo below says “why didn’t I think of this?”

If you’ve never experienced Stair bumping here’s a video to see what you’ve been missing

Witty Wednesday 2 for 1

 

Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Adore.
Adore who?
Adore is between us. Open up!

 

CAN OPENER

so true

 

 

Happy Wednesday!!!

 

Laugh loudly, Love generously, Care deeply, Speak kindly

 

Fortune cookies and Gossip

Today is Wednesday and I’m usually at work, but my boss is in Florida this week so I thought I’d play hookie today.

I met my mum for lunch at “The Hong Kong Buffett”.  So much for my “diet plans” I am so full and so bloated at the moment couldn’t wait to come home and quickly put on my big girl pants 🙂 No treadmill today Pam I can hardly move.

We had a really nice time, chatting and gossiping about my brother and my sister and how unfortunate it is that they are not as wonderful as myself…LOL

But on a serious note

We had a really nice time, chatting and gossiping about my brother and my sister and how unfortunate it is that they are not as wonderful as myself…LOL

Just kidding 😀

Mum was really good , making all the right choices, she even chose to have fruit pffftttt, such a show off she didn’t even have one of those yummy sticky twisted cookies,  not me , anything fried and gooey that’s what I chose to put on my plate ,  and then I went back for more.

I am so ashamed 😦

But the good news is I did have 4 little cups of green tea and a full glass of water with lemon in it. 😀

and then

The Fortune Cookie Moment –  mine said “You are capable of building a thriving business venture.” and Mums said “Keep your eyes open, you never know what you might see” thoughtful.

and if you add in the bedroom to those well….laughing so hard I’m glad I went to the ladies room first 🙂

Thank you for lunch Mum and the AWESOME shopping spree at the dollar store. tee hee hee 😀

I was going to post a couple of pictures of my dollar store finds but there seems to be no memory card, the joy of living with children that think what theirs is theirs and what mine is theirs too….that will be a post for another day!

Day 19 – 30 Day Book Challenge – A Book that changed your mind about a particular subject (non-fiction)

30 Day Book Challenge – Day 19

 

 Day 19 – A Book that changed your mind about a particular subject (non-fiction)

 

Barbara Colorosos’ books “Kids are worth it” and “Just because it’s not wrong doesn’t make it right”.

Becoming a parent and being a parent can be extremely overwhelming, I have four children aged 11 through to 26 ,  and I’ve found these books to be a huge help , I love her no-nonsense, common sense approach to raising children. I don’t always follow through with what she suggests but I try.

Her books focus on helping kids develop their own self-discipline by owning up to their mistakes, thinking through solutions, and correcting their misdeeds while leaving their dignity intact.  I have a highly spirited child at home (11)  and have a grown “spirited” child (21) and these books really, really helped and do help, she gives you the tools to help parent “the spirited” child effectively. Sometimes, I’d really like to see someone handle Ms. Hay effectively, keeping my dignity intact 🙂

Barbara Colorosos books are filled with practical suggestions for handling the ordinary and extraordinary tribulations of growing up.

Her book “Just because it’s not wrong doesn’t make it right” is also a fantastic “self-help” book for parents.