Little things that make your day

Often, for me, it is the little things that make my day. Today, it was the birds in the fountain.

When the palm died in the front landscape from freezing, we replaced it with a recirculating fountain. It is lovely and bubbles away out there. Today, the birds have found it. They have had a fine time bathing and smiling from one side of their beaks to the other.

Everyone must have small things that make their days. Relate!

Love,
Betty

11/21/2009

Hi Betty...


Let's see, what makes my day is watching Dusty
in the garden watching the birds, the funny thing
is the birds are also watching her ! She doesn't
bother them , she just sits and stares in amazement
with this loving look in here eyes. I put out food and
there are so many kinds, it amazes me the bigger
birds don't bother the sparrows , the all get along. I
Find it funny to watch Dusty watching the birds through
the slats in the fence , she knows they hang out on the
other side, So far thank God no crows have come near
the bird food..... We have a six who hang out in the area.

Cheers...Joe....

When I sailed on Lady Ace, I had a standard poodle, also named Lady Ace. I would take her to the shore where she believed she chased the birds. They would be sitting in the sand and take off in flight upon her arrival as she ran in circles with them screaming and circling overhead. As soon as she stopped running, they would land just out of her reach. She would catch her breath and start the chase again. Such a barking and screaming - it was a good thing the island was deserted. We went there often enough that I am sure they were the same birds. They probably said, "Here comes that stupid dog again;time to give her a run for her money."

Dear Diane,
I loved that! It is those kinds of things that settle me down and make me part and a connection to the real world. Little moments.

Joe, I do not mind the crows. They want CORN! They smirk and smile for corn. Put it outside your fence.

On the beach. For the fun of it, and because gulls are so good at it, we found a sleeping person. Creeping up with the potato chip crumbles, put them in the hat over his face. Silent.

The gulls came in the dozens! That poor man almost had an attack. We did not do that again.

Love,
Betty

Betty, I have to tell you. My next door neighbor has a dog just like yours. He is the sweetest thing on this earth. I am not a "pet person." I have had all my "pets" by virtue of family reasons or like the bird I have, she and I rescued each other. Anyway, this silly dog thinks I need his affection. Every time he sees me, he goes into such a dither the neighbor brings him over. He then purrs (I swear it is a purr) while I scratch his head. I know it is specifically me because he hates my mother. When she is walking with me he pulls to the other side of the street. If they come near us, he growls at mother and the neighbor has to hold him.

Dear Diane,
I think about your lizard on the screen. I have noticed one here who likes one spot. He is a head bobber and an orange throat blower. What a treat he is. I wonder how long lizards live if not eaten by someone. They are little dinosaurs. Our connection to the pre history of earth.

I was driving along the other day. People, not knowing they are noticed, look a lot like apes, only whiter. The same unconsious self.

Love,
Betty

the little things are the best...

In the midst of a not-so-great work day, one of my patients told me she looked forward to coming into our office and that I always made her laugh and "lifted her up".

That I could make a difference for someone made me happy. A huge little thing...

I have a friend who is a social worker in a renal clinic. She was upset because so many of the staff treated the patients like part of the machinery " Bed Number 7" etc. She started doing one page biographies by interviewing the patients. Then she printed them in the newsletter. When the staff started learning about the patients, they started seeing them more as people and the whole spirit of the place picked up.

Betty,
Sometimes we're too busy to see the little things. As I get older, I see more of the little things and they do make my day.

Those little things from medical personnel mean the world to a patient. I think they also encourage patients to speak what is going on and give some useful information to help with their care.

Little things these days are my fluffy throw I curl up in in front of the TV. And a not so little thing is my husband next to me.

I miss Alice terribly here. A not so little thing was coming here to see what new question she had asked to get us communicating, sometimes about strange thoughts, but important ones to us writers who need to communicate about the deep and the mundane, the big things and the little things.

She does not claim to be a writer, but she is one of the best writers I know, being able to put ordinary into extraordinary.

She and I will always be good friends, partly based on both surviving serious medical issues in our lives, and both being women who live outside the box, see no earthly harm in hijacking threads, dealing with nasty things in life in ways above and beyond the ordinary.

She alerted us to Dick's saying he wasn't doing well when we weren't paying attention. Being ill is nasty, nasty. She knows.

Sorry, but Alice is a not so ordinary person that made my day, not just with her encouraging emails to me, but with her quirky questions.

People didn't realize her sensitivity, her caring for others here, for Lane and Dick.

Sorry, just venting here in the middle of the night.

Carol

Me again.

One of the problems with having an illness is one can contribute so little to others. That bothers me as some of you know.

I call people for comfort, but I don't want to be a burden, someone who just reiterates all my ills. I try not to do that here. But sometimes I just need to write or say what's going on. Since my family and friends know me, they will usually listen and act cheerful and not doom and gloom, and then I'll get cheerful and we'll share some story or what we're doing. I guess it is kind a mutual thing we have done over the years as we share both challenges and successes.

Dying is sad to others. It is especially sad to the person as they leave the known for the unknown. It is nice to talk about them after they are gone, but nicer to talk to them when they are here.

I hope not to go anywhere for a long time, but it is a reality at times.

Carol

I miss Alice too, Carol. Everyone has their own way of coping with the inevitable. Dick knew how close he was to the end but he didn't want to dwell on it.

Something my husband always tells his students, which they have never considered (being so young!), is about the way we cannot lengthen our lives but we can shorten them. Our genes determine our maximum life span and we cannot lengthen it. The best any of us can do is to try not to shorten our lives by poor diet, lack of exercise and overuse of social drugs such as alcohol and cigarettes.

If our bodies are attacked by illness and disease, we have to rely on good medical care and the hope that our bodies are genetically strong enough to pull us through. Not everyone makes it. Your body is still fighting to survive. Long may it continue.

One of the things I like best about Betty, Carol, Alice, Shelagh and DK, among others here, is that they are all so proactive. They may do some venting once in a while; they are open and honest about themselves, even about their troubles, but they don't ever let those troubles get them down for long. They take action and responsibility for making things better.

That's why I come here; I feel a sense of loyalty to this place and to the people here, and I miss Alice, too.

Ann

Carol,
keep fighting. You have already overcome much difficulty in life and health issues. We do care about you.

Greetings Betty, Joe, Dk, Abe, Madhatter,Carol,Alj and Shelagh. Or anyone else who happens to be reading this.


I really feel I have to say
You always seem make my day.
Even if you rant and rave
about the way some folk behave.
You always seem to find some word
that makes me glad I really heard
your news and views on life or books
or even someone elses looks.
I cherish each and every day
that I have read these things you say
I wish you well with your endeavours
stay unaffected by such weathers
as sickness death or passing friends
who suffer on lifes twists and bends.
I wish for you this coming year
would bring success and lots of cheer.
I hope these words in some small way
will contribute towards your day.

God bless

David, that is a beautiful poem that is right on where many of us are. Thanks.

I spent two hours in the ER, have some pain management meds, saw another great doctor, who said "basically getting breast cancer is just bad luck." Had more blood work, EKG, x-ray, etc. Everything is all right except for the cancer in the bones and I need to drink and eat more, which I can do. As Shelagh said, I do not intend to shorten my life. They eliminated some meds that might be causing problems, and outlined suggestions.

I am back to my couch, my furry blanket, my computer, my books and my husband.

Love you all. You are part of the little things that make my day. Maybe that isn't what this forum is for, but it works for me.

I love writing. I wish everyone great success with writing.

But writing is usually about and for people, and the more we get together here the better we will be at our writing endeavors.

Carol

Me again.

My sister-in-law has tea bags with sayings on them and is posting them each day on facebook. Today's was:

A reading from today's tea tag: "Travel light. Live light. Spread the light. Be the light." -- Mayan Cocoa Spice 7:44am

Now that tea bag helped make my day. I'm going back to find yesterday's and then I'm out of here.

"Life is a flow of love. Your participation is requested." This was on Egyptian licorice tea.

Okay, I took a pain pill and I'm going to get in some sleep before the football game.




Carol

David,
excellent. Lots of wisdom in it.

Thanks for the poem, David!

Carol,

Confucius says: Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart.

Shelucius says: Wheresoever you go, go with your husband.

Confusion says: Wheresoever you go, you are there.

Gabriel Oak says: And at home by the fire, whenever you look up, there I shall be -- and whenever I look up there will be you.

Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy