Thankfulness Jar – 2013
Posted: December 30, 2012 Filed under: happiness 8 Comments »I’ve always made resolutions — love the start of a new year, a new beginning, and a new mindset. When my boys were little, I remember all of us sitting at the kitchen table writing our lists of resolutions. What counts is not whether you stick to the resolutions or not, but that you took the time to set your intention for the coming year.
This year, I will focus on being thankful. I dug in the cupboard found a gallon jar, a blank label, and taaa daaa:
Here is my Thankfulness Jar for 2013!
My intention is to jot a note every single day for the things that make me thankful. Then we can spend a wonderful New Year’s Eve (12/31/13) opening the notes and reflecting on the year!
I’m not officially starting today, but here’s is the idea of thankfulness that sparked my making the jar. Recently our washing machine decided it had washed it’s last load, ate it’s last sock, and spun right off it’s axis. We hauled it in to be fixed, but alas, it would cost $400 to rebuild whatever was broken. I told my husband, “No, let’s just skip fixing it and go to the laundromat. I haven’t done that in YEARS! It will be fun.”
My husband and I usually compete to see who is the most efficient laundress. Who uses the least amount of washers, who uses the least amount of money, and who finishes first. Ya got to do something to make it fun. The visits to this little microcosm of our community are a good lesson in humility. Airing one’s dirty laundry in public is indeed a humbling experience. I am amazed at the amount of dog hair, I pack into that place. At home, my clothes don’t seem totally engulfed with dog hair. I do use a lint brush before leaving the house. Once inside the laundromat though, next to the white washers and under the bright lights, it’s enough hair to make a good sized ball of yarn!
After this morning’s visit to the laundromat, I am thankful that my dirty clothes were the ones covered in dog hair and not the ones that were hauled in that smelled like cat pee! Yikes ~ I really felt for that family. I am also VERY thankful for the wonderful lady who cleans the laundromat. It is always sparkly, clean. She works hard and always seems cheerful.
Here’s to a 2013 filled with good intentions!
What To Do On A Cold Fall Day . . . .
Posted: November 10, 2012 Filed under: happiness, My Dogs, Quilting | Tags: Cairn Terriers, daisies, fall days, quilts 6 Comments »when the leaves drift silently from the trees? It was cold this morning and frosty. The perfect day for cleaning closets. But. . . if you have extreme ADD like me, then you find yourself caressing an unfinished quilt and wondering if just maybe today is the day that it becomes a FINISHED quilt.
Fence Rail pattern with yellow/white daisies, and green checks.
It’s a quilt that you started at least five years ago. At the VERY least five years ago. The quilt was constructed with fabric that reminded you of your very brattiest Cairn Terrier, Pixie. Pixie is now nine years old, and she gets more bratty every day. The fabric is bright white and yellow daisies on a green splashed background. It’s happy, it’s sunny, and the whole entire quilt screams, “Pixie Dust!”
Daisies & Sunshine Remind Me of Pixie – 11/12
The backside has little olive green roosters.
Pixie came to us in November 2006 from a breeding facility. She was only three years old then. She was scared, shy, and not potty trained. I drove to Portland one very rainy fall night to meet her foster mom who was coming from Spokane, WA. I had planned to foster two sister Cairn Terriers. One was pregnant. The plan was to whelp the puppies, and then find homes for the puppies and the adult dogs. Originally, I thought that I would keep one of the puppies, but that was before I met the tiny little sister dog. She was tiny, black and cute as could be. The pregnant dog was very outgoing and loving. She quickly curled into my lap and let me rub her tummy. I named her Hayden for her home town in Idaho. The little one sidled away, and curled herself into a ball on the dirty jeans that were crumpled on the floor. I looked at that little black face — a shy face, but her eyes held the impish grin of a Pixie. She became Pixie Dust — my very happy thought.
As the days of fostering unfolded into weeks and months, we whelped the puppies, fed Hayden, wormed puppies, wiped up pee, and cleaned up mounds of poop. Two foster sisters and five puppies later, my son told me the puppy room reminded him of something on “Hoarders.” It was hard, hard work. But when the puppies were weaned and 4 months old, we found homes for Hayden and ALL of her babies.
But. . . . that little, shy sister dog? She stayed. She had quietly, yet consistently dug her way into my heart. Pixie is all things dirt! She loves the woods, the sticks, the mud, the smells of the earth. She lives to play ball, dig huge excavation tunnels, and chase birds and squirrels. She is truly everything Cairn. She has a huge prey drive, and plucked one of my beloved Chickens in 10 minutes flat. Luckily then hen survived because Pixie doesn’t have many teeth nowadays, but Pixie is full of game and ferocious as any 11 pounder could be.
She is also gentle and kind. Pixie volunteers as a pet therapist. Although, I’m officially the volunteer, I do nothing. It’s all Pixie. She settles silently on the sick bed and snuggles into the one who needs her most. She lays perfectly still for minutes or hours whatever is needed. When I see her still and quiet like that, I wonder is this really the same grubby little dirt devil who keeps our yard vermin free?
Pixie makes me laugh –
I think P likes the side with the roosters best — big tummy rub!
What inspires your creative side?
