Life

Written By Regina Brett 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio
I know... I didn't write these so this is technically not my Blog but I think they could be a mission for life. I was going to pick a favorite but just can't (#32 is good isn't it?)! Ok, so I don't like purple (or red hats, not that they are mentioned)

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement, starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ?In five years, will this matter??
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Hi from Dulee, formerly known as Dylan

Hi everyone,

You will never believe what a weekend I had! I'd been staying in Carlsbad which is near San Diego in Southern California for just a few days after being rescued by Bichon FurKids. I was a little nervous on Saturday when Cynthia, my foster mom, took me to meet this couple, Betty and Gary. Well, I met and walked and talked with them for awhile and then they left!!! I'm thinking "what was this all about?" but went back to my temporary home with Cynthia, who, by the way is a very nice lady!

I didn't know this at the time but Betty & Gary went to meet ANOTHER dog, her name is Alexa. They really liked her too and said it was a hard decision to make so they went to have a frozen yogurt while they weighed which of us would be their forever dog. Well, I won! They came back for ME....yes, ME!! I have a home again.

Now, here is where it gets even more interesting. It was a very long trip to my new home: 300 miles north and now they tell me that yes, this is my home but we live in a home that moves! In four days we will be moving our home from Morro Bay to Monterey. And we will be doing this moving quite often -- yippee, cause I love to sniff and mark new places -- what a life I will have! I like to sit on Betty's lap while we travel and she likes to have me there too.

I took a walk on the beach yesterday and loved it but definitely do not want to go swimming, no way! Betty & Gary said they are happy about that since we bichons have hair that is not easy to keep up! Speaking of hair, you may not think I look much like a Bichon Frise. That's because I had to have a rather severe haircut when I was rescued. (I am also a little overweight!) Soon I will be a gorgeous 10 lb hunk of white fluff.

Now, here's the next thing I wanted to tell you about. I really liked the name BichonFurKids gave me but have changed it to Dulee. My new family has a human person named Dylan and I REALLY want to have my own distinctive name. I wanted to keep the "D" beginning sound so settled on Dulee - has a nice ring don't you think?

Well, its time for my next nap...I do love to nap.

oxxxoooxooo,
Dulee

Out of the corner of my right eye...

I was on my way to Macy's yesterday and drove past the shop where son Gary works. This shiny Karmann Ghia with a "for sale" sign in the window caught (the corner of) my (right) eye. Well, I had to get to Macy's but called Gary from there who called Gary who said its a great little car, has been sitting in a garage for 25 years. AFTER shopping at Macy's I stopped back at the shop and bought it, just like that! Papa Joe, the owner of the shop, has done a bunch to it (don't even ask ME, I just know it drove really nice when I took it out) so it is pretty much all ready to go - all original paint etc., 39,000 miles on it and we're just the 2nd owners.

I just came from the DMV and its all registered - ok to drive.

One of those stories you hear about the car being stored in a garage!

So, I now have a poor man's (woman is this case) Porsche!

Nothin' to say...

Here it is...a cloudy Saturday morning. I'm sitting here thinking...and thinking...and thinking and I can't think of a thing to say!

Written later in the day - why would I even try to write anything in the morning? Anyone who knows me knows I can NEVER think until after 9:00am!

Pickled asparagus

It was a gorgeous day yesterday so we took a drive out to buy artichokes at Pezzini's farm stand. The artichokes are especially good at this time of the year! I'd include a picture here but we ate them last night - a yummy dinner on our deck which we accompanied with a nice glass, well maybe it was a couple glasses, of wine.

I love pickled asparagus so grabbed a jar from the shelf and quickly took it to the counter where Gary was paying for our artichokes and strawberries. When it rang up at $11.99 I thought Gary was going to have "the big one!" I was actually a bit surprised too, thought they would be in the $6 range.

But they are sooo good! And it's always fun to get my husband going!

Good-bye Toby

In February I mentioned that Toby, our adopted Bichon Frise, was having a dominance issue. Well, I am SO sad to report that despite many $$$ spent with agression trainers and our personal dedication to working with him we have had to return him. Bichon Furkids Rescue will be working with him to see if they can resolve his biting in home situations and then re-home him. He is now spending 10 days in quarantine before he goes on to the next step in his life.
We were so fond of him and he is so smart. He took quickly to every training we did with him EXCEPT biting! And he is so cute! But with our flexible full time RVing lifestyle, which includes lots of visitors, we just couldn't see that he would ever be totally rehabilitated.
We are devastated but had to say Good-bye Toby.

"Kitty, kitty, kitty"

No, that's not Inky, the cat that lives under our deck, is it? (See September 17, 2008 Blog post) This is just one of the very large bobcats which live - and hunt - here at Laguna Seca. Isn't he a beautiful animal? While I was taking my photos he made a big dive toward a ground squirrel but came up empty handed.

Chaos...but life is still good!

Just thought I'd let you know how our day is/isn't going:

I'm in the Sound booth at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (checking decibel levels for Skip Barber Races,) our home (Escalade fifth wheel) is still at Camping World (convection oven just came in yesterday so they will be installing it today), Toby is at the groomer in Carmel Valley, Gary was out getting mail etc, bought two new batteries for the fifth wheel (which had gone dead last night while we were spending the night at Camping World-30 month batteres which we have had 30 months plus 12 days-boy do they plan that!) when he heard a BIG thunk in the truck so he is at Natale's getting something done (that won't be cheap)

Gary didn't do so well in Tahoe (I think-I don't like to know!)

Oh, woe is us!

THEN...I'm going through my E mails and here is the "Real Simple Magazine" thought for the day! Wonder what our "secret order" is for today?

"In all chaos there is a cosmos, in all disorder a secret order."
– Carl Jung

We go to the snow-South Lake Tahoe

"I think I'll just stow in Betty's suitcase."From our window at Harvey's

West Fork of Carson Creek

Can you see the white dog in the snow?

Most of us Californians don't get much snow where we live so we "go to the snow" so here I am writing from the warmth of my room and enjoying the glorious snowy scenery of Lake Tahoe and the mountains!

We dropped the fifth wheel off at Camping World in Gilroy yesterday morning. The convection part of the convection/microwave oven has failed so it will be replaced, thankfully it is still covered by the warranty. We will pick it up on Thursday on the way back to Laguna Seca.

Back to the snow story...we again chose to drive the scenic Highway 88 up to Tahoe and were treated to the breathtaking beauty of new snow, the result of the latest snow storm last weekend. Although it was cold, in the low 20's, the sun was shining and the snow was dropping from the pine trees, often times startling us when it plopped onto the windshield.

I love to "GO TO THE SNOW!"

From my window-flowers in the rain

Even in California we love Spring!
While it was raining earlier this week I looked out my window and thought I actually had an artichoke growing on my plant! Grabbed my camera and took pictures of my "artichoke," and also the miniature roses and narcissus blooming in my container garden. Raindrops on the plants sparkled when a ray sunshine popped through. (I don't think they are very evident in these photos.)
After further inspection I see that my artichoke bloom is, in fact, not an artichoke at all -- darn! I DO have an artichoke plant in this pot but the flower belongs to another, unknown species to me, plant!
Vivian, my daughter-in-law to be someday, has a green thumb and loves to layer bulbs and plants in pots so I never know what will pop up!

Today the rain is about gone so I went out to take a few more pictures. The "artichoke flower that isn't an artichoke flower" is sprouting these cute little purple flowers, the miniature rose is being visited (is that a bee or a fly?) and the bleeding hearts plant is blooming.