About once or twice a month I will be having a “Good News Day”. This is when I post only good news stories from around the world. Everyone needs a good dose of good news during these trying times, so my aim is to provide you with just that.
Reading good news not only puts a smile on your face it restores your faith in humanity just a little bit at a time. So, read on and I hope you enjoy my picks for today!
Great news for Canadians! I love it when we get together to do great things!
There you have it for today. I do hope you enjoyed my first post on Good News Day! Do YOU have any good news you would love to share? Go ahead and use the comment section and have a great day!
Today I will be talking about Mindfulness Meditation, what it is and how to do it. This is a first in a series where I will write about ten types of meditation, explain a bit what they are and how to apply them to your life. My post on the different types can be found here.
Mindfulness meditation is a method of paying attention to your present moment experiences with curiosity, openness, and willingness to be in that specific time without judgment. It incorporates breathing sensations and teaches how to turn one’s attention back to the experience when distractions arise. This method of meditation teaches you to slow down racing thoughts, let go of negativity, and calm both your mind and body.
To get started, all you need is a comfortable place to sit, three to five minutes of free time, and a judgment-free mindset. Remember, meditation is a practice, so it’s never perfect. You are ready to begin now just as you are!
A timer (preferably with a soft, gentle alarm) can help you focus on meditation and forget about time—and eliminate any excuses you have for stopping and doing something else. A timer isn’t necessary but it does help keep track of how long you meditate as I have found you can lose track of the time easily. Some people meditate for longer sessions, but even a few minutes every day can make a difference.
Personally, I do this type of meditation quite often, especially at night when I am trying to sleep and my mind is racing full tilt! It helps calm my mind and my body so I can fall asleep. So, how to do it…….
If you are not lying in bed trying to fall asleep, or it’s in the middle of the day, you can find a comfortable place to sit in a chair or on the floor with your head, neck, and back straight but not stiff. It’s also helpful to wear comfortable, loose clothing so you’re not distracted. But being that this practice can be done anywhere for any amount of time, a dress code is not required.
Okay, now that you’re comfortable, concentrate on your breathing. Become aware of your breath, feel your belly rise and fall as the air enters your nostrils and leaves your nostrils. When thoughts come up in your mind, don’t ignore or suppress them. Simply note them, remain calm, and use your breathing as an anchor. Imagine your thoughts as clouds passing by; watch them float by as they shift and change.Repeat this as often as you need to while you are meditating.
If you find yourself getting carried away in your thoughts—whether, with worry, fear, anxiety, or hope—observe where your mind went, without judgment, and just return to your breathing. Don’t be hard on yourself if this happens; the practice of returning to your breath and refocusing on the present is the practice of mindfulness.
As you practice mindfulness meditation, it helps to find ways to bring mindfulness into your everyday life, especially on those days when life is too busy to carve out a minute alone. Everyday activities and tasks provide plenty of opportunities for mindfulness practice.
A few examples:
Brushing your teeth: Feel your feet on the floor, the brush in your hand, and your arm moving up and down.
Doing dishes: Savor the feeling of the warm water on your hands, the look of the bubbles, and the sounds of the pans clunking on the bottom of the sink.
Doing laundry: Pay attention to the smell of the clean clothes and the feel of the fabric. Add a focus element and count your breaths as you fold laundry.
Driving: Turn off the radio—or put on something soothing, like classical music. Imagine your spine growing tall, find the half-way point between relaxing your hands and gripping the wheel too tightly. Whenever you notice your mind wandering, bring your attention back to where you and your car are in space.
Exercising: Instead of watching television while on the treadmill, try focusing on your breathing and where your feet are as you move.
Getting kids ready for bed: Get down to the same level as your kids, look in their eyes, listen more than you talk, and savor any snuggles. When you relax, they will too.
Regular practice of mindfulness meditation has benefits for your physical as well as your mental health. I can attest to this part. Mostly with my mental health.
It can help reduce stress
Lower heart rate
Help your body resist illness
Gives you better sleep
It’s important to remember that even a few minutes each day can be beneficial. Just a few minutes of being present can reap significant benefits. Even if you don’t do it every day, it’s a practice you can keep coming back to when you need it.
Have you ever told someone that they need a hobby? Or have you heard someone say ‘that person needs a hobby!’? More than likely they said that because they or the other person were down, depressed, or mentally exhausted or exhaustive.
The idea behind having a hobby is to relax and spend some quality time with themselves, or even as a group activity that you do with people you enjoy being around.
So what counts as a hobby? A hobby can be any activity done regularly during spare or leisure time for pleasure. Whether you do something creative, athletic, academic, or something more individualized, what really matters is that it is something you find meaningful and enjoyable. Hobbies can range from spending quiet time alone, visiting or eating with others, communing with nature, playing sports, and even vacationing. When we dedicate time to voluntarily engage in pleasurable activities, research shows our mental health can flourish.
But I don’t have time!
That is something I hear a lot and I’ve even said a few times. In a world that glorifies work and/or studying so many people think they have no time for a hobby. There are however a few things you can change to find that ever-elusive time!
Rather than trying to find ‘hobby time’ every day, try thinking of time in weeks to discover extra time hidden in your schedule. Dedicate a few hours to something you enjoy each week. Still struggling to find time for fun? Take a step back and say ‘no’ (or delegate) to lighten your load and make space for hobbies.
There are many times during the day we may find ourselves in autopilot mode. It’s easy to lose track of time doing mindless things like checking social media or watching television. Tune in to how you’re spending downtime, whether it’s in the morning or evening, and consider how you might use that time to indulge in something you enjoy.
So, start a new hobby or get back to an old one. The extra benefits are great! Your mental and physical well-being will improve so much.
For instance, you will reduce stress. Just doing something you enjoy (you don’t have to be an expert at it) helps you relax. You will also enhance your overall feeling of well-being.
If you are more extroverted join group activities. Doing a hobby doesn’t have to be something you do alone. Find other people or groups that enjoy doing what you do. You just might find yourself with some new friends which is a bonus!
Maybe your hobby can be done out in nature. Talk walks, hikes, alone or in a group. Nature has always been known for its healing and stress-relieving abilities. As little as ten minutes out in nature can lead to improved mood, focus, and overall wellbeing.
A hobby doesn’t have to be expensive. Taking a walk in nature, or visiting a library to find a book that you enjoy, even museums are usually free to get in. Maybe meditate or do yoga, or something else physical. I bet if you really thought about it you could find a dozen things to do for little to no money.
The important thing is to find something that helps you lead a life that is less stressful. You’ll thank yourself later.
I’m a great believer in the power of positive thinking. So, what is the definition of “positive thinking”? According to Merriam-Webster, it is……a feeling or way of thinking that affects a person’s behavior.
It’s hard to think positively all the time, especially in today’s world of chaos, war, and Covid. It’s exactly at these tough times when we need it the most. Thinking positively about yourself colors your perspective on the outside world. It can’t help but overflow outward.
It doesn’t mean you won’t face some dark and hard times. You will. We all do. It just means it won’t be quite as dark, quite as hard as it could be. Staying positive is hard work. I work on it every day. The benefits are well worth it. That doesn’t mean you ignore reality or make light of problems. It simply means you approach the good and the bad in life with the expectation that things will go well.
What are the benefits of thinking positively? (There really are no downsides to staying upbeat.)
Some physical benefits may include:
Longer life span
Lower chance of having a heart attack
Better physical health
Greater resistance to illness such as the common cold
This all sounds great. My own personal experience is it does help in a lot of those things. I think mileage may vary as everyone is wired differently.
Ok, we get that it’s very good for you to think positively but how do we get started? What do we do? HOW do we do it?
Well for one, smile more! Sounds simple right? It isn’t. Trust me on that one! They say that even if you put a fake smile on your lips while doing difficult things helps. Find the humor in things.
Put a more positive spin on bad situations. This is one area I’m always working on. I get frustrated because physically I can’t do some things I used to do with ease when I was younger. Now I struggle. When I find myself getting frustrated I smile (there’s that fake smile again) and say to myself, “well at least I can still do this, might be slower at it, or need help with it but eventually it does get done!”
Focus on your strengths. Each day for a week, think about one of your personal strengths, like kindness, organization, discipline, or creativity. Write down how you plan to use that strength in new ways that day. Then, act on it. People in a study who did that boosted their happiness and lowered their symptoms of depression at the end of the week. Six months later, those benefits were still going strong.
With practice, you can add more positive thoughts to your life and enjoy the benefits that come with optimism.
These are just a very few things you can practice. In later posts, I’ll go into more detail about some other things you can do to practice positive thinking but I think this is a good start.
Do you do anything to practice positivity? Let me know!
This past week has been darker than most. My heart goes out to the people of Ukraine. It also goes out to the people of Russia who don’t want this war any more than the people of Ukraine do.
With all this pain in the world, it was hard for me to come up with an uplifting subject for my weekly post here. Then I thought, music! Music is so strong. It resonates with everyone. Music can be soothing, healing, calming or it can be passionate, thrilling, and forceful.
Music is also very personal. It has many genres, so there is something for everyone. I don’t know a single person who doesn’t like music, do you? They might like one type of music over another but what ties us all together in this world is music.
Some of the benefits of listening to music:
Help you rest better
Lift your mood
reduce stress
Improve your overall health
Did you know there are professional Music Therapists? Yes, it’s true! These are people who are trained to help you find ways to use music for your mental health. This type of therapist learns how to use music-making and listening to help people understand and process their emotions.
But you don’t necessarily need a therapist. You can also use music on your own to improve your mental well-being. I think a lot of us do this already.
The best music for stress reduction is the kind that works for you. Find something with an upbeat rhythm, something like 60 beats per minute is recommended. Many people also find that Celtic, Native American, and Indian string or flute music tends to have a calming effect.
Again, it’s personal. Find what works for you! I think this is the best kind of research, try different genres, something you haven’t heard before, or something you thought you wouldn’t like. You might surprise yourself with what you find.
Create a mood playlist. If you’re feeling down, anxious, or upset, find a track that expresses how you feel. Feel those emotions and let the lyrics resonate with you. Then, gradually shift your listening choices so that the music takes you into a happier or calmer place. This is a popular technique used by music therapists.
Who hasn’t been hurt or angered and then listened to music that supports that feeling? I know I have. Just don’t let yourself linger in that dark mood. Slowly start introducing more uplifting and calming music to your rotation. Soon you feel better and happier and can look at a situation with fewer strong feelings clouding your judgment.
Just remember, music can be a powerful tool in your mental health toolbox but it’s not a replacement for a trained therapist if you have a deeper need. Never be ashamed to need mental health!
Meditation sounds like some New Age stuff but it’s been around for thousands of years. During my research, I’ve come across over a dozen different mediations. So, what is Meditation and how can it help you?
Personally, mediation used to help me through migraines. I used to get them almost every week when I was a teenager. I didn’t know about ‘Meditation’ back then, this was in the late sixties, early seventies. Most people never even heard of meditation back then, I know I didn’t. It was later in life when I learned what I had been doing is a form of meditation that helps with pain.
Thankfully I haven’t had a migraine for many years now. I still meditate though, just for different reasons. Now, I use it to stay calm in stressful situations. It has also helped me find peace with the passing of my late husband. It’s certainly not a ‘cure’ for things but it definitely helps keep you calm and centered.
Meditation has been shown to be helpful in taming stress and anxiety, reducing cardiovascular risk factors, managing chronic pain, and improving sleep.
I won’t go into specific details about each and every type of meditation in this post. I will write a post for each type of meditation going forward. Right now this is a sort of introduction to it.
Do you have to dedicate hours to meditation to achieve any benefits from it? NO, you don’t. Even as few as five or ten minutes will work. I have found it just takes practice. Like most things in life, if you want to become proficient in something, you practice it.
Do you need to have a specific place to be able to meditate? NO, you don’t. That’s one of the wonderful things about this, you can literally do it anywhere! Hell, I’ve done it in the bathroom. It’s just anywhere you can find that is quiet and lets you concentrate. You don’t have to sit cross-legged on the floor with your hands doing that “ohmmmm” thing and emptying your mind. I find it almost impossible to completely empty my mind so I believe it’s not about perfection, it’s about training our minds not to wander so much. Just sit or stand relaxed and focus inside your mind and body.
Bottom line, which form of meditation is right for you? Answer: Whichever works for you! Whichever one you will do! Relax and experiment until you come up with what feels right for you and which fits with what you need. I don’t really think there is a wrong way of doing it.
In the coming months, I will write about various different types of meditation and how they can help you. Below is a list of types of meditation I will discuss in further detail in future posts. I will also discuss what beginners can do to start! If you are interested in any particular one feel free to let me know and I will make sure it moves up the list!
If I find any others in future research that sounds interesting I will add them to the list. Hope you will join me in discovering how many ways you can do meditation to help yourselves be the best you can be!
I’ve been blogging for a long time now. The last few years were tough for me and lots of other people. Almost three years ago my husband died and I was in a dark place for a while. Then Covid came along. I slipped further into a dark place.
Pixabay
I stayed active on Facebook but not much else. All the dark news. The dark politics. It seemed like everywhere I looked there was darkness.
I got tired of darkness. By nature, I’m usually a very optimistic person but the last few years drew me to a place I didn’t want to be. So, I took a hard look at what I DID want and decided I had enough of dark and dreary.
A couple of friends kept asking me when I was going to start writing again. Or if I was going to continue blogging, or both. Thank you for being such good friends. Especially my best friend, Linda. She had faith in me, even when my faith was gone. So, I decided to come back to blogging. I missed it too. I missed having some sort of purpose to get up every morning, besides my dog, Sam, and my cats.
So here I am!
The blog may be old but I’m changing directions with it. It’s going to be light, airy, and full of positivity. There will be sections on meditation, zen, and just all around chilling out. The more I think of things the more I will add to the blog. Oh, there will also be an advice column! Hey, I’ve lived a relatively long life (yeah I’m old), I’ve experienced a lot, good and bad. I’m also opinionated. Ha! Plus, my friend Linda put this idea in my head so blame her!
We are going to have fun while being positive! Believe me, this is NOT going to be your normal “feel good” blog! Not with me at the helm. LOL Nope, this is going to center on fun, lightness, and love. Love for self, love for animals, love for others.
There will also be stories. Stories of hope, of light, of new beginnings, and maybe, just maybe a few with a slightly supernatural feel. So those of you (Marlene, wink wink) who enjoyed my story writing, these are dedicated to you!
If you have any suggestions, or ideas to make this blog full of love let me know! I have a contact page which you can find on the top of my blog. This will also work for questions for the advice column. Ask any question about anything, if I don’t know a good answer I’m sure I could help you find one. Don’t be shy! If you prefer to ask anonymously you can! No judgments.
Remember me? I’m back! I took a three-year pause from blogging after my husband died. Now, I’m back and want to blog about fun things. After the rough three years when I dealt with my husband’s passing, then Covid, and all the stuff that comes with that, I thought it was time for something uplifting.
I want this blog to be someplace people go for smiles, laughter, and good vibes. To my readers who are still following, thank you for sticking with me! For new readers, welcome! I hope you will enjoy the blog and smile and have fun.
To the friends that have convinced me to start my blog up again, thank you! I love you guys!
For a little bit, you will probably come across some funky stuff as I work on the blog and relearn how to do things on WordPress. It’s been a while. There will be a few changes, some parts of the blog will go away while I add other parts.
Also, the name of the blog will be changing! I’m naming it: Life, Love & Strength.
As some of my reader’s and friends already know my husband passed away on August 17th, 2019. I miss him every single day.
This is something I wrote in 2015 about him and me and learning compassion. Not only for him but for me also. It’s something I’m still working on. The compassion part for me.
I will eventually come back to blogging. I just don’t know when. Thank you for sticking around.
I watch him out of the corner of my eye as I do the daily dishes. I’m worried about him, as he hasn’t eaten in a couple of days. He has hardly moved from his bed in the same amount of time.
I know I can’t nag him to eat. I’ve tried that in the past and it just makes us both miserable. I feel bad because the other day he asked for something special to eat and I had to tell him no. Not because I wouldn’t cook it because we had no money to buy it to cook. He didn’t seem to understand when I explained it to him.
He doesn’t understand lots of things now. It saddens me, but I have learned not to let it linger in my mind. It’s not his fault. It’s the fault of his medications. The strong pain pills he takes several times a day. They have robbed him of his sharp mind like the pain has robbed him of his appetite, his focus, his ability to function like he used to.
When we moved into this 30-year-old mobile home almost 2 years ago. We decided to put his twin size bed in the living room. He loves his TV, but the couch was too uncomfortable for him to lay on all day. So we got rid of the old loveseat and put in a twin bed we got for free. It has worked out well. The TV gives him something to do.
I watch him as I do the dishes. I see the deep furrows of pain on his face. I wish I could do something more for him but I know I can’t. Soon his afternoon pills will take effect, his eyes will gloss over, the furrows won’t be quite so deep. For a little while.
I finish the last dish, put it in the dish rack to air dry, wipe my hands and make myself another cup of coffee. I’ve been in the kitchen for 45 minutes and not a word was spoken between him and I. Just the sound of the TV going and the clink of dishes being cleaned.
I walk down the hall to my office and sit down with my coffee cup in hand. Taking small sips, I think about the last time we spoke to each other. Was it yesterday? Or the day before? I lay my head back and close my eyes. We don’t speak much anymore. I’ve learned to accept it. As I’ve learned to accept a lot of things in the last few years.
I could sink into a pool of self-pity, but why? It’s not his fault he became disabled, so racked with pain that taking a simple shower has to be planned ahead of time, just so the pain will be somewhat manageable.
I could rage at the universe and cry an ocean of tears. Again, why? The universe is not to blame for the circumstances that made us lose our home and come to live in a broken-down trailer. It’s a roof over our heads and heat in the winter.
I could rail against it all. I have in the past, I won’t lie about that. I’m human, with faults. So, I railed against something him and I had no control over. I cried, I felt sorry for myself. Worse of all, I wanted to leave. I wanted to run away from the pain. His pain and mine. I wanted to run fast and as far as I could. Halfway across the world.
I didn’t run. I couldn’t run. I won’t run.
Instead, I learned compassion. Compassion for him. He doesn’t want to be in this much pain. Every single day, every single minute, to live in pain. Who would want that? So I find my compassion for him. My patience. My desire to help ease his suffering if I can. Which I can’t.
I can only help him suffer less. I will settle for that.
I have also learned to have compassion for myself. That was the hardest part. To be gentle with myself as much as I am gentle with him. I make mistakes, I lose my temper, I get frustrated, I get depressed. It’s ok to feel all these things. I will NOT beat myself up over having these feelings because they never last. I can’t let them. I won’t let them. I feel them and then I let them go without the guilt.
I open my eyes, sip my coffee and keep an ear out for him as I face my computer and do what I know I’m good at. Writing words.
I write the words I cannot speak out loud. I write the words that my soul feels. I write the words that I have learned. I write my heart. That’s how I learn compassion all over again.
Hello once again from WordPress Land. Hope everyone is doing well. Ok, so the last story got a mixed review. I’m sorry to say it was…Truth! Oh yeah. This woman is and was a terrible baker. The story was based on my one and only attempt at making bread. I followed the old family recipe to the T, or so I thought. My loaves of bread could have been used as bricks! I swear. My friend Tiny suggested that I exaggerated just a tad.
Well, maybe just a tiny tad, (see what I did there? LOL)
I didn’t exaggerate much. I actually did throw one loaf of bread and nope, it didn’t break. Also, no the dogs wouldn’t eat it. Although I have to admit the German Shepherd did give it a try after fetching it and bringing it back to me. I took it away before he could actually eat it as I was afraid of what it might do to his stomach.
I’m actually a very good cook, just not a baker. I don’t like having to be that precise in my ingredients.
The dog alerted her to the car before she heard it. Strange, she wasn’t expecting anyone. She was here on her own. It was just her and the dogs. She was used to being on her own lately. Seems her husband was always away for work since they moved here. The house they moved to a few months back was in the country. They wanted room to let the dogs run. The city seemed too confining for several big dogs. So they found this place. No close neighbors, lots of room and plenty of quiet. For the most part, she was enjoying country living.
Sometimes though, it got a bit scary for her. Being on her own, with just the dogs for company. Since moving she had to deal with coyotes, black widow spiders, scorpions, and the snakes she found on the grounds. She didn’t want her dogs bitten or herself. She managed to get them out of her yard. She didn’t kill them if she could help it. She just captured and released somewhere else when she could.
Her husband did buy her a shotgun. One of those that held several rounds of shells. She practiced with it until she got quite good at it. Her husband said she was a ‘natural’, whatever that meant. She just wanted to protect herself and her dogs from the aggressive snakes that seemed to love the rock garden and the dogs loved to find these snakes. If she could she relocated the snakes, if she couldn’t she wanted to make sure if she had to kill it, that it didn’t suffer because she wounded it and not killed it.
She glanced out the side window and saw two strange men exit the old, beat up clunker they were driving. She got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach when she noticed the passenger step quickly around to the back of the house. The driver walked up to the front door and knocked. Max, the biggest of the dogs, growled deep in his throat and her fear grew. She knew that growl. It was when Max sensed something was not right.
She knew all the doors and windows were locked. She always made sure they were when she was alone. She got in the habit when she lived in the big city. A woman alone always kept her doors locked. It was just survival. It was also the middle of a hot summer so no reason to have the windows open. Her shotgun was always leaning by the front door as she carried it with her when she and dogs went for their daily walk.
She slowly opened up the door. The storm door was locked and it was made of tempered glass. Not easy to break. She didn’t want to open the door but was afraid if the men thought no one was home they would attempt to break in. That she didn’t want. She could always dial 911 but knew from experience that it might take the police more time to get here then was safe for her.
Max stood leaning against her legs. Seeming to feel her fear and reassure her he would protect her if necessary. She didn’t unlock the storm door. She was alone and she wasn’t stupid. She trusted the fear that was building inside her. After glancing at the man who stood at her door she looked past him to see if she could see the man who had walked behind the house. She couldn’t. She knew they were up to no good and to trust her instincts. Not to mention, Max’s.
Max sat next to her, she could feel his body tremble. His ears were perked forward and he gave another soft growl. She laid one hand on his head and looked at the man through the glass door.
“What do you want?” She asked him.
“What? I couldn’t hear you.” He said in broken English. “Why don’t you open this door so I can hear you better?”
In a louder voice, she said, “No. Also, you need to tell your friend the back door is locked and he needs to step to the front.”
He shook his head and with his index finger, he pointed to his ear. “I can’t hear you. Open the door.”
Max growled again, louder. He was ready to pounce.
Louder she said, “No! I want you and your friend to leave now!”
“I just want to talk to you.” He said.
“I’ve called the police before I opened the door. They will be here any second and you can tell them what you want to talk to me about.”
With that little white lie, the man looked angry but yelled something in Mexican that she couldn’t understand and tried once more to get her to open the door. That’s when she saw the second man come from behind the house and step to the car. He started to walk forwards to join his friend. She knew then she would have to do something more forceful as they weren’t going to leave.
She said to Max. “Watch!” That was his command to be ready to attack. She grabbed the shotgun from next to the door and held it. She didn’t want to hurt anyone but if she had to, she would shoot them to protect herself. She felt the icy fear leave her and a calmness replaced it, and things seemed to go in slow motion for a bit.
The man at the door spotted the shotgun, stepped back, shouted something in Mexican again to his friend and turn and run towards the car. That’s when she shouted to Max to “Stay” and she opened the storm door. They were racing the car backward out of her driveway when she aimed the shotgun and fired. She could see she hit the front of the car but not enough to stop them. She didn’t want to stop them, she wanted to scare the shit out of them and to show them she would not hesitate in using the gun.
She watched as the driver gunned the gas and sped out down the road in front of the house. She backed inside the house, locked both doors once again. Keeping hold of the shotgun like a lifeline, she sat at her desk in the living room and started to shake. The adrenaline left her body and she felt sick, limp and in badly need of a coffee. As soon as she got her shaking hand to dial, she called the police and within a few minutes, they were there knocking at her door.
Is this story Truth or Fiction? Let me know what you think! What would you have done in this situation?
I’m beginning to think people know me well. As I think everyone voted right. My last story was…TRUTH. Yes, sad to say it really did happen. When I was younger I rescued a lot of animals. Dogs, cats, whatever. I’m an animal lover. If I see they are being abused I will try my best to get them out of that situation…even if it means breaking into someone’s yard and taking them. Eh, arrest me. I’d still do it.
Doesn’t happen quite so dramatically now as I’m too old for that and my fence climbing days are over…but who knows. If the situation warrants, I still might manage.
My story does have a happy ending. I managed to rescue the dog and finally got someone from the Humane Society to come to pick him up as, unfortunately, I couldn’t afford to take it to a Vet nor keep it as I had four dogs already. This very nice lady came over and I gave her an abridged version of how I got the dog. She called me several days afterward and told me their Vet had to do a major operation to remove the chain from the dog’s neck but he was doing fine and this same lady had decided to adopt him herself.
I felt so much better knowing he was going to a loving home and would have the good life he richly deserved.
Now onto my next story. Is it Truth or Fiction?
Pixabay
A Slice of Life
“Hmm, maybe we could make something out of these?” She asked.
Looking at her listeners as they cocked their heads to the side. She stated, “They would make a great border for the garden. I mean, no birds or animals would take them away.”
Reaching down she rubbed the ear of her closest listener. Whining softly he leaned against her leg. It was like the dogs were agreeing with her.
“I mean, look at them.” She reached over to the table and picked one of the items up, rapping her knuckles against it she spoke again. “It’s as hard as a rock, it would make a great garden border.”
Sighing she placed the object back on the table and sat down hard in the kitchen chair. Frowning she pulled the cookbook over that was laying open on the table and read the recipe again.
“I don’t understand what I did wrong. I followed the recipe. I didn’t substitute anything, which I’m usually doing.”
The three dogs lined up in front of her with expectant faces. “Sorry guys, nothing to eat here. The recipe didn’t exactly turn out like I wanted. I don’t think even you could eat this, Max. It would break your teeth.”
She picked up the item from the table and let it fall back down. It made such a loud thump that it even startled the dogs.
“See, Max? I bet I could throw them up as far as I could and let them land and they wouldn’t even break.”
She stood up and walking around the dogs she opened the back kitchen door and tossed the item out of it as far as she could into the yard. It landed several feet later with a dull thud. “I told you.” She stated to no one in particular. She watched as the dogs raced outside to find the object she threw. Max managed to lift it in his powerful jaws as the little dogs yapped and jumped excitedly beside him. Max proudly came back and laid it at her feet.
Looking down she had to laugh at the look Max gave her. “I told you, you wouldn’t be able to eat it.”
Such a sad sight, the item laying at her feet and three very disappointed dogs. She was sad too, as she had been looking forward to a warm, buttery slice of freshly made bread. All they got were four loafs of…bricks. Hard as rock bricks of bread.
Her dad had always made it look easy when he made bread. So she decided to try her hand at it. “I think I’ll let Dad keep the bread making skills, guys. I stick with my world-famous potato salad.”
So, is this story Truth or Fiction? Let me know! Have you ever tried a new recipe only to have it fail miserably? What was it?
Life, Love & Strength 