It's been over a year since I wrote anything over 140 characters. My Twitter friend Kelli was talking about her love of writing so I told her about how good WordPress was.
After spending the day recovering long lost passwords and account information for wayward email accounts I'm finally back in the game.
Thanks Kelli for the little push you gave me, even though you didn't realize you were pushing ❤️
Suddenly it became summer. I’m not sure when that defining moment is, when spring stops and summer begins. I do know that now is summer. I can tell its summer because the trees are every shade of green and the insects are flying and creeping here and there.
The sun is rising almost exactly east and setting almost exactly west and is shining on us longer than usual. It’s heat is stronger than it was, coaxing sleeping seeds to sprout towards the glorious blue sky.
There are more birds now too. Each singing and chirping for attention. Each unique song penetrating the forest sending messages to all and none. Their colours flashing as the sun catches them as they fly through the trees. Truly birds are the most free of all, laughing at gravity and the burdens of land.
It’s Friday night and I’ve been reluctantly reading the news about the attacks in Paris. At this point I don’t know who is responsible or even why the attacks took place. I’m troubled by the predictable coverage that I have read so far.
Media, both social and traditional, relate the number of deaths as though the mangled ruined lives of hundreds of people are a score to some gruesome sporting event. From my perspective, one life or a hundred, each is as precious as the last and should not simply be chalked up on the board. At times like this a simple phrase like “A large number of deaths from an attack..” will suffice whether it is ten or fifty doesn’t make a difference. There will be time enough in the morning to get the accounting balanced.
I don’t understand people looking for a quick response from politicians. They always get upset when the words that our leaders utter is the usual, “We are deeply saddened…We stand by our friends… We offer our condolences..” Let’s face it in the heat of the moment that is all that can be said. Personally I think the next day is a better time for this but somehow people need to hear this before the attacks are finished.
This is a complex situation that I have a hard time understanding but I do know that the coverage of these events has become predictable and formulaic in nature.
The local emergency teams have reacted in a professional manner and have called upon the resources that they have available in order to secure and contain those who are involved and provide aid to those in need. They don’t need the extra burden of acknowledging statements from our governments or feeding the grist mill of social media.
I’m not sure what the solution is to the issues that are flowing from the Middle East and North Africa. I’m not even sure I understand the problem in it’s entirety. What I do know is that it’s nearly impossible to use reason with someone who is blinded by a belief. I also know that a military solution is just as fruitless as it simply intensifies the hatred among people that might otherwise be friends.
France is in a difficult situation, it has been forced into a corner and the only solution that will satisfy the French people is quick retribution. That same solution will only lead to the disenfranchisement of it’s own Muslim population. Military action also brings the specter of colonialism into play and even reignites older hatreds dating from the time of the crusades. That being said I would be surprised if military action isn’t happening as I write this.
I hope that all involved can overcome the blindness of their dogmas and put love and compassion ahead of hatred.
Peace and Love everyone
I was going to write about how life can be like walking through a deep muddy puddle but decided against that. Oddly enough the effort to delve deep into self analysis was too much. Then I thought I would write about how some people are magnets for bad luck. I changed my mind because the person I was thinking of is on her way to an interview this morning and I want to send positive energy her way.
This all leaves me with nothing much to write about. So I thought I would write about something I know nothing about, dating.
My life is easy. I have a good home with lots of food and kind humans. I have plenty of dogs that I play with almost daily. Love and affection is all around me. I even have some real bromances and a few passionate relationships at the park.
it’s easy for dogs. A quick sniff and off we go. Running playing and building a friendship. It’s not so easy for humans. I know of a few women who are thirty something and single. They don’t want to be single but for many reasons they are.
Blondie and Baldy have been together for twenty years now. They met through a mutual friend and somehow even though they lived in different cities and didn’t have a car they managed not only to fall in love but to become best friends. They have what can only be described as an organic relationship that just grows on it’s own accord.
I’m stating to realize that theirs is an uncommon situation. I have a few human friends who are thirty something and are single. They don’t want to be single but for whatever reason they just can’t find someone to share their lives with. They are, from my perspective, attractive and intelligent women. One I’ve known now for over two years and despite her best efforts is lonely.
My first thought is that they had an unattainable “shopping list” of characteristics that their dream man must have. It turns out that what they were looking for was just an ordinary guy. There was no notion that he must have an incredible job or be in fantastic shape. As one of the women said he just has to like animals and being outside with nature. In my books that’s not an unreasonable request.
I think the problem lies in how people date these days. Once upon a time people relied on their social network, as in people you actually knew in real life who spent time with you and knew you as you truly were, not Facebook. The prevalence of dating apps has in my opinion changed the dating game but not necessarily for the better.
There are lots of apparent positives using a dating app such as Plenty of Fish. Everyone is using it for the same reason and you can sort through thousands of potential dating partners by their interests and you can put forward your best face and have potential matches come to you. The choices can be quite overwhelming. I put myself in my friends position and got over seven hundred returns when searching men in our area.
That’s the problem seven hundred complete strangers with no context in which to make a choice. Basically your profile is just part of the noise. I read a few pages of profiles both for men and women and honestly they all look the same. If we were to believe any of them the wold is full of easy going, fun loving caring folk. Just once I would like to see a profile that says the person is an uptight workaholic control freak.
Perhaps buy paying for the service like at E-Harmony you may increase the odds of finding someone compatible but I don’t know. My thinking is their algorithm does narrow the search but I doubt you would find many uptight people there either.
My advice to single people is join activity groups in your area. If you like running join a running club, if you like sewing find a group that sews. Get to know your neighbors walk your dog at the park and talk to other dog walkers. Odds are eventually someone you meet will know someone who might be that someone special.
Me? I’m going to the park and I’m going to hump whoever is there. I’m a dog and I can do things like that.
Remember Buddy loves you
I spend a lot of time wondering.
Today I spent time wondering about how some people have the courage to do the things they do. I’m not talking about the big things like climbing Everest or doing ultra marathons or even triathlons. The people who do these activities are a cut above the rest and are driven by desires that are deeper than most of us will ever experience.
I’m talking about the ordinary things like just going for a run or riding a bike around town. Activities that require a normal amount of self confidence. How do people find it in themselves to partake in the passtimes that our society allows?
When I’m by the river I see people out on boats having a great time paddling or sailing with great sense of empowerment. Along the path there are cyclists and runners who zip along as though they are being perfectly normal and are accepted for being active.
Then there are the truly brave, those who go to a gym or a pool like these are totally normal activities. In groups they enjoy public activities becoming stronger and better with every passing moment. Completely oblivious of any judgemental looks from onlookers.
My amazement doesn’t end at the physical activities I also wonder how some people manage to go to a café or even gallery. How do you sit alone and enjoy a coffee or wander the halls of a gallery lost in the beauty of art?
I’m just a dog but I do wonder about things.
Spring is the season for love. At least that’s what the greeting card companies will have you believe. I have to admit that I’m a bit of a softy for love and spring because my first spring was with this great family who adopted me.
This is a photo of me my very first spring. I guess I’m four or five months old here. The concept of puddles was new to me and I found them fascinating. I was checking out the whirlpool where the water was draining into a pipe.
We had a lot of fun that day playing in the water. Even the kids rode their bikes through the puddles.
We laughed hard and had a great time. It’s the stuff great memories are made of. I swear every clean freak for miles around was having migraines that day. It’s was great getting all muddy and the warm shower after felt amazing.
Those were good times and even though I’m two years older I still like to close my eyes and feel the love this family has shown me. My adoption has been a real blessing for me and the the family.
That’s all for now
Remember Buddy loves you ❤️
It was decided that the house needed some new curtains or blinds.
Blondie and Baldy are not the type of people to enter these projects lightly. Many months of procrastination and thinking and talking have taken place. To be fair the amount of talking, discussing, planning, thinking is more than NASA needed to put Niel Armstrong in space.
Finally after much ado the process of accumulating all the required supplies has taken place. The Internet was buzzing with online orders for all of the materials. Orders were coming in from around the globe. I’m not kidding, a 50ft roll of Velcro was ordered from South Korea cheaper than we could find anywhere else. Fabric came from Toronto and hardware from God knows where.
A new sewing machine was bought to handle the industrial sized chunks of fabric, miles and miles of thread were procured. All of this is now filling my dining room.
The next step was the obvious procrastination step, nobody rushes into anything around here. I’m living in what looks like a third world sweat shop with no sweat happening. Fabric and findings are all over the place and no action. That is until this week.
The dining room table was turned into a curtain factory then plans were changed and it was turned into a blind factory. The only constants in my life are sleep and change apparently.
More procrastination or was it planning? It’s hard to tell sometimes. Yesterday there was wood being cut in the basement then there was gluing and screwing and lots of sewing.
Today was full of spurts of energy as the two of them did what people do when they do things. I was exhausted just being in the same house as them.
So now it’s the end of the day and guess what? That’s right still no blinds hanging.
Tommorow will bring another day of thinking, planning and procrastinating for them and endless napping for me.
Remember
Buddy loves you ❤️
I dip my toe into the waters for the first time…
I am Buddy 