The Kalamazoo Animal Rescue has a great newsletter! How do I know? I’m on the newsletter team. Check out the article on Appa: http://www.kalamazooanimalrescue.org/newsletter/emailnsltr_04-13.pdf.
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Kalamazoo
This is a photo taken on the campus of Kalamazoo Campus. It shows a little of the campus, and a little of the city of Kalamazoo.
We had just attended a speech by Deo, the subject of Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder. Deo is such a remarkable man. He endured civil war and genocide first in Burundi and then in Rwanda. After surviving that, he lived homeless in New York for months. After too long, he made it into a family’s care. Deo survived great hardness in so many ways, lived to tell about it, and is now going back to help in his war-torn homeland.
And here we are. Kalamazoo, Michigan. A decent mid-western town. Safe. Not all, we have our homeless, our abuse, and our disagreements. But for the most part, we have running water, shelter, and support. This is selfish, but I’m glad I was born here.
No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency
The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith is a delight to read. It was selected for my book group years ago, and I’ve gone back to it from time to time since then (I don’t like a series to end, so I read them slowly). Once I started reading these books, I had to seek out Red Bush Tea and eat watermelon. (If you read it, you will know.)
Now, when I read the next one in the series (I left off after the 7th book), the Red Bush tea will be easier to come by. Here’s a link for the series: http://www.goodreads.com/series/43418-no-1-ladies-detective-agency. Read the books, so you will know how to drink it. (Hint: often.)
This is made even better since my preferred brand of tea is The Republic of Tea. I discovered this brand years ago (discovered meaning realized it existed) at World Market. Since then, I’ve been able to buy a cup now and again at Panera. However, the largest variety in town is at Sawalls on Oakland Drive. What a treat!
Anyhow, I adore this display I found one day browsing for treats at Sawalls. I’d best reserve the eighth book from the library soon and purchase the tea. Maybe even get some watermelon.
Property of The Cats
If you live with a cat, you may not actually own much. My cats own certain things that I thought were mine. For example, my crochet. Once I thought it was mine. For five seconds flat. Then I learned it was theirs.
While crocheting, the yarn moves from the ball or skein of yarn into the end product. This is enticing to most felines in my life. The end product can also be a delight to them. They love to be surrounded by soft things, and I prefer working with the soft yarns. We have the same tastes.
Over the years I’ve been a sucker for soft, fluffy pillows and blankets. None are mine. They know soft. They know comfort. They take possession.
One such blanket was the vellux deluxe. Light yellow. Softer than my cats. No matter where this is in the lay out of blankets and comforters, they find it. When I get home from work each chilly winter day, one or more of the cats have dug down and is either on or under the vellux deluxe blanket. Again, it’s no longer mine.
Oh, the bed? Yeah, it’s not mine either.
But do I mind that what was mine is now theirs? Not for one moment. Those little fuzzy lovies are worth it. Besides, legally pets are property, so what is theirs IS mine. (But if you ever tell them that they are legally property, you’ll be very, very, very sorry. And it won’t be people bearing weapons that you should worry about. It will be 8 and 10 point fuzz balls of wrath.)
Sun Setting on the Day
This photo is taken at a scrapbook retreat Inn. I enjoy most of the time spent here, except of course when I need to prepare my one meal for the weekend or get a migraine. These weekends, only a couple of times each year, are spent with friends doing something I enjoy.
When the sun sets on the day, we still have a few more hours of scrapping. Yet, it means the end of the weekend is one day closer.
There are some things in life, for which I do not like the sun to set on. Time with friends is one of them. Enjoying photos of memorable moments is another.
What do you wish the sun would not set on?
The Drive Home
Today I ran an errand on the other side of town. Since the “back roads” were quicker to travel home, I enjoyed a country drive this evening. But the closer I drove to home, the more people I thought of in my life.
About half way home, I thought of my niece and nephew who both own homes nearby. I enjoy their company and am so glad they are doing well.
A little further and I saw the street to take to one of my cousin’s home. She’s a fellow scrapbooker, but has been working too much to go lately. I always feel loved in her company.
Next was a new friend from my scrapbooking life. She is a great cat mamma and is very creative. Her home has a full room dedicated to scrapbooking, but she allows her husband to think he has a desk in there. (No, he has a chair, the desk drawers are hers.)
Soon I drove by our neighbors only a couple of miles from home. They are so good to us and my mom and I both enjoy any time we get to spend with them.
Within only a quarter-mile was my sister’s home. I was glad to see she was already home for the night since she can work long hours. I need to spend more time with her.
I encountered more homes of loved ones before I made it to my own. What a blessing to be able to take a drive and encounter joyous memories of so many people.
I pray you find good memories the next time you’re traveling home.
Eggsactly
When did we decide that lily white eggs were good to eat?
Chocolate milk is better than white.
Milk chocolate is tastier than white chocolate (which isn’t chocolate at all).
Mint chocolate is better than plain. (Unless you’re my brother who considers both chocolate and mint dreadful.)
Dark leafy green things are better for us than light green things.
Luscious honey is a better sweetener than processed white sugar.
Black coffee is better than the light brown coffee I drink with enough flavored creamer and sugar to kill a rat.
Dark pumpernickel bread is better to eat than the pasty white stuff.
Well, I for one prefer the freckled brown, green, and blue tinged eggs from an in-law’s free-roaming chickens.
Plus, if I’m not too lazy on a Saturday morning before making breakfast, I blow out the eggs so I can use them in a Pysanky project with a fun colors.
Pysanky? That’s a subject for another day.
These Trees
These trees.
What have they seen?
Has the spray of salt from the road been a bother to them?
Have we treated them with respect like a precious gem?
They clean the air for us.
For this, I am joyous.
They provide beauty all year long.
It’s a place too where the birds can sing their songs.
These trees.
They are a blessing for all species.
What do you do in a bookstore?
I take photos of the books I’d like to read, and then go to the library to find them.
What do I do when I’ve read a really good book? I go to the bookstore to buy it.
And then I can mark it up as I please, highlighting all of the best quotes.
Humor Happens 