Are You Barking at Me…

See the dog at the bottom...

Yesterday…the dogs from the house behind me went nuts barking…just when I was making breakfast…looking out the kitchen window…I quickly say the cause…a lovely calico cat…walking across the top of my back fence…

Interestingly…the cat walked across the back of the fence…then started down the side…but…just stopped…sat down…turned towards the dogs…three of them I believe…giving them a look…that only a cat can manage…

Honestly…I had meant to eat outside…but…decided to stay in the house instead…not that it was quiet in there…not that mere brick and mortar…could…muffle the sound…of three hounds…bellowing at a cat on a fence…no…mostly…I didn’t want to interrupt their little stalemate…

Bertha…pointed out…that there was merely a difference of opinions…going on…

First…the dogs…thought they had a cat treed…they thought they were in charge…they’d done a good job…they were calling their master to come with his gun…hunting at its finest…

Secondly…the cat…knew she was in charge…she knew the dogs were behind a fence…and couldn’t get to her…and…so…she tortured them…here I am boys…you can’t get me…bark all you want…I’ll just sit here…

Anyway…for the rest of the story…after about ten minutes…of continued howling…I’d had enough…I went outside…armed…with a camera…and…took some pictures…

The cat…sat and posed…the dogs…one by one…moseyed on down their fence…and the barking stopped…it was then…that the cat hopped down…and made her way across the empty lot…going wherever she was going in the first place…looking back occasionally…still knowing…she was in charge…

I told…Bertha… the dogs reminded me of her…always mouthing off about something…

She hit me with the skillet…I guess…she had a different opinion…

Jane

Tasting the Artichoke…

Wow…a lot of time in the contemplation chair lately…lots to sort out…at first…I was frustrated…I thought I’d peeled that artichoke…I’d tasted the artichoke heart…it was good…I liked it…I thought I was done with that…

Wrong…

Bertha…reminded me…letting go of the past…letting go of…old fears…old ideas…old frustrations…is not an event…like graduating from college…I don’t do it…and then it’s done…I can hang the diploma on the wall…for the world to see…

Rather…

It’s an ongoing process…like my closet…the first time I clean it…there is a ton of stuff to discard…stuff that doesn’t fit…that is out of style…that is in disrepair…and…although…it looks lovely...in the moment…it takes ongoing effort…to keep it…cleared of the things that no longer work…because…things are continually changing…my taste in clothes…the styles…unfortunately…my size…

This continual…closet purging…says…nothing…about my character…about my resourcefulness…it only means…I need to let go of some things…that are no longer useful…and…the more often I do it…the easier it is…

She’s right…of course…I do find…that every time…I uncover another layer of the old stuff…and…heal it…forgive it…maybe even…love it…for the lessons it brought me…the easier it is…

And…

Every time…I taste that…sweet…tender…artichoke heart…I want to taste it again…and…that taste…makes all the peeling…worthwhile…

Jane

Letting Go…

Letting go…it shouldn’t be so difficult…I’ve let go of the pain…of hurts…inflicted by others…why…do I not let go of hurts…that I inflict upon myself…doubts…insecurities…fears…nagging words…in the back of my mind…ever eager…to take the forefront…

It’s another layer…I’ve peeled this artichoke before…or so I thought…obviously…some tough outer leaves remained…preventing the tender heart from being fully exposed…

Maybe that’s it…maybe…I keep these insecurities…because…they prevent me from being vulnerable…keep me from exposing my true self…even to me…but…especially to others…

They keep me in…my place…perhaps it’s safe…but…it’s not where I want to be anymore…and…so…one more time…I peel off those tough protective leaves…not knowing…if it will be the last time…but…resolving…to continue the process…until at last…it is done…

Jane

All That Glitters…

Bertha Contemplating

I meant to write my blog today…but…sometimes…sometimes…life gets in the way…blocking my words with shiny objects…shiny objects…to explore…to examine…to experience…

All that glitters…is not…gold…I am reminded…and so it is with shiny objects…sometimes they surface as old fears…old frustrations…old ideas…freshly polished…shining as brightly…as the day they were born…

And…so…instead of writing…words of wisdom…words of wit…I sat staring at the shinies…wondering how they got there…in the middle of my words…I thought I had hidden them…where they couldn’t be found…

But…alas…they could…

Jane

A Yogurt in Time…

I’m trying…I really am…I’m trying to make healthier food choices…one of those would be…eating…Greek yogurt…I know…the protein content is double…the regular kind…the carb count is less…it’s organic…but…I just don’t love it…

Now…I am giving it a fair try…adding fruit…hoping it will grow on me…that would be only fair…considering…how…ice cream…my real preference…has literally…grown…on me over the years…but…I digress…

Anyway…it got me to thinking…why is it…that many of the things…that I know are good for me…and…that I really want to do…aren’t that easy…and…why…is it…that so many of the things…that I know are bad for me…and…that I don’t want to do…are so hard not to do…

Hmmm…

Bertha…reminds me…I ate Greek yogurt today…I didn’t eat…ice cream…which is what I wanted…and…really today…this moment…is all I have…yesterday is past…tomorrow hasn’t come…I’ve done my best…

Of course…she’s right…I can only make choices in the moment…whether…it’s food…exercise…spending money…or…anything else…it doesn’t matter what I did or didn’t do yesterday…or…what I’m planning for tomorrow…what I’m doing now…in this moment…is all that matters…it’s all I can count on…

And…honestly…I may be one step closer…to liking Greek yogurt…I’ll see…tomorrow…

Jane

A Case…of…Blended Identity…

Okay…I admit it…you don’t have to twist my arm…my grandchildren are the…cutest…smartest…cleverest…kids in the world…

Whew…I feel so much better…with that off my chest…you just don’t know how painful it has been…keeping that secret…

Spoken…like a true…grandmother…

Seriously…my granddaughters are pretty cute…and funny…so…I thought I’d share…this little story with you…and…feel free to share your own story…in the comments…more smiles for everyone…

We all know that children…usually…only hear their middle names…when they are in trouble…and…the youngest…age 3 now…had become quite accustomed…to hearing…Elizabeth…added after her name…one day…while watching…Curious George…get into another of his…situations…she yelled at him…from across the TV…George Elizabeth…you better not do that…

So…we knew…Elizabeth…is the name…you are called when you are in trouble…no matter who you are…

Well…that was cute…and…we thought…that was that…she got a little older…and…understood…Elizabeth…was part of her name…along with her first and last…she also learned her older sister’s middle name…Kate…

And…for some reason…known only to three year-olds…she decided…that her middle name…was…Elizabeth Kate…

Not to be outdone…her older sister…age 5…added…Elizabeth…to her middle name…well…fair is fair…so…we now have two…Elizabeth Kate’s…

So…we’re now sharing middle names…maybe…we should hyphenate them…hmmm…that might work…and…maybe…sharing names…could be only the beginning…maybe…they could start sharing toys next…

Yeah…right…when this little piggy flies…

Jane Elizabeth Kate…

Alvin…and…the…Gang…

As many of you know…I love my back garden…yeah…I know…it’s the size of a postage stamp…consists of a steep embankment…and…a drainage ditch…but…in my defense…it has been nicely disguised…as a shrub and rose bank…and…dry creek…and…yes…I know…in the States…especially…in the South…we call it a yard…but…I’m feeling a little European…do you mind…geez…you are being so picky today…

Part of what I enjoy about my…garden…is the wildlife…to be so small…and in town…I have a nice variety of birds…several squirrels…and…most recently…two chipmunks…

Of course…I Googled them…there seems to be a mix of opinions…from…they won’t dig holes…to…they dig holes…but…we love them any way…to…singing the praises of capital punishment…

So…now…I know…this time next year…I’ll probably be writing about the horrors…of chipmunks in the garden…but…that’s next year…and right now…they are plenty cute…and…their scampering…entertains me…yeah…it doesn’t take much to entertain me…I never said I had an exciting life…geez…

In my Google search…I also found…chipmunk symbolism…now…you already know…I do like a good…sign…now and again…remember…the toilet at the Church…yeah…I didn’t think you’d forget that one…

Anyway…seems as though…a chipmunk is a symbol of curiosity…playfulness…and…the balance between trust and caution…

Well…you probably know what’s coming next…Bertha…reminds me…although…I love what I do…and…I think it’s fun…that…I could use some more playfulness in my life…scampering…like the chipmunks…carefree…

She’s right…it is hard for me…to let go…and just have fun…I tend to hold back…with a sense of caution…hmmm…that brings up the T word…

Trust…continues to be a work in progress…and…maybe it should be…maybe that’s the balance…that…the chipmunks are reminding me of…something to think about…something to contemplate…

I think I’ll do that…in the garden…watching the chipmunks…maybe…they’ll sing for me…or…maybe…I’ll sing for them…who knows…

Jane