The Toy Smuggler of Aleppo

World's Unluckiest Elephant's Journey To Freedom

Hey....

Somebody come here and stop me from going off on the person/s whining and carrying on about 'how awful these days are for America.'

Really??

As crazy as it is here in the USA, it still beats the 2nd and 3rd world nations.


Most of my readers are not Syrians wondering when the sky will ever quit raining down hell on us. We're not Filipinos eating someone's dog for dinner. We're not Afghani women denied an education or the opportunity to make choices. The Taliban is somewhere else, and we are free to express outrage when things don't go our way. We have the freedom to come and go in this country without paying exorbitant prices for gas and have the power to protest what we feel has negative effects on our environment. We can debate and argue and raise hell when we disagree and have the ability to learn and apply our truth to our lives. We can watch the news and pick and choose what we see and hear.

It's still up to us to turn it on or shut it off.

We don't have to believe America isn't great enough, because it is.

Shawn
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If wishes were horses...

...beggars would ride.

I stated this charming little ditty in what was an attempt at an early morning conversation (I should know better) with my husband.  He said some things about it which prompted one of my I'net searches and I found that these words come out of the 16th century as a nursery rhyme.  It's called a English language proverb.

Wikipedia suggests lyrics as:

If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.
If turnips were watches, I'd wear one by my side.
If "if's" and "and's" were pots and pans,
There'd be no work for tinkers' hands.


... and a shorter version:

If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.
If turnips were bayonets, I'd wear one by my side.

The Wikipedia article turned out to be really interesting to me, and it was quite reassuring, in that I had remembered the words correctly and it was an entirely appropriate thing to say, given the context of what might have been a lovely, cozy conversation.  I seem to recall a table discussion in one of my college literature classes during the Olde English study periods, now that I think of it.  I think I'm going to look up something on "pillow talk" next.  

Sighing, 

Shawn

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I don't know about you, but ...

I'm pretty much right here these days.  That mental list with two columns that seems so sensible and organized one moment (when things aren't going the way I want) and then (when things simmer down and seem to normalize) I'm all ready to toss the list and go with my feelings.  Which, unfortunately, are very temporary and change more times in a day than I want to confess.

"They" say we make our own happiness.  I don't really believe that.  My happiness can be right "here" these days and just disappear in a flash, or drain away before I can get my bearings.  How does that happen?  I've let life get the best of me and I'm more controlled by the doings or undoings of someone other than me.  When the who and what I am is diminished to the point where I'm about to disappear...

Well, I'd better just fall back on one of my boyhowdys.  Or would that be boyhowdies?

Eyeroll...

Shawn
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This is coming soon......

,,,and I just really like the poster!!

Shawn
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In case you hadn't noticed...

Keep our planet clean....

We'll remember you...

Those lost in the Pulse Club, Orlando massacre.

Texans outside the Houston Zoo mourning those lost in Orlando at the Pulse Club massacre.

My gods, I almost missed May...

...altogther (even a word?) .  That would have been kinda funny.

There isn't much to go on here in the way of Pollyanna-style gladness and light.  Cloudy here, in more ways than one,  Le sigh.

Shawn
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Earth Day....

...is a good day,

These days...

...it seems that what is usually going on is whatever fits in to a sleep/work cycle.  SGTex is the one with a whirlwind of activity, while I wait on myself to catch up with myself.  What does that mean?  Oh, just readjusting to a point where I can wrap my mind around life around here after a long (and I mean l-o-n-g) semi-recovery from my own personal brand of pneumonia.  That's not the least bit interesting, though.

Tonight I'm here at home being grateful for our little Love Shack in our funny little dog-filled neighborhood.  It's a somewhat typical Texas night with the somewhat typical night sounds to which I've become accustomed.  Certain neighbors seem to come and go and there's a distant bark and, if we're lucky, the song of a lonely male mockingbird not too far off.  It's probably not nearly as pleasant for him, singing his heart out after dark, as it is for me.  Nice to hear and nice to note it's ceased, and I am glad to know that he's found someone to love.

We have a pair of mourning doves nesting in the eaves over the bedroom and they'll coo in the middle of the night.  The pretty pigeons we hosted last spring seem to have moved next door.  I guess we have a gecko under the front yard's pecan and I'm always listening for crickets.

Hah.  My husband calls me Snow White for a reason, I guess.

Shawn
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Okay, thank you!! Good bark!! What is bothering you boys?

The Mister is working tonight (all night!) and I'm here with the Havanese Hellpups.  For some reason they've been set on high alert and it's been nothing but "yip, yip, ruff, bark" all night long.

Actually, they're nice company for each other and for me, too, while they're glamping in the kitchen.  And of course, the neighborhood dogs out there started it all.  It's a good thing to know we're in good paws here in our funny little neighborhood and all is well here in the Love Shack.  It would have been better if my Man had been able to come home after the planned short shift instead of being Mr Super RN pulling an all-nighter, but they threw money at him and he's a really good sport.

Hah!

Shawn
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