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
****

When did March get here, anyway?

I don't know how that happened!

Usually, I'm more mindful of time and the weeks going by and have tried to keep up with the blog.  I guess I'm aware that this has been something I thought would be fun and useful to keep as a journal of sorts.  I kinda think I did that with more than a few things back in the days when I was aiming for Texas.  Anyway, there are times when anything I might say would be too little to be truthful or too much for eyes other than mine.  IOW, a sort of 'spit and polish' situation, so to speak.  Fish or cut bait?  No, that's not it.  Shine up or shut up?  Yeah, maybe....

As I was saying, people don't need or want to read about the down days or wishful thinking words of a not yet desperate housewife who has moments of drama queenishness.  Just from time to time.

In reality, it's nice having SGTex working in the same town as our home.  Long hours but lacking outrageous commute times make life better.  I'm getting over an illness of several months that made me very hard to live with, so I look forward to something more normal in my activity level, but the thought of getting to that point is very intimidating, truth be told.  Funny how the least little thing can appear huge and frightening--kinda like those horrific gargoyles that are merely door knockers.  All I have to do is grab it by the nose and give it a good rap or two, but...

I suspect this post has been a mess, so please just drop by again soon and hopefully I'll be properly caffeinated and more grateful.

Cheers!

Shawn
****

P.S.  Continue to ignore Trump and his followers.  Even the Republicans don't know what to do with him and his weirdness.  Should he win (gods forbid), SGTex and I will be packing up the Havanese and searching for a new home away from here, so please leave the light on, world.

Heh heh

!!!!!

The truth lies somewhere...

...between "Take my word for it" and "Talk is cheap."

I ran on to this and thought it was just about perfect for these times.  It's something I need to remember during this political season and will promise to try and be mindful.

Wouldn't this planet be a happier place if we were busy doing good deeds rather than talking bad words?

Let's keep trying.

Shawn
****

In case you're wondering...

...just what is going on these days in the US of A, I've got a little meme for you.

Yes, this about sums it up at this point.

I know!!  Haha!!


Shawn
****

Ridiculosity...

Hahaha!!!

Feel free to use as needed....

I'm certainly going to try and remember this in the days...weeks...months to come.

Shawn
****

Happy New Year!! May 2016 bring only the best of times...

...to those deserving a better, happier year.  I saw several Facebook posts by people who are only too glad to end 2015.  I was feeling sorry about that and am hopeful that better days were coming.  Well, let me just say, "Me, too."   All in all, I can honestly say this past year rivals the worst year of my life.

I'll spare you the details.

Let's just go with the idea that it will be different in the days to come.  Why?  How?  I've only a hint of a clue.  I'm older.  Wiser to the rise...or lack of it.  Not so quick to believe the best.   Not so slow to let go and give one more chance to those who aren't really wanting one more chance.  I've come to realize that I can't make other people believe in me or in that which I hold as my particular scruple or standard.  "Not wanted" means not wanted.  Same goes for "not welcome."

I'm an orchid, stuck here in prickly pear country.  And it's all "open effin' carry."

I'm laying here in bed with cold morning leftover coffee watching the Rose Parade by myself on an old broken television thinking "Hah.  This is Shawn...Happy New Year?"

That remains to be seen.

I'm having my doubts, at this point.

Stay tuned.  Hold yer tater.

Shawn
****

Season's Greetings...

Here it is.  It's Christmas Eve and, unlike the Mister, I'm nowhere near ready for Christmas.

The one gift I think my husband would have possibly really appreciated is still being "processed" in China.  Our beautiful velvet custom-made stockings are hanging at the foot of the bed, but are a bit...droopy.

Ho, ho, ho.

 It's not that there will be a house filled with family or guests.  Apparently, those days ended in Astoria, Oregon, and I'm glad I had the good sense to appreciate the festive days and make the most of the opportunity to be a hostess who showed everybody a great time during those gatherings.  I will confess I don't have a perfect score, but pretty darn close to it.  You know that saying "You can't please all the people all the time..."  For the most part, those holidays in Oregon were pretty magickal.  I don't know what happened, but I've come nowhere close to that for some time and nobody in Texas could possibly believe I ever had Martha Stewart mojo.  But I did!

Anyway, I guess for now I can wish everyone joy and hope I get my stuff together better next holiday season.

It's a good thing my husband is so accomplished at accomplishing and has his Santa going on, huh?!

For now, I'm just sending my wishes around the world for Peace On Earth, etc.

Fa la la la lah.

Shawn
****

I'm putting this here in lieu of just letting shinola fly...

Ho, ho, and some more ho.

Seasonal silliness....

There's been so little silliness these days in life around here, so you'll have to allow me this one cartoon.

I was almost finished with this little post when the phone rang with a Code Red weather emergency call for the usual wind, rain, large hail...and I accidentally exhaled or something and lost the post.  I think what I was about to say was something about the baby Jesus being born into a world with big problems and discontented people, his parents being unwelcome refugees and only being cared for by possibly the somewhat irreligious innkeeper who had some heart.  Definitely something remarkable there, don't you think?

Anyway, I'd better wrap this up before the lights go out or the roof gets raised.

Funny, as less than an hour ago I was commenting how we here in Texas have windows open, ceiling fan going, etc...

That'll teach me!!  And me, home alone with the Havanese while The Husband is working hours away...

Alas!!

Season's greetings from

Shawn
****

December is here...

With love from America....

come on home, come on home, come on home

If I don't see you through the week
See you through the window
See you next time that we're talking on the telephone
And if I don't see you in that Indian summer
Then I want to see you further on up the road

I said, oh won't you come back?
I have to see you, my dear
Won't you come back in the Celtic New Year?
--Van Morrison


Must be the Celtic New Year and its thinnin' o' the veil, as yesterday -- and not for the first time -- we have seen spooky little signs of Sasha, dear kitty departed!

Mid-afternoon, Shawn remarked from the bedroom:  "I think Sasha's paying us a visit."

"I know!" I exclaimed.

She had just seen a dangling charger cable jiggle as if a passer-by had brushed against it -- or batted at it a bit.  I had to agree that it must be the tiny white Persian come calling, because about an hour earlier I'd seen something interesting, too (and mind you, I am a devout believer in scientific materialism, i.e., I tend to think paranormal/supernatural stuff is imaginary and like to ridicule the TV ghost hunters).

I was in the front yard, rinsing the big white ice chest when red clay dirt that had been clogging the hose gushed out and spattered across the lid.  I stared for a few seconds and it was unmistakable:  Three or four cat pawprints, just as if one had bounded across the ice chest when I wasn't looking.  Wish I hadn't rinsed them away, as we could have dried and framed them!  You could tell she was headed toward the bedroom window.

Sasha was/is a familiar and so is well suited to this sort of thing.  We called her a ghost even during her time with us, little wisp o' white out the corner of one's eye.  Well, I mean, just look at the picture, it's actually her.  We have interred her little ash urn in a cabinet under the butsudan.

Today I see that I've accidentally dropped a flake of potato chip on the floor -- something Sasha used to count on.  I'm just going to leave it there for a while.

SGTex

****

Shame on Gov Rick Scott and his kind in FL, not to mention all the others who hunt bears.

"Revolution In You"

SMDH...

But...

Peace in the Water - Visual Prayer for Whales and Dolphins

It was about now....

...only 7 years ago that we rolled across the Texas border and I was on my way home to stay.

I remember the absolute awesomeness of seeing that flat, flat, FLAT vastness.  The bright blue sky that went all the way to the ground (one of my sayings about what I knew I'd never get over about the sky not being hidden by 100 foot Doug Firs and mountains), and the big ranch gates and threads of roads heading off into the distance, ending at what appeared to be tiny homes but were actually impressive ranch homes and all those cute little cows...  I was so excited to finally be here that I cried like a baby.

Before too long we pulled into Amarillo and had dinner and then drove until it was dark and the sky was lit up with countless stars, and after awhile it was Abilene, and we were home.  Finally.  It had been the Adventure of a Lifetime, the Big Road Trip and finally leaving the Pacific Northwest for who knows how long....

I didn't know what was ahead of me, really.  We had a blast shacking up in our cute little apartment and then moved to our cute little house.  Ups and downs, ins and outs, goods and bads, it's been an endurance contest and I'm not sure who's winning sometimes, lol.  To go from that (the Great Pacific Northwest) to this (The Great Republic of Texas) has been the worst and most wonderful thing to ever happen to my nerves (I remember saying that back in high school:  "Nuherves.....")  I had 'em.

Do you know what?  He, my Heathen Lover, has been better at this than I have been.  He didn't send me back when he (and I, boyhowdy), knew that some of his wish he would.  Did I say "Boyhowdy?"  OMG.  But he has a cousin and a brother who've been quite nice and I hope they like me.  I sure like them.  His best friend Larry, who has crossed the River Styx, bless his heart, was so kind to me.  He was terrific, when I was obviously a little bit ragged around the edges and he must've figured how homesick I was, and would ask me how I liked things and was it different and what did I miss about Washington....  Yes, we miss Larry.

Anyway, SGTex is off 2+ hours away working hard and I'm here in the little Love Shack thinking about stuff.  Sebastian and Seamus, the little Havanese Darlings are here and keeping me company and I have coffee and am going to be fine, probably.

I'm just a little bit more emotional about looking back and realizing how far away The Old Life is, and am glad I'm here in The New Life with my Man.  He's been very patient and is every bit the good Native Texan he told me he'd be when he hooked up with me, despite what he kindly calls my "mystique."  He told me I had a helluvalotta that.

Hah.

It's good to be Home Sweet Home here in Texas.  Really and truly.

Thanks for having me.

Shawn
****

Imagine...Cecil & Jericho's pride in April 2015

World Elephant Day

Some of the elephants in the care of our friends at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust property.

Shawn & SGTex

To clarify...

There must be....

From The Orca Project...

Oh, yeah. About that other flag....

...which came down the pole in South Carolina this morning.

It seems that when there's something momentous going on in the world, my husband and I are together in bed watching it on television.  I really like that.  We've been together for just about everything that happened that really mattered during most of the past decade, and I think I can speak for both of us when I say that the togetherness makes it even more meaningful.  This morning was no exception.  What a moment, seeing the rebel flag being ceremoniously lowered and respectfully folded and rolled into a neat little package and relegated to its proper location in the nearby museum on the capitol grounds.  We watched the governor sign the order to make it all happen, and that, too, was a moment.

This morning's event was something to behold, even from a distance.  My heart went straight to the little girl who'd been away at summer camp but came home to be at the capitol and watch this take place.  I felt a kinship with her, because that's something that I'd have done, too.  I remember being away at summer camp and just about my favorite part of the day was early in the morning watching the flag being raised and singing with the other campers one of my favorite songs about my favorite things at that time in my life.

Anyway, I spent enough time in the South and in South Carolina, specifically, to understand the great debate and turmoil that has been brewing in the hearts and minds of people, and I'm really glad that I'm on the side of the people who wanted that to come down.  It's caused enough pain, thoughts and actions that happened way back when during the war, and then since 1961 when it was raised again in defiance of those people who wanted peace and equality and integration.

I'm glad I'm attached to a person who feels the same way about these things and look forward to watching and experiencing many more great moments, grateful that we'll be on the right side of history, as they say.

Namaste'

Shawn & SGTex

Yesterday in the US of A....

Didjya know that....

Cheering myself up...

Protest at Seattle...

...makes me proud to be someone who cares enough about the planet to speak up.

After all, it's not like we've got a spare Earth out there somewhere, is it?!

Let's get together to do what we can to save what we can and bring about restoration.

Shawn
****

My heart is heavy for Nepal...

photo courtesy of BBC

Personally....

....I am really starting to notice some things that my brain seems to be pushing forward and it's getting my attention.  

You know how it goes in the mind's bottom file cabinet drawer....the one that's not quite full enough to hold the manila file folders of recollection upright in a neat, orderly fashion.  Instead, they sadly droop and contents are lost for years, leaving me to vaguely wonder just what was the occasional stray thought that floated by during the night.  

Well, maybe it's a hormonal thing and I'm only turning into my mother (help us all), or maybe I've just had ENOUGH.  

Since when was it a bad thing to attempt to do something good? Why do supposedly educated people act like they're not?  Is it just fashionable these days to be mean and stupid?  Why must people be scorned when attempting to be correct in what is said or done (so as not to be scorned)?  Is it really a bad thing to be nice, or generous, or hospitable, or informative, or helpful, or creative?  Really?

I don't know what else to do other than to lock that particular file drawer and lose the key, because it seems that I'm pretty sure nobody else thinks about it much, having gone over to the dark side, lol.

I don't know what else to say except "gee whiz."

Gee whiz.

Shawn

****

You've probably seen...

...this one, but I saved it just in case.

Obviously, there's not a single word I can add, so let me just suggest we all have what is left of a great week.

Shawn
****

Spring...

...has sprung.

There are so many things about which I could blog, but I can't decide where to start.
Meanwhile, enjoy this glimpse of sweetness.

Shawn
****

Can you just ....

Artist: Ingrid Tusell Domingo

Come to think of it...

I find it vaguely disturbing that the person(s) most likely to show the least respect for Science and concern for the environment might well be charter member(s) of the Flat Earth Society, yet when seeing a picture of a flower or sunset will enthusiastically go on about God making it.


If I were God, I'd take the time to show 'em how I'd done it and how it all works. I'd have enough respect and think these people were smart enough to learn the facts. I wouldn't treat them like babies needing cute stories and fairy tales.

So there.

Shawn

****

A poem by my Man for me....

I've checked...

 ...and not a single thought in my head can be found. Well, that is worth sharing. Not to say there hasn't been plenty to think about these days. After several weeks of being sick, this picture just kinda spoke to me.
Thanks to  Sociedad Argentina de Horticultura on Facebook for posting what can best convey my mood of the moment.

In spite of the fact I've been blasting Led Zeppelin tunes for the last hour ;~)

Cheers!

Shawn
****

Official 2015 Jeep Super Bowl Commercial | Beautiful Lands | Jeep Renegade

On the odd chance that anybody wants to know what we think of Sarah Palin...

So...

And so, then I said...

... I'm not so dismal in my outlook. Solar power and wind power with adaptation for improvement. Make it safe. Quit the strip mining and deforestation of the planet. Every school child in America every year needs to plant a tree or contribute to a tree being planted where it's needed on the planet. Everywhere, anywhere. Streams and rivers need to be cleaned up and the oceans need to be rid of the plastics and garbage. Japan needs to do something with the mess it's perpetrating on the oceans and the planet or it's Hiroshima all over again (maybe self induced, if they're not careful). China needs to get with it regarding pollution. Quit burning and bulldozing the rain forests. Stop use of palm oil and the destruction of environment and wildlife. Start saving life and stop killing it off. A garden on empty lots and a front porch on every house-- Americana. Put homeless in vacant homes. Make work-week schedule changes to lessen commute wear and tear on air and infrastructure. Legalize marijuana/stop destruction of illegal growers in our national parks/forests and clean that up. Strengthen our borders for the right reasons and take care of the immigration issues. Get rid of the dead weight and their lobbyists in Congress and start fresh with a no-party system, with everybody voting on issues rather than candidates. Stuff like that needs to happen.

Shawn

****

Happy New Year...

...to all who pass by here.

I ran on to this picture and couldn't resist sharing it here, what with the colors and mood evoked by the beautiful bird peacefully contemplating its future and all the possibilities.

Or is it just me?


;~)

Shawn
****

borrowed from Evolver Social Movement, Facebook
photo credit:  Imgfave

O Christmas tree...

... O Christmas tree!
How are thy leaves so verdant!
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
How are thy leaves so verdant!
Not only in the summertime,
But even in winter is thy prime.
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
How are thy leaves so verdant!
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
Much pleasure doth thou bring me!  

O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
wie treu sind deine Blätter!
Du grünst nicht nur
  zur Sommerzeit,
Nein auch im Winter, wenn es schneit.
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
wie treu sind deine Blätter!

O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum!
Du kannst mir sehr gefallen!
Wie oft hat nicht zur Weihnachtszeit
Ein Baum von dir mich hoch erfreut!
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum!
Du kannst mir sehr gefallen!"

~   Christmas Carol, O Tannenbaum 

Do they know...

it's Christmas?

It's Thanksgiving Eve in America and...

... I was about to post the "May none of your real feelings slip out at Thanksgiving Dinner" meme here, but will save it.  Maybe next year.

Pretty Autumn leaves are quite nice and will do.

Oh, I'm thankful enough for the usual things, like most Americans.  This year, however, my mood is a little less buoyant and I'm not so apt to go on and on about all the good stuff in my life.  I could, but I guess I'm not going to right now.

The good stuff is there, and I'm not complaining.  There's been just enough difficulty and discouragement for a long enough time to wear me down and take the edge off, if you know what I mean.

Sorry.  No Pollyanna today.

Perhaps this should be a "for what am I grateful in spite of all the hellacious stress and bewilderment I've endured, for crying out loud" sort of post.  It's not.

I'm well aware that some people have it really truly bad and don't complain, even in the worst of times and have endured (gods, I hate that word) way more than I have, truth be told.

Far be it from me to point out how crappy some people treat others and the manipulative bullshit some of us endure from time to time.  And it would be totally inappropriate to mention that the comments and criticisms from the bigots and slanderers are becoming less and less welcome in the lives of those who frankly are above all that, tyvm.

Anyway, my mood is mixed and I'm in a sort of "between" place these days.  Not unusual, for the modern Pagan, which I am.  Those between places are exactly where we're meant to be, right over there, between the negative and positive paths that meander off into that vagueness, around the bend.
I'm going to sit right down on this imaginary rock and think about what might come next.  I might just get out my Good Stuff List and read it over.  Maybe I'll even add to it before I tuck it away until next year.

If I don't toss it.

Happy Thanksgiving, America.

Season's Greetings, rest of the world.

Shawn
****
PS.  (Dec 4, 2014)  Serves me right for being cranky when I blogged this bit.  We ended up having what I'd call *The Best Thanksgiving Ever* this year.  Cheers!

Season's Greetings....

When I'm queen...

...every community on the planet is going to have shared garden space for exchange of produce, tree-lined streets with flags flying and hemp and cottonwood plantations will be everywhere possible.

Marijuana will be legal, every home will sport a front porch and have a rain barrel if they want it, backyard gardens with lots of flowers for butterflies and bees and yards with balls and dogs and shade trees, vertical gardens, mushroom-growing indoor kits and picnic-friendly parks with band stands and free croquet for all.

It will be lovely.

(repeated from a frivolous Facebook comment)

Shawn
****

Because of our dear friends who don't mind that we just happen to be hetero....

Here!!

We love you!!

Shawn & SGTex
****

Not amused....

Wondering...

...if it would be a good thing to start over on that book collection.

After all, shouldn't every home have a library?

When I think of all the hardback treasures that were left behind in the Pacific Northwest when I moved to Texas, it makes me imagine a room filled with bookshelves filled with beautiful, artistically bound volumes of beautiful, artistically written words.

On the other hand, a beautiful, quiet office totally dedicated to that which would continue to inspire my favorite author (who just happens to be my husband) is an even better idea, isn't it?!

Better stay tuned...

Shawn
****

Hahaha!!!

We don't have to tell you that...

Simply put...