Finding The Christmas Spirit Hiding Near The End Of The World

"My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?

~Bob Hope



It's Monday. And as I was sharing on Twitter, I am thankful for this day, and a new start. I won't dwell on last week except to say, it was a soul wrenching time, Friday will be a day I will never forget, even if it were possible to do so. It's an incredibly frustrating event, and my heart is broken, but I have to believe that not only will the pain be eased, but the future will bring about the positive change we all yearn for. So, I am going to spend the next week or so leading up to Christmas with as much holiday spirit as I can find, and if it's okay, I would like to share it with you!

I forgot to mention it back in October, but Alan and I are on a new adventure. We are learning French through Rosetta Stone. So far we are both doing really well with the lessons, and its so much fun I actually look forward to each lesson! When we are finished with French, I would love to try German next, and then perhaps Italian. We'll see... one day at a time. ONE DAY AT A TIME. There is no hurry, well, unless the world really does in later in the week. LOL. Somehow I don't think it will. I don't have that kind of luck!  LOL.

I am getting the spirit of the season back, and I am holding on with BOTH HANDS.

:)

Now, how about a fun little holiday joke?

Q. Why was Santa's Little Helper depressed?

A. (Comeback tomorrow for the punchline, but feel free to leave your own in the comment thread.)

~Me :)

Apropo Of Nothing

"I went down the street to the 24-hour grocery. When I got there the guy was locking the front door. I said, "Hey, the sign says you're open 24 hours." He said, "Yes, but not in a row."

-Steven Wright

I got a lot of emails and comments yesterday, mostly in regards to my last post. Sigh. Yeah, I was in a mood to be sure, it has been, and continues to be, a tough year. I have my moments, but I am doing better today, you guys lifted me back up a good bit. I dunno. I am still thinking about retiring at the end of the summer, but there are some things I am going to try in the mean time. I might cut my blogging days a bit. Maybe just blog Monday thru Friday, and take the weekends for clearing my brain. Inspiration can be difficult, when you feel like you have been in a coma for 6 months. Stupid Fibromyalgia! Anyway, I did some meditation and yoga yesterday, had a nice play session with Elvis, and things seem a lot less stressful. :) Thank you for that.

I drove my car yesterday, for the first time in 3 weeks! I have just been too tired and sore to get out and do things. But the weather was nice, and the temperature was good, so I went to the store and then grabbed a salad for lunch. YUM, salad. LOL. I decided to write a nice long grocery list, so I could get everything I needed in one trip, instead of going in several little store trips. Grocery stores are a lot more fun now, then when I was a child. Stores didn't have flowers or movies or even the gourmet deli sections like they do now. I can't believe I am old enough to remember the good old days of price guns. LOL.

Who knew grocery stores would get to be fun? The flowers yesterday were gorgeous! I saw the Lilly, in the above photo, and I just had to photograph it. Yes, I even take my camera to the grocery store! LOL. Although I have to say, I get the strangest looks when I take it out to photograph a display. I dunno, sometimes I just see stuff that looks interesting... like the dog food. It always looks so darn appetizing to me. Hmmm... that might be something to discuss with Sarah! LOL. Anyway, in a effort to make going to the store a little more interesting, I decided to write my list in French. Why French? I don't know, I guess food just sounds like it would taste better in French. Here is my list, do you know what I purchased?

sauce tomate de 6 bidons

2 remplissages de connexions de clairere (epice de cannelle)

poulet de 2 bidons du thon de mer

1 melange de Cornbread de calendrier de Marie

1 extrait de rhum

5 bananes

creme de 2 bidons de potage de poulet

2ltr. Biere de racine de tasse

boules de 1 coton de bolte

civiere de chat de chat de johnny de sac

1 grande bouteille de MIDOL

2 lances d'aneth de Vlasic de fioles

17 oranges. (Go figure, it's the same in French)

1 eclare de chocolat/fraise

1 sommaire d'opera de savon

It was kind of fun, walking around PW speaking French. It was a silly way to shake off the doldrums I was feeling, just a few hours earlier. And when I got home, Elvis and I had a nice dinner together, and then I gave him his insulin. It was the first time I did it alone. I am doing a lot better with that, I have found my timing, and he is an understanding cat. I don't think I have hurt him yet, but Alan had a difficult time the other day. Elvis hissed a bit, but never jumped or fussed. Like I said, he is an understanding kitty. :) I am going to sleep in today, and when Alan gets home, the three of us are going to BBQ. Right now both of the fellas are snoring the roof off. LOL. Gosh, sometimes Elvis snore louder than Alan. It's too funny! As irritating as the sound of snoring can be, right now, it's a happy sound! :)

-OndineMonet
"At The Store"
Saturday, May 19th, 2007

(Note: Some photos in this entry were taken last December) :)