These are a few of my favorite things!

SendMe, you didn't embarrass yourself. You tried to help in a situation fraught with a multitude of issues and family friction. It's to your credit both that you stepped in to help but recognized when to step out.

JeanetteB,
Even if we have to help it happen, peace & quiet are wonderful anyway we can get it!
I admit I sometimes help to create the right circumstances, too. And everyone is better off for us getting that refresher.

I like the dog days of summer when the most work is making lemonade and walking to a nice spot to relax and watch butterflies and birds flit about from flower to flower. It's soothing to find a nice calming book to read, snuggling up in a comfy chair next to an open window, and just completing relaxing.

Sometimes the neighbor's Tortoiseshell cat wanders over, cautiously hiding herself in the low growing bushes so she can scope out the yard, then visibly sauntering down the center path as she inspects the yard for anything of interest. I think she's also establishing that she's Queen of the Garden.

Beautiful description of a peaceful place in the garden!

When behaviors go awry within one's own household, I like that it can be blamed on a possible UTI, or even the full moon (up to 7 days before!), instead of blaming the person. Try harder I say, wish I had a bucket of sand to stick my head in to further my denial. Finally, a nice afternoon nap is in order! I know that I will be okay, and that is a positive thing.

Naps are I think our bodies' way of taking us temporarily out of a difficult situation and allowing us to rest our minds so we can approach the issue with renewed mental clarity.

I'm reminded of a story related in one of the James Herriot novels about his life as a vet in North Yorkshire, memorialized in his novels (of which All Creatures Great and Small was one).

He described a situation in which an animal, a sheep I believe, had an undiagnosable illness which he was unable to cure. For reasons I don't recall, he used sleep inducing medicine to allow the sheep to just sleep, and just rest. for a few days (I don't exactly remember how long).

On waking, the sheep was much better. I don't recall that there ever was a medical diagnosis, but just allowing the sheep to be excluded from the normal daily activity of eating, wandering around a pasture, interacting with other sheep, and of course being somewhat ill....that exclusion allowed the sheep to heal.

If this were the situation today, it would probably be more likely that the sheep's ailment could be determined with more specificity, but in those days, sleep helped the sheep recover (no pun intended).

I still believe that was an excellent example of the benefit of rest and sleep.

Picking a fresh cucumber from your garden and eating it right then and there.

Laying in my back yard oasis I've created, sun slowly going down, watching the birds ( especially humming birds) bee's, dragon flies and all God's creatures go about their business before bedtime. So therapeutic.

I bought a nice new rocker/recliner for my Mom about a month before she passed away. Its sitting in my living room now.

One of my favorite things is every time I sit in it my one cat comes out from where ever he is and curls up beside me just under the crook of my arm and snuggles.
Every time.

James Herriot, one of my favorite authors, starting wih All Creatures Great and Small. Sleepy sheep! Just reading this author is calming, like meandering through the countryside would be.

Watching good movies, meeting friends,reading, reading, reading! Have been downloading books on my kindle.

Thank you, booksrme. Reading is a great pastime. Educational, too. That is why I also like to read here on the Aging Care forum.

Send, yes reading is very educational though I really wish that I didn't have to do so much of it here! ;-)

Changing of the seasons....there was a hint of fall in the early morning air this morning. The ostrich ferns have already begun to segue into shades of gold, bronze and crimson.

Last night a cricket serenaded me for several hours. It's back again tonight. They usually don't begin their orchestral sessions until September or October.

I wonder, does this mean an early Fall or Winter?

Yesterday my special pleasure was to watch a Monarch butterfly land on a grapevine, rest for a moment or two, then fly over to the ostrich ferns and back again to the grapevine. After a long rest, it flew off toward the blooming mulleins, which I've allowed to grow prolifically to encourage pollinator plants and insects.

The simple sight of one butterfly was so soothing, so restful and so peaceful.

creating recipes for Send!!!!!!

changing my name so that Facebook peeps can't find me

Falcon, Facebook can locate you by cross checking e-mails from people with whom you correspond. They pulled that with me - soliciting me to join on the basis that several people with whom I had corresponded had joined. There's only one way they could know that these people had e-mailed me, and that's by cross-checking their e-mails with my address as the parameter. Sneaky, sneaky and sneakier.

Next of Kin, Patrick Swaze. You ain't seen bad, but it's coming! Dealing with a mother with LBD makes this line very real on many occasions.

Four and twenty blackbirds
Baked in a pie
When the pie was opened
The birds began to sing...

Garden...I so love the change of seasons too! Especially the fall.....I think we will have an early fall. Our leaves are already turning pretty fall colors..I don't ever remember that this early into August...also the cicadas are singing much sooner...today looks like a pretty fall day here....

With fall comes the scent of sweet cinnamon pumpkin and spices...

Fresh apple pies and cobblers.

Beginning to jot down what treats I want to make for the holidays..whether i ever get to make them or not...

Lighting fall scented candles at night while I enjoy my coffee

Those coolish breezes that begin to drift this way...

Ummmmm...the warm and wonderful scents of fall - I love them too!

Garden, we only had one Monarch butterfly this year, flew by our yard, looking around, then left. We have since planted, watered, and watched a sunflower grow big and bloom 7 huge flowers. We tried planting milkweed, but nothing happened.
Pink sky in the nights. Strange weather as of late. Love everyone's comments on this thread.

I love this thread too. It reminds me of life...a good life.....this time of year also reminds me of fresh earth...right after it's been plowed under for the end of the season....when I was working my other job, I was on the road most of the time...most of out in the rural areas....vast expanses of farm land....I loved watching the land go from a field of spring flowers, to a crop of soybean or whatever and finally harvesting and then plowing under...Towards the end of the day I would find one of those old filling stations...and there are still lots of them in some of our more unpopulated areas...get myself a soda and just park my car off the side of the road and watch the farmers plowing their fields...sometimes I closed my eyes and remembered how much Daddy used to love this as well...and it helped keep me connected to him....

and the scent of leaves...hard to describe that one...but definitely they have a scent...kind of fruity, spicy...smoky as well....and the sound of them as they danced across the street when a brisk fall breeze blew....can't wait...getting excited just thinking of it...

Positive, I can be positive, I am sure of it. My tech guy fixed my avatar, I am liking it! Had to make like, an appointment......it took three hours. I am positive that I like it.

I love your avatar!! Is this your pup?

Yes, Hope, thanks for asking! She is an American Eskimo who always had a puppy smile who died late last year at the age of 14 3/4. She was a very good dog.

soooo pretty!!!! beautiful!!! I"m sorry for your loss... ((hugs))

GA I know that bit I just don't want my family to know I am on here hun xxxx

My little Charlie-girl sleeps in til at least 9 every morning, and yet I'm up at 5 or 6, and when she wakes up, she is so darn happy to see me! I say to her "Good morning my little peanut, good morning my happy girl" and that really gets her jumping, such little things make the biggest difference when you have that to start off your day. If I knew that having a little pup would bring me this much joy, wow, I would have had one so much sooner! To those people who lose there pets to the normal cycle of life, well they should surely jump right back in with a new one as they just make everything better! Cheers Everyone! Stacey B

We had a weenie dog named "Kibbles".He was so lovable and funny.He lost both his eyes to diabetes but he acted like he still had his eyes.He had what my husband and I called "blind faith" and trusted the stairs,etc. to be like they always were.Our other dog,"Bubba" would help guide him inside and outside.It was beautiful and well never forget them.

Luckylu, that is such a sweet story, blind faith, literally.

Stacey, I agree with you about getting another dog, however, with vet bills so high, we will never have another dog. I got a stuffed toy dog at tj maxx last night. On my way out, it was abandoned in a cart, so I grabbed it to buy as the store was
closing.