#Weekend Coffee Share. Dogiversary!

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Allison at eclecticali.wordpress.com!

I hope you don’t mind being sniffed! My dog is very curious around new people. Don’t worry about setting your coffee down; he has never tried to get into my cup and seems to understand the need to sit around and take one’s time with a cup of java.

Life has been busy like usual, but I had some time with old friends Thursday at dinner, and then Friday was a day off from work, so I had lunch with some old friends who have now retired, and we did a little shopping. It was a slightly indulgent day, but the best part was the laughter! I really enjoyed myself.

When I got home, my dog came running to the door to see me, as always.  He manages to always make me feel loved and missed.  Tomorrow, it will have been four years since we adopted this furry bundle of fun and days later, were allowed to bring him home!

It was Nov. 11, 2014.  Work was super-stressful for me.  My son was going through some personal trouble and had dropped out of college for the first time.  He was not working and seemed depressed most days.  I was feeling inadequate as a mom.  I’d write poems now and then to express my feelings, but nothing longer than that.  I had stories inside of me but didn’t know which story I could share with the world, or how.  My hand and arm would get sore from typing I did at work; I wasn’t sure I’d ever write the way I wanted to.  I’d thought of having a dog before, but the thought of having another mouth to feed and a living thing that needed attention just seemed like nothing but another responsibility. Still, my son was alone at home during the day, and people with dogs looked so happy and active.

So, Mom and I talked about it a lot.  She went with my son and found the sweetest dog in the puppy room.  He wasn’t a puppy, but rather three years old, and just too small for the big dog area.  Mom came home and said she was in love.  If we got a dog, she really wanted Bixby.  So, having a day off on Veteran’s Day and with Jacksonville Humane Society running an adoption special, I took my son up there to see this dog.  Mom was at work.  Guess what?  She was right.  He was special, and such a sweet dog.  The sign said “pomeranian mix.”  It was mostly in his tail.  🙂  He was skinny with a choppy haircut. The worker lifted him out of the cage; he seemed scared.  We got into a visiting room, and he sniffed like crazy, then peed on the floor.  I started the paperwork.  He let me hold him briefly, then got up to pee on the floor again.

 Upon meeting: Skinny, curious, and a little hopeful but unsure.  

I’d have to wait two days, because he was on a stray hold.  I requested the neutering, and they’d give him any other shots, etc.  I hated leaving there without a dog, but going back was exciting!  I’d already bought a leash, but learned it was not a good leash, so they gave me a plain, cloth leash.  I paid at the checkout, and my son held the dog.  He was an excited and scared canine.  “Get me out of here!”  “Wait, where are we going?  Is it better there?”  And then there was a defensive pit behind the cashwrap next to the cashier who barked back and forth with my dog and even lunged a little.  It had been abused and her hair was following out, due to stress, the cashier said.  I don’t think it would have fared well out with all the other barking dogs.  Poor girl.  We held on tightly to our new dog.  Finally, we were leaving, and I had to let him down to walk, but it was awkward with him on a leash.  Maybe he wasn’t used to one.

We came home and surprised my mother.  (The three of us live together).  “Oh, Mom, I have to show you something.” The dog, sniffing around like crazy.  My mom was so ecstatic when she saw him.  He was sickly for a few days, maybe due to the switch of dog food or the neutering procedure, but we gelled as a family.  I took to walking him and being awakened at sunrise by the dog to take him out to water his favorite lamp post.  The fresh air was good; seeing sunrise was wonderful.  Walking him at night was good exercise.  I really enjoyed this.  There are three of us here, so I usually only walk him once a day now.  It seems I was able to handle the responsibility; I just needed to make room in my life and in my heart for this.  I think it made my heart bigger.

My son did not take to the dog ecstatically; it was just another responsibility.  A few times, he asked why I wanted a dog.  I told him it was fun, and it was.  Our first time at the dog park months later was the cutest thing. Bixby loved it, but my son just took a long walk.  Now, years later, he plays with the dog more, and if asked, he will walk him.  He smiles when playing with the dog and when hold the leash if we go to the trails to walk.  It obviously has enriched his life as well.  The dog will be in my mom’s room at bedtime, and sometime in the middle of the night, he seems to end up on my bed.  I tell people he loves us equally.  He has two mamas to spoil him, and my son to play rough with, as well as my boyfriend who loves to play chase with him but also will stroke his belly.  Bixby will stay still at least an hour for a good belly rub.

  Winter fur.  We normally keep him trimmed! 🙂

Since getting the dog, I have added several other things to my life, such as service to my church and writing and self-publishing.  I think getting Bixby was just the start of it, helping me to say “Yes, I can do this” and to make time for wonderful things that are rounding out my life and who I am as a person.

So, this ends my dog-centered Weekend Coffee Share.  My Cold brew Con Leche was delicious.  I hope you have enjoyed your choice of java as well.  My dog is currently at the front window, guarding me from whoever had just walked by.  You’ve got to appreciate their efforts to love us, calm us, and protect us.

 

Bixby is the star of my short book, From Lost to Loved, a Stray Dog’s Tale.  I tried to imagine why such a great dog would ever be a stray.  It makes a great gift in paperback for doglovers young or old (Age 8 to 98+), and has a happy ending.  If you want to read it first on your own, it is in Kindle for free for a limited time.  Find your Kindle copy or order a paperback at: https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Loved-Stray-Dogs-Tale-ebook/dp/B073XTV2JF

A wonderful experience of combining two things I really love!  Have a great week!

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New Year’s #weekendcoffeeshare 12/31, Care to Share a Morning Walk? Glimpses of Morning Miracles, 2016

Our “decorated fern,” on a misty Dec. morning.

The Weekend Coffee Share is hosted at parttimemonsterblog.com, and since I am being ambitious about a new year and looking back at what was good in 2016, let’s do something different and just walk to the coffee shop!  It’s right down the road.  The sweet, cream laden latte will be our reward for the exercise!  Even have a danish if you so desire!

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you about things that happened for me this year, about how I got inspired, and maybe, I’d show you some pictures of some my best morning walks.  The year started with me in a sad and anxious state, but that’s a whole other story. For now I’ll just tell you that there was, and always is, light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.  I’d started seriously writing in Nov., 2015 and just kept on, despite, and to the betterment of, my emotions.  Along that and other tools in my kit, these morning walks became a practice of greeting each new day as a miracle, for one cannot fathom just how many scientific feats have conspired to bring about a rising sun.  God and Science are things I can’t fathom yet affect me in so many ways.  I pray that I will never take such a miracle as a new day for granted, no matter the weather, and that the New Year enables me with the ability to continue enjoying it.  I wish the same for you, my friend!  All photographs presented here were taken in 2016 and are my own, representing my morning walks or meditations with my coffee.  Happy New Year!

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Many of these morning walks were inspired by my dog anxiously pawing me or staring me down for a walk outside.  And look at the beauty I have witnessed because of it!  Other photos are from morning beach walks in the summer and my morning view with coffee in Warm Springs, Ga. Each photo here represents my area in the Southeast and our weather patterns, from sunny to foggy to post-Hurricane Matthew.  I hope you have enjoyed these glimpses!  I hope you’ll walk with me again sometime in 2017, and please forgive what the humidity will do to your hair.  🙂

Feel inspired?  How about your #weekendcoffeeshare?  Visit parttimemonsterblog.com and leave your link and make sure to tag it with #weekendcoffeeshare!  Yes, I know, I added so much more than a weekly update.  Suffice it to say, I felt like doing something different, as this is what is on my mind today, looking back at this amazing year.  Happy New Year, my friend!

 

Yoga, Stream of Consciousness, My Exercise Evolution, Pt 4

I like the pained look on this woman’s face in the photograph.  Not because the yoga hurt me, but because my stressed out body was not ready to let go of the stress and relax this time.  I want to be honest, and this photo totally represents my attitude tonight.  I didn’t feel too evolved, but in actuality, I guess I’ve evolved to be able to not push myself too far.

I hate Triangle.  This is what I was thinking when the instructor told us to set up for our triangle pose.  Then, I immediately felt guilty for my negative thinking.  Sadly, I’ve fallen a little out of tune with my exercise routine, but perhaps for good reasons.  I obviously don’t have the attitude I had built myself up to, and I really need to work to get it back.

I am , however, going to give myself a free pass and just thank myself for showing up to the class tonight.  I knew it would help me, and it did, despite my almost losing my balance and falling once or twice, needing to modify my lunges.  So I modified.  I went easy on myself; it’s been a rough few weeks, with a hurricane passing through, a family friend dying, and the ex-husband in town for a few days.  My emotions have been pulled, and I had cause for anxiety with the ex-husband based on his last visit.  Now it’s all over.  The ex went back home, the funeral has happened, the hurricane dispelled.  Yet I am still at the bottom of the well.  I need to work on coming back up.  I was very mindful to remind myself of that all through class.

On a brighter note, here’s more on the topic of wandering minds during yoga: why do so many instructors use phrasing such as, isn’t that a yummy stretch?  That is mostly used by female instructors, I’ve noticed.  While I haven’t had that many male instructors, there is one most memorable instructor who would say, “Feel that stretch, isn’t that delicious?”  This was said in his beautiful Calypso or Caribbean accent.

“No,” I said, honestly.  It wasn’t delicious as his hand holding my leg steady was, or as his honey dripping accent, or as, let’s say, chocolate.  That’s the part I didn’t say. 🙂 He just chuckled when I said that and let up a little.  I wasn’t being mean, I half smiled when I said it so that he knew, it wasn’t him.  It was me.  I loved having him as an instructor.  But alas, he was just a sub that night, as he normally would teach the early morning class, one I could never make.  At least he wasn’t pushing us to empty our minds.  He must have known the delicious comment was pretty suggestive.  Hey, it made me think of chocolate, or his awesome accent, all things I find very relaxing.  Unfortunately, I no longer attend the studio where this man with the wonderful accent instructs; it is just part of life changes.  I had to choose somewhere closer and I do truly love the new studio I currently attend.

I am not complaining about the wording used by instructors; I love the yoga community.  But calling any of these stretches “yummy” just accentuates the fact that I am not at home eating the goods I am trying to stay away from.  If you are an instructor who wants us to empty our minds, please don’t use the word “yummy!”  I do have to add, though, it always makes my busy mind chuckle while I’m in a resting tree, downward dog, or even pigeon pose and I hear such comments.  Thank you, dear yoga instructor, for giving me that inward chuckle, for coming by with your relaxing scents, and for playing that wonderful music.  I really needed it tonight.

Nature on My Morning Walk, #echoesofmyneighborhood #4

 

Photo: A wonderful juxtaposition- A Florida palm and a Canadian Goose!

Come with me on a morning walk through my neighborhood.  Today was a treat, with visits from geese, ducks, and squirrels in addition to our usual view of flora and fauna.  They seem to love our lakes in my duplex community.  My dog was in canine heaven!  I didn’t get up as early as I’d like, so the sun was in its full glory and the brightness shows in my photographs.  The sunlight seems quite powerful here in Florida.  Still, there was plenty of nature around for me to photograph and enjoy!  It sure got Bixby excited…

Have I ever mentioned how life-changing it is when you haven’t had a dog in a long time, and then you welcome one into your heart and home again?  Since adopting Bixby, I have seen more nature and more sunrises than I had seen in the last ten years, at least! The responsibility of taking him out to relieve himself doesn’t feel much like responsibility on a summer day, when I am on my own time.  It is more of a pleasure, and sometimes an adventure.  He loves running into some wildlife on our walks!  What a splendid way to get closer to nature.

“Just let go of the leash, Mom.  We’ll make it look like an accident.”

Sure, those geese can be loud and messy (think of the poor sidewalk), but I really like hearing their call.  I think Bixby does too.  He looks a little frustrated here.  I think he wanted to get much closer to them than I would allow. 😉  Well, I’ve heard they can be quite mean when they feel threatened.

Let’s not forget about ducks!  This is right before they took flight.  They sensed they were being stalked….

Ears automatically perk up when we see more feathered friends.

Sometimes Bixby will pull on that leash and get right up close to those birds.  That’s when they fly off, making all kinds of panicky, warning noises.  He looks back at me as if to smile, saying, “See, it was just in good fun.”  Perhaps it’s just part of the adventure of life for him.  I call him my furry toddler.  He helps me see lots of things through the eyes of a child and that is such a pick-me-up.  He seems to have a forever toddler’s spirit.

The birds have all run off.  He tried to chase some squirrels, too, but those things will skitter up a tree so quickly, I couldn’t even get them on camera!  Bixby stands at the base looking up, as if he’s wondering, How did they get up there?  He truly seems to stand there and think about it for a few minutes.  He seems really curious about the water, but I don’t think he wants to jump in.  Well, I’m not really sure.  At any rate, it was a great morning for a walk in my neighborhood!

Echoes of My Neighborhood is a Thursday blog challenge, initiated by fellow blogger Jacqueline Obyikocha, who blogs at http://acookingpotandtwistedtales.com .  Jacqueline is very supportive of other bloggers and always inspires me with her poetry and photography.  Please stop by and peruse her blog.  While there, you should also visit her Echoes of My Neighborhood posts, or you can get to them directly at http://acookingpotandtwistedtales.com/category/travel-2/dubai/echos-of-my-neighbourhood/   You won’t be disappointed!