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“Happiness is wanting what you have.”
Posted by doggonedmysteries
A friend wrote to me that she’d quoted that to someone yesterday. It is so very true. I’m glad to say I want what I have, in fact, I’m happy with it.
Unfortunately, I see many unhappy people who aren’t happy because they don’t appreciate what they have. These are the people who always want more money, bigger homes, boobs, better cars, jobs, husbands, wives, partners, you name it they want it. They’re never happy unless they max out their credit cards to get things. If they can’t do it that way then they take, lie, cheat, and steal to get what they want.
Once they have those things, they find that it doesn’t fill the hole they feel inside and they wind up still wanting more. Why? They don’t want what they have. They want what someone else has.
“Happiness is wanting what you have.”
Are you happy?
I work with beads when I’m not writing.
Posted by doggonedmysteries
A while back, I began to make my own necklaces because I fell in love with those lovely chunky ones I kept seeing but couldn’t afford to buy. Whenever I saw an interesting necklace on TV, (Bones wears some great ones by the way) I would think of how I could make something similar.
It got so that people I knew were asking me where I bought mine. When I told them that I made my own, they began to ask if I d sell some. I hadn’t thought of that, but soon I was making and selling a few necklaces. I didn’t make any money at it but I did enjoy having something to do with my hands when I wasn’t writing.
Dear Hubby has no manual dexterity left due to his MS. However, he did help me invent a combination ID tag holder/necklace. At my last writers conference I ran out of them the first day. Now if only my books sell as well….
Recently an extraordinary friend sent me two hefty boxes full of beads of all types and sizes along with some tools I didn’t have. What a marvelous treasure they are. I know she reads this, so here’s another thank you, Elena. An additional thank you goes to another wonderful friend. She owns the shop on my blogroll, and she has permitted me to put some of my necklaces and earrings in her store.
Do I ever schedule anything? You have to be kidding.
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Dear Hubby has secondary progressive MS so we have regularly scheduled appointments with his neurologist, pain management, physical therapy, and our family doctor. Then we have his elderly mother’s many appointments we have to schedule around his. This coming week we have three appointments.
His mother has one on Thursday because her doctor changed it. We normally have a rule about appointments; they are never scheduled on a Thursday if we can help it. Thursdays are when I have my twice a month critiquing group meeting. On the alternate Thursdays, I go grocery shopping and to the farmer’s market. Other times I shop at the pet store for the dogs and Koi, and I drop in to visit a few friends if I have time. In other words, it’s my day.
I didn’t go to my critiquing group this week even though it was scheduled. I didn’t mind not going I had a good reason to stay home. DH took a nasty tumble into the arm of the couch a few days before and managed to break a rib. (His MS causes him to fall a lot since he has very little feeling in his feet and a lack of muscle memory. Usually he manages to fall without even a little bruise because he’s learned to fall.) He was not thrilled to have me stay home and hover, he wants me to have some ‘me’ time. He knows I need it, but I know that there are periods where he needs me more.
Until early this summer, we hadn’t realized how much he depends on me. Then I fell and sprained, not one ankle, but both of them. Yes, BOTH of them and our two Bull Terriers were not involved in the incident. (Anyone who owns Bull Terriers would think they were but that’s another post.) The dogs are innocent of this mishap. However, I do think I need to speak to a contractor about fixing the uneven sidewalk in the back yard.
I was supposed to stay off my feet, oh yeah that works. Crutches are fine if you have only one ankle sprained, they don’t work for two ankles. You have to come down on one or both feet with each swing. Hobbling around with a cane worked best for me and gave DH many a laugh.
DH is a jewel among men. He did his best but he hasn’t the strength or energy to take care of the dogs, the gardens, the pond, or cook meals. We ate a lot of take-out/delivered food for a few weeks. If I ever see another bucket O’ chicken, I may sprout wings and cluck, and it was a few months until I wanted pizza or Chinese food again. The dogs took advantage because they knew I couldn’t chase them down. The weeds got ahead of me and the pond filters needed a cleaning, but I didn’t care because he tried his best and that’s all anyone could ask of the love of their life.
Posted in MS related, My blog
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Dogs, Fiction, Humor, Life, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Mysteries, Mystery, Writer, Writing
Malcolm’s Mayhem 2
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Visit our home and you’ll see numerous beware of dog signs about. They are surplus from when we owned a German shepherd, though I feel that they still apply in Malcolm’s case. He’s not the type of dog to be aggressive with people. That is, not to those that we welcome and who enter by the front door. They are the ones he’d probably lick to death or lead to the icebox.
However, in the last few months we’ve noticed that he has become a hazard for anyone who drops in on us. The dog has developed a fascination for shoelaces.
After our guest or guests enter our home and sit down, Malcolm crouches at his chosen victim’s feet. When he figures that no one is paying attention, he noses over closer. Then, ever so proficiently, he takes a hold of his target’s shoelace, and little by little, tugs until it is untied. They never feel it unless he wants them to. Once he’s untied the shoelaces on both shoes, he waits (rather pleased with himself) for them to notice his scheme. I’m waiting for the day that he learns to tie them together and really trips someone up. Believe me; I think if he had thumbs, he would’ve succeeded at that endeavor a long time ago.
If a dog could laugh, Malcolm does. He has a weird sense of humor. Most of his jokes are on me. There’s a certain sense of relief to see that he’s found another outlet for his wit. And, a lack of sympathy for the new targets of his hilarity.
For my safety, I’ve taken to wearing sneakers that close with Velcro. Unfortunately, he’s discovering how much fun Velcro is, and what a neat sound it makes when you tug on it. But, at least, unlike shoelaces that dangle and delight his hilarity, Velcro isn’t something he can open without you knowing it.
Posted in Dog related, My blog
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Dogs, Fiction, Humor, Life, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Writer, Writing
Bribery will get him anywhere.
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Our Bull Terrier, Gavin has the weirdest nails. They are white and look as if they’d be easy to trim, but they grow too thick to snip with clippers and he went crazy if we tried to use the Dremel tool on them to grind them down as we had successfully done with our previous Bull Terriers.
Dear Hubby decided to buy the Peticure© he’d seen on TV. Well, when it arrived it was almost identical to our cordless Dremel tool including the same noise and vibrations. The only difference was the Peticure had a plastic safety cover over the sanding disk. Gavin was not amused.
However, DH was determined and after many doggie treats with no grinding and just the noise and vibration of the tool, he made his first attempt to grind away. I walked across the room to retrieve the Peticure while he coaxed Gavin back onto his lap.
A dozen treats and several more tool and dog retrievals later, DH successfully completed trimming one nail. It’s been a long road the last two months but now Gavin has short nails.
Today Gavin will allow DH to trim his nails whenever he wants to…if DH has a pocket full of treats.
Posted in Dog related, My blog
Tags: books, Bull Terriers, Humor, Mysteries, Mystery, Writer
How to paint the interior of a house by yourself while two dogs run amok
Posted by doggonedmysteries
The first thing you do is load your husband’s pockets up with dog treats so he can keep the lovable A.D.D. beasts busy while you work. The second thing is you cover everything but the TV and the husband’s chair with drop cloths.
You then decide what section of wall you wish to start working on, and you don’t do any painting at dog level until they are safely in bed for the night. Of course, this means that all the work you are doing while they are awake is done on a ladder—not exactly the smartest place to be.
All paint should be kept above dog level so that when it is spilled it can splash more, go higher, and spatter you, the dogs, and the husband, not to mention leaving all sorts of pretty patterns on the two pieces of furniture you didn’t cover with drop cloths.
In case you think that I have a brute of a husband, or a lazy one, let me explain—he is disabled, and can’t help do the work. Therefore, the job of dog sitter keeps both him and the dogs busy. Well, that is until the treats run out and they decide to check out what I’m doing on a ladder—see above.
Posted in Dog related, My blog
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Dogs, Fiction, Humor, Life, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Mysteries, Mystery, Writer, Writing
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