We all need a good boost sometimes

I love this cartoon. I adhere to to the premise that every dog is a good dog. (Well, maybe in their own way.) When "Pepper" chases the mailman, he's driving away an intruder. When he freaks out at the trash hauler's or recycler's trucks, he's driving away thieves. When he chases away squirrels or cats--well, who knows what those sneaky things are up to?

The thing is, the object of the threat always leaves, and once again, Pepper has proven to himself that he is a good dog and he has been amply rewarded.

It woud be great if I had some daily rewards like that--little things that would fill me with such satisfaction I would sigh with contentment. I'm obviously lacking the right kind of stimulation.

I try to think what would stimulate that feeling. I love to cook and having guests dive into a meal with gusto and leave smiling with Cool Whip bowls of leftovers, makes me happy. But that's an occasional thing and a lot of work. It would be nice if blogging gave me that kind of reward, but after I post, I keep going back over it to see what errors I made. It can take me hours to publish a post--not rewarding.

What I need are some bedtime affirmation tapes I can play, "You were such a good girl today, everybody likes you and blah, blah, blah." I can't even think of affirmations that would fill the bill. I guess I'm too jaded to appreciate the little joys in life--like feeding four hungry kitties every morning. Shame on me!

(In case you haven't guessed, it's another cold, rainy day.)

Try this on for size

This is Becca, a friend from my Writer's Group. She's a regular contributor to a delightful and helpful online newsletter called Momicillin. It's at http://www.momicillin.com/

The site also gives reviews on various products and tips, so it's worth checking out.

It's a good day for baking

When I was a kid and we had to play indoors on a rainy day, my mom used to say, "Well, it's a good day for baking," Then we'd get busy in the kitchen making cookies, or we'd stir up a buttermilk chocolate cake from scratch. The warm oven and activity would soon warm up the kitchen and tempt us with lovely smells. Plus, the payoff was great!

Today is a cold, rainy day and by golly, if it didn't put me in the mood to bake some cookies! I'm a big fan of crunchy cookies--I always say, "Crunch is everything!"

Here, dear friends, is a fabulous Crunchy Cookies recipe to die for:

1 c soft butter........1 c sugar........1 c brown sugar, packed

1 c vegetable oil.....1 t soda..........1 egg (that's correct)

1 t cr of tartar........1/2 t salt............1 t vanilla

3 c flour..................1 c Rice Krispies...1 c quick oatmeal

1 c choc chips.........1 c coconut.........chopped nuts

Method:
Combine butter, sugars and oil. Beat in the egg and add soda, salt, cream of tartar and vanilla.Beat well, then add flour and beat again. Stir in oatmeal, rice cereal, chocolate chips, coconut and nuts. Dough will be very stiff. Drop by rounded spoonfuls 2" apart on cookie sheet and bake 12 to 15 minutes at 350 until brown. Large recipe--makes plenty cookies to share.

Seeing Big Black Cats

I've been pondering for a week about whether I wanted to post on this subject. I'm not the type to leap to conclusions or exaggerate--but, I saw one of the legendary Big Black Cats. (Picture from internet.)

Last Friday, I got up about 5:30 am to go to the bathroom. As I came back to bed, I went up to the window to pet Snuffy who was lying in the heated cat bed in front of it. I looked out the window (as I always do) to see any wildlife that may be around.

The big black animal appeared so suddenly I didn't realize what I was seeing right away. It was as large as a German Shepherd as it crossed the clearing in the wooded lot below. It was in view for only two seconds before it melted into the brush, but I would swear that it was a cat! It had a long black tail that extended straight out from the body and the gait was definitely cat-like. I did not get a good look at its head however.

I admit it was quite early and there wasn't full sunlight yet. Still, I am positive about the size of the animal. I have seen my own cats down in that same lot and the size difference is indisputable. The distance from the window to the spot where I saw the cat is only 20 to 25 feet.

The picture below was taken out of my bedroom window at my eye level but in the afternoon. It shows the wooded lot that is separated from my yard by a retaining wall that drops down 3 or 4 feet. The retaining wall is about 10 feet from the window. The wide clearing is due to a large black walnut tree growing there that prevents most other vegetation from growing under it. The cat walked from left to right in front of the tall grass (hidden by afternoon shadows).

I first became aware of the Big Black Cats phenomenon from an episode of MonsterQuest on the History Channel. MonsterQuest documentaries examine a variety of folklore and creature sightings around North America. They have featured the Chupacabra of Mexico, Sasquatch of California, sea monsters in Lake Champlain and other places, the Jersey Swamp monster and Mothman of Ohio. The Big Black Cats are in (admittedly) spurious company.

Therefore, when I was at the Wildcat Sanctuary last Saturday, I spoke with Tammy Quist who is the director of the facility. I asked her about the Big Black Cats and told her I saw one. She said that the producers had consulted with her on the production of that MonsterQuest episode. She felt that they had proven that it was only a matter of mistaken perspective. I was disappointed by that since my sighting was at very close range with an accurate perspective.

So, the upshot of it all is this: I saw a Big Black Cat only 20 feet or so out my bedroom window! Now, I will always and forever be looking for it. And, I will never see it again...

GM still striving to make the perfect Impala

I just got a recall notice on my 2000 Chevy Impala--for the fifth time. This time it's for a problem that can cause the engine to start on fire! I'm getting a little upset with GM and since (as of Monday) I am now part owner of the company, I have decided to raise the roof!

DARN IT, GM! I was willing to overlook the door-post-thing and the seat-belt-anchor-thing, but you built this car ten years ago! You only now discovered it can catch on fire?

Worst of all, you have put out a new editions of the Impala every year since 2000. So you were making more and more cars when you hadn't even perfected the 2000 version! Wouldn't it make sense to design a car and after all the recalls were done,

continue to market that car to the world?

Of course, when you decided to stop development of an electric car and instead promote the Hummer and Cadillac Escalade, you really blew it. The dandies who buy those vehicles aren't the people who made GM the powerful company it was for 100 years. It's the folks like me who want safe, reliable and economical cars.

So, please get out there now and make a really good e-car, and perfect it so that I can buy it without worrying about what kinks GM forgot to work out.

Ms Sparrow does not eat like a bird

This is me in my natural setting--in front of a refrigerator with my mouth full. My nose is red as it seems to be much of the year.

I don't consider myself to be a big eater but I eat too many carbs for my own good. As a result, my housemate and I have made a pact to go on a healthful diet this summer. I really need to lose weight if only to protect my poor aching joints. (I'm still sore from walking around the Wildcat Sanctuary on Saturday.) Sue, my housemate, had bariatric surgery several years ago and lost well over 100 lbs but she has regained much of it back.

We have been going through various books on the subject: The Zone, South Beach Diet, The T-factor Diet, The Alli Diet Plan, The Detox Health-plan and a host of cookbooks for low-fat, low-carb, vegetarian, heart-healthy and/or diabetic recipes. Why does it have to be so darn difficult?

I'm a night-time nosher, big time! I plunk down in front of the TV and get up to prowl the kitchen during every commercial break muttering,"Now, what can I eat?" I do all the wrong things like skipping breakfast.So our plan is to do one diet plan for a while and then switch to another. The Dr Atkins Diet will not be one of them. I'll keep you posted how this is working out.

It's all perspective

Somebody emailed this to me and it struck my fancy. But, it seems that the depiction of a 50-year-old is way, way off! The woman in purple ("When I am old, I shall wear purple") is too old. My eldest daughter is 50 and her siblings will soon to reach the half-century mark too. None of them are white haired, none of them are sagging and jowly. They are all energetic, vital people. They won't even be able to retire for 15 to 20 years.

I have found that as I get older, those younger than me tend to seem ever younger. High school graduates seem like mere children. Yet, I was married at that age. I'm frequently shocked to learn that some younger person is actually in their 40's or 50's.

The biggest change in my perspective is how I relate to people. When I was younger, I was shy and couldn't relate to anyone who was different from me. The few folks of different age groups, races or abilities that I encountered were so alien to me, I avoided them. I'm older and wiser now--cliqued though that may be. People of other ages and backgrounds can be so much more interesting than the folks just like me. (I can be such a bore, as in today's post. I try to do better tomorrow.)