KateThoughts

Don't Read this, I'm drunk. : )

I did NOT want to go to Cree when Mary emailed. We just had Karaoke on Tuesday, and there was NO reason to go Public.
But I had an amazingly good time.
I'm also amazingly drunk on 3 glasses of wine. But man, they poured them full! So it's not my fault, right?.

Really , don;t read this, but I'm surely feeling fine.

Since we were going toCree Meadowsn Country club for Karaoke, I carefully made a list of my best songs and the key,etc.   then I forgot the list. Thankfully, Joel remembered Sentimental Journey. A good one.
I got the coolest response on Sentimental Journey. Hooked from them on. We dominated Cree Karaoke. (Man, I LOVE applause!!!) BTW this is NOT the version I did, but close.

Except for Pete, of course. Oh,, you should hear his Faithful by Journey. And Joel swoons when he sings Georgia on My Mind.

I was just a little (drunkenly) curious about how I sound in this condition. Won't subject you to it again. 

Sweet Dreams.

:)

 

 

 

 

 

Video of the new Mango

 

 

My boy is doing really well. Film quality is my crappy phone. Bottom line; he gets around well and comes to mama more often. Wins for me and he seems fine with it all. Another little Buddha, this one a three-legged. I'm so happy for all my gurus; they come in all sizes, colors, and temperments.   : )

 

Mango's Recovery and other things to catch up...

Mango's a real trooper. Or maybe it just seems so because I am human and not as closely connected to my Source as he is.  His gait is different, by necessity; but it is not making him crazy or weird. He seems to stay a little closer to home. But it may only be that he checks in more often. Once he's out the door, I don't know where he goes. Though he loves to visit our neighbor, Shaula, where they have a cat door, too. Not all of their cats appreciate his presence, but Dick seems to like him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It never occured to me to wonder if his coat was a different color at the skin. Who knew? He's a white cat under all that orange.  From the left you can hardly tell anything is different. His left back leg (the only one, now) is a little more center when he sits than it used to be.  And he has a funny little hop now. And so far, he prefers to avoid long jumps upward. He can scale the back fence, though, if he wants to badly enough.

He does mostly avoid running into his brother, Carmel. They were never good friends. Mango was always the stronger, quicker one. Now he seems to realize that he has some disadvantage now that he didn't used to have. Since Carmel outweighs him by 4-5 lbs, that's probably a good thing to understand.

So, it's weird here this winter. We built a heated cat condo for Carmel in the mudroom. He only comes inside now in the small hours of the morning before the dogs get up. Carmel must weigh 15 lbs. Our biggest dog weighs 8 1/2 lbs; other is 6 lbs. But dogs chase and Carmel runs, and that just perpetuates the cycle. Mango knew early on just to take a swipe or two at the dog that was bothering him - usually Bearly - and now peace reigns among those three. Carmel doesn't get it, and he's HUGE compared to them.  I'm not sure how we'll deal with this over time. Carmel is happy enough that he has not run away from home. But in a 2 human-4 animal household he remains an outsider. It makes me sad. And while I try not to antropomorphise with the animals, can he really be happy like that?

Now, too, we're thinking of traveling - getting a trailer or something - and hitting the road. It appears that Mango may become enough on a home-body that he can go, too. But that will never work with Carmel. I think I'll be searching for a new home for him over the next several months.
He's a beautiful boy - we've forgotten if he is 6 or 7. He loves massages. It is a puzzlement. I've sent out an email. But I don't have the impulse to put him up on FB yet... Makes me sad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gotta go... dogs need feeding; I need a hug. see you later.

Hello 2014 ~ ... keeps flowing like a river ...

We're twelve days into the New Year and I can hardly fathom where the time has gone. These last three months have felt like a mini marathon performed while juggling breakable things! That we have come this far through it is a minor wonder. I've had glimpses of the 'light at the end of the tunnel' but it keeps moving away from me - sorta like those nightmare images from which one can't wake.
I am grateful for the gods who gave me great stamina; it serves me well.

Newest wrinkle: Joel's patella has frozen. That would be good if we were talking Italian Ices, but we're talking kneecap so that's not so good. I'm wondering just a bit how that can occur when she walks (a little bit) every day and sees Physical Therapists twice a week. But...the fact remains, and it is causing a lot of pain.  We have to call the surgeon in ABQ tomorrow morning, and are very likely to be heading back there. We'll know that tomorrow, I suppose. Don't mind that - there are some great restaurants in ABQ and a very good friend. It is also possible that the PTs can make it move. They've taped it now with some of that new-ish ortho tape. Cross your fingers for us.

Mango news is very good. He is getting better and better at moving around. Bearly doesn't quite understand why he can't jump on Mango the way he used to, but they are working it out.

Mango is smart. It took him only 2-3 days to recognize the pill routine. He bested me twice in a row after that. So back we went to the vet's office where I got another lesson AND best of all, a new and much better pill pusher! Today's dose was a breeze; neither of us minded and the pill went IN, not on the floor. Yea!

As I've probably told you in emails, Mango is mostly limited to my music room/office. But at least once a day, we close the gate between the den-office area and the rest of the house, and let him move around however he wishes. He'll happily go anywhere for some of his cat treats!
As you might imagine, though, it can become a challenge to have the right animals on the right side of the gate. And we two-leggeds have to remember to keep it shut.

We had a breakdown in that system Saturday. Mango watched for hours (it seemed) and then made a break for it! I'd left doors open for the pups to get to the backyard, and spaced the gate thing. Like a shot, Mango was down the hall, out the doors, down a short flight of stairs and clambering over a chain link fence! Mama was running, but by the time I got out there, Mango was struggling with the fence and succeeded in getting over it. The landing stopped him. Or probably the landing and all that running (it's one of the back legs that's now gone). He seemed surprised to find out how much energy that took, and he headed back toward the house rather than off to who-knows-where. He did not struggle when I picked him up and brought him back inside.  Lesson learned. And I got to see just how wall he can do when properly motivated.   : ) 

The last thing that has me flummoxed today is about trailer news. It's not going to be as easy as I was envisioning. (but what has been lately?)
The "Cotton Money" came. Hallelujah! and was even a little more than I expected. Yippee. So off we go to the best mechanic in the area. We wanted a good inspection of the Jeep Grand Cherokee that we've been planning to haul the trailer with. The manual says they can pull about 6500 lbs.
Denny Mechanic says no. He said that JGC should never pull anything of any size at all. He says it's not about the engine, but about the suspension. He does not even want to evaluate the Jeep for us with that purpose in mind.

Karate chop to the gut.     Period.
I just can't tell you how much I want a little trailer and to go toodling off around the country.

So, new things to attract. New ideas to explore. And new lessons to figure out. I wonder what will be next.

My tai chi classes have started up again. This series is really good. And we're doing much more in-depth work. Breaking movements down into their tiniest parts. I'm really enjoying it. And Push-Hands. Tandem tai chi.

And I've recently heard about Wu Tau Dance. It looks good. Looks like fun. May explore that a bit.
I'll further postpone starting up a tai chi class of my own; there are just too many things needing my attention these days.

There WILL be another 102 Days coming soon. I'll keep you posted. Meanwhile... have a great day, unless you have other plans. :)

 

 

Funny Smart Things from Steven Wright

...just wanted a place to put this - Funny!

If you're not familiar with the work of Steven Wright, he's the famous Erudite (comic) scientist who once said: "I woke up one morning, and all of my stuff had been stolen and replaced by exact duplicates." His mind sees things differently than most of us do. Here are some of his gems:

1 - I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize.
2 - Borrow money from pessimists -- they don't expect it back.
3 - Half the people you know are below average.
4 - 99% of lawyers give the rest a bad name.
5 - 82.7% of all statistics are made up on the spot.
6 - A conscience is what hurts when all your other parts feel so good.
7 - A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
8 - If you want the rainbow, you got to put up with the rain.
9 - All those who believe in psycho kinesis, raise my hand.
10 - The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
11 - I almost had a psychic girlfriend,...But she left me before we met.
12 - OK, so what's the speed of dark?
13 - How do you tell when you're out of invisible ink?
14 - If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.
15 - Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.
16 - When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
17 - Ambition is a poor excuse for not having enough sense to be lazy.
18 - Hard work pays off in the future; laziness pays off now.
19 - I intend to live forever... So far, so good.
20 - If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends?
21 - Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
22 - What happens if you get scared half to death twice?
23 - My mechanic told me, "I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder."
24 - Why do psychics have to ask you for your name.
25 - If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried.
26 - A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking.
27 - Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.
28 - The hardness of the butter is proportional to the softness of the bread.
29 - To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research.
30 - The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard.
31 - The sooner you fall behind, the more time you'll have to catch up.
32 - The colder the x-ray table, the more of your body is required to be on it.
33 - Everyone has a photographic memory; some just don't have film.
34 - If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.
And the all-time favorite -
35 - If your car could travel at the speed of light, would your headlights work?

100 Days ~ The Final Entry

Today is January 3, 2014. First time I've typed that - 2014.  Just a little hard to believe.

Jim sent this quote (along with 2 others) out in an email reminder for the start of the next session of classes:

"Discouragement - What happens is after some good experience in Practice you start to expect it to go on, and so instead of coming to it fresh you come with an expectation. That attitude kills the spontaneity of your experience and makes it heavy and unworkable.
It takes a while to notice this process and learn how to not make it worse by trying too hard or, on the other side, reacting against trying at all and wanting to give up – or indeed giving up.
It’s easier to handle once you realise it is all part of the process. You just turn towards that experience in just the same open way that you turn towards all experience – no problem. Just keep going. No need to grit the teeth and keep going – just lighten up and keep going!" - Lama Shenpen Hookham

I've felt discouraged about my Practice in these 102 Days recently passed. It's been a tougher season than usual for me.

I still hold to the point that my Practice has been the catalyst for much internal consideration, some shifts. But Practice... I am not better or more disciplined at making time every day for meditation and Tai Chi. I'm a lazy slug. What can I say?

Before you get all crazy, I'm working on the internal language. That stuff is just old habit energy. Somehow, it has been tougher to stand strong. I am SO GLAD that the 'holidays' are OVER. I will be elsewhere next time they roll around, with new plans.