They Say Cats Have Nine Lives

I’m (gratefully) convinced our cat has many more than nine.

Today is our cat's 18th birthday and his age is catching up with him.

His skeleton feels bony when I pet him. Sometimes he just sits and stares into place, or lets out pitiful yowls for no apparent reason. His whiskers are often coated with particles of food and his backside with who-knows-what. When he uses his litter box, more often than not anymore, he misses it and body waste and fluids flow down the side. He swings his back hips strangely when he walks, and his gait has become timid from arthritis. He has a funky smell and his fur is rough and patchy.

This feline member of our family has always been ornery and destructive. The veterinarian's office attached a label on his chart, warning all their employees that our cat is “very fractious.” He’s unfriendly (actually quite ferocious) to everyone except my family, and he is a lot of work. 

BUT ––He loves me unconditionally, possibly more than any living creature ever has. I can't imagine life without him.

Our beloved cat turned 18 today, and he’s been a member of our family since he was just 6-weeks old. We adopted him to satisfy my daughter's intense longing for a cat, but it was he and I who formed the strongest bond. Perhaps that's because he became ours on Mother's day. The amount of days and months and years this cat has lived in our house now equals or exceeds that of either of our now-grown children. 

I worry it will soon be time to say goodbye. Will he tell me when he’s ready to go, or will he just slip silently away? 

In the past year or two, I’ve said farewell to this treasured cat multitude of times. I’ve held him and I’ve cried, convinced he wouldn’t make it through the night. On each of those occasions, he proved to me the saying that cats all have nine lives. In his case, we could probably adjust that number upwards to 15, or so.

For years, our kitty’s been on a slew of meds for irritable bowel syndrome and decreased renal function. So far, the prescription food, pills, gels, and injections have been working. We’ve had a few diabetic scares, only to find out diabetes did not cause his problems; instead he suffered from severe urinary tract infections which cleared up with antibiotics. 

Eighteen years seems like a long life for a cat, but it doesn’t feel like enough time to spend with this one. This sentiment seems mutual; though old and frail, our cranky cat still appears to be enjoying life with us. Just when I’m convinced his arthritis badly threatens his mobility, I spy him nimbly getting onto a kitchen counter or teasing our big dog. He seems as happy as he’s ever been, especially when he’s nestled in my lap or stretched out in a ray of sunshine, puddling on the floor.

Our elderly cat’s end-of-life is probably not too far away. But today he’ll get some happy birthday treats as we reminisce and celebrate his life. 

Who knows, if we are lucky enough, perhaps this time next year we’ll be celebrating his birthday when he turns 19. That would be so nice.

Please keep social distancing, wear a mask, wash your hands, get vaccinated, and stay healthy! 😷 This post contains affiliate links. The opinions expressed, however, are entirely my own.

Happy May Day! Did You Say Rabbit, Rabbit?

It's May 1st!

Did you remember to say Rabbit, Rabbit before you got out of bed? A friend of mine told me about this superstition back when we were in high school. Supposedly, if you say rabbit before you get out of bed on the first day of any month, you will have good luck for the next 30 days. Saying it twice makes the luck really stick.

Don't worry if you didn't say rabbit, rabbit this morning though, this NPR article offers some alternative suggestions for a lucky month.

May Day or May 1st is sometimes celebrated with May Pole dances and flower baskets left on neighbor's doorknobs. Ancient pagans considered it "the day halfway between spring and summer." Ha ha, they certainly didn't live in Montana!

However, I think spring weather maybe has finally arrived here. We did some hiking with our dog on Sunday. It was a different trail than the one I wrote about last week, when we had to turn back because of snow and ice. On this route, we didn't run into any snow. Instead, our descent was made in

Montana Spring Tease

I didn't intend to write this blog post, as I have been working on some other projects. But the weather and a visit to one of my favorite blogs enticed me to share a few lines and pictures here today.

Lana, a friend of mine and the author of the blog My New Happy, is also a contributor to the Lifestyle Collective The Blended Blog. On both of these sites today, Lana's post topic was "Spring Where You're From" and she issued a challenge to other bloggers to link up and share what the spring season is like where we live.

Looking out my front door this morning, how could I resist!

The first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere is officially in March. In Montana, it comes much later than that, in a matter of fits and starts. Whether or not the groundhog sees his shadow is of no concern to us. We know we have at least six more weeks of winter left! 

In mid-March, the roads near our house were still too icy and snow-covered to safely walk our puppy. We made sure she got enough exercise by strapping on our snowshoes and taking her for hikes around our property. I tried hiking our acreage once without snowshoes and sunk down in places to mid-thigh. Fortunately, the dog's four paws kept her mostly above the crust.

Here's a view from our kitchen, taken through the window screen on March 18th. The ground had been covered in snow since October.

By April 4th we'd had some warm weather so most of the snow, except at higher elevations and in the shadows, had melted.

On April 5th though, this happened:

This isn't the first time I've written about spring snow in Montana. On February 3rd, 2015, I wrote a post called A Ground Hog's Shadow and Cars in the Ditch. Click on the link to read the story of when we got 23 inches of wet snow on April 29th, 2009 and I had to call a tow truck!

Yesterday was warm and sunny. My husband and I and our six-month-old puppy hiked part-way up a mountain trail above the city of Helena. The upper trails were still so treacherous with snow and ice that we turned back before we reached the summit, yet it was warm enough to shed our light jackets.

If you look closely at the top-right corner of this photo, you can see part of the city of Helena:

I then spent the rest of the afternoon outside, doing a little yard work and enjoying the wonderful outdoors on Earth Day.

Spring yard work where we live in Montana is not limited to cleaning up garden beds. It includes:

• Raking massive amounts of deer and elk scat off the grass around our house.
• Sweeping huge amounts of gravel from the cement pad in front of our house. With nearby roads and our driveway all just gravel and chip-sealed, a lot of gravel is deposited there by our tires, the wind, shoveling, and plowing.
• Taking our holiday lights down from our trees, which had previously been too snow-covered. Yesterday, I broke my trusty light hanging pole, which we've used since December 2014 to put up and take down our outside holiday lights. I was able to temporarily duct-tape it together well enough to snag and remove all the light strings from this past season. I will definitely be ordering another pole soon. 

I saw a few daffodils poking up through the ground yesterday, and my furry pussy willow catkins were practically flowering before my eyes while being enjoyed by some very fuzzy gray bees. These signs of spring were enough to tempt my husband and me to get out all the patio furniture.

We knew better.

This is what spring looks like here this morning:

At least someone is enjoying the snow today! 

Although we had more snow in Montana this winter than in recent years, waiting this long for spring is not unusual at all. Today's snowfall will melt quickly and warmer temperatures are expected this week, but I'm not removing my snow tires just yet!

What's the weather like right now where you live?

In the spirit of full disclosure, this post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking on one of them, the price you pay will not be affected but I may receive some small compensation. All opinions expressed, however, are entirely honest and my own.
This post may be linked to one of the great link-up parties I follow and list on my blog. Check them out! 

Don't Hang Christmas Tree Lights Without a "Magic Wand"

If you have tall trees to decorate, don't put up the lights until you read this post!

I sometimes recommend products on this blog, but only ones that I would use myself. A few years ago, I wrote an article about a tool that makes it easy to hang Christmas tree lights. And it does. Even on tall trees!

We've had a lot of snow in Montana already this year, but it melted due to unseasonably warm temperatures over the past week or so. Sunday was the perfect day to put up our outside holiday lights. Before we began, I got out our trusty tool. 

We decided to string lights on a tall pine tree and our Canada Red Cherry tree, which is now much taller than when I wrote about it, here. We had no need for a ladder, no tense moments, and no feelings of frustration throughout the process. Lickety-split, my husband and I had both trees decorated.We don't put lights on the roof of our house, but this tool would work well for that too.

Taller than our garage when fully extended, this pole has a very long reach!

It is easier to put lights on a tree when two people participate; it helps a lot to have a second person managing the unstrung portion of the lights. There is a little bit of a learning curve to using the light pole, but it is quite easy to get the hang of it. My husband and I would have struggled a lot more if we had decorated the trees without this tool. It is practically a magic wand! We will never decorate another tall tree without it.

One more good thing. When it's time to take the lights down, this tool makes that an easy task as well.

So, where can you get this magic wand?  I got mine from Amazon.  Click the link to go directly to the Amazon website, where you can order one of your own. 

I do get a tiny bit of compensation if you buy from Amazon after clicking the link, but that doesn't increase your purchase price at all. And I promise that is not the reason I'm telling you about this tool.  

The mission of this website is to pass along helpful ways to make the most of life. This is definitely one of those.

Happy decorating!

Do you decorate your home with outside lights? When do you put them up?

Happy New Year! Some words of wisdom from 1755 to 2017.

In the year 1755, Benjamin Franklin wrote some advice still worth following in 2017: 

"Be at War with your Vices, at Peace with your Neighbours, and let every New-Year find you a better Man." 

I would change this quote to be gender-neutral, by substituting the word person for the word man at the end of the sentence. I can find no other fault with these wise words. 

Happy New Year. Wishing you peace, happiness, and health in 2017.

2016. It changed the world -- and even this blog.

As the year 2016 played out, posts from this blog became intermittent and then just dwindled away. I began spending less and less time on social media and even reading other blogs I have always enjoyed. I can place the blame on a number of things. Some have resolved and some are ongoing. I am not sure yet of the future of this blog, but I cannot let the new year begin without a farewell post to 2016.

2016 ... What a year.  

There were so many moments of 2016 (personally, nationally and internationally) that filled my heart with pride, with fear, with sadness, and ultimately, with hope. It seems as though our world has rotated a bit on her axis, and feels different than it ever has. As we settle into 2017, I am hopeful we can find ways to heal. Our earth needs it, our country needs it; the whole world needs to heal. 

Even the health of my family had a rough year.  I've employed more of my nursing skills in the past six months than I have for a long time. I'm grateful now that my human family members are on the mend, that our dog is walking on all four legs again, and that I have only one week's worth of antibiotics left to shoot down our cat's throat!

Blogging is different than any other kind of writing.

One thing I've learned over the nearly three-year life of this blog, is that blogging is a very personal thing. Successful bloggers share a lot about themselves, their families, and their friends online. I have always been a little guarded in this; as a nurse I am trained to highly value confidentiality and after all, I did spend years warning my children against the dangers of the Internet! 

The wonderful connections I have forged with faithful readers and my special blogging friendships have gradually led me to become more comfortable sharing my own stories. I always, however, have felt it important to receive permission before posting anecdotes or photos of other people.

Something in my attitude changed again over the course of 2016.  

My hesitancy to include anything in my blog about other people's health led me to question what actually is appropriate to publish. The nastiness of this American election year has me a little repulsed by social media, especially as many posts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram seem to have become more egotistical and narcissistic.  (You know the ones I mean!) Perhaps the overwhelming, constant onslaught of information that invades my inbox and social media accounts has simply made me weary.  In any event, I began to question the value of the words and photos that I publish.  All this (as well as various demands on my time) were contributing factors, but my diminished posts in recent months were mostly a result of a muse that disappeared. My writing and creative spark just evaporated for a while.

Lately though, I have been missing this blog.  I suspect I will return to it in some fashion in 2017. My hope is that I can find a way to fill each post with valuable information, in a warm format that reaches out to readers yet maintains firm boundaries between real and Internet life. 

Even after writing this, I am hesitant to hit publish. What value does this post really hold? I feel it needed to be written, though - as an explanation and an apology to my long-time readers for my abrupt and unexplained absence. Publishing this today seems necessary to add closure to the past year of sporadic blogging  - and to pave the way for future posts.

We all have work to do in 2017.

I've rarely touched on politics here, but our upcoming American Presidential Inauguration is on practically everyone's mind. I hope we will all resolve to make the world a better, kinder, more tolerant and healthier environment.  Our work is cut out for us - but I believe in the human spirit. We can learn from mistakes made throughout history and we can stand up against what is wrong, and we can find ways to educate and guide leaders to the right decisions. Every voice and every positive action counts.  Protecting our environment, standing up against intolerance and injustice, and spreading kindness and truth is something we should all strive to do, all of the time.  Those repeated actions may be the best way we can all "make the most - - of every moment" of 2017. 

Happy New Year.  Let's make it a good one.

Sometimes You Have to Step Back Before You Can Move Forward.

This blog has been quiet for about three weeks. I just had to step back before I could move forward.

Just like in the game of Monopoly, life sometimes forces us to take a few steps backward before we can move forward.

Since my last blog post, my days have been filled with graduation celebrations, various home projects, vacation planning, dealing with a car repair, and a trip to Canada to be with a family member during and after his surgery. Instead of blogging, my recent free time has been spent doing some on-line course work and listening to some writing/blogging on-line seminars. Despite not publishing anything recently, I have been getting some new ideas for posts and ways to make some improvements to this blog. I hope you will stay tuned!

I'm excited to announce that a previous post of mine has been published today on another website.  It first appeared here, but now my article about blog buttons can be found on Beyond Your Blog, retitled there as "How-To Tips For Blog Buttons."  Even if you read the original version, I encourage you to visit the Beyond Your Blog website and see the wealth of information it offers to writers and bloggers. In fact, I recently completed their e-course Submission Savvy and learned a lot from it.  I feel honored that my article was worthy of being published on that site.

For the remainder of the summer, my blog post publishing schedule may remain sporadic, but  hopefully a little more frequent than over the past month.

Today is American Independence Day and Friday was Canada's 149th birthday.  Happy July 4th to all of my American readers and a belated Happy Canada Day to all Canadians! As we celebrate these milestones, current events remind us that our world is still far from perfect.

I truly hope that someday we will all celebrate an International holiday marking an annual celebration of worldwide peace.

Did you do anything fun this past weekend?

This post may be linked to one of the great link-up parties I follow and list on my blog. Check them out!

Memorial Day. How Many American Flags Will You See Today?

It would be hard to live through an entire Memorial Day in the US without seeing a single American flag. Whether they are waving in the wind, printed on the paper plates at a party, or imprinted on the t-shirt of a friend, there will be lots of American flags displayed today.

American flags on Memorial Day are more than just a festive patriotic touch to a three-day weekend. They are a symbol of every freedom Americans enjoy and are a reminder to honor all the individuals who have kept our country free.  A three-day weekend is fun, but Memorial Day is not a happy event.

My perfect world is one where there is no need for the military. Humans work everything out with words and

Red, White, and Blue. Add an Easy Patriotic Touch to Any Treat!

I have a little tip for adding an easy patriotic or festive touch to almost any dessert.  A simple homemade red, white, and blue candy garnish can make any dessert more American, or you can use the colors of whatever country/event/club/organization that you are celebrating.

Treats such as cherry pie, strawberry-rhubarb pie, a flag cake, or red, white, and blue muffins are always a hit on an American holiday such as Memorial Day, July 4th or Labor Day. 

However, you are not limited by these choices. You can make almost any dessert special for the occasion with a quick little candy treat. Cakes, pies, cookies, and bars can all be made patriotic and festive with them, and you can even place a candy garnish or two gently on the top of a pudding or custard (or on a plate beside them.)

I decorated individual servings of white chocolate mousse with snowflake candy decorations for a fancy winter party.

Even if you buy a dessert instead of making one, you can make it more special with this decorating trick!

How to Make Candy Garnishes for Desserts

All that you need is a few minutes and:

I'm Still Not Ready for Graduation, But I've Been Syndicated!

It's now less than two weeks until my son's high school graduation.  I got a few more things crossed off my list this week. The announcements are being delivered and the guest room is ready. But there is still a lot to do. I need to get busy!

Something pretty exciting has come from my pre-graduation checklist, though. The post I wrote about it has been syndicated by the online magazine BonBon Break and it is published on their website today. 

I hope you'll head over to BonBon Break today and see it there. I'd appreciate it if you'd leave a comment there or share the article. I'd love it if BonBon Break realizes they are getting a little bit of traffic to their site from me. 

While at BonBon Break, be sure to take a look around.  They publish so many really interesting and well-written articles, it's hard to decide which one to read first.  Then, I hope you'll come back here and tell me what you think.

Here's the link to where you can find my article on their site: 

http://www.bonbonbreak.com/things-to-do-senior-graduates/#.V0MEQMdH0xc

Thank you for reading, and for clicking through, commenting and sharing!

Do you know anyone graduating from high school or college this year?

Had you ever visited or heard of Bonbon Break before?

This post may be linked to one of the great link-up parties I follow and list on my blog. Check them out!

A List of 10 Things To Do Before Graduation Day

My son graduates from high school in just THREE weeks! There's a lot to be done before graduation!

A pre-graduation list for parents

This morning I made a list of things that need to be done, in order to celebrate this milestone. I'm sharing it here today, along with a few tips for how to get these preparations accomplished.

1.  The senior must still finish school!

Senioritis is a real thing. But colleges do look at those final grades, so encourage your kid to give it one last push.

2.  Be sure the senior has no outstanding debts with the school

Have your student check with the administrative office to be sure they have no outstanding fees,

A Yummy (Easy) Dessert for Cinco de Mayo or any Mexican meal.

It is almost Cinco de Mayo, so today I am sharing a dessert recipe that is one of my favorite endings to a Mexican meal. If you make my Sopapilla Cheesecake Squares, this recipe will probably become a favorite of yours too! 

It seems like practically everyone likes Mexican Food.

Mmmm. Mexican food.  It's so yummy and a perfect menu choice for a party, especially on the festive occasion of Cinco de Mayo (the fifth of May.) 

Before I share my dessert recipe, I have a suggestion for an easy Mexican main dish you might want to make, as well.

April 7th is No Housework Day!

Sometimes when brainstorming ideas for an article, I will look at the National Day Calendar or the Cute Calendar website to see what we are supposed to be celebrating on any given day. These calendar observations are actually copyrighted, and I'm often surprised by some of the topics! Take today for instance: April 7th is No Housework Day!

According to the Cute Calendar website, No Housework Day originated in 1987 and it is to be observed worldwide by "people who don't like housework." I cannot believe

Montanans Are Tough - But a "Bison Run" Down Main Street?

Montanans have faced many tough challenges in the history of the state, and cowboys often put themselves at risk. So, maybe it is understandable that I read about three-quarters of an article about a bison run on Main Street in Laurel, MT before I began to question the truth of it! Only then did I note that it was written on April Fool's Day.

Here's the link:

• Despite injuries, Laurel bison run considered a big success, published by lastbestnews.com.  Written by Ed Kimmeck and photos by John Warner.

True or not, this story is entertaining, well-written and really not all that far-fetched in comparison to the annual Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain.  

Have you ever seen a bison (buffalo)? 

They are huge and can be very dangerous!

Happy Weekend!

This post may be linked to one of the great link-up parties I follow and list on my blog. Check them out!

A Fractured Bone and Broken Plans

The Life Altering Impact of a Broken Bone

My daughter was supposed to be in Ecuador last week on an environmental service trip with other college students, doing some reforestation and working at a high school. Instead, she spent her spring break at home in Montana on crutches with a broken foot. After so much anticipation and planning for this trip to South America, her disappointment was palpable.

Being home, however, was healing. The swelling, pain and bruising of her foot diminished greatly over the week and she caught up on some much-needed rest. She had not planned to be home at all this spring, so

Easter is early this year

I feel like Easter sort of snuck up on me this year, but that it is probably because it did! Even last week felt like it was just too close to St. Patrick's day to dye eggs and put out Easter decorations!

Easter does not occur on the same date each year.  

It can be observed anywhere between March 22nd and April 25th, depending on the timing of the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox. With Easter falling on March 27th this year, that is nearly a month early compared to some other years. So - if you weren't feeling ready for Easter, perhaps it's because it really is very early, compared to many other years. 

Not all schools take their spring break at the same time, and Easter does not always coincide with those breaks. This year, Easter weekend marks the last few days of my daughter's break from college and the first

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Did You Forget to Wear Green?

All those of Irish decent (and many other people) wear the color green on St Patrick's Day. But do you know why? 

Today I'm sharing a little history about this tradition. And a suggestion for a quick and easy way to keep yourself from getting pinched if you forget to wear green on St. Patrick's Day.

The Wearing of the Green

In the late 1700's, when the Irish rose up against the British, wearing the color green or a shamrock was forbidden, as it was considered a rebellious act. People who were non-compliant with this rule were

The Common Denominator of Pi & Blogs - plus a Pie Crust Recipe

Today is Pi Day and I am (sort of) talking math, as I illustrate the common denominator between pi and blogging. If you don't like arithmetic - don't click away yet! I am also sharing a wonderful pie crust recipe on this day of π!

3.14.16

March 14th has become known as "Pie" or "Pi" day, thanks to the ingenuity and creativity of math teachers attempting to better engage their students in the subject of math. March 14th -- or  3/14 -- is Pi Day because the infinite number of Pi (3.14 ...) begins with the same numbers as this date. 

Pi can be written with an endless number of digits after the four in 3.14, although it is most commonly used in mathematical calculations as 3.14159. Celebrating Pi was an extra big deal in 2015 when the date could

Living Life is a Lot Like Traveling on a Highway

On the first Tuesday of January last year, I wrote a post comparing a "new year" to a highway stretching out before us. Click here to read that article: A New Year - A New Road to Travel.

It is funny how a person can write something, and a year later sees it with completely fresh eyes. I just reread the "travel advice" I offered here that day, and I am actually a little surprised by my own wisdom! Living life really is a lot like traveling on a highway. I think this year I will focus even more on "varying the route" and I would also add one more observation to my list:

• Be careful not to envy other vehicles on the road. 

Automobiles (like bodies, salaries, houses, opportunities, and so forth) come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and conditions. When well-cared for, however, most of them run just about the same. Even when a different model is not within our means, comparing our own to others does us no good. Our energy is better spent improving and appreciating what is ours, than letting envy and jealousy undermine our own confidence and efforts.

I am happy to say that overall I am "glad I went the way I did" last year - and I am looking forward to where the highway leads this year. 

I hope your travel route is smooth and scenic!

Have you planned your route? Are you willing to explore some detours?

This post may be linked to one of the great link-up parties I follow and list on my blog. Check them out!

Stepping into a New Year

When stepping into a new year, 365 days stretch out before us with endless possibilities of what we might accomplish. Yesterday I commented that "like footsteps in the freshly fallen snow, it is fun to make the first strides in a new year." 

Here in Montana, the first day of 2016 is crisp, clear, and cold. Brilliant sunshine is reflecting off of sparkling snow, and temperatures are hovering around 5 degrees Fahrenheit.  A truly beautiful day.

Here's to all of us making great strides in 2016: as individuals, collectively as humanity, and in our efforts to be kind to each other and protect this beautiful planet on which we live. 

Happy New Year!