Cats: Nature's Way of Cheering Us Up
Yes, I'm still alive. Yes, I'm still writing. :-P (Exchange mods, I think I need to make a sacrificial offering to you. Or something. I'd offer my firstborn, but I suspect you wouldn't want that. Blonds, maybe? Covered in chocolate?) And yes, I'm still crazy busy.
But the end is in sight. It's tantalizingly close. I can almost see it, and I'm almost giddy with anticipation. It's enough to give me enough of a second wind to see me through. ~cue Rocky theme~
I've had my very blue and lonely and unhappy moments lately, which is another reason for me being very quiet--might be a bit of SAD, might just be the stress, might be my intense frustration over not accomplishing everything I think I should be doing. In any case, I'm down, and when I'm really down, I'm silent. Yet in the interests of keeping myself positively oriented, I'm trying to focus on the good things that have happened lately. There have actually been a few, and it's refreshing to spot the bright spots amidst the gloom. So, five things that have made me smile lately:
1. A Christmas gift that came early from Cousin M. She got me Baked, a new baking book by the owners of the Brooklyn bakery of the same name. She said, very adorably, that she thought I'd prefer to have it before Christmas rather than on it, because if she knows me, I'll want to try out half the recipes for the holidays. How well she knows me. *g* I've leafed through it, and I'm already revising my holiday baking plans, because the recipes look delicious. Brewer's Blondies, anyone? How about a Malted Milk Ball Layer Cake?
2. A beautiful Christmas card from chillit. It's so pretty, and I have it out on my desk so that I can regularly admire it. Thank you!
3. Aunt Dolores is actually doing much better than her doctors expected, and although she had to have surgery anyway, they didn't need to take her foot. I can't tell you how thankful I am that she's actually getting some comfort and joy this Christmas, after spending the last two miserable in the hospital.
4. I know not everybody likes cat macros, but this just made me laugh out loud:
more animals
It's the perfect marriage of picture and caption. :D Aww, poor Hobart...
5. Othello also made me laugh out loud, half with amusement and half with delight. Today, I caught him sitting on the sofa, staring across the room at the glass door on the entertainment center. I assumed he was interested by the flashing lights from the stereo, which has this sort of glittery display mode that it assumes whenever the clock isn't set. (Which is most of the time, because I can't be arsed to fix it every time the power goes out. Besides, the lights are pretty.) But as I watched Othello, he slowly raised one paw, and then he raised the other one. Carefully, slowly, he raised his head up and down, and then he moved it from side to side. Then he repeated it. Then he crept over to the cabinet and reached out one paw to touch the glass.
It took me a minute to realize that my cat was doing the classic mirror routine! Granted, there actually isn't another cat trying to mirror him on the other side, but it still cracked me up. "Hmm... I raise my paw, and he raises his paw... I move my head and he moves his head.... STOP COPYING ME!"
Ahh, cats. If they can't raise a smile, I don't know what can. :D
But the end is in sight. It's tantalizingly close. I can almost see it, and I'm almost giddy with anticipation. It's enough to give me enough of a second wind to see me through. ~cue Rocky theme~
I've had my very blue and lonely and unhappy moments lately, which is another reason for me being very quiet--might be a bit of SAD, might just be the stress, might be my intense frustration over not accomplishing everything I think I should be doing. In any case, I'm down, and when I'm really down, I'm silent. Yet in the interests of keeping myself positively oriented, I'm trying to focus on the good things that have happened lately. There have actually been a few, and it's refreshing to spot the bright spots amidst the gloom. So, five things that have made me smile lately:
1. A Christmas gift that came early from Cousin M. She got me Baked, a new baking book by the owners of the Brooklyn bakery of the same name. She said, very adorably, that she thought I'd prefer to have it before Christmas rather than on it, because if she knows me, I'll want to try out half the recipes for the holidays. How well she knows me. *g* I've leafed through it, and I'm already revising my holiday baking plans, because the recipes look delicious. Brewer's Blondies, anyone? How about a Malted Milk Ball Layer Cake?
2. A beautiful Christmas card from chillit. It's so pretty, and I have it out on my desk so that I can regularly admire it. Thank you!
3. Aunt Dolores is actually doing much better than her doctors expected, and although she had to have surgery anyway, they didn't need to take her foot. I can't tell you how thankful I am that she's actually getting some comfort and joy this Christmas, after spending the last two miserable in the hospital.
4. I know not everybody likes cat macros, but this just made me laugh out loud:
more animals
It's the perfect marriage of picture and caption. :D Aww, poor Hobart...
5. Othello also made me laugh out loud, half with amusement and half with delight. Today, I caught him sitting on the sofa, staring across the room at the glass door on the entertainment center. I assumed he was interested by the flashing lights from the stereo, which has this sort of glittery display mode that it assumes whenever the clock isn't set. (Which is most of the time, because I can't be arsed to fix it every time the power goes out. Besides, the lights are pretty.) But as I watched Othello, he slowly raised one paw, and then he raised the other one. Carefully, slowly, he raised his head up and down, and then he moved it from side to side. Then he repeated it. Then he crept over to the cabinet and reached out one paw to touch the glass.
It took me a minute to realize that my cat was doing the classic mirror routine! Granted, there actually isn't another cat trying to mirror him on the other side, but it still cracked me up. "Hmm... I raise my paw, and he raises his paw... I move my head and he moves his head.... STOP COPYING ME!"
Ahh, cats. If they can't raise a smile, I don't know what can. :D