MY PROBLEM WITH NOVEMBER

I have a problem with November. We just don't see eye to eye. It is a respectable month so, what is the beef?

November is gray
Damp
Blah
It's the opening credits to a long, cold winter

It is close enough to Christmas to start to stress about it but not close enough to get excited about it.

But I'm trying to change my ways! For one thing this is my birthday month and accolades and good wishes come my way.

It is usually the month when we get our first snow, and no matter how you feel about the white stuff, the first snow is a magical experience.

There is a delicate beauty to the landscape as the bare branches of the trees look so fragile and vulnerable.

This past November is nearly behind us and has been incredibly gracious this year with genteel temperatures and an easy slide into winter.

So who cares if November means its time to start having to scrape down the ice off of every window of the car? I can handle it!

Or how about trying to push that grocery cart through the slushy snow? Ppffffttt....please

Or the complete necessity to gear up in boots, hats, mittens, scarves etc. etc.  so I can survive the outdoors.

Or the fact that the only meal I'm actually eating in daylight right now is at lunch. 

I think I may have a problem with November...

A BEAUTIFUL THING

I  did the last of the yard work yesterday - one more bag of leaves, one more round on the lawnmower, and tucked the whole thing to bed. My roses had a hard go of it this year. So when I walked about yesterday in the backyard and found a few roses still putting on a brave face and a geranium still proudly blooming in one of the potted plants I thought it was a beautiful thing. 

And my thoughts went to Paris, and the other senseless tragedies this world has faced of late. In the face of such sadness, such pain, I'm trying to find some beauty. 

There is a story in Mark 14 about a woman who shows up at a party and pours a very expensive jar of perfume on Jesus' head. Some of those present were not impressed and let her know in no uncertain terms this was a stupid thing to do - a waste of money. 
But Jesus says "leave her alone, why are you bothering her? She has done beautiful thing to me." Further on it says "She did what she could."

In the midst of the tragedies we face, we can support one another, love and pray (if you believe in such a thing), try to meet practical needs. We can do a beautiful thing for someone else.  Even if other people misunderstand our actions. 

You may feel helpless, angry, scared and shaken. But fight the darkness.

Do a beautiful thing for someone else.

Do what you can.

CAT TROUBLE

Here in Canada we have just finished Halloween. We also had a time change and we set the clocks back one hour. This should calculate out to an extra hour's sleep for all those sugared up kiddies (and parents). However, at my house no one told Lulu about the time change so she was up-an-atem for her walk and 4:45. For the record, dogs are a good idea, 80% of the time. The other 20%......

But this is not about dogs. This is about cats. Besides Lulu, the white demon dog, there are two cats in this house: Sasha a Russian Blue we rescued from a shelter and Frodo my 14 year old tabby (so fluffy!). 

Now Frodo, or Old Man, as I now call him, has been a great cat. Other than the usual financial maintenance and a few nasty abscesses I've had to deal with he's been no trouble, 80% of the time. The other 20%......

Like when I started a new puzzle. Frodo likes to inspect the goings on.

This is a common dilemma for cat owners. We know that as soon as you spread that puzzle out, or open that book, or sit down with a cup of tea, a cat inspection is pending. 

Fine Old Man, by all means please examine what I'm doing. But that is not enough. Frodo feels this is an excellent place for a bit of washing up!

And now that he has my undivided attention, a little R&R with a few rubs under the chin are in order

"Hey, Old Man. It is impossible for me to work on the puzzle like this!" The cat, or any other cat in the universe, does not care. 

I've noticed Frodo cannot retract his claws as well as he used to so when I pick him up I sometimes need extra hands to help disengage the cat now permanently attached to my clothing. 

So now I have cat trouble. In my attempt to extricate thine Fluffy Majesty from the puzzle he proceeds to ruin most of what I have completed. 

Cat - 1

Me - 0

There will be no more puzzling done tonight. 

For the record, 80% of the time cats are a good idea

The other 20%.......