Tuesday Ramble

I watch the springs, the summers, the autumns;

And when comes the winter snow monotonous,

I shut all the doors and shutters

To build in the night my fairy palace.

Charles Baudelaire

Good morning. Yesterday it wasn't as bad as they predicted and I probably could have made it to the Center, but I had to stay home and wait for the super. The doorknob to my front door is broken, and hubby had to go to his breathing exercises.   It is too early now to step out, but they say it is brutally cold out. I honestly don't mind the cold if I am on the move in it, but when one has to stand at a bus stop, sometimes for 25 minutes, it gets rather uncomfortable to say the least.  The saving grace is that winter will soon be over.  It's been a record breaker, for sure.  In September I'd bought myself a number of fur lined loafers to keep my feet warm, and there has been so much snow on the ground that I've not really been able to wear them. Oh well, at least next year I will not have to buy any shoes. 

I want to thank everyone for your kind comments and support.  Miss Minga was doing better yesterday.  She actually ate 3 cans of Fancy Feast (she loves the chicken and beef) and batted a string around with her paw for a few minutes. She still has a healthy appetite. It did my heart well to see it.  Caring for an aging pet is like riding a roller coaster.  One's emotions are up and down.  Some days are good; others are heartbreaking. The rational me knows that she is at a truly advanced age, and I am so blessed to have had these extra years, but then there is that irrational side wants to believe she has years ahead of her. Several people have asked if I will get another fur baby, and my answer is 'no'.  I'll be 67 in a few days, and with my health problems, I don't want to have to worry about what will happen to a pet if something should happen to me.

Get over the idea that only children should spend their time in study.  Be a student so long as you still have something to learn, and this will mean all your life.  

Henry L. Doherty

I have decided that have been spending too much time in  idle thinking lately, and I  really have to start keeping myself busy. Actually I KNOW I had to find something to occupy my mind.  Too many negative thoughts being processed lately. What I really wanted to do was further my Druid studies so yesterday I joined  Ár nDraíocht Féin (ADF) and enrolled in their Dedicant classes, a one year prerequisite to specialized training.  Afterwards, I am not sure what direction I will chose. It definitely feels good to have something to keep my mind occupied.  I've let it sit stagnant far too long.

I think it is important that we continue with the learning process no matter how old we are...and lifelong learning does not mean we have to go back to school or enroll in a course.  Life presents us with opportunities every day. Read a book, learn a new recipe, take up a new hobby, browse through the newspaper, surf the web for interesting articles, watch educational television--National Geographic Channel, History Channel, Animal Planet. Life abounds with opportunities. Believe me.  I learned the hard way that an idle mind leads to depression.

Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/worklifebalancingact/2012/04/why-you-need-to-learn-something-new-every-day-.html#storylink=cpy

“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.

Henry Ford