Ponderings

Saw an ad in our little local advertising publication for a company named "Ponderings". This company builds landscape ponds, water features, etc. I really loved the name of this company, loved the play on words. But then, I love words. I'm not good with them, but I love them. I do most of my creative endeavors under the name Gypsy Gold Studio because that name summons images of big, dangly gold earrings and I dearly love big, dangly gold earrings. The words "Gypsy Gold" just appeal to me. Gene and I were on one of our camping trips at FDR State Park one year when we passed a little junk type store on the side of the road. It was named "Consolidated Diversification" and I immediately responded to the name. That is such a wonderful juxtaposition of words and it describes me so perfectly. It's just ME! Consolidated - to unite or combine. Diversification - the act of introducing variety. A united and combined variety of activities and interests. I love it. I have a sister-in-law who is a wonderful wordsmith. She is a breast cancer survivor (11-12 years now) and she wrote the most beautiful poem. I include it here for your reading pleasure:

I Can Fly

First, I imagine a warm sunny day,
Take a deep breath and let my mind play.
I bask in the sunlight,
Then look toward the sky.
The burden is lifted, now I can fly.

From the tip of the grass, to the top of a tree.
There isn’t a mountain too tall for me.
I swing on a rainbow, dance on a star,
Tasting life’s nectar, both here and afar.

I light on a jasmine, then float in the breeze.
Without a disturbance, I do as I please.
Quietly, blissfully, I start to cry. Because
Just for a moment, I believe I can fly.

Jane Barton Jackson
Breast Cancer Survivor

UPDATE: Cowgirl

Cowgirl seems to be doing very, very well. Thank you, Lord. I love this little psycho dog.

A New Addiction

Every day I drive 32 miles to work and then 32 miles back home. That's the price I pay for driving to downtown Atlanta and making a decent wage - hours spent in my car in traffic. About a month ago Gene and I had Sunday morning breakfast at the Cracker Barrel in Douglasville and while we were waiting to be seated I was browsing the audio books display. On the rack was a book I had wanted to read. This stayed on my mind during the entire breakfast so on the way out I decided to try the rental program - something like $3.99 a week to rent the audio book. The first book I rented was James Patterson's Fifth Horseman. I really didn't expect much, just a little something other than endless traffic reports on the radio. But I loved it! Now I am absolutely hooked on them. The long ride is actually enjoyable now. I even bought an inexpensive CD player so I can listen to a book while on my flight to Las Vegas. Saturday I am going to our public library to see what kind of audio book selection they have. I don't mind paying Cracker Barrel's fee, I just want to broaden the range of selections, maybe get into something a little deeper than mystery novels. I'm not a book snob, don't really want to listen to War and Peace, but I don't like romance novels and Cracker Barrel is a little heavy on that genre. Ahhh, life is good.

Cowgirl

Today was a tense day in the Hendrix Household. My little geriatric dog, Cowgirl, who is somewhere between 16 and 17 years old, was definitely not well this morning. So my husband took off early and took her to the vet. It seems she may have had some sort of seizure or even possibly a mini-stroke but she seemed to have recovered by the time we were able to take her to the vet. He said her heart, lungs and other internal organs all seemed to be in good shape and other than some arthritis, which we already knew about, she was in sound condition, especially considering her age. While the vet report was mostly good news, she still isn't her normal, spirted self tonight. The vet gave us some anti-inflammatory drugs to help with her arthritis and said it might take a few days to work. Her appetite is good and she's drinking a normal amount of water, but is obviously limping a little. Hope the medicine will make her feel better soon. This little dog is precious to me and I'm not ready to give her up.

Wonderful Friday Night

Ahh, wonderful Friday night. No more of the office for two full days. This week at the office has been tough, both of my bosses were in really $#^$ moods all week and I'm really glad to be away from them. Yes, they've been busy, but, yes, that's why they make the big bucks (and they DO make big bucks). Oh, well, the next two days belong to me.

I see that Blogger is now ready for me to change over to the "new" blogger. No thanks, I'll think I'll wait a while longer. Still hearing and reading far too many complaints of blogs disappearing, unable to post, etc. Right now "old" blogger is working just fine for me so I'll stay in my comfortable little rut until Google forces me to change. And I've totally forgotten what my Google account is anyway (as a matter of fact, I'm not really sure I even have one!)

Secretary's Retreat Redux

I'm finally getting around to posting the layout I made for our early October secretary's retreat. I played with one of the Sheilsoft scripts on the photo and really, really like the results.