Doodles

I was lounging across my Dad's lift chair blowing off some steam when I looked down on the notebook in my lap. My hand holding a pencil moved across the page like the like the pointer on a Quigi board. I'm a doodler. The boarders and all spaces in between on my high school and college notes are filled with flowers, eyes and geometric figures. To this day I can not have a sheet of paper in front of me without drawing something in the margins.

On this day I looked down and saw a square forming. I thought about the cartoon character, Sponge Bob Square Pants and how he must have been created. Every time I see that little squeeze I wonder how much his creator made and is still making. My fingers and inner creative genius kept on drawing. When I finished I had three creations staring at me.
'A figure of squares and rectangles, a cute little thing made of all triangles and an orb. I decided I needed names for my new found pals. The next to magically appear on the page were the words, "The Adventures of Cube Man, Star Struck and Globe Trotter." A series has to have episodes, so after the main title followed possible story ideas, "Globe Trotter Gets Ahead, Star Struck in the Lime Light, and Cube Man is called a Square."

I am headed to the shower so I can dress and head for home after lunch with my Mom. Maybe I should buy some of those bath crayons so I don't lose my train of thought and I can continue my creative impulses. Until next time think about this, What did the notes and margins of Da Vinci, Einstein and Shultz look like?

Going To The Dogs or Not!

As I may have mentioned earlier we added Gabriel, a Flat-coated-retriever, to our family. Gabriel being a pure bred has opened up a whole new world to us. We attended our first dog show this past fall. What an experience! There was every breed of dog imaginable and some breeds I had never seen or heard of in my life.

Owners came in as many shapes and sizes as their dogs. Boxers were showing in the ring next to us. Some owners/handlers didn't look anything like their dog, however, one owner stood out to me. She looked like her dog's twin. She wore a suit that matched her hair and her dogs coat, they were both stocky and moved around the ring with the same gait. There were other pairs that matched. A tall thin woman walking with a tall thin poodle. Short, small people holding
Tea-cup Chihuahuas. I remember in days past when it was said as couples grew old together, they began to look alike. I guess the same is true about some dogs and their owners. Personally, if I didn't think an Irish Setter's coat would be extremely time consuming, I'd have one to match my own red hair. I might even slim down to match the body build.


Flat coats are known for their friendly, out-going personalities. This friendliness is often demonstrated by licking everyone and everything in sight. Our Gabriel doesn't fit this general description. He's more subdued than the breed at large. Example, another Flat-coat owner who was also watching the show put out his hand for Gabriel to lick. Instead, Gabriel sat there and gave this stranger the stare. By the stare, I mean he looked blankly at the man with this, I'm not licking your hand, I don't know where it's been look.



This same gentleman had a bowl of water for his dog. This being our first dog show didn't realize water wouldn't be available for our pets. I asked if Gabriel could share. You would think I'd asked for a kidney by the look he gave me. I mean, they're dogs for heaven's sake, not newborn royalty. We ended up purchasing a portable water bowl that folds up. Gabriel happily drank the rest of the day. He never did warm up to the man who wanted him to lick his hand, I guess he held a grudge about the water bowl.



The trip over was loud and traumatic. Gabriel didn't want to stay put on the seat, he howled in protest, sounding more like a coon chasing hound than the pure bred Flat-coat he is. The trip home was the polar opposite, Gabriel was worn out and slept the whole way. He continued sleeping after we arrived home. He got out of the car, went by his food and water dish straight to his crate. Now I know what to do if I ever want to knock him out for the evening. Until next time, remember not to howl at a full moon unless it's attached to someone you like.

Wonders of the Universe

We've all heard the questions, "Why are we here? What came first, the chicken or the egg? and one of my favorites, If a tree falls in the forest with no one around, does it make a sound?"

Hold on to your knickers, dentures and taupes, my brother asked a question at lunch last week that gave me pause. Why doesn't our own snoring wake us up? I should be embarrassed to admit this but my snoring could open windows, cut down half a rain forest and wake the Catarsians on the planet Catarsa on the far side of the galaxy. It woke my husband every night and every girl scout at Camp Wildwood. I still have my tonsils and one night I snored with such force, my tonsils inflated like an inside-out balloon, waking me only when my air supply got cut off. I now use a C-PAP machine for sleep apnea and I no longer snore.

I thought about his question and I answered that maybe we are immune to our own noise just as most people are unable to smell themselves. (I personally have a hard time believing someone is unaware of their stench after being sprayed by a mad skunk.) I guess that is a topic that can stand on its' own.

Until next time bath often, wear a muffler if you snore and watch out for sleep deprived Catarsians (I started using my C-PAP machine a couple of years ago but it takes awhile to travel from Catarsa to Earth)