We Hunt Squirrels Around Here

Brutus is a very smart little dog who needs lots of activity and stimulation to continue being a smart AND happy little dog. So we work on commands and tricks regularly, we play tug and fetch, but his favorite thing in the world is to hunt squirrels, so at least a couple dozen times each day we hunt squirrels. Now mind you Bru wouldn't know what to do with a squirrel if he ever caught one, but he "protects" the house from these evil bushy-tailed rats by chasing them off our porch and back up into the trees nearby. Every time I say "I see a squirrel!" Brutus runs to the sliders and waits to pounce out the door and send the vile interlopers back to the fiery chasm from whence they came....or at least the neighbor's yard. Each time I praise him for being so brave and thank him for protecting us, so he has welcomed this hunter/protector role and struts back in the house with great pride and swagger.

Usually once or twice daily we venture out in the backyard for the best squirrel hunting. Bru walks beside me, slowly creeping like the cunning hunter he is--his version of stealth mode. When we reach the side of the house I yell "GO GET EM!" and Brutus runs at lightning speed into the backyard, barks like a lunatic and races around looking for squirrels. When I praise him for scaring them all off he prances back into the house with me. Job well done in his estimation.

Recently Brutus took our hunting to a new level. I had made too much pasta and threw the excess noodles in the backyard for critters to have a snack. About an hour passed and Bru and I went out for a potty break/squirrel hunt.  When we rounded the corner there was four squirrels eating the pasta I tossed out. Brutus promptly chased them all up into the trees and did a few loops around the yard just to make sure he had his perimeter secured.  I praised him and thought he was coming back to walk with me....he had other ideas. Brutus walked back to the pile of noodles and took a big dump right in the noodles. It was like he said "How ya like those meatballs? And stay out of my yard!"

Selfies and Memes and Hypocrites

Oh my!

I've seen some memes making fun of people who doctor their selfies so they look amazing on Instagram. Sure, I chuckle at them too because some of them are ridiculously artificial. But when you look at things thru the cosmic wormhole of truth you see this a bit differently. I'm beginning to think that meme I posted this week about how being unfriended on Facebook was magical... might have been an omen.
Buckle up buttercup it's one of those posts.

Whisper: Kim's writing flow was just interrupted when a branch fell out of the tree in her front yard and her goofy dog lost his mind doing the squirrel twirl and bark dance because he was convinced there was a squirrel out there with his name on it.  There was no squirrel. There was however a strong-willed dog that refused to come back in for several minutes who was cursed and sent to the Podium of Shame. (Cat scratch post but basically Time Out or Ugly Chair for Brutus)

So about those false advertisers.... If you can make yourself look better, why not do it? Don't we get ourselves put together in front of mirrors so we can present our best self? Or maybe not our absolute best but certainly an attempt at not looking like a homicidal maniac; I hope. So we try to project the image that we want others to see....but then again so did Ted Bundy....hmmm.   Here comes a bitchy moment...or bitchier moment.   I have no problem with a chubby girl only posting selfies of her face, because hey--Been There, Done That. I don't have a problem with photo-shopping your selfie so you don't look like you went to the same spray tan joint as Trump. BTDT too. I have a problem with the folks who put up these goody two shoes family pics and religious or inspirational quotes and then post racist remarks online on a regular basis. That is the phony that I take exception to.  Cowards. Cowards who hide online and under sheets because they don't want anyone to see their uglier side, their truth. I also take exception to the folks who post pictures of their families, looking like a Norman Rockwell sprung to life, who backbite and lie about family members and friends at every opportunity. Spin doctors. We all look so wholesome, but don't turn your back to us....

Same with memes. If you scroll back through one of your online social media accounts, I would imagine you will find some quotes or memes that you posted that really resonate with you.  Maybe you post funny stuff, or maybe inspirational quotes, or maybe you post things that you hope are pleasing to others who might follow you online. These are also part of the persona that you are trying to project and deep down we all want to be liked. I post memes regularly and I think they give you a pretty good idea of who I am and what I think. Most of my thoughts are sarcastic but I hope they come across in a positive and maybe hippie dippie, comical light? Best foot forward and all. I only wish I felt the same about some online friends that I did prior to getting a glimpse into their meme truths. Here comes some more bitchy moments. I don't mind you showing support for your political candidate or party. Who you vote for is your right, same as mine. I can tell you that I will never support a racist, sexist, bully who lies like most people breathe but if that's your guy--so be it. I would never tell you not to vote for your guy and I would love to think you would respond in kind. But when you spread lies and misinformation without researching your "funny" but not really funny quote and you LOL when the president makes threats against reporters, you and I have a problem.
I do mind reading your uneducated, uninformed, insulting memes about the party that you are not aligned with and I mind you laughing about threatening or demeaning memes against a political group or group of individuals that you do not identify with or support. I don't mind when you post religious material in between your burst of political ads, but I do mind when you make fun or denigrate others who may not believe the same things that you do.....not very Christ-like imho.  And last point on religion and politics.  If you believe and practice Christianity, how can you square up a liar, adulterer and all around villain being a moral compass for our country? If your answer is "but the economy is doing really well" I say shameful trade of your soul for the top 1% to get tax breaks.
Heads up!  If you do this on a consistent basis, there is a pretty good chance I have you blocked so I do not get bombarded in your negativity.

But here's the thing. That elegantly crafted online persona that you work so hard to maintain, can be the real you. If you espouse to being a little ray of sunshine who champions great causes, YOU CAN BE. You can be an ambassador of good will and encouraging words....just like that meme you posted. But on the other hand, if all you post is snarky, bitchy quotes, you can be that person too. If you go to church on Sunday and replenish your soul, post that instead of the lies about the "caravan". Be Christ-like. Don't fall for the hate and negativity. Don't be a hypocrite.  I choose to be honest and positive about most things in my life and I hope that my online and in life personna reflects this. I choose to put my best self out in the universe and hopefully I succeed more than I fail. So today I am posting my 54 year old, untouched/unedited selfie to say THIS. IS. ME. UNFILTERED.

PS Brutus lasted about 5 minutes in his time out.

Hippie Vibes

Today I had a new client. He was from the Pacific Northwest and was in town helping a friend with some very physical labor that involved chunks of limestone, heavy equipment and shovels. His friend is a regular client of mine and paid for him to visit me as a way of saying thank you for his hard work. So imagine granite....then imagine granite meets earthy, brainy dude and you might get a glimpse of my visitor.

After a brief introduction, he took his shoes off before walking thru my living room. He pet my dog and talked to him the way I do and walked slowly toward my treatment room, smiling and chatting all the way.  During the intake interview it was obvious that he was health-conscious, physically fit and  very in tune with his body. The other thing I noticed? He had great energy and I wasn't the only one who noticed. The critters liked him right away too.

The massage ranged from his initiating deep breathing exercises to relax and get in a good massage place, to his nodding off, but there was also some pretty interesting conversations in between.

Like he knew a lot about massage and had traded treatments with a massage therapist at one time in his life. He said she had taught him and he mimicked her style.  And then he said it.....he liked to work intuitively and feel energies when he gives massage. He was speaking my language!

We shared stories about our offspring and my grandchildren and then there was this sweet story about the chameleon tattoo on his forearm. I asked if the tattoo had a significant meaning for him and he was good enough to share its story. His daughter is 24 and she drew the chameleon. Then for a father/daughter bonding thing, they both got her chameleon design tattooed on themselves, but she went with only black and he went with colors. I loved this story and told him so.

So after he came out of the treatment room and told me that he felt put together again, he hugged me. And y'all know how I feel about getting hugged. But instead of my awkward and stiff hug, I actually really hugged him back....and it didn't feel quite as awkward as I thought it would. lol   In any case, when he bent down to put his shoes on he started laughing and when he stood up he was holding one of my cat's toy mice.  Oni had left her mousie in his shoe.  Told ya!  Good energy. Good vibes.