Simple Woman's Daybook & Thoughts About Pets

November. The leaves are nearly all gone now, the days are shorter, temperatures are cooler...though not cold through the day...and holidays are looming. I am in my glory. Today puts us right smack in the middle of my favorite two months of the year.

It puts me in a minority, but I love the early darkness. It's all so cozy. Families come together inside, meals are hearty and comforting, and homes look so happy with golden light showing through their windows. It's the season to start pulling out puzzles and boardgames and wonderfully written books and Hallmark's Christmas movies have begun to give us all the feels. It's a time of peace and calm before the hectic frenzy of the Christmas season begins. It is the season of giving thanks.

Gratitude can transform common days into Thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.  ~ William Arthur Ward

Just for today... 

Outside my window is a gray, rainy day. It is, however, relatively warm for November at 62 degrees. (he forecast says we will see 77 degrees on Saturday! I imagine many will take advantage of it to put up their Christmas lights.) The grass is still very green and I've heard neighbors mowing theirs as recently as this past Sunday. The trees are mostly bare, just a few holdouts here and there. Mom's enormous Catalpa has dropped its leaves and carpeted the yard ankle deep.

I'm thinking about my new job. As it turns out, I am only training on the computer and reading manuals this week, which isn't terribly exciting, but it's interesting and I got to meet some of the consumers (disabled adults) who work there. They have all been sweet and happy to meet me. Next week I will begin training on the floor, learning how to do my actual job...which is a combination of supervisor, customer service, and direct care worker. I'm really looking forward to it.

Also, our niece is on my mind. She is the mother of the boy I've shared about who has the disease that destroys brain matter. I can't tell you the whole, long, proper name of it. They refer to it as ALD. Getting back to our niece, she found out today that she is the carrier, so now her mom has to be tested to see if it came through her or our late brother-in-law. It is not as serious if it shows up in adulthood and not as serious for females as it is for males. In females it shows up as stiff legs, back pain, joint pain, bladder and bowel problems...which can sometimes result in incontinence. 

Because of the strong genetic factor our daughter is going to get tested because everything she has been experiencing are generally the female symptoms of ALD.

I'm enjoying the "new" furniture I bought at Saturday's auction. I love making the house cozier and as a bonus, the money went to a local church's mission fund.

I already shared a photo of the sectional yesterday, but I thought you'd like to see that it's pet approved.

Yesterday my daughter and I picked up the oak table, 2 boards, and 6 chairs. I didn't know it at the time, but it is a Tom Seely set. I have to clean some paint off the table, but I still got a great deal. Until I have time to work on it...a tablecloth will hide a multitude of sins.

In the kitchen I have been sort of missing in action the last few days. Life has been busy and we've grabbed meals on the go. I did cook tonight. Baked pork chops, sauteed asparagus with garlic and pepper, and cheesy mashed potatoes.

At work I am not yet "on the floor." I read manuals all day today and tomorrow I will be on the computer doing trainings and taking tests all day. Thursday and Friday will be more of the same. Next Monday should be my first day of training to actually do the job.

I'm looking forward to Saturday. The client I see from my old job is back from spending most of October in Texas and I am spending some time with her in the morning. A friend from high school is taking me to Crumpets, the local tea shop, in the afternoon. The weather promises to be beautiful with a high temperature of at least 75 degrees. It's going to be a great day!

I got wrangled into designing a turkey in disguise for our grandson. It's for school, though I'm not really clear what for beyond that. Our daughter claimed no crafty genes and said I had to save the day. I created, but I made her do the cutting and coloring. Here's what we came up with.

Now, even though I'm super late, here are my answers to the Tuesday 4 questions about pets.

1. Do you have pets?  I have two at the moment (my husband lays no claim to either one...he's not really a pet person). I posted the picture of them on the sofa above. Daisy is a 10 year old Toy Poodle and Jasper is a 1 year old Maine Coon Cat.

2. Did you have a pet growing up? Tell us about it, please.  I've ALWAYS had animals around. In my youngest days I lived with my grandparents. They had Fella, an English Springer Spaniel that had been my mom's, and Cokey, a mutt. Both of them were outside dogs. Fella could be a bit grumpy, but Cokey was a good dog except for being terrified of thunderstorms. I once had him in the house on a leash during a storm and he took off running, dragging me with him...right under my grandmother and her just poured cup of tea. I ended up with a big second degree burn on my arm.

Once Mom married and my dad adopted me we got a Collie named Prince. He was beautiful but really hyper and we never kept him in the house. Next we got a Miniature Poodle. She was a miserable, mean thing given to having seizures. She HATED kids, so she hated me until I was 17 or 18. We grew up together, though, and I was pretty sad when she died at 17 after I was married and living in Florida.

I had a tiny turtle for a while and lots of tropical fish. And of course when we lived in the wildlife preserve I made pets of lots of animals...white-tail deer, a Flicker, a chipmunk, and a ferret.

3. Are pets too much trouble, or, do you find neigbors' pets to be a problem?  Pets can be inconvenient if you travel and they can be irritating at times, but mostly I think they are worth the effort. A house doesn't feel like a home to me without at least one furry prowling around.

This is my view as I'm trying to type this.

Pretty much all of my neighbors have dogs. I'm surrounded by a giant Bernedoodle, a pair of pugs, a herd of Shih tzu mixes, a Golden Retriever, our daughter's mutt, and my mom's Schnauzer. Mom's dog is the only one that bugs me. It barks incessantly...and runs away every chance it gets so we all have to drop everything and chase her for hours.

4. Do you think dogs make good housemates, watchdogs? Do you think women living alone need a dog for security or companionship? If they are trained, dogs absolutely make good housemates and yes, they can warn you when someone is around, but in my opinion an actual watchdog is a working dog and may or may not make a good companion. I don't think a woman needs a dog for security. There are plenty of other options. Personally, I have guns and in a home invasion they would be way more helpful than my dog. If a woman is lonely, then sure, get a dog or a cat, either can be good company.