Who Knew?

     A long time ago, I witnessed something that both surprised and amused me.  In truth, I was so shocked by how things turned out that I still chuckle over it, years later.  I only wish I had been carrying a camera because I'm sure it would have won a prize on America's Funniest Home Videos.

     Okay, here's what happened.  We owned a little African Basenji Dog that had been adopted by second son when he was fifteen.  Those two were inseparable.  When second son left the country to be a Foreign-exchange Student, Stranger the dog sort of became my dog.  She followed me everywhere.  If I was in the living room and went to another room, Stranger was right by my side.  I was pleased that she had adjusted so well to our son's absence.

     At the end of the school year, we decided to take Stranger with us to the airport when we picked second son up.  It was a small-town airport and Stranger jumped out of the car and began investigating the new  surroundings.  Her smile told us that she was enjoying this new adventure, but we waited anxiously for her to realize that second son had come home.  We didn't have to wait for long.

     Suddenly, Stranger froze in her tracks.  Two feet to her left, stood second son.  We were sure she could see him out of the corner of her eye.  Still, she just stood.  Second son stepped closer.  Stranger moved away just as far... several times.

     Finally, second son reached down and picked Stranger up, ready for the warm greeting he fully expected from her.  Instead of a warm welcome, though, Stranger began looking around; up, down, around... any direction, as long as she wasn't looking at second son.  I couldn't believe how extreme her efforts were to ignore second son.  For fifteen minutes, she was determined not to see him.  I kid you not.

     Until that very moment, I did not know that animals would react in such a way.  Stranger made second son jump through so many hoops that evening, before she would finally give in and allow him to pet her.  Have you ever seen a dog act this way?  I've seen some pretty bizarre behavior, but this truly was the most curious reaction I have ever seen from a pet.  Have you ever seen anything like this?  Do tell.

     Until the next time, keep a hug on.

 ~ Yaya

No Hours To Trade, I Guess

     Something in me feels a little bit wicked.  After yesterday's post, I learned that I'm not the only person who would do well with more hours in the day.  In fact, the comments I received would indicate that this is a subject of some interest.  I almost feel ashamed for bringing this subject up... almost.  Several people commented and it just made me feel so good.

     Andrea and Andrea were very supportive.  Dazee Dreamer must have misunderstood my request, though.  Either that, or I misunderstood her evil laugh.  Can you imagine?  She thought it would be fun to give me her icky, rotton spare hours.  Shame, shame, Dazee Dreamer.  Now, if you wanna' take my icky, rotton hours, well... you know.  Mwahahahahaha

     Amy Tate says she works something like I do.  I'm so sorry, Amy.  Its kind of an affliction, isn't it?  Yes, I too am very thankful for those down times.  Else, I would never survive the days when I'm running around like a chicken with his head cut off.

     Tonya seems to be working on her Master's Degree in procrastination... same as me.  By the way, Tonya, are we in the same gene-pool?  Maybe we're twins and don't realize it?

     And Karen, I feel so badly.  You just don't realize what you're asking when you ask me for energy.  All I can say is, "You poor thing.  Your energy level must have run below empty for you to be asking for some from me.  Last time I checked, my energy guage was about three feet below ground level."

     I love it when you all leave comments.  I just feel the love.  I haven't figured out how to acquire any extra time, but I sure have figured out that a person can meet some great people in the blogging world.  What a super place to meet and become friends.  Until the next time, keep a hug on.

 ~ Yaya

Your Hours Can Be My Hours

     I am a crisis survivor.  I know this because, whenever things reach crises level, I seem to accomplish a lot more in a lot less time than usual.  Take, for instance, the last few days; approximately fifty-four projects (give or take 197) and I was still only issued twenty-four hours in each of my days.

     Yes, I know they are the same twenty-four hours that everyone is issued, but everyone else is a lot more organized than I am, so I needed more hours.  If any of you happen to have some of your hours left over and you don't really need them (you know who you are), please don't be shy.  My mailbox is magical and can expand to hold all that any of you send.

     I'm sure I can put all of your extra hours to good use and still be pleading for more.  Thank you so much for sharing.  And in case you're wondering, I did manage to get all my projects done, but don't let that stop you from sharing your hours with me.  Until the next time, keep a hug on.

 ~ Yaya

Back in the day...

     Do you ever wonder about your spouse's past?  Do you sometimes wish you knew more about him or her?  On occasion, I am blessed to hear some of the stories from my good hubby-buddies life, before I was his Significant Other.  I enjoy these times, as he had some interesting adventures and his storytelling talents can be quite entertaining.  Some of my favorites have to do with his time spent in the military.

     Now, you have to understand that when I met my good hubby-buddy, he looked to be about twelve years old, so its difficult for me to imagine what he must have looked like at eighteen.  I've seen a couple of pictures of him in his uniform and I'm here to tell you, I wouldn't have let him out of the back yard, much less into the military.  But someone must have believed him when he said he was old enough because he spent four years in the Navy and several more years as a civilian, before I even met him.

     As I listen to him talk about the days aboard ship, I often wonder if there were others like him who didn't look old enough to be out of middle school.  The night I met him, I convinced myself that he had to be at least eighteen years old because the church party we were attending was for those who were eighteen and older.  In my heart, though, I was pretty sure he had sort of crashed the party.  I'm happy to report that I later learned that he was thinking the same of me.

     You know, I sort of miss those days when I didn't look my age.  *sigh*  Until the next time, keep a hug on.

 ~ Yaya

And driving, and driving, and driving...

     Don't you just hate it when you can't find the time to sit down and write a few words on your blog, for days-on-end?  We've been in and out of town several times in the last few days for different reasons; all of them related in one way or another to Easter.  And I do hope all of you had a very nice Easter weekend.  Thank you for your good wishes.  I would have liked to say a few words in return, but I just couldn't seem to find the time to jump onto my blog.

     Today, we made yet another trip out of town, planning to be home in only a short time.  We've made this trip before and, as on-board navigator, it is my distinct and particular duty to make sure that my side of the car travels to the same destination as does my driver hubby-buddy's side of the car.  It took me a few years to get this task down to the finite science that it is, but I am now so adept at doing my job that I can actually do it with my eyes closed and have even been known to snooze while navigating, on occasion.

     Naturally, my good hubby-buddy is quite amazed and impressed by such talent, but I simply take it in stride... usually.  Well, today was a little different than other trips we've made.  Today, we took a short-cut.  You've heard of those, right?  They make the trip shorter and save time?  Or, so the story goes.

     Fortunately, I enjoy my job as navigator.  In fact, I might even go so far as to say I look forward to those few times when travel becomes necessary.  I have gotten quite good at navigating with my eyes closed and I often feel more refreshed when I return home.  I wonder why that is?

     I've learned, though, that even good things can be overdone, our short-cut being one of them.  It added an extra six hours to our travel time and, as pleasant as the view with my eyes closed is, I was finally forced to admit that the pictures were starting to show re-runs and boredom was setting in.

     I'm pretty sure my good hubby-buddy is in agreement with me that the next time we are tempted to take a short-cut, it would be smarter to cancel the trip, altogether.  A word to the wise:  if what you've been doing is working... don't change it.  The improvements may not be as ideal as you had hoped.  And 'til the next time, keep a hug on.

 ~ Yaya

Seven Year Old Goes To Prison!

     Have you entered my drawing?  Maybe I need to put some kind of a link on the side to keep you all updated.  Now, if I can only figure out how to do that, I'll set up a picture or sumpin' er' other over there on the side.  The drawing goes until Tax Day; April 15th, at midnight. For a full break-down, go to this link.

     The prize is a full set of the books written by Donna Aviles. The titles of those books are:

          1) FLY LITTLE BIRD, FLY

          2) BEYOND THE ORPHAN TRAIN

          3) PEANUT BUTTER FOR CUPCAKES

     These books tell the true story of Oliver Nordmark, who was an actual rider on one of America's Orphan Trains.  Donna Nordmark Aviles, Oliver's granddaughter and the author, takes us from when Oliver, at seven years of age, was sent to prison.  Prison!  At seven years old!  We see Oliver and his brother, Edward, snatched from their home and placed in a very strict orphanage... after Oliver spends time in prison, of course.

     If you haven't read these books, you truly don't know what you are missing. For your chance to win, here are the rules:

          1) Be a follower on my blog

          2) Be a follower on Donna's blog
          3) Get one more person to follow on Donna's blog

          4) VERY IMPORTANT!  Let me know on the post where I first mentioned the drawing that you have done those three things so I will be able to see all of the entries in one place.

     For seventy-five years, children were shipped by train to points unknown within the United States.  That so much history could have been buried and forgotten is beyond comprehension.  Donna Aviles does a good job of bringing us up-to-date on this hidden time in our history.  She is fairly new in Bloglandia, so let's give her a great big welcome by sending lots of followers her way, shall we?  And 'til the next time, keep a hug on.

~ Yaya

What Day Are You Ready For?

Are you ready for Easter? Last year, about this time, I seem to recall that Easter showed up and I wasn't quite ready. Well, now I've had a whole year to prepare. Twelve long months since Easter last year. I'm sure you'd like to know how things are going, so I don't wanna' keep you waiting for the results. Not good.

Have you ever noticed how holidays just keep comin' 'round, month after month after year? It seems to me that we no more than celebrate one holiday and another is just waiting in line to jump on the bandwagon. It starts with the New Year, ringing out the old and ringing in the new. Next, Valentine's Day is ready and waiting to spread the joy of love. With March, there's that wonderful day of green; St. Paddy's Day. Then comes Easter and every single month, it seems, another holiday jumps in to cause still more chaos.

Oh, don't get me wrong. I love holidays. They keep life interesting and exciting. But they also tend to keep me a little bit on the disorganized side. How do so many people manage to stay on top of everything?

I have a friend who decorates for everything. Its so cool to see her house all decorated for every single occasion. But that's not all. She has a calendar that she keeps current to tell what day it is. Sound familiar? No, no. Not that kind of a calendar. Her calendar tells her when its National Cotton Candy Day, for instance. Did you even know there was a National Cotton Candy Day? No? Me, neither.

Do you know what today is? April Fool's Day? Yes, you're right. But do you know what else is celebrated on the 1st of April? International Tatting Day! Do you know how to tat? I've tried to learn and, every once in awhile, I pull out my Tatting Shuttle and have another go at it. So far, nothing has changed; I still don't know how to tat.

And I don't know how my friend is so up-to-date on every single event. Did you know there are at least two events for every day of the year? I'm still trying to catch up on Christmas, 1975 and here it is, Easter, 2010! How do you keep up? Or, are you in the same boat I'm in? Please tell. Its almost Easter and I'm still not ready.

Until the next time, keep a hug on.

~ Yaya