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Friday 8 September 2017

Small Wins

It's been another hard week for anyone with a heart who is paying attention to world events. Of course, it's been an even harder week for those who have been actually living through the natural and man-made disasters that have been in the news. My heart goes out to those who have been affected, and I wish them safety and steady recovery.

I've been feeling slowly crushed by it all, even though I know I can do next to nothing about any of it.

All I really know how to do is to light my small corner of the world, and so I want to share today some things that made me smile this week, hoping they will either lighten your day too or remind you of things that have been good about your own week.


I smiled ...

... seeing, in the back seat of a passing car, a golden retriever slouching comfortably upright with a frisbee clamped firmly in his teeth. I don't know where he was going, but it looked like all was right with his world.

Like this guy, except not in the water, and not with a stick. Otherwise, IDENTICAL.



... watching our Angry Cat pouncing on a length of strapping tape being pushed under a sheet of tissue paper ...This is the cat who followed me home after a walk a few years ago, punched me in the face when I picked her up, and once bit me so hard I got blood poisoning and needed antibiotics (to be fair, the vet was manipulating her sore hip when she lashed out). This is the cat who did not even know what toys were for when she first came to live with us, who watched me rolling a toy ball for her with a look of grim disgust. To see her playing now like a kitten does my heart good.

... reading about the raccoon who scaled a 700 foot crane in Toronto; after it got to the top, it "made a poo" and then "ambled all the way back to the ground" ... (full article HERE).

... finding out that the annual used book sale is on right now, at the exact same time as I have a few days off work. I've already been once, and will go a few more times at least, and will end up with enough reading for a few months at a fraction of the cost of new books. For those who haven't read the post in that link before, it gives the background behind why I stopped being a book reader and how I started again. (If you want to know what I've been reading, check the "Recent Reads" list on the right side of my blog.)

... figuring out how to take a picture of the huge yellow-orange moon with my point and shoot camera - apparently "beach and snow" is the correct setting to use. What?? No wonder it took so long to figure it out.

Believe it or not, this is true to the colour of the moon here a couple of nights ago. It wasn't quite this big, though; I zoomed in for this shot. And I still didn't see a single beach or flake of snow.




And now, two bonus funnies, one for cat lovers ...




And one for dog lovers ...





Wishing you a good weekend! And tell me, has anything made you smile this week?




34 comments:

Elephant's Child said...

I am smiling (broadly) at the racoon story. And am just back from a Lifeline book fair where I bought rather a lot of books. Mostly biographies and memoirs.
I am so glad that Angry Cat learned to play. Jazz bless his rotten black heart has always played. With me.

River said...

Beach and Snow are the correct settings? I'll have to try that, although we don't see the big yellow moon, there are too many buildings etc in the way and she is high in the sky by the time we see her.
I like the cat story, my 8 years old Lola, who I have had for six weeks now, surprised me by chasing a ball of scrunched up paper and last Wednesday when I took a nap on the couch, she stretched out and napped on my belly.

jenny_o said...

Ow ow ow ... He needs some tissue paper and a piece of strapping tape, maybe :)

I'm happy you found lots of books to read! It's a bookaholic's dream to have so many waiting in the wings to be read, eh?

jenny_o said...

If you have that setting on your camera, it's worth a try. I was trying all the settings just to see if any would give me a proper picture and was surprised to find that one did.

That is such good news about Lola sleeping on you. It sounds like she feels more secure being near you. And what a nice feeling for you.

Anonymous said...

Loved the face on the dog. Obviously something didn't taste nice.
The thing to make me smile this week is the fact that we were invited to our daughter's for a roast dinner. Our daughter is 32 and has never had to do any cooking, first of all there was me providing her meals and now her other half does all the cooking. Because he is working long hours and away a lot of the time she has decided it is something she ought to do, seeing as they have two daughters and need feeding. Also they have just bought a house and there is a good oven whereas before they were renting and the oven was temperamental to say the least, which wasn't very encoraging. Anyway, better late than never.

Joan (Devon)

Steve Reed said...

"Beach and snow" -- well, that's interesting. I can see why it would work, I suppose. That raccoon story is bizarre!

Martha said...

I laughed a little more than I probably should have with that last image of the 'non-stick pan'!

A golden retriever on a happy mission...that'll lift your spirits!

This is a calming and happy post. We need some of that with all the bad news out there!

Joanne Noragon said...

You done good from top to bottom.

Red said...

Keep on smiling. I smiled with you.

jenny_o said...

That is excellent, Joan - and a good oven makes all the difference in the results. Good for her.

jenny_o said...

I have no idea why it works, but I'm glad it does :)

jenny_o said...

I'm a little worried about the real story behind that dog's grimace ... hopefully it was just, as Joan said above, something that didn't taste good!

jenny_o said...

I notice you've been lighting your corner of the world consistently, too, Joanne :)

jenny_o said...

And for that I smiled again :)

Jimmy said...

Yes my heart goes out to all of those people and animals who are being displaced by disasters right now.

Teaching your cat what toys are and how to play with them made me smile especially when you said she is playing like a kitten now.

A happy weekend to you and thanks for the smile.

jenny_o said...

Thanks for coming by, Jimmy. I get loads of smiles reading your blog so I'm glad to give one back :)

only slightly confused said...

That last one sent me into convulsions lol.

Terry said...

Hi Jenny, I am thinking to myself what a fabulous picture of the moon that is. It's the same moon that's as visible here in Britain as it is anywhere in the world. In Canada or Australia. I could write a song or poem about it all but somebody has beaten me to it already. Anyway, good picture! It's inspiring.

jenny_o said...

Me too when I first saw it - haha! (I just hope nothing was wrong with the poor dog)

jenny_o said...

As I was taking it, I thought the same thing about it being the same moon all over earth! Thanks for your comments on the photo, Terry - to have that coming from a photographer makes my day.

dinthebeast said...

They just lifted the mandatory evacuation for my friend Zsuzs's sister's house, and they're lifting the order for her house tomorrow at 5:00 PM.
The worst of the fire has passed, and the fire crews have prevailed.

-Doug in Oakland

jenny_o said...

That's truly good news, Doug - thanks for passing it on. Those fire fighters have such a tough job, and a dangerous one.

Mr. Shife said...

A lot of bad news out there right now and it doesn't seem like it's going to get better real soon especially for those in path of Hurricane Irma. Reading about that raccoon made me smile and I appreciate you sharing it with us. Good luck at the book sale and have a wonderful weekend.

jenny_o said...

Yes, we still have to see what Irma brings, although we know it won't be good. I'm glad you had a smile, though, Mr. S!

John M said...

Thanks, made me smile.

jenny_o said...

Success! :)

River said...

I checked and have both settings, separately, so which would I choose? I'll just let the moon shine without taking photos.

baili said...

last night heard about earthquake in Mexico Jenny that increased my sadness even more .
my heart is praying constantly for people who suffered with storms and other distractions including fires .Hoping that may God be merciful and take all who in misery under his blessing and bless them with peace and relief,amen.

to be honest though i really enjoyed your all funny ideas i find the human body best carnation of nature ,and i am content and happy with my present appearance

jenny_o said...

I am content, too, baili - but I watch the animals and wonder what it would be like to be them :)

And yes, so many people are having troubles around the world. I like your way of always blessing those around you. It is a wonderful trait.

jenny_o said...

Or you could try each one and see which one works better. That's all I did!

Diane Henders said...

OMG, I'm still laughing so hard at the raccoon story that I have tears in my eyes! Talk about making a statement! Thank you for that - like you, I needed a good laugh right about now. :-)

jenny_o said...

Things are grim, but I find a good chuckle helps now and then :)

LL Cool Joe said...

Haha you did make me laugh with the raccoon story and the 2 funnies. Wouldn't it be good if we could all achieve something amazing and celebrate it with a poo? Maybe not. :D

Btw That moon shot is very cool.

jenny_o said...

Ha ha ha! I'm going to go with "not"! But I can understand the raccoon's feelings when he looked down ...