Away in Manitoba

I won't be blogging next week. My Rare One and I will be in Manitoba attending my Mom's memorial service. Here's the "Then and Now" portrait the funeral home made for her obituary. I think it's great! The two photos were taken nearly 70 years apart, in 1943 and 2011.

Ten Year Blogoversary Today!

Huzzah! I've been blogging for an entire decade now. Can you believe it?

Even Her Royal Highness the cat is kind of excited about this big milestone. Well, sort of. I guess.

No, she must be excited because she has offered to take us all out to dinner to celebrate! That's right . . .

Because blogs and blogoversaries simply cannot happen without readers! And some of you have stuck around here for a long, long time! Thank you for your friendship and loyalty!

Let's hope HRH picks a nice place to take us.

Most of the other diners will probably be felines, so be prepared . . . .

We must try not to point and stare!

I'm hoping the menu won't be entirely mice, fish, kibble and milk.

Or sushi, for that matter.

Would a pizza be too much to ask for?

And don't worry -- I'm bringing lots of money with me to pay for it all, just in case HRH's credit card gets rejected again. Now that I think of it, that seems to happen a lot, actually. Hmmmm.

Has This Ever Happened to You?

You discover a wonderful book which you simply can't put down. You read it madly, obsessively, maybe stay up all night to finish it . . .

. . . and then, just like that, it's over and suddenly you're bereft, kicked out into the cold, hard world of reality again!

What do you do? How can you cope?

["Apparently it's not a legitimate

reason to miss work"

by kellyangel]

Usually, what I do is turn right around and re-read it again. But, of course, you can never recapture the pure joy of the first reading because you already know the plot and characters but still, it's better than nothing.

Has this ever happened to you? I bet it has! Which book(s) caused it?

In my case, it happened (in adulthood) with Watership Down and The Lord of the Rings trilogy and (in childhood) with the Little House on the Prairies series, Anne of Green Gables and Enid Blyton's Adventure series.

Okay, your turn. Confess all!

Actual Deep Thoughts

Unlike my last goofy post, this one contains some real gems of serious thought and opinion with which I largely agree. I hope at least some of them resonate with you and your life as well!

Deep Thoughts

And here are the kinds of deep thoughts you get when you use your spaghetti brain!

Hey, it's not like I didn't warn you what was coming.

The Joy of Reading

One of the best things about being retired is that I now have all the time I want for pleasure reading. I've always read a lot, of course, but during my career it was mostly all for work. Now whatever I read is just for the sheer joy of it!

So I thought I'd start a new series on this blog about reading -- one which will hopefully be very interactive! In my observation, bloggers tend to be serious readers (and often writers too). So I'll be very interested in hearing all your ideas, thoughts, opinions and suggestions on various topics.

Like all my series, posts will be sporadic and interspersed with posts on lots of other topics too. That's just the kind of hairpin I am. And oh yes, I'm sure HRH will have a thought or two on some topics. She's a MUCH more high-brow reader than I am and boy, does she love to remind me of that fact.



So here's the first question for everyone -- is reading for pleasure one of your favourite pastimes too?

Lawyer Up!

"The Law is a jealous mistress," they say. And it's true.

Despite popular lies and misconceptions, lawyers are actually fun-loving professionals who only ever have other people's best interests at heart!

Their natural habitat is, of course, that heated arena of battle known as a courtroom --

Lawyers often represent only the very best people, it goes without saying.

And here's HRH's contribution to today's line-up, so to speak.

Caveat and Disclaimer -- None of these LOLs are intended, deliberately, negligently or otherwise, to apply to, besmirch, slur, cast aspersions upon, or in any way denigrate the esteemed, respected, learnèd-in-the-law legal practitioner Harry Hamid of The Rise and Fall of Harry Hamid. Besides, you know what? He's a helluva good writer as well as a lawyer, so go over and check out his blog today!

Debra She Who Seeks (whispering behind her hand to HRH): Think that'll do it?

HRH (not even trying to hide an elaborate yawn): Yeah, he won't sue you now. But I might. Where's those cat treats you promised me, human?