Fuzzy Wuzzies

I am an animal person.  Never in my life have I not had an animal or multiple animals sharing my home.  When I was born, there were Apache the horse and Princess the cat and her son Mocha.  Princess and Mocha still lived with us three houses later when Baxter the Yorkshire Terrier came to live with us.  Unfortunately, Baxter was the runt of the litter and passed away in a short time from illness so we went back to the breeder and picked out Winston who lived with us for sixteen years and two more houses.  When Winston passed away, Mom and Dad said no more animals, but after six months of hamsters, a frog, and several fish, we adopted two cats who were abandoned at a local business.  Sam and Max still live with my mom and dad. A year and a half later, my parents got my brother a dog.  He was mix of Coonhound and Beagle.  My father assured my mother that Cody would be beagle sized.  In the end, Cody stood near waist high on my 5' 1" frame and weighed nearly 150 pounds, but as he grew in size he grew into our hearts.  Last April, Cody died an untimely death at age 8 due to a large growth in his abdomen that had gone undetected.  As difficult as it was, my parents decided to get a new dog only a month later.  Now Crocket the rambunctious, spirited, lovebug Plott Hound lives with them.  She looks a lot like Cody with her big eyes, floppy ears, brindle, and white spot on her chest, but she is her own pup and a girl at that.  I am sure Cody sent her to my parents since she exhibits many of the traits my parents loved in Cody with additions of traits they sometimes wished he had like a penchant for "kissing" and a desire to play catch.

In my own house, my husband an I live with Iris the "Domestic Longhair" cat who we adopted from a shelter.  Iris is the queen, but she is affectionate, too.  She follows us around the house.  If we are in two different rooms she situates herself directly between us so she can keep an eye on both of us.  When we talk to her she talks back in very loud meows that I am often sure our upstairs neighbors can hear.  This morning she woke me up by walking around on my back and kneeding me.  Who doesn't want to wake up to a surprise massage even if it is at 6:00 on a Saturday morning?

I feel animals only add to our lives.  What about you?  Cat person? Dog person?  Reptile person? Animal person? 

What fuzzy wuzzy love do you have in your life?

She Said It

I am not a reality T.V. watcher... well... Except for Celebrity Rehab and Celebrity Rehab Sober House...  With a history of alcoholism in the family, I am fascinated by how Dr. Drew helps people to recover and help themselves, but now I am getting off track.

Anyway, the point is: I did not watch The Bachelor.  I watched the first season many years ago when I was a young single gal, but haven't watched an episode since.  I see the appeal, the escapism, but it just doesn't appeal to me.

My friend Melissa at Birds Eye View had this to say and I quite agree.

"Save TV shows for design contest and cookoffs, let love alone."

Sharing Secrets

"Secrets are things we give to others to keep for us." - Elbert Hubbard

I don't know about you, but I L-O-V-E, LOVE, the Post Secret books, Other Peoples Love Letters: 150 Love Letters You Were Never Meant to See, and Found Polaroids. There is something about getting a glimpse into other peoples lives, psyches, anonymously shared secrets. 

Why do I love these books, but not celebrity news?  I think it is because the secrets in the books are shared willingly.  Noone camped outside the person's front door or invaded the secret sharer's privacy to get them to reveal a piece of themself. 

The books also bring me back to nights playing Truth or Dare with my friends at sleepovers.  I always grappled with my choice until the end and I always chose truth.  They were little truths like:

The boy I have a crush on is Danny Molan.

I have never been skinny dipping, but I'd like to go.

 and

I once ate a dog biscuit.

As we grow older though, our secrets, our truths grow larger.  They grow into things that really need to be told, but by that time we have stopped playing truth or dare.

Who do you share your secrets with?  How truthful are you with yourself and others?  What do you long to reveal? I think it is time for a big girl sleepover and a game of Truth, No Dare because telling the truth is daring enough.