Did you know that most households in the United States have at least
one pet? Approximately 39% of US households own at least one dog and
33% own at least one cat. Pets provide wonderful companionship and can
actually help decrease blood pressure and stress.
A little more to the right pur-r-r-r-r-eaze!
Today is the official day for pampering your pet with a little extra love and affection to show him or her just how much you care. Give your pet a favorite treat (maybe even 2, 3, more…), provide conversation with music in the background, buy your furry friend a new outfit (dogs, yes, cats, um-m-m-m?), groom away the tangled fur with extra attention around the ears, treat the ‘little’ guy or gal like a celebrity!
Thank you for my fur-tastic bed!
So whether you have a cat, dog, hamster, rabbit, bird, reptile, or goldfish, or any combination shower them all with love and affection today! Just curl up next to one (or more if you did not stop with only one) and make this an arf-fully, purr-fectly wonderful day.
See on Scoop.it – Awakenings: America & Beyond Today is…Temporary Insanity Day. NO! I am not kidding! Actually, that’s how the day made the calendar. February 19 is the first day a plea of temporary insanity was accepted as a plea in court.
Sharla Shults‘s insight:
Watch the video People doing the Most INSANE TRICKS EVER! Plus MORE…
Can you imagine a world without music? It would be a world void of colors and textures, thus soulless. There would be no form, no expression. Thank goodness we have music or life would be a total bore, empty, useless. Music is all around us with melodies whispering in the wind, carrying along the harmonies of the songbirds. Each note captures the human heart penetrating deep into the soul leading to some of the best compositions imaginable. All you have to do is enjoy the catipoflife, listen to life’s songs! That includes singing in the shower!
Do you sing in the shower giving yourself top billing on Broadway? Are you a rock star or a diva? Did you know singing in the shower has become a widespread phenomenon?
Think about it. You can be what you want to be, as good as you want to be, an overnight sensation if you like since something magical happens when you sing in the shower. Have you ever noticed you actually sound better singing in the shower vs. out of the shower? For some reason, angelic pitch-perfect harmonies echo around the shower walls rather than bouncing through midair resounding of a croaking frog. That is the truth and there is a science of music to prove it!
That is not the only thing magical about the shower either…
FaLaLa…TraLaLa Boom De Ay…Boom Boom ShaBoom…NaNa-Nana-NaNa…everything before and after, as well as everything in between. Where would we be without music on the scene? Can you imagine a world without melody? Even the sounds of nature carry musical tones in harmony. Where there is sound there is rhythm from the clanging cogs of wheels definitely not ‘in pitch’ to Brahms’s Lullaby so relaxing one could sleep in a ditch. It keeps the sane man sane and lifts up the insane. MORE @awakenings about the beginnings of music…
Awakenings, catnipoflife‘s sister site, featured a post about New Year’s traditions related to meal time, Did you Put Pork on Your Fork?. It seems pork is the traditional meat for various reasons, outbidding chicken and turkey, on this first day of the New Year. I really have a problem with the pork-eating business. Sure it tastes good and what better flavor is there anywhere other than bacon? It’s not the taste. Not even the fact it is a fatty, extremely fatty, meat. Then, why? You might ask. It is simply that the little piggies are just so darn cute! See for yourself…
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
For your added enjoyment…
Don’t leave yet. Here’s one more…
Is that not cute or what? For MORE little piggies, click HERE!
Here in America, New Year’s Eve celebrations usually end with ringing in the new year amid songs, laughter, fireworks and the dropping of the ball in New York Times Square. There are exceptions as with any rule. In addition, this tradition does not hold true around the world. There are some weird traditions going on somewhere tonight, even in America!
NOTE: Not only before I fall asleep, but this post was actually written BEFORE hubby’s critical care hospital confinement and BEFORE the Farewell to Bootsie. [Be sure to revisit, or first time visit, the post to Bootsie, I added some new photos I found when searching for something else.]
Dreams…fantasies, awakenings of hidden memories, desires…occur only once REM is achieved. But, what do I do before falling asleep? Is there a key or magic dust, which allows me to fall asleep calmly, enhancing the dream, thus preventing a nightmare’s tale? Wish I could provide THE answer but of course, I can’t. What I can do is think about what I actually do perhaps finding the trigger to falling asleep without counting sheep. Um-m-m-m? Let’s see…
Do I have a glass of warm milk?NO! (I don’t even like milk, let alone warm.) Do I have a nice warm bath?NO! (The bath has only a shower…no tub.) Do I meditate for at least 15 minutes?NO! (My mind won’t rest for that long.) Do I read a few chapters in a novel?NO! (If I pick up that novel, I will still be awake at 2am!) Do I watch television?NO! (I hate TV these days. Same-o, same-o. Know what is going to happen before it happens. Get some NEW material, producers!)
What do I do? I work on my writing (sometimes just trying to get caught up on email…UGH!) until my eyes are so tired I cannot focus any longer, take a sleeping pill and crash! OK, you may laugh but many of you reading this are writers and I know you know about the difficulty in shutting down the mind. Sometimes I am already in bed but before going to sleep I grab the ever ready pad and pencil on the nightstand quickly jotting down ‘words of wisdom’ fleeting in and out like a bee seeking pollen flitting from flower to flower. I do not want to awaken in the morning remembering I had some terrific ideas but not remembering what they were!
On a more serious note, before I fall asleep, I definitely count my blessings instead of counting sheep…like the ol’ Bing Crosby song! No way my mental sheep will cooperate. More stressful trying to count them anyway. I do read – my Bible and say my prayers for all who need the comfort of angels’ wings! Hubby is usually fast asleep well before I am along with Foxie, our calico cat. So Bootsie (the grey long hair kitty) jumps in bed as I lay my head upon my pillow. She kneads and kneads and kneads, then gives herself a bath and finally snuggles against my leg. I give her a usual love pat and she purr-r-r-r-rs softly while settling down for the night. Once final prayers are said I gently give hubby a good-night kiss and smile with thankfulness of our having another wonderful day together. After 29 years, he is still my last kiss goodnight! Then, I am ready to go to sleep. . . [Rest in peace my little Bootsie. I still miss you immensely!]
This is a story requested by, Raani York, some months ago when Storylane was THE place to hone in on writing skills. It was fun, it was challenging to respond to topics provided by fellow writers. Then, Storylane joined forces with Facebook and lost its unique identity. For all visiting, be sure to stop by Raani’s blog (http://raaniyork.wordpress.com/). She is a terrific writer and will have you laughing until your sides hurt with her letters to celebrities. Then, of course, there is Jake who writes in his diary, The Diary of a Cat Prince. You do not want to miss any of Jake’s entries!
catnipoflife 