A new year will soon be upon us.
I don't make resolutions (I never stick with them), but there are a few things that I will try to do in 2020: This is my list of things I hope to achieve in the new year:
- Become more proficient at using Landscape Pro to edit my landscape photos.
- Learn more about using Lightroom photo editing software.
- Continue to travel
- Do more photography
- Spend more time outdoors
- Reconnect with family
There are still many things I want to do, and so many places to visit, some for the first time, some for a second or third time. I have a full travel schedule every year, but somehow I never seem to make headway on my wish list. I keep discovering new locations, new countries. As long as I remain healthy and travel remains enjoyable, I still plan to hit the road several times each year.
This year has been one of mixed results. I visited Africa again with friends from the UK. I achieved a childhood dream of visiting Egypt. I got to visit Yosemite National Park on a photography excursion. I went to the re-emerging country of Colombia. On the down side, my eye issues continue. My daughter stopped talking to me to avoid inflicting more hurt. And my little dog Bailey died suddenly and unexpectedly.
Here's to a better, brighter, kinder 2020.
Another year of this blog is coming to a close.
The year 2019 saw readers in Argentina, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Cyprus, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, UAE and the United Kingdom. That's 34 different countries, not counting the US.
I don't get feedback from people in countries other than the US, although I would welcome it. I am always interested in hearing the opinions and thoughts of those in other countries. How did you find this blog? Are you a regular reader or just once in a while? Which blog subjects do you most enjoy reading about? Are there any subjects you would like to see more often?
If you enjoy reading this blog, feel share it with others and invite them to sign up as followers. I don't send out spam. The only e-mails followers receive is a notification when a new post has been released.
Thanks for following along, and Happy New Year!
It's just another day.
Today is Christmas, and for me, it is just another day. No family or friends are coming to visit. My adult daughter decided to cut off communication with me to, as she said, spare me any more pain due to her bad life choices. Other family members, for reasons unknown, have no contact with me.
So this over-hyped, overrated holiday is just another day. Because I need something to eat, I made a slow cooker full of beef stew, and some cornbread. I have been listening to some of my Christmas CDs. But there are no decorations in the house, no tree in the corner, no fudge, no cookies baking in the oven. I'm missing my little dog Bailey more than ever since her sudden death last September. The weather matches my mood: gray, foggy, cold and drizzly.
I will do some charitable donations later today, but even that seems like more of an obligation than something I used to enjoy.
More and more, Christmas seems like a fake holiday. It's so commercialized and phony. The schmaltzy Hallmark movies. The fake camaraderie, the smiling families who can't stand to be together the rest of the year, the never-ending push to buy "the perfect gift." The reindeer, the snowmen, even Santa Claus is a corruption of an actual person. Even the date is fake. We simply don't know when the Christ child was born. Some believe the birth happened in the spring, or maybe it was during summer. There is a lot of speculation as to why Christmas is celebrated on December 25, but nothing can be proven. In any event, it was well into the fourth century before December 25 became the 'official' birthday of Christ.
The bottom line, of course, is that it doesn't really matter when the baby Jesus was born. If you're a Christian believer, the date of birth is irrelevant. What is important is to remember the teachings of Jesus: kindness to others, loving others as yourself, forgiveness, sharing with the less fortunate. Santa Claus, cookies, trees and all other fake parts of the celebration are not important. Many of these traditions actually are pagan in origin. There was a real man named Nicholas of Myra who was sainted. He did leave bags of gold coins for the poor father of several daughters who were unable to marry because their father had no money for a dowry. Nicholas lived in the ancient Greek maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (in what is now Turkey) and he was an
early Christian bishop during the time of the Roman Empire. He died in 343 A.D.
What is important, whether you are Christian or not, is how we treat people, how we live our lives, how we treat animals, and how we care for the Earth. Attending a church service once a year is not important.
I haven't been inside a church except as a visitor in another country for decades. I don't profess any specific denomination. Yet I think I live a good life. I am kind, and I donate a considerable amount of money to several charitable organizations every year. I sell custom photo calendars, with all proceeds going to charity.
So I don't need the schmaltzy movies, the pressure to buy "the perfect gift," or the stress of the holidays. I don't need to attend church. Not everyone has caring, supportive families. Some people spend Christmas alone, by choice or by circumstance. I prefer to focus more on the meanings and lessons of the season, and less on the phony trappings.
Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all, regardless of how you celebrate (or don't).
Today is Christmas Eve, and I woke up with tears in my eyes.
Today I really feel the loss of Bailey, my little 14-pound ball of attitude. Bailey died very suddenly and unexpectedly on Sept. 23. She seemed happy and healthy all day, until she refused her dinner. Then she had trouble standing up, got a glazed look in her eyes, and finally started panting heavily. My veterinary clinic was closed by then, so I took her to another animal hospital a few miles away. By the time I carried her inside, her body was limp. The veterinary staff tried CPR and an injection of epinephrine to restart her heart, but nothing worked. She was gone. Bailey was 12-1/2 years old. Her sister, Layla, still lives with me, along with another dog, Benny, a golden retriever/corgi.
Bailey and her sister came to live with me when they were 7-1/2 years old, when their human mom had health problems that kept her from taking care of them. We stay in touch from time to time, and I text her photos and updates about the dogs.
I always described Bailey as a little dog with a big attitude. And she never would have won the Miss Congeniality award. She didn't care for men, or for other dogs. But after I started rewarding any good behavior she showed with small treats, her attitude improved significantly. Bailey never was an easy dog, and there were times when I questioned why I had agreed to adopt the little munchkins.
Bailey had a playful side. Sometimes she wanted me to play with her, and sometimes she and Benny would play for a few minutes. I always referred to Layla as the fun cop, as she has never been very playful and seemed not to like seeing the other dogs playing.
But this ball of fur wormed her way into my heart. And I believe that she waited to die until I returned from a trip. She was happy to see me, gave me lots of kisses during the ride home, and died that same day.
I hope she is now happy and well at the Rainbow Bridge, probably bossing around some of the other dogs and snoozing in the grass on a warm, sunny day.
Merry Christmas, Bailey.
Maybe it's me, but the Christmas spirit seems to be lacking this year.
It certainly is lacking in my household. I haven't mailed Christmas cards for several years. I'm doing no holiday baking. I set out no decorations, I didn't put up my small LED tree, and I didn't even hang a wreath on the front door. And it was just yesterday that I decided to start listening to some of my 50 or so CDs of Christmas music.
It seems I'm not the only person to feel this way. I noticed that far fewer houses in my neighborhood have festive lights this year. The post office during my visits to two different branches had no lines just a few days before Christmas.
Certainly Christmas has become overly commercialized, with stores setting up holiday displays in August. The push to spend, spend, spend starts a full four months before the actual holiday.
Christmas also has become sanitized. Rather than the wonderful smell of a freshly cut pine tree, we find a plastic tree made in China in the corner of the living room. We don't even have the fun of decorating the tree with the family, opting instead for a pre-decorated, pre-lit tree. I remember turning a real tree around so the place where the branches were a bit thin was at the back. Now, plastic trees are all perfectly proportioned, if sterile.
Most of the ornaments I would hang on the tree had some meaning, from being given to me by a family member or bought during one of my trips abroad. Now, people decorate their trees with cookie-cutter ornaments, made in China, that all look the same.
What about holiday baking? I used to make a 3-pound batch of fudge every year, along with at least four kinds of cookies. Last year I think I made two kinds of cookies. This year I'm making none. I guess most people just buy their holiday treats pre-made by someone else.
Christmas parties have become 'winter' parties, or 'holiday' parties, out of fear of offending some individuals or groups or people. Christmas break in schools has become the 'winter' break.
I remember putting in real effort to find an appropriate gift for siblings and parents. These days, people order something online from Amazon.com. Gift cards and cash often are the quick-and-easy gifts of choice. Shopping like that is easy, but it lacks the personal touch.
Fewer Americans attend church on a regular basis. But more than this, I think the lack of holiday spirit is fueled by the discord, the hatred, the deep divisions and the worry about the future of our country. Family members don't speak to each other over political differences. Friendships have ended for the same reason.
Christmas has become so much more than a religious celebration. In fact, the religious aspect has been lost for the most part, a trend that has been going on for many years. And that's OK, because this season should embody feelings of love, of goodwill, of kindness and of warmth, regardless of one's religious beliefs (or lack of). I used to work with a Jewish woman who celebrated the non-religious aspects of Christmas.
That old-fashioned Christmas feeling shouldn't be limited to just a single day or couple of weeks. Forget the Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Super Saturday madness. We don't need to stress over finding "the perfect gift" or facing the throngs at the mall. We can take control of the holiday and celebrate it how we choose, whether that means going to church on Christmas Eve or giving homemade cookies or other items as gifts. We don't need to spend ourselves into deep debt to prove we love someone.
I enjoy buying gifts for friends whenever I see something I think they would like. For a couple of friends, that means giving them bags of coffee beans from the different countries I visit. I recently returned from Colombia with four bags of coffee beans grown on a plantation I visited. I visited the place where the roasting is done, followed by a visit to the small shop on the plaza that sells cups of coffee as well as bags of coffee beans. So far some of these friends have experienced coffee directly from six or seven countries I have visited. I don't wait for Christmas. And I don't stress over finding "the perfect gift" for them in December. I show that I care about them throughout the year.
Christmas doesn't come from a store. It doesn't come from spending tons of money we can't afford to spend on things people may not want or need. It doesn't come from spending ourselves into debt. It doesn't come from seeing who gets the most gifts, or the most expensive gifts. It doesn't come from giving one's spouse a $60,000 luxury car.
The spirit of Christmas should come from within us, and it should be within us throughout the year. Let's work on taking back this holiday, and all holidays, and spending them in a way that is meaningful to us. Let's show our love of family and friends by spending time with them, by talking to distant friends on the phone, by cooking a special meal for them.
Remember this quote from the Dr. Seuss book "How the Grinch Stole Christmas": And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.
I am trying to be a better, kinder person.
This has nothing to do with the holidays. Quite simply, I'm fed up with the hatred, anger, rudeness, hostility and general lack of civility of this country. I'm tired of reading about abuse of animals and children. I'm tired of hearing about attacks on those who were born elsewhere, on those whose skin isn't white, and on those who aren't old, white men. I'm tired of rude people and screaming politicians and those who put self-interest above the common good.
Perhaps if more of us make an effort to spread a bit of kindness, we can make the world a better place in which to live. We may not change the world, but maybe we can spread a bit of happiness in our small corner. I cannot, and I will not, stand by and watch the world deteriorate around me without at least trying to make it a better place.
So even when I don't feel particularly friendly, I try to wave or smile or chat with someone I don't know. I try to let a very talkative neighbor go on at length despite my wanting to get home from my walk. I try to let someone with only a few items go ahead of me in the checkout line. I try to remain patient when the person in line ahead of me takes forever to check out as she fumbles through her coupons.
Why do I say "I try" to do these things? Because I'm not always successful. Sometimes my shyness keeps me from reaching out. Sometimes I just want to be done with the task at hand and move on. But I am trying to do better. Recently I bought a soft drink for a member of the group with which I was traveling in Colombia. She offered to pay for it, but it was only a couple of dollars. I gave some change to a handicapped man in a wheelchair sitting at the entrance to a church in Colombia. I gave an extra large tip to the waitress in Colombia, although tipping isn't common or expected in that country.
I was reminded of a discussion some of my travel companions had at lunch about how fortunate we are to be able to afford to travel, when so many people are struggling to afford life's necessities. So giving a large tip or giving some change to a handicapped person seemed the right thing to do, not just in Colombia, but everywhere.
I don't mention these examples because I want praise. I mention them only as examples of how doing even small things can go a long way to brighten someone's day. Doing better, being kinder and more gentle, doesn't take a great deal of effort. Something as small as picking up an extra can of soup for the local food bank, or giving some change to someone less fortunate, is actually quite simple. There isn't a big economic cost attached to these things. And our actions, such as holding a door for someone or letting someone go ahead of us in line, costs us nothing but perhaps bit of our time.
Whatever I do to help others also helps me. I feel good about being a nice person, and sometimes, a simple act of kindness makes me feel less stressed or worried. We never know what obstacles or challenges others may be facing. And just maybe our small act of kindness makes a difference in that person's day. Maybe it will, if even for a while, lift their spirits. Maybe being generous to citizens of another country will help counteract some of the negative feelings those in some countries have about America and Americans.
And maybe it will make us feel better as well. Being kind and compassionate have been shown to increase our sense of well-being. It also reduces stress, strengthens our immune system, and helps reduce anger, anxiety, depression and other negative emotions.
So during these long, cold days of winter, when people are more stressed than usual, let's try being nicer than usual. Maybe being nice will become a trend. And wouldn't that be nice?
It has finally happened. The House of Representatives voted to impeach the president of the United States for obstruction of Congress and for abuse of power.
Although I believe this action is warranted, this is not a time for celebration. Indeed, it is a sad day for our country that the president has so trampled on the Constitution that the House felt compelled to impeach him. The framers of our constitution deliberately set up three branches of government -- executive, judicial and legislative -- to prevent any one branch from seizing control of the government. The current president has repeatedly tried to do just that -- seize increasing amounts of power for himself. His continuing attacks on judges who rule against him, and on members of Congress whose words and/or actions displease him, leave no doubt that he would be a dictator if actions are not taken to stop him. He has even publicly questioned whether peaceful protests should be allowed, something the Constitution explicitly allows. But Trump doesn't understand, nor does he care about, the Constitution.
The vote on the first charge -- abuse of power -- was 230 to 197. On the second charge -- obstruction of Congress -- the vote was 229 to 198. Due to some vacant seats, the totals do not add up to the expected 435.
I really like this tweet by conservative Washington
Post columnist Jennifer Rubin: “The gap in
character and intellect between the two parties is stunning.” That gap has been on full display during the entire impeachment process. And how dare a Republican member of Congress compare the cheating, lying, bullying Trump to Jesus facing crucifixion! If this isn't a cult, I don't know what is!
While members of the Republican party have steadfastly tried to defend his actions, none of them has been able to factually refute what he has done. Instead, they attack the process of impeachment even though the process is the same one the Republicans used to impeach President Bill Clinton in 1998. And let's look at the crimes for which Clinton and Trump were impeached. Clinton was impeached for lying to Congress about his sexual affair with an intern. Trump was impeached for trying to pressure a foreign government (Ukraine) to dig up dirt on one of his political opponents (Joe Biden). He also publicly called for Russia and China to interfere in our elections. One offense is a bit more serious than the other, but the Republicans don't think so.
So while I am glad that the president has finally been held accountable for his actions (something that rarely, if ever, happens), I cannot celebrate. As long as he remains in office, he will continue his tweetstorms, his insults, his lies and his deflections. His handler, Vladimir Putin of Russia, will continue to benefit from Trump's ineptness and his beneficence. And America's democracy will continue to be at risk.
Maybe it's a sign of old age. Maybe it's the incessant ads screaming about "the perfect gift." Maybe it's the fact that I have no family with which to celebrate Christmas. Maybe it's the fact that the push to spend, spend, spend now starts in August.
But this year, more than ever, I just don't care about Christmas. As I got older and had more trouble controlling my weight, I greatly reduced the amount of baking I do. Gone are the days when I would bake several kinds of cookies, along with a 3-pound batch of fudge. I stopped sending out Christmas cards a few years ago. I gave away my large artificial tree this year, along with a bunch of lights and ornaments. My family stopped exchanging gifts years ago because everybody has everything they need, and if they want something, they just buy it themselves.
I do enjoy buying special things for others if I find something I know they will like. For example, I mailed a few items (special tea, coffee beans, honey from Quebec) to a friend a couple of weeks ago. The package was stolen from her mailbox by some slimy cretin before she could retrieve it. I'm sure the lowlife thief will really enjoy some English tea!
I doubt that I will do any decorating at all. I have some items that I usually set out, but this year I'd bet they will remain in boxes in the garage. Even my 40-50 CDs of Christmas music hold no appeal this year. I know I won't prepare a special meal. Even donating to my favorite charities -- organizations that I have supported for several years and that do wonderful work in their respective areas -- doesn't appeal to me. I have a list of charities to which I want to donate some money, but so far I've given to only one of them. These groups don't demand more and more money as some do, with never-ending appeals for money. And I know the money is well spent. But donating, which used to make me feel good, doesn't hold the same appeal any more. I did donate two bags of food to the local food bank last month, but that's all I have done.
Christmas is more and more just another day. So for this year at least, I think I'll just skip all the hoopla and enjoy a quiet day at home with my dogs.
