Austin surely rules.

In the two weeks we have had Austin in our lives, he has truly taken us to heart. From the five pound pup we brought home to now 12 pounds, he seems to grow in our hearts as the Grinch's heart grew in the movie.

The best and most blessed thing is that he's not only the little spirit that brought life back into my heart but also John's. I find him as attentive and loving to Austin as I am.

I came down with a dreaded cold, mostly due to working in retail. This means that John is truly the get up and take him out detail. He hasn't complained or given that dreaded big sigh that comes with....way too much work this Austin. So as I sniff my way to bed after work, he and Austin seem to go on with the daily work of training Austin to be the best dog ever.

I know now that I can release Timber's spirit and remember her with love, not mourning her loss. I am so loved and blessed.

This was the best event in 2010.

Carol

Almost Gone....

Gingerbread cookies are by far my favorite Christmas cookies. I make a huge batch every year and by Christmas I have shared some and eaten most. There is only a small group of ginger cookie lovers, but that's ok with me. Unlike my husbands love for sugar cookie, mine last longer due to less people loving them.

Sometimes you just have to be different and that often pays off. For me this gingerbread cookie love affair is probably made bigger in my head because I only make them once a year. I think this is a great lesson for life. When you wait for something it makes it very special.

Merry Christmas to all my followers and I hope there is something special this year in your life.

Carol

Austin is home.

First I must say that she is a he. Austin is a Cartahoula Leopard mix dog. We adapted him yesterday from the Greenville Humane Society.

Yesterday when John and I left for the adventure of 2010 we rode quietly. I'm sure we were both thinking that we had better be sure we were ready. I knew I was and yet I was just a little nervous. We never, ever, return a dog. The moment I put it in my arms, it was family.

Pulling up to the Humane Society was something I had felt before but only years ago; excitement. I held back the tears because I didn't know if Austin was present. As we walked the isle down to the puppy room, I worked so hard at not crying. Once we entered, this little spirit reached out to John, I wanted to view others, but every time I looked back, this little heart had stold mine.

Austin was coming home. With no more experience in his life than two and a half months old, he knew the heart strings to pull. We are once again blessed with a even tempered dog. The question is what was he mixed with and how big he is going to get. But once in love, that all seems unimportant.

What a great Christmas gift from such a great guy.

Carol

Austin is coming home.

This morning John said that he wanted to give me a new spirit, puppy. And was I willing to adopt a homeless puppy. I started to cry and I haven't stopped. Yes, I said. Was I dreaming, would I wake up as in other dreams and find it not real. I don't know but if this is a dream...I plan to stay here for a while.

You all know how hard this has been. But I wanted to make sure that John wanted it as much as I did. Or at least want it a little. See having a dog is a full time job in the beginning and both parties have to be willing to hide socks, find paper chewed up and the many pleasures a puppy will bring.

When John and I are on the same page, the puppy will have the best world ever. And now Austin will be coming home. I don't know who she is or what she is, but I know she is going to steal my heart when I see her.

No picture today. No picture needed.

I am in shock.....

I wanted all the good people to know that there are bad people who are now training kids to be bad. Last night during work a manager came to me with a look I hadn't seen before. She stated that a customer had come to her, whispered in her ear that he had seen a woman with child, outside the store. He hesitated than continued. He said that the mother pulled the pants down the child's legs and he pooed in front of the doors. The child preceded to piddle.

Now I know these words are simple but they hurt me to write them. What would make a person do that, we have a restroom. We are as nice as we can be and we ask for people to write surveys. This is so unbelievable that I find myself shaking my head and denying my writing. But when a person has to clean up someone else's poo. You find it sickening.

There are not morals to this story, but wanted people to know things like this happen and hurt the workers, not the store. See the store didn't clean it up, the nice manager, that has treated me with extra kindness was the clean up crew.

Carol

Christmas Retail Story

I was thinking about the retail world and the stories that are often passed between people working the floor in a store. I have taken many of breaks with people that are working hard to keep the store looking stress free. The salesperson is under a lot of pressure to keep things straight and folded. The fact that people can pick up an item and after deciding they don't want it, just lay it down somewhere, without thought of the person who has to put it back along with a hundred other items, saddens me. Now many think that people are there to serve them. That's not true. We are there to make their shopping experience wonderful. We work hard keeping the stock replenished and at the same time greeting and helping others get that stress free shopping they want. We are not there to SERVE YOU.

But really this isn't the depth of my thoughts, I wanted to thank those who bend over to pick up an item that fell off the shelf even when they didn't do it. Or leave an item on the hook until they decide what they want. Or bring it back to the department and leave it hanging close to the original home of the garment. These people are never thanked because we spend so much time picking up after others. So today I want those who do care and know we are working hard; to realize we do notice them and thank God for them. Otherwise we would become hard at heart and wouldn't that be a sad statement for such a wonderful time of the year.

Merry Christmas Shopping to all.

Carol

A gallon of paint and patients.

I am always asked if I love to paint. My answer is... I love the end product, not the process. Picking the colors is probably the most fun. I think it goes back to my artist background. Once painted the product is either what I expected or not. And yet I love the ending regardless of the final effect.

This is my living room. You can see the lack of color made the room very cool and unwelcoming. This was the only thing that had to change fast. So in January the painting took place. Hope you can appreciate the change like I did.

I plan to paint the remainder walls a dark taupe when all my colors are other rooms are finished. I decided to wait because of the creative construction of this house. More photos to come.

What a gallon of paint won't do.

Carol

April seems so long ago.

Most of my followers know that I like to think about how I am doing twice a year. Once on my birthday in April and again on Thanksgiving. I do this to keep me in check. Have I grown in love, faith, and tolerance? Am I coping with loss and examining my feelings?

I am still confused at the hurt I carry with the loss of Timber my English Setter. I had to think it through and often cried my way through it. She was the best of the best, but I had lost loved pets before. Was it because we had been so close. Even now as I write tears come to my eyes.

I decided that it was her spirit I missed, that something under my feet. That need for me to take care of and knowing she would be expecting me at the end of the day. I find this loss intolerable. But learning and trying not to bring in another spirit for reasons I can't go into today are still looming in my everyday thoughts.

As for everything else, it seems that life has been a growth and not a decline. For this I thank God. I also realized today, that it's me, I must take care of. I have always been passionate to others, their needs and what they think. This often leads to me compromising on issues that maybe I should think through. Maybe the phrase "To Thine Self Be True" applies to me more today than at any other time in my life.

I want others, like my husband to say things like. I think we need. Instead of me bringing to a heated discussion before he relents and says...do what is best for you! OUCH. But maybe life isn't suppose to be that way.

So my lesson is for the next few months...To Thine Self Be True. And yet stay passionate to others. I will let you know how that went.

God Bless those traveling through my little blog world.

Carol