Mister Ed Isn’t Available To Answer My Question, So I’ll Ask You

Yesterday afternoon I was driving home at about 25 mph through our subdivision when coming at me on the other side of the street were three people on three horses. Gorgeous horses. Big horses. Very calm.

Just walking along.  *clip-clop, clip-clop* 

Not knowing what to do when driving past horses on my suburban street, I slowed down to about 10 mph.  The people on the horses nodded, waved, but did not smile, as we passed each other.

Ever self-aware, I realized that I may have done something wrong.

So here is my question: when driving through city streets am I supposed to treat horses as cars and just drive on by;  OR am I supposed to slow down [stop?] when I see them?

Anyone got an answer?  I sure don’t.  This is all new to me.

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And For My Next Decade…

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This week marks 10 years since I started my first public, somewhat disjointed, totally photograph-free, poorly written blog.

I know, I’m amazed, too.

You’d think that I’d have some pithy, inspirational conclusions gleaned from my experiences along the way, but I don’t.

No, the best that I can tell you is that keeping a personal blog is lots of planning and work, some fun– and a damned good way to find out who is really on your side.

Which, for me, has been enough.  So far.

But today I find myself contemplating my blogging future, knowing way too much about how wrong things can go, and trying to decide what to do next.

To wit, here are the questions that have rattled around inside my brain during this auspicious week.

•  Do I continue doing the same things here on this blog– keeping it personal and light just like I have been for the last 3 years?

•  Do I change this blog into something more opinionated, rather like a newspaper column with an agenda to promote?  Or a niche blog devoted to one specific topic?  And if so, what would that agenda/niche be?

•  Do I start a different, private blog in which I tell more of my story to a select few people who I know will support me?  And if so, what does that get me?

•  Do I give up on blogging entirely and just walk away from it?

I have no definite answer here.  

But I suspect that you, my gentle readers, have suggestions about what I should do next concerning this blog, my blogging career, all things bloggy.

Heaven knows that you always have something to say!  And I am grateful for that.  😉

The One About The Friend, The Dog & The Suburban Grocery Store Salad Bar

Funny story.  File this one under: “Things We Do For Our Pets.” 

A former suburbanite, who has moved to a condo in a high-rise in the city, still works out this way, near where she used to live.  Having shopped in a large, suburban grocery store for years, she cannot tolerate the smaller, more citified ones near her current home.  So she continues to shop, either before work or at lunchtime, in her former suburban grocery store.

This woman, who we’ll call Wendy, has an old dog who she adores.  And this dog has taken, sort of, to city living.  Which is to say that when there are proper treats involved the old dog will do what is asked of him.

It follows, of course, that Wendy is conscientious about having a large supply of proper treats on hand.  And because Wendy now shops on the fly, she likes to get as many treats for her money as she can at one time.  Easier, you know. 

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So, here’s what happened.  Wendy’s old dog likes one treat in particular and that one treat is bacon bits.

Wendy, who used to make bacon once a week for her dog, doesn’t like to make bacon in her new smaller condo because it smells up the place.  So Wendy has hit upon a solution.  This solution is to go to the salad bar in the grocery store and fill up one of those square clear plastic containers with the bacon bits that are on the salad bar.

It is less expensive by the pound to do this than to buy a package of raw bacon.  And it is more efficient, from Wendy’s point of view, because she doesn’t have to cook the bacon.  Plus her old dog loves these salad bar bacon bits.

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Win. Win. Win.  That is until the day that Wendy ran into her suburban grocery store and discovered that the store had removed all the bacon bits from the salad bar.  

When Wendy inquired why the bacon bits were gone, an employee told her that some crazy lady kept coming in and buying a day’s worth of bacon bits all at once.  And that the manager in charge of the salad bar couldn’t afford to keep the bacon bits stocked, so the manager decided to take away all. the. bacon. bits. 

This sad turn of events, caused by Wendy herself, has left her bacon bit-less… somewhat ashamed of her behavior… and now shopping at the next nearest suburban grocery store to her place of work.

Because an old dog has gotta have his treats, ‘ya know?   😉

QOTD: What’s On Your Superpowers List?

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Remember back a few weeks ago when I was reading Darcy Eikenberg’s Bring Your Superpowers To Work and how it bugged me that I couldn’t figure out what my superpowers were?  

I mean, I’ve always been told that it’s more important to know WHO you are than to know WHERE you’re going.  Yet there I was on a bleak February day not knowing myself OR my path.   

So I decided to dig in and determine what superpowers I had.  Then I created this list.  Perhaps it’s a bit lighter in tone than what Darcy has in mind, but it is who I am.  Which I do believe is the whole point of this exercise.

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I am…

  • able to confirm that the color you painted your walls is not the right color.
  • able to laugh, more often than not, at the absurdities of life.
  • able to say thank you so many times in a day that it may sound insincere, but it’s not.
  • able to bring ideas and experiences together in novel ways.
  • able to determine within minutes of meeting someone if said person is a problem solver or a problem keeper.
  • able to sit on the curb and clap enthusiastically as the parade goes by.
  • able to find a way to avoid ironing anything, preferring to delegate that task to anyone with the patience necessary to get rid of wrinkles.
  • able to remember minutiae/information that doesn’t matter any more.
  • able to remember to write down minutiae/information that matters now, often remembering where said minutiae/information is after being written down.
  • able to pick myself up, brush myself off, curse about life’s inequities– and then start all over again.

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Now, I’ve shared my list. What about you, gentle readers? What are your superpowers? I’d love to know.