Eat, drink and ...... you know the rest.

I always find myself liking the grasshopper better than the ant in Aesop's Fable.  The ant seems like a dull sort of fellow.  Aways working and never any time for play.  

Sure, sure. I get the message.....the moral......


"What!" cried the ant in surprise, "haven't you stored anything away for the winter?  What in the world were you doing all last summer?"

The ant's just stingy.  Surely the music and laughter that the grasshopper generated all summer earned him a little bit of the fruits of the ant's labor. Instead of viewing it as one extreme against the other - constant work vs. constant play - I prefer to think of it as two sides of a well balanced coin.  What good is being well prepared for everything if there's no joy in it?

Sure the ant has food for the whole winter but what a boring meal it would be to actually sit down with that self righteous insect going on and on about how many grains he has stored away for the winter.  Berating me for not having the same foresight and fortitude as him.  I bet he hasn't laughed in years. Bah!

I'd much rather pour a glass of wine and sit down with the cheerful grasshopper. I'm sure he'd start off with a happy song on his fiddle and then move onto an entertaining tale.  Well worth the price of admission.

Life is too short to suck all the fun out of it at every step.

Moms - You Gotta Love 'em

Having children makes you no more a parent than having a piano makes you a pianist.
                                                                           Michael Levine

Happy Mother's Day Mom!  I love you.  Having children of your own allows you to really understand your mother's love.  To know that she would do anything for you.  That when you hurt she feels it.  Your joy is the  best reward your mother could ever receive.  She acts selflessly, with no expectation other than ensuring the well being and happiness of her child.  No thank-yous are needed but are certainly well deserved.

Thanks for getting me to where I am.  For making me the person I am today and just for loving me.

Alice doesn't live here anymore.

This is Alice. I really grew attached to her.  Even started wondering if I could manage a third dog,  Unfortunately they had to put her down at the shelter.  She had started to lunge at people as they walked by her cage.  Not the staff or the dog walkers but potential adopters.  It breaks my heart.  Alice really won me over with her sweet face and despite what I just wrote about her aggressive behavior, she loved the hugs and attention I gave her whenever I took her out to the exercise yard.  I tried to make a point of walking her whenever I went in.  But the shelter has to be very careful about dogs they adopt out.  As much as we like to think there are scores of Cesar Milans out there ready to rehabilitate "red-zone" dogs.  There aren't.  Too, too many pit bulls and not nearly enough people to adopt them.  What have we done to this breed?

I try so very hard to like people as much as I like animals but stuff like this makes it hard.  The way we treat our fellow creatures is inexcusable.  Yeah, I know, we treat each other that way too.  I guess we just suck all the way around.

My Whining Paid Off

Yes, spring is here.  After all the whining I did two posts ago I thought I would let you all see that things are green and springy here in Michigan.  I drove past this willow tree and was struck at how gorgeous it is. Not a bad picture with a phone.

We do endure some of the worst weather here in Michigan.  But it's all worth it when you get to live through one of our beautiful summers.