I snapped these photos in the Ingles parking lot while loading groceries in my car. It was somewhat warm today and sunny, and I just loved the look of the sky just before sunset. The photos don’t really capture the beauty of the colors in the sky at the time but it was magical.
Click on the photos to make larger.
It’s time for a little positivity. Something happy and inoffensive and unserious.
I love spring. It’s my favorite season. Not too hot, not too cold, and everything’s coming alive again after the long dreary winter and the world is suddenly full of color. The days are becoming long again and we can go outside without coats, gloves and hats. Spring works wonders on my mood. I’m usually in fairly high spirits, as much as someone with PTSD and prone to depression can be.
Fall is pretty but I don’t like it much because everything’s dying and the days are growing shorter. Although the foliage is pretty it only lasts a couple of weeks and then everything’s all downhill after that. I also start stressing about the upcoming holiday season.
I hate winter with all my being. As a sufferer of SAD (seasonal affective disorder) I find the short days, gloom, and darkness tend to exacerbate my depressions or even cause them. All I want to do is sleep the winter away. I wish I could hibernate. I also hate being cold. I don’t even like snow.
Summer is alright, but it’s too hot and humid here in the southeast and because I have cats that go in and out, every year I do battle with fleas. (why do they exist? what is their purpose in the world anyway?)
Spring may get tornadoes and violent thunderstorms but they don’t affect this part of the country too much and I can enjoy a good thunderstorm. Other than that, it’s the perfect time of year for me.
On that note, I’d like to share these photos I found. In just over two months, spring will be with us again!
Looks like my son is emulating Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. LOL!
He just tweeted this.
Not a bad deal at all!
I never outgrew my infatuation with cuteness, especially cute fuzzy animals like this little guy. I’m not quite sure what sort of animal that is, but it’s freaking adorable.
You can’t help smiling when you see this little face. I guess it’s no surprise otters are my favorite animal after cats.
862 views on Christmas day, FAR surpassing any previous Best Day. It didn’t seem real.
Then I got 2 private emails.
I won’t quote them here out of respect for the privacy of the individuals who wrote them (I did initially, since I wrote this post under the influence of a little too much wine, LOL). Both queries were from people who’d been referred here through Vaknin’s links.
The first one was from a woman who knew about the book I was thinking about writing about Sam. She lives in the same country as him and attends conferences with him. She offered to help me with editing/writing but more impressively she said she could help me be able to get an interview with him without having to fly to Macedonia. I am not sure how she knew about the book I’d been planning to write unless he told her himself (not surprising for a narcissist to brag someone wants to write a book about him, hehe). I had put that idea on the back burner, but since it’s something I still want to do, this offer would be incredibly helpful to me and maybe I can get to it sooner.
The second email was from a woman (Aspie like myself) who said the article that’s getting so much buzz right now made her cry tears of hope because both her sons are on the autism spectrum–the youngest one also Bipolar and showing possible narcissism. The sons’ father is a malignant narcissist and sociopath. She wanted her sons to read portions my blog because she thinks it might be as inspiring to them as it is to her.
I have no words to describe all the emotions I’m feeling right now. I love the idea this blog might be growing legs but even more so that it’s giving other people like me hope. Later my thoughts will be clearer and I’ll be able to reply to both writers of those emails.
Until then, I’ll just share some some photos I took today at Molly and Paul’s house. We had an incredibly good time and the food was amazing. Molly told me they have even been talking about marriage. Time will tell.
Dinner!
The lasagna before baking.
Blue lights on spiral stairs.
God’s presence in my life was like a flashing neon sign today. For the first time ever, I really understood the true meaning of Christmas. It has nothing to do with gifts, money or greed, but has everything to do with asking God what he wants from you and truly listening to the answer. You might have to wait a while but it will come with faith.
All that said, I’m still relieved the holiday season is over for another year. It’s not an easy time for a lot of us who have faced the worst humanity can dish out for most of our lives.
I love this photo. It’s a picture of my father at age three in 1930. He’s pulling his mom (my deceased grandmother, Earline) in his little red wagon. I love the way she’s all dressed up in the clothing of the period and seems to be enjoying the moment.
Click on photo to enlarge.
The white blob in the middle of the photo is from my flash. I don’t have a scanner, so I took this picture on my phone from a framed photo. I actually think it doesn’t take away from the mood of the photo.
Click on photo to enlarge.
I love candid photos. Here’s one of my very favorites of my children taken in April of 2001. Molly had just turned 8, and Ethan was 9 going on 10.
Their expressions here are priceless. We were visiting my father in Dallas, TX, and while playing outside, Ethan got himself covered with some black beetles. He seemed to find the whole thing a hoot, but his sister Molly definitely doesn’t approve!
This year I went minimalist. With no family in my state besides my daughter, and plans to spend Christmas with her at boyfriend Paul’s much bigger house (with its more spacious and modern kitchen, where I will be making my traditional Christmas spinach/meat lasagna), there was no reason to drag out the 6 foot tree that requires assembly and all the boxes of ornaments out of the back of the hall closet.
So I bought this little 24-inch gold-tinsel fiber optic tree at the dollar store. It set me back only $15.00. I don’t have to deal with untangling strings of lights or or rigging the tree up since it just screws into its little gold stand, which I wrapped with a red and white tablecloth to cover the base and make it look less like a tacky dollar store tree. No need to decorate it–its fiber optic lights change colors and an old mirror propped behind it on a small table give it the appearance of looking bigger than it really is. Only a few gifts will be given at my home–and the small space around the tree will fit them perfectly.
I kind of like this tree. It reminds me of one of those sparkly tinsel trees that used to be popular in the 1960s. It’s very retro and cute.
This beautiful photo and story following a terrible tragedy shows us that empathy is still alive and well. I have to admit this photo brought tears to my eyes. If only we saw more of this sort of thing.
Lucky Otters Haven 