News Diet

Toby rolled over on his back and said, "I'm on a news diet." 

"Well, isn't that a coincidence!" I exclaimed. "I'm on a news diet, too. But tell me, Toby, how do you avoid the news? I thought you don't have control over that live wire on the stall video camera that picks up the neighbors' news channels."

"Oh, mercy! when that thing starts blasting some wild know-it-all stuff, I go up into the hay loft and crawl between the bales so I don't hear anything."

"Hmmm. Now I wish I had some hay bales."

"Well, you have options to turn the news off. I don't. Sometimes I can't believe what humans are doing to each other and our planet. How in the world does your species get so caught up in hate and selfish, mean, scary stuff? Aren't you all a social species anymore?"

"I can't find any answers, Toby. That's why I'm on a news diet. It's getting me down." 

"Well, what are you doing to replace all that reading and watching?"

"I'm licking two birds with one stone..."

"Birds! where, where?" He was now right side up at full attention.

"Relax my friend. It's a metaphor.  What I'm trying to do is adjust my life to a night owl who sleeps late from my former, lifelong early bird life." I saw his eyes dilate again. I'd better lay off the avian references. 

"That's one thing. What's the other?"

"Change things up a bit. I'm gonna put artwork first--right there with my coffee. No e-news."

"How's that working so far?"

"Well, the coffee and art part is okay. I'm still working on meal plans. Smoothies are tasty but I'm starved an hour later so that's a bust. Now I have a brand new used blender that needs a home. Wish I could have given it to one of the grandsons when they had Keoni's car here."

"Gosh, you humans are so complicated. No wonder some of you have gone off the deep end. It's lots simpler being a carnivore. Bring it on!"

"Also, to get ready for the art part, I cleaned out every drawer, cabinet, closet, and shelf in my apartment. Winter cleaning I call it."

Does that feel good?

Yup!

He gave me a fist bump. 

***

And speaking of the Art Part, Here is the Arts Desk...

Wendy entered an image she took of two of her goats to the Mini La Mancha Goat Calendar photo contest, and here they are! The Misses November...

Congratulations! Wendy. Well done.

________

Jeanenne is soldiering on making quilts for family members...

***

We'll go now to the Weather Desk. There was a "snow day" in Missouri. So little came of it that Jeanenne's young nieces Harper and Della had to work pretty hard to erect a snowman...

________

Here in Pennsylvania, we've been on the edge of the cold slamming those just north a bit, but mostly we've had an extremely mild winter so far save for a couple of days just before Christmas. January was so mild that dandelions began to appear...

On my walk at the farm on January 15th.

***

Let's move over to the Practical Tips Desk. What do you do with all those pages of return address label stickers sent to you by various NGOs? They accumulate and it's sad because they have pretty pictures on them. I've never ever come close to using them all, even before email. Here's a solution...

With scissors, neatly cut off the address portion of each row of labels leaving a nice strip of interesting, pretty stickers. When you've finished all your pile of address labels, throw away the address parts, then mail the strips of picture stickers to your grade-school-age grand or great-grand as I did for my great-grandson Kingston to enjoy. Remember to include a small notebook of some sort so their home isn't decorated with stickers.

***

Next, we'll visit the Birthday Corner. The last living person in my dad's family is my Aunt Jackie--his youngest sister. Here she is blowing out the candles on her 95th birthday...

________

While I'm thinking of old times, I came across my first-grade class picture taken in Houston, Texas when I was six...

My feet are behind the school sign.

***

I think Toby would say that if he can get along with dogs, and Valerie and Tim's Nigel the cat and Izzy the dog can get along in the same house, then why aren't we humans finding a way to get along? Plus, I think he'd add, we're even the same species of mammals.

Well, it's time for a wrap. Be well. Take care of yourself and say hello to a stranger this week.

The moon and contrail and sunset.

***