MY four legged child

Today as I sit here typing (with little sleep from the night before) I am feeling so strongly the connection between me and

my amazing canine Brutus. He came to me when I really needed his support. He taught me, through his very stubborn, head strong, personality, how to be firm without hurtful, how to be clear with my requests, and how to follow through when his behavior was not acceptable to me. What a gift and great friend he is. I have had three great canine's before him (Missy, Cleo, and Emily) but he has felt more like a human friend than any other. He has been my constant companion. He listens WELL, and he loves my company, really really loves it! As he is aging (almost 8 now) he has been mellowing and recently he has had some health issues. Last night while comforting him and holding him through the night I was reminded of how I used to take care of my children when they were not feeling well (physically or emotionally). Such a long night. My heart aching as he winced when attempting to get comfortable and readjust himself. I didn't even mind that he took all the covers... This is testing me. It is a challenge for me to witness him having a hard time getting up and down the stairs, and he is so large that I fear I will not be able to help him if he falls. This morning we tried some craniosacral work. He seemed to enjoy it and the lump on his spine seemed (to me) to get smaller. My own wishes? Perhaps, but he had more energy and seemed in less pain. He is loving the massage on the joints! He is loving the warm bed with all my covers scrunched around him like a nest. He is even loving the cats who are laying very close. They seem to be really worried about him, coming up and smelling his feet, and back. I can only wonder what they all talk about when I'm not here... Anyway, these are my ramblings for today. Thanks for listening. Hug your loves ALOT!!! Janet

Mothers Surprise

A week ago a joined a writing group called “write your memoirs”. Our first exercise was to write about “In the Kitchen”. I was surprised at what came up for me. It was a memory I had of listening to my Mom and her friends chat over coffee in the kitchen. So, over this week I’ve had the idea of “In the kitchen” on my mind. I had a memory of my Grandmother Marey and breakfast with her, and how she was “granola” before being “granola” was groovy! And this morning I thought about Mother’s surprise. That’s what my Mom called it. And I always knew when it was coming. But let me set the scene for you... My parents were not “poor”, but our family was not rolling in it either. We were I’d say typical middle class. As a child I don’t remember my parents talking about money except when it came to food. My Mom would talk about “cooking on a dime” and “making meals stretch to save money”, and I remember how proud she was that she could provide us with yummy, creative and nutritious meals “on a budget”. And she did just that! So, back to Mother’s surprise.,,, Mothers surprise was kind of like scalloped potatoes and ham, but it was with left over pork roast, sliced onions, cream of mushroom soup, land-o-lakes yellow american cheese and chopped up left over pork roast... and it always followed the dinner of pork roast, baked potatoes, veggies and salad. So I always knew when it was coming, and I really looked forward to it! She would slice the left over baked potatoes, onions, and roast, then layer it in a casserole dish and add the soup and cheese sauce, then another layer and another. Then she would bake it, 350 degrees for 45 minutes (I know this because my Mom would prepare it in the morning and who ever’s turn it was to do dinner would have to pop it in the over following the instructions left on the kitchen table). The reason I was thinking of it was because last night I made it, with a bit of a variation. I had no potatoes... Could mothers surprise be made without potatoes? Absolutely. I used rice instead (I got a bit of my Mom’s creative cooking gene for sure). And my husband and son LOVED it! And so did I! Yup Mother’s surprise, following pork roast dinner the night before. Carrying on the family tradition of cooking on a dime, providing fun nutritious food on a budget and happy campers at the dinner table!! Enjoy your time in the kitchen folks! Its where memory’s are made for sure!!

Ego and Energy

Go Inward. Ego. Spirit. Self. Self Worth. Conscious. Unconscious. These are all words that are being used by many who are searching for enlightenment. Their own and the worlds. So when I hear these words used it often times makes me wonder. What exactly IS conscious and unconscious? Where exactly IS the Center. AND..Why EXACTLY do many of the "experts" keep directing "us" to let go of our ego. I personally LIKE my ego. My ego, who I think I am and what I connect to my name, my life, my external world, is absolutely necessary to walk on this earth. To BE HERE. So, WHY is it a bad thing to be connected to?? In the Blog CREDO, by Alice O Howell she writes "Jung likened the psyche to a mandala, a circle, and every circle has a center and a circumference. • Every circle can be made bigger or smaller. • The center generates the circle. • That center is the SELF; it is a hole in the wheel through which Spirit shines and gives us life". AND if the psyche is a mandala (as Jung says) then the outside of the circle would be my ego. The place that meets the world in my physical form. It is my skin that keeps my body wrapped up. It is the way I present myself to the world. It is me. Every part of me. But it is the ME that is external. AND it is VERY necessary. Let me say that again. MY EGO IS VERY NECESSARY! (I know that goes against many many "gurus" of the times,not intended to offend) So if my ego is the outside of the circle, than my heart is on the inside, as is my brain, all of my organs, my muscles, my ligaments and tendons, and even my fat. And the only thing that is on the INSIDE and the OUTSIDE is my energy. So when I connect to my energy through: touch, thoughts, meditations, meridians, chakras, magnetic unruffling of my aura, prayers, music, sharing of my heart, open conversations, breathing, being in nature, loving my pets, being kind to those around me and to myself, paying attention to how I feel, paying more attention to how I feel, and so on and on... than I am going inward. I have access to my EGO (my external world) and my ENERGY/SPIRIT/QI (my internal world). And for me, that's what a balanced life is all about. With love, Janet