These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

A Few of My Favorite Things

There can't possibly be anyone out there who has not heard the song called 'My Favorite Things' from The Sound of Music sung by Julie Andrews. For some reason, it just popped in my head when I started to think about what makes me happy. My gratitudes, if you will. Then, it made me smile, in that I truly am not a fan of this movie, although I have seen it. The image that immediately comes to mind is the scene and song of the hills coming alive with the sound of music. 

Pulling myself back on the track of my thought process of what truly makes me happy...I chuckled to myself as I thought of the saying that money can't buy happiness! Well, let me say that I wouldn't mind giving it a try by winning the Powerball. However, in all honesty, every once in a while we win $8 - $14 and I am ecstatic. That helps pay for the next lottery ticket. Once, we even won $200. Everyone in the store could hear me when I collected on that win. These things, though, are not what I would call my favorite things, as the song goes.

To refresh your memory when one is feeling bad or sad, just think of what makes you personally happy such as: 

raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

These are a few of my favorite things! I won't bore you with the rest of the song, although these things can make most people happy by thinking of them along with the bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens.

For me, I wanted to dig into what I am grateful for. There are so many things that came to mind that I found this to be even better than I ever imagined. My lists just kept growing and growing. All it takes is a moment of closing your eyes and the pictures pop in your mind of experiences and people and things that can bring joy to your life and therefore become some of your favorite things. Such as:

my family, which is my darling, loving, quirky, handsome British husband and all 4 of our children and their partners. With this group, let's add in 4 beautiful and unique granddaughters.

Immediately after family, which also includes cousins, would come friends. Some of which are neighbors, some from high school and college and some from where I have worked here in Memphis, as well as in TX and PA. Just gives me a warm feeling to stay in touch and know that we all care for one another.

Now for the random little things that come to my mind of some of my favorite things:

Another name for this is my happy place.

There is nothing like having great customer service all the time, especially if something goes wrong and a customer service person is helpful in solving the problem professionally.

Not one, but TWO very special loving dogs with two distinct personalities that we do not know how we ever did without them. I don't think they would know what to do without each other either. Truly inseparable.

The first day of Fall may have been September 

23rd,but here in Memphis it has remained in the upper 90's up until a cold front moved in last night, October 6th, and brought rain and actual temperatures in the 50's and 60's. Plus, it was actually good to see and hear the rain. Maybe soon, we will have the color of the fall leaves.

Not sure how you feel, but for me there is nothing in the world as good as the feeling of getting into bed just after the sheets have been washed. Ahhh! Fresh sheets. A great night's sleep for sure.

It is one of my favorite things when my hairdresser, Shanon, shampoos my hair. Somehow, I feel that the shampoo, which seems more like a head massage, is moving all of my blood cells around and making them pop with joy!

At one time, I felt guilty about taking a nap. After some research, I have learned that napping is so very healthy. Many countries actually have this built into their culture. Americans? Not so much. I am a firm believer in taking a siesta.

  I wake up refreshed and in no way does it mess up my nightly sleeping schedule. This is why I coordinate it, when possible, into my schedule.

Fall weather brings on the sweaters and boots. Love the change of wardrobe. 

Reading is one of my favorite things to do. Having a cup of coffee or tea and curling up with a good book is heavenly.

In this household there are two kinds football fans. We share and have become fans of both. My favorite would have to be the SEC college games. Of course, I have my favorite colleges,  but there is nothing like watching the crowds at SEC games. In college, I was in those crowds. Not so much now. More comfortable to be watching it on TV. And I must admit that I do love the NFL games, also. They have their negative points, such as the outrageous salaries. Well, so do the coaches of the SEC teams. It is what it is. Then there was the controversy of taking a knee to the National Anthem. There will always be some kind of controversy, some stronger than others, but let's move on.

This is the Premier League of Football (real football, as my husband likes to say). He actually goes back in time to let me know which came first. Well, let's see, how old is the UK and how old is the US? He does have a point in that in his football, they use their feet more than in the US. Details! I will say that he is pretty much on target in the American football rules and the calls that the refs make. I have more of an average understanding of soccer. I enjoy watching it and actually believe it may be a little more civilized, in some respects. 

Moving on to another favorite thing is a manicure and or a pedicure. Just a moment of pampering can put a whole new perspective on my outlook.

Marvel comics are basically not my favorite thing, however, they are such a big part of my husband's favorite things that I have integrated some of them into my life. Some of the movies I have watched with him at the theaters, some at home on Blu-Ray. There really is no rhyme

nor reason as to my favorites or not so favorites. One of my favs is 'Spiderman,' yet I despise spiders. Peter Parker is fantastic. Next fav is most definitely 'Dead Pool.'  Why? Perhaps it is Ryan Reynolds?

 An amusing story, at least to my husband, is that I said that I would go with him to see Captain Marvel. I watched and watched, waiting for Captain Marvel to appear. When the movie was over, I just sat in disbelief. Steve asked me what was wrong. I told him that I watched a whole movie called Captain Marvel and there was no Captain Marvel in it. He calmly explained that it was Brie Larson playing Captain Marvel. CLUELESS! I don't know who Brie Larson is (except that he told me that she played Captain Marvel). And I would know this how? I think that I even watched the Avengers: Endgame and was confused when I thought it was the end of the Marvel comics and movies because they all dissipated. I have since been informed that was in Avengers: Infinity War. I believe that my point has been made that

  these are a few of my not so favorite things and that is okay. They are some of my husband's favorite things. We share well. 

This quote is by The Doctor meaning Dr. Who. There are several quotes that I remember from watching Dr. Who with Steve but this one was from one of my favorite episodes featuring Matt Smith as The Doctor. It was about time traveling with Vincent van Gogh. He was standing in an art museum featuring many of his famous paintings and the curator spoke of the genius of van Gogh, not aware that he was actually in the same room. The Doctor made this astute observation about van Gogh's life and work. Brilliant, I would say. At one point, I really got into Dr. Who and did not miss an episode with Steve. Again, I think it was based on not only the story line but the actors. It started to turn weird in my mind and became quite scary, to the point of me having nightmares, so that was the end of that. Actually, I sort of shocked myself in liking even the concept of Dr. Who for a while. Sci-fi is most definitely not on my list of favorite things.

Music, on the other hand, is most definitely one of my favorite things. There are many genres that interest me. It depends on the mood that I am in.

 Lucky for me, Steve was once a DJ and is very much into music. There are speakers in every room in our home and usually music is playing somewhere throughout the house.

Writing has always been one of my favorite things. It started as writing in journals, of which I have one for each year starting in 1997. The diaries that I wrote in before I am not sure what happened to. Maybe they will show up one day or maybe they were tossed mistakenly. Now, I love writing this blog and working on a novel that I hope will be published one day. I even have a little notebook of ideas for future books. One at a time is how my brain must stay focused. I can read two books at the same time, and have even had three going at once. This method does not work for writing. The blog and the novel is enough for this writer. With some health issues and puppies, the novel work has slowed up more than I would like but it is getting there, slowly but in my way. 

So when the dog bites or the bee stings or you are just feeling a bit down, start remembering your favorite things and just all that you have to be grateful for! It will be a real boost to your spirit, at least it is for me!

Randomness

Before I begin throwing out the randomness that goes on frequently in my head, let's get on the same page about what I am talking about by checking out the definitions given to randomness. According to the official definitions it is the quality or state of lacking a pattern or principle of organization; unpredictability, oddness or eccentricity. I also like to throw in scattered, as in thinking or planning.

• Starting with fashion, with jeans does one wear a white shirt or a black shirt and is it ok to wear a denim jacket when wearing jeans?

• Do most people actually look in the mirror before they go out in public, even if it is only to the grocery? I'm not saying that everyone should be consumed with fashion but not everyone wants to see you in those shorts and sweaty shirt that you worked out at the gym in. (Let's not mention the smell!) Leggings are very fashionable, as long as the top is a tunic style that covers your rear end. I don't care what kind of fantastic shape you are in. Cover it up! Use a mirror and look at yourself from the rear.

 

• Football weekend (Both British and American in this household) - college games really bummed me out because most of "my teams" lost, more like were annihilated and who came up with the Ole Miss Land Sharks? And even naming him Tony? Is there such a thing? Well, apparently there is. A landshark is one who comes out of nowhere and snag's another person's food before they know what's happening. Any land mammal can be a landshark, as long as it uses speed to steal someone's food. What does this have to do with football? I am well aware of the controversy over Col. Rebel and the flag. Could the two be separated? 

 

• Getting sloshed and silly - probably in memory of college days brought this random thought to mind while talking of Ole Miss. I left for college at 17, not to turn 18 until December. Never had a drink before, except a quick taste of someone's. Blah! That changed rather quickly. Oh the freshman year! Boone's Farm Strawberry wine and kegs of beer. One memory that has been told over and over by roommates to my children and anyone else who would listen was the night that we were out drinking and there was no way we would be back in time for curfew. (back in the dark ages, yes we had curfews and no cell phones) We found a telephone booth which required that one of us had to spew out loads of numbers for our calling cards to an operator and then give her the number that we wanted her to call on the card, but best of all? Then had to sound coherent to our dorm mother. Of all people the 5 of them chose me. And, I can proudly say that I pulled it off. Just a random thought that comes to mind now and then.

• Having one goldendoodle was just heavenly. Once he became two years old, oh wow, it was marvelous. We sort of forgot the life that we led when he was a puppy. Like getting up at all hours when he needed out. We were happy when he made it to 5 AM, then finally 6 and if we woke sooner than that he would look at us in amazement that we expected him to get up and go out to do his business.

Could we leave well enough alone? Random thoughts of how wonderful two doodles would be...and so it was.

Two doodle family and they are just about inseparable. Frustrating at times? Yes! But the joy they bring to our lives is so amazing.

• Thinking about being stuck in an elevator. Has it happened to you? Twice it happened to me. Both times I was alone. Once at work. I never, ever took that elevator again. When you are carrying a heavy laptop and wearing heels, going three floors seemed to be daunting. Much easier to catch the elevator. After being stuck once, I brought my Sketchers to throw on when I had three floors to travel carrying heavy things. 
• The second time was a bit more frightening. I was going to the 9th floor and somewhere around the 7th floor the building power went out. Total darkness. The elevator came to an abrupt halt. I did start my breathing techniques to calm myself down. Ha! I was still in a panic. Pushing every red emergency button there was. Finally, I just sat on the floor and thinking that maintenance and security had to be familiar with procedures to go through in a building this tall with 6 elevators. So I did breathe my way through the 15 minutes, that seemed like well over an hour before I was rescued.

• With all of the political controversy going on, randomness runs rampant through my mind on this one. What if I were President and what would I do differently? There are many things, but I am not going to take that route. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. The biggest thing that I believe is that the POTUS should NOT be using social media. Stop that twittering! Enough, already! That is all I am saying about that random topic.

• Last, at least for today's randomness thinking is remote controls.. Why must they be so complicated? There is one TV that we watch (luckily, the one we watch the most) that I can work the remote. Why? I was the one home when the TV was installed, so they took care of putting up the curved flat screen, hiding all of the wires, setting the sound bar and then proceeded to press buttons to turn it on and leave with me. Oh no, no, no. It does not work that way. I insisted on lessons and took notes. (for real!) What button to push and why to get to where I wanted to be. This probably took an extra 30 minutes. Credit to them, they were patient and I can work this TV remote like a pro. (unless we lose power and it all has to be set up again, or at least some of the details must be).

I believe that I think randomly quite frequently. I have many more random thoughts that fly though my mind quite often. I will be returning to this as a blog topic with a whole new list of random thoughts. Such as:

Two Goldendoodles

If you do a search on Facebook for 'Goldendoodles by Kim's Design', this is the precious picture that you will see, along with a bit more information. The breeder is Kim Mills Davis, who you can also find on Facebook. Through a high school friend, my husband and I got to talk with Kim and visit where she has her kennel. We have become good friends and we keep in touch. On her page, she posted the following story with pics. She told the story of how we came about being a two doodle family. It was told with such love that it so touched my heart. I can tell you that Kim has been a reputable breeder for many years.  Her doodles are simply wonderful. We have even stayed in touch in a local group with siblings of the litters that were both there when we got Davis.

As told by Kim:

This is a little story about Davis, the black doodle, and his sister, Maggie Mae, the apricot doodle. Davis was an only dog living the perfect dog life

when something completely unexpected happened to him.  His parents decided he needed a sister. There was concern as to whether Davis was going to allow another doodle to share his home with him.  The day came when Davis and his Mom and Dad came to my kennel to pick out his new baby sister. 

Davis wasn't too excited and reluctantly looked over the puppies.  His parents chose his new sister and back home they went.  Davis thought this may be the beginning of the end.  However, this wasn't the nightmare he expected but the beginning of a loving new relationship.  Davis is thrilled he has a sister to protect and play with forever.

He loved teaching her how to be safe on the staircase. Their communication is priceless. Having two doodles has taught me well about how much more advance that dogs communicate than most humans.

Davis loved teaching her how to pose at my desk by the computer to get my attention. He obviously knew that I needed a break from my writing and research.

When she finished all of her rounds of shots, she was finally allowed to go to Walnut Grove Animal Clinic Doggie Day Care.  Davis was not ever too keen on the climbing toys, so he was very protective of Maggie Mae going on the top of one.

Davis is much more the water dog. This is at Day Care also. He is usually in the pool with Maggie Mae watching, however, once the hose was out, he went to great heights to prove just how much he adored the water.

Maggie Mae finally grew tall enough to look out of the window and the sheer joy of having the wind in her face. She is seat-belted on one side, while Davis is on the other. Lucky us! We have doggie nose art prints on both sides of our car windows.

One thing is for sure. These two doodles adore each other. Even when they go to Day Care, the whole team has told us that they never stray too far apart, just checking in with other now and then. 

All you need is love and two goldendoodles. Life is grand! If by chance, you are interested or know of someone who may be interested, Kim has a new litter due on October 5th. She is taking deposits now. These are F1bb puppies. Her contact information if on Goldendoodles by Kim's Design, or message her on her FB page, or you may even contact me for further information. (donnajoinmemphis@aol.com) 

Advice on Writing a Book

 Wouldn't it be grand if there were such a book? Well, I am sure that there are books such as this. The problem with it? There is no one way. One size does not fit all. Every writer must find their own way. It is good, at least I find it is good for me, to read great writers' advice. Some make perfect sense to me, some make me laugh and others give me food for thought, which is not always a bad thing!

Most writers would agree that the hardest part of writing is the beginning. There are others, like me, who feel the ideas are flowing and that is not a problem. For me, the problem begins with showing up daily to give shape to my ideas with the right words and phrases. Thinking to the future, which I try not to, is then wondering how my writing will be received.

I have looked over some great writers' advice and would like to share it with anyone who is a writer or thinks they may want to delve into writing.

Although, I have not read that many of Ernest Hemingway's books, (shame on me) I discovered that he had some of the more memorable quotes on writing:

• "There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed."
• When he was asked what was the scariest thing he ever encountered he answered, "A blank sheet of paper."

• "The first draft of everything is shit."
• "Prose is architecture, not interior decoration."
• "Write drunk, edit sober."

As I was writing this blog, I shared all of these quotes with my husband. He then fixed a Bloody Mary for me, following up with a glass of merlot.

And so I am. Just crazy and trying to think! Not on my novel work but my weekly blog, which sometimes is just as challenging to write, just shorter.

So the quotes that I found to help me or at least make me ponder were:

Elmore Leonard ~ "If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.""I try to leave out the parts that people skip."

E. L. Doctorow ~ "Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as the headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.

Henry Miller ~ "When you can't create you can't work."

John Steinbeck ~ "Abandon the idea  that you are ever going to finish. Lose track of the 400 pages and write just one page for each day. It helps. Then when it gets finished, you are always surprised."

Just because you feel that you have an artistic temperament, does not necessarily help in becoming a writer, singer or artist.

I have read, as I am sure you have too, that many writers were rejected time and time again. J.K Rowling, Stephen King, Sylvia Plath, Ernest Hemingway, and Dr. Seuss, just to name a few.

There is one book which can help, it is just not a "how to book" is called The Elements of Style." It gives some perspective on writing.

Back to some quotes that I highly believe in.

Harper Lee ~ "My advice to any person who aspires to a writing career that before developing his talent he would be wise to develop a thick hide."

W. Somerset Maugham ~ "There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.

Stephen King ~ "If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time - or the tools - to write."

"I am always chilled and astonished by the would-be writers who ask me for advice and admit, quite blithely, that they don't have time to read. This is like a guy starting up Mount Everest saying that he didn't have time to buy rope or pitons."

Mark Twain ~  "Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please."

Eudora Welty ~ "Beware of tidiness."

William Zinsser ~ If writing seems hard, it's because it is hard. It is one of the hardest things people do."

Neil Gaiman ~ "Start telling the stories that only you can tell, because there'll always be better writers than you and there'll always be smarter writers than you. There will always be people who are much better at doing this or doing that- but you are the only you."

Lev Grossman ~ "Don't take anyone's writing advice too seriously."

William Faulkner ~ "Let the writer take up surgery or bricklaying if he is interested in technique. There is no mechanical way to get the writing done, no shortcut. The writer would be a fool to follow a theory. Teach yourself by your own mistakes; people learn by error. The good artist believes that nobody is good enough to give him advice. He has supreme vanity. No matter how much he admires the old writer, he wants to beat him."

Aside from the 'great writers' advice, there are other people that I have listened to. Some of their advice made loads of common sense to me. Such as:

 This piece of advice came from my marketing manager, my husband, who has the degree in marketing. FIND MY VOICE. Do this through my blog and carry over to my novel. Smart man, in my opinion.

Sometimes, I need this sign in front of me. Just sit down and write. Write. Write.

Today, or this afternoon and into the early evening, I needed this sign. There was a slight distraction for me going on. My New Orleans Saints were losing due to Drew Brees wrists. I missed what happened but things went downhill fast. However, I kept writing and hopefully this will be a coherent blog. 

Happy Sunday!