I walked in the store to buy some milk. Look what I saw. This cat pillow alone on the shelf. While I don’t have a cat, it caught my attention. The shape, the eyes. It’s fun!
I wonder if a dog might attack it thinking it was a “real” cat. I don’t have a dog either, so cannot test it out.
Sometimes in our busy, rush, rush, rush day, we were meant to STOP and SMILE!
What’s made YOU stop and slow down lately?
I love good advertisements. For years, I worked for a magazine selling print ads. It was the most fun I’ve had at any job. Yes, it was stressful reaching my weekly/monthly sales goals.
However, I enjoyed scouting out new clients in ALL kinds of industries. I met many interesting people. Ok, I admit, some nice, some not so nice. Yet interesting even when they would slam the door in my face. I would think, “THAT person needs to be sold!”
Recently, I saw this truck with the mold advertisement. I smiled. I was brought back to my old sales days. HURRY, write down the name before the truck dashes off. WHY? We’ve got a Home issue coming up, THIS would be a perfect advertiser. Got to get on it!
My Boss, an Italian guy, would go around the table at our weekly sales meetings asking each Sales Rep, “How the week went.” Seems like a simple question, but if he was in a “mood,” it was embarrassing to be called out in front of everyone.
One guy ALWAYS sat with his chair tilted back trying to act cool. He was a “hot shot.” Talked like a used car salesman. When it was his turn to answer, he’d say, “GREAT week Boss!”
My Manager would say, “Well, Jim, if it was a great week, why didn’t I see any contracts in my InBox?”
Poor Jim! He just didn’t understand that a “good week” meant “SIGNED CONTRACTS!” NO signed contracts, not a good week, LOL. So, don’t set yourself up to be poked at.
Let’s face it, not everyone is cut out for sales. You’ve got to have a tough skin. Stress is high. My Italian manager taught me early on, it’s a numbers game. Do the work, get the reward.
So, here’s to enjoying a good advertisement!
Yesterday, I couldn’t sleep. I woke up at 2:30 AM CT. Annoyed, I turned on the TV.
I GOT SO LUCKY!
My annoyance was short lived. Suddenly, I was watching the BBC Channel, so many amazing back stories about the Queen and her generosity. Heart warming to hear them all.
I was able to see the Bagpipers. They were INCREDIBLE! If I had not been up, I would have missed them.
The funeral had so many amazing moments. We have not seen something so regal like this in years.
The weather was beautiful too. I found this picture of The Queen in yellow. How perfect since the sun came out for her yesterday. Someone interviewed said there was a rainbow the day before.
I LOVED how she had her signature style. ALWAYS the same hat / dress / coat, but in a variety of vibrant colors. Just wonderful! We always knew it was her!
She had two funerals yesterday. They were absolutely beautiful. This gave us time to be at peace.
One young man who was in the procession said he met King Charles. The interviewer asked, “What did he say?”
The young man, not used to being on camera, was nervous, but finally shared, “The King said his mother liked drills and precision, so to be precise.”
AND BY GOSH – THEY WERE ALL PRECISE!!
The young men who carried the coffin were incredible. I’ve moved furniture with another person, it’s hard going up stairs with a heavy load. They did it perfectly!
I wish she could have seen it!
The Queen would have have given her beautiful smile, waived and been PROUD!
A job well done!
We will miss you!
On my walk the other day, I saw this garden. Oh, no! First, what happened to this poor bush? Second, it resembles our chaotic world right now.
I was just reading that in France there is a shortage of Dijon mustard. Due to climate change and the war in Ukraine, there is a shortage of mustard seeds. Did you know that? Did you know that Canada supplies half of the worlds supply of mustard seeds? However, because of heat and a drought these past few years, their supply has been low. This is heart breaking for the farmers.
I looked up where a mustard seed comes from. It’s this yellow flower. See next photo a field of these flowers. Beautiful! The BBC has a great article, a little bit long, but explains the Dijon situation, “Why there’s no ‘Dijon’ in Dijon mustard,” by Emily Monaco, August 17, 2022.
After reading the article on Dijon, guess what I bought yesterday? YES, I got some Dijon mustard. I do enjoy it on a sandwich, with a sausage, hamburger and hot dog. I had no idea there was a shortage.
With climate change, we are starting to appreciate what we took for granted in so many different products / industries, right. Also, learning where / how foods that we have enjoyed come from.
Many people I know are starting to have their own organic gardens. The tomatoes are AMAZING! Same with the raspberries and blackberries. Oh and snap peas. I enjoyed seeing how asparagus grows.
Soon, we might all have our own organic gardens. Share with our neighbors.
Life as we knew it is changing rapidly.
Finally, a feel good story coming out of Chicago. We need more stories like this in the news. Sharing, so you have a SMILE today.
ComEd uses about 200 goats to clear out vegetation under hard to reach power lines.
Kiko goats have hearty appetites, they can graze through 1 acre of land in a week. Nice to see them taking their jobs seriously. They are on loan from Goats on the Go. While they seem small, they do have a strong stature.
I’ll be smiling all day!
Here’s to the start of September and working hard — ALL OF US — goats included!
DO A PUZZLE!
Puzzle of choice – BEACH FUN. I like the White Mountain brand. This one looked challenging, lots of kids/sail boats and color.
MY REWARD!
When I opened the box, RIGHT ON TOP, a puzzle piece with a HEART on it. So darn CUTE!
I immediately searched for the heart in the puzzle picture. WHERE did that piece go? It took me FOREVER to find the heart in the picture.
HOW FAST —->>> Can YOU find it??
Lets have some summer fun!
HAUSER the famous cellist…. Waltz No. 2 was written by Dmitri Shostakovich, a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist. This Suite for Jazz Orchestra No. 2 was written in 1938 for the newly founded State Jazz Orchestra of Victor Knushevitsky, and was premiered on 28 November 1938 in Moscow (Moscow Radio) by the State Jazz Orchestra.
When Shostakovich began piano lessons at the age of nine it was clear he had musical talent. He was one of the major composers of the 20th century.
After reading Dave’s post, ”Child’s Play,” on Life In A Word, I was inspired to listen to Hauser play Waltz No. 2 on YouTube. Thanks, Dave. I hope you all enjoy it too.
Have an enjoyable weekend everyone!
When was the last time you sent a postcard? For me, it’s been years. It’s so easy to snap a photo and send it via text or email. DONE! Taking time to write a postcard, buy the stamp and mail it seems “archaic.” Real EFFORT would have to be put into that process, right!
At my hotel, they had a small entry way. There were people ahead of me to check in. I was standing next to — drum roll — a bunch of postcards. To pass the time…
I started looking them over, remembering how my daughters send me postcards when they are on a trip. I always enjoy the surprise card in the mail. EFFORT = LOVE
So, I decided, I should surprise them in return. I bought two Trevi Fountain postcards.
I wrote:
Just threw THREE COINS in Trevi Fountain. ONE was mine. ONE was your Sister’s. ONE is YOURS! MAKE YOUR WISH! Love, Mama XOXO
Hopefully, they receive the card, so they can make their wish.
When I asked where to buy a stamp, I was told to go to the newsstand. At the newsstand, the fellow gave me my stamps and when I asked WHERE to mail the cards, he pointed to this little yellow mailbox below the postcards.
I had a BIG smile, going back in time.
I admit, I wondered if it was legitimate. It looked cute, but it was in such an odd place.
I asked for confirmation.
The fellow nodded his head — YES!
So, in the box, my postcards went.
Now, to see if they will be delivered!
I made MY WISH! They need to make THEIRS!
I enjoyed THINKING of something clever to write.
Oh, I learned that the Vatican area has it’s own stamps. So, if you mail something through a Vatican mailbox, it must have a Vatican postage stamp on it.
GPS mail — I think on the receipt there was a bar code to scan. If I can find that, I might be able to track my postcards. That would be interesting… right!
When you have a big hat collection, you need someone to protect it. In walks, Isabella, the Christmas mouse. Actually, this was a funny photo. My daughter saw this and said, “Mama, you’ve got a lot of hats!”
I explained that I had even more. It was becoming a storage dilemma. Global warming has made it impossible for me to go outside without sunblock, a scarf, long sleeve shirt and hat. Within 10 minutes, I look like the color of a lobster. No kidding, my skin feels like an egg in a frying pan, the sun is so hot.
Then add style. If I’m working out, wearing a stylish straw hat doesn’t work. If the weather is windy, now I need a hat with a tie around the neck. If it’s raining, I need a waterproof hat. If I’m gardening, I need wide brim, and cleanable. You get where I’m going with this. I’m slowly learning which hat works with which outfit/occasion. I’m lazy, ideally, I wanted 1-2 hats for ALL purposes. Grab and go! I learned that didn’t work.
Oh, and hats are seasonal. I can’t wear a woolen hat in the summer. So, now I have all these hats, and I’m not sure how to store them. They can’t be in hat boxes, my gosh, my life would be a nightmare opening each box. I need them in a pile, so I can pick and go!
I did see a hat tree rack like they have in retail stores. I liked that, but it takes up an entire corner of a room. Do I want to do that? Hum… still putting thought into this.
Any hat lovers out there. If you have ideas. SHARE THEM!
I happened to catch NBC 5 Chicago news recently and this segment by Vi Nguyen caught my attention. An amazing mural by Chicago artist Rich Lo. For this mural, he chose three famous Opera characters commonly seen in Cantonese opera. They are legendary warriors. Lo’s father was a rising star in the Chinese Opera. He saw his father perform on stage, so this is close to his heart.
The Chinese American Museum of Chicago donated this wall for the mural which is in the parking lot. What is also interesting is that Rich Lo went to grammar school across the street from the site of the mural. Fate / destiny at work when he was a child. Interesting how life works, right!
This is such a special tribute to his Chinese culture and family legacy to create this beautiful work of art! I’m excited about this.
It’s time for me to head to Chinatown and see this mural in person!
Brilliant Viewpoint 