Freddie Parker Westerfield
A CANINE not a critter
Celebrations & Events
Back Legs and Other Tails
Receive a free PDF copy!
“The Pulling, Climbing, Falling Down Tale of
Maui and His Back Legs”
Please help support Peggy . . .
We’re honored to have you as a reader . . . . . If you download the PDF please put a brief review (even one sentence will do) in the COMMENTS section below or e-mail us at PeggyJudyTime@gmail.com
Here’s the link to a FREE PDF copy of Maui:
The Pulling, Climbing, Falling Down Tale of Maui and His Back Legs
is now published on both Amazon & Kindle
Click here to see what people are saying about Maui’s book.
THANK YOU!
(jw)
Spiritually Speaking – Ceiling and Visibility Unlimited
George Herbert Walker Bush was the 41st president of the United States. He flew combat missions in World War II. This is part of a letter he wrote his five children before the start of the Gulf War in which he discussed the phrase.
“CAVU was the kind of weather we Navy pilots wanted when we were to fly off our carrier in the Pacific,” he said. “We had little navigational instrumentation, so we wanted to CAVU, ceiling and visibility unlimited, and because of the five of you whose hugs I can still feel, whose own lives made me so proud, I can confidently tell my guardian angel that my life is CAVU and it will be that way until I die. All because of you.”
-
“Be fair in thy judgment, and guarded in thy speech.
-
Be unjust to no man, and show all meekness to all men.
-
Be as a lamp unto them that walk in darkness, a joy to the sorrowful, a sea for the thirsty, a haven for the distressed, an upholder and defender of the victim of oppression.
-
Let integrity and uprightness distinguish all thine acts.”
“Be an ornament to the countenance of truth, a crown to the brow of fidelity, a pillar of the temple of righteousness, a breath of life to the body of mankind, an ensign of the hosts of justice, a luminary above the horizon of virtue, a dew to the soil of the human heart, an ark on the ocean of knowledge, a sun in the heaven of bounty, a gem on the diadem of wisdom, a shining light in the firmament of thy generation, a fruit upon the tree of humility.”
Baha’u’llah, The Baha’i World Faith
“If you give birth to the genius within you, it will free you. If you do not give birth to the genius within you,
it will destroy you.”
Jesus, The Gnostic Gospel of Thomas
Sunday Sermon, Part IV, Two Wings of a Bird
“Science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality. When we recognize our place in an immensity of light-years and in the passage of ages, when we grasp the intricacy, beauty, and subtlety of life, then that soaring feeling, that sense of elation and humility combined, is surely spiritual … “
Carl Sagan (1934-1996)
Hold up your hand for just a second. Feel anything?
At any given second 100 trillion neutrinos are passing through your body . . .RIGHT NOW.
The majority of neutrinos in the vicinity of the Earth are from nuclear reactions in the Sun. The solar neutrino flux for us on Earth is about 65 billion neutrinos, passing through just one square centimeter of area on earth, every second. That’s a lot of neutrinos and we are not able to see them, sense them nor understand them.
There is so much, too much, that is not perceivable to our limited senses nor explainable by our reason.
I was a psychotherapist in private practice for 30 years. Not only did people share their fears and sorrows but unexplainable encounters with spirits, near death experiences and life altering experiences with the divine. I admit I was sometimes skeptical. Over time it became impossible, to dismiss what intelligent, discerning people shared. 
I now think of science as one wing and religion as the other wing of a bird; a bird needs two wings for flight, one alone would be useless . . .
. . . and I circled back to my study of faith and my belief we live a domino life where when one falls we all fall, where one succeeds we all succeed. I discovered two faiths I’d not originally studied – Unitarian Universalism and Baha’i. They not only complemented each other but each offered something a bit different.
Baha’is believe in and share all the UU principles:
- The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
- Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
- Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth;
- A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
- The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process;
- The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
. . . and most importantly the 7th UU principle –
Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.
The Baha’i World Faith brought me full circle back to childhood and to God but it wasn’t the God of fear but of love.
When I read the three core principles which are the basis for Bahá’í teachings and doctrine: the unity of God, the unity of religion, and the unity of humanity. From these stems the belief that God periodically reveals his will through divine messengers: Muhammad, Jesus, Moses, Zoroaster, Buddha, Krishna the Bab and Bahá’u’lláh. It was an “ah-ha moment for me that all establishers of religion. the great religions of the world, represent successive stages in the spiritual evolution of human society. That religion is seen as orderly, unified, and progressive from age to age unexpectedly resonated.
Through decades of trials and tribulations I realize the magical thinking in my childhood, that the world revolved around me, wasn’t quite accurate . . . however,
. . . perhaps some magical thinking persists 60+ years later. Every morning I say a Baha’i prayer for family, friends, acquaintances, past clients and a prayer for those who have passed. The recitation of all the people grows longer each day and takes longer than the prayers . . . The difference between then and now is my prayers are steeped in love, not terror.
* * *
I’m attending a sermon writing workshop led by Kent Doss, the reverend at Tapestry Unitarian Universalist Congregation – not because I plan to deliver sermons but because I’m fascinated how ministers, rabbi’s, priests and preachers write and deliver something inspiring enough to capture the imagination and stir humans to transformative right action. week after week after week which seems a daunting undertaking.
To read Part I, The Interconnectedness of All Beings click HERE
Read Part II, Head & Heart click HERE
Read Part III – Stardusted, click HERE
National Day to Munch Away & Dad
My Dad lived by specific culinary principles:
- Cake’s main purpose was to hold up the frosting.
- Pepsi was the beverage of choice because water was for bathing, not drinking.
- The only edible food was brown and white (unless it contained copious amounts of sugar), green food should be reserved for insects or chimpanzees
- Fruit was only safe to eat if it was in a pie.
If he had known that June 17 was National Eat Your Vegetables Day he would have celebrated with a loaf of french bread & butter downed it with a Pepsi and a cinnamon roll for desert.
On June 17 – National Eat Your Vitamins, Phytochemicals, Fiber, Potassium Day:
- Take a vegetable to lunch
- Vege-out
- Be corny
- Drink Doctor PEPPER
- Stalk celery
June is National Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Month, and National Eat Your Vegetables Day is one more opportunity to remind everyone to continue with this part of a healthy diet.
Each vegetable has its own nutritional content though generally, they contain a little protein or fat and varying proportions of :
- Vitamin A, Vitamin K and Vitamin B6, provitamins, dietary minerals and carbohydrates.
- Phytochemicals, some of which have antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral and anticarcinogenic properties.
- Fiber which is important for gastrointestinal function.
- Essential nutrients that are necessary for healthy hair and skin.
- Potassium may help prevent the formation of kidney stones.
When eating a diet consisting of the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables, it may help
- Lower the risk of heart diseases and type 2 diabetes.
- Decrease bone loss and protect against some cancers
It is recommended by the USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans, to consume 3 to 5 servings of vegetables per day. This recommendation may vary, however, depending on age and gender. For most vegetables, one serving is equivalent of 1/2 to 1 cup and can be eaten either raw or cooked.
Lettuce All Munch Away!
Click here: FOOD IS MEDICINE
to learn how my Dad “made” me eat junk food and some scientific research – how what we eat can make us happier and combat depression
I feel a great sadness
eruption
destroying to build
losing our way to win
and dying so that others may live
In my hope
I feel a great sadness
* * *
Bahá’ís are encouraged to see in the revolutionary changes taking place in every sphere of life the interaction of two fundamental processes. One is destructive in nature, while the other is integrative; both serve to carry humanity, each in its own way, along the path leading towards its full maturity. The operation of the former is everywhere apparent–in the vicissitudes that have afflicted time-honoured institutions, in the impotence of leaders at all levels to mend the fractures appearing in the structure of society, in the dismantling of social norms that have long-held in check unseemly passions, and in the despondency and indifference exhibited not only by individuals but also by entire societies that have lost any vital sense of purpose.
Though devastating in their effects, the forces of disintegration tend to sweep away barriers that block humanity’s progress, opening space for the process of integration to draw diverse groups together and disclosing new opportunities for cooperation and collaboration. Bahá’ís, of course, strive to align themselves, individually and collectively, with forces associated with the process of integration, which, they are confident, will continue to gain in strength, no matter how bleak the immediate horizons. Human affairs will be utterly reorganized, and an era of universal peace inaugurated.
(Universal House of Justice, To the Bahá’ís of Iran, 2 March 2013)
Whine On!
Twenty-eight days since fracturing my ankle (but who’s counting). I was looking forward to my doctor’s appointment yesterday (“looking forward to a doctor’s appointment” – now, that’s a first for me) thinking I will finally give the orthopedic boot the boot and be frrrrrrreeeeeeee. Not. I forgot the ligament was going to take longer to heal than the bone.
- The good news: The bone is healing, I don’t have to wear the boot to bed, the wrapping is off and can take a shower without my foot sticking out into the room.
- The mediocre news: I have to transition from the boot into an ankle brace sloooooooooowly . . . for a month.
- The bad news: My ankle hurts if I walk and pain makes me crabby.
Elixir Fixer by Peggy
This would make a lesser person take to the bottle. Which reminds me, today is National Wine Day. Read this fascinating post on the benefits of wine which include things I need RIGHT NOW:
- Anti-aging (who knew?)
- Blood thinning (so it no longer boils)
- Boosts immune system
- Increases bone density
- and . . . 6 more benefits (you’ll have to click on the link below to learn how all 10 benefits help you)
Click here: WINE ON!
Who knew I’d be a “national symbol”?
I’ve written many posts about my history of fibromyalgia, just not recently.
My “foot episode” has caused a bit of a fiber flare-up, just in time for National Fibromyalgia/ME Chronic Fatigue day on May 12th.
Here’s my story and I’m sticking to it:
In 1995 I contracted an invisible “illness”. Out of nowhere I experienced excruciating burning pain in my hands, arms and legs followed by years of gastrointestinal, cardiological, dermatological and emotional symptoms. At the onset I was also in peri-menopause and experiencing mood swings, wildly, uncontrollably ric-o-shaying swings between happy to annoyed – which I’m minimizing for public consumption.
Back then fibromyalgia was not recognized by the medical community as a “real” ailment. Doctors considered it to be a syndrome: Unexplainable, unverifiable and psychosomatic. It was a Hysterical Middle Aged Woman’s Syndrome, as doctor after doctor told me. based on test, after expensive test coming back negative. I was told nothing was wrong with me and to go home and “Get a life”.
Forever imprinted in my memory is an appointment with the chief of neurology at one of Los Angeles’ major medical schools (the doctor and medical center shall remain nameless because this is a true story) He reviewed the test findings, looked at me knowingly – as if we shared a secret – and said, “You’re a psychotherapist. You know about psychological issues”. He leaned forward, compassionately touching me on the knee and winked, “Go home, live a good life and take up a hobby like kick-boxing.” The only reason I winked back was to blink away the tears that were threatening to disrupt the façade that I wasn’t a hysterical middle-aged woman.
I searched for anyone – gynecologists, gastroenterologists, cardiologists, neurologists, rheumatologists, environmental specialists, acupuncturists, immunologists, chiropractors – to name to what I had, to give what was invisible to everyone but myself a label other than HYPOCHONDRIAC. I looked fine, acted fine, and thousands of dollars of medical tests came back negative. All I took away from the 100’s of doctor’s visits was a stack of psychiatrist’s cards doctors handed to me on the way out of their office.
After years of pain, escalating exhaustion, depression, countless doctors and tests I did qualify, on all counts, as a hysterical middle-aged woman .
Well over a decade later fibromyalgia was recognized by the medical community as “real”. Current research indicates it might be a neuro-inflammatory/auto-immune disease impacting the central nervous system. No one knows for certain and there is no current cure.
I’m no longer middle-aged or hysterical.
But the doctors were right – it is, all in my head.
Check out Carolyn Thomas’ My Heart Sisters –“You look great!” – and other things you should never say to heart patients and lots of other great posts about invisible illness.
- Why, when you tell someone who is ill that they look good, they’re offended?
- Practical ways you can encourage someone who is ill.
May 12th has been designated as International Awareness Day for Chronic Immunological and Neurological Diseases (CIND). The CIND illnesses include Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), Fibromyalgia (FM), Gulf War Syndrome (GWS) and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS).
May 12th was chosen as it is the birthday of Florence Nightingale. She was believed to have suffered from ME/CFS.
Celebrate!
It’s Cinco de Mayo time
Drink tequila and lime
Eat to the beat
Take a chance and dance
so the chips don’t go to your hips
Brain Dance – Bust a Move and a toe or two
Read: Research findings suggest that combining physical, cognitive, and social engagement like dance can improve cognitive health.
See: Twirl, Whirl & Swirl
Meet My Foot Feat, day 4
It’s only DAY 3 of my “convalescence” and the thought of spending most of my time sitting with my foot up for 3 WEEKS is __________. Fill in the blank and it’s probably close to the mark.
So far I’ve worked on CATNIPblog posts, worked on Peggy & my Happiness project, started reading a new book and watched far too much TV. My “rear-end” is already beginning to hurt as much as my foot.
I have more time on my hands (and feet) than ever yet have less focus than ever. Looking for something creative to add to my sit-down-activities I decided to finish pages (upon pages) I started years ago in my many journals.
judy’s journal, collage, acrylic, marking pens
Today I picked a page that required no thought, just schmearing a bit of paint with my finger and doodling with marking pens. I have no clue why I wrote the fishy-poem I remember from childhood on the page.
Fishy fishy in a brook
Papa catch ’em with a hook
Mama fry ’em in a pan
Baby eat ’em like a man
Need to catch up? Here’s what happened to me:
In pain, Need Sympathy
Food for the HEEL
April 29th – Flashy Fun!!
In 1982 the Dance Committee of ITI founded International Dance Day to be celebrated every year on the 29th April, the birthday of Jean-Georges Noverre (1727-1810), creator of modern ballet. The intention of the International Dance Day Message is to celebrate dance, revel in the universality of this art form, cross all political, cultural and ethnic barriers, and bring people together with a common language – dance.
Take a look at another flash mob, click here: DO RE MI
Easter Pome & “HEALTHY” Chocolate Brownie Recipe
This Easter be a vegetarian
It’s only utilitarian
don’t eat rats
or worms or bats
Celebrate the day
and eat hay
No chocolate covered ants
chow down on plants
No eggs fried
there’s a chick inside
Don’t EAT us few
and we won’t BUG you.
“Be kind to all people, love humanity, consider all mankind as your relations and servants of the most high God.”
Here’s our bribe
It’s hard to describe
Healthy Double Chocolate brownie recipe
Click here to imbibe
Family comes in all forms
My brother and sister-in-law’s wonderful dogs have recently passed. This is dedicated to Duffy & Ozzy and all the wonderful critters who bless us.
Ozzy & Duffy
Thanks LYN!!
“To blessed animals the utmost kindness must be shown, the more the better. Tenderness and loving-kindness are basic principles of God’s heavenly Kingdom. Ye should most carefully bear this matter in mind.”
Seenagers R Us (Senior Teenagers)
Epiphany! My CATNIPblog co-creator, Peggy, and I are not elderly, we are not senior citizens, we are not wise-women, we are NOT, we are NOT, we are NOT.
We are Seenagers and have everything we wanted as teenagers. It just took us 60 years to get “there”.
Judy & Peggy (Peggy is actually taller than Judy but Judy wears high heels and has to stand up straighter so the birdie doesn’t fall off)
We don’t have to go to school or work.
We get an allowance every month.
We don’t have a curfew.
We have driver’s licenses and our own cars.
We have ID’s that gets us into bars and wine stores. We like the wine store best.
We are not scared of getting pregnant. We aren’t scared of anything because we’ve been blessed to live this long. Why be scared?
We don’t have acne.
Thanks Sharon M.!!!
Check out how Seenagers can improve their BRAINS https://wp.me/p18HbQ-2h4
National Napping Day and Me
In anticipation of National Napping Day, observed annually the day following the return of daylight saving time, I’ve taken 2 hour naps every day for a week. National Napping Day is supposed to provide everyone with the opportunity to have a nap and catch up on the hour of sleep they lost due to the spring forward time change. Personally, I would prefer no time change and instead of N.N.Day we had a National No-Time-Change Day.
Curious Critters Catching Zzzz’s by Peggy
Mid-afternoon naps are an integral part of many cultures, and scientifically proven to be good for you.
A needed rest is supposed to make you feel better, improve your mood, be more productive and energetic. After my 2 hour naps I felt groggy, foggy, like muck.
Researching National Nap Day, I read that numerous studies have shown that short 10-20 minute naps are the most effective when midday fatigue hits. Improvements in alertness, productivity and mood have all been shown to improve with this type of snooze.
Apparently 10 – 20 minutes prevents your brain waves from going into deep sleep which is what creates the grogginess when you wake up
Now, they tell me . . .
HISTORY
William Anthony, Ph.D., a Boston University Professor and his wife, Camille Anthony, created National Napping Day in 1999 as an effort to spotlight the health benefits to catching up on quality sleep. “We chose this particular Monday because Americans are more ‘nap-ready’ than usual after losing an hour of sleep to daylight saving time,” Anthony said.
Celebration, Confession and Happy Anniversary*
Noticed the new header? The critters are creations from CATNIPblog and the magnificently, masterful, murky minds of Peggy & me.
Tweeter, Woofer, Meowie, Squeakie & Grunter the Worm
Prisoner of Love
Here’s whatsup:
After retiring I have more and more time but, as you’ve noticed, there have been fewer and fewer posts on CURIOUS. I have a “tendency” to accomplish things when faced with deadlines and commitments. My other “tendency” is procrastination when left to my own devises.
Peggy, my co-collaborator on CATNIPblog, has provided both – deadlines & commitment. She sets up the posting schedule and my commitment to her provides the impetus.
Because Curious to the Max is my first love – been posting since 2009 – I’ve asked Peggy to help me schedule more CURIOUS posts. She agreed (without completely knowing what she was getting into) to help, although I have not relinquished editorial control. CURIOUS to the Max will stay true to: “Curious STUFF that makes me love, learn and laugh”
CATNIPblog will stay true to:
“Self-care tips, tools, techniques & neuroscience research for MIND, BODY & SOUL – shared with a wink and a smile”
Meowie
*P.S. Peggy and I, grateful for all the support and positive responses we’ve received, are holding a one-year-anniversary drawing from the list of all CATNIP’s subscribers. To get in on the drawing click here:
CATNIPblog.com
Frankly Freddie – Valentine’s Day Pome
Roses are red
Violets are blue
I’m not allowed chocolate
Valentine’s day . . . pooh
The only good thing about Valentine’s day is the candy and I never get any. I sit alone, no valentines, no candy, no romance. The only thing I get is dog food.
If you are sitting home alone on Valentine’s day with dog food you are not alone.
Freddie Parker Westerfield, Published Poet
___________________________________________________
Find out how:
Sugar Increases the “happiness” neurotransmitter serotonin.
Freddie Parker Westerfield, Published Poet
Woofer’s Bark Bark Valentine Treat
Eating chocolate has been tied to a reduced risk of heart disease. Now scientists have uncovered how strong this link is.
To read more click here:
Why Chocolate is good for Tallulah and My Heart
Turns out there’s added benefits when you add nuts and berries.
Walnuts are one of the top nuts for brain health. They have a significantly high concentration of DHA, a type of Omega-3 fatty acid. Among other things, DHA has been shown to improve cognitive performance in adults, prevent or ameliorate age-related cognitive decline and lower resting blood pressure. One study even shows that mothers who get enough DHA have smarter kids.
Just a quarter cup of walnuts provides nearly 100% of the recommended daily intake of DHA.
Strong scientific evidence also exists that eating berry fruits has beneficial effects on the brain and may help prevent age-related memory loss and other changes.*
“Berry fruits contain high levels of antioxidants, compounds that protect cells from damage by harmful free radicals. The two also report that berry fruits change the way neurons in the brain communicate. These changes in signaling can prevent inflammation in the brain that contribute to neuronal damage and improve both motor control and cognition.”
Woof Woof Bark Bark
Woofer’s Bark Bark, a good for your brain’s Valentine treat
Ingredients
- 1 lb 70% dark chocolate, finely chopped or grated or 6 oz. bag of dark chocolate chips
- 1 ½ cups roasted walnuts or almonds, unsalted
- 1/2 cup dried raspberries (other dried berries will work)
Directions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Melt chocolate in microwave oven or stir chocolate in a double boiler until melted.
- Add nuts & berries and stir quickly to combine. (reserve some to sprinkle on top)
- Spread chocolate-berry-nut mixture on parchment paper, keeping nuts in a single layer.
- Sprinkle top with the remaining berry-nut mixture.
- Chill until chocolate is set, about 3 hours.
- Break bark into pieces and store between layers of parchment or waxed paper.
WOOF! woof!
Click here and on the Pinterest pictures for other chocolate recipes, and more about chocolate:
Freddie’s Food Friday
Chocolate Rides Again
A Chocolate a Day Melts the Fat Away
Journal Reference: Marshall G. Miller, Barbara Shukitt-Hale. Berry Fruit Enhances Beneficial Signaling in the Brain. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Bring in the New, Blow out the Old
Warning!
After reading this post wash your hands, take a shower, disinfect your computer and stay away from crowds as you may have caught my cold.
I just realized it’s December 31st, having spent the last 8 days doing nothing but sleeping, watching Hallmark movies that always end in a kiss ‘n bliss while blowing, snorting, coughing and kvetching.
The good news is I don’t have the flu. (I know it’s the flu when I feel pain as the hair grows on my head and my fingernails ache.) This is a cold, albeit if there is a hell it’s from the nether regions. Every orifice in my being is clogged including my bronchial tubes which periodically go into spasm trying to clear themselves of the invading species.
If she thinks she has problems . . . try having a cold when you’re a member of our family
The other good news: My body is working as it was meant to – surrounding the invaders with fluid and trying to expel them from my being. However, I’d think with all the technological and scientific advances Mr Dyson could have perfected a vacuum to sweep my body clean of debris.
HEALTHY 2018 to ALL!! (Happy and Wealthy are currently second choices)
For a New Year’s Pome Wish check out http://CATNIPblog.com
What! She missed Christmas?!!!!
FAITHfully Yours on this day of giving Thanks
“Shed the light of a boundless love on every human being whom you meet, whether of your country, your race, your political party, or of any other nation, colour or shade of political opinion. Heaven will support you while you work in this in-gathering of the scattered peoples of the world beneath the shadow of the almighty tent of unity.”
Baha’u’llah, The Baha’i World Faith,
“All major religious traditions carry basically the same message, that is love, compassion and forgiveness the important thing is they should be part of our daily lives.”
The Dalai Lama
“But now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:13
Sending all of you much love,
judy
During the month of November, Baha’i Blogging is hosting a post-a-day-or-so something related to or inspired by Faith. Because so many of you follow both this blog and CATNIPblog Peggy & I will post our “dailies” here and Sunday “retrospectives” on CATNIPblog.com
The hashtag is #bahaiblogging.
FAITHfully Yours – War no More
“Peace demands the most heroic labor and the most difficult sacrifice. It demands greater heroism than war. It demands greater fidelity to the truth and a much more perfect purity of conscience”.
Thomas Merton
Antiquated & Outdated by judy
A Baha’i Bit
The Baha’i Faith has no clergy. Instead, a distinctive system of democratically-elected councils at the local, national and international levels administer and guide Baha’i communities.”
“This unprecedented administrative order, fundamentally different from any other system of religious or political authority, has now become the first functioning system of democratic global governance, vesting power and initiative in the entire body of the believers worldwide.”
During the month of November, Baha’i Blogging is hosting a post-a-day-or-so something related to or inspired by Faith. Because so many of you follow both this blog and CATNIPblog Peggy & I will post our “dailies” here and Sunday “retrospectives” on CATNIPblog.com
The hashtag is #bahaiblogging.
Frankly Freddie – Halloween Orange Alert
To all Human-beings: It’s time for my Halloween ORANGE-ALERT.
This Halloween
Don’t be mean!
Don’t you dare
make others stare
Dressing up
your precious pup
Please be fair!
just let us wear
our own hair.
Example of suspicious clothing
To All my Canine Cousins:
Be on the look-out for your human coming back from the store with suspicious articles of clothing and paraphernalia that is NOT THEIR color, style or size. If they start sweet-talking you or offering you treats RUN for your life & HIDE.
Example of humiliation.
No matter how many times I HAVE TOLD HUMANS not to humiliate us because they want to be amused it happens every year. I prefer to think that Humans just aren’t very smart and have no memory retention beyond a few hours rather than the possibility they are simply insensitive creatures with no regard for our feelings.
Frankly,
Freddie Parker Westerfield, PIC&C
Protector of Innocent Creatures & Critters
Happy HALLOWEDeen
Hocus Pocus
Let’s all focus
No room for mean
on Halloween
Fly’n High by Peggy
Let love fly high
and fill the sky
reposted from http://CATNIPblog.com
a judy pome
a peggy picture
Inktober Unmasked
Mardi Gras Meowie
Oct 31 Prompt MASK
Posting a drawing a day on Curious to the Max with a once-a-week Sunday-7 Day Retrospective on CATNIPblog for those of you who just want to click- off the dailies!
http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober
INKTOBER – THE END!
Inktober – Happy Halloween
Lost and Found
Oct 30 Prompt FOUND
Posting a drawing a day on Curious to the Max with a once-a-week Sunday-7 Day Retrospective on CATNIPblog for those of you who just want to click- off the dailies!
http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober
Inktober Conga Line Kitties
United We Stand, United We Dance
Oct 29 Prompt, UNITED
Posting a drawing a day on Curious to the Max with a once-a-week Sunday-7 Day Retrospective on CATNIPblog for those of you who just want to click- off the dailies!
http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober
Inktober is “Falling”
Falling (literally & figuratively) Asleep
Oct 28 Prompt FALL
Posting a drawing a day on Curious to the Max with a once-a-week Sunday-7 Day Retrospective on CATNIPblog for those of you who just want to click- off the dailies!
http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober
Inktober – Climb
Up a Tree
Oct 27 Prompt CLIMB
Posting a drawing a day on Curious to the Max with a once-a-week Sunday-7 Day Retrospective on CATNIPblog for those of you who just want to click- off the dailies!
http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober
Squeaky Inky Tober
A Squeaky Mouse Gets the Cheese
Oct 26 prompt SQUEAK
Posting a drawing a day on Curious to the Max with a once-a-week Sunday-7 Day Retrospective on CATNIPblog for those of you who just want to click- off the dailies!
http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober
Ink Dinky Dinghy
I Spy Matey Meowie
Oct 25 Prompt SHIP
Posting a drawing a day on Curious to the Max with a once-a-week Sunday-7 Day Retrospective on CATNIPblog for those of you who just want to click- off the dailies!
http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober
One Blind Mouse
Oct 24 Prompt BLIND
Posting a drawing a day on Curious to the Max with a once-a-week Sunday-7 Day Retrospective on CATNIPblog for those of you who just want to click- off the dailies!
http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober
Inktober – Saucy is as Juicy Does
MEEE YOW EEE! Meowie
Oct 23 Prompt JUICY
Posting a drawing a day on Curious to the Max with a once-a-week Sunday-7 Day Retrospective on CATNIPblog for those of you who just want to click- off the dailies!
http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober
Inktober – Tail Trail
Strolling by the Stream
Oct 22 Prompt TRAIL
Posting a drawing a day on Curious to the Max with a once-a-week Sunday-7 Day Retrospective on CATNIPblog for those of you who just want to click- off the dailies!
http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober
Inky Dinky Furry Fury
Meower on the Verge
Oct 21 Prompt FURIOUS
Posting a drawing a day on Curious to the Max with a once-a-week Sunday-7 Day Retrospective on CATNIPblog for those of you who just want to click- off the dailies!
http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober
Inktober-The Sky’s the Limit
Woofer’s Deep Space Dive
Oct 20 Prompt DEEP
Posting a drawing a day on Curious to the Max with a once-a-week Sunday-7 Day Retrospective on CATNIPblog for those of you who just want to click- off the dailies!
http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober
Inky Dinky Shroudy Cloudy
Meowie’s Soft Place
Oct 19 Prompt CLOUD
Posting a drawing a day on Curious to the Max with a once-a-week Sunday-7 Day Retrospective on CATNIPblog for those of you who just want to click- off the dailies!
http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober
Inktober – A filthy mess
Messy Clean-up of Filthy Mess
Oct 18 Prompt FILTHY
Posting a drawing a day on Curious to the Max with a once-a-week Sunday-7 Day Retrospective on CATNIPblog for those of you who just want to click- off the dailies!
http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober
Inky Tober – Graceful
Woofie’s Dancing Debut
Oct 17 Prompt GRACEFUL
Posting a drawing a day on Curious to the Max with a once-a-week Sunday-7 Day Retrospective on CATNIPblog for those of you who just want to click- off the dailies!
http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober
Inky Dinky Inktober – Fat
HEALTHY fat is good for your brain*!
The USDA recommends that healthy adults over the age of 19 consume between 20 and 35 percent of their daily calories from fat. Young children (ages 1 to 3 years) need as much as 40 percent of their daily calories to come from fat. If you eat a diet of 2,000 calories per day, ingest between 44 grams and 77 grams of total fat daily.
Oct 16 Prompt FAT – Sugar High
Posting a drawing a day on Curious to the Max with a once-a-week Sunday-7 Day Retrospective on CATNIPblog for those of you who just want to click- off the dailies!
http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober
Inktober – Mysterious
This mysterious kitty is featured on Halloween stuff on our ZAZZLE CATNIP Shop.
- Kitchen Towels
- Paper Cups
- Napkins,
- Mugs
- Special Orders on any thing your heat desires (as long as Zazzle makes it we can decorate it!)
Oct 15 Prompt MYSTERIOUS
Posting a drawing a day on Curious to the Max with a once-a-week Sunday-7 Day Retrospective on CATNIPblog for those of you who just want to click- off the dailies!
http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober
Inktober – Fierce is as Fierce Does
Sometimes we must display fierce confidence over fierce aggression
Oct 14 Prompt FIERCE
Posting a drawing a day on Curious to the Max with a once-a-week Sunday-7 Day Retrospective on CATNIPblog for those of you who just want to click- off the dailies!
http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober
Inktober – Teeming with Good Witches
Whaahooo! These witches are found on our ZAZZLE CATNIP Shop. They decorate:
- Kitchen Towels
- Paper Cups
- Napkins,
- Mugs
- Special Orders
Can’t get more “teeming” than that!
Oct 13 Prompt TEEMING
Inktober – Cheesy Perspective
Everything is just a matter of perspective!
Oct 10 Prompt GIGANTIC – It’s the Cheesiest
Posting a drawing a day on Curious to the Max with a once-a-week Sunday-7 Day Retrospective on CATNIPblog for those of you who just want to click- off the dailies!
http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober
Inky Dinky Inktober – Screeeeeech
Neither Peggy nor I can carry a tune but we can carry a screech.
Oct 9 Prompt SCREECH
Posting a drawing a day on Curious to the Max with a once-a-week Sunday-7 Day Retrospective on CATNIPblog for those of you who just want to click- off the dailies!
http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober
Inktober – Which Way Witchy
Some days are just like this . . .
Oct 8 Prompt CROOKED – Which Way Witchy
Posting a drawing a day on Curious to the Max with a once-a-week Sunday-7 Day Retrospective on CATNIPblog for those of you who just want to click- off the dailies!
http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober
INKTOBER – The Long & Shy of it
We’re almost caught up for the first week of Inktober with a drawing a day!
Oct 5 Prompt LONG – Meowie
Bashful is a mood magnet on our ZAZZLE/catnip shop but it was an ink drawing first so Peggy & I think it qualifies for Inktober!
Oct 6 Prompt SHY – Bashful Meowie
Posting a drawing a day on Curious to the Max with a once-a-week Sunday-retrospective on CATNIPblog for those of you who just want to click- off the dailies!
http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober
“When the waters rise, so do our better angels.”*
“Get busy helping someone else and see — over time — the things you might have in common, instead of only the things that might divide you.”
“Remember what can happen when we love our neighbors as ourselves. There are storms that bring us together and storms that divide us. We have a chance now to choose. Harvey already has reminded us what we’re capable of, when we come together.”
Angelic Meowie from CATNIPblog
“The recovery ahead will be long. Our neighbors need to know they can count on us. The families affected will need our help and our attention as the work of rebuilding unfolds. If we hold our focus on the important matters at hand, we can use the power of the people to create that world we all know exists — if we will simply give it life.”
*Jimmy Carter
Read entire article by Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States.
Everything in life ministers to our development. Our lesson is to study and learn… Tests are either stumbling blocks or stepping-stones, just as we make them.
You (and hot dogs) are the stuff fireworks are made of
The explosive black powder in the firework shot into the air contains almost the exact same amount of energy as a simple hot dog.
The firework uses the energy in black powder to fill the sky with light. We use the energy in a hot dog to do everything — move, breathe, think, stay alive.
“And here’s the surprising thing: the firework and your body use the same basic chemical process to get at that energy.”
“Luckily, as Skunk Bear’s latest video explains, our version of this reaction is a bit less explosive.”
Want to learn more about fireworks? This Skunk Bear video explains the chemistry behind their bright colors. (Hint: It has something to do with everyday table salt.)
Skunk Bear
Why I’ve not posted on “Curious” for awhile.
Several months ago my good friend Peggy Arndt, who is also a retired psychotherapist, suggested we collaborate on blogging the tips, tools and techniques for health, happiness and well-being we have accumulated over our combined 60+ years of experience.
As that was my original intent when I started this CURIOUS blog I agreed . . . on the condition that CATNIPblog also amused me.
Self-help tips, tools, techniques & neuroscience research for MIND, BODY & SOUL – shared with a wink and a smile
By now, you know that I post when the mood moves me. Collaborating with Peggy, who is much more organized than I am, has made me accountable to a regular blogging schedule on Catnipblog. So I’ve been typing my little fingers to the bone and posting on CATNIP so Peggy will think I’m not as flaky as I actually am.
I’m not abandoning this blog as I started Curious to the Max over 7 years ago and have over 1,500 post (yes, you read that right . . . OVER one-thousand, five-hundred posts!). I’m just still in the process of figuring out how to do both blogs.
On CATNIPblog most of the posts emphasize current research and the neuroscience of health and happiness (with a bit of our personal experience thrown in). Once a week we post something inspirational, weird and/or whimsical on Pawsitively Tuesdays.
I’d LOVE it if you would check out CATNIPblog, see the proof that I can be disciplined . . . and subscribe.
Click here:
CATNIPblog take a look !
April Fools’ Day – Something’s Fishy
Creepy, manipulative, terrible hoax or a creative, fun-filled joke?
The positive view is that April Fools’ is good for one’s health because it encourages “jokes, pranks, and belly laughs and brings all the benefits of laughter including stress relief and reducing strain on the heart!
Here are some April 1st pranks pulled on whole populations. You decide if they are creepy or fun-filled:
P.S. Click here to find out the science behind WHY WE ARE SO GULLIBLE
Pasta Prank
1957: “Swiss Spaghetti Harvest. The BBC broadcast a film in their Panorama current affairs series purporting to show Swiss farmers picking freshly-grown spaghetti from the family “spaghetti tree”. At the time spaghetti was relatively little known in the UK, so that many Britons were unaware that it is made from wheat flour and water; a number of viewers afterwards contacted the BBC for advice on growing their own spaghetti trees. The BBC was later flooded with requests to purchase a spaghetti plant, forcing them to declare the film a hoax on the news the next day.”
Welcome To Chicago!
1992: “Airline passengers descending into Los Angeles Airport might have experienced a momentary feeling of panic when they looked out the window and saw an 85-foot-long yellow banner on the ground that spelled out, in 20-foot-high red letters, “Welcome to Chicago.” It was raised above the Hollywood Park race track, which lay directly along the flight path for arriving planes, about three miles from the airport.”
Planetary Alignment Decreases Gravity
1976: “During an early-morning interview on BBC Radio 2, the British astronomer Patrick Moore announced that at 9:47 AM that day a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event was going to occur. Pluto would pass behind Jupiter, and this planetary alignment would temporarily counteract and lessen the Earth’s own gravity. Moore told his listeners that if they jumped in the air at the exact moment the alignment occurred, they would experience a strange floating sensation. When 9:47 AM arrived, the station began receiving hundreds of phone calls from listeners claiming to have felt the sensation. One woman reported that she and her friends had risen from their chairs and floated around the room. Moore had intended his annoucement to be a spoof of a pseudoscientific theory that had recently been promoted in a book called The Jupiter Effect, alleging that a rare alignment of the planets was going to cause massive earthquakes and the destruction of Los Angeles in 1982.”
Orange-Bearing Pine Trees
1950: “Motorists driving along the scenic Rim of the World highway near Lake Arrowhead in Southern California encountered something remarkable. All the pine and cedar trees lining the road had grown oranges overnight. The transformation turned out to be the work of the residents of the nearby town of Skyforest, led by the cartoonist Frank Adams. They had crept out during the night and strung 50,000 oranges in the trees along a one-mile section of the highway. The fruit was left over from the recent National Orange Show in San Bernardino.”
The Tasmanian Mock Walrus
1984: “The Orlando Sentinel featured a story about a creature known as the Tasmanian Mock Walrus (or TMW for short) that many people in Florida were said to be adopting as a pet. The creature was four inches long, resembled a walrus, purred like a cat, and had the temperament of a hamster. What made it such an ideal pet was that it never had to be bathed, used a litter box, and ate cockroaches. In fact, a single TMW could entirely rid a house of its cockroach problem. However, the local pest-control industry was said to be pressuring the government to ban TMWs, fearing they would put cockroach exterminators out of business. Dozens of people called the paper trying to find out where they could obtain their own TMW. Skeptics noted that the photo of a TMW accompanying the article showed a creature that looked suspiciously similar to a Naked Mole Rat.”
FAT SOX – Loose Weight from the “bottom” up.
2000: “The Daily Mail revealed that Esporta Health Clubs had launched a new line of socks, dubbed FatSox, designed to help people lose weight. These revolutionary socks actually sucked body fat out of sweating feet, promising to “banish fat for ever.” The American inventor of this weight-loss product, Professor Frank Ellis Elgood, explained that the socks employed a nylon polymer called FloraAstraTetrazine “previously only applied in the nutrition industry.” As a person’s body heat rose and their blood vessels dilated, the socks drew “excess lipid from the body through the sweat.” After having sweated out the fat, the wearer could then simply wash the socks, and the fat, away.”
Bob Blowfish sez: “A fish out of water is not a prank, no matter what the occasion.”
