There's No Such Thing As Altruism

I posted a while back about the cancer patient whose dogs I visit twice a day. Well, we've become great pals and I so enjoy my visits with her (and her dogs!). A couple of weeks ago, one of her friends brought her a plastic bird feeder, which she hung from her patio outside of her living room windows (where she spends most of her days). She so enjoyed watching the birds come to eat. A combination freak thunderstorm, which resulted in wet bird seed and the weight of a dozen or so birds, perching on the feeder at once, was too much for the feeder to handle and it fell under the strain and cracked into many pieces. My client was so upset when I got there, for our next visit after the bird feeder bit the dust. She was worried that her birds wouldn't get food anywhere else (I have those same irrational feelings when our feeder is out of seed) and she was missing watching the "show" outside. I mentioned that I had an old feeder that I wasn't using that I'd be more than happy to bring to her. She enthusiastically accepted ("Oh, that would be lovely"--in her British accent) and already began talking about where we might hang my feeder and what birds it might attract.

So, I took my old, tiny feeder over there, as well as a 20 lb bag of seed from our hardware store. I fill the feeder twice daily and everytime I visit, she tells me tales of the bird families that come to her feeder and the squirrels that she loves to watch as well. Well, the other day, she asked me if I thought that it would be crazy to get another feeder, so that she could accommodate more birds. I thought it was a great idea. {A little background, before I lose you in all the details: this client is disabled and is unable to work or get around by herself. She's very much on a fixed income and relies on the kindness of her friends and neighbors to get to the bank, the grocery store, etc.} I told her that, as soon as I could, I would go on a hunt for another bird feeder that might work on her patio. I've been so busy lately that I haven't had a chance to go to a store (Target, etc) that might have a bird feeder.

Well, as fate would have it, this morning, as I was filling my own bird feeder here at home, I realized that it was cracked and that seed was pouring out of it. That's when I knew that it was time for me to make time to get to a store to get another bird feeder for this client, and pick up a new one for us in the process. It was so much fun, going on a mini-shopping spree at Target, looking for fun bird items for this client! I got her a new birdfeeder and some bird seed, but they didn't have any squirrel feeders at Target. Then, I went to PetsMart because I knew that they had alot of squirrel stuff. I ended up getting her some squirrel feed there, as well as a window feeder--which has suction cups that attach to the window, so that she can see the birds more closely.

I can't wait to take her all of this "loot" tonight when I go back to visit. The look on her face will be priceless and I can't wait to hear her stories about the precious birds and squirrels that give her so much to look forward to each day. It's so easy to get busy and self-absorbed in our lives and forget about little things that really make other people happy.

One Last Post Tonight, and Then I'll Leave You All Alone

Something that makes me laugh outloud, like a mentally-unstable person, even a year or so after it happened:

A Little foreword:

We live in a 3 story townhome, which has strange acoustics (it's hard to tell where a certain sound is coming from in the house); with 4 cats, who occasionally get a case of the "crazies" at bedtime.

So, this one night, Kevin and I were in bed, reading before going to sleep. None of the cats had come to bed yet. We heard someone scratching on the furniture downstairs, or doing something equally unacceptable that we couldn't quite place. I start doing my "ATT! ATT! ATT!"--vocal action which didn't stop the craziness, so Kevin pipes in, in a booming, authoritative voice: "Whoever you are...Wherever you are....Stop whatever it is that you're doing".
As soon as he said it, I cracked up, at the sheer ambiguity of what he'd just said. You probably had to be there to fully appreciate the humor, but it still cracks me up to this day and I wanted to share.

What's Wrong With Me?

Why does watching Dancing With The Stars make me itch (quite literally) to dance, dance, dance?
God love Evander Holyfield....

Another Random Drivel

Every Saturday morning from 8am-12pm, there's a farmer's market that sets up shop in our neighborhood coffee shop parking lot. Kevin and I have been making a pilgrimage to the farmer's market every Saturday for about a month now. It's more than just a place to buy our locally-grown, organic produce--it's also a place to visit with neighbors and get a real small-town feeling. We're so fortunate in that our neighborhood, although smack-dab in the middle of Houston, feels very much like a small town. The farmer's market is very small and quaint and just a happy place to be on an early Saturday morning. Usually, Kevin gets a coffee and I get a hot tea, from inside the coffee shop and we sit and talk about what we might want to purchase, produce-wise. After we've finished our beverages, we start scouting around the produce stands. Amazingly enough, I enjoy the fact that every weekend, the produce varies...much as Mother Nature wants it. The farms that produce the fruits and veggies for the farmer's market are at the mercy of the weather and climate. I think that in the long run, it's healthier to eat produce that's in it's prime, as opposed to a sad, cucumber that's been grown in a hothouse in the middle of January.

Some Random Drivelings

Even though someone of my stature and fame shouldn't endorse products without proper compensation, I wanted to share a new product that I'm coo coo over:

Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day Surface Scrub
When it comes to cleaning bathtubs and sinks, I'm a scrubby kind of girl. Just wiping tubs and sinks down with a sponge doesn't satisfy me--I need abrasion, baby! Having been a Comet gal for years, I grew tired of the fumes and asthma-like attack that I'd have every time I cleaned the bathtub with Comet. One day, I stumbled upon Mrs. Meyer's products and bought the Surface Scrub in lavender scent. I'm not typically a lavender girl, but it was either lavender or verbena and after a bad verbena mishap at the L'Occitane store one day, I can't do verbena anymore. Anyhoo, I used the Surface Scrub last Monday to clean our bathtub and I can't even begin to tell you how wonderful it is! For starters, there were no bad fumes...just a pleasant (but not overwhelming) lavender scent. It really did the job--even better and whiter than Comet, I think. And, the best thing is that even today,(5 days later) it's still sparkling clean and feels squeaky when you get in it. Also, it's environmentally friendly, so I don't have to worry about what I'm washing down the drain, as I'm cleaning and how it will end up on our water supply. I'm in love.

Beginning a Journey

I'm potentially taking on a new client very soon. She's a cancer patient who's no longer able to take her 2 dogs outside for walks/potty time. She needs me to come over twice a day, every. single. day, to take the dogs out. This could potentially go on through the month of August.

I was pretty apprehensive about taking on this job, just because Summer is my busy time of year and I SO enjoy my downtime. Having 2 standing appointments everyday is a little depressing. I know that this gig isn't going to put me on the Fortune 500 list--I've greatly discounted my per visit rate for her, since she's unable to work and doesn't have alot of money. For some reason though, I've just known that I'm supposed to take on this job. For starters, I'll be making this lady's life alot easier...if not only for helping her care for her pets, for being someone to come to her house twice a day and say hello. Also, I'm sure that her dogs have suffered due to her limited capabilities and I'll be making their lives more fun. I have no doubt that the dogs know that something is not right with "mom" and are probably a little stressed out. I do believe that the Universe works in mysterious ways and I feel as though this opportunity was presented to me for a reason--be it to remind me of how fortunate I am that I have my health; to introduce a new human into my life; to help me to appreciate what I get to do for a living and how much my clients value me--who really knows. I just know that there was no way that I could've turned down this gig, because of the responsibilities involved, and then sit here on my sofa, watching reality TV and live with myself.