A Scratching Thingie? (Finnegan’s Diary)

May 17, 2023 Carol Ann Erhardt1 Comment

Hi! It’s me, Finnegan. So things have been quiet this past week. Sunday was Mother’s Day so my mommy went to lunch with her human daughters. My favorite one stopped by for a few minutes while mommy fed me and I was so happy to see her! She was the one who really made me relax when I first came here and was so scared. But they didn’t stay long.

So for my mommy I gave her a present. One of my friends helped me and I’m not going to say who it was (whispers: I don’t know who, but don’t tell). Mommy was so full of smiles when she got it in the mail.

Mommy has been cleaning my ears with the medicine the doctor gave her and it is helping. I’m feeling a lot better and not scratching like I did before. And I’m super happy because mommy decided she was going to start giving me a little dry food. So I get my wet food twice a day and dry food which is super yummy once a day. Mommy says it is hairball and weight control stuff, but I don’t believe it. To me it tastes like the best food ever!

Yesterday mommy went shopping again. She came home and put the groceries away and then put something down on the floor. She said it was for scratching and keeping my claws in good shape. Ha! I showed her what it really was. It’s a chaise, or in kitty terms a bed! See!

Well, I did scratch on it a time or two, but it’s a good spot for napping. Well, that’s about all I have to talk about today. I’m seeing sunshine so I want to jump up in my window spot and watch the birds. See you next Wednesday!

Morning Thoughts

I Am NOT Fat! (Finnegan’s Diary)

April 26, 2023 Carol Ann Erhardt

Mommy took me to the doctor on Saturday. I went there once before and I didn’t want to go back. They didn’t hurt me, but there are lots of scents and they made me nervous. All the people who came in the room said I was beautiful and petted me. I kind of liked that attention. One of them put me on the scale.

These ladies who said I was so beautiful cut off my sharp claws. And now, mommy says she will take me back every month to have them trimmed. Sigh. Then the doctor came in. She checked me over and she and mommy talked about my ears. They did a test and found that I have bacteria in my inner ear. Now mommy puts the wet stuff in my ears all the time and massages them. I have to admit it feels good, but then I have to shake my head and the wet stuff goes flying and my pretty fur is wet. But mommy is good and dries me off.

Then the doctor looked at my weight. She said I needed to lose weight. What? She admitted I was beautiful, but now she was inferring I’m fat! I’m NOT fat! Just because I have gained 13 pounds only means I needed food to eat. I never want to be hungry again. Last time we saw this doctor she had mommy stop giving me my favorite dry crunch food. Now I only get the canned food with gravy. Oh, I love it a lot, but I miss the yummy other food.

When we got home, mommy said I would have to let her brush me without getting treats. What? Okay, she relented and only gives me a couple AFTER I submit to being brushed. Changes all the time. Mommy said I was too fat and I had to lose weight for my own health. She said I flop and roll when I lay down on the floor. Okay, I admit that. And I admit I get tired when I’m playing and have to stop and rest. But does that mean I’m fat? I’m just bushy, that’s all.

What do you think? Look how bushy my tail is. I’m just fluffy.

Then mommy looked in her photos and showed me what I looked like a few weeks after coming to live here and said, “See you used to be a little guy. Now you’re too fat!” How insulting.

Okay, so she has to put a pile of books under my bed to keep it from falling. Not my fault. It’s a faulty bed. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

I decided to just go hide in my favorite tunnel so she couldn’t see me.

I can have my tail in one chamber, the teal one, and my head in another, the dark blue one! All she can see is my back through the top hole! Ha, ha!

But I did forgive my mommy because she loves me. She keeps telling me and I believe her. I love her and trust her, too. That’s why I sleep with her at night.

This diary entry has to come to an end. Mommy says that’s all the pictures she has for me. I miss my nite nite meal, but she says I’ll feel better soon. She’s been on a diet from eating any sugar for a couple of weeks. If she can do it, she says I can do it. So I’ll trust her. Next year when I see the doctor lady, she’s going to say I’m “just right!”

I’ll be back next Wednesday!

The Dilemma of the Blank Notebook

February 27, 2023 Carol Ann Erhardt

Recently I was gifted a beautiful notebook. Just a notebook filled with lined pages. The cover is gorgeous and speaks to my love of color. The same picture is on the back cover as well. For a couple of months I’ve been debating what to use it for. I could use it as a daily journal, but I’ve only stuck with finishing a journal one time. That was a journal my youngest daughter gave me for Christmas. It had a scripture on the bottom of each page with my name inserted in the scripture. It took two years to fill it, and I didn’t write in it every day, but it is interesting to look back on the post during the pandemic and lockdown.

This journal is so pretty, so I’ve thought maybe I can turn it into a book I will relate to and want to write in. Maybe add a new scripture each day from my devotions. And then journal about it.

Or perhaps I can make it into a prayer journal. A place to keep the names I pray for and record answered prayers, plus a new page each day to write out my morning prayer. A wonderful Bible Journaler, Scribbling Grace, who paints beautiful watercolor pages in her Prayer Journals and her Bible, has a You Tube video showing how she created her journal. I’m not that artistic, but with this pretty cover, I don’t need to be. In her old journal she separated the pages into days of the week with each day concentrating on a specific topic. In her new one, she still has topics, different ones to correspond to her current life, and a more free-form structure for her daily prayers.

Armed with this information, I stare at my journal notebook. I don’t want to mess it up. What if I start preparing it and I don’t like it? When this happens, I know I need to pray about it. I still have that part of me that’s a perfectionist, a part of me that OCD. Do you know it took me almost five years to let myself color a leaf that isn’t green? Even when the picture is mystical? It stems from my childhood when my stepfather insisted on nothing but perfection from me. If I got a B+, it wasn’t an A, so it wasn’t good enough. Funny how those little things stick with us. I know I also made mistakes with my children, trying to bring their best out of them, so I don’t harbor any bad feeling toward my stepdad, and hope my children don’t hold my errors against me. Anyway, I digress. What am I going to do with this lovely notebook?

I thought about opening it to the first page and starting with a free flow prayer. I can include a daily scripture, add something I’m grateful for perhaps, and then the rest can be for my written prayer. BUT, I really like the idea of having different topics to concentrate my prayers on. That way my prayers won’t become monotonous, which they sometimes feel like when I’m in my prayer corner and talking to God. Since I can’t quite come to a decision, I’ll continue to think about it and pray about it. I think I need to include my creativity into this as well.

I’ve looked at other prayer journals to purchase which are very structured and leave little room for prayer. I’ve had several and used them, but I’m looking for something different now.

Thanks for sticking with me as I dumped my brain on the page this morning!

Author's Life · Morning Thoughts · Senior Life

Senior Exercises for Arthritic Joints

January 30, 2023January 27, 2023 Carol Ann Erhardt2 Comments

Recently I found a great chair stretching exercise for seniors, especially those with osteoarthritis. Which I have. The YouTube title for the session was 20 Minute Chair Yoga for Arthritic Joints. There is not one reference to mindfulness, etc. Simply gentle stretches held for several breaths. However, if I tell my Christian friends I’m doing chair yoga, some will think I’m sinning. It’s all in the name.

So, do I simply say I’m doing chair stretching exercises for my joints? That’s what I’m doing. I’m not trying to connect anything except my butt to the chair. LOL! I’m not practicing yoga, I’m exercising with some simple yoga movements. I think the video was titled as it was because there were two women, the arthritis doctor and a yoga instructor.

I actually had to research the negative connotation about Christianity and Yoga to figure out what the issue was. I live a pretty sheltered life. I have no desire to turn my stretches into a religious experience of any kind. I just want to stretch because it feels good and is healthy for my muscles and body. It is also good for improving posture and balance as well as being no impact.

I used to walk a lot in my younger years. Walking now actually hurts my ankles and my hips. I used to do exercises with home videos. I loved Richard Simmons videos because of the music. That was fun. But I’m nearing 80 now, so I have to be gentle on the aging body.

If I slip and tell you I’m doing chair yoga, please don’t think I’m turning against my faith in God. That’s not happening. I’m just a senior woman trying to stay agile as long as possible.

I also found a chair aerobic exercise for seniors. It’s easy, fun, and it does raise my heart rate. That’s what I need according to my cardiologist. And since there is no impact, it’s gentle on the joints, too.

Combining the stretches and the aerobics on different days, I should make my general practitioner happy, too. I’ll find out in February. Who knows, maybe I’ll even shed a few pounds!

Author's Life · Morning Thoughts · Senior Life

Snow, Nature and Me

January 23, 2023 Carol Ann Erhardt

I love the beauty of nature. I often post my morning view from my office window because I love the peace and serenity I see. God’s work. I love what is revealed in spring and summer, fall and winter. I did a little research and found the sounds of nature trigger the part of the brain that lets us experience rest and relaxation. This is truly what I gain from my views as I sit at my computer every day and watch the darkness turn to the light of day.

Yesterday it snowed. I love the snow. I love to see the flakes falling from the sky and slowly covering the earth like a comfy blanket. I no longer enjoy driving in the snow, as I did when I was younger, but from my office window I love what I see. In my research, I also learned that snow absorbs about 60% of background sound. I hadn’t realized how true that is! The morning sounds of traffic on the road adjacent to my condo complex is silent this morning, yet I hear the call of the geese even louder than usual. Yesterday, just as the snow started falling, the ground was filled with birds seeking what they could find before the snow covered their feasting place.

I heard them chattering even through my closed door as I took these pictures. I didn’t enjoy my drive to church as it was slow going, but there were those who didn’t want to be careful. I saw several cars that slid into the ditches along the rural roads I travel on.

The snow was a wet snow and I watched it continue to fall throughout the day. The snow for me means serenity and calm. A peaceful and quiet atmosphere. When I see the beauty God creates, whether in sunny weather or the cold of winter, I feel positive and filled with joy.