International Day of Friendship

  Journalist Rocky the Squirrel here – Keeping my paws on the nuts of the world!

Of all of the important holidays I can tell you about, today seems to be the most important in my book.  It is International Day of Friendship.  The world is filled with too much hate, too many wars, too much prejudice and way too many disagreements.  Today, we should put all of that aside and reach out to each other and say, “Hello friend happy friendship day!”

This is just not a backyard problem or a school playground problem.  This is a worldwide problem.  A problem that needs to come to an end.  Everyone has differences – we wouldn’t be individuals if we didn’t.  But when you look down to it, we all want to be happy and what better way than to get along.

Today let’s make friends with different people, different cultures and different countries.  Extend your hand – or an olive branch – and say hello friend.  Say hello to your neighbor, to the stranger at the market and say hello to a person that you see everyday but you don’t even know their name.  Today is the day to make a friend near and far.

To all of our friends, we at the Hotel Thompson would like to say thank you for being our friend – happy friendship day.  And to those that don’t know us yet, Happy Friendship Day.  May we get to know you better today and in the future!

 Who will YOU say hello friend to today?

 

The Road Not Taken

The Road Not Taken written by Robert Frost is one of my mom and dad’s favorite poems.  They know it by heart and frequently say it to each other, each one picking up the next line until finished.  I feel like I know it by heart as well.  Sometimes mom will read it to me as a bedtime story.  Everytime I hear it, I can picture what is on the road not taken.  Can you?  I posted what I picture at the end of it.  Enjoy my friends!

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

 

 

Oh Good Grief Daddy

These days, I can’t let my so called human daddy go anywhere.  He *always* gets into some type of trouble.  St. Patrick’s Day is March 17th.  Dad, the ever loving-gotta-have-some-fun with the holiday, went out on a mission to find some trouble fun.

Now, my dad is part Irish so he thinks this holiday is made for him – snorts

Today, dad found a drinking buddy.  This little guy that dad named O’Donnell sits on his shoulder so that he doesn’t have to drink alone.  And when dad does start to drink, not only does he have a drinking buddy but I’m sure after a few, O’Donnell will even start to talk to him – snorticles.  Good grief.

And just a note.  With dad being part Irish, he once grew a mustache and beard.  You guessed it.  It was redder than O’Donnell’s beard.  He was going to grow one for St. Patrick’s Day but mom said absolutely not.  Dad replied by telling mommy, “You’re not the boss of me.”  Well, you see who won that argument – snorts.

But never fear, even with dad’s Irish roots he doesn’t even drink alcohol.  I guess mom will change the color of his sweet tea to green with a little green dye.  That should make him merry just the same!

 

Running out of Thyme

Leave it to my mom and dad to come up with something so stupid that it’s funny.  They went to the market yesterday and came home with this picture.  Shakes piggy head.  They really need help.  Professional help.  How can I trust those two out by themselves?

 

Journal of Healthier Living – Week 6

Welcome my friends.  I’m tweaking my weekly journey with my healthier living.  It’s a step in the right direction for sure.  I hope you come along for the ride.  Instead of day-to-day comments, I’m going to post something from my personal journal to share.  Hope you enjoy.  Remember all of us go down this path and we are all in it together ❤

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Week of 02/11-02/17/2018 – Week 6

“Dear Journal – Sometimes I think we beat ourselves up too much.  There is a line between challenging yourself to do better and pushing yourself over the edge.  If I push myself too much, it becomes something I *have* to do, a chore if you will, and my OCD gets tested.  If I leave it at the pace I’m going, I can fit it into my life where it becomes a habit in the end and not so much as a chore.  Shaking my head.  Life is full of complications – LOL.  But so far, I think I have this right now.  I do want to pick up the pace a bit more.  Now I’m trying to turn a 24 hour day into 36 hours.  Do I really need sleep?  Just joking – I love my sleep.  It’s hard to believe how things these days in the form of moving around is so much easier.  I’m so grateful that I had breast surgery.  I think I need to send the doctor a thank you note.”

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This week walked: 9.12

TOTAL 2018 Miles:  53.30

TOTAL 2017 Miles:  541.06

 ❤ small goals turn into big accomplishments ❤

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Okay my friends – another week with using the air fryer at the Hotel Thompson.  One of my biggest weaknesses foodwise is fried chicken.  It might be a southern thing.  It’s a huge comfort food here in the south.  And it’s something I was never able to work around with trying to lose weight but yet keeping my favorite food in the mix.  Who needs all of that grease that it’s deep fried in, right?

Well, I think I found my heaven.  Let me present to you Exhibit A – fried chicken (skinless and boneless) that was prepared in air fryer.  I put it on on the white napkins straight from the air fryer so that you could see – absolutely NO GREASE.  Look at the crispy outside and the inside was so juicy.  Better yet, I’ve found with the air fryer that you actually taste your food and not the grease that it is cooked in.  I seasoned my chicken before hand with salt/pepper and some pepper flakes.  I then dipped it in a seasoned egg mixture and then dipped it in a seasoned flour mix.  I then put the chicken in my air fryer.  The basket held five chicken thighs at one time.  I set the timer for 20 minutes on chicken at 380 degrees.  At 10 minutes, I stopped the timer and turned the chicken.  It came out this beautiful.  It was a HUGE hit here at the Hotel Thompson.

 

Happy Valentines Day

Roses are red

Violets are blue

My heart has led

My love to you.

Will you be my valenpig?

Today is also an anniversary of sorts for my mom/dad.  Dad actually popped the question to mom years ago by asking her to marry him on Valentine’s Day.  So today has a special place in their hearts.  I think they are actually going out on a date night tonight to celebrate.

Hope everyone has a wonderful day!!  And I have to ask my friends. Will you be my Valenpig? XOXO – Bacon

P.S.  Let me tell you a little diddy I read on some mythology lore.  According to Greek mythology, humans were born with four arms, four legs and a head with two faces.  Fearing their power, Zeus split and separated them into two parts.  He then condemned the two parts to spend the rest of their lives in search of their other halves.  Knowing this, it makes sense that humans are looking for their other half in love.  I like to think mom/dad found theirs.

 

 

Travels in the South

Living in the south, there are lots of comfort foods. But sometimes on a cold and rainy day, you want something that soothes your soul. Mom’s choice for that is grits with cheddar cheese and crumbled up turkey sausage. It’s hot, gooey and delicious. I hear your naysayers turning your nose up at grits. But let me tell you something. When done right like this, grits can be delicious! 😋

 

New Years Tradition

There’s a yearly tradition that we do here at the Hotel Thompson that I thought I would share.  It’s nothing difficult, really simple if you will.  Mom/dad have done this for years and as they say, “If it ain’t broke – don’t fix it!”  I thought I would share with my friends here in blogville because one can never have too much of good luck, right?

On the 31st of December before midnight, place money outside on your porch.  It can be a loose bill, change, or in an envelope.  This stays on your front porch.  Before midnight, everyone goes outside of the house.

At midnight, you open the front door and throw the money in over the threshold.  This should be the first thing that crosses your door.  This represents money coming into your home for the new year.  Remember, you don’t step into the home until after the money goes in.

I’m not sure where mom/dad got this from but they have been doing it forever.  I mean heck, we’ll take all of the help from everywhere we can, right?  Happy money tossing tonight my friends 🙂

 

Beware of Black Friday

I know Fridays. I live for them every week. Fridays mean that mommy will be home for the next couple of days. Fridays mean I get to stay up late and watch television with mom and dad. Fridays sometimes even mean popcorn while watching b-rated movies on the Sy-Fy channel.

But, I’ve never heard of this Black Friday. It has to be bad. I say this for a couple of reasons. First, when mommy told daddy he would have to “survive” this day, daddy stopped laughing. Heck, for a minute I thought he was going to cry. He kept saying, “But, but, but”. Mommy didn’t listen to him. Second of all, you know something is bad when mommy laughs like the wicked witch from the east. Ooh shivers just hearing that in my head.

So this Black Friday thing, what can it be? Is it dark as black outside all day and it’s a Friday this Black Friday? Is it a plague or disease? Did someone not pay the light bill? Is it the end of days? Should I start stock piling my piggy chow in my bedroom? I’ll admit that this little piggy was scared.

I did what I do best. I squealed, ran to my bedroom and slammed my door. I then immediately started doing some research on my laptop.

ODP (oh dear piggies). It’s worse than what I thought! Did you know that the day after Thanksgiving in the USA, they call it Black Friday? Here’s the scary part. People get up voluntarily at 0400 hours to camp outside of stores to go shopping!. Thud – piggy down! 0400 hours is like way before even Old McDonald gets up at the farm. It’s before the birds start chirping. It’s before they even make the doughnuts at the Krispy Kreme. Heck, it’s before *I* even stir in my toddler bed. That’s early!

Mommy is going to make daddy go shopping with her on Black Friday at 0400 hours. Two words mom. How uncivilized. I can’t believe mom is going to get up before the break of dawn. But friends, don’t feel too sorry for daddy. I saw him the garage laughing and getting “ready” for Black Friday. He was pulling out his old pads from his football days. I think I even saw him with a hockey stick and a helmet. Oohh mommy – who is punishing who now? Snorts.

 

Spotlight Thursday – Meet Hannah

Spotlight Thursday

Welcome my friends to SPOTLIGHT THURSDAY.  This is the time that I will introduce you to one of my fellow anipals so you can get to know them better.  Some of them, you may already know.  We hope that you enjoy this series!

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Name:  Hannah (Green-Cheeked Amazon)

Age:  17

Location: Colorado  

Web/Blog Page:  https://peacewithmylife.com/

What were your first thoughts when you met your new parents?  I liked them! The rescue lady didn’t really want to give me up. But I jumped up on Mom’s finger and ran to her shoulder and wouldn’t get off. I liked these people; I knew that they just had to be MY new family!

What was the defining moment when you knew you were in your forever home?  When I finally let Mom scratch my head, and she did it just right, I knew I was going to love it here.

What has been your biggest “Oh no, now I’ve done it” moment so far in your home?  Probably when I sassed Sugar just a little too much, and he thought I’d make a lovely bride. Ha! He doesn’t think THAT anymore. Yuck. I’m done with men.

Who do you have wrapped around your paws more – mom or dad – and why? I’m a mamma’s girl! We have to hide our love from Sugar, though. Otherwise he’s mean to me. So Mom and I knoodle when he’s not looking.

What’s the biggest misconception that humans think about you?  The breeder that first owned me thought that he could control my life, but the guy they put in my nest box to mate with me attacked me. Eventually, they gave me to the rescue because I wouldn’t let a guy near me after that. Why do humans think that they can control everything in our lives? Well, I’m here to tell you that I make my own decisions!

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Hope you enjoyed meeting my friend – check back next week for another Spotlight edition!