Worth pondering

I’ve seen the following list all over the internet so I’m not sure who to give credit to for coming up with this.  I wanted to share it because, even though most of us know this stuff, it never hurts to read it again and spend a bit of time thinking about these things.  Life is usually way too hurried daily to give much of this list any thought.  Thank you to the someone who put this together.

Life Lessons and Advice from an 80-Year-Old Man

1.  Have a Firm handshake.

2.  Look People in the eye.

3.  Sing in the shower.

4. Own a great stereo system.

5. If in a fight, hit first and hit hard.

6. Keep secrets.

7. Never give up on anybody.  Miracles happen everyday.

8. Always accept an outstretched hand.

9. Be brave.  Even if you’re not, pretend to be.  No one can tell the difference.

10.  Whistle.

11.  Avoid sarcastic remarks.

12.  Choose your life’s mate carefully.  From this one decision will come 90 percent of all your happiness or misery.

13.  Make it a habit to do nice things for people who will never find out.

14.  Lend only those books you never care to see again.

15.  Never deprive someone of hope; it might be all that they have.

16.  When playing games with children, let them win.

17.  Give people a second chance, but not a third.

18.  Be romantic.

19.  Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.

20.  Loosen up.  Relax.  Except for rare life-and-death matters, nothing is as important as it first seems.

21.  Don’t allow the phone to interrupt important moments.  It’s there for our convenience, not the caller’s.

22.  Be a good loser.

23.  Be a good winner.

24.  Think twice before burdening a friend with a secret.

25.  When someone hugs you, let them be the first to let go.

26.  Be modest.  A lot was accomplished before you were born.

27.  Keep it simple.

28.  Beware of the person who has nothing to lose.

29.  Don’t burn bridges.  You’ll be surprised how many times you have to cross the same river.

30.  Live your life so that your epitaph could read, No Regrets.

31.  Be bold and courageous.  When you look back on life, you’ll regret the things you didn’t do more than the ones you did.

32.  Never waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them.

33.  Remember no one makes it alone.  Have a grateful heart and be quick to acknowledge those who helped you.

34.  Take charge of your attitude.  Don’t let someone else choose it for you.

35.  Visit friends and relatives when they’re in the hospital; you need only stay a few minutes.

36.  Begin each day with some of your favorite music.

37.  Once in a while, take the scenic route.

38.  Send a lot of Valentine cards.  Sign them, ‘Someone who thinks you’re terrific.’

39.  Answer the phone with enthusiasm and energy in your voice.

40.  Keep a notepad and pencil on your bedside table.  Million-dollar ideas sometimes strike at 3 a.m.

41.  Show respect for everyone who works for a living, regardless of how trivial their job.

42.  Send your loved ones flowers.  Think of a reason later.

43.  Make someone’s day by paying the toll for the person in the car behind you.

44.  Become someone’s hero.

45.  Marry only for love.

46.  Count your blessings.

47.  Compliment the meal when you’re a guest in someone’s home.

48.  Wave at the children on a school bus.

49.  Remember that 80 percent of the success in any job is based on your ability to deal with people.

50.  Don’t expect life to be fair.

Thank you, sister

Sisters discuss all sorts of things in life no matter how everyday or how personal they are.  That’s the nice things about having a sister to talk to.  I’m lucky enough to have four sisters.  Usually we always learn things from each other and are willing to help each other out with issues.

So discussion turns from family to work and everything in between.  The other week I was chatting with one of my sisters on FB and we got into the subject of feet.  Both of us stand a lot of hours at work so aching feet is a problem we can both relate to.  I find wearing closed in shoes is not for me, but it’s a requirement at work for almost any job.  In fact I have to wear way too many clothes in the summer, so I got in the habit of bringing a tank top to work I can change into for the ride home.  I keep flip-flops in the car.  The only time this thinking doesn’t apply is winter when I’m freezing.

 This is my possible athlete's foot cure

Anyway back to my subject of feet.  I get athlete’s foot if I wear closed in shoes so that’s always an issue to deal with.  My hubby laughs when he sees all my issues (dry eyes, athlete’s foot, etc) that I have to attend to everyday.  I’m sure he’s glad he doesn’t have any of this trouble.

 This is worth a try if you ever have this issue

 

I had been using Tenactin on my feet and also putting Gold Bond medicated foot powder on my feet and in my shoes.  I discovered my big bottle of Tenactin was outdated so was going to buy a new one.  My sister told me to go to Walmart and get some green alcohol (I never noticed they made that color) and to use that on my feet along with the Gold Bond powder.  Her homeopathic doctor told her about this.  She and I would both rather go the homeopathic route when we can.

I’d been washing my feet with antibacterial soap anyway so I poured the alcohol on after and let them air dry and then powdered my toes.  I started her remedy that same evening and I was amazed how well it works.  She told me I’d be amazed and she was right.  It didn’t even take two weeks to get rid of it.  So I’m sold on this now and will keep it on hand at all times.  If anyone needs help with foot issues, try this out.  It really does work.

Now maybe I’ll stop being Dr Sunni and post something else next time.

Could this be a dry eye cure?

The jury is still out but just maybe this is going to work this time.  I don’t know how many of you out there suffer from dry eye, but if you do I’m hoping this will help you out.  I’ve been dealing with this for about four years now.  Trust me, it’ll drive you crazy.  It’s impossible to do anything without carrying around a wad of Kleenex in your pocket because my eyes drip all the time.  This is very annoying at work, or when I'm trying to get anything else done.  People ask me all day long why I’m crying.  Oh my!  I’m not crying at all.

I’ve talked to pharmacists and doctors and they all recommend OTC eye drops, which weren’t doing the job for me.  Finally I even got a prescription eye drop and that didn’t help either after I paid $45 for the tiniest bottle of eye drops you ever saw.  It would have been $95 except I talked to my insurance company and they mailed a form to the doctor to fill out and fax back so I could get the price lowered.  I was willing to try anything once, otherwise I wouldn’t have agreed to these even at the lower price.  By this point, I was desperate to find anything to help.

Surgery on my tear ducts is also an option but sometimes if they perform this procedure it can cause your corneas to crack later.  That’s even more problems, or the possibility of them.  I was about ready to gouge my eyes out, except being able to see is precious to me.

This is on the drugstore shelf

Then I went to the specialist that performed my cataract surgery.  He also told me to use OTC eye drops and see if they helped first.  I left there feeling very discouraged because I’d tried every OTC eye drop on the shelf, except for one he told me to try along with one I had already tried.  So, what the heck, I may as well see if this combo does any good.  I drove to the pharmacy and got the ones I needed.  This wasn’t cheap either, but at least they weren’t $45 a bottle.

I was instructed to use them and wait at least five minutes between each drop.  I wait ten in the morning when I first get up.  If I don’t take care of it then, it won’t happen because my day gets too busy.  I was super anxious to get rid of this dry eye problem.  So it takes about twenty or thirty extra minutes added to my morning routine, but I figure it’s worth it if this plague will go way.

So far after two months, it seems to be working.  If it still is six months from now I’ll say this does work and to grab some of this stuff if you or anyone you know has dry eye.  Maybe I’ve helped someone because this affliction is very annoying.  I'll update everyone later.

Cat Duty Again

 Snuggles

I can never say no when it comes to fur babies so when my neighbor asks me to take care of her cat, I always do it.  The cat is no trouble and she lives just across the street so I don’t need to drive anywhere.  I do wonder what she’ll do if I ever move though because chances of me staying here forever are slim.

There's something about cats and the sink

I feel sorry for this cat that has to spend so much time alone.  Cats are solitary animals but still she likes to see people once in a while.  I imagine she wonders where her owner is and when she’s coming back.  I always give her the countdown in days before I leave.  I have no idea if she understands me or not but I fell better for telling her.  Animals are always smarter than we think.

This cat gets into about as much mischief as Raven

So for the next two weeks I’ll be rushing over after work to do my cat duty before I get out of my clothes and sit down.  Once I sit down it’s all over for the night.

Small but smart

A hummer from our yard

I’m talking about hummingbirds.  They are so pretty and so smart.  There must be a big brain in their heads.  They share the hummingbird feeder with a family of orioles, or perhaps several families of orioles.  The orioles can suck the feeder dry in a matter of days, so we got a gigantic one.  Now it lasts about a week before it needs to be filled again.

The feeder visited by several birds

We’ve been working a lot of hours and that was on my to-do list today.  That list was long because Tuesday is my only day off this week.  Around 5 PM a hummingbird came to the big windows and hovered there looking at us.  I know it was trying to tell me the feeder needed some food.  The hummers have done this before.  I’m amazed that they know someone in the house will go and fill the feeder up if they get our attention.  Now you have to be doing some kind of thinking to figure that out.

Orioles enjoying the feeder

The birds do sit in the trees and watch us bring the feeder in and put it back out again.  I guess they’ve figured out we have nectar in the house somewhere.  They did this sort of thing when we lived in California too.

Have you ever had a hummingbird alert you to an empty feeder?

How do People do it?

I’m talking about working in their later years.  I was lying in bed Friday night wondering about that as every bone in my body ached.  I know it didn’t help that I only got 2-3 hours of sleep the night before.  Sleep does wonders to help rejuvenate the body but much of the time it eludes me.  When that alarm goes off, it’s time to hit the floor running whether you slept or not.

Then I scold myself when I think about how many of my coworkers are older than I am.  I was wondering how I can still be working like that in my 80’s.  Yes, you heard that right.  I do have coworkers in their 80’s.  We probably have at least three people this age, several in their 70’s, quite a few in their 50’s and 60’s.  Our youngest coworker is about 23.  As you can see, there are a wide range of people doing food demos.

This job requires standing in one place for six and one-half hours daily unless you do breaks for lunches.  But this breaker shift requires one to be fast on their feet so you stay on schedule.  This fast pace will keep you in shape as you power walk from one end of the store to the other several times and it flies by because there are a variety of demos to do for others that are on their break.

Standing for a full shift is difficult, but most of the time I’m so busy I don’t realize how tired my legs and feet are until I sit down in the car to drive home.  The first thing I want to do is get my shoes and socks off and change clothes.  I’ve been taking a tank top along to work so I can change after my shift.  A shirt with a collar and sleeves is very hot in triple digit heat.  Most of us keep flips flops in the car.  At least I can drive home in comfort.

 Sometimes this is me - thinking about everything under the sun instead of winding down and trying to sleep

 

I still wonder how the 80-somethings keep doing this though.  But they all have a big smile on their faces and put in the hours each week.  Am I that out of shape?  I didn’t think so, but I may have to contemplate that a bit more.  Maybe daily exercise and watching what I eat isn’t enough. 

Of course, after all this thinking, when I looked over at the clock it was 3 AM.  I hadn’t been to sleep yet.  Then I started asking myself, “Are you crazy?”  I don’t know why I do all this thinking at night.  I guess I’m too busy the rest of the time.

Working is not for the faint hearted

You can really get your ears full of workplace happenings almost every day.  Sometimes it seems everyone has gone crazy with something (be it rules or something else).  It would be easy to throw in the towel sometimes, but one has to look past all the craziness, whether it’s out of control shoppers, or out of control management.  Most of us do our very best to do the best job we can while on the job, be courteous, and keep things moving and clean.

I do have to say I work with mostly great people who look out for each other and help one another.  To me, that’s very important.  No matter how anyone treats you, it’s essential to treat them as you’d want to be treated.  Sometimes killing people with kindness works better than yelling and screaming, even if the end result isn’t what you hoped for.  However, this doesn’t mean we should take being assaulted with a smile, quite the contrary.  I think anyone is justified in standing up for themselves under these circumstances.  We’ve had a lot happen over the last few days, most of it unjustified from an employee’s standpoint.  I won’t go any further than that, but am waiting and watching to see what happens in the near future.  I think we have changes a foot and they may not be good ones.

Aside from all that we all have things going on in our daily lives too and that becomes talk on breaks and after work as well.  A gentleman had his car stolen from his driveway a couple of weeks ago.  That was heartbreaking to hear because he’s elderly and not in the best of health.  He’s also the nicest man.  But I guess things never happen to evil people, do they?  His car was recovered about 40 miles away.  I don’t know what shape it was in.

We’re all ordinary people working a part-time job to make extra income.  We all work well together and sympathize with each other over bad news, or express our joy over good news.  I’ve met many new friends over the last year and I hope that continues.  It’s nice to feel a sense of camaraderie with people you see daily.  It makes going to work more enjoyable.

Have you ever been assaulted on the job?  How did you handle it?

Finding contentment in small things

My little boy, Raven

So is the way with cats.  Sometimes I think we humans could take a lesson from them, or maybe any other household pet.  It takes so little to keep our furry friends happy.

 Raven in his box

 

Recently I ordered something from Amazon and Raven immediately took to this box, sculpting it to make it his own.  He loves this little hovel and actually gets upset if the other cats use it.  It’s almost as if he’s been waiting for this little box all his life.  He loves it so much that some nights he’ll sleep there instead of coming to bed with me.

Raven in his box.  Notice the chewed up edge.  It's even worse now.

I really don’t care that he chews on it and makes quite a mess because I feel the pets can do what they wish with their toys.  I just clean it up and go on about my day.  I would never dream of taking this away from him just because he chews all over the cardboard and scatters the fragments all over the house.  He’s having fun and enjoying himself and that’s all that matters to me.  He isn’t bothering my stuff.  Wouldn’t it be nice if humans could be satisfied with something so simple?

Cats in Hats

I know I’ve posted a lot of photos of Raven wearing hats.  I think I have one for every occasion.  I’m so lucky he poses for me.

Raven in his first hat photo at almost 5 months old

Raven in his first St Patrick's Day hat

 

Raven's first Birthday

 

Raven in his Christmas hat

Raven in his New Year's hat

 

Raven in his spring hat - this one made it into a local magazine

 

Raven in his July Fourth hat

 

But he isn’t the only cat who wears hats.  Tootie did when she was younger.

Tootie age 14

Tootie at age 10
 

And a few weeks ago, hubby and I were watching some travel show on TV and I just had to get the camera and snap a pic of this feline in San Francisco.  Isn’t he stylin’?

Look at this cool dude from San Francisco

Now I wouldn’t dare take my cats outside.  I know they’d freak out.  I did take Raven out once when it was storming, but I had him clamped tightly in my arms.  He was happy to go back indoors after he discovered it was nicer inside.  This cat must have been trained as a kitten.  I bet he travels like this all the time and is a real conversation starter.

I just had to share.  Have you ever taken a picture of something on the TV screen?