 | Teuchter on hairball |
 | nursemyra on hairball |
 | tobymarx on hairball |
 | dragonqueen on hairball |
 | healingmagichands on hairball |
| nursemyra on hairball |
 | noggin on hairball |
| Jane on hairball |
 | Big Bad Johnny P on hairball |
 | azahar on hairball |
| nursemyra on hairball |
 | Swoosh on house MD |
 | daisyfae on hairball |
| noggin on hairball |
 | Pipocas on hairball |
And much earlier than last year. I was walking home from a class yesterday afternoon and when I turned a corner I was suddenly snapped out of my reverie; I closed my eyes, raised my face to the sky and inhaled deeply. Then I looked around and saw them - the first orange blossoms of the year.
It always takes me by surprise and always fills me with joy.
Edge is an online thinktank whose informal membership includes some of the most interesting minds in the world. Its mandate is to promote inquiry into and discussion of intellectual, philosophical, artistic, and literary issues, as well as to work for the intellectual and social achievement of society.
Their annual question for 2008 is:
What have you changed your mind about? Why?
How about you? How have you changed gears this past year and why?
~ first seen on h2g2 ~
Please feel free to tag yourselves . . .
Four childhood books
Four authors I will read again and again
Four authors I will never read again
The first four books on my to-be-read list
The four books I would take to a desert island
The last lines of one of my favourite books
~ this be plundered from alejna … aaarrr 
~
This is in response to comment 6 on this post.
It was suggested by nursemyra that I could tell about how Nog & I met as part of NaBloPoMo , and then I thought that it would be fun if other people also shared their ‘how we met’ stories. So here is mine and I look forward to reading yours . . .
Is there actually such a thing?
When I first moved to Spain in 1992 the last thing on my mind was getting a cat, since my living situation at the time was rather precarious and anyhow, I hadn’t had a cat since I was 18. But it turned out that some friends I’d recently met were wanting to get rid of their 2-year-old siamese girl because they were about to have a baby and - very stupidly - thought Lua might get jealous. So I ended up adopting Lua and she was the weirdest and crankiest thing on 4 paws that you’d ever want to meet. But we grew to love each other - a lot! And when she died of cancer in September 2004 I was totally heartbroken.
Meanwhile, I’d kept one of her four kittens that she had while we were still living in Salamanca - Sunny! And later, when I moved to Sevilla, I took in a street cat that I ended up calling Azar, which means ‘luck’ or ‘happenstance’ in Spanish.
Here is the whole story in case anyone is interested.
So for many years I had three cats living with me - now I just have the two boys. Ex-streetcat Azar has turned out to be a total weirdo, but very lovable in his weirdness. He is, in fact, the only cat I’ve ever met that has a sense of humour - he truly enjoys playing tricks on us humans and then sits back with a ‘who me?’ innocent look on his face. Sunny, on the other hand, is a total dog. He has a real doggy personality - he’s always waiting by the door when I come home, he greets all visitors and tries to make them feel welcome. At the other end of the spectrum is Azar who ‘pretends’ he is afraid of everyone so they’ll pay extra attention to him.
So I’m just wondering… has anyone ever had a ‘normal cat’? I’m not even sure what this would mean. I guess one that doesn’t play tricks on you or act like a dog, for starters . . .
It’s August 1st and I am officially ‘on holiday’.
No classes until September. Yay! Well okay, no income either, but I’ve been looking forward to this stretch of time ahead of me not having to be anywhere or do anything unless I feel like it. It will especially be nice not to be woken up by alarm clocks (well, other than the pointy-eared variety).
When I asked earlier about what summer stuff everyone was planning to do I still hadn’t made any major plans, and then I realised that what I wanted most was a month totally without plans. So there. 
Well, there are a few things I want to do like go to the gym in the mornings and do some stuff around the apartment. But mostly I reckon I’ll be reading and hanging out online (hence that particular thumbnail), taking evening walks with Nog, going out for our *emergency cold beer and air-conditioning sessions* and the occasional tapa, and also watching films and playing with floppy cats who - I am very happy to report - appear to be friends again. They’ve even started playing fighting again, with no pee in sight, which to me is even more of a sign of them being pals again than falling asleep together.
For awhile it looked like a recent bad back incident (comment 19) had put the kibosh on my gym idea, but after a couple days of anti-inflammatories, gentle stretching and lots of walking I think I’ll be able to start back mañana.
Meanwhile, Sevilla has pretty much turned into a ghost town already, which is always a pleasant change of pace.
So all in all, August should be a nice month for carping the diem. 
How’s your summer been so far?
I found the following Lifehack.org article on Lori’s blog the other day and thought it was worth reprinting here, if only as an easy-access reminder for myself. But I also thought most people would relate to it - there are at least a couple habits here that feel very true for me. I wasn’t sure whether to post this here or on nothing ventured …
in the end I posted it on both because, although it may get more response here initially, it’s more likely to stay at the top of the page at the other place (for easy reference).
Many of our problems come from within our own minds. They aren’t caused by events, bad luck, or other people. We cause them through our own poor mental habits. Here are 10 habits you should set aside right away to free yourself from the many problems each one will be causing you.
. . . a few of my favourite posts
Just click on the thumbnails to check them out
They can also been found on the sidebar 
Your Life is 41% Off Track |
|
Some things are going well, but you can’t help but wonder if you’re getting the most out of life. It’s time for you to slow down and reflect a little. You can change your life - but it’s up to you! |
I found this whilst googling around for an entirely unrelated image and it not only made me laugh but it also made me start thinking about what makes someone a ‘true friend’.
What’s your definition of a true friend, good friend, etc…?
Welcome to casa az, which is somewhere in that postcard view of Sevilla below.
click on the sun to read a random post
