Author: cansel

It’s been a while…

~ cansel ~ 2 Comments

Life has returned to “normal”, much like when Coke took their Coca-Cola off the market, giving us ‘New Coke‘ which was horrible, only to provide us with ‘Classic Coke’. However, even that was not the same, they had changed sugar to high fructose corn syrup. So, it was better than what they had brought in as ‘new’ – but it was not returned to us as it had once been. Which is basically a long way of saying, we’re in a routine, but it isn’t the same.

My husband and I now have two little yorkies, Wednesday and Tohru. They are three now, and they bring us a tremendous amount of joy. They do not replace Chaucer, but they have helped with the healing process a great deal. My husband retired during the pandemic, and we’ve been traveling a bit and enjoying our home in Kentucky.

So, yeah it has been a bit since I’ve updated anything here, but with the world going to hell, I just wasn’t sure what I wanted to say. Those who agree with me on things already know how bad it is and those who are oblivious to it all will call me “woke”. I’m very tired of all of the childishness going on in our government; the hypocrisy; the lies and the blatant display of not really caring about Americans as much as they care about money.

My best friend of over 30 years passed away this year…that was a kick in the heart. He often traveled with us and he’s been ‘Uncle K’ to my grandkids their entire lives. He was one of the few people who really pushed me to write. He and my husband are basically the two people who have encouraged me to take it further than just the random thought here and there – and who knows, maybe one day I will, but man, I miss him.

So, I have a lot of thoughts and I think I’ll just start typing them out. Good, bad – it’s best to get them out there regardless of if anyone reads them or not. I’ve learned that it isn’t important that anyone reads them, it is important that I write. So, here’s hoping I will actually be able to get back into it and just do what I love, with no expectations.

Coming up…my thoughts on America being a Christian Nation, my thoughts on connecting with music like BTS and Taylor Swift, just to name a few.

Where do we go from here…?

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December of last year, I wrote my last post and then nothing…until now. I meant what I stated, but then I went out of town for a few months, came back for a moment and left again. I am trying to decide the direction I want to go with this blog. I mean, I wanted a place where I could just write what I was thinking and/or feeling – but then I had a bit of backlash and didn’t want to deal with the drama. I got fed up and stated I was just going to be me, but now I’m asking myself if that’s what I really want to do.

Let’s face it, with the way the world currently is, it really doesn’t matter if I post actual facts to support my stance on a subject, there is a huge amount of the population that have just decided facts do not matter. They no longer believe the experts on a particular subject; they believe the politicians. It is sad and scary all at the same time. These appear to be the same people who want small government, want the government to stay out of their lives UNLESS it is something that goes against their religious beliefs. Trying to have a discussion with this mindset infuriates me. So, I find it pointless.

Now I’m trying to figure out what will work. Something that I find interesting enough to write about, but that isn’t too narrow of a topic…I’m thinking. I’ll figure it out, but I did want to touch base and explain my absence.

Thank you for your patience.

Time for a change…

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I’ve played at this blogging thing for a few years now. I’ve danced around some subjects but rarely put anything out there that might offend someone. Well, those days are over. I am sick and tired of so many people getting offended over every little thing, to the point where some people’s careers are damaged because they offended this group or that. When did we become so uptight? When did we stop laughing at the absurdities of life and when did we start taking every single opportunity given to be so angry?

Let me say that I do not believe that it is okay to be a racist, or homophobic, but it might be okay to make fun of yourself as you’ve learned how to be better about those things. I will offend people, I know this and I’ve decided I’m okay with it. It will not be intentional, but I have a right to my opinions and thoughts, and this is my blog, so I feel it is perfectly okay for me to state how I feel about something, and I will do my best to provide the reasons why I feel the way I do with resources to back up my thoughts…at least most of the time. You may or may not agree with me, and that is your right. I do not have to agree with you to like you, but I do have to respect you.

So, read them, don’t read them I honestly do not care. This is my creative outlet, and I am so over avoiding putting my thoughts into words because I’m too concerned that I might say something wrong. Let me just tell you now – I will. I will stick my foot in my mouth, probably more than once…I will word something incorrectly and it will set someone off. Just know the intent is for me to meet my need to be creative it isn’t to hurt someone’s feelings.

So, buckle up buttercup because my fluff pieces are going to be rare, at least until I get over being annoyed at the stupidity that is going on all around me right now, or I ‘squirrel’ and move to another hobby, again. <- see I know my shortcomings and can laugh at myself.

There are no words…

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I haven’t posted in a very long time. Our house was being worked on, we were dealing with stuff and to top it off, six months ago, today, we lost our little guy, Chaucer. No one could have prepared us for the gut wrenching pain we went through. Nothing has ever hurt like this. For 36 hours I was either drinking or already really drunk, but I did that on purpose. The first night, Jason and I sat down with a brand new bottle of Salted Caramel Crown and we drank the entire thing. I told him then that I had no intentions of being sober for 36-48 hours. I promised myself I would ‘sit’ with my emotions then, and that is what I did.

For the first three or four days I walked through a haze. We went to the gym, I functioned on autopilot, but the pain just held on so tightly, I was unsure I would ever be the same. About the fourth night, I had a vivid dream. Chaucer came running into the bedroom, but he looked more like Marmaduke than himself. He came over to myside of the bed and I just held him and said “so that’s how you saw yourself…?” The next morning, the haze was gone, but the pain was still so strong. Many nights I would dream of him, or I would feel him walk across my legs. Several times I felt him curl up against my side and twice I reached up and felt his fur.

We’ve gone through many, painful firsts. First road trip without him, first time driving by the vet’s where I watched him breathe his last breath in my arms, held up by my husband’s trembling yet strong arms, and many others. Coming home still hurts, because he isn’t there to greet us. Coming down the stairs in the morning and not having him there to do his morning dance for me, the one he would do to show how happy he was to see me up and about. So many moments, so many memories. I still see him, sometimes, when I look in certain areas, or I’ll catch movement out of the corner of my eye and think it is him.

Now, many of you may not understand, tell me he was only a dog, but you would be mistaken. He was so much more than that to us. He was the love of our lives, he was our fur baby, he was our constant companion. Also, I spent the better part of the last 9 1/2 years of his life with him 24/7. He was a part of my day, where I went, he was not far.

Now that he is gone, I am a bit lost. I keep myself busy with things, trying to preoccupy my mind. The pain isn’t out in the open anymore, but it isn’t far from the surface. I still cry easily, just thinking about him. There are things of his that I have not been able to let go of, and while cleaning our bedroom today, I found his original chew toy.

There are no words that can make this better. I still get sad on Tuesdays and the 19th of any month, but I’m no longer counting the weeks. I’ve stopped telling him “we’ll be back soon, boo” every time we leave, now it just happens occasionally. I talk to the sweet Yorkie angel my husband got to put his ashes in, and sometimes I say hello to him when I look at his pictures.

It still hurts, some days more than others, and the thought of getting another fur baby turns my stomach. I realize that it won’t be this bad with another pet, because I will never have that type of a bond again, but for now I just cannot even think about it.

We were blessed in that several of our friends gave us wonderful little mementos to help, and Jason and I both got tattoos of his pawprint, and oddly enough, looking at these things gives me a bit of peace, somehow making me feel like he is still around. Jason and I have been able to take comfort in each other. Both of us know exactly how the other is feeling, and that helps.

I do not know when I’ll have the words to post about anything else. I have to get past the pain; to get to a place where I can just let the words flow again without fear of what I might feel. However, from what I’ve gathered, I should be able to get there before too long. I know that the pain will always be with me, but I also know that in time it will just be a part of me and no longer trying to consume me.

Thank you for your patience and your understanding…

Finding happiness…

~ cansel ~ Leave a comment

Finding happiness has been part of my journey for a while now. I have learned that happiness doesn’t come from owning things, or having a lot of money. Do not get me wrong, being financially secure is a desired place to be, but being secure, content isn’t all there is to happiness. Happiness comes from within ourselves. Learning to be content where we are, learning to be more present in our lives and choosing how we respond in those moments. I’ve touched on this before, but it is becoming even more real to me at this point in my life.

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Where are the words?

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I’ve been absent for quite a while, and it isn’t because I do not have anything to say but more along the lines of I didn’t have anything to say that wouldn’t offend someone or cause tension between myself and a good friend of mine. So, after many nights of writing and rewriting this in my head, I’ve decided to write a post with a couple of my ‘unpopular’ opinions. These are my opinions and it is okay if you do not agree. I’m not posting this to have a discussion with you, I am posting them because I created this blog as a place for me to put my words out into the universe. So, here we go… Continue reading →

How Do You Let Go Of Stuff?

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I have been trying to figure out the answer to this for years! I have managed to let go of stuff here and there, but more times than not, I regret it. Often times I end up replacing it…but truthfully, those things are mostly cookbooks and kitchen items. The problem is, there is a bunch of stuff in my house I want rather need* to get rid of, but there is a slight emotional attachment to them. Well, that is not true about everything, some of these items I keep out of obligation, they were a gift and I feel like I should keep them. Continue reading →