Last Commented Lifestyle Blogs (2,471)

Doesn't life happens as we make it?

Or do we just accept what cards are dealt with us and then make do of what we can do? (or not do for that matter).

What about destiny. Do you believe in it? If so how much of it do you truly depend on it and or do you, like me, do everything to direct and control our lives?

Lately, I have been flummoxed as to how life is unfolding before my eyes and for the love of my life, I don't want to really fight anything that is happening anymore. In other words, I think it has become easier for me to say: Well, if it is meant to be, then let it be.

What about you? Do you have anything to share?

Quite honestly, even I myself is finally sick of this 90 percent of front page on our blog section to be dominated by the American politics ss though we have contracted CS to be nothing but an expose of the American political activities. I do have two of them and yes I am guilty but day in and day out, it is wall here, wall there, Pelosi here, Pelosi there, Trump here and everywhere and I am a bit tired of it.

So I hope some of you will join me on this discussion. After all we do all have lives, don't we?


PS. Is the word destiny more applicable to those who's afraid of going out there and dream to accomplish beyond their expectations? Then again, what are our expectations?

There's a story in the news about a guy and his guests who decided to build a huge snowman and packed it around a tree stump in the front yard.
When the guy returned home, there were tire tracks leading to the snowman and stopped... right where the bumper of a 4x4 truck rammed the tree!
Obviously the driver must have thought it was entirely made from snow and thought he could ride through the yard and destroy the snowman.
Maybe it was really a 'trunk' stop!



It's not the first time I've heard a story like this. One man was was tired of people thinking it was funny to ride their trucks into his front yard, so he hammered a steel beam into the ground that his kids built their snowman around. One night a young guy charged across his yard attempting to smash the snowman only to destroy the front of his truck and have to be towed away.

We all, I think, I hope, have that moment of walking into a room, then wondering what we went there for. Or stopping halfway up the stairs and thinking ????

When I was preggers I took that a lot further, I was definitely scatty - once I found my car keys (after a long search) in the fridge.

Today I opened the draining cupboard over the sink to get a mug for coffee, and there among the glasses and cups, looking a bit embarrassed, was the jar of Bisto gravy granules.

I'm racking my brain to remember when I could have got pregnant.

Are you being exploited if somebody makes a profit from you....from your labor....from your possessions.

In the world of Capitalism, is not that what it is all about?

It's uncharacteristic, but it seems that Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the creators of South Park, have reversed their stance on a particular topic.

A man/bear/pig was used to represent the absurd probability of human influence on climate change.
In an earlier episode, they beat-up on Al Gore's man/bear/pig (Inconvenient Truth documentary) but in a more recent episode, they show man/bear/pig as an actual thing and take shots at people who deny it's existence even as it terrorizes and slaughters.

The episode also suggests that people can and will defer consequences in order to maintain their way of life. In other words, To hell with the future generations.

I was shocked and watched the episode again to see if maybe I missed something. I don't think I did.

Not everything is black and white folks and just because you find yourself believing in something, it doesn't make it right or true. I like to think that my stance on topics like man-made climate change are in flux and only begin to form as I become informed. Beliefs have no place in such matters.

Thanks to Matt and Trey for keeping open minds.

In the next month or so, I'll be unloading things I no longer use or need.
Many of those things on my list are technology oriented where support is no longer available. Probably 5 or 6 computers running Windows XP. Maybe I can convert one to run on the Ubuntu operating system. Not anytime soon.

I need to stop saying things and not doing those things that I talk about...
Correction: I need to take action to the things I said I would do.
I don't want to do it... but I need to.

Guitars, I have a few. 2 are new and don't get played. The classical guitar gets picked up once a week and played no more than 10 minutes at a time. It could be bothersome to my neighbors if I strum that thing late at night. I can get another style that isn't loud and the price is less than $200. I want but don't need, It's a rare offering as I'm left-handed and inexpensive left-handed guitars are usually hard to find.
Yes, an excuse for buying another guitar. I could sell the first one... or keep it in my collection.

The list is growing. Wants and needs.


Thanks for reading my blog... !!

Okay. We all have to survive in this world. It would be a little better if you can thrive so as we can create comfort for ourselves down the road. In this ever changing technological world, I cannot help to think about what tools would be essential for creating comfort.

The first tool that comes to mind is knowledge. I think an obsession with knowledge is just as bad as not having any knowledge. There has to be a balance. In my opinion, the balance is created with knowledge and real life experiences.

The next tool that comes to mind is a network of friends. I was once told, it is not what you know...but who you know. I think in order to become part of a network, you need to have something to contribute within that network. With that said, that saying I heard is partially true. It helps to know something as to not become a sponge to that network...but to also contribute and become one of its assets.

The third tool that comes to mind is reputation. It is difficult to thrive in society if you have a bad reputation. Especially with social media, it is easy for your reputation to get spotted. Treat people with respect is important.

The forth tool that comes to mind...actually has to do with the mind. A healthy and happy mindset allows you to perceive reality clearer and have the motivation to achieve comfort. Not to mention, the capacity to better understand (coupled with knowledge).

The fifth tool I can think of is the ability to manage your finances effectively. It don't matter what sort of money you make, if you spend it as it comes in your wallet....it will be difficult to create comfort down the road.

The sixth tool....the ability to discern friends and lover(s). This comes with some knowledge and some experience. I have always said, allowing the wrong person in your life can create a hell on earth for yourself. However, it is said that humans are social creatures and yearn for companionship. So be careful, but yet...allow people in your life.

Are there any other tools you believe have helped you in life that you would encourage somebody who is entering this world to use?

Happy Sunday to you all.

My bank in Spain will shortly have the technology to produce the details of a payment – not just that I bought at a supermarket, but the copy of the sales slip. Woah!

Maybe not that efficiently, since they had the wrong retailer listed against the payment but the PDF option promised ‘soon’.

When my daughter visited recently she brought UK bank forms for me to change my address, and took them back with her. A week later when I tried to transfer funds to my euro card, which is operated through a completely different bank, it was declined because my address had changed. No problem, I could create a new account with correct address linked to the same card, but

When I logged in to do my UK tax return HMRC said “right, you earned this much from this employer, and this was the PAYE deducted. Then this much through the temp agency, and this was the PAYE deducted."

Not complaining, since the P60 from the temp agency has never caught up with me and I was intending to show it as untaxed income rather than faff around (not a big amount) but has anyone else noticed Big Brother is keeping much closer tabs than before?

So far it has been helpful but . . .

I remember standing by the train tracks as a little girl, counting the box cars as they chugged by, waiting to cross to the park and beach on the other side. All 7 of us (5 kids and two adults) would pick a spot where we'd count the cars so we wouldn't count them twice.

The high point, of course, was the caboose and the conductor or brakeman waving at us. We were in heaven when we were acknowledged. It was disappointing on those occasions when we'd be completely ignored.

I've loved trains ever since I can remember. I have no idea why, I just do. I didn't find out until a couple of years ago that my grandfather (who died when my Dad was in his teens and I never knew), worked as a bridge foreman for the Kettle Valley Railway and worked on the trestles near where I live now. That's one of my goals this year, to ride the old rail trail on my bike.

On Christmas Eve, after I picked Mom up to bring her to my house, we detoured to where the old mill is located along a dike, dissected by the railway tracks. I didn't attempt to take a photo as I was too late to get my camera set up, so we just sat and watched the train. The light was fading as the engine approached, and would have been directly on my windshield, making it difficult for us to see the engineer.

Regardless, I waved while sitting in the car, not expecting response. To my surprise and the delight of both Mom and I, the engineer tooted his horn twice in acknowledgement. We both felt like little kids again and for some reason, it really made our Christmas Eve.

Yesterday, I was out at the same place, and sure enough I could hear a train approaching. Again, not having time to set my camera up on a tripod, I figured I'd just wing it and hope for the best. As the train passed me, the engineer had his arm out the window waving at me. Unfortunately, the photo didn't turn out, but the engineer still made my day. The simple pleasures of life.

The small community I live in was a train stop decades ago, although we're lucky the CP Holiday train still stops here on it's annual run. The tracks run a couple of blocks from my house and I love hearing the rumble of the trains at night as they clack through town. One of my most popular photos in this community last year was of the red CP train engine coming towards me through fall foliage.

Obviously, I'm not the only one that loves trains. Perhaps it's in one's DNA and Grandpa passed it along. Who knows? I just hope I never lose the sense of delight I feel at seeing one.

I just seen the forecast for my area and we are going to get a dump of snow. For anyone unsure, a blizzard means heavy snow and high winds thats sustained for a certain amount of time. May lose the power so I'm getting my interneting done now lol.

This is the start of the time of year when the snow really starts here, over the next 2 - 3 months will be active weatherwise. That means lots of shoveling