As I sat down to my keyboard this evening, wondering what to write about,  I glanced down to see this sweet little face looking up.   I realized that lately, my little Ching Ching is everywhere I am.  He follows me from room to room, inside and outside.  Sometimes, I leave the room while he is asleep.  Its not long until I hear a plaintiff, "Woof! Woof!"​  He's lost track of me again, so I call him, and he comes trotting to wherever I am.

Ching Ching I fear is growing old.  His sight is not good.  He has trouble negotiating stairs down, and won't go upstairs until I turn on the light.  He doesn't always hear me until I "turn up my volume".  He nestles close at night on the bed.  

Some of this behavior increased after his longtime companion, Tater, passed away last year.  Tater was an alpha dog, and kept Ching on the move, in line as it were.  Miguelito is much younger and while he a good pal to Ching, but he is not a caretaker type.   So Ching relies on me these days much more than he used to.  And that's okay.

Ching lets me know when he doesn't want to go for the walk.  And when he's had enough exercise, he stops, kerplunk, wherever he is.   But he's always done that.  He hates the heat.  But he loves to eat.  That's how I know he's doing okay.  Sometimes I catch him just sitting motionless, staring into space.  He is meditating.  He's always meditated.  I need to learn that practice from him.

I've had so many dogs and cats and birds over the years, its difficult to imagine life without at least one in the house.  And each has had their own uniques personality.  They all live their own separate lives while being the best of companions.  Ching is no exception.  In a minute we'll shut down the computer and make our way up the stairs to bed.  Sometimes I think I will carry him.  Then I realize its him who carries me.  That's what love is all about.  That's what Ching is all about.  

I captured the above un-retouched image somewhere near Hesperia last year.  I was looking for something that demostrated heat. While this is indeed a hot desert scene, I came to fine myself distracted by the clouds.  I really love the whites and greys against the blue sky background contrasted against the browns of the desert floor with just a touch of green provided by the yucca trees.

As I drifted into a meditative state looking at that image above, Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell began to play in my head.  It was one of my favorites, still probably is, because of its folksy, world-weary look at love and life.   (I'm including the lyrics and a link to Youtube below should you be inclined to take a little trip down memory lane).  Those were the days.  And there's another song by a one-hit wonder, Mary Hopkin, which also was part of my teenage soundtrack as I navigated my way through raging hormones and growing pains.

Looking back now, I can see I could have been a real counter-culture kid or a hippie had I not been brought up to be such a "good boy".  LOL  Any way, that served me well I guess as I lived to tell these tales.
​----
Of course that's Mama Cass with Joni.  The other singer is Mary Travers I believe, of Peter, Paul and Mary.  But that answer, as they say, is blowing in the wind or perhaps it road off with Puff the Magic Dragon.

Both Sides Now
Joni Mitchell
Rows and flows of angel hair 
And ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere
I've looked at clouds that way
But now they only block the sun
They rain and snow on everyone
So many things I would have done 
But clouds got in my way
I've looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down and still somehow
It's cloud's illusions I recall
I really don't know clouds at all
Moons and Junes and ferries wheels 
The dizzy dancing way you feel
As every fairy tale comes real 
I've looked at love that way
But now it's just another show 
You leave 'em laughing when you go
And if you care, don't let them know 
Don't give yourself away
I've looked at love from both sides now 
From give and take and still somehow
It's love's illusions I recall
I really don't know love at all
Tears and fears and feeling proud, 
To say "I love you" right out loud
Dreams and schemes and circus crowds 
I've looked at life that way
But now old friends they're acting strange 
They shake their heads, they say I've changed
Well something's lost, but something's gained 
In living every day.
I've looked at life from both sides now
From win and lose and still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all
I've looked at life from both sides now 
From up and down, and still somehow 
It's life's illusions I recall 
I really don't know life at all
Songwriters: Joni Mitchell
Both Sides Now lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Crazy Crow Music / Siquomb Music Publishing

No long ago I published a blog about things which are kinda pet peeves of mine, wondering if they were really "peeve-worthy".  I wondered if those things that bugged me, or just got under my skin, really were worthy of my time and energy so as to even call them "peeves"; let alone "pet-peeves".     Well, I've found a few more things to ponder on.  I'll seek your sage wisdom and/or insights as to whether they are indeed peeve-worthy .

Waiting at traffic signals.  Everyone is stopped.  And there is no one coming through the red light.  Not one car.  Not one pedestrian.  Not even in the distance between here and Chicago.  It drives me nuts to stop for what seems like forever for what appears to be nothing or no one  Drive through?  Ha!  It's probably a trap....

Humidity.  I know.  No one can control the weather.  But really now, can't they do something?  Pass a law?  Invent something that dries the outside air?  I know, I know, humidity is good for plants and your skin and all living things. But do they need to mix it with ungodly heat?  I guess my real pet-peeve about this is when the weatherman gleeful reports the humidity index as it nears 110%.  Do we really need to know?  And as they always say, "It's not the heat its the...."  Blast them.

Haggling.  As you may or may not know, I have been helping my friends with their estate sale business.  It can be fun.  Staging the house, tagging the items, doing the promotions.  But one thing really bugs me.  When the boss sets a (very fair) price, it is after great consideration.  He has to consider the profit margin, the net to client and compensating staff.   So when you ask me on a two dollar item if I will take one dollar, I say no.  Or, even more grating is when on that same two dollar item, I offer it to you for one dollar and you ask me if I'll take fifty cents.  Ayeeee!   

The rolling of the eyes.  How adolescent of you.  Really?  Just because I ask an innocent question or wonder about something like the meaning of life or why traffic signals are so long, I don't think I warrant a rolling of the eyes.  That's like a teenager being impatient with a well-meaning parent or even a sometimes clueless joe like me.

International McDonald's (or Subway or Burger King).  While visiting Italy recently, it was somewhat jarring to see Mickey D's some of the oldest cities in the world.  Amidst the ruins and ancient statuary, a Subway?  Yes, the Italians are entitled to fast food to clog their arteries and instant hunger gratification, but really, can't you at least try to "blend in?"  Another Ayeeee!

Off leash dogs and their arrogant owners.   I have some a neighbors who take their dog out every night and let it poop on other people's lawns.  It seems to be the entire family, mom, daughter, mom's SO, the maid.  They all let the dog do its business wherever it pleases...never on their own lawn.  What's wrong with them?  They make absolutely no pretense to even try to pick it up!  One time the SO was standing on my parkway, letting the dog do his business.  I went and got my pooper scooper and picked it up while he was walking away.  "Oh," he said sheepishly, "I guess I shouldn't let him do that."  "Not really," I said.  I guess he didn't feel sheepish enough.  They just go down further now.

Trivial rants.  Okay, you got me.  All these things are trivial I suppose.  No, they are not worth getting my knickers in a knot.  But minor as they may be, I do count them as peeves.  Peeve-worthy?  Maybe not.  But really, we choose our pets and when feed them by paying attention to them.  Perhaps that's where I go wrong?  

Thoughts? Musings?

I hearby designate Saturday as a good day to ruminate.  Or maybe  let the thoughts and musings ramble.  So there you have it.  Unleash the thoughts, let the musings roll.  Here goes.

Relationships can be difficult...hard...impossible to navigate without a map.  Who makes a map for relationships?  I always say its important to keep the lines of communication open.  You know, be honest.  Start and keep to an "I" prospective.  I feel this way.  "I" want this.  "I" am...yada yada.  No blame.  No making anyone wrong.  Just being honest.  Sometimes that is very difficult, hard even.

Santa Fe was nice.  I want to go back.  Not as nice as Florence in Italy, but I won't be going back there soon...unless something happens I don't know about.  A road trip up north is enticing.  All possibilities.  I love possibilities.  

At this point in my life its very nice to know I still have dreams, possibilities.  Now I need to just stop living in possibility.  Wink.  (Note I did not resort to an emoji, even though I love emoji's.  They are a fun, quirky, even silly little symbols).

I'm done with this hot weather.  I know it just started, but I just thought I'd put it out there.  I found myself the other day asking Fritz Coleman, Channel 4 weatherguy, why they turn the heat up so high.  Is it really necessary?  Yes, sometimes I do worry about my sanity.

If you've been following me on Facebook, you know about my pillow troubles.  It's been jumping out the window during the night.  My neighbor suggested I reverse top and bottom of my bed.  You know, head at foot, foot at head.  Tonight I'm gonna try it.  Tonight.  Exciting Saturday night.  

And finally, yes, I know I am writing this on Friday.  Duh.  Sometimes I lose track of the days.  That happens.   Especially when you're busy doing other things.  And that kinda worries me sometimes.  I don't want to miss the days...whether they be Saturday or Friday or even Monday.  

Happy thoughts and musings to you.

"Now wait a minute," you're probably saying, "How old were you in 1956?"  Some of you might even wonder if I was even alive in 1956.  God bless you...but I was.  I was five years old.  I had started kindergarten.  And I began a love affair.  But this love was for all cars from the 50s, unless you count Miss Gore, my kindergarten teacher, whom I remember having a wild crush on.  She was, as they said then, the bee's knees.  

Anyway, 1956 was also the year my grandmother bought her first Dodge.  We had a connection in the car dealer business, a distant cousin named George.  He was smooth one.  But he took care of my grandmother through all her generations of Dodges, right up to her last, a 1976 Dodge Aspen.  It looked like a junior g-man car which I inherited and drove for while here in California in the early 1980s after she passed away.

For some reason, though the '56 Dodge Lancer she owned was my favorite.  It was three tone-color, just like the one in the picture.  It had four doors, which I guess from the ad, was really something(?)  I remember riding in that new car and loving it.  In those day, however, cars were not the prices of what houses were then, so grandma was able to get a new car every three to four years.  It broke my heart when she traded in on a '59 Dodge Coronet.  It was solid green and uglier than sin.  It was so long, it almost didn't fit in the garage!  

So long story short, I think about that '56 car frequently.  Probably didn't have a/c or power anything, but it was a fine car.  What really strikes me though, is how very UGLY it was!  In fact, most Dodges were ugly right into the 70s if you ask me.  "Only a face a mother could love," is a phrase that comes to mind.  And, yes, I do love it.  Sometimes the memories attached far outweigh the superficial looks.  Love is a funny thing.  And once in love, it is wonderful if you are able to stay in love.