Happy Thanksgiving!

Another silver grey sky. It was sleeting yesterday, yet it's dry so far. After several days off, his tendonitis even had a chance to clear up, Jeff is will be running with the gals this morning. I'll get the sweet potatoes started and then get Zac out. We'll be seeing family today, some we don't see often.

I've ben thinking about yellow the last couple of days. Yellow, for the solar plexus chakra, yellow for fire, self-confidence and the ability to act. Every other color had paraded through a list of favorites; blues and greys, reds and oranges, purple with all its variants, an occasional touch of green and of course, the obligatory black phase. Yellow, the hot color of the sun, has always left me cold.

But now it's yellow's turn.

The Upside of Denial

Denial can be a good thing. For example, the reality is I'm never going to be a good disc-dogger. I'm just too uncoordinated. But I kid myself that the Crossfit workouts and a little disc practice are just what I need to join the top ranks. Yep, I'm delusion, but what's the downside? I'll wind up being better than I'd be without the workouts and practice. Yep, I could wind up being disappointed, but hey, I'm a big girl. I can take it.

But denial can be dangerous. So many people kid themselves about just unhealthy their diet and stressed-out sedentary lifestyles are. How can these people be encouraged to face reality and dump denial?

Abby, Like Whiskey, Mellows with Age

The sky is a silvery grey and a cool mist permeates the air, although the temperature is mild for the end of November. Sable-colored oak leaves, the color of Abby, the color of whiskey, still cling to trees. Abby could get lost in them.

A car streaks by. Abby checks in with me; does Mom have a treat ready?" Yes, I do, and Abby sits and impatiently waits for it. I give her the treat, she bites my fingers to get it and she leaps, spins and barks at the receding car.

OK, she hasn't mellowed entirely, and yet for years, Abby woke up promptly at 5:01 a.m. and wanted to go outside. Now she'll sleep in until 8:00. I think back, trying to remember, when did that change? She can now be off-leash in the house. She's able to be recalled from scorching off in a sable blaze to the kill the cat we've had for four years. Another subtle change.

Yes, Abby, our little whiskey-colored girl, is mellowing with age. And though life with her is smoother, it makes me very sad.

Intriguing and inspiring, the Hindu Temple in Maple Grove supplies a mini-vacation to an exotic location. The larger temple is filled with smaller, intricately carved concrete temples, each of which houses a Hindu goddess or god. The goddesses and gods are carved from marble, granite or wood, and garbed in colorful silks. Incense scents the air, and priests perform ceremonies in melodic languages.