Mr. Scruffy here. How have you been? It’s been cold. We got about three or four inches of snow here at Hobbit’s Bend, and then the deep chill came on. Sunday morning it got down to 10 degrees Fahrenheit. That be cold, for sure. Burr. Am I glad I was snuggled up close to the wood stove. The warmth of a fire can not be beat. And, it makes me happy. Enough of my dribble…

On with the news

1. Stop Chasing After What You Think Will Make You Happy — How do you help yourself to be happy? Let me recommend – Pursue the things you love. You know all “creatives” need a jolt to get them back on track, stay on track, or just walk the track. Pursuing what you love, helps you stay on track. At least, it does me. What do you love? What do you wish you had time to do? Where would you go? Do you have places you’ve dreamed of visiting? Where would you go if you only had one trip you could make? This past Sunday, Pam shared about how she returned to doodling and it was helping her be more creative (See Bullet 3). Not that she hasn’t been creative lately. She thought me up. Hahaha. Besides doodling, I’ve found some other things you might want to try:

• Find a website or blog that offers suggestions you can wrap your mind around. One such site is http://www.lifehack.org <– Life Hack offers a variety of resources besides a blog and you can get daily briefings sent to your e-mail to ponder.
• Find things that are fun for you and do them. What do I enjoy? Watching the snow fall while sitting on a glassed-in porch with a blazing wood stove keeping me warm. My mind wonders as I watch the birds flying around outside, the bald eagles soar, the creek frozen from the temperature dipping below 15 degrees. I’m happy, warm, and content.
• Find things that you enjoy listening to from poetry to songs you can sing along with because you know the words from years of singing along with the radio. Hearing Poetry Out Loud is a fine example. Music is another matter. I’m not sure there is enough room for all the songs I’ve come to love to listen to while Pam works. She’s made YouTube listings for her songs. For, The Fire Within – she has this YouTube song list, while for her current writing The Chronicles of Eldershire — this is a YouTube song list in progress (See point below for an update on her progress).

2. Watching PBS anything. It doesn’t matter what you watch, or if you have a favorite – support the public broadcasting because the service is worth it. A couple of favorites of mine – Masterpiece — many of its shows, but especially Sherlock – Season 4 – Episode 1 – The Six Thatchers are down right fun and some are maddening. America’s Test Kitchen with Christopher Kimbell is not only informative, but entertaining. Pam loves cooking. I love eating her food. It’s a win-win. Need I say more?

3. Enjoy good comedy. Cartoons are a must. Shaun the Sheep is so funny. I almost fall off my perch each time I watch an episode. There is even a Shaun the Sheep movie. I can’t wait to watch it with my human protectors. “Oh, it’s Shaun the Sheep; It’s Shaun the Sheep…” duh, duh, duhahahaha. Love it!

4. News from Hobbit’s Bend: Pam has been hard at work. Here’s her latest report—

“I’m writing, editing, erasing, blogging, journaling, and doodling. Trying to get my second trilogy written. A few snapshots of the story in the first book: A magical hat. A sixty-three year old woman wants to die after she caused the deaths of her family. Wood sprites. Tree spirits. Crazy, wicked witch who thinks she’s a dragon, of all things. An owl that talks (Shhhh…that’s me). A boy who should be a man. Will KC help save the Elderwians and the Brooks Forest? How will she get home?”

Now that Twelfth Night is over, we’ve also been slowly putting up our Christmas decorations. Do you celebrate Twelfth Night? I never knew it was a very old British folk custom. Shakespeare wrote about it in this way:

“…no spirit dare stir abroad;

The nights are wholesome; then no planets strike;

No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm,

So hallow’d, and so gracious is the time…” (Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 1)

Thanks for reading…see ya next week!

Mr. Scruffy

 

This post Mr. Scruffy News - January 10, 2017 first appeared on Pam's Blog.

 

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