Cattitude and Gratitude

Old Man Winter, I’ve had enough It’s time for you to go These past few months have been tough I’m fed up, just so you know! I’m so sick of freezing I’m sick of scraping the car, I’m so sick of sneezing Who do you think you are? I’m so sick of shoveling snow I’m sick of sloppy sleet I’m sick of icy winds that blow And knock me off my feet, My pants sure are getting tight I’m sick of winter flab, I’m sick of seeing so much white The scenery is drab, I want to see green leaves and flowers To heck with snow and ice, Turn that snow into April showers Wouldn’t that be nice? Like a guest who’s stayed too long We’re giving you a blast, Go back to the Arctic where you belong And let Spring come at last!

I am taking part in the special blogging movement #1000 Speak for Compassion.  In honour of this special movement, I am writing an Acrostic Poem using the word Compassion. #1000 Speak for Compassion C aring for other people is the right choice Be an O mbudsman for those without a voice, M entor lost souls in need of a guide Give them P raise and they’ll shine with pride, A ppreciate folks and let them know S how emotion and let stuff go, S how kindness every chance you get I dentify with people you’ve just met, O utreach and help those in need N urture, inspire and take the lead If you show compassion every day Your life will be blessed in every way!

I am writing this for the Wordy Wednesday prompt at Blog-A-Rhythm using the phrase "A Love for All Seasons." It was love at first sight for John when he first met Emily in the park during apple blossom time. Her black lab, Fred ran towards him and wrapped the leash around them both. Emily always liked to joke about how Fred had brought them together. Over the summer, their romance heated up along with his stuffy high rise apartment where they squished themselves into John’s single bed. Many nights it was so hot that they would pull the mattress onto the small balcony. Even the noise of the cars below didn’t bother them since they were so in love. That summer, John took Emily on a road trip right across Canada just so they could see the Pacific Ocean. By fall, they moved in together. They had their first big fight when John complained about the dinner tasting burnt.  Emily burst into tears and told John she was pregnant. John proposed on bended knee while Fred...

Sweet little chickadee perched in the tree How tiny and frail you seem to be, Such a wisp of a bird, so small and slight How do you endure winter’s nasty bite? Tiny in stature, but yet you survive I admire how you stay alive, Flitting from the feeder to the tree Chirping chickadee, dee, deee, You hold the seed between your toes And crack it open while the wind blows, Tap, tap, tap and munch, munch, munch It takes all day to eat your lunch, Chickadee, you are tough and bold You keep on singing, despite the cold, You flit about in weak winter sun I’d swear that you were having fun!

I’m happy to introduce my lovely new friend Shilpa Gupte from Mumbai in India. In honour of Valentine's Weekend, we thought we would each do guest posts on each others' blogs to celebrate our friendship. Shilpa is doing a guest post on my blog today and I am doing a guest post on hers that you can find here.  Cat Guest Post on Shilpa's Blog   Shilpa and I met in the Blog-A-Rhythm group, a fun group of very supportive bloggers run by Shailaja Vishwanath, a really fun lady and a great writer.  Blog-A-Rhythm Many of the bloggers live in India like my friend Shilpa who is from Mumbai. I love meeting people around the world and am especially excited to learn about India as it’s such a fascinating country with cultures, languages and climates quite different from Canada but yet similar in many ways. I'm so proud to be a  Thanks for all you do to make BAR fun, Shailaja! Take it away, Shilpa...... It has been a year since I began blogging  at the...

The finch sings his cheerful song Even when times are tough, He knows what it takes to be strong And to him, that’s more than enough, The branch bends with the snowy squall The finch holds on and sings, He believes in himself, and will not fall He knows that he has wings.

I’ve always loved birds ever since I was a kid. One of my favourite songs is from Mary Poppins “Feed the Birds.” In 2009, I traveled to England to visit my writing pals, Caz, Val and Suzanne. My first stop was London where I made a point of staying at a hostel right near St. Paul’s Cathedral where the famous bird lady sat on the steps to feed the birds in Mary Poppins magical snow globe.   Here is a street view of St. Paul's when I first arrived. Kind of a different view than the typical view highlighting the famous dome. Here is a view of the courtyard at the hostel. Apparently years ago, the St. Paul's choristers used to live at the hostel where I stayed since it was very close to the cathedral. Even though the hostel was very basic with 5 women to a room, it was still so magical to be gently lulled by St. Paul’s Cathedral bell chiming every 15 minutes. And I got to sit on those famous steps and imagine I was the bird lady feeding the pigeons. ...