Love is a many splendored thing….

“The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in.”

–Morrie Schwartz

Well, it’s happened.  We knew it was only a matter of time.  The Beaumeister is in love.  That’s right, our little man has a girlfriend.  Her name is Gracie, and she is a cutie.  8 months old to Beau’s 17 months, full of spunk and able to give our boy a run for his money. Indeed, judging from Beau’s adoring gaze, her 100-yard dash not only won his heart, it is infinitely more impressive than mine. 🙂

THANK YOU!!

“Silent gratitude isn’t much use to anyone.”

–Gladys Browyn Stern

I recently received word from my friend David Kanigan, creator of the fabulous blog Lead.Learn.Live , that he had nominated me for the “Blog of the Year” award.  This is my second nomination for this award; I was also generously nominated by Cristi of the delightful blog Simple.Interesting a short time ago.  Suffice it to say that, in the words of my Aussie pals, I was ‘gobsmacked!’

As I read through the list of my fellow nominees, my anxiety grew. Not only had I been included in prestigious company, but  many of the blogs that I admire and follow myself were recognized as well, thereby narrowing the field for my own nominations.  Fellow nominee, Mimi of Waiting for the Karma Truck quickly revved her engine and fired off her acceptance speech, pulling yet *another* chunk of my favorites out of play with her nominations. My panic mounted–how to properly acquit myself and do justice to the award–that became my challenge.  And time, obviously, is of the essence.  So without further hesitation, I offer up my nominees….

• Inga’s Angle:  A wonderful photo journal of New York City.  Inga has an unerring eye and always gives one a new perspective on the Big Apple.
• The Jolyn Project: This remarkable young woman again and again hits the mark–whether evoking a smile, laughter or tears, her posts never fail to move me.
• The Book of Alice: Alice, a.k.a. The Kidling, is one bright little light with observations that are by turns remarkable and risible; fortunately The Mama is on hand to capture the moments and provide ‘color commentary’ as needed.

All of these delightful blogs (and so many others), bring inspiration, laughter, insight, knowledge and wonder to my world each day, as do each of you who follow this blog and take the time to ‘like’ and comment upon my posts.  Thank you for sharing a bit of yourself with me. The rules for accepting this award and sharing the wealth may be found at The Thought Palette.

Grateful….

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it

is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”

–William Arthur Ward

 Thanksgiving is a bountiful holiday–lots of food, family, traffic, turkey, sugar, shopping–you get the idea.  It’s also one of my favorites, a time to snuggle in with friends or family, sharing laughter and love, continuing some traditions and creating others.

As I settle in this evening in front of a delicious fire with my honey and my two canine “partners in crime,” my heart swells with gratitude for my many blessings.

Beau & Dad

La Lola

To all those who so generously share your light, laughter, compassion and love with me each day–THANK YOU.

Puppy Love – Literally

Puppy Love – Literally.  My wonderful, warm friend Mimi posted this paean to pooches this morning, and it’s so perfect I had to share!  🙂

Small kindnesses…

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”

-Leo Buscaglia, author (1924-1998) 

My two favorite lapdogs!

As readers of “Donna & Diablo” know, this blog is dedicated to telling stories of life with my two favorite furballs: Lola Bug & the Beau Man.  These wonderful creatures bring untold amounts of love and laughter to my life.  (Alright, alright, in the spirit of full disclosure, they’ve been known to introduce a wee bit of frustration every now and again, too–just yesterday Beau coughed up what was left of the plastic shoulder guide to David’s laptop computer case after he’d worked it over.  Color me naive–I thought the little darling was taking a nap in the laundry room 😦 )

Although Bug and Beau’s myriad small kindnesses never fail to warm my heart, today’s post is about the kindness shown to me by two fellow bloggers–folks I’ve not yet had the pleasure of meeting in person who nonetheless enrich my life in ways large and small most every day.

The first is David Kanigan, author of the fabulous blog “Lead.Learn.Live.”  David is a wonder: funny, insightful, provocative, prolific–his posts give me a reason to pause, ponder, groan, guffaw, or giggle virtually every day.  One of David’s posts this morning, “Warm. Soft.Rain,” absolutely made my day.  In it, he mentioned one-word associations that sprang to mind for some of his blogger friends, and the one he linked to me was ‘happy.’ A simple pronouncement, yet one that warmed me to my core.

I AM happy–incredibly so–and it tickles me pink that my happiness is perceivable, even to those who know me only through my presence online.  I’ve been through some rough patches in the last few years, and it wasn’t all that long ago that ‘happy’ would have been far from the first adjective I would have been assigned.  But my life has changed dramatically and today I am happy more days than not, and blessed:  with a man I adore who loves me dearly (at times in spite of myself); with friends who frequently leave me speechless (and those who know me know this is no mean feat) with the love, patience, and generosity of spirit they show me; with two wonderful dogs who every day make me feel like I’m the greatest thing since sliced bread; with my health; and with the ability to grow in some form or fashion every day.  So thank you, David, for that wonderful compliment.

The second blogger I would like to thank is Mimi Krumholz of “Waiting for the Karma Truck.”  Mimi is a constant source of inspiration for me.  She is warm, witty, generous, and genuine.  Her humanity shines through in every post.  Mimi has encouraged this neophyte blogger in so many ways–she never fails to ‘like’ my posts and comments just as frequently.  The knowledge that someone out there is listening, and responding, to my musings is more gratifying than I can say.

Mimi has also graciously nominated me for not one but TWO blog awards: the ‘Beautiful Blogger’ Award and the ‘Sunshine Blogger’ Award.  Though I have not yet fulfilled the mandates associated with receiving these wonderful acknowledgments (but I will, I promise I will!!), this delay should in NO way be seen as a lack of appreciation.  I am, quite simply, touched beyond measure that Mimi would feel compelled to confer these wonderful awards on me when I am so new to the game.  This simple act of kindness is deeply appreciated and gave me just the ‘atta girl’ I needed to continue in my quest to grow and develop as a writer.

 

Simple acts, brief interactions, yet so meaningful to me.  As Mark Twain said, “Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear, and the blind can read.”  I hope that all those reading today can feel how much I appreciate their sharing a little bit of their time with me through this blog.  The boost it gives me is beyond measure.

The joy of good friends

“It is by chance that we met, by choice that we became friends.”

–Anon.

We’ve had a glorious past ten days here at Chez Feinberg, entertaining dear friends from Australia.  I first met in these friends in a chance encounter at the beautiful Cradle Mountain Lodge in Tasmania some years back (if you ever get the chance to visit this magical part of the world, GO!! You won’t regret it!!), and I knew from the start that we would be friends for the rest of our lives, no matter the miles between us.  We don’t see each other *nearly* as often as I would like, but when we do, we “suck the marrow” out of the experience, as my dearly departed grandmother used to say.

Chillin’ with friends

In this most recent visit, my friends met Lola Bug and Beau, neither of whom were in my life at the time of their last visit.  I’m proud to say that our crew proved to be world-class hosts, behaving beautifully while never missing the opportunity for a snuggle or rub from their new Aussie pals.

Beau & his new Aussie mate

Beau, not surprisingly, made it his business to be the major domo of our nightly Happy Hour, even managing to get a quick slurp of a Sam Adams when my friend’s hand-eye coordination proved a moment too slow.  In fact, he’s decided this event should be an every-night occurrence here.  Since our guests departed, Beau has been eyeing the pilsners and a few moments ago he made it quite clear that the time had come to set out the cheese and crackers.

Miss Thing works the room

Lola, meanwhile, made sure that our guests knew that, although she’s a lady from the top of her nose to the tip of her tail, she’ll never walk away from a good belly rub.  As her idol Mae West was wont to say, “I speak two languages, Body and English.”

During our visit, we shared many laughs, revisited fond memories and made many new ones.  I was reminded once more how very precious good friends are, be they two-legged or four, and how important it is to treasure each and every moment.  As we head into this Memorial Day weekend, I wish you safe travels and happy times with the ones you love. Life’s too short for anything less.