Pieper in Oz

Hi, Pieper here...it's been awhile since either Mom or I have been here and we apologize. There has been a LOT going on in Pieperland. Here's a short recap:

Monday, July 20 - Tornado in our town, almost unheard of. Instead of cowering under the bed, as I usually do when strangers are in the house, I was in Mom's arms, on her lap and generally following her from window to window to figure out what was going on...I figured the safest place to be was with my Mom.

I was right, of course...trees came down, narrowly missing Mom's car, trees uprooted, fences defeated, but I was safe with Mom! We had no power for almost TWO DAYS - no air, no lights, nothing...what else was there to do but listen to the ballgame by battery-operated radio and snuggle up with Mom?

Then on Wednesday, July 22, Mom goes back to work only to learn that 5 people out of their 14 person department are being laid off, plus one supervisor! We'll know in a week or so if we're going to eat again...no laughing matter, of course...Mom has been at the City for seven plus years and is excellent at her job, but some things you just can't take for granted.

So, that's our week in a nutshell. We'll be back in a few, with more news about what is happening at Bonanzle, our marketplace, with information about a new affiliate and syndicated seller program they have just added.

BAD HAIR DAY

Hi! Pieper here...mom is ironing something, so I thought I'd just write a thought I had...the bathtub...something we can talk about later, but for now, I think the thing I hate most about an actual bath (as if!) is not the bath, but the fact that I have to spend a good part of the rest of the day putting my hair back in place!

Here she comes...gotta run!

STUPID QUESTIONS

Have you ever really thought about those stupid questions that people ask in what would ordinarily be considered an abnormal situation? For example, you may be in the middle of the reception area at the doctor's office on your hands and knees, nose pushed to the floor -- invariably, some smart-elbow comes in and says, "Are you looking for something?" You take a deep breath, look back at the floor, and then brightly say, "Well, no, actually. I just ran out of tissues and I'm wiping my nose on the carpet."

Or how about the time you were sitting in a meeting and spilled hot, hot coffee on yourself...coffee so hot that your blouse was steaming, and someone says, "Is it hot?" Rolling your eyes, you respond, "No, those aren't blisters. I had implant surgery last weekend."

Amazing, it really is!

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Good Monday morning everyone...Pieper here again reporting on my Mom...I just love to play with the mouse when she's not around...

Mission accomplished? And just what mission was that? Well, as reported here before, Mom had been working diligently to clear up clutter in our lives, clean the house thoroughly and create a more relaxing environment. And she is DONE!!!!

Boy, I'll tell ya, I was a little nervous at first -- things flying out of this house so fast, your head would swim! I was afraid we were going to move and I hate that - moving! It's so disruptive! But once I realized this was just a reorganization, I relaxed and had some fun with it...like taking her water bottle and hiding it under the chair - she didn't find it for three days! Hilarious...she talks to herself a lot! He he...

Anyway, new curtains for me to climb (if I had front claws) - white and soft and billowy...but we are doing just fine.

And by the way, did you know that I actually smell with my mouth???? It's true! It's called the Flehmen reaction (notice how close that sounds to phlegm? LOL). I suck in pheromones through my nasal cavity to a place where cells process them. Some genius cat told me this area is known as the Jacobson organ and it's in the roof of my mouth...no wonder I hate it when peanut butter gets stuck there!

Well, that's all for today...I hear her coming back from storage. Time to curl up next to her as she starts her stitching! Wahoo! I got my relaxed and creative Mommy back.

Have a GREAT week, love, Pieper

PLANTING HOPE

If you planted hope today in any hopeless heart
If someone's burden was lighter because you did your part
If you caused a laugh that chased a tear away
If tonight your name is mentioned when someone kneels to pray

Then your day was well spent.

Try to plant hope wherever you go - you don't have to know the person - a smile at the grocery store - letting someone go in line ahead of you - letting someone in the lane ahead of you on the highway - there are any number of ways to reach out.

You just never know how or when your kindness will touch a heart and make someone else feel better. You may never know that you did...but God will know...and the person whose heart you touched will know...and be thankful for your kindness.

MOM KISSED HER TEE SHIRT!

Hi, Friends ... Pieper here. I just had to share this with you: My Mom kissed her black tee shirt last night! He he! I laughed until I threw up a hair ball!

See, usually I sleep on her - or in nearby proximity on her bed during the night (unless of course it's summer and then I sleep directly in front of the AC, effectively blocking anyone else from the pleasure...{insert evil feline grin here}) - anyway, I digress...

Well, when Mom makes one of her numerous trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night, she sees me on the bed and leans over and kisses my head...it's real sweet and even though she interrupts my slumber, it's a nice kind of interruption, ya know? And, she's usually half-asleep, so this was an honest error on her part.

Here's what happened...I decided to sleep on the pillow next to her head; she got up to do her "sandbox" thing, saw this black shape at the end of the bed and leaned over and "SMACK" - right on the tee shirt's forehead! LOLOLOLOLOL. Seems she had left her folded shirt on the bed in error...thought it was me. I love being able to see so well in the dark because the look on her face was priceless!

And speaking of the sandbox, did you know that cat owners spend $215 million on cat food and $295 million on cat litter in one year? I've got my calculator out trying to figure how more comes out than goes in...hmmmm.

Well, I hope you all have a fabulous weekend...and don't tell Mom I told on her!

LIVING BY THE RULES

Well, Pieper and I have been busy this month, cleaning, renovating our lives and keeping busy at it. But we wanted to share something with you from a friend of ours on Bonanzle - Ziggy Zool. For some reason, this wonderful lady has been so kind to us, not really knowing us - I mean consistent nice and for no apparent reason! One day, I decided to visit her profile at her Bonanzle booth and this is what I found:

FROM ZIGGY ZOOL'S PROFILE ON BONANZLE:

Put on your 'big girl' panties and deal with it... that's life in a nutshell. I'm Zig and I've been an online seller for a lot of years. Customer service as a seller is my number one priority... my motto is nothing more than the golden rule... Treat every living being with respect. Live Simply. Love Generously. Care Deeply. Speak Kindly. Work Hard. Have Fun. No Drama.

*Rules for Being Human*

1. You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it will be yours for the entire period this time around.

2. You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called LIFE. Each day in this school you will have the opportunity to learn lessons. You may like the lessons or think them irrelevant or stupid. It makes no difference, you will learn lessons.

3. There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial and error, experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiment that ultimately "works".

4. A lesson is repeated until learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can then go on to the next lesson.

5. Learning lessons does not end. There is no part of life that does not contain its lessons. If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned.

6. "There" is no better than "here". When your "there" has become a "here" you will simply obtain another "there" that will again, look better than "here".

7. Others are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself.

8. What you make of life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources that you need. What you do with them is up to you. The Choice is YOURS.

9. The answers to life’s questions lie inside of you. All you need to do is look, listen and trust.

10. You will get what you ask for. It may not be what you wanted...but it will be what you asked for.

~ Unknown Author


This touched me so much...I hope it touches you as well and inspires you to be all that you can be.

PS: The picture on the left is from Ziggy's booth and is from Geobel's 1982 Seashore Collection and the one of the right is from her husband's booth, Masonic Treasures at Bonanzle, a 2008 Masonic Hand Stamped Penny Tie Tack.