The Garden Dawdler 3/26/23 -My Dog Has No Nose Hair

Rory’s asked us quite an assortment of questions.

Is the WHY to everything important?

It’s the most important one IMHO. But it’s the hardest one to answer.
When you consider that as the most frequently asked question by little kids, there’s obviously an innate need for us to ask it.
For people who retain the child’s inquisitive nature, it is THAT question that leads them to a belief in God. There’s a point at which the exhaustive layers associated with “Why?” can’t be answered any other way.

What would you list as your Top Five Fun Things?

Number One is to laugh, and number two, is to make others laugh.
There’s almost always a humorous thread to be found in most topics. It’s not that a topic isn’t serious or sad, it’s that the human element involved is , itself, almost always comical. I took an English class in High School with a unit on comedy. The most profound idea that I came away with was the knowledge of the thin line between comedy and tragedy.
If you are old enough to remember the “Chuckles the Clown” episode of the Mary Tyler Moore Show, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Here’s a clip but I’d recommend looking up the whole episode:

As for my number 3,4, and 5 favorite fun things they are;
3. Hanging out with kids.
4. Being around animals.
5. Doing something creative. (gardening, painting, writing, etc.)

Should we care about the dreams of others or only our own?

Our own dreams are the only ones meant for us to interpret but hearing about other people’s dreams is interesting. As an outside observer, we can sometimes help them to interpret them.

How well do you deal with criticism from others?
I do very well. I basically don’t care what others think. I love hearing “why?” others think certain things, though. There’s a lot of knowledge to be gained from that.

Do you say YES or NO more often, and which is it?

I’m notorious for always saying “yes”. Once while I was associated with a childcare center, the group who bought gag gifts for us at Christmas, found a book for me about 1001 ways to say “Yes” because I so rarely refuse anyone who asks for help.

What is nose hair for?

I can’t say for sure other than some kind of a filter for catching impurities BUT this question inspired me to examine my dog’s nose. What the heck? She has no visible nose hair. Ugh! Now I’m bound to explore this question more. Thanks for nothing. This is worse than an earworm. LOL

What is the funniest comment you have ever received?

Well, there are SO many, but my day care kids offered many off them. In order to be brief, here’s a cute one:

I was teasing a 4-year-old about the rivalry between our favorite football teams. I told him one Monday, “Sorry about my Giants kicking your Patriots’ butts on TV yesterday.” and his immediate response was, ” At MY house, on My TV, the Patriots won.”

Novels or Netflix?

I don’t very often (maybe 5 times) watch Netflix. So, I say “novels.” even though I enjoy a good movie now and then on TV or on an old VHS tape.

Do good things come to those who wait?

Yes, most definitely. I could go on and on about the lack of any ability to “delay gratification” in today’s society! It is actually the main ingredient in most of our current troubles, some of which are: debt, drug use, unwanted pregnancies, and jumping from one job to another.
Waiting and working for things gives all people a sense of purpose and satisfaction like no other.
And… if you’re a gardener, you already know that because gardening requires a belief in ‘tomorrow’.

My Old School and My Nature

My elementary school has long been torn down and been replaced by a single level ‘efficient’ structure. Above is a photo of it as I remember it. Children’s ‘comings and goings’ were much more relaxed in the 1960s. Locking doors and other security protocols were not even imagined then. What a marvelous time to be a kid!

That three-story building held beautiful 8′ wide hardwood stairways worn with slight ‘dips’ from years of energized foot traffic. Eventually that school became a Middle School (Junior High) and I got to tread those stairways even longer.

The hill that Brayton School sat upon was my small city’s winter sliding spot. Families and kids who weren’t even enrolled there and from all over gathered to slide on that perfect slope with toboggans, jumpers, saucers and sleds, on weekends and evenings throughout our snowy winters. I imagine that area may be forever haunted by the laughter and squeals of carefree happy families.

When I close my eyes, I hear enchanted echoes from our activities inside that sturdy structure. Like being inside an old Cadillac- built to last with sturdy materials and a classical design- there was a rich audio experience that cannot be reproduced in modern schools or cars.

As sentimental as I am about the building, a specific experience also reverberates with me. It was something I did as a Junior High School student.

I’ll explain:
We students moved from classroom to classroom for each subject. A bell rang to end the class giving us about three and a half minutes to find our way to our next classroom before another bell rang. If you didn’t get into the next class by the second bell, you were late and subject to detention unless you had a good excuse.

I don’t, to this day, know why but I made a decision that those three and a half minutes were mine to use as I pleased as long as I wasn’t late to class. On a warm spring day, I challenged myself to run to the trees (in the photo foreground) at the bottom of the hill and back to my second-floor classroom before the second bell. My heart pounded in anticipation and when the first bell rang, I was off! It was exhilarating and ‘dangerous’. My feet had wings!
I got to the door of my class as the second bell rang and as the teacher was beginning to close the door. I slipped through that narrowing opening and made it!

I would do this several more times throughout my studentship there. Never would I be late.

Funny how I never included anyone else in my testing (challenging) of the ‘system’. A few kids caught on, but I never really brought it to anyone’s attention on purpose. The only adult who became aware of my personal ‘Olympics’ was our gym teacher. She held class at the bottom of the hill and when she saw me racing across the field one day, asked me what I was doing. Once onboard with my stunt (Why wouldn’t she be? It was great exercise.), she was a cheerleader who clapped and cheered when she’d see me coming. Of course, she must have told the other teachers. I was probably a teacher’s lounge topic a few times too. No one bothered me about it, though. I wasn’t breaking any written rule. That’s the difference between ‘good teachers’ and ‘tyrant teachers’, by the way.

As I’ve grown older, I’ve become more appreciative of that childhood ‘game’. It makes me proud. I believe it also explains to me that my independent, non-conformist, nature has always been there. It also suggests that pushing myself to better myself, on my own terms, was another intrinsic character trait.

I woke up this morning needing to document this in my blogging journal. I hope you enjoyed my nostalgic tale.



SoCS- 1-7-23 Out of the Box

Your prompt for #JusJoJan and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “out of the box.” Write about the first thing that comes to mind when you think “out of the box.” Enjoy!

This prompt brought back a delightful memory! My normal tendency to wax philosophically has been interrupted for this public service announcement to grandmas and childcare givers.

During my childcare years, I became a children’s programing connoisseur. Around the year 2000, I had a favorite program that the kids and I watched. It was called Out of the Box and was produced by Disney. I haven’t thought of it in years!
It had storytelling, music, and art projects that were wonderful. One segment, in particular, came to mind because I couldn’t help but dance to it. Upon revisiting it… I still needed to dance! I posted it for y’all below.

The cast, content, and messages in this delightful show was excellent and I hope anyone who is lucky enough to be in the presence of young kids (and still has a happy, silly, heart) will look it up on YouTube. There are full episodes available. You won’t be disappointed.

I can’t imagine where children’s programming has gone lately. I’m confident its better days are behind us.
Happy Saturday friends! Let’s dance. ❤



Weekend Writing Prompt #290- Fun at the Company Christmas Party



Fun at the Company Christmas Party

She’d struggle to bring up topics that weren’t deemed ‘political’.
The weather leads to Climate Change.
Shopping leads to Inflation.
Ask about how the kids like school and CRT and Common Core are there.
Don’t dare to sneeze or you’ll get Covid glares.
Even asking if the new grandbaby is a boy or girl, is a quagmire!
Perpetual politics were the tragic “New Normal”.
Silence wasn’t her style, so she bought, and beautifully wrapped, a pocket U.S. Constitution for everyone.
Now for some fun!

84-words

https://sammiscribbles.wordpress.com/2022/12/17/weekend-writing-prompt-290-perpetual/




SoCS- Anyway- Merry Christmas

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “start your post or one paragraph with the word ‘anyway.’” Bonus points if you start your post with “anyway” and regular points if you use it in a paragraph somewhere else in your post. Enjoy!


Anyway, the first thing that popped into my head with this prompt was Rosanne Rosannadanna from the old Saturday Night Live. Her rants ending in “never mind” were hilarious. Truly a golden era of late-night TV.

Anyway, laughing is so much fun! Making others laugh is a beautiful feeling. It’s something I try to do. At small gatherings I don’t even realize I’m trying to do that but it’s like a switch goes off. If you listen to conversations with a comical attitude there’s a treasure trove of material. Patterns evolve and word play takes on a personal flavor. I’m asked, “Are you ever serious?” and realize that, in public, I rarely am serious. Fun is my game.

Anyway, talking about myself is easy but it makes me feel uncomfortable. We all know ourselves best but “who we are” really doesn’t have much to do with “who we think we are”. Have you noticed how we act differently around different people? I don’t think that’s usually an attempt at being phony. I think that comes from having a feeling about what those people expect. We are after all ‘complex animals’. There are layers of things that interest each of us and those who are better at recognizing what their ‘audience’ expects try to live up (or down) to it.

Anyway, the people that I feel most comfortable around are those who don’t seem to have any expectations. You might say that you haven’t become a typecast to them, as far as you know. Those people are few.

Anyway, Christmas is coming too quickly as usual. Isn’t anticipation the BEST feeling? I think so.

Anyway, I’m frequently thinking about how much I enjoy blogging. Creating something that’s all yours is exhilarating. But the people here are a large part of the experience. I’m hoping that each of you have a healthy, and creative New Year.



Anyway, I got through this post not making a political point. Consider that your Christmas miracle. LOL
Merry Christmas to you all!

https://lindaghill.com/category/prompt-2/
https://lindaghill.com/2022/12/16/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-dec-17-2022/

Day Care Adventures- Welcome Back

As a person who spreads herself too thin, the fact that I had started a second blog a few years ago was not a surprising thing.
I got tired and just plain burnt out after a while and decided to only concentrate on Sillyfrog’s Blog. It was then I labeled All Dumb Peas as private and stashed it away.
I may not ever become a gung-ho all-day blogger because I have a life, but I think it’s time that I resurrect my humorous childcare angle born from 47 years of Family Day Care fun and madness.
Here’s the link:
https://alldumbpeas.wordpress.com/
You’re all welcome to poke around. Hope to see you there!
Much appreciated,
Susan

Share Your World 3-28-22

What fictional family would you like to be part of?  (think TV shows, cartoon or books or some fictional family that you admire)


The Waltons are the epitome of a close healthy family to me. It doesn’t get any better than a rural life with a multigenerational household.

Which band or artist would you like to play at your funeral or memorial service? (the artist can have passed on too)
Hands down, Smokey Robinson.
His performance in the movie The Temptations, touched me deeply.

Preference.   Popcorn, M&Ms or other.   Choose something you love snacking on.
I’m not a big snacker. But a salty and sweet experience of extra-sharp cheese, crackers, and fruit, would be hard to pass up.

If you could be any supernatural (fantasy) character, what would you be?  (Think Elves, fairies, dragons or whatever)


I’d choose a Phoenix.
To have the ability to rise from the ashes and be ‘reborn’ would have no rival, IMO.

Please share the best advice you’ve ever gotten which you feel ought to be shared with everyone.

Mind your own business and someday you may have a business of your own.