Dog Days

Thought for the day: Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read. [Groucho Marx]

[image courtesy of seniorark]

A flashlight could chase some of that dark away...

Hi-ya. My brain is giving me the silent treatment today, so I'm going to go with an easy breezy post. Nothing too strenuous or thought-provoking. After all, this is Labor Day weekend... which means NO LABOR, people!

Besides, who wants to work... or think... when it's so darned hot.

The dog days, they call 'em. That's a rather nice name for that long hot sultry period parts of the Northern hemisphere swelter through from early June to early September. Theoretically, that means they should be drawing to an end soon, but this is Georgia. Hot weather likes to linger.

So in honor of dog days, I'm going to share some of my favorite dog pics and cartoons. (Sorry, Joanne! I'll have something extra special just for YOU at the end...)

Life is never boring when you have pets.

Sniffing, licking and sleeping are exhausting.

Even dogs have grumpy days.

Poor baby's having a hard time recognizing his pal's scent...

Talk about man's best friend!

Well, technically, maybe he's right...?

Geez, and we always tried to blame it on the dog... I reckon turn-about's fair play.

Sometimes, it's just too darned HOT to trot around for no good reason.

Melloooooooow.

Even more mellooooow.

Sorry, Rover. You're gonna have to settle for a hug.

Doggone it, that's enough pics! I'm getting a little carried away here. (I hope some of them gave you a little lift.)








And now... (Insert drum roll, please) JUST for the lovely Joanne, who is not a critter-lover.

                                                                         Ready?

This kinda beast more to your liking, kiddo? They should have your pool cleaned in no time...

You know, I really love our cats, but after going through so many of my dog pictures, I'm thinking it'd be kinda nice to have a dog again. There's something magical about the bonds we can form with dogs, so maybe we should get a magical dog... something like a chocolate labracadabradour...

                                     Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

Today, I will live in the moment. Unless it's unpleasant, in which case, I'll eat a cupcake.

A Prelude to Change

Thought for the day:  Sometimes it's important to work for that pot of gold. But other times it's essential to take time off and to make sure that your most important decision in the day simply consists of choosing which color to slide down on the rainbow.  [Douglas Pagels]

No telling what kind of pot you might find at the end of a rainbow, but if you drink enough water, you'll be plenty happy to find the kind that's in the picture.

In the meantime, let's enjoy the slide, shall we? This is Labor Day weekend, which of course means... no labor, people! (For you folks in Canada, Australia and the U.K., that's Labour and labour...) It's a time to relax and let things slide a bit. You could say it's the last gasp of summer, or a preparation for the upcoming change of season. Time to forget about baseball, (especially if you're a Braves fan) and start thinking about football. (Even if the thermometer is still reading close to ninety degrees...)

If work were such a wonderful thing, surely the rich would have kept it all to themselves.  [Lane Kirkland]

According to the calendar, summer doesn't officially end for another three weeks, but for all intense purposes, most of us consider Labor Day weekend to be our last hurrah. Our last desperate effort to squeeze in another round of fun in the sun. You can be as active ... or inactive... as you'd like.

There's lots of things you could do this weekend, but whatever it is, I hope you take a little time to ...

escape from the usual grind.









                         
                                           
You could take a nice relaxing bubble bath,

take a nap in the great outdoors,








                                                          or enjoy a good ol' barbecue.

    Don't forget the watermelon!

You could spend the day at the beach,









                                                               or lying in the grass.

You can run, drive, golf, swim, fish, sightsee, or just curl up with a good book. Do whatever the heck it is you want to do, but don't forget...

summer will be over ... and the chairs will be empty... before ya know it.









And so, I raise a cup o' kindness to you, (You can fill it with whatever you'd like)

and wish you all a wonderful Labor Day.

At the end of this Labor Day weekend, I hope you can look back on it and say... It was truly golden.

                   Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

** Images courtesy of morguefile seniorark and perfectlytimedphotos

P.S. Next week, I'll be posting on Wednesday, instead of Friday, as part of the Insecure Writers Support Group. (Yep, I'm a little insecure... I am a writer... and God knows, at my age, I need all the support I can get!) Hope to see ya then.

Last Gasp of Summer

Thought for the day:  Sometimes it's important to work for that pot of gold. But other times it's essential to take time off and to make sure that your most important decision in the day simply consists of choosing which color to slide down on the rainbow.  [Douglas Pagels]

No telling what kind of pot you might find at the end of that rainbow, but if you drink enough water, you'll be plenty happy to find the kind in that picture.


In the meantime, let's enjoy the slide, shall we? Especially today.

Labor Day. A day to relax, and let things slide.

If work were such a wonderful thing, surely the rich would have kept it all to themselves.  [Lane Kirkland]



According to the calendar, summer doesn't officially end for another three weeks, but for all intense purposes, most of us consider Labor Day weekend to be our last hurrah. Our last desperate effort to squeeze in another round of fun in the sun. You can be as active ... or inactive... as you'd like.

There's lots of things you could do today. But whatever it is, I hope you take a little time to ...

escape from the usual grind.









                           
                                                You could take a nice relaxing bubble bath,

take a nap in the great outdoors,








                                                          or enjoy a good ol' barbecue.

    Don't forget the watermelon!

You could spend the day at the beach,









                                                               or lying in the grass.

You can run, drive, golf, swim, fish, sightsee, or just curl up with a good book. Do whatever the heck it is you want to do today. But don't forget...

summer will be over ... and the chairs will be empty... before ya know it.









And so, I raise a cup o' kindness to you, (You can fill it with whatever you'd like)

and wish you all a wonderful Labor Day.

At the end of this day, I hope you can look back on it and say... It was truly golden.

                   Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

** Images courtesy of morguefile seniorark and perfectlytimedphotos

No Labor Today!

Thought for the day:  Sometimes it's important to work for that pot of gold. But other times it's essential to take time off and to make sure that your most important decision in the day simply consists of choosing which color to slide down on the rainbow.   Douglas Pagels

YUP, it's Labor Day, which of course, means we don't wanta do any labor, so this will be a short post today. Figured I'd just tell you a few things about this holiday that you may not know, and then go prepare to be a lazy slob lady of leisure for the rest of the day.

This holiday, a celebration of the American worker, has its roots in unions and labor organizations, and initially, was observed with parades and marches in support of various unions, and workers' rights. The first Labor Day observation is believed to have been a New York City parade held on September 5, 1882, under the leadership of Peter McGuire, an Irish-American cabinet maker and pioneer unionist. At that time, most workers put in twelves hours every day, and the parade was in support of establishing an 8-hour workday.

Oregon was the first state to pass an official Labor Day law, in 1887, but the Feds were a little slower, and didn't enact a law establishing the day as a Federal Holiday until 1894. Earlier that year, President Grover Cleveland, who was rather anti-union, sent troops into Chicago to "take control" of an American Railway Union strike at the Pullman Company. As a result, thirty-four workers died. Shortly thereafter, Congress passed legislation to establish the holiday, and Cleveland signed the bill in a hasty effort to mitigate the fallout from the fiasco in Chicago.

An interesting tidbit: the first labor strike held in the U.S. was all the way back in 1636, when a group of Maine fishermen refused to work after the owner of the boats failed to pay them.

Canadians also celebrate Labor Day on the first Monday in September . . .  only they call it "Labour" Day.

Some other countries, like Australia, celebrate the holiday on the first day of May.

Since the number of union members is down considerably from what it once once,  Labor Day is no longer marked by marches,  parades, and protests, as it once was. Now, it's more or less morphed into a one last blow-out celebration of summer. Cook-outs, BBQs, and relaxation, with a handful of political speeches thrown into the mix.

One thing Labor Day . . .  or Labour Day . . . ISN'T is a day to labor. So enjoy your holiday, everyone.

Hard work never killed anybody, but why take a chance?  Edgar Bergen