HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!

Today is the start of the I'm So Happy the Mayans Got It Wrong Day. The world didnt end and we weren't carted off by aliens in a giant space craft. Its a new year with many good things to come.  I must say I did secretly worry that if the Mayan prophecy had come true, I may not have had enough tinned provisions in my store cupboard to feed everybody.

Still, I'm  glad you're all still here, safe, sound and not sheepishly sitting under a French mountain. Being alive is great. So while you're basking in your relieved collective existence, may I take this opportunity to wish you all a happy and prosperous 2013.

The New Year is always the time to try and be a better person; make resolutions; de-clutter our lives and homes and resolving to  take more exercise more to get fit. Or perhaps to get enough money to travel to the Azores for pebble collecting; or better yet to learn useful stuff like Age-otori,  meaning "to look worse after a haircut" in japanese. I found this in my japanese dictionary when searching for another phrase.

Learning new phrases is probably my half resolution for 2013.  I met a russian lady in the park who speaks no english so I looked up 'good morning' in russian on Google. I now bellow "Priviat" each time I see her. She has learned to say "good morning" in english. We smile at each other a lot and the dogs sniff bottoms enthusiastically.  Its a start.

I seldom make resolutions but do you suppose that if you asked asked dogs what their resolutions would be it would read like the list below.

1. Remember who is important: When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
2. Being real, and true to yourself: Never pretend to be something you’re not.
3. Live in the moment: Run, romp, pee and play daily.
4. The importance of touch: Never sleep alone when you can sleep on someone’s face.
5. Bark less and listen more: When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently.
6. Practice patience: If you stare at someone long enough, eventually you’ll get what you want.
7. Cats have figured this out: Make love loudly.
8. Enjoy your food: Eat with gusto and enthusiasm.
9. Be loyal. You never know where the next meal is coming from.
10. Become the pet your person thinks you are.

Until the next blog, enjoy life.

Dawn ("