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flowers+dog+litter+pants

Don't worry, I am not turning into a planto-phile, but a flower is one of the most magnificent displays of colour one will ever see with the naked eye (and with a camera). I caught this one at Finnegan's farm on the weekend. Right after I took that picture, this dog came over and said hello and begged me to take his picture. He is up for adoption if anyone is interested.



I am trying out a brand new litter product on the cats. This one promises to be less smelly and last longer. One can only hope. It is also REALLY noisy! It might wake me up at night! This got me to thinking...what if the master of our lives decided to change something basic that we take for granted every day? Like the stuff we walk on? Or the liquids we drink? Or the height of the sky? Part of the beauty of the brain is that it gradually gets used to things so that we are not always bombarded with sensory signals; it only alerts us to something new. Take a moment and see if you can feel the clothes on your body - after wearing them for a few minutes, the body ignores that sensation because it is constant and harmless and not worth bothering the brain over. This process lets us prioritise the input we get every day from our world. Unfortunately it also renders us numb to some things that perhaps we should never lose the wonder of.

After being married for 20 years, you get so used to the other person that you tend to become less reactive to some things: it is a mixed bag in my opinion. I no longer freak out when Dean drops salsa on the floor or steals all my covers, but my heart no longer flutters every time he enters a room (only about half the time), though I do still jump everytime he grabs me from behind. I can sometimes finish his sentences, usually predict where he is going with a song when we play music together, and most importantly, am starting to more consistently cook meat to his liking! I guess the important thing is though I treasure the small sensations, they are very temporary and I should not be too sad to have them linger for only a short while, sort of on the same plane as knowing, "Yes, I did put pants on today because I can feel them!"

This gives way for the grander, more memorable and considerably more important things to have the proper prominence and attention. I can tell when there is something wrong in Dean's world. I can communicate the same love and affection in new and sometimes unorthodox ways. I don't have to spend any time worrying about whether or not I have pants on, but actually enjoy all kinds of different styles and colours of pants. I don't have to worry about whether or not this relationship will last, but instead, can enjoy and explore the variegated nature of this affection.

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