What do you call your dogs? Do they have pet names? What is is about us humans, that we have to have special names for those we love? (Glenn calls me Babe - which has nothing to do with the pig - I think.)

We call Amy and Bernadette  "The Puppies" - they just turned 9, for crying out loud. But that's how we call them - "Puppies! Puppies!" The fact that when we do that they come running might have something to do with why we keep calling them Puppies.

8 weeks old. Bernadette on the left, Amy with the white spot on her forehead.

We got Amy and Bernadette from a friend who always liked to give her girl dogs one litter of puppies before being spayed. Momma was a Labradoodle. Poppa was an Australian Shepherd (as opposed to a Rolling Stone). The Puppies look like Poppa except more slender than your typical Aussie, and they're more mid-sized, about 35 lbs each.

When we first saw them we were deep into whatever season of Big Bang Theory (BBT) was on the air. We asked the puppies what the...

Happy New Year, everyone! Are you ready for 2026? 

2025 was a heavy year. The energy was heavy. There was lots of worry. There were many endings (in numerology, 2025 is a “9” year, which is a year of endings). 

2026 starts a brand new cycle. In addition, it is the Chinese Zodiac year of the Fire Horse, which starts February 17. Things should feel lighter, and more enthusiastic. There is hope in the air.

If you want to know more about the Year of the Horse, go to this site: https://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/social_customs/zodiac/horse.htm

If you were born in the year of the Horse (which comes around every 12 years, but a Fire Horse only comes around every 60 years), you can find out more about what the Chinese Zodiac says about all the different elements (Fire, Water, Metal, Earth, Wood) here: https://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/social_customs/zodiac/horse/five-elements.htm

My brother was born in the year of the Horse. He is very much as described, and has always been a cha...

Nope, not talking about the TV show, although if you haven't seen it, and its British counterpart (on which the U.S. version is based) I highly recommend it.

I'm talking about how spirit continues even after it leaves the 3-D body. We are consciousness. Consciousness knows no boundaries. And sometimes that consciousness hangs around - and you can always ask it to be present.

When my dad (who believed there was nothing after this 3-D life) passed, he gave me signs that he was still around, and he seemed excited about what he could do now that he wasn't in a body. My mom, on the other hand, knew exactly where she was going when she passed, and I didn't feel her at all. Zzzzzzip! Gone. 

That said, mom will come back from wherever she is and talk to me if I ask for her.

Another thing I thought was interesting: my dad passed about 10 years before my mom, and whenever I'd think of him or have an interaction, he always "looked" in my minds eye like an older man - 60's or older. After my m...