The Road to Lifestyle

"He is rich or poor according to what he is, not according to what he has." - Henry Ward Beecher 

You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus. - Mark Twain

"Don't look back unless you're planning to go that way." - Henry David Thoreau

All, some great gift ideas from Uncommon Goods !  Beautiful raccoon, fox, skunk, and mink "stoles" by designer Sandy Martin of green 3 !

I recently read Tumford the Terrible by Nancy Tillman.  I really enjoyed the book and I wanted to take a moment to tell you why!  Now yes, I am a grownup and this is a children's book... or is it?  I think there are lessons for young and old in this delightful, richly illustrated book.  First off, the story of Tumford, a plump, black and white cat with bright yellow eyes, has a sing-songy nature that captured my interest from the very beginning.  It's very "Dr. Seuss" in its presentation and there is comfort in its message:       No, love is a thing that just happens, you see...      like the way I love you      and the way you love me. What an absolutely lovely message!  You can't help but look at the person that you're reading the book to and gush as a wave of warmth, happiness, and good will pours over you. Tumford is a story of redemption.  Tumford, a.k.a. Tummy, does not like saying he is sorry.  Despite his misdeeds, and regardless of your own

Try not to become a man of success but a man of value. - Albert Einstein

If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them. - Henry David Thoreau

Hog Hunting by Christina Ceville (my baby sister! - the girl on the far left... wearing the hat!) This was my 4th time hog hunting and the most exciting excursion yet. Mostly because we actually got on some hogs this time! That's the thing about hog hunting with a bunch of young dogs...it's a lot of walking, waiting, and hoping that you will even see something to try to catch. This time it was myself, my boyfriend Colt, his brother Clay, and Clay's girlfriend Lexi. We had 5 dogs with us, Della, an old pit x cur Colt got to catch cows with, Sue, a leopard cowdog, Buck, a young cur cross we got from Mrs. Krystal, Buddy, a leopard dog Colt found stuck in a hog trap and Cleo, a timid border collie puppy. Normally we would go with the intent of sticking the hog, but with people buying them now Colt decided we might as well try to keep them alive... I'll jump to the juicy part which is when we fiiiinally got on the hogs. The last two trips we didn't catch or see a thi