Recipes for living, loving and laughing:Jo, Elliott, Cloey & Zoey's adventures

 When I was about 12, my older cousin (may she rest in peace) gave me a piece of paper with these words. Since then I have done a large puzzle, I have a book and right in front of me I have Desiderata framed.  This is the original text from the book where Desiderata was first published. Go placidly  amid the noise and the haste and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the...

by  Angela T. Nicholson When it’s all going wrong for the narc, they can experience a narcissistic collapse. And there are certain stages that they take to get to that point. They will first experience a series of narcissistic injuries that lead to narcissistic rage. They need to be praised and admired for the things that they pride themselves on. So, they might need to be the smartest, the most beautiful, have the most money. And if it is a covert narc, they need to be the best victim or martyr. So they need everybody feeling sorry for them. They need the constant attention of being the victim or they are martyring themselves. ‘I’ve sacrificed everything for my family.’ When you hold them accountable, when you say no to them, when you put down a boundary and sometimes things that you didn’t say that they wanted you to say, these can all lead to narcissistic injuries. And when they are in a narcissistic rage over the injuries, they will do these punishing behaviors, like the silent...

 A quiet teaching from the path… There are wounds that wisdom cannot explain. Not every hurt was meant to make sense. Some pain arrives because another was willing to cause it. And no amount of searching will turn cruelty into clarity. Do not chase the one who bit you. Do not sit in the grass asking the snake why it chose to harm. Instead… tend to your wound with compassion, protect your peace with devotion, and walk gently back toward safety. You were never the reason for the wound. You are the one who must now choose to heal.

    Verissa Vinar Thu The Narcissist’s Pathological Envy of Your Character   One of the most confusing realizations survivors eventually come to is this: the narcissist didn’t mistreat you just because they were angry, difficult, or emotionally immature. On a much deeper level, they were reacting to something in you that they cannot tolerate — and that something is your character: your empathy, your conscience, your integrity, your ability to care deeply about other people. These qualities that make you who you are not just things the narcissist lacks; they are things the narcissist envies on a pathological level. The tragic irony is that the very traits that drew them to you in the beginning are often the  exact same traits they later  attack, undermine, and destroy. More to come! 

Punch is his name and  events that have captured the attention of animal lovers worldwide, Punch — the young macaque   at a zoo in Japan   famous for his inseparable bond with a stuffed orangutan toy — has reached a major milestone in his journey toward social integration. On Thursday, visitors and staff at the Ichikawa Zoological and Botanical Garden witnessed a breakthrough: Punch was seen cuddling with and hitching a ride on the back of a fellow macaque. Punch’s story began with hardship. He was abandoned by his mother shortly after his birth in July 2025 — and to ensure   his survival , zookeepers stepped in to hand-rear the primate.  not so nice videos are around that I will not show; in fact, I won't look at myself. I have always loved monkeys. I can stand at a zoo and watch the primates for hours.  BABY MONKEY CARRIES FAITHFUL STUFFED COMPANION EVERYWHERE HE GOES, DRAWING CROWDS AT ZOO This toy was made by Ikea and sold out instantly. I bought one fr...

 Dee used to love me. She has told me so many times. I was taken aback when she messaged me a political post (I am left. She is right.) I posted it on Facebook and got 180 comments addressing the picture rather than the reason I posted it. I will post it here.  There is a story here and when you have fewer years ahead than you do behind you, life changes. The woman who sent me this used to love me even with my politics. In May for an unknown reason her adult grandchildren took our grandchildren out of our lives. I can speculate as to why, but we love those kids more than is possible. She needed us at first. We dropped anything we had going on so they could stay over. There are many many articles about this new pandemic of adult children doing what these 2 have done. There are reasons that might be true or not, but we never spanked those kids or were anything but trustworthy and loved people in their lives. What do you think they are being told about Nana and Papa? Here today g...