Amazing Grace
Published by Suzy on May 16th, 2008 tagged Songs, Youtube, Music | No WP Comments » |
Desiderata
Sandy Carlson posted the last 13 lines of this poem on her blog for Thursday Thirteen this week and I thought it was beautiful and wise, so I’m posting the whole poem here. (If you want to read my TT, just scroll down - it’s in the next post)
Desiderata
Go placidly amid the noise and 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 the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and 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 world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.
Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, Copyright 1952.
Published by Suzy on May 15th, 2008 tagged Poetry | No WP Comments » |
Thursday Thirteen - Chimps
I won last week’s TT theme!! I was very surprised to discover that this morning! 
Thank you!
This week I’m thinking about Chimps, following on from my Wordless Wednesday yesterday of Susie the chimp and her family. I adopted Susie at Monkey World. I’ve been watching Monkey Life (five, UK, weekdays at 6:30pm) and I find it fascinating how similar chimps and other primates are to humans. So my Thursday Thirteen this week is all about chimps.
13 interesting things about Chimpanzees …
Chimps live in large social groups with males, females, young and old- Chimps communicate with eachother in many ways - by calling, by displays, by facial expressions
- Chimps show their love for eachother with hugs and kisses and enjoy tickling!
- Chimps groom eachother to cement bonds and show affection, as well as to calm nervous situations. They are incredibly gentle with eachother.
- Chimps have a long childhood like humans and stay with their mothers for many years
- Chimps learn from their mothers and other family members - if they are orphaned or taken from their families they miss out on alot of learning and can become disturbed, and don’t know how to act like a chimp.
Young chimps are very much like human children - they enjoy playing together, they are curious, they learn from observation, and they need affection, reassurance and comfort- Chimps can make and use tools, for example using twigs to poke into holes and get insects out, or using a stone to crack a nut.
- In the wild, chimps make a nest of leafy branches to sleep in each night.
- Chimps live for approximately 50 years
- Chimps can suffer with the same illnesses as humans - from minor colds through to cancer
- There are probably only 30,000 chimps left in the wild today
- Chimps can be mentally scarred by poor treatment
[The gorgeous photos of chimps in this post were taken by Steve Bloom and were found on his website here: http://www.stevebloom.com/]
Visit the Thursday Thirteen headquarters for more T13’s
Published by Suzy on May 15th, 2008 tagged Thursday Thirteen, Chimps | No WP Comments » |
Wordless Wednesday - Susie’s family
Susie the Chimp and her family - Eddi her daughter, and baby boy Bart.
I adopted Susie the Chimp at Monkey World
[Note: This is a cropped version of this photo taken by Tigerlemurguy, and found on Flickr by me.]
Visit the Wordless Wednesday headquarters for more WW’s
Published by Suzy on May 14th, 2008 tagged Wordless Wednesday, Photos, Chimps | No WP Comments » |
30 days!
There are 30 days left until I do Race for Life on 11th June!
Time is going so fast!! 
Published by Suzy on May 12th, 2008 tagged Diet & Fitness, Race for Life, Charity | 1 WP Comment » |
Friday’s Feast 190
Appetizer
When someone smiles at you, do you smile back?
Yes always
Soup
Describe the flooring in your home. Do you have carpet, hardwood, vinyl, a mix?
We have mainly carpet, with a bit of vinyl. I would love to have beautiful wooden floors if I could.
Salad
Write a sentence with only 5 words, but all of the words have to start with the first letter of your first name.
Suzy sings silly songs seriously.
Main Course
Do you know anyone whose life has been touched by adoption?
No I don’t know anyone personally who has adopted children or is adopted. Unless of course you include adoption of primates or pets! My sister has adopted a gibbon at Monkey World and I have adopted a chimp called Susie Our kitten Bobby was adopted as he was found in a diesel engine at the Corris Railway!
Dessert
Name 2 blue things.
My eyes, and my daughter’s eyes 
More Friday’s Feasts are here.
Published by Suzy on May 9th, 2008 tagged Friday's Feast | No WP Comments » |
Thursday Thirteen - Gross
The theme for this week’s Thursday Thirteen is Gross - that’s because it’s T13#144 and 144 is apparently a gross. I didn’t know that!
Gross seems to have many meanings so my Thursday Thirteen is the many meanings of gross!
- Twelve dozen (i.e. 144)
- “The amount before any deductions” e.g. gross income as opposed to net income which is the amount you actually end up with!
- “Megascopic” - which means visible to the naked eye and is used mainly in reference to rocks and anatomical features. I guess this is the opposite of microscopic.
- “Lacking fine distinctions or detail” - so maybe you could take this to mean “a bit vague”?
- “Repellently fat” - hmm not very nice that one
- “Conspicuously and outrageously bad or reprehensible” e.g gross ineptitude, gross injustice, gross negligence
- “Conspicuously and tastelessly indecent” - e.g. gross-out TV shows
- A television show aired on childrens channel Discovery Channel (apparently … but I can’t find any info about it - there is however a programme on there called “Grossology“)
- In Golf: “the actual number of strokes a player has taken before his handicap is deducted”
- “The weight of the goods including packing, wrappers, or containers, both internal and external. The total weight as shipped.” - I remember seeing this use of gross when my Dad used to work for a haulage company years ago.
- A slang term meaning “disgusting” or “grotesque”
- A village in Nebraska - apparently a very tiny village - only 5 people lived there in 2000 according to the census - see info in wikipedia
- I can’t find a thirteenth definition!!!
Visit the Thursday Thirteen headquarters for more T13’s
Published by Suzy on May 8th, 2008 tagged Thursday Thirteen | 1 WP Comment » |
Catty Ceasefire
Our cats fight … most of the time … but tonight for once, they actually chilled in a chair together! Admittedly I did put Bobby there myself, but he stayed there and they didn’t start attacking eachother but just snoozed Definitely an occasion to get the camera out!
Published by Suzy on May 3rd, 2008 tagged Life, Photos, Kitten | No WP Comments » |
Friday’s Feast 189
It’s been a while! I haven’t done one of these for quite some time, but I feel like giving it a go today …
Appetizer
What was your favorite cartoon when you were a child?
I used to love Ivor the Engine. Any non-UK readers won’t have a clue what I am on about! Ivor the Engine was a little Welsh steam engine who loved to sing in the choir
Soup
Pretend you are about to get a new pet. Which animal would you pick, and what would you name it?
Hmm … well I do love my cats, so I might have a really cute fluffy ginger kitten and call it Amber. But on the other hand if this is a flight of fancy and it could be any mad idea, I would have an African Grey Parrot and teach it to talk and solve problems and stuff! I don’t know what I’d call it - maybe I’d teach it to tell me what it wants to be called!
Salad
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how much do you enjoy getting all dressed up for a special occasion?
Well it depends on my mood, the time of the month, how tired I am etc etc, but as a general rule, if I have something lovely to wear then I love getting dressed up! So on a good day I’d say 8 out of 10. But quite often I find myself trying on 10 different outfits and thinking I look rubbish in all of them … and my make up goes funny (I only wear it when going out so I’m not very good at putting it on!!) … so on those occasions I’d put it nearer a 4 out of 10!!
Main Course
What kind of music do you listen to while you drive?
Mostly I listen to the radio - BBC Radio 2 is my station of choice. If I’m driving through the mountains and lose the radio signal or there’s too much boring talking on the radio I’ll flick to a CD. Ones in my car at the moment are by Take That, Third Day & Jars of Clay I think, as well as a Pop Junior CD the kids like!
Dessert
When was the last time you bought a clock? And in which room did you put it?
It was not long ago actually - I was shopping with my Mum & Dad in Aldi while visiting them over Easter, and there were little alarm clocks which looked kind of cool, and I bought one. As it was an alarm clock, it was to go in my bedroom! It plays a little tune to wake you up - it’s rather annoying, so it does the trick!
More Friday’s Feasts are here.
Published by Suzy on May 2nd, 2008 tagged Friday's Feast | No WP Comments » |
More Bobby Cheezburgers!
moar funny pictures
moar funny pictures