Life is random

Lots going on....Asylum Seekers Beach Party, Lizzie's Birthday, cancelling and booking of trips here there and everywhere (there is just too much choice), learning how to use the new printer, seeing my fabulos friends, trying to prise hubbie off the Wii. One thing I am never going to do is visit a public loo again - ended up with the squ*ts ... the public loos in the UK are DISGUSTING...I would sooner go in my cat's litter tray!

Childhood

Childhood by Rainer Maria Rilke

It would be good to give much thought, before
you try to find words for something so lost,
for those long childhood afternoons you knew
that vanished so completely - and why?

We're still reminded - sometimes by a rain,
but we can no longer say what it means;
life was never again so filled with meeting,
with reunion and with passing on

as back then, when nothing happened to us
except what happens to things and creatures:
we lived their world as something human,
and became filled to the brim with figures.

And became as lonely as a shepherd
and as overburdened by vast distances,
and summoned and stirred as from far away,
and slowly, like a long new thread,
introduced into that picture-sequence
where now having to go on bewilders us.

The gang comes to town

Wine!

It's not like we always have a drink in our hands!

We love Birkenstocks!

The odour and aroma of Dick's Birkenstocks is overwhelming. We went into a kind of stupor. Maybe you humans could try sniffing Birkis instead of imbiding huge amounts of alcohol. We are out of it man.

PLaying with our Wii

As you can see Grania is extremely impressed by hubbie's slalom expertise on the Wii. Cannot say the same for Wimble the Cat.

Self-esteem

“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” (Buddha)

Self-esteem is a complex subject. Self-esteem is measured in different ways according to culture, gender, nationality etc and therefore what is considered to be a good measurement of self-esteem by one group may not be considered that important by another.
Self-esteem could be found by dividing your successes in areas of life of importance by the failures. Problems with this approach come from making self-esteem contingent upon success.

1. Self-esteem could be found within a stable sense of personal worth or worthiness but who defines the boundaries and when does self-esttem become narcissim or boasting?
2. Could self-esteem be the experience of being able to cope with the basic challenges of life and therefore worthy of happiness?
3. How about: self-esteem as a basic human need, indispensable to normal and healthy self-development? Is it a concept of our personality - again, who defines this? How can we objectively define our personality without looking for outside influences?
   

Implicit self-esteem is one way a person can evaluate themselves either positively or negatively (usually spontaneous, automatic and unconscious). Explicit self-esteem is more reflective and self-conscious.

Our own self-esteem has many implications on our lives. Childhood is the foundation for self-esteem and can affect our life choices, the way we perceive the world, ourselves and others. cushion for those times when life lets us down. Rejections, disappointments and failure are a part of daily life.

• The family is a strong force in the development of self-esteem. The early years are crucial in establishing self-esteem' in a person.
• High parental self-esteem is crucial to the ability to nurture high self-esteem and personal effectiveness in children.
• Though the definition of self-esteem varies, commonly used terms include: security, connectedness, uniqueness, assertiveness, competence and spirituality.

People with good levels of self-esteem are confident of their abilities, they problem-solve effectively, resolve conflicts, and clearly communicate their thoughts and desires.

Some effective ways of challenging our negative self-esteem and the negative self-esteem of others are: praise not criticism, dialogue not blame, keep a journal of your thoughts, put up a board in your home and pin on positive images, quotes etc to look at everyday, surround your mirror with beautiful things, use I instead of you when talking about yourself, value your talents, gifts, abilities (if you are unable to do something does it really matter?), be compassionate to yourself and to others, and most of all value yourself as a unique individual who, sometimes without knowing, continually contributes something positive to the world.

“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” (Buddha)

Bullying

A friend asked me my opinion on bullying. Here goes.

Let me make it quite clear people who are bullied do not choose to be bullied. Once a bully feels they have a victim they will try by any of the means below to continue to bully the person involved. People who are being bullied often try to placate the bully or 'be nice' to them to try and turn the situation around. This gives the bully an even greater sense of power over the person they are bullying. Bullies sometimes falsely befriend those they are bullying to gain information and information means power.

To say that someone can choose not to be bullied is misguided, misinformed and insensitive. To tell someone who is being bullied 'they can choose' can lead to feelings of self-doubt, lower self-esteem and that their words are not being heard. From an adult perspective it is easy to say 'they can choose not to interact with a bully' but this is not the case at all. If someone states they are being bullied then this should be taken seriously and they should be listened to and action should be taken.

Bullying is the act of intentionally causing harm to others, through verbal harrasment, physical assault or other more subtle means of coercion such as manipulation. Bullying can be defined in many different ways. Bullying is also referred to as peer abuse.

Bullying is an act of repeated direct or indirect aggressive behaviours in order to intentionally hurt another person, physically or mentally. Bullying is characterized by an individual behaving in a certain way to gain power over another person. Behaviours may include name calling, verbal or written abuse, exclusion from activities, exclusion from social situations, physical abuse, or coercion. Bullies may behave this way to be perceived as popular or tough or to get attention. They may bully out of jealousy.

Indirect bullying is the most subtle of bullying techniques and is characterized by threatening the victim into social isolation. This isolation is achieved through a wide variety of techniques, including spreading gossip, refusing to socialize with the victim, bullying other people who wish to socialize with the victim, and criticizing the victim's manner of dress and other socially-significant markers (including the victim's race, religion, disability, etc), name calling, the silent treatment, arguing others into submission, manipulation, lies, rumours/false rumours, staring, giggling, laughing at the victim, saying certain words that trigger a reaction from a past event, and mocking.

Victims of bullying can suffer from long term emotional and behavioral problems. Bullying can cause lonliness, depression, anxiety and lead to low self-esteem.

Happiness

There never was a good war or a bad peace (Benjamin Franklin).

Sometimes us moggies are fed up with you humans. Always squabbling over something; be it land, money, property, colour, faith. You live in a world filled with beauty and yet you want more - more information, more expenses, more money, more this and more that. Who really cares if you have a huge house, a fast car, a swimming pool, loads of material possessions. Do you feel happy with them? Do you feel jealous or envious that someone's car is bigger or faster than yours, do you want, want, want? Do you share what you have or guard it jealously. Settle for a bit less and you never know, you may feel happier than you anticipated. As you can see us moggies don't crave a huge bed with lots of cushions - just a plastic box and each other. We would be happy walking down this path, climbing this tree and running through the fields. What truly makes you happy?

Huis ter does

VAN DER DOES FAMILY GO TO:
http://www.mathieuinwonderland.nl/nl_master.html?http://www.mathieuinwonderland.nl/kasteel_huis_ter_does/nl_kasteel_huis_ter_does.html

This family research is doing me in!

Feline and flora

A strange mixture of weather today. Sunshine, rain, thunder, wind and now the evening is cool and breezy. Perfect weather for a walk on the beach as it is now empty of people. The garden has exploded into color and there are even peaches growing on the peach tree which hubbie almost annihilated a year and a half ago. Keep losing things - left my mobile in the fridge! Thinking about too many things at the same time which is not like me at all. Am just going to have some scallop chowder - ecstacy!
Only another 10 days and my nephew Mouez gets married in Tunisia - I think there are about 900 people going - they do things in style out there! We were invited but thought it would be too hot (around 40-45) so we are going to help with the olive harvest instead in the winter.

More family ... see you in August xxx

As you can see Kees is completely overwhelmed by the thought of another Cream Tea followed by another walk followed by another Cream Tea.
Somehow or other they managed to waddle home.

Family visit and friendship

They walked and walked in the beautiful countryside around here.
As you can see they fortified themselves with a great breakfast at RoyBoys!
Tabi says 'not only are they family, they are friends - we can rely on them, trust them and know they will be there for us'.

Friendship is co-operative and supportive behavior between two or more people. The term connotes a relationship which involves mutual knowledge, esteem and affection and respect along with a degree of rendering service to friends in times of need or crisis. Friends will welcome each other's company and exhibit loyalty towards each other. Their tastes may be similar and may converge, and they will share enjoyable activities. They will also engage in mutually helping behavior, such as exchange of advice and the sharing of hardship. A friend is someone who may often demonstrate reciprocating and reflective behaviors. Yet for many, friendship is nothing more than the trust that someone or something will not harm them.

Some of TaTa's Friends

All we can say is that TaTa has some strange and interesting friends! One minute she is bringing home the hunting and shooting set and the next it is a bunch of wrestlers and metal bands. Makes our life interesting. TaTa says never judge - she has been judged so many times in her own life. Mike - you are an amazing wrestler, musician, husband and father. Liam - a sparkling electrician and fiance to Stacy, Morena - a compassionate and considered fiery Italian carer, and Gav a gregarious, gorgeous guitarist. Love you all and TaTa says it is a privilege to have you in her life.

Wrestling

Wrestling consists of physical engagement between two cats in which each cat strives to get an advantage over or control of the opponent. As you can see from the photos techniques include clinching, holding, locking, leverage and takedowns. In the human world particular wrestling styles, have particular rules. In the feline world - it's every cat for themselves!

Wimble has arrived!

I think Roger Federer will win Wimbledon or or a surprise like Tsonga/Nole and Serena Williams will win the Women's. That's enough about tennis, more importantly is I have a new brother and his name is Wimble. He is fab!
Happy Canada Day to all you Canucks out there ... yes I know I am late but us moggies have to be reminded from time to time what goes on in the human world because we are too busy playing and enjoying ourselves.

Treacle

We know he's not a moggie but he is a Honorary Moggie. We love Treacle - he is very kind to us moggies which is quite amazing considering he used to be a gun dog. He's getting a bit elderly now (13) but he can still outwalk KeKe.