CATS... CATS... CATS ... And why we LOOOOVE them!

                                       

This is a HUMOUROUS TOUCH for your reading experience this week! I wanted to share it with you and make it a link to the next post 

all about our family pets.

                 
CAT LOGIC!!!

♥ I TAKE THE FOOD OUT OF MY BOWL BEFORE EATING...
Although at first sight this seems a bit pointless, when you learn that it is in a cat’s instinct to protect their food and move it away from other predators (cat siblings, say) to stop them from eating their share, it doesn’t seem quite so bizarre.
♥ I AM TOTALLY IGNORING THAT COMFY CAT BED FOR THIS HARD PATCH OF FLOOR...
As daft as it may seem, some cats will choose a patch of floor for a nap over a cushioned bed as it’s generally cooler and can help them maintain their optimum body temperature. It’s either that, or they’re just playing you for a fool for spending a fortune on a fancy cat bed. (See our Clever Cat Beds blog post to save yourself some pennies!)
♥ FULL BOWL OF FOOD...YAY! HALF FULL BOWL OF FOOD... FEED ME!
The most likely cause of this is that the food that is left in the bowl has gone off, or just isn’t as fresh as it was. Especially if you feed your cat wet food. You wouldn’t want to eat stale kibbles now, would you?
♥ I CAN SPOT A BIRD FROM 500 YARDS, BUT I CAN’T SEE THAT TREAT YOU JUST DROPPED IN FRONT OF ME, NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES YOU POINT TO IT...
We’ve all been here haven’t we? But when you learn that in order for a cat to see prey at long distances, and in dim and changing light, it sacrifices the ability to focus on detail close up, you can forgive them for what seems like a moment of stupidity.
♥ I LIKE YOU. I’M GOING TO BITE YOU...

This is another purely instinctual habit of a kitty. Often, a cat who likes you will roll over in submission and allow you to stroke its belly, before suddenly turning on you and biting you! This can be to do with their hunting instincts kicking in or their way of telling you they’ve simply had enough.
♥ IT’S 5AM ALREADY. I MUST GET UP, I HAVE A WHOLE DAY OF SLEEPING AHEAD OF ME...

 ???   OR, I HAVE FRESH WATER IN MY WATER BOWL BUT PREFER TO DRINK OUT OF YOUR GLASS! And my cat Lucien, does exactly that!)

What does your cat do that seems to be cat logic? Or what is the thing that your cat does THAT IS JUST TOOOO CUTE!

SIMON and his friend!

This is the SOURCE to share with you cat lovers!!  

My favourite CAT SITE http://www.simonscat.com/

     You will ENJOY it so much! Hours of FUN!! 

Have a nice day!

BYEEEEE.... SUZANNE

BEST FRIENDS... our family PETS!!!

TUQUE /two + K/

This week, in the Wednesday morning intermediate group, we started talking  about our pets, especially our cats. We were inspired to talk about how much we love our pets and how they have become part of our families.

  Why did this happen… 

What triggered this TOPIC of conversation??

Well… Johanne D. has just recently adopted a MIRA dog 

named ‘Tuque’ (how cute a name is that!)

And of course, as we know, he is a puppy in training,

so he has to follow her wherever she goes!

That means that he comes to see me too!  I’m so excited, he is my first beginner English four-legged student!! Except, of course, for my own little four-legged friend, my cat, Lucien or LuLu as he is familiarly called. ;)

Isn't it interesting to see how fluently we become when talking about our lovely animals, our family pets! They are really a source of inspiration!

They also can learn so much and become very smart! Hey! Why don’t you teach them some English words!!!  You can also speak (in English) to them anytime you wish to because your pets offer you LISTENING without JUDGEMENT!! Which means that you can make all the mistakes you want to!!  * HAVE FUN practicing English with your lovely friend!!

                                                     SUZANNE and From Tuque a "BARK"-bark-bark!!

TUQUE says that he LOOOOVES his English class and all his new classmates ... even the cat lovers!!

                                      

BOOKS can become very GREAT FRIENDS!!!

THE ALCHEMIST INSPIRED ME and still does to this day..

“When you want something, all the universe

conspires in helping you to achieve it”.

This powerful quote from Paul Coehlo’s The Alchemist, is just one (out of many) of the book’s messages that helped me turn my life around!!... and brought me back to life!

I had a dream which I had been harbouring for quite a few years which was to become a psychotherapist. I started the procedures and  got the chance to get into this special training. It took over my life for two years and snapped me out of my loneliness and grief  which had engulfed me. To boot, I met some great persons that quickly became my new friends and that are always there for me still to this day!

Going through this process gave me another purpose in life and confirmed my ability as an empathetic and also a creative person. I, also like Santiago, came back to myself with all that I possess and used my personal ‘treasures’ to propel myself into a much better way of living and gave me another perspective on life! 

In this story, Santiago, a young shepherd, decides to give up his current life and to follow his dream of finding lost treasure. When reading about Santiago’s adventures, I was given the words to describe something I had always felt: I had the power to make my life what I wanted it to be.  Through this majestic tale, Coelho provides us with an amazing journey towards discovery, but leaves it to youand me, to paint the picture. The Alchemist speaks about the importance of seeking to fulfill our life’s dreams and destiny, if you believe in such a concept.

As we grow older, people begin to forget about all these wonderful aspirations that make being a child so magical.  We lose sight of our hopes for the future.  Every child has amazing fantasies of what they want to be when they grow  up, and Coehlo calls this our “personal legend”, or a person’s purpose for living.  When your personal legend is revealed to you, nothing can stand in the way of achievement.  By following his legend, Santiago learns from others that life is about the experiences we undergo, and these events lead us to our goals.     

This book spoke to me as no book has ever spoken to me before.  Every evening I pick out at random a page out of the book and read it before going to sleep and,  every morning when I walk out my door, I remind myself that it is in my control to make that day unlike any other one.  I realize that in order to grasp the full picture of life. It also helps me  to pay attention and enjoyto the smaller things that make our world so magical.  Much like the phrase ‘CARPE DIEM’, which I had adopted earlier on in life, but without ever really understanding its powerful message... The Alchemist inspires me to make everyday something new and special.  A life of habits and patterns has no excitement; it lacks the spirit and intensity that makes human life so amazing. 

When I look back on my life, I want to be able to recall a million different accomplishments that I have achieved.  I don’t want life to be monotonous, but to be a process of creating ... So I will always refer to these moments when I feel that my life is not interesting or that on a specific day nothing seems to be going right….WRONG!!! There is always something there worth to explore and enjoy even though…

* An anecdote: To this day I have no idea 'in the world' where the first copy of The Alchimist I had  is on this planet. I soooo loved it that I gave it to a friend and told him that he had to do the same, and pass it on ... WHERE are you my friend? And WHO are you inspiring today?

HAVE A GREAT DAY!!      SUZANNE

There are many ways to say I LOVE YOU!!

                                   YESSSS! It's Valentine's Day once again!

                                    And YES!!! it comes back every year and

YES!!! some people have strong opinions about it!

I do too, of course, but mine have changed through the years and might be a bit different. Just as we compare the Christmas, Mother's and Father's day celebrations, everyone seems to want to make it into a 'commercial' opportunity to make some money. They think that it is all about 'commerce'! So what if it has...  it is only IF ... YOU DECIDE to make it that!!! Don't you agree? You really don't have to BUY INTO IT! (sorry for the pun!) or WHY NOT!! After all it will surely be appreciated!

All I have to add, is that I believe that

you can stop the clock and wish a great day

 to all the ones you love, 

just take the opportunity  and make it happen! 

Believe me, you'll feel great afterwards...

So here for you , today, is a very heart-warming video

 on LOVE at first sight, enjoy!! CLICK on this => LINK  

the title: The Language of LOVE... REALLY CUTE!!

LOVE to you,   SUZANNE

P.S. It's quite a coincidence, maybe SERENDIPITY, that I found this video searching for something else. This is really quite 'à propos' considering we are looking at the strycture of QUESTION sentences right now, don't you agree?
P.SSSS => You can check out the former (past) posts for VALENTINE's DAy by clicking on the ARCHIVES (in the righthand column) of each preceding year and then go to the month of FEBRUAY!! A lot of GOOD READING!!

A repeat POST, a repeat weather report!!!

The SOUNDS of SNOW

#317 When you can hear it snowing

 

 Just listen ...

When the white sky splits and the big flakes fall there’s a certain peaceful calm that covers everything like a blanket. Floating flurries flutter and fly past dull yellow streetlamps before covering coats and cars in a thin layer of icing. Whistling winds fade to whispers and street beeps get muffled into the slowed-down scene in front of you.

Yes, when snowflakes blow those brake lights glow and everything slows into ... AWESOME!

Positive words when considering the foul weather that is beating down on the USA. But very poetic indeed. There is an expresion in English that you can look up: POETIC JUSTICE. Sounds like an OXYMORON or is it? Or is it irony?

Suzanne

*** Source : 1000 Awesome Things, February 2, 2011. 

I HAVE A DREAM ...

       

             

   HI THERE!!!!                         

This weekend I have been reduced to sitting down the most comfortably as possible to alleviate the back pain that I’m experiencing. I have been watching some television: the opening of the Olympics, my regular Saturday programs on PBS, I also have done some reading on the Internet… But then I started to get really bored! All this sitting down was getting to me :( ... So I decided to go through some ‘papers’ that have been accumulating and some more that I have had for quite a while. Well the fact that I’m confined to a chair made it an enjoyable task that I had been putting off for a long time!! In these papers and pamphlets and documents and newspaper cuttings (Yes! I still do that), I found this little clipping from an old SELF magazine that was dated 1994. This very short essay was written by Paolo Coelho and the title of it is ‘DREAM’. The Webster’s Third New International Dictionary defines this word as such:  “A visionary creation of the imagination.”

This is what he had to say and reflect upon about the way we decide to live our lives, “We know intuitively that there is a life that we long to have, a dream we’ve harboured – sometimes since childhood. But too often we decide to follow a path that is not really our own. One that others have set for us. We forget that whichever way we go, the price is the same: in both cases we will pass through difficult and happy moments, hours of self-investment and many complex situations. But when we are living our dream, the difficulties we encounter make sense.”

He goes on to write this: “You may have heard the parable of the three men labouring in a field of rocks. Each is asked what he is doing. 

- The first man says, ‘Can’t you see? I’m breaking rocks!’

- The second man replies,’ Can’t you see? I’m earning my salary!’

- The third man answers, his eyes gleaming with enthusiasm,  ‘Can’t you see? I’m building a cathedral!’

This lovely story, which my mother told me when I was a child, illustrates both the necessity of hard work in realising a dream as well as the need to keep the vision in your mind’s eye –- even when others don’t see or understand it.”

 He then concludes: “…the dream is the start of something greater, something impels us to make daring decisions. And it’s true that the person who pursues a dream takes many risks. But the person who does not, runs risks that are even greater.”

When I had finished reading Paolo Coelho’s text, I was reminded WHY I had kept it in the first place. Of course it spoke to me! I don’t know how long I’ve had it, but it still has an impact on me today. As a person but also as an ESL teacher. I am living my dream! I am being true to myself and my passion. I’m still teaching but more especially, I’m sharing what I know with persons that really want to learn and profit from my experience. What more could I wish for!!!

So as YOU start this new session as an ESL student, whether you be a beginner or a more advanced student, take the time to focus on your dream and on making it a reality! Of course you will encounter some tough times ahead (and there might have been some rough ones that have passed too) but there will also be some great moments of discovery and achievement… WHY? Because you are working on your dream!!!

To finish, I just would like to make a point and come back to the beginning of this little essay: I will remind you that it is the start of the 2014 Winter Olympics and all the young athletes that are in Sochi today had a dream, didn’t they? NOW look where that dream has taken them!!! And to boot, they are living their dream with others that have had the same vision! Can you just imagine the energy irradiating from these hopes and wishes. They are all winners!!!

 NOTE :

 You will find the complete book THE ALCHIMIST at the following link from Spark      Notes. It also offers a complete analysis of this author's grounbreaking work and      that has now gained world-wide recognition.

                       http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/the-alchemist/