Soothing Anxiety and Baby Skunk Cuteness
Try the 3-3-3 Rule
Welcome back, Substack friends to the end of January where the weather is still fierce. At least February has to be better, right? And, there’s always uplifting news somewhere. Here is where I post all the good and happy news.
Exploring Vessel, this beauty of art in Hudson Yards, NYC, is truly amazing. I’m glad I was able to see it up close..
“Created by Thomas Heatherwick and Heatherwick Studio, Vessel is an iconic New York City experience designed to be entered and explored. Enjoy new perspectives and remarkable views of the city, the Hudson River and beyond. We invite you to visit, photograph and explore Vessel.”
Therapy dogs are everything amazing and awesome. More so, when they help children learn. Over at the Philadelphia Inquirer, you can read about how- “Two Greater Swiss Mountain dogs are providing therapy to help students learn. First-grade reading scores have improved.”
“As middle school language arts teacher Shana Caputo moved around her social studies classroom, she gently pulled a leash to guide the regular, four-legged visitor: a Greater Swiss Mountain dog, Skye.
Caputo is among nearly three dozen staffers certified to handle Skye and his partner, Hope, therapy dogs who work in the Absecon Public Schools. The Swissies provide a calming presence for students who are feeling distressed, or a friendly ear for struggling readers reluctant to read aloud.”
Some uplifting news to come out of L.A. fires- From People Magazine: “100-Lb. Pet Tortoise Survives L.A. Wildfires and Reunites with His Family”
“In a video shared to Instagram by the San Dimas Sheriff's Station, a woman approaches the officers, one of whom was able to carry Rocky, and hugs each one of them. As the tortoise reunites with his family, the woman raises her arms over her head to cheer, "Yay! Rocky's home!"
Rocky is not the first tortoise to reunite with their family after surviving the L.A. fires. A Pasadena family forced to evacuate their home on Jan. 7 recently reunited with their pet. When the family evacuated, a Pasadena Humane officer helped them move their 28-year-old, 200-pound tortoise, Huckleberry, out of the house. “
How do you handle your anxiety? Do you have any tricks to recommend? Over at Only Good News Daily, they have something called the 3-3-3 Rule that might be able to calm you.
“Look around: Identify three things you can see. Take a moment to really observe these objects, noting their details, colours, and shapes. “This process helps to shift your focus from internal anxiety to your external environment,” says McInnis.
Listen closely: Find three sounds you can hear. These could be as loud as a blaring siren or as subtle as bird song.
Move your body: Move three parts of your body. It could be as simple as rolling your shoulders, wiggling your toes, or turning your head. Pay attention to the sensations caused by each movement.”
For those who love eating cauliflower (and those who don’t), over at The Kitchn there is a recipe to make cauliflower taste yummier. How about Caramelized Cauliflower?
All you need:
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 medium head cauliflower (about 1 pound, 6 ounces)
2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese (about 1/2 cup), plus more for garnish
Coarsely chopped fresh parsley leaves, for garnish (optional)
Lemon wedges, for serving (optional)
Uber cute animal video- Baby Skunk!
This week’s book recommendation is from 2011- Claimed by Evangeline Anderson.
Olivia Waterhouse has just graduated from nursing school and has her whole life ahead of her—until she gets drafted. Problem is, she isn’t being forced into the Army, she’s been chosen as a Kindred bride.
The Kindred are huge alien warriors—a race of genetic traders whose population is ninety-five percent male. After saving Earth from the threat of invasion they demand a reward—the right to find brides among the population. The chances of being chosen are about the same as those of winning the lottery—guess it’s just Liv’s lucky day.
Baird is a Beast Kindred who recently escaped imprisonment and torture at the hands of the malevolent Scourge. Through the torment and pain only one thing kept him sane—the thought of finding and claiming his bride—Olivia. His need to possess her is a burning intensity that threatens to consume them both.
Angry at having her future and her family taken away from her, Liv vows to fight back the only way she can—by resisting. She has one month on the Kindred Mothership with Baird—their claiming period. If she can keep from having bonding sex with him during that time, she can go home and get on with her life on Earth.
But Baird isn’t going to make it easy for her. Every week he is allowed to touch Liv more and more intimately and according to the contract she signed, she has to let him. She’s determined to resist him but his touch sets her on fire. And just as she thinks she knows what she wants, a twist of fate and an attack by the faceless Scourge AllFather changes everything…
Why I’m recommending this book- Claimed is an inventive and quirky sci-fi romance with an adorable hero who lacks some social skills, including how to romance a woman. He’s very persuasive with his body in the way that Olivia can barely deny him. Baird is le sex on the alien stick. At no time does Baird overpower Olivia or force her to do what he wants, and that means when they are intimate. He may start something, but leaves it up to Olivia to finish it. Poor Baird walks around frustrated and is cranky at times. He also has some self-esteem issues because he thinks Olivia is scared of him and doesn’t find him handsome. If only he knew how much Olivia is attracted to him, but holds back because the idea of being separated from all she knows and those she loves is something she can’t accept.
There are some funny scenes, especially when Olivia tries to learn and navigate the Kindred way of life. When she investigates Baird’s home, she has a few problems, one being a rug in the bathroom that’s more like a human vibrator and a pet of Baird’s that looks like a cuddly teddy bear, but one with fangs for teeth. She also thinks Baird is drugging her into submission with his overpowering sexy scent. The sexual tension between Olivia and Baird is amazing, and Baird enjoys cuddling, taking baths and cooking for Olivia. This is my ideal man.
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson