Shmoo. . .

Abby's Shmoo Marks - Photo © by Pat Ruppel 2026
Abby’s Shmoo Marks – Photo © by Pat Ruppel 2026

Can’t quite do it yet. . .clean the window. We lost Abby in March of this year and it’s one of those things I feel that if I wipe those shmoo marks away, another part of her is erased. Maybe it sounds silly, but I can’t get those back again once they’re gone. I don’t know – I may keep them, and they could still be there when it’s our time to leave. 

Do you ever have feelings like that? Little pieces that are hard to let go when a loved one or pet dies. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that, unless like in this case, you’re a clean freak (which clearly, I’m not) and need to have everything spotless. So, here they are on the sliding glass door below and on the one upstairs.  

I know one day, they’ll be washed off, and gone. It still won’t take away the wonderful memories we had with her over the 14-¾ years she was with us. A part of her will always be with us, whether the marks remain on the windows or not – shmoo stay as long as you want! 

That’s life, though, the big things and the little things. All of it! Some tug at your heart and are deep and others surface that you barely notice. I wouldn’t trade any of it as it makes me feel alive . . . connected to a bigger existence. 

Sometimes, I wish I understood those things I feel but can’t see. I know something is there. Hubby said he was halfway asleep and dreaming the other night, when he noticed Abby come running into the bedroom and jump up with her front paws on the side of the bed – then she was gone. A brief moment between 2 worlds.  

Another day of living and reflecting, that’s the beautiful thing of this life. We all have these many moments throughout our day. Sometimes we pause to notice and other times we barely have time to breathe let alone stop and feel moments. I get it. But, maybe in reading this it will give you a pause long enough to pump the brakes and just breathe to take it all in.  

Thank you for reading and spending your time with me over here. 

Pat at the ‘ol kitchen table 

One Of These Days

How many times have I said that over the years . . . “One of these days”? It seems to be a hope and dream for something distant. But lately, in these golden years, time is relevant and it has become more important with meaning and substance.  That’s where it has to start.

And it did, the other night, while Hubby and I watched a 2006 Neil Young “Heart of Gold” concert on AXS-TV, when it became evident again. One of his songs resonated for me as one of my “one of these days” moments. It stirred warm feelings of love and family as a calling for home.

I remember, when I was a kid, I would go for a walk at night, out of my neighborhood and up a windy hill. I’d sit down in a remote area behind the elementary school and look out at the Philadelphia Airport. It was quite a distance away, but it looked magical, with all the busy traffic and rotating lights across the sky.

I could hear the distant sounds of the planes coming in and leaving. It was enchanting and I used to dream of going and coming just like that. There was never a particular place in mind – just the adventure of it. Even today, sometimes I’ll catch the sound of a plane off in the distance and that warm feeling will rise up once again in my chest.

Now, this “one of these days” feeling comes with a desire to connect it with something at the other end and not just the adventure. For a long time, I’ve wanted to go back home, visit with family and friends up and down the east coast, from Philadelphia PA, to Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, along with paying tribute at the old grave sites to those who played such a big part in my life. It’s time.

I’m checking, doing my research and putting my feelers out there for opportunities to make it happen. Dreams don’t just fall in your lap but the desire and spark has to begin somewhere with putting my intention out into this big, beautiful world. This is my way of declaring, “I’m ready, universe, for one of these days” . . . and it won’t be long.

What are some of your “one of these days” moments of things you want to do but keep putting it off? I’d love to hear about them.

Pat from the ‘ol kitchen table

Reblog: “Action Stations 2 – Dream Advice” by Emma Capell

Thanks to another fellow blogger, Diane Reed, I came across this post I missed by Emma Capell she wrote back in 2013 at “Anyway I Digress“. It speaks a lot to what I feel and struggle with and she puts in all in perspective for me.

Emma and I have the same passion sharing these posts with you as part of our continual search of within and without. I can’t say it any better than this when she talks about what her vision and mission are:  Continue reading →

I Had A Dream

katherine strickland via Compfight

I woke up this morning on a working adventure and found myself in Scotland. It was so real that it stayed with me throughout the day. It made me think of this poem, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, I came across several years ago and I wondered, “What if. . . .”  Continue reading →

Can You Remember a Time When You Really Wanted Something?

Young girl praying outdoor

Young Girl Praying Outdoors – Photo Provided by © Fotolia ― Courtesy of MSN Clipart

Can you remember a time, when you wanted something so bad, you prayed and prayed for it? I can ― a couple of times, actually, that stand out for me. Once was when I was a child and the other was when I am an adult, married with a young family and new residents in the mountains.

Thanks to a fellow blogger, ­­­­Susan at “Finding Our Way Now”, for one of her stories that reminded me of this one particular time when I am an adult. I had completely forgotten about it and had to dig through my journals to recapture the events of what happened.  Continue reading →