Last night, we had some friends over for dinner. At one point, the conversation turned to music and concerts. It got especially animated when everyone shared their first concert experience.

I love hearing about people’s very first concert. In any given room, the answers can range from Rick Springfield to Poison to the Backstreet Boys to Pat Benatar.

My first concert was Michael Jackson. My older sister drove me and my best friend to the Capital Centre in Washington D.C. to see him. I remember so much about that night, it’s a little strange. I filled many pages in my diary the next day.

What was yours?

This is Eva’s dog. Eva was at the March Great Big Dreams Retreat and returned home with a renewed enthusiasm to get things in order in her life. After clearing out the clutter, she bought a label maker. Then, she sent this photo to the women from the retreat so they could see her progress.

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p.s. The June and October retreats are both so close to being sold out that I’m almost ready to close registration. Many people have written to me about wanting to come to one of these two retreats. And I totally understand putting off planning something that’s so far in the future. But if you’re considering coming to a retreat this year, you might want to sign up soon! (Or email me at christine@christinekane.com to get more info.)

This is Simon’s Cat, Episode 2. (Created by English animator, Simon Tofield.) The first episode is here. Have a happy Monday!

You will need:

1 - One single wooden bead (not too small)

2 - One Bathtub

3 - One Curious Cat

Instructions:

1 - Take the wooden bead into your bathroom.

2 - Call your cat.

3 - Roll the wooden bead around in the bathtub.

4 - Allow your cat to jump into the tub.

5 - Observe.

Cautions:

- Use a wooden bead! I won’t mention any names, but a certain cat in my life was playing in the tub with a marble. In a moment of unbridled glee, the marble was thrust into the air. It landed on the aforementioned cat’s head with a loud “CLONK!” sound. He paused for a moment looking rather dizzy. Since then, he has requested that only wooden beads be used for this game. Now when they hit him on the head, there’s only a small “plock!” sound - and he doesn’t have to pause very long to recover. (He has asked me to mention that no permanent damage was done in what we both call The Marble Incident.)

- Make sure the bead is big enough so that the cat can’t swallow it. (It should be a little bit bigger than a marble.)

- If you have guests over for dinner, be sure to remove the bead from the tub. Otherwise your dinner will be interrupted by an odd rolling sound coming from the bathroom. You will then have to explain to your guests that yes, you are that mentally ill, and you actually spend valuable time coming up with these kinds of activities for your cat.

In my last post, I suggested writing a “Here’s What I Love” list — 100 things that delight you. Writing it will make you smile and remind you that life’s pretty cool…

Here’s my list. Feel free to add to it!

1. Standing in your yard listening to snow fall late at night
2. The sound of pencil on paper
3. Woodsmoke in late fall
4. Puppy breath
5. Rollerskating
6. Laughing so hard that even after you stop you keep having fits of laughter
7. The back of a baby’s neck - especially after a nap
8. The sound a basketball makes as it swishes through the hoop
9. Paws of sleeping kittens
10. The smell of dirt
11. The call of a Nuthatch
12. Skinnydipping
13. Rhododendron, Trillium, Firepink and Galax
14. Songs that make your eyes fill with tears as you drive
15. The “chink!” sound of a metal bat connecting with the baseball on a hot summer night
16. Windows with old ripple-y glass panes
17. The smell of autumn fallen leaves in the woods
18. The full moon sparkling on water
19. Your favorite blue jeans
20. Dwell Magazine
21. Writing
22. A single orchid on the coffee table
23. Rainy mornings when you have the day off
24. The way little kids hold their hands in the air as they walk
25. West Wing Re-runs
26. New car smell
27. Apple computers
28. Skipping stones
29. The sound of wet river stones in your palms
30. Sea glass
31. Finding a perfect whole sand dollar
32. UNC beating Clemson!
33. Finishing a work-out
34. Really great sound at a performance
35. Great sound guys (and gals) who are responsible for the really great sound at a performance
36. Finding a parking space
37. The sound of your childhood doorbell
38. Hiking all day
39. Beethoven’s Sixth
40. The taste of the lunch you brought on a cold day’s hike
41. Candlelight
42. Seeing a shooting star
43. Gumball machines
44. Holding hands
45. The smell of crayons
46. Finding the perfect present for someone
47. Making someone laugh out loud
48. Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
49. Kites
50. Boat rides
51. Merry-Go-Rounds
52. The way your dog’s ears bounce up and down as she walks in front of you
53. Getting an actual letter from someone - handwritten and everything
54. Making art
55. Sliced tomatoes in August
56. The smell of rosemary in your hand
57. Calvin and Hobbes
58. Pesto
59. Paul Simon songs
60. Finding an arrow head
61. Sunsets on the bay
62. That excited feeling in your heart when you hear the first lines of a favorite song
63. Saguaro Cactuses
64. Old skeleton keys
65. Being able to type
66. Playing your guitar (or piano or whatever) just for the hell of it
67. Dancing in your house to bad disco tunes
68. The Princess Bride
69. When you’re so in love with a book you’re reading that you feel excited the whole day just to get back to it
70. Dark black scuffed dirty stage floors as spotlights shine on them
71. Finding a branch of black raspberries on a walk
72. The woods after it rains
73. Camping
74. A good cry
75. Lying on your beach blanket and watching sand crabs walk sideways
76. Traveling to places where no one knows you or knows where you are
77. Swinging on swings
78. Trains in the distance
79. Handfuls of glass beads
80. Riding bikes at the beach (where it’s flat!)
81. Toe shoes
82. Cash
83. The way squirrels put their hands over their hearts as they look around
84. Going home
85. Riding on trains
86. A great picture on your driver’s license
87. Dog sighs
88. The olive bar at Whole Foods
89. Making up words
90. Inside jokes with your spouse or partner or best friend
91. Great beds in hotel rooms
92. Finishing a journal
93. Picking out a new journal
94. The first sip of a really great glass of wine
95. Massages
96. Chuck Jones cartoons
97. Pottery
98. When Harry Met Sally
99. Art supply stores in New York City
100. Trees