Really? A Naked Girl?

A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I came upon this billboard, the size of a small house, while on Burnside Avenue in Portland Oregon.

“I’d rather go naked than wear wool.”

“What! No, Alicia Silverstone, it’s FUR, not wool.”

I was wrong.  She meant wool.

“What’s wrong with wool?”  I go out of my way to find wool clothing, and wool socks are the best.

Well, Silverstone is objecting to the inhuman treatment of animals, in this case, sheep.

HEY, I LOVE ANIMALS!  I use wool because it does not kill the animal, but neither do I want them harmed. I know that sheep are quite docile and if a handler is gentle; the sheep will lie there quietly during the shearing process. SO, FOCUS ON GENTLE HANDLING! 

Get a grip folks! Don't use animals as though they are machines, and don't believe that you are God's gift to stewardship with no heart. 

If you harm the animal you lose your job. Period. Isn't that more plausible than to stop using wool?

If you don’t shear sheep they will turn into a mass of burrs tied up in a fur-ball. And remember, they grow a new coat. That’s the nature of wool. If you stop buying wool, farmers will stop raising sheep, and all those cute little lambs will not be born.

When I was a kid, we lived on a rural property in Oregon, and we had a beautiful grey cat with abundant long fur—not a good idea in the country. He turned into a mat of fur as though he was wearing a rug, so one summer we clipped him. And underneath we found that he had foxtails (the barbed seed of the foxtail plant) stuck in his skin under those mats. Without those fur mats, that interfered with his fur washing, and foxtails that stuck into his skin like needles, he frolicked like a kitten.

And he stopped traffic. 

We  had sheared him like a lion with a furry mane and tip of fur on his tail.

But then, naked Silverstone got people’s attention. Including mine.

Hey, Don't Bother Me, I Have Cat Videos to Get Back To

Just kidding.

We had great readers on the last blog.  A big thank you to all who showed up. If I had four dead mice, I’d give you… well, all of them.

Here are hearts instead!

 

But, let’s not doddle in the past, or with cat videos—although they’re fun—let’s get on with this great adventure called life.

I’ve had a tiny book following me around for maybe 20 years. It has a paper cover, worn and ragged. The book is only 3.5 inches by 5 inches with 16 little-bitty pages. Although I have lost or given away many books this one has stuck itself to me.  It was there on my bookshelf.  Now it’s  beside my computer.

That book was a gift those many years ago. It was written by J.D. my initials, but I didn’t write it. 

The author says his or her name isn’t important, but the information within is.

The title of the book is The Ultimate Secret

TO GETTING ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING YOU WANT

My daughter, although she had not read the book, declared its secret when she was trying to conceive her child. The secret really isn't a secret, it is found and utilized by many. They just don't know it's a secret.

After 12 months of artificial insemination, with no luck, and many months of discouragement, tears, yet hope, my daughter was ready to go for an In-Vetro fertilization. 

That month she conceived her son.

Her comment was: “Maybe you just have to be willing to do the hard stuff.”

And that is what J.D. said in The Ultimate Secret. That's the secret. You need to be willing to do whatever it takes to achieve your goals. (Let’s keep this within the realm of legality here.)

Often, it is not necessary to complete all your goal's to-do list, maybe just one or two. It is the willingness to do them that counts.

“When it comes to getting results, intention is more important action.”—J.D

It’s a frame of mind.