Gross National Happiness

Who is this beautiful couple?

The King of Bhutan and his new bride. They were married today in a traditional ceremony in Bhutan. I saw them on the news this morning, and decided to look up more information on Bhutan. Did you know that the phrase "Gross National Happiness" came out of Bhutan?

In 1972 their king decided that for his country Gross National Happiness was a higher priority than Gross National Product.

The four pillars of Gross National Happiness are:

1) promotion of sustainable development
2) preservation and promotion of cultural values
3) conservation of the natural environment
4) establishment of good governance

Sounds like a pretty good basis for society, doesn't it?

Munchkin's Story

I took this photo this morning. The feral kitties are having their breakfast on our deck.

Almost two years ago, Munchkin was one of the feral kitties, one of a litter of four. She is the one on the left, with the little white spot on her chest.

This is before we brought her inside and adopted her.

She was the friendliest one, and took to us readily. Here she is when we first brought her in. We kept her downstairs for a few days and introduced her slowly to our three other cats. For a couple of days she lived in a large dog crate that we borrowed from my sister. We gave her the little bed, which she loved.

Here she is today. I took these two photos this morning. She has been our pet for almost two years now, and is part of our family.

Operation Baghdad Pups

I recently found out about this group, Operation Baghdad Pups, part of the ASPCA International. I think it's great!



Operation Baghdad Pups provides veterinary care and arranges transportation to enable the pets to be reunited with their service man or woman back in the U.S. Many happy homecomings have taken place because of this organization.

Here is one of the stories:

Exploding Head Syndrome?

Who knew? Is there really such a thing as "Exploding Head Syndrome"?

For several months now I been awakened out of a deep sleep by a very loud noise. One time it sounded like a door inside my house had slammed shut. I got up and looked around; everything was normal. I stayed awake for a while wondering what it could have been, and finally went back to sleep. Another time it sounded like a loud crash, as if a heavy mirror or picture had fallen off the wall. Again, I got up and investigated; nothing. I asked my husband if he had heard anything; no. Just last night, I awoke at 4:11 a.m. when I heard a loud boom, like a gun shot or an explosion. My husband was away so I couldn't check with him. First I checked the time, so I would know exactly when it had happened in case something was on the news later. Then I began listening for sirens, thinking certainly there would be emergency responders rushing to the scene. I turned on the television to see if there was breaking news about an explosion in the area. There was nothing; everything was perfectly normal. I was shaken up and couldn't go back to sleep. I took a xanax and slept for four more hours.

This morning I decided to investigate. I googled "loud noises while sleeping". To my surprise I found "Exploding Head Syndrome". It sounded ridiculous but I kept finding medical references to it. It says it is a benign condition and there isn't much you can do about it, though some mentioned one specific anti-depressant that sometimes helps. I guess I won't worry about it too much; it's just weird.

Munchkin and the Basket

I've Been Taking More Kitty Pictures

We have a little band of kitties that hang around in our back yard. They are feral kitties that we care for.

We call this one "Mama" because she gave birth to "Little Sister" and "Spot" before we had her spayed.

This is Mama up close, posing for me.

This is Spot, Mama's boy kitty. The people at the spay/neuter clinic gave him his name.

This is our little black kitty, Munchkin, looking outside. She was one of of three little black kitties born outside. While her littermates were standoffish from people, Munchkin wanted to come inside. So we adopted her. Here she is looking outside. Is she looking for one of her sisters?

This is one of Munchkin's sisters looking in. Is she looking for Munchkin?

Here they are, visiting through the screen door.

My Favorite House

This house is on the street behind me. I didn't show it on my 132 steps post because it's farther away, more like 600 steps. But I snapped photo of it because I like it so much.