Just say yes

In the interest of a richer, fuller life, I've been promising myself I'll do something I've never done before, anytime the chance presents itself. Opportunities are be abundant just lately, and I've made a point of saying "Yes!" to as many as possible. It's been keeping me pretty busy, but most of the results have been better than expected.


Last week our cooking club launched a Gingerbread Project: we got together on Tuesday (for the basic structure) and Saturday (for the decorating). My gingerbread dwelling was a doghouse that I gave my neighbors for Christmas.

It wasn't an unqualified success. When I was glueing my first attempt together, I was too impatient to wait for the icing to harden sufficiently, and it collapsed in my hands. So humiliating. So Mary built me another one, what an angel!

Then I started a website for the club, and all the details of the Gingerbread Project appear on the landing page.


It was a doghouse because I have dogs on the brain lately. I'm on the fundraising committee for a new community group planning to establish a shelter for stray and homeless dogs and cats. The goal is not just to warehouse the critters, but to immunize, neuter, medically treat (where needed), exercise and socialize them, so we can eventually find them homes. A number of individuals have succeeded with this process, and hundreds of dogs have been adopted in Mexico and the US through their efforts, but there's never been a centralized location here where the animals could be kept until now. There's a shelter in Alamos which we plan to visit after Christmas, for ideas and inspiration.


So this will be another first for me: I've been involved in community activities, but never the fundraising part. To tell the truth,  I always avoided it. The prospect is daunting, but considering that our first fundraiser is just over a month from now, there's no time to be daunted. We're planning to organize a procession to the local church for the Blessing of the Animals which always occurs January 17 in Mexico. I hope to have a logo created, leaflets printed to distribute and t-shirts for the volunteers to wear. There are so many firsts involved in this project I haven't even thought of them all yet!


So if I don't get back to this blog for a while, I want to wish all of you...

Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo!