MARTIN ALLWOOD QUOTATION

"If you do not let love reside in the body it is homeless." - Martin Allwood

BEFORE WE BEGIN THIS NEW YEAR

 

This blue butterfly became a certain woman's chosen symbol of transformation!

JANUARY 2026'S POSTS WILL BEGIN TOMORROW 

FONDLY

 

NO KILL ANIMAL SHELTERS

I wish I could expand this list to include other countries. What you must do it try to find a local shelter that is clear about their intentions. You want to adopt a healthy dog. It might be a dog that is older and does have some health issues that require medical attention. There may be organizations that will help you get that medical care or other things you need to have a pet. (I'm counting on you to have the love!)

NO KILL NETWORK : CALIFORNIA LIST

FETCH PET : NORTH SHORE ANIMAL LEAGUE  (And list of programs including Humane Relocation Program and Senior Programs)  OVER 2000 shelters in a network. 

BEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY : AND HOW TO CHOOSE A DOG BY THE DOG WHISPERER ! FREE PET ADOPTIONS TO CELEBRATE THE PAWLIDAYZ

ZAPPOS and BEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY TEAM UP : DOG FOR FREE PLUS 

SAVE A LIFE AND ENHANCE YOURS

You know that in all the years that I've been blogging at Mistress Manifesto, I've almost never advertised a product. I even avoid posting videos that have ads on them. So I really searched for the opportunities that I'm posting this month. Here is an opportunity to adopt a dog for free. Now, be sure that you want a dog - the blessings and opportunities but also the responsibilities - and have wisely chosen one that will fit in with your life - your space!

BEST FRIENDS ORG : ADOPT A CAT OR DOG : NO KILL SHELTER

EXCERPT: In 2024 alone, 425,000 cats and dogs were killed in this country’s shelters, including here in your community, simply because they didn’t have a safe place to call home.

We know millions of households will add a pet to their family this year and if just 1 in 17 more of those families chose to adopt a pet from a shelter, we could reach no-kill in your community and nationwide.

So when you adopt from a Best Friends location, a network partner or one of the many shelters and rescue groups around the country, you’re not only adding a loyal and loving companion to your family, you’re helping to save lives.

HAVING A MERRY DOGGY CHRISTMAS : IT'S NATIONAL MUTT DAY!

It's Holiday Season, the end of another year, and what I want to do is relax. And when I think of relaxation, I think of my dog. 

She is no longer with us, but my every day with her was a better day because of her. 

I remember a day that was so intense, I had a splitting headache.  

I started thinking about her as I sat in traffic. How I had to get home to feed her - How she would be there to greet me - The way she played - Her pretty face - How much I loved her -; The headache evaporated, just went right away, along with my bad mood.

Not everyone can own a dog. If you rent it can be difficult to find a dog-friendly apartment. But I want to suggest to you that if you do love dogs, you volunteer to foster one, and see how that goes. Many cities now offer fostering programs or adoption without having to put the animal in a shelter, as shelters can be traumatizing. You can save a dog's life by giving it some time away from the shelter.  

And, well, having a dog is beyond loving it and caring for it and it doing the same for you. There's responsibilities and money involved. It needs medical care, good food and treats, baths and grooming, but there is also lots of reward. Having a dog, having to walk it, is excellent for your health. Having a dog can open conversations with others. You can meet people, other dog lovers. 

But ah, I'm suggesting that when you adopt a dog and do this for yourself and the dog. It's OK to ask someone else to get one for you, but please don't surprise anyone by gifting them a pet without their approval!

Consider what your priorities are. Some dogs are for protection. Some dogs are officially service or companion animals. Some dogs will mainly sleep on your lap. One of my friends says her dog picks her boyfriends.

This month we're going to have ourselves a merry doggy Christmas and explore some options for you!  And we start with NATIONAL MUTT DAY!

NATIONAL MUTT DAY IS TODAY!

Woof! Woof!

Missy  

PS: I have carefully chosen to link to organizations that I believe in! 

GOOD LUCK LOVE

 

LANDSLIDE : STEVIE NICKS

SO MANY WAYS TO LOVE

 

THE DAY

 

GIVE THANKS

We can Give Thanks at any time but this is our special day to do so in the United States.

 

TALKING TILL SUNRISE : DOMESTIC VIOLENCE and SUICIDE and EATING DISORDERS : SOME PHONE NUMBERS FOR YOU IF YOU NEED THEM!

This month's posts have reminded me that Domestic Violence is not restricted to the poor, as is stereotyped, and that Suicide is not the way to solve emotional and psychological pain.  I want you, my readers, to be as healthy in body and mind as one can be. So I'm going to offer a couple phone numbers that may be the first step to improving your life if you are suffering. Though I don't personally deal with Domestic Violence and have never been Suicidal, friends of mine have been. I'm not making light of these issues at all.

Yes, I've talked on the phone for many hours with a friend who was depressed and in therapy and mostly it was all over a man, a man who was actually a good man but simply working on his PhD. and had little time for women in general, but was just not that interested in her. They were not having an affair. Not yet, anyway. She was obsessed with him and had developed quite a fantasy about what might happen in their relationship simply because they went for coffee and held hands on a walk. I stayed on the phone with her - long distance - until the sun rose and she could call her therapist for an emergency appointment.

We live and learn. All these years later, I have more knowledge and experience, and think I would probably deal with women friends who were in relationships that would never make them happy a bit differently. I never played therapist and suggesting therapy to another person took a long time for me to do. I still think that having a confidant or two is important and that loyalty and faithfulness in friendships is so important. However, sometimes as a close personal friend it takes you a while to realize that your friend who is in such pain needs someone to talk to who has a professional perspective.

I recently met a young woman who told me that talking about your personal life or problems to strangers made it obvious to her that a person needed to be in therapy. I do not agree with that. Sometimes disclosure and sharing are exactly how people bond and find out they have some things in common. (I also found out later that this particular young woman had serious problems such as drug addiction, a petty criminal record, and so on, so she was intensely in to therapy.) No, a therapist is not a friend!  They are paid professionals with education and experience in the field of psychology. A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who can prescribe medications. Usually a person sees a therapist first.  (And if you're in therapy and it's not helping, you may need to switch to a different one.) With a friend I'm not able to be objective like a professional might be.

Understanding what is or is not abuse or violence is important just as understanding what is or is not depression rather than just a bad mood or sadness.  

If you find yourself in a relationship or circumstances like Maria Callas did, well, this is 2024 and you don't have to be tortured like Maria. 

988 is the designated number to go right to SUICIDE PREVENTION and CRISIS HOTLINE - and you can SMS (text) with them too. The previous 988 Lifeline phone number 800-273-8255 will always remain available to people in emotional distress or suicidal crisis.

https://988lifeline.org/current-events/the-lifeline-and-988/

And then there's the NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE

Hours: 24/7. Languages: English, Spanish and 200+ through interpretation service 

800-799-7233  SMS: (Text) BEGIN to 88788

https://www.thehotline.org/

I suspect that Maria Callas had an eating disorder.

National Association of Anorexia Nervosa & Associated Disorders (ANAD): The Helpline 888-375-7767 is open Monday to Friday.

Missy

TWO HEARTS

 

IS NON MONOGAMY FOR YOU?

TOGETHER FOREVER - MY CUP RUNNETT OVER WITH LOVE : CONNIE FRANCIS

I had not heard any version of his song in so many years, but while reading Lady Colin Campbell's book about her parent's marriage, it came to me. Simple but beautiful it is. 

MY FAVORITE MISTAKE : SHERYL CROW

DA DA DA DA DATTA DA DAAAAAA

 

KISS BUT DON'T START WITH THE LIPS

While I was searching for images for this month's posts in public domain, I noticed that there were many of couples in passionate kisses... But a flirt may require less of a rush and more gentleness.  May I advice you linger to kiss a neck, a forehead, a cheek, before you go for the mouth and...  take weeks to get there?

Missy

PS.  The biggest excuse for giving someone a kiss whom you've never kissed is that it's their birthday.  The cheek or temple area is "safe."  Just be sure to make eye contact after that quick dash of a kiss.  Think "I sure would like more!"  Somehow that thought will make it from your brain into your eyes. 

LIKE TO GET TO KNOW YOU : SPANKY and OUR GANG

LANGUAGE OF FLIRTATION - CONSIDER THE HAT : THE MOLLY BROWN HOUSE

Good thing we don't live in Victorian times because, if we did, we would have to learn an entire new way of flirting through signaling.  I found this Hat Flirtation list to be quite interesting and there is more at the site: MOLLY BROWN ORG THE LANGUAGE OF FLIRTING

Excerpt:

The history of flirtation using everyday objects can be traced back to the Augustan Roman poet Ovid, who was known, in part, for his poetry teaching about the arts of seduction and love. In Amores 1.4, Ovid directs his married girlfriend in the discreet ways of flirting using eyebrows, wine, hand signals, and jewelry:

Watch me and my nods and my expressive features:

Catch my furtive signs and you yourself return them.

Words that are spoken without voice, I shall speak with my eyebrows;

You will understand the words traced by my fingers, words written in wine.

When the wantonness of our love comes into your mind,

With tender thumb touch your blushing cheeks;

If you shall complain about me in the silence of your mind,

Your soft hand should hang from the end of your ear;

My dear light, when I do or say things which please you,

Turn your ring round and round your fingers;

Touch the table with your hand, as men in prayer do,

When you pray for many sufferings upon your deserving husband.