Good day, friends!

Sweet cheese and jelly beans – it’s been an insane year and apologies are in order for my absence. I don’t even know how long it has been since last writing, but here we are again. Let us all hope, pray, and create some audacious vibes for a better time in 2022. The virus got me for a minute there. Now it’s time to get it together.

See you soon, pets. Don’t despair. Some bomb swag is coming – I can feel it.

Truly yours,

Ms. Snow

Hello, lovelies and not so lovelies…..ladies and germs….girls and boys…lionesses and tigers…well, you get it.

Go ahead and please check out the new “Winter of the Viros” page when the chance happens upon you. As a literature fanatic, I thought it pertinent to actually apply some of my serious fiction writing on here. It is a short blurb right at the moment, but I have a book’s worth to slam down and will be adding it a piece at a time. I am also working on getting more visual artwork on my pages. As technology is not at all my one of my strong suits, please be patient with my molasses-like quickness at getting this blog looking pretty.

I will also be adding a contact page in case the rare instance occurs that one of you mighty beasts wants to say “what’s up?” or make a suggestion or ask me for my magic mac n cheese recipe…..I don’t give that out.

Until next time,

Ms. Snow

A myriad of people come and go in our lives. Most we can choose – one benefit of adulthood there; some aren’t invited, but eventually we can decide to either include them in our sphere or pop them out of orbit. “Oh, excuse me with your gaslighting or backhanded compliments or your general lack of presence in a relationship one of us thinks is important……Blast off!! Buh-bye. Good riddance and thank you muchly.” That’s my general stance on it these days.

I believe the important thing to do when inviting “company” over to stay in life, is first to learn how to discriminate between individuals who are a positive force with value and those who drain our emotional resources or carry negative energy around wherever they go.

The positive people are usually pretty easily discernable from the negative after a few interactions as most of them are not adept at faking their true personalities for very long. Believe what they show you! (This is not to dismiss the monsters that deceive purposefully for their own sick kicks – they are out there.) Remember – actions will reveal true character and lip service is for the birds. Bullshit walks, right?

Think about the person or people that add the most quality to your life. Do they encourage healthy endeavors? Do they experience genuine happiness when you succeed? Are they honest? Do they make you smile? Do they bring comfort or provide any other sort of “nourishment” to your life, whether it be knowledge or other virtues you yourself might not possess? These are questions that should be contemplated before we ask our company to stay.

Remember, positive people are not just those who make you “feel good”. Someone could be making you feel great, but encouraging or enabling bad behaviors. They aren’t necessarily the ones who only say sweet and agreeable things to your face. Don’t confuse people that always make you feel warm and cuddly with friends who are invested in your well being. All my closest amigos – and I don’t mind divulging that I can count them on one hand – have no compunction about informing me when my head is wedged fully in my asshole or at the very least throwing some strong hints that I’m acting like a dumb bitch. Hey, sometimes we need to hear that information from a reliable outside source! And a person who has your best interests at heart will give you a heads up…or ask if you feel like yourself…or try to determine if there’s some undisclosed turmoil in life that’s making you act like an irascible twat.

The best example in my personal experience is a woman I’ve know for 20 years now. She has been an employer, a friend, and a second mother/sister at times when my life was in the fucking gutter. When my daughter was 6 (now 21), I was going through a divorce. There was $400 in my bank account and I have no local family AT ALL. Aside from the people I choose to accumulate in my life, I am quite honestly alone. This woman is the ONLY person that helped me when my marriage ended. She helped me move; she was already employing me; she gave me the name of a lawyer; she introduced me to another local business owner that hired me on for a second job when I needed it. We lugged one of those big ass 70’s TVs encased in a million pounds of fucking wood up two sets of rickety stairs to my new, tiny apartment. Serious friend love right there. What else? Oh, she adopted me during the holidays so I wouldn’t have to be sad and alone when my daughter was spending time with her father. She really stepped up in my life. I don’t know if she remembers all this, BUT I CERTAINLY DO AND WILL NEVER FORGET!

We have had disagreements at times, but that has never kept us from being friends. She takes real interest in the people around her. We can make each other laugh. And I know I could pick up the phone and call her if I was in a bind. She is that person. Yet we are two completely different personalities. That seems to be a great misconception lately – that friends must always agree and always get along every second, otherwise they must be toxic or hostile. Uh, NO! Two different people can be just that….two different people. We’re not robots, folks.

Well, it’s dinner time and I’m out of gas. Positive in; negative out.

Bye, friends!

Ms. Snow

“People don’t read anymore. It’s a sad state of affairs. Reading’s the only thing that allows you to use your imagination. When you watch films, it’s someone else’s vision, isn’t it?” – Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead

The Independent – Oct 15, 2005

Hey, hey fellow life fanatics! I just wanted to take a moment and give a huge shout out to the LaChute book store in Ticonderoga, N.Y. for having some incredible stock neatly crammed into a place that was probably only a couple hundred square feet. The owner – I didn’t catch his name, but one of the other shop owners mentioned that he is also a local radio personality – is an avid book lover that genuinely seems to enjoy the company of his customers.

The selection in this small nook outplays and outweighs any of the big name book stores I’ve been to in the last five years, at least. Think about the last time you went searching for a specific title that wasn’t either brand new or a re-printed classic. The selection is so lame!! The horror and thriller section in B & N (which is THE section in my opinion) is comprised of only two small panels in the shelf – and half of it is Stephen King. Now, don’t get me wrong, Mr. King is actually my favorite author. But that section should be so much bigger! They totally skimp on the good stuff.

So, if you have an itch for a good bookworm experience and want to check out a cool town as a side quest, try out LaChute books. Make the drive if you can. You will not be disappointed.

We’ve all heard the saying – “your body is your temple”. The sentiment is solid and while I agree with the thought, the word temple could aptly be replaced with “house”.

Yeah, I know – “my body is my house” doesn’t exactly have the same ring to it. The phrase is a bit clunky and conjures images of someone wearing a cardboard box and a triangle hat colored in magic marker by a five year old hopped up on Fruity Pebbles. But think about it. A temple is traditionally a place to worship. And how frequent is that worship? How often is the average person at an actual temple, church, synagogue, etc. these days? Not to mention that the temple comparison somehow implies that a person either worships themselves, wants others to worship them, or both. That’s what we call a narcissist, folks – and have you ever met one of those that you liked?

Your house, on the other hand, is home base. (pun intended, of course) This is where we reside, eat, sleep, and shower. Hopefully, your house is the place that provides the most comfort. For some people it isn’t – I’ve been one of those – and in that case, you must find a place to carve out for yourself. It’s a pretty big world for each of us and there is a small place each of us can find.

Throughout life, we may move around to different homes – apartments, houses, trailers, an RV, a cabin out in the middle of nowhere. Wherever it is, we clean, decorate, and cultivate our surroundings to our liking. This definitely not only includes material objects, but also the people in our lives. The same premise should apply to our bodies. The big difference between the body and our homes? We only get one body. One shot. One life to make the best of it. Our bodies and minds are really the only things we are born with that we have and own for our entire lives. I know it’s strange to think of my body as my property, but it is mine. Every other thing in life is acquired somehow, whether purchased, gifted, or found. There are no taxes on this neat corporeal form – yet. Okay, that wasn’t even funny, sorry. And the only fees I pay on it are the costs to keep it intact and running properly. Maintenance costs, you could say.

Think – do external forces determine the health of your body and mind or does your personal fortitude come first then burgeon out to help form the rest of your life? For so many, their surroundings determine who they are, what they think. It took me a very long time to realize this important truth. I can’t lie and say the epiphany generated immediate happiness, but it did provide a novel sort of clarity. I understand myself better as a person. The struggles of life still exist and sometimes they come at me balls to the wall, but I can handle them better. My actions hold more purpose. Responsibility – which is one thing that has been important to me my entire life – seems like less of a burden and more of a comfort. Honestly, I don’t want anyone else responsible for my thoughts, words, or actions. There is one person I trust to do that – me.

So contemplate – How are you treating your body? What are you putting into your mind? Do your actions serve a purpose? Are your words honest? With whom are you keeping company?

Clean your house.

I’ll be back with you soon.

With much love,

Ms. Snow

“The most confident critics are generally those who know the least about the matter criticized.”

~Ulysses S. Grant

“Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant” pg 60, Cosimo, Inc. 2007

Happiness and comfort.

One can often lead to the other, though both cannot always be sustained in unison for extended periods.

What does an overabundance of comfort lead to?

A soft body.  A blunt mind.  Languid thoughts.

Think.

When is the last time you accomplished anything while in a state of comfort?

If necessity is the mother of invention, then comfort must only beget laziness in time.

Do not allow contentment to become smugness, nor rest become sloth.

Get uncomfortable!

What is your fear? Find it. Isolate it. Devour it.

Fear is illusion. Courage is truth.

Weakness. Strength.

Delve into the vastness, your awareness.

Dredge up what is discovered and live mightily.

Perceive your enemies. Do not partake in their tainted ways. Leave their bones and souls to dessication; the desert of time will see to their fate.

Absorb.

Cast back that which does not serve you.

Grow.

Let your mind take hold. With heart, with resolve – climb.

Live.

Patiently. Kindly. Truthfully. Freely. Successfully.

Do not dream for long, for a mere reverie is trivial.

Open your eyes.

Rise up…rise up…rise up!

What better feeling is there than delving into the mind of another through their writing? Have they expressed their true thoughts within the words? Has it been left up to the reader’s interpretation? Oftentimes, it’s both. This is my little writing nook and I welcome you. Let’s dispense with the pretentious air that seethes from the literary professionals – because sometimes it’s quite alright to read words that make us think and sometimes feel uncomfortable and cause us to reflect on ourselves. Or maybe a piece of literature can be written just for the hell of it without assuming any deeper meaning. Get happy; get angry; get frightened or turned on. Become incensed. Slam your fists down and be exasperated that your guide has betrayed you by killing a character that became part of your being – sometimes it is ephemeral; sometimes it is forever. So keep in mind, whatever you read here is merely the dump sight of my brain flow. You’ve been warned. Also, this is the worst paragraph structure on the history of the world and cosmos.

Cheers, fellow fanatics.