My house is tiny, old, and not worth very much. I often say that I am a "home owner," but the bank actually owns it. I also obviously need to pay taxes, insurance, upkeep costs, etc. On the plus side, I love having the freedom to paint the walls in whatever way I want to. The picture in this blog posting is from one of the walls in my living room, which I sponge painted. When my kids were living at home, I also let them paint their walls and decorate their rooms however they wanted to. If I were renting my house, I would probably be told "no" in reference to sponge painting.
Whenever anything needs repairs, I have the freedom to choose from different options. For example, I can replace floor tiles with ones that I like. I can also do such things as plant tomatoes, peppers, squash, and other plants in my backyard, instead of having just grass and flowers that are chosen by someone else. I'll soon be sponge painting at least one other room in my house.   

I'm thankful for how technology has given us so much freedom. We can talk on cell phones, rather than line phones. We can send text messages, and we can even use such things as portable chargers to re-charge our cell phones, cameras, etc. The picture in this blog post shows a portable charger that I received while participating in a Professional Development Day at the Community College of Rhode Island. As the picture shows, I've been using this charging device a lot and appreciate how this college helps its students, faculty, and staff members.

​While cats and humans obviously talk in different languages, I love talking to my cats. They even know what a few of the words that I say mean. When I tell them "no," they often listen. When I tell them "din-din" (meaning dinner) or treats (meaning cat-food treats), they ALWAYS listen and come running. They all know their names and will usually look at me or come over to me when I say their names.
My cats also love to communicate with each other, either with their voices or with their body language. For example, this blog entry has a photo of two of my cats. They are both now in our Lord's care, but when they were alive, they were very closely bonded together and often talked with each other via body language (their paws, their facial expressions, etc.)

Bambi, whose picture is in this blog posting, is one of my three cats. When I went to an animal rescue center to adopt a pet, I had decided before entering the rescue center to choose a cat that would meet my needs (a female cat that was not aggressive and that would get along with both of my other cats, including one who was seriously ill). If there were two or more cats who were both appropriate, then I would choose the one who had been there the longest. 
Two cats were appropriate, so I chose Bambi because she had been there for six months. I was actually even worried that Bambi would be put to sleep or get really sick if no one offered her a home. She was super scared of people, skinny, and definitely not eating enough. She had been in a hoarding situation, so she actually was very nice to other cats.
In my home, she was--and still is--very sweet to my other cats (licking them, not being aggressive, not demanding her own space, etc.). While she's still scared of people, she's not scared of me. She has a really nice, deep purr and is very happy to be alive in a peaceful, quiet home with lots of good cat food. 
I really love to support animal rescue sites, in addition to adopting animals that are in need of a forever home.

The picture in this post shows me at my table at AutumnFest 2018. As someone who has done a lot of author events, as well as having written four novels and one book of poetry, I'm today asking myself what I really want to say. Unhidden Pilgrims does have a lot of content about free speech. Banking on Dreams shows connections between dreams and reality. Mayflower Dreams connects us to our history. Roger Williams in an Elevator has a lot of ideas about different kinds of freedom, including the freedom to worship God. Holidays Amaze connects to many of these same ideas through its use of different poems. These poems are also showing some of the many amazing aspects of life's mazes, holidays, and celebrations. With my past writing experiences, I often have found out what I'm trying to say after I have begun, have partially finished, or have completely finished writing the novel, poem, article, story, or blog post. The writing process can be highly creative because it actually helps me to figure out what I'm trying to say while I'm trying to say it. Through my writing experiences, I've learned a lot about myself, my life, my dreams, my reality, my history, my love of freedom, my thankfulness to God, and my world.