Linda's Relaxing Lair

Family friendly personal blog. A very warm welcome to you! Thank you so much for taking the time to visit. My purpose for having this blog is to offer a place of serenity, encouragement and to hopefully brighten your day from the hustle and bustle of life. This is a blog where everyone is welcome, and all ages are welcome. From near or far, children to the elderly, I hope to provide in my posts a chance for you to relax, smile, laugh or just take time to unwind, to live in the moment.

Wednesday, January 28, 2026

Change, Listening

Hello dear friends and fellow bloggers! A very warm welcome to you all! Thank you so much for taking time out from your busy day to come and visit me here! I really appreciate you all so much!

Here are today's picks, which I hope will brighten your day in some way!

Animals are such agreeable friends - they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms. - George Eliot

Cats are a mysterious kind of folk. - Sir Walter Scott

We change the world not by what we say or do but as a consequence of what we have become. - David R. Hawkins

Change is inevitable during the seasons, but it can also bring about great new opportunities. - Anonymous

Your inner voice may be quiet, but it's rarely wrong.

Listening is a positive act: you have to put yourself out to do it. - David Hockney

Slightly leaning towards the other person is an indication that you are actively listening, while leaning away may be interpreted as disinterest. - Liam Jackson

Genuine empathy requires that we listen, understand and feel what is happening so that we can create a targeted solution. - Whitney Goodman

Nothing happens until the pain of remaining the same outweighs the pain of change. - Arthur Burt

True life is lived when tiny changes occur. -

Don't persuade, defend or interrupt. Be curious, be conversational, be real. And listen. - Elizabeth Lesser

God gave us mouths that close and ears that don't. That should tell us something.

Snow Pants :)

Meanwhile in Canada

Embrace uncertainty. Some of the most beautiful chapters in our lives won't have a title until much later. -

Change before you have to. -

You can't change what has already happened. So don't waste your time thinking about it. Move on. Let go and get over it!

Listening is an art that requires attention over talent, spirit over ego, others over self.

's skills for active listening

1. Focus on being interested, not interesting

2. Start by asking questions

3. Look for commonalities

4. Tune in with all your attention

5. Communicate you are listening with a nod/sound

6. Paraphrase what the speaker says

7. Validate the speaker's emotions

8. Maintain eye contact

9. Let go of your own agenda

10. Turn off the TV

Listening is an attitude of the heart, a genuine desire to be with another which both attracts and heals. -

When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen. -

Buzzle

You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or where it's all going. What you need is to embrace the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope. - Thomas Merton

Purrs of Wisdom with Ingrid King

The following two photos are my own, which I took on January 19th with my cellphone...this is a park in Montreal. It was snowing when I took these photos, and people were skating on the paths that the city made a skating rink of, it was so nice to see people out and enjoying the snow and lovely weather, and getting their exercise at the same time. You can click on any image to see a larger view.

The following video is a Just for Laughs Gag (Juste pour Rire) done here in Montreal! Enjoy! :)

Stray Cat chooses her human during his workout :) (The Dodo)

Wild Magpie flies into this woman's house every day for a visit :) (The Dodo)

I've Been Searching So Long (Chicago, 1974)

This is one of my favourite Chicago songs!

Thank you all so much for visiting me here! You can leave a comment by clicking on the comment link at the end of my post. Please do not put any hyperlinks or website links in your comment. Please note that comments are moderated to deter spam, which is why your comment will not appear immediately.

Sunday, January 25, 2026

Personal Growth, Kindness

Hello dear friends and fellow bloggers! A very warm welcome to you all! Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to come and visit me here! I really appreciate you all so much!

Here are today's selections, which I hope will brighten your day!

The smart cat doesn't let on that she is. - H.G. Frommer

Photo Quoto

Cats are absolute individuals, with their own ideas about everything...including the people they own. - John Dingman

Photo Quoto

Being strong doesn't mean you don't feel pain. It means you feel it and try to understand it so you can grow from it.

Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow. - Ronald Osborn

Be like the bird that, passing on her flight awhile on boughs too slight, feels them give way beneath her, and yet sings, knowing that she hath wings. - Victor Hugo

Kindness makes you the most beautiful person in the world no matter what you look like.

Being kind is like being a superhero. You can save someone's day with just a smile. :)

I don't want to be a grown up. I want to be a growing up. I always want to be growing.

Do your best to never create suffering for anybody...including yourself.

Karen Salmansohn

Practice daily mindfulness of kindfulness.

Karen Salmansohn

Personal growth is about progress, not perfection. -

What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. -

If it's challenging you, testing you and pushing you...it's helping you become more of who you're meant to be. -

Be still like a mountain and flow like a great river. -

Stop asking, "Why is this happening to me?"

Start asking, "How might I learn and grow from this?"

Karen Salmansohn

Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver. -

Be Kind & Co

I know this transformation is painful, but you're not falling apart; you're just falling into something different, with a new capacity to be beautiful. -

We don't stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing. -

Be kind to all beings. Sometimes, the smallest thing takes up the most room in your heart. -

You can't see people's mental health, please be kind, always.

The following photos are my own, which I took on my cellphone in . You can click on any image to see a larger view. These photos were taken on January 15th. I had an appointment with my rheumatologist and these were taken inside the small clinic while I was waiting for my appointment. I was alone in the waiting room. Yes, my appointment went very well ☺️

These last two photos I took of the ceiling of this small clinic. I thought it was quite pretty to see these lovely murals!

As all of you who visit my blog on a regular basis are aware of, I do not often make any recommendations as to movies or books. I saw a really good movie, which you can find on YouTube, entitled "". The cast includes well known actors such as , , and Maureen McCormick. This movie is said to be based on a true story.

A book that I really love and find very encouraging is entitled, "Bringing Out the Best in People" by Alan Loy McGinnis.

The following video is a Just for Laughs Gag (Juste pour Rire in French) done here in Montreal! Enjoy! :)

When you wish upon a star (sung by Jiminy Cricket - Cliff Edwards)

Cat soothes crying baby

A baby moose adopted this woman as her mom (The Dodo Soulmates)

Wednesday, January 21, 2026

Difficult Times, Failure

Hello dear friends and fellow bloggers! A very warm welcome to you all! Thank you so much for taking the time to come and visit me here! I really appreciate you all so much!

Here are today's picks, which I hope will brighten your day in some way!

What you seek is seeking you. - Rumi

Guideposts

Happiness is a conscious choice, not an automatic response. - Mildred Barthel

Purrs of Wisdom with

Knowledge is an unending adventure at the edge of uncertainty. - Jacob Bronowski

The Education Magazine

There are two kinds of people in this world. The givers and the takers. The takers sometimes eat better but the givers always sleep better. - Danny Thomas

X Dot Com

As human beings, we suffer from an innate tendency to jump to conclusions; to judge people too quickly, and to pronounce them failures or heroes without due consideration of the actual facts and ideals of the period. - King Charles III

Sleeping Angel

Sometimes it's tough to explain what's going on in your head when you don't even understand it yourself.

When you face difficult times, know that challenges are not sent to destroy you. They're sent to promote, increase and strengthen you. - Unknown

Love This Pic

Fall seven times and stand up eight. - Japanese Proverb

Inspiring Leadership Now

A failure is not always a mistake. It may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances. The real mistake is to stop trying. - B.F. Skinner

Inspiring Leadership Now

Maybe the happy ending isn't someone else choosing you. Maybe it's you choosing yourself, again and again, regardless of who comes or goes. - Lori Deschene

Tiny Buddha

Today I look at all the positive things in my life, and I am grateful for them.

Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly. -

Elevate Network

Failure is a detour, not a dead-end street. -

Jonathan M. Pham

Simple things bring great joy.

I realized that if my thoughts immediately affect my body, I should be careful about what I think. Now if I get angry, I ask myself why I feel that way. If I can find the source of my anger, I can turn that negative energy into something positive. -

Better Help

( Sign) OK, who ordered the blizzard? :)

Meanwhile in Canada

Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don't have the strength. -

The following are my own photos, which I took in on my cellphone on January 15th. We were getting a blizzard that day; lots of snow! It was actually snowing when I took this photo, so any spots you see are snowflakes. This first photo is of a mountain of snow in a corner of a shopping center parking lot. You can click on any image to see a larger view.

I took this photo from inside a bus shelter while I was waiting for the bus to come. This is one of the snow removal trucks working to take care of the snow!