19 May 2008

Encounter with a cute Cat and Animal Assisted Therapy

I have been learning to slow down significantly since last week. And I thank God that I am feeling better. Thanks for your prayers and encouragements!

I am learning to take breaks, relax and rest more. Not easy for me, but I am learning :-)

I have been going out for more walks recently and really felt a lot more healthier physically and mentally. I love outdoor and the sun. Fresh air and sunshine seems to lift up my moods too.

I am enjoying nature and God's creations in many wonderful ways again. And as usual, I enjoy taking my digital camera along to snap some photos.

This morning, I went for a walk. And guess who I met? This lovely cat!

I think it is a she-cat. She is a sweetie, isn't she? And she is so friendly :-) She wasn't afraid of me at all.

Obviously she is playful too :-) Look at the way she kindly posed for me ;-)

Personally, I love cats. My family used to own several cats when we were back in our hometown. My mum used to go to the market to buy fish, not for us, but for our cats :-)

Cats are very cute. They like to curl up besides you or climb on your lap or your bed, etc. The little ones are cuter. They jump all over!

I read on the internet that having or keeping animals can be therapeutic to some patients. There is a therapy called "Animal-Assisted Therapy" (AAT).

Wikipedia said:

Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) is a type of therapy that involves an animal with specific characteristics becoming a fundamental part of a person's treatment. Animal-assisted therapy is designed to improve the physical, social, emotional, and/or cognitive functioning of the patient, as well as provide educational and motivational effectiveness for participants. AAT can be provided on an individual or group basis. During AAT, therapists document records and evaluate the participant's progress. Many kinds of animals are used in therapy, including dogs, cats, elephants, birds, dolphins, rabbits, lizards, and other small animals.

Here is a website that provides some simple information on The Layman's Guide to Animal Assisted Therapy with a Free copy of Pet Therapy in .pdf format that can be downloaded.

So it seems animal can be used in therapy to help some people. Having a pet can in some way be therapeutic to us.

What about you? Do you like animals? Do you have any pets? Have you found having a pet to be beneficial to you or helpful in some ways in your particular condition?

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you have a wonderful day!











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16 May 2008

Homemade Calendar : Another Hobby

Dear Friends,

How time flies! It's already mid May.

As you know, I love to do handicrafts and make homemade gifts. You probably have seen my homemade bookmarks blog with Free Bookmark Templates.

Around December of almost every year, I will make a simple homemade gift for my friends and it is a Homemade Calendar.

I first started making this Calendar for myself because I found it very difficult to find a Christian Calendar with Bible verses that I like. So I decided to design my own simple Calendar :-)

Subsequently, I began to make this Calender for some of my friends whenever possible.

Over the last few years, I began to make the Calendar for more and more of my friends.

It is good to know that some of my friends have found this Calendar useful.

Thank God that for the last 8 years, I managed to make between 80 to 100 Calendars for my church friends, whenever I am well.

Sometimes when I am too ill, I will not be able to make these Calendars. Otherwise, I will try my best to make them. I enjoy making them and I am thankful that they are useful to my friends.

This is how the simple Calendar looks like:



Although it's already May now, if you are interested, you can still make this simple Calendar for yourself or your friends.

Here are some simple instructions on how I make this Calendar :

You can download the following files and make it too. You can personalised this simple Calendar by putting your name or your friend's name on the top right hand corner. You can also change the picture and the text according to your liking.

1) Download these Microsoft Word documents (.doc) and make changes accordingly:

a) Use this Picture file if you are printing for a friend : Picture 1person

b) Use this Picture file if you are printing for a couple: Picture 2persons

c) Use this Date file if you are in Singapore as it has all the public holidays : Singapore Dates

d) Use this Date file if the Calendar is to be used outside of Singapore: Dates Others

2. Open the file "Picture 1person.doc" and change the name on the top right hand corner to reflect your name, your friend's name, etc. Then print on color cards/papers.

You can print 2 calendars on 1 paper.

3. Open the file "Dates Singapore.doc" or "Dates Others.doc" and print all the 3 pages.

4. Fold the pages into half.

5. Use a pen knife to cut and then fold the pages into half again.

6. Use the pen knife to cut again and arrange all the months accordingly.

7. Staple on top of the dates at a few places to keep them together.


8. Put double-sided scotch tape behind the dates and then stick it to the bottom of the Picture.

9. For hanging purposes, I usually punch a hole using a single-hole puncher and put a reinforcement ring on it.


Do you like this Calendar? Do you have Hobbies? Or do you like to make gifts for your family and friends.

I hope you enjoy making this simple Calendar :-)

If you interested to make bookmarks, do visit my homemade bookmarks blog. I have many Free Bookmark Templates there.

Thank you for stopping by. Hope you have a blessed weekends!

Free Calendars 2010 and Free Planners 2010 Resources:


Free Bookmarks Resources:


Free Cards Resources:


Free Handicrafts Resources : Free Cross-stitch

Free Sewing Resources : Knitting

Free Origami Resources:

Free Arts and Crafts for Kids Resources:

Nice Piano Instrumental Music Resources:
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