Your regularly scheduled programming.....

...is interrupted for system maintenance.

In other words (if you read yesterday's post) Blogger has been so inundated with complaints from people unable to upload photos to their blog that they are actually working on the problem - trying to identify the cause and fix it!
I have no idea how long that might take - or if it will be fixable.  So no photos for a while perhaps. Just words.  

Two things that make this day important to me:

1.  Happy 11th birthday to my sweet yellow lab Emma, who lives with my ex.  She is doing well and I see her whenever I go to the mainland.  Her dad was home with her today and gave her a couple of extra treats for me. Emma loves swimming and going for walks and food and balls and wagging her happy lab tail. She's a lot whiter around her muzzle than when we first got her, but she's still the same happy dog!

and
2.  This is Giving Tuesday.  If you "saved" money shopping Black Friday or Cyber Monday sales, how about sharing some of those savings with a worthwhile charity?  Or if you are trying to think what to give someone for Christmas gifts this year, consider donating in their name.

Some of my current favourite ethical animal rescues in BC:

Hearts on Noses Mini Pig Sanctuary, Mission, BC
RASTA (Rescue And Sanctuary for Threatened Animals, Chemainus BC
Broken Promises Rescue, Victoria BC
Barn Rats need Barn Cats, Victoria BC
Cowichan and District SPCA, North Cowichan BC
Richmond Animal Protection Society, Richmond BC
Bully Buddies Rescue Society, Vancouver BC

There are, of course, many other worthwhile animal rescues.  These are but a few of the ones I love hearing and reading about, and supporting whenever and however I can.

And in the non-animal area, a charity that aims to help children with a very, very rare disease, called Peroxisome Biogenisis Disorder - a disease that recently took the life of a friend's thirteen year old son. The charity is  The Global Foundation for Peroxisome Biogenisis Disorder .  

Find a cause you are passionate about, and then find a way to help - with donations, with volunteerism, with spreading the word.    Caring for others is part of our humanity, and it makes the world a better place to be.