Welcome to SPARKS.    What is SPARKS?

“SPARKS” was started by Annie McGuffy of McGuffy’s Reader but ended when she stopped blogging some time ago. It was meant to be a way to start out each week with a meaningful thought – something that spoke to each of us and hopefully everyone else who reads it. Although Annie isn’t currently blogging,  a lot of us who enjoyed her SPARKS decided to keep posting SPARKS of our own.    Feel free to join us even if this isn’t a Blog Hop – SPARKS are fun to find and share and think about and the more the merrier.  Just post a thought on Mondays – call it your SPARK – and perhaps your “followers will follow” !

Well we’re on the cusp of a new year and that calls for some heavy thinking about what’s ahead.   Some of us are quite sad about the year just passed – others are happy (but I’m not sure why!) and still others are anxious to begin a NEW year with (hopefully) some changes.   I like this SPARK I found – seems like we need to think about what if anything we have learned and will we manage to bring about some POSITIVE changes to make for a brighter future for ourselves (and all humanity).

I am going to start the new year being HOPEFUL…………….I heard someone on TV say the other day “There’s nowhere for us to go but UP” and now that I think about it – they were right!!!!

Hugs, Pam

P.S.  Today is my Dad’s birthday……gone but never forgotten

It’s SUNDAY!   Time for Selfies.    My Mom took a few photos when she and Dad went next door for Christmas Eve but they didn’t turn out so well.   It was dark in the dining room where they were all eating and even with editing to lighten, you could barely see people!   THEN she took a photo of yours truly on Christmas Morning after we’d destroyed the library with boxes/tissue/ribbon/wrapping paper to see what Santa brought us.    I had decided to take a snooze on top of a piece of tissue, Mom put a piece of tissue on my back like a blanket, I stuck my big feet out behind me in my “signature feet position” and she snapped several photos of me from the top of the stairs.   Well, you can BARELY SEE ME!    I think Santa should send my Mom to photography classes……actually Mom is a good photographer normally  but I think she might have had a “Christmas Eve Hangover” – She told me humans sometimes have a little too much fun with their neighbors on Christmas Eve.     So here’s the lousy picture – she was messing with the colors and tints and light/dark stuff too – the chairs are NOT PINK in our library, not is there a sheet of PINK tissue on my back (yes that’s me on the rug with green and pink tissue on and under me).     SIGH.    It also made the carpet on the stairs look VERY weird.   DOUBLE SIGH.     Anyway, we’re using this one for our Selfie today.  SUCH AS IT IS.

It probably will make an interesting puzzle though !

Just click this mini-photo of our Christmas Morning and GOOD LUCK with the puzzle!!

We hope everyone has a fabulous New Years Eve – stay safe – have fun – see you on the “flip side” !!!!

Hugs, Pam, David and Teddy

“How About A New Years Day TREAT Everybody????”

Yes – those of you who are hosting a New Year’s Eve celebration will have a few friends “leftover” the next morning right?   How about making a really delicious treat for them before you send them on their way home?   OR if you had company through the holidays – this is the right way to spend the first EVENT of the new year.     Any way you think about it – it’s ALL good – AND delicious.

Bananas Foster French Toast Casserole With Bacon!

INGREDIENTS

Caramel Syrup:    (or ready made syrup if you’d rather!)

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

French Toast:

• 8 slices of bacon (or more!) cut into ½ inch pieces
• 2 medium bananas, ripe, thinly sliced, plus additional bananas for serving
• 1 loaf brioche bread, or other rich or eggy bread, cut into cubes
• 8 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 pinch salt

DIRECTIONS:

• In a medium skillet, preheat to medium high and cook bacon pieces until almost crispy.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a 13 x 9 glass-baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
• In a medium mixing bowl cut brioche bread into cubes. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, add eggs, milk, sugar, butter, vanilla and salt. Whisk together.
• Pour over bread cubes and mix well until all bread is coated.
• Place half the bread mixture in the prepared dish; place slices of the banana over the layer.
• Then add the additional bread mixture over top the bananas and add the remaining banana slices.
• Place the precooked bacon pieces on top.
• Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes until puffed and golden brown.
• Remove from the oven and drizzle with caramel syrup.

Now if that doesn’t peak your interest – I don’t know what will – it’s a great treat to start off 2026.   Next week you’ll be glad you have such a delicious breakfast treat to start the new year – I guarantee it!

Have a great New Year celebration and I’ll see you again in 2026!

Hugs, King Teddy

Happy Friday!   Have you recovered from all the excitement of Christmas?   We’re “mostly” back to normal here although the place is still decorated with Christmas stuff – but we don’t usually “de-Christmas” ourselves until AFTER New Years.    That means that the train track is ALL MINE – no gifts under the tree where the train runs to get in the way!   YAY!

It’s time for filling in with our two co-hosts and you know this is a fun Hop – everybody loves to fill in the blanks!    Here are this week’s sentences and Mom, Dad and I have filled in the blanks.   Here’s the key to who is answering what:

BLUE/TED

GREEN/Mom

RED/Dad

Dad, Mom and ME!

First of all – MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone!    I will make this Thankful and Poetic post short and sweet so all of us can enjoy Christmas Day with our family and friends and NOT on the computer.    I am incredibly thankful for all of you who follow our blog – you are special friends to Mom and me too.   We enjoy hearing from you AND enjoy your blogs as well.    We are sharing – and as you all know – sharing is caring.   May your holiday be fun and meaningful.

Angel Sammy sent me his poem for today – he also asked me to wish all of you a very MERRY CHRISTMAS from the Rainbow Bridge!    His poem and post are below.

Love, Teddy

♥ ♥ ♥

Happy Christmas Friends!

It’s a special day at the Rainbow Bridge AND where you are too!     We Angels wish we could be with our family and friends in person but you know we are always with you – even on Christmas Day.    Hope you had time to write a poem for the photo I gave you last week BUT if not – that’s fine – you should be enjoying the day OFF the computer.   But if you’re here – MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Here’s the photo and my poem from last week:

What’s Your Exchange Policy?

Poem by Angel Sammy Kimmell    ©December 24, 2025

Sorry Santa but you made a mistake

This package you left – such noise it makes!

It screams and cries and takes all of Mom’s time

Can we please return it?  Would that be a crime?

Mom and Dad want to keep it but we don’t know why

It’s too small to play with and all it does is CRY!

Well obviously that gift from Santa isn’t a big hit………..actually when I saw this photo I thought it would be a lot of fun for us all to write a poem for the photo.    Hope you had a chance to do one but if not, I understand – we all have better things to do today right?    Well in case you want to write a poem for NEXT Thursday – NEW YEARS DAY – here’s the photo we will all use for inspiration!

Uhoh…………..well, celebrating a new year IS a big occasion but there’s such a thing as overdoing right?  Right!    Have fun working up a poem for this one and we’ll share next week OK.   MEANWHILE, enjoy your Christmas Day……………..I hope Santa Paws was good to you…………….

Until next week…………..remember to be kind, and especially be hopeful for the new year!!!

Hugs, Angel Sammy

I am the Angel Poet in the green beret…..and I hope you join me for POETIC FUN each week!