Mary Engelbreit is famous for her quote — Everyone needs their own spot — and her colorful, smile-inducing artwork. And while she was referring to dogs in this quote (a big nod to Willa here):
I think everyone needs their own spot, too — as in location. Some indoors, some out, I have several. Here’s one example:
In addition to any animal companions you may have in your life…
Where’s one of your favorite spots?
Tuesdays with Laurie 
Hi Laurie
We have Huia and Sandy in our lives.
Sandy is definitely Ailsa’s baby – pathos on 4 legs.
Huia has become my pet with an S in it (pest). Typical lab – only interested in food and affection.
I seem to be able to find joy in most spots.
I love the ocean with its constant movement and ceaseless life.
I love the mountains with their display of deep time present in their rocks.
Kaikoura is an amazing place, wild weather, so many birds, interesting community.
New Zealand is an amazing place, so much geological and biological diversity in such a small area.
Ted — New Zealand is on my bucket list for the very reasons you listed right here! 🙂
My favourite spot right now is our new dog named, Spot!! There are many fabulous spots here in Spain to enjoy.
Darlene — How FUN that you have a dog named SPOT. I love it! 🙂
She has a large spot on her back. We usually call her Dot but for the purpose of this comment, I changed it to Spot as it works too. I´m a writer, we do things like that!!
Our cats have favorite spots. One of them is a basket on table in front of a window. They’ve been happy that it’s been cool enough to have open windows for the last few days.
Are you a Star Trek fan? Data on Next Generation had a cat named Spot.
Merril — Cats have a way of finding the most comfortable spots in the house!
I’m going to have to Google Data’s cat named Spot 🙂
You will get a hit right away. 🙂
Merril — I watched four separate YouTube clips regarding Data’s cat named Spot. How cool is that?! 🙂
That’s funny because I assume it wasn’t a show that you watched? I guess you picked up that Data is an android though.
Merril — We haven’t had a television for almost 37 years so we don’t see much in the way of television programming. I was aware that there is an updated version of Star Trek (from when I was a kid). I assume that Data in the new version is somewhat the equivalent of Spock in the original version 🙂
Well, there are Vulcans in all of the other Star Trek shows. Data has some similarity to Spock, except he does have a desire to be human.
In the new Star Trek movies, the characters are the young versions of the original Star Trek characters.
Merril — Clearly, I have a LOT to learn 🙂
My favorite spot is next to my window into the woods 🙂
Zannyro — A follower of your blog, I can well see why 🙂
I love your spot, Laurie, and I would choose something very similar, anywhere away from city traffic and noise.
By the way, I have a second blog with wordpress under the name of sayselltravels.wordpress.com in case you’re interest. I’d love to hear (read) your thoughts and comments.
Fatima — Interested? Woohoo! I just followed you at your new blog. It’s one of my favorite spots 🙂
Thank you again for your kind words, Laurie. I enjoy writing the blog, but my experience with wordpress was getting a bit annoying. Hopefully, it will be fine now.
I love your place. I have a few places that are special for me. In warm weather, the front deck, where there is always a breeze and I can watch the antics of the birds. In cooler weather on the other side of the house, the morning room deck, sheltered from the wind, gives a different view into the back of the property. And in the morning and during colder, or wetter, weather, my chair by my window in the morning room.
Carol — Having seen your photographs from each of these vantage points, I can well see why their your favorites! 🙂
Like you Laurie, I have several spots but there is one that is mine alone. I rarely share it with anyone in real time or online. I have this antique sofa in the loft studio. It’s arms drop down to become a bed. Mostly though, I keep one arm up to lean against and the other down to stretch out my legs. There is also a down duvet folded in half to cozy up under at the beginning of each morning. I have a distant Birdseye-view of the valley and the full presence of my working studio space. With a thermos of coffee on old wood night stand beside the sofa and my ipad, most days start here. I review and respond to social media comments, decide on the days focus and gradually wake up to the day’s work. Unlike the rest of the house, it is a busy and cluttered space with stacks of books, papers, finished paintings, easels, empty canvases, jars stuffed with brushes, baskets filled with tubes of paint, with the laptop and camera on a small desk and a large printer hunched in the corner on a filing cabinet and squished between bookshelves. Every-so-often, I reduce, recycle and reorganize. Mostly however, it is an open-drawer working space that I treasure from the sanctity of my private, personal, sofa-nest spot during the first hour of each day. In fact, this is where I am at this very moment 😉
Terrill — You painted such a lovely word picture that I can see it in my mind’s eye. Perfect! 🙂
My favourite spot is on my bed, at dawn, looking through the window at everything, especially the waning moon. 🙂
ReadInPleasure — Ohhhh, that sounds plush and lush! 🙂
When we bought our house we inherited a small carved out piece of earth beside a shady tree. If the weather is sunny and warm, that’s my favourite reading spot.
Leanne — You’ve definitely piqued my interest. I think that “carved out piece of earth beside a shady tree” would make an ideal blog post!
Sadly, there are no dogs in my home and this point. Although I always get warm welcomes by Sprocket and Hawk both are young labs of family members.
I wonder if Willa is enjoying her bike trailer yet?
My favorite spot is anywhere in the near water. And, I would be especially happy if I was paddling a kayak at that moment!
Audrey — I’m glad you’ve got Sprocket and Hawk to greet you every now and then. It’s always good to have a “spot,” even if it’s with extended family.
Willa’s doing GREAT with her bike trailer. We rode up to Lucky Peak Dam (10 miles up, 10 miles back) and had a picnic at the top.
She rides “nose up” most of the time, catching all of the glorious smells that waft our way as we peddle by 🙂
Yes, I love the exuberance of the welcomes from Sprocket and Hawk. How wonderful for Willa! She gets to come with both of you as well as take in all the marvelous scents along the way. Pure joy!
My favorite spot is both inside & outside nowadays. This morning I sat on a wicker chair in the screened-in lanai enjoying geese trying to figure out their formation before sliding one by one into the lake.
Marian — I’m so glad you’re enjoying your new SPOT! And the fact that you have geese and a lake in your immediate view just sweetens the whole shebang!
Inside is my nearby BN Cafe where I can people watch/listen, read, and write! Outside is near water…river, waterfall, ocean.
Ann — Your inside spot lets me know that we’re cut from a similar bolt of cloth. Water? We’re a match there, too 🙂
Laurie, And my inside spot also teaches me per my post Judgement and Forgiveness 🙂 The day I saw the Dad and his five wonderful children was really special and made my Heart Smile!
I’m 50 miles away right now from a place that will hold many special spots for me this fall, even if I don’t yet know what they are. I’ll sniff them out the way Willa does. The first one will be an apartment.
Shirley — I’m so DOGgone excited for you! 🙂
I love the ocean and just sitting watching the waves and sky. I have a perfect reading chair too 🙂
Zip really loves a nap in the sun spots on the floor and carpet and he moves a butterfly pillow around the house to be comfortable on the tile floors!
Patricia — Waves + Sky + reading chair = heaven!
As to Zip, we have so much to learn from our animal companions. Ya gotta love ’em!
I have many favorite spots, but highest on the list is my studio where I can write, make visual art, and relax. I also love sitting in my garden when it’s not too hot or cold to write in my journal or read. Everyone needs a spot for themselves!
Joan — Soon another favorite spot will be sitting in your local bookstore and staring at the copies of your book, SCATTERING ASHES: A MEMOIR OF LETTING GO (https://www.amazon.com/Scattering-Ashes-Memoir-Letting-Go/dp/1631520954/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1473192004&sr=1-1)
Having been privileged to be an early reader, I know they’re going to fly off the shelves like hotcakes!
There is a bench by the lake where you will find Bob and I most evenings at sunset. 🙂
Espirational — It sounds peaceful and lovely 🙂
I feel like I’m in a Zen moment just viewing the photo of you in YOUR spot. I have many ‘spots’ – a lot are overlooking the ocean, either the Pacific or Atlantic: Ocean City NJ to Stinson Beach CA. Sometimes my spot is just inside my mind, sitting alone on the floor, meditating.
By the way, I’ve used Mary Engelbreit’s desk calendar for years now – YEARS! I write in my day’s event in each square, and enjoy reading a new quote each week. xo
Pam — I love being friends with “spotty” people. With favorite spots from coast to coast, you definitely fall into the category.
Clearly you love Mary Engelbreit as much as I do! 🙂
Laurie, my favorite place recently has been our back porch. It has become our living room, even when the day is hot, a breeze can be felt blowing through the big pines. There is not a great deal to see, deserts tend to be sparse, but I am building a container garden, one compatible with the existing flora, Greasewoods and Joshua trees. I’ve taken up feeding the birds and small wildlife, it nice to watch something else moving while I am not!
Sandi — Having been a guest at your home I’ve experienced the ambiance of your back porch. It’s pleasant, soothing, and welcoming 🙂
I have never heard of Mary Engelbreit but I have now will be googling . My spot is Oscar ( as I think you know ) my beautiful nearly 11 year old King Charles Spanial . We both have a spot here in West Wales that we love …Cwmtudi . It’s a tiny cove of peace for me and interesting smelly things for him . At the moment we have a V.I.P …he’s a baby seal looked on by adoring parents . So the beach is out of bounds right now . We have seals and their pups every year so we are blessed in our spot .
Cherryx
Cherry — I love your Oscar! And the fact that he’s got lots of smelly things to inspect means he, too, loves Cwmtudi Beach. Ohhhhh, baby seals. That’s a great photo opportunity 🙂
My spot now that I’m this internationally famous writer/blogger/smart ass (I’m feeling really full of myself today) is once everyone is stowed away for the night and I’m sitting in my big chair with my laptop finishing my ode to Laurie manuscript I’ve been working on for a year now. Or what I meant to say sitting at the kitchen table trying to figure out another way to overcome writer’s block!
Gary — You crack me up! 🙂
My favourite spots (oh, and with the plural NOT on my face – although I don’t have any spots there) are in my garden in the back on on my veranda, sitting in a chair with a cup of coffee or glass of wine and breathing and seeing my garden. The other favourite spot is at my computer and writing.
Sharon — Your favorite spots sound wonderful 🙂
I have yet to find my favorite spot, even though I walk the same path generally everyday it is a bit too populated and the energy is not “right”, not like the woods at the old house.
Muffin had made her spot along the entrance way tiled floor between the front door and the kitchen entrance. I could not get out or in with her knowing, ha ha.
Jeff — Muffin, she’s one smart cookie. She probably expects you to pay a “toll” (goodie from the kitchen) each time she passes 🙂
Yes! Our “spot” is like home in a sense.. I have a wonderful spot by the water that is relaxing and often a source of inspiration for my writing ❤
Christy — It sounds deliciously tranquil 🙂
I have many, but almost all are connected to oceans, bays or woods. One of my favorite spots is when we are nearing the salt marshes of the oceans and bays, and the distinctive salt-water smell suddenly scents the air. Some people are repelled by the fragrance of the marshes…we love it. I also love the loamy smell that rises as I kick through the thick leaves on the forest floor. Mary Engelbreit is great. I buy her tear off calendars and save them to create collages.
TimelessLady — Like you, I love the smell of the salt marshes. I love your idea about using Mary Engelbreit’s tear-off calendar pages to create collages 🙂
Thanks Laurie.
My favorite spots have evolved over time. Many moons ago, there was a spot similar to the one shown in your photo. Large rocks on the edge of a small river, under the canopy of shade provided by the surrounding trees. The sounds of nature opening my heart. At that time, I had a sweet little Cocker Spaniel named Mackie, who traveled with me on many a road trip.
These days, my favorite spot is usually on the back patio, where my siblings helped to create a small garden area filled with various plants and butterfly-themed wind chimes and wall decor. Mobility is more limited these days, so having this bountiful bit of nature just outside my back door is appreciated more and more every day. A quiet spot to allow nature to fill me up and keep my gratitude meter primed and charged.
Doesn’t hurt that I’m able to enjoy it with my pet companions, (two dogs – one big, one small), as well as the birds and butterflies and other natural critters that dwell in the green space (and walking and biking trail) just outside my back yard fence line. Some days I watch nature unfold, and other days, it’s people-watching that catches my interest. There are even a few days where I end up napping outdoors in my comfy recliner, sometimes snuggled under a chenille throw, or a big fuzzy blanket, depending on the weather. I look forward to more of the same as the fall weather approaches. For now, it’s lots of sunshine and humidity, but the cooler weather will be here before too long. Already reaching for it in my imagination. 🙂
Ntexas99 — I love the description of your back patio: “A quiet spot to allow nature to fill me up and keep my gratitude meter primed and charged.” Yes, indeed! 🙂
In our woods is one of my favorite spots. I love to be alone surrounded by nature noises, trees and grasses/weeds breathing in the air. I am heading there as soon as I get home from work today to refuel my soul. p.s. I would love to sit in your spot too!! Beautiful. Tina
Tina — I’m glad you’re gifting yourself with the opportunity of recharging your personal batteries with a sit in your woods.
Oh we do have a scenic oasis here – the specious Hudson County Park, nestled in an urban hamlet. Always a great respite for meditation and a good brisk walk around the lake.
Sam — Hudson County Park sounds like a magnet that I’d be drawn to on a regular basis 🙂
From that picture, our Labradoodle Salvador and your Willa could be twins! 🙂
I love anywhere in nature, or at night, tucking my boys in to bed.
CityMomCo — Then Salvador has to be a big old sweetie pie! Nature and tucking your sons into bed. Yes, that’s definitely home 🙂