Life In Balance

Life hands us good and bad,
The choices we make,
Some good, some bad,
we walk a path at first chosen for us,
The day comes it is chosen by us,
The love we yearn for,
The love we get,
We are not given a guarantee,
Faith gives us life in balance

Grandma's house guests

Son called yesterday and asked if Ryker and Eden could spend the night, of course i said yes. A couple of hours later I realized that so much of the bedding had to be thrown after the basement flood, . Namely all of the pillows. So a call to son # four and asked if he was going to town, he said yes. So I asked, please pick up a couple of pillows for me and I explained why. Problem solved. So First Eden came while Ryker was at CCD Christmas party. ( I will shoot the teacher that loaded 7 year old kids up with candy and goodies at night). I know it is not too Christmasy to want to shoot someone, ( and I am non violent) but bed time and sugar do not mix. Now the kids would have to sleep on Hide a bed, Now time to get out the sheets comforters etc. Where did my CNA put them? Hmm after searching I found then tucked up in a tote in a closet shelf above my head. Okay now I am waiting for the pillows and # four son to come so he can reach the bedding. Finally( grandma is thinking that bottle of wine is sounding good) Steve arrives, gets out the bedding and opens the hide a bed and MAKES it with the help of two tired hyper kids.
Amazingly the two children brush their teeth and crawl in bed. Eden needed an extra fleece blanket to curl up with, and after I read them a book about Christmas, not another sound from them. So instead of a glass of wine I had a warm milk and off to sleepy land, I am not sure if I dreamed of sugar plum fairies or that bottle of wine. So now I am waiting for them to finish their sleep, I am hoping that the kiddie shows entertain them while I get busy baking. Ryker has plans to move all of the snow in my yard, so there will be a lot of wet snow pants gloves etc. They will have fun, after all there is a lot of snow in my yard.

yesterdays wonders

Snow Angels dancing in the wind, flitting here and there, While jack frost etches fanciful images on the windows,The childhood wonder of a storm swirling the angels, making drifts, oh the plans we made while in our toasty warm house watching out the window. Tomorrow the sun will shine and out we will go, To make yesterdays dreams come true, Snow forts for snowball fights, laughing and tumbling making snow angels, but none like the wind did yesterday, Then a snowman so handsome with coal eyes and stick arms, in our world he smiles his raisin smile and his carrot nose wriggling. Would there ever be such simple pleasure in our lives again.

She still loves Christmas

From a child that was left wanting,

Her wishes did not come true,

There would be no doll, but clothes to wear,

The box of cookies from grandmother,

The cranberries and popcorn to adorn the tree,

Santa might come this year,

,

Christmas Eve walking through the snow,

Toes tingling with cold as we walked the two miles,

There was little heat in that little church,

But the warmth of friendship warmed us,

Singing the joyful Christmas songs,

Hearing the Christmas story, Joy in our hearts,

Then Santa handing out a brown paper bag filled with goodies,

Ah the smell of the orange and the apple such a treat

With candy and nuts which to try first,

The flavor of that first piece of Christmas candy,

The filling in the center a special delight

Savoring each piece, wanting more but making it last.

Thoughts today of days long past,

The tree brightly lit, the gifts all wrapped,

The cookies, the goodies all ready.

My prize I found,the old fashioned Christmas candy,

To taste that first piece brings it all back.

The good and sad, she still loves Christmas.

Angels among us?

Angels are like God, either you believe or you do not. There might be some that are willing to think maybe it is possible there are spirits around us and there are others that think when you are dead, you are dead. I say to each to their own beliefs or non beliefs.
My belief is based on actual happenings. So I KNOW they are there. Call them what you want, they just are. Ignore them if you have to, but they do not go away.

My experiences with the higher powers that surround us are so personal. I do try at times to explain the unexplainable. What I do know is that I am grateful that loved ones, the strangers’ feel comfortable to come around me. And sometimes let me know they are there. For those searching for answers, just open your mind and heart to the possibility and see what happens. To those that for whatever reason you either can not or just absolutely believe in nothing after you die you will scoff. What I write will not interest you in any positive way. In this season the word faith seems to become more important, to me faith walks with me everyday.

Now I am no bible thumper, or a religious fanatic, I am mostly a cafeteria Catholic. Is it pagan to believe in these things? Beats me, I know that our ancestors were pagan once upon a time so maybe it is in our genes. Like the Christmas tree, I believe it is a symbol of everlasting life. Or as the Native Americans know that sage smoke is a good thing to clean the air around us. I just accept the unknown as why not? Who are we to decide what can or cannot be proved. That is where faith comes in..

Thoughts from a couple of years ago and still the same today

I wrote this blog there three years to a fellow chatter in answer to some comment that was made, I find it still holds today,

Oh oh Mary this might be political. Or maybe not, maybe just a commentary on people today. When did we start defining ourselves with unnecessary titles or groups? Can't we just be ourselves? Why can't that be enough?

I can understand saying I am American (or whatever country you are from) but why do we need to know your sexual preference, your religion, and your political party? I like to meet people that are real.

Are we nothing without the unreal backing of some group? I hope I can define myself by saying I try to be a good person, I am intelligent, I know a lot, but I know a fraction of what there is to learn. I hope I am nice most of the time. I work on being patient with ignorant people and know it alls. I really have to work on patience when it comes to the mean political commentators that are on television and radio.

Democrat or Republican, whatever party you believe in why do we have to fight about it. Why do we even need these ridiculous titles that really say nothing? Why do these people not realize most people can think for themselves if they choose to? We do not need mean bigoted blowhards harping on the meaningless crap they keep it spouting on the airways.

I wish for a world where people start to talk with each other instead of throwing rhetoric out and keep repeating it like they know more than the next. We really need to get ourselves on a realistic path communicating with each other or our children’s children will have nothing, if they are even here at all.

Storm aftermath

The wind has stopped , the sun is shining the bad part of it is bitter cold out there. Maybe a good thing I am still snowed in. I will not be tempted to venture out. Specially when I have no good reason to.The thing is, I find when its nice out, I do not think much about going outside. Just let it snow and blow into drifts and I have the urge to go some where. Crazy huh?

Blizzard 12-11-10 from my windows starting with my favorite tree

Dec 11, '10 8:22 AM for everyone

9°F Current: Snow Wind: N at 31 mph Humidity: 89%

Sat 12° | -8° Sun -2° | -11° Mon 7° | 0° Tue 13° | 11°

I hope this isn't too cranky, Maybe I should buy a coffee pot with a timer, but then where to set the time? Ah that would be the question!

Dec 8, '10 7:58 AM for everyone

I know I am old, been around for a long time. I have liked a lot of singers, performers etc. I but I will never understand why anyone has to make such a huge deal out of Michael Jackson and now this week John Lennon. Even if I had listened to their music (I do like yesterday and Let it be but i like the songs, the singers did not matter) I still could not work up heartfelt tributes to these people that made music. They did not change my world in any way. Well maybe the fact I used to say turn it down or turn it off. With so much negative sad happenings in this world, is this a way to forget the horrible stuff for a time? I guess personal tributes like playing their music would make sense to me. like I play Conway Twitty, Buddy Holly,or Patsy Cline. but I do not want the media to tell me they are dead every two minutes, I already know that there is more on the news to day about Lennon than the anniversary of Pearl Harbor yesterday..Or Kennedy on November 22.

While I am at it, I also do not care if Jolie has lips or if her daughter wants to be a boy. Also the fact that Elizabeth Edwards passed, a brave strong woman, but the fact they are saying it so often is not so much in honor of her but so they can drag out the fact that her husband was a jerk with a loose zipper. She deserved better than that.
Okay Oprah is in Australia, whoopee is going to stay there? It is nice for the audience that I be was hand picked to go with her, it is probably one of the best experiences in their lives.

And I will bite my tongue over this one, I like the fact that Our president sat down and worked out a compromise for the betterment of America's economic condition. What I do not like is that posturing he has to do to suck up to people in his own party. Are these people so fanatically socialist that they would fight the President ? I think what he and the GOP guys did was Democracy working.I hope he is smart enough to do as Clinton, move to the center and.try to end divisiveness in D.C..
Last but not least Kathy Griffin making fun of Bristol Palin's weight when we are trying to stop gilrs thinking their weight and looks are more important than their brains. Also specially from an over the hill anorexic witch like Griffin. of course obesity is a problem. but making fun of a young woman's weight is not funny nor is it helpful.

Black and White

The swirls of gray fog in the black of night,

Imagination like a child, in days long past,

Seeing eerie shadows, as they seem to take flight,

Step outside in air so raw it seems to bite,

Troubled thoughts are banished sleep at last,

Then in the morning we wake to frosty white.

Blog Entry Julian Asange and Wikileaks,the story of a proper fool

Dec 5, '10 10:19 AM for everyone

I say call his bluff, tell him to release all of the info and then go get him. Him and his Hitler like waves, screw him trying to blackmail the world into letting get away with not only espionage but he is alleged to have committed rape and Sexual abuse in Sweden. But if he is arrested he will create chaos in the world my foot. He is just a celeb wannabe and the media is sucking it all up. Who the hell really gives rats ass what he has to unleash.? A few fanatics like the ones that followed all the other crazies. We will take over the world wannabes, Hitler, Tojo. Stalin,Lenin the list is big and we are still here. Big deal, I say go get him the silly fool.

Cookies for Grandpa Joe

Once upon a time there was a young woman, lets call her Terry, living out in the boonies with three small children and another on the way. Life was hard for her. This almost woman, still young in her early twenties that spent too much time alone , except for her children. She had a neighbor who befriended her, but she was also over burdened with what life had handed her. The one bright spot in Terry's week was when her mother in law drove to the nearest town to sell her eggs and get her groceries.

That morning the bread dough would be mixed and set for the week end and then the weekly batch of molasses cookies would be mixed and then baked. Terry always had the little ones fed and ready for nap. At 1:00 she would make a pot of egg coffee and set out a plate of the molasses cookies . T here would be a knock on the door and there would be Grandpa Joe, the father in law. He would have a tootsie pop for each of the little ones for after their nap and then Grandpa Joe and Terry would have coffee and cookies. He was a simple farmer, but his stories carried the too young to be a mom, to a world where life was good and she could forget her unhappiness for a couple of hours. He told the best stories, and every once in a while he would ask for another cup of coffee, bite into another cookie and say, "darn but these cookies are good, just like what my mother used to make".

When life got to be too much for the overworked lonely young woman, she knew that Grandpa Joe would be there. Later in life she would wonder, why no one else seemed to see him or hear him, he was almost as invisible as she was to his family. Terry's children grew up loving their grandpa Joe, and he was Terry's best friend until he passed.

Why couldn't her husband be like his dad and care what happened to his family? Why did he prefer any bar, tavern, and want to talk to anyone but his wife? Those were answers the young wife never did figure out. But the memory of those simple hours carried her through a lot of tough times. She never did know whether Grandpa Joe actually liked those cookies or just cared for the young woman. Or maybe it was both.

GRANDPA JOE'S MOLASSES COOKIES

3/4 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

1 egg beaten

2 cups flour

4 Tablespoons molasses

1 tsp soda

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp cloves

1 tsp cinnamon

blend egg, sugar, molasses, then dry ingredients. Mix until blended, do not over mix, chill for an hour, roll into small balls and in sugar. Bake at 375 for about 12 minutes. Depends on stove.

Wake up House and Senate, You are getting in trouble with your rumblings about SS

First they should strip THEIR retirement package, their extra expense package when they leave office for four or so years. No money spent on anything not related to the office and if they want to go home. Pay the ticket themselves. Tightening the belt should start with the people that make the decisions or as Truman said " The buck stops here". Even if they are in office one term they get the full package, this is so wrong in many ways, citizens have to earn their retirement. Stop the over the top parties at the White House on our buck. Make sure everyone including the president and his family have the EXACT health care coverage that they expect Americans to put up with.
They say a drop in the bucket, well many drops fill the bucket, so before whittling away our social Security that WE pay for, look to themselves first. First and foremost they should be punching a time card and be required to be on the floor of the house and senate when in session or have a doctors excuse. Election campaigning time should be figured out and their income reduced by the time spent away from their elected jobs. lets actually clean house first, the old adage "sweep your own doorstep before sweeping mine" is still the way to go. Stop the excess paperwork required by government programs ,USDA home loans when there is FHA already available for them is one instance. The best way to express your ideas is to write to your elected officials often.