Monday, June 22, 2009

Some Poetry for you

I am not very inspired today so I thought I would leave you with two poems by one of my favorite poets, Edna St. Vincent Millay:

First Fig

by
Edna St. Vincent Millay
My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends—
It gives a lovely light!


EXILED
Searching my heart for its true sorrow, This is the thing I find to be:That I am weary of words and people, Sick of the city, wanting the sea;
Wanting the sticky, salty sweetness Of the strong wind and shattered spray;Wanting the loud sound and the soft sound Of the big surf that breaks all day.
Always before about my dooryard, Marking the reach of the winter sea,Rooted in sand and dragging drift-wood, Straggled the purple wild sweet-pea;
Always I climbed the wave at morning, Shook the sand from my shoes at night,That now am caught beneath great buildings, Stricken with noise, confused with light.
If I could hear the green piles groaning Under the windy wooden piers,See once again the bobbing barrels, And the black sticks that fence the weirs,
If I could see the weedy mussels Crusting the wrecked and rotting hulls,Hear once again the hungry crying Overhead, of the wheeling gulls,
Feel once again the shanty straining Under the turning of the tide,Fear once again the rising freshet, Dread the bell in the fog outside,--
I should be happy,--that was happy All day long on the coast of Maine!I have a need to hold and handle Shells and anchors and ships again!
I should be happy, that am happy Never at all since I came here.I am too long away from water. I have a need of water near.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Some food for thought!

If you watch the news at all ,or read the paper, or get your 411 over the web...then I am sure that you have heard about the situation brewing in Iran. I don't know how you feel, but I have not been able to get the Iranian people out of my head and have been glued to my T.V. watching for any new developments. A flood of mixed emotions is flowing through me and my feelings run the gamut of hope, fear, and helplessness. It makes me feel humbled and proud of the people who are risking their very lives to stand up and say..." NO! This is not right...we are tired of your harshness, your oppression, your ignoring our basic rights. We will be heard!" I am even more proud of seeing the great numbers of women that are right there marching with the men. I fear for them too though and wish that a corrupt regime was not resorting to violence to try and crush these brave people. I suppose though, that's one of the very reasons these men and women are marching in the first place! I also hope and pray that this won't have all been in vain and that some positive outcome can be produced. I feel helpless though because all I know to do right now and sit and watch and pray. It really has touched me because here in America each and everyone of us has been given the freedom to claim our basic human rights, and it angers and saddens me to know that there are people out there suffering under the cruel thumbs of dictators. What I believe I will take away from this moment in time is, a desire and a determination to in some way reach out to those that are oppressed, down-trodden, and stripped of their rights to life. I hope too that in even some small way, you'll join with me in a movement to show those who are suffering under the cruel hand of oppression that there are those out here that want to help...that care about each and everyone of them!

Friday, June 19, 2009

I've got a million and one things to tell you...okay maybe just 5!

I'll go ahead and ask your forgiveness for the yo-yoing I will probably be doing with this post. I feel as if I have a million and one things that I want to tell you all about, but I'll try to keep it into some kind of cohesive whole.

1.) My mom and I have been discussing the possibility of she and my niece coming down for a week. I would enjoy this beyond measure and hope that we'll find a way to make it happen. My niece has been telling my mom that she really wants to come see me and you can probably tell how much that gets to a big ole' softy like me. The dear husband and I have been so inspired by the idea that they might come see us, that we have decided to write and illustrate a fairytale with my niece as the heroine. I'll keep you up to date on how that turns out.

2.)I've decided to do my own little summer reading project and, as silly as this may sound, I'm hoping to be able to have read 100 books by the 14th of Sept. I've got 5 down so far and I just started on the 14th of this month. So wish me luck! It maybe over-stretching just a bit, but hey ya gotta have a goal...right?!

3.)A few of the books I've been reading have really begun a process of self-reflection, culminating in a moment of clarity this morning. I've been trying to figure out why I allowed myself to gain back almost all of the 100+ lbs that I had lost a year or two ago and why I still haven't gotten my sorry self back into school. I realized they both have a common problem at their roots...namely that I'm afraid. Now I know that may sound strange to you, but I've never really been one to take chances, rock the boat, or done well with big changes and I realize now, that I have allowed certain things to happen as a way of letting me off of what I really want. As crazy as it may sound, I think secretly the idea of actually achieving the life- long dream I've had of being a healthy weight sent me reeling and scrambling for the other direction. It's also allowed me to criticize myself, as I've always done, for failing myself. I think it's so ironic that the very thing I seem to want the most...a chance to really live...is the thing I'm running from the fastest. I'm tired of running though and I'm tired of allowing every single thing I do to be controlled by fear...fear of the unknown, fear of what could and should be. So, I've decided to do my best to pick myself back up, shake myself off, and go for it! It's gonna be baby steps I'm sure, but I know I can do it. And to show you how serious I am about this, when the dear husband gets home, I'm gonna have him take some pictures of me so that I can have some before and after and even as much as it may kill me to post them, I'm gonna. I think of it as a way of helping to hold me responsible to myself and to you for going through with something that I really need to! Besides...who doesn't want to be eye candy on their husband's arm?? LOL!

4.)As I go about trying to make the physical changes that I need to, I also have to take care of my mental health as well. I am bi-polar and I know this and I also know that I need to be on medication to control it and help me not to hit those ups and downs that would cause me to fail. So, in order to have an over-all sense of well being, I am determined to start making sure that I regularly take my medication. I want to set myself up to succeed, not leave an open door for failure to slip in.

5.) Which brings me to my final point and I'll try to be as brief as possible. I have decided to start up a new love affair...that's right...I said a NEW love affair. I've decided that it's time that I actually start courting myself a little bit....take a chance to get to know who I am and what I want from life...what I truly enjoy and what I can do without. So, I'm not only going to be going on dates with my husband, but starting this weekend(probably tomorrow night) I'm gonna take myself out on a date with myself. I don't know exactly what I'm going to do just yet, maybe I'll just get myself a nice bottle of wine and have a sunset picnic...who knows...but I'm sure it'll be fun! Oh and flowers...I'll have to get flowers...I know I love em! LOL!

Well, I hope that hasn't been too silly or rambly for ya. I hope each and everyone of you have a fantastic weekend and don't forget to take a little time to pamper yourself! Oh and I'll post those pictures as soon as I can take em!

Monday, June 15, 2009

Unexpected blessings....


I've been having a hard time trying to figure out exactly how I want to start this, so I think the best way will be just to say Thank-you! Thank-you to my 4 year-old niece Elena, for sending me these really cute pictures that she drew just for her Uncle Paul and me. They're gonna hang right next to my inspiration board and I know that every time I look at them, I'll have a big, goofy grin spreading all over my face. I hope that you'll enjoy the mermaid picture your Uncle Paul and I are working on for you. I love you so much baby girl!

Thank you Shauna over at http://trying2staycalm.blogspot.com/ for the book I won. It came in the mail today and I'm really looking forward to diving right into the middle of it. Thank-you hun for having such great giveaways! May you be truly blessed!

And finally, Thank-you Angie at http://angie-ledbetter.blogspot.com/ for picking my caption as one of the winners! I am truly honored and very thankful for being allowed that privilege. It means a lot to me and I look up to you as a writing mentor. Thank-you again!

I hope you all will be blessed this week with unexpected blessings!

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Adventures in the backyard!

I want to first wish each and everyone of you a good morning! I hope that your weekends have been filled with all the wonderful bits that make life worth living!


The dear husband and I have had quite a lot of fun around here. Yesterday afternoon we(okay so mostly him) set up the tent in our backyard for the first of what will hopefully become our summer-monthly outdoor movie/camp-out night.

I have to confess that I absolutely love our little tent. The roof is a sheer screen and it allows you to lay back and stare straight up at all the stars(which we did with utter delight!) And oh yeah, it does have a covering you can put over to keep the rain out...so put your worries to rest...we shouldn't drown....I hope!

I had to take the cutesy picture of me and our tent... it wouldn't be me without trying to fit in some kind of cutesy picture! Oh and um yeah, we let the grass grow so high to give us that jungle feeling...yeah that's it...jungle atmosphere!

For any respectable outdoor movie/camp out, you have to have cracker jacks(or the equivalent). Did I mention that you will have to watch out for wild puppies though? Somehow they can sense when caramel-covered popcorn is in the vicinity and they come right out of the wood work!

And just because you need a morning after shot here it is...

We had a really great time and even if we weren't off camping in the great wild somewhere, we still got to sleep beneath the stars! What makes it worthwhile is being with someone you love and the new memories that you make. Plus, who wouldn't love waking up to a sunrise like this???

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Some pictures of the pier

Some of you asked that I post pictures of the pier where I like to walk to in the evenings. So tonight ,I took along the camera and here are the results. The wind was really whipping out there and my poor ole camera isn't the best, so the shots aren't going to be of the highest quality. Hope you enjoy them anyway!

This is the pier, obviously! LOL!

See...Gold and silver!!

I've loved this boat and I'm going to have to go around sometime during the day to get better shots of it!

A friendly little visitor that I took about a million pictures of and only this one turned out! LOL!

Friday, June 12, 2009

To Sleep, perchance to dream...

Last night I dreamed that my husband and I were visiting the town were my sister and mother live and we decided to check out the little gift store/bookshop that's actually there. As we walked in, my husband disappeared into the realm of the books, but I stopped to scope out the front section of the store. The owner then began to talk to me and eventually asked if I cared to have my tarot read. With a bit of mischief in me, I said yes and though now I don't remember all the cards she pulled, I do remember my last one was The Fool. So when I woke up this morning, I decided to find out what that particular card is supposed to symbolize and was a little shocked to learn that it represents new beginnings and infinite possibilities. Now I don't necessarily believe in the whole tarot idea, but I do think it funny that I have been looking to new things and for fresh starts and that the one card I remember is the one that represents that! Hmm guess you never can tell what your heart will say in your dreams....

My lover, the sea...

I walked down to the pier tonight and in fact doing so has become an almost nightly ritual with me. Strolling past the bait shop, I spied a heron, in the shallows, and even a little fish jumped up, as if to greet me. Others had reached the pier before me, so I sat at a distance from them and after a short while everything but the sky, the ocean, and I ,disappeared. There was just this magic communion between the rushing of the waves, the never-ending sky, and the beating of my earth- bound heart. There is a fluid solace and sense of belonging there, that saturates every fiber of my existence and I give myself over to it with utter abandon. It isn't hard to understand what has driven men to the sea for eons upon eons....she is a siren and I too have heard her call. I wish you could see how lovely it is when the street lamps send out their fingerlings of filigreed gold and molten silver, to waltz across the foamy waves. I keep telling myself to remember to bring my camera, but somehow I always forget. Perhaps it would lose some of the magic that makes it my sacred harbor if I tried to capture it with anything but my mind. Oh well...I am tired and with a shirt that smells of the fresh sea air, I shall take myself off to bed. Sweet dreams!!

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Advice from an Old Farmer

I got this in an email from my grandmother and just had to share it with ya'll! Enjoy...:
* Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tightAnd bull-strong.
*Keep skunks and bankers at a Distance.
*Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.
* A bumble bee is considerably faster than aJohn Deere tractor.
* Words that soak into your ears are whispered...not yelled.
* Meanness don't jes' happen overnight.
* Forgive your enemies.. It messes up their heads.
* Do not corner something that you know is meanerThan you.
* It don't take a very big person to carry aGrudge.
* You cannot unsay a cruel word.
* Every path has a few puddles.
* When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.
* The best sermons are lived, not preached.
* Most of the stuff people worry about ain't Never gonna happen anyway.
* Don't judge folks by their relatives.
* Remember that silence is sometimes the best Answer.
* Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get
Older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time.

* Don't interfere with somethin' that ain't Bothering you none.
* Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a Rain dance.
* If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.
* Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.
* The biggest troublemaker you'll probably everHave to deal with, watches you from The mirror every mornin'.
* Always drink upstream from the herd.
* Good judgment comes from experience, and aLotta that comes from bad judgment.
* Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lotEasier than puttin' it back in.
* If you get to thinkin' you're a person of someInfluence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around.
* Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply.Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.
*Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight,
he'll just kill you.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Smile and the whole world smiles with you!

His smile could melt the sun and make the moon go weak in the knees!

Saying Thank-you and many more...

This post marks the 100th time I have sat down and typed in a few words, added some pictures, and sent it out into the great wide world of the internet. I hope that along the way I've been able to entertain you, caused you to pause for thought, or just brought a smile to your face. May my next 100 posts be filled with the joys and sorrows of a full life! To celebrate and as my way of saying thank-you for sticking around to read my randomness, I thought I'd invite you all over to my little corner of cyber-world to enjoy a cup of coffee(or tea) and a piece of my favorite, Black Magic Cake.

BLACK MAGIC CAKE

2 cups sugar

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup cocoa

2 tsp. baking soda

1tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup strong black coffee

1 cup of buttermilk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2 9" in. pans. In a large bowl blend sugar, flour, cocoa, soda, powder, and salt. Add eggs, coffee, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and beat on medium speed with an electric mixer for 2 minutes. Batter will be very thin. Pour into prepared pans and bake 30 to 35 minutes for round pans, 35 to 40 for rectangular. Cool 10 minutes and then remove from pans to wire racks.

* I sometime substitute orange extract for the vanilla and also will put in a little coconut and orange zest.

I hope you all know how wonderful I think you are and how sincerely I do appreciate all the kind words you have sent me! This wouldn't be half as much fun without you! So please kick back, sip your coffee or tea, and just enjoy the sweetness of life!

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

The Ghost of Rememberance

I woke this morning in the midst of remembering those steamy ,Mississippi, summer days from my fifteenth year. My sister Mary and I were spending the whole summer with my grandparents and enjoyed simply being in their home. In the mornings, my Memaw and I would take a walk down the winding country road that lead from their house and in the afternoons I loved to waltz through the little peach orchard that my great-grandfather had planted. There is so much that comes back to me now...so much that I had forgotten. The little wasp's nest that seemed a threat every time you went into the laundry room, the smell of sun-ripening peaches, the neighs of my great-uncle's horses from the field adjacent to our property. My grandfather took us fishing across the road at a neighbor's pond, with him while he transported cars for various dealerships (I got to see the Gulf Coast for the first time), and playing on my cousin's trampoline. It all feels like a lifetime ago...and yet still fresh. As the summer came to a close, we were given the option of staying with my grandparents and starting the school year there. My sister Mary chose to stay and I only went home because it was the year my baby sister, Sara, was beginning Kindergarten. I felt that she needed me there somehow and I missed my parents. So, homeward I went and as the school year began, I fell once more into the rhythm of things. It would be that winter however when my world started crumbling. My mother and I were standing in the kitchen when the phone rang and as I listened to her side of the conversation, I began to feel the knots of dread twisting in my stomach. After she had hung up and turned to deliver the news, the flood gate of tears burst open and I was inconsolable. My grandfather had cancer, but they were hopeful that they had caught it in time. Somehow though....I knew it was a death sentence and no amount of soothing words...no amount of prayer, could convince me otherwise. By that time the next year, he was gone and I'd lost one of the greatest friends I've ever had. Because of that, I think I chose to bury everything surrounding that time and so this morning, when the first remembrance popped into my head, I was a bit shocked and uncertain if I wanted to open that door. I am a little bittersweet about it still, but I know now, that I don't want to ever forget even the tiniest memory of any moment I spent with my grandfather.

I love you Pappaw and I miss you so much!

Monday, June 8, 2009

Even Weeds Can Be Beautiful...

I've been looking around my house today and bemoaning the fact that I had no flowers to brighten up the place nor the funds with which to acquire them. I got to looking out in the backyard and that's when I became inspired to pick a few weeds!


I think the pert little white flowers of this particular weed make a cheery sight and I find them quite becoming!

These lanky stalks of weed grass(or what I always called wheat grass) seemed to be calling to me as well and I couldn't resist installing them in my work room.See...Don't they just perk the place up? Guess it just goes to show that with the right eye, even weeds can be beautiful!

Sunday, June 7, 2009

New Treat

Just got this album tonight and am totally head-over-heels for it! If you haven't heard this girl sing...DO!!

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Today I am feeling....

Today I am Feeling:
SPICY!!!!

Come one, come all...hurry, hurry, HURRY!! It's time to throw your caution to the winds....lose your inhibitions and just go with the flow!


Let the spice of life fill you from top to bottom, let it simmer you from the inside out! I see you over there tapping that foot...come on...let go...throw your body and soul into the rhythm...that's life calling folks...LIFE!!!




Get up and dance! I know I'm gonna!

Are you feeling spicy today?????

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Ramblings...

I am lost to these feelings of inadequacy, of regret, of broken relationships. Tonight is one of the nights when I have dredge up almost every lost hurt, every harsh word, every terrible sin I've committed, and slapped myself in the face with it. Why I continually do this, I can't say. Am I masochistic? Am I not able to rise above mistakes in my past and let an ocean of forgetfulness claim them? And what of the new wrongs that I seem almost unable to stop myself from constantly creating? I feel marooned on a sea of motionless tides, no breeze to fill my sail, no paddle or steering with which to guide my boat. I get so tired sometimes...so discouraged...so drowned in a well of doubts. I wish that I could find some kind of answer, some big roadside sign that says..."Here it is...come and understand"! I guess though, this is just the way that life is and there probably aren't answers to everything I want to ask.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Think a dog can't fly?? I've got one that can!!

I'll admit...I've been in quite a sorry mood lately and I just can't seem to shake it. I have a feeling that I am beginning to hit a depressive phase and I know that I need take myself to the doctor and get back on mood stabilizers(for those of you that are newer to my blog, I've been diagnosed as bi-polar). However, in the spirit of trying to cheer myself up I thought I would post some photos that show proof positive my dog, Bronson, can fly( for the right incentive of course)! Enjoy....

A Book Q & A

Alright, so I acknowledge that I just did a Q&A type post, but I saw this one on a blog that I follow and decided to give it a try.
1. What author do you own the most books by?
Surprisingly it would be Louis L'Amour. I got most of my little collection from my grandfather, so they've not only been fun reads, but cherished keepsakes. After him would be Ray Bradbury.
2. What book do you own the most copies of?
Well, this one is tough...I've got several books that I have duplicate copies of.
3. Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions?
No, I don't think it did, considering that I ended my answer in such a manner!
4. What fictional character are you secretly in love with?
Alright I'll admit it, I've always had a bit of a thing for Prince Andrey from Tolestoy's, "War and Peace".

5. What book have you read the most times in your life?
Oh this one is a hard one....I've read several, many, many times....if I had to guess though...it would probably be..."Dandelion Wine" by Ray Bradbury. I LOVE that book!
6. Favorite book as a ten year old?

I'd have to guess that was probably, "The Giver"
7. What is the worst book you’ve read in the past year?
The worst is one that I don't even remember the title to, because I only got part of the way in and realized that I did not like it at all!
8. What is the best book you’ve read in the past year?
At first thought, I believed this was going to be a hard question to answer, but I quickly realized that the best book I've read this year has to be, "Sophie's World".
9. If you could force everyone you know to read one book, what would it be?
I'd never actually force anyone to read anything, but I would and do suggest that everyone read "Sophie's World". It's a wonderful book on the history of philosphy, but written in novel form. It opened my mind to new possiblities and I believe it would make for a great discussion!
10. What book would you most like to see made into a movie?
Now this is a hard one....if they could capture the true essence of the book, I think I would like to see "Dandelion Wine" made into a movie.
11. What is the most difficult book you’ve ever read?

Nothing actually comes to mind for this question.
12. What is your favorite book?
I really can't choose just one, but some of my favorites include: "Dandelion Wine", "Sophie's World", "Henry and June", " The Brothers Karamazov", and " Jane Eyre".
13. Play?

"The Taming of the Shrew"-I've always loved how sassy Kate was!
14. Poem?

Almost anything by Wordsworth.
15. Essay?
I don't really have a favorite essay that springs to mind right now.
16. Who is the most overrated writer alive today?
I know that I'll probably offend some of you with this, but Stephen King. I've never been able to really enjoy any of his work.
17. What is your desert island book?
See now this is not only a tough one, but also a loaded question....hmmm I'll have to let you know!
18. And . . . what are you reading right now?
I just started reading "Lorna Doone".

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Book Review

As I have stated before, I do not often write reviews of the books I have read or am currently reading; however, there are a few that capture my imagination and leave me feeling compelled to share my thoughts and ideas concerning the book at hand. One such book is, " Women of the Four Winds", by author Elizabeth Fagg Olds. The book compiles short biographies of four of America's first female explorers and is written in a straight-forward, enjoyable-to-read manner. "Women of the Four Winds" tells of Annie Smith Peck(1850-1935) and of her adventures in mountain climbing, of Delia J. Akeley(1875-1970) and her travels across Africa to collect big game specimens for American museums, as well as, living amid certain pygmy tribes. The book also includes Marguerite Harrison(1879-1967)(and my personal favorite) who became not only a reporter for the Baltimore Sun, but also a spy for America and was jailed in Russia because of it; and Louise Arner Boyd(1887-1972) who led seven scientific expeditions to the coast of Greenland. What makes these women even more remarkable is the era in which they conceived and carried out their respective adventures. While most women were still installed by the hearth, these four women stepped boldly out into the world of men and not only claimed pieces for themselves, but also trod where even most men were scared to go. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and recommend it not only to those admirers of strong women, but to anyone that fancies tales of daring and courage.

TAG YOU'RE IT!!

Sandy aka Doris the Great at http://newfie-girl.blogspot.com/,tagged me the other day so I thought I would have some fun with it and here is what I came up with....
SIX INFORMATIVE THINGS ABOUT ME....
1. I have a hunger to learn that runs deeply in me. I always enjoyed school(well except for algebra class and P.E.) ,but I do realize that you can't learn the most important lessons of life from a book(or can you...I know a couple of books that have helped to change my points of view...hmmm...good discussion topic...). I try to live each day in the attempt to learn something new and only wish that I had a greater capacity for remembering things!
2. I am a certified bibliophile! Ever since I first learned to read, books have been so very important to me. Moving often and being a shy- natured child, books served as friends that never left me and as portals of escape into other times, dimensions, and worlds. I can't seem to get enough of them!
3. I am the oldest of three girls. My middle sister, Mary, is two and a half years younger than I, and my baby sister, Sara, is nine years younger than I. Growing up, I had a closer relationship with Sara, but unfortunately, at the moment, I'm not as close to either of them as I would like to be. However, both of my sisters are beautiful, strong, young women and I admire what they have accomplished and am certain that they will both go far in life!
4. I have always loved to sing and I think I'm decent at it. Ever since I can remember, I have sung and was in choir from kindergarten through the middle of my junior year. I only left choir because the school I transferred to, did not have one. I recently joined the choir at my church and have really been enjoying a time of fellowship and song. Which reminds me...I've got choir practice tonight!!
5. Even though I almost always start out early, I'm usually late. I don't really know how this happens, but if I had to take a guess, it would probably be the simple fact that I end up wasting away the saved up minutes and hence becoming late. I don't desire to be late and feel that it leaves others with the impression that I think my time is more important than the time they have set aside for me, and it really isn't like that at all. It's something that I am having to work on.
And finally because Sandy asked for at least one embarrassing fact here goes:
6. I have to wax my upper lip, chin, and eyebrow. Yes, it's true...I have to, otherwise I end up looking like I have a more of a mustache than my husband, eyebrows from the stone-age, and just the beginnings of a beard. I know it is a side affect of having PCOS, but it's still embarrassing! I mean come on...who wants to be able to grow a better mustache than their husband???!!
And now for the people that I choose to tag:
Everyone that follows my blog
HAVE FUN!!