POEM FOR TODAY

WILD GEESE

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours,

and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the

clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese,

high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese,

harsh and exciting--

over and over

announcing your place in the family of things.

-Mary Oliver

from "Owls and other Fantasies"

Joy

"Look at the trees,
Look at the birds,
Look at the clouds,
Look at the stars
and if you have eyes,
you will be able to see
that the whole existence
is joyful."

-Osho

Mindful

Every day I see or hear something
that more or less kills me with delight,
that leaves me like a needle
in the haystack of light.
It was what I was born for
-to look, to listen,
to lose myself inside this soft world
-to instruct myself over and over
in joy and acclamation.
Nor am I talking about the exceptional,
the fearful, the dreadful, the very extravagant
- but of the ordinary, the common,
the very drab, the daily presentations.
Oh, good scholar, I say to myself,
how can you help but grow wise
with such teachings as these
-the untrimmable light of the world,
the ocean's shine,
the prayers that are made out of grass?
--Mary Oliver

Needs and Wants!

What a month this has proven to be. Normally September is not a very good month so I tip toe around it until finally it is October 1st. This year there have been no great surprises, no tragedies, nothing memorable........yet. I'm still holding my breath as there is one week to go!
With the bank scares going on right now, it is a critical issue to make sure that any money deposited in a bank is FDIC insured. There is a web site called bank rate.com that gives different ratings on banks. But, after reading a few articles about the ratings, I found that one of the banks that recently had to be bailed out, was actually given a 3 rating on this site which translates to performing. And the rating is still standing; a 3! So not much faith can be put in these ratings. I wonder if the same thing happened during the depresssion. Of course, there wouldn't have been computers to give people such a great tool of information on different issues, news, topics, but I imagine no one back then dreamed that the stock market would crash and so many would lose their money, their life savings. I remember mom telling a story about living through the depression in the winter and about having to walk the railroad tracks picking up coal just to heat their house. She got sick that winter and said if it wasn't for Clairie Bell Jeffers bringing coal to their house, they would have frozen! This was the woman known as "the dirty old lady" who had a heart of gold. Pigs, ducks, and chickens felt right at home in her house, but I remember going over there and she gave me a big duck egg and you would have thought she had given me the golden egg! I am sure that Clairie Bell knew all about survival. Surviving the depression, surviving with little money, but it seemed she always had a kind word and, albeit a little dirt streaked, a smile on her face. At one point yesterday, I said we might all be down on the farm growing a big garden and happy to have it before this is all over! Would most people today know how to survive? That is a great question and it seems to me that most have their needs and wants confused. Everytime I think of this saying, I think of Myron Applegate who was great at saying that, "You have your needs and wants confused!" But for most of us, it is true. Come one, did I really need another pair of shoes, even if I got them at a thrift store for $3? Did Alliyah really need another book or another stuffed animal, even though they were a great bargain and I send her surpises at least twice a month? Maybe it is coming to the point where we will have to get our needs sorted out from our wants, our "just gotta have it" from our "need it to survive". Just a thought!

Sunday

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Well it is Sunday, the day for the Nascar race! I hear it in the background as I am writing this while taking a break from working on Alliyah's scrapbook! I am up to the spring mushroom hunting pictures now! I hope one day she will enjoy this scrapbook (or these scrapbooks!) and appreciate all the hours her MiMi has put into them!

She hadn't talked to me on the phone for about 3 weeks. Finally yesterday evening, she got on the phone! She was telling me about going to school on the school bus and that she needs a new backpack! She was also talking about her "frog"! She just received the box of surprises I sent last week which included a stuffed frog. She was thrilled with it. While I was on the phone with her, Bo stole her frog and she had a fit! Luckily Sam got it back without too much trouble.

Uncle Casey even got to talk to her on the phone. She said: "Love you Uncle Stacey!"

Bo is officially an outside dog now! Since they got the other dog, Caesar, Bo has been happy to stay outside with him.

Cody was going to hang the witch and the ghost that I sent in the tree by their house; but Sam told me this morning that he hung them inside the house as he said they were too nice to hang outside! He also talked Sam into buying a big Scarecrow to put up for Halloween! I also sent Alliyah a little picture of me and PaPaw and Sam said she was carrying it around and wouldn't give it up! Sam gave her first speech at school last week and got a good grade on it. She is taking two classes this semester at Lincoln Trail.

Alliyah was all excited to go the parade at the Fall Festival this morning. Sam told me that she got the hang of running after the candy real quick and she made it home with a great big bag. She also was telling me about seeing the little horse with MoMo. She even got to pet it which was thrilling for her!

Must get back to my pictures! Will have more news later!

Saturday morning fun!

Saturday, September 13, 2008
Well it is Saturday morning and I have been messing with pictures and still trying to figure out the "My Space" page! I was able to get some pictures of our great nephew Blake (Tieriney's son) who I had only seen one time! He is so cute and has the reddest hair and bluest eyes! My mom will have a fit over him! So I added these pictures to my shutterfly share site; put borders on them; check them out!
I have also added the latest pictures of our little angel Alliyah from PaPaw's visit to Illinois. He was in Illinois for almost 2 months! Cody and Sam bought a used trailer and PaPaw went home to fix it up! He wound up basically gutting the whole trailer and remodeling it; had to put in a new septic tank..which he assured me can be moved! But the kids and our granddaughter have a nice place to live now and they are close to mom which makes me feel a lot better! Alliyah is already acting like Cody did when he was little by walking up to mom's! If the kids can't find her, and you only have to turn your head for a minute, you can just bet she has went up to moms! Mom and Alliyah love to take rides! Their favorite thing to do is to go see the horses on the hill and to go see the chickens at Seth's. Alli just loves Seth and his chickens! She won't talk to him when she is actually with him, but she talks about him all the time mom says! Now Colleen has gotten a new miniature horse and this morning mom and Alli were going to see it. Alliyah and Mom are great buddies!
A couple weeks ago, I received 6 month pictures from Jennifer of Layton. He looks just like Robert did when he was a baby! He is such a cutie! I probably shouldn't admit it, but I bought material to make him a teddy bear. When Jenny was little, I made her a teddy bear and she carried it around until it wore out! When I was home in April, I found the pattern in the shed and brought it home to make Layton a bear. It is one of those things on my "To Do" List!
And I will have to also buy some pink fuzzy material to make a teddy bear for another great niece I am going to have before too long! How exciting! I also have a surprise for the grandmother! When the kids were little, she always sang the song, "Oh little playmate come out and play with me..." Then when I had kids, I sang them the same song! I never knew where the song came from, kind of figured Miss made it up. At the bookstore, I found a little book and it is a Mother Goose nursery rhyme! So Miss, you will be getting a surprise, which won't be much of a surprise now if you read this!
I sent Catherine out a couple new books last week also. I hope she enjoys getting surprises in the mail from her "sweetest" cousin! I'm not sure if she has an email address or if Mary Alice does, but maybe someone who reads this knows!
I spoke with Don last week and he purchased 2 or 3 books by a "Wayne Gard". One of them is titled "The Great Buffalo Hunt". He wanted me to see what our family connection was. I just mailed him out the information; our family trees don't cross until like our 6th great grandfather..Jeremiah Gard! The Gard reunion was last weekend in Gratiot Ohio. Don wasn't sure if he was going or not but said that Steve and Linda were going. I am anxious to hear about it. Sure wish I could've have been at home to go with Don!
My puppy, whose name is Abigail Bloom, is 6 months old now and goes to work with me part of the time! She is a little pekinese and so much fun. I am such a geek when it comes to this puppy! We went to Pet Smart the other night and I'm sure it should've been on America's funniest video's! I was trying to find a halter to fit her so I'm sitting on the floor trying to figure out how to get it on her and everytime a dog walks by, Abby goes crazy. Finally this girl that worked there asked me if I knew they offered doggy classes! I guess that was a hint! We have a park right across the street from our house and we go for a walk every evening. The other evening a guy was running with his dog and Abby went to visit them and her collar came off! She's running around the guy in circles and wouldn't stop so I could catch her; the guys trying to help me, what a mess! (Hence the reason I was trying to find her a new halter collar!) Finally I just walked away and she followed me! She knew she was in trouble.
Speaking of Abby, she has had enough of me being on the computer and not paying attention to her! I think I have written enough for one morning! Hopefully I will get some replies to this and someone will enjoy it! Let me know!