My Word for 2017 is Junket

I'm going on a journey of promises...  

 I promise to write every day                                                            

 I promise to blog every week                                                           

 I promise to submit every month

                                                            
Junket definition: a journey taken for pleasure  

Southern Christmas

Where you can Christmas shop in shorts at 2:00 pm and at 6:00 pm have on two coats and four pair of gloves.  That this time of the year the Southern winds hates everyone.... I truly think they punish all because they miss the sun and flip flops...

In the south, Christmas means tinsel it, put lights on it, or spray paint it.  Because of this, I was so excited when I found this book... The Official Guide to Christmas in the South or, If you can't fry it, Spraypaint it Gold by David C. Barnette.

Here are some of the Chapter titles
1. Stockings must be stuffed beyond recognition

2. Y'all get in line

3.Unplug the smoke alarm

4.Never mix Dirty Santa with Dirty Dancing

5. If you don't believe in reincarnation follow a gift bag around this Christmas

6. Guidelines and paint lines

7.The Divinity Code

8. Holidays are for celebrating the ties that bind.  And nothing binds quite like cram of chicken and Velveeta



I really enjoyed this book because I could see snippets of my family on it's pages.

Here are a few of my Christmas memories

1.  Momma crying every day the week before Christmas... after she married Daddy she never spent another Christmas with her mother and sisters... Thank you Lord for keeping my babies close

2. Getting the BIG package from Granny Dugan and Auntie Vi  They lived in Rhode Island and liked to spoil me and my brother.

3.  Getting up in the middle of the night to carefully open gifts that was in BIG package ... then tape them back... yes I was a bad child

4. Granny Trousdale's house... it always smelled like love but at Christmas the smells embraced you, wrestled you in a bear hug and pulled you to the kitchen

5. Everyone in one place... Granny and Granddaddy Trousdale.. their eight children... their spouses and 14 grandchildren...You had to be tough to withstand all that love... or sometimes the lack of it...   Ah, the Christmas fights   Remember I said I was a bad child so I might have started a few of those fights... but really it wasn't my fault... the Aunts were so easy to crank up

6. Perry Como and Jimmy Reeves singing Christmas songs all day and half the night

7. School being out so I could ride my horse every day, play football with the neighborhood kids or shoot some hoops, play with the dogs or ride my bike

Are you thankful for small joys

The small things in life really are the most important to our happiness.  Think about it, we have small joys everyday.  A child's smile, a hug from a friend, spouse or parent... how many of you are guilty like me of not taking the time to feel the rush of pure happiness these gestures bring.

My favorite saying is we make our own happiness.  We can fume about the disappointments in life which slams the door on all the good feelings trying to lift you up.

When you"re upset just close your eyes.... when you open them look for happiness... a sunrise, the beautiful colors of the leaves, your dog fetching a toy to play.


Be Happy My Friends.... it's so much easier to walk this life if you look for the good and spend as little time as possible on the bad.

I would rather be a Honey Bee

I've been looking around at our world and realized that I'm now part of the generation that frowns on change.  My Granny thought Elvis Presley was a tool of the devil... and we won't even talk about the Beatles, mini-skirts and bell bottom jeans.

So I started thinking of ways I can relay my feeling about today's changes with comparison.

I would rather be a Honey Bee than a Mosquito.

Let me explain why.

A Honey Bee replenishes life.  The plant life on earth would be in trouble without them.  And how many diseases have you ever hear of that a honey bee transmits? They are perfectly happy to do their job and co-exist with other forms of life.  But they will defend their home and family to the death if invaded. 

Now, a Mosquito sucks the life out of every warm blooded life form around them and they do not discriminate.   They are host to many terrible diseases.  They do not work for their food but wait for a meal to show up.  They only worry about themselves.

Now I'm not saying everything today is like the Mosquito.... but the family unit is almost a thing of the pass.  More children today are raised by grandparents than by their parents. 

 If you're willing to work hard for you dreams you are called a fool.  Play the system and get it for free or steal it... 

Children today have so many pressures and are not allowed to be children long.  Playball for a scholarship or score high on this test.  If you score too low you've let everybody down... class, teacher, school, parents.

That is so not true.  The only way you let anyone down is not to try your best.  If you work hard and reach for the dreams that will make you happy... you are a success and everyone that loves you will be proud of the person you become.  

The old saying money can't buy you happiness isn't exactly true... we need money to live but too much money changes us and makes us slaves to it... we have to protect it, hide it and make it grow.   

I just want to care for my hive (the people around me... family friends community, country)  work hard and make the world a better place because I pollinated it with love and kindness... and a few grumpy words... will maybe more than a few.

A word picture for you

Today I rearranged my chickens love life.  I have many breeds but only two pure blood roosters.  I have a Speckled Sussex's so I put him with my three speckled hens and to just see what happens with my white leghorn hens.  Update in about two months






I borrowed my son-in-law's blue lace wyandotte rooster and put him with my blue lace hens and my golden lace wyandotte hens (again just to see what I get)









I have 22 five day old babies in the brooding house and 17 three month old easter egger babies in the small pen.
Now comes the pimping part.... I loaning my Rhode Island Red rooster to my neighbor so she can get replacement babies for her layers for next year.  This time next year she's going to retire her hens to my chicken pen.  She has limited space and can only keep ten hens.... I have plenty of space for too many hens, heheheh

Now for the word visually

I'm in shorts and a jacket... is hell freezing over???...racing across my field in my Polaris ranger with a chicken in one hand and driving with the other... with 16 eggs I had gathered in my jacket pocket... who needs a basket.  

I have a confession

I am a chicken addict.

It has been fives days since I brought chickens (20)  but.... in four days the hen who has been carefully tending 25 eggs will get her reward (or curse) when the eggs hatch.
 And
I took 48 eggs to a lady to hatch out for me.
And
I ordered 25 special breed chickens that will come in May 25th
And
you might wonder what I will do with all these chicks.  I will pick and choose the ones hatched and sell or most likely give the others away.
I keep several elderly women in eggs, one less expense for them.
And
I do love watching and caring for my 50 + hens

Here's the conversion my husband and I had today

Husband: We're going to have to start buying chicken feed by the ton
Me:  Some husband's have wives that smoke, drink or do drugs.  Count your blessings.
Husband:  You might be more fun if you had those habits.
Me:

I didn't say a word... I was too busy throwing rocks at him as he skipped away laughing.  Good thing that I'm better at tending chickens than throwing rocks.

2016 Kidlitosphere Progressive Poem

Welcome to Day 10 of the 2016 Progressive Poem.  Each year Irene Latham of Live Your Poem, invites poets to her own poetry festivities to help develop and build a progressive poem for National Poetry Month.  Each of 30 different poets supplies a line on their assigned day to cumulatively create the poem.

Now it's my turn.  Game face on! I'm not a poet and I know it.... but... I'm always up for a challenge. Just a bit of information about me... I love nature but rural nature.  I live it every day and you can hear it in each beat of my heart.  

Here's the poem so far: The last line is my humble offering.

A squall of hawk wings stirs the sky
A hummingbird holds and then hies
If I could fly, I’d choose to be
Sailing through a forest of poet-trees

A cast of crabs engraves the sand
Delighting a child’s outstretched hand
If I could breathe under the sea

I’d dive, I’d dip, I’d dance with glee

A clump of crocuses crave the sun.

A clump of crocuses crave the sun.

Kites soar while joyful dogs run

Keep up with the poem and watch it grow at the websites below.  One line each day of April.  If you want to see the poems from pass years vist Irene's blog at www.irenelatham.blogspot.com

 2016 KIDLITOSPHERE PROGRESSIVE POEM 

1 Laura at Writing the World for Kids

2 Joy at Joy Acey

3 Doraine at Dori Reads

4 Diane at Random Noodling

5 Penny at A Penny and Her Jots

6 Carol at Beyond LiteracyLink

7 Liz at Elizabeth Steinglass

8 Janet F. at Live Your Poem

9 Margaret at Reflections on the Teche

10 Pat at Writer on a Horse

11 Buffy at Buffy's Blog

12 Michelle at Today's Little Ditty

13 Linda at TeacherDance

14 Jone at Deo Writer

15 Matt at Radio, Rhythm and Rhyme

16 Violet at Violet Nesdoly

17 Kim at Flukeprints

18 Irene at Live Your Poem

19 Charles at Poetry Time

20 Ruth at There is No Such Thing as a Godforsaken Town

21 Jan at Bookseedstudio

22 Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge

23 Ramona at Pleasures from the Page

24 Amy at The Poem Farm

25 Mark at Jackett Writes

26 Renee at No Water River

27 Mary Lee at Poetrepository

28 Heidi at My Juicy Little Universe

29 Sheila at Sheila Renfro

30 Donna at Mainely Write

I love to dig... dirty fingernails are beautiful to me

Gardens helped my family (us, Ronnie's parents, sisters-in-laws) make ends meet for over 15 years.  Not that any of us would have starved but meals were a little better because of gardens.  Now that it's just me and Ronnie... Missy does her own garden,(got that from her Mama)...and sister-in-laws fix meals for one...a garden seems like a lot of work and not necessary... that is what my husband says every spring.  Last year, I let him convince me that I could buy what we needed at the farmer market for less money.  

You can't and I missed it so much.  This year the Weaver's will have a garden.  I already have tomato and pepper plants in the ground. 

 I love to dig in the dirt.  That deep musty odor is like a friend I only see once a year.... fresh plowed dirt beckons me to share my wealth of seed and my sweat to reach the goal of large tomatoes that burst with sweet/tangy flavor and sends taste buds craving more.  The heated crunch of a cowhorn pepper is so appealing I eat them with everything including breakfast.  Well I don't eat it when I have cereal

So if you want to feel the love of Mother Earth, dig in the dirt.... plant something and watch it grown... but be careful, it is an addiction.

A Hundred Horses by Sarah Lean

Below are two reviews of this book.  I agree with both.  Nell is the main character and the story is told in her point of view but as in the reviews Angel overshadows the main character.  Don't get me wrong... the Angel character doesn't take from Nell, in fact I think the merging of these two characters is what makes the book so great.

 I told my writing buddies I would give this book a 10 (which from me is high praise) but after the glow of the last chapter faded... I would adjust it to 4.5.  Here are the reasons for the subtracted points... one Nell is a little annoying with her whining in the first few chapters (the author tried too hard to make the reader aware of how much Nell hated her life since her father left)  I think less would be more here but the saving grace is Nell finding her prize... the catalyze of the whole story.

  Then of course the horses were introduce and I was hooked.

 The story made me laugh, get a little teary and realize how lucky I am to have friends like these characters.  Friends that will stand with me though the good and bad... fight for me, cover for me and cry with me.

 How lucky the human race is that God gave us the heart to be a friend and to realize how lucky we are when others love us back.

Reviews:

A Hundred Horses emphasizes a loving connection between humans and animals, and the ties that bind members of a family -- biological or otherwise.

To an adult, A Hundred Horses gets off to a slow, predictable start, with the troubled city girl sent to visit a farm where fresh air and hard work will set her straight. That happens, but there's also a lot of magic and mystery: Angel's story, the legend of the hundred horses, and the connection between humans and animals. As the plot and characters deepen, the story grows more beautiful and uplifting. This emotional book is a marvelous find, especially for girls who love horses.

small treasures

Sorry they are blurred, had a hard time with lighting

My husbands grandmother lived with us the last two years of her life.  She died two months before her 90th birthday.  After her death I had the joyful pain of going though her life treasures.  One of the things I was thrilled to find were linen calendars with the years my children were born.  Mawmaw has been gone almost 18years but I finally got those calendars framed and I love them.  Who would have thought that something so small could add so much joy to my life.  Don't yard sale them kids. 

 They are not worth much but are priceless to me.

A little thankful today

Do you like surprises?  I never know how to act when someone or something nice and unexpected happens.  I'm not a hugger bubbly person, but I would like to think I make some nice and unexpected things happen.  Getting off subject.

No I don't like unexpected mother nature surprises.  As most of you know we have had a weird winter.  My neighbors are becoming closer because it's really hard to spend several hours in a small basement and not get to know a person.

Well, we all were sadly relieved that the tornadoes went though Central Alabama instead of northwestern area as predicted.  We were happy for us but so very sorry for the families that had to endure the storms.

Home free we thought.  Wrong!  Not a life changing problem but still lots of work on a ladder for a sixty-three year old man.  I'm hoping he will just nail stuff down and leave the real fixing until warmer weather.
 I bet my chickens were scared to death.

Might look like falling down shack but it does the job.  Beauty is as beauty does.

I want to be an Ant

When I look at the world today I see too many Dung Beetles moving "dung".  Just smooth over all the bad stuff or better yet, move it somewhere else to become someone else's problem.  My question is how does this help anyone or how does it fix the dung from not happening.  We live in a dung world with leaders that are dung beetles.

I want to live in an Ant world.  Ants help each other always!  When there is work to be done they share the load and accomplish the impossible.  When there is fighting to be done they attack together, a unified micro pit-bull.

Which world do you prefer?

Word Power -- Widen Your Vocabulary

cryptic.... puzzling

Although his remarks appeared cryptic at first, we began to see how really pertinent they were.





importune...ask urgently

Although Eddie was not optimistic about his chances, he continued to importune his boss for a winter vacation.  


incredulous...skeptical

After I looked at the Yankee lineup, I was incredulous about their chances of winning.








propitious...favorable

At a propitious moment the flamboyant movie star made her grand entrance.


surreptitious... accomplished by secret

The scientists were alarmed by evidence of surreptitious German experiments.

Words Words Words

Have you ever listened to someone talk and wish you knew what they were saying... I have!  It's like listening on a cell phone with a bad connection, you catch a little but mostly you just have to guess what the heck they are saying.  That can be very dangerous.  So I've decided to learn a new word every day.  I'm writing them down and will share on my blog once a week.

First, the word from my last blog.  FICKLE  someone asked me why I used that work to describe Dream.  Good question!  It sounded good, it's a different word and people would pick up on it, or it paints my feelings about dream.  All those statements would be answered with YES.  It does sound good, it is different and it is appropriate.

lacking firmness or steadiness (as in purpose or devotion)

implies an incapacity for steadiness and an inherent tendency to change 

suggests unreliability because of perverse changeability and incapacity for steadfastness 

suggests motivation by sudden whim or fancy and stresses unpredictability 
implies a rapid changeability in mood 

implies an incapacity for remaining in a fixed position or steady course 

Dream, such a fickle friend

We all have listen to the sweet whisperers of dream... that imaginary friend that shares "could be" moments with us.  Dream paints a lovely picture of things that could happen.  What she forgets to add is the blood, sweat and tears it takes to realize those visions.  When Dream talks to us everything seems so easy but its not.  

A long time ago, I started setting goals.  I call it my four step life changer.  At the first of every month I set a small daily goal that is easy to reach (like get my ironing done, take a walk, groom my dogs, etc)  these goals change with the season but I always look at my calendar to see the one thing that day that will make me an achiever.  Next I set weekly goals that takes a little more effort, sort of my hate to do but must do goals but a disclaimer here... if I don't reach all of the goals for the week, they are added to the next week and it makes it harder to get both done.  Moral of that fly in the buttermilk... reach your goals for the week.

Next is my monthly goals.  These are the ones that make me feel good about myself or not.  Hard goals that will make me better.  These might be blogging more (check)  writing more (not yet), uncluttered my house (started), quilting (working on it), gardening (I wish), etc.


The last step is simple.  At the end of each year I look at what I said I was going to do  but didn't.  I write down three I will work harder on the next year.  
Dreams are good for you soul.  They let you soar higher, be stronger, be smarter... be more... but all those "be" take work.  Set those goals and start paving the road to the world of "I am" 

Stronger

Smarter

More 

Look with your heart not your eyes

Short and sweet today.... look for beauty in everything.  I heard an owl early yesterday morning, before my first cup of coffee or the sun yawned good morning.  I slipped out the door without a coat or shoes to catch a glimpse.  How can such a deadly bird of prey be so beautiful?  Why did I catch a cold to stare at it staring back at me?  It was worth freezing my backside off to see....gorgeous and a little scary.... it looked at me like it was saying.."I wonder if it taste like chicken?"

Hurt feelings are no fun

But should we allow them to control us, guide us, influence us?
 No!
Should we just not care, not let anyone close enough to hurt our feelings?
That would be a sad way to live.

We should recognize that we are human and when the ones we love hurt us on purpose or by accident, we need to face the hurt not react to it.  We need to grieve a little for the small crack in our heart but then move on.


Can we change or erase that moment of hurt?  Sadly,we can not.

Can we change the person or action that hurt us?  Again sadly, we can not.

Embrace the goodness in your life and step away from the hurtful.  Your heart might say try one more time or they didn't mean it give them one more chance.  If listening to your heart is what makes you happy... do it... but I decided a long time ago, you can not change people.  They are who they are and if you can't live with that and try to change them, it opens the door to constant heartache. Also, if you try to be what someone else wants you to be... well that just opens another door to pain and unhappiness.

Stand Tall

Be True to yourself

Love deep without rules or boundaries but guard your heart with the shield of awareness.  Just because you would do anything for a person does not mean they will do the same.  How sad for them. 

 True happiness and contentment is when your personal circle touches others.  

Hurt feelings are going to happen and holding on to them won't make them go away.  It only cuts into your peace and happiness.  So go out and touch someones life.  It doesn't matter how... words of encouragement, a helping hand, an ear to listen,.. give yourself and don't worry about the hurt.  It will only make your circle grow.

Spread your wings

Love, what does it mean to you?

This picture shows that love is just a word... anyone can say it.  But to show it is what is important.  You can love many people but you never love them same.  Here are a few words that mean love to me.

L... loyalty, learning, lustrous
O... optimistic, open overcome
V... virtues, vibrant, values
E... everlasting, encourage, enormous

What does love mean to you?

Word for the Year Inspire

A simple verb will direct my year.  I'm going to be inspired and give inspiration.  I'm going to be inspired to be me and not superwoman.  

I was inspired at the sight of 57 grown chickens following me around the barn.  I know it’s because of the feed I usually throw out to them but it still was inspirationally to see.  

Simple Definition of inspire

 to give (someone) an idea about what to do or create

 to cause (something) to happen or be created

 to cause someone to have (a feeling or emotion)