June is here, do you know that...

Tennessee became the 16th state, June 1, 1796?

“How did it get so late so soon?
Its night before its afternoon.
December is here before its June.
My goodness how the time has flewn.
How did it get so late so soon?”- Dr. Seuss 

My thoughts exactly! Where is this year going? June 1st already. Summer is around the corner, although here in western Colorado the weather has been summer like for the past month.
Any plans for the month? I'll be celebrating my birthday the last day of the month, followed by my husbands three days later.
Farmer's Markets will begin this month. My husband and I enjoy visiting the farmers market in Grand Junction, Colorado on Thursday evenings. I hope you support your local farmers market.

When I hear somebody say that .....

When I hear somebody say that life is hard, I am always tempted to ask, “Compared to what?”
 – Sydney J. Harris

Please remember what Memorial Day is really about....

These heroes are dead. They died for liberty - they died for us. They are at rest. They sleep in the land they made free, under the flag they rendered stainless, under the solemn pines, the sad hemlocks, the tearful willows, and the embracing vines. They sleep beneath the shadows of the clouds, careless alike of sunshine or of storm, each in the windowless Place of Rest. Earth may run red with other wars - they are at peace. In the midst of battle, in the roar of conflict, they found the serenity of death. I have one sentiment for soldiers living and dead: cheers for the living; tears for the dead. ~Robert G. Ingersoll

Happy Memorial Day weekend. I hope you are enjoying this holiday weekend.
I worked at the Meadery on Saturday and were quite busy. Even though the winds were blowing between 50-60 miles an hour all day, and the valley looked like a giant brown colored, baby powder bottle was being shaken all day, our guests were having a great time. May were on bikes enjoying the wine route for bicyclists.
Here in the Grand Valley, we get occasional wind storms which stir up all the dust from the surrounding mountains. Saturday was the third day in a row this wind has been blowing. Enough is enough! I'm hoping Sunday will fair better.
Where ever this Memorial weekend leads you, please remember what this weekend is really about. We should all thank a veteran for giving us our freedom, and remember those who gave their lives so we can enjoy the freedoms we have.

Why is it that?????

Some of your best idea's appear in the shower? I told my husband tonight, I am going to get bathtub crayons to keep in the shower so when an idea pops into my head, I can write it on the shower wall.
Luckily, after exiting the shower, the idea that appeared as the hot water that was rinsing shampoo from my hair, was still in my mind. I was able to dry off, go into my office and write down all the thoughts and idea's for a new book.
I still think the tub crayons will be in my basket this weekend when I shop.
Any exciting plans for the long upcoming Memorial weekend? I'll be working at the winery on Saturday, then enjoying a couple of quiet days on Sunday and Monday. I know I'll be spending time in my vegetable garden. After work today, I was amazed when I saw my first tomato on one of my eleven tomato plants! There are also four jalapeno peppers on the plants.
Most of us still have Thursday and Friday to get though, if you do, make the best of the days. Thursday, the Meadery will be bottling, Peach Passion for St. Katheryn's and Peaches N' Honey for the Meadery. Bottling day's are always fun. If you're in Palisade, CO, stop by and watch.

Friday is almost here... are you making plans to come to....

the Palisade Colorado Writers group? I'm happy to update that we held our first writers group on Friday, May 11th, and our next one is quickly approaching.
We will be meeting at Palisade Library on 3rd Street  on Friday, May 25th at 3:00 p.m. We have a great group and are open to new members.
After Friday, May 25th, we will be meeting the 2nd and 4th Friday's of the month, the time will be the same.
Every writer needs the insight of other writers. If you are free, please join us. If you would like more information, please e-mail me at donna@donnalively.com

Did you have a great Monday? I had the day off from the winery but I spent a portion of the morning at he dentist. I have neglected my dental health for far too long; 7 years since I had a check-up!
I only had 5 cavities! The next several weeks I will be sitting in a dental chair on my day's off.
Now that I'm settled into my new area in life, I will be sure to see my dentist every six months after these cavities and cleaning is taken care of.
To think that in my past life, I was a dental assistant! Yep, you heard me right, my junior and senior years of high school, I spent in vocational school learning how to be a dental assistant. I graduated with top scores and worked in the dental field until after the birth of my daughter. My husband at that time wanted me to be a stay-home mom and my dental profession ended.
After my dental appointment, I visited my dear friend Jane. She's had some medical problems since winter time and was thrilled to see that she's feeling better, not 100% yet, but she will not let this minor set back defeat her! We had a great visit, enjoying lunch outside at a wonderful restaurant called Spoons.
My hope is that everyone had an exceptional Monday and are experiencing an even better Tuesday!
Where ever you're Tuesday leads, enjoy, and remember when you smile, people wonder what you've been up to.

A wonderful sight crossed my path

As I waited for Karen, the librarian at my local library to emerge from the washroom where she was having a coughing fit, I encountered what I consider hope.
Crossing my path, resting a clipboard on their left arms, holding a pencil with their little right fingers, busy writing, were six preschoolers who shared with me they were on a mission!
"What mission?" I curiously asked.
"A noun mission," the six bellowed at once.
Good-byes were exchanged and like duckings following their mother, they proceeded to the front door led by their teacher.
Karen explained that this group was from a nearby preschool and after completing their first mission which was to learn about nouns, (which Karen taught them,) their next mission was to visit the different establishments in our small downtown, and search for nouns.
As a avid reader since childhood, and writer, this brings me hope. Hope that more youngsters learn not only how to read and write properly, but enjoy it and pursue writing careers.
I could only wish the remainder of my Friday was as pleasant as my morning.
After arriving home, I decided to put a load of laundry into the washer, and just like that, the day's energy switched. The washer decided that it would fill itself, and stop and not follow through with it's commitment to clean my clothes.
My husband I soon left to run errands and on the way stopped and purchased a new washer. All good you would think, only it wasn't. After driving to three different stores in search of five skeins of yarn I need to knit a baby blanket, and having no luck, I came home and ordered it on line.
Silly me, decided to try the washer one last time before I would begin bailing the water out of the broken washer, and low and behold, it started! Thankful to be able to finish that load, I tried my luck at another one, and bingo, it's working again. After discussing the options, Brett and I decided to continue using this one until the new one arrives sometime next week, because we all know about Murphys' law!
I hope you had a wonderful Friday and where ever your Saturday takes you, go with the punches and find time to smile!

“Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice.” – Wayne Dyer

You are responsible for how you feel. You can blame external things if you want to, but it will never change how things are. It is only when you accept your own responsibility that you can take action.

Every human has great days, not so great days, bad day's and horrific days. I wish life was a fairy tale. Reality is that we all have day's that suck! It's how you respond to situations you personally consider bad which matters.
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you should be feeling sad and depressed and you begin to laugh? Life is what you make it and how you deal with it.
Years ago, I learned to deal with uneasy occurrences in my life, like water off a duck back. Learn to take life not so seriously. No matter what happens today, the sun will rise tomorrow.
When you were a child, you should have learned responsibility. As adults we all have responsibility, and once we accept our own responsibility we can begin to take action to adjust or change where our lives are heading.
Although we all have responsibility in our lives, we should as the cliche says, stop and smell the roses!
The older I grow, the more I learn to live. I'm on the downhill side of  life, and everyday should be positive, uplifting and fun. I've chosen to create my life to be just that!
Take a minute to reflect on your day and ask yourself: are you enjoying life and the individuals around you? If not, begin accepting responsibility and take action!
Where ever your Thursday is leading you, stop, smell the roses, and smile.

Happy Tuesday

Did you get through Monday okay? I normally have Monday's off from the winery, today I clocked in at 6:50AM to get our Club Mead Membership wine orders sent out. It was a successful morning and I was able to clock out at 10:00 AM..
While watering my lavender plant near the front of my home this afternoon, I overheard my newer neighbor screaming and fighting with her adult disabled sibling. Since these people have moved in next door to me, this seems to be a "normal" way of living for these people.
As I bent down to quench my lavender's thirst, hearing her Baton Rouge accent, scream at her son, I had a revelation. Not only can you choose your relatives, you can not choose your neighbors!
I spoke softly to my beautiful lavender plant telling her to ignore the screaming she had to hear.
I met the "mother,/wife" for the first time a week ago. After a minute or two of hearing her speak, I realized she was a sandwich short of a picnic. I'm not talking down about her, I'm only telling you what I observed. At one point, she told me "I wasn't watching you, but after I watched you watering your garden (which wasn't planted yet), I'm doing what you did and I'm watering the ground where I am going to plant a tomato plant.
Really? But you just told me you were not watching me! Creepy!
I hope I'm not the only living being, in this vast world with a not my choice neighbor.
Have a great Tuesday, and where ever this day leads you, enjoy, smile and know that tomorrow is Wednesday!

Happy Mother's Day.. Did you know?

Did you know that Mother's day has been observed on the second Sunday of May since 1914?
Happy Mother's Day!  President Wilson proclaimed the day as "a public expression of love and reverence for the mothers of our country?"
Did you know that the carnation was chosen to be the traditional flower for Mother's Day because of it's sweetness, purity, and endurance?
I have two grown children and two step-sons. My son lives in Ohio, and  daughter in Greeley, CO.
I wish we lived closer, but they are adults with lives and families of their own.
Plans for Mother's Day? I am scheduled to work at the winery from noon until close. My husband will prepare and cook me steak, baked potato and salad for me for my Mother's Day dinner.

Where ever and what ever you're Mother's Day Sunday leads you, enjoy!

If you could travel back to an earlier....

happier moment in your past, where would you journey and why?

As the third daughter of six in my family, attention was a precious commodity. My sister and I enjoyed spending weekends at our grandparents. Darlene is a year and a half younger than me. We shared a bedroom, secrets and most everything. We also were competitive. Back then as we sat in the back seat of the family station wagon on our way to the grocery store, keeping our eyes peeled for what we called, Beetle bugs, otherwise known as aVolkswagen beetle, better known as the Volkswagen bug.  Mom behind the steering wheel, Dar and I gawking out the side windows, heads swaying in unison as we each do our best to spot a bug before the other. "There's a blue one!" Darlene would yell laughing.
Every time the two of us were away from home, and even when we were home, we would search for those wonderful, cute, colorful bugs. Always trying to beat one another to spot one first, keeping score.
One weekend, Gram and Papa invited Darlene and I to spend the weekend at their home. Papa knew about our passion for beetle bugs and how we competed with one another to spot the most.
After saying our good-bye's to our mom, dad and siblings, Dar and I climb into the back seat of Gram and Papa's 1970, gold tone, Mercury Cougar. It wasn't long before we realized that we were not going directly to our grandparents home. Papa told us that we were going out to dinner, only Gram was puzzled where he was driving us. Darlene and I continued searching out and counting the bugs as we carried on. Nearly forty-five minute passed and Gram demanded to know where we were going.
At that moment, Papa turned a corner, told Darlene and I to look out the window and begin counting!
My sister and I whipped our heads to see what he was talking about, and were both shocked and amazed at what our blue eyes were seeing.
Papa had driven us to a Volkswagen Beetle car dealership. Gram and Papa smiled, as my closest sister and I laughed, counted and pointed. I don't believe either of us claimed a victory over the other that afternoon, but we sure did have fun! After parking in the dealership for ten or so minutes, Papa then took us for a lobster dinner.
Growing up in a large family, lobster dinner's never happened at home,and only few and far between at our grandparents.
We had the best weekend ever!
Where ever your Friday takes you, enjoy the journey, it may be one you look back at years from now and smile.

Who is your favorite .....?

I believe every person who reads has a favorite author or two or possibly even more.
I can honestly tell you that I have two. I won't put one above the other, but here are my favorite:
Debbie Macomber and Elizabeth Berg.
The first book I read from Elizabeth Berg which got me hooked like a fish on a worm was The Art of Mending, followed by The Year of Pleasures.
I copied and pasted from Elizabeth Bergs website what the Art of Mending is about: A woman's grown sister makes allegations about abuse she claims to have suffered at the hands of their mother when they were growing up. The book is about the way that everyone in a family has a different experience of it. The narrator must decide if what her sister is saying is true, and what her obligations now are-to her family of origin as well as to the family she has with her husband.
This book touched the core of me. If you haven't had the chance to read it, I highly recommend it!
The book, The Year of Pleasures is about: When Betta Nolan's husband, John, dies, she honors a promise she made to him to sell their house, drive across the country until she finds a town she likes, and move there. This is a novel about starting life over, and purposely enriching that life with the many pleasures, especially the small and free ones, that are always available to us. It also challenges the notion that a widow must or should behave in a certain way; and it shows how love does not die, but rather changes form.
I have read everyone of her books, and I recommend each one!
I began reading Debbie Macombers' books by chance. I lucky chance for me! Back in 2004-05, I was living in Ohio and traveling weekly for the company I was employed with. I would read a couple of books a week; sitting on the plane and in the evening. When I was home on weekends, I would make a trip to Barnes and Nobel every Saturday searching for a couple more books by Elizabeth Berg. Soon, I had read every book this bookstore had to offer by Berg. I made my way up to the help desk to inquire about a similar author. That's when I feel I hit the lottery! Another woman heard my conversation with the employee as I inquired about another author, and spoke up to enlightened me about Debbie Macomber. She assured me any book I would choose, I would be happy with. After thanking her, I traveled over where Macomber's books were, read a couple of the covers and purchased,  The Shop on Blossom Street, and A Good Yarn.
I have copied from Debbie Macombers website what The Shop on Blossom Street is about:
There's a little yarn shop on Blossom Street in Seattle. It's owned by Lydia Hoffman, and it rrepresents her dream of a new life free from cancer. A life that offers a chance at love...
Lydia teaches knitting to beginners, and the first class is "How To Make a Baby Blanket." Three women join. Jacqueline Donovan wants to knit something for her grandchild as a gesture of reconciliation with her daughter-in-law. Carol Girard feels that the baby blanket is a message of hope as she makes a final attempt to conceive. And Alix Townsend is knitting her blanket for a court-ordered community service project.
These four very different women, brought together by an age-old craft, make unexpected discoveries --- about themselves and each other. Discoveries that lead to friendship and more...
A Good Yarn is about: Lydia Hoffman owns the shop on Blossom Street. In the year since it opened, A Good Yarn has thrived -- and so has Lydia. A lot of that is due to Brad Goetz. But when Brad's ex-wife reappears, Lydia is suddenly afraid to trust her newfound happiness.
Three women join Lydia's newest class. Elise Beaumont, retired and bitterly divorced, learns that her onetime husband is reentering her life. Bethanne Hamlin is facing the fallout from a much more recent divorce. And Courtney Pulanski is a depressed and overweight teenager, whose grandmother's idea of helping her is to drag her to seniors' swim sessions -- and to the knitting class at A Good Yarn.

After arriving home the following Friday evening from my week on the road, I was hooked. To date, I have read most everyone of her books. I am currently reading 1105 Yakima Street. In the past, I read the others from this series.
Times have changed since 04 & 05, I no longer am employed with the company I was, I moved from Ohio to Colorado, am re-married and when I'm not working at the winery, in my garden, or daily chores, I am doing the one thing I've always loved doing, as much as reading, that is writing. I have recently organized and am beginning this Friday, May 11th,  the first meeting for a writers group, here in Palisade, CO. If you live in the area, and are interested, please join us. Our gathering will be held at the Palisade, CO library on 3rd Ave, at 3:00 pm.
Where ever your Thursday leads you, I hope you find time to read a chapter from one of your favorite authors.

Hummingbirds in Western Colorado

When most people think of Colorado, they think about Big horn sheep or deer. In my backyard here in Palisade Colorado, you will see hummingbirds like the one above.
This past weekend, I cleaned and prepared my hummingbird feeder after I witnessed activity for these tiny creatures.
For the last two years since I moved to the Western slope of Colorado, each spring, this beautiful, tiny winged creature builds a nest outside my neighbors bedroom window on the pole of the awning.
Once I mixed the sweet nectar and filled the hummingbird feeder, it wasn't long before the specular tiny winged birds found their way to the feeder.
Simple pleasures, that is what I enjoy. We all are guilty of creating chaos in our lives. Whether it concern our families, workplace, our health, or numerous other affairs.
Imagine your life, stress free, non-strenuous, and simple. At times, I believe we are all guilty of creating drama in our lives which don't need to be. As you hurry around today, take a moment and enjoy a simple pleasure.
What ever drama you draw unconsciously into your inner world today, recognize it and release it to the universe, then smile.

My Gift to you......

Happy Tuesday!
I have attached Chapter one from my self-help book, How to Recognize and Overcome Victim Mentality, for you to read and enjoy.

If you are interested in purchasing the entire book, it is available on amazon.com in a kindle version.
To download the file, click on the Download button above or copy and paste this URL into your browser:
https://sendnow.acrobat.com/?i=NyXGFX8jQrw20byDqbFE0A

I hope you are having a wonderful Tuesday.
Where ever your path leads you today, make the best of it.

Beautiful Yellow Japanese Roses... Take a peek

How was every one's Sunday? Mine was quite busy as I worked at the Meadery and was very busy.
 Made for a steadfast day!
I told you about a week ago about my Japanese roses, and above are two pictures of some of the bloomed roses.
They display a beautiful deep yellow color. There are many rose buds awaiting to open. Last year, there were only three roses on the plants. I believe cutting them down to the ground two autumns ago helped to produce a bountiful array of roses this season. From what I read, they can re bloom in the fall once again. I hope they do.
The aroma that meets me as I open the car door as I arrive home from work is breath taking!
I know they will only remain beautiful for maybe another week or two, and I will admire them until the yellow, wonderful scent disappears.
Isn't that like many things in life? Learn to take pleasure in what you have in moment.
I hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful day.
Where ever your Monday leads you, take a moment and take pleasure in what ever beautiful sights you are able to.

Thank you to everyone who...

I want to thank everyone who walked for Multiple Sclerosis today.
Above are a couple pictures from my walk this morning for the cause. I was able to walk 1/2 of a mile, before I had trouble walking back to the starting point.
It was a beautiful day, a little hot when you suffer from MS and are walking!
I met up with the director of the society here on the Western Slope of Colorado, and will speak with her again next week. She is going to link me up with a neurologist here in this area since I have not
seen a neurologist in over six years, since I do not have health insurance.
Thank you for everyone for donating to to such a wonderful cause.

Happy Friday

Friday is here! Depending when you are reading this blog, I hope your Friday was wonderful or you're having a great one.
As I write this Thursday evening, my plans for Friday will be shopping for all my garden needs. My hope is that I get this chore finished early enough to come home and begin preparing the ground for the new plants I'm planning on purchasing. Wish me luck!
What are your plans for the weekend of May?

Saturday, I'll be walking for Multiple Sclerosis. It's not too late to donate. Click on this link and it will take you directly to my personal Multiple Sclerosis donate page via the MS society. Any amount will help the cause and hopefully bring a cure for us suffering with this debilitating disease. Thank you in advance.

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Walk/COCWalkEvents?px=6628054&pg=personal&fr_id=18645

I personally have been living with the diagnosis of this disease since May of 1993. I began showing symptoms soon after the birth of my son September 1986.
I have had my ups and downs throughout the last twenty-five years, but as I grow older, the down times are happening closer together. I don't know what the future will unfold for me concerning this disease, but I know that I will continue moving forward and remaining positive.

Where ever your Friday leads you, enjoy the ride!

Do you Know an Energy Vampire?

Do you feel exhausted after being with certain people? They may be energy vampires, draining your spirit and soul.  Energy vampires drain your spirit and soul by depleting your positive energy. Energy vampires, such as drama queens, leave you feeling drained and listless
After a visit with an energy vampire, you barely have enough energy to walk across the room, much less pursue your goals or take care of your life. The energy vampire's negative influences consume your positive energy.
Most people only notice that they have been in the presence of an energy vampire when that person has gone and they find themselves depleted of energy and lacking the will to live, as though all their enthusiasm, excitement and joy of life had been quite literally "sucked out of them".
Some people you come across bring light and happiness and you feel wonderful being around them. But when you are around "dark" energy individuals you also can "feel" it.
Working in customer service, I meet and am around many different kinds of energy. I am able to know immediately which category a customer falls into the instant they walk into the wine tasting room. Are they a positive person, or a negative, energy vampire? If they fall into the energy vampire category, I immediately surround myself mentally, with white purifying light. I'll smile as I mentally am aware of what kind of personality I am dealing with.
You can't make them happy,because they don't know what even makes them happy. Since I work in the public and usually I working alone, I can't just walk away from an energy vampire.
If you are in a situation where you can walk away, do just that!. Many of us find this really hard to do. We're afraid of being thought of as impolite; we don't want to offend people. If you must stay around an energy vampire, breath! I mean it, take a deep breath and as you release the breath, release the negative energy the vampire is surrounding you with.
One thing to remember: No matter how hard your life is, there is someone else in this world who has it much worst than you!
Be happy with yourself first and foremost! If you are not happy with yourself, you won't be able to be happy anything or anyone!
Today, take note of the kinds of people who are in your personal energy field. Are they happy and positive, or negative, energy vampires?
Where ever your path leads you today, shield yourself from negativity and energy vampires and surround yourself with positive, happy, lively individuals.

Do you believe?????

Do you believe in spirits or ghosts? I must admit that I don't believe, I know they are factual. I was introduced to the spiritual world of ghosts when I was young. My mother and her step-father (Papa)  would read everything printed at the time by "the sleeping prophet," Edgar Cayce,  like-minded mystic Ruth Montgomery, and one of the best-known American astrologers and psychics of the 20th century. Jeane Dixon. As a teenager, I believed everyone knew about and experienced spirits and ghosts.
The older I became, the more I came to realize that not everyone has witnessed the paranormal.
I recall in the late 60's my mother was washing dishes and when she looked into the dining room, she saw her deceased father standing on the stairs which led up to three bedrooms and a bathroom. Grandpa had passed weeks earlier. I have many stories of paranormal happenings since then. I am in the process of documenting  all my personal memories to use in a book in the future.
What thoughts from the past can you construct into a short story or book?
Ideas are all around, take five minutes out of your busy day to quiet your mind and let the ideas flood in. Be sure you have a pad and pencil next to you to write them down before they disappear once again.
Wednesday is upon us. Any fun activities planned for hump day? I work at the winery, where preparations are underway to bottle a couple of wines on Thursday. One will be Viognier, and I'm not quite sure of the other.
Where ever your Hump day takes you, enjoy and quite your mind.

Did you know the month of May....

The month of May is thought to be named after Maia, the mother of Mercury.
Maia is the Oscan Earth-Goddess, and an ancient Roman Goddess of springtime, warmth, and increase. She causes the plants to grow through Her gentle heat. Her name means "She Who is Great", and is related to Oscan mais and Latin majus, both of which mean "more". She is also called Maia Maiestas, "Maia the Majestic", which is essentially a doubling of Her name to indicate Her power, as both "Maia" and "Maiestas" have their roots in latin magnus, "great or powerful". She was honored by the Romans on the 1st and 15th of May, and at the Volcanalia of August 23rd, the holiday of Her sometimes husband, the Fire-God Vulcan.

Did you also know that because the Roman festivals of the unhappy dead and of the goddess of chastity occurred in May, it was considered an unlucky month for marriages.

My plan for this month of May is to plant my garden. I will be working on it this coming weekend. I'll begin working on it Friday afternoon. Saturday, I will be walking for a cause which touches me personally. I will be walking for MS, Multiple Sclerosis. I was diagnosed with this debilitating disease in 1993, although symptoms date back to 1986.  http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Walk/COCWalkEvents?px=6628054&pg=personal&fr_id=18645

What are your plans for this fifth month of 2012? Planting a garden or ideas for a new book?
What ever your plans are for this first day of May, live it to the fullest.

Monday's Poem~ A New Beginning~For my daughter

A New Beginning

© Troy Martin, Jr.

A little egg under her mothers wings.
Yet to be born into the world of things.

A crack and a pop out she came.
Old and new, it was all the same.

Well nourished by mom, she began to sing.
Ready to learn of life and everything.

Innocence of new, she started up her flaps.
Not knowing of life, and all it's traps.

Mother watched on, with a big chuckle.
As she sprang out of the nest, with no buckle.

Back and forth, she swayed, on the ground.
As her mother watched for danger, all around.

She tried and tried until that day.
Fly she did, but not in a graceful way.

The day came, like mother knew it would.
For her child to fly away, like she should.

Off towards the horizon, fling she went.
Mother watching from afar, knowing it was time well spent.

Many times, the hailstorms of life beat her down.
Sometimes in flight, all the way to the ground.

Lessons well learned, she still lost her way.
Fluttered home to mom, with nothing to say.

Under mothers wings once more, did she heal.
The grace of mothers, no one can steal.

By grace did she heal, down to the core.
Ready to take on life and its challenges once more.

She flew from the tree, mom proud to see.
She became the strongest sparrow, that ever would be.

The eagles bowed down, had nothing on her, by the way.
She flew, glided and God, did she soar that day.

Happy Monday. I chose this poem today in tribute to my daughter. She is currently going through a tough time. I know she is strong, intelligent, and wants what's best for herself and her daughter. I am sure the day will arrive when I see her soar, just as anyone who knows her true spirit believes for her.
We all have to believe in ourselves, and not look for the easy way out. We all travel on life's many roads, and eventually we come to a crossroads and must make a choice. Dig deep within your soul, and choose to travel the road which is both positive and enduring. When you are raised with morals, and you arrive at a difficult crossroad, fall back upon those morals to see you though it.

Where ever the last Monday of April leads you, make it positive, joyful and please send positive thoughts to my daughter,

Do you know that today....

Do you know that today in the year 1913, Gideon Sunback patented the zipper?
Imagine the world without zippers!

Have to zip out of here and go to work at the winery. I hope your day is zippy!

Sunday's Poem~ Butterfly, Butterfly

Butterfly, Butterfly

Hoping to catch your eye
Circling around you, oh my
Butterfly, butterfly, come into the light
Oh, what a beautiful sight
Flying so gracefully
Into the sky, the butterfly
Trying to catch a butterfly
Fly, fly, fly, butterfly
There he sets upon the mums
I'm having so much fun
Here's another on the sill
Your standing so still
You go to touch him
There he goes, the butterfly
I hear a tapping on the window
It's the butterfly, fly, fly, fly
There he goes into the sky
Flying so high, the butterfly
I'll see you another day
Butterfly, butterfly, away

Sharon Adamson


Have you had the pleasure this spring to be seeing butterflies? I have been watching the wonderful creatures fluttering around my yard, especially around the rose bushes.
What do butterfly's mean to you? To me they represent freedom and change.
Where ever the final Sunday of April leads you, notice how many butterfly's you encounter, and be sure to smile.

Choose to be Happy!

Life is about choices. Everyone of us have to make several choices each and every day.  Do you choose to be happy? The only source of happiness and unhappiness come from inside yourself.
Happiness is not something that comes to you, it is something you create. Waiting for something or someone to change in order to be happy is actually waiting to live your life. Life throws us many curve balls, it's how you react that counts, not what happens to you.
Its all in your attitude. When you adopt a positive attitude, life becomes easier.
Happiness is in your own hands. Think in a positive way. When you encounter what you consider a problem, do your very best to look for all the good points. I know myself, when an issue arises which I wasn't expecting, during this time we can't see the forest through the trees. Once the issue passes, and we remove our emotions from it, more times than not, the reasons become clear. Everything has at least one good point. Even sickness has its positive side. I know for myself, after I as diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis over nineteen years ago, my life as I had known it now looked dismal and scary. Once I chose to be positive about this situation I now found myself in, my life took a turn for the better. Yes, I still suffer with this debilitating disease on a daily basis, but it's how I deal with it. I take control of my daily situation with it, I do not let it take control over me.
Positive thinking is not enough on its own, however. We also need to fix the problem or prevent it from happening again. In my situation with this disease, I listen to my body and rest when it tells me to, I do my best to live a stress free, happy, upbeat life. Yes, I still have my issues with it, but I always remain positive.
We can turn suffering into non-suffering. We can even turn it into happiness. Whether we suffer or not depends solely upon us. It doesn't depend on what happens to us.
Everyone wants to nothing but good. But things will be even better if we can train ourselves to be more patient and to think in a positive way. If we can do that, then we'll have a definite guarantee that regardless of what we encounter, we won't suffer as much or as easily as we did before.

Enjoy your day, and find happiness!

Saturday's Poem~ Yellow Rose

Yellow Rose

She came in my dreams last night,
She left a yellow rose and a love note on pillow next to me,
As always the inscription read,
'we are friends for ever and in the eternity'.

Since a rose is a rose,
why the red rose shines in the glory of love?
why the white roses remind us of our departed souls?
and why the yellow rose shines the rays of friendship in all of us?

Like sunshine bursting through grey clouds,
The aura of friendship emanates from its golden petals,
The frozen dew drops on its soft satin petals,
glorifies tears on my cheeks in the times of sadness,
Its mere presence and the fragrance,
fills my heart with the scent of warmth and affection.

Yellow rose you are perfection in creation,
I wonder why you have to wither away in time,
With every falling petal, a heart is broken,
with every withered yellow rose, a token of eternal friendship is lost.

Jay P Narain

Any day now, my yellow Japanese roses will be opening. I will post a picture once they open.

Did everyone have a great week and an even greater Friday? Any big plans for today?

I will be visiting our library to finalize the new writers group I'm forming. The grass needs cutting, I'll do that in the afternoon.

Where ever your Saturday takes you, enjoy!

Real Excitment before I left work yesterday

Our winemaker, Brian was pulled over by our local police on suspicion of yesterday's bank robbery. Brian had been up at our our location working on swamp coolers! It was quite the scene to watch approx. 7 undercover cops, sheriff's and local police fly into our parking lot. I had just closed the tasting room at 5 pm when this happened! Never a dull moment! Have I mentioned how much I love my job?


The third operator steams a singer.

Friday's Poem~ Rain, Rain

Rain, Rain

Rain, Rain, wash over me,
cleanse an purify me,
your drops, so soothing n' smooth,
lull me to sleep, content, not blue,

Rain, Rain, drops abound,
clean my body n' soul,
make me new,
with no walls around,

Rain Rain, my roof you seek,
your floods wash over me,
the emotions do peek,
cause rain is life-giving,
much zeal to thee,

Rain, Rain, clean my body,
for you always make me,
feel so fancy n' so free,

Rain, Rain, refreshing to me,
for during the rain,
no refrain from sleepin I see,

Rain, Rain, stay with me,
cause I'm in love with you,
you leave me unchained,
feeling worthy, not blue.

Richard McClellan

Late afternoon Thursday, a wind storm blew through our area, with a few drops of rain. We are in dire need of rain. It's supposed to rain this evening and clear up to sunny skies for my Friday.

Where ever your Friday takes you, my wish is that you have sunny beautiful skies and a quiet end to your work week.

Thursday's Poem~ Lightening Bugs

Lightening Bugs

When I was a curious little girl
I chased bright blinking lights
Into the darkness of the night.

The lighting bugs were shifty.
They were not easy to catch.
Finally, they met their match.

I placed them into a Mason jar.
I punched nail holes into the cap.
With fascination, I would rap…

Constant tapping prompted flickers.
Their lights dimmed as I went to bed
At sunrise, they were certainly dead.

I grieved and wondered why…
What could have blown their fuse?
Regretful, I did not mean to abuse.

Now I know to let them stay in the wild.
Leave them alone to dazzle with a pride.
Don’t seal them up and take them inside.

7/5/07      

Theresa Ann Moore

 

 

How was your Wednesday? Mine was busy. At the winery, we've been painting the vast space since early February. Today, I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

In between painting some trim, I enjoyed conversing with customers and having them sample our honey wine.

A couple of Mesa University  girls came in to taste. I enjoyed talking with the girls about a variety of subjects. Somehow, we got on the subject of how different scents open up your brain to memories of the past.  I told them a story about when I was a child and one Christmas, I received an ice cream maker. Being the third of six, (all females,) after I made ice cream the first time, I was the first to taste it, as my siblings stared, wishing they were me.

My sisters, anxiously anticipating my answer, ask me, "what does it taste like?"

Bending my head, my left ear facing the floor, eyes staring into the air, I responded, "it tastes like lightening bugs smell."

Have you ever experienced this?

One of the girls from the University asked myself and her friend, "what are lightening bugs?"

This girl was born and raised in southern California, and evidently, lightening bugs do not reside in this region.

I love my job, I enjoy meeting people. Everyone has a story, and I listen.

Whatever you do on your Thursday, enjoy and listen, you will probably hear a future book.

 

 

 

Wednesday's Poem ~Sleep - a poem by Sir Philip Sydney

SLEEP
Sir Philip Sidney

Come, Sleep; O Sleep! the certain knot of peace.
The baiting-place of wit, the balm of woe,
The poor man's wealth, the prisoner's release,
Th' indifferent judge between the high and low;
With shield of proof shield me from out the prease
Of those fierce darts Despair at me doth throw:
O make in me those civil wars to cease;
I will good tribute pay, if thou do so.
Take thou of me smooth pillows, sweetest bed,
A chamber deaf to noise and blind of light,
A rosy garland and a weary head;
And if these things, as being thine by right,
Move not thy heavy grace, thou shalt in me,
Livelier than elsewhere, Stella's image see.

How was your Tuesday? I had a sleepless night and I'm looking forward to placing my head onto my feather pillow and slowly closing my eyes.

Any plans for your Wednesday? Where ever this last Wednesday of April takes you, make it the best you can.

"What?" I ask. "Is that you soft, fluffy pillow calling my name?"

Tuesday's Poem~ Some People

Some People

Some people want to die
some people want to live
some people want to take
some people want to give

Some people have family
some people have friends
some people love life
some people wait for it to end

Some people need the help
some people help the need
some people want to share
some people love the greed

Some people are weak
some people are strong
some people are right
some people are wrong

Some people are smart
some people are fools
some people are wise
some people need school

Some people have no mind
some people have no heart
some people keep us together
some people tear us apart

True Pain

 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Monday. My day was both good and not so good. I believe this poem says it all.

Where ever your Tuesday leads you, I hope you are one of the strong, have a heart, have family and friends, and someone who wants to share.

Monday Mistake

In  my earlier blog about stress, I said to enjoy the last Monday of April, I'm rushing the month, must because of the great heat wave we're having. We still have one more Monday this month.

Enjoy your second to last Monday!

Monday's Poem~ Stress

Stress

A definition, friends, of stress:
Your own reaction to a mess
Stresses may be large or small
Sometimes they're not perceived at all
Examples: Say a lack of cash;
A just-avoided freeway crash;
An allergen that's in the air;
The barber says you're losing hair;
Fifty on a spavined horse;
Attorney's letter re divorce;
Wetness, dryness, heat or cold;
Callow youth or getting old
Stress from pains to pleasures range
The common element is change
Adapt or die, and that's a fact
And so our bodies must react:
The heart speeds up, the gutda slows down
Facial muscles snarl or frown
Bronchial tubes expand and then
The blood absorbs more oxygen
Widened pupils search the void
Adrenal glands secrete steroid
Serum glucose starts to climb
More insulin works overtime
Stressed physically or mentally
Muscles tense to fight or flee
The midbrain boils with rage and fear
While cortex plans to save your rear
The point is, stress is not unique
It doesn't mean you're dumb or weak
A part of mankind's constitution
Bequeathed to us by evolution
Common both to man and beast
It proves you're still alive, at least.

By William Goldsmith, MD

Everyone has stress in their lives, it's how we deal with it that counts. I like this poem and it is appropriate for my day today! The one thing I have learned in fifty-two years is not to take on other's stress. We all have different stresses in our lives, and I feel it's how we deal with it, either makes you or breaks you. I have learned to let other's stresses roll off my back like water off a duck.
I hope everyone had a fantastic, stress free day. Where ever this final Monday of April 2012 leads you, make it the best and don't stress, tomorrow the sun will rise and we get a new beginning.

Sunday's Poem~ Praying Mantis

Praying Mantis

The praying mantis hardly prays!
By camouflage, it takes its preys;
It hunts insects that fly all days;
A carnivore, it always stays!

Its eyes see well for sixty feet!
It lives on branches green to eat;
Sometimes, its color looks like wheat;
It turns its neck full circle neat.

The female kills the male in sex;
Big ones can eat a frog and vex;
They are not poisonous at all;
They climb quite fast a tree or wall!

Copyright by Dr John Celes 7-27-2008

Dr John Celes

Did everyone have a great Saturday? Here in Western Colorado the weather couldn't have been better. 84 degree's today. After I cut the grass and worked in my soon to be vegetable garden, Brett and I enjoyed a nice cold Fat Tire beer. While Brett was working with our Japanese rose bushes, he observed a    recently laid mantis ootheca attached to a branch on the roses. We're excited to see the praying mantis return. Last summer we had several who hung out in our garden. This is the first time in my nearly fifty-three years alive to see this. I'll be anxiously watching this ootheca evolve.

Where ever you find yourself today, please make the best of it.

Poem for Saturday~ The Robin's Bath

The Robin's Bath
by Evaleen Stein

A flash and flicker of dripping wings,
A wet red breast that glows
Bright as the newly opened bud
The first red poppy shows,

A sparkle of flying rainbow drops,
A glint of golden sun
On ruffled feathers, a snatch of song,
And the robin's bath is done.

Did everyone have a wonderful Friday? I had the day off from the winery so my husband and I purchased some Miracle Grow soil for my free standing garden box Brett built for me a couple of years ago. I'm happy to say I planted radishes, snap peas, and spinach today after placing the fresh soil into the box. A few day's ago, a wind storm blew through and left a lot of down branches in our yard which Brett and I also had to clean up today. Beautiful blue skies,and warm sun helped our projects get completed quickly. As the sprinklers quenched the parched landscaping, a robin enjoyed the droplets as they scattered about.

Where ever your Saturday leads you, enjoy!

Friday's Poem~ SIMPLICITY - How happy is the little stone

SIMPLICITY - How happy is the little stone
Emily Dickinson 


 How happy is the little stone
That rambles in the road alone,
And doesn't care about careers,
And exigencies never fears;
Whose coat of elemental brown
A passing universe put on;
And independent as the sun,
Associates or glows alone,
Fulfilling absolute decree
In casual simplicity.

Simplicity, what a wonderful concept. In the year 2006, I chose to modify my life. I left a good paying position, sold most of my personal possessions, and moved across country  to write a much simpler, stress less chapter in my life.

Six years after I began writing this new chapter, I find myself happier then ever. I now live a simple, stress free, wonderful reality.
What ever road your Friday leads you, make it as stress free as possible.




I

Thursday's Poem~ The Rainy Day

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the moldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
My thoughts still cling to the moldering Past,
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast
And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I chose the Rainy day poem for today because it is going to be a rainy day here on the Western Slope of Colorado.
Where ever you're Thursday leads you, whether it's wet or dry outside, make the best of it.

Wednesday's Poem~ Life Is Fine

Life Is Fine by Langston Hughes

    I went down to the river,

I set down on the bank.
I tried to think but couldn't,
So I jumped in and sank.

I came up once and hollered!
I came up twice and cried!
If that water hadn't a-been so cold
I might've sunk and died.

But it was Cold in that water! It was cold!

I took the elevator
Sixteen floors above the ground.
I thought about my baby
And thought I would jump down.

I stood there and I hollered!
I stood there and I cried!
If it hadn't a-been so high
I might've jumped and died.

But it was High up there! It was high!

So since I'm still here livin',
I guess I will live on.
I could've died for love--
But for livin' I was born

Though you may hear me holler,
And you may see me cry--
I'll be dogged, sweet baby,
If you gonna see me die.

Life is fine! Fine as wine! Life is fine

What a great poem! No matter how hard life gets at times, it always gets better. Tomorrow is another day.

My hope for you is that your Wednesday is wonderful, and no matter what your day brings you, be sure to smile, (it makes people wonder what you've been up to!)

Tuesday's Poem for my granddaughter Miah

I Miss You
I always enjoy myself
When I spend time with you
We need to see each other more often
As our visits are too few.
Our time together is precious
And it goes by too swift
Every time I see you
You always give me a lift!
Author Unknown
I love you Miah

Monday I met my daughter in Vail, our halfway point for my granddaughter to go home after spending her spring break with me.I had a great time with her as usual, and can't wait until the next time we see one another, we're hoping in June.
My vacation is also over, I'm back to work at the winery today.

Where ever this Tuesday takes you, make it the best you can!

Monday's poem by Alvin Schwartz~

There was a man who lived in leeds,
He filled his garden full of seeds.
And when those seeds began to grow,
It was like a garden filled with snow.
But when the snow began to melt,
It was like a ship without a belt.(???? That line I don't get!)
And when the ship began to sail,
It was like a bird without a tail.
And when the bird began to fly,
It was like an Eagle in the sky.
And when the sky began to roar,
It was like a lion at my door.
And when the door began to crack,
It was like a pen knife in my back.
And when my back began to bleed,
I was dead,dead,dead indeed!

Alvin Schwart

Last evening I asked my granddaughter if she knows of another poem. I handed her a pen and paper and she wrote out the above poem. My granddaughter is ten. Needless to say, I was amazed.

I chose this poem today because my granddaughter is heading back home today. I'm happy she wanted to spend her spring break visiting us this past week.

Where ever your Monday leads you, be sure to grab an extra cup of java and enjoy the day!

Sunday's Poem~ by Emily Dickinson

His labor is a chant,
His idleness a tune;
Oh, for the bee's experience               
Of clovers and of noon!

Emily Dickinson




I chose this poem for today, because on Saturday, my granddaughter and I attended the Palisade International Honey Bee Festival. We enjoyed live music and entertainment.  The winery I work for had a booth for the occasion with Mead (or honey wine), and other bee items. Other vendors shared their bee and honey products and  of course there were food vendors galore!   

Where ever your Sunday leads you, make it a great experience!

Reminder ~ New Writers Group

Please e-mail me at: write2donnalively@gmail.com if you are interested in joining the writer's group beginning in May in Palisade, CO.

• The group will meet at the Palisade Library which is located at 119 West 3rd Street Palisade, CO 81526
• We will meet on the 2nd & 4th Friday's of each month with the first meeting to be on May 11, 2012.
• The exact time of the meeting will be known in the near future.

The purpose of our writing group is to:

• Support each other in our writing
• Share information pertaining to our writing
• Edit our writing
• Critique our writing

If you are interested or know of someone who would be, please contact me at:
write2donnalively@gmail.com

If there is a certain time of day that works better for you to be able to meet, please tell me in the e-mail you send.

I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

Donna

Saturday's Poem~ Will to Live

Will to Live
I think of all things that show a zest
For life, the dandelion beats the rest.
The little winged seeds from its white fluff ball
Settle and grow with no urging at all.
Settle in most unlikely places
And soon there's a crop of dandelion faces.

They are man's worst pest, but a child's playthings.
Sometimes I wish I had light down wings
Like a dandelion seed, and could settle at will
On a velvety lawn or a sun-spread hill,
And live with the eagerness and zest
Of the wanton little dandelion pest.
-MARY TRIPLETT

Happy Saturday! I came across this poem today and knew this was the poem for me.
I spent the last few days on my knee's pulling the beautiful yellow pests from my yard. Waking today, no one would imagine how much time I spent removing the pests, because more wonderful dandelion faces were smiling back at me.

Where ever your Saturday takes you, take a moment and smile back at our wonderful yellow faced friends.

What is Paraskevidekatriaphobics?

Paraskevidekatriaphobics — people afflicted with a morbid, irrational fear of Friday the 13th —

Happy Friday the 13th! Are you superstitious?  Did you know this year there are 3 Friday the 13ths, and they are thirteen weeks apart!

I personally am not a superstitious person. I know of people who will not leave the house on the 13th if it lands on a Friday.

I have to admit, I've owned a black cat which I walked in front of, I've walked under a ladder.

Do you or someone you know believe in these superstitions?

• It's bad luck to pick up a coin if it's tails side up. Good luck comes if it's heads up.
• Don't step on a crack on a sidewalk or walkway.
• A bird in the house is a sign of a death
• It's bad luck to count the cars in a funeral cortege.
• A frog brings good luck to the house it enters.
• If you catch a falling leaf on the first day of autumn you will not catch a cold all winter
• An acorn at the window will keep lightning out

Hope you had a fantastic Friday the 13th!

Friday the 13th Poem~ By Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson did not write many poems, although he had a great appreciation for poetry. He read and quoted widely from poets. From the age of fifteen until he turned thirty, he kept a Literary Commonplace Book, in which he pasted newspaper clippings of favorite poems and prose.
When he was confined to bed by illness, Jefferson wrote "A death-bed Adieu" for his daughter, Martha Randolff. It is said that on July 2, two days before he died, Jefferson told Martha that he'd composed a farewell in her honor, following his instructions, she found the verse in a small box after his death.
"A death-bed Adieu. Th:J to MR."

Life's visions are vanished, it's dreams are no more.
Dear friends of my bosom, why bathed in tears?
I go to my fathers; I welcome the shore,
which crowns all my hopes, or which buries my cares.
Then farewell my dear, my lov'd daughter, Adieu!
The last pang in life is in parting from you.
Two Seraphs await me, long shrouded in death;
I will bear them your love on my last parting breath.

Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence and third President of the United States was born today, April 13, 1743.

Where ever your Friday the 13th leads you, enjoy!

Thursday's Poem by Robert Frost~ The Road Not Taken

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.


Can you relate to Robert Frost's poem?
At some point in our lives, usually more than once, we all arrive at a fork in the road where we must make a choice, which path to choose?
Take a minute and think about a fork in the road you've experienced. Years after you made that decision did you ever wonder, what if? What if I chose plan B?
I say don't look back, don't wonder what if. You are where you are today because it's where you are meant to currently be.
Remember, you are the person you are because of the road you traveled to get where you're at, at this very moment.

Where ever you're road leads you today, make the best of it. Remember, there are no wrong paths, only learning experiences.

Today's Poem~ Like Little Ships

LIKE LITTLE SHIPS...

All of the good things that we do
Like little ships put out from shore
Hurry along before the waves
And then in a twinkling are seen no more

But who can tell how bravely they'll sail
Or whether the way will be long or short
And who can know in what happy heart
An act of kindness will come to port!

J. Kyler McManus~ author

For every one of us, life is full of special dates which are nice to remember, but unfortunately, are also easy to forget!  I discovered today's poem in a little Days to Remember book which I received in the late 1970's

Smile, and where ever your path leads today, make it memorable.

What happened on this day in the year 1849?

The Safety pin was patented by Walter Hunt on April 10, 1849

Do you know that....

Did you know that the name "Easter" comes from the Saxon goodness, Estre, deity of dawn and spring and pagan symbol of fertility?

Today's Poem~ Dreamland by Christina Rossetti

DREAM LAND
Christina Rossetti

Where sunless rivers weep
Their waves into the deep,
She sleeps a charmed sleep:
Awake her not.
Led by a single star,
She came from very far
To seek where shadows are
Her pleasant lot.

She left the rosy morn,
She left the fields of corn,
For twilight cold and lorn
And water springs.
Through sleep, as through a veil,
She sees the sky look pale,
And hears the nightingale
That sadly sings.

Rest, rest, a perfect rest
Shed over brow and breast;
Her face is toward the west,
The purple land.
She cannot see the grain
Ripening on hill and plain;
She cannot feel the rain
Upon her hand.

Rest, rest, for evermore
Upon a mossy shore;
Rest, rest at the heart's core
Till time shall cease:
Sleep that no pain shall wake;
Night that no morn shall break
Till joy shall overtake
Her perfect peace.

I really like this poem. During a period of time when I was in my pre-teens, and  I would go to bed at night, I would press the palms of my hands hard over my eyes until I would see what looked like little stars in the darkness of my mind, then I would 'see' little green aliens, sitting in a spaceship. They would ask me what I wished to dream  that evening when I drifted off to sleep. I would tell them, mentally not verbally, and I would drift off to sleep dreaming what I asked.

Maybe that's why unlike other children, I didn't mind going to bed, except of course when I was spent the night at my grandparents. Then I would be yawning but proclaiming I wasn't tired!

Unlike my granddaughter who is visiting me this week. When she's tired, she tells me she's heading to bed and off she goes!

Wherever your day takes you today, make it the best!

How to Recognize and Overcome Victim Mentality

Monday's Poem- If I Had my Child to Raise Over Again~ by Diane Loomans

If I Had my Child To Raise Over Again
by Diane Loomans
If I had my child to raise all over again,
I'd build self-esteem first, and the house later.
I'd finger paint more, and point the finger less.
I would do less correcting and more connecting.
I'd take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.
I would care to know less and know to care more.
I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.
I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play.
I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars,
I'd do more hugging and less tugging.
I'd see the oak tree in the acorn more often,
I would be firm less often, and affirm much more.
I'd model less about the love of power,
And more about the power of love


I came across this poem today and was very impressed with it. I can totally relate with the author of this poem. I believe that we do the above with our grandchildren.
I'm enjoying time with my granddaughter this week. Today, we filled the air in my mountain bike tires, then she rode, I walked around town.
We pulled dandelion's from the front grass, and worked in the heat of the afternoon expanding the vegetable garden.

She found two Easter baskets filled with candy, stuffed bunnies, bubbles and other fun items.

Dinner is cooking now, ham, cheese potatoes, asparagus, and deviled eggs. My husband is a great cook!
I hope everyone enjoyed their day.

Today's Poem from my granddaughter

The Start
The start is the beginning
the beginning of life
the beginning of everything.

The start is the beginning
the beginning of me
the beginning of the future
the beginning you'll see.

You see I don't have to flee
because it is the beginning
the beginning of me!

Miah Koenig
10 yrs old

Days With You~ Poet: Julie Hebert- Beautiful Poem about a friendship

I hope you enjoy today's friendship poem. Days With You Poet: Julie Hebert, (c)2012 A day with you, Was always so cool. I loved to just, Hang around. We never had to, Plan anything to do. We could just sit, Or walk around town. We'd talk and laugh, About things we'd heard. Or maybe about, The boy next door. No matter the topic, We'd always find logic. And that's why, Our friendship will never bore. I chose this poem today because Friday, I received an unexpected surprise in the mail. My friend, Mary Alice who lives in New Jersey, surprised me with a beautiful, genuine Peridot bracelet, bearing a sterling silver bead with the word "Strength" engraved in it. Mary Alice knows me like no one else! Thank you my great friend. I love you and miss you!  My Friend Mary Alice My hope is that everyone has at least one wonderful friend like my friend Mary Alice!

The Change of Times

When I was growing up south of Cleveland, Ohio, I was raised catholic. This meant, catechism classes on Tuesday evenings, and church on Sunday. It also meant on Good Friday, my  sisters and me would have sit quietly for two hours in the afternoon and reflect on the crucifixion of Jesus.
I'm the third of six girls in our family, with us first four all being around a year and a half apart in age from the previous one. After number four, there is a five year gap, the youngest two also a year and a half apart from one another.
Us four older one's would have to sit and not talk the entire two hours, which was nearly impossible for me since once I began talking around the age of four, (yes I was a late bloomer,) there was no shutting me up.
I recall one time, my father telling me when I was around thirteen, I would loose my voice one day because I talk too much, that our voices only have X amount of words to speak. I recall slightly tipping my head, eyebrows scrunched and telling him, "that's okay, I'll keep talking until I'm not able."

Back to sitting and praying in quite on Good Friday~ it was difficult but I must confess now that I'm much older and wiser, that time wasn't so bad. After all, it did give our mother a short time of peace and quite since our two younger sisters were usually napping at this time of day.

The change of times though. I planned on meeting my daughter and granddaughter in Vail, CO today and bring my granddaughter back so she can spend her spring break with me on the Western Slope of Colorado. Last evening when I spoke to my granddaughter, she told me that there was a change of plans because in October they had a snow day, and they were making that day up on Good Friday! What? I thought at first she was playing a late Aprils fool joke on me, and I asked her that, to which she replied, "No grandma, no Aprils fool joke, we have school tomorrow!" I could hear she was sincere.

I must confess, I no longer practice the catholic faith. Maybe Good Friday isn't a big deal any longer. But although I don't practice, I still respect other's faith. I feel my granddaughters school should also.

Tomorrow is another day, and our plan is to meet in Vail. I will still enjoy the company of my granddaughter for the entire week, before my daughter visits the following weekend. I hope my daughter enjoys her peace and quiet to study (she's in college) the week her daughter is enjoying her time with grandma.

My granddaughter

National Multiple Sclerosis Walk

I blogged earlier this week that I would update you on my participation in the May 5, 2012, Grand Junction, Colorado Multiple Sclerosis walk.
I have registered a team called TEAM TALON. You are welcome to read my personal page by clicking on the MS link displayed on my blog. This is an important fundraising cause for me since I suffer with the disease.

Please tell your friends and family to click onto my blog and join me in the fight for a cure. I hope you can join my team and walk with us.

Today's Poem~ On May Morning by John Milton

Today's poem is from CMarieK


On May Morning
 by John Milton

Now the bright morning Star, Day's harbinger,
Comes dancing from the East, and leads with her
The Flowery May, who from her green lap throws
The yellow Cowslip, and the pale Primrose.
Hail bounteous May that dost inspire
Mirth and youth, and warm desire,
Woods and Groves, are of thy dressing,
Hill and Dale, doth boast thy blessing.
Thus we salute thee with our early Song,
And welcome thee, and wish thee long.

Maya Angelou Phenomenal woman poem April 4, 1928

Phenomenal Woman

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman

Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Maya Angelou

Poem of the day~ This one comes from my 10 yr. old granddaughter

This is your Granddaughters favorite poem... I would say that she's a weirdo, but I'd probably hear that she takes after me, LOL! And Miah knows it by heart, as she's been reciting it ever since I asked her what her favorite poem was about 20 minutes ago! LOL!

The Hearse Song A Traditional Children's Rhyme
 Don't you ever laugh as the hearse goes by,
For you may be the next to die.
They wrap you up in a big white sheet From your head down to your feet.
They put you in a big black box
And cover you up with dirt and rocks
All goes well for about a week,
Then your coffin begins to leak.
The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out,
The worms play pinochle on your snout.
hey eat your eyes, they eat your nose,
They eat the jelly between your toes.
A big green worm with rolling eyes Crawls in your stomach and out your eyes.
Your stomach turns a slimy green

Let's Remember Martin Luther King Jr.

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
Martin Luther King

One of many quotes by Martin Luther King. Today marks the 44th anniversary of his assassination. Let's not forget what he stood for. He was the  principal leader in the civil rights movement in the U.S. and a fervent advocate of nonviolent protest, Martin Luther King, Jr. challenged segregation and racial discrimination on many fronts

Today's Poem:

The Conqueror Worm

by Edgar Allan Poe
(published 1843)

Lo! 'tis a gala night
   Within the lonesome latter years!
An angel throng, bewinged, bedight
   In veils, and drowned in tears,
Sit in a theatre, to see
   A play of hopes and fears,
While the orchestra breathes fitfully
   The music of the spheres.
Mimes, in the form of God on high,
   Mutter and mumble low,
And hither and thither fly-
   Mere puppets they, who come and go
At bidding of vast formless things
   That shift the scenery to and fro,
Flapping from out their Condor wings
   Invisible Woe!
That motley drama- oh, be sure
   It shall not be forgot!
With its Phantom chased for evermore,
   By a crowd that seize it not,
Through a circle that ever returneth in
   To the self-same spot,
And much of Madness, and more of Sin,
   And Horror the soul of the plot.
But see, amid the mimic rout
   A crawling shape intrude!
A blood-red thing that writhes from out
   The scenic solitude!
It writhes!- it writhes!- with mortal pangs
   The mimes become its food,
And seraphs sob at vermin fangs
   In human gore imbued.
Out- out are the lights- out all!
   And, over each quivering form,
The curtain, a funeral pall,
   Comes down with the rush of a storm,
While the angels, all pallid and wan,
   Uprising, unveiling, affirm
That the play is the tragedy, "Man,"
   And its hero the Conqueror Worm.

This has been my favorite since I was around 13!


I've received a couple of poems, please keep them coming, April has 30 days!

Wherever life takes you today, make the best of it and enjoy the ride.

Still time to send me a poem

There is still time to send me a poem for tomorrows blog. Feel free to send me a poem you personally have written or a copy of one of your favorite poems. I'm waiting.....

April is National Poet Month~ Send me a poem

Spring
by Gerard Manley Hopkins
Nothing is so beautiful as spring— When weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely and lush; Thrush's eggs look little low heavens, and thrush Through the echoing timber does so rinse and wring The ear, it strikes like lightnings to hear him sing; The glassy peartree leaves and blooms, they brush The descending blue; that blue is all in a rush With richness; the racing lambs too have fair their fling. What is all this juice and all this joy? A strain of the earth's sweet being in the beginning In Eden garden.—Have, get, before it cloy, Before it cloud, Christ, lord, and sour with sinning, Innocent mind and Mayday in girl and boy, Most, O maid's child, thy choice and worthy the winning. In honor of Poet month, I am going to post a new poem everyday this month, and I hope you can help. Please send me a poem. It may be one you have written or a personal favorite. If you have never written a poem, pick up a pencil and let the words begin to flow onto paper. Have fun with it, I'm looking forward to reading and posting your poems this month. Enjoy and be sure to visit each day this month to see if your poem is published in my blog.

Did you get fooled yesterday?

Happy Monday! How many of you had a trick played on them yesterday for April Fools Day? I did, but not until after 8:30 last evening. My granddaughter called me and shared a piece of information that had my heart all pumped up, and not in a good way! I couldn't believe what she told me, and she knew she shocked me, then she began laughing and yelled, April Fools!" We both had a good laugh.
I cannot reveal what she told me because it is personal, but I can tell you this, my granddaughter is wise beyond her years!

Wisdom. Did you know that if you search the word wisdom  in amazon.com in books, there are 38,375 books about wisdom?  Where would one begin?

Speaking of wisdom. My children's book, shown below is available through amazon.com as a kindle edition. If you have children between 8-12, they may be interested in reading it.

The Magical Mishaps of Fairy Miah Moo is about  Fairy Miah Moo, a nine year old fairy who awakens one morning and discovers she has grown to the size of a human child, and her parents have vanished. With the help of Wizard Tigeroni Macaroni, and three new furry friends, Fairy Miah begins her journey, to unravel  many mysteries, after she discovers that her new friends’ parents are also missing. Did their parents abandon them? This story has adventure; it teaches and explores the magical arena of magic spells. It shows that sometimes things are not what they seem to be.