Awesome August 2014 - and it's a wrap!

A miscellany of items, many from Facebook over the past days, and a few last day of the month musings. Very stream of consciousness, so also a glimpse into how my brain does (or doesn't!) operate without much editing. 

The last week of this month has flown by. I knew I would have problems getting blog posts written, I am in the middle of a 5 day straight stretch at work ( Friday and Saturday combined I worked 20 hours.) I am not complaining - still so grateful for my job, and loving the people I am meeting and getting reacquainted with others I knew from my 4 year stint at Wal-Mart from 2002- 2006. Not just co-workers, customers as well.

One of the joys of rural life in the Appalachians of SW Va is the closeness of community. The person who inspects your car is the cousin of your hairdresser who is the high school friend of the mail carrier whose brother works at  the school where your neighbor's child is in first grade - that sort of thing.  The closeness of community is in great evidence this week (August  29 through September 6 I believe) of the annual Russell County Fair and Stock Show. The county residents turn out in droves, families and friends, co-workers and competitors, for a week of celebrating being who we are in this corner of the Old Dominion. I was told by a customer at the store last night that the fields were packed with cars and the mass of people milling about the rides, horse arena, exhibit halls and live performance stages was an awe-inspiring sight.

49 Winchester is a Southwest Virginia Folk Rock band fronted by the son of my dear friend, Debbie Necessary-Gibson. They were on stage last night. These boys are young, engaging, and so talented. Click on the link and check them out. Issac is so full of energy! I was not able to attend the show, but his mother reports they were very well received.

From Monday: 

Standing outside in the evening yesterday .. the sky a perfect blue baby blanket, scattered with cotton balls masquerading as clouds, fuzzy little circles waiting to be swept up and put back in their canister. Ah, the regret of turning and going back indoors, returning to the labors that pay my bills, when my soul longed to linger and watch the light fade from the sky, morphing to a dark dome littered with twinkling fairy lights.

I participated in a Positive Challenge on Facebook this week. Here are my posts, with my cumulative 15 things:

Day 1 of the "Positive Challenge" for me. Three things that I am thankful for:
1. The legacy of a love of reading from both of my parents.
2. Having had all 4 of my grandparents long enough to understand the resilient nature of my heritage. 
3. All of the tears and laughter (my own and those of loved ones) that have healed me when I thought I was broken beyond repair.

Day 2 of the "Positive Challenge" for me. Three things that I am thankful for:
1. My job at Cargo in Lebanon, Virginia. I had no income for 3 1/2 years, and the experience was not one I ever want to repeat.
2. Siblings. My sister Virginia Carol Hart and brothers Larry Smith, Steve Slade, Danny Slade, and Ed Smith. (and may my deceased brother Gary Smith ever be remembered)
3. My daughter Johnna and her husband CJ, but most of all the grandson that will arrive in November.

Day 3 of the "Positive Challenge" for me. Three things that I am thankful for:
1. Roger, my husband and friend, my mechanic and gardener, my confidant and protector, Meeting him healed me in innumerable ways, and he is the best person I know.
2. Having been able to meet people from so many diverse backgrounds in my life. 
3. Air conditioning. Sound odd? I lived in South Florida for a few summers without anything but a poorly functioning window unit -  believe me, AC is a blessing.

Day 4 of the "Positive Challenge" for me. Three things that I am thankful for:
1. Still having both the mental and physical stamina to work a job where I have to count money, be on my feet for 9 hours at a time, and deal with the public face to face.
2.  The honor of living in a rural setting, where wildlife is the norm and I can see the night sky without light pollution. Some people never see the stars.
3. Sweet Iced tea, my favorite beverage since I was a child. Hot tea to curl up with a book, or when I feel sickly, coffee to get me going in the morning, carbonated drinks on occasion, but sweet iced tea is what I truly drink most of the time.

Day 5 of the "Positive Challenge" for me. Three things that I am thankful for:
1.  Friends, and the kindnesses they show in myriad ways, I see and hear so much negative about Facebook, but the small community I have built for myself here has enabled me to maintain old friendships and foster new ones.
2.  My mother. She will be 82 in January, and I am aware every day what a gift and blessing it is that she is still living in the house we moved to in 1967. 
3. My incessant desire to write. Many words I form into poems and stories may never be read by others, but the process provides a catharsis and fulfills a soul-need that is as much a part of me as my ample build and love of chocolate. 
This brings an end to an interesting experiment. I have struggled with the three things each day, and life has thrown me a few curve balls in the process. Life is interesting. 

The challenges I mentioned on Day 5? The brakes went out on my car, and due to brake dust and road grime, it took Roger about 7 hours total, and retooling a hexhead bolt, to put on new pads. Thankfully, the rotors are not ruined. I drive across a ridge from our little acre to my job and the curvy mountain roads while very scenic are tough on vehicles, especially tires and brakes. And

And

And

The day after I listed AC as a blessing, the AC in the house

just

quit cooling

Roger tried, couldn't repair

SO

Dale's in St. Paul once again came and performed HVAC sorcery, and though we are a bit lighter in the bank balance, we had the funds to cover the unexpected (again I am thankful for Gedie Cox and Cargo!) and we are once again in relative comfort. This is so funny in a not funny way because this week is the hottest we have had all Summer.

A thought I had, and posted at random on Facebook:

It is often just being there at that time that is our purpose - not to fix anything, not to exact revenge - just to be there, a shoulder to cry on or a person to laugh with, a hand to hold or an ear to listen.

Roger the Tall sits outside (weather permitting) everyday and flintknaps, feeds the outside cats, and watches nature in all of her beauty and complexity. He saw this occur this last week in August:

Roger saw an ant rappelling down from a poplar leaf using a spider's silk - it was a carpenter ant and he had killed the spider, had the spider in his jaws, and was using the spider's silk to go down to take food to his colony. Nature is incredible.He said it was like watching Army Rangers rappelling from a helicopter.

This is the final installment in my Awesome August 2014. 

Not sure what I will call September yet, I am thinking you will see more poetry next month, and hopefully more pictures of our little acre here on the creek. 

Awesome August 2014 A Few Ruminations on Food

I do not always cook from scratch, I do not always serve on "real" dishes. With cats, it is much easier to eat from trays in the living room, off of paper plates. Dogs will haunt the area under and around a table - cats will just jump up and sniff the food. 

Hot Dogs, browned crispy in an iron skillet with a bit of bacon grease.

The wieners I remember from my childhood were always boiled in water, pale and flaccid. They never looked appetizing. Mom would occasionally split them, and put them under the broiler. I am not, have never been, a fan of hot dogs, but used to think the broiled ones looked much tastier than the boiled ones. Roger likes hot dogs, so when I prepare them for him I brown them until crispy, usually in a skillet with a bit of butter or bacon grease. 

Chili - extra meaty, with sriracha for a kick.

Another childhood ewww - rolls of chili con carne ( Valleydale brand maybe?), in plastic that was heated in a saucepan. It always had bits if weird stuff in it - I (well, we ) like  canned Texas Pete hot dog sauce. Seeing as I do not eat the wieners, I like to have a substantial chili, so I have started making the Texas Pete extra meaty. I brown a pound of ground beef - always the leanest possible - and break it into really really small pieces. I drain all of the grease off and add a can of Texas Pete and about 2 teaspoons of sriracha ( Cha, also by Garner Foods, the producer of Texas Pete). I then just heat it well, no need to cook it to death. I eat the chili on a hot dog bun, with all the fixin's. Relish, onion, mustard and ketchup. 

Diced Vidalia onion.

Yellow, white, red, scallions - any onion really. I have even made caramelized onion to go on the top of hotdogs, but fast and easy is usually my method, and that means an onion, diced. 

Sliced fresh tomato.

This tomato was a gift, from a dear friend. We did not plant tomatoes this year. If I buy tomatoes from the store, I prefer Roma or Grape for  the most part. I avoid fresh tomatoes from late Autumn until late Spring - I just do not like the hybrid gassed varieties that are so meally and tasteless.

Cole Slaw. 

I love to make slaw, but the mess and time usually means I but a container from the store. I avoid the Reisers if I can - I think it tastes bitter. Ballard and Gunnoes both have a good product. If I am at Food City and the deli is open I may buy theirs. I do not like to get deli slaw unless I know it was made the day I am buying it. When I make slaw, I may or may not add carrot - and the dressings I prefer is my go-to cold salad dressing. I mix mayonnaise (about 2 cups) with a spoon of white sugar { I use a spoon from the drawer like you stir coffee with, not a measuring spoon - trying to keep it real here}, a spoon of cider vinegar, a spoon of yellow mustard, about 4 grinds of black pepper {yes, I use a pepper mill} and if I have any maybe half a teaspoon of celery seed. If there is any left, keep it in the fridge, it is great in potato salad and macaroni salad. I like slaw chilled, and seldom think far enough ahead to have time to make and chill it before we eat. Also, I do not like slaw that is more than one day old. Oh, and I grate the cabbage on a box grater. 

Baked beans.

Another thing I like to make myself but usually buy from Food City instead. Bush's has a good line of specialty baked beans, and Food City has their store brand in the same flavors. I like the Steakhouse Baked Beans. A can is more than enough for two people. We usually have leftovers. 

August is a wonderful time to live in the mountains, where so many people grow fresh fruits and vegetables. The reward for labors is being harvested, and if you have not grown a garden, fresh produce is readily available. We feasted earlier this month, on fried peaches and cream corn. If you Google Fried Corn, you will get lots of recipes, so I will share my simple version.

I had about 6 ears of Peaches and Cream corn. After it was shucked and silked, I cut the corn from the cob and scraped the milk as well. I heated a skillet and added maybe 2 tablespoons of bacon grease. After it was hot but not smoking, I added the corn to the skillet, about 4 grinds of pepper, and very little salt. The Bacon grease was salty, and a light hand is always better when it comes to salt. Stir well, to coat the corn with the grease, and if it looks like it needs more moisture a bit of water can be added, but not much. Fresh corn is sweet, especially Peaches and Cream, so I did not add any sugar. I turned the heat very low, put a lid on the skillet, and let it steam/fry for a bit. I checked it every few minutes, stirred to keep it from sticking, and it was soon golden brown and tender. If you fry corn, and are unsure when it is done, taste it. Crispy but not raw is what you are going for here. When it is done, top it with a diced tomato, and enjoy. I forgot to take a picture of my fried corn, so I am using a picture of Peaches and Cram corn instead. 

Peaches and Cream Hybrid corn

Definitions of rumination: noun:   regurgitation of small amounts of food; seen in some infants after feeding noun:   (of ruminants) chewing (the cud) Example: "Ruminants have remarkable powers of rumination" noun:   a calm lengthy intent consideration

Awesome August 2014 - Fragmented Friday

We build words letter by letter -

Hoping to make ourselves feel better?

A cairn is laid stone by stone

To let the next one know you are not alone

Each letter - each stone - builds bridges as well

Because each of us has a truth to tell

Heart and soul exposed to share

With courage and abandon what we dare

The bravest thing that I can be

Is simply - totally - unabashedly me

This is how I make potato soup:

I can tell you in general what I do. You can buy a product called Chicken Base - are you familiar with it? There is a Beef Base as well, it is like a super concentrated Bouillon paste ... I put chunks of potato, diced onion,  diced celery and some chicken base in a saucepan and barely add enough water to cover, I bring to a boil, grate in a medium sized carrot,  then simmer uncovered until the vegetables are tender and the liquid has begun to evaporate. I taste the broth, and season to taste with Old Bay and freshly ground black pepper. I then add heavy cream or half and half to come about 1/2 inch above the vegetables, use a spoon or potato masher to break up a few potatoes to thicken, toss in about a half a stick of butter, and heat until the butter melts. I do not let it boil after I add the butter, I add bacon bits, grated cheddar cheese, and maybe sliced green onions when I serve it.

Most soups are good with crackers, but I always want buttered bread (not toasted, just plain white bread) when I eat potato soup. I think it is because we often had buttered bread with soup in lieu of crackers when I was growing up. 

I posted this on Facebook earlier today:

a journalist is beheaded

a small town in Missouri most of the US would never have had cause to know existed is suddenly the new incarnation of our worst kept national secret

Ebola Haemorrhagic Fever continues to ruthlessly decimate West Africa

the Israel/Palestinian/Gaza Strip maelstrom is claiming lives at a steady clip

But what the hell? Let's just keep obsessing over the marriages/relationships/shenanigans of so-called celebrities in NYC and LA - Facebook, if you are a snapshot of life as we know it, well - what can I say - Houston we have a problem.

I do soul/spirit soothing posts on Facebook - that is the main purpose of our Apples and Owls page. To try to keep some balance against all of the pain, war, bloodshed that we are exposed to constantly in 2014. I know that this may sound contradictory to what I just said in the Facebook post, but in my mind it is not. Here is my reasoning:

The pictorial posts are for the most part pictures we take here at our home: the cats, the creek, trees, rocks, and bushes. I share my blog posts, my poetry, Roger's artwork and hand-crafted jewelry. I write about what I cook from time to time, and sometimes about an issue that I feel passionate about. 

The thing that bothers me is the obsessive amount of attention paid to the personal and professional  lives of "celebrities" and the manner in which it detracts attention from issues of  national and global concern. There is a "Trending Topics" column on the righthand side of Facebook when viewed from my laptop. As I am typing this, seven of the ten trending stories are celebrity related : a separation, a soon-to-be-released book, a cast change for a television show ...

I read the news online rather than watching it on television because broadcast news had deteriorated drastically over the past ten years. September 11, 2001 changed the way news is reported, and covered. In the years since, there has developed a wider and wider gulf in viewpoints, and I want neutrality. So I search out the news online, and try to find the balance. "There are three sides to every story" I look for the one in the middle.

Information and access are tools. Use with caution and care. 

So I will end my fragmented Friday with a picture:

My awesome life at Little Beaver Creek comes complete with a cat on a log!

Awesome August 2014 - Wherein I Play With Words

Complex Execution of Simple Design

Hopes and dreams you cannot confine
Fairies and unicorns will never be caught
Complex execution of simple design

Across breadth of ocean and grove of pine
Wonders by ageless wisdom wrought
Hopes and dreams you cannot confine

True destiny only the heart can define
Eternal truths evermore taught
Complex execution of simple design

As long as the sun and moon still shine
Even when with fool's gold bought
Hopes and dreams you cannot confine

At end of days as destinies entwine
Bleak predictions will all come to naught
Complex execution of simple design

By cairns of old our ancient shrine
Black Mares of night nevermore sought
Hopes and dreams you cannot confine
Complex execution of simple design

The villanelle consists of five stanzas of three lines (tercets) followed by a single stanza of four lines (a quatrain) for a total of nineteen lines. It is structured by two repeating rhymes and two refrains: the first line of the first stanza serves as the last line of the second and fourth stanzas, and the third line of the first stanza serves as the last line of the third and fifth stanzas. 


My life is awesome because I have the luxury of the resources and time to indulge my passion for reading, as well as hone my writing skills. 

Awesome August 2014 Sick Days with Jeopardy, Tomato Soup, and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Don Pardo passed away, an announcer for various television shows, most recently SNL. I connect him, and his voice, with some special memories.

NPR reports here on his passing , and says " Fans of Saturday Night Live, and the original versions of The Price is Right and Jeopardy recognize Don Pardo's voice immediately." 

I grew up in a small town in the mountains of southwest Virginia, Richlands. My father worked as a salesman and warehouse foreman for a wholesale grocer, Dixie Grocery. The buildings where I attended junior high school were across the street and on the other side of the railroad tracks from the Dixie (as we called it). I am the second of three children my parents had together, and the second daughter. I adored my father, and discovered quickly that if I got "sick" at school, once I was in seventh grade, that I could have the secretary call over to the Dixie and Daddy would say send her over here and I will take her home when I get my lunch break. 

This was not a ploy I could pull often, but it did work from time to time. He worked in the warehouse some days, and others he would be on the road, running his sales route. I would clamber over the railroad tracks, up the embankment (not very high at all), cross Railroad Avenue, and enter the Dixie via the loading docks. Daddy would take me into the office area and I would wait there for him until about noon. Jenny Cook was the secretary, and she would look after me and keep me out of trouble. I was fascinated by the office machines, the safe, the bustle and sounds of the place. 

When noon came, we would get in the car and go to the house, maybe a 1  1/2 mile drive. Daddy and I would heat up a can of Campbells Tomato Soup and make grilled cheese sandwiches for our lunch and watch Jeopardy (hosted by Art Fleming, announced by Don Pardo). We still had a black and white television then. Oh, my the memories!

Daddy would answer so many of the questions correctly, and I knew a few. I would try to keep our score on a piece of paper, he always won, and was conservative in his wagers. He was a smart man, and well read. He paid close attention to the news, both broadcast and print. We always had magazines, Time, NewsWeek, The New Yorker, Life, Esquire, in addition to Mom's women's magazines and TV Guide around the house. 

My parents raised us to be politically, socially, economically aware young people. We were a family that read together, and voted in turn as we were eligible. 60 Minutes was watched every Sunday night, and the NBC Nightly News was a time of mandatory silence in the house. Daddy enjoyed sports, especially football and baseball, and we watched sports frequently as well. There was always an ample supply of reference material around the house, and if you had a question, you were told to "Look it up!"

We were not wealthy, but we were rich in so many ways.

After Daddy and I had our tomato soup and cheese sandwiches, he would say, "Well, Bertie, it seems you are feeling better. Ready to go back to school?"

I do not think I fooled him at all, but how I treasured those lunches!

Don Pardo's voice will be missed by me, because it always made me think of my Daddy.

Robert Ernest "Poss" Smith
March 1915 - April 1986

I have an awesome life, because I had a man among men for a father, and am blessed to still have my mother.

Awesome August 2014 Meandering Monday

There is rain washing - again - the trees
Scrubbed clean, from leaves to knees,
By winds and showers, just yesterday.
Whatever capricious God or Woodland Fae
Looked out (or down) and thought,
"I see an acre with rubbish fraught"
Would that they had asked me first - 
Too much of a good thing makes it worse!

From my Facebook page on Sunday: 

I go in to work late today - 4 o'clock. I took the opportunity to make Lazy Hamburger Steaks. I took a pound of ground round and broke it into six pieces, added a sprinkle of Old Bay, browned one side and turned. I added a pint of sliced Baby Bella mushrooms, one half of a huge Vidalia onion I cut into petals, about a cup of beef gravy, and a real good shake of Lea and Perrins Bold steak sauce. Turned the heat down, put on a lid, and it is simmering. Can be eaten open-faced, on a bun, with Mashed Potatoes or rice ... Cooking on the fly, that is how this crone rolls!

I ate one portion with mashed potatoes before I went to work, very filling. I ate another ( Roger had taken care of the other four in the interim ) when I got home from work, this time with brown rice. My only comment would be I wish I had made more! Not shaping the meat into patties, squishing it any, really seemed to work well. I was careful when turning the meat, so as to not make crumbles. The irregular shaped rectangles were sort of whimsical, but as they were broken from the same package of meat they were of a common thickness so they cooked evenly. The looser texture of the portions also seemed to facilitate the gravy permeating the beef, making for a moist Hamburger Steak. I would be hesitant to try this with ground meat that had a very high fat content, as I did not drain any fat before adding the vegetables and gravy. I did not add oil to the skillet prior to cooking either, and had no issues with sticking.  

Politics and social unrest are wearing on me again. I see and read so much negativity, and it is not just on Facebook. It is on the news, be the source print, online content, or television. Online blogs, news outlets, pseudo-news outlets, views through the lens of various religions, beliefs, cultures ... too many agendas, too much division, too much posturing.

In addition to the national and global headlines and events, there are local concerns as well, including a campaign (special election is tomorrow - I am so relieved) that quickly went very south in tone - can we say enough mud has been slung to make bricks to build a good sized stadium? Yes, I think we can. The fact that I am personally acquainted with one of the candidates, and find him to be personable, engaging, and articulate makes the television ads and daily deluge of flyers all the more disheartening. One of the candidates has resurrected a particularly difficult and painful local event from the recent past in an ad, which I know has infuriated a town in the county where I live, and rightly so. It puzzles me to no end how a person endeavoring to be elected to a state office, to become a public servant, could not foresee the possible ramifications of dredging up events that were so horribly and tragically endured by the very people from whom votes are being solicited. It will be educational to see who wins those precincts come Wednesday morning. 

As I type this, Smokie the Black Cat is draped across my lap, catnapping. Mabon the Calico Cat is lying across Roger, cleaning her paws because, well, that is what cats do - endlessly - they clean themselves. And nap. Then demand food. Then clean and nap again. My life is awesome, not because I let myself become unsettled by politics and people, but because I have the cats and Roger and Little Beaver Creek to keep me mindful of balance, perspective, and blessings. Have a good week!

Awesome August 2014 Sunday Blessings

I thought I had lost my muse

(Too much time listening to the news)

I kept seeing spiders and webs appear

Grandmother was still very near

An entire universe lives alongside my creek

The fairies they danced, and gave me a peek

This is Hootie. Sitting on the remains of a black walnut tree that now provides a bridge for the cats to cross Little Beaver Creek and catch yummies to eat (because they have pretty much exhausted the natural food supply on our little acre).

We have Althea (Hibiscus) in bloom. The ruffled petals look like party dresses, discarded by fairies after a night of cavorting with Dragonflies and Lightening Bugs. Perchance a ride on the unicorn as well?

 

Roger planted ornamental gourd seed once , about five years ago. Now we have at least one volunteer vine a year. A lagniappe from the earth. 

Awesome August 2014 Number Twelve (a day late)

The thing about life is ... it keeps happening, at the same rate, though at times our struggle to absorb and process events - reactions - emotions - implications - will affect the pace and timing. We may say, "Time stood still", or "The day just sped by", or "The clock got away from me", but in reality the rotation of this world in orbit around the sun was as constant as it has been for all the days we can individually account for. 

There are births and deaths, tears and laughter, joys and sorrows that mark an internal Book of Days. We in general are incapable of recalling each second of each minute we are awake. We mark certain events in our mind as noteworthy, and they become mental cairns that we use along our journey. 

Then something happens that touches people collectively. Usually a tragedy, a death, occasionally a birth or wedding or triumph of human spirit.

August 11, 2014 is looking to be one of those days for many people. 

When I was in high school we learned this definition of humor in a Speech class, taught by Howard Crouch:

Humor is the juxtaposition of incongruous circumstances.

Is the reason we react collectively to events like suicides, bombings, car crashes, earthquakes, natural and environmental disasters and mass shootings the result of the juxtaposition of light and dark, life and death, belief and reality? We do not deal with negatives well in this country. We have a sort of ingrained societal insistence of superiority, supremacy, happiness, patriotism and invulnerability that defies any of the "darker" elements that balance all of the "light" we seem to claim as a divine right. 

We judge, and judge harshly people, actions, behaviors, beliefs that do not fit into our vision of what is right. 

Is it because we are scared? Do we feel weak, vulnerable? 

Many questions, and I do not have the answers.

We build people - places - institutions into idols and ideals then cannot deal when they end up being just as human and impermanent as we individually know ourselves to be. 

I remember when John F Kennedy was assassinated, when man first walked on the moon, when Richard Nixon resigned, when Elvis Presley died, when John Lennon was murdered, when Princess Diana was killed in a car crash,  when Dale Earnhardt crashed at Daytona, 9/11, when Michael Jackson died. Now I will add Robin Williams to this list. (and yes, there is only one positive event on this list - a sad, sad fact)

I do not fear my own death, I dread the deaths of others. Because I know that in the end, none of us gets out of here alive.

Awesome August 2014 Number 13

My spirits drooped

My shoulders slooped

I craved a lift

A cosmic shift

Too much sad news

Gives one the blues

I turned to - Who?

It wasn't you

Two cats now nap

Hours on my lap

Purring warmth send

My soul to mend

Awesome August 2014 Number Nine, uh Ten, OK - Eleven

Where, Oh, Where has Ellen been? Where, Oh, Where has she gone?

I did so well, the entire month of July, and the first 8 days of August, what possibly could have derailed my writing? If you know me at all, you have probably guessed. 

Yes, a book. But not just any book. This book, that I have been waiting to read for two years. I was gifted the first book, A Discovery of Witches, about three years ago. I purchased the second book, Shadow of Night, as soon as it was published. I first thought The Book of Life would be available a year ago, following the pattern of the first two, but the publication kept getting delayed. I will not demean the author, Deborah Harkness, for making her fans wait. I cannot, being an aspiring writer myself. I have been held in thrall since the first paragraph of Book One, and am actually now mourning the end of the trilogy that has taken me on such a delightful journey. I shall so miss Diana and Matthew, and want to know what transpires with Rebecca and Philip as they grow up ... I can promise you, I will keep looking for new works by this author, she has me as a true fan. 

So anyway, between a book to read (561 pages) then rereading sections (it is that delicious) and work and sleep and cooking and feeding cats, I let my writing commitment slide. So my Awesome August has included a wonderful book, one which I can keep, and reread at my leisure. I read a great deal, and pass many books on to others who enjoy reading, but there are some (perhaps too many? No, never too many books!) that I keep and read again and again. Not always fiction, not always fantasy. Reference books, cookbooks, biographies, history, poetry - I have a very eclectic (and at times, dare I say? esoteric) taste in reading material. 

So, how about a new sonnet to start off the week?

A Sonnet to Selene

I was followed as I drove home last night

Through Glade Hollow and across Copper Ridge

My companion not scary but so bright

Lighting my way across Nashs Ford Bridge

I had hoped she would visit truth be told

Having heard she was in the neighborhood

But at times she is shy - not always bold 

I whispered a greeting - I felt I should

There were silvery moths flying about

An aerial dance to Goddess so fair

Spirit responded in sigh not a shout

Sacred time and space were united there 

Bathed in her beauty and watching her shine

Sacred communion with nature was mine

Awesome August 2014 Number Eight

We have cats, inside cats ( Mabon and Smokie ) and outside cats, Gracie (pictured above), Hootie, Marble, and Four. Roger was outside yesterday, trimming tree branches and weedeating. Gracie was helping, keeping watch as to prevent anything from attacking Roger, perhaps? More likely, looking for an unsuspecting insect or vole to pounce upon. Roger heard mewing, so he went to investigate. Ah. In one fell swoop, Four has doubled our outside cat population. They were definitely born on August 7, because she was still visibly pregnant, and very restless, the day before. 

He keeps a camera at hand, and was able to get pictures to share with me when I arrived home from work. We name the outside cats, and feed them. They will come close, but are not amenable to being petted. They are excellent natural pest control, for us and the neighbors. No mice, moles, voles, or shrews to be found. When we first moved here, in 2002, a cat we named TC adopted us. We tried to have her inside, but she preferred the yard. Her favorite place to lie about ( Cats do so love to lie about! ) was the house roof. The current outside cats are her descendants.  

The tree trimming yesterday was concentrated on the Tulip Poplars, we have three now, as well as Weeping Willow and River Birch, and various bushes and shrubs. We also have a Grape Arbor, in which the cats love to play, climb, and hunt. 

Little Beaver Creek sings merrily along, and the cats drink from the quiet pools along the edge. They will eschew a bowl of fresh water and go to the creek instead to drink. The only time they will deign to drink from a bowl is in winter, when they shelter in the shed and the creek is too icy along the banks to drink from easily. We feed them in the shed during the winter as well. We have the most pampered outside cats ever. I purchase canned food as well as kibble for them, and they get treats on a regular basis. Roger made a pet door to allow them easy access to the shed, just big enough for a cat to get through. 

We really do have an awesome life.

Awesome August 2014 Number Seven

Until I have no need of soothing grace
On that day all my thoughts are simply true
When rest is given a permanent place
With grasses green and sky of deepest blue
Once my voice can rise in victor's rare song
Soaring aloft and drifting to eager ears
When I can gaze where I feel I belong
Until  acceptance supplants mournful tears
Replete in task and that ,yes, 'twas well done 
All mountains scaled and oceans sailed
No more rising moon nor bright midday sun
And all of life's answers can be unveiled 
On that day when my toils are done and blest
Remember this, my heart, I love you  best

Awesome August 2014 Number Six

On my days off, I like to take the opportunity to cook. This is one of Roger's favorite meals:

Take a sausage and slice it into chunks about  1.5 inches long. Place in an iron skillet over low heat and fry until the casing is crispy, turning from time to time.  Meanwhile, in a separate skillet, preheat with about 2 tablespoons oil, bacon grease, or butter added. Slice into shreds or bite size pieces a head of cabbage and add to the skillet. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper, lower heat to medium low, and cover with a lid. Cook until softened and begins to caramelize slightly. 

That is it. Simple, tasty, easy. Onion can be added to the cabbage, but it is delicious either way. The cabbage releases enough water to steam without adding any, and you can cook it to your preference. I add a splash of hot sauce to mine after cooking, and it is great with cornbread. If you want to have a more Asian meal, use a touch of sesame oil, and add a splash of soy sauce rather than the salt and pepper. Eat it with some sauteed chicken, and serve over rice. 

Looking to the sky. What an awesome view. 

Summer Afternoon Sonnet

Dragons are there - pigs and unicorns too

Fairies - sprites - elves - gnomes - magic all around

See all of the animals from the zoo

Up in the sky and clouds all can be found

Look up and watch closely soon you will see 

Not vapors and gas adrift on a breeze

Gifts revealed ease your rush to constantly 

Keep ahead of the crowd and always please

Lie down in the grass or lean back and swing

Optimal viewing postures - ask a child 

An open mind is all you need to bring

Be willing to let imagery run wild

We all live lives of such pressure and stress

Cloudwatching can help untangle that mess

What do you see?