TO ALL MY FRIENDS IN THE BLOGGING WORLD

My Christmas Wish To YOU By Catherine Pulsifer
If I could wish a wish for you, it would be for peace and happiness not only now, but for the whole year through!
I wish that there always be food on your table. And that you always remember those less fortunate.May you always take time to share, and thank those who share with you.
I wish for time, so you may reflect on the blessings that you have, and that you express your love to those who are dear to you.
May you never feel lonely, because there are those who care.That you realize: you are special, you are unique, you make a difference, not only at Christmas, but all year!
I wish for your thoughts to be positive ones, that you never quit, that you never give up, and that you continue to learn.I wish for the love, peace, and joy of Christmas be yours always, Merry Christmas to each of you dear blogging friends.Judy

WHEN THE FROST IS ON THE PUNKIN AND THE FODDERS IN THE SHOCK

This is another poem by James Whitcomb Riley that I used to love as a child. I hope you like it, too. It seems so appropriate for this time of the year.

WHEN the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock,
And you hear the kyouck and gobble of the struttin' turkey-cock,
And the clackin' of the guineys, and the cluckin' of the hens,
And the rooster's hallylooyer as he tiptoes on the fence;
O, it's then the time a feller is a-feelin' at his best,
With the risin' sun to greet him from a night of peaceful rest,
As he leaves the house, bareheaded, and goes out to feed the stock,
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodders in the shock.

They's something kindo' harty-like about the atmusfere
When the heat of summer's over and the coolin' fall is here—
Of course we miss the flowers, and the blossoms on the trees,
And the mumble of the hummin'-birds and buzzin' of the bees;
But the air's so appetizin'; and the landscape through the haze
Of a crisp and sunny morning of the airly autumn days
Is a pictur' that no painter has the colorin' to mock—
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

The husky, rusty russel of the tossels of the corn,
And the raspin' of the tangled leaves as golden as the morn;
The stubble in the furries—kindo' lonesome-like, but still
A-preachin' sermuns to us of the barns they growed to fill;
The strawstack in the medder, and the reaper in the shed;
The hosses in theyr stalls below—the clover overhead!—
O, it sets my hart a-clickin' like the tickin' of a clock,
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.


Then your apples all is gethered, and the ones a feller keeps
Is poured around the cellar-floor in red and yaller heaps;
And your cider-makin's over, and your wimmern-folks is through
With theyr mince and apple-butter, and theyr souse and sausage too!...
I don't know how to tell it—but ef such a thing could be
As the angels wantin' boardin', and they'd call around on me—
I'd want to 'commodate 'em—all the whole-indurin' flock—
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

THE GOBLINS WILL GET YOU IF YOU DON'T WATCH OUT!!

My mother used to read this poem to me when I was a child. I read it to my three children on Halloween and I hope my children will read it to my grandchildren.

To all the little children: -- The happy ones; and sad ones;The sober and the silent ones; the boisterous and glad ones; The good ones -- Yes, the good ones, too; and all the lovely bad ones.

Little Orphant Annie
by
James Whitcomb Riley

Little Orphan Annie's come to my house to stay.
To wash the cups and saucers up and brush the crumbs away.

To shoo the chickens from the porch and dust the hearth and sweep,

and make the fire and bake the bread to earn her board and keep.

While all us other children, when the supper things is done,

we sit around the kitchen fire and has the mostest fun,

a listening to the witch tales that Annie tells about

and the goblins will get ya if ya don't watch out!

Once there was a little boy who wouldn't say his prayers,

and when he went to bed at night away up stairs,

his mammy heard him holler and his daddy heard him bawl,

and when they turned the covers down, he wasn't there at all!

They searched him in the attic room and cubby hole and press

and even up the chimney flu and every wheres, I guess,

but all they ever found of him was just his pants and round-abouts

and the goblins will get ya if ya don't watch out!!

Once there was a little girl who always laughed and grinned

and made fun of everyone, of all her blood and kin,

and once when there was company and old folks was there,

she mocked them and she shocked them and said, she didn't care.

And just as she turned on her heels to go and run and hide,

there was two great big black things a standing by her side.

They snatched her through the ceiling fore she knew what shes about,

and the goblins will get ya if ya don't watch out!!

When the night is dark and scary, and the moon is full

and creatures are a flying and the wind goes Whoooooooooo,

you better mind your parents and your teachers fond and dear,

and cherish them that loves ya, and dry the orphans tears

and help the poor and needy ones that cluster all about,

or the goblins will get ya if ya don't watch out!!!

QUE SERA SERA - WHAT EVER WILL BE, WILL BE

Years ago, Doris Day, had a song out called Que Sera Sera. Here is one verse of that song:

Que Sera, Sera,
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be.

That kind of sums up my life. Sometimes I think it should be a song that was sung by country artist Pam Tillis called, Mi Vida Loca, which means my crazy life. There has been many ups and downs in my life, many hurts and many wonderful experiences and I would not change one thing if I had to go back and do it all over. I have a wonderful family, my health as far as I know, friends, stability, a great partner, and I try to enjoy every moment that I have left on this good earth.

My girlfriend is always saying, "if I could only live my life over and know what I know now". I can't go along with that because I think I would make bigger mistakes than the ones I made before.

There are so many quotes and sayings by famous people about life. For instance: Everything happens for a reason or if it was meant to be, it will be. I have used these expressions to rationalize many things.

I always liked this one: Every ending is a new beginning! That makes good sense to me.
Have you heard this one? Life is what you make it. Here's another. It was God's plan or when God closes a door, He opens a window. Also, every cloud has a silver lining.

Grandma Moses said: Life is what we make it, always has been, always will be. Martin Fischer said Life is a ticket to the greatest show on earth.

I think this one pertaining to love is probably true: If you love something set it free. If it was meant to be it will come back to you.

It appears we want to believe that the things we have happen in our life have meaning and that good things come out of the bad that happens. I believe life's happenings help us to become better people and stronger people so that ultimately we discover who we were meant to be.

I like this one: Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away!

My philosophy is kind of measured by a poem I have loved ever since the first time I heard it many years ago. It was written by James Henry Leigh. You can read my favorite poem below.

ABOU BEN ADHEM

Abou ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!) awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,

And saw, within the moonlight of his room, Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom,

an angel, writing in a book of of gold.

Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold,

And to the Prescence in the room he said: "What writest thou?"

The vision raised its head,

And, with a look made of all sweet accord,

Answered, "The names of those who love the Lord.

" "And is mine one?"said Abou,

"Nay, not so," Replied the angel.

Abou spoke more low,

But cheerily still, and said, "I pray thee, then,

Write me as one who loves his fellow men."

The angel wrote, and vanished.

The next night It came again, with a great awakening light,

And showed the names whom love of God had blest,

And lo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest.

Do you have a favorite quote or a favorite poem about life or just an opinion. If so, leave me a comment.

Happy Father's Day Daddy

This is my father with me when I was two years old.

My father died on November 26, 1993. It was Thanksgiving Day. I was getting ready to leave to come home and got the call that he had passed away. He had been sick for several years and was 88 years old when he died.

When I first married my son's father, back in the 60s, we lived in Richmond, Kentucky. One day, I was homesick and missing my parents and wrote a poem for my father. I mailed him the poem and he seemed to really enjoy it.

One of my nieces read it at his funeral in 1993. I still have a copy of the poem and am posting it for him today on Father's Day.

To Daddy

Daddy, I spent the afternoon with you today

Even though you are several miles away

You were constantly on my mind

As we traveled back to a bygone time.

I remembered being a little girl

You took me upon your knee

And read the Sunday funny papers

Out loud at night to me

You taught me how to spell my name

Before I started to school

You built a great, big doll house

Beside a concrete swimming pool

I went with you into the field

To milk that old, brown cow

And wandered around impatiently

But how I love that memory now

We picked crates and crates of strawberries

And complained constantly of the heat

But now that I am older

That memory is so sweet

When it came time to set tobacco

On our little piece of land

I dropped the plants, and poured the water

And you, Dad, set it all by hand

Then when the time came

For our tobacco to be sold

You stripped it all in the garage

Where it was so very cold

I used to love to sneak out of the house

And watch you working down there

As I sat upon the tobacco press

Chattering on, without a care.

I remember many days

Dad, just you and me

Pitting cherries or picking gooseberries

In the backyard under that old tree

We also went fishing so many times

Took lunch in your black pail

You always made sure, Dad

I caught a fish without fail.

I guess those days are gone forever

Lost except in memory

But, Dad, I thank you with all my heart

For being such a good father to me

My only hope now that I am older

And as time goes on

Is that I can pass what you gave me

To children of my own.

So this afternoon, Dad, we spent together

wandering back through time

And I loved each and every minute

In the memories of my mind.

Butterflies Are Free

Butterflies are such brightly colored, beautiful additions to your garden and give it a sense of happiness and peace. I love watching them flit from one plant to another sampling the necture of each flower bloom like it was a buffet laid out on nature's table.




Adult butterflies are attracted to red, yellow, orange, pink, or purple blossoms and flat-topped or clustered flowers. They love zennias, marigolds, cone flowers, daisies, verbenas, garlic chives, lilacs, bee balm, and many mint plants to name a few.



Butterfly adults feed mostly in the sun so your plants should receive full sun mid-morning to mid-afternoon.




There are at least 700 species of butterflies in North America and most insecticides are lethal to them.




In a previous blog I talked about toad abodes so wondered if there was such a thing as a butterfly house and found out there are such things for the garden. You can make your own or order them from various places.




The following link will give you plans for building a butterfly house for your garden and various other butterfly related items: http://butterflywebsite.com/articles/house/plans.htm






I, also, learned that butterflies love over-ripe fruit such as bananas, strawberries, orange slices, and leftover melon ends.






A ceramic or glass pie plate, plastic or terra cotta plant saucer, or a dish with a sloping rim can all be used to make easy butterfly feeders. Suspend the plate with flower pot hangers or fashion a macrame style holder from household twine. You could wind the stems of silk or plastic flowers around the twine holder to decorate the butterfly feeder and make it visually appealing to butterflies.Simply hang the feeder from the bough of a shady tree, in a spot where you can easily view visitors to the feeder. Try to place it a little higher than your highest flowers. Add slices of over-ripe fruit. You can sprinkle a little fruit juice or water over the fruit slices if they dry out too much - remember it's the mushy, rotting, very over-ripe fruit that butterflies like best. Replace the fruit if it dries out or becomes moldy.




This is a cute poem or song I found about butterflies:

The Fuzzy Caterpillar (Tune: Itsy Bitsy Spider)

The fuzzy caterpillar curled up on a leaf,

Spun her little chrysalis

And then fell fast asleep.

While she was sleeping,

She dreamed that she could fly,

And later when she wokeup

She was a butterfly!

Where Are You From?

If you don't know where you're from, you'll have a hard time saying where you're going. Wendell Berry, among others, has voiced this idea that we need to understand our roots to know our place in the world. There is a poem by George Ella Lyons called "Where I"m From". Below is a copy of this poem I took from the internet: Where I'm From

by George Ella Lyons

I am from clothespins, from Clorox

and carbon-tetrachloride.

I am from the dirt under the black porch.

(Black, glistening

it tasted like beets.)

I am from the forsythia bush,

the Dutch elm

whose long gone limbs I remember

as if they were my own.

I'm from fudge and eyeglasses,

from Imogene and Alafair.

I'm from the know-it-alls

and the pass-it-ons,

from perk up and pipe down.

I'm from He restoreth my soul

with a cottonball lamb

and ten verses I can say myself.

I'm from Artemus and Billie's Branch,

fried corn and strong coffee.

From the finger my grandfather lost

to the auger

the eye my father shut to keep his sight.

Under my bed was a dress box

spilling old pictures,

a sift of lost faces

to drift beneath my dreams.

I am from those moments

-snapped before I budded

-leaf-fall from the family tree.

Here is a template so that you can make this poem your own if you would like. Just copy and paste the template into e-mail or word perfect or whatever program you want to use and get to work creating something about yourself that you can use in the "About Me" section of blogger or keep or just post on your blog as a poem about you! You can read my "poem about me" on my blog in the right column.

The WHERE I'M FROM Template

I am from _______ (specific ordinary item), from _______ (product name) and _______.
I am from the _______ (home description... adjective, adjective, sensory detail).
I am from the _______ (plant, flower, natural item), the _______ (plant, flower, natural detail)
I am from _______ (family tradition) and _______ (family trait), from _______ (name of family member) and _______ (another family name) and _______ (family name).
I am from the _______ (description of family tendency) and _______ (another one).
From _______ (something you were told as a child) and _______ (another).
I am from (representation of religion, or lack of it). Further description.
I'm from _______ (place of birth and family ancestry), _______ (two food items representing your family).
From the _______ (specific family story about a specific person and detail), the _______ (another detail, and the _______ (another detail about another family member).
I am from _______ (location of family pictures, mementos, archives and several more lines indicating their worth).

Have fun and good luck composing your poem. You don't have to follow the guidelines exactly, just use it as something to go by for your own creation. If you have fun with this and post it on your blog, leave me a comment and let me know, so that I can read it. Thanks.

Thomas Wyatt Visits His Nanna JuJu

I kept the best, most adorable little boy over the weekend. His parents, Rob and Sarah got out of the house for a little while to go shopping and take in a movie. Thomas Wyatt, my one and only grandchild, will be one year old on June 6th. He has been such a joy that has come into all our lives for the past eleven months.

I stayed with them for several days when he was born to help Mom and Dad adjust and it sure did not take Nanna but a few days to fall head over hills in love with this little boy.

He is just on the verge of walking but has not let go and walked on his own yet. He has some real nice teeth, too. Four in the top and two in the bottom and you better not stick a finger in that mouth!

It is so much fun to watch him discover new things and how hard he concentrates when trying to figure out just how something works.

He has a few words in his vocabulary like "Da-Da", "Hi", "Bye", "Momma", and lots of squeals and laughter.


TW loves to look out my windows at the birds and children playing outside and his curiosity about what is behind my cabinet doors never ceases!






TW is learning about apples, bananas, and some regular foods at this point and he had some brand new white lace-up shoes to help him with his walking but he is not used to them and likes just going barefoot a lot better.



Every time I see those little bare feet, it reminds me of a poem by John Greenleaf Whittier.



Here is one verse from that poem:



The Barefoot Boy

Blessings on thee, little man,

Barefoot boy, with cheek of tan!

With thy turned-up pantaloons,

And thy merry whistled tunes;

With thy red lip, redder still

Kissed by strawberries on the hill;

With the sunshine on thy face,

Through thy torn brim's jaunty grace;

From my heart I give thee joy --

I was once a barefoot boy!