Have a Very Merry Christmas!!

"From Home to home, and heart to heart, from one place to another. The warmth and joy of Christmas, brings us closer to each other." ~Emily Matthews

"Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time." ~Laura Ingalls Wilder

"I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round, as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys."
~Charles Dickens

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I love the many different Santa's.. there is a Santa for everyone..

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Winter Wonderland


Frosty feet
stomp around
wool scarfed
snowman.

Hot chocolate sippers
hibernate;
soaking fireplace warmth.

Written By: Patricia Sawyer
11-11-2008

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Thanks for stopping by my blog today.. I have rushed and hurried all day long getting ready for tomorrow.. I welcome both comments and followers... Have a wonderful day and a very Merry Christmas..

Patsy

A Wednesday Visit to My World! Won't You Come in From the Cold?..

"In poverty and other misfortunes of life, true friends are a sure refuge. The young they keep out of mischief; to the old they are a comfort and aid in their weakness, and those in the prime of life they incite to noble deeds."
- Aristotle

"We cannot tell the precise moment when friendship is formed. As in filling a vessel drop by drop, there is at last a drop which makes it run over. So in a series of acts of kindness there is, at last, one which makes the heart run over.
- James Boswell

"Everyone calls himself a friend, but only a fool relies on it: nothing is commoner than the name, nothing rarer than the thing."
- Jean de La Fontaine

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Garden Bloggers Bloom Day - December 2010

I am almost sure that nothing is blooming out in my garden... It was barely freezing all day so I haven't been out and about any more than the animals demanded of me.. I did make a quick trip to my Mom's house to pick up her dogs or a visit while she visits with Trudy and then a quick stop at my favorite store for making photo's of plants and flowers.. they always have lovely blooms in their floral center.. today I chose two that I thought represented the season..

~ Poinsettia

Christmas Cactus~

~ I spotted these Ice covered trees at a Church next to my Mom's house today.. The sun hitting them was beautiful though it doesn't show so much here.. we thought maybe a sprinkler had been left on over night but we couldn't find one near these plants..
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Three Word Wednesday-
~ dabble, lean, utter~

An American Sentence Poem

"At the Icy Edge of a Pond"

three quackers dabble.. pickings lean in winter's wind.. fries bring utter chaos...
12-15-2010


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Oh What a Night

Shepherds traveled, their only map a star.
The Angels gave a concert from above.
Wise Men came bearing gifts, to the Christ Child.
God's gift to mankind. Born in a manger, sweet gift of Love.

Written By: Patricia Sawyer
12-22- 2008

One Shot Wednesday- week 24-

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Thanks for stopping by my world today.. It sure is cold here.. I welcome both comments and followers.. Have a wonderful day!

Patsy

"Cold Enough for a Fire".. I Can Almost Hear Daddy Say!

"A #2 pencil and a dream can take you anywhere. "
- Joyce A. Myers

"Lying in bed would be an altogether perfect and supreme experience if only one had a colored pencil long enough to draw on the ceiling."
- Gilbert Keith Chesterton

"The writer doesn't need economic freedom. All he needs is a pencil and some paper."
- William Faulkner, 1897 - 1962

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Microfiction Monday #61 -




Rub a dub dub.. the wash board in a tub.. Little Miss Mary splashed her best dress with water while the "wash woman" was in the outhouse..

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( just a side note from someone who has had the chance to wash clothes on a washboard in a tub... though the picture is cute.. there would be no way she would be still dry.. washing clothes on a scrub board is back breaking.. hot.. and very tiring.. I actually own two well worn wash boards and each of my children have had a chance to learn to use them.. in fact I insisted that they wash their own things while we were on a camping vacation.. yes I am a mean..mean... mean woman... )


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Ceremony

selfish blunders jolt
wedding trinkets soon tarnish
apathy begins

Written By: Patricia Sawyer
7-1-2010

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Shielded

love a sweet buffer
hardest work a pleasant chore
poverty giggles

Written By: Patricia Sawyer
7-1-2010


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Burnished Bog

ghostly lily pads
brightly adrift in moonlight
alligator sleeps

Written By: Patricia Sawyer
7-1-2010


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It is bitterly cold here.. as Christmas draws nearer and nearer.. I don't have much spirit.. I think about all the ones who we will be missing this year.. some who have been gone for a long.. long time and some who have recently passed.. I have heard that they sell "spirit" in colorful bottles.. and I have been wanting a bottle tree... I wonder what "spirit" will taste like.. thanks for stopping by my blog today to share a few moments of my world... I welcome both comments and followers.. Have a great day!
Patsy

Photography Contest .... Pet Faces!

“A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.” ~ Josh Billings

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I Heart Faces~

Photo Contest/Pet Faces
~ Diamond...

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Thanks for stopping by my blog today.. I welcome both comments and followers..

have a great day!

Patsy

Dave Predicts a Cold Winter.. I Predict A Few Cold Nights.. Shall We Set A Wager?...

"A happy family is but an earlier heaven."
~ George Bernard Shaw

"Your family and your love must be cultivated like a garden. Time, effort, and imagination must be summoned constantly to keep any relationship flourishing and growing." ~ Jim Rohn

"Family: A unit composed not only of children, but of men, women, an occasional animal, and the common cold." ~ Ogden Nash

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Project Life Tuesday~

The City Says Merry Christmas... with wreaths on lamp-posts

~ The Bigger the House.. The bigger the decorations..

~poinsettias brighten even the gloomiest corners..

and fancy decorations~ fill the store windows..

It's beginning to look a whole lot like Christmas!!

~ My World~

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{this is a time of year when we desperately miss our

loved ones.. and my list of missing loved ones has grown

by leaps and bounds this year...}


~ Bobby's Last Dance ~


Looking at his hands
praying no one noticed
how they trembled.
He was feeling his age.
Life catching up with him.
Needing a left handed smoke.
He had peeked out back
Every one was in attendance.
Nosy bunch. His sisters kids.
Bull dogs he had called them.
The Girls weren't too bad,
he almost liked one of them.
But those four boys. Bull dogs.
Even he had been bitten.
Fighters every single one.
Better left alone.
Made him proud to be kin.
They would argue over his gift.
Him making monkey faces
as they fought to get his dishrags
with his hard earned money
hidden away on the inside.
She always wrapped them for him
laughing together like old times
as they chose her prettiest paper.
He loved her like no one else.
"Oh my sweet sister!" he smiled
thinking about their life. Twins.
Her husband was a wonderful man.
Their love for each other pure.
He had never found the dream
love they shared. He had tried.
God knows he had tried.
"Hurry up!" his Partner called.
"We need you to Dance."
Strut Miss Lucy. A children's game.
Every year they played silly games
But he liked getting the prizes.
With a wink and a nod at himself
He slipped his silly putty
back inside his front pocket.
"I can't wait" He yelled.
He knew he owned that game.
He danced through the house
down the walkway and across the yard.
Then Bowing to his partner
he stepped out into the joy
of Bobby's Last dance.

Written By: Patricia Sawyer
10-27-2008

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~ Christmas Supper ~

rich
cherry
flaky crusts

fiery ovens
birds await stuffing
potato salad bowls

delicious aromas drift
captivating waiting tasters

forgotten tree lights sparkle nearby
ignored~ the feeding frenzy begins.

Written By: Patricia Sawyer
12-11-2008

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It has been December for a whole week already.. my tree is up.. colorful lights twinkling in the corner of my Living room and shining through the window to invite friends and family in for the Christmas season... I am not in the Holiday spirit.. I haven't a clue as to what to buy for gifts.. everyone has what they need and most of what they want.. If I buy a green shirt.. they will have wanted a blue hoodie.. I have been shopping twice and the second time we didn't even buy any gifts.. I don't like the crowds and the rush that goes along with Christmas shopping... I do try to get into the spirit but some how it seems to elude me more and more year after year.. I can only hope that between now and Christmas day I will catch the spirit from some of the children or Grand-children.. it's not that I don't want to have a Merry Christmas.. maybe a big box of chocolate covered cherries would help.. Thanks stopping by my blog today.. I welcome both comments and followers.. Have a wonderful day.

Patsy

26 Things... As I See Them.. Challenge Yourself...

"My portraits are more about me than they are about the people I photograph."
~ Richard Avedon

"No one will understand a Japanese garden until you've walked through one, and you hear the crunch underfoot, and you smell it, and you experience it over time. Now there's no photograph or any movie that can give you that experience."
~ J. Carter Brown

"The viewer must bring their own view to a photograph." ~ Fay Godwin

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26 Things~ a photo challenge

I have spent some time capturing images for the latest Photo Challenge on one of My favorite places to find a good photo challenge .... Sh1ft.ORG.. they have great projects.. and they welcome you to use their prior lists to challenge yourself..
below is the list for November 2010 and my photo choices for each entry..


1. Tall ~

~ 2. Amazing

3. Round ~

~ 4. Hidden

5. Green~

~ 6. An animal

7. Dirty~

~ 8. Early

9. Weather~

~ 10. An arrow

11. Curve~

~ 12. Tomorrow

13. Inside ~

~ 14. A ceiling

15. Watch out ~

~ 16. Key

17. Reflection ~

~ 18. Track

19. Framed~

~ 20. Busy

21. Strange~

~ 22. Upside down

23. Spots ~

~ 24. Shoes

25. Weathered ~

~ 26. Sunday morning

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Thanks for stopping by.... I welcome both comments and followers! Have a great day!!

Patsy

How Old is Old?... ABC ME.. Shadows and Flowers..

"A flower cannot blossom without sunshine, and man cannot live without love. "
~Max Muller

"A flower falls, even though we love it; and a weed grows, even though we do not love it."
~ Dogen

"Life is the flower for which love is the honey."
~ Victor Hugo


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Tomorrow is my Birthday.. I am getting old.. when I was 15 I was asked out by an "old" man.. he was 25... when I was almost single for a few months in 1985 I was asked out by an "old" man.. he was 45... when I was a bona-fide divorced woman in 1993 I actually dated an "old" man.. he was 52.. tomorrow I will be 51.. I am getting old.. some days I am almost there.. other days I am already beyond old.. In honor of being "OLD" I will be sharing a 26 thing meme about myself.. read along maybe you will find a laugh hidden here..

A is for Acrobat.. I wanted to be an acrobat and tried to learn to tumble and flip.. I did finally.. barely.. land a cart wheel.. I quickly decided I'd rather be a baroness..

B is for Bread.. I don't really like bread..but if I must eat it.. I would rather have home baked bread than bought bread..

C is for Cooking.. I love to cook and can whip up tasty meals in just a fondue pot.. I can work from a short ingredient list too as long as I have some chosen spices I will turn out a good meal..

D is for dolls.. yes I love and collect dolls...

E is for Everlasting.. my love and friendship is everlasting.. so if I haven't seen you in a while./. I still love you and will get over being provoked eventually..

F is for family.. I love my family..I will let strangers be family too sometimes..

G is for growing.. I love to grow stuff.. flowers.. food.. animals..

H is for home.. I knew this place was Home the moment I set foot here.. Home is indeed where your heart is..

I is for Inside out.. I turn myself inside out with worry many times when it is wasted energy.. I worry about him and him and him and her and even you!!

J is for jump rope.. I love to play jump rope and still remember most of the "jump rope" songs from my childhood..

K is for kisses.. I really like kisses.. the plain..chocolate ones are fine... but I like the ones with nuts the best

L is for licking.. along with all my siblings.. I once licked my way to the center of a tootsie roll pop.. we counted and sent the answer to the address on the label.. they were not impressed..we figured they would at least send us some suckers..

M is for Mystery.. I know a few secrets..

N is for notes.. I have almost every note that was ever written to me.. I take them out and read a few sometimes.. to remind myself that people can change..

O is for Open minded.. I try to be open minded but honestly I have a hard time dealing with modern emotions.. or the modern lack of emotions.. and morals.. I think it's because I am getting old..

P is for purple.. I used to love to wear purple.. now there are so many different "purples" that the whole color has become way to busy for me.. maybe I'll just pull on some black clothes and blend in..

Q is for quickly.. the days pass quickly and the nights are sometimes long..

R is for Resting... resting takes up more and more of my time..

S is for silly.. I overheard someone call me a silly Old woman in the store the other day.. I just smiled at her.. she was after all just a silly young girl...

T is for talented.. I wish I was more talented in many things.. I would love to paint cathedrals and design wonderful fashions.. I would also love to be an acrobat who could flip and twist in many directions.. thankfully I can turn a word..

U is for underwear.. I once slept without my underwear because a friend told me it would set me free.. I am not sure what I expected but the following morning I didn't feel free.. I was ten and I had to jump right up when Daddy called and get my underwear on and go to school..

V is for vacation.. I would love to take a real vacation.. no phone?.. no computer?.. Hmm.. maybe not..

W is for wishes.. I still make wishes on falling stars.. the first star.. single stars and birthday candles..

X is for X-rays.. though I have had sonograms 4 times.. I have never had a regular x-ray of my own body... on the other hand I have held my children's hands through a gazillion of them through the years..

Y is for year.. I am another year older.. another year smarter.. and still you ignore my wisdom... silly.. silly you!

Z is for zippers.. my all time favorite pair of jeans had two zippers..and two buttons.. I wore them till they fell apart.. I wish I could find a pair of them now.. they were different even way back then.. it made me feel special to wear them.. now that I'm "almost" old I might want to feel special sometimes..

~ Noah and I...

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Shadow Shot Sunday #132 ~

~ The reception table

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Macro Flowers Saturday~


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Thanks for stopping by my blog.. I welcome both comments and followers.. Have a wonderful day!
Patsy