Happy Columbus Day.. No Mail.. NO Bills.. Oh Happy Day!?!

"One of the hardest things to teach a child is that the truth is more important than the consequences." ~ Eddie Rickenbacker

"If you can spend a perfectly useless afternoon in a perfectly useless manner, you have learned how to live." ~ Lin Yutang

"You wouldn't worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
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Micro-Fiction Monday~ #52

trained to always be on time-
Grandma grabbed her bags and ran
to meet the morning train- she ran right
by the trainers and the trainees

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~ Moody Monday~ Rural-

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Sometimes I feel a little moody.. a little dark..
today has been one of those days.. days when nothing seems right..
and yet nothing exactly is wrong.. dark days..

Darkness-

I listen to troubles
not my own...

I cry for your sorrows
woes begone..

this too shall pass
I pray is true..

for you.. for you
for me.. for you..

darkness fades
you smile in the light..

begone darkness
for me.. not quite..

phone rings and smiles
you hear in my voice..

for I am me
and I have no choice..

so never think me
just mad or mean

I too have darkness
and no where to lean...

Written By: Patricia Sawyer
10-11-2010

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Haiku Heights-

The Blemish

no mark upon her
no blemish upon her skin~
chalk outline remains

Written By: Patricia Sawyer
10-11-2010

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

Monday with Moods and Haiku.. Would you Like to Dance?..

"My life has been one great big joke, a dance that's walked a song that's spoke, I laugh so hard I almost choke when I think about myself." ~ Maya Angelou

"When you dance, your purpose is not to get to a certain place on the floor. It's to enjoy each step along the way." ~ Wayne Dyer

"But let there be spaces in your togetherness and let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls." ~ Kahlil Gibran

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Moody Monday- Dancing..

- At times we dance alone..

...other times we dance as couples..

... And Sometimes.. Our whole family dances..

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Haiku Heights- Appreciation..

In Rhythm

faded wallflower
shows no appreciation~
clumsily we dance

Written By: Patricia Sawyer
9-13-2010

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Thanks for stopping by my blog today.. I welcome comments .. feel free to leave me one..

I hope you have a great day!

Patsy

Monday...Writing Poems.. Club Meeting Fellowship.. Hot as Usual..

"We cross our bridges when we come to them and burn them behind us, with nothing to show for our progress except a memory of the smell of smoke, and a presumption that once our eyes watered." ~ Tom Stoppard

"Health food may be good for the conscience but Oreos taste a hell of a lot better."
~ Robert Redford

"Architecture is inhabited sculpture."
~ Constantin Brancusi

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Moody Monday~ Brmm.. Brmm!

~ Emily and I spotted this awesome ride in the Parking lot when we left the store after shopping for school supplies.. I thought the driver must be something special.. I was imagining black leather and good looks.. Emily said he was probably an old fart.. He was not.. he was a young.. and very dirty.. smelly fart.. he snarled at me as he walked up.. I didn't know if it was because I was near his bike or if it was just because..I hurried away from his rude snarl and the nasty smell of body odor... But he still had this awesome ride!!


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Three Word Wednesday~ ( yes I know it's Monday!)

~ ~ grimace, phase, stumble~


Parenthood

the stubborn grimace
just another teen age phase~
I stumble along...

Written By: Patricia Sawyer
8-23-2010


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Gold Rush ~ (ABC~ poem)

Able bodies come..
dig .. excavate.. find gold..
how I jumped..keep looking..
mercy.. Nothing!..
ore... picks..quick rising
settlements.. tents.. Unbelievable..
Vigilantes.. Worries... xenophobic..
yelling zestfully..

Written By: Patricia Sawyer
8-23-2010


*xenophobic ~ fear or hatred towards foreigners, foreign countries, or anything foreign to your everyday life...

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Saturday Centus.. ( and yes I still know it's Monday..)

Exactly 100 words, first person, fact or fiction...
What I did over my Summer Vacation ..



What I Did Over My Summer Vacation

I chopped and hoed and planted seed
... dug a swimming hole
I picked and shucked and canned the corn
.... killed an ugly mole..
I read some books then read some more..
.... climbed up the old pine trees
I fell right down and hit the ground
.... Skinning both my knees....
I played a song .. and danced a spell
... on Grandma's metal drum
and though she tried to look away
... I heard my sister hum..
Now that it's time for back to School..
... I hate to hear them say..
Now write some words that tell us how
...you spent the holiday!

Written By: Patricia Sawyer
8-23-2010

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I know you are wondering why I have things from other days on here on Monday.. I am fully aware what day it is.. Sometimes I just run out of time. or space.. or steam and I have things that just don't make it on when they are supposed to.. My computer was trying to make me angry most of the week end and finally I gave up on it.. then this morning after a restart it pretended it was brand new again.. I quit trying to understand.. Hopefully the folks who give us these prompts won't mind.. as long as I don't make a habit of being peculiar...

Today was hot as could be.. I wanted rain and I didn't want rain.. I was excited that I might actually ..if nothing happened and no visitors showed up.. make it to my poetry group meeting.. having been a missing person there for almost five months I hoped they would remember me.. Diane.. the treasurer has been keeping me up on everything.. she sent me every month's assignments.. I worked all day to be sure that I had everything written and printed and all words spelled correctly.. I have missed the group and the fellowship there.. I was ready and raring to be off at five forty five.. I would be a few minutes earlier than the six o'clock starting time... but I couldn't wait any longer.. I had to go! I was glad to see my friends.. I am pretty sure they were glad to see me too... we each read a few poems and then I read some more of the ones I wrote while I was missing in action.. we praised and encouraged each other and laughed together.. I left there with a renewed spirit.. Fellowship does that for a person...

I also tried something new today.. I have heard others speak of the ABC poem.. I wrote two today as a new challenge for myself.. I have included one here.. Gold Rush.. it was fun to write but harder than it looks.. I will confess to cheating just a tiny bit.. I had to come up with an X word.. thankfully the Internet has lists with definitions.. after all you couldn't just stick any old X word in there.. it needs to make some sense..

I like to give myself challenges.. I could write a haiku every day.. In fact I don't miss very many days doing just that.. but I want to keep learning new forms of poetry and new ways to write.. even just a new word is better than nothing at all... Do you try new things? do you challenge yourself to do more.. try harder.. accomplish something new.. I hope you do.. try to learn something new everyday.. encourage yourself and others.. surround yourself with people who make you laugh and whose company you enjoy..

I thank you for stopping by my blog today.. I welcome comments..
Have a wonderful day!
Patsy

Monday With Rain and Yellow School Buses...

"Luck is not chance, it's toil; fortune's expensive smile is earned."
- Emily Dickinson

"The theory seems to be that so long as a man is a failure he is one of God's chillun, but that as soon as he has any luck he owes it to the Devil."
- Henry Louis Mencken

"Fortune, seeing that she could not make fools wise, has made them lucky."
- Michel De Montaigne

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Moody Monday ~ Peckish...

peck·ish (pksh)
adj.
1. Ill-tempered; irritable.
2. Somewhat hungry.
[From peck, to eat.]


"I was Feeling a Little Peckish..."
a slice would be nice.. a cupcake grand.. but I had soup straight from the can...
8 -16-2010
.. I really was feeling a little Peckish earlier
.. I was aggravated and irritated.. all around ill-tempered.. I was also hungry.. what to cook
just me here after all.. No need to wash pots.. so I cooked up this American Sentence Poem
and a can of my favorite vegetable soup.. I feel better already!!! In fact I feel well enough to write one more...


"Feeding Time Gone a Fowl"
Seeing that the hens felt a little peckish... I tossed them handfuls of feed.
8/16/2010

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Manic Monday #218

What are 5 things you want to do in your life?~ Wow.. do I only get to do five things.. I might have already gone over the limit.. I have done a lot of pretty interesting stuff already.. I have helped raise some kids.. Mine and his and theirs and hers and his..and maybe even yours... and they all turned out pretty good... But maybe you meant from now on.. five things.. I guess they should be important things too huh?? Nothing boring like finishing the book I left in the bathroom...?

1- write something others will enjoy reading... and publish it as a book... can't you imagine me prancing into the library to check out my own book..?
2- live so that others will miss me when I'm gone..
3- grow old but not feeble..
4- walk on the great wall of china... (or maybe when I am old and feeble.. my kids can stack up some blocks and fool me...)
5- see all of my children settled and happy.. and do my best to part of the solution and not part of the problem... This does require some tongue biting on my part.. I'll be stuttering any time now..

What are you saying goodbye to? ~ I have said goodbye to many things and many people over the years.. I am getting too old for the drama.. I am not interested in being the center of any ones attention and it is rather tiring that some folks need to be the most important all the time.. I would say goodbye to fancy clothes to but I don't own any.. I am saying goodbye to anger.. it doesn't hurt them.. forget it let it go.. they will reap what they sow.. as Daddy used to say.. "all in good time!"

What are you currently fascinated with? ~ I have got to tell you that I am not easily fascinated.. I am fascinated by words and rhymes and rhythms.. I am fascinated by the humming birds that hatched in my yard this year.. I am almost fascinated by Bonnie's belly.. which is about to drag the ground.. and I know I will be temporarily fascinated by the puppies.. Dave can still fascinate me as can each of my children in their own way.. I am also fascinated with Macro Photography and Geo-Caching... both involve looking close.. and both are new hobbies of mine.. I will always be fascinated by dreams and dolls and the waves striking the shore... simple things..

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Back to School Ramble~

Today was the first day of the school year for our little town.. the buses we saw this morning were carrying children to be educated and not the summer's migrant workers to the fields.. All over town there were young Moms silently.. ( well for the most part silently..) wiping tears as they fought the crowds on the way out of the school yard.. some hurrying to work as others went home to an empty house and wondered what they would do all day.. Even Emily came by here.. about to cry after taking Kirstin to school.. I laughed at them.. in a few weeks you will wonder aloud how you ever stood the little heathens.. week-ends they will make you will wish they were in school.. they are going to learn all of the terrible things that you have tried to protect them from.. they will learn words you do not understand... they will learn to read their own stories and they will learn to add up their own allowance.. and they will have the audacity to enjoy being away from you.. so I say start right away and use this time for your own self.. read a book.. clean your room.. clean their room.. dry your eyes and go get busy doing something that you have put off because the kids wouldn't enjoy it or maybe it was too exciting for a small child..
They will thrive and you will survive.. be proud.. you have just accomplished another step in the grand circle of life... Please keep a close eye out for the little ones that may be waiting on buses or walking along the roadways.. Be safe! Thanks for stopping by my blog tonight.. I welcome comments.. Have a great night!
Patsy

Monday~ Haiku... Birthdays.. Moods.. and Blueberry Cobbler..

"Always, through my whole life, I've had a thirst for knowledge."
~ Emmitt Smith

"As much as we thirst for approval we dread condemnation."
~ Hans Selye

"Fame is the thirst of youth."
~ Lord Byron


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The Tempest

raining corruption
malicious ear purrs wisely~
barbarians fall

Written By: Patricia Sawyer
5-25-2010

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Happy Birthday!! .. Cooper and Smokey.. How strange.. and yet kinda cool.. to be "born" on the same day as Smokey Bear.... I am sure there are many other famous people born on this day.. But these two heroes are enough for me..
~ Cooper then.. three days old .. he is dressed and ready to leave the hospital and begin his journey through life..

~ Making noise and annoying neighbors through his teen years.. ~ Doing what he has loved best ever since he was two and tried to copy Anthony on a skate board..

~ This was last month at the beach on a family outing.. close in age the "babies are often photographed together.. They claim each other as their own heroes.. I think they most likely need a spanking and I'm pretty sure their older brother would not only agree but would offer to fly home and help me catch them if he can watch..

~ On August 9, 1944, Smokey the Bear was “born.” Smokey is responsible for sharing with people the danger of forest fires.

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Moody Monday! Thirsty~

~ The Toast!

.. A little warm Sake in a brass cup...

~ this fruity.. sparkling.. beverage looks like something I could drink right now..

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Oh what a day... up before daylight trying to outrun vivid dreams.. I think I surprised the dogs.. they were still too sleepy to walk.. I was soon off with Emily to appointments out of town and let me tell you that I really don't ride well.. I want to hang on.. I want to mash my brake and I don't have one.. Coming home was really special as we traveled for miles and miles at 5 miles per hour behind a truck full of drunk men who appeared to be following a moped driven by another drunk man.. the road was hilly and crooked and the traffic was heavy.. I was almost ready to have a conniption fit when Emily suddenly had all she could stand and with a quick test of her supercharger we were around them and gone .. Coming home I found Dave home from work sick with a nasty summer cold.. Emily was worn out and was soon napping on the couch.. I still hadn't seen Cooper and I really wanted to give him some birthday licks.. Dave had put supper on for me and with some excellent.. ( Y'all know I hate people in my kitchen right?) help from both him and David in the kitchen we soon had a supper of Chicken and Dumplings ready.. while Dave chunked up some cucumbers and tomatoes..( yes I said sliced..!).. I stirred up a cobbler.. It was in the oven when I began to wonder if I had put everything in... Oh well it was too late then.. all I could do was hope.. Cooper came in and asked for a brownie.. He thought the cobbler was brownies.. but decided that the cobbler was better than brownies.. Turns out he had taken himself on a skating adventure and to the beach for his own Birthday.. He crashed and hasn't made a peep since he ate two servings of the cobbler and didn't even grumble about there being no Birthday cake.. Everybody fed and tended to I walked the dogs.. washed the dishes and now here I am.. tired and sleepy and ready for bed myself.. I should feel ashamed that I didn't bake a cake.. but maybe I'll bake one tomorrow and call it out day after cake.. or maybe I'll bake those brownies he wanted instead...we will see what tomorrow brings.. So.. I thank you for visiting my blog today.. I hope your Monday was as interesting as mine was.. Have a great day!

Patsy

Musical Monday!..

"After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music." ~ Aldous Huxley

"All music is beautiful."
~ Billy Strayhorn

"Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."
~ Berthold Auerbach

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Moody Monday.. July 19-2010

musical

•of, pertaining to, or producing music: a musical instrument
•of the nature of or resembling music; melodious; harmonious
•fond of or skilled in music.
•just generally a bit bagpipey

I love music.. I used to sing pretty good.. but age has changed that..sadly the only musical instrument I can actually play is a very old turn-table record player.. I even suck at playing the radio.. I always hear static.. like it dares to not stop in the right spot... But I do have a few good records left that don't have scratches.. I really need some more records to all who might want to send me some.. Dave and all of the kids play the guitar video games with a guitar controller and drums too.. My hands won't even try to work like that..

Dave has a guitar.. I love to hear him try to play it.. He can play a few songs.. Cooper can play it a

tiny bit too.. I tried to learn to play too.. though I can do a pretty good Yankee doodle strum...

My hands really don't work like that either... ~ ...

.... ~ We bought this ancient piano at an auction the first year we were married.. we hate it and love it.. It's old and huge and heavy.. Missing some ivory it can still belt out a tune.. I would love to have it restored.. All three of my sisters could play it.. Cooper and Dave each sit down and pound out little songs here and there.. My first Cousin's Son.. Joey.. he plays the devil out of it every once in a while.. Mary..( My second sister).. tried to teach me to play piano when I was a little girl.. I tried and tried and did actually play some little beginners song once.. But I must say that My hands didn't work well at that either..

I love anything musical.. I have wind chimes hanging all over my house..

~ the fan and air conditioner vents blow gentle breezes across them.. constantly playing little tinkling songs.. I have them in almost every room.. I also have a bunch of them outside to catch the winds that might come blowing through.. I love to hear them bonging from the clothesline posts in a windy thunderstorm.. or whispering soft sounds from above the ducks cage.. I often touch them as I pass.. causing them to sway and play music for a few seconds.. I always smile as I walk on to where ever I was headed.. finally I have found something musical that my hands can play!! Have a wonderful Musical night!!

Patsy

A Refreshing Day!

"A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people. " ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

"A new word is like a fresh seed sown on the ground of the discussion." ~ Ludwig Wittgenstein

"A Poem does not grow by jerks. As trees in Spring produce a new ring of tissue, so does every poet put forth a fresh outlay of stuff at the same season." ~ Wilfred Owen

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Moody Monday offers us a challenge each week.. the photo challenge of today is Fresh....

Fresh~ • newly made or obtained • new; not previously known, met with, etc.; novel • pure, cool, or refreshing • not faded, worn, obliterated, etc.

~ Fresh vegetables..

Fresh Fruits~

~ Farm fresh eggs.. from our own hens..

fresh flowers priced to buy~

~ The freshest flowers growing right outside my door.. My favorite flower.. bought for me By My Beloved Dave..

a new life.. pure and unspoiled.. Fresh and sweet!

~ I have got to tell you that I really enjoyed doing the research for today's post.. It is amazing how quickly a produce manager can get a fresh mouth when he sees someone with a camera in his department.. Never fear.. he didn't say anything to me personally but he appeared to have a fresh burst of energy as he hurried to get the store manager and then as I admired their fresh flowers.. the floral manager as well.. they followed me around the store as I shopped for animal feed and fresh food for my family.. Just as I was about to leave the store.. I saw them all huddled at the end of an aisle.. all eyes trained on me.. I think I scared them.. finally the store manager asked me if it was true that I had a camera in their store.. I thought about telling them I was a mystery shopper or something like that but before I could come up with a fresh lie.. the manager made up his mind that I was a spy.. he told the others to head on back to their work.. that if I was making pictures of their stuff then it was because they were the best store in town.. Poor Dave was standing away from me as if we were not together or I would have pulled my camera back out of my purse and made a fresh batch of pictures and maybe even some of them standing there in their silly little huddle.. Needless to say I left there feeling refreshed.. Have a wonderful day!!

Patsy

Moody Monday!

"Today one can dare anything, and, furthermore, nobody is surprised."

"We never really know what stupidity is until we have experimented on ourselves."

"Life being what it is, one dreams of revenge — and has to content oneself with dreaming." ~ All from Paul Gauguin


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Moody Monday offers us a photo challenge every Monday.. today's challenge word is ~incognito

•having one’s identity concealed, as under an assumed name, esp. to avoid notice or formal attentions.
•in disguise

This is Anthony and RC incognito.. They are disguised as gun-slinger/ poker players..


Oh my special little handsome fellow with the giant.. striped.. bow tie..
for some reason I though incognito would mean bland or trying to blend in.. Not with this tie!

and finally a much younger me in disguise.. I look hot and tired.. Maybe next time I'll just get a ski mask and a big giant striped bow tie..
Have a great Moody Monday!

Patsy

Moody Moody Monday!

"The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart." ~ Elisabeth Foley

"The just is close to the people's heart, but the merciful is close to the heart of God." ~ Kahlil Gibran

"Money isn't the most important thing in life, but it's reasonably close to oxygen on the "gotta have it" scale." ~ Zig Ziglar

Moody Monday is a photo challenge that asks us each week to post photo's on their chosen theme.. this weeks theme is Close.. Close is defined by them as follows..

•being in or having proximity in space or time
•marked by similarity in degree, action, feeling, etc.
•having the parts or elements near to one another

I have chosen a few photo's to share for my own versions of CLOSE!

CLOSE to the water.. CLOSE to the edge..

"Hey!.. doesn't CLOSE count in hand grenades and horse shoes?.."

We are CLOSE to getting ice cream.. scrunch in CLOSE together now.. You children don't get too CLOSE to the railing!..

A little too CLOSE for comfort?

CLOSE to the top!

Close to time...Close together.. My CLOSEST friend.. Come a little CLOSER!

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Today I have been CLOSE to the ditch..CLOSE to the road..CLOSE to getting rooster spurred..CLOSE to catching my dove.. CLOSE to loosing my temper... CLOSE to loosing my cool and CLOSE to choking a few people and an animal or two.. I decided not to show photo's of those CLOSE things.. Choosing instead to show happy CLOSE things.. Just for good measure I even wrote a short acrostic poem about CLOSE~ I hope you have enjoyed your visit to my blog tonight.. Remember the old saying... "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer" .. Have a great night!

Patsy

Close

Crazy life crowded with pain
Loving and leaving not ever again
On the run from feelings and winning the race
Suddenly you're there.. invading my space
Echos of laughter as close as can be
~ as love everlasting closes in on me

Written By: Patricia Sawyer
5-17-2010

Moody Monday!

"Life is inherently risky. There is only one big risk you should avoid at all costs, and that is the risk of doing nothing." ~ Denis Waitley

"Making eye contact with adults while dressed as a clown is risky."
~ Doug Coupland

"Marrying for love may be a bit risky, but it is so honest that God can't help but smile on it."
~ Josh Billings
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Today's word for Moody Monday is Risk Taking

(or what I personally would call risky!) Taking risks is defined as~

•exposure to the chance of injury or loss; hazard:
•put oneself in danger
•hazard; venture

Tana and Maya bravely climb to the top of the ancient sight where the Pueblo people once lived.. Maya doesn't seem to be afraid of anything at all.. At least not of heights.. she is an excellent climber of rocks and waterfalls as well as ladders!

Here are Anthony and Cooper also at Bandelier National Monument.. I was quick to inform them that I would have loved to have gone there... having read a book about the people who once lived there I would have loved to have seen it too.. on the other hand I am old and a lot less likely to take risks.. I may have just slowed them down.. maybe I'm getting to old for risky living..

New Mexico has a lot of rocks and I seem to have sons who think they need to climb every single one.. aside from being risky.. this photograph of Cooper standing on a giant rock reminds me just how small each of us are in the grand scheme of things..

I guess it is safe to say that I would never be able to climb to the top of those rocks.. but I do admit that the view from there has got to be spectacular.. I wonder if my sons could carry me up there? Or would that be too risky?

Have a great night!

Patsy