The end of the day
all pinks, yellows and grays
The birds settling down for the night
The frogs and peepers think it's still too bright
It is my duty
To appreciate nature's beauty
I stand in awe

It's just a small town. The clock in the church steeple is always being fixed and never has the right time.The fire horn goes off at 9 pm every night, so you know the time and all the kids know it's time to come in. Everyone knows who you are and where you live. It has it's beauty, the dam downtown creating a spectacular waterfall, especially during the hot air balloon festival, when the balloons are reflected in the river's still waters! The town swells to the max on that weekend! Residents plan their families parties on that weekend. People can go to the park, enjoy people watching, fair food, live music and the "copter" rides. Go get a birds eye view of your home! The balloons are spectacular! You can right up close to them and feel the heat from the propane heaters. The tethered night light flights are stunning. Something to look forward to every year!

Passing through

I am just passing through
Just here for a millisecond of time
Not even a wrinkle in the scheme of things
Just a speck of dust in the giants eye
A mite on the hairy beasts back
An illusion in someone's mind
I, am just passing through
My journey barely begun

wondering out loud

I have been wondering lately what people do to make themselves seem right with the world. What kind of lies do they tell themselves in order to get through the day. I guess at this juncture in my life, where pain is my constant companion and despair seems to be always at the front door, just getting ready to knock, I have quit telling myself lies. The rose colored glasses are off my friend. One the ads that drives me crazy on TV is the epitome of what I am saying. "Army strong" Oh god, can't people see that we are training our young people to be killers? Are we trying to gloss over the horrors of war, death, pain and destruction? Trying to make it seem like these people will be glorified in death or being maimed for the right of their country. The right of our country to do what? Put down other governments, dispense sickness, death, starvation and destruction? Then to put the icing on the cake, we put down the Muslim religion for glorifying death. Where do you draw the line? The reality of this country has been so skewed by politics, military and the right wingers. NOBODY can see straight. The reality is we have lost our standing in the global community and no amount of lies, pretense or military actions will put it right. Time to actually stand up and tell the truth, face the music and take it like a man!

POEM

WISHING YOU WERE HERE

I feel you nearby
I know you are there
How can I touch you
How can I reach out to you
My hands can not find you

Darkness comes in, fades to stars
Moons rises, crushes the silence in white light
Creatures rush by in nocturnal quiet
Damp rising , fog rolling in gray combers
Across the golden fields
Birds raise their voices
Praising the coming of warmth and light
Pink glow, darkness dispelling shadows hidden

I find you
Standing where I last left you
Here in my heart

Frugality in the kitchen.

People have forgotten what it means to be frugal. We have been cajoled into the fast food scene with the illusion that we are making healthy frugal choices for our families. It was so easy to fall for. We were all busy with family and career. Who had time to think about where and how our money was being spent. Now that our economy has taken a down turn, people are finding that fast food choices are not frugal nor healthy. But we have forgotten how to live frugally. We still waste tons of food every year. Open your refrigerator and take a long hard look at what is in there. It is easy to load up the fridge and make ourselves feel good because there is food in the fridge. What you need to know and to ask yourself is; are you using that food or are you throwing most of it away. I think double duty on all purchases I make. I purchase a whole chicken, roast it and save the carcass for sandwiches till the meat is gone, the bones for chicken broth. I purchase vegetables, but being a family of two it gets difficult to eat all the veggies before they start to go. So they can go into chicken soup, or they can be cooked down for a nice veggie broth. You can freeze the broths and use them in soups, stews or even a nice risotto. I worked as a cook for a Shaker Village for a number of years. The Shakers were the ultimate in frugality and looking for ways to lessen the work load on their members. Cooking there was a lesson in being frugal and "thinking out of the box" for meals. So, the next time you head to the grocery store, start thinking of other ways you can use your purchases. Even when you purchase something as simple as a bag of carrots, think, what can I use this for: cream of carrot soup, raw carrots, cooked carrots, carrots to add to soups and stews etc. If you pick up an item and it can only be used once and only for one purpose, put it back. Remember, as the Shakers' sang,"Tis a gift to be simple..."