Tuesday, May 24, 2011

A Hero's Hero

This is a little early, but life is about to get real busy and I didn't want to miss this opportunity :) Happy Memorial Day!!


A Hero's Hero


So Many Soldiers
Living On The Street
Their Spirits Broken,
With Defeat.

What Must They Think
When They Look Around
Eyes Passing By,
Staring At The Ground?

Does Anger Fill Them
When We Turn Away,
From The Debts We Owe
That Should Be Repaid?

What If At That Moment,
Just Once, Instead
We Saluted In Honor,
Right Hand To Head?

To Let Them Know
They Are Not Ghosts,
Thanking Them For Being
Braver Than Most.

If Everyone Would
Show Them Grace
We Just Might Find
Their Pain Erased.

For All The Heroes
Still Fighting To Live
And For Heroes Like You,
Who Continue To Give.

IF You See Someone
Who Is Really Lost
Please Stop And Remember
What Our Freedom Cost.




I found this poem on a bookmark I received from the Veterans Administration. As a country we do not treat our Veterans with the dignity and respect that they deserve. It's time to give them better. Freedom isn't Free.



Friday, May 20, 2011

The Petite Dessert Test

I found this little quiz over at Sweetly B Squared. Kind of fun huh? Love this tart thing with the little fruit on it and just a touch of chocolate. YUM!




You Are Colorful



You believe that there is a lot to still be discovered in this world, and you're hoping to find some of it.

You are an adventure seeker, but you're also realistic. You want an adventure to improve your life.



You are an extremely independent person. You know what's best for you and your life.

You are surprisingly easygoing. You like to keep everything as low-pressure as possible.




Thursday, May 19, 2011

Before Women Had Wings by Connie May Fowler




My name is Avocet Abigail Jackson. But because Mama couldn't find anyone who thought Avocet was a fine name for a child, she called me Bird. Which is okay by me. She named both her children after birds, her logic being that if we were named for something with wings then maybe we'd be able to fly above the shit in our lives. . . .
So says Bird Jackson, the mesmerizing narrator of Connie May Fowler's vivid and brilliantly written, Before Women Had Wings.

Starstruck by a dime-store picture of Jesus, Bird fancies herself "His girlfriend" and embarks upon a spiritual quest for salvation, even as the chaos of her home life plunges her into a stony silence. In stark and honest language, she tells the tragic life of her father, a sweet-talking wanna-be country music star, tracks her older sister's perilous journey into womanhood, and witnesses her mother make a courageous and ultimately devastating decision.

Yet most profound is Bird's own story--her struggle to sift through the ashes of her parents' lives, her meeting with Miss Zora, a healer whose prayers over the bones of winged creatures are meant to guide their souls to heaven, and her will to make sense of a world where fear is more plentiful than hope, retribution more valued than love. . . .



Although I didn't come from an abusive home I really related to Bird's situation. The 'feelings' that she spoke of seemed to really ring true for me. At a very young age I knew we weren't rich, but I never realized how poor we were. Now that I'm older and can see the whole picture I really see just how poor we were. My older siblings really lived through a lot more, but I remember all the other girls in school had much nicer cloths than we did and they could get involved in school activities because they had supportive parents. My parents were not 'bad', but because there were nine of us, they didn't have the individual time to spend on each of us.

This was a very well written book and like I said I could really 'feel' what she was portraying. It brought a whole new perspective to some of the other things I've read lately. I remember a few books that spoke of Dad being a pilot and all that comes with that kind of finances and another book that spoke of buying a new home and how Mom was home cooking and baking - I was trying to remember those things in my life and they just weren't there. At a time when there were very few Mom's working mine had a full time job and we were on our own after school til someone got home.

This book reminds me a lot of my past and makes me really appreciate all that my Mom did to protect us and keep us safe. It brings to light all that could have gone wrong that didn't. Although we didn't have a lot we had each other and there was kindness and lots of fun.

Monday, May 16, 2011

What's your mothering personality type?

I saw this fun quiz over at Sweetly B Squared and thought it might be fun. Check it out.

I'm a "Happy Together" Mother!


(Extraverted, Sensing, Feeling, Judging)

I have a highly developed sense of family and what it takes to be happy in life.

What's your mothering personality type? Take the MotherStyles quiz at FamilyEducation.com!




Thursday, May 5, 2011

The Shadow of Your Smile by Mary Higgins Clark




At age eighty-two and in failing health, Olivia Morrow knows she has little time left. The last of her line, she faces a momentous choice: expose a long-held family secret, or take it with her to her grave.

Olivia has in her possession letters from her deceased cousin Catherine, a nun, now being considered for beatification by the Catholic Church—the final step before sainthood. In her lifetime, Sister Catherine had founded seven hospitals for disabled children. Now the cure of a four-year-old boy dying of brain cancer is being attributed to her. After his case was pronounced medically hopeless, the boy’s desperate mother had organized a prayer crusade to Sister Catherine, leading to his miraculous recovery.

The letters Olivia holds are the evidence that Catherine gave birth at age seventeen to a child, a son, and gave him up for adoption. Olivia knows the identity of the young man who fathered Catherine’s child: Alex Gannon, who went on to become a world-famous doctor, scientist, and inventor holding medical patents.

Now, two generations later, thirty-one-year-old pediatrician Dr. Monica Farrell, Catherine’s granddaughter, stands as the rightful heir to what remains of the family fortune. But in telling Monica who she really is, Olivia would have to betray Catherine’s wishes and reveal the story behind Monica’s ancestry.

The Gannon fortune is being squandered by Alex’s nephews Greg and Peter Gannon, and other board members of the Gannon Foundation, who camouflage their profligate lifestyles with philanthropy.

Now their carefully constructed image is cracking. Greg, a prominent financier, is under criminal investigation, and Peter, a Broadway producer, is a suspect in the murder of a young woman who has been extorting money from him.

The only people aware of Olivia’s impending choice are those exploiting the Gannon inheritance. To silence Olivia and prevent Monica from learning the secret, some of them will stop at nothing—even murder.

Clark’s riveting new novel explores the juxtaposition of medical science and religious faith, and the search for identity by the daughter of a man adopted at birth.



This book reminded me of an Agatha Christi mystery. Good read in a dorky kind of way. I do like reading about how people live. Olivia was a meticulous old lady... no children how could her house be dirty? Dr. Farrell also single and house neat as a pin.... guess that's just a dream of mine - a clean house. I don't even have an excuse anymore! Oh well, too many other things to do - like read books.

I've told myself no more books before I do some of the projects that I have started or bought stuff to make. Gotta clean up before I want to be outside in the garden.