Whispers

Whispered Secrets

As I was starting to fix supper last night the phone rang. J.D. handed it over to me and it was Tersie on the other end. She just simply said, "Please tell me to go home." There was something in her voice that told me something is very wrong. Still I tried a wee bit of humor just in case I was reading something into her voice that wasn't there (I have been known to do that). So I replied, "OK, go home." The silence on the other end told me that I had not been wrong about the trouble I sensed. I then started my questioning of what was wrong and where is she. I could feel her fear as she told her story. It seems that she was on her way home from work traveling her usual route, a four lane road with a turn lane to separate them. She was in the process of passing an SUV when she noticed a car zig~zagging between the two south bound lanes going north and coming straight toward her and the SUV. It seems the SUV was as puzzled as Tersie was and didn't know what to do, because every time Tersie slowed to drop behind it, the driver of the SUV slowed as well. Almost at the last minute the north bound car got back into it's proper lanes. The closest place to get off after that was the entrance to a state forest. There is a lookout point there and that is where Tersie stopped. She said she had been setting there shaking and crying for a little while and just couldn't bring herself to start the car up and continue home.

Of course I showered her with my motherly concern and then with my all knowing wisdom. I told her that I thought she could feel pretty certain that the rest of her trip home should be a safe one. To my way of thinking if yesterday had been her day to die, it would have happened due to a north bound car traveling in a south bound lane. Just from personal experience I believe that what she had just experienced was indeed a wake up call of some sort. So many times God whispers in my ear and I hear him, but keep on keeping on. Then He whispers again and He gets the same response from me. Eventually He takes the only path that is sure to work and takes me by the shoulders and looks me in the eyes and says"Read my Lips!" With that I open my eyes and my mind and things start to click in place. Which always ends with me saying,"Ohhh yeah, that was the message."

Tersie continued her journey and arrived home safely. I hope that she will see what happened as a wake up call to what ever it is that she needs to give more thought and action to. I'm sure she will.

J.D. has been busy as a beaver cutting and stacking firewood for next winter. He has quite a bit put up..... Shhhhh don't tell him, but when he wasn't looking I took a little peek. He is indeed the modern day mountain man. He works so hard around here and is proud of all that he does, as well he should be. I am just as proud of what he has accomplished and continues to do here. I am glad that we have the home that we do. It isn't unusual for him to work outside with something physical all day and then come in, shower, have supper and offer to do the dishes if I have had a bad fibro day. I have heard of so many men that retire and have nothing physical to challenge them and after working so hard to earn that retirement they die shortly after retiring. I give thanks every day for this wonderful man that I married.

We made a trip to our neighborly Amish store today. It is only about 10 miles from us. I got the fixins for a salad, tomatoes included and string beans and new potatoes to fix for Sunday dinner. I love their produce and the lunch meats that they have. The line for the lunch meat and cheese counter was a mile long and I just didn't want to stand in a long line today. Besides, who needs lunch meat when you have big red juicy tomatoes. Guess what I had for supper....!! It wouldn't take a lot for me to become a vegetarian. Hope everyone that has been needing rain is getting some of that much needed moisture. We are starting to get some of the rain we were promised for today. I won't complain that it is too much when there are those without. Have a great rest of the weekend.

Friday Wrap Up

This has been a relatively good day. I would say that I am finished with my little tweaks, changes and touches to 'Moodscapes'. I owe a great big "Thank You" to Tammy at 'Honest To Ya~Ya' for stepping in and giving me the guidance and links that I needed to get the job done. Thank You Tammy for the helping hand.

It seems as if this is good news Friday. I know that many of you are visiters to 'Second Time Around'. Hope has been going through a really rough time of it and has been away from her computer and blogging for quite some time now. When I saw on my reader today that she had posted, I wasted no time dropping by to welcome her back. I just wanted to share this with those that don't use the reader.

Now one last thing for today...... I have been looking for a song to add to my play list and can not for the life of me remember the name of the song or the artist that sang it. Now are you ready?.............This is what I remember of the the song it tells about a couple that went through the years together and she died before him. It tells about their plan to meet with each other, but when he reached their meeting place she wasn't there. Instead there was a note asking him to wait for her, she will meet him when her chores are through. Can anyone with a memory better than mine recall the name of the song and artist? I will certainly be grateful for anyone passing on that info.

Well that's it for now folks. Wishing you all a blessed weekend.

Moodscapes

I have officially changed the name of my blog from 'Bits and Pieces' to 'Moodscapes'
where you will discover through my postings the many moods of me. Somewhere between the last post that I made and today, I seem to have misplaced a day. If you find it laying around someplace, please return it to me. I have spent this entire day messing around with this blog. I got my banner made and saved with no problem. I played around with the different templates and found one that I liked. Then I tried to apply my own tiled background image. This is where I ran into trouble. I just can't get it to take. No doubt what ever I have done wrong is something minor and I am just overlooking it when I am trying to find the problem. This has had me banging my head on the key board all day.

If there is anyone out there that can take a look at it and point out my error, I sure would appreciate it.

I received an e-mail yesterday with a poem attached that dealt with a subject that is very near and dear to my heart. The subject was concerns the plight of so many abused and neglected dogs. We have domesticated the dog to the point where we think and sometimes expect them to act more like us and less like their ancestors, not so far removed, the wolf. Some areas have made it legal to hunt the wolves now and it has become quite a sport. Perhaps it is because of the beliefs of my ancestors that I disagree with the hunting of wolves. When my ancestors hunted they made use of all of the animal that they killed, such as food, clothing and tools....etc. How many of those hunters are going to using those wolves as food? I know that everyone has their own opinion on this and I am not trying to force what I believe on anyone.

"There's never been a documented case of a healthy wild wolf killing or seriously injuring a person in North America."
excerpt from: "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" -- Revisited
By L. David Mech

I found this to be a very interesting article. I encourage everyone to take an active interest in what is happening to these beautiful creatures. Like many animals of the wild they are slowly being squeezed out of their homes as we continue to take more and more of their wild lands and clear them and build on them, making what was once the territory of the deer, bear and wolf our backyard. How can anyone look at a picture of a wolf and not see their own little lovable mutt.....

Prison Bars

by Karen Evans
In memory of Contessa

These prison bars I sit behind

From which there is no escape.

Why didn't I get a second chance

But, now it is too late.

I tried to live my master's way

To put instincts aside.

To disobey meant punishment

And oh, how hard I tried.

I didn't mean to trash the house

I did it just for fun.

It's boring being in the house

With no place I can run.

And when I got to go outdoors

He put me on a chain.

I'd run around in circles

Till he'd come out again.

Uh oh, he found the hole I dug

I did it to stay cool.

He beat me with his balled up fists

Oh, why is he so cruel?

My tail tucked between my legs

I'm so scared that I pee.

It doesn't matter what I do

He's just so hard to please.

He doesn't even like the song

I howl every night.

He yells "shut up", and out he comes

To start another fight.

I'm battered, bruised and all alone

Is this how life should be?

When all I wanted was his love

And true acceptance of me.

For I can't help the way I am

At times I feel so strange.

I guess I'm like my ancestors

That once had roamed the range.

So, here I sit on death row

Trapped behind these bars.

Soon to be a spirit

Free amongst the stars.

I guess I'll never understand

The punishment that he,

Gave me each and every day

For me just being me.

Happy Father's Day

It is easier for a father to have children than for children to have a real father.

~ Pope John XXIII

I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection. ~ Sigmund Freud

Dad, your guiding hand on my shoulder will remain with me forever.

~Author Unknown

There's one sad truth in life I've found

While journeying east and west -

The only folks we really wound

Are those we love the best.

We flatter those we scarcely know,

We please the fleeting guest,

And deal full many a thoughtless blow

To those who love us best.

~Ella Wheeler Wilcox

I grew up with a father that was seriously overlooked when the parenting skills were passed out. Yet, for all that he lacked as a father, I couldn't have asked for a better grandfather for my children than what he proved to be. I used to have a complete series of feelings that would surface with every thought of him. They ranged from hate, anger, pain, disgust and even jealousy. Yes, you read it right..... 'jealousy' . I was so jealous of other people's children because he was always so sweet and tender with them, as I stood there watching and crying inside because he never showed his own children that side of him. He died 29 years ago and I mourned for the father I never got to have.

I gave my children the ultimate gift of a father that was the carbon copy of my father. Now I ask you, how thoughtful is that? Instead of leaving him the many times that I wanted to, I waited until Tersie and Chris were grown and on their own before I grew that all important backbone and walked out the door. I have to tell you, I carried a lot of regrets and guilt for not leaving him when my children were small. I am reminded time and time again, that when it is said that a person is 'a product of their upbringing', it isn't necessarily a bad thing. I used my father as an example of the parent I didn't want to become. I watch Tersie and Chris' parenting skills and know that the same is true for them.

With that said, I need to tell you that I was blessed the day that JD became a part of my life. He is the caring loving father my children never had. He was already the father of 4 children from his first marriage, now he is the father of 6.

I have a special request of all the dads out there that may read this post. Please be the kind of father to your children that you would have liked to have had or the the loving father that you had (if you were fortunate enough to have that kind of father).

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!

A Milestone In My Life

Tomorrow I will be not only celebrating Father's Day with JD, but I will be celebrating an important milestone of my own too. Tomorrow will mark the day, one year ago when I found the strength to lay the cigarettes down and walk away. I still find myself thinking about a cigarette from time to time when I feel stressed. It really is just a matter of seconds though and the thought is gone. I haven't regretted it one time since I quit. I was really quite hooked on smoking. I had my routine as to when I smoked...... First thing in the morning I had to have those cigarettes with my coffee. I needed the smokes to read the mail. Meal time included a cigarette before I started cooking, as well as a few trips outside for a smoke while the food was cooking. After the meals the food just didn't digest right unless I smoked a cigarette. When I wanted a snack I would often substitute that urge with a cigarette. Then of course who can go to bed at night without first having a cigarette to help unwind. There were any number of other things that would require a cigarette as well. I tried to stop smoking several times before without success. I wish I could tell you that I did it on sheer will power alone, but I didn't. My family doctor wrote a prescription for me for Chantix with several refills. I am proud to say that I quit without any refills. I give JD a lot of credit for enabling me to quit. He was once a smoker and quit without the any aids, just plain old fashioned will power. He freely praised me for my efforts and told me time and time again that he is always willing and ready with any support that I need. He cheered me on as I went.

I wanted to share some more pictures of the beauty that surrounds us on the mountain ridge. This is just a sampling of the wild honeysuckle that we have growing all around the property. It is heavenly to smell that sweet aroma of the honeysuckle in the evening and as we drift off to sleep at night.

Year before last I decided to start planting perennials, so eventually I can just do my plant clean up in the fall and sit back and enjoy the flowers in the spring with the least effort. I planted these Coreopsis in an old metal wash tub. Talk about a hardy and easy to care for plant..... this would be the one. Not only is it all that, but it's dainty little flowers are a sight to behold.

JD found this little fellow wandering around in the yard just outside of bedroom door this morning. While JD was telling me I needed to take a look at it, I was grabbing the camera. I had figured out a few years ago that living where we do, we will see quite a parade of different animals over time. This little guy was quite a nice surprise though.

He either had a moment of being camera shy or she needed to powder her nose. I always thought that turtles lived close to water. Someone please correct me if I am wrong on that. We have run off here on the mountain of rain and snow , but no streams, creeks or lakes up this high. There is no permanent standing water up here.

We figure this little guy did some traveling to get here. Either that or a water spout picked him up and he fell out of a cloud with some of this rain we have been having. If that is the case then it not only rains cats and dogs, but a few turtles too.

~~~

I have decided to change the name of my blog to "Moodscapes". The change won't take place until next week some time though. This is just a heads up so you won't think you have somehow ended up on the wrong blog when you come to visit.

Have a wonderful weekend!