Summer

A Poem

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 01:38:28 GMT

Summer Storm

We stood on the rented patio
While the party went on inside.
You knew the groom from college.
I was a friend of the bride.

We hugged the brownstone wall behind us
To keep our dress clothes dry
And watched the sudden summer storm
Floodlit against the sky.

The rain was like a waterfall
Of brilliant beaded light,
Cool and silent as the stars
The storm hid from the night.

To my surprise, you took my arm–
A gesture you didn't explain–
And we spoke in whispers, as if we two
Might imitate the rain.

Then suddenly the storm receded
As swiftly as it came.
The doors behind us opened up.
The hostess called your name.

I watched you merge into the group,
Aloof and yet polite.
We didn't speak another word
Except to say goodnight.

Why does that evening's memory
Return with this night's storm–
A party twenty years ago,
Its disappointments warm?

There are so many might have beens,
What ifs that won't stay buried,
Other cities, other jobs,
Strangers we might have married.

And memory insists on pining
For places it never went,
As if life would be happier
Just by being different.
Dana Gioia

After the rain

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 01:16:20 GMT

I managed to step out after the rain and before dark. Was hoping to get to the store yet today but I may have to pass on that. It's 72 degrees now and low humidity. Have all the windows open for a change.

Busy Gardening

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:15:30 GMT

...not much time for journals. If I get a chance before the rains come I'll get some pictures of what's in bloom. Owen and Hali have been playing the the back yard in the pools most of the summer so far and are getting very tan. Well Owen is anyway. Hali is so light complected I try to keep her out of the sun. Yesterday I took the kids to the Teddy Bear picnic at the library and they had a little parade too. They have quite a few friends there now. They are in the reading club and have finished all the requirements. They give out prizes as they go along, little toys, passes to the Museum, Railroad Museum, Aquatic center and this week they got to pick out a book. Well I have to get back outside and finish some of today's garden work. The peas are all done, the scarlet runner beans are beginning to bloom as are the cucumbers. No bugs on the potato plants so far and no wasps in the compost this year. Grapes are little and green. Very behind where they should be.

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 00:07:56 GMT

It's been a wonderful summer so far. Just enough rain and warm and sunshine to leave plenty of time to play outside. Vegetables are growing very well. Morning Glories got eaten by the baby rabbits this year. I am glad I could provide a nice treat for them. I have taken down my stick arbor as it's outlived it's life span. I'm looking for something else to put there but haven't come across anything I like. The kiddie pools are there temporarily. I learned a new trick, if you spray vinegar around where you are the bugs don't come. It's been working so far. I picked a nice bowl of peas the other day and they were very good both fresh and cooked. I got a new charcoal grill but haven't used it yet. I'm really not much of a cook I guess. It's a nice decoration though. I planted a peach tree a couple days ago, so maybe someday I'll have my own peaches. Now I have grapes, apples and peaches. I would like a pear tree yet but I don't know if you need two of them for the pears to grow. I'm continuing to clean out the nooks and crannies of this house and today I brought two large containers to the thrift store to share with others. I can't believe how full you can stuff a wardrobe with odds and ends. I found a dozen board games and the kids and I have been playing some of them. They especially like Candyland. Right now in the backyard there are squirrels, chipmonks, rabbits, mourning doves, cardinals, red winged blackbirds, golden finches, house finches, robins, sparrows, and blue jays. God is putting on quite a show for me as I look out my computer window. Went shopping with Jenny today (daughter) and out for a snack. Chai Tea and muffins. Just finished the book The Secret Life of Bees. It was fun to read. Does anyone have a recommendation for another easy to read summer story? Well, enough chatter, have a great evening. Don't you love the time between day and night...it's my favorite.

God Bless America

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 03:12:46 GMT

Peach Pie

Here's an old-fashioned recipe for peach cream pie. It's an easy recipe using sliced peaches, whipping cream, sugar, flour and a dash of almond extract. Once the pie comes out of the oven, it is topped with toasted almonds, making it a sweet and crunchy dessert and a great way to enjoy fresh summer peaches.

Servings: 6

Ingredients:
Pie crust for a 9-inch pie pan
5 to 6 ripe peaches, peeled, sliced, pits removed (a little over 3 cups)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 rounded tablespoons of flour
2/3 cup heavy cream
3 drops almond extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sliced, toasted almonds

Instructions:
Line your pie pan with a pie crust and set aside.

Now pack the pie pan with the prepared peaches.

In a medium sized bowl combine the sugar, flour and a dash of salt. Add the cream and almond extract and stir until well blended.

Pour the cream mixture over the peaches in the pie pan and bake in a preheated 400 degree F oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until set.

When the pie is done, the cream will be thick and smooth and will solidify even more as it cools.

Sprinkle the toasted almonds over the top and serve just barely warm.

A Summer Poem

There's a bright golden haze on the meadow
There's a bright golden haze on the meadow
The corn is as high as an elephant's eye,
An' it looks like it's climbin' clear up to the sky.

Oh, what a beautiful mornin',
Oh, what a beautiful day.
I got a beautiful feelin'
Ev'rything's goin' my way.

All the cattle are standin' like statues
All the cattle are standin' like statues
They don't turn their heads as they see me ride by,
But a little brown mav'rick is winkin' her eye.

Oh, what a beautiful mornin',
Oh, what a beautiful day.
I got a beautiful feelin'
Ev'rything's goin' my way.

All the sounds of the earth are like music
All the sounds of the earth are like music
The breeze is so busy it don't miss a tree,
And a ol' weepin' willer is laughin' at me!

Oh, what a beautiful mornin',
Oh, what a beautiful day.
I got a beautiful feelin'
Ev'rything's goin' my way.
Oh, what a beautiful day!

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 23:33:39 GMT

Just some pictures of the yard, etc.

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 03:29:38 GMT

For the beauty of the earth,
For the glory of the skies;
For the love which from our birth,
Over and around us lies;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child;
Friends on Earth and friends above,
For all gentle thoughts and mild;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For Thy church that evermore
Lifteth holy hands above
Offering up on every shore
Perfect sacrifice of love

Lord of all to Thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise.

Another rainy day

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 03:45:18 GMT

THE HOUSE WITH NOBODY IN IT

Whenever I walk to Suffern along the Erie track
I go by a poor old farmhouse with its shingles broken and black.
I suppose I've passed it a hundred times, but I always stop for a minute
And look at the house, the tragic house, the house with nobody in it.

I never have seen a haunted house, but I hear there are such things;
That they hold the talk of spirits, their mirth and sorrowings.
I know this house isn't haunted, and I wish it were, I do;
For it wouldn't be so lonely if it had a ghost or two.

This house on the road to Suffern needs a dozen panes of glass,
And somebody ought to weed the walk and take a scythe to the grass.
It needs new paint and shingles, and the vines should be trimmed and tied;
But what it needs the most of all is some people living inside.

If I had a lot of money and all my debts were paid
I'd put a gang of men to work with brush and saw and spade.
I'd buy that place and fix it up the way it used to be
And I'd find some people who wanted a home and give it to them free.

Now, a new house standing empty, with staring window and door,
Looks idle, perhaps, and foolish, like a hat on its block in the store.
But there's nothing mournful about it; it cannot be sad and lone
For the lack of something within it that it has never known.

But a house that has done what a house should do, a house that has sheltered life,
That has put its loving wooden arms around a man and his wife,
A house that has echoed a baby's laugh and held up his stumbling feet,
Is the saddest sight, when it's left alone, that ever your eyes could meet.

So whenever I go to Suffern along the Erie track
I never go by the empty house without stopping and looking back,
Yet it hurts me to look at the crumbling roof and the shutters fallen apart,
For I can't help thinking the poor old house is a house with a broken heart.

--Joyce Kilmer

Some blooms

Fri, 30 May 2008 05:06:07 GMT

Picked some rhubarb today too. There sure is a lot of it but forgot to take a picture of the pretty flower it gets. I made rhubarb ice cream, one of Owen's favorite things. He'll be surprised to find out there is no recipe for it and he can't ever get it anywhere else.

A few pictures

Tue, 27 May 2008 00:25:58 GMT

Was a nice warm day