Old Memories

(Photo by Dan Felstead)


OLD MEMORIES

Ancient in years, but still holding onto

the special charm making it beautiful.

Windows need replacing and probably casings, too,

but the bricks and stone continue to hold

the mortar used to make this antique house

stand on firm ground.

And although most people do not like the green moss

making its home on the stone steps and up to the porch.

Number one, green is my favorite color, and two, the

moss is furry and soft

makes a natural pillow to give a decent night's sleep.

I've no idea who owns this home, but I can take it on

faith that no one lives here,

unless it is someone like me.

You just may be a lunatic

(Photo/artwork by Fiction's Fool)

"You may be right, I may be crazy, but it just may be a lunatic you're looking for"

A lunatic ... like the people who used to get locked up in asylums and sometimes tied to their beds?

No thanks ... I want my lunatic to be fearless and funny, kinda like walking across the top of a fully running dam, while acting like you're about to fall.

I want my lunatic to take me to scary movies and not laugh at me when I have to cover my head - especially when clowns are involved.

“Turn out the light, don't try to save me"

I want my lunatic knight in shining armor to come to my rescue when I'm in trouble or just feeling down. So yes, I'll save you, if you save me.

“Don't try to fake it"

I like my lunatic the way he is and I don't want him to change, but I'm afraid I'll change again, so I want him to be adaptable to my strange moods.

... But as the saying goes ...

“You may be wrong, for all I know, you may be right"

**Song lyrics by Billy Joel**

Grocery Store

Grocery Store


Cars pull in the lot
parking willy nilly;
people of all gender and race
size and color, too.

The breeze picks up
pulling the heat
from the oil-stained asphalt
between the yellow lines.

Two gallons of milk;
paper, plastic or cloth,
environmentally conscious
or people caring less.

We are the way,
the how, the where,
the why, the when,
the what the fuck.

Power makes the world go ‘round
Power is what gets ahold of you
and never lets you go.

Rain Clouds

Photo copyright Keith Rightmyer

Rain Clouds

Clouds are bubbling up
although a sliver of sun still shines;
will the rain come again,
or will the clouds blow away?

Why are we here

Why is it that the older I get, the more I question the meaning of life? I was raised a Christian and I believe in and have accepted Jesus as my savior. I have raised three daughters in a Baptist environment and my husband also comes from the same background. My faith in God continues to grow daily, but along with this growth have come a few questions. Why are we here? For what purpose are we humans in this world? What is heaven really like?

For the past 30 years, my life has consisted of work and raising a family. I sacrificed through three years of nursing school to become a Registered Nurse, knowing this career would allow me to provide for my children. I worked almost thirteen years as a labor and delivery nurse; twelve hour night shifts, three to four days a week. The first few years were exciting and I enjoyed providing for my family, but when my youngest - Christine- was a baby, I felt like I was missing out on the best part of life; I had already missed so much of my older two daughters' lives. As Christine grew up, my discontentment with working grew. Was my job worth missing the formative years of my last child?

No matter how much I missed being at home with Christine, our family had become trapped within a vicious money cycle and I felt compelled to continue working. When Christine was nine, I finally left night shift and the high risk area OBGYN. The problem now was that I was working with the extended care patients; I would become attached to my patients and then they would die. No matter how much I enjoyed talking with and working with my patients, the overwhelming depression surrounding this type of work continued to grow. After the death of my sister in 2005, I realized I couldn’t pretend to be happy any more.

I had to make my family a priority again. These were the people I was working so hard for, but it didn’t matter how much I worked if it continued to keep me away from my family. I took several months off work to get my life back in order and to reconnect with my family. We have downsized our style of living and reprioritized the goals for our future. I have never been so happy.

Of course, you solve one problem and another one will present itself.This year I again started questioning the reason for our existence. What does God really want from us? I feel like He is looking down on Earth as a whole and He is very sad because of the segregation and lack of humanity all around us. Why is America the wealthiest country in the world, but the people of Africa are dying and starving in droves? Why didn’t the US use the money it spent on the Iraq war to make food drops and provide medication for all those who suffer?

Why doesn’t the United States provide for the homeless in our own country? Why do so many American children live below the poverty level if we are the supposed richest country? Why are we trying to keep Mexican immigrants out of our country when we are a country founded on immigrants? With the exception of the Native Americans, none of us would be here if it were not for immigration.

We come from the wealthiest nation in the world, but there are so many people suffering in the United States. Our government representatives need to be more concerned with the people instead of being dictated by big business. It is a shame that lobbiest are the people who are really controlling our nation instead of the middle class, blue collar workers. It is a shame pro-sports players make million of dollars per year, but police, firemen, and other first responders are barely scraping by. It is a shame Hollywood and media entertainers make millions of dollars per year, but school teachers have to count every penny.

I know we are not supposed to question God's plan, but hink about it: why are we here?



© Bobbi Rightmyer

Lovin' the Pokeberries

Right now, Pokeberries are ripening all over the Bluegrass. I love the deep purple color in the fall landscape. Below are two projects you can attempt with Pokeberries.

Pokeberry Ink and Dye

*Just a reminder: Pokeberry leaves, berries and roots are highly toxic. DO NOT let children experiment with these recipes. Always wear gloves and protective clothing when working with Pokeberries.*

Pokeberry Ink:
Version #1: Pick ripe pokeberries and crush them in a bowl using a potato masher. Pick out the skins before straining the juice. Careful of the juice stains. Thicken them with gum arabic (available in health food stores) if they seem too thin.

Version #2: This is more of a recipe and is the one I have used.
• ½ cup Ripe Pokeberries
• ½ Tsp. Vinegar
• ½ Tsp. Salt

Fill a strainer with the berries and hold it over a bowl. Using a wooden spoon, crush the berries against the strainer so that the berry juice strains into the bowl. Keep adding berries until most of their juice has been strained out and only pulp remains. Add the salt and vinegar to the berry juice. The vinegar helps the ink retain its color and the salt keeps it from getting too moldy. If the berry ink is too thick, add a tablespoon of water. Store in a baby food jar. Only make a small amount of berry ink at a time and, when not in use, keep it tightly covered.
(I've also seen recipes that used ammonia as the fixative, but I've never tried this.)

To prepare Pokeberry dye for wool:
• 2 to 3 gallons of ripe pokeberries
• ½ gallon of white vinegar
• Enough water to cover berries

Boil the pokeberries, vinegar and water gently for 30 minutes.
Strain the berries through a fine sieve or cheesecloth. To dye wool, add to the dye extract the vinegar water in which the wool was mordanted (fixes the color) and enough clear water to make a 4 gallon dye bath.

Put one pound of handspun wet wool into a lukewarm pokeberry dye bath immediately after mordanting; let soak for half an hour or more until the desired color of lavender to red is reached. Keep the wool pressed under the water.

Press the water from the dyed wool and hang to dry without rinsing to further set the color.

After a few days rinse the wool and dry again.

Unexpected

Today is my momma's birthday and I miss her so much. I wrote this three years ago and I am reprinting it in her remembrance.

I picked up the phone today to call my Momma,
before I realized there was no way to talk with her.
Why do I do things like this?
Why do I hear the wind chimes and
feel like my sister is right outside the door?

Grief and despair are sliding in again
like the slug of mud rolling down
the scalped mountains of Appalachia.

Will this pain never end? Or am
I left with these holes in my heart
never to be healed again? I know
time is supposed to heal all wounds,
but these wounds still gape and weep.

Occasionally, a ray of sunshine and
will enter, blowing cool hope and
wetting your mouth like an orange creamsicle.

Then like the tinkle of the wind chimes
or the rippling of a cool forest stream,
the feelings slowly ooze away, only
leaving hints of an unexpected return.

Pink Floyd's The Wall

“The Wall” is a rock-n-roll opera presented as a double album by Pink Floyd and it is celebrating its 36th anniversary this month. Released on November 30, 1979 by Columbia Records, it was subsequently performed live, with elaborate theatrical effects. It was also made into a film in 1982. Band members include: Nick Mason, David Gilmour, Roger Waters, and Richard Wright.

Similar to their previous albums, “The Wall” is a concept album dealing with the theme of personal isolation. The concept was inspired by the band's 1977 tour promoting their previous album “Animals”, where Roger Waters' frustration with the audience reached a point where he spat in the face of a fan who was attempting to climb on stage at the Olympic Stadium in July, 1977. Waters would come to regret this, and had lamented that such a wall exists. “The Wall” featured a notably harsher and more theatrical sound than their previous releases.

The rock opera centers on the character, Pink, who is largely based on Waters and his personal life. Pink struggles in life from an early age, having lost his father in World War II ("Another Brick in the Wall (Part 1)"), been abused by teachers ("The Happiest Days of Our Lives"), smothered by an overprotective mother ("Mother"), and deserted by his wife later on ("Don't Leave Me Now") — all of which factored into Pink's isolation from society ("Comfortably Numb"), figuratively referred to as "The Wall".

“The Wall” has sold over 30 million copies worldwide and is the world's best-selling double album of all time. Immensely successful upon release, “The Wall” quickly jumped to #1 on the Billboard 200 in the U.S. in its fourth week. It has achieved 23 times platinum and is Pink Floyd's second best-selling album in the U.S. after “The Dark Side of the Moon.” “Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" became the band's best-selling single in the U.S. and their only song to hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. “The Wall” was also included in the book “1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.”

“The Wall” is one of my top 10 favorite albums of all time and Pink Floyd is one of my top 5 favorite bands. My husband and I saw them in Rupp Arena during their 1987 tour. The large inflatable pig that also hung above arenas whenever they played, actually was floating inside Rupp. It was very cool!!!

Jack-O-Lanterns

With Halloween fast approaching, I thought I'd share one of my favorite Halloween products - Pumpkin Masters Carving Kits.

I started using Pumpkin Masters Carving Kits back in 1986 and I quickly became addicted! I have always enjoyed carving pumpkins, but these kits not only provided the appropriate carving tools to make a professional looking jack o lantern, but they also provide you with many different patterns. If you've looked at these kits in the store and wondered if they really worked, well I'm telling you they do. My family has been using them for over 20 years and we have won many pumpkin carving contests with the fanciful patterns provided.

One of the very first pumpkins I carved was this beauty of Frankenstein's monster. Although the carving looks difficult, it really isn't. You basically use push pins or tape to apply a pattern to the pumpkin, then you use the outlining tool to make an outline of the pattern. Then you remove the pattern and start carving.

The Headless Horseman is one of my favorite patterns to use. I have carved this pattern numerous times over the years. It is fun and always a hit at Halloween parties.

The Howling Vampire is another favorite pattern and I have carved it on several large pumpkins over the years. It is the two faces of the vampire and it looks very spooky when it is lighted.

If Tiffany Had Used a Pumpkin has been the hardest one I've every attempted, but it remains my favorite. It is carved on all sides and I was so afraid the spider in the middle would come unattached. I have carved this pumpkin 3 times, the last time (not this photo) was on a 100 pound pumpkin for a local grocery store.



Due to my recent illness, I have not carved a pumpkin for several years, but I enjoy looking back at the wonderful photographs my husband took of my creations.


Happy Halloween!

Kisses from heaven

It really is a shame my sister, Amy, didn't live long enough to see her grandchild born. Desiree will be 6 years old this week and I am sure that her granny is smiling down on her from heaven.

Amy Kisses
She spoke to me like a flicker of air swept by in a dream
Gentle kisses in the ear making me feel wanted and loved;
She’s been gone so long it’s been almost five years
And yet I can still feel her in my heart.
She caresses the inner sanctity opens my wounds with a flick of her wings,
Then she smiles and says, “thank you for being there today.”
Her first grandchild she will never know, but will watch from her chair high above.
Every kiss, every prayer, every loving moment in time
Captured internally and filed away, ready to recapture the joy.
We will give her earthly love and vigor,
You will give her angel kisses;
She will grow and thrive and capture the light
Fulfilling her destiny unwritten.
She’ll have much hugged awards, atta girls, aren’t you sweet
But she’ll also have memories and history and cherishments.
Yes, we will raise her and see she does right
And she will know the grandmotherly love, though the package may seem strange
She will know the love you are giving
You don’t have to worry we will make sure she knows,
That granny’s my sis and we all miss her so,
But she’ll live in your heart and your soul.


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