Fish, tornadoes and a free spirit on the path least traveled….

Dear Diary Page 98….

Hello Diary,

Got a load of laundry started and now relaxing a bit and watching the sun come up…

And thought I would leave some thoughts.. Friday started out as a quiet day, doing some chores and decided I would prepare dinner (ready to put in microwave) for Sat. and Sun also while bringing the week to an end… with Sat. being fish dinner, fixed a plate of fish, cauliflower, tater-tots and onion rings…

And for Sun. chicken strips, “chips” (steak fries) and corn, along with tomatoes and apple cobbler..

With that being taken care of and chores finished, ready to bring the day, and the week, to an end…but Mother Nature had a different idea.. It first started as a simple Flash Flood Warning as there were thunderstorms in the area but it rapidly turned into a Tornado Warning…all in all there were three tornadoes in the area, one within 5 miles but luckily none here…some pictures taken about 5 miles away by Jeff Frame, professional storm chaser…

And a picture taken by the NWS where the tornado had knocked over tombstones at a nearby cemetery…

Were a bit tense for awhile but no damage here.. Friday, and the week, didn’t end quietly but with a roar!.. 🙂 Today should be a quiet day and end that way, but a busy week ahead..

But for now, some quiet time, reflecting and contemplating,gathering inner thoughts about the future and who I am, what I am… believe to be a free spirit in a mortal body, neither this or that, one of this kind or the other, but perhaps all of the above… a free spirit that has a tendency to be more feminine than masculine but no desire to demand to use the ladies bathroom at Walmart or shop at Victoria’s Secret.. 🙂
But does explain why I had no issues helping Mom (because I was the oldest) while living on the farm doing “women’s” chores or why I was able to help my late wife while she was dealing with cancer doing things that most “men” wouldn’t or couldn’t…why I am more “compassionate” about some things more then most “men” would be…. why, after over a half-century of doing the “manly” things while living on the farm, fighting in a Vietnam war as a US Marine and helping build a country working in construction for 30+ years, I would prefer growing flowers and writing poetry… but, that is another blog for another time… 🙂 will leave a some thoughts about ones inner self…

“ I think that somehow, we learn who we really are and then live with that decision.” Eleanor Roosevelt

“ The best day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own, no apologies or excuses.. No one to lean on, rely on or blame.. The gift is yours, it is an amazing journey, and you alone are responsible for the quality of it. This is the day your life really begins.” Bob Moawad

“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” Abraham Lincoln

“Happiness is not determined by what’s happening around you, but rather what’s happening inside you. Most people depend on others to gain happiness, but the truth is, it always comes from within” Author Unknown

The washer has buzzed, ready to be put on the line..Bree is up and about ready to explore the day and whatever it may bring, so will close for now and get ready to venture down the path least traveled to see what adventures are in store for Bree and I…shall return again one day, Fate be willin’ and the creeks don’t rise…

And, by not fitting in with the old and too old for the new, like Barbra Streisand, Bree and I are looking for “that’ place… 🙂

Have returned as summer starts to wane on the path least traveled…

Dear Diary Page 97..

Hello Diary…

Surprised to see me?.. 🙂 after giving it some contemplation, thought I would share some thoughts with you from time to time, the saying goodbye was primarily for Facebook, which I shared my blog…Facebook is getting far too commercial and filled with ranters and other assorted not so pleasant people..I also noticed the same with some of the forums and media I did frequent and have seen some that have decided to stop allowing comments.. a sad state of affairs this country, and the world, has come to.. so sad 😦

But, enough of the dark side for now…I have returned, with Bree… and speaking of Bree, she is sleeping in this Sunday morning….

She has three favorite places to nap and one of them is the bathroom floor, it is nice and cool with a bit of breeze with the window open…

Tomorrow is Monday and Labor Day holiday.. will have the traditional (for here 🙂 ) ham and beans and I will cut up some Polish Keilbasa to add to it…

Also opened a tube of biscuit dough and made some garlic biscuits to go with the ham and beans…

So, ready for the holiday.. and with it being September it means that the garden has almost ran its course and will start to fade and prepare for the winter doldrums… may get a few more tomatoes but they are spent for the most part…

Picked the last of the green beans also..

Still have a few flowers left, mainly the roses.. and with the mention of flowers, thought I would share a poem I wrote in history’s past;

A bouquet of flowers from my garden,
Their beauty need not be told,
Their fragrance is soothing and lovely
A pleasant scent for one to behold.

They remind me of you, my love
Whose beauty from within you do share,
Sharing sunshine, understanding and laughter
Sowing the seeds of love and happiness in the air.

This bouquet was picked for you, my love
For coming into my world, my dear friend,
For giving sunshine, laughter, love and happiness
For which I know will never end.
(Penned by Larry “Dutch” Woller May 5, 2008)

With that being said, believe I will stop for now… have a leisurely day planned today with pleasant weather, then next week will start getting ready for winter in earnest.. 🙂 Bree and I still chasing rainbows as we venture on down the path least traveled, eagerly awaiting to see what is around the bend.. will return again one day, not sure when, not sure where, Fate be willin’ and the creeks don’t rise….

And in keeping with the last days of summer, will leave a song by Andre Rieu, my favorite and the song I played the day of my late wife‘s funeral…

The lyrics;

‘Tis the last rose of summer left blooming alone
All her lovely companions are faded and gone
No flower of her kindred, no rosebud is nigh
To reflect back her blushes and give sigh for sigh

I’ll not leave thee, thou lone one, to pine on the stem
Since the lovely are sleeping, go sleep thou with them
Thus kindly I scatter thy leaves o’er the bed
Where thy mates of the garden lie scentless and dead

And one day may I follow when friendships decay
And from love’s shining circle the gems drop away
When true hearts lie withered and fond ones are flown
Oh who would inhabit this bleak world alone?
This bleak world alone……