Saturday December 5 2015  PEACE ABOUT FOREVER

Last evening was very enjoyable.  We joined our friends at church for a delicious pot luck dinner and then a show afterward.  The “show” was actually the children’s Christmas Pageant.  Though we do not have any children to watch in the pageant we love to attend.  My heart is always so sad when I look up on the stage and do not see our grandchildren participating.  I hope one year before they outgrow their childhood that they will have the opportunity to attend church consistently enough to be able to sing about the wonders of Christmas and the birth of Christ at the Children’s Christmas Pageant.  I would just love to see that performance.

The pageant was absolutely precious.  There is no entertainment better that a mass of children who are all trying to do their best and their best is just priceless.  There was a smile on my face all during the production as well as all the way home.  Their sincerity and innocence combined, creates memorable heartfelt moments.  The audience was full of beaming parents and grandparents.  I think the children’s pageant is my favorite Christmas service each December.

There is another special event we hope to attend tomorrow afternoon at the State Capitol building.  It is a group of children from all the area schools who combine to perform the story of Christmas, in still life acting, and singing.  Once upon a time there were fliers that were sent home by the schools informing the families of the opportunity to be part of the Christmas program.  I don’t know if you have ever heard of the name Anne Gaylor and her daughter Annie Laurie Gaylor who spear-headed the “Freedom from Religion” movement that began right here in Wisconsin in 1976, and which was incorporated nationally in 1978.  Now the schools are not allowed to advertise the event and the children must sign up outside of school to take part in the Capitol pageant.  The production is held in the Capitol’s Rotunda on thesecond floor,  The upper floors of the rotunda are also used for the still life acts of the Christ Child scene in the stables, and for the angels.  It is a magnificent depiction of the story of Christ with beautiful singing from the choir and musicians playing background music.  There is also a harpist also that adds so much to the event.  

On the bottom floor of the rotunda stands a very tall Christmas tree that goes up through the circle balcony above and can be seen at eye level on the second floor where the music and acting take place.  During our previous governor’s administration it was called the “The Holiday Tree”.  The current governor and his administration call it what it is, “A Christmas Tree”.   On the ground floor of the Capitol, next to the Christmas tree, there are always disclaimers about “mixing religion and state”.  Here is what The Freedom From Religion Foundation has on a large sign sitting in front of the Christmas Tree on the ground floor.  This is what is written on one of the disclaimers:

“At this season of THE WINTER SOLSTICE may reason prevail.  There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell.  There is only our natural world.  Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.”  Freedom From Religion Foundation

I find it interesting, that though the pagaent is kept totally separate from the schools, that the school children in the area make ornaments at school and the ornaments are then donated each year to decorate the Capitol Christmas Tree.  They are beautiful due to each child’s unique imagination.  We try to attend every year to support the fact that we can still sing about the birth of Christ in a state run facility.  Just who is it exactly that owns and pays for the building?  I believe the last time I checked it was “we the people”.  And I also don’t remember our Constitution stating that we have “freedom from religion”.  Rather, and I quote from the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution:

“Prohibits the making of any law RESPECTING AN ESTABLISHMENT OF RELIGION, impeding the FREE EXERCISE OF RELIGION, abridging the freedom of  speech,…” 

So, the way I see it, we have the freedom to express our religion when and where we like, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation has their right to the freedom of speech in their signage.  But look out people!  A lot of our freedoms are being eroded DAILY by laws that seem to go against what our constitution states.  Stand up for our Constitution and do not allow the government take our freedoms from us.

I actually did not mean to get on a high horse about the Capitol pageant, however, since I still have freedom of speech and the right to say what I want to say, I will speak the truth as I see it. 

Now, I would like to address the two poems I included at the bottom of yesterday’s blog.  I was informed that they didn’t make a lot of sense and that I am also sometimes difficult to understand.  So, if any others found that to be true, I do apologize.  I have taken 26 words that are normal every day words, and written poems that are the “spiritual” definition as to what I think the word means.   The first word I wrote about was ATTENTION.  The poem following that title best describes to me the spiritual aspect of what that word means to me.

The second poem I wrote about was the definition of IMAGINATION.  That poem may have been easier to distinguish the word which I defined by the poem.  Perhaps they were both just a big flop but I did put a lot of time and effort into their creation.  Sorry if it was a waste of your time to read.

This morning was a wonderful morning because I had all my workouts at the gym taken care of for the week and did not need to go today.  That always makes me feel as if I really have a day off.  So I spent the morning it in my library going through books which I bought on my trip.  I read parts of several and found the ones I will be studying this coming year.  One is a book by A.W. Tozer “THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE HOLY”.  Oh my goodness!  I am so looking forward to each chapter.  It is amazing how he opens up the meaning of who God is!  I think I may look up some of his other titles.  I also found a very interesting little something in one of the other books I discovered.  I will try to remember to tell you more about it this week.  It is too involved to write about today due to the length this blog already is.  So I will close with the poem I wrote this morning as I studied about God and who He is. 

 

PEACE ABOUT FOREVER

By Kathleen Martens

December 5, 2015

 

No matter how many times

I may walk away,

Jesus always beckons

Come, and with Me stay.

 

When I forget to say my prayers

The Holy Spirit taps my shoulder,

And speaks to me in loving voice,

“It is your prayers that make you bolder.

 

Lean not on self, but give trust

To the Lord who reigns on high.

Seek first the Kingdom of God

And all else will come nigh.”

 

And He receives me with open arms

And with love He fills me up.

And He bids me come and stay

And on His word to sup.

 

For there is no greater burden

Than facing eternity unknown.

But when I put my trust in God,

Peace is forever my own.

 

I hope this poem was a bit easier to understand.

Good night and God bless each one reading these words.  It is but 4:15 p.m. and it is dark, but in my heart a light shines brighter than the sun.  Or maybe I should say, “BRIGHT AS THE SON”.

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday December 3, 2015  I HEAR THE BEAT OF THE DRUMMER

I hear the beat of the drummer and each day it becomes closer and faster.  Twenty two days before Christmas and I will wake up one morning and it will be here.  JUST LIKE THAT!  At the snap of a finger.  There was once a time when it took forever for that special day.  Let me do a little reminiscing.

I know I have mentioned that as a child I lived in the project housing development, the place where there were no trees, all the project buildings were built alike, some one floor and some two floor, rectangular boxes with the clothes lines at the end or in front of each building.  Lots of cement all around the buildings and beyond that were rolling hills, usually brown and dry.  One reason they were brown and dry was because in the spring when everything came up like weeds, the project people came around with these big tanks on their back and sprayed everything with a slick oily substance of powerful weed killer to eradicate all the green growth.  Within hours the hills and all around the buildingS was black and dead from the potent spray.  But, this was always the fun time of the year for the ignorant kids of the projects.  As soon as the men were through spraying the poison, we kids in the projects would run and get our prized and hoarded cardboard, take it up to the highest hill across the street from our apartment building and slide down the back side of the hill on the slick slimy mixture, rolling in the muck at the bottom, as we tumbled to a stop.  It was a long hill and it must have felt much like it would sliding down in a sled in the snow country.  It was so fun because the grass was slick and cardboard went very fast.

At night I would come in with my slick shiny braids matted down to my head, smelling to high heaven, and my mother would make me take a shower.  My hair was only washed on Saturdays as I bent over the kitchen sink, so it had to wait until then.  It makes me cringe now to know I had that thick poison mixture on my scalp and in my hair, for who knows how many days.  Saturday my braids would come out and I had to hang my head over the sink as my mom would scrub my head until she LITERALLY drew blood (though just a few times that I remember).  Then she would send me outside in the nice weather and I would sit in the sun with my hair hanging down to my waist as it blew in the breeze, running my fingers through it so it would dry.  In the winter I had to stand by the heater that stood in the corner of the short hallway right outside the one bathroom we had.  My hair was thick and long and if I didn’t get it dry before bedtime I would wake up with damp hair.

The heater in the corner of the hall was a big boxy free standing gas burning apparatus.  There was a rope that was strung from corner to corner above it.  I owned one pair of socks and I would wash them out every night and someone would hang them up high by the toes with two clothespins so they would be dry by morning.  I had one pair of school shoes, usually white oxfords, which I took such pride in.  I insisted on polishing them every night.  Some of you may remember the little, rectangle fuzzy piece of cloth that you could hold over the opening of the white shoe polish bottle, turn it upside down, and then have the polish needed to add another coat of white on my oxfords.  I remember the polish becoming so caked and layered on the shoes over the school year that by summer they would be thick and cracked with all the diligent polishing.  But they were kept white that way.  I also had one pair of Sunday school shoes which I wore each Sunday morning and Sunday night.  But on Wednesday nights I was relegated again to wearing my over polished, painful oxfords.

Though we were hand to mouth poor my mother was fastidious.  She said we may be poor but we didn’t have to look like or act like trash.  She kept our apartment as clean as physically possible (with forced labor), of which I was part.  What I remember in the summer, was leaving the apartment as early as possible and heading out over the hills to be with the neighborhood gang.  I use the world “gang” in an endearing way because it was not like the gangs of today.  It was just poor kids banding together to play.  I sort of organized and ruled most of the time.  I guess in today’s vernacular it would simply be called “being bossy”.  I always had lots of ideas.  One of my best ideas was raiding the garbage cans after one of the apartments had a repair job on the wallboard.  The trash was then always full of big hunks and pieces of thick hard sheet rock, which made the absolutely best chalk.  Since we had so much cement space I became an instant architectural designer.  My best friend Albert, who lived downstairs right below our apartment, would help me draw the floor plans of the most magnificent houses on the vast expanse of cement.  We would not let anyone else come into our house or step on our chalk lines.  Later in life I visited the area after the apartments had been torn down.  The cement area was much smaller than I remembered it being at age six and seven.

Well, I have done quite a bit of remembering but totally off the subject of what I wanted to elaborate about.  Back to my thought of anticipating Christmas.  Christmas was always exciting when I was little because it was the only time of the year when we received a toy.    I actually have most of the gifts I received over the Christmases of my childhood, (except one doll that melted due to a fire in the neighboring apartment).  Our apartment did not actually burn to ashes but the apartment next door did, (twice) and we had a lot of heat and smoke damage in ours.   That’s another story entirely.  Back to Christmas.  As I sit here I remember several Christmas seasons.  One in particular that I will mention was the year my sister turned four years old.  I was ten.  I snuck out in the middle of Christmas Eve night, and there under the tree was a little metal table and chairs about the right size for a preschooler.  A big Chatty Cathy doll sat in one of the chairs and the other chair had a pink teddy bear with a pretty bow around its neck.  I was so excited for my Chatty Cathy doll, knowing that Faith would be receiving the pink teddy bear and table and chairs.  Boy, was I ever wrong!  The Chatty Cathy doll was for my younger sister and I RECEIVED THE PINK TEDDY BEAR.  After all, I was a grown up ten year old.  I didn’t hanker for a TEDDY BEAR.  I tried to cover up my disappointment.  In no way would I want to hurt my mother’s feelings.  I knew everything cost money and we didn’t have much.  I used to listen through the thin walls when my parents thought I was sleeping and hear them talking about money and worrying so about having enough for food and for what expenses were coming up.  That always lay heavy on my little young soul.  I certainly didn’t want to be the cause of any angst when it came to money.  I found out years later, if I recall correctly, that is was my sister Velma who bought the doll for Faith.

When I was a child, I counted my years by Christmas day.  On the day after Christmas the year loomed long before me.  Now, on the other hand, when March comes I always announce to Dave, we better start getting ready for Christmas.  And in the blink of an eye it is here.  And in the month of December the whole month is Christmas.  The drum of December beckons me on.  Another year gone and by March, Christmas will almost be here again.

 My day began at 4:45 a.m., I was out of the house by 6:10 a.m., and at my destination by 6:50 a.m..  Fortunately, I did not run into rush hour traffic so I made excellent time.  I was on Grandma duty today.  Occasionally my grandchildren do not have childcare coverage so the two Grandmas are called to arms.  It was a good day.  Drove the older one to school, stayed with the younger one all day, played cars on the hardwood floors, played two games of Blokus with the four year old, fixed a morning snack, played with building magnets, fixed lunch, went and picked up the older one, then snack time again.  I played cars once again with two opponents instead of one, settled a few minor disputes, helped with homework, did a detailed Bible study with the eight year old, and greeted mom and dad when they arrived home.  Oh yes, I also wrote the above blog between what I mentioned in this paragraph.  I just did a little here and there as I entertained two kids.  All in all It was an excellent day.

One more thing to add to my day.  My Sunday appointment to pick up the final wedding book of my career did not take place.  Well, I arrive home about 20 minutes before they were scheduled to be here this evening.  The book has been signed, sealed, and delivered (or at least picked up)!  I came up the stairs singing!  They loved it!

 

BECAUSE THEN I WILL BE…

By Kathleen Martens

December 3, 2015

 

Over the past three years

I’ve had so many endings.

Planning for retirement

Now is no longer pending.

 

Today is a momentous one

That has a lot of meaning.

My professional work is over!

Workload no longer steaming.

 

Two little projects left to do

For friends without the stress.

And when that is all finished

I will then be due my rest.

 

Because then I will be

Fully and completely retired!

But that is not what I intend,

Rather, I will be re-fired!

 

Today I lived a long time, very slow, very busy, and I’m not done yet!  I only watched a part of a movie last night.  Tonight I hope to finish it.

Good night and God bless you. 

 

 

 

Tuesday December 1 2015  WHERE DO I START?

PREFACE:  Please note that the body of my blog is actually quite short today.  If you scroll down you may think it way too long  to read.  At the end of what I wrote I have included part of a website with more information about the topic that I discuss, briefly due to some wise words a woman told me today.  Please read if you find it helpful, otherwise after I say good night, please skip the rest.  However, if you start reading it you may find it very stimulating and interesting!

 

MY BLOG:

If I were to try to tell you all that Dave and I did today I would be here until midnight typing.  So, I will suffice to say we were busy and on the go from the time we awakened this morning until sitting down at this computer at 7:41 p.m.  Our errands for the week are done.  Perhaps not a good idea to jam them all into one day because Dave’s stamina went downhill rather quickly there at the end.  We won’t try that again.  It is just that we live so far out from everything that when we go to town we try to get everything done in the area we go to in order to save time and gas. 

The dishwasher sounds like music to my ears for it means the end of the day is being put to bed.  I certainly wish I could hear the sound of the vacuum drone but that is not to be until we are both signed, sealed, and delivered so to speak.  I have two more weeks of limited arm use and Dave has at least three more weeks before he can return to light duties.

I intend to write a very short blog tonight as I still intend to try to fulfill one of my December goals.  That goal is to watch a Christmas Movie every day.  Perhaps not a great aspiration to aspire to but one, none the less, I’d like to try to put under my belt as an accomplishment.  Needless to say that my dream of taking the entire month of December off has not started yet.  Maybe tomorrow.

 

A GIFT TO MYSELF

By Kathleen Martens

December 1, 2015

 

Maybe tomorrow will be a better day

With empty hours when I can play.

Because today was all about work

None of which I might shirk.

 

Every day builds for tomorrow

Which I must not lend to sorrow.

I did today what had to be done

Even if it was not quite fun.

 

But I think, I can still squeeze

Two hours that will greatly please.

If one movie I can get through,

Then tomorrow I’ll watch number two.

 

To stay awake will be my aim,

And my goal will not be stained.

No matter how hard it will be,

I want to do it just for me.

 

It is my gift to myself

To watch those movies on the shelf.

And then again after next year,

In December, I’ll hold them dear.

 

While I was at the gym this morning I met a lady named Anne.  We had a small conversation about exercise and how it helped our bodies stay limber and work better.  I then asked Anne my latest question:  What one thing caught her unaware as she started aging?  Her answer was quite interesting and beautifully spoken.  I am grateful for her permission to share it with you here.

“JUST AS WE’RE SHARING ABOUT KEEPING OUR BODIES NIMBLE, I FEEL LIKE YOUR INTELLECT AND YOUR SPIRIT, YOU HAVE TO ACTIVELY ENGAGE THAT TO KEEP IT NIMBLE, OTHERWISE YOU CAN GET STIFF.  I FOUND MYSELF GETTING STIFF IN THE INTELLECT, AND THAT WAS A BIG SURPRISE.”

I found Anne’s remark quite interesting and insightful.  Statistics show that cardio exercise on a regular basis is extremely helpful for our brain power, as is reading, engaging in conversations, having friends, eating healthy, doing crossword puzzles, power thinking, meditating and a host of other things as well.

I just looked up a website to see if I could find a bit more information about keeping your brain healthy.  I am going to post what one site suggested to do.  It is quite lengthy so just read what you want and know that I will sign off here and pray that you have a wonderful night.

Good night and God bless you!

 

Here is the website name for the information below. It is not a direct link  you can click on but if you would like to further investigate it, copy the address and then paste it into your web browser. Everything from here to the end is from the site mentioned below.  I make no claims on what is said from this point on.  Anything you try at home is at your own risk.

http://oedb.org/ilibrarian/100-ways-to-keep-your-mind-healthy/

 

Brain Power: 100 Ways to Keep Your Mind Healthy and Fit

L

1

Email It!

Staff Writers — February 26, 2013
Whether you are 25 or 75, it’s always a good time to think about ways to keep your mind healthy. People with strong minds live a richer and more fulfilling life. The following list incorporates plenty of mental, physical, and nutritional ways to keep your mind sharp throughout your lifetime. Keeping your mind sharp is also a great way to help you be successful.  You are sure to find some great ideas you can start doing today. 

 

Get plenty of mental exercise

The brain can atrophy just like a muscle can. Take the following suggestions to give your mind a mental workout every day.

1. Use your brain. There is a lot of knowledge up there, so put it into action. Doing tasks such as thinking through problems or avoiding the calculator for simple arithmetic is one way to exercise your mind.
2. Crosswords. If you get the newspaper, work the crossword puzzles each day. They usually get progressively more difficult as the week goes on, culminating in the most challenging puzzle on Sunday. If you don’t get the newspaper, you can find many free crossword puzzles online.
3. Scrabble. Play Scrabble with friends in person or play online. Scrabble is a great way to get your brain thinking.
4. News. Keep up with current events. Whether your interest is politics, world news, or your local small-town gossip, staying current with the news stimulates your mind.
5. Read. Read anything…books, magazines, the back of cereal boxes. Reading keeps your mind pumping, and you learn new things at the same time. It’s definitely a bonus if your reading material has some depth to it, though.
6. Puzzles. While working jigsaw puzzles, you must think about how the shapes and colors match up. The problem-solving skills of working puzzles help keep your mind sharp.
7. Movies. Watch a thought-provoking movie. Movies like The Fountain,Jacob’s Ladder, and 12 Monkeyscan leave your brain pondering what you watched for days afterward.
8. Word puzzles. Solve brainteasers such as anagrams, logic problems, or rebuses. You can have fun with these puzzles any time you have a few extra minutes.
9. Video games. Who said video games are a waste of time? Some video game playing can help fight Alzheimer’s.
10. Hobbies. Start a new hobby or take up an old, forgotten one to get your creative juices flowing.

 

Don’t forget physical exercise

Whether you want an all-out, five-day-a-week gym workout or you just want to keep from being a couch potato, physical exercise will help keep your mind as well as your body fit. Exercise increases blood-flow and oxygenates the brain, so get moving.

11. Yard work. Mowing the lawn, raking leaves, or just picking up the twigs that have fallen on the yard are all great ways to get exercise.
12. Walk the dog. Getting Fido and yourself outside for a walk improves both your mood and your health — which both lead to a stronger mind.
13. Swim. Jump in the lake or take a swim at your neighborhood pool for a great form of exercise.
14. Bike. A leisurely bike ride through a park or down a dedicated bike trailis not only good for your body, but you will enjoy the scenery too.
15. Yoga. Practicing yoga is an excellent way to get your body and mind moving any time of the day.
16. Tai chi. Learn this ancient form of graceful movement and stretching for a super way to start each morning.
17. Hike. Put on some sturdy shoes and get moving. Hiking can be as easy as exploring a city park or part of a more elaborate visit to a state or national park.
18. Dance. Take dancing lessons. Learn to tango or do the latest line dance and put your body in motion. You’ll age betterand feel better.
19. Tennis. The mental and physical stimulation of this popular game will have your brain health in top form.
20. Golf. Enjoy a leisurely round of golf for both exercise and social benefits that will help keep your mind fit.

 

Challenge your brain

Learning and experiencing new things is a great way to challenge your brain. Going beyond just a daily workout, these ideas will give your mind a real chance to exercise as well as add a whole new dimension to your life.

21. Learn. Be curious about the world around you. If you hear an unfamiliar word, look it up. See a flower you don’t recognize? Find out what it is.
22. Music. Learn to play a musical instrument, learn how to read music, or take a music theory class.
23. Language. Study a foreign language. Maybe you can revive that high school Spanish and prepare yourself for a visit to Mexico.
24. Art. Learning a new art form doesn’t require that you have talent, just an interest to learn. Study the art of photography, learn to paint, or find out how to throw pottery.
25. Switch hands. Try using your less dominant hand for simple tasks like eating or writing. Changing hands really stimulates the brain.
26. Chess. Learn how to play chess or find a chess partner if you already know how.
27. Career. Is your career meeting your need for fulfillment or damaging your health? If it’s the latter, think hard about making a switch.
28. Travel. Whether you’ve always wanted to travel the now-defunct Route 66 or wanted to explore Mayan ruins, take a trip. Exploring different cultures and breaking out of your routine sharpen the mind.
29. School. Go back to school for that degree you never got. Studying at college is a great brain challenge.

 

Eat healthily

The connection between what goes in your body and how your brain performs is a strong one. All of these nutritional tips will provide you with delicious and brain-healthy ways to eat.

31. Antioxidants. Eating foods that are antioxidantscan help improve focus, problem-solving, and memory. Supplements can help, but food with antioxidant properties work best.
32. Fish. The ultimate brain food, eat fish a few times a week for a healthy mind. Try to avoid mercury-heavy fish such as swordfish and stick with safer fish such as salmon.
33. Avocado. Avocados have monosaturated fat (the good fat), which increases blood flow. Increased blood flow equals a healthy brain.
34. Fruits and veggies. Your mama always said to eat your vegetables. She was right, and you’d be stupid to ignore her … literally.
35. Whole grains. Two and a half servings of whole grains a day can significantly reduce your chance for a stroke and other chronic diseases.
36. Olive oil. This miracle elixir has been shown to break up clots in capillaries and generally help with blood flow. Consider replacing your other vegetable oil with a good quality olive oil.
37. Onions. Onions have antioxidant enzymes that may help block damage to the blood-brain barrier. Just don’t breath on us.
38. Superfoods. Ever heard of Goji berries? What do they have in common with blueberries? They are both part of the new group called superfoods. These are the best foods to eat for the most nutritional punch.
39. Cooked food. Raw food is all the rage when it comes to healthy eating, but recent findings show early man developed much faster after he discovered the joy of cooking.
40. Breakfast. It may be known as the most important meal of the day, but it is now considered the best meal for your brain too.

 

Supplement your diet the brain-healthy way

Supplements don’t just have to come in pill form. Find out how each of these supplements to your diet will help promote a healthy brain.

41. Omega-3. Omega-3 amino acids are one of the best brain supplements you can take, helping stave off Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, and depression.
42. Green tea. Drinking green tea is great for a healthy mind because it is full of antioxidants. Steep a cup and know you are helping your mind stay strong.
43. B Vitamins. A vitamin B complex will give you your daily requirements of thiamine, riboflavin, biotin, and more that help you metabolize foods, keep you from getting sick, and slow the aging process.
44. Water. Staying hydrated benefits your body and brain by keeping you detoxified and oxygenated, so drink lots of water.
45. Kombucha. The benefits of drinking this raw fermented tea may have been overblown a bit, but it has been shown to improve liver function, at the very least.
46. Vitamin E. Vitamin E is a strong antioxidant that is beneficial to brain health. Take it to give your brain a boost.
47. Vitamin C. Used in conjunction with vitamin E, this supplement may help prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s.
48. Matcha. This stone-ground, powdered form of green tea is a super-concentrated version of the green tea that comes in tea bags. Buy the highest quality for a super blast of brain health.
49. Grape seed extract. Studies have shown a connection between taking grape seed extract and preventing the onset of dementia, as well as fighting colorectal cancer on its own.
50. Lecithin. Not only does lecithinimprove brain function, it breaks down bad cholesterol and helps blood pressure, to boot.

 

Take these only in moderate amounts or not at all

Some things are just better left out of your body or only introduced in small doses. Find out what you should limit or eliminate to help keep your mind in good health.

51. Fast food. The saturated fats and generally poor food quality of fast food is not something you want to keep putting in your body. Reducing fast food as much as you can will help keep you mentally fit.
52. Heavily processed food. The preservatives, artificial ingredients, and high fat content of processed foods are not good for the body. Try to eat foods as close to their source as you can. A slice of cheddar cheese is so much better for your brain than a slice of processed American cheese.
53. White sugar. Refined “table” sugar creates strong fluctuations in blood-sugar levels, which results in a whole host of health problems, including cardiovascular and cholesterol issues. Stick with a more natural sweetener such as honey, cane sugar, or agave.
54. Hydrogenated vegetable oils. The oils found in margarine and other processed foods hold a direct link to higher cholesterol, which in turn, leads to less blood flow to the brain.
55. Caffeine. Reduce your caffeine intake. But don’t worry about eliminating it altogether, as studies indicate a little caffeine may be beneficial to your brain.
56. Alcohol. Keep drinking to a minimum — one or two drinks a day at the most. Heavy drinking is directly linked to memory loss.
57. High fructose corn syrup. This artificial sweetener may be worse for you than sugar, tricking your brain into making you think you’re hungry when you’re not.
58. Saturated fat. Replace saturated fat from animal products with monounsaturated fat from healthy vegetable oils.
59. Environmental pollutants. The toxic effects of pollutants is not healthy for the body, and especially the brain. If you live in a heavily polluted city, you might want to consider moving.
60. Heavy metals. Heavy metals disrupt the protective blood-brain barrier and are not easily flushed from the body. Two sources of heavy metals are mercury found in many fish and lead found in places such as some job sites, in certain dishware from Mexico, and lead pipes in older homes.

Be safe

Protecting your brain from injury is a great way to promote a fit mind. Brain injury can debilitate the brain’s functioning. Learn how to protect your head from injury with this list.

61. Sports helmets. Protect your head when doing certain physical activities such as bicycling, skiing, or rollerblading by wearing the appropriate helmet for your sport.
62. Smoking. Smoking robs your body of oxygen, and oxygen is essential to a healthy brain. Also, studies showthat Alzheimer’s is twice as likely to occur in smokers as in non-smokers.
63. Heat stroke. Avoid heat stroke for a healthier brain. If you plan to be out in the sun, always wear a hat and stay hydrated with plenty of water. Keep in the shade as much as possible.
64. Driving. Practice safe driving habits. Becoming a defensive driver reduces your chances of getting in an accident.
65. Handrails. Use handrails on steep stairs or any stairs if you are in bad weather. Wet or icy stairs can cause you to fall easily.
66. On motorcycles. Always wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle or scooter to protect your head in the event of a wreck or loss of control.
67. Drugs. Dare to be drug free, bro. Some drugs can diminish brain capacity, and overdosing on certain street drugs can cause permanent brain damage. Just don’t run this risk to your brain.
68. Repetitive injury. Any repetitive head injury considerably elevates the chances of long-term brain injury. Sports such as football, soccer, and boxing all run a higher risk of repetitive injury, so take caution if you participate in sports with higher risk.
69. Seatbelts. Always wear a seatbelt when you are in a car — front or back seat. If you are in a car accident, your chances of sustaining a head injury while buckled up are much lower.
70. Home safety. Practice smart safety around the house such as using a sturdy ladder rather than a rickety one or just stacking items on a chair to get items out of reach.

 

Reduce stress

 Not only does stress help keep your body healthy, it also improves mental health. Use these suggestions for ways to find stress relief and relaxation for your life.

71. Emotions. Keep in touch with your emotions. Pretending you don’t have certain feelings such as anger, sadness, or loneliness will just push these feelings down until they come back out in less than ideal ways. Identify your emotions and accept them for what they are.
72. Bath. Soak in a hot bath to feel the stress just melt away from your body. After a 15 minute soak, your body and mind will both feel refreshed.
73. Meditation. For improving focus and stress relief, meditation can’t be beat. It can even permanently impact your brain for the better.
74. Breathing. The deep, relaxing form of breathing used during yoga practice can bring benefits to your brain as well. Not only will this deep breathing serve as a form of relaxation, it also oxygenates the body, which keeps the brain healthy.
75. Relaxation exercises. Try some of these relaxation exercises, and you will teach your body how to feel calmer, thereby reducing your stress levels.
76. Fun. Have fun in life. Take time away from work and family responsibilities to just enjoy life. When you can’t get away, learn how to find the joy in all you do.
77. Yes!Think positively and you will discover that your approach to life is one of much less stress. You will feel empowered to make things happen and to appreciate what you’ve already accomplished.
78. Smile. Smile and laugh often. Not only will a happy demeanor help you feel better, it will also affect those around you.
79. Sleep. Getting enough sleep and sleeping well contribute to a reduction in stress levels. Find out how to get a good night’s sleepwithout a sleep aid.
80. Get a pet. Pet owners show fewer signs of stress and are less lonely. Think about going through a pet rescue organization to help find a home for a needy animal and helping yourself too.

 

Stimulate Your Senses

An experience that incorporates one or more of your senses serves to stimulate brain activity and help keep your mind sharp. The following activities will provide you with plenty of sensory experiences you will enjoy while strengthening your mental acuity.

81. Sculpt. Pick up some modeling clay and play with some simple sculpting. You don’t have to be Rodin to enjoy the feeling of the clay in your hands.
82. Aromatherapy. In reasonable segments, aromatherapy sessions can do wonders for your stress levels.
83. Massage. Get a massage and enjoy the tactile sensation of a professional working out the stress and tension in your muscles. Massage therapists typically use essential oils in their massage oil, so you also have the added benefit of a pleasing scent.
84. New food. Try a new type of food, especially if it is a different ethnic food than you are accustomed to eating. Thai food and Indian food both utilize a wide range of herbs and spices that will stimulate your sense of taste, smell, and sight.
85. Chai. If you haven’t experienced the sensation of chai, give it a try. This tea infused with a variety of spices and blended with milk or a non-dairy milk substitute will awaken your tongue and mind as well.
86. Garden. Reach your hands into the earth and plant some herbs and flowers. Gardening is a great multi-sensory experience, as you feel the soil, hear nature and the neighborhood around you, taste herbs you’ve grown, and appreciate the color and beauty of the flowers you nurtured.
87. Sex. Enjoy sex with your partner. Not only will it stimulate your senses, it has also been shown to sharpen your mind through itscardiovascular benefits.
88. Concert. Listening to music, whether it’s a small chamber music ensemble or a full-out rock show, will stimulate your brain.
89. Bake cookies. The feel of the dough, the smell of the baking cookies, and the taste of your finished product is a great multi-sensory experience.
90. Yarn. Play with yarn or thread as you learn to knit, crochet, or embroider. Not only will you love the tactile sensation of the varying types of textiles, but you will also challenge your brain to a new learning experience.

 

Be Social

Having a strong social network reduces isolation and stress and stimulates the brain through shared learning experiences and emotional connections. Even if you already have a good group of friends, you will likely find some great ideas for strengthening those social connections with these tips.

91. Email. With the widespread usage and popularity of email, there’s no reason not to keep in touch with old and new friends alike. Be sure you actually send a message, though, and don’t just forward jokes.
92. Letters. Rediscover the lost art of writing letters. Don’t just type it up, either. Find a beautiful stationary and hand-write a letter to an old friend.
93. Clubs. Join a club. With everything out there from the Elks Lodge to a nature conservancy group, you are sure to find a group of folks with similar interests as you.
94. Volunteer. Volunteering can be a great way to meet people, stay social, and be making a difference.
95. Phone. In this age of electronics and heavy scheduling, the art of a leisurely phone call to a friend can become lost. Pick up the phone and talk to someone.
96. Dinner group. Start a dinner club with six or eight people. Have each person bring one dish and alternate homes for hosting.
97. Book group. Combine reading with the social aspect of discussing your book to gain two benefits to brain health.
98. Cooking class. Taking a cooking class will not only get you out and meeting new people, you will be learning how to eat more healthily, too.
99. Cards. Playing cards is a fun and social experience. Find some card-playing partners and set up a weekly or monthly card date.
100. Online. Join an online discussion group. Find a topic about which you are interested in learning or you are already an expert and join in a discussion.

Monday November 30 2015  WHERE HAVE ALL THE DAYS GONE?

The last day of the month in what seems like the blink of an eye.  Is it just me, or does life seem to accelerate as you get older?  Well, come to think about it, I’m not alone because I remember my friend giving some wisdom pertaining to that just a week ago.  How do we slow the days down?  Is there way?  Maybe the government needs to do a multimillion dollar study on that issue.  By the time it was finished I would probably be past the point of no return.  Maybe I’ll just have to learn how to live each day slower.

I have discovered that it really does take me a lot longer to accomplish things than it used to.  I keep hearing my sister’s words ringing more true in my ears.  She is feeding me fodder for getting my life in order.  And, believe it or not, I am thinking a lot about what she has been “whispering” in my ear.  Never underestimate the power your words may have in someone else’s life.  She mentioned in an email recently that the older you get the harder it is to make changes.  I check that statement as being true in my life.  One of the situations Dave and I vacillate on is whether to “stay in place” or pack up and move.  We’ll take the first step and just downsize our possessions.  That alone will be difficult enough.  I think I have enough “stuff” to open my own museum and the “stuff” is probably all old enough to go into a museum.  So if you think about praying for me in the coming year please pray that it will be easier for me to rid myself of unnecessary baggage, (you know, like all my kids baby clothes).  Come to think of it, my children’s clothing may just fit into the category of VINTAGE by now.  Perhaps I should rethink getting rid of them.  JUST KIDDING!  But I am not kidding about the prayer.

Today is Monday.  I almost said ‘today has been a TYPICAL Monday, but then I changed it because I don’t really know what a typical Monday is, much less any other typical day.  What is typical?  I do not know.  Every day is different.  I think that is my new reality.  I love to be able to just change my plans midstream and readdress the day in whichever way I think it will work best for the week.  I do not look at just one isolated day to decide my schedule, where I should go, or what errands I should run.  I first look to see which days are heaviest scheduled, such as Thursday when I will be gone all day.  And that will make a difference as what I do on the other days.  I know I have a lot of cooking to do on Friday for a large church dinner and will need to pick up the items on Wednesday since Thursday is unavailable to me.  It is important to have all the ingredients purchased before I begin cooking or the  day and event will not work for me.  So, for me, my typical day is always untypical. 

I do believe it would be a bit easier to have a typical day of retirement if I was a man.  I look at my husband and he seems to be so free in what he does and how he does it.  He doesn’t see what I see that needs to be done.  Don’t get me wrong, he is a great help, even in his limited capacity during his post-surgical recovery time.  But, men just don’t figure in all the little things, cooking, shopping, cleaning, toilets, floors, etc..  For me there is always something else to do, something else to put away, another meal to prepare, something else to scrub, not to mention the desire to read which has been put on the back burner for the time being.  I’m not complaining, just stating the facts ma’am.  So, for the month of December I am going to act like I am retired!  Dave suggested he have a day off.  So I agreed as long as I could have a day off.  A day off to me means that he does all the meal preparation, the clean-up, and anything else that must be done on my day off.  Sounds like fun!  And I would do the same for him.  The only difference is that on his day off I would just do all the same things I usually do every day anyway!  Hey, there I have found it.  My typical day!  My typical day is that I am just always DOING!  I look forward to my untypical day!

I know that when someone reads what another has written, sometimes it is taken differently that the writer meant.  After all, you cannot hear my voice inflection, nor see the twinkle in my eye, or my mouth twitch in a half smile.  I begrudge nothing I do, regardless if it is for me or for my husband.  And I know my husband’s attitude is the same.  But it will be fun to really not do anything on my “do nothing day”.  He said he is game.

I have just a few moments before I am leaving for a Monday night rendezvous at a friend’s house to view an old Jean Arthur movie.  We went last week for the first time and both enjoyed it immensely.  Dave may very well be home tonight due to the fact that he is quite dizzy today for some reason.  If the roads are not icy I will go alone.  We’ve actually had some rain last night and today.  Right now Dave just gave me a reading of 37 degrees so I should be okay.  However, I don’t really like driving at night.

 

RUSHED FOR TIME

By Kathleen Martens

November 30, 2016

 

Rushed for time is what I am

I must leave, so in a hurry.

Just a short poem to finish my day,

As I am in such a flurry.

 

Off to enjoy a movie of old,

And fellowship with our friends.

And as usual when you are having fun,

So quickly the evening will end.

 

So good night, my fingertips say

To those who are still tagging along.

I love to greet you each and every day

At the computer my heart belongs.

 

Tomorrow is another day

And I shall embrace it as such.

Should I live to awaken the morn

It will be appreciated very much.

 

Good night and God bless you.

Farewell November!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday Sabbath November 29 2015  ARE YOU AWAKE?

The alarm sounded this morning.  After being up very late for the last four nights, I was quite disappointed that the alarm was ringing in the middle of the night.  Well, at least it was still dark.  Dark, and very cold outside of the covers.  What is so unusual about hearing the alarm is that I am almost always awake before any alarm can go off.  Actually, I had awakened at 5:30 a.m., went to the potty room, and crawled back between my warm covers knowing full well the alarm would go off in a few moments.  Well, when it did ring I was already in never-never land, sound asleep.  It was as if I couldn’t move.  I was still and quiet just hoping that it was a bad dream and it really wasn’t time to get out of bed to get ready for early church service.  I hear a quiet voice coming from the other side of the bed saying, “Are you awake”?  “Yes”, I slowly responded.  “Oh, I didn’t know,” my husband replied back.  “You know why I didn’t know”, not waiting for a response he then said,  “It’s because you weren’t talking”.

Well, that comment made me burst out in laughter!  In other words, he was insinuating that if I am awake, THEN I AM TALKING!  And you know what?  He is probably right, especially in the morning.  That is usually our most talkative time. INSERT: (MY HUSBAND HAD TO ADD A COMMENT AS HE PROOF READ…”THAT IS ONLY SECOND TO ALL THE OTHER TIMES”). I love those times but it just came too early for a sleep deprived body.  You know what one of my favorite things I love about my husband is?  Well, of course you don’t, so I’ll tell you.  I love that there is never a day that goes by that he does not make me break out in laughter.  So that is how my day began, with an outburst of laughter that I couldn’t contain.  If you don’t laugh much you should try it sometime, even if you have to just start out with fake laughter until you sound so ridiculous to yourself that you just start laughing at yourself.  An excellent book to read on that subject is “ANATOMY OF AN ILLNESS AS PERCEIVED BY THE PATIENT” by Norman Cousins, written in 1979.  It is still pertinent in today’s world.  Laughter is one of the best things you can do for yourself each day.  Try it, you might like it!

So, today is Sunday.  A beautiful Sunday Sabbath, blue sunny skies, green grass and 19 degrees outside.  The snow is all melted and it looks like autumn again, but with winter’s temperatures.  Winter is now officially less than a month away.  On this Sunday Sabbath Dave and I once again realized we needed a break from “doing”.  (I could get used to this.)  Today I took it literally and decided after fixing lunch that I would do just that.  So I did the only sensible thing to do, I immidiately got undressed and slipped into sweater pants (stretchy waistband), a long sleeved soft knit shirt, my fuzzy socks, and decided if I was going to do nothing I would do it very comfortably.  And then I remembered!  Oh dear, I have a client coming over this afternoon to pick up their wedding album.  So…I am still in my comfortable clothes.  Our time is open ended so I called and left a message that they are to call me before they come.  It is supposed to be around the 5:30 p.m. time frame.  So, hopefully they’ll call first and give me time to change.  It just feels too good to change before I must.

Other than expecting them today I am so hoping nothing else will happen.  I still want to watch that Christmas movie I have been longing for this past week.  Dave even found a string of movies on a religious channel that all seemed to be the wholesome kind of movies that I like to watch.  He scheduled a whole list of them to record for me.  I guess I am now set with enough movies to watch at least one a day.  Remember, the month of December is our month off.  I have dreamed of a month like this for years.  When I was working it was almost impossible to find the time to spend watching a television show, much less a two hour movie.  So, I just never took the time to watch any movies except at Christmas time.  Dave will hopefully be recovered by Christmas and able to go back to his workouts, and hopefully my elbow and shoulder will have recovered sufficiently for me to use fully. 

When I hurt my elbow almost 4 weeks ago I think I also damaged my right shoulder.  The elbow still gives me pain if I do things I shouldn’t be doing.  But it is the shoulder that is causing me the most consternation.  Very limited in movement but I do the exercises I was instructed to do every day to keep it mobile.  If the shoulder doesn’t heal I will need to have it looked at further.  I have already had a rotator cuff repair on each shoulder.  That is not something I would ever want to go through again.  I was glad I only had two shoulders.  I never gave it a thought that I could hurt one again.  Oh well, maybe it is just old age and it will eventually go away.  However, it does not seem like old age goes away (at least not until we draw our last breath).  So you see, there is always hope for a good ending!

I truly hope you are having a wonderful, restful, God inspiring, Sabbath.  I shall take seriously the words that God has commanded.  REST ON THE SABBATH!  It makes for a guilt free rest time. 

 

A TIME OF SURRENDER

By Kathleen Martens

November 29, 2015

 

A day of rest to free the spirit

The body and the soul.

A time of complete surrender

On Sabbath should be your goal.

 

Yield to the needs of body

To replenish, renew, and rest.

One day in all the week

To do what is fully best.

 

What an absolute wonderful God

To give such a command.

He knew that are bodies would tire

And rest they would demand.

 

So take to heart and use it well

This Sabbath that God created.

For His word is ever true

And should not be debated.

 

Fifty two times in a year

We have permission to just be.

No expectation to perform

That body and spirt be free.

 

So I shall do such a thing

As God has told me to.

And on Monday I will rise,

Rested, relaxed, renewed.

 

Good afternoon.  Praying you have a wonderful and fulfilling week ahead.  And remember, take time to rest on the Sabbath.  God bless you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday November 28 2015  A DO NOTHING DAY

 

Today was one of those rare days when both Dave and I decided it was a day to choose to do nothing.  For me “to do nothing” is great!  AT LEAST FOR A HALF HOUR.  So I chose to do nothing and watched a half hour T.V. program.  But that was only after I decided to put something away, and when I looked in my cupboard I was utterly disgusted.  So I decided to tackle a few shelves, and get them organized and that was after I first cleaned a drawer out which had become too cluttered with pens and pencils and clothes pins (which we use to keep bags closed).  Of course when I finished, not everything would fit back in the cupboards.  Some was food I wanted to keep, some was food to give away, and some was food to throw away.  I so dislike allowing food to expire before being used.  So, after all was done I rested on the couch and watched my half hour program and a bit of news. 

Of course the rest gave me impetus to then get up raring to go!  NOT!  But I did get up anyway because I had made a commitment to myself to go to the gym.  I always feel so much more energized after a good sweaty workout.  While I was gone Dave actually gave up some of his precious, do nothing day, to peel and chop vegetables for me.  You see, I had more broth from yesterday’s turkey, no place to put it in the freezer, and I needed to use it up.  So of course I made more soup.  You see, the soup can go back into the containers that the broth was in and then we can eat it up, have company over, or give it away.  It is just the making of it that I enjoy doing.  And believe it or not, that is what I wanted to do on my “to do nothing” day.  It always makes it so much more fun when there is nothing pressing in on my time and that was the wondrous part of the day.  I love my grandkids, but boy it sure makes me realize what freedom I have after they have been around for a couple of days.  I loved it when I was parent and seemed to get everything done that needed doing.  Now, it takes a little longer to do just the necessary and kids add a bit more “necessary” to do.  Needless to say, Dave and I were quite happy to have a do nothing day.  Can’t wait until we have them over again soon.  Maybe they will be able to come over during the Christmas break (which is now referred to by the schools as the winter break).  I love having them over midweek because it just sort of emphasizes and reminds us “HEY, WE ARE RETIRED”!  I like that phrase!

So, my do nothing day turned out very well.  I did nothing I HAD TO DO and only that which I chose to do.  Dinner is now over, the beans just finished cooking that I will be adding to the soup, the soup is still on the stove cooling off and the dishes are almost finished washing in the dishwasher.  The laundry is working diligently to do what we could not do while the boys were here, and it is not even 8:00 p.m. as of yet.  A pretty good do nothing day I would say!  Oh, by the way, Dave chose to start all the yearend tax organizing so that we will be ready to have our taxes done after all the necessary documents arrive in the mail.  He likes to have taxes done as early as possible.  This will be a big year of organizing and calculating due to retiring and finally closing the business down. 

Oh yes, we also have our tree decorated already too.  We just haven’t decided exactly where we want to put it this year.  It is perfect for us.  It is fifteen INCHES high and sits on a table.  It has an electric cord that lights up all the little lights on it.  That will be the sum of our holiday décor.  Please don’t think me a scrooge.  There was a time when we went all out.  At one place we lived we actually had fresh cut trees that were fifteen FEET high.  We anchored them to the upstairs balcony that looked down over the living room.  Those were fun, magical times when our children were young (and so were we).  But now, well, we are just content without all the extra things to do.  Perhaps I will decorate one more time some year, but this isn’t the year.  Too much happening this year and we will just enjoy our son’s big tree that his family put up yesterday and decorated today.  We’ll get to enjoy theirs when we go visit them.  I love it when life just sort of simplifies itself!

 

ONCE UPON A TIME

By Kathleen Martens

November 28, 2015

 

Once upon a time

In a long ago land.

There was a mother and father,

A woman and a man.

 

There was a boy and a girl

Three years apart,

A brother and a sister

Both very smart.

 

They loved all the hoopla

Of decorating a tree,

Waiting in anticipation

For Santa to see.

 

They would set out the cookies

Make sure the chimney was clear

Knowing Santa Clause

Soon would be near.

 

As for the mother and father

It was their delight

To prepare all that was needed

For their Christmas Eve night.

 

The children now grown

And moved away.

And the tree unimportant

In a sad little way.

 

Where there was once noise

And excitement galore,

It is now too quiet,

For the kids are no more.

 

And the mother and father

Sit quietly at home,

Remembering the joy

They once did own.

 

Oh, but alas!

There is more to this story,

For they now have two grandsons

And life is not boring.

 

For now all the work

Belongs to another,

But they still get to enjoy it

This father and mother.

 

They pack up their gifts

And drive across town,

And never is there time

To wear a frown.

 

What lights up their day

Are these two little boys,

Who are the treasures of their hearts,

And bring them such joy!

 

Oh it is fun

To be getting so old.

To some it may be sad,

But to us it is gold!

 

We are looking forward to the Christmas season and we hope you are too.  Remember, I have a goal for the month of December.  Actually, two goals.  The first, is to watch a Christmas movie every day of the month, and the second, is to eat entirely from that which is in the freezer!  Maybe I won’t cook for one month.  I may have some withdrawal pains but I think I would survive.  Just don’t hold me to it. 

You know what the bad part is about the fact that my husband helps me proofread my blogs, it is that he always reads what I write, AND HE MIGHT HOLD ME TO IT!  On the other hand, probably not.  He likes his fresh salads now too.  But he still won’t eat Brussels sprouts.

Good night and God bless you.

 

 

 

Thursday November 26 2015  THANKSGIVING DAY

I so cherish every single day.  And some days even more.  I am not naive enough to think that life will always be the same as it is now.  There are so many variables with all that is taking place in our world at this time.  Yes, today was special.  Very special because we celebrated the 8^th birthday of our oldest grandson.  Such an awesome and tender age is eight.  However, I couldn’t help but wonder what the world will be like when he eighteen or twenty eight or if the world as we know it now will even still be in existence.  As I sat down to eat I looked around and saw all the families together at other tables in the restaurant.  Families enjoying the day, the abundance of food, the resources to eat out, no worry as to what is coming tomorrow or if they will have enough to eat.  And then I thought of situations in the world that are just the opposite.  So many thousands not knowing if they will even have food to eat tomorrow.  It is in moments such as these that a deep sadness enters my heart and I wonder if there isn’t more that I could do.

I am so thankful for all the abundance that is in my life.  I choose to never take it for granted.  Yes, I also choose to live in the moment so as not to put myself in situations where I worry, but my eyes are still open to that which is taking place globally.  Even though life should be lived in the moment be certain to know and understand what is taking place around you, in your own inner circle, your city, your state, your country, and abroad.  Do not ever think that you are immune to what is taking place in the Mideast.  Our very way of life is being threatened and everyone needs to be aware of what is taking place and how vulnerable we are to having our own lifestyle altered due to the ramifications of so many others losing their freedoms.  Evil in the world and is marching forward, getting closer and closer to affecting the quality of life we live in the United States.  Do not take your freedoms for granted.  Fight for your freedoms and be thankful that we still have many more freedoms than most countries.  But be aware.  The world is changing.  We never know if we will ever have another day like today.  Be thankful for this day, for the abundance of food, for water, for clean air, for groceries on the shelf, a car to drive, a job to go to, and the freedom to worship at a church of your choice.  Today is the one day of the year to pause and give deliberate thanks.  Perhaps we should deliberately pause and give thanks for every day of the year.

I do not know why a blog such as this would pour from my fingers today.  I meant to write something upbeat about my son’s birthday party and it just went down another avenue.  I am revealing another level of who I am.  I think it a good thing to do once in a while.  It doesn’t mean I am melancholy.  It just means that I look at life realistically.  Things are happening in the world.  Be aware.  Live in the moment.  Put your trust in God that you need not ever fear.  We may not be able to change the world or wipe out hunger but we can make a difference in the lives around us.  Be open to the plan that God has for your life and do your best to reach out and make the world a little bit better for those you come in contact with.

So, let’s go back to the birthday boy.  I never want to miss the opportunity to celebrate even one of his birthdays with him.  My friend and neighbor, Carolyn, gave me an insight as to what a birthday celebration really means. From the time I first knew Carolyn she brought over birthday presents to celebrate my day.  She has given me birthday parties inviting people she didn’t even know because they were important to me.  This was so amazing to me.  When she found out that Dave and I didn’t really celebrate our birthdays she put a stop to that.  Birthday parties were not the norm in our family.  The only family birthday party I remember for myself was when I turned twelve years old.  I remember how grown up I felt.  I truly did think I was grown.  My sister Velma lived in Oakland in an apartment and the one and only time I ever went to her apartment was on my 12^th birthday.  She actually gave me a little birthday get together. I felt so special and she made me feel so grownup.  She gave me a gold Seiko wristwatch with a little tiny clock face.  It was just like the ones that the grownup ladies wore.  I can’t even begin to tell you what it did for my self-esteem and even my self-worth.  Probably a bit too much!  I actually think I still possess that little watch.  I wore it long after it wore out and didn’t work anymore because I so loved the feeling of importance it gave me.  Like I’ve said before, we didn’t have much so I made the most of what I had.

I hope someday Zachariah and Xander will look back on our family birthday parties and remember them with joy.  I hope it will instill in them just how important their life is.  One of the best things we do at each birthday party is to go around the table and each person tells a story about the birthday person.  That always seems to bring up stories about the others who are also present and we laugh and tear up and forget the time.  Tonight as I watched Zach, I could see how very special he felt, how happy the stories made him, and realized just how much he was learning about himself.  His mom told the story about him being three months old when she laid him down on the bed for just a second and he rolled off and fell on the floor.  She told all that followed and his eyes just glistened with the mystery of the story being told.  He laughed his amazing laugh and it made my heart sing to be with him, watching his enjoyment of learning new things about himself.  My one goal in doing this is to instill in him how important he is to our family and how his life is special enough to celebrate.   

And so is your life important enough to celebrate.  Actually, the greatest celebration you can do is to daily thank God for the life he has given you. 

To show you how my mind skips around I am going go off on a “rabbit run” thought.  It just popped into my head but seems to be pertinent for this blog.  Year ago I heard our minister, Pastor Jack Hayford in Danville California, talk about how our lives affect the generations in our family.  He informed us that studies have shown that each generation will have an influence that goes down to the fifth generation.   I really gave some thought to that.  My grandfather, my mother’s father, was a cruel man in many ways.  His physical abuse really affected his 13 children in so many different ways.  My mother was never told that she was loved, thus she never told her children.  I was one of those children.  Did my mother’s parenting influence me?  Yes.  Being one of six children I could also see how it affected my siblings, each one in a different way.  I will not share what I observed in my siblings but for me it was a bit different than their perspective and choices.  I looked at my mother and decided that I would do things just the opposite as to how I was raised.  For a starter, when our daughter was born I told my husband that for the rest of her life, if I was with her she would hear me say “I LOVE YOU”.  From the day we brought her home from the hospital I spoke my promise.  As a child I never heard my mother day “I love you” to me.  Years later I taught her how to receive those words from me and to say them back to me.  It didn’t come easy for her.  But somehow, I always knew she loved me deeply.  When I told my husband my plan he looked at me in all seriousness and said if you are going to say that to her then I am going to say it too.  And to this day, if we are together or speak on the phone there is never a time that goes by with telling her “I love you”.  We did the same with our second born as well.  I just have opportunity to say it to him in person more often that I do with Rebecca because of his close proximity.

My mother’s parenting, affected by her parent’s parenting, influenced my parenting.  My parenting (and I include my husband in all these “My’s”), influenced our son’s parenting and his parenting will influence his sons.  Even though I have not been cruel to my children like my grandfather was, it was his influence on my mother that cause me to make the decisions I did.  Our grandchildren will have no memory of either my grandparents, or my parents, but none the less, they are recipients for what was passed on and will be influenced to pass on how they were parented.  Hopefully, the love that we pour into our grandchildren will indeed go on down another five generations but hopefully the influence of my grandfather will no longer affect the generations that come after them due to them being the fifth generation following in his lineage.

If you are interested in reading a very insightful and intense true story about the grandfather I speak of there is a very interesting book you can read.  It is self-published so you would need to contact me for information on how to obtain a copy.  The title is “A BAKER’S DOZEN” by Anne Chaney.  When you start reading it you won’t be able to put it down.

I thank God for every single day.  You may get tired of reading these words over and over but I will probably keep writing them anyway. 

FOR EACH DAY IS NEW

By Kathleen Martens

November 26 2015

 

No day is ever the same

As it was the day before.

Each day is unto its own

In knowing how to score.

 

When it is over

It will never return.

From yesterday’s moments

There’s no more to earn.

 

And tomorrow is not promised.

So today is the total sum.

And it is only in the passing seconds

That it even comes.

 

So be thankful to hold dear

The moments allotted you,

And never try to live in the past

For each day is new.

 

Oh my!  I just put the kids to bed for the night.  I stayed up late with them so we could keep on celebrating by watching a Curious George DVD.  Very enlightening!  But it was worth every moment of snuggling with Xander on my lap.  I think that Zach thinks he is too old to snuggle.  I don’t think you are ever too OLD to snuggle but I will admit that He might be a bit too big to fit on my lap. 

Isn’t it awesome to know that we will never outgrow God’s lap?

It is almost 11:00 p.m.  Way past my bedtime.  So I will say goodnight and sleep tight!

P.S.  Look below and view the picture of Zachariah at the end of his big day of celebration!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday November 25 2015  THANKSGIVING EVE

Since we have Christmas Eve I thought we should celebrate Thanksgiving Eve.  Especially this Thanksgiving Eve.  The reason?  Because I do not need to cook tomorrow, this coming from someone who thoroughly enjoys cooking.  I just don’t like to do it on the holiday.  Instead, we are traipsing down to the Maple Leaf Restaurant for dinner.  But alas, that means no turkey leftovers for the week.  Oh well, I guess I’ll just pick up my fresh 12 to 16 pound turkey at the Bavarian Store in Fitchburg on Friday which I ordered a couple of weeks ago.  It was a little strange ordering it for the day following Thanksgiving but the store clerk said they would have a fresh one for me on Friday.  So, I will cook on Friday instead of Thursday.  Just think of all the good soup I can make with that batch of broth!

A very fruitful day today.  Everything was sent in to the photo lab before closing time tonight.  I will make my deadline for next week.  I worked the entire day to finish all the school’s photo post production work.  Such a rewarding feeling.  But the best prize of all is that I didn’t get dressed the entire day.  I am still in my housecoat from when I woke up this morning.  Love it!  Simply love it!

So now perhaps I will be able to watch my Christmas movies.  Probably not tonight or tomorrow or Friday due to every hour is booked up, but at least I have hope!  After talking to my “older friends” the other night I am intent on doing two things.  The first thing is to do as much as I can do while I can still do it and the other is to practice listening to my body so I’ll know when I am getting old so I can slow down.  I’m looking forward to the first, but not the latter.

Remember the question I asked Virginia and Joe, as you have aged what was the one thing that your caught you unaware and unprepared for?  I keep revising the question so it may be worded a bit differently.  There were eight of us present for John’s 70^th birthday party and every answer was interesting, at least to me.  Remember that I am intent on learning all I can about all I can.  I decided I wanted to see old age through the lives of those who are experiencing it firsthand.  At least some are realizing they are experiencing it.

This was my question to everyone, IF THERE WAS ONE THING THAT AGING SURPRISED YOU WITH, WHAT WOULD IT BE?  The first person I asked was John.

John’s response:

“I FEEL SO YOUNG!  HOW BLESSED I AM TO FEEL THIS GOOD AT 70.  I THOUGHT I WOULD BE OLD BY NOW AND I’M NOT.” 

I would say that would be a good surprise.  I feel the same but I am not quite as old as John yet.”

Dave’s comment:

“YOUR MIND WRITES CHECKS THAT YOUR BODY CANNOT CASH.”

I do find Dave’s comment true!

I then asked Jody the same thing.  Here is her response:

“WHEN YOU LOOK IN THE MIRROR AS YOU GET OLDER, BUT YOU STILL FEEL LIKE THE 16 OR 17 YEAR OLD, LIKE THE YOUNG PERSON YOU HAVE ALWAYS BEEN ON THE INSIDE…IT FEELS STRANGE BECAUSE I THOUGHT I WOULD FEEL OLDER.”

My response to her was that I knew what she meant.  I used the analogy regarding the fact that every day, just like everyone else does, I look into the mirror and I never look any different than I did yesterday.  And if that is the case, then why do I look like this now when I didn’t look like this 30 years ago or 20 years ago or even 5 years ago?

Bob was the next.

“I’D BE KIND OF LEFT IN THE SAME BOAT AS JOHN.  I WAKE UP EVERY MORNING AND I JUST HAVE TO SAY THANK YOU LORD, ANOTHER GOOD DAY.”

I think that would be a pretty good boat to be in.  I wonder if there is room for me?

Jody’s husband Don was next.

“I’M SURPRISED BOTH WAYS. SURPRISED WHAT I CAN STILL DO, CUTTING FIRE WOOD, SPLITTING WOOD WITH A MAUL, CLIMBING LADDERS, WORKING ON THE ROOF OF MY HOUSE, BUT ON THE NEGATIVE SIDE, I AM SURPRISED AT HOW MUCH STRENGTH I’VE LOST.  I USED TO BE ABLE TO PICK UP A COUPLE OF HUNDRED POUNDS AND NOW 50 POUNDS IS ABOUT IT.  I DON’T HAVE THE ENDURANCE I USED TO HAVE.  THAT CAUGHT ME UNAWARE.”

And next was Maryann:

“YOU KNOW THE FIRST TIME I REALLY FELT THAT I WAS GETTING OLDER WAS LAST YEAR AND IT CAUGHT ME UNAWARE.  I THOUGHT, LIKE THIS ISN’T FAIR.  I AM 74 YEARS OLD. (Dave asked her what she thought it was that caused her to be aware of it last year?)  HER REPLY:  “IT WAS JUST DOING THE WORK I LOVED TO DO, BEING OUTSIDE.  DOING EVERYTHING OUTSIDE.  I COULD JUST LIVE OUT THERE IF WE WEREN’T HERE.  IT WAS HARD ON ME.  ACTUALLY JUST A WINTER AGO WHEN WE WERE SHOVELING THINGS I FELT I AM OLDER, THIS BRINGS IT OUT.  I AM OLDER I CAN TELL.  THIS YEAR, JUST GOING OUT TO GET THE PAPER, SHOVELING MY WAY TO THE MAILBOX, I SAID OH MY GOSH, I AM ANOTHER YEAR OLDER AND I KNOW IT.  IT TOOK ME 72 YEARS TO FIGURE THAT OUT IN MY AGING.  ALL OF OUR LIVES SEEM LIKE THEY GO SWOOSH, FASTER AND FASTER, ACCELERATING.  BETWEEN 70 AND 80 YOU AGE HALF AGAIN AS MUCH.”

WOW!  I thought.  Am I in trouble!

Carolyn’s turn was last but not least.

“WELL, JUST COME BACK WHEN I’M A HUNDRED AND I’LL TELL YOU.  BUT, I WILL SAY THAT I THINK THAT AGING IS A GIFT AND YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO SLOW DOWN AND YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO WEAKEN SO THAT YOU ARE READY TO GO HOME.  BUT IT GIVES YOU TIME TO MEDITATE.  SO IT IS A GIFT.  AGING IS A GIFT.”

 

I don’t know about you but I found these diverse answers quite interesting.  Some of the surprises I have experienced, some I have not.  Carolyn’s answer was more in alignment with my thoughts.  I have actually stated that I think aging is a gift.  Every year is a gift from God.  Yes, there are things I will face in the future that may be difficult, but I hope that I will be able to accept every day with grace and thanksgiving for all that I can do, and not grieve over those things which I have lost the ability to do.  The greatest gift that aging has given me is the awareness that I really do believe that God gives his children the gift of these “twilight” years so that we can grow in our relationship with Him.  We can take more time to read the scripture and study His word so that we can gain a better understanding of who He is.  I have never before experienced such closeness to God that I have experienced these past seven or eight years.  I receive this time of growing older as a beautiful gift.  Thank you Carolyn for speaking your words.

I do not go into old age unaware that I will slow down.  I learned that lesson from my mother.  She used to tell me that she was so tired and always thought if she just napped she would awaken with more energy and be able to get more accomplished.  It took her awhile to realize that her body didn’t work that way anymore.  I think it was difficult for her at first, but as I watched her, she adapted to go at the pace she could do.  Just like Maryann, she lived to be outside.  She lived to be in her garden. Her garden was her home. She lived to be in her 90’s.  Dementia was her companion the last few years, but I truly believe that her old age was a gift from God.  I do not believe I have ever known anyone else as close to God as my mother was.  Her old age was also a gift to me.

I took that lesson to heart.  Enjoy what I do, do as much as my body will allow and to know when to slow.  From the time I first remember my mother I thought she was old.  She was in her early thirties when I was born and from the time when I was about 5 or 6 I remember her being so old to me.  Well, she lived over six more decades.  The older I became, the younger she became.  I am learning every day.  I learned something from each person who shared their response above.  I say to all of you, thank you for sharing your heart and being open and honest with your responses.  Who knows, perhaps someday I’ll write a book with just a list of all that old age surprises people with along their life’s journey.  We each have just one turn at life.  This is my turn.  I choose to enjoy it while I have it, share my love with others who will receive it, and look forward to my home going to meet my God when that time comes.  Until then, I think I’ll just get to know Him a little better each day.

 

THE GIFT OF YEARS

By Kathleen Martens

November 25, 2015

 

“THE GIFT OF YEARS”

Is the title of a book.

Go to the library

And take a look.

 

Joan Chittister

Is the lady’s name

Who this book

Has called to fame.

 

Though I’ve not read it,

I will soon.

For it is reserved

At the Library room.

 

Read all you’re able,

And allow every day

To expand your horizons,

As you go your way.

 

Life is too short

To not learn all you can.

If I am growing old

I’ll do it like a man!

 

Well, I would if I was

But I am not,

For I am still a lady

Long ago caught.

 

So I guess I will age

In a stately grace

As I grow shorter

With a wrinkled face.

 

Oh the joys

Of looking ahead

At all we can do

Before we are dead.

 

But when I die

It’s in body alone,

For my eternal spirit,

Will at last be home!

 

Thank you Maryann for sharing the title of the book “THE GIFT OF YEARS” by Joan Chittister.  I look forward to reading it soon.

It seems as if every day I find that new readers are reading my blog.  If anyone has a topic that they would like me to discuss I am open for suggestions.  Just go to the “Contact” tab and write me an email.  I love hearing the comments from readers even if I am not open to public forum.

Good night to you friends.  May God bless you on your THANKSGIVING DAY.  Make every day a day of THANKSGIVING!

Tuesday November 25 2015  TWO OF MY CLOSEST FRIENDS

This week feels as if it is disappearing before I can even experience it.  I actually wrote “Monday” on the top line of this blog before I realized it is already Tuesday night.  I have just one day to prepare for my grandson’s birthday party here on Thursday evening.  I’m hoping the boys will be able to stay overnight afterwards so we can have a slumber party.  When they come for a slumber party I allow them to stay up a little later than usual and watch a DVD movie that I pick out for them.  We put a big quilt on the floor with lots of pillows and they love sleeping there all night.  We do have a spare room that they often sleep in but I think they enjoy the floor better than our sleep number bed.  Besides, they can eat popcorn on the quilt and not in the bedroom.  And I like it when they come over because I get to eat popcorn smothered in coconut oil right along with them, not to mention the fruit smoothies we always make.  I so look forward to actually being a full time grandma when I finish the closure of my business.  I can hardly wait.  Sorry for sounding like a broken record but if you count the times I mention it you can see how important it is to me.

I still have all the wonderful wisdom from my “older friends” that I captured on my IPhone Saturday night.  I haven’t had a chance to investigate the recording as of yet. I just need a window of time in order to sort it all out and transcribe it to the blog.  It is already getting late this evening and I still need to prepare dinner, finish my work downstairs in the computer room, and get to bed on time.  I find that health wise, getting my proper rest is one of the most important things I can do for my body.  Perhaps needing more rest just comes with aging.  Fortunately I sleep hard and deep but my body only sleeps certain hours.  If I am not in bed those hours in the early night I am shortchanged of sleep because I wake up so early and there is no going back to sleep past 5:30 or 6:00 a.m..  I wish I had learned that earlier.  Actually my favorite time to get up would be 4:30 a.m. but I love waking up with Dave so we can have our morning talks before we arise.  He is slowly cycling around to becoming more of a morning person too. 

As of right now I plan to write my blog through the remaining of this year.  I do it mostly for an outlet and reason to write.  But, I find that I do not do as much creative writing in my journal when I budget my day to also write the blog.  After the first of the year I will reassess and see if I will continue to write the blog or sit down in my library and write my heart out by hand.  I just hope my hands will remember how to do so without becoming too tired or painful.  I love holding a pen in my hand and just allowing the words to come.  It is a slower process, I speak more intimately about what is going on in my life and relationships, and I pour out my soul because I think it is a safe place to release my feelings and thoughts.  As long as I am living I don’t suspect anyone else will read my journals and after I am gone I will be leaving a little something of the personal me behind.  And perhaps even after I am gone no one will ever read the volumes I have written.  And I mean volumes, stacks and stacks of journals, thick and big!  But there is one thing I would like to accomplish before I die, and that is to go through my journals and transcribe and edit all the poems that I haven’t yet done.  My poetry seems much deeper and meaningful when it is written on my lap with slow deliberate thinking.  I can definitely tell a big difference in the kind of poetry I write each day in my blog verses what I write in my journals.  When I include poetry in my blog dated before 2015 it was all written by hand, line by line, thought by thought.  Writing poetry is one of my favorite things to do.  I just like to see what will be captured when I start writing.  And I never know when that might be.  I just love to do it.  Even if there was no one else to read it I would write it for God and for the pleasure I receive from creating something that didn’t exist before.

It causes me to ponder when people say to me they do not, or cannot write.  If one is literate, why can one not write?  You simply let your pen bring into focus that which is going on in your heart and mind.  That is the beauty of writing. 

As my husband was proof reading this part of the the blog he made this comment: “One reason I think people don’t write is that they don’t really think they have anything worthwhile to write about”.  Hmm…well, it never stopped me.  Not even tonight.

 

TWO OF MY CLOSEST FRIENDS

By Kathleen Martens

November 25, 2015

 

Revealing thoughts on paper

Seems such an easy way,

To capture what comes from within,

Making it easier to say.

 

Blank pages beg to be filled

With passion, love, and life,

Always accepting what you write

Whether joy or strife.

 

Paper and pen seem to be

Two of my closest friends.

For what comes out to fill the page,

Is what my heart doth send.

 

Time has an interesting way

Of distorting the memory of now.

But if I write it while it’s fresh

Clear truth it will allow.

 

And when my thoughts are captured

I’m a bit lighter inside.

For now I will not forget

All which I did confide.

 

Good night and God bless you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday November 23 2015  MORE TO THE STORY…

 

When I opened my computer this afternoon I found an email from my older sister regarding yesterday’s blog.  It was interesting to read her review of what I wrote yesterday.  She was about 15 years old when we moved into the government housing and so she has a better memory and perspective than I would from age six through twelve.  I will include her email so you can read an eye view from someone who was familiar with that area from age 16 through twenty one.  She only lived in the apartments until she graduated and moved away from home at about 18.  I thought her comments lent an older more mature reason for some of what I talked about.

The following is borrowed from her email:

“Comment: A good interesting blog to me – almost like a short story.  I liked the child perspective but there were many reasons why there were no trees.  Those project buildings were built during war time; probably only to last 10 years or so.  Probably, hurriedly built underground utilities was a good reason not to allow any planting and digging.  After WWII people didn’t want to leave this area so they stayed where they were until they bought houses in Pleasant Hill for $4,000 to $7,000. Those houses now sell for almost a half a million dollars. Then Bayo Vista was turned into low-cost housing.  Thank the Good Lord that housing was still there for us when we needed it.  In Pleasant Hill home owners have to check with the city before they dig in their own yards to plant a tree. I could give you lots more history on the Bay Area and the effects of the war and aftermath of the war.  There were ship yards in Richmond that brought in all of the black people from the south and they didn’t want to return to the south.  Who could blame them; better climate, and no segregation; so they stayed.  Housing cost here is worse than after WWII.  People are willing to pay close to a million a dollars for a house like mine; just to have a place to live with good schools, or more than 700 square feet of living space.  You see why I don’t want to sell.  IF YOU DON’T OWN YOUR HOME YOU COULD BE ON THE STREET IN A NANO SECOND…
Time: November 22, 2015 at 11:10 PM”

There was more but I used only what I thought pertained to the blog and a bit of the area as it is today.  I thought what she added was quite interesting.  I think I would like to find out more in the future.  Most of our communication is through email due to my sister’s hearing loss.  I can hear her on the phone but she has difficulty hearing what I say. 

Today is a work day for me.  I have three days to finish the order I need to get to the lab in order to deliver on time.  Waiting for a call back from the lab before I can continue.  Dave and I also have a commitment this evening so my time will be cut very short in my office.  Not having to cook a Thanksgiving meal for company has been a great relief for me this week.  I am so looking forward to eating out (less work for me) together as a family.  Not quite the same thing but it will make this week work for all of us.

Can’t wait to have my retirement party!  The one I’ll celebrate in my head!  When I send off the very last of everything I am going to dance a jig.  After the first of the year I will tackle what must be done to prepare for my  spring sale of studio equipment.  I’m going to try to have EVERYTHING REGARDING PHOTOS accomplished by December 1^st and then take the month of December off so I can do my duty and watch one Christmas movie per day.  You see, I have recorded a lot of them on the DVR and I must get them off before we start dropping the programs that Dave likes to watch.  So, I must do my duty!

It is cold here folks.  I know some of you who read this blog also live in cold country so you can commiserate with me.  I’m not complaining, just reporting the facts.  My favorite place to be on cold winter nights is tucked into bed under comforters and quilts so heavy that it is an effort to turn over.  But, oh it is so warm.  I love it.  I wear my little fuzzy toe socks and they keep my feet nice and posty toasty!  I think just looking at the snow in the dimming lights lends my brain to thinking it is colder than it is. 

 

AND THAT IS THE REASON

By Kathleen Martens

November 23, 2015

 

Tis the month of November

And already under snow.

The winter is coming

More quickly than slow.

 

The nights come early,

The days end quickly.

We eat hearty and healthy

To avoid being sickly.

 

Jackets, coats, scarves and mittens

Are winter’s favored attire,

So we don’t freeze to death

And then too soon expire.

 

Wear stocking caps and socks,

And pull out the quilts.

And we turn up the heat

Without any guilt!

 

A warm cup of tea

Before we don our gloves

Getting ready for December

Because it’s filed with such love.

 

For that is when we celebrate

The birth of God’s son

So salvation could happen

When His crucifixion was done.

 

A full month of joy

To remember Christ’s birth.

And that is the reason

Christmas has worth.

 

It is almost dark at 4:50 p.m. so I will close with a wonderful GOOD NIGHT AND GOD BLESS YOU!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday Sabbath November 22 2015  MY FAVORITE TIME TO WRITE

I so love sitting here in the sunroom looking over the snow covered ground with the sun dipping below the tree line.  I am on the second story level looking out over the back of the house and the yard slopes down so it gives me an even higher perspective.  I never tire of looking out these windows.  The scape is never the same from day to day.  Actually it is never the same from hour to hour.  As I look out in the quickening twilight there is movement and change taking place even as I write.  Cotton puffs of snow cascade to the ground as wind ripples through the branches.  Squirrels turning in for the evening hasten to their nests.  An occasional deer will lope across an open space, only to be totally hidden from view a few seconds later as it camouflages itself in the darkening woods.  The sky changes from vibrant deep blue as it softens to pastel shades with hints of pink and violet.  It’s as if God is orchestrating my own personal video in true life reality.  And I think He is really doing it just for me.  I sit here and think that no one else in the whole world is seeing what I see now.  It is just for me.  And I love it.  It is my favorite time to write.

My formative years as a child, ages six through twelve, was lived in a little California bay town, population about 3,000 at the time.  We lived in a government owned housing project.  My father was an illiterate laborer, my mother stayed home watching over five daughters.  The projects were called Bayo Vista, which were located in a hilly area situated directly across from a 76 oil refinery.  The buildings we lived in had been built as government housing during World War II.  Needless to say we often had foul orders and heavy black smoke billowing into our living area.  The smokiest times were when the oil tanks exploded, which resulted in billowing, noxious, black smoke which lasted for days and sometimes weeks.  The school I attended was even higher up the hillsides.  We had to close all the windows (the schools were not airconditioned) until the fires burned out.  The school has since been closed and torn down due to the toxicity of the refinery (which has far greater emission standards in recent years than were in place when I was young).  Even the trees in the entire school yard were destroyed.  The area is now a brown field and enclosed with high razor wire fencing.  I found out a number of years later that it was reported that many people suffered serious health issues which were caused from the exposure to the refinery emissions and smoke.  Fortunately for me, I was six when we moved in so was not affected as greatly as my baby sister was.  She lived her first six years there and has been sickly with lung problems and other illnesses that very well may have been directly caused by being exposed to the toxicity at such a vulnerable age.

Now, I said all that I said above to just set the stage as to what I am going to say next.  In all the hills of Bayo Vista there were no trees.  Not one tree to drop its leaves.  Exploring with friends we found there were some evergreen trees just beyond the chain link fence that separated Bayo Vista from the refinery.  We would scoot under the fence and go exploring on the government land and play under the trees.  There was always a fear and a mystery of what would happen if we were caught trespassing.  I was more afraid of my mother’s wrath than what the government would do to me.  Once we came close to being caught but we all got back under the fence and the man chasing us was too big to fit through.  I never went there again.  You might say he put the fear into me!  But anyway, back to my topic of having no trees anywhere around the apartments.  I missed trees.  I longed for trees.  I loved trees.  I actually felt a loneliness in my soul for lack of trees and beauty.  It was a very stark place to live.

When I was in the second grade and we had been given an assignment to bring a leaf to school from a tree in our yard.  Wherever my mother lived, even in the projects, she planted seeds.  That year she had planted a nasturtium plant and the vines curled up a little fence she had put behind our apartment.  She later had to take it down because we were not allowed to grow anything around the apartments.  But, for that assignment I had some nasturtium leaves to choose from.  After all, it was a leaf and that was what I was supposed to bring.  And, it was from “my yard”.  I remember picking the fragile, vibrant green leaf before running off to school, pleased as punch that I had a leaf.  I didn’t suppose the teacher would have a clue as to what kind of trees all the leaves came from so I was pretty safe in taking this leaf.  I was a little unsure, but I didn’t want to go empty handed.  Several of the other children had no leaves and all those who lived in the houses surrounding the school all had their token leaf.  The teacher looked down at me and asked if I got this from the tree in my yard.  I looked up at her, held my chin up high, looked her in the eye and said “yes”.  She looked at me, frowned a bit, looked at me again and smiled.  She then said, “This is a very nice leaf”.  I knew then that she knew the truth and yet she chose not to embarrass me.  I have loved Mrs. Higgins from that day forth.  She must have had her eyes opened at that moment to the bareness of the world in which the project children lived.  She chose not to disgrace a little eight year old girl in front of all her classmates.  A lot of what happened that day I didn’t understand totally until years later when I looked back.  But for some reason that memory has never left me.  I even remember the little blue dress I wore that day.  It was one of those moments in my life when life seemed to stand still.  And I have always loved the nasturtium plant to this day along with Mrs. Higgens.

And now I will fast forward to a time thirty plus years later.  I will never forget the first morning after we moved into the house we live in now.  The house was 26 years old, had been residence to six boys and two girls, had its original carpeting, a ramshackle kitchen, worn out linoleum, psychedelic foil wall paper in the bathrooms and kitchen, a putrid no color paint on all the walls, and the windows desperately needing to be replaced.  But we loved the location so we bought the big empty monstrosity of a house.  I was up early the day after our furniture arrived.  I remember walking to the large picture window in the formal dining room and looking out over the view that I can also see from my sunroom.  I stood there with tears in my eyes as I thanked God for all the trees in our woods that He had taken care of during all the years I lived in Bayo Vista.  He had cared for them for just for this very moment.  I thought back over the stark years of childhood knowing these beautiful woods had been growing just for me, for this very day.  I tear up even now as I think about the graciousness of God for fulfilling a desire of my heart that had lingered for close to 40 years.  Yes, I had experienced living a few places during those years where I had always planted trees, lots of trees, too many trees!  But they never really seemed like they were mine or that I was theirs.  We left many trees planted in the yards of the three previous homes we owned before buying this one.  I left the trees behind without looking back.  It wasn’t until moving here that I truly knew I was home.  Just as I have a love affair with beauty, I also have a love affair with a tree.  Not just any old tree but a very special, very, very, old tree.  I used my real camera equipment to take the photos of “my” tree so I do not have any available at present to share on this blog.  I shall retrieve a few from my files so I can share them with you at a later time.  There is a story that goes with “my” tree (which lives on someone else’s property). I will share the story with you at a later date.  I’ll need to do a pictorial story so it may take a little time for me to work it up.

And now it is dark.  I cannot see my woods any longer so I might as well end this diatribe without further ado.  This was just a little story of my life that somehow wheedled its way out of me.

 

THE HEART OF A CHILD

By Kathleen Martens

November 22, 2015

 

The heart of a child

Is such a fragile place.

And as adults,

We forget that space.

 

Perhaps we should take time

To reflect on the child,

That still lives inside

Tucked away, neatly filed.

 

Remember what it’s like

To be seven or eight.

So young and carefree,

Not imagining your fate.

 

Think of the times

When your voice was not heard,

Even when you spoke

So many words.

 

Summon up the confusion

Of being misunderstood,

Not being allowed to do things,

When you thought you could.

 

Recall the feelings

That you felt deep inside

And it seemed you had no one

In whom to confide.

 

And then look at the children

Who inhabit your world,

Do you do unto them

What on you was unfurled?

 

Do you take time to listen

To hear their small voice?

To validate who they are,

And to give them choice?

 

Do you respect them

Though they are so young?

Or do you play over

Your song that was sung?

 

Show them compassion

When it is needed.

Let them know they are special

When their words are heeded.

 

Teach them about life

And allow them to be heard.

It is sometimes the young,

Who speak wisdom in word.

 

 

Thank you for listening to the reminiscing of my heart.  I write as my words come, and sometimes do a bit of meandering in telling my stories.  My goal this past week was to write about aging but it seems a bit of the past reared its head instead. 

Very briefly I will tell you something about last evening.  As I mentioned yesterday it was John’s 70^th birthday so we joined them with a few others to celebrate.  When we returned back to his home after dining out I asked the others the question I asked Virginia and Joe earlier this week, “What surprise did aging bring to you that you were not expecting”?  I believe I received an answer from each one and if I can hear them on my voice recorder I plan to share them in the next few days.  No space or time to do so tonight.  I think they are worthy to be shared.  The diversity of answers was quite interesting.  I also found out that I am just a “baby” in the aging department.  More on that later.  At least I am learning!

Good night and God bless you.  I pray that every moment, of every day, is special for you.  Remember, it is not what happens to you that counts, but rather, its how you take it that counts.

 

 

 

Saturday November 21 2015  WHEN TIME STANDS STILL

When I awaken to a first snow of the season it is as if time stands still.  It always makes me feel like a child on Christmas morning.  I can hardly contain myself until first light so I can get up and peer outside to see the world blanketed in white.  The first photo that I took this morning was from our bedroom window, looking out over our terrace below.  It was at 6:40 a.m..  It was as if there was an unnatural or supernatural hush hovering over the earth.  All was still.  All was quiet.  The limbs were laden with thick outlines of heavy wet snow.  The branches bowed as if in prayer.  I just stood there for a couple of moments allowing the tranquility of the peaceful morning flood into me.  I have a love affair with beauty and it was as if today I received a beautiful bouquet.  And so, I told God, “Thank You”.

A day to snuggle in, curl up on the couch and do nothing.  Which is exactly what I didn’t do.  Instead, I baked.  And then I stirred up a second batch and baked it again my way.  My way was better.  I plan to give the cookie bars to a neighbor tonight when we celebrate his surprise 70^th birthday party.  I’m giving him the second batch.  I gave my neighbor the first batch. 

The next endeavor was to create a birthday card for him.  Now that is done.  My next thought was to clean house and then remembered I should write a short blog as I will not want to stay up late tonight when we arrive home.  I love days like this.  I love not having the stress of so much work over my head (just a little bit of work is okay).  So, not too much done but enough that I had a good day doing it.  Sort of a take it easy day.

 

GOD’S AMAZING ART

By Kathleen Martens

November 21, 2015

 

A white world of wonder

A blanket upon the earth.

All is well is silence,

Of peace there is no dearth.

 

Deep within my spirit

Beauty feeds my soul.

The intrigue of perfection,

Nature’s purposed goal.

 

Within my heart is praise,

Gratitude, and thanksgiving

For God’s amazing art,

In which I am living.

 

Yes, it is cold.  Yes, it is sometimes laborious to live for months dealing with snow.  But, an ever so louder “YES” is the fact that it is so beautiful I don’t really have a hard time living with it for months at a time.  I love being snowed in (as long as the heat works)!  When you live in a northern climate there are preparations that must be made in advance in order to make life as easy and as safe as possible.  Freezing to death is a real possibility if precaution is not taken in times of blizzards and even milder storms.  A car must be prepared and stocked with certain items for survival, and wise decision made, before venturing onto the highways in severe weather.  It is serious business.  I choose to enjoy each day, prepare for the worse that can happen, and make wise decisions to not put myself or others in jeopardy.  We have taken some chances before but I think we are past that stage in our life now.  I do know that it is sometimes very difficult for some who live so far north.  Perhaps it is not so hard on me because if the weather is bad I have the option of staying home because I do not work off premise.  For the last 27 years I have always had a business in my home where people come to me.  Oh, I did have a few times when I had to do Christmas and New Year’s weddings and driving became quite dicey.  Those years are now past and I am so thankful.  I guess I am just so grateful for everything! 

Dave went to the gym with me the other day to weigh himself and a man that also works out there told my husband that “your wife isn’t normal”.  Dave said he knew that.  This friend had come up to me and was bemoaning that we had seen the last of the good weather and winter was upon us.  He was a bit put out by it.  I told him that I loved the weather and looked forward to winter and how much I loved the snow and the short days and dark evenings.  The friend says he is always grumpy about everything (said in good humor and part jest), and that I am just not normal.  And he told Dave the same thing.  I thought it was funny.  Later, I told my friend that I too was married to a man who was “not normal”.  Mr. G. (that’s what I’ll call my friend) said he had already figured that out.  He said he could tell that Dave was really a very nice and pleasant man and he was happy that I had such a wonderful husband.  Now I am paraphrasing what Mr. G. said, but that is what I heard.  I think being “not normal” was a very nice compliment.  Thank you Mr. G.  And oh, by the way, I enjoy the grumpy you.

Well, I’m off to beautify myself for the party tonight.  It is going to be at a interesting local restaurant.  It is on a farm (where I have photographed many weddings) and their menu is exquisite.  The building is the old farmhouse made of stone and has an underground tunnel  (all stone) that leads to the outside.  Makes for a beautiful place for wedding pictures.  The party is for our neighbor through the woods who is Dave’s closest longtime friend.  He is the one that nearly cut off his fingers and thumb in a saw accident in his basement about two or three years ago.  I’ll tell  you more about that incident later.

Time to go.  It is still daylight so I will say have a great evening!

 

 

 

 

Friday November 20 2015  HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMY

 

Unfortunately our daughter-in-law was not able to come over this evening as planned.  Her husband, our son Courtland, attends law school in Minnesota and some weeks he is not able to live at home.  Tonight’s agenda was a planned birthday dinner and party for Amy including the boys, Dave, and I.  But, the youngest grandson became very sick with some sort of a virus with a fever.  We haven’t been able to make contact with Amy via phone lately so I don’t really know how he is faring.  The concern was that he may still be contagious or the older boy would come down with it and expose Dave and me.  This would be difficult for Dave as he is still healing in the abdominal incision area and does not need to be violently sick like Xander was (is).  So today our plans changed.

In Amy’s absence and missing her birthday party I would like to dedicate this blog to her.  I will write the poem that follows as a tribute to her.  I thank God that she was born “blank” years ago today (it is for her to share her age if she so chooses).  Because of that special day when she was born, we have our two beautiful grandsons.  Thank you Amy for all you do as mom.  I am proud of both you and Courtland for being such great parents to our grandsons.  We love and appreciate all you do.  Here is a poem to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMY

By Kathleen Martens

November 20, 2015

 

Happy birthday to a special lady,

The love of our son’s life.

What a special person you are

Both as a mother and wife.

 

A tribute to you on your special day,

You mean the world to us.

You gave us our grandsons

Who often bicker and fuss.

 

Up at nights to walk the floor

With sick little boys.

Thanks for all the work you do

And for giving us so much joy.

 

Just wanted you to know

On this, your special day

How very much we love you.

AND WISHING YOU A HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

 

As if you might have figured it out by now, it is my pleasure to do spur of the moment events if time allows.  Well, I no longer needed to cook a birthday dinner, the birthday treats were already taken care of (in the freezer now), we are expecting a snow storm tonight and may not wish to venture on the roads tomorrow, and we are retired!  Besides, I have another birthday to plan for next week so I needed to do today what needed to be done.  Our oldest grandson will turn 8 years old next week.  We plan to do his party on Thursday afternoon when we arrive home from eating Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant.  I needed to make a special trip to buy something I want to give him on his birthday and I can only purchase it at an Amish store about 56 miles away.  The roads were clear and the day was still young when I arrived home from the gym, so we (well I guess I mean me), figured it would be a good day to do what needed to be done!  It ended up being an expensive trip.  Our destination?  Mischler’s Country Store in the Amish community north of us.  They have great prices on most things, and a variety of fresh grains and rice and a variety of other perishable items that I can’t seem to find elsewhere.  Some specialty shops may carry their products but they are always so much more expensive.  We had a shopping cart full as we do not make the trip more than about 3 times a year.  They have great spices, the best freshly ground peanut butter, and the world’s most delicious popcorn.  This popcorn is called “mushroom popcorn”.  It is a big kernel, and pops very large, and has the shape of a mushroom after it is popped.  I drizzle coconut oil on it and a touch of salt and it is magnificent.  Rebecca requested that we get her some mushroom popcorn when we met in Branson.  That was her one request.  We brought her lots of popcorn.  It is too heavy to ship economically.  We purchased many different grains as I love using them in my soups.  Mishler’s Country Store also has the best raw sunflower seeds I have ever tasted.  I bring them home and freeze them until needed.  We eat a variety of seeds at this house, our favorites being sunflower, pumpkin, flax (ground), hemp, and chia.  I believe Dave’s favorite is the ground flax.  I stocked up on that.  So you might say after reading this paragraph that we had a good time today and accomplished quite a bit.

As we traveled the back roads in Delton, Wisconsin where Mishler’s Country Store is located, I stopped and took a few photos.  The Amish do not like to have their faces photographed so I respectfully tried not to have their faces show.  Dave pulled over alongside the road so I could get out and take a picture of a horse drawn wagon.  When I later viewed the photo I noticed one little child looked back and I did capture the little eyes.  Realize that it is very cold here today, actually in the freezing range, and it was only the eyes that peeked out from layers of clothing.  Open aired wagons are not heated (except in the summer).  I took another photo of a passenger buggy coming  toward us which had the driver concealed inside.  I didn’t realize how quickly he was coming so I took the picture through the windshield and almost missed it entirely.  There was one last photo I wanted to snap.   I must admit, when I took this last picture I felt a bit like a voyeur.  But it was waiting to be taken.    And what a story it told.  See if you can find the story behind the picture tells.

On the way home from the Country Store we passed through a little town called Pardeeville.  I really like that little town.  It is the same place where we purchased our used dining room chairs for the table we reconditioned this summer.  It has a very small home town feeling.  Off to my right as we were going down main Street I saw a Veteran’s Memorial Park.  Dave turned around so I could go investigate, biting wind and all (I was dressed for it).  It was such a beautiful memorial to the citizens of that town that lost their lives in the wars.  There were 80 names from the Civil War, 8 from World War I, 14 from World War II, 3 from the Korean War, and 3 from the Vietnam War.  I assume the memorial has been in place since before all the Mideast wars we’ve been involved in because there were no other names on the wall.  There was a bench with one veteran’s name who died in Pakistan in 2010.  What a great sacrifice from one small town.  The current population is 2100 people.  In 1870 the population was 205.  

I stood there before that wall with all the names engraved into the granite and I teared up.  I cried for all the mothers and fathers and wives and children who received the news about their loved one who had died on the battlefield.  No greater pain can I imagine.  There was a walkway of bricks leading up to the wall.  On each brick was the name of others who had served but had made it home.  I stopped and wondered how each of those wars had changed the lives of those young men who had returned home.  Some scars would show.  Most would not.  War changes the course of anyone’s life who has been in its midst.  Also on the walkway leading to the wall was an area where the names on the bricks were of all the people left behind that supported the soldiers while they were gone.  What a great little town.  Family, friends and neighbors coming together to support those fighting for freedom and to reach out to family, friends, neighbors and the greater community to offer help and support and comfort.  Where do we see that today?  I’ll enclose a few snapshots of what I saw at that little Veteran’s Memorial Park.  I silently sent up a belated thanks to all those who have died for our country as well as fighting for other countries to be free.  My hat is off to any of you who read this, who have served, or the families of those who have served.  It is not easy on those left behind.  I read each name on the granite wall.

I had a great topic that I wanted to write about tonight.  Dave said something to me again this morning that gave me a great place to start.  However, when I sat down at my computer this evening I could not for the life of me bring up the memory of that short sentence.  SEE WHAT OLD AGE DOES TO YOU!!!  And, I failed to write it down.  The only problem with writing it down is I would probably forget where I stuck the note.

 

THOSE LITTLE JEWELS OF WISDOM

By Kathleen Martens

November 20, 2015

 

Sometimes the brain

Gets a bit stuck.

And what you want to remember

From your mind is plucked.

 

I never for a moment

Think I will forget.

But the thought seems to drop

Into a deep black pit.

 

So once again, I tell myself

This time I’ll write it down,

And I tuck the note aside

Where it never again is found.

 

Those little jewels of wisdom

Are floating around in me.

And someday when I am older

Perhaps they’ll be set free.

 

Good night and God bless you, especially all the veterans and veterans’ families.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday November 19 2015  BECOMING ANONYMOUS

An exciting day.  Received our last shipment of produce from the farm.  I promise not to say too much about it but just wanted you to know that it makes for an exciting day.  To hear me write you would think that my delivered boxes are the only things we get to eat.  Not so.  It is just because I enjoy cooking so much it is a big thrill to have such fresh delicious vegetables to work with.  I wrote my sister a nice long email and told her all about everything relating to my boxes so that I would not need to write about it here. 

So, on to the title of this page, BECOMING ANONYMOUS.  I bring up this topic because this morning Dave brought up the subject using a little different term.  He asked me if I ever noticed how often it seems that the “younger generations” of this era seems to dismiss the older people.  He was quick to assure me that it wasn’t everyone who does, but quite a few who do.  Dave lamented how the younger crowd does not seem to want to talk to older people, ask their advice, or even consider what they say as valid or necessary.  I replied and said yes, I have noticed that a bit but I look at it rather differently.  I refer to it as becoming anonymous when we are in a crowd.  The synonyms for anonymous are:  nameless, unidentified, unnamed, unsigned, unspecified, unknown, secret, and mysterious.   

There was once a time in my life, when as a younger version of myself, I felt significant, attractive, full of energy, and purpose.  I remember the first time I was with my daughter, who was all grown up to the ripe age of a 16 year old, beautiful teenager, and I noticed the men eyeing her and not looking at me anymore.  The problem was, these men were my age and they had no business eyeing my daughter in such a way.  Well, as the years past I realize that now as an older woman, I sort of fade into the anonymous category. What’s worse is, the only men that do look at me now, are OLD!

The anonymous are those of us who lived long enough to have white hair, stooping shoulders, a slower walk, and wrinkles that come with our many years of life experience.  We become unidentified in a crowd.  We are unnamed, unspecified, and unknown as the synonyms aptly describe us.  But the truth of the matter is, there is a whole lot going on in the secret and mysterious departments.  There are some things that only life can teach, and purify, and cause to bloom.  There is a quiet wisdom that comes with age.  I might not have learned the “quiet” part yet, but hopefully some wisdom has settled in. 

I find that I think differently than I did as a young person (which is probably a good thing), I try to act differently (but probably haven’t mastered that yet either), and definitely have greater insight into most situations than I used to. I have found a quiet inner peace that I did not have as a younger woman.  I do not feel the need to be so forceful, so rushing, or so judgmental.  We, the anonymous may be slower, find it more difficult to find all our words, lack the vitality and energy which we once took for granted, but we have something so precious that the younger crowd cannot even comprehend.  I often look at the young and think how fortunate I am to be so old.  I have something that many of them may never have or experience.  And that one thing is time.  I have had the opportunity to live all of these years I have been on earth.  They only have the years they have lived and no promise of another day.  When we are young we never expect that we will die young.  We believe we will live forever but, yet neither will we ever become like all these old people walking so slowly and getting in the way.  To the young, the old have always been old.  But now that I am old, I can look back and know that once I was young.  And I am ever grateful that I have made it this far.  I will never take for granted one day of life given me and will thank God that I am now in the older crowd.

Life to me is still exciting and vibrant.  Perhaps even more than it was when I was younger because I do not have all the pressures to look so perfect, to perform, and to become what the world considers successful.  I still dream, and wish, and plan.  I still see and hear, but I see so much more vividly and I hear so much more deeply.  And there are things I know that the young have no clue about (and that may be a good thing).

Even though another day of life is not guaranteed we should plan and work as if we will live forever.  Remember the old saying:   “Plan as if you have forever.  Live today as if it is your last”.  That is what I do.  Actually, I do have forever and that is exactly what I am planning and living for in the here and now.  My forever part will be with my Lord and Savior.  My now part is to live in Gods’s will and for His glory. 

“Oh to be young again”!  That is not my mantra.  I am satisfied with where I am in life, with who I am, and with where I am going.  I don’t think many young people (me included at a younger age) can say that.  I look at the younger generation living in today’s world of entitlement, self-satisfaction, and indulgence and I am saddened for them.  As they pass me by, no longer realizing I am there, my heart goes out to them for their road ahead.  Life is not easy and never goes exactly as we plan it to.  Every decision we make each day has consequences of some kind at a later date, be they intended or unintended.  Yes, I can look back and see the great mistakes of my life rear their head, but I got through it.  I survived and I came out on top.  I only hope that the younger generations living in today’s troubled times will be able to do the same.

It’s really not so bad to be “anonymous”.  If I am not careful it could become too comfortable.  I think the less that is expected of a person the less they will do.  I never want to come to that point in my life.  Even if others expect nothing from me or out of me, I will still expect my standards of integrity, truth, compassion, and love to prevail deep in my heart.  Oh, but if we could instill that in the hearts of the new generations now growing up, how much better a place our world would be.  Someday they too will be in the anonymous crowd.  I wonder what will be in their hearts.  I wonder if anyone will ask them for their advice.

 

BECOMING ANONYMOUS

By Kathleen Martens

November 19 2015

 

Quite a somber topic

To discuss a lady’s age,

Especially when hair is white

And their expression sage.

 

It seems as if identity

Gets lost in the passage of time.

But what is really happening,

Inside becomes refined.

 

Though anonymous in a crowd,

It is secret and mysterious within.

It is the time when wisdom comes,

And you become your own best friend.

 

I hope what I have written seems clear and concise.  In no way do I want it to come across as degrading to we who are aging.  But I think it would behoove us to think about how we behave toward those who are a generation above us.  Even as we age we still appreciate being noticed and respected for who we are.  When all is said and done, the same me, still lives inside this older body today, that lived inside the younger version years ago.  When I look out I am still the same me, regardless my age.  

 

Good night and God bless all of you, both young and old!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday November 18 2015  WHEN ONE WRITES A BLOG

 

WHEN ONE WRITES A BLOG

By Kathleen Martens

November 18, 2015

 

I imagine when one writes a blog,

Then one should have something to say.

I sit here viewing this small blank screen

But no words in my brain come to play.

 

Though I am thinking of what I’ve done,

I wonder if it would be an interesting read?

If I could have but one magical thought,

Perhaps somewhere it might lead.

 

I asked my husband to write it for me,

But he profusely and vehemently denied.

No matter what, I think he’d refuse,

Unless perhaps I had died.

 

So I decided to do it myself

As I enjoy writing from my heart.

So I thought this little poem,

Would be a great way to start!

 

I guess the above poem would aptly be referred to as “filler”.  But it worked.  It started my creative juices flowing.  I so enjoy being home all day without going anywhere.  And that was today as it is my day off from the gym. However, when I have a quiet day, part of it alone, I have less to tell about.  And what I have to tell about may not be interesting to all.  What’s new?  I cooked.  Remember, I have five more farm boxes being delivered tomorrow and I have not yet made a dent in my last five boxes.  Another batch of soup just happened to grow in my pot today, AND IT WAS GOOD.  I created it from a former recipe I used except with different ingredients.  We had it for dinner and believe me, it really was good.  I also baked six winter squash, filled with the apples and cranberries, from the recipe I posted in the blog a couple of days ago.  Then I pureed all of it with a little coconut water and made the consistency of applesauce.  Both the soup and the sauce is already tucked into the freezer.  We had some for dinner, AND IT WAS REALLY GOOD!  I first put some unpureed in the dish, topped it with a tablespoon of the sauce, raw thick oatmeal, and walnuts.  YUM.

So today, I was busy from before sun up until now but that is all I did.  So, just a short poem and my short comments above.  I will give you a bonus however.  I will plug in my external drive and pick out a couple of past poems I have written for those of you who comment on enjoying reading my poetry.  If poetry is not your forte I will say Good night and God bless you.  For you who are asking for more poetry, read below.

 

TO LIVE IN HIS GLORY

By Kathleen Martens

April 28, 2014

 

Children of worship

Children with song

A heart with melody

All the day long.

 

With lips of praise

Lifted on High

As on wings of eagles

To glory fly.

 

The heart bubbles forth

With pure delight

As strands of music

In heavenly light.

 

God the Father

The Redeemer His Son

Jesus our Savior

Is planning to come.

 

He will take us home

And finish the story

That we are His

To live in His glory!

 

GRACE

By Kathleen Martens

Aug 4, 2011

 

Tender Love

Not deserved.

From above

Never conserved.

 

Gentle, divine,

Compassion’s gift

Unmerited favor

Without tiff.

 

Generosity of God

Giver of life.

Gift is free

To end strife.

 

Special love

Forgiveness pure,

Clemency as needed,

Salvation sure.

 

 

MY TREASURE IS FULL

By Kathleen Martens

January 7, 2012

 

Daily I adorn my jewels

Nuggets of gold

Pearls of wisdom

Rubies of righteousness.

 

I adorn myself

With love and faithfulness

And bind them

Around my neck.

 

And my Father commands

I bind them

Upon my heart forever

For safe keeping.

 

And jewels are bound

Upon my fingers,

That which I’ve been taught

For all to see.

 

My treasure is full,

My adornment gracious,

For I am clothed

In Compassion

 

Kindness and humility,

Gentleness and patience.

The wardrobe of righteousness

And forgiveness toward others.

 

And over all

The garment of love.

And wisdom

I do not forsake.

 

The jewel of understanding

Lights my eyes–

A jewel to honor and embrace.

A garland of grace upon my head.

 

As I pursue

This esteemed jewel

I am presented

With a crown of splendor.

 

All these jewels

From my loving Father

As I open His word

And write them on the tablet of my heart.

 

(The last poem above is taken from the scriptures)

 

Good night and God bless all of you doubly if you read this far!

P.S.  Wisdom for today:  When you write a blog be certain to save it right away.  I did not do that tonight and lost my entire blog!  However, with a little research and asking my computer “How do I retrieve a document I did not save”, I was given the combination needed to retrieve it.  And I did!  

 

 

 

 

Tuesday November 17 2015  91 AND COUNTING

People are so interesting to me.  Today Dave and I visited some friends from church.  As we got in the car this afternoon to drive over there I turned to Dave and said, “Now I really do feel retired”.  He asked me why and I told him, “Because we are leaving to go someplace during the day just because we want to”.  It actually felt rather different.  I must keep reminding myself what day it is, that it really isn’t a Saturday.  He won’t be home for just two short days and gone again.  I love having him home.  I love being home.  I don’t think there is any place in the world I would rather be than at home.  However, when I am out and about I thoroughly enjoy the time and place I am.  Remember the“living in the moment” thing I do?  Well, anyway, back to where we were going. 

We met Joe and Virginia about three or four years ago when they started attending our church.  They are always such a delight to talk to.  We go to the early service which lets out at 10:00 a.m..  Virginia and Joe attend the late service which begins at 11:00 a.m..  We stay late, they come early and we always seem to meet in the foyer and spend time talking.  They moved to a new place last year and have been wanting us to come over.  We kept putting it off and putting it off due to all our overbooked circumstances, like illness, hospitalizations, surgery, etc. and couldn’t seem to find the right time to go.  So today on a windy, cold, rainy day we decide this day would be perfect.  It was the only day this week that would fit both of our schedules.  So, we called them this morning, asked if it would still be a good day to come and they replied yes.  So that’s what we did. 

Have you ever just walked into someone’s home and you knew you would feel comfortable there?  Well, that is what I felt when I walked into their condo.  It was open and airy, spacious, with large windows, and beautifully appointed with just the right amount of furniture and wall décor.  It was so refreshing to be there.  I immediately felt at home.  This is the first time we have visited at their place.  Both Dave and I had a great time visiting with them.  It was so interesting listening to Joe’s stories.  Joe is one of those rare guys who have a perpetual twinkle in his eyes and a smile on his face.  He has a quick sense of humor, and is a true gentleman!  He is always a delight to be around.  Virginia is warm and inviting and you can tell that she really does enjoy being with people.  Dave and I love them both.

Joe has a woodworking shop in his garage.  He showed us how he is all set up with his specialty saw and he showed us some of the work he does.  He is talented and patient.  His work is intricate and takes hours to do.  He has about two hours a day to dedicate to his craft but it seems he gets a lot done.  A couple of years ago Joe graced us with one of his beautiful pieces of art.  It hangs in our kitchen and I see it every day.  It always puts a smile in my heart.  Joe is 91 and counting.  He and Virginia are truly amazing.  Their stories are refreshing and I only wish we could have stayed longer.    I will enclose a photo of the piece of art that Joe handmade and presented as a gift.  It means a lot to us.

I asked both Joe and Virginia what their wisdom to the world would be.  Joe told me a story too lengthy to put in the blog but I think the one fact that was most important for him to convey is:  “ALWAYS PAY CASH FOR WHAT YOU BUY.  DO NOT GO INTO DEBT!”  He learned that from his father. 

Virginia’s wisdom was concise and to the point.  “TRAVEL AS MUCH AS YOU CAN.  ENJOY THIS UNITED STATES AND SEE WHAT YOU CAN SEE BECAUSE IT IS BEAUTIFUL.  WE HAD A RECREATIONAL VEHICLE AND MET SO MANY PEOPLE ALL OVER THE COUNTRY AND WE HAVE KEPT IN TOUCH WITH THEM AND STILL SEE THEM WHEN WE TRAVEL.  I JUST RECOMMEND THAT YOU TRAVEL ALL YOU CAN.”

After they answered I asked them another question.   I asked each of them, as they aged, what was the one thing that caught you by surprise that you didn’t realize that your aging would do?

Virginia’s reply:  “I GUESS I DIDN’T REALIZE THAT I COULDN’T DO NOW, WHAT I COULD USED TO DO.  I USED TO BE ABLE TO KEEP MYSELF BUSY ALL THE TIME BUT NOW I NOTICE WHEN I OVERDO I GET TIRED.” 

Joe’s reply:  “WHEN THINGS GOT DIFFICULT I JUST GAVE LIFE A PUSH AND KEPT ON GOING.  WHAT AGE IS DOING TO ME NOW IS TAKING AWAY THE THINGS I WANT TO SAY.  THEN I KNOW, I REALLY AM OLD NOW.”

Joe actually said quite a bit more in answer to the last question.  I sort of helped him paraphrase it in simpler terms.  The story was very interesting, but again too lengthy to include at this time.

Oh, I mustn’t forget to mention their beloved 14 year old puppy.  She is part poodle and part something very impressive, I just can’t remember what she told me.  Very cute though.  It is a wonder she doesn’t have a split personality because Joe calls her MITZIE and Virginia calls her MISTY.  She answers to both.  Her given name is Misty so it is Virginia’s name of choice to use.  I will enclose a photo below of the piece of art that Joe made for us.

What more can I say?  We sleep, we get up (and do all the other unmentionable things everyone else does), we eat, we do dishes, we do laundry, (we even put it away most of the time), but I do not make the bed.  I figured it out one time that I used 26 ½ hours a year to make and unmake my bed.  I figured I could do something better with that 26 ½ hours.  Now, if I am to be totally truthful, I do make it two or three times a year when we expect “important company”.  So, if you ever come to our house and want to find out if you are important or not, just sneak a peek to see if our bed is made up with the bedspread and shams and pillows.  Then you’ll know how you rate!  It sure does feel good when you get to the place where you can release yourself from other peoples expectations!  I LOVE NOT MAKING OUR BED!

So, I guess I have told the most important part of our day.  Our visit with Joe and Virginia was our highlight.  I just love being retired!

 

GOOD OLD FASHIONED VISITING

By Kathleen Martens

November 17, 2015

 

There is something about visiting

In the good old fashioned way,

Which is without a cause,

Other than you want to play.

 

No agenda, no meal to cook

Just plain old simple talk.

No phone or email notes,

But a a place when you can sit and gawk.

 

Face to face, side by side

Laughing and sharing stories,

How much better can it get

Because tales are never boring.

 

Eye to eye, heart to heart,

Sharing with a friend.

Good old fashioned visiting,

Too soon comes to an end.

 

And that is the way it was with us today.  It all ended too soon. 

 

Good night and God bless you.

 

 

 

Monday November 16 2015  EVEN IN CHAOS GOD REIGNS

So much tragedy happening every day in the world we live in.  It is beginning to become clearer and clearer as to what the Bible says about what is coming in the days and years ahead.  These last two week’s sermons (City Church Madison Wisconsin) have given me even more insight as to what the future holds.  God’s plan is in progress and some events must happen before Jesus’ second coming. Through all the chaos and bedlam it is encouraging to know that God is in control even in the midst of all the evil that prevails in men’s hearts.  I read the Calendar Wisdom for tonight and it is so appropriate for this day and time.  “HOW CALMLY MAY WE COMMIT OURSELVES TO THE HANDS OF HIM WHO BEARS UP THE WORLD!”  And that is what I do.  I commit myself to God daily and call on Jesus when I am in need of anything.  It is through my relationship with my loving Heavenly Father, that I find peace and joy and fulfillment in this life.  Regardless what comes my way, I need never fear.  I would only hope that you have the same hope in your heart that I cherish.  The best part?  It’s free!

I think sometimes we take for granted the normalcy of each of our days.  This is something I never want to do.  I am so grateful and thankful for every single day I arise and I look forward to all the routine and regularity of what my day may hold for me.  I find that it is the little things that I enjoy so much.  Standing at the kitchen widow viewing the outdoors as I wash dishes and clean up the kitchen. Even picking up an apple and being able to peal it with my aging hands.  Being able to go to the fridge and decide what I would like to prepare for lunch from all the plethora of food that sits on the shelves patiently waiting to be eaten.  Do we ever stop to realize what a privilege that really is?  There are so many in this world who do not have enough to eat.  I thank God for every bite I put in my mouth.  That is one thing Dave and I do not ever take for granted.  Each meal we eat together we hold hands across the kitchen table and one of us prays to God, giving Him thanks for Who He Is, for what He has done for us, and thanking Him for our food in the name of His Son Jesus.  A bite of food, that is cause to celebrate and give thanks. 

So, thankfully today was a “normal” day.  A bit different than what I have been used to  recently, but normal.  I actually worked!  I did get the wedding album sent through the magic wires of the internet.  And I also was able to send off all my school pictures for color correction.  How about that!  I accomplished two things in one day.  That’s pretty good for an “older” lady.  The only reason I was able to accomplish it however, was because of all the help my lab was able to give me over the phone.  Use it or lose it.  Well, I haven’t been using the program (a lot to remember) lately and I needed a little direction to get back on track.  Had a great little helper named Corey.  I was also pleased about how quickly my computer was finished with the wire transfer.  Things have come a long way since I started digital photography. In the beginning it was laboriously slow.  Now things are changing so rapidly that I am having trouble keeping up with it because of the infrequency of which I use it.  Oh well, soon it will be over and I can go back to reading my books and doing more writing. 

I literally worked pretty much all day (except for gym time) on the wedding, office work, and the school.  Now I will be free for a few days until I get the school photos back from color correction.  Then I will need to key in all the packages each student ordered.  That is what takes up my time. 

I did do one other accomplishment today.  I have lots of honey crisp apples that need to be used up so I can have some refrigerator space back.  I created a new concoction (Dave calls me the chief concoctor) from the recipe I made last week using squash, apples and cranberries.  Dave cleaned and cut two large acorn squash for me so I could bake them and then stuff them with a filling.  I did a double recipe ALMOST exactly like the recipe said to do.  The only difference I did was to add the juice of one small lemon to the ingredients.  I like the tartness.  The recipe makes a lovely dish to serve, both in taste and presentation.  Well, I thought it was so pretty I took a picture and enclosed the recipe on a photo so you can use it if you like.  It is very easy and very delicious.  Dave does not like winter squash and he really enjoyed eating this recipe last week when I made it.  Well, today I decided to dig everything out of the skins and then blend it the blender.  Dave really loved that taste.  One blending I did to the consistency of a thick apple sauce.  I also did one consistency to a thick liquid by adding coconut water.  Dave loved the “applesauce” blend the best but said he thinks the liquid blend would make a delicious hot drink for the holidays.  I have two or three more batches to make in order to use up the squash I have sitting on my counter.  And I just found out in an email that in my winter vegetables that will be delivered this Thursday, there will be 5 more acorn squash for us to eat or prepare for the freezer.  We actually will receive five more boxes in this delivery.  It is like Christmas morning to me when I rummage through all the boxes and think of all the creative ways to prepare the coming meals.  This week we will receive lots of Brussels sprouts still on their stalks.  I would say that is pretty fresh.  Speaking of fresh, I ordered a fresh turkey that I will pick up the day after Thanksgiving.  The turkey I ordered was raised on a local Amish farm and has no preservatives, antibiotics, or additives.  It will just be a plain dead turkey already plucked!  We are going out for Thanksgiving dinner and we won’t have any leftovers.  So, I decided I wanted to make some leftovers.  Besides,  just think of all the excellent turkey stock I’ll be able to boil from the bones.  More broth means more soup.  Lucky me!  Tragedy for the freezer space!

I guess it has really been a normal day now.  I have again accomplished saying a lot about nothing much important.  Just wanted you to realize how normal I am.  My husband sometimes ponders that statement when it refers to me, especially if I am the one saying it.  Oh well, I guess we each have our own normal.  I enjoy my normal, I hope you enjoy yours.

Time for me to shower and prepare for bed.  I ate so much squash and apples while I was taste testing that I am not hungry for dinner.   I guess I should force myself to eat some of that delicious Salmon leftover in the fridge.  I don’t want it to spoil.  Besides, I need the protein!  But most of all because I love it!

 

NORMAL IS…

By Kathleen Martens

November 16, 2015

 

What I see as normal

May differ from yours.

We each have our own way

Of opening our doors.

 

I enjoy some things,

You enjoy another,

Just as do siblings,

Sisters and brothers.

 

What I have found

Is that it is okay,

To be who you are

In your own way.

 

As long as you’re kind

And not judgmental,

Appreciating differences

And the sentimental.

 

We should each love ourselves,

And then others the same.

And though someone is different

There should be no blame.

 

We have all been fashioned

By God’s beautiful design,

He fashioned each person,

As one of a kind.

 

Good night.  There is so much more I could write but I refrain, for your benefit.  After all, I don’t really want to become TOO boring!

God bless you and keep you!

 

 

Sunday Sabbath November 15 2015  MY HONEYMOON BEGINS

And just how do I begin my “HONEYMOON” of retirement on a Sunday Sabbath?  Working, of course!  I normally do not work on Sundays as all.  However, this is an exception due to the busy schedule of the people I will be meeting with today.  You may remember the wedding I needed to finish after I arrived home in July? It was the last wedding book I had left to design.  Due to all which happened in our lives, as well as what was going on in lives of the bride and groom, we are just today able to get together for their final consultation to view all the layouts and sign off for ordering.  I have had the album designed for several months.  Hopefully I will be able to place the order tomorrow.  It will have a turnaround time of about ten days.  Then there will be one final session for the couple to pick up the finished product.  Oh man…I am so looking forward to having it done.  It looks absolutely beautiful.  I just hope they think so.  They were such a beautiful bride and groom and their wedding was outdoors on a sunny day.  It took place in our neighbor’s back yard.  It was an absolutely astounding setting.  Some of the formal photos were taken in our yard as well.  As soon as this order clears my computer system (it takes several hours to transfer the order through my computer due to the size of the files and the amount of photos), I will then be able to work on the school and finish that up.  I actually hope to have the school delivered before Thanksgiving.  After those two are accomplished I have two smaller jobs to finish up and I am truly done.  It feels so good to know my professional days are behind me.  Everything is planned to be finished before December 31^st.

My clients called and will be a bit late so that is why I started my blog.  It also means that the meeting will go later.  This meeting usually takes about two hours or more depending if there are any changes to do in the layouts.  It is quite an important meeting as it makes for happy and satisfied clients if they like the end product.  Only when everything is signed, sealed, and delivered will I really begin the true nitty-gritty of my HONEYMOON.  Until then I will pretend.

Again, our Pastor outdid himself in his sermon presentation this morning.  He is doing a series in Luke and going into depth about what the scriptures say about the “last days”.  He uses the old testament to explain what was  prophesied, which prophecies have already been fulfilled and which prophecies are yet to come.  He explains in detail all the “clues” God’s Word gives to us regarding the time frame of the “last days”.  In the Scriptures there is a gap of time that is not measured, so to know a date or year is impossible.  Mostly, it is recognizing the signs as to when the Lord will return.  Again, to know more you can google “City Church Madison WI” and go to the media page and listen to today’s sermon, November 15, 2015.  It would be well worth your time.  I always learn something when I listen to his messages.

Since I do not expect much else to happen this day I will not write more later this evening.  Sometimes I like to write an easy blog just to say hello to my friends and family.  I do not go on my facebook account for the same reason a lot of you may not read this blog regularly, TIME.  I found that facebook can really take a bite out of my day.  And besides, my password is too long. 

 

A DAY TO ENJOY THE SABBATH

By Kathleen Martens

November 15, 2015

 

I have come to say hello

To let you know I care.

Not much to say about my day

But the little I have I’ll share.

 

Awake before dawn

To snuggle and think

And to watch the sun give

It’s morning’s first wink.

 

A day to enjoy the Sabbath,

The day God set aside,

So that on one day of the week

We remember, that in us He abides.

 

I wish you well this autumn day

That will so quickly pass to night,

And then I will be in bed again

So in the morrow I can greet the light.

 

It is only 2:50 p.m. so I will wish you a blessed Sabbath and a wonderful tomorrow.

 

Saturday November 14 2015  A SHORT BLOG

At least I hope it is short.  It is already almost 9:00 p.m. and I need my bed!  A busy, fun day.  Awake at 4:30 a.m. and a full day ahead.  Early work out at the gym, office work preparing for a final consultation for my last wedding album order which will take place tomorrow, cooking (more soup), and off to dinner at the Boy Scout Salmon dinner fund raiser.  This was the 21^st anniversary of the annual Salmon dinner.  Twenty one years ago our son was in Scout troop #50 and as his parents we were involved in organizing the very first Salmon dinner, held at a local school.  It has happened every year since.  The cost for Senior Citizens is $8.00.  Not bad for a delicious fresh cooked, fresh Washington Salmon, flown in by special order.  I also ordered a whole alder wood, smoked grilled Salmon fillet, hot off the grill for only $15.00.  I think we will be eating Salmon for a few days.  They also gave us a big bowl of wild rice mixed with other grains.  Delicious. 

We  are now home listening to another presidential debate.  Dave is watching the T.V. and I am listening from an adjacent room.  I want to hear every presidential debate regardless whether Republican or Democrat.  It is quite interesting.  Since I am retired I may need to start watching more T.V. during this next year. I find it interesting to become informed in what is happening politically in a presidential election year. I would like to be involved in helping my candidate become elected.  I have no commitments to a candidate of choice at this time.   It will be interesting to find out who ends up as the presidential candidates.  But…I am trying to hold back with committing myself to anything this next year due to all that we intend to accomplish in the coming months.  So perhaps I will just sit back on the sidelines and just listen.

My sister sent me a blog today that I found interesting.  It is in reference to the blog that I wrote yesterday about how I now really did feel retired.  Here is the excerpt I especially enjoyed:

“I feel like I should have a retirement farewell party for you.  Now you can be on your retirement honeymoon for one year.  That is what I called my freedom from work and I reveled in it”

“A RETIREMENT HONEYMOON FOR ONE YEAR”.   I love it!  That sounds exactly what I need.  I highlighted it in red because I shall receive it as wisdom.  I shall spend the year getting used to being retired sort of like when a young couple spends their first year becoming used to each other.  I shall woo my year, treat it gently, and fall in love with it more and more each day.  I won’t count this past year as being retired due to the fact that I was so busy, first with traveling, then recovering from surgery, taking care of my husband’s needs as he recoverd from his infection and now recovering from surgery.  I am just glad I was off work and able to have the time to help him.  Hopefully after the first of the year we will begin with a new slate and our focus will be on our Honeymoon year.  We willtackle getting our home organized and ready for the rest of our lives together.  Who knows, we may have another 42 years together.  Oh dear, that sounds a little frightening.

 

RETIREMENT HONEYMOON

By Kathleen Martens

November 14, 2015

 

Celebratory nuptials happen more than once.

The first, love between husband and wife.

The next is when you begin again,

After retirement for the rest of your life.

 

And the triumphant day after

Is when shackles are removed.

No clock to punch or half hour lunches,

And no longer, are your moments cued.

 

The day of freedom, “independently wealthy”??

Hoping it lasts, longer than you.

Hoping inflation will be kept low,

So your dollars won’t be too few.

 

But above all, each day is different,

Every day, new excitement lends.

You learn to protect your hours and days

They can be used up by all your friends.

 

You must learn to say no

Your honeymoon to survive,

As others give free wisdom

On how to live your life

 

So set your course, say no to some

And take it easy, enjoying yourself.

And remember your dreams, for now is the time

You can take them off the shelf.

 

Good night.  God bless and keep you!

P.S.  The news is forecasting that we may be receiving snow by Friday!

 

 

 

Friday November 13 2015  NOW I AM DONE

Today was my final shoot.  My PROFESSIONAL final shoot that is.  I photographed the last part of my last school session.  Dave went with me.  It was fun having him there watching as I corralled almost 100 students into a group photo.  A photo, in which I might add, you can see every single face.  This is a private school and the nicest students I have ever worked with.  The school has grades six through twelve.  I figured out that I have taken every student’s class picture if they have attended that school, from 6^th grade through 12^th grade. 

When the students walked into the large room where the session was to be photographed it was as if the world exploded in sound.  It is amazing what 100 young people can sound like in an enclosed room.  The principal got everyone’s attention and then I took over from there.  This morning I told Dave he was going to see a sergeant in action.  He corrected me and said He would see a “mini sergeant”.  Well little did he know this mini sergeant has a booming voice when needed.  Once I had their attention I told them that this was the first time my husband had come with me to watch me work at a school and that I wanted them to pay attention and really impress him with their behavior so I would look good. 

In short time with the help of the principal I had 6 rows of students lined up and posed.  I had all equipment set and ready before they came in.  First row cross legged on the floor.  The next row, also on the floor, were sitting on their knees, then a row sitting in chairs, the next row standing behind the chairs, the 5^th row standing on the seats of chairs behind those standing, and the final row standing on tables.  It makes for a very large group. 

Before I took the first photo I explained to all of them that this would be my last year to be their school photographer.  I told them how much I had enjoyed working with them and found them to be the most courteous and considerate students with whom I’ve ever worked.  I thanked them for being such a great group year after year.  I was caught off guard when the 6 rows of smiling students broke out in applause.  I have never had that happen before.  I was stunned, especially because it was all so spontaneous and went on for quite a few seconds.  It made tears come to my eyes to realize that I will not be working in the professional photographic world again.  I think this was my final curtain call, making me realize I am now truly retired.  I still have the post production work to do but I will no longer need to plan and prepare and expend all the emotional and physical energy that goes into being a professional photographer.

Just in case you don’t realize it, wedding photography has been determined to be the next highest stress level job right behind war correspondent.  I have done hundreds of weddings and all I know is that it is very high stress.  From spring to autumn I became married to my work.  I was always meeting deadlines, senior high school photos, newborns, hospital photos of stillborn babies for funerals, event photography, and occasionally photos taken of my family.  Most of our family photos are still in the computer and not created into the artistic books I created for clients.  I am ashamed to confess that fact.  When wedding season began my own life was put on hold. 

When I did film photography life was easy.  I took the photos, the lab I used printed them and my orders were done.  During film years I did as many as 40 weddings each season, occasionally two or three a weekend.  Once I was “forced” into the digital world, photography took over my life.  Digital photography for the professional is extremely expensive and time consuming.  People would often ask me why that was so.  For one reason, the investment for the digital equipment, from computers, software, lenses, cameras, (backup equipment for all shoots), lighting, camera cards, accessories so that everything attaches and works together, and I could go on and on. And then of course there are always the upgrades of computer programs,one costing about $1200 per upgrade every two years or so because the equipment would not work together without the upgrades.  I have spent a small fortune on cameras, computer equipment and software programs alone.  And this doesn’t even include the additional educational classes I paid for (some over a $1,000 each) and the time it took me to master the digital world.

Now I just hope that my equipment will last me long enough to finish all the projects I want to do for my family and myself.  I have thousands of photos of my own to plow through.  I hope to use some of my own prints for illustrations in some books.  So I still have lots I desire to finish and will probably never lay the camera down as long as  my fingers will allow me to hold one and my hands don’t shake.  Then I’ll just use my tripod.

NOW I AM DONE.

WOW!  That one sentence paragraph above makes it seem real for the first time.  It feels like a burden has been lifted.  I think when I finish all my work I will just take off in a hot air balloon someplace where I have never been before.  That sounds like a befitting activity to get my feet off the ground.  Besides, our daughter Rebecca and her husband Neil actually gave Dave and me the gift of a balloon ride.  Dave and I have been scouring the United States to see which state we want to balloon over.  Of course it will only be a few short hours but I know it will be spectacular.  Dave and I have been on one previous balloon ride in the past.  It was everything I thought it would be and more.  Now if I could just get the nerve up to sky dive.  Rebecca said she would go with me and we could sky dive from the same plane.  I’m not quite there yet.  When she sky dives I told her not to tell me until after the dive is over.  I don’t know if I could get into all that gear she wears.  It looks too heavy and too cumbersome.  A balloon ride is more my speed.  It was so awesome to travel with the speed of the wind.  Maybe I’ll be one of the fortunate souls who will be alive when Jesus returns in the air.  Then I’ll just sky dive (or would it be sky soar?) all the way up to heaven!  Oh man, that would be awesome experience.

Well, perhaps you can feel some of my excitement in being finished with my job.  Though I loved my profession, I am just so ready to be rid of all the responsibility.  I think the joy I received from my work was presenting beautiful pieces of art to families which would become treasured memories as the years pass.  When I am dead and gone my work will be left behind for the hundreds of families I have captured on film and digital prints.  People in the future will not even be concerned who took the photos, but it will put a smile on their face as they look at the baby faces of their now adult children, or the wedding pictures of years gone by and more.  I still love looking at my children’s baby photos.  It instills memories in my heart.  I guess you could say I am A Memory Maker.

 

CHERISH THE MOMENTS THAT YOU LIVE

By Kathleen Martens

November 13,  2015

 

One simple click of a camera lens

Can capture a moment in time,

And in years become a memory

 And a mother’s heart will shine

 

A simple expression caught in truth

In a moment of such innocence

Can become a work of art.

On a wall becomes magnificence.

 

And grandma’s grin on printed paper

Can outshine any face.

And when she is no longer alive

The photo a destination place.

 

A place to view and look upon

To remember joys all past.

One thing that a photo does,

It helps our memories last.

 

Cherish the moments that you live,

Capture moments for future care.

Looking through your album

Will recall, your memories shared.

 

Good night and God bless you from TREASURED MOMENTS PHOTOGRAPHY!