Visions of Poetry

Tuesday September 1 2015  THIS WILL BE A QUICKIE!

 

Time has a way of sneaking up on me.  I have too much day to put in the hours God made.  So I must write quickly this evening.  I need to go to bed earlier and up earlier so I can get more done!

 

FATE WORSE THAN DEATH

By Kathleen Martens

September 1, 2015

 

What to write

When I’m in a hurry?

A silly little poem

Without thought or worry.

 

I will say

A great big hello,

And write my blog

Being quite mellow.

 

I love to live life

But need more hours

To do all I must do

With super powers.

 

My reward today

Is to write to you,

So you can see

Just what I do.

 

Not much it seems

When it takes place,

Just too much running

It’s such a race.

 

First the gym,

Then the store,

Lunch at home,

Cooking more.

 

Then to dentist

And pharmacy too.

Then talk to insurance

Which makes me blue.

 

No one told me

When I retired

That with paperwork

I’d be quite mired!

 

On the phone

Waiting in que,

But each office

Knows ONE THING TO DO.

 

Then to the next

To wait again

It seems to me

This should be a sin.

 

Government bureaucracy

Fate worse than death.

They want not just our money

But our very breath!

 

So what did I do

That gobbled my day?

Your guess as good as mine

Is what I’d say!

 

P.S.  But we did find out that we are covered with some dental insurance, so I guess that was worth the wait.

 

I pretty much said most of my day in my poem.  I did have a chance to lie down for about 45 minutes to get my kidneys kicked in.  AND…I actually finished decluttering the other part of my kitchen counters!  Ahhhhh (that is a silent scream).  I opened my Iphone to find some pictures to send and my camera was on reverse.  I saw myself on the screen (or at least I think it was me).  THERE WAS A VERY OLD LADY LOOKING BACK AT ME!  I’m still not used to her.  She goes around masquerading as me all the time.  I just can’t seem to get away from her.  It’s pretty bad!  The worse scenario however, is when it’s up close and personal on the Iphone.  The Iphone hides absolutely nothing.  Too close for comfort!  Whew, I think I’ve recovered, now let me see if I can find those pictures to post.

Okay, I sent the before and after photos of my kitchen corner.  I also included a couple of photos of my grandson Zachariah on his first day of second grade.  Hope they upload.  We have trouble with Wifi  reaching to this end of the house.  We plan to purchase a booster to see if that will work.

No great revelations today.  Of course I have lots to say but it is getting late and I must get dinner on.  Dave will need to eat soon.  I’ll try to be a bit smarter tomorrow and have more words to take up more of your time.

 

MY GOODNIGHT TO YOU

By Kathleen Martens

Sept 1, 2015

 

May God richly bless you this night

And in your tomorrow.

I pray you have joy,

And no sorrow.

I bid farewell to my faithful few

I write this blog because of you.

Sunday Sabbath August 30 2015  HELP US TO FIGHT!

 

How very sheltered we are here in America.  Do we really know what is going on outside our borders, much less, inside our borders?  Speaking of myself, there is so much more that I don’t know, than what I do know.

Dave and I had an interesting day today.  We volunteered to help out Intervarsity Fellowship, which is a group that has a presence on the University of Wisconsin’s campus.  It is a God based group that helps incoming students become acclimated to college life.  It’s beliefs are Christian oriented and the workers work with new students to lend support for settling in, especially with foreign students, and to witness to them about the love of God when the time is appropriate.  They offer field trips to build relationships and need volunteers to help.  What Dave and I  did today was to be driver and reader for a tour of Madison.  I was the driver and Dave was the reader.  We had a capacity to take two people.  There were several carloads of people who met at a host home after the tour in order to allow the volunteers to become better acquainted with each other and the students.

Dave and I were assigned a mother and and her 11 year old son.  They both have Chinese names which I cannot pronounce.  The mom and son choose to go by “American Names”, Nancy and Stephen.  Nancy is a college professor in China and teaches the Chinese language.  She is here as a professor to teach Chinese to University of Wisconsin Students.  She will be here two years.  Her husband is also a professor and did not have permission to come with her.  The Chinese must pay for their own college education and they have very tough tests to see who is allowed into the best colleges so they acquire the best positions.  The government runs the universities and the professors are all paid by the government.  Nancy said neither she, nor her husband, are paid very much.  She turned to me and smiled and told me they didn’t have much money but they had a loving family and were very happy.  She thought that she was fortunate because they have love together.

I asked Nancy if she had any other children.  She said, no, she was not allowed to have more children.  I asked her what happened if she became pregnant.  Then something will happen to me she told me.  Like what, I asked?  I maybe lose my job, was her reply.  I asked her if she was serious and she affirmed that she was.  If you have a sibling you can only have one child.  If she and her husband had no siblings then they would be allowed to have two children.  Her son will be allowed two children.

When the above conversation transpired we were walking in Olbrich Gardens, in the tranquil beauty of a quiet Sunday afternoon, thousands of miles away from China.  I looked around me and observed several Olbrich Garden  guests laughing, having fun, not an apparent care in the world, and totally taking for granted the freedom in which they live.  Here in America we have become so accepting of our freedom that many don’t even see how it is being chipped away, and if we do know, many don’t seem to care or take time to understand how our country could become if the government takes more and more of our freedoms.  Freedom of speech is being chipped away, the Ten Commandments being erased from public buildings, limiting prayer in certain places, and so many other freedoms receeding.  I turned to look at Nancy and her son and realized again, just how precious our freedom really is.  Nancy confided that she wished she was allowed to have more children because she so very much wanted a larger family.  I guess the threat of losing your income hangs heavy over one’s deciding factors.  Both she and her husband being professors, they would likely both be stripped of their professor status. As we walked she turned to me and quietly said that she could see that I had a very loving relationship with my husband too.  I told her, yes that was true.  I walked away from that conversation realizing how very fortunate I truly am for both, living in one of the last countries to have a semblance of freedom, and for having a loving husband.  It is the loving relationship that makes me the richest, but I am ever so grateful for the freedoms we have left.

Look at the people around you, your children, your extended family, cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews and try to imagine life without them.  If you are an only child (which China had mandated for many years past) you have no aunts or uncles or cousins or brothers or sisters or nieces or nephews.  You simply have your parents, and grandparents as long as they are living.  When your parents are gone there is no family left on earth that knew and loved you as a baby and child.  Except for your only child, you will grow old alone without any extended family support system. In China you are allotted one begotten child to love and one spouse to love and that is your entire family.  China only recently allowed more births.  One reason was because sons are the  most sought after.  Eventually there were fewer females that were allowed to survive.  Many of the abandoned girl babies were adopted by foreign families and when the boys grew to be men, there were simply not enough females for them to marry.  So policy changes were made.

Putting our conversations aside, I do want to say we had a wonderful afternoon.  We had a map to follow, words to read describing the sites, and places to stop and take pictures.  At the close of the day there was a reception with snacks and time available to become better acquainted.  I would do it again!  I told Dave last night that I believed we would be assigned students from China.  I just knew in my heart that it would be so because I have such a deep love for the Chinese people.  Our friend Betts instilled that in us by introducing us to some of her friends with whom we became well acquainted.  I do hope Nancy will be receptive to my overtures to become better acquainted.

We made a quick stop at the grocery store because my friend is coming by tomorrow and I invited her to stay for lunch.  Remember, my refrigerator was empty and I didn’t even have what it took to make another salad for us tomorrow.  And while I am thinking about it, I must go get a jar of soup out of the freezer to thaw out.  I’ll be right back…

Okay, that’s done.  I took out a jar of Stone Soup from October 2014.  It will defrost on the counter tonight and I will refrigerate it when I leave the house at 7:30 a.m.  for a Doctor appointment.  I have a busy morning and not much time to prepare for the lunch, so soup and salad it will be.

We had a guest speaker this morning at our church.  His sermon is one of the most important sermons that anyone will ever need to hear (of course that is just my opinion).  It is about the Blood of Jesus and what it means.  If at all possible please google City Church Madison WI and listen to Sunday August 30 a.m. service.  This is a sermon that makes a lot of sense out of many scriptures that we have probably just glossed over in the past as we read our Bibles through in one year.  This will be my wisdom this night!  “Listen to this sermon as it is very powerful and easy to understand”.

 

HELP US TO FIGHT

By Kathleen Martens

August 30, 2015

 

Dear God,

Thank you for the freedom

That comes from you.

It’s because of your blood

That we are made new.

 

Let us never take for granted

That a life was given,

So that we experience

An eternal living.

 

Washed white as snow

By the blood of the lamb,

Who IS THE SON OF GOD!

Which is not a scam.

 

And Lord we give thanks

For the freedoms of life

That we still have in America

Amidst all the strife.

 

Keep our eyes open

To the chipping away,

And help us to fight

For our freedoms to stay.

 

Well, it is after 10:00 and my proof reader is in bed.  So I will close and say good night.

“May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that Great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

HEBREWS 13:20-21

Saturday August 29 2015  BEST LAID PLANS…

 

Midnight tolls.  No matter how hard I try to get to bed on time (9:00 p.m.) it seems to be getting later and later.  Another midnight tuck-in for Dave and me.  So, in order to balance it out we allowed ourselves to sleep in again.  No kids this morning but I still woke up at 6:30 a.m..  I had a wonderful hour of solitude, listening to the rain outside the window over the head of our bed.  Until it gets below freezing we sleep with the windows open.  I heard the rain all night off and on.  I think it rained all night but I was only awake off and on for potty runs.  It was delightful to lie in bed and watch the light of morning brighten the day as it struggled to make its way through the covering of rain clouds.  Dave was breathing restfully beside me and all was right with the world.  FINALLY at 7:30 he woke up and we had our leisurely time of quiet conversation.  Remember, this is one of my very favorite times of the day.

And so my day was planned.  I planned to spend my morning in the library downstairs, just me and the Lord and my books.  I never made it to the library.  Every so often I plan what I call “a housecoat day”.  That is a day that I do not plan to go out.  I do not answer the phone, except for the hospitals in case of an emergency photo session is needed.  I do not go anywhere and do not have anyone over and I do just what I want to do.  I thought I wanted to go downstairs.  And so I did want to, but like I said, I never made it.

While cleaning up the breakfast dishes I looked around me and became so exasperated at how cluttered and messy my kitchen had become.  I decided to just take a few things off the counter and get rid of them (which I did).  Then I decided to just take a couple of more things off the counters because now they were more obvious because the big thing in front had been removed.  So I did.  Then I thought…it would sure look better if I got that pile organized, so I did.  And then…on and on…So I did.  I have quite a large kitchen and a lot of counter space and all of it is in need of a good cleaning and decluttering.  I have not even mentioned all the cupboards I have, and even more drawers.  So my day proceeded.  I went from one task to the next, slowly and deliberately, no hurry involve, actually enjoying what I was doing.  IMMEDIATE RESULTS!  What could be better than that?  All told, I organized an “L” shaped area left of the sink, cleaned out the lowest shelf of the corner cupboard above it, cleaned out two drawers, and the little area between the refrigerator and the pantry.  I don’t even want to think of the pantry.  Not only do I have one pantry with pull-out drawers, but I have another pantry that opens with bi-fold doors and covers a large wall area.  Both are way over crowded and stacked precariously.

I wish I had taken a before picture, but I probably would not have posted it.  I did post an after picture of the “L” shaped area.  I actually took a picture of the next area I want to clean but will see when and if that happens in the next few days before I post it.  I would like to have it cleaned up before I post the messy one.

To make a long story short, I never did get downstairs.  Not even once today.  Dinner is over, my face is washed, my teeth are brushed and it is only 7:16 p.m.  And here I am already started on my blog.  And, as you can very well figure out, as far as how my day has been, I don’t really have much to tell you.  I climbed no mountains, have no grandkids to discuss, did not accomplish any great feats, but I am completely satisfied with how my day has gone.  I am still in my housecoat, no one came over, I only answered the telephone when our daughter called (I always answer the phone if it is my family calling), my refrigerator is almost empty (which is a good thing), I do not exercise on Saturday so I did not need to go out, and I have the best husband in the world.  What more could I ask for.  Oh yes, and I’m retired.  Oh man, I can’t wait to get used to that!

 

IT WAS WHAT I WANTED TO DO

By Kathleen Martens

August 29 2015

 

A day of rest

So hard to find,

So I made it happen

And claimed it mine.

 

No alarm to ring,

No reason to rise.

It made me happy

And very wise.

 

For I am a Grandma

Recovering from two kids,

Two days in a row

I now put on the skids.

 

Peace and calm,

No reason for guilt.

So this morning

I snuggled under my quilt.

 

What to do?

At leisure ponder

And enjoy the solitude

In quite wonder.

 

It took a long time

For this day to come.

First raised out daughter,

Then our son.

 

Then worked forever,

Long stressful hours.

Now I can sit

And enjoy my flowers.

 

I make no excuses

For a lazy day.

I worked long and hard,

It’s time to play.

 

But what do I do

When I arise?

That I tackle a task

Is no surprise.

 

But it was fun

To work it through

All because

It was what I wanted to do.

 

One of the pleasant benefits about working by myself is that I can let my mind think on whatever I desire to think about.  And I desired to think about the Lord.  Today I was more focused on the task at hand but I felt the Lord’s presence within me.  My heart was at peace, my soul at rest, my body strong and alert, and I was accomplishing a task that would benefit not just me, but also anyone else who comes into the room.  There is something about having uncluttered surroundings that allows your spirit to feel free and untethered.  I believe that God has been dealing with me about the situation of having so much in the house and that it is time for me to start the journey to simplify.  It is time to rid our home from the clutter of 42 years.  And it is happening.  I have several piles of “things” to drop off at St. Vincent’s Store.  I will have many more before I am through.

I don’t know if any of you who are reading this blog have ever heard of the “Fly Lady”.  It is a web address where you can get tips and help on decluttering and cleaning up your area.  At one time I was on the email list but the emails became so many that they cluttered my email in box so I had to get rid of the Fly Lady.  I will say I learned a lot.  I’ll see if she is still on line and refresh myself on some of the tactics I used way back when my kids were still at home.  She was very helpful in having easy ways to keep your house clutter free.  Well, I think I need her information once more. I’ll keep you posted at how I am doing. Maybe I will take before pictures and after pictures.

I read an interesting quote the other day.  I think it is appropriate for all of us, whether our houses are stark or over-loved with too much stuff.  It comes from the book, “You Can’t Afford the Luxury of a Negative Thought” by Peter McWilliams:

“WE SHOULD BE TAUGHT NOT TO WAIT FOR INSPIRATION TO START A THING.

ACTION ALWAYS GENERATES INSPIRATION.

INSPIRATION SELDOM GENERATES ACTION.”  Original quote by Frank Tibolt

Okay, here is my first confession.  If you scroll down to below the blog you will see my “neat” little desk where I type my blog (so I won’t need to go into my messy office).  The only thing is, I have been here a few weeks now, and as you can see, to even copy the quote from the book I had to stack it up on top of a foot high stack of other books that thrill me to have by my side.  So, perhaps the first thing I should do is start some action (clean up the pile) and then perhaps I will receive the inspiration to do even more.  Hey, you know what, that was exactly what happened this morning.  I had one plan, but saw a need, and when I started in on the task to clean up an area I was then inspired to keep on going.  I think I accomplished quite a bit for a Saturday when I originally planned to do as little as possible.

Am I rested?  Probably not.  But I feel great about my little in-roads, and that is almost as satisfying as feeling rested.

I thank God for this beautiful day that He has made for me to live in.  I will rejoice and I will be glad in it.  And I hope you will too!

Proverbs 19:23  “The fear of the Lord leads to life.  Then one rests content, untouched by trouble”.

And I found that I could even “work” content, untouched by trouble.  It is so wonderful to just be CONTENT.

Good night,

Kathleen

Friday August 28 2015  MY DAY HAS GONE TO POTS!

Or is it pot?  Anyway, it definitely went to pots!

This was supposed to be my recuperation day from having the boys.  It didn’t work.  Well, perhaps for the first part because I did not awaken until 8:00 a.m.   That was wonderful.  Started the day by cooking my beans that had soaked all night for the soup I would make later.  And it was later when my day went to pots.

At the present I am in my son’s home theater watching Alvin and the Chipmunks “Chipwrecked”.  I have never seen an Alvin and the Chipmunks anything so I am experiencing a new event in my life.  I am in an awesome easy chair, with a place for water, kicked back with my feet up, and snuggled under a warm and cozy blanket.  The theater is in the lower level of his house and therefore pleasantly cool.  Two little boys are on an on an ottoman, lying on their tummies, elbows bent with their chins resting in their hands.  It is quite dark but I can see their silhouettes and hear their delighted laughter.  Dave sits beside me, then Courtland and then Amy.  These are the sum of the seating area.  It is our first time to be here and enjoy their new theater.  Court and Amy have lived in their new home for the past 12 months and slowly they are accomplishing the long list of changes they plan to do.  This was one of them.

I just thought I’d set the stage as to where I am right now because this is the highlight of my day.  Especially following this afternoon.  Dave and I worked out at the gym from about 10:30 to 12:20.  When we came home Dave set up lunch from the food I already had prepared and I started in on the soup I wanted to make.  If you don’t’ want to hear another soup story go down a couple of paragraphs.  Again, my fridge was pressed for space with too much food from the food box that was delivered yesterday.  Now realize, I am not complaining, just stating fact.  Last week I made Vegetable Medly.  It is a made up name for a made up soup.  Last week I used everything fresh and edible that was in the vegetable family and currently presided in the refrigerator.  This week I pretty much did the same thing but had to come up with a different name for it because no two soups ever taste the same.  Well, I named this soup “Stone Soup”.  I named it after the story written in the 1500’s about the traveler who came to a town where no one would sell him any food.  The traveler proceeded to fill a pot with water and placed a stone in the pot and built a fire to cook it on.  When asked what he was doing he told the townsman that he was making stone soup but it needed a little something else to make it taste better.  The townsman gave him a vegetable to put into the pot.  Then another man came by and asked the same thing and was told that the soup needed some spices to make it just perfect.  The spices were sprinkled in by the townsman.  This went on all through the day, people passing by and each contributing another thing to the pot until it was evening and the soup was finished.  It was a delicious pot of stone soup that served the entire town.

I did not have anyone offer me anything extra to put in my pot but I just kept adding to the pot myself.  I first started making the soup in my 6 quart Nesco Cooker.  I quickly realized it was not going to fit so I had this hot steaming mass and had to get a bigger pot to pour it into.  I put the bigger pot into the sink and emptied the partially made soup into it.  I kept adding to the pot and later realized that the second pot was also not going to hold everything from the fridge.  So out came pot number three, my stock pot.  If you know what a stock pot is you will be impressed to know that by the time I was finished it was over  ¾ full.  By the time it was finished it had over 7 quarts of homemade chicken broth, two cups of V-8 juice, 6 tomatoes, and all the liquid that cooks out of the vegetables. These are the vegetables I remember using, 3 large onions, garlic, celery, carrots, beets, beans, 4 ears of fresh corn, half head of purple cabbage, zucchini squash, 4 peppers, kale, and I’m sure there is something I am forgetting.  I topped it off with two pounds of black beans and a pot of cooked Quinoa.  And now you know why my day went to the pots.

I started by 12:30 and did not stop until after 4:30.  We had to leave the house at 4:30 in order to get to Court’s by 5:15 for dinner and a movie.  I turned off the stove, took the lid off pot number three and we left.  Hopefully it will cool enough to bottle up when we arrive home later.

The movie is almost over and it does have a happy ending.  And I guess my day that went to pots also has a happy ending.  My soup is made, my veggies did not give up their lives in vain.  And…there are no stones in my soup but at least I’ll remember what batch it is.

 

MY DAY HAS GONE TO POTS

By Kathleen Martens

August 28, 2015

 

Stone soup, a fable of yore,

A little bit of this, a bit of that.

Mighty tasty and all low calorie,

Guaranteed not to make you fat!

 

A full fridge

And an empty pot

That once was empty

But now it’s not.

 

In deepest winter

With snow on the ground

My delicious soup

In the freezer found.

 

I will read it’s name,

“STONE SOUP” it will say

Bringing back the memories

Of this lovely day.

 

Movie is over.  I have now seen the new version of Alvin and the Chipmunks.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  It was nice to share my evening with you, my blog reader.  Joyce, are you out there?  Just wanted you to know, I could get use to this!

I’m home and tried to send pictures of all three pots.  I could only get #2 and #3 to send.  I’m also having difficulty sending my “Calendar Wisdom” picture.  I’ll write it here

August 28:  

“The world is such a busy place

There’s so much hurry in it.

Isn’t it nice sometimes

To pause for just a minute…”

 

After hearing what my husband said to answer our grandson’s question yesterday I think I need to heed this advice.

Zach asked grandpa why we had two chairs in the living room.  Dave replied, “to sit on.  At least I sit in this one but you have a motorized grandma and she never sits”.  I wonder if I was meant to overhear that?  Well, I sat tonight in a plush comfy chair for over 90 minutes to watch the chipmunks (who don’t even exist).  So at least I sit sometimes.  I will try harder to sit down.  Oh yes, I also sit in my library and read, one of the great treasures of my day.

I want to tell you one more little true story that happened yesterday.  I was SITTING at my desk working on my blog last night and received an email from someone who told me she needed a word from God so she googled “word from God” and the first google response was my blog from the day I went to Olbrich Gardens (which was just the day before she googled looking for a “word from God”).  As she read the blog she realized she knew the author, ME.  She was so surprised when she put two and two together.  I don’t think she had ever read my blog before.  The thing that surprised me was that I am not on google for surfing.  My site has always been by personal invitation only.  We will be seeing each other soon…to talk about God!

Update:  I called the young lady back I met yesterday but no one answered.  I left a message with resources for help and told her I would try again tomorrow.  Please say a prayer for her survival and a close walk with God.

Good night!