HALLELUJAH , (shrek song)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2NEU6Xf7lM

Espen Lind(on guitar), Askil Holm, Alejandro Fuentes, Kurt Nilsen(World Idol)
4 norwegian great singers.
For more info. visit:
www.senjalady.piczo.com/?cr=5

Eric Clapton - River Of Tears (Live) (Video Version)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsV_vFJHFxU

Nature - Goose Update

Picture this.  Cool windy morning.  Blue, blue, cloudless sky.  I hear geese calling.  Directly above me there are two flocks of geese.  One flying very high...just little specs in perfect form heading due south.  The other flock flies a little lower.....just where the sun is coming up.  Their white feathers catch the morning sun.  Beautiful, glittering white and gold.  It's like the perfect decoration in God's world.   They seem to be a little out of  sinc...I guess they are switching places.  In a matter of moments a new perfect "V" is formed.  Did you know that when the leader gets tired, they rotate?  I wish I was a goose. 

nature

I walked outside to let the dogs out for the night.  After a rainy Sunday the air was cool and damp and a foggy mist made everything seem sureal.  As I stood there in the quiet I heard them.  Geese, flying low in the fog...calling out to each other for guidance or reassurance...or maybe just talking to pass the time away on their long flight southward.  It reminded me of the first time I heard them.  My father took me out one evening and said "Listen, and you'll hear the magic".  It was like magic. 

Working Men

So, the septic system didn't pass inspection and needed repairing.  It's the kind that has an areator or some such thing and the motor wasn't working on it any longer.  Two guys showed up to make repairs.  One, an old codger with a few teeth missing wearing a battered cowboy hat, his belly hanging over a pair of multi-colored work pants.  The other, his apprentice I guess.  A slender boy with an earnest look in his eyes...maybe in his early twenties wearing dirty jeans and needing a haircut badly.   After digging down to the system they extract the thingy with the motor on it.  Sure enough, the motor refused to start.  I was then instructed to go into the house and turn the breakers off because "no teeth" decided it must be in the wiring to the house.  We turned the breakers on and off about ten or twelve times.  Finally, with a sputter the motor started working and the codger told the boy to put it back in the hole.  Yowwww!  It shocked him.  I didn't realize until then that the boy's true talent lay in acrobatics!  Back to the breakers.  There must be a short.  Finally the old guy says he thinks its all fixed now.  The motor is working so he tells the acrobat to touch it and see if it shocks him again.  The boy says no.  NO???  "No Teeth" has this look of unbelief on his face...."I said touch the @*&^@!)))(*& thing and see if it shocks you.  The boy looks around....I could almost hear his mind working...what can I do to get out of this.  Finally, he blurts out to toothless...."YOU TOUCH IT"  I cannot say here what toothless then says to the boy with the earnest eyes.  BTY, I neglected to say that during this whole episode it is raining.  I am standing on the front porch all nice and dry as they work with water sliding down there faces.  When I can stand it no more I yell from the porch to the boy standing in the rain "Remember there are saftey rules to protect you", gaining a threatening look from toothless.  The boy doesn't get it.  After a while the boy rocks on his feet for several minutes looking for all the world like a golfer getting ready to putt, and then gingerly reaches for the motor.   The motor works.  It does not shock him.  Everyone explodes into relieved laughter.  The inspector who has been standing in the rain watching all of this in his buttondown white shirt and blue slacks gives his blessing, the motor is once again laid to rest in the earth and all is well with the world....and the septic system. 

Mouse Kisses

Sharing Kisses With a Mouse

This was housecleaning day for me.  Not a day that I particularly enjoy...unless the house is extremely in need and I can tell a very marked difference in the before and after picture.  On those occasions it thrills me no end to see the amount of dirt removed from within my domain.   Today I decided it was time to clear the clutter from underneath the kitchen sink and vacuum the dust out.  As I began to remove SOS boxes with just one pad left in each box, one rubber glove with a hole in the little finger, various cleaners and boxes of garbage bags, a flower pot with a whole side missing (now why did I need that?),  I began to notice that there was every possibility that at least one mouse was dwelling somewhere within.  After removing everything I saw that the mouse (mice?) had been busily procuring and storing it's meals while simultaneously decorating it's nest in there. I must say that I have never given much thought before to mouse multi-tasking, but I was quite impressed.   A wonderful color palate lay beneath the sink, way back in one corner..shiny, bright red, green and silver slivers were arranged in a delicate circular pattern.  I thought seriously about taking a picture to send to HGTV for one of their decorating shows.    Hmmm, they looked suspiciously like the wrappers of.... Hershey's Kisses.  Then I remembered that during Christmas I had put a dish of them on the coffee table in the den.   Not a very nice thought....sharing kisses with a mouse (mice?). I thought about brushing my teeth for an hour and gargling with a bottle of gin, but then decided it was much too late for that.  Instead,  I rushed out and bought some mouse traps. I carefully  baited them...one with sharp cheddar cheese, the other with chocolate.  I pushed them back into the now barren corner.  After cleaning everything else and vacuuming out the space I reloaded ONLY the usable supplies and decided that I would sit down with a cup of tea for a moment to enjoy my sense of accomplishment.  I had barely gotten comfortable when I heard it.  At first I didn't recognize it, but after a brief period of intense thought,  I realized it was the trap tripping.  The trap had tripped. :-) . The tripping trap.  OK, Carol, get a grip.  I went back to the sink to check my traps feeling like the proverbial great white hunter in Africa.  There, caught by the hand was a very pregnant, fat, brown field mouse.   I picked up the trap...she had expired; I'm not sure what killed her unless it was fright. I studied her for a moment and saw how close she was to giving birth.  Part of me was wildly ecstatic at my hunting prowess and the thought that I had just come very close to having many mice living in my house entered my mind, but deep down where the "real" me lives, I felt sorrow for her untimely death at my hands. (Not to mention the untimely death of her unborn babies.)  However, it did occur to me that if she was about to give birth, there had to be a husband mouse somewhere near.  Somehow, I overcame my feelings of guilt and put out another trap.  Within hours I had ended the life of her husband as well. I used to have a cat.  Back then I never had this problem.  She evidently  took care of these things.  Then it was a natural thing, this killing.  It's not natural to me.  On a lighter note....The question for debate..... did the mice go after the cheese...or the chocolate?  

And Then The SUN

Early morning.  The house is still and quiet except for the soft purring of the heater.  I know it is morning..I can see the black outline of the tall pines in the back yard.  They look very stark against the deep blue of early morning.  I have always enjoyed this time of day.  Thoughts and worries of the coming day have not yet crept into my mind.  It is a time for me to reflect on my life and assess the state of it.  Where am I?  Who am I?  Where am I going?.  Some mornings are better than others.  I awaken with a sense of expectancy and hopefulness.  I am happy.  Other mornings seem to drag me into an abyss where loneliness and fear makes its home in my heart.  Regrets stab me with their needle-sharp spears and I cannot find a place of peace or comfort.  The night recedes into gray; the trees become less black....and suddenly.... the sun appears.  It touches the trees.  They come alive with color and each detail is revealed. The woodpecker holes on the wild cherry look like polka dots.   The reflection on the koi pond shimmers and sparkles.  The first birdsong greets me.  A red cardinal strikes a pose on a green holly, washing my day with color.   My heartache eases and I smile to think of the One who created such beauty.  For me!  What are my problems in comparison to this grand scheme?  Not very big.

Love Lost

Carol Stewart
March 2003

     Yesterday I was playing in my back yard with my sister.  Mama and Daddy sat on the patio watching and all was right with the world.  Tomorrow was very far in the distance.

     Yesterday a boy kissed me and I thought  I was in love for the first time and anything was possible.  Time had no meaning for me.  Tomorrow was just another new day.

     Yesterday I had a baby.  My dreams for her future were endless.  Tomorrow had a million possibilities.

     Yesterday I had some bad times, but there's always tomorrow.  Tomorrow will come. 

     Yesterday I was mother of four and my days were filled with love and laughter and busyness.  There was no time to think about tomorrow.

     Yesterday I found myself alone again, but it was all right.  There was plenty of time to correct what was wrong and start again.  Tomorrow was a new beginning.

     Yesterday my sister died.  My tomorrow became a little bit smaller.

     Yesterday I met someone.  I thought I finally understood what love is between a man and a woman and it amazed me..this feeling.  Tomorrow never entered my mind.
 
     Yesterday, too late,  I learned that love is not holding on  tight...it is letting go.  Tomorrow became a frightening reality.

     Yesterday I lost my love forever.  Will tomorrow come?

Life

What are we...spirit and soul with a little outer covering to protect us from the elements?  A collage of hopes and dreams intricately meshed with flesh and bone, a being of earth; a touch of heaven within us.... casting about for the right path to follow that will lead us to where those dreams lie?   Some of us seem to crash through life, moving as fast as we can, never looking at the consequences, or noticing what we've missed in our hurry to find self.  Others creep along, always finding a reason to stop for a while, afraid of our next step, lest we fall into some unseen crevasse.  We seem to be born knowing all (look into a baby's eyes);  go through a gradual process of forgetting; only to start all over with this confusing process of learning how to live.  We go about our lives jumping for joy one moment and then falling into the abyss the next,  merely to start climbing out once again, searching for that place of peace, safety, contentment and...dare I say it..Joy ( not to be confused with happiness).  What  have I learned in my journey thus far?  The heart has a tremendous capacity...for healing, for forgiving, for loving, for searching out the truth.  I am thankful that my life has not been "perfect".  I am thankful that while dealing with my own personal demons, I have learned.  What?  How to treat others; patience (sometimes); tolerance (except at Walmart); forgiveness;  that it's NOT all about me;  that laughter truly is the best medicine; that decisions I make have consequences.  I have learned (and this is the most important)  that nobody can save me from myself except me.  That's my task.(with a little help [no, a lot of help] from God).   I have run the gamut of emotions;  from confusion, to anguish, to anger, to forgiveness, to peace and finally to freedom.....( I do find myself backing up a few steps from time to time, but I try to forgive myself for it).   I have come to believe that whatever we need, ultimately we get...it's just that sometimes what we need and what we want are two different animals.  I am thankful that God gives me what I need rather than what I want. (although if He chooses to give me what I want..I'll gladly accept it).   After all it is He who sees the BIG PICTURE.  The pain that accompanies our life lessons is well worth the lesson learned, ONLY if we truly learn it.   I know I'll fall into a few more abyss(es) before it's over.  But, I think it is a necessary and natural progression which allows us to find our own salvation and become the people we were intended to be...in the BIG PICTURE of life.  Find yourself!  Hello?

Something smells like Poop!

It all started so well.......I actually get up early, let both dogs out...they have to go out seperately, lest they lead each other astray...feed them, seperately, of course, lest they bicker.  I clear the pizza boxes off the counter and the coke cans and beer bottles off the coffee table, get dressed (in like..real clothes, you know, the ones you'd wear to nice places, or to work in my case,  definitely not Walmart attire). But this blog is not about Walmart...I think I'm not yet ready to write about Walmart without ranting or cursing...or both.  That's another blog.  Anyway, feeling really good I  get out of the house by 8, have plenty of time to get to my first meeting at 8:30.  My first stop, however, is the gas station since I've been running on empty for two days and think that I am probably pressing my luck.  I swear I never do this, but TODAY I decide while there to actually clean off my windshield.  I start scrubbing it and I notice this smell......this awful , disgusting...sickening ...smell...like.. dog poop.  Looked on the bottom of both shoes..all is well, but still the smell persists.  It's the solution in the cleaner! Somebody has sabotaged it (were they waiting for me?)  Are they watching from around the corner?  Across the road?  Paranoia sets in.  I try not to look around and quickly throw the scrubber thingy back into the bucket, get my receipt and start on my way without glancing back.  Once inside the car however, I smell it again.  Almost have a wreck  trying to look at the bottom of my shoes (again) while dodging an 18 wheeler in a construction zone....nothing.  After driving about twenty minutes the odor becomes less noticable, and I kind of forget about it.  I go to my meeting, then to another, to the bank, to the post office, to pack and mail, the health food store, and  finally to the grocery store.  Each time I get into the car I smell it, but within a few minutes it  dissipates.  Okay.  So, I get home and yell up the stairs for my son to get the groceries out of the car for me.  As soon as he comes down he says  "something smells like dog sh*t.  Do you smell it?"  So I look at my shoes once again.  Nothing.  This is getting serious in my mind now,  so I  inspect myself more closely.  There are two small water spots on the side of my pants leg just above the knee.  You know, the water..THAT water..... from the gas station...early this morning.  These spots smell like.... (yep).   .  My mind does a quick recap of the day...you know, who all I saw and where I went.  Maybe if I cut my hair and dye it black nobody will recall the lady who smells like dog poop.  Ya think?