Life’s Blessed Gifts (Haiku Series #106)

Welcoming Sound

Hearing little feet

Lasting gifts of family—

Blessed grandchildren

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Maturity

Impatient in youth

Tempered by life’s long journey—

With age comes patience

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Blessing 

Quiet morning hour

Quality productive time—

Confidence and peace

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Charles Swindoll Quote

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If you want to be a person with a large vision, you must cultivate the habit of doing the little things well.  That’s when God puts iron in your bones.

From Luke 16:10:  “Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much.”

Saturday’s Sweetness

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Free and quiet morning

Saturday adorning

 

Reading God’s Holy Word

Clear thoughts, no longer blurred

 

Sun rises and brightens

Calmness breathes, enlightens

 

Workweek taking its break

Making buckwheat pancakes

 

Listening to new song

Beat of life moves along

 

One more coffee cup sings

Caffeine never hamstrings

 

Good vibes fueling this life

Waiting for lovely wife

 

Looking forward as one

Day brings plenty of fun

 

Watching Buckeyes’ football

Scarlet and Gray now call

 

Excuse our loud cheering

Assisting team’s steering

 

Night closing and ending

Sleep soon, not pretending

 

Each week’s sweetest, fun day

Always, be Saturday

 

This photo was taken at the annual Scarlet and Gray Spring Game at Ohio State’s renowned Horseshoe back in 2015. Nearly every seat was filled for what was basically a scrimmage and practice. Go Bucks!

Using Our ABC’s (Tautogram Series #1)

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Agony

Another airport

Airplane’s absent arrival—

Audible anguish

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Bold

Beauty beckoning

Bouncy, boundless bonanza—

Bubbling brook below

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Crafted

Creative chaos

Curious colossus climbs—

Construction conceives

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A tautogram is text in which all words start with the same letter.  Historically, most tautograms are written in poetic form.  The above tautograms are written in the Japanese-inspired style of Haiku.

Top Cat

Reigning as the Top Cat.

I think of myself as the “Top Cat” around this house.  Mr. and Mrs. Wynter brought me home from a shelter about two years ago.  They love skiing up on the big mountain, and they adore their cats even more . . . with one exception.

Me!!  Yes, you got it.  I always seem to be in trouble around here.  My female cousins, Sky and Birdie, are treated like royalty.  Can you imagine two cats being treated like a pair of princesses? 

Well . . . I want to tell you my side of the story. 

My given name is Revel, which isn’t such as bad name.  While Sky is sometimes curious and Birdie is shy, I love the adventure of roaming and exploring the house.

A few days ago, I am in the garage with Mr. Wynter.  He doesn’t seem to notice me as I glide along the garage door rails high above the floor.  I can be quite the acrobat while walking this tightrope.

I enjoy chasing and teasing my cousins, especially Birdie.  She is so timid, but she doesn’t seem to mind it when I am pulling a chunk of hair from her back.  I have a cool collection of her hair stashed under the bed in the spare bedroom.  Mr. and Mrs. Wynter haven’t vacuumed there for months.

Sky likes to pull open drawers in just about any room.  I encourage her to open as many as possible.  When she’s finished, I move in and pull objects out of the drawer with my mouth.  It’s so much fun to leave a mess in every room of the house.

When Mr. and Mrs. Wynter eat dinner, I join them by jumping up on the dining table.  They become easily annoyed with me so I have to be quick to jump back down to the floor.  It’s sort of like playing “cat and mouse.”

Last week, I helped Mrs. Wynter do some baking.  When she would turn her back, I would jump up on the kitchen counter.  Have you ever seen a cloud of sifted flour float through the air?

It seems that everyone in the house has grown tired of my adventures.  They call it mischief. 

Oh my!  The life of a “Top Cat” needs to be an exciting venture.

Last night, I climbed up on a bookshelf high above the master bedroom floor.  There was a pot with a houseplant in it.  I just couldn’t help myself.  I pulled and pulled with my teeth and claws until most of the plant and dirt flew out and landed on the bed.

I guess I may have gone a bit too far this time.  Mr. and Mrs. Wynter have been dressing me today in a prison outfit, complete with black and white stripes.  I look more like a convict instead of a “Top Cat.”

Snickering at my unfortunate circumstances, Sky and Birdie now call me Rebel.

Hey, I am innocent until proven guilty! P.S. My name isn’t Rebel . . . It’s Revel!

My youngest daughter and her husband provide a home for three rescued kittens (now full-grown cats).  Revel, Sky, and Birdie enjoy their new home.  And yes, Revel does have his moments.  The photos of Revel were taken by my daughter.

Bill Russell Quotes

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Success is a result of consistent practice of winning skills and actions.  There is nothing miraculous about the process.

The only important statistic is the final score.

Bill Russell played professional basketball for the Boston Celtics in the 1950s and 1960s.  He was the consummate team player, but his leadership helped his teams earn championships in the Olympics, NCAA (twice), and NBA (11 titles).  He became the first African-American coach in NBA history, and as player-coach, he led his beloved Celtics to two more championships.

Winter’s Playfulness

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Quiet autumn afternoon croons

Turning crystal white much too soon

 

Tree’s colorful, festive heart breaks

Collecting endless white snowflakes

 

Guarded weather forecast tonight

Predicting quickest shot of white

 

Overnight, all signals splinter

Transforming autumn into winter

 

Morning arrives, sharing delight

Witnessing a land, white and bright

 

Massive neighborhood tree now frowns

Missing some branches, crashing down

 

Silence broken, machines at play

Blowing heavy, wet snow away

 

Others working as busy bees

Shoveling sidewalk paths, now free

 

Laughter punctuates winter’s air

Watching children, playing in pairs

 

City avenues filling with cars

Sliding and crashing, near and far

 

Winter’s sense of humor snowballs

Spoiling autumn’s last curtain call

 

But wait, a few days down the road

Coming back, fall’s last episode

 

Days numbered, autumn’s final turn

Waiting for winter’s cold return

 

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