Humor
Humor is a welcome twist,
In the midst,
Of the angst.
Cause by the dread,
And the fear,
That ends the year.
Of forms to be filed,
And taxes to pay,
By end of the day.
While we race through the forms,
to finish on time,
and avoid any fines.
Gives us a laugh and a grin,
and Humor it’s said,
keeps us ahead,.
Puts a smile on our face,
as we contemplate fate,
and review our estate.
In the State & the Feds,
We know if we search,
There’s an abundance of mirth.
And in spite of our woes,
Shows there’s fun to be seen,
On lines in between.
KimB Feb 1996
Monday, January 30, 2012
Humor by KimB
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Trees
To celebrate Arbor Day in Houston, Texas, volunteers planted 25,000 trees in four of the cities parks. The goal is a million trees for Houston. Back in my grade school days, the school made planting a tree on Arbor Day a big event by having children plant the tree.
Long before I seriously began my study of art, I used to draw trees. I found the various shapes of trees interesting and drew them on scraps of paper. When we lived on the asparagus farm, there was a beautiful poplar tree along the gravel road that I could see from my bedroom window and I often made drawings of it.
Among the trees I knew in my childhood was Black Walnut, Butternut, Oak, Maple, Flowering Lilac, and many kinds of fruit trees, including pear, apple, cherry and plum. Living in California we had Orange trees, tall Palms, giant Sequoias and Pines. In Texas I became familiar with Magnolia, Myrtle, Dogwood and Pecan trees.
For some years I was a member of the Arbor Day Foundation and would receive 10 free trees every year to plant in the area in which I lived. I either planted them or gave them to others who would plant them. The Arbor Day Foundation has a Hazelnut Research Project inviting people to become patrons and receive three Hazelnut bushes to grow. One can Google for more information about the project at the Arbor Day Foundation Hazelnut project.
I once saw a magnificent collection of 2 and 3 hundred year old bonsai at a museum in San Francisco. I've tried making bonsai but was never able to keep one growing for more than a short time. I either over watered them or had to leave them behind when I moved.
We lose many trees when hurricanes and tornadoes happen. Knowing how beneficial trees are to our environment, I think the government should start a national push to re-forest the country. Trees might help us thru those hot days of summer as the planet continues to warm up.
Lovely Trees
Long before I seriously began my study of art, I used to draw trees. I found the various shapes of trees interesting and drew them on scraps of paper. When we lived on the asparagus farm, there was a beautiful poplar tree along the gravel road that I could see from my bedroom window and I often made drawings of it.
Among the trees I knew in my childhood was Black Walnut, Butternut, Oak, Maple, Flowering Lilac, and many kinds of fruit trees, including pear, apple, cherry and plum. Living in California we had Orange trees, tall Palms, giant Sequoias and Pines. In Texas I became familiar with Magnolia, Myrtle, Dogwood and Pecan trees.
For some years I was a member of the Arbor Day Foundation and would receive 10 free trees every year to plant in the area in which I lived. I either planted them or gave them to others who would plant them. The Arbor Day Foundation has a Hazelnut Research Project inviting people to become patrons and receive three Hazelnut bushes to grow. One can Google for more information about the project at the Arbor Day Foundation Hazelnut project.
I once saw a magnificent collection of 2 and 3 hundred year old bonsai at a museum in San Francisco. I've tried making bonsai but was never able to keep one growing for more than a short time. I either over watered them or had to leave them behind when I moved.
We lose many trees when hurricanes and tornadoes happen. Knowing how beneficial trees are to our environment, I think the government should start a national push to re-forest the country. Trees might help us thru those hot days of summer as the planet continues to warm up.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Weather
I can't believe the warm January days we are having here in Houston, Texas. It has been 70 degrees and higher with no predictions of cold weather. Several times recently, the weather reporter on TV has said cold weather was due , but it never materialized. I have experienced various winter weather patterns in my life time, but frigid, snowy days dominated.
In those long ago school days, my siblings and I wore heavy coats or snow suits and snow boots. The boy's snow boots had a knife pocket, which I always thought unfair since the girls boots were just plain. We also wore knitted hats with pom poms on the top which were called tokes [sic, recte tuque].
One of my earliest memories of blizzards was when I was in the first grade and walking home from school. I was unaware that it was a blizzard, only that it was very cold and the wind was so strong I had to walk backward when the cold gusts pushed me off the sidewalk. The sleet pricked my face and walking with my side turned toward the wind helped. About half way home, my mother appeared in the blowing snow and sleet and held a newspaper in front of my face and put her arm around me as we walked the rest of the way home.
In those early school days of my childhood, Dad was often asked to leave his inside job of switch board operator at the phone company to help linemen who were working to restore telephone lines that had come down during blizzard conditions. It would often be late in the evening when he would get home. Mom would have steaming coffee and a hot meal waiting for him. I watched as he took off his heavy clothes and unlace his boots, and rub his hands together to get them warm, all the time telling Mom about how bad the weather was and how many miles out in the country side they had to work.
Having a 'white' Christmas was special, and we were rarely disappointed. One year my husband and I spent the holidays with his family in Philadelphia. I had been told about the sledding on the hill near the house, but there had not been snow all season so I was not going to enjoy a sled run down the hill. Imagine my surprise when we woke Christmas morning to find everything covered with a thick blanket of powder snow!
My first Christmas away from home was in San Francisco and I spent the day joining other sun bathers on the beach under the Golden Gate bridge. The temperature was 85 degrees. I still remember how strange it seemed to wear my bathing suit on the day I opened my Christmas presents.
The Mistral winds of the southern of France are similar to the Santa Anna winds of Southern California. When my husband and I were on our walking trip thru France, Switzerland and Italy, we experienced them on the return route to Paris. We were told by the inhabitants that the Mistrals often lasted a week, and after experiencing them for three days, we understood what people meant when they said Mistrals could drive you crazy.
Living here in Houston, I've become familiar with hurricanes and hot, humid temperatures of 100 plus degrees. While watching videos of glaciers breaking apart in huge chunks, demonstrating climate change, I can't help but wonder how people will cope and endure the drastic changes predicted. Humans are resilient and resourceful, so I have no doubt they will find ways. I can only imagine the strange garb they will be forced to wear to protect themselves. In the meantime I will continue to knit sweaters for cold, windy days, and blankets for cold winter nights.
In those long ago school days, my siblings and I wore heavy coats or snow suits and snow boots. The boy's snow boots had a knife pocket, which I always thought unfair since the girls boots were just plain. We also wore knitted hats with pom poms on the top which were called tokes [sic, recte tuque].
One of my earliest memories of blizzards was when I was in the first grade and walking home from school. I was unaware that it was a blizzard, only that it was very cold and the wind was so strong I had to walk backward when the cold gusts pushed me off the sidewalk. The sleet pricked my face and walking with my side turned toward the wind helped. About half way home, my mother appeared in the blowing snow and sleet and held a newspaper in front of my face and put her arm around me as we walked the rest of the way home.
In those early school days of my childhood, Dad was often asked to leave his inside job of switch board operator at the phone company to help linemen who were working to restore telephone lines that had come down during blizzard conditions. It would often be late in the evening when he would get home. Mom would have steaming coffee and a hot meal waiting for him. I watched as he took off his heavy clothes and unlace his boots, and rub his hands together to get them warm, all the time telling Mom about how bad the weather was and how many miles out in the country side they had to work.
Having a 'white' Christmas was special, and we were rarely disappointed. One year my husband and I spent the holidays with his family in Philadelphia. I had been told about the sledding on the hill near the house, but there had not been snow all season so I was not going to enjoy a sled run down the hill. Imagine my surprise when we woke Christmas morning to find everything covered with a thick blanket of powder snow!
My first Christmas away from home was in San Francisco and I spent the day joining other sun bathers on the beach under the Golden Gate bridge. The temperature was 85 degrees. I still remember how strange it seemed to wear my bathing suit on the day I opened my Christmas presents.
The Mistral winds of the southern of France are similar to the Santa Anna winds of Southern California. When my husband and I were on our walking trip thru France, Switzerland and Italy, we experienced them on the return route to Paris. We were told by the inhabitants that the Mistrals often lasted a week, and after experiencing them for three days, we understood what people meant when they said Mistrals could drive you crazy.
Living here in Houston, I've become familiar with hurricanes and hot, humid temperatures of 100 plus degrees. While watching videos of glaciers breaking apart in huge chunks, demonstrating climate change, I can't help but wonder how people will cope and endure the drastic changes predicted. Humans are resilient and resourceful, so I have no doubt they will find ways. I can only imagine the strange garb they will be forced to wear to protect themselves. In the meantime I will continue to knit sweaters for cold, windy days, and blankets for cold winter nights.
 |
| Highways and Byways I knitted this blanket for my son's Christmas present 2011 |
Monday, January 16, 2012
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Election Money
The huge amounts of money the candidates campaigning for President have raised and continue to raise is an OBSCENITY! Where does all this money come from? It certainly isn't coming from those in the 99% who are looking for work and struggling to put food on the table or families desperately trying to avoid being homeless.
There is a race between super PACs to raise ever higher and higher amounts to pay for television adds, which spew negative propaganda against competitive candidates. The media also adds to the mania with endless speculation night and day of who's up and who's down in the hourly polls they run.
The schism between beliefs of what government is and how it should work is drastic. Some advocate business oriented programs with less regulation. Some want government to limit personal rights. Some threaten loss of national security if their views are not accepted. They all invoke the constitution intimating they alone know exactly what the founding fathers meant but rarely mention liberty and justice for all.
In my opinion, its the power elite doing what they do best, make certain they continue being the power elite.
There is a race between super PACs to raise ever higher and higher amounts to pay for television adds, which spew negative propaganda against competitive candidates. The media also adds to the mania with endless speculation night and day of who's up and who's down in the hourly polls they run.
The schism between beliefs of what government is and how it should work is drastic. Some advocate business oriented programs with less regulation. Some want government to limit personal rights. Some threaten loss of national security if their views are not accepted. They all invoke the constitution intimating they alone know exactly what the founding fathers meant but rarely mention liberty and justice for all.
In my opinion, its the power elite doing what they do best, make certain they continue being the power elite.
Is this any way to elect a president?
Even though worker capacity and motivation are destroyed when leaders choose power over productivity, it appears that bosses would rather be in control than have the organization work well.
Margaret Wheatley, How is Your Leadership Changing?©2005
Saturday, January 07, 2012
The Egypt Game
I'm playing the Egypt game again. The name of the game is A Tale In The Desert 6. There is no combat in the game, only role playing with avatars of people and animals. Avatars can plant and grow veggies, fish, build buildings and monuments, create fireworks and have festivals. Avatars achieve levels by solving puzzles. Each 'Tale' last about a year and a half, then a new 'Tale' starts. This is the 6th version of the game or "telling".
So far I have reached level 5. When you earn a new level you get "zapped" by lightening. My palace is on the Red Sea right on the waterfront. I have plam trees and date palms in the courtyard. I have sheep and camels too. If I want to travel to any other part of Egypt, I have to take a chariot to where ever I want to go. I do not plan on reaching a high level in the game as some players do.
I enjoy doing the simple things and have as much fun as those trying to be the first to reach the highest level possible. In the last Tale I designed a mall with trees, fountains, and lanterns.
I may do something similar this time. It all depends on how much time I devote to playing the game. I started knitting a baby blanket for Heidi, my sister Esther's, granddaughter, who is expecting a baby next month. We don't know if it's a boy or girl so I am using colors that will be for either.
So far I have reached level 5. When you earn a new level you get "zapped" by lightening. My palace is on the Red Sea right on the waterfront. I have plam trees and date palms in the courtyard. I have sheep and camels too. If I want to travel to any other part of Egypt, I have to take a chariot to where ever I want to go. I do not plan on reaching a high level in the game as some players do.
I enjoy doing the simple things and have as much fun as those trying to be the first to reach the highest level possible. In the last Tale I designed a mall with trees, fountains, and lanterns.
I may do something similar this time. It all depends on how much time I devote to playing the game. I started knitting a baby blanket for Heidi, my sister Esther's, granddaughter, who is expecting a baby next month. We don't know if it's a boy or girl so I am using colors that will be for either.
 |
| Getting ZAPPED! |
Tuesday, January 03, 2012
New Year 2012
New Year aspirations of 'peace and good will' burst into full flower as we sang Auld Lang Syne and toasted each other for health, wealth and happiness. During the hours of celebration we forgot personal troubles as well as those plaguing the nation.
As holiday events fade into memory and the ringing bells of 'peace and good will' fall silent, our economy again takes precedence and we concentrate on matters personal. Our personal resolves give way to old habits as government officials continue to seek ways of easing the plight of those who have lost, or are losing the 'American Dream'.
Air ways have become saturated with rhetorical boasts of politicians declaring they have solutions to the nations problems, Our teetering economy is causing a great deal of apprehension. The belief that hard work would let you live the 'American Dream' is no longer true. The struggle to maintain this illusion does not result in achieving the great 'American Dream' much to the chagrin of those who have lost jobs and homes thru no fault of their own.
There are solutions to the disparity of those who have and have not. We just have to be courageous enough to opt for them. Perhaps this is the year we will find a way for families to get back a semblance of tranquility and prosperity and the country regain a stable economy.
As holiday events fade into memory and the ringing bells of 'peace and good will' fall silent, our economy again takes precedence and we concentrate on matters personal. Our personal resolves give way to old habits as government officials continue to seek ways of easing the plight of those who have lost, or are losing the 'American Dream'.
Air ways have become saturated with rhetorical boasts of politicians declaring they have solutions to the nations problems, Our teetering economy is causing a great deal of apprehension. The belief that hard work would let you live the 'American Dream' is no longer true. The struggle to maintain this illusion does not result in achieving the great 'American Dream' much to the chagrin of those who have lost jobs and homes thru no fault of their own.
There are solutions to the disparity of those who have and have not. We just have to be courageous enough to opt for them. Perhaps this is the year we will find a way for families to get back a semblance of tranquility and prosperity and the country regain a stable economy.
Auld Lang Syne (English Translation)
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and old lang syne ?
CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.
And surely you’ll buy your pint cup !
and surely I’ll buy mine !
And we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.
CHORUS
We two have run about the slopes,
and picked the daisies fine ;
But we’ve wandered many a weary foot,
since auld lang syne.
CHORUS
We two have paddled in the stream,
from morning sun till dine† ;
But seas between us broad have roared
since auld lang syne.
CHORUS
And there’s a hand my trusty friend !
And give us a hand o’ thine !
And we’ll take a right good-will draught,
for auld lang syne.
CHORUS
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