Listen And Grow Strong

                                         An old man sat one evening on his porch
                                         his face was tranquil, in his eyes was peace
                                         his hands were still, his life's work was done
                                         he had a look about him of sweet release

                                        And I needing to learn so many things
                                        sit down beside him as he began to share
                                        he said my child, I once was restless too
                                        with so much to learn, I failed I do declare
                                        
                                        I was hurt by life, blind and dumb
                                        so many worldly things, lead me astray
                                        thinking I knew it all, when I'd only begun
                                        caused my mother to pray, many a night and day

                                        Ever so loving, the Good Lord heard each prayer
                                        he was guiding my every step, towards growing old
                                        he carried me when I needed him the most
                                        into an old man with a satisfied soul

                                       Just know when you look upon my wrinkled brow
                                       along this path, my feet scarcely touched the ground
                                       life's sweet insistent wind and caressing sun
                                       brushed my face with only a whispering sound

                                       So much wisdom, oh how his words did shine
                                       I listened to him attentively, and I listened long
                                       I learned his secret well, one who trusts in God
                                       will listen as they seek and grow strong

                                              Susie Swanson, 2012

I wrote this poem with my daddy in mind. So many days and nights, I sit and listened to him talk and still feel as if I missed out on so much and wished I had listened more.. Daddy was a God fearing man and an open history book.. I know I've wrote and told alot about him on here but I never get tired of writing about some of his life.. I put that mildly because I could never in a million years tell what his life was like and what he saw and lived through in his lifetime.. My Daddy died in 1998 at the age of 94.. I miss him so much but I know he's up there with mama and that's where he wanted to be..
This poem is also dedicated to all the older people that's passed through this life.. They left some mighty, big shoes to fill.. Blessings, Susie
                                       

Wedding 8/14/12

 Here's a few prettys for you to look at.. This is my son and Daughter in Law, Thet got married on August 14, 2012.. Hope you enjoy.

The place was Smather's Beach Key West Florida.. Hope you enjoyed my Handsome Son and Beautiful Daughter In Law's Wedding Pictures..Blessings, Susie

Frost On The Pumpkins

What a beautiful Fall day we've had here in our little neck of the woods.. The wind has blown cool and crisp with the skies clear and blue.. We're in a Frost Advisory tonight, according to the local weathermen...The wind has now layed and as my mama used to say, "There will be Frost  on the pumpkins."

Now Daddy was a different story, he was a genuine, down to earth Weather Forecaster.. I do believe these modern day forecasters could've took some lessons from him..He had his own way and his way seemed to work out fine when it came to the weather..Here's a few of his Weather Forecasts that I remember so well.

When there's a red Sunset, it means there'll be bad weather in three days.

When the cattle are grazing at night there will be bad weather. When they're grazing in the daytime, it's going to be pretty weather.

If it clouds up over a frost, bad weather is on its way..

 In the summer when a bad storm came up, he could tell which direction it was going. Such as, "That one is following the River", etc.

When a Turtle Dove ( also known as Rain Owl ), coos in the daytime, Rain is on it's way.

These are just a few of his Weather Forecasts, there will be more to come later..

I guess he just had a knack for Weather Forecasting.. How about you all? Do you have any Forecasts you could share? Gotta go get my Houseplants in,  Frost is on its way..Sure wish Daddy was here, he would know for sure..He'd either wear his overcoat in  the house or Not.. If he had it on, I'd be grabbing those house plants in a hurry.. You all take care and watch out for Frost.. October's on its way..Blessings, Susie



In Autumn's Own Way

                                                          Flowers of Autumn
                                                          what a beautiful sight
                                                          spread across the meadow
                                                          so golden and bright

                                                          Leaves of Autumn
                                                          a rainbow of hue
                                                          boasting their fancy
                                                          with colors so new

                                                          Skies of Autumn
                                                          so blue and clear
                                                          twinkling star nights
                                                          when darkness is here

                                                          Fields of Autumn
                                                          are ready to go
                                                          with a harvest of plenty
                                                          and a beautiful show

                                                          Nights of Autumn
                                                          refreshed with a chill
                                                          a blanket for sleeping
                                                          really seals the deal

                                                          The magic of Autumn
                                                          brings a wonderful array
                                                          of beautiful treasures
                                                          in Autumn's own way

                                                          Susie Swanson,2012

Rainy Tuesday

Don't let the above photo fool you, it's raining cats and dogs here this morning..Our little creek is filled to the brim..Yesterday it looked like a little branch and today it's looking more and more like a lake.. I'm standing guard at the windows, wondering if I may have to run.. I surely hope all my blogger friends that have been in the bad drought has got some of this good rain... I know you have suffered a long time in more ways than one..Everything happens for a reason, that's for sure..

I know that I don't post as often as some on here and please forgive me if I've slacked any on visiting your posts.. I've tried to check in every now and then but it' seems there's always distractions one way or another.. I do enjoy Your posts and look forward to them.. Life gets so hectic sometimes that we don't get the chance to do what we want just what we have to do..Still sickness in my family.. One brother is still having chest pain (don't know whats gonna happen there), another is going in for prostate surgery. He has Prostate Cancer.One of my brother in laws is on Dialysis, and his kidneys are getting worse by the day.. I have my twelve year old grandaughter with me today , she has a bladder infection and suffers with the same bladder disease that I have. ( Intersistial Cysistitis, IC for short).. I feel so sorry for her, knowing how bad it is and the suffering one has to go through..They said it was inherited..My mother had it to for many years.She died of Bladder Cancer in 97.. It's an inflammation of the bladder.. It gets in the lining of the bladder and causes ulcers.. There's no cure.. Over the years I've self educated myself on it .. I've read everything I could get my hands on and finally found a group called Intersistial Cysistitis Foundation.. They are working hard everyday to find a cure for the millions that suffer with it like myself.. They lobby in Washington and other places and they go beyond the call of duty.. Thank God for them and the wonderful work they do..

Didn't mean to get off on all this stuff, I know there's people out there in worse shape and going through things that I can't imagine, I want you to know I'm praying for you everyday.. Please forgive me for ranting on and on about my problems..I try my best to not be selfish and think of others needs , when we get to where we can't do that we're in bad shape..

On a lighter note, I've been doing some quilting lately and  I'm getting excited about something else I haven't talked about much.. I'm publishing another book, hope to have it out by spring or summer.. The rate I'm going it may be longer.Something to look forward to for sure..Now that I've poured out all of my problems and then some, I'll shut my trap for today and wish you all a nice tuesday.. God Bless, Susie

The Old Mule

Here's one for the record books I hope you'll like. This all happened back when I was a little tike.
Now I know I've told alot about my neighbors before and some of the ways they were, well here's some more.
There was an older couple that lived up the road a piece. They kept to themselves and enjoyed their peace.
Peace and quiet that is and peculiar for sure. They'd wear an overcoat in the summertime when darkness begin to stir.
They did all their loafering when dark thirty came and every night the pattern always seem to be the same.
They'd come down the road with their overcoat on. Us kids couldn't help but stare, it was the most strange we'd ever known.
Uncle Cicero and Aunt Margaret was their given name, no kin to us but they were uncle and aunt just the same.
And every year Uncle Cicero would grow big patches of corn. In the early light of dawn he'd start plowing every morn.
He'd plow all day and go in home come suppertime. The Gee's and Haw's would end until the next time.
Well, it all started one morning around ten o"clock. We'd been hearing alot of Gee's and Haw's from our playhouse spot.
And being kids we didn't pay much attention to our surroundings and stuff. But that morning the Gee's and Haw's became more than enough.
We all jumped off the bank and ran up the road. We wanted to see what the commotion was where Uncle Cicero's corn patch growed.
We all stopped dead in our tracks, Uncle Cicero was on the ground, and that old mule was pulling him through the corn and his overalls were down.
They were all the way down to his ankles but he was holding on to that plow. That old mule was going more fast than we ever thought he knew how.
My brothers ran back towards the house to get daddy to come quick and about that time Aunt Margaret came running towards the corn patch with her big walking stick.
She was carrying the walking stick with one hand and waving her apron with the other hand.
And between that old mule and Uncle Cicero there wasn't a stalk of corn left in either row.
Aunt Margaret hollered, turn loose of that plow Cicero. He hollored back, NO I'm not letting this dang mule go.
Then she hollered back, he's gonna kill you Cicero and you're naked as a jaybird, let that old mule go.
He finally turned loose of the plow about the time daddy got there. Daddy run to help but us kids just stood there.
The old mule must have been really tired of pulling Uncle Cicero, he run towards the barn fast as he could go.
Daddy hollored , Cicero are you alright? Uncle Cicero hollored back, I'm gonna kill that old mule in spite.
All the time he was trying to get his overalls back in place, he was mumbling a few words not nice to the human race.
Then he said I want you to just look at this corn, that old mule's gonna regret the day he was born.
Aunt Margaret said, now Cicero you know you can't do that. All the time she'd been trying to straighten out his old hat.
He was skinned all over from his toes to his head and his shirt was barely hanging on by a thread.
Daddy hollered and told us kids to get on back to the house. We'd been standing there taking it all in quiet as a mouse.
We never did learn what Uncle Cicero did with that old mule. Not to long after that summer was over and we all went back to school..
And daddy never did say anything about it anymore and Uncle Cicero and Aunt Margaret kept on doing like they did before.
They'd come down the road with their overcoat on. They were the most peculiar neighbors I've ever known..
Of course they sure did make for some fun neighbors once in a while, daddy alway said with a big smile.
And before you go and judge just think of this--good neighbors are hard to come by, and these neighbors we sure did miss.
Yep, they just packed up and moved one day while we were at school. I still wonder today if by chance they took that old mule.

                                             Susie Swanson, 2012

Some of this story may be true and that's a big MAY BE.. I'll give you a hint... Uncle Cicero and Aunt Margaret were real.. I'll leave it at that.... Blessings, Susie

I May Look Like A Beggar

                                                        I may look like a beggar
                                                        with no wealth of my own
                                                        I have riches far greater
                                                        in my heart there's a song

                                                        Good health can't be measured
                                                        by silver and gold
                                                        or the love of family
                                                        can't be bought or sold

                                                        Friends are the flowers
                                                        that bloom in my heart
                                                        each day that I'm given
                                                        is a brand new start

                                                       To glimpse the beauty
                                                       this world has to give
                                                       or the moments to treasure
                                                       of being able to give

                                                       Each sunrise and sunset
                                                       is proof without a doubt
                                                       a power greater than me
                                                       made it all come about

                                                      Happiness is great riches
                                                      of a far lasting kind
                                                      not something to search for
                                                      and seldom ever find

                                                      So it's not what you see
                                                      in the clothes that I wear
                                                      there's riches in my heart
                                                      and nothing can compare

                                                      I may look like a beggar
                                                      but I'm rich as a queen
                                                      what more could I ask for
                                                      I have everything

                                                      Susie Swanson, 2012

Life's Changes

This may have been me at some time in my life. I had so many hair styles or hair do's as my mom used to call them..There were so many ways to roll hair, I found that out from my mom.

I don't think, ( I'm not positive ) that she ever rolled my hair with strips of Rags... But she just about used everything else.

Yeah I know this one looks like it's been through the wringers. She must have kept it outside of a frame for so long it kinda looks frazzled around the edges..This was my second grade picture.. She made sure she would remember it..She wrote it on the picture.. She had rolled my hair with strips of a Brown Paper Bag.. She did quite a good job with what she had to work with..

I think she was to busy to fool with it much with this one..Looks kinda stringy to me.. Of course with so many little ones hanging to her skirt tails it' no wonder .. There it is again, she wrote what grade it was. I think she just about forgot what grade and scribbled through it some before she made up her mind.

By the time I got to this age which I think was about fourth grade, she'd started cutting my hair and as you can see the bangs were quite short.. They always turned out that way but what could I do but wear them until they grew out a little.. She loved cutting it in a Boys Bob, as it was called  back then..

This was eighth grade and I had kind of took over the job pretty well by then.. Notice the Boys Bob.. At least the bangs looked a little longer.

This was ninth grade, still a bit frazzled around the edges from all the Boys Bobs but I was quite proud of it, you can tell by the way I stuck my mouth and chin out..

There's alot of difference in these two. The first one which is quite obvious was taken several years ago.. The bottom one is from a year or so back .. Yep, age will do it to you.. One things for sure.. I've come along ways from that little curly or stringy haired girl with her hair being rolled with strips from an old Paper Bag, (or not ) and those small and BIG Rollers and maybe some  Bobby Pins thrown in along the way or Electric Rollers to a modern day Curling Iron.. Gosh I wonder how mama would have felt to have a Curling Iron.. Probably been ok with it on my hair but as far back as I can remember she rolled her hair with Bobby Pins or in later years small Rollers. I sure do miss those days and mama rolling my hair.....Blessings, Susie

My Favorite Season

Well the unofficial  end of summer has come and gone, that being Labor Day..The days are getting more short and the weatherman says here in our little neck of the woods we will be feeling some cool, crisp Fall like weather by the weekend.. I can see the signs already. No there's none quite like the Picture above but it'll  soon be that the mountains will parade a beautiful color display , all part of God's Beautiful Handiwork..

I love Fall, it's my favorite season af all.. Some have said they don't like it because it brings forth winter.. Winter is awfully pretty, it's all in the eyes of the beholder.. Fall brings back alot of memories for me thought. Almost forty two years ago come October I married my best friend... We went together all of fives dates and got married shortly after.. He was in the army, stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C. That's where we made our first home for almost two years.. I was eighteen years old and he was twenty two.. He'd been overseas and alot of other places and I'd never been anywhere outside of my hometown..Oh yes, I got Homesick but I wouldn't let him see just how bad I really felt. This was back when few people had telephones and my family didn't have one at the time.. His mother and dad had one and we'd call on a pay phone every Sunday evening and she'd relay the messages to my folks or the news . Writing letters was the thing back then.. I put one in the Mailbox to mama and daddy just about every other day.. Mama didn't have much of a hand for writing.(that's what she called it). But that didn't stop her from writing.. I still have all of those letters today along with the ones I wrote to my sweety before we were married.. My most precious one is the one where he asked me to marry him.. I keep them in an old shoe box, tucked away in my closet.. Oh the memories those old letters hold.. I get them out every now and then, especially this time of year and read them. We've both sit and read them to one another before.. I have some that he wrote his mama and daddy before we were married.,when he was in Vietnam and Germany and all of those places..

So you can see why Fall is such a wonderful, cherished time for me..I could go on and on, I've wrote so many poems about Fall in one way or the other it ain't funny.. I'll leave the rest of my memories for later and planned on posting some pictures of my summer flowers but I figured this one is a bit windy and I'll stop where I'm at and go check to see if my sweet, little niece has had her baby yet. (My Great Nephew). She's in labor as we speak.. I call her little because soaking wet it pushes her to weigh one hundred when she's not pregnant.. Her first one was born two years ago on my birthday. Needless to say she's waiting to see her little brother..See how windy I am when I get started, Can't you just visualize how long those letters were that I wrote and my sweet mama wrote..Take care and God Bless.. Susie

Old Rugged Cross

I've been reminising today on memories of back when I was young and going to church..Every Sunday we'd start out walking quite early so we could get there on time.. We didn't want to miss Sunday School or Preaching.. Oh yes, there were a few people that we caught a ride with that managed to have a truck so we could all jump on the back.. After a few years passed daddy managed to get a truck and we rode on the back to church or anywhere else for that matter.. I remember those old time hymns , I think I enjoyed them just as much as the preaching.. My favorite one and still is was "Rock Of Ages". I always looked forward to it with high high hopes they would sing it .. I would put someone  up to suggesting it when the offer came for a song request..I loved that old song so much and I'd sing it to the top of my lungs and even after we got back home it was still stuck in my mind.. I couldn't stop humming or singing "Rock Of Ages".
I remember company coming for Sunday dinner, usually family or neighbors. It was a real treat to have fried chicken and banana pudding..The chickens we raised ourselves and daddy would wring their necks on Saturday and get them dressed and ready to fry for Sunday dinner.. Needless to say, it took quite a few young fryers as they were called to feed a crowd.. And all the fixings ,(usually garden vegetables) were cooked on Sunday morning before church.. Mama got up quite early to get it all done..The Dinner discussion was usually centered around the Sunday services and sermom but being kids we didn't pay to much attention for the sake of eating our bellies full and running outside to play.. Mama always said clean-up time was after the company left which could be late in the evening..Me and some of the girls would get together and sing those old hymns. We knew them by heart and we sung to the top of our lungs.. The grown-ups were to busy talking and spittin their tobacco ad snuff to even notice or so I though.. Later on mama said, we sure did enjoy hearing you girls sing .. It was then that I knew someone was listening besides God..
Later on in life, I started singing solo at church every Sunday and I don't mean really low.. When God put a song on my heart I'd get up and sing when the offer came..Needless to say "Old Rugged Cross" was sung quite often.. They learned in a hurry it was my favorite..
I'll never forget when I first heard "God On The Mountain", it became my second favorite of all time..People would request that I sang it ..But I always went back to "Old Rugged Cross"..
Today I still love the old hymns, all of them and some of the more recent as well, but "The Old Rugged Cross" is the one I'll cling to until my dying day.. And those old time meetings of singing, shouting, and preaching are forever locked in my memories... Hope you all have a nice Labor Day weekend..Blessings, Susie