Flashback Friday - Are You a Poet?

Today, I'm joining Flashback Friday over at Mocha With Linda.

In honor of National Poetry Month, the prompt for this week is:

What poems do you remember from your childhood? Did you have to memorize many poems for school when you were growing up? Did you learn any just for fun? Do you remember which ones they were--and can you still recite them? Did you have a poetry book that you liked to read? Do you enjoy poetry today? Do you prefer rhyming poetry or free verse? Whimsical poetry or epic poems that tell a story? Do you have a favorite poem or poet? Have you ever written any poems?

I remember my mom reading, actually reciting, the poems of James Whitcomb Riley, "The Hoosier Poet."  He was born right up the road in Greenfield, Indiana.

My favorites, and hers, were Little Orphant Annie and The Raggedy Man. There's a great audio clip of a reading of Little Orphant Annie here. My mom can still recite Little Orphant Annie today, and I can come pretty close.

As for memorizing poems, my mother taught me one called The Toy Town Pony back when I was about this size ~

I couldn't have been much past the age of 4, and I still remember the poem:

The toy town pony tossed his mane

As he ran in front of a railroad train.

"I'll beat it across the track," was his boast,

And he did, almost.

Now his bones are mending in a plaster cast,

But they aren't mending so very fast.

And after he'd nursed a bursted head,

He wished he'd stopped

When the light was red.

~Anonymous

I have never known the origin of the poem, nor have I ever found it in print. I even did a Google search and found nothing. I wonder if there are others that have heard this poem before. I do remember, as part of my recitation, I included the "Anonymous" at the end, emphasized to sound like "Uhh - nonymous!"

My mom is a teacher, and knows all kinds of songs and rhymes for children. I was a good listener and a quick learner, and have a good memory for such things. I still like to memorize today, and I still enjoy poetry. Our family likes to write poems and songs for special occasions, and I have been known to occasionally humiliate feature my children by requiring asking them to help with these presentations.

It must not have been too bad for them though, since our son, David, wrote a poem for us to celebrate our 25th Anniversary a few years ago. They planned a wonderful surprise party for us and David read the poem at the party.

It was funny, and sweet, and yes, I was crying. It hangs on our wall where I can look at it every day.

And count my blessings.

Phone Photo Fun

I wanted to share another fun phone photo collage, 

all edited with the Instagram app on my iPhone. 

I heart Instagram. 

Enjoy!

El Reparo 'Rita ~ Houston ~ Butler! ~ Blue II

Finally spring ~ Pedi day ~ Brees in the barn ~ Peaceful graze

At the computer ~ Chicken wrap ~ Cool water ~ Kitty perch

Say cheese ~ Who Dat! ~ Rims ~ Spring color

Wednesday Hodgepodge

Here's a little Wednesday Hodgepodge to share. Questions from Joyce, be sure to visit her here.

1. National Read a Road Map Day falls on April 5th. Would people say you have a good sense of direction? Do you rely on a GPS when you drive somewhere new? When was the last time you used a map? 

I don't think I have a particularly good sense of direction, but I can usually get myself where I want to go. Especially with all the gadgets in my car. I do like my GPS. I call her Gina. She tells me right where to go, and only occasionally steers me in the wrong direction. Well, I still do the steering, but you know what I mean.

I do still like a good old fashioned map, especially for exploring a new city. If I can see a map, laid out in front of me on paper, I think it helps to really get a feel for a new place. The last time I used a map was probably last fall in New Orleans.

Grandson Matthew loves maps. He often asks me to turn the map on in the car, so he can see the roads as we go. In Wal-Mart once, he noticed a store map on the wall and stopped to study it. When he discovered small paper maps available for shoppers, he was immediately guiding me to the important areas of the store - like the toy department. He may have a career in geography. My friend Jan would be so proud.


I found this picture of Matthew's dad Andrew studying a map in Washington D.C.

And here is Matthew with his Aunt Jennifer, studying a map at the Indiana State Fair. 
Like father....

2. What's your favorite cookbook?

I have several really nice cookbooks, but I would say my favorite, if favorite means most-used, is this one: Lucy Cooks With Family and Friends. No, you can't buy it in a store. It was put together by my sister-in-law for her soon to be daughter-in-law for a bridal shower. She collected recipes from family and friends, compiled them along with special messages for Lucy and Brian, and put them together in this awesome book. And, she gave many of us our very own copy.

Best. Cookbook. Ever. I can pretty much put all my other cookbooks away, because this one has all our favorites in it. And we already know they're good, because they are the tried and true go-to recipes from all the cooks in the family. Even the non-cooks in the family (like me) have one or two old faithfuls that we know how to make. They're in there.

And what a sweet idea to do for a new daughter-in-law. I just share this one with my DILs. Much less work.

3. What painting would you like to "walk into" and experience? Why?

I started thinking of "famous" paintings, but then I looked up and saw this one hanging on my wall. I love the barns, and the peaceful feeling of the country on a summer day. It's hard to see, but there's a little boy walking on the path in the center of the painting. It was painted by my elementary school art teacher, which makes it even more special to me. She called it, "Ain't God Good to Indiana." Yes He is.

4. What annoys you more- misspellings or mispronunciations?

I think misspellings.

5. What is something your mother or father considered important?

My mother thought it was important that my brothers and I learned to greet and speak to adults. I was a bit shy as a child, and this was sometimes always hard for me. I remember one funny story about a day when my mother was hosting my grandmother and some of her friends at our home. She offered to pay us a quarter for each greeting we offered when we got home from school. I think she even paid extra if we gave our grandmother a kiss! Of course my brother Ted was greeting and kissing all around. He was always such a brown noser. Do people still say brown noser?
 

6. Do you like or dislike schedules?

There are some schedules I do like:  airline schedules, football schedules, class schedules, but I will have to say I also understand the importance of being flexible in schedules and in life.

7. Let's have some fun with National Poetry Month (that would be April)...write your own ending to this poem-

"Roses are Red

Violets are blue..."

Incidentally if you'd like to read the history behind that little ditty you'll find it here. 

This question immediately reminded me of my brother-in-law, Steve. I even ran out and took his picture so I could share it here. Steve is the king of Roses are Red. I know, you might not think he looks like your typical poet, but believe me, he is. He uses "Roses are red, violets are _____ " to express all kinds of thoughts and feelings with everyone he meets. One time, when I had asked him to help move a particularly heavy piece of furniture, he left me this note: "Roses are red, violets are black. If this was any heavier, I wouldn't be back." (Don't worry, he came back, but moving furniture is definitely not his favorite job.)


He leaves these little gems all around for folks to enjoy - on scraps of paper, white boards,  car windshields - you never know where you might find one. I hope all of you reading who have been a recipient of one of Steve's Roses are Red poems will share it in the comments.

So, now I'm supposed to finish the poem. Well, I should really ask Steve to do it, but here goes:

Roses are red, 

Violets are blue,

That Steve's quite a character

Oh yes, 'tis true.*

*'tis true is my mother's poetry trademark, shared here in her honor.

8. Insert your own random thought in this space.

With the close of the NCAA Basketball Tournament, I wanted to give just a little attention to the Butler Bulldogs. While they aren't my team, they are an Indiana team, they are a good team, and even better individuals. I liked this picture of their mascot, Blue II, and his question:

Why yes. Yes you did.

The Bulldogs lost in a heartbreaker to UConn on Monday night. It was not the way they wanted to finish their season or play their very last game together. Sometimes, things just don't go your way. It's true in sports, and it's true in life. Good lessons. Hard lessons. Please read this article about the team, their coach, and the way they chose to support one another in victory and in defeat. Grab a tissue.

3seams

I found 3seams while surfing the web several months ago. I know, I spend way too much time doing that, but there are just so many neat things and so much good information to be found! I wonder how we ever learned about the world before the internet. But back to 3seams. The organization is celebrating its 1-year anniversary this week, and it has been fun to follow along as their business and their mission has grown. They make darling dresses and skirts, and everything is made in sets of two. When you purchase a dress, you receive one, and the other goes to a child in need somewhere in the world. Isn't that cool?

The other cool thing is that 3seams is training seamstresses in Port-au-Prince, Haiti to sew these adorable dresses and accessories. They are giving women in Haiti the opportunity to change the course of their lives and a means to support their families. They are giving these women hope.

Most of you know that I have a heart for Haiti. My visits there have been a blessing and an awakening as I keep our friends in Haiti in my heart and in my prayers. 3seams is just another small way to help... to hope.

And the dresses! Can you really resist so much sweetness? I know I can't. But I'm a sucker for little girls in cute dresses. When Inga, from 3seams, posted this picture on Facebook and said that the matching dress was ready to ship, well, I really had no choice did I?

So here is a precious little Haitian sweetie and her twin, my sweet granddaughter Haleigh. So cute! I just want to squeeze them both!

So, the next time you need a beautiful dress for a little girl in your life, remember 3seams. You can check out  their website to learn more, and you can 'like' them on Facebook. Tell them Susan sent you!

Book Club Monday

I haven't written about our Book Club in quite a while, so I thought I would share a little about our most recent selection.

Our Book Club is a church group, started by our former Associate Pastor, Jamalyn. When she deserted us accepted an appointment at another church, the ladies all decided that I should be the leader of the Club. Talk about pressure! For one thing, these ladies are readers. They fly through books like the Stewarts on a Molten Chocolate Cake. They are patient with me though, and give me lots of grace when I don't have the book finished or I make a selection that is not their favorite. I appreciate the time spent with these women (most - not all - are about 30 years my senior) for their wisdom, for the stories they share, and for the strength of their faith.

Today we discussed Wish You Well, by David Baldacci. It is a change from most of Baldacci's other novels, which are often political thrillers. We loved the book and the lessons learned by the main characters, Lou and Oz, who are sent from the city to the mountains of Virginia to live with their great-grandmother after their father is killed and their mother injured in a car accident. We also like it because, as one of the ladies said, "I like books that turn out right, and this one turned out right." We do, and it did. Definitely a good read.

Our club meets the first and third Mondays each month at Somethin's Perkin',

where Bill and Tammy take such good care of us. We are blessed to be able to share our love of books, a tasty lunch, and a prayer together at our "meetings." And one of the ladies even likes to have dessert with her books! Yum-mee!

A Grand Day

Thursday afternoon was Grandparents' Day at Arlington Elementary. It was nicely planned so that the grandparents or special friends met their child in the gym right after school, and then the students led the grown-ups to the various activities.

Matthew was excited to make sure our first stop was the Book Fair!

He had two grandmas with him to help select some good books to purchase. He showed some of them to his teacher back in his classroom.

The set of dinosaur books came with a dinosaur tooth necklace.

He checked out the first book in the set while we visited his classroom.

He had a library book ready to read to us...

and he showed us his cubby in his room.

He read to his Grandma Hamilton,

and then he was ready to take an AR test on the book, The Bravest of the Brave.

AR stands for Accelerated Reader. Most books in the school library have a point value for a test that is taken on the computer. At Matthew's school, the tests are used for part of the reading grade. He quickly took the test, and got 100% correct. Great job, Matthew!

After the Book Fair, a visit to the classroom, and the AR test in the computer lab, he said it was "time to get refreshed." There were refreshments served in the cafeteria before we headed home. Of course, Matthew needed just a few minutes to try out a game on Granny's phone. Just this once.  :)

Phone Photo Friday - Vacation!

I wanted to share another Phone Photo Collage, this time, from our vacation week. That means pictures of the grandkids, of course. These were all taken with my phone and edited with the Instagram App. 

So much fun.

Enjoy!

Ready to go  ~  Up in the clouds  ~  Sweet sleep

Stroller smile  ~  Seriously  ~  Homeward bound

Handsome dude  ~  Iguana friend  ~  Sassy

Beach football  ~  Toothy grin  ~  See food smile