Trying to Count My Blessings

Today I am thankful for all the  usual things.  For our health, for a cozy home with a nice comfy bed, for enough food to eat, and enough clothes to wear.  For meaningful work, and the income it brings. 
I am thankful for these things, and thankful to live in a country where MOST people  have these things, while praying to see the day when everyone does.

I am thankful for the community I live in, for the friends and neighbors around me, for family, and for my online family as well.  So many of you are close friends now, people I would never have been  blessed to know otherwise.  Your kind words and shared jokes mean a lot.  I hope my words are also helpful to you.

I am thankful for our freedoms.  Freedom to choose which church to attend, or not to attend any at all.  Freedom to speak my mind, freedom to live where I choose to live, finances permitting. Freedom to be myself, even if I am sometimes unconventional.  (Though I will admit, they don't come a whole lot more conventional than I am...)

I am thankful for all those kids in the military, putting their lives on the line for us all, and for their families who wait anxiously at home, and dread late night phone calls, and really dread seeing somebody in dress uniform on their porch.  I have been there.  I've spent birthdays, Thanksgivings, Valentine's Days, Easters, and many other special days without my husband when he was active duty.  He was an aircraft Loadmaster, and he was gone a lot when we were first married.  During the first Gulf War, I spent our Anniversary and Thanksgiving without my husband.  I was alone in Germany, living off base on a farm.  (Our landlords were wonderful people.  They checked on me just about every day.) 
Matt got to come home for Christmas, only because his crew drew the lot for the plane scheduled to come home for maintenance that week.  He was gone for New Year's and my birthday, and Valentine's Day. 
So, I can relate at least a little to those families who are gathering around tables with an empty spot reserved for a loved one deployed.  We are so very grateful for their sacrifices, and for the service they so willingly give.  Proud to be part of the military family.  And we ARE a family, no matter which service, active duty or retired, we are family.  We look out for each other.  I still shop on base because my surcharge money supports the commissary system worldwide, keeping it open and healthy for the kids who need it today.  The BX supports Morale, Welfare, and Recreation services, so when I need something, I look there first. These  privileges are not just benefits my husband earned, they are a way to keep the facilities going for the kids who depend on them now.  Very thankful that we can do that.

So, as we prepare to overindulge in our plentiful food, with family and friends, we remember those who don't have enough food, or who are far from family and friends, and we pray that they may soon have enough and/or soon be home with their loved ones.  As we enjoy our good china and the cozy house, we remember those with no home, and pray they will soon have one.  We promise ourselves to continue to contribute time and money to groups that help bring those desired outcomes about.

My dear readers, I am thankful for you, and I pray the year ahead sees us all continue in good health, with everything we need, and at least some of what we want.
Blessing to all!

Poetic Ghosts

Poems found in old journals.

From 11/2/2005

The subtle process of poetry
Is lately rather lost to me.
I scratch a few pathetic lines
Wishing for more inspired rhymes.

Always interrupted by dog or cat
Or by laundry, or supper, or such as that
My work has dwindled down to naught
Or exists merely in the realm of thought.
-CK Armmistead

March 21, 2008

Oh glorious temptations
Oh bright forbidden fruits
Why do you call me constantly
Away from nobler pursuits?

Why make me dream of chocolate,
Of caramel and peanut butter,
Why tempt me with the evil fat
That causes my heart (and thighs!) to flutter?

Away, away oh fattening things
Do not dance before my mind's eye
Do not lead me to overindulge
For I must diet until I die!

-CK Armistead

Trying To Hear The Muse Through All The Noise

It's been one hell of a week.  I will be honest, I am disappointed with the election results, and disappointed in the stories of racially motivated violence I have seen.  We should be better than this, America.  Remember the Golden Rule.  It applies to EVERYBODY.  Don't be hateful, and don't stand by and let someone who is vulnerable be intimidated or possibly injured.  Be the real American, be kind, stand up against injustice, and remember that everybody is your neighbor, and you may need their help one day.
On top of all that goodness, Leonard Cohen died.  I know, he was 82, and by all reports, ready to go.  Still.  He was a poet and singer/songwriter of immense talent.  Not always the most pleasing voice, but an important one.  His words are often wafting through my brain.

11/9/16
By C.K.Armistead

And through this land of sorrows I stumble,
Lost, cowed, and humble
Wondering where to turn in my trouble
For God seems so far away
And it is dark
Though it is day.
And added to this grief I bore
Was the news that the troubadour
 Is no more.
And though the night seems endless long
I find myself surrounded by his song.
Its melody rises over the din
And through the cracks in my broken heart,
It lets the light of hope shine in.


Good night, Mr. Cohen. May light eternal shine upon you.




11/14/16

I weep not for you who have gone from this life,
I weep for those of us left behind
To try to make sense of a world without you in it.
So much loss.
So much pain.
So many cracks
In this broken heart.



On the upside,
The weather has finally begun to cool,
 The days are crisp
And the skies are blue
But not many leaves have turned
For all that they are starting to fall.

And my own music has worked out better than I thought it would.
My voice, though a bit strained, worked well.
Recital was successful.

Life must go on
We must be aware, though
Of those among us who feel
Vulnerable and as though
They are hated.
We must never let a few hotheads
Define all of us.
We must stand for justice
And mercy
For kindness
And inclusion.
Because there is enough in this land
To go around.
 If we work together
If we share
There's enough for all of us
And there is more than enough love
If we allow ourselves to feel it
Love is the only thing that multiplies
The more you spread it around.
So please, my fellow Americans,
Remember love.


That's about all I got right now.

Adventures In Pumpkin Carving - Or- How I Spent A Long Time Getting Ready for Halloween

This year, I decided to be bold, and try doing some fancy pumpkin carving. This was my husband's forte in the past, back when he had two steady hands.  He has some dental tools that a friend gave him for use in fine scale modeling.  They work very well for finicky pumpkin carving, too.

First challenge was to find pumpkins.  The first two I did, I did far too early, and did not do any preservative measures with, and they got very dry and brown.  The ones in the photo above are the first two I made.

SO, on the day before Halloween, we had to trek all the way down to the Homeland on Robinson in Norman to find pumpkins of sufficient size and quality to use for new jack o' lanterns.

Pumpkins acquired, I now had to clean them off. Most pumpkins will have some dried mud on them somewhere.  Always best to wipe them down with disinfecting wipes before you carve, or wash them as you would any other vegetable.

After that, it was time to open them up and scrape them out.  I used a small plastic scraper that was included in a set of "pumpkin carving tools" I had bought.  They are all useless, except for the scraper.  It makes it much easier to get all the stringy stuff loose, and to thin the wall behind your carving if, like me, you don't pierce all the way through the wall of the pumpkin when making your design.

Once the pumpkins are gutted, you can start marking the design.
 I printed out my desired designs, a "Vincent" face (from 1987's Beauty and the Beast TV series) designed by Claire Sieffert,

 and a Hellboy design based on artwork by Jonny Gillard. 

 Trim the design so you don't have an overabundance of extra paper to deal with.
Tape the design over the chosen surface of the pumpkin.  (I advise choosing the side with no little bumps or other things that might make it hard to see your markings when you go to carve the design.)
Make sure to smooth the design over the surface to that it sits as flat as possible.  This will mean making very small folds in places, usually just on the outside edges of the design. 
Once the design is in place, take up your chosen puncturing tool, and begin marking the areas to be carved.

Once you have pierced the surface to mark all the areas to be carved, use a marker (I prefer a chalk marker, as it is easily cleaned from hands and the surface of the pumpkin later) to darken the punctured areas.

Once that is accomplished, you can carefully remove the paper, saving it to use as a visual reference in case you get confused about which areas are being carved out.  (Believe me, it's easy to be confused on these complex designs.)

Once the marking is done, you are ready to start carving.  I didn't get an "in progress" photo of Hellboy, so here's Vincent in progress:

You will notice I am working outdoors.  There is a good reason for this.  Little chips of pumpkin go EVERYWHERE when you carve this way.  (The voice of bitter experience, that had to mop the kitchen, and clean coutertops, cupboard doors, and the backsplash clear across the room, speaking!)

Much careful carving and patience later, you will have a finished jack o' lantern.

(See all the bits of pumpkin around?  I wasn't kidding.  Do this OUTSIDE.)

Canned air (see it on the table, there?) is useful to get tiny bits of pulp out of the finished carving.  (Trust me on this, you're going to want to do it.) 
One thing I did not hear about until after I finished was that if you want the pumpkin to last a LONG time, coat all the cut surfaces and the inside with Vaseline, then spray with Clorox spray bleach (light blue bottle).  Wipe the shell that is still orange  dry, and let the bleach dry well before you put any light source in or the lid back on. 
I DID do the Clorox water bath immediately after I finished carving the second two pumpkins.  You fill your sink with about 5 gallons of water and add 3 tablespoons of bleach.  Mix it around, then dip the pumpkins in the bleach water, being sure to swirl it around inside the pumpkin as well.  Don't forget the tops, and drain well and let air dry thoroughly before you add your light source and your lid. 

Here are my two, on display Halloween night, lit with LED puck lights, so that the light would be strong enough to show through the designs.  If you like the flickery effect, you can use LED candles, but they may not be bright enough for use with pumpkins carved in this way.

SO, for those of you who wondered how on EARTH I did that, this is how.  It isn't really hard, just requires patience and being careful.

Also, I am sorry that I am so nerdy that most of my neighbors didn't know who my pumpkins were.  Hellboy is a comic book character created by Mike Mignola, that Ron Perlman portrayed in Guillermo Del Toro's film versions.  Vincent is the "Beast" from the Beauty and the Beast television series that ran from 1987 - 90, a role which won Ron Perlman a Golden Globe award.    Ron Perlman is my favorite actor, and these two are my favorite of all the characters he's played.  I've met the man a few times, and he is a genuinely nice guy. 
So check out the Hellboy movies and the Beauty and the Beast (1987 version) TV show and see what great stuff you've been missing!