Saturday, July 9, 2011

Bed Time

Up! Down! Up! Down!
Twist and turn and toss.
Bounce and look over your shoulder
At your sleeping companion and ask
“Are we there yet? Have we found it?”
This is only one store we’ve been in.
Innerspring to the right.
Memory foam to the left.
And don’t forget the hybrids
And the adjustable mattresses, too.
Firmness, plushness, and warranty,
Construction and materials used.
Delivery? Set-up? Free haul-away?
Ok, I’m officially confused.
Queen size is all that will fit the room
But look at the space on that king.
Do we really need the wardrobe,
The dresser, the tables, the door?
Massage will just give me a headache
But it’s nearly heaven for him.
Feet up, head up, flat out,
With the push of a button
He changes position again,
And I come along for the ride.
My head hurts!
 

© 2011 M. C. MacFadyen
July 9, 2011

Saturday, January 29, 2011

SONNY

Dancing, dancing, dancing on legs that are straight and long,

I can hear him singing with a voice that is pure and strong;

The Gates of Heaven have opened and Sonny has come home

To walk with his Lord forever, where he has always belonged.



He was born not perfect in our sight, twisted and halt from the start.

Some who thought they were wise suggested a special home would be smart.

But Sonny was embraced by his family, by sisters who were always there;

He wasn’t tucked away in some corner, hidden and shunned in his chair.



He never ran or danced in this life; he never played football or hit a home run;

He never did a lot of things we take for granted; but Sonny was always SOMEONE.

He was out and about in the home town, appearing at many an affair;

From parades to the paving of sidewalks, look around and Sonny was there.



At the start he would shove that old wheeled chair his mother had labored to make

Backwards through house and on sidewalks, looking over his shoulder to navigate.

Then modern technology and helping hands intervened to allow Sonny to move

Forwards instead of backwards in the electric chair he came to love.



Constrained only by the strength of the battery Sonny would wander the streets

In his marvelous electric wheelchair loaded with umbrella, drinks, and treats.

Weather was the only curtailment, along with his sisters’ decrees,

That limited Sonny’s excursions along those McMechen streets.



Winter meant Sonny stayed indoors when the weather got messy and cold,

But Sonny had loads of companions and TV shows that never seemed old.

Spring, summer, and fall he would make the break and escape womanly care for a time.

He was safe on the streets of McMechen but his sisters never knew what they’d find.



He carried the mailbag for the mailman; Lou was his friend for so many years.

They paved an alley for Sonny so he could visit his friend Ed without fears.

Sonny was part of the city and part of more than one church, too.

There were always strong arms to lift him and put his chair alongside a pew.



So Sonny and his sisters grew older, and the four sisters were now down to two.

Hard choices were made by the family and Sonny’s wandering days were through.

But he found new friends in the Care home and for a time was joined by sister Ruth.

Sonny had new halls to wander, new faces, new women, new foods.



As in every life there were good times and bad;

There were struggles, joys, laughter and tears.

But this last little boy of the Walton’s

Fully lived every one of his seventy-eight years.



Dancing, dancing, dancing on legs that are straight and long,

I can hear him singing with a voice that is pure and strong;

The Gates of Heaven have opened and Sonny has come home

To walk with his Lord forever, where he has always belonged.



© 2011 M. C. MacFadyen

In memory and celebration of my uncle,

Charles E. “Sonny” Walton, Jr.

September 27, 1932 – January 29, 2011




Friday, August 20, 2010

Roof Racer

Roof Racer

Gallump, gallump, gallump, gallump!
No little cat's paws tiptoe on my roof
As the midnight roof racer chases his invisible shadow
From porch roof to house peak and over the ridge.

Gallump, gallump, gallump, gallump!
Black on black with golden eyes he watches me
As I, foolish human that I am, try to tempt him
Back to ground level as he sits aloof on the steep incline.

Gallump, gallump, gallump, gallump!
"Watch me, watch me, Lady! I am up soooo high!"
He swats a twig down the slope and gallops
From peak to flat porch roof to meow pitifully.

Gallump, gallump, gallump, gallump!
Back to the peak and chase the cardinal,
Back to the porch roof to tease the Lady.
Braveheart has no fear except not being watched.

Gallump, gallump, gallump, gallump!
Daylight and the pathway down is revealed.
Over the arbor and through the evergreen
Down to the ground and look up asking plaintively "Feed me now?"



8/16/2010
M.C. MacFadyen

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Another up all night

Hi, y'all. Things have improved medication wise but I still have bouts of insomnia. Tonight is one of those nights. I slept about an hour and a half then was wide awake again. Tried a few things with no luck so I left the bed and sleeping husband and cats and came in to the computer.

Some good news! The two female kittens were adopted last weekend. I learned a new description for tortoiseshell cats. The little boy who claimed her says she is a camouflage cat. I think that is so cute!

So we are left with the two now 12 week old black male kittens. One is still being called Braveheart. The other has earned the name Pantclimber - no explanation required but you better be wearing long pants around him. He loves to be cuddled and turned on his back to have his little belly and chest scratched. Lady Jane is still with them and us. She takes them out on overnight hunting trips and brings them back in time for meals. The great-nieces and nephews love coming over to play with the kittens. I have tied jingle balls on the ends of dowel rods and they play "fishing for kittens" under the big evergreen bush by the back porch.

Marco, one of our indoor males, got out today when DH was putting the dog out. He just scooted underneath her and around her legs and out the door. DH told me when I called him during my lunch break. I told him not to worry, Marco will be back. Sure enough, about a half hour later DH called back and said he went to the back door and opened it and in dashed Marco. Fool cat has it good in the house and gets scared everytime he goes out but he still does it. I think the kittens scared him today. He sees them thru the screen on the door and has even been nose-to-nose with them at various times - but up close and personal those little things can be pretty frightening!

VBS starts June 14th. With the medication problems I am running behind on craft preparation but I will have things done in time. All supplies except the last few bottles of glue have been purchased and the few extras I need like moist wipes and paper towels, etc. I hope I have the necessary energy to get thru the week.

My energy has improved on the Cymbalta and my aches and pains are less than they were. But the insomnia can still leave me dragging or else the sleep medication leaves me groggy and unsteady for hours in the morning. But the lovely side effect of loss of appetite continues. I rarely experience any hunger pangs and have no interest in snacking. In fact, DH has to remind me to eat. Unfortunately, I also don't ever feel full or satisfied after eating. Go figure.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Wide Awake at 2:30 a.m.

I have been going thru some medication changes in the last few weeks. Unfortunately, both the med I have just weaned off of and the new one I am just starting have a side effect in common - insomnia. I seem to be experiencing the side effect on the new one, too. If this keeps up I'll just stay awake all the time except for little naps which do not rejuvenate me. The side effect I would like to happen - decreased appetite - may be showing itself also. That one I could live with. I often wonder if the medications are worth the side effects. I should have left well enough alone but now I have to go thru with something. More doctor visits coming up.

The kittens will be 7 weeks old on Sunday. They are active and loving little things and I will hate to give them up but I cannot have any more cats. We have several too many now. I have taken to calling the two "black" ones Bravehearts as they were the first to do most things and were the first to venture along the sidewalk in the back yard. One of the two just loves to be cuddled and will climb pant legs to get picked up. The tortie has become quite adventursome also. She was the last born and was a little runty at first but has caught up with the others and holds her own quite well in competition for food and playing. We discovered them on top of the concrete block wall between our house and our neighbors on the north this morning. I watched until I figured out how they were doing it and then removed the climbing aids. If one of them should fall off the wall on the wrong side it would never make it back on its own and Lady Jane is not always around to fetch a wanderer back home.

Last night Lady Jane deposited a gift at the back door for the kittens. Thankfully the chipmunk was deceased when I found it and disposed of it. I am glad she is training them but could do without the gifts.

Well, the cup of hot chocolate may have worked. Back to bed to try sleeping again.

Monday, April 12, 2010

We Are Cat

One month old and already very much Cat!




Three of the 4 have started eating either dry or canned food. The little tortie has not quite decided such things are edible. They just came out from under the porch this weekend and both Lady Jane and I are not quite certain we like this new development. They were safe and contained and now they are loose!

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

VBS Egypt beginnings

I got my last outstanding order for craft supplies for VBS Egypt today. (The full title is Egypt - Joseph's journey from prison to palace.) I have been having a good time planning the crafts and ordering supplies. There are still a few things I need but I will probably purchase most of them locally.


I made a senet game box from a baseball card storage box. The sample looks nice and I think both kids and adults will have fun making them. I have heiroglyphic stamps we can use to decorate the playing board as well as the sides. I am also considering using a heiroglyphic font and printing out stickers the kids can use on the playing board. We will use flat back glass stones for the gaming pieces. I still need to decide what we will use for the throwing sticks.



I have also crocheted two beaded headdresses and may make more. I may also try just a headband with beads crocheted into it. The kids will make simpler headbands from fun foam and will have "jewels" to glue on as well as beads to dangle down in strings.










And I have made several beaded collar style necklaces that the leaders can wear. I am enjoying making these from my stash of beads and memory wire. Some of the beads are from disassembled garage sale necklaces and some are from costume jewelry I have inherited from various relatives. I am also still using the large supply of plastic beads I inherited from my grandmother.


The kids will make their broad collars from material which I have yet to locate and purchase and the quilling paper I have purchased. The collars should be really colorful. We may use some of the "jewels" left over from the headbands on these as well.



The older children will make their own cuff bracelets using pony beads and memory wire. The younger children will use pony bead bracelet forms I found on-line. The order I received today was 8000 pony beads in gold, copper, turquoise, and pearl colors. I have other pony beads as well that can be used but I really wanted the gold and turquoise beads for these and the headdresses.

I never realized until I was researching online that red was not a favored color in Egypt. The Egyptians actually liked black more than red because black represented the good soil deposited each year when the Nile flooded. Red, on the other hand, was the color of the desert sand.

I still need to purchase the oven-bake clay for the cartouche necklaces but I know what I want to use for these. Sister Beth told me the kids (and adults) really enjoyed making the clay necklaces last year. They always enjoy something they can wear or make for a relative. I want to find the same stone colored clays I did last year to make their cartouche necklaces.

I hope to have a few quick and easy crafts for the kids who show up early as I usually try to do. We usually do four nights of crafts and have the pizza party on the last night so there is only time to finish up crafts on Friday. So the planned crafts will most likely be the senet game box; the broad collars; beaded/jeweled headbands (and maybe armbands); and the cartouche necklace. The extra crafts will probably include the pony bead bracelets and fun foam picture frames (we plan on taking pictures of the kids and printing them out right at VBS) that can also be decorated with heiroglyphics and quilling paper. We also hope to be able to use face paints to give the kids Egyptian eyes on one or two (or all five) nights if possible.

Now, if I can just make it through without any major health issues for either DH or me. That is going to be the challenge. Prayers, please.