SAVED in My Time of Peril

During the storm, on Friday June 26, I was at work at Tasker's. I saw the storm approaching, black clouds flowing like molten lava. I raced to close all the windows in my sister's house.

When lightning stuck and blew out the battery back-up on the office computer, and I smelled smoke, I high-tailed it into the broom closet to wait it out.

I feared another 100-year tornado. It was then I knew what that poor, deceased grandmother feared as the 100-year tornado approached her home, killed her, but allowed the young grandchild in her arms to live. I listened...pricked my ears to hear what I've heard is the scariest sound in the universe...the sound of an approaching freight train upon you...when there are no train tracks in your vicinity!

I WAS WORRIED!

First, I worried because I hadn't had enough time to get the two dogs in.

Next, I worried about how rescuers would find my body in the broom closet.

Finally, I worried for my life. I didn't want to die, yet.

I prayed, I chanted, I begged God for safety, begged for my life...and it worked. I realize now I was being selfish: I should have prayed for other people, too. My bad.

When the worst of it was over, with rumbles of thunder further away (over some other soul's life) I ventured out of the closet and took this quick photo outside the office door. I had to push the door hard to get it open. Hail was up against it, blocking my escape!

My sister's and my mother's houses both received moderate/sever hail damage, but they and I survived.

They may claim to be lucky.

I don't believe in luck.

I believe I am connected...to the SAVior!

That's why I was SAVED in my time of peril.

(Photo by Lisa (Allen) Kennard)

Meme - Saaaavor These Days

This Meme loves her grand-babies; it's evident in her outstretched arms. Arms that hug, hold 'em close, and protect the babes. A kiss for him, a snuggle for her...this Meme of twins has plenty of lovin' to go around!

This Meme is my sister! Isn't she lucky for all she holds in her arms! Soon, these two cherubs/devils turn four. Each day, their personalities explode.

In one breath we wish they would grow faster so we can hoard and enjoy their ever-increasing identities. In another breath, we pray for time to standstill, or at least proceed in slow-mo, so we can saaaavor these days.

I believe Meme would agree. Yes?

(Photo by Lisa (Allen) Kennard)

Religious Manners

Here is a lesson in religious manners:

To those of my readers who appreciate God and all he does in your life, join me in saying,
"THANK YOU!"

To those of my readers who don't know God, or who have drifted apart from the Lord, I encourage you to renew your friendship.

God wants to be your best friend!
God wants to be your cheerleader!
God wants to stand beside you!

Just say,
"YES, PLEASE!"

Yea, God!

(Photo by Unknown)

...Come Sail Away...Repeat...Sway...

Set three: Ladies and gentlemen, give a huge welcome to STYX!!! The lights burst on. Styx puts on a music show that blew me away.

It spurs me on to ATTEND AT LEAST ONE CONCERT per year! As a matter of fact, perhaps you will now be charmed by my prose to consider attending a concert of your own favorite musician(s). I feel it is 40-bucks well spent. Even in these hard economic times, it is a boost in spirit that can give one a temporary reprieve from situations out of one's control.

My favored sister and I had driven from the countryside in Tinytown, NH to the Lakes Region in Gilford. We followed the crowd, many protected from downpours with multi-colored umbrellas, into Meadowbrook US Cellular Pavilion.

This crowd, near the end of the set, stood and applauded, swayed and sang along to what I'm convinced was the highlight of the three-band-concert. Yes, saving the best for last is a deal clincher!
"...come sail away, come sail away, come and sail away with me..."
repeat, repeat, sway, repeat, repeat, sway...

I even saw a few flickering flames from lighters held high in the air. Lighters at concerts are a thing of the past, aren't they? Don't hip concert-goers hold up lighted cellphones? The flashiest things were the smuggled-in cameras, like my new Kodak 10 megapixel with zoom (an astounding upgrade from my Kodak 2 megapixel, no zoom).

As we swayed and sang to the 30-year-old 'Sail Away' song like it was a revered, current love-song, it was then that I knew what paying homage to your favorite band is like. It was a heartfelt, poignant moment. It's a personal decision to be a bit selfish for a little while. Wanting, seeking, and taking comfort in simple things, like a good song.

(It made me glad I survived the recent hail hurling weather the day before that had me cowering in the broom closet, begging my Lord to save me from a possible tornado!)

(Photo by Lisa (Allen) Kennard)

Liberated Concert Goers

REO SPEEDWAGON's band members have aged and their hair styles different, but their music and lyrics brought the same familiar goosebumps! This, too, is a band whose music reminds me of another life, a past life, that is best swept under a rug. If the only thing I could take from that time period was the music, I would be fine.

Back then music was all about drums, and guitars, keyboards, and lyrics. It was classic rock and roll with words you could understand and relate to. Song after song had the fans, who had braved the wet conditions, clapping, hooting, and singing along. At the end of their set, REO praised their fans and thanked them for their loyalty. I liked that.

Beside me at the concert, my sister's knees moved up and down to the beat. She enjoyed them as much as I, though I'm sure her memories of hearing this music and my memories differ, like night and day. But together we hunkered down at the concert, sporting our emergency ponchos following the downpour, and though we are two separated people, at that moment in time, under the rainbow that appeared in the sky, SHE AND I WERE ONE!

Thank you for sharing in this first of many concerts with me, Sis! You and I have been liberated!

.38 Special Memories

.38 Special was just that...special. I have about 38 special memories about this group and its music. Two songs they sang at the concert, that my sister and I attended, brought me back in time to two different instances. Amid the downpour during .38 Special's set, I reminisced. The rain just added to the poignancy.

"...so caught up in you, little girl, you're the woman's got me down on my knees, so caught up in you, little girl, and I never want to get myself free..."

This I remember dancing to at the Airman's Club with my clique of friends about 1983. Friends like Donna & Dan, Cathy & Mike, Rhonda, Stoney, Mark, Mark, Richard, and a bevy of others that were more acquaintances. All these names...all these memories...are ghosts in the past.

AND

"...a heart needs a second chance...since you've been gone, I've been in a trance, this heart needs a second chance, don't say it's over, I just can't say goodbye..."

This I remember that a certain brokenhearted love-interest from my past, around 1991, told me that when he heard this song, it reminded him of me. We were sitting on his couch...both viewing each other through rose-colored glasses in the distant past of 1979, and not able to really connect to the modern-day version. Sadly, this old friend died in a house fire and I was shocked. I miss never mending our bridge. During the concert I sung along with the band, loud and full of emotion.

This was the first act at the concert. It got me fired up and ready for act two.

(Photo by Lisa (Allen) Kennard)

Rockin' Out at my Rock Concert!

SING WITH ME:

'You take it on the run, baby, if that's the way you want it baby, then I don't want you around! I don't believe it, not for a minute, you're under the gun so you take it on the run. Heard it from a friend who, heard it from a friend who, heard it from another - you been messin' around!'

Oh yeah, classic REO SPEEDWAGON, from the 1980's. And guess what? Tonight's the night! I'm loadin' up my sister and a lawn chair and gunning it over to Meadowbrook. We're gonna see the show! And that's not all. Also playing is Styx and .38 Special.

This is only my second 'real' concert. The first was The Irish Tenors, when I went with my husband. Very calming, surreal music. This rock concert will be the exact opposite of calm. I'm gonna rock out! Close my eyes and just soak it all in.

Talk about a mind-blast from the past. These three bands were hot when I was in the service in the early 1980s. My clique of friends and I would go partying every Friday and Saturday night over at the Airman's Club on Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas.

We'd shake, and move, and have a romance or two, or three, or four! Never in my life did I party this way, and probably never again. No drugs, nor over-indulgence of booze. We were just living life without many cares, out dancing hard with friends and strangers...all in the same boat. The service was like that for me (the best part of it, anyway.)

Classic rock - classic memories. Memories I can only tell you about, because no one I know today was with me during my service days. Those old friends are all in my past, still alive in my memories. Can't find them in real life, so I remember them in daydreams. Some things from those 'crazy days' are best forgotten.

But hey, this is about REO SPEEDWAGON! All that's another blog...
Check out the site to see what I'm talkin' about!

http://www.meadowbrook.net/?page=event_info&show_code=062709&cf=24204452_1

Retired Wood-Chopping Man

My husband, the wood-chopping man:

he used to saw up trees with his trusty chainsaw (14-inches long), lift them onto his rugged wood splitter, split them up to the perfect chunk...they went

UP, UP the conveyor belt, and

DOWN, DOWN into his one ton dump truck.

He'd season the wood in piles in the backyard, their bark baking in the summer sun.

Then he'd fill orders for his 200 cords of wood by throwing the wood UP, UP into the truck body and make the delivery

by dumping the wood OUT, OUT onto customers' grounds.

For ten years he gave the fire wood processing business his all...even ended up giving it his healthy back.

Now my husband is disabled. Now he is enjoying the retirement he so deserves. My husband has worked hard and honest his whole life...I'm proud of him and his work ethic.

If only I could retire with him, every day, to stay home and play with him!

That is a goal to look forward to...someday.

(Photo by Lisa (Allen) Kennard)

My Great Aunt Velma

This is my aunt...actually my great aunt. She is my Nana's sister.
Nana is gone to heaven,
but her sister, my great aunt, remains.

My great aunt is like a grandmother to me. Sometimes I believe, more like a grandmother than a great aunt.

I was a dutiful granddaughter to my Nana, but to my aunt, I am a gracious, great niece. Gracious, becasue she makes it all right to be me.

We can sit for hours, talk, laugh, giggle, and tell a multitude of secrets.
Secrets I never felt comfortable telling others.
Secrets she doesn't repeat.

This is my great aunt...she is really GREAT!
Love ya, Great Aunt Velma!

(Photo by Lisa (Allen) Kennard)

Echos in my Childhood Church

This is my church.

This is the view I dreamed in when I was a child learning about God.

These colored windows

let in the warm sun, and blocked out the devil!

In this church, when I was young,

I prayed, I sang, and I pondered.

Now, forty years later, I've gone back for a visit.

Back to the colored windows.

Echos of my childish voice still singing, still praying, still reverberating off these hallowed walls.

This is my church.

This is my salvation!

Bring on the Sun!

Swimming weather is here...
or it will be when the rain goes away
and the sun comes out!

Why is it so wet this June?

Summer is upon us, but so are the clouds...
drizzle floats down and kisses the rose petals,
making them rot,
and now on the lawn they lay...drowned.

Swimming weather is here...
or it should be.

It only makes me believe
that July and August will be wicked hot!

I'll be begging for clouds that drizzle.
Right now I'm not!
Bring on the SUN!

(Photo by Diane Tasker)

Strawberry Thief

Watch out, she is about,
The strawberry thief!

No strawberry is safe near her
For she spies the berry
and plucks it in her mouth!

Want to bake a pie?
Want to make homemade jam?

Listen, and I will tell you the trick:
Sneak out early in the morn'!

This little one has x-ray eyesight.
She's excellent at finding
four-leaf clovers...
...and even the tiniest, juiciest,
delectable strawberry.

Safeguard your sweets, too,
For she is a lover of sugar!!!

(Photo by Cathy Lynn Calef)

School's out for the Summer, She Sings

School's out for the summer!
It's a song so often sung,
No more homework,
No more backaches from loads of books!

Summer has arrived!
Time for sleeping-in late,
Daydreaming while riding bikes,
Daydreaming during nature hikes.

Kindergarten was so easy for her,
The painting, the colors, the play,
First grade was more rewarding,
First reading, writing, and now 'rithmetic.

What shall second grade bring?
Writing reports and creating science projects?
What vast knowledge will this sponge-mind soak up?
What vast interests will be sparked by imagination?

Who will be her teacher? Who will be her friend?
Who will play with her at recess?
Who will help her relax once her school day ends?

Enough of wondering about next year!
This summer, remember!
Now she shall sleep-in late,
And visit aunties and uncles for summer-time exploration.

Aunties open up doors that moms
Don't have time to unlock,
Uncles open up windows that dads
Don't have arms enough to reach.

School is out for the summer!
She is relaxed and spreading her wings,
School is out for the summer!
If you listen closely...you'll hear her heart sing.

Deer and Kitty Play

Outside my window in the green of the grass
I watch a brown deer as it roams on my lawn

Big, brown, and with a year's growth of antlers
It nibbles on daisies and grasses grown wild

Ears perked to sounds on the road out front
White tail straight up when it's ready to bolt

When out of the corner of its soft brown eyes
It spots my gray cat and stares down the furry ball

Closer the deer comes, bowing its head
Long muzzle sniffs and nudges my lap-cat

Did my kitty-cat hiss, did she meow?
Like a flash I see the deer bolt away fast

Surprise! it was only in play, for the deer stops
Looks back, and begins coming back my cat's way

Another kiss on the cat and zoom, kitty runs away
The deer looks on, wondering where she went so fast

Under the house, I suspect, for safety
To look upon the looming deer who plays like a babe

An hour later, dusk sets in, still the male deer stays
Eating daisies and hoping for more kitty-play

Thirty Years...Class of 1979

Thirty plus years ago they studied in a small town high school

to get their valuable education and follow somebody's rules,

Along the way, in their day,

they laughed, they lived, misbehaved, and played.

Within those thirty plus years they went along their way,

they loved, they lost, and eventually found their way

to stand in a pose with friends that always stay

impressed in minds and hearts and never go astray.

After thirty years they recall the good and forgive the bad,

they talk of love that flourished, languished - not sad,

but melancholy through their rose colored glasses,

recalling friends who came the extra mile to see mates from classes.

Here to ask questions, to retell funny stories of old,

to make jokes funnier and heroes larger as stories are retold.

To pause a moment - remember some who have left this life,

to linger longer, hoping to outstretch this time in life.

A slap on the back, a hug tight full of emotion,

a burst of laughter in that final, fleeting commotion,

wishing farewell, until next year, "I promise," they say

vowing to gather before another thirty years slips away...

A thirty year reunion for the Class of 1979

is captured in memory in a glorious place in time.

(Photos by Lisa (Allen) Kennard)

Two Things I Love

A couple of things I love...my husband and my car. I love that my car is a sharp, exciting blue. The car salesman wanted to show me boring gray cars.

"NO! Everybody I know has a gray car! I want that blue one!" I said, pointing further down the lot.

Turned out to be a salesman's car with low mileage. It was an awesome deal. That was five and a half years ago...now all my payments are made...it's all mine and I can bank the payment money (and save it for taxes)!

The final touch on my car is getting my coveted veteran's plates. Makes me proud!

The other thing I love is, of course, my wonderful husband. 'Nough said. Photo by Lisa (Allen) Kennard

I AM THE AUNT WHO'LL LET YOU GO AWAY

I am the aunt who set up the kiddie pool,
I am the aunt who swam tho' the water was cool.

I am the aunt who encourages your creative blog,
I am the aunt who shines in sunlight, rain, and fog.

I am the aunt who takes you to neat-o fun places,
I am the aunt who makes strange noises and funny faces.

I am the aunt who loves you forever and ever,
I am the aunt who never says never, no never.

I am the aunt who gardens, crafts, and sews,

I am the aunt who lets you step on my toes.

I am the aunt who gives you a room in my home,

I am the aunt who never lets you feel alone.

I am the aunt teaching you about God's love,

I am the aunt teaching you about heaven above.

I am the aunt who is your Godmother,

I am the aunt who is your second-mother.

I am the aunt who lets you visit and stay,

I am the aunt who knows one day you'll go away.

(Photo by Lisa (Allen) Kennard)

Cupcake Contest Plans

Cupcake Contest...two of my favorite words. The theme I picked: PARADE. The prizes bought: SILICONE CUPCAKE BAKING PANS & the Grand Prize: $25 gift certificate to a fancy BAKERY in Dover.

Soon I will show up at town events and hand out fliers with contest rules and registration entry forms. It's about that time to find a judge to take my place at the Cupcake Contest. I was a judge last year. Last year was the first year.

I created the contest so I would be famous in my town. I will be known as the 'Cupcake Lady.' It suits me just fine.

Sometimes I even dress like a cupcake. I put on my basic color and then doll myself up with baubles, belts, and hats...kinda like cupcake decorations.

I like brown jimmies, Andie's Candies mint pieces, and the Nonpareils. I like to flavor my frosting mint. Though I need practice using a frosting bag with the fancy attachments, I am quite good at coloring frosting all the colors of the rainbow.

I like the flavors of chocolate, lemon, and spice cupcakes. I am always experimenting with different flavored frosting on different flavored cupcakes. Of course, I am my favorite judge.

I like cupcakes soooo much, I thought up the contest to see just how many others like to bake. Last year, twenty five contestants entered the contest. I wonder how many there will be this year.

Either way, I will not be an official judge, tasting and labouring over giving the entry a vote of numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5.

I will be at the table during check-in, greeting the adults and smiling at the kids. I will watch, I will tally up the votes, I will take photographs, I WILL HAND OUT THE PRIZES!!!

I love my Cupcake Contest that takes place during Nottingham Day. Won't you join us?
(Sept. 19t- 9:00 - 10:00 entries accepted - prizes announced at 12:00 noon)

Photo by Lisa (Allen) Kennard

Sisters, Windchimes, and Bumble Bees

Planting flowers in the breeze, among wind chimes and bumble bees,
sisters gather with flowers and pots, enjoying what is...forgiving what's not.

Colors bright and cheery, all of us happily married,
gather to laugh, talk, and smile, skipping over lines drawn for a while.

Come, sisters, and visit my home, meander around, in my yard you can roam,
Open our hearts, bask in the love, and for time that heals, let's thank God above.

Planting flowers in the breeze, among wind chimes and bumble bees,

sisters gather with flowers and pots, enjoying what is...forgiving what's not.

(Photo by Lisa (Allen) Kennard)