Why...Sky?!!!

The picture of my backyard, through my bedroom window, says it all!

Yep! Dark clouds and......more rain! I suppose I should stop talking about it at this point and just get on with it!!!...So I will!!
  I'm planning another Giveaway. I'm kind of at a loss as to what to Giveaway though. I kinda wanted it to be something that was really popular from my shop, something that I know someone would want. But since I'm not really selling ANYTHING in my shop right now I don't know what I should Giveaway! Maybe I should Giveaway my shop!!! LOL ... Now you know that's not going to happen!!!
   Hubby's not going to be much help to me. He's just looking out the window, staring at the weather, and saying: "Why?!!!!" This rain is starting to get to him. All of his plans...working on the car, going for a walk around the block to exercise some of those pastries off, and planning a gathering of some of our friends to have a barbecue in the backyard...are being delayed and destroyed completely by the rain, lightening, and thunder! He could just go for it anyway I suppose. But he might end up looking like one of his T-shirts. It has a picture of a man standing at a barbecue grill, holding a big grilling fork. It looks like the grill blew up! The only visible part of him now being his huge eyes, and a line of black smoke coming up from his head. If the lightening hit my hubby outside, that's exactly what he's going to look like!...Might break up the mood of the weather....*slapping myself on the back of the hand*...STOP THAT!!! Ha! Ha!

  Okay....moving on! What should I Giveaway? Here are 3 choices. Please leave me a comment below and tell me 1, 2, or 3...or if you've seen my shop and have a suggestion please leave that too.
  1.) This "Green Multicolored Ribbon Hat" http://www.etsy.com/listing/20728096/green-multicolored-ribbon-hat

2.) These "Cow Mark Brown And White Wheel Flower Earrings" http://www.etsy.com/listing/35654418/cow-mark-brown-and-white-wheel-flower

  Or 3.) This "To DREAM Of Two Painted Seasons" Necklace http://www.etsy.com/listing/29002683/to-dream-of-two-painted-seasons-necklace

  I'll wait for you to tell me...In the meantime, I'm off to tweet on Twitter for a few minutes before my creative rainy day has to get started! But, always, I'll leave you with a poem. A kind of fitting poem because at some time we all have to make an emotional investment in someone. Today I have to make an emotional investment in myself. Thank You Rain!!!

Emotional Investment

An emotional investment
in the bank of your child's  life.
And you make the same investment
in the future of your wife.

You'll  get much interest back,
from the deposit that is made;
Interest, not withdrawal,
because emotions will be paid.

An exchange of free cash flow-
cashing in on feelings spent;
spent on heart-felt conversations,
where you had to bet the mint!

All emotional investments
are the price you pay for time-
Time to check relationships,
to make sure that things are fine.

If you put yourself into it,
giving all you have to give,
your emotional investment
will compound this life you live.

Updating

  I should have just kept this picture up here the other day. It so perfectly depicts what's going on in the backyard most of the time lately. YES! It's raining again! Hubby and I both were up late last night, playing UNO, and we heard the thunder rumbling and clapping. Every time a big thunder clap hit I could almost hear my grandmother say: "Uh Oh! God and the Devil must be bowling!" LOL Now you can see where I inherited my delusion from!!!
   As you know if you read my posts, hubby had a doctor's appointment yesterday. It's good news and bad news. Bad news, he has high cholesterol and a hernia. Good news, he has to stop with the junk food, stay away from hot dogs, cheese, and heavy foods. There goes his pastries! YAY!!! This is good news because now I don't have to fight with him about it. The doctor will do that for me!...The other good news is that the hernia is very small. We do, though, have to make some decisions about how to handle it. He could opt for some surgery on it right now, and get it out of the way, or just wait until it really starts to cause him some problems (strangling things off and what not). The doctor says that could be five or ten years down the road!...If anyone of you have dealt with this problem, or one similar to it, please share it with us. We could use all of the help we can get on this one. We are remaining prayerful while we look for an answer.
   I kept myself busy yesterday, before the rain hit, updating some photos of some existing items in my shop.
 Take a look and tell me what you think.

  You can find all of these, and more, here http://www.etsy.com/shop/wuglyees?section_id=6240488 As photos go...at least MY photos...I think they're pretty good. At least better than they were! One more step in the right direction toward great photography! (I don't ever think I'll get to "GREAT"! But I'll keep plugging away at it!)

My poem today is NOT a prayer to be repeated. It's a poem I wrote a while ago when I was just thinking about a problem that I had. It generally depicts the things I keep in mind when I pray...Something I'll be doing a lot of with this new problem we're dealing with.

Dear Jehovah

Dear Jehovah, loving God,
the one whose hand I tightly clutch,
Help me be firm for righteousness,
but never righteous overmuch.

Dear Jehovah, God of patience,
the one who's merciful and fair,
For all the ones who are inactive,
help me encourage them, with prayer.

Dear Jehovah, Sovereign Lord,
who sees the things we try to hide;
Help me relax my pent up fears,
and know which things to just let slide.

Dear Jehovah, always present,
always ready if I call;
Also help me, God, to know
that you will catch me if I fall.

Dear Jehovah, friend forever,
To all those searching hard for you;
Help us know the path to follow,
and execute the follow-through.

Doctor's Visit

  Today is the kind of day when a big pint of Ben & Jerry's New York Super Fudge Chunk might be in order! That''s my "Go To" for comfort when things really stress me out. I used to have to eat the whole thing in one sitting before the medicinal benefits of it would start to work, but not anymore. Now, just a couple of big table spoons...with an especially big chunk of the chocolate in one of them...will do the trick!
  I guess a whole ice cream truck on the beach watching the waves could do it too...but since that's not a possibility today, I'll settle for just looking at this beautiful "Ice Cream Truck on the Beach Fine Art Photo Print" by icanspellit on etsy. http://www.etsy.com/listing/41869118/ice-cream-truck-on-the-beach-fine-art Her shop is amazing!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/icanspellit And I'll sit with my little spoonfuls of goodness.

  The reason I'm stressing is because hubby has a doctor's appointment today. He has a hard knot right around his naval that's been paining him for a few months, unbeknown to me until about a week and a half ago! He didn't want to worry me! UGH!!! Of course, I'm not the least worried!!!...What really makes me crazy about this whole thing is that I might not have known at all if I hadn't noticed that he was messing with his stomach at odd times, and had that cringed look on his face! And at least two times when I asked: "Are you okay?!" He said: "Oh...Yeah. Just a little pain in my stomach. Probably just need to eat something."  But then I started noticing that he was fooling around with the flank of his back all the time too and I dug a little deeper and made him tell me!
   Are all men like this about taking care of their health?!!! He is the best husband in the world when it comes to taking care of me, but himself...."Ah! It's alright!" is the reply to everything! I MAKE him take vitamins and supplements, drink water, and holler at him when he's eating badly...he's a junk food and pastry nut! Up until just recently he's been pretty healthy. Actually, except for a few dings and dents, we both have. But we're approaching our 50's...FAST! and our bodies aren't as forgiving as they used to be!
   I am now using a C-Pap machine because of Sleep Apnea and taking two blood pressure medications, and he, on his initial visit to the doctor last week...that I MADE him go to...found out that his blood pressure was elevated too! So he's on a blood pressure pill now too...Now, today, is the follow up and the testing to see what's up with the naval tenderness where the hardness is. Hopefully he'll just find out he's pregnant and things can go back to normal.......What am I saying?!!! LOL
  Obviously I need some more ice cream!!! :-) I'll let you know what's going on as soon as I know.

 ...And Ice Cream

Butter Pecan ice cream
and Strawberry Jam;
Country Fried Chicken
and clove-studded Ham.

Banana-Split ice cream
and French-Fried Potatoes;
Macaroni and Cheese
and Fried, green Tomatoes.

Ben and Jerry's ice cream
and Shepherd's Pie;
Candied Yams and Marshmallows
and Turkey on Rye.

Chocolate Swirl ice cream
and Jelly Beans of all kinds,
Double Cheese Burgers
and Barbecued Pork Rinds.

Cheesecake ice cream
and Foot-Long Hot Dogs,
Lay's Potato Chips,
and Warmed up Pecan Logs.

Orange Dream Sickles
(and Fudge Sickles too),
Mushroom Chicken Breasts,
and Chocolate Charleston Chews.

Chocolate Chip ice cream
and Oven-Baked Pork Roast,
a Cinnamon-Raisin Bagel,
or simply a piece of Toast.

Ice Cream is always on the menu.
It always adds that extra "Zing".
No matter whatever else you're having,
it smoothly goes with everything!

My Town

I mentioned in my post yesterday that when we had all the rain hubby went around town taking pictures. And since  I already shared with you the town where I was born and raised, I thought I'd share my town we reside in now. It's a very historical town. I didn't know that when I moved here recently. It's kinda fun finding out things about your town that you didn't know before!
  My hubby loves this Park, Heritage State Park,

and the reason is because of the restored antique Merry-Go-Round there!  http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/central/hhsp.htm Here are his pictures!

As you approach the building you see this little girl waving at you! The Merry-Go-Round is housed inside this building.

This place brings back some childhood memories, I think, for my hubby. Whenever he even mentions this Merry-Go-Round he smiles...You'll learn other interesting things at this Park too. Apparently Holyoke has a rich Paper Manufacturing history. You can even see a slide show about it!
   On the opposite side of the Park is another landmark, the Volleyball Hall of Fame. Who knew that Hoyoke was the birthplace of Volleyball? I didn't! I learn something new every day!...And go figure, it's one of the only sports I hardly ever see except for during the Olympics! http://www.volleyhall.org/about.html
  These are hubby's pictures. Apparently the Children's Museum shares the same building. Look at all of the action scenes that are showing in the windows.

Nice to ride by and see so much going on, no matter what time of day it is...even when it's raining!
   Holyoke also has a system of Power Canals. They used to use them for shipping paper. They're very pretty to look at even when nothing is being shipped on them though. Too bad they couldn't ship this rain out of here! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holyoke_Canal_System

  We haven't lived here very long, and with hubby's job, who knows how long we'll be here, but I'm loving Holyoke and all of it's history for now...good or bad! The locals talk a lot about Holyoke's fires. They say Holyoke is in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most fires in a year. I don't know if this is true. I couldn't find any info on that. But even if it's true, the amount of rain we're getting lately may keep us safe for a while!!!

Its The Beat

The syncopated rhythm
of the tapping of your feet,
and the snapping of your fingers
to the systematic beat
make the music that you're  hearing
(that you think is kinda neat)
motivate your body's  swaying,
and you have to leave your seat;
Now you're dancing back and forth,
and causing rising body heat.
And it's all from a beat-
Yes, one syncopated beat!

Yep!...More rain!!!

You know, I could be really irritated at all of this rain, but...I'm finding the best things to do while it's ping pinging and thunder clapping outside. Look! I finished the brown hat!!!

As you can see, I even put one of my babies (flower) on it! I didn't make it a permanent fixture though. It can be removed. But why would anybody want to remove it!!! LOL {Going through a bit of rain logged delusion.}
  While I was inside crocheting hats, hubby was all over town taking pictures! He's really getting into this picture taking thing! I'll show you some of his pictures of our little town tomorrow. Today I wanted to show you some of the ones he took in between the rain storms. I start off with one he took of a neighbor's rose.

   He wasn't as interested in her rose as he was in the leaves of the rose, all drenched in rain water. I think the rose was hiding anyway...Here are a few others he took around our yard.

   The forecast for today is 88 degrees and sunny! But for Thursday...more rain and thunder showers. I guess I'd better start figuring out what my next crochet project is going to be. For sure it looks like I'm going to have nothing but time to work on it!
   I've probably shared this poem with you before, but with the weather, I thought it was appropriate again!

 Spring Is The Rain

Spring is the rain,
when the flowers grow again,
and new life is let remain.
After months of drench and drain,
you now see roses down the lane.

Spring is the rain,
and the budding of the grain,
and birds, out your window pane.
When the weather makes you sane,
and its no longer on your brain,
'cause there's no cold to give you pain.

Spring is the rain-
the time for traveling on the train,
for watching trees, not weather vanes,
and raking leaves-Autumn's disdain.
You lift your head, just like a crane,
and now your thought's no longer vain.
You think of seasons that were plain,
but now its blooming, down on Main,
because spring is the rain.

Sports!!!...Yeah!

  Have I told you how much I love sports?!!

 Well, LOVE sports probably doesn't even say it all! And it's funny because I don't even know when my love for sports started. I DO know that I was young, because I have memories of myself as a child hitting rocks with a piece of wood the way Babe Ruth hit baseballs! I was good!!!
   Thankfully hubby loves sports too! And he loves all kinds of sports too, just like me! We can sit for hours watching Tennis, baseball, basketball, football, soccer, gymnastics, bull riding, moto-cross, skiing, bob sledding, ice skating, WHATEVER!!! LOL Neither one of us watch boxing or wrestling. We know some sports are violent, but we don't like watching sports where the intent going in is to hurt somebody!...On the total other end of the spectrum, in our opinion, is golf. The only thing that intentionally gets hurt in that sport is the ball...but neither one of us can watch it for long. And believe me we've tried!!! What happens is we find ourselves waking up all stiff from laying in the same place, and something else is on T.V.!!! LOL
   Hubby's new sport lately is picture taking. He loves wandering around the yard taking pictures! We may have found his next career, because I think he's pretty good at it!...I don't know who's going to pay him for backyard pictures, but he's sure good at taking them. See!

    I've got the French Open Tennis matches to entertain me while he's wandering around out in the yard, so it's all good! And later this week...The NBA basketball finals! After the weekend I'll have to get back into watching some baseball, until...around June 23rd. Wimbledon Tennis matches will start then!!! There's always something...Thankfully!!! And I have a built in rival/friend to watch it with. We never...well, hardly ever, choose the same team to root for while we're watching. Where would the fun be in that?!  :-)

When Jeff Was A Boy

He had an orange bicycle
that he rode all over town;
A banana-seated 'Stingray',
and its handle grips were brown.

At 12, to make some cash,
he had a great big paper route.
He'd either walk or ride his bike.
Come rain or shine, he would go out.

He had a little-fast-red wagon
he pretended was a car.
He hauled everything in sight,
from baby dolls to dirt-filled jars.

He played little league football,
basketball, kick soccer too.
Despite his having asthma
(which his coaches never knew).

He had lots of toys to play with-
matchbox cars and small 'Hot Wheels',
'Pick-up Sticks' and building blocks,
and model planes, which gave him thrills.

All his responsibility
was to take 'Skippy' out to run.
That's all his dog and him would do.
This made his childhood lots of fun!