Yesterday, I was blessed to go to my friend’s house and hold her grandson.  I wrote about him on Mother’s Day.  Other than the suture lines on his head, he’s a perfectly wonderful baby.  I fed him.  He has an amazing appetite.  He is cuddly and adorable.  His family  seems to have a good handle on the situation and are cherishing the time they have with him.  He is under care  of Hospice and he can only be taken out of the house for doctor visits.  His visitors are limited, too, to cut down on chances of infection. 
After visiting them, I went to get my supper.  I went to the local chinese food establishment.  It had been raining all day.  When I came out, I was greeted by this:

That is a double rainbow, and below you can (barely) see the entire main rainbow.

I felt doubly blessed yesterday.

Let me begin this post by saying Happy Mothers Day to all of you other moms out there.
**Disclaimer-Also let me say that what follows may make you upset on this day of happiness and you might want to stop here. 

I was reflecting on what this day means to me this year.  My mind thought of two very special women that I know from work. 
The
first is my friend, Deb.  She has two grown children and five
grandchildren.  Her daughter was adopted and has some developmental
problems.  She is the mother of three of those grandchildren, all
boys.  She is in her thirties but acts as though she were a teenager. 
She has a history of drug abuse.  Through everything, Deb has stood at
her side and kept a very realistic yet optimistic outlook.  She has
petitioned the court for custody of the boys and won, all the while not
alienating their mother in the process.   Deb then analyzed the
situation and realized she would not be able to keep the boys at her
home.  She works full time and takes care of her ailing mother.  She
also works for a nursing agency on her days off.  She contacted some
friends that have taken in foster kids for many years.  She knows this
couple personally and trusts them.  She asked if they would be willing
to take in her grandchildren.   Her paycheck from the agency goes to
the couple to buy things for the boys that aren’t provided through
child support and social security. I marvel at how much this woman does
and still finds time to spend on herself. Deb is unassuming, funny, and
a good friend.  I hope she has a wonderful Mothers Day.
The second
mother I want to tell about is 20 years old. I work with her mother,
and have known her for many years.  This young woman is amazing. She
recently gave birth to her first child, a son.  She is single and was
at college when she found out she was pregnant.   The father is not in
the picture.  She has accepted that with grace.  Early in her
pregnancy  the doctor told her the baby was not perfect.  He told her
to expect the baby to born with physical problems and mental
retardation.  She accepted this with grace also.  She moved back home,
putting college on hold.  Her home situation is not the best either, to
say the least but she had the undying support of her mother.  When the
baby was born, he was whisked away from her to another hospital for an
operation.  She had a c-section so it was a few days before she could
even see her baby.  He made it through the surgery with flying colors. 
Then the doctors delivered the news that he is more severely affected
than originally thought.  They told her he would be lucky to live two
months at the most.  Her son had a second surgery (Necessary to prevent
infection) that he sailed through and she and her son got to come home
yesterday.  He will be on Hospice care.  She has broken down and cried
and now is looking forward to what little bit of time she has with her
son.  This situation is far from over for this new mother and her
precious gift from God, but she is strong.  She says she is going to
cherish this time and focus on being the best Mommy she can.   She is
going to need the love and support of her family and friends.  I hope
she counts me as one. She does not go blithely through life but accepts
what it has to offer and meets each challenge with a good attitude. 
She does not ask “Why me?” but asks, “What can I do to make this
situation better?”  I admire her right now.  And I always will for what
she has been through.  She will have a tough time ahead of her.  For
now, though, she is a mother with a newborn to love and she is content.

This is my entry into this  week’s Weekly Writers’ Challenge.  I must preface this by saying that the inspiration for this poem came to me just this morning, even though this picture has been in my collection for three years.  I was laying in bed unable to sleep, mulling over what I, as the moderator of WWC, would offer as a challenge this week.  I thought of using a picture and my mind went to this particular one.  I originally thought I would write an amusing story to go with it.  But when I looked at it again, this poem formed in my mind and I needed to let it out.

Pole Dancer

I am a pole dancer.
See me twirl as I go.
Not a great romancer.
but a damn good show.

See the arch in my back,
with all my feline traits?
It says I’m not a hack,
but a dancer that rates.

I even show my claws,
to scare off other kitties.
And hear the oohs and ahs?
Well, I tell them, “tough titties!”

You’re not getting me off this pole
not now, or ever.
Because I value my soul
and I’m way too clever

To be taken in by your catcalls,
to come down and meet you,
You raise my hackles
Like a cancer in situ.

The only danger here is that of falling,
but down there with you,
I can hear the devil calling
to me with a mew.

Leave me here to dance,
go in haste!
I will take no chance
for I am chaste.

This is my way of living,
I dance around this pole.
Life is meant for giving
a great, great show.

Now that it is out, maybe I can get some sleep.

I am a concert goer.
My first concert ever was John Denver with Starland Vocal Band. (remember Afternoon Delight?)  My mom and my aunt took my cousin, my sister and myself.  I wrote a very moving piece of poetry in the parking lot about the flashbulb darkness.
While in college at The University of Akron (Akron U.) I went to many concerts on campus.  Alex Bevan was a favorite.  He was a one hit wonder, but was a great performer, especially in the dining hall at a pajama party.  My roommate convinced me I needed to see The Lettermen. They were performing next door to our dorm, so I did.  And I don’t regret it.  Devo visited our dorm (being from the area) and mooned us(while wearing their flower pots) from the parking lot before conducting a panty raid on the first floor, but there was no singing involved. They did perform the next night. I saw Foreigner at Kent State.
I saw Kenny Rogers, and the Oak Ridge Boys together.  That was the beginning of a long history of Oaks concerts. 
Over the years, in no particular order, I’ve seen the Doobie Brothers, Genesis, Garth Brooks, James Taylor, Tony Bennett, Tony Orlando and Dawn, The Osmonds, The Jackson Five, Nine Inch Nails, Iron Maiden, Dwight Yoakum, Prince (before I appreciated him), Alabama,  Hall and Oates, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Lacuna Coil, Mindless Self Indulgence, Randy Travis, the Ojays, Stevie Wonder, Matchbox Twenty, Rob Thomas, Santana, Otep, Irish Rovers, Mel Tillis,  Slipknot, System of a Down,  Judas Priest, Don Williams, Disturbed, Audioslave, Incubus, Craig Morgan, Johnny Cash, Roseanne Cash, Lynn Anderson, Trace Atkins, and Billy Ray Cyrus, (who was a nice guy btw). Three Doors Down, Nickelback, John Mayer, Dixie Chicks, Three Days Grace, Anna Nalick and Jewel. In addition, I have  attended a few classical music concerts.
Some of these were at fairs, Ozzfests and Lollapalooza.  Others were at different venues.  A few of them I have seen many times.
I’m not finished going to concerts. I have tickets to Eric Clapton in a few weeks and to see Craig Morgan with Terri Clark in August.  The last one will be the first my husband will attend with me. He likes “the tall woman in a cowboy hat.” I like Mr. Morgan’s dimples, voice and energy.

I have been feeling guilty about Boomer and Cali being penned up so much lately.  If I let them out of the cage together, they go traipsing all over creation.  Sometimes they don’t come home til the next day.  We let them out about six weeks ago and they were gone for the night.  That hadn’t happened in a long time.  And when they left, Boomer had on his old leather collar which was really stinky and kinda slimy as it was snowy and wet.  The next day, I went out and called for him and he came running around the corner of the house with a new red collar on.  Cali was with him but she didn’t have any jewelry.
We have kept them penned a lot recently.  Today I went out to take pics for the challenge and I let Boomer out and put Cali on the tie out cable.  That way, Boomer will hang around because Cali is his partner in crime.  I went out of the house to run into town this afternoon and heard a voice saying, “Come on, Max!  Follow me home.  Come on!” 
There was a car just beyond our pine tree at the edge of the yard and the driver was calling Boomer. 
I called for Boomer and he came running and sat on my feet.  The car started backing up.  I was curious. 
It was a neighbor from a farm next to my in-laws’.
“How long have you had that dog?”  she says.
“Since he was a pup,” I answered.
“Well, we thought he was our dog that disappeared about five months ago.  We bought him that collar. “
“Ah!  That solves that mystery.  This is my dog.  I have pictures to prove it.  My son kept him after he broke up with an ex-girlfriend.  He’s been here since.  He runs around with the white dog there.” 
“Yes, she was with him.  I have pictures of him, too.  My kids were so happy.  We thought Max had come home after being gone for months.  I was sure he’d been killed on the road.  Then that dog showed up and he looked just like Max.  They were so happy.”
“Well, I’m sorry.  He’s my dog.”
With that she drove away and I walked in the house.  I told my husband about our mistaken neighbor and then it came to me! 
I got in my car and drove to the neighbors’ farm.  She was telling her husband she had found the collar. 
I asked them if they would consider taking both Boomer and Cali.  They looked at each other and the wife blurted, “Yes!!”
They have two children, a boy and a girl.  There are three other children at the farm most of the time. My dogs love kids. I have no kids at home.  They have a farm with a lake.  My dogs are labs. They love water.
They live less than a mile from me.  I will be able to visit whenever I want.   I love my dogs and because I do, I gave them to a new family. 
The little girl, whom I just met today, gave me the biggest hug ever. 
I will post pics of them with their new family in a few weeks, when they have become accustomed to their new family.

When I saw that this week’s challenge was “How was your holiday?” I didn’t think I would participate because I didn’t really know what holiday pics I had.  But as I was downloading pics I took today, I realized yesterday was May Day.  Since I worked yesterday, I celebrated today.  (I’ve read somewhere that May Day is the most celebrated holiday world-wide.)  The white dog is Cali, the black dog is Boomer, the blind dog is Luna, the cat is Miss K.  The photo of the hot dog stand is at our local grocery and is for fundraising for local youth groups.

I had four wonderful days off. Thurdsay I didn’t do a lot. I did take MIL to her eye doctor’s appointment. I mowed the lawn. Played with the dogs. Quiet time with Mike.
Friday, I read a book. The Road To Cana, by Anne Rice. I loved it. I came away with questions about the life of Jesus. Some of my questions can be answered on the internet and some will just have to wait til I get There. I like books that challenge what you have learned over the years and this one did, in subtle ways. (Yes, I do own a few Bibles, but it is easier to plug it into google- I’m all for easy!) More time with Mike.
Saturday, I did a little housework. Then Roger and Ali came over to visit. Roger and I went car shopping on Tuesday. He test drove a lot of used cars. He finally decided on the first car we tried. He needed a different car as the one he had has a rusted frame and the truck we let him use cost too much to do all the traveling he does between home and work. He seems to be really maturing. He has a job working with people with disabilities. He seems to enjoy his work. I worked at the same group home a few years ago and I loved the residents.
Ali had reason to celebrate this week, she got her driver license. I am proud of her. She would have gotten it last week but her brakes went out during the test!
They brought her little brother along on Saturday. He is too cute. But I forgot to take pictures. He will be 5 this Wednesday. My how time flies. We are planning a weekend at Pittsburgh next month. We will go shopping, spend the night at a hotel and then go to the Zoo! Ali’s family will be going, too! Mike won’t go. He’s not a people person and he works every weekend.
Sunday, I went to Mom and Dad’s. My Dad has been in declining health for years. He suffered a series of small strokes a few years ago and as a result, suffers from dementia, to a degree. They are in the process of buying out my aunt’s share of my grandmother’s farm. Mom is doing this because she says she had been programmed to do this from birth. She (and my aunt) know this is what Granny wanted. The farm will stay in the family. Dad had to sign his income tax papers a couple weeks ago and had to be coached; I spelled it for him and he wrote. He did great, remembering how to write with just a little prompting. But he wasn’t satisfied. When he and Mom talked about the purchase of the farm, he told her he would like to be able to sign his name. So now he practices. It’s bittersweet. On one hand, it’s sad that he practices like a child, but on the other, he still has the ability to do it. I know that there are a lot of older people who forget how to write at all. And practicing everyday can’t hurt.
My sister and I took off on her new ATV. We went to the farm next door. It pretty much surrounds Mom and Dad’s farm on three sides.
It belongs to the City of Canton. When i was little it was called the sewage farm. It was also the city dump. It had been mined and then reclaimed. They are planning to make it into a public park. It has many roads and beautiful vistas. We used to trail ride on it.
This is a dogwood tree that is growing amongst the pine trees that were planted.

This next photo is of my childhood home where Mom and Dad still live. They raised 8 kids in this house.

A tornado struck the area a few years back. This is one of the trees that was damaged, but life goes on.

This shows the new pond my brother added to the yard. Also the flowering crabapple. That entire backyard was barren most of the years I was growing up. And, often, I had to mow it.

This is my entry for this week’s Weekly Photo Challenge: What’s on your feet?
This first pic was not hard to get at all. It is of one of my dogs, Cubby, he likes to rest his head on my feet.

The next one was a total surprise. It is my cat, Tud. He does not usually like to touch my feet except to bite them. But when he saw me taking Cub’s picture, he ran over and laid down for his snapshot. And he’s such a brat, he’s winking at the camera.

I’m sorry this is last minute, but I was working on Amish Friendship Bread. This is ten days in the making.

The first few days you knead one cup of batter, twice a day. This is easy as the batter is enclosed in a ziploc baggie. You just squeeze it for a few minutes.

On the 6th day, you add sugar flour and milk. And knead. Repeat the kneading until day ten. The bag blows up, and you release as much air as possible every time.

On day ten you add more milk, flour and sugar. Then make four one-cup starter bags. These are meant to be given to friends. Now you add other ingredients to the remaining batter. I chose to make a chocolate Amish Bread.

Then bake.

Then eat. Enjoy!!