Sisters

"Sisters are different. They heard the sobbing in the darkness. They
lived through all your triumphs, all your favorites, all your loves and
losses. They have no delusions. They lived with you too long. And so,
when you achieve some victory, friends are delighted - but sisters hold
your hands in silence and shine with happiness. For they know the
cost."-- Pam Brown

This one's for you Mary....I'm thinking of you today, and love you with all my heart.

My Pugs

Don't look at my pugs and think they're ugly

Because of their squashed-in face.

It's just one thing that makes them perfect,

In every single way.

You may find their snorting disturbing,

Their snoring just as bad.

But I'll tell you this for nothing,

They're the best dogs you could have.

If you were to see them, I know you'd feel the same.

To look into those big bog eyes, They'll ease away your pain.

I'll tell you why I love them, 'Cause when I'm feeling down,

They're loyal, trusting and happy, And they're always around.

You'll never know the pleasure, When needing loving hugs,

They always come a waddlin'

My wrinkly little pugs.

- Sam Greatorex

Spring

Now fades the last long streak of snow,

Now burgeons every maze of quick

About the flowering squares, and thick

By ashen roots the violets blow.

Now rings the woodland loud and long,

The distance takes a lovelier hue,

And drown'd in yonder living blue

The lark becomes a sightless song.

Now dance the lights on lawn and lea,

The flocks are whiter down the vale,

And milkier every milky sail,

On winding stream or distant sea;

Where now the seamew pipes, or dives

In yonder greening gleam, and fly

The happy birds, that change their sky

To build and brood, that live their lives.

From land to land; and in my breast

Spring wakens too; and my regret

Becomes an April violet,

And buds and blossoms like the rest.

- Alfred Tennyson

Happy Easter

I just got back from the Easter Sunrise Service at our church. It has always been a family tradition at our house to attend the 6:00 a.m. service on Easter Morning. After the service, our church always has an Easter Breakfast for all the parishioners. It looks like it's going to be a beautiful day today. The sun is shining, and even though it's cold out, it feels like Spring is finally here.
My family is coming later this morning to have dinner here. I'm having the traditional ham and mashed potatoes. I had to clean up all the art supplies that have been mounded on the kitchen table for weeks. Having the stuff up there instead of in the 'bowels' of our basement where my studio is gives me more of an incentive to work on art projects. Once it gets warmer out, I won't mind coming down here as much, but it's rather chilly down here, and it's such a 'catch-all' for supplies I buy but don't put away, that there's not a whole lot of room left for working.

Here's a quote for the day:

"You can succeed if nobody else believes it, but you will never succeed if you don't believe in yourself." - William J. H. Boetcker