The quietness was eerie and deafening. The mist rolled over the glassy stillness of the sea as it waited the approach of the monster storm that had been forecasted. As the cloud approached, a gaping separation in the cloud appeared as it began to engulf the town like a huge mouth.
Twitter Tales #135 from Kat Myrman reminds me of the weather we are currently experiencing with the massive flood now ongoing. Weather can indeed be a monster in the making.
And I remind you that even in the midst of an oncoming and engulfing storm, you can still radiate kindness. Kindness can be as quiet as a mouse or the strength of a lion depending on what is needed. Always be kind.
I am so excited to say I now have a new toy…my computer has not been replaced and man is it nice. I can open a new page in seconds instead of minutes. But I can say my old computer was the top of the line…11 years ago. So to christen it with love I will make my first post fun to help dispel the horrid weather we are still having with more snow this evening. I posted this picture a week or so ago to get ideas of a story and Shelley’s of Quaint Revival was the best. She and I are both kinda quirky so it fit my brain well. Enjoy and laugh along. If you have other short ideas about this picture, feel free to add in the comments. The object is to have fun and enjoy each others art, regardless of medium.
“You know,” muffled Officer Tin as his mouth was full, “if you would just hit the sky, we could catch this guy a lot faster.”
“Nope. Your the knot-head that was determined that I come along. You could have left the branch and me on the tree and we would have been fine.”
“I needed you help, you eye in the sky as it were.”
“Just because you wanted me to come does not mean I am going to help you look.”
“But you always help” exclaimed Officer Tin.
“Not today. I have a headache and you are not helping.”
“Well, the faster you help, the faster you can get home…but you will need a new branch, sorry.”
“Oh, good grief!”
“I think he went down in the valley,” shouted Office Tin spitting the branch to the ground.
“I see him,” the eagle muttered to himself. “Looks like Tin has help coming from the opposite direction as well. Oh, and there is lunch.”
“You have reinforcements coming on the other side of the valley. Head straight and you will corner him off.”
“Thanks. Hey what is in you claws?”
“Lunch. You are own you on, kiddo. I am outta here.”
Hope my quirkiness brought you a smile on such a dreary day. And as I always close with reminders of kindness, remember during these stressful winter times, kindness is like the warming ray of sunshine and we all need some of that. So be kind.
The screen door slammed as Jerry entered the kitchen sniffing the air of fresh backing cornbread just coming out of the oven.
“Sup, grandma. Smells great in here.”
“Sup? All that education you have had and that’s the way you talk.”
“Sorry. Good afternoon Grandmother. How are you this fine evening?” he teased pecking her on the cheek.
“Hmp, now you are just being ridiculous,” she said as she sipped in her tea. “There is sweet tea in the fridge and get out the syrup so it can be warming up a bit.”
Reaching in the fridge, he pulled out the bottle of Georgia Cane Syrup made by Johnson’s farm at the southern part of the state. He poured himself a large glass of tea and came to sit at the table across from his grandmother as she finished slathering butter of the steaming ears of corn. Reading of the bottle of syrup he noted the date on the back label.
“Does syrup get old?” he asked.
“No, why do you ask?” she said.
“It’s got a date on the label.”
“Oh, that’s a best used date, before it starts to separate,” she explained.
“Separate?”
She stopped with her hand on her hips and stared at her grandson. “Have you learned nothing from me and this farm? What is syrup made from?”
A gleam lit in his eyes knowing a good banter was in the making. “Well that depends. You have maple syrup where they pull sap from a tree, boil it down to make syrup.”
He glanced up to see the good natured scowl deepen on her brow.
“We don’t grow maple trees here in the south. We grow cane. Your grandpa had 2 full acres ever year before he passed. The sugar cane juice, sap, is boiled down as the cane is crushed. If you let it sit too long on the shelf it will turn to sugar crystals – separate. Here, take your plate and grab you some field peas and greens from the stove. Pork chops, corn and cornbread are already here on the table. How big a piece of cornbread do you want?”
“Normal size for now,” he said. “Then I will get a bigger slice to sop up remaining juices on my place before I add the syrup.”
“Yea, that’s the best part of the meal,” agreed Grandma as they settled in to a warm enjoyable meal.
Growing up in the late 1900’s gave a different meaning to the family meal. It was a time for fun shared over good food, teasing to help you grow with lots of assurance of love and togetherness. We seem to have lost that as we are rushing to the next battle to conquer. A lot of the encouragement has been lost and we find ourselves at times not knowing exactly what the next step needs to be. So I challenge you this year to try to regain some of that back. Love on you family members and friends and encourage each other. And as always…remember to be kind. Even when drawing a hard line if needed, it cane be done with love, encouragement and KINDNESS.
For the Love of 