Morning Salutation

This morning as I took my exercise out in the lake
An egret coasted overhead and alighted
Paying not much attention at all to me
And little dog who walks along the shore
While I call out encouragement
To get her to walk some more
She like me tends toward the sedentary
But as long as we have these gorgeous days
We come out and do our salutations
To the sun, and lake and sky
And whatever else should catch our eyes
And our imaginations

Self Analysis

I don’t get it!
All this approval seeking,
Consensus by committee.
Maybe I’m just not meant to be
A part of the group,
And yet I have a dozen friends
who gather round
at the slightest provocation
or tenuous invitation.
Why do people ask for prayer?
Do they fear their true intentions?
Say what you want,
make it so!
Don’t blame it on
“not God’s will”
in somber tones.
Sometimes it’s time for a change!
I will always hold
a sunny thought of you.
I’ll see you in your best regard,
even though
you know you hurt me.
I’ve long since let it go.

Real Estate Back to Being a Good Investment

Oh what a convoluted web our financial picture is these days. Thus, it is with a sense of wonder that I take upon myself the mantle of championing real estate as a good investment. What credentials do I have for making this claim? All my life I have been invested in real estate, either personally, with my parents, or with my spouse. In this economy we have now, I believe real estate represents one of the best avenues to restore assets lost in our recession.

In 2004 and 2005 we divested our holdings, at that time 5 rental homes. My husband had grown tired of managing the properties, so we sold them off. I might also add that we had moved 600 miles away so this had become a cumbersome chore. We had never utilized a rental agent and in retrospect this was probably a failing on our part.

The reason I've done an about face on the real estate investment concept for the average person is from personal experience and from information gleaned from Realtors I've recently worked with. With all the foreclosures existing in the US today a large pool of good rental candidates is seeking housing. The attitudes of Realtors has changed toward managing these rentals. The rentals they manage are a better product and the rents are higher, resulting in better fees to them.

Additionally lenders are making loans for investment properties. I was surprised to find this. Granted the requirements now are followed to the letter of banking guidelines, but loans are available. Interest rates are still very low. It is possible to buy a substantial home for $125,000.00, put down a 25% down payment and finance the balance at 5.5%. Your monthly payment will be around $530.00 a month. Your rental income should be hundreds of dollars in excess of all your expenses. Generally a family does not want to move every year so once you have your good tenant in place and your Realtor /property manager, you are set. As our economy improves and your investment grows in value, as it should if you do your due diligence in selecting your subject property, you have a safe place for your money that will outpace most other long term investments. You are also gaining equity in your property as the years go by.

Real Estate is something I feel comfortable with after years of being involved in buying, selling, and managing. I do not manage the one rental I have now, but the Realtor I have employed to do this for me does a more than adequate job. The tenant in the property has so far been excellent in fulfilling the terms of the lease. There are so many excellent properties available I recommend checking into this viable investment.

Since 9/11 - a retired nurse reflects on her personal experience and lifestyle changes since the event

Hubby and I were eating breakfast in Tombstone, Arizona when the second plane flew into the World Trade Center. Since arriving in Tombstone the evening before, checking into a small motel, we had planned the next day’s activities . We were up early in a small café. I noticed the waitresses standing, looking up into a television and asked “what’s going on.” When told, I turned to my husband and said “we have to get out of here.” Like many, my first thought was of being home and with our loved ones. We had a long anxious trip back to North Carolina by car, listening to reports of the disaster.

My husband and I had retired from health care careers and were dabbling in antique sales. and renovating our home. Our business immediately fell off and I soon realized I would have to resume my nursing career. At the time I was fifty-four years old and the prospect of going to work in the hospital setting was daunting. We considered ourselves fortunate when compared with the daily heartache of the World Trade Center victim’s families, and the rescuers, since they were also victims.

I became aware of how insulated we, as a country, had been from attack by virtue of geography. Being surrounded by oceans on two sides, and allies on the others affords an insularity many countries don’t have. But 9/11 shattered all feelings of safety from terrorism. We now know that huge defense budgets don’t guarantee our safety. We experienced terror as Europe has for decades. At the time I felt reassured by the efforts made to gain knowledge of terrorist activities, but now I wonder if it was all too much and if wars on two fronts hasn’t brought us to the brink of disaster. The fear caused by the terrorist attack had devastating financial consequences to small business owners across our continent and ripples spread around the world.

Ten years later we are sixty four and seventy one years old and we are refinancing our home to be able to afford it. We have unsold investment properties. We are out of the stock market. We still have a good life but it is not without concerns for our future in all aspects. We see the desperation of people around us and fear falling victim to this desperation. We still feel we live in the greatest country on earth but we want our troops home and our government to work together to restore our tarnished world image.

Let's get it on poetry gurus.......

Let’s get it on poetry gurus…..
Send me your poem
Write it below
Here, now!

Dodging the Storm with Lia

Looking over her shoulder
the sky is a leaden blue.

She hurries up our boat ride
worried about the coming blow.

With raindrops on the way
we make it safely back to land,
tie up the boat
and race the sandy beach
and sandy lawn beyond
to the safety of the cool house.

Aaliyah's excitement over the boat ride,
as only a three year old can be,
quickly becomes excitement over
Grandma's store of worn out toys.

Barbie and Ken held over in 80's attire
are still a big hit!

I looked out as lightening cracked
and a thunder boom sounded
to see a beautiful steady downpour.

Maybe just a small donation toward
the goal needed to refill our thirsty lake,
but all donations are gratefully accepted
on this day of gathering our family together.

Bee at Peg's Window

My Dog

My sister was a dog lover,
we had this in common.
I had a big old doberman
and she had three small fluffy dogs.
Unexpectedly she died, my sis.
I did the best that I could.
My old Dobie had passed away
and two of hers I found good homes,
but the sad old dog
that was left to me,
a white mixed breed named Sophie,
was such a pitiful sight
no one would have taken her in.
In her distress she'd lost her hair
nothing but pink skin!
So she came home to me.
Home to me to be nursed to health
and then sent on her way
to a good home where she'd be loved.
When that day came
I couldn't stand to let her go,
so Sophie was here to stay.
She really is a pretty girl now
with fluffy white coat
and she even smiles!
People who see her always ask
about her breed. I haven't a clue
but her feet are decidedly Bassett,
and body is also very low slung.
The white coat that grows
very thick and long - who knows?
She has a good temper
and doesn't bark much.
She just seems grateful
to be cared for and to be loved.

Looking Out The Window

Looking out this window
I watch the world pass by.
I look out on my garden,
the mountains, and the changing sky.
My mind is free running
as once again I face this page.
What will come forth from my literal sense
of things seen in my everyday
that reveal the inner me?
What to say and what to save?
For seekers will always be
looking to our words
and words are not the same
to all.
No, words are not the same to all.
I could describe in literal detail
the sky above the mountain ridge
and to another it would convey
the sense of space and solitude.
I could quote some runic rhyme
for those literate professors
that would sound altogether fine,
but perhaps a bit nonsensical
to others uninitiated.
If I express myself in humor,
and make fun of those I see about,
I'm mocking country ways,
and mocking my own self!
For truth to tell
I have stayed here too long
in this country place I call my home
to be taken seriously anywhere else.
So take me as I am:
a woman, at home in her own skin.
Looking out at this garden and wondering
why I stayed so long.
Fastened to this small place
with my window on this my world.
My friends coming to my doorway
for a cup and talk about the news beyond.
What do they know about me,
these friends who show up at my door?
What do they know about me
that they've not shared?
What do they know about me,
they're not afraid to tell?

Bear Lake 2011


Ancient as the rocks and sky
yet constantly renewing
is the forest of my dreams
this multitude in browns, grays, and greens.
The rare green of a mountain lake
mirrors fir and poplar,
home of bear, deer, and snake,
and skies of hawk and hummer.
Nightly cicadas serenade
and fireflies pierce the blackened skies.
It's early to bed and early to rise
on this dark side of the mountain.
Overhanging the mystic lake
the rugged road leads homeward.

Ordinary

Ordinary words I've taken
to fashion 'maginary scenes
to make the real and gritty seem
less unseemly
more dream'ly.
Ordinary words can tell
a story, weave a spell,
plant a kiss by feathery lips,
or bust a puff ball open
scattering spores for miles and miles.
It only takes eleven words!
So these words when marching
on these blue lines
have power far beyond their form.
Their power enters through your eyes
and fashions those 'maginary scenes
from plain old words............
like these.

Sandpipers on the Silver Beach

Sandpipers by the dozens
race the silvery beach
On staple thin legs and tiny bracket feet
Race along the sand
Seeking at the waters’ edge
That little sandpiper meal
A bite of conch
A bite of crab

What Mama Knows

Why do you lie to me?
You know I’ll always catch you out,
You’ve never once put anything over
On me for very long.
I know when you’re up to it,
I can read you sure as text upon a screen.
I’ll let you think you’ve done it,
But you know you’re only hurting yourself.
Your mama knows what you’re doing
And I’m not lying to myself.
Come clean kid!
Even though you’re way beyond childhood,
You’ll always be
Your mama’s baby boy.

untitled

Sunset melancholy is a feeling purple blue
and I wonder who there is that knows this tune?
For a few brief moments I could feel the sky's jewelled tones
speaking to me in her sonal purple blue and gold.
Will you tell my children that I love them,
in case I don’t get to say goodbye?
I can ask you this because I trust you,
as keeper of my private thoughts and lies.
I can tell you some mornings when I wake up
all I want to do is just get high.
Some days I ask myself “why not?”
The power of suggestion has always
had a vivid hold on me.
I read a fiction novel where the hero has a smoke
And all at once I want to do the same!
I wish that I could dream a long and lovely dream,
the kind where you wake up, then fall asleep
and dream again!
I'd dream of my grandchildren, porcelain dolls with
milk teeth and skin.
Doll babies that run and talk,
so much smarter than we were then!
So, please tell my children that I love them.........

Sunrise Gold

The torch of sunrise tops the trees,

ignites the glassy surface of the lake.

Minnows schooling shallows,

scatter with my steps.

I board my boat,

evidence on my parsimony
in it’s shoddy shape.

No money spent upon it’s rotten deck!

No money for a fancy captain seat!

My morning pique relieved by golden ripples,

the wide V of my wake.

My fool’s reward,

my champagne dream,

the only gold I’ll reap today,

the only gold required,

is this reward,

this real world of water, sun, and sky!

Restore

I let it go
Erased it all
Made it go away into that dark nether world
Out in space
The words are circling Earth in orbit
All the bad poems
And emails from clandestine lovers
All the coupons for percentage off
Your dreams
And fears
Free Shipping!
All that’s left is here
This fragile space that lies between us
That sharp intake of breath
Your password
As I feel you
Enter my space
This is real
No click or scroll
No network
Just us and words
We speak

Still Good to Be Alive!

It is STILL good to be alive! Another year older, I have reached the age extolled in the Beatles’ lyrics “will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I’m sixty-four”. Recognition of the passage of time and the fragility of the human condition has more relevance to me today than ever before. A few years ago I considered my status and felt that time was slipping away, and my life seemed to have lost its focus. Now I find I am reenergized and still have a contribution to make, and possibly another twenty years of life. My circle of friends and acquaintances has increased exponentially.

Of course I’m STILL sixty four years old and nothing changes the reality of that. One concern is maintaining my ability to reason and my memory function. To this end I write these little epistles to apparently a very rare audience! So if you are reading this you are part of my coterie! Of course the job quest is still there and unfulfilled, but there are developments. Progress has been made, if only in my psyche.

My resolution continues to be to put into practice my better intentions, a practice that is elusive. I start each day with a germ of a plan of what I wish to do and find seldom do I accomplish it. This is an area definitely in need of improvement. Execution is not everything but far surpasses intention!

So, I get up from this screen to do my exercise, and then fill out another application.