In Memory of My Father

His quiet presence
always felt when not around.
He said a lot
though no words were spoken.

Sometimes a nod,
sometimes a grunt,
even a pat on the back
for a job well-done.

He encouraged us
to do right.
He directed us
when we were wrong.

His words were few.
His looks soft,
but stern.

When he spoke
we knew what he meant
by what remained unsaid.

My hobby lasts beyond summertime

Most of the time, people think of hobbies as a repetitive activity that one enjoys doing. My summertime hobby isn’t so much a hobby, its more like a theme: learn a new skill. Luckily, most of the skills I learned were during the summer time. I developed this idea when I moved into my apartment a little over nine years ago. For instance, I enjoy knitting and crocheting. While making the vest my friend gave me a pattern for was difficult, I did make a table runner using the seed stitch. When my niece had her baby boy, I crocheted a pastel colored baby blanket. She was the first to get one with a border on the edge to give it a finished look. When I learned how to make a poncho, I learned how to weave the loose tails in to give it a professional look.

I remember when my mother would complain about having to spend $300 buy groceries and wouldn’t buy anything until we ate a little more. What would really make us all mad was when there would be six boxes of cereal in the cabinet, but there wasn’t enough to make a bowl with either one of the boxes. My father used to pose the question: what I’d do if I lived alone? My answer: make it myself. I live around a lot of fast food restaurants, but that doesn’t mean I eat out all the time. It gets expensive. One summer, I learned how to make my own version of homemade stir fry, and pan pizza complete with crust. I also made a healthier version of the breakfast casserole, reducing a serving of six, eight or twelve to half. Last summer, I used a bunch of cherry tomatoes and made my own Italian sauce. I discovered two tablespoons of Philadelphia Cooking Cream added to one fourth cup of Italian sauce instead of cheese gave my penne pasta a different flavor.

During the blizzard of 2009, I learned how to make chocolate muffins. The pancake box showed how to make biscuits in the late summer, but I couldn’t get mine to come out right. One effort made them look like cookies instead of flat bread. By Christmas, I decided to use a muffin pan. At least this way, they came out one size. It took a lot of trials to get the chocolate muffins right. Without the vanilla extract and extra virgin olive oil in the place of cooking oil or butter, everything was too dry to swallow. I tried using two tablespoons of cinnamon when I made cinnamon muffins but reduced it to one because it was too strong. I got good feedback on the miniature versions of this recipe. Maybe this summer, I’ll come up with my own homemade cake.

Science Fiction Stories

The Crystal

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/8076799/the_crystal.html?cat=44

The Black Book

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/8076361/the_black_book.html?cat=44

S. R. McDaniel Stolen Soul: The Beginning A powerful Christian thriller.

I like this book because it flowed easily from beginning to end. I found it very hard to put the book down. I would have finished the book in three days if I didn't have to pause and tend to things like eating and sleeping and church.

The fictional Jesusland reminded me of Jonestown and the massacre that occurred there on November 18, 1978 when led by Rev. Jim Jones. The difference here was that Jones actually killed the television reporters. The biological weapons the police used hurt at least fourteen people in the book.

There are two things that bothered me about the character "the Preacher": 1) Why can't some of these people who had a bad childhood rechannel their energies instead of lashing out at society? 2) Why is it that people about to face something life-altering find God too late to make a difference to them? There wouldn't be a story to tell if it were that simple. Humans are flawed, so the Preacher was no different.

This is a must-read for those who like mysteries and enjoy Christian thrillers.

Springtime Haiku

Turning over dirt

Planting many types of seeds

Watering the ground

Just a Nice Guy by Phil Torcivia an informative and comical book.

This book was informative and comical. It makes me want to write a response after what I've seen myself. 

Why is it that middle aged men want women with 3% body fat but they have the sagging bottom when they turn around in the mirror? Most of what I've seen down here is the opposite, usually the beer gut appears after drinking several six packs. They wear suspenders to hold up their belly, but have no behind. 

I never understood the need for anyone teenaged or adult that wore the oversized trousers with their underwear showing out the back or bare rear end in plain view. I told one of my male relatives that just showed the prisoners that they were "available". He told me he wasn't planning on going to prison. I hang my head in shame because one of the church van drivers, now deceased, told me that. 

I liked the comments made about the 40 or 50-somethings. I'll just have to Google Ask.com to see what "Granny Panties" really look like. I know of at least one or two women around that age that don't wear any underwear at all. This was a fashion statement for the boys overseas, but it was taboo for a girl or middle-aged woman to not wear a bra. I suppose they are right when the person has poor posture when they sit so that their boobs hare hanging near their belly. 

I wouldn't worry about what the check out clerk knows about you by the items placed on the counter. I'd be more concerned by the type of Trojan condom being bought or whether there's a need for any type of warming lubricant. I think more would be said about that then what one eats. It's even worse when there is a live-in partner that uses feminine products. Suppose they needed bladder control products or adult diapers? 

I think both men and women would enjoy this book.