Stories from the Stringam Family Ranches of Southern Alberta

From the 50s and 60s to today . . .



Monday, June 5, 2023

A Bit of Hot Air


His hot air balloon experience was really out of hand,
The man had gotten misplaced as he floated o’er the land,
He lowered his balloon to seek out someone who could help,
A guy was walking past and so he gave that man a yelp,
“Excuse me, sir,” he hollered. “But I’m really in a jam…
“Please, could I ask for you to stop and tell me where I am?”
The man just smiled and nodded, “Well, I’m happy to, for sure!
You’re thirty feet up in the air, roaming four or six miles per!”
Balloonist said, “Confess it, now, you’re working for IT,”
The walker smiled and nodded, said, “I cannot but agree.
“But now I’m very curious. Please tell me how you knew
I do encoding with my days. Your knowledge, now, imbue!”
Balloonist shrugged and said, “Though given all that I asked for,
Your words gave little help, I’m lost just like I was before!”
The walker nodded, “I would guess that Management, you are.”
And when the man agreed, he said, “It really wasn’t hard.
You don’t know where you are, you’re riding higher on hot air,
You want me to solve your problem while you sit there in your chair,
Exactly where you were before you wanted me to halt,
Your decisions all were yours, but now it’s suddenly my fault!”

Cause Mondays do get knocked a lot,
With poetry, we all besought
To try to make the week begin
With gentle thoughts,
Perhaps a grin?
So KarenCharlotteMimi, me
Have crafted poems for you to see.
And now you’ve read what we have wrought…
Did we help?
Or did we not?

Next week, we promise will be sweet,
Some roses, red, we'll with you greet!

Thinking of joining us for Poetry Monday?
We'd love to welcome you!
Topics for the next few weeks 
(with a huge thank-you to Mimi, who comes up with so many of them!)...

Hot Air Balloons (June 5) Today!
Red Roses (June 12)
Kissing (June 19)
Canoes (June 26)
Mirrors (July 3)
Teddy Bears (July 10)
Emojis (July 17)
Cousins (July 24)
Avocados (July 31)
Moonshine (August 7)
Roses (August 14)
Sea Monsters (August 21)
At the Beauty Parlour/Parlor (August 28)

Sunday, June 4, 2023

BBB's and Me


Following a minimal wifi holiday (more about that in a few days), I am so pleased to be able to host my wonderful blog sisters in the Best of Boomer Bloggers again.
They've been busy...

First up, Carol of Carol A. Cassara, Writer

Football's a huge part of American life, but, as Carol Cassara points out this week on her blog, there are disturbing medical findings about even high school players who take hits in this hard contact sport. Read about it in Don't Let Toxic Masculinity (and CTE) Destroy Your Sons.

Then Laurie of
Laurie Stone Writes
Every now and then we see something in nature that tugs at our heart. The other day Laurie spotted a Mother Robin sitting on her nest, which happened to be on top of the light over the back door. The evening was cold, rainy, and windy as Laurie hurried to take out the trash. But as she came back, there sat Mother Robin keeping her babies warm, looking so resolute and devoted. The sight touched her. There was one problem.


Interested in brain health as you get older? asks Rita R. Robison, consumer and personal finance journalist. New studies show – in addition to being linked to diabetes, obesity, cancer, anxiety, and depression – there’s a link between eating ultraprocessed food and increased risk of cognitive decline

And me, Diane, of On the Border

It was a short career. Even by the world's standard. 
An hour at most.
It was nipped almost before it got started.


Thursday, June 1, 2023

One Quarter Thief

Me. Sigh.
What you are about to read may be shocking. You may even want to re-think continuing your friendship with me.
I’m a thief.
Well . . . a would-be thief. If I’d gotten away with it, who knows where I’d be now.
And the funny thing is, she probably would have given me one if I'd just asked.
Maybe I should explain . . .
I was nine.
Mom was chatting in the front room with one of her friends. Their discussion had turned to something that said friend was interested in purchasing from Mom.
Goods were produced and delivered.
Exclamations of surprise and delight. (Okay, I’m assuming here.)
Friend’s handbag appeared.
Was opened.
And a coin purse came into view.
A number of quarters were counted out and cradled in friend’s hand.
To this point, all was above board, friendly and honest.
But this is where bright-eyed, slightly avaricious Diane came into the picture.
Mom turned to me. “Diane, could you please bring me the money?”
I nodded, my eyes already on the gleaming silver in the woman’s hand. I moved closer and held out my hand. She tipped hers and poured the pile of coins into mine.
And that’s when my heinous plan was hatched.
There were a lot of coins. Surely Mom wouldn’t notice if just one went missing?
Deftly (?), I sneaked one quarter into my other pocket as I turned and walked over to Mom - duly delivering the treasure.
Then, task completed, I dashed upstairs with my booty (ie. Ill-gotten gains), already planning how I was going to spend it.
A few minutes later, I vaguely heard the front door close.
And then my Mom was standing in my bedroom doorway.
“Diane, we need to talk.”
Uh-oh.
She sat on my bed and held out her hand with the quarters in it.
I looked at them. Then at my Mom. “Ummm . . . yeah?”
“Diane, one of the quarters is missing.”
“Really?” My brain started turning frantically. “A quarter?”
“Diane, did you steal a quarter?”
“Umm . . .”
“Diane?”
“Maybe it dropped. You know, when I took the change? On the floor? I’ll go look.” And I escaped out of the door and into the front room where I quickly (before my Mom could get there and see what I was doing) flipped the coin under our recent guest’s chair.
Then, dropping to my hands and knees, I miraculously, ‘found’ it moments later. Holding it out proudly in my hand, I presented it to Mom. “It was there! See?”
Mom nodded and took the coin. Then looked at me.
With a ‘Mom’ look. “Don’t ever take anything that doesn’t belong to you, Diane.”
“But I dropped . . .”
“Okay?”
I nodded unhappily. How had she seen through my clever subterfuge?
My career as a thief ended that day.
I obviously didn’t have the ‘knack’.
Mom saw to that.

Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Getting It Wrong

 For International Jazz Day, a bit of fiction...

Clara studied her only daughter’s face.
Emma was lit up from the inside, delicate features a dynamic play of barely-contained emotion. It was like watching a still pool of pure, clear water breaking into soft ripples of movement. Unconstrained and uncontainable. Like the only thing keeping her together was her rose-tinted skin.
Her girl was in love.
Clara’s eyes turned to the young man seated at her daughter’s right. This stiff and stalwart-looking individual with his mortician’s hands and his thin, aesthetic face. Could her daughter – hers and Reggie’s – possibly have made this colossal a . . . mistake?
She turned toward the stage, where Reggie and his troupe were just finishing up their 9:00 set. What would her husband’s reaction be? Would he treat this proposed addition to their little family with courtesy? Or, more probably, would he rear back at the unintentioned insult and explode in artistically unsuppressed emotion. Then drag what could have been their future son-in-law out to the blacktop and toss him into the first available taxi bound for Timbuktu?
She sighed again as her daughter chattered endlessly, ceaselessly, enthusiastically on. Should she say something? Try to turn this particular ship before it hit the great reef looming before them? Should she interfere?
She tuned in to what Emma was saying. “. . . and I was so excited when I met Alphonse.” She linked hands with the sober young man beside her. “He loves jazz! Why he listens to it every day in the mortuary! He is exactly what Daddy told me to look for in a husband!”
Clara put out a hand and touched her daughter’s shoulder gently. “Oh, honey,” she said. She glanced down at the musicians on the stage. Heard the smooth, perfect notes of ‘Take Five’ pouring from Reggie’s Sax and sighed. Then she turned back to her daughter. “Honey, what your father told you to bring home was a Jazz MUSICIAN!”


Monday, May 29, 2023

Com-Posting

 THE VICTOR was a quarterback way back in college days,
And, though the years had passed, his neighbours still could be amazed,
Remembering his triumphs and the victories he’d won,
And grateful just to label him their city’s favourite son!
By THE VICTOR he was known and though he really didn’t press,
His neighbours bragged a lot to anyone I do confess…
THE VIC as he grew older, became somewhat conscious of
Just doing what he could for this old world that he loved,
Began a compost pit behind his house where he would add
The food scraps from his kitchen and any trimmings that he had,
But living by himself, he really didn’t produce much,
So he’d canvass the neighbourhood and take their scraps and such,
Each Saturday at 9, there’d be The VICTOR with his pail,
And folks would toss in spoiled scraps from meat to bread to kale…
A newly moved-in neighbour saw all this for the first time,
And asked the guy next door why folks would give a man their slime!
The man explained the offerings of the former braised or boiled,
One final thing he added, “To THE VICTOR goes the spoiled!”
(SNORT!)

Cause Mondays do get knocked a lot,
With poetry, we all besought
To try to make the week begin
With gentle thoughts,
Perhaps a grin?
So KarenCharlotteMimi, me
Have crafted poems for you to see.
And now you’ve read what we have wrought…
Did we help?
Or did we not?

Next week will be my favourite things,
Hot Air Balloons will give us wings!

Thinking of joining us for Poetry Monday?
We'd love to welcome you!
Topics for the next few weeks 
(with a huge thank-you to Mimi, who comes up with so many of them!)...

Compost (May 29) Today!
Hot Air Balloons (June 5)
Red Roses (June 12)
Kissing (June 19)
Canoes (June 26)
Mirrors (July 3)
Teddy Bears (July 10)
Emojis (July 17)
Cousins (July 24)
Avocados (July 31)
Moonshine (August 7)
Roses (August 14)
Sea Monsters (August 21)
At the Beauty Parlour/Parlor (August 28)

Friday, May 26, 2023

The Happy Place

When I was younger, I’d lean nearer,
My reflection in the mirror,
And study (not what you’d assume…)
The things behind me in that room.
 
Because I thought that other place, 
More intriguing than my space,
And golly, wouldn’t it be swell,
To go there and bid home farewell?

Just think of all the fun I’d find,
Adventures of the heart and mind,
Why, I could almost picture it,
As through the looking glass, I’d flit.

I did not know, I could not tell,
‘Twas a reflection, just a shell,
That ‘other room’ did not exist,
With my face floating in the midst.

And even if I managed it,
(Going there for just a bit)
Well, backward everything would be,
And I’d have trouble being me!

And so I put that dream away,
But brought it out just yesterday,
A great deal older now, I look,
Things still look good in that Mirror nook.

I couldn’t see the dust and litter,
No noise to make me squirm or skitter,
And backward everything may be,
But no more backward, now, than me! 

I wouldn't have to cook or clean,
I'd go in and come out lean!
So Through a Looking Glass you see,
Sounds like a perfect place for me!

This poem is part of a Monthly Poetry Challenge.
Each month a new theme is chosen.
This month's theme?
Through a Looking Glass!



Care to see what the others have done with the theme?
Look here! 
Baking In A Tornado: Look Again

 

Thursday, May 25, 2023

Bossy's Drawers

In the days before email...
As a landowner, employer and community leader, my Dad received a lot of correspondence.
A lot. 
I know. He used to send me or one of the other kids uptown with A PILLOWCASE to retrieve it.
True Story: I would dump the pile on his desk, wait while he went through it, then ask, "Anything for me?"
To which he invariably answered, "What's your name?"
To which I invariably replied, "Diane."
To which he invariab... you get the point.
Back to my main point. 
Daddy (not me) got a lot of mail. From all sorts of people.
One letter stands out...
One day, he came into the kitchen holding a piece of paper.
Mom looked at him. "What is that?"
"Oh, something interesting."
She looked at him expectantly.
He grinned, then beckoned her to the table.
I came too because... 'something interesting'.
Daddy: "This is a letter from a woman protesting the naked state of the animals in the fields."
Mom, frowning: "Do tell!"
Daddy: "She proposes that we start a push to clothe said animals."
Mom: "Sooo...cows and stuff."
He nodded.
Mom: "Ummm...."
Daddy: "My thoughts exactly."
Mom: "So what are you going to tell her?"
Daddy: "Oh, I'll think of something."
Mom: "But you aren't going to encourage her?"
Daddy, waggling his eyebrows: "What do you think?"
Mom: "Mark!"
Daddy did respond.
His reply was somewhere along the lines of, "Dear Madame. What you propose would be interesting, indeed. But sadly impossible from both a logistical and a practical sense.
For example, once Bossy has dropped her bloomers out there in the field to 'take care of business', how, exactly is she going to get them back up again?"
Yours, truly, Mark R. Stringam DVM
She did reply, somewhat put out by his response.
But the whole matter was dropped there.
Kind of like Ol' Bossy's drawers.
Daily Mail


Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Potty Consonants


In our early days, there is just so much to learn.
One of the most important of which is ‘language’.
And getting those pesky consonants to say what they are supposed to say.
This will become evident further along.
Ahem…
Tiny Daughter (hereinafter TD) had just passed the time of DIAPERS.
She was now in big girl pants.
But the toilet ‘procedures’ were ongoing.
Mostly successful.
At times…downright humourous…
Mom: “Now remember to wipe from front to back…”
TD: “Bagina to bum. Bagina to bum!”
(Remember where I mentioned ‘consonants’? That would apply here.)
Mom: VaVaVagina. Like V...Volcano.”
Silence for a moment…
TD: “Volcano to Bum. Volcano to Bum.”
Training is ongoing…

Monday, May 22, 2023

Broke Baroque

A museum planned a concert with their Baroque instruments,
But then they saw the gadgets needed care for the event,
A great Vivaldi violin and a harpsicord of Bach’s,
The keyboard needed tuning and the violin had pox.
And all the others needed even more of urgent care,
And so they called the specialist to help with the repairs,
The man looked them all over (and there really were a bunch),
He said, “Where should I start? And know, I won’t be done by lunch!”
Director looked at him and said, “When you’re making all your picks…”
“Our rule for this concert? If it ain’t Baroque, don’t fix!”

Cause Mondays do get knocked a lot,
With poetry, we all besought
To try to make the week begin
With gentle thoughts,
Perhaps a grin?
So KarenCharlotteMimi, me
Have crafted poems for you to see.
And now you’ve read what we have wrought…
Did we help?
Or did we not?

Next week's post might smell a bit,
But 'Compost', sure, will be a hit!

Thinking of joining us for Poetry Monday?
We'd love to welcome you!
Topics for the next few weeks 
(with a huge thank-you to Mimi, who comes up with so many of them!)...

Musical Instruments (May 22) Today!
Compost (May 29)
Hot Air Balloons (June 5)
Red Roses (June 12)
Kissing (June 19)
Canoes (June 26)
Mirrors (July 3)
Teddy Bears (July 10)
Emojis (July 17)
Cousins (July 24)
Avocados (July 31)
Moonshine (August 7)
Roses (August 14)
Sea Monsters (August 21)
At the Beauty Parlour/Parlor (August 28)

Friday, May 19, 2023

Bringing Up Gramma

My sometimes ride. And chauffeur.

Looking forward to school’s end and the start of the summer holiday. Because...

For many of you, the statement: ‘The Tolley family tends to spend a lot of their summer outside on bicycles’ will come as no surprise.
I’m almost sure I’ve mentioned it before.
And it's true.
Every morning, weather permitting, we saddle-up—Grampa, Gramma and as many of the chicks and chicklets as are out of bed and/or conscious.
With 27 members of our family living within town limits, at times it’s quite a group.
But the fact that we live in a community riddled with small lakes and a veritable web of biking trails makes the whole thing . . . in a word . . . easy.
Even taking into account that our town crowns the highest hill for miles and there is, of necessity, a lot of up-ing and down-ing.
With such a trail of cyclists, it’s a blessing that we have to cross only the occasional major street.
Our mishaps have been relatively few.
In fact, the only people who have pitched off their bikes are Granddaughter #4 (our newest little rider) . . . and Grandma.
And guess which one holds the record?
And yet I still insist on going.
Sigh. 
Finally, sitting on a park bench, putting yet another band-aid on Grandma's much-abused knee, and while the kids played at that day’s choice of park, Daughter #1 came up with an ingenious solution. One, I should point out, that would still allow Grandma to continue on the rides, but would be marginally safer and include two-wheeled death traps only peripherally.
Ahem . . .
Her answer? Pump Grandma full of helium, tie a string to her ankle, and float her along behind one of the bikes.
Like a balloon.
Can’t you just see it?
Her idea sparked all kinds of responses: “Ahhhh Reel me in! Low bridge! Low brid . . .!” and “Kids! Power li . . .zzzzaaaap!” and the ever popular: “I told you not to untie Grandma! Now we’ll never get her back!” That little beauty was also followed closely by: “Good thing we wrote her address on her forehead!”
There were suggestions of “Old Air/Wind/Gas bag” and something to do with “being full of hot air”. But by that point, I was already on my bike and halfway out of the parking lot.
My family’s for sale if you want them.
 
You get the idea . . .

Thursday, May 18, 2023

Entertained at the Old Watering Hole

Or you could do it that way . . .
There was no lawnmower in the early days on the Berg Ranch.
When the grass got long, the hay mower could be used, but in smaller areas, this proved impossible.
One had to get creative.
The four-footed lawnmowers were brought out.
Usually, the well-trained saddlehorses would take care of the problem—filling their bellies and tidying the area at the same time.
But one year, three Angus bulls were given the job. They spent their days tethered out among the trees, contentedly munching the long grass and growing fat in the cool shade.
For water, someone would untie them, lead them across the yard to the trough by the barn, then take them back to continue their ‘work’.
It worked well. Till the ‘incident’.
Anyone who has lived on (or near) a farm can tell you that there is no such thing as a ‘normal’ day.
Usually, the dust-ups and uh-ohs are just something to laugh at.
And, fortunately, that was the case here.
One evening, several of my Berg uncles were leading the three members of their lawn maintenance crew to water. Grampa Berg happened to be standing there beside the trough as they approached.
Meanwhile, across the barnyard, two salesmen in a car slid to a stop. Seeing Grampa out in the yard, they started toward him.
All went well to this point. Bulls. Uncles. Grampa. Salesmen.
Now the bulls were used to their Berg attendants. And knew all of them by sight.
But these salesmen were new and strange.
The bulls decided they were worth investigating.
At a run.
Towing the boys.
The salesmen were understandably alarmed. And decided, individually and collectively, that their best course was to run.
Which they did.
Right into each other.
Resulting in two stunned salesmen trying to crawl away along the ground.
The bulls stopped short and stared. Yep. Here was definitely something new . . .
I know you'll agree with me that there is all kinds of entertainment for us humans at our local ‘watering holes’.
Turns out it’s the same for the four-footed variety as well.

Tuesday, May 16, 2023

A Frog-ly Prince

Okay, yes, I’m taking a little bit of ‘poetic license’ here. Even though this couldn’t remotely be considered a poem. Ahem…
 
Remember the story of SnowWhite? Wherein a girl lived with seven men, married an eighth and no one thought it remarkable?
 
Well SnowWhite’s ‘happily-ever-after’ included a teenaged daughter who loved to play with a golden ball her father gave her.

I am not making this up (though someone obviously did…). Nope. Beautiful Princess Penelope had a golden ball—her favourite toy.

Now one day whilst happily playing in the garden, she lost the aforementioned ball of golden. You know how these happen.

You throw something into the air and it lands…elsewhere. Husby does it all the time with garbage and the trash receptacle.

Well it happened this time vis-à-vis ball and the nearby stupidly-deep (Penelope’s description) well. Tears ensued. And a princess-ly tantrum.

Stemmed only when a very small voice at Penelope’s feet spoke up. “Princess. I can get your ball for you!”

Admittedly, it took a while for our sweet princess to even hear the voice, openly and vocally aggrieved as she was.

But finally, she began to pay attention to the large frog at her feet. The one…you know…speaking. Human words.

Now I’ve caught a lot of frogs, what with my riverside upbringing, and never have any of them talked to me.

And, trust me, I’ve coaxed. But this one did. He told Penelope he could fetch her precious ball. For a price.

She was definitely listening now. If he didn’t have her at ‘Hello, Princess’, he definitely had her at ‘Pay me!’

The price? She had to let him eat from her plate at every meal and sleep on her pillow at bedtime.

She agreed. Because…ball. But let’s face it, she probably didn’t really think things through. A frog at bed, bath and beyond?

I know what my parents would have said. DID say. I can still hear their loudly-voiced veto from the distance of decades.

But her tearful pleas and/or her convincing story of family honour resting on the fulfillment of a contract did the trick.

She suddenly had a very entertaining and talkative new roommate. One who was with her morning, noon and night. Quite literally.

The two grew to be friends. The princess even graduated the frog from pocket to pillow transportation. A big leap. (Snort.)

Then the frog’s next request was voiced. (That’s the thing about frogs. Give them an inch; they swim all over you.)

An itty bitty kiss. I’m quite sure the princess at least…blinked. That’s quite a request. Even from a best-friend talking frog.

But, hey. I mean, they’d been friends for days now. And what’s a kiss between friends? She considered it a moment.

Then shrugged, held the frog up…and kissed it. Right on the big ol’ ‘kisser’. Can anyone say ‘Ew?’ Oh, yeah. Me.

Immediately, or maybe sooner, the frog began to shimmer. Then shiver. Then change from a…frog…into something a heck-of-a-lot more human-ish.

Before she knew it, Penelope was staring at a full-grown man. In her bedroom. All sorts of alarms went off.

A small voice from the bottom of the dogpile featuring every single one of Penelope’s body-guards finally garnered some attention.

Slowly the guards got to their feet and pulled the frog-man to his. And then the whole sordid story came out.

He was actually a prince who had been enchanted by a jealous, overly-amorous and unrequited witch. A terrible combination, you’ll agree…

The spell she had placed upon him was keyed, ironically, to the act of kissing. Only a smooch would save him.

Once the furor had died down the two, girl and former frog, discovered that their budding friendship was actually something more.

Marriage followed. And yadda, yadda, yadda…happily ever after. It’s amazing how often that happens. Fact or fiction, it makes me happy.

Today’s post is a word challenge! 
Each month one of us chooses a number between 12 and 50 and the rest craft a post using that number of words one or multiple times.

This month’s number is: 21
It was chosen by Mimi of Messymimi'smeanderings!



Now go and see what my friends have created!

Monday, May 15, 2023

Making It Up

I've been away, you may have seen
That on my blog I have not been,
Some catching up, I have to do,
So here're some poems from me to you!

April 17: Safety Pins:

Most pins are sharp, I’m sure you know,
It helps them go where they need to go,
I’ve used a few, I will admit,
To fasten things that needed it,
I’m always cautious, those things hurt!
And I will not with danger flirt,
So ‘safety pins’ I choose to use,
Thusly named, I cannot lose,
But something more I must submit…
They all still have a pointy bit!

April 24: Pigs in Blankets

I love blankets, yes, I do,
To cuddle, and the cold eschew,
It isn’t rare to find me rolled,
Encapsulated ‘gainst the cold.
You would imagine I’d support,
Giving wraps to weaker sorts,
Most everyone would benefit,
From having blankets, sewn or knit,
But there’s one group I won’t accept
Their needing blankets while they slept,
And that group is the pigs, you see,
There’s no need. They’re not like me,
But there are other ways that they
‘Go together’ as they say…
Cause Pigs in Blankets as a treat?
There are few things have them beat!

May 1: Rhino

Sometimes in nature, we will see,
A crossing of an “A” and “B”,
Like lion with a tiger, whew!
A ‘Liger’s’ what you get. It’s true.
A donkey and a horse result,
In one big mule. It’s no one’s fault,
A donkey also features with
A zebra. Zonkey’s not a myth!
There’s Jaglions and Grolar Bears,
Coywolfs, Camas, (please don’t stare!)
Beefalos, Narlugas, too,
And Hinny’s (Just to name a few)…
But cross and elephant and rhino?
What do you get? Ellefino!

May 8: Socks 
(For this, I cheated--sorry, peers--
This is a po-em from last year...)

“Please tell us of your problem, sir,
We're here to give you aid.
Supporting is how we get through,
Speak up! Don't be afraid!”
“Just look around the circle, Sir,
There’s not but friends you’ll see.
Get the whole thing off your chest,
Then Madge will serve us tea...”

“It started much as any day,”
He said. And then he sighed,
“A run together in the dawn,
I was so proud, I cried.”
“Then changing for the workday, but
A load of laundry first.
Who knew that act would be her last?
‘Twas like we both were cursed!”

“So innocent as soap went in,
Naive as buttons pressed,
Then watched as clothes began to swirl,
And tumble with the rest.”
“All was well until the load,
Was moved into the drier.
And watching it together as
The heat was getting higher.”

“Then she was gone, t’was just that fast,
My love was there no more.
And all I had was memories
Of what we had before.”
“I’ve tossed it round within my mind,
There really is no doubt
As a pair of socks, we two went in,
As a single, I came out.”

So that is it, I've caught right up,
All that's left's today's poem. (Yup.)
I'll not abandon you, and hey!
I'm happy that you came to play!


May 15 (Today!): Chocolate Chip

It started as a cookie, yes!
T’was better, far, than all the rest,
An enterprising tollhouse wife,
A small idea. Got a knife,
And chopped a ‘something’ into bits,
And to her dough, she added it,
Then her idea just took off,
And, trust me, no one teased or scoffed,
Cause people came for miles around,
To taste that treat. And soon all found
That it surpassed all those that were,
And caused more than a little stir…
Today we add her ‘something’ to
The things we bake and cook and chew,
Deliciousness from plate to lip…
What did she make? The CHOCOLATE CHIP!

Cause Mondays do get knocked a lot,
With poetry, we all besought
To try to make the week begin
With gentle thoughts,
Perhaps a grin?
So KarenCharlotteMimi, me
Have crafted poems for you to see.
And now you’ve read what we have wrought…
Did we help?
Or did we not?

Next week, we'll all get musical,
Of INSTRUMENTS, you'll get your fill!

Thinking of joining us for Poetry Monday?
We'd love to welcome you!
Topics for the next few weeks 
(with a huge thank-you to Mimi, who comes up with so many of them!)...

Chocolate Chip (May 15) Today!
Musical Instruments (May 22)
Compost (May 29)
Hot Air Balloons (June 5)
Red Roses (June 12)
Kissing (June 19)
Canoes (June 26)
Mirrors (July 3)
Teddy Bears (July 10)
Emojis (July 17)
Cousins (July 24)
Avocados (July 31)


Real Estates: All Murders Included in the Price!

Real Estates: All Murders Included in the Price!
My FIRST murder mystery!

Blessed by a Curse

Blessed by a Curse
My very first Medieval Romance!

God's Tree

God's Tree
For the Children

Third in the series

Third in the series
Deborah. Fugitive of Faith

The Long-Awaited Sequel to Daughter of Ishmael

The Long-Awaited Sequel to Daughter of Ishmael
A House Divided is now available at all fine bookstores and on Amazon.com and .ca!

Daughter of Ishmael

Daughter of Ishmael
Now available at Amazon.com and .ca and Chapters.ca and other fine bookstores.

Romance still wins!

Romance still wins!
First romance in a decade!

Hosts: Your Room's Ready

Hosts: Your Room's Ready
A fun romp through the world's most haunted hotel!

Hugs, Delivered.

Compass Book Ratings

Compass Book Ratings

Ghost of the Overlook

Ghost of the Overlook
Need a fright?

My Granddaughter is Carrying on the Legacy!

My Granddaughter is Carrying on the Legacy!
New Tween Novel!

Gnome for Christmas

Gnome for Christmas
The newest in my Christmas Series

SnowMan

SnowMan
A heart warming story of love and sacrifice.

Translate

My novel, Carving Angels

My novel, Carving Angels
Read it! You know you want to!

My Second Novel: Kris Kringle's Magic

My Second Novel: Kris Kringle's Magic
What could be better than a second Christmas story?!

Join me on Maven

Connect with me on Maven

Essence

Essence
A scientist and his son struggle to keep their earth-shattering discovery out of the wrong hands.

Essence: A Second Dose

Essence: A Second Dose
Captured and imprisoned, a scientist and his son use their amazing discovery to foil evil plans.

Looking for a Great Read?

E-Books by Diane Stringam Tolley
Available from Smashwords.com

The Babysitter

The Babysitter
A baby-kidnapping ring has its eye on J'Aime and her tiny niece.

Melissa

Melissa
Haunted by her past, Melissa must carve a future. Without Cain.

Devon

Devon
Following tragedy, Devon retreats to the solitude of the prairie. Until a girl is dropped in his lap.

Pearl, Why You Little...

Pearl, Why You Little...
Everyone should spend a little time with Pearl!

The Marketing Mentress

The Marketing Mentress
Building solid relationships with podcast and LinkedIn marketing

Coffee Row

Coffee Row
My Big Brother's Stories

Better Blogger Network

Semper Fidelis

Semper Fidelis
I've been given an award!!!

The Liebster Award

The Liebster Award
My good friend and Amazing Blogger, Marcia of Menopausal Mother awarded me . . .

Irresistibly Sweet Award

Irresistibly Sweet Award
Delores, my good friend from The Feathered Nest, has nominated me!

Sunshine Award!!!

Sunshine Award!!!
My good friend Red from Oz has nominated me!!!

My very own Humorous Blogger Award From Delores at The Feathered Nest!

Be Courageous!


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Ghost of the Overlook

Ghost of the Overlook
Need a fright?