A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....09-28-05...Poetry and Potpourri at the Finest

9-28-05 | JustAmy

[JustAmy]

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in need; and congratulate those deserving. We strive to keep our threads entertaining, fun, and pleasing to look at, and often have guest writers contribute an essay, or a profile of another FReeper.

On Mondays please visit us to see photos of A FEW OF FR'S VETERANS AND ACTIVE MILITARY

If you have a suggestion, or an idea, or if there's a FReeper you would like to see featured, please drop one of us a note in FR mail.

We're having fun and hope you are!
~ Billie, Dutchess, DollyCali, Mama_Bear ~

Welcome To...


...at The Finest!

'Amy's Place' is more than just about poetry.
Come in, relax, and share with fellow FReepers
your thoughts about any of the things on the *Menu*.

Enjoy! :)








Graphic by Billie

Reflections

God sets a mirror down for us,
To bounce back sunny days,
He does it when the rain has passed,
To help us see the rays.

The reflection that we see in it,
Is not of hair and skin.
What we see is an image of,
The gloried state we’re in.

Light pink, and brighter orange,
And yellow brighter still.
I sit and look at glory’s frame,
Upon my favorite hill.

The others call it rainbow,
But I know what it is,
A magic mirror in the sky,
That lets us know we’re His.

The body that we occupy down here,
Is nothing like its start,
For one, the most attractive thing,
Has always been the heart.

God looks into our heart and then,
Just for His own amusement.
He gives a glimpse of what He sees,
And laughs at our confusement.

“That doesn’t look at all like me!”
I hear your protests start,
But when you look at other folks,
How can you see their heart?

If you admit there’s beauty,
Reflecting from some source,
Just think how glorious it will be,
When He’s revealed full force.

And you and I are with Him,
And joining in the glow.
Next time you see a rainbow,
I thought you ought to know.

NicknamedBob April 5, 2004
© 2004






Graphic by MamaBear

The Corner

That cupboard in the corner was where brother put his gun,
Right up top to keep it safe while he was having fun.
He made a good policeman. I always knew he could.
His stony face when he played war could scare me pretty good!

Yes, we played cops and robbers, and games like kick the can.
I know those games were helpful as I learned to be a man.
When brother came to visit, his gun went way up top,
He couldn’t win an argument just ‘cause he was a cop!

We liked to play our card games, with Dad and all the boys.
And all of us knew guns were something different from toys.
My brother used his in his work, just like the badge he had.
Although he never really used it, and for that, he was glad.

The rest of us all knew what guns were really for,
The government even gave me one when I went off to war,
Although I never used it, just like my brother cop,
The very fact that I was there, just caused that war to stop.

I have a picture of the guys, with cards all strewn about,
You’d get the notion all the rules had somehow been tossed out!
With cards in hatbands, cards in sleeves, and chips piled way up high,
But all of that was just to show for that nosy camera eye!

NicknamedBob . . . . . . . . . . . June 8, 2005





Graphic by MamaBear

THE OLD HOUSE REMEMBERS

The old ranch house is alone with its past,
The windows are closed and the doors are fast;
The windmills are hushed, a desolate pall
Of silence and heartbreak broods over all.
Only the wind in the cottonwood trees
Tells off its rosary of memories.
Once around the wells were cattle that milled
And cooled themselves in the water which spilled
From the brimming tanks and trickled away
To a wet weather stream which trees betray;
There the willows dip their long lacy plumes
Over low marsh grass where the smartweed blooms.

Now the cottonwoods murmur, the willows weep,
And all else is silent, the place asleep,
But above the stillness when soft winds blow
Are the phantom voices of long ago ...
A lone cowboy as he rides down the trail
And yodels to drown out the coyote's wail.
While the walls reecho with rhythmic beat
To the merry tunes and to dancing feet.
So the old house lives again in its past,
Lives in the joys that the years have amassed.
And the full rich life that it’s loved ones knew
Is wafted back when it comes into view.

By Laressa Cox McBurney (my great-aunt)
Published in Prairie Panorama in 1938



Many thanks for stopping by. : )

09-27-05 ~ Hall of Fame #13

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 09-26-05 Military Monday 09-27-05 Hall of Fame #13

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' Every Thursday at the Finest The guy's good, folks!

[Mama_Bear]

I guess that I'm an old softie.

LOL. You guess? ;-)

When it comes to our furry little friends, that is a trait we all seem to have in common here.

Simone is a very lucky kitty to have found such a good home. :-)

[hiramknight]

My pleasure. Thank you dolly for thinking it fitting enough to be posted here.

Hiram

[JustAmy]

It is great to be back for today.

I think I've missed the poetry and of course the other stuff as well. :)

[jwfiv]

JustAmy ... a fine thread you give us today ... nice to see you taking your turn here at the Finest.

The poem by your great-aunt is lovely ... makes me think of my Grandparent's house in West Texas ... empty, falling apart, once filled with love, it will always endure in my memory ... an island in a sea of cottonfields ... but it's a holy place to me, the cradle of my childhood.

[JustAmy]

Strawberry Cream Pie

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup sugar
6 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups milk, scalded
2 eggs, slightly beaten
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 9-inch pastry shell, baked
2 cups strawberries (1 pint), washed and hulled
1 cup heavy cream, whipped and sweetened, or 2 cups (8 ounces) whipped topping

PREPARATION:

In top of double boiler mix sugar, cornstarch, and salt; gradually add milk and cook over simmering water, stirring constantly, until thickened. Add a small amount of the hot mixture to the beaten eggs; whisk in quickly. Return egg mixture to hot sauce mixture in double boiler. Cook, stirring constantly, until thick. Remove from heat; add butter and vanilla extract. Cover and chill.

Pour chilled mixture into the baked pastry shell. Arrange halved strawberries over the filling. Chill. Spread with sweetened whipped cream or whipped topping just before serving. Garnish with more halved berries. Store leftovers, covered, in the refrigerator.


Have a Happy Strawberry Cream Pie Day!

[Jack Deth]

Thanks for taking the time to find and post "Bad Penny's Castle", Mama_Bear.

Thanks also for your kind words.

Jack.

[JustAmy]

Happy Wednesday, Pippin.
Really nice to see you here today.
Hope you enjoy the potpourri.

Have a wonderful afternoon.

[JustAmy]

Good morning, PAL. (Still morning here. :)

Hope you are having a great day and a Wonderful Wednesday.

Happy Strawberry Cream Pie Day!

[JustAmy]

Thanks for posting the pictures of my Prissy, Dolly.

How are you and the new pooch doing?

[JustAmy]

I couldn't get the link to open. :(

[Pippin]

Good to "see" you again!

[JustAmy]

Thanks for the picture of Tweety's big kids. :)

Tweety ...... Welcome to FReeRepublic and Welcome to the Finest. Hope you have time to stop in today.

[LadyX]

Ripplina Van Winkum here..:)
Lemme try that again, JustAmy - LadyX here, tardy but hardy!

Since it is allowed to purloin borrow Stuff of Others,
and in view of all the Critter Lovers here at The Finest - -

I offer some Dog Haiku...

I lie belly-up
In the sunshine, happier than
You ever will be.

snicker..snicker..:)

[snugs]

In America do you call tortoises turtles? In Britain turtles are the ones that live in the water apart from laying their eggs in the sand. Tortoises are the land ones.

[JustAmy]

Thanks, Dolly

Great pictures. It is sobering to see the strength of Mother Nature.

[snugs]

What is cornstarch?

[LadyX]

The cat is not all
Bad. She fills the litter box
With Tootsie Rolls.

[LadyX]

'Nuther One:

How do I love thee?
The ways are numberless as
My hairs on the rug.

(pant..pant..how'm I doin'??)

[LadyX]

(dawgs r dum!!)

Dig under fence - why?
Because it's there. Because it's
There. Because it's there.

[snugs]

I have put the pussy cat on my photo server here is the link to the picture

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v683/fairlands/Clipart/Clipart2/Dit20yawn.jpg