Do You Have A Dream?

     Have you ever been so wrapped up in a dream that you could think of almost nuthin' else?  Has hope and anticipation ever eaten at you in such a way as to become a complete distraction in all other areas of your life?  Well, I have and to tell you the truth, its not that much fun.

     Since I was very small, I have wanted to live in the country and experience those things that most people pro'lly don't even think about.  Or maybe they do and I'm just so wrapped up in my own dream that I don't notice how intently others are wishing for the same thing.  I recall once when I was about five years old, I was crying over some deep desire to live in the country.  My dad laughed at me 'cause I wanted the log cabin, the horses, cows, chickens and a garden.  In short, I wanted it all.

     Curiously, up until that time in my life, I had only lived in the country for about one year and that was when I was only three.  Naturally, that particular taste of country livin' had absolutely none of the qualities that I have come to recognize as true country livin'.  In the first place, we were living in Pensacola, Florida and although I am sure there are farmers and ranchers in every state, somehow my vision of farm living has never centered itself anywhere in Florida.  I've lived in that state several times, actually, but country living is certainly not the first, second or even, third image that comes to mind when I think of Florida.

     In the second place, in my mind anyway, sand, sand and more sand do not a farm make.  Thus, the Stuck-Out-In-The-Middle-Of-Nowhere place called country where we lived could hardly be called country livin'.  So, where did I acquire this deep desire to live on a farm and taste country livin'?  I'm not sure.  P'rhaps its some deep-seeded carry-over from before I was born; I dunno.  At any rate, even though I have on two different occasions experienced the joy of true country livin', it is not out of my system.  I still want it.

     Do you have a dream you've been harboring for many years; one that just won't let you go?  I sincerely hope you are blessed with the fulfillment of your dream.  It seems that dreams are the basis for extreme joy or endless heartache; sometimes, both at the same time.  But don't give up on your dream.  I certainly haven't given up on mine.  Someday, maybe we'll meet and we can share how happy we were when we woke up and discovered our dreams were fulfilled.

     Until the next time, keep a hug on.

 ~ Yaya

... And the rest of him, hungry.

     Do you like to read?  I loooooove to read; kids' books, westerns, Christian Romance, history, science... you name it.  Years ago, I was a Librarian and my favorite job was when I could spend time in the childrens' section of the library.  I always enjoyed checking the books in and out for people, kids in particular, because I could kind of keep up with what everyone was reading.

     I don't recall if I've told you about this before, but one of my favorite authors, back then, was a man by the name of Jack kent.  Among other books, he wrote one called Round Robin.  There was a constant waiting list of about thirty people who wanted to read this book.  I kept thinking that I would have my chance to check the book out, if I was just willing to wait long enough.

     Well, lemme' tell you something about books and kids.  When kids find one that they like, its right next to impossible to squeeze into the waiting line to have a look.  Finally, I had to add my name to the waiting list so I would eventually have a chance to read the book, myself.

     This book is out of print, but you just might be able to find it on Amazon or Barnes & Noble, if you want to read it.  There's also the slimmest chance that you might find a copy to read, by checking into Inter-Library Loan.

     Just to give you an idea as to why Round Robin was so popular, here's the first sentence:  "In the beginning, Round Robin was just like all the other baby robins; most of him Head and the rest of him, Hungry."

     See what I mean?  Now, I ask you, could you resist reading a book that starts out like that?  I do hope you will do some research and find this book.  I truly believe it's something you might enjoy.  Happy reading and happy blogging.  And 'til the next time, keep a hug on.

 ~ Yaya

Two Famous Roosters

     Perhaps you've read some of my posts about what great farming skills my family displayed while we lived in the country?  If so, then you know that one of our better talents was loving the animals.  In fact, we loved them so much that we didn't eat our own animals.  They were our friends, after all.

     Well, let me tell you about two of our friends.  One was named Cogburn.  The other we called Captain Hook.  The story of how they acquired such names is very interesting, but that's for another time.  For now, I'd like to tell you how these roosters gained fame in the neighborhood.

     One of the more interesting and less desirable jobs, when you raise chickens, is slaughter day.  Since we knew that slaughter day was coming up, we told our children to find some way of marking the two young roosters that had become family pets so they wouldn't wind up in the soup  Not ours, of course.  Trusting that the kids would find a way to follow through on this task, we said no more, until the day arrived.

     Shortly before we started setting up the necessary equipment for getting the job done, we noticed that the roosters had, indeed, been marked... all over.  The mark was only supposed to last for a couple of days.  Who knew the kids would use food coloring?  And who knew chicken feathers would soak up the color so well?

     For weeks, Rooster Cogburn and Captain Hook pranced around, just as if they knew they were the only blue roosters on the planet.  Then, about three weeks later, someone offered us $300 apiece for those little beauties.  It was awfully tempting, that's for sure, but we knew we couldn't sell 'em.  They were our friends, after all

     Until the next time, keep a hug on.

Yaya