Scent of Almond

My aunt placed the tea on the table before exiting. These family reunions were always uncomfortable. The conversations grew hot quickly from the grinding friction of personalities. I counted the hours until I would be home again. Instead of fiddling with the hem of my shirt I decided to drink the tea my aunt had offered me. She had a fascination with buying ornate plates, cutlery and cups. The intricate, golden design winked at me. What disconcerted me was the content. Blood-red tea reflected my anxious expression. I took the teacup and rested the cool ceramic against my bottom lip. I was only being paranoid. This was normal tea. The sickly sweet liquid broke past the seal of my lips. I convinced myself the blood-red tea was a fitting choice. After all, wasn’t it blood that had forced us to converse this evening? Somebody had to inherit our grandparent’s money.

- Ermisenda Alvarez

That blood’s thicker than water
is what people do say
when opposite personalities will
often a friendship decay

Even though my aunt had
truly hated my mother
’twas only her and I
no other sister or brother

And so the bloody color
of this particular tea
just seemed as appropriate
as it could ever be

Right before I sipped
the liquid from my cup
over the delicate rim
I stopped to glance up

My aunt began staring
with wide opened eyes
and a look showing
an element of surprise

The faintest smile then
spread across my lips
as I raised the cup
and took a couple sips

She had placed hers
back on the table
beginning to stand up
but found herself unable

Glaring now at me
almond sent filled the air
while there was no sympathy
for her would I spare

And right before she died
I really do believe
that she drank the arsenic
her mind did conceive

Her head hit the table
as I kept my seat
for I had switched cups
to her own defeat!

Teresa Marie  12/3/11

 

__picture it & write by Ermilia

Logos and Their Hidden Messages – Via Mom – Pretty Cool!

Can you spot the hidden message in these famous logos ?     Do you see the arrow between the second “E” and “x” ?? I had never noticed this before.     2nd and 3rd “t’s” are two people sharing a tortilla over a bowl of salsa.     Probably the world’s most famous bike race. The “R” in “Tour” is a cyclist – yellow circle front wheel of bicycle.     Arrow probably means Amazon has everything from A to Z ?     There is a sideways chocolate kiss between “K” and “I”.   There is a bear if you look closely at image of Matterhorn. Toblerone chocolate bars originated in Berne, Switzerland whose symbol is the bear.     See “31” embedded in the “ B R” ?? Thirty one-derful flavors!     Northwest Airlines. Circle is a compass. Guess which direction the arrow in upper left corner (or beginning of “W”) is pointing ?     See the gorilla and lioness ?   Smiley face is also a “g” like in “goowill”.     Used to be the emblem for the Milwaukee Brewers. Baseball glove forms an “M” and a “B”.  Logo was designed by a college art student.

The Fire

(Image Source: latoro.com)

I could see it
from atop the hill

It lit the sky
I stood very still

No one was home
horses in the field

Nobody to be hurt
nothing to be killed

My whole world was
being taken from me

For it was a total loss
from what I could see

As my heart was pounding
tears formed in my eyes

I think of dad saying
that a man never cries

What God had given
was now taken away

But I am so grateful
no one was home today!

Teresa Marie  12/3/11

 

 

Saturday Morning Animal Laughs

 

If you’re a dog
don’t turn your back
on this big bully
or she will attack!!

 

 

 

Kitty tells the dog
“You’re in my space
if you don’t move
I’ll jump your face!”

 

 

 

 

As Is A Rose

When love is new
as is a rose

It starts with a bud
and the petals closed

Slowly we open up
as the time goes

The more we do
love in beauty grows

As to each other
our true emotion shows

When in full bloom
everybody around us knows

If storms we weather
as the wind blows

Love will be sustained
as pretty as a rose!

 Teresa Marie  12/3/11

 

Where Did “Piss Poor” And Other Sayings Come From – Via Mom

Where did “piss poor” come from?   Us older people need to learn something new every day.. Just to keep the grey matter tuned up. Where did “Piss Poor” come from? Interesting History.  They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot and then once a day it was taken and sold to the tannery…If you had to do this to survive you were “Piss Poor”. But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn’t even afford to buy a pot… They “didn’t have a pot to piss in” and were the lowest of the low. The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn’t just how you like it, think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the 1500s: Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May,and they still smelled pretty good by June. However, since they were starting to smell, brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married. Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children.last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, “Don’t throw the baby out with the Bath water!” Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath.  It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying, “It’s raining cats and dogs.”  There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppingscould mess up your nice clean bed.  Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That’s how canopy beds came into existence. The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt.  Hence the saying, “Dirt poor.” The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door,it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance-way. Hence: a thresh hold. (Getting quite an education, aren’t you?) In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables And did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers In the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme: Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old. Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, “bring home the bacon.” They would cut off a little to share with guests And would all sit around and chew the fat. Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous. Bread was divided according to status.  Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust. Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom; of holding a wake. England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people.  So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell.  Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be, saved by the bell or was considered a dead ringer. And that’s the truth. Now, whoever said History was boring!!! So get out there and educate someone! ~~~ Share these facts with a friend. Inside every older person is a younger person wondering, ‘What the heck happened?’ We’ll be friends until we are old and senile. Then we’ll be new friends. Smile, it gives your face something to do!