Happiness

Happiness is like a crystal,

Fair and exquisite and clear,

Broken in a million pieces,

Shattered, scattered far and near.

Now and then along life's pathway,

Lo! Some shining fragments fall;

But there are so many pieces

No on ever finds them all

*

You may find a bit of beauty,

or an honest share of wealth,

While another just beside you

Gathers honor, love or health.

Vain to choose or grasp unduly,

Broken is the perfect ball;

And there are so many pieces

No one ever finds them all.

*

Yet the wise as on they journey

Treasure every fragment clear,

Fit them as they may together,

Imaging the shattered sphere,

Learning ever to be thankful,

Though their share of it is small;

For it has so many pieces

No one ever finds them all.

*

-----Priscila Leonard

Three picture woodburning

Here is my latest woodburning project for someone. The roses, which were only outlined did not show up well until colored. The first picture shows the work I did. The others, showing the roses colored and the board finished and stained, was done by another.

The Two Glasses

There sat two glasses filled to the brim,

On a rich man's table, rim to rim;

One was ruddy and red and blood,

And one as clear as the crystal flood.

*



Said the glass of wine to the paler brother:

"Let us tell the tales of the past to each other;

I can tell of banquet and revel and mirth,

And the proudest and grandest souls on earth

Fell under my touch as though struck by blight,

Where I was king, for I ruled in might;

From the heads of kings I have tron the crown,

From the heights of fame I have hurled men down:

I have blasted many an honored name;

I have taken viture and given shame;

I have tempted the youth with a sip, a taste,

That has made his future a barren waste.

Greater, far greater than king am I,

Or than any army beneath the sky.

I have made the arm of the driver fail,

And sent the train from the iron rail;

I have made good ships go down at sea,

And the shrieks of the lost were sweet to me,

For they said, 'Behold how great you be!

Fame, strength, wealth, genius before you fall,

For your might and power are over all.'

Ho! ho! pale brother," laughed the wine,

"Can you boast of deeds as great as mine?"

*

Said the water glass: "I cannot boast

Of a king dethroned or a murdered host;

But I can tell of a heart once sad,

By my crystal drops made light and glad;

Of thirsts I've quenched, of brows I've laved,

Of hands I have cooled, and souls I have saved;

I have leaped through the valley, dashed down the mountian,

Flowed in the river and played in the fountain,

Slept in the sunshine and dropped from the sky,

And everywhere gladdened the landscape and eye.

I have eased the hot forehead of fever and pain;

I have made the parched meadows grow fertile with grain;

I can tell of the powerful wheel of the mill,

That ground out the flour and turned at my will.

I can tell of manhood debased by you,

That I have lifted and crowned anew.

I cheer, I help, I strengthen and aid;

I gladden the heart of man and maid;

I set the chined wine-pative free;

And all are better for knowing me."

*

These are the tales they told each other,

The glass of wine and paler brother,

As they sat together filled to the brim,

On the rich man's table, rim to rim.

*

- Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Re-covering chair seats

We recently moved an old dinning room table into our kitchen. The seat covers were in horrible condition, stained and ugly. I was drafted to re-cover them. I had about four yards of blue flowered cloth that I did not really need. Since my mother's kitchen is mostly blue with a bit of mauve, it worked out nicely to cover the chairs with this cloth.

DISGUISED

Behind that stubborn lock of hair,

Behind mischievous eyes,

Behind that carefree innocence

A man in making lies.

*

Behind his childish buoyancy,

Behind that warming smile,

An adult waits to be revealed

In just a little while.

*

Be slow to speak, my lips! My hands,

be careful what you do!

The kind of person he will be

Depends so much on you.

*

- B.L. M.

This past winter, I wore the bottoms out of a piar of knitted house slipper/socks. I had been given a good bit of miscellaneous yarn for which I hadn't been able to think of much use, so I took some of it and crocheted new bottoms for the house socks. Now they are set for this coming winter.

Does anyone have any ideas for what to use various small amounts of non-matching and not really pretty colored yarn? Making the bottoms to thes slippers successfully used up some of it, but not much. I hate waste things and toss the yarn out, but I'm at a loss of thinking of something useful to do with the rest of it. Any ideas would be welcome!

The Greatest Test

Help me to walk so close to Thee
That those who know me best can see

I live as godly as I pray,
And Christ is real from day to day.

I see some once a day, or year;
To them, I blameless might appear;
'Tis easy to be kind and sweet
To people whom we seldom meet.

But in my home are those who see
Too many times, the worst of me.
My hymns of praise were best unsung
If He does not control my tongue.

When I am vexed and sorely tried,
And my impatience cannot hide,
May no one stumble over me
Because Thy love they failed to see.

But give me, Lord, a life that sings,
And victory over little things.
Give me Thy calm for every fear,
Thy peace for every falling tear.

Make mine, O Lord, through calm or strife,
A gracious and unselfish life.
Help me, with those who know me best,
For Jesus' sake, to stand the test.

----Barbara Ryberg