Thoughts of a Dying Soldier

 

The sky is such a lovely shade of blue in early May
The clouds look soft and fluffy; I’ll be touching them today
I'm glad the grass I’m lying on is soft and emerald green
The color of the lawn in spring back home in Aberdeen

God, there was so much that I had hoped that I could do
But it looks as if today I will be meeting you
And all the things I’ve thought worth-while seem suddenly so small
I can’t help but smile to think we fuss ‘bout life at all

The only thing that matters is this moment now impending
The seeds that I have scattered will grow though life is ending
God, it is so little that man-kind will ever know
I'm glad that I am not afraid because You love me so

There’s a letter in my pocket, I suppose someone will find
And give to my beloved, ‘something that he left behind’
Sure would have loved to see her, touch her soft cheek just once more
God, what a useless, bloody hell on earth, this war

Above me now an eagle flies on her majestic flight
I will pass her in the skies as I fly Home tonight
She will fly to some tall tree and to her faithful nest
I’ll fly to eternity and my eternal rest

The sky is such a lovely shade of blue in early May
I wonder what they’re doing in my home-town today
I wish that I could see them all and hold their hands again
Oh God, in death there’s no enemy, we are all just men

"Inspired by the book: The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway"

 

 © Janet Martin ~ Another Porch

 

Take a moment to remember the men and women

who never made it back home to their friends and loved ones...

Roses & Summer Sky

 "Above the hills, along the blue,
Round the bright air with footing true,
To please the child, to paint the rose,
The gardener of the World, he goes."

~ Robert Louis Stevenson, Summer Sun ~

The summer sun has certainly

been out recently, and my children

and roses are loving it!

Here are the sources & free graphics

used in this collection: Roses & Summer Sky.

*The Graphics Fairy*

Back of an old photograph

Round frame

 

*The Vintage Moth*

Antique ledger page

 

*Vintage Images*

Rose bouquet

 

*bumble button*

Theater program graphic

*Altered Bits*

Grungy texture

 

 Thank you so much

for stopping by!

 

Sweet Baby Bird ~ Clip art

“The reason birds can fly and we can't is

 simply because they have perfect faith, for to have faith is to have wings.”

~ J.M. Barrie, The Little White Bird ~ 

I used a vintage graphic of a sweet baby bird from The Feathered Nest to make this clip art.  I placed a piece of paper against my computer screen, then loosely traced the graphic in pencil.  I then filled in the missing details and went over the lines with a fine-tipped black marker.  After erasing the pencil, I scanned and cleaned up the image in GIMP.  

The first image has a white background, and would be great for coloring!  The second image is a PNG file with a transparent background.  It's ready for adding to your digital artwork... I don't mind if you edit out my signature/date for your project.  Please see the "About My Free Images" tab for guidelines for use ~ Thanks!

Have a Sweet Saturday!
Thanks for stopping by!!

Summery Pink Geraniums

"Then followed that beautiful

season... summer. Filled was the air

with a dreamy & magical light;

and the landscape lay as if new...

created in all the freshness

of childhood."
 

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ~

Hello again... I've been on a little break!  In my last post, I wrote about

my husband's great-grandmother, and her favorite flower... geraniums.  Since then I've learned her favorite color of geranium was pink!  A little while ago, our family visited Hazel & Kermit's graves and planted a pair of red and pink geraniums in their memory.  My husband paused to share a few stories about her... sweet little things he remembered from his childhood.

She really was a special lady! 

As far as the images, I designed the first for use as a simple note card,

and left it blank so you could personalize it with your own special messages...  I didn't have a particular use in mind for the second image, but thought it turned out so pretty that I included it!  The third image is a stationery page... love the effect of the shadows cast by the flower.  The last image of the geranium is a PNG file, which means it has a transparent background.  I used it in the 3 previous images... have fun with it in your own digital artwork!

Here are my sources for

the free graphics used:

*Vintage Images*

Pink geranium (pelargonium)

*The Graphics Fairy*

French sheet music

*Altered Bits*

Grungy texture

*bumble button*

Theater program graphic

*The Old Design Shop*

French postcard

*Shabby Blogs*

Post divider #7

Thank you so much

for stopping by!!

Grandma Hazel's Geraniums

I've always known my husband's favorite flowers...

we both love gardening, so it was something we talked

about even while dating.  Roses & geraniums top the list.

As it turns out, they were also his great-grandparent's

favorites.  His great-grandfather, Kermit, took pride in

his rose garden, while his great-grandmother,

Hazel, enjoyed her geraniums...

Here are the sources for

"Grandma Hazel's Geraniums"

gift tags & lined stationery:

*Vintage Images*

Red geranium

*The Graphics Fairy*

French sheet music

*Altered Bits*

Grungy texture

*Green Paper*

green frame

 Thank you!

What are a few of your favorite flowers?

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Queen of Blossoms

"May! Queen of blossoms

and fulfilling flowers, 

with what pretty music 

shall we charm the hours?"

~ Lord Edward Thurlow ~

Here are the sources of my free graphics

for the gift tags & stationery above:

*The Graphics Fairy*

French sheet music

French Chocolate

*The Old Design Shop*

French postcard

*Carol Anne's Boutique*

1908 French letter

*Vintage Ephemera*

French Script, 1816

*Green Paper*

green frame

*Vintage Images*

Rose bouquet

*Altered Bits*

Grungy texture

Thank you so much

for stopping by!!

My Cup of Tea

"I smile of course, and go on drinking tea, yet with these April sunsets, that somehow recall my buried life and Paris in the Spring, I feel immeasurably at peace, and find the world to be wonderful and youthful, after all."

~ T.S. Elliot, Portrait of a Lady ~

I've been reading the classic "The Secret Garden,"

every night after putting the kids to bed... and for the 

ultimate experience, I have to have my cup of tea:

Honey Vanilla Chamomile... so good!

Here are the free graphics sources I used

to compose "My Cup of Tea" gift tags:

 *Vintage Images*

Pansy-filled teacup & saucer

*The Graphics Fairy*

French sheet music

 *Altered Bits*

Grungy texture

Thank you!!

I love this beautiful poem, "Mother's Hands," 

written by my dear friend ~ Janet Martin.

She wrote it in honor of all the women in her life...

so brew your own cup of tea, and visit her 

at Another Porch.  You'll be so glad you did!

Wishing a Happy Mother's Day

to all you beautiful women out there!!!

P.S.... I'm sharing these tags at
Angie's Knick of Time Tuesday
Vintage Style Link Party ~ stop by for
plenty of vintage inspiration!

An Amazing Place

This is the day the LORD has made;

let us rejoice and be glad in it.

~ Psalm 118:24 ~

Recently, with all the beautiful weather, I've been spending more time outside.  Sunday afternoon was no exception.  I asked my husband to lend a hand to clear out some weeds from a front flower bed.  After he'd made his much appreciated contribution of large-scale shoveling and pulling, he left me to the fine-tuning.

As I sat there at the edge, my thoughts were as busy as my hands.  I began thinking about my sister-in-law and her newborn son.  It brought back memories from when my children were babies... of course, there were the sleepless nights and times of worry, but oh so much laughter and many, many tender, sweet moments.

I felt a twinge of longing for those days, and a bit of sadness that my children were out of that stage... and then my little boy of 5 years bounded over from the backyard.  He didn't say much, just plopped down next to me.  It was like he knew I needed his company.  After catching his breath, he asked what I was doing and if he could help.  "Of course!"  With that, he brought my focus back to the present.

"Children have neither past nor future;

they enjoy the present, which very few of us do."

~ Jean de la Bruyere ~

He grabbed Daddy's shovel and was able to get some dirt turned over here and there.  Then he looked for worms.  Soon, he was just there, sitting next to me.  Out of the silence, I heard, "Mom, I like being with you."  I looked up at him and asked, "Why?"  With his pretty green eyes linked directly to mine, he said, "Because... you're so Mom-like."  Then he smiled and went back to his dirt.

If I ever needed to hear those words, it was in those moments.  God knew what was on my heart, and sent a sweet messenger to remind me of a few things.  Yes, I've raised my 'babies' but they're still my little ones... they'll grow in to bigger children, but they'll always be mine, and I'll always be "Mom."

There are still the occasional sleepless nights and times of worry... they will exist, as long as my children and I are together on this earth... but for all that, there's still so much laughter and many, many tender, sweet moments yet to be...  We've come through much to end up where we are... and right now, the present is an amazing place to be.

"Rejoice in the things that are present;

all else is beyond thee."

~ Montaigne ~