Simply Elegant, Elegantly simple

The Doily

Handmade doily:  frilly, fancy, mimicking lace,

Giving the Victorian style to any space,

Placed deliberately; with a purpose in mind,

Many of these crocheted wonders were one-of-a-kind,

Protecting the furniture from china and glass,

Presenting an air of sophistication and class,

The doily, long forgotten, is quite special to me,

It is delicate, yet defending, like a mother’s love can be,

Hand-crafted, which makes it a true work of art,

Intricately patterned, bringing warmth to my heart,

What is my infatuation with this Victorian design?

I don’t know why, but it is a favorite of mine,

Aged and yellowed doilies of old,

Antiques, frequently bought and sold,

Now paper doilies have use for those who bake,

Nicely displaying the cookies or red velvet cake,

It just adds to the splendor;  It is all about presentation,

Simply elegant, elegantly simple –a quintessential decoration,

In the floral world, the doily found its place,

Wrapping stems of flowers with ultimate grace,

A tussie-mussie was bound by a doily traditionally,

With flowers speaking the language of love unconditionally,

The doily certainly has its place in history,

Why it fell out of vogue remains a mystery.

Tammy Harvey

Written:  9/7/2018

Juno Fall Fashion

If you don't know about Juno, read the poem posted on Jan 18, 2018.
Then on March 15, I posted Juno in her spring fashion attire.

Now that fall is approaching, Juno's hat has changed again.  She now is sporting a red Carolina Hurricanes toboggan cap.  Preseason Carolina Hockey begins TODAY!
On Oct 4, the Hurricanes hockey team of Raleigh will have their opening game of the 2018-19 season.  
She's a Caniac, and it's Bo-Time!!

GO CANES!

The "Omni"s of God

God is  all-present, all-knowing and all-powerful:  Omnipresent, Omniscient, Omnipotent.

This poem was inspired by a childhood memory I have of Oral Roberts coming on television each Sunday morning and opening his service with the same song: "Greater Is He."  

The lyrics I will never forget are:  

https://lyricstranslate.com/en/lanny-wolfe-greater-he-lyrics.html

"God is greater than the wisest men

Greater than the pow’r of sin

God is greater than the gates of hell

Greater than any tongue can tell

God is greater than the richest king

Greater than anything

He’s greater (greater), Greater (greater)

Greater (greater), Greater (greater)

Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world."

 

The "Omni"s

Imagine, if you will, the tiniest speck of sand on the shore,

Imagine, the largest ocean, then enlarge it even more,

From the tiniest to the biggest, God has his fingerprint there,

He is in every crease and crevice; He is literally everywhere,

He is omnipresent, everywhere at the same time,

God has no bounds, and His presence is sublime,

God knows the number of stars in the sky,

He knows the answers when we wonder why,

God doesn’t reveal to us all of his reasons,

We have to live on faith through all of our seasons,

Our seasons in life will be harder to bear,

If we don’t rely on His loving care,

He is omniscient, all-knowing,

Our sanctification is continuously growing,

Past, present, future: God has the plan for us in mind,

Plans to prosper, not harm; to give hope and a future to mankind,

God is omnipotent too, all-powerful, strong,

Overcoming death, He righted all the wrong,

He created this world into being and can take it back at will,

He defeated the power of sin for us and loves us even still,

Many miracles He performed; He made the blind man see,

Always giving grace to us, He parted the Red Sea,

He walked on water; Turned water into wine,

Sent manna down from Heaven; I’m so glad He is mine!

He fed 5,000 people from 5 loaves and just one fish,

For you to know and trust this God is what I truly wish,

God strengthens us with His meekness,

His power is made perfect in our weakness,

Omnipresent, Omniscient, Omnipotent is our God,

Our God is an awesome God!

Tammy Harvey  Written:  9/11/2018

From Knoxville, TN to Durham, NC

This is a true story of a Greyhound Bus ride I took to get home from Tennessee in August 2015.  I only wish I could remember the bus driver's real name.

Command the Stage

The Greyhound Bus I took was quite the trip,

Our female bus driver ran a tight ship!

I sat a few rows from the front, because I felt safer up there,

I was traveling by myself and that was rare,

While boarding, our driver heard a man cursing in line,

“Step aside sir, there will be no profanity on this bus of mine,

Do you want to ride?... then you’d better clean up your act,

I will leave you standing right here", she said without tact,

She made her first announcement as we pulled out of the station,

It was going to be on her terms, definitely not a vacation,

She said: “Put your cellphones on silent”; we could feel her sense of urgency,

“Don’t speak to me while I’m driving unless it is a medical emergency,

“No standing or walking around unless you are using the bathroom,

“Take all of your trash off the bus when you leave; and no lotion or perfume,

Our first stop is Asheville, 125 miles away,

My name is Anita, have a nice day.”

The bus was dead quiet, you could hear a pin drop,

And it stayed that way until the first stop,

“Return to the bus in 15 minutes”, she said with a roar,

“Don’t light up your cigarette until you are far from the bus door”,

In Hickory, NC- passengers got out and a few new ones got in,

Which prompted Anita to give her announcement again,

At each of these stops, the same message was heard,

I could almost repeat it myself, word for word,

Statesville, Winston-Salem, and Greensboro, she announced, with force,

I was feeling very protected by Anita’s need to stay the course,

At some point along the way, someone’s cell phone rang out,

Without hesitation, Anita said with a shout:

 “Is yours the next stop?  Do you want it to be?”

“I will put you off this bus, just wait and see?’

She was a drill Sargent, for sure, in full control,

“You can’t let people walk all over you”, she said, that was her goal,

When you are a bus driver, you have to be tough,

You have to let the passengers know when enough is enough,

So many rules to enforce, it is quite demanding,

Yours is the stage and you must be commanding,

That’s what I learned from my Greyhound bus ride,

If I’m in a bus station, I want Anita by my side!

Tammy Harvey

Written: 4/23/2018

True Blue

Blue

Blue is the color that I think of when I think of you,

It was your favorite, any shade would do,

Not blue, like melancholy or sad,

But blue, like the blue IBM had,

Carolina blue, Duke blue, cobalt or teal,

Sapphire or turquoise, all have their own appeal,

I particularly liked the color of your sparkling blue eyes,

They were so bright, so lively, like summer skies,

Dancing with excitement almost all the time,

Your pupils were small, no larger than a dime,

I think it was the combination of your blue eyes and your smile,

That made others want to stop and talk to you a while,

Or maybe it was because you showed interest in all they would say,

“Let me ask you a question”; you were curious about their day,

You were genuinely interested in everyone else’s story,

Selfless and caring, you didn’t need the glory,

They knew it and liked just how that felt,

Thinking of your charm makes my heart truly melt,

If eyes are the window to your soul, as they say,

Your window was open, and it was a sunny day,

It was those welcoming eyes that shined so blue,

That made you a stranger to very few.

Tammy Harvey

Written:  8/22/2018