trick or treat!

Trick or Treat!    and so the trick or treaters visited us at M's house   these are just a few of the treaters for the evening   we handed out candy, ate pizza, and sorted thru my fall foliage pics for M's new house's bathroom in Durango   her and her beau are buying a house in Durango, CO which is only 3 1/2hrs from here   the first pic above is of her beau's son   it was a load of fun at M's tonite   the baby boy in M's arms was the neighbor immediately next door   only 3months old and in his costume   M rocked him to sleep   anyways, i enjoyed handing out the candy throughout the nite   hadn't done that in years   at my previous house i get about 3 or 4 treaters and that's it   so i stopped doing it all together   a lot of kids go to the mall nowadays for treating as did Jasmine, picture no. 2, my neighbor girl (pardon my mess on the floor, my kids had their confetti party the past couple days)   now the only thing missing tonite was watching The Wizard of Oz, which was not on tv   don't know how or when in my childhood, but this movie was always showing at Halloween time...Lions, and tigers, and bears O My!

happy halloween!

lions, tigers & bears, O my   halloween  always a day to remember The Wizard of Oz   maybe i can find it showing on tv tonite   anyways, i'll be at M's house handing out candy with her   we'll catch up from the past month   it'll be great to see her   think i'll take my photo printer and print some photos she liked from the fall foliage ...anyways, this entry is more about my thoughts on my son at the moment   i talked to him the other day   he's ready to get out of the Army already (when his 3yrs are up)   i sent him an email to write and talk to me   i'm curious as to why the decision already when he hasn't been in there a year   hopefully he'll write   and i was thinking of sending him Why Courage Matters by John McClain   it is about courage in the midst of war experienced by everyone differently   hopefully he would read it while in iraq   i'm just not sure he'll read it at all   i sit here sensing his need to talk, yet i'm far away   i know he will talk to me, but from such distance?    i wonder if he's talking to his buddies at all or if he's hanging out by himself    he was just hanging out the other day, seemingly by himself   i worry about him a little right now, that will increase once he's in iraq    i know, as he has admitted, he's a mama's boy, but i was hoping he'd find a father figure he could learn from   i have no clue if it will happen   his father abandoned him when he was an infant   come to think of it, i'm not sure he's had any male role models in his life...anyways, regardless if he stays in the army or gets out in 3yrs, i want to be there for him    i was hoping to go see him before he left for iraq, but i learned yesterday that my back lump sum pay from social security won't show up for up to another 90days    if i get lucky and it shows up by the end of the month, maybe i can still go   i'll see   i'll say a prayer and let Spirit do the work   if it's meant to be, so it will be    in the meantime, i need to get his new address and write him more letters, i just started last week   i'm more prone to call him than write, but i realized ican say more in a letter than a short phone call    may Spirit watch out for him and carry him thru his military service time   may he come home safely and alive   i love him very much...

wine for dinner

ok i had a sandwich too, but the wine was the main course for the evening    again a ballgame on (tv muted) while listening to some jazz   think this will become a saturday nite ritual, just add a glass of wine to the atmosphere   i read very briefly Conversations with God book 2  one chapter actually   think i've had enough spiritual grounding and enlightenment for a week, a day    went a to a class this morn for church   was suppose to stay the day, but left in the midst of it    i've spent too much time at the church lately and i'm back there manana   i'm going to take most of next week off    here i am retired and spending as much time at church as i did at the p.o., or so it seems and feels    too much   i wanna have fun right now   dont get me wrong, i enjoy my volunteer work, but i don't want to become a church addict as some people are there   at the moment i'm wishing my bike was not in the shop again-yep it's there again dammit   but anyways, it'll be all fixed by the end of the month, then come next spring i'm buying my new bike   i made a decision, pretty much, on a Suzuki Boulevard 1400    anyways, once i get that bike i'm on a road trip at least every other weekend, if not every weekend   right now i'm wearing myself out and don't want to do that   so i'll keep changing gears til i get in the right one   i remember this week, Life is to be enJOYed, not chained to any one thing or person for that matter   seek and i will find    tonite while sipping wine, i was even thinking of finding me another date    i haven't given this much thought for at least 2yrs, maybe 3 now   i've lost track, but i'm ready for another change, maybe a date wood be a good direction   for awhile i've been hoping to meet someone at church, but now i'm rethinking that   only time will tell   in the meantime, hurry up and fix my bike!

a letter...

good mornin' my friend   i woke this morn feelin a little warm fuzzies   not as strong as last saturday's but good   so i made coffee and dove into Conversations with God again this morn   as i read, i contempated   i'd take a break and other thoughts came thru me while thinking of you and our recent conversations (financial and other topics)    anyways these are some of my thoughts    first my frustration with the other office angels (volunteers)   actually i recognize they're doing what they can, just some better than others   i haven't been comfortable with the idea that some have unconsciously appointed me their "leader", but Sandy said i did that myself by coming in there and always finding something to do (which i do)   i just wanted to volunteer, not become "leader" but maybe that is what i'm suppose to do there   i haven't been in a leadership position per se in years, 20plus, and have been avoiding that    mostly i'm just being me   i've always taken initiative about things since i was a kid   it's an unconscious habit and i don't even know i'm doing it half the time   anyways, i recognized again this morn that everyone is different, different in their nature of being and i'm going to continue being me even if it's being "leader"   humble myself and accept that part of me  give of myself what i can   and humble myself in relation to my family is what i think i need to do   every experience this week, i was asking maybe i need to stay in the thick of Life in order to continue growth even if it makes me uncomfortable at times   Goodness, life is changing again for me   i desire to live as a loving individual and i'm not always so   humility is a good teacher to me although i don't always welcome it   not sure what came over me this week, but i feel more spiritually connected this week and that i've been away for some time   it's probably only been a few months, but that's too long   maybe it hasn't been a few months, maybe just a few weeks, but i recognized i have to sit and sort things out from time to time and i haven't done that in a little while    i guess this is part of the journey that i need to enjoy   i've been on a rigid journey for 20yrs at the p.o., now life is opening up   there is more to it all which i've known but unable to experience fullly   working at the p.o. was truly an experience of survival, now i'm in the experience of Living    goodness, there is only God and the expression there of   it's overwhelming sometimes, yet so simple...my brain is in overload, i go back to my book   i recognize now i can take one step at a time in lieu of one giant step all the time  the pages of my life will write itself as i direct my own course   ...Life is Good again.......hugz~k 

missing

yesterday i went lookin in my closet for a particular sweatshirt i thought sure i had   well it wasn't there   i thought ok, maybe i didn't have it or my son took it    well back in the closet today lookin for another sweatshirt   it's missing too    since my son was here and left, i've been missing clothes, music and books    is this what kids are for....LOL

O goodness!

it's gonna be an adventure when i return to Ohio in december   i just talked to one of my nieces i haven't seen in 20yrs, she's 27 now and has a baby girl   Goodness   it's been over a dozen years since being in Ohio and the last time this niece and her mother weren't around   her mother, my older sister, and i have not been in touch   she hasn't wanted to be in touch with me for whatever reasons   no problem here   it's clearly going to be interesting when i get there    maybe i'll meet the nephew i never met either before he ships out to the Army   Life, you never know what its compass is....i will sail my vessel (garth brooks)

went shoppin'

went shoppin' today with no money    good tiime to go shoppin    i woke up with the blues, part illness part life    so i went to the mall    i went into about 3 stores, then sat and people watched while having a pretzel and water    anyways, i haven't people watched in a very long time   all shapes and sizes and attire    there were teens there, there were everyone there   a daughter-mom combo walkin the mall numerous times i guess getting in their exercise   i saw them loop at least a half a dozen times   odd couples, cute couples   people watchin did me more good than shoppin'   a good change for the week ...but also, i don't think i told you that i had 3teeth pulled this last monday   had an infection, they  had to go   one was really a root tip from a previous broken tooth   so it's been no straws or sodas for a week -with no straws i didn't ask about smokin'   anyways, i called the dentist's office to see if i could at least have a soda already   gotta have my daily coke and i've been a good girl and have done without all week   she said coke was fine, but still no straws    i've been wanting a cigarette all week   maybe next week    i have a follow-up apptmnt on monday, maybe i'll get the ok for straws then    we'll see   i'm all stitched up, so that factor may play into a cigarette   all in due time    once home i took a nap  i feel a little better    now the debate as to whether attend a church meeting manana   all the history data and statistics i gathered for this project are being presented tomorrow   but it's a 9-5er    not sure i can last the whole day with this soreness with my gums    then tomorrow nite is a movie at church, Conversations with God based on a book by Neale Donald Walsh   good book, plus others that follow i have yet to read   not going to miss the movie, but i'll miss part or all of the meeting if i  must ....nothing on tv, nothing at the dollar movie (my budget at the moment)   time for a book which i have still yet to pick up and read anything lately    toomuch on the plate and it's World Series time    all in due time.....

p.s.   found me a bike or two the other day, and it's not going to be a Harley after all    fell in love with another crotch rocket, but will probably stay away from it    discovered a Suzuki and Kawasaki cruisers i fell in love with   will be one of them    next spring or summer, i'll be gettin the new bike:-)!

the music plays

the radio is on, i sit quietly in tears knowing my son will be headed to Iraq    i thought i was all peaceful about this war, peaceful within myself, until now    apparently when it hits home, it hits    i know he will be fine regardless what happens   i'm very proud of him   i can tell in phone conversations he's growing, maturing as he serves our country   i pull out a book, Why Courage Matters, the way to a braver life-by John McCain   yes the senator who may run for presidency   i've read this book once, but now is the time again   opening the middle of the book and where i had highlighted, i begin to become peaceful again   reminded of why we have wars anyways..."His faith is his country and the justice it promises.  Like Dr. King, he believes it is possible in this country to create the 'beloved community,' where all races, alll religious persuasions, all hearts, live together peacefully, respectfullly, where people can 'lay down the burden of race...just lay it down.'"    there's purpose in this Iraq war and there's got to be some good in it somewhere, somehow    what it is remains to be seen my me, probably others   but may Spirit watch over us all in its duration   GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS!!!   God Bless the Iraqis!!!!   and all those in Afghanistan.....

...came home after work, i had left the radio on   American Soldier by Toby Keith  and God Bless the USA by Lee Greenwood played one right after the other   my two favorite patriotic songs   i'll play them often while he's in Iraq   i'm sending him a copy too ....

tent rocks plus sum

this was my new road trip today!   it was awesome!   M told me about it   great place to visit    anyways, i'll write more on this trip in this entry laterz   my Boo has been barking at me for an hour since being home and i must tend to her....as you've noticed there are 116 photos   this time i included ALL my pics for today so you know i don't take the perfect picture all the time   best of my knowledge NO ONE ever does, not even pros!   that's why i enjoy everyone' else's photos too!   ...so enjoy ...more soon....

ok i'm back    all i needed to do was sit on the couch   Boo layed at my feet, Jimmy curled up with me on the couch, and they both went right to sleep    kids you gotta love 'em....so i listened to Michael Buble and Norah Jones sing while watchin' the Broncos beat the Raiders (tv muted)...

now about the trip...ok this is how i take photos   i take tons!   i love shooting photographs   with my digital camera i can go on & on & on without interruption of changing film   once completed, i select the pictures i like the best and post them    these photos i'm not crazy about the lighting on some, but i can fix that later on the computer   i'll do so and then re-post a few     these are called Tent Rocks   (note:  i think some of them look like other than 'tents'   more like the male genital i'd say)    anyways, this was a wonderful hike    as you come across some of these photos that may not make any sense, those may be the trail i was on while hiking thru them   all you see is rocks surrounded by walls of rock   yep that was the trail    although it was only 1.3miles i think for the whole trail, it took about 2hrs up & down it    once on top you'll see photos of the view and beauty of New Mexico   some of these photos i really like   also, there is a spider   size of a tarantula, but a different kind   saw him/her strolling across the path around the base of the rocks    it was a beautiful day up there, but once the hike was over i saw nothin but rain clouds in the distance   yep i rode my bike and i haven't yet ridden in rain   fortunately is was mostly very cold wind with a few rain drops   but those drops hitting my face, i didn't have a shield on the helmet, those drops felt like hail   who knows maybe it was pin drop size hail   that was smarts   thankfully it didn't last the whole ride home    i'll pack my shield the next time in case of rain   must start carrying a bigger backpack too   i needed an extra layer of clothing on the trip   i was ok here in town, but once on that interstate, whew, a bit breezy from the crosswinds    anyways, this was another great road trip   have i enticed you with enough photos of New Mexico that you'll come visit?

my son

got a message from him today on myspace.com   he got his orders for iraq but won't be leaving til december   i'm to call him monday at which time i'll ask if he can come home next month before he leaves    i'm saying a prayer that he does....

tgif!

TGIF!    well it's been a nice day after all    i had to go to the church today after all but was there only an hour thankfully    i already spent 4days there this week and i was doing my damnest not to show up today    it didn't work   i'm still tryin' to put in just 3days a week, that's not workin' either    another volunteer and i were just wondering the other day how they mananged without us volunteers before we arrived   we're still speculating   ...anyhows, it's 7:30pm and i'm ready for bed already    don't think i got my nap in today    i did manage to get a dental apptmnt for my achin' tooth come this monday   it began a couple days ago and i was tryin' to hold out on it, but i was told i have an infection since my face is swollen on that side   i've been holdin' down the pain with tylenol, but tonite thought i'd try Jack Daniels on this   works wonders   one shot, no pain immediately   i can go for that   J.D. is proving to be a great rememdy for all kinds of ailments so i'm learnin'   besides it's great to relax with a shot of the whiskey as well   this must have been how some people handled the pain in the olden golden days of way back when   it's workin' for me   no complaints here ....anyways, i'll watch the baseball game for another 45mins and then head to bed   actually it's 7:45pm right now   this weekend i'm chillin'    if it was for rain in the forecast, and my toothache, i'd be on another road trip on the bike   must get to Tent Rocks...hope all is well in your neck of the woods...take care

4th of July Campground

first, most of these pics look better if you "View Larger"    i heard that this campground was a great place to see the fall foliage   so i hopped onto my bike and headed down hwy s 14    it's a great back road for a country ride whether in your car or on a bike   it definitely (S)nakes intially constantly swerving directions along the way   i mean that Literal S down the road for a few miles   and some stretches were long   (as i came back i noticed all the vehicles crossing the line often)    anyways, the ride there was such a joy   it was a tidbit cool on that mountain road, but bearable   once out in the sun and behind the trees, it was comfortably warm   anyways, little did i know that i'd be taking some dirt road to this campground   the last 7miles was 4wheelin' on my bike to the campground    as i rode up there i noticed the foliage was about gone   i was at least 2weeks too late for the true beauty of the fall foliage, but i did get a few shots as noted above   i took more than the 39 posted, but i don't always include "all" pics i take   and i didn't get tooo picky about which pics to post    i'm so damn critical of my photos and have learned others like photos i take that i don't think are that good    well some of these are decent, others ok (i'm always ready to take a better photo)   but one of these pics i've fallen in love with    going to print it (two simple leaves on a rock)   but you choose what you like and enjoy   the adventure out today was just what i needed after yesterday which was trying    i have another road trip coming up,but decided to wait til the middle of next week or two (think i have a doctor apptmnt next week)   don't want to travel the interstate on the weekend while everyone's off work and buzzing everywhere   plus the weather forecast is predicting rain for the next 4days or so   aint gonna be goin nowhere....have a good one my friends!

copyrights for all photos reserved for Karen L Goins

say a prayer...

for my son Kyle and all our troops    just got the call from him that he's headed to Iraq   he's been wanting to go sooo badly and he's finally going   i'm very proud of him and i pray he comes back safely   he'll be gone within a couple weeks    he's young and gun ho, i pray he keeps his cool    i know he & his buddies will be watching out for each other   God Bless Our Troops!

...and the wind blows

it's a quiet nite except the wind blowing hastily rustling the trees and howls   a ballgame is on but i sit in contemplation of my journey, spiritual or not   i'm ready for another book, thinking of the Ghandi book i have yet ready for a mini break from spiritual material   so i look at my library of the books bought, yet not read   i have anything from classic to modern politics   where do i trek is the question   my contemplation tonite is on this transition in my life and where am i headed   the answer remains to be seen   volunteering at the church i ask myself do i really desire to be in a spiritual place all the time   i love the philosophy, don't get me wrong, but sometimes i need the grounding of the real world   not that our world isn't real, but it's nature is a different tune than the drum beat of everyone else    a friend and i recently talked that sometimes it seems to be too positive, but if that's the only complaint, then we can handle it    i'm acustom to being in the trenches where one grinds away at Life, not the softer path my church offers   just yesterday i sensed i'm missing a connection or maybe i haven't adjusted to the new path   there's a long journey ahead   only a couple days ago did my schooling become clear to me for the next year or two   then there will be another fork in the road and i will decide the next path to take from there   but for now i need leisure tiime or at least a balance than before   20yrs at the p.o. was workaholic time, mostly due to the demands of that job    now the road is wide and open   i have many paths to take   each its own journey bringing to me another part of Life   i look forward to the treasures collected along the way   and who knows what Life will bring as i travel    maybe there will be a mate, there certainly will be new friends   Spirit as my guide, i will follow where i'm lead....for now a different book and the adventures untold

The Illusionist

this movie Rocks!!!!   ok i loved it, but it's a must see movie   beautiful!   wonderful!   even the kids can see it    can't say much here about it without giving it away   so go see it!