Halloween, What Does It Mean

What is the meaning of Halloween
Does anyone really know
Is it the time of death and destruction
That happened once long ago.

It grieved God's heart he had made man
Who's thoughts only evil had been
God vowed to destroy his creation
Is that what we call Halloween.

Only Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord
God said Noah build thee an ark
Forty days and nights it poured down rain
Noah saw no place to park.

Are we resurrectiing the ghosts of the past
And the destruction that once was the scene
There must be some good reason
For the day we call Halloween.

If we are celebrating the day of God's wrath
I am thankful that God did relent
He offered new life through the gift of his son
To all that come and repent.

Tom Hoy

Lethbridge

More Later.....
G.

Apple Pear Cranberry Pistachio Crisp

The best part about fall, is the bounty of fresh seasonal fruits: pears, apples, berries, and now that my flat has cooled off I can fire up the oven.  The crowning jewel to my Sunday dinner was an Apple-Pear-Cranberry-Pistachio Crisp, with a dollop of Häagan Daas Dulce de Leche Ice Cream.

For me crisps tend to be more organic, and seldom do I have an exact recipe because I just haven't been that disciplined, and I want to see where my mood and my fruit takes me.

Bachelor's Paradise

Once I was a bachelor --
My age was twenty-four;
I thought that I would never live
With women any more.

I had a one room shanty
That I built just for me
For I was a happy bachelor
From matrimony free!

My chair and table cost three bucks
My cook stove cost fifteen
I cooked my meals in a nice tin can
And kept things neat and clean.

I baked fresh pancakes everyday,
My food was never stale,
I sure could brew good coffee
In my Roger's syrup pail.

I took my baths at intervals
Depending on the rain,
I washed my socks four times a year;
There was nobody to complain!

And when I went to bed at night
With the blankets around me rolled,
No wife was there to snatch my share
And leave me in the cold.

No woman slept beside me
Nor babies in their cribs,
And if my snore could crack glass doors,
No elbow cracked my ribs.

And when I came home late at night
It never caused a scene,
I never heard a voice cry out:
"Oh Tom! Where have you been?"

I was not one to chase the girls
As anyone could plainly see.
Just when I thought I had it made,
The girls were chasing me!

I often hear that love was blind
But love will find a way,
One girl's love rubbed off on me,
That was her lucky day!

True love never does come cheap,
But it is worth the price,
Now I am the guy that was so shy,
I just got married twice!

Yes, once I bached then I got matched
And gave up freedom twice,
Now I have it made -- I would note trade
For all of China's rice.

No man is an isle onto himself
And now my story is told.
Although love calls for sacrifice
I won't change love for gold!

Tom Hoy

Lethbridge

More Later....
G

A Princess's Rose

Sunny Alberta, you are fit for a king
Where musicians play and cowboys sing.
You are named for the daughter of a famous Queen
And much of your beauty has yet to be seen.

Alberta dear you are so sweet;
The land of honey and sugar beet.
I believe my dear you are blessed from above
No the least of your blessings is brotherly love.

You welcome tourists from every land
And you are willing to lend a helping hand.
You are young in years and much alive
The year of your birth was nineteen five.

You have beautiful mountains we all know
Where there are Indians and white men but no Eskimo.
Your great oil fields are there pride of the west
As a place to live you are one of the best.

Although your family is still very small
you are the riches province of them all.
Your emblem is the Alberta rose
And your peace loving people are nobody's foes.
Like Solomon's wealth and Sheba's Queen
The half has not been told or seen.

Tom Hoy

Lethbridge

More Later....
G

Rosey Alberta

Alberta you are the prairies' rose
With mountains from where great rivers flows
Where sometime it rains and sometimes it snows.
But more often its sunny and Chinook winds blow.
With wheat fields that wave like heads of gold
And much of your story has never been told.
Your ranches are many with horse and cattle galore
Great highways expand this wonderful land
Where there was nothing but prairie grass before.
With cowboys and Indians all over the west
Your Calgary Stampede is one of the best.

Gas wells are many as everyone knows
While long and steady your oil wells flows.
Your tar sands contain the most oil on the earth
And nobody know just how much it is worth.

Your beautiful mountains have really good parks
Where fishing is good and there are no sharks.
We are proud of our Indians and want you to know
We live in the north but we are not Eskimo.

It is no longer the home where the buffalo roam
But where the deer and antelope play
And the big horn sheep still frolic and leap
And the sky is not cloudy all day.

Tom Hoy

Lethbridge

More Later....
G

Hard Boiled Eggs

Hard boiled eggs are a regular staple in my fridge, but It took me a while to find the perfect technique, not too hard, no black ring, and easy to peel.

1. Bring  heavily salted water to a boil. The salt increases the boiling temperature of the water.
2. Place room temperature eggs into the boiling water and cover for 10 minutes. Check the eggs for a cracks in advance otherwise you'll have semi-poached eggs.
3. Place under cool running water until the eggs are cool to the touch.

If you like the yolk a little bit softer a little less time, but otherwise these are the perfect texture for devilled eggs, cutting eggs into you salads, egg salad, or even eating as is. I make a half dozen to a dozen at a time, the unused, unpeeled eggs can be refrigerated for up to a week with little issue.

More Later....
G.

The Old Crows Nest

The Rocky mountains are the pride of the west
but who stole the egg from the Old Crows Nest?
The nest has been there since away back when
now the nest egg robbers are at it again.

The old scarecrow is working at last
now the old black crow flies on past
Over the prairie she flies and hops
Just stopping to feed on the farmers crops.

Since the crow stopped laying she is starting to get fat
please put a penny in the farmers hat
There are no more eggs for the farmers poke
some poor farmers may now go broke.

Since the poor old farmer has had to eat crow
the farm backbone is beginning to show
Where in the world have the eggs all gone
did the throw them at the crow just to egg her on?

Should the farmers get together and just raise cane
until the old black crow starts flying again?
There are pros and cons and angry words
some say the old crows nest is for the birds.

The crow has stopped riding on the big grain trains
for as long as the ban on the crow rate remains.
If we close our eyes to the farmers plight
we may all soon feel the old crows bite.

Tom Hoy

Lethbridge

More Later....
G