Okay, changed my mind...


Curiously strong
and truly quite effective
Mints with character
Come in handy tin boxes
With lighthearted white papers.

***
I like Altoids, although they aren't for everyone, as they are strong. Peppermint is most popular in this area, but I saw online that they're made in Spearmint as well, for those with that preference. They're tasty, effective, and come in a tin box that can be used for other things once you've run out of mints.

There's a white paper inside the box, sort of a loose protective wrapper. They used to be plain, but now they have different messages on them, like "Wave This In Case of Surrender", or "Enter At Your Own Risk". I noticed today that the center of the wrapper for this second message (what would be under the mints), it says "Time to buy more Altoids. And some tongue insurance." I don't know if the first message has something similar because that box still has mints in it.

Then there's a third message paper, but it's a little more complex than the other two. At one end of the rectangle of paper it says:

Curiously Strong Fact:
Altoids were first produced in 1780, 189 years before man walked on the moon. Coincidence?

Then in the center of the paper it give instructions on how to fold the paper up to create and "Old Timey" mustache, with a suggestion to "Sport it to your next shindig and upload your pics to facebook.com/altoids....


The folks at this company do seem to have a good time ;)

Two forward one back
Taking a break from classes
At home on the farm
practice will still continue
pushing limits more gently.

***

Finally figuring out that I'm slow enough packing that I need more time and energy than I have when trying to get to kung fu classes. OTOH, I don't want to fall further behind in my practice, so going to make sure to take a half hour each day for practice. This will also reduce the amount of jumping I do by quite a bit, which right now is a Good Idea (tm). I'm glad I went back to classes earlier this fall to see folks and check in on how I'm doing, now I'm trying for something in-between All or Nothing (which seems to be the typical American attitude/reaction on most things these days...)

Hurry up and wait
Make the calls and send the scans
Sellers bid fell through
Closing date is pretty tight
Now there may be extension.

***

Yeah, I need to work on other stuff...this house thing is eating my brain. On the plus side, we actually made it to another kung fu class last night; been a few weeks. Left shoulder is being obnoxiously tight; we'll keep working on that...

Today we gathered,
This beautiful sunny day
To sing and speak words
Of praise, love, strength, and laughter
Farewell friend, fly with angels.

*****

There were words from several family members, singing by family and friends, including some members of Concentus. Our group sang Dona Nobis Pacem, which was all right, if a little strained in places, and then we sang Pange Melos Lacrimosum for the first time in public, and performed that beautifully. I think the first song helped open tight throats. I'm glad we could sing as the family wished, but I sure hope we don't have to do this again any time soon.

Paperwork to do,
Forms to sign, scan and send out,
Yet more forms to mail.
A tedium allayed some,
By mad packing of boxes.

Testing the limits
How much can they all endure?
Trees, buildings, people
Not all will stand the testing
And surely all will be changed.

November the fifth,
Papists with gunpowder plot
Named treason by some
Revolution by others
Complacency is foolish.

***
I'm not RC, in general I've always thought the idea is that we shouldn't take whatever is the current way of living and doing business as what will always be, or what _should_ always be. Self-examined life and all that.

Took down lemonbalm
needing space to hang more herbs.
Down to the garden
Ah, fingers so red and cold!
Lemonbalm welcomes me home.

****
Only a short trip outdoors for me today, to harvest some horehound. I haven't harvested as much this year as I would have liked, but more than I have in recent years. Also I have a chance to harvest some things over the winter, as I brought in quite a few of the more tender plants.

L has been mowing lawn and leaves today. He's using a truck to hold what he collects, as the mower's bag fills up so quickly.

Going to give it a try. Syllables per line 5-7-5-7-7

The stormy weather
creates chaos all around.
Life ever changing
Like a leaf on the river
First it eddies then moves on.

Bright sun and blue skies
but wear your woolies or freeze!
Work to be done, yes
But remember to look up
See the reasons for your work.