Thursday, March 17, 2011

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

These lines were written one day while sitting in a chinese restaurant. I know exactly how long it took-1 1/2 hours longer than I had for my lunch break and my co-workers, bless them, didn't get me fired. I like to think it was the leprechauns who took away my sense of time. They did that a lot. ; )


Often has my heart wandered
To an ancient home of lore
Over the great Atlantic
To Shannon's far off shore,
Where the music from the pipes
Is calling to my soul
To come a'dancing there
In the land of green and gold,
To dance with merriment
At the sound of flute and strings;
And, with every note it hears,
My soul is yearning to be free
To stroll among the hills
Where fairy people dwell
Waiting for the unwary
To bring them under their spell-
And to see them dance at midnight
With fire and delight,
Then at dawn-disappear-
As if never in my sight,
To stroll amongst the people
Whose ancestors are my own
And walk along the streets
Of the places they call home,
To feel a familiarity
With a long ago time,
with stone and rolling hill
That were left behind
By so many aching hearts,
Who left their homes and more
To travel 'cross the Atlantic
Far from Shannon's shore.
And sometimes in the wee hours
When sleep softly slips away,
My heart steals back to Ireland
And wishes it could stay
There among the green hills
Where music tumbles down
To cross the ocean and time
And calls me with its sound.

Melinda Lancaster

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Sympathy Poems -


Having suffered a truly great loss in my life, I found some comfort in a certain card, a translation of a russian quote, that I found myself, but the instant I read it, I bought it for me. The gist of the poem was "yes, how sad that this person died, but how much sadder it would be if they had never lived." I read it many times over the years and it gave me comfort-in those grief stricken moments, when you don't even want to get out of bed, and in those subtle ones, when you realize you have something to tell them and you can't.

The themes behind sympathy cards are as varied as the people they are for.
A Mother's Quilt, for a quilter, that symbolizes her family
A Tree- symbolizing a family tree, with deep strong roots
A Road- that they still travel on with you, but have just gone on ahead
A Fisherman- patiently waiting for his family around the bend of a river

Each time I write a sympathy poem I am mindful of this unifying human condition of grief. And, I hope, that my words can bring some small measure of comfort, like the words in the card I bought did for me.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

An Affair to Remember

I attended my first bridal show yesterday.WellWed magazine put on quite the show at the Cape and Islands Wedding Affair. Premier vendors from the area greeted guests in a carnival atmosphere and showcased the best they had to offer to brides and grooms,

Guests were greeted by super friendly, helpful event staff and a colorful, old-fashioned carnival theme.

I was able to attended seminars on planning, budgeting (Jessica Harris of Alden Blair Events and Emily Fronius of Party Cape Cod) and choosing your color palette (Patrice R. Milley of Patrice R. Milley Floral Designers).
I hear honeysuckle rose is the color this year.
Let me just say..."I had NO idea" and leave at that!

The only caterer I saw (not counting cakes and other confections) was Eat Yor Heart Out Catering.

From the lemonade to the edible spoons, delicious!

I'll be highlighting my favorite vendors over the next couple of weeks, but enjoy these pictures until then!
There were table settings-







Cakes and cupcakes-







Invitations and guestbooks-

Flowers-


and more!

In the end, it was a day full of good things to eat, lots of advice and ideas and fun!

Monday, March 7, 2011

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

WellWed Magazine

The Spring/Summer issue of WellWed Magazine is now available. Full of the best the Cape and Islands has to offer for weddings. You can find DKS Verse on page 190 as well as their website! I am thrilled to be part of this magazine!

I will be attending the Cape and Island's Wedding Affair on March 12th. One of the things I'm excited about is the Couture Fashion Show at the end! Come on out and enjoy the festivities!

A new Wedding Song?


My daughter,Katelin, and I had a great time last weekend when I took her to see "Tangled", the latest Disney adaption of the story "Rapunzel". One of the highlights was this song- "I see the Light" as soon as I heard it, I thought this will be a great wedding song! Here's to all of you, soon to be having that first dance as Husband and Wife.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

American Spartans

THE MISSION OF AMERICAN SPARTAN INC IS TO PROVIDE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO COMBAT WOUNDED VETERANS, IN ORDER TO HELP THEM TRANSITION BACK INTO THE CIVILIAN WORLD.

As a US Navy veteran and an incredibly lucky to be American citizen, I am grateful to these men and women who put themselves in harm's way. That's why I am so happy to be helping with their first major fund-raiser.

Six marines have volunteered to hike 420 miles in keeping with the foundation's motto of "physically inspiring challenges" and on March 5th will be arriving at Park Semper Fi, finishing their journey.



The following poem was written specifically for this event and will be available at the fund-raiser.


You can learn more about this worthwhile cause here.
If you would like to donate, please see their website.

I would like to thank Elizabeth Giles of Maximum Capacity Events
for contacting me about this event.

And though I am Navy through and through, in the spirit of the event, "Semper Fi"