Death of the Cat

Dear Cat,

I am standing in the distance, watching the aftermath you have caused.
I am watching you in your deer-in-head light stance
and listening to your poor excuses as you stumble,
sputter and try to form your tiny little words

As your owner comes down on you with hurt & mistrust
I smile slyly as I watch you beg for forgiveness
and promises to do better, to try and replace and
undo what you've already done

You and your lives entered a place once thought safe
Helping yourselves to your owner's deepest thoughts, wishes, dreams & fantasies
Which is the reason why,
it was necessary for you to die.

Yours, sincerely - Curiosity

Pictures by: me :-)
Sunday Scribbling Word Prompt: "safe"

Invisible

who are you talking to

and why do you smile
when you go outside,
why do you stay awhile

what makes you laugh
gaze off into space
why do you act
as if you see a certain face

those questions make me wonder
for surely they can see
that those are your footprints
right behind me


Patrick is always present, yet invisible.




Pictures by: me :-)
Super-duper late Sunday Scribbling word prompt: invisible.
Memory of P. Martin

Are We?

Twenty-one years
Some ups, more downs
with a good dose of fears
Merely existing feels like
a Mexican stand-off
and still he turns to me
and says...
"are we there yet?"

Pictures by: me :-) (my backyard @ 9 degrees...)

Carry On Tuesday word prompt: "are we there yet?"

dont outrun the sky

When I watch the clouds in the sky

they make me feel small


and insignificant


while they put on their ominous slide show


and threaten to show their power

then they notice me watching

with my small, insignificant self



and they lighten up



wave hello



and move on their way. Leaving me feeling not so small and insignificant after all.

"A cloudy day is no match for a sunny disposition." ~William Arthur Ward

Pictures by: me :-) (lunch break spent looking "up.")

"Them"

Warm summer nights
He would brush his hair until just right
put on this tuxedo, making sure
that his bow tie & cumberbun
were secured and tight

She, on the otherhand, had much more to do
For when a lady gets ready,
it's nothing she can rush thru
She would fix her hair, in an upswept do
slide into her beautiful, handmade gown
with long, evening gloves, too

He would come down the stairs & we would
laugh, applaud while he basked in being seen
He would then turn, with his hand outstretched
to present his Queen

They would leave in a blur
A flash from her sparkling gem
Off into the warm summer night
..."and that is how I remember them..."


Carry On Tuesday word prompt: "... & that is how I remember them". in tribute to my parents who were one of the most elegant couples I know :-)

"she's not in right now..."

I'm trying with all my might to NOT let cabin fever take over. For as many winters as I've had, I should be used to the lull that is January through April. But I'm really quite tired of coats, hats, gloves, boots, ice, rain, freezing rain, snow, driving in snow, sliding in snow, rock salt, ice scrapers, defrosters, heaters, furnaces, etc.

But once I get over myself & accept it, it really is beautiful...

So to distract me from me, I focus on others. I got my Winter Photo Swap (sponsored by The Sweet Light) picture all ready to go! Hope the person on the receiving end will be pleased. Fingers crossed. I can't wait to see the collection of everyone's view of winter in their corner of the planet. I'm also preparing my cards for the RAK (random act of kindness) forget.me.not (sponsored by the Necessary Room). Good, good stuff :-)

Thelma & Louise? I hope so. My mama wants to move about the country & I need to so bad, I could scream out loud. I haven't had a 'proper' vacation in FIFTEEN years! Nothing more than 2 days here & there. Isn't that simply awful? I've become so 'zombie-tized' & robotic. Two possible travel destinations: Driving down to Charleston, SC, or taking the train to L.A. I'm so crazy with the need to get away, that I can hardly focus on either trip w/out serious sensory overload at just the thought. Calm down & breathe, Tracey...

In the meantime, while I 'wait' for the road or rail trip, this works for me ...

My 'special inner retreat' let's me go to places like this. Doesn't this look oh, so cozy? I can see myself there w/my books, magazines, journals, pads of paper, pens, markers, rubber stamps, cards, stationary, coffee, tea, no cell, radio or TV. It would make a fabulous silent weekend getaway. Sigh...

Random: Did courtesy die? I only mention that after going to the salon & watching how the ladies interacted with each other. When I go, I rarely get a greeting from anyone other than the girl that 'does' my hair - including the other stylists. While I watch, every women in the place sits still as stone, staring straight ahead. There is no warmth, no 'girls club' thing going on. Even when I compliment someone on their hair, it seems to be all they can do to crack their mouth a fourth of an inch to mumble, 'thanks' while they admire themselves.


Seems folks are so drawn inward. I love greeting folks with a smile & a hello. I always have. So it puzzles me when people don't return the common courtesy. What happened to 'hello, thank you, please & excuse me?' Are we really that uncomfortably rude to each other or has courtesy fallen by the wayside? Clearly, not enough people have an inner kingdom... :-)

“No one is too big to be courteous, but some are too little” ~ Anonymous

Pictures by: me :-) (snow branch & faces. the faces are downtown in our art district)

Favorite recipe...

My esteemed walking partner (my son), doing what he does best... :-)

• walking shoes, any pair that treats your feet right are good
• one pair of socks
• one pair of sweats
• stretches
  
• one hoodie or warm outer layer
• one camera
• one bottle of water
  
• wide-eyed wonder
• open eyes
• imagination
• breath
• thankfulness
• gratefulness
• amazement

1. on one body, add shoes, socks, & sweats; secure firmly
2. add stretches until limber
3. top lightly w/hoodie or warm outer layer
4. add one camera, making sure batteries are fully charged
5. slowly add bottled water to body
6. while body is moving, allow wide-eyes wonder to soak in
   
7. keep eyes open
8. slowly whisk in imagination & breath until fully blended
9. generously add thankfulness & gratefulness
10. walk until fully filled with amazement
11. repeat as needed

Once completed, please enjoy your walk in the park

Pictures by: me ;-D
Sunday Scribbling prompt: A Walk In the Park

Clean Slate

Happy Belated New Year Everybody! :-) Prosperity, dreams, wishes, hope, peace & love to all! I feel very excited for what's to come.

I got my book, Still With Me, today in the mail from the give away @ the White Readers Meet Black Authors. Beyond excited - can't wait to start it! The authoress autographed it to me & sent along a separate note! I had almost forgotten I won, so it was a nice ending to the day. She also gave me her email address & invited me to FaceBook her. So cool!

I'm listening to the book Let's Take The Long Way Home on CD. I love reading my books, but I don't give myself time like I should. On CD, I can get through the book while driving to & from work. It's such a relaxing alternative to the usual radio crap & my CD's I've listened to thousands of times. When writers turn their books to CD, they should make sure the reader has what it take to keep the listener interested. One popular book I tried was read by the author, but it was very mundane. No voice inflection.

Both books deal with illness, friendship, loss, love, mothers/daughters. Hitting so close to home right now. 'Long Way' is such a touching memoir. Both the authoress & her deceased friend (subject of the book) have other books out there that I plan to add to my 'to-read' list. Between the books & my friend, Cassie, moving along in her journey, I am humbled, thankful & slapped in the face by perspective 24/7.

Lastly, on New Year's Day, it soared to a high of 55-60 degrees! Welcome to Ohio. I dropped everything on the spot, & took a walk.

Cleary, the willows were confused. they're now covered in 3" of snow...

The park's ice rink was definitely 'red-lighted' (thin ice)

A soft spot in the woods...

I used to climb all over & play on this wall when I was a kid. I love how worn it is...

Finally, I came upon the spot that kept me glued in tracks.

Reflections that reminded me of this excellent post about "adventure" from Own Your Own Beauty. Let's "go out and see what it is in life that might bring us joy."

Bring it on in 2011! :-)

Pictures by: ;-)