Full Stop

This day I
Woke. Bathed.
Drove. Worked.
And ate three meals.
Tomorrow I will
Wake. Bathe.
Drive. Work.
And eat three meals.
Dreadful same, innit?
Well, sameness has a
Comfort and a
Sometimes charm.
And besides,
Each full stop
Brings its own
Possibility for
Devious detour.

 This is a One Shot Wednesday Poem. Please go here to enjoy other One-Shots!

Micah and Me


So I had the day off from work today – unexpected paid holiday, which was nice. I slept until 8:30 (fondly remembering the days when I could easily sleep until 10:00) and puttered around on the computer while I ate breakfast. I washed a load of towels, then I went to the grocery store. Now I'm washing sheets. A very exciting day.

In between those tasks, reading blogs & playing games I spent more time than usual on facebook.



I updated my status to acknowledge National Coming Out Day: The Bug is straight and National Coming Out Day is today. I'm coming out for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality because it's 2010 and almost 90% of LGBT youth experience harassment in school, and too many lives have been lost.

Then I linked to an article about Christine O'Donnell – or, rather, about the type of economic politics she espouses: Why Christine O'Donnell is not you. Dr. M had some excellent commentary on why supply side economics doesn't work.



Then I linked to my friend Anne Wolfe Fraley's excellent blog post about strategies to deal with Westboro Baptist Church: reverent irreverence: where are david kelly and aaron sorkin when you need them?

And then I read Katy's post at What a Great Place to be a Cow. She posted a great video, part of a series called It Gets Better – about how if you can just make it through high school without taking your own life, it really does get better. Powerful & moving – go over to her blog & watch it now!



Lastly, I changed my facebook status to read: I've been on my political high horse today (or, you know, given my stellar debate skills, my political pony - I wonder if it's pink?). I just realized that I've had this verse running though my head all day:

He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
And to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8

______________________



Act justly, love mercy. Do we? Can we?





My little (political) pony



Trouble

This is a guest post from my Dad. Actually, it's an email he sent me the other day – I immediately replied asking if I could post it on my blog because it made me smile.


Kittens at Daddy's house in July 2006. I guess one of these could be Trouble...


Trouble was a young tomcat with one green eye and the other one blue, to go with his white coat. He was of low I.Q., like most cats, but not a problem in general – I suppose I called him Trouble to give him confidence.

Then he got his first call to duty. Didn't know what to do. He would go down to the field and come back. He knew something was in the air, but he didn't know what. We started calling him Troubled.

About a week ago he didn't come for his breakfast. Days went by, but his food remained untouched. This was the moment of truth – he was either tomcattin' or dead. Well folks, this afternoon a certain cat came swaggering back home – said my name is Trouble, and give me something to eat!

Project 365 – Week Forty-One

  

Sunday, October 3^rd

Dr. M had an event at his university on Sunday afternoon. The actual event was a play about the underground railroad, but there was also a preview of a Lewis & Clark exhibit Dr. M is in the process of creating. These are prints from William Clark's journal – I think they're pretty cool.

Dr. M doing his spiel for guests at the event.

When we got home I took a picture of this jewelry "word" I created. I wanted to remind myself to do something in the morning but was too lazy to find a post-it note. I thought this was pretty clever – can you tell what it says?

Monday, October 4^th

On Monday Dr. M took one of his deer pictures – I liked the pose this one took.

It's homecoming week at his school – and of course this banner caught his eye LOL.

Tuesday, October 5^th

On Tuesday I took these pictures of the sky on my way home. The first one is the direction I was driving. The second one is over my shoulder. I thought it was interesting to have such different looking skies right there together.

Dr. M took a picture of our grape tomato plant – still doing its thing.

Wednesday, October 6^th
On Wednesday Dr. M took a picture of a surprise bird (it's a surprise because he'd been taking picture of crows & a hawk, but then along came this beauty).

And here is what he drove behind on the way home.

Thursday, October 7^th
On Thursday I took a picture of a little stand I pass every day. I couldn't stop so I just generally aimed & shot as I drove by - & you can tell! No, the land doesn't slope like that in real life.

  

Dr. M read my mind again (scary!) & took this picture of the purple & yellow flowers that are popping up on the sides of the roads here. So pretty!

And here is a look at our town in fall.

Friday, October 8^th
Dr. M saw this pumpkin patch on his way home on Friday.

And I took a picture near my office. I like that there is a green tree, an orange tree, and an evergreen tree right there together.

Saturday, October 9^th
Today was the homecoming game & festivities at Dr. M's school. We had to be there bright & early (9:30 – that's early for me on a Saturday – since it's an hour away) because each school organization was supposed to have a table at a "carnival." Unfortunately, most of the history club members are in the band, so that left Dr. M (& me!) to operate their game. We had bocce ball – those who got closest to the yellow ball got some candy.

Here's Dr. M showing off his form.

This guy was so funny! His game was to have people throw tennis balls at bottles on his table. I threw the ball under the table. He had pity on me & gave me a piece of candy anyway.

One last shot – the cheerleaders changed into these fun outfits for the halftime show. I want some socks like that!

P.S. It was SO HOT today! I got sunburned because I wasn't prepared, which is silly because you can get burned even if the temperature is cooler, so I should have used sunscreen regardless. But, on the plus side we actually won the football game!

Go here to see the blogs of all the other Project 365 participants.

Weekly Wordzzle

I've written these Wordzzles after I told Dr. M that I was going to bed, so I'm not really sure they're coherent. Obviously, I think coherence is overrated since I'm posting the stories anyway. One note: I had to look up Chinese whispers before I could use it. Here's the Wikipedia entry for other folks who might be in the dark!

Head over to Raven's place to read some other Wordzzles – I know I say it every week, but you won't be disappointed. I think we have some talented writers on this team! All right, I'm shutting up now. Read!

Words for the mini: I-pad, Chinese whispers, CD, sparkling, cat food

Penny needed this moment after her trip to the store – purchasing cat food & the new Mary-Chapin Carpenter CD shouldn't have been so stressful, but she didn't really do people these days. Who was she kidding? She had never been comfortable with the shopping hoards. And she was already regretting the CD purchase. If she kept impulse buying she'd never be able to afford an I-pad. Sigh. She stopped the car and got out. The sea was sparkling, the wind whipping about her head sounding for all the world like that game "Chinese Whispers." Penny wondered if what she heard in the wind was a great truth or only a distortion of the meaning of life. Regardless, the susurration was soothing and calmed her nerves. Getting back into her car her thoughts turned to those hungry cats & her own dinner. Quickly, she unwrapped the new CD – might as well enjoy her new purchase anyway.

Words for the 10-worder: talented, oak, speaker, junk, wrapper, pencil, ocean, chatter, bullet, steamy

As the bullet entered its target, John watched the guy next to him write in a small notebook with a pencil. Why a pencil? Seemed like he must be insecure to record his thoughts in an erasable medium. Pulled out of his reverie, John realized that someone was trying to get his attention. He couldn't hear the speaker over his ear protection and the chatter of the other guns so he motioned him over to an oak tree set apart from the firing range. As he went along he picked up some of the junk on the ground – gum wrappers and shell casings, mostly. He started to work up a rant in his head about litterers, but ran out of interest pretty quickly. The steamy day didn't really lend itself to soapboxes. Under the tree he finally got a good look at his visitor and then groaned. Bad enough he kept getting calls at home, but now they were stalking him in person. There was an ocean of more handsome & talented men out there – why were they after him? Shaking his head, he said, "No, as I told you the first three times you asked, I am not interested in being a part of your Hunks with Guns nudie calendar! "

The Poetry Bus Ripped from the Headlines

Niamh is the driver this week & has given us a very interesting task – to write a poem based on a smallish no-account newspaper article. Well, I didn't really comply with the directions, but I hope she'll let me lash myself to the roof of the bus anyway! The story I picked isn't small exactly – although if we think in international terms it might be. You can read the article here, but the gist of it is that a thirty-something young woman has been arrested for pretending to be a 14 year old boy in order to "lure" teenage girls into a sexual relationship. After reading a few other articles I'm not sure about her culpability – perhaps the teenage girl wasn't as in the dark as she is being portrayed. I don't know, really, but this story seems to have a great many sides, some of which remind me of Salem, a bit. Anyway, here's what came out of my head after I put the article in it.

Incomplete

It's lies & intrigue

If they only knew

That black hole

In my heart

It's complicated

This illicit or innocent

Longing for

Relationship

It's weary-making

Which mask is

More true

Less me

It's my soul

Stripped bare

My lightless heart

Your judgment

Random Dozen

After quite a long absence (well, to be fair, Lid took the summer off) I decided to participate in the Random Dozen again. This week she asked her readers to give her questions to ask – so that she could have her birthday off from making these difficult decisions. I must say that they did a great job. If you'd like to see other answers to the questions, check out Linda's 2nd Cup of Coffee blog here.

1. From "Men Are Dumb ....": If you had a theme song that played whenever you walked into a room full of people, what would it be? I Like Big Butts, by Sir Mix-A-Lot. It's not a song that I really know, but it's the one that popped immediately into my head, & I can only hope that people are thinking it when I enter a room LOL! I was going to post a link to the video, but decided that my blog is a little too family friendly. Feel free to google if you're curious!

2. From Pam of "Alert And Oriented x 4": Which of your shoes are your absolute favorite, and which are of the object of your most painful shoe-buyer's remorse?

Which is which? You be the judge! And if you wear a size 6.5 US women's and just have to have them, I will gladly ship the gold ones to you.

3. From Susanne of "Living to Tell the Story": Tell about your favorite birthday celebration that you've personally experienced. I think I've mentioned this on my blog before, but for my 30^th birthday my mom sent me a gift a day for 30 days. Sometimes it was big (a new outfit), sometimes it was small (a candy bar). It was the highlight of my day for those 30 days. And really brought home how old I was LOL. Of course, 16 years later…

4. From Lori of "Just me and My Life": If you were a flavor of ice cream, which would you be? Ben & Jerry's Phish Food! I've eaten enough of it that I'm probably Phish Food already. That's not really a good thing is it?

 
5. Cindy Swanson of "Notes in the Key of Life" asks: Have you ever had a crush on a movie star? Who was it, and are you still crushing? Gary Sinise, from when he was in The Stand. Sigh. But our politics are not even in the same universe so I had to let him go.

6. Jill from "Jill Boyd's Place" inquires: Glasses or braces--if you had to wear one, which would it be? Having had both I would have to say glasses. Even though I hate to wear glasses, the three years I wore braces are not remembered fondly. Not. At. All.

7. Nel from "Fasteneau Facts" asks: If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? Right now it would probably be Burke County, North Carolina. Near the mountains, near our parents, still pretty rural (I think!).

8. Thena from "Patiently Waiting" wants to know: If money were no obstacle, what would be the perfect birthday gift to receive? That's easy – a hybrid vehicle of some kind. My long time crush has been a Toyota Prius, but who knows? By the time someone actually gives me a car like that almost any car company could have the best hybrid.

9. From "Life Through Bifocals," LynnMarie asks: What is your favorite birthday meal? Bakery cake (no whipped frosting – that's not frosting!). That's all. I don't need real food on my birthday.

10. Debby at "Just Breathe" checks in with: Do you still send hand-written thank you notes? Still? That implies that I ever did. I am a terrible southerner! Just the other day I got the sweetest note from Amy thanking me for her birthday earrings (her birthday was during my slight blog break – happy late birthday Amy!). I had two thoughts when I got the note: 1. Oh how nice! 2. Guess it's a good thing I didn't keep the earrings for myself. Heh.

11. Linda from "Mocha with Linda" poses this question: What is something you've done that you never thought you'd do? Hmm. I'm not usually very surprised by myself. I could say live in Africa for a year and a half, but really that didn't surprise me. I know! I joined the Episcopal Church after we moved to Ohio. I hadn't thought about it very much, but I always assumed I'd be a Southern Baptist forever. But the Episcopal Church seemed to be a place of welcome instead of a place of condemnation (sorry – that's how I felt about the Southern Baptist Convention at the time).

12. Jewel, my homegirl from Indiana who writes at "Musings from the World of Jewel," is very insistent that we answer this: Mount Rushmore honors four US Presidents: Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Roosevelt. If you could add any person to Mount Rushmore, who would you add and why? Any person? Why, Ben Franklin of course! I don't want to hear any historical mumbo jumbo about the reality of the man – his myth is larger than life & twice as fascinating. And he would certainly liven up the party!

Oh Sweet October Madness

I’m sure by now you might know that I am a baseball fan. Not a fanatic (I actually can’t name all the players in the infield – or the outfield – of the teams I follow). But not a casual fan either – if our teams are playing & if Fox Sports doesn’t screw us (strong, but accurate, language), we’re watching the games.

When Dr. M & I were first married we lived in a house owned by an orthdontia practice. We lived in two rooms on the top floor of the house & were responsible for mowing & cleaning. It was a sweet deal, although now I can’t really believe that we lived for a while basically in our bedroom (the other room we used for storage). We did have the use of the kitchen.

Anyway, the spring after we were married we watched a LOT of baseball in our one habitable room (that was the time when I completed that insanely large stained glass window jigsaw puzzle N gave us – I hold him personally responsible for any current twitchiness). Coindentally, that year (1991) our Atlanta Braves went from the worst team in baseball to the first team. I thought that was an auspicious beginning to our marriage. That was the beginning of a pretty successful run for the Braves. Fourteen consecutive division titles (we shall not mention the strike year). Going to the World Series five times and winning once. Those were halcyon days. 

However, for a number of years now we’ve watched our Braves not quite (or even not even close) get ‘er done. Year after year Dr. M & I have spend the post season just basically pulling for whoever could maybe beat the Yankees* or Boston. And our adopted team, the Cincinnati Reds? Not a pretty picture in oh so many years.

But this year we have an embarassment of riches. The Braves and the Reds are in the post season, which starts tomorrow. Fortunately they don’t play each other right away so we can pull for both for a little while longer. What I’m hoping for is a Braves/Rays World Series. It could happen! If the Braves get their act together. Really!

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew



http://projects.ajc.com/gallery/view/sports/braves/phillies-braves-100310/

 

*Uncle David, I would apologize for the slight to the Yankees, but they are an evil big business machine & I’m not sure how a Democrat could pull for them. Of course, that’s assuming you’re a Democrat. Do I even know you?



The Poetry Bus Goes to a Happy Place

We don't quite have a driver yet this week, so TFE has given us free reign to write what we will. I'll add a link to the driver's site once we know who that is – it might even be me!). Although if that person gives us a different prompt I guess I'll be writing another poem LOL.

[Updated - NanU has taken the helm & my poem is just ok - yay! Check out her site to read some good poetry. Heh.]

I remember
a tiny Italian place
in Gettysburg.
We were chased
there by rain
on our campfire -
the foil-wrapped
potatoes not quite
done yet.
Tablecloths,
cloth napkins,
an attentive
waiter -
and each other.
Exotic oasis
in the midst of
our rustic vacation.

When we got back
to camp
the potatoes
had cooked
in the embers
of the fire.



Gettysburg campground, October 17, 1991



This is from an earlier trip to Fredericksburg, in June 1991 - what I remember most from that trip was how LOUD the birds were in the very early morning. Not that sleeping in happened very much on a camping trip.

Project 365 – Week Forty

Sunday, September 26^th
We've got more squirrels this week. Sunday Dr. M got a picture of this fellow on the neighbor's tree – I love that tree!

Monday, September 27^th
On Monday I took another picture of our sweet potato science experiment. I love how green the leaves are. We're not quite sure what we're going to do with this guy.

Tuesday, September 28^th
Here's the Tax Time Pig making a statement – isn't she lovely?

And Dr. M chased another squirrel around the yard (or I guess it could be a new one – how can you tell?).

Wednesday, September 29^th
On Wednesday on my way to work I took some pictures of the low lying fog – don't know why it fascinates me so.

Thursday, September 30^th
On Thursday I saw this dove glowing in the lowering sun – it's saying, "Peace dudes!"

Friday, October 1^st
Dr. M took the country way home from school on Friday. I love this picture – doesn't it look like a giant hair trimmer? I think my dad used to use one of these to trim my mom's cockapoo. No? Well, maybe it was a BIT smaller.

Here are some sheep ( I know you are amazed that we would have pictures of sheep) – I just liked the composition of the picture with the barn.

And here's a close-up. Yep, those are definitely sheep.

Saturday, October 2^nd
As you can see, we're still in the tomato growing business. And it's October! Granted, we got started late (my seeds sprouted in late April), but my goodness! Here's a picture of how tall & lush the four vines still are (personally, I think "vine" is a misnomer – we have tomato trees!).

Here I am pointing out all the tomatoes still on the vines – these are just the ones I could see in the picture.

Our outdoor ripening center is still busy.

And here are some ready to be eaten – yum!

Go here to see the blogs of all the other Project 365 participants.

Weekly Wordzzle

It's Wordzzle time again! This week I decided to do all three challenges, but the last one is perhaps my lamest attempt ever. Perhaps. At least I've finished the mini story. You can read the other two bits here and here.

Go to Raven's blog here to read the other stories – we have some excellent writers participating (and, you know, you too could be one of those writers – you know you want to, & it's addicting!)


Words for the mini: march, bald headed man, bones, photo album, mail box

Phyllis flipped through the photo album before she put it in a box. Why had she saved the picture of that bald headed man? At the time she thought he looked like Yul Brynner, but now she can't really see the resemblance. She needed to quit going through every blessed thing or she'd never finish packing. She put herself on autopilot – and then smiled as thoughts of her conversation with Bill started to march through her head. She'd told him that she'd been accepted to a graduate program in Massachusetts and that she'd be moving at the end of this month. And she'd tried to break up with him – knowing that the distance would drain all the life out of their relationship, just leaving bare bones. He had said she was being a dramatic ninny & unless she had some other reason to break up with him she was stuck with him. He figured there were jobs & bars with dart boards in Boston too. Ever since she had received the acceptance in her mail box she had agonized over leaving Cincinnati, and leaving Bill. Apparently her mother had been right after all – don't borrow trouble. Stop worrying and just maybe you'll have a pleasant surprise.


Words for the 10-word challenge: church, tongue in cheek, butterflies, charcoal, neurotic, save our schools, candles, solitaire, matches, chatter box

Karen tried to tamp down the butterflies in her stomach. Even though she had left her usual neurotic hour early she was running late. How was she to know that there'd be a "Save Our Schools" rally on Church Street? Now her charcoal gray suit had dark splotches under the armpits. Couldn't be helped – but the dampness wouldn't inspire confidence in her new clients. Oh lord what were their names? David & Janice? Brent & Sandra? Ken & Barbie? Her brain was such a chatter box that she wouldn't hear the answer even if she remembered it. "Calm down Karen, deep breaths, it'll come to you…" Oh yes – James and Theresa! Whew!

After spending the appropriate amount of time admiring Theresa's diamond solitaire, Karen got right down to business and spent the next hour talking about unity candles and whether or not boxes of matches with their names and the wedding date would be good favors. Karen mentioned having been at a wedding once where one of the flower arrangements on a table at the reception had caught fire. Perhaps, she suggested tongue in cheek, they should give away mini fire extinguishers instead. James and Theresa thought that was a grand idea, which left Karen with the job of searching for cute fire extinguishers in the bride's colors. Apparently her brain wasn't the only chatter box – she needed to muzzle her mouth too!


Words for the mega: church, tongue in cheek, butterflies, charcoal, neurotic, save our schools, candles, solitaire, matches, chatter box, march, bald headed man, bones, photo album, mail box

I am going to march right into that church and light a few candles for my mother. I don't care if I'm Catholic or not – it couldn't hurt. All right, where are the matches? I see the bones of a bunch of used matches, but not any fresh ones. Oh well, I'll just sit in a pew and pray. After a few minutes I notice that a bald headed man has interrupted my reverie. He had apparently noticed that I was playing one handed solitaire (shuffling is loud in church). With my usual irreverence, I make a tongue in cheek joke at my own expense. I can be quite a chatter box when I'm embarrassed. But before I can ask him where the matches are his charcoal eyes look deep into mine and he tells me to be quiet. I'm nervous about this, all my neurotic tendencies can be easily seen in my eyes – not just a window into my present soul, my eyes are a photo album, showing my past as well. What would he see in them? Finally, he speaks. "Save our schools! You should receive a flyer in your mail box, but you can work to save them now!" All my nervous butterflies disappear in a wave of hysterical laughter. All righty then – perhaps I'll just stick to the Baptist way of mourning the dead, which I think involves more chocolate and less fruitcake.