The Poetry Bus – The Dana Edition

Here we are all aboard the Poetry Bus again (which I invariably mistype as "Poetry Buss" which is a whole other event entirely). This week Jeanne Iris from Revolutionary Revelry is driving and gave us two choices of prompts. You can go to her blog to read the first choice (which sounded a bit too much like meditation for my tastes – who knows what would come of that!). I chose the second option:

Option II: What's in a Name?

Your name (first or surname) often reflects your life's path. For this option, find the etymology of your name and consider the many ways that meaning reflects your life. Then, write about it.

I was highly amused at some of the meanings of my name, which caused me to not take the poem too seriously. Ms. L also challenged us to record ourselves reading the poem & I decided to give it a go! Thanks to Dr. M for helping me with some of the more technical details. Note regarding the video – I did this Friday morning before work & so my voice is a little crunchy.

The Dana Poem

Dana Rhyne's Podcast

Dana

When I was five I met a boy

who had my name.

Wrong wrong – I am not a boy!

I am … I am…

I am bright as day –

this gray leaden day,

that is what I am

bright as.

I am an authority

on some mythical subject

which is beyond my reach –

just there.

I am given by God

and he is my judge,

and I want justice,

not mercy.

Justice, not mercy.

I am the goddess of the crop

and the spirit of generosity –

creating a life

more abundant.

No no no –

I am not any of

these things.

I am Dana.

Not from Denmark.

Not a boy (maybe a bug).

Maybe I want mercy.

Mercy

Weekly Wordzzle Challenge

Argent has been trying to get me to join this challenge for quite some time, but I don't think of myself as a story teller. But I do like to play with words, so I decided to give it a go this week. Go to Raven's blog to check out the rules & the words.

I started out doing the mini (the first five words/phrases), but I wasn't done with my story so I decided to use the words from the 10-worder & turn it into a mega! I don't think the story is all that special, but I was pleased that I used all the words in a somewhat natural manner.

The mini: glamorous, gin and tonic, fill in the blanks, water-logged, masterpiece

The 10-worder: chapter, vigorous, whipped cream, charter member, cut a rug, fling, sparingly, gravity, pregnant pause, universal

An Evening at the Gallery
 I don't know – I should probably have just stayed at home. I don't even like gin & tonic. I thought it would be refreshing and glamorous. Blech. It's not like I came here to see his "masterpiece." Masterpiece my giant behind. Blech. I guess I wanted to fill in the blanks of my diary.

• Attend Art Show. Check
• Drink a cocktail in public. Check

Oh, look – here he comes. Make nice. Talk pretty. Or, you know, just watch as he walks past you to greet some ancient crone in a water-logged wrap. She probably has money. Wait – water-logged? Is it raining? Well that just puts a cap on my night – why did I walk?

Here's the charter member of the artist's fan club. His mother. Does she know we had a fling in their pool house one evening last June? An indiscretion involving whipped cream and some rather vigorous flirting on my part after watching him cut a rug with some gorgeous creature. Not one of my finer moments. If she knew she'd probably read me chapter & verse about his excellent prospects and my rather lackluster self. It's one of the universal laws – no one is ever good enough for a mother's son.

With all the gravity I can muster I say, "You know, ma'am, it was just the one time. I'm not really interested in your son." Pregnant pause. One eyebrow lifted. "You know, young woman," she said, "you should perhaps go more sparingly on the gin next time." I said, "I don't even like gin." And promptly fell over sideways, bellowing "It's not the alcohol – I'm just a klutz!"

***

My mortification complete, I walk home in the rain, shoes in one hand, the other waving to the people I see on the street. I am the Queen of Humiliation, waving to my subjects.

Thankful Thursday

Jumping on the Thankfulness bandwagon this week because I was slack working on a project and didn’t post anything yesterday.


• I’m thankful that it’s Thursday! Tomorrow I can wear jeans to work & be ready to jump into the weekend.

• I’m thankful that Dr. M is done teaching for the week. This summer he teaches evening classes on Monday, Wednesday & Friday. I don’t mind one evening a week to myself, but three is a bit harder. It helps that it’s daylight for so much longer – I can putter around outside (when I’m not working on the aforementioned project) & occupy myself with almost anything other than cleaning.

• I’m thankful that it’s a gorgeous day – we’ve had a lot of rain lately and seeing the sun is nice.

• I’m thankful for the salad I just ate – there was just a little bit of lettuce left so I had that with a small cucumber, banana peppers, turkey pepperoni & shredded cheese.

• I’m thankful that our garden still looks pretty healthy. Dr. M does have a green thumb even if I don’t.

• I’m thankful that I finally got the oil changed in my car. 3,000 miles? 5,000 miles? I think 7,000 is soon enough! (Don’t worry – it was closer to 5,000).

Hopefully I’ll finish my project tonight & post it tomorrow. Or there could be technical difficulties. It’s all Jeanne Iris’ fault.

Under Pressure

• The last two books I finished left the heroines waiting to be arrested for murder (one murdered her mother and the other one was accessory to the murder of a raping scumbag). I’ve gotten off track somehow – I like books with an ending. Closure. Now with these two women I’m left wondering – are they really arrested? Do they go to jail? What happens? Gah!

• I’m not sure I’m cut out for this gardening thing. By gardening, I mean watching Dr. M do all the work while I wring my hands and dither. I don’t mind if the plants don’t bear actual vegetables – I just like seeing them all healthy & beautiful. But what happens if they don’t make it? Gah!

• My dad is playing Dastardly Dan in a local community theater production. It’s a melodrama & I imagine he’ll have the time of his life hamming it up. I can’t decide whether or not I’m glad I can’t be there to watch the show*. Gah!

• The neighbor’s puppy comes to the edge of our yard and just stares at me with unwagging tail. I’m nervous around dogs & should try to make friends with this one before he turns into a brute of some kind. But I can’t quite bring myself to go over & offer my hand. Gah!

• Last night I dreamed that Blogger Dad was providing daycare services for the nephew of one of my Facebook friends. I think that my internet worlds are coming close to colliding. Gah!

• The two baseball teams I follow (Braves & Reds) are doing entirely too well. I don’t think I can take the pressure of them being in first place- I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. Gah!

• I am even now imagining my Aunt Brenda shaking her fist at me for saying, “Gah!” She always said that such expressions were too close to taking the Lord’s name in vain. And she reads this blog. Gah! Er, darn!


*You know I wish I could be there Daddy – at the ripe old age of 46 I don’t get embarrassed quite so easily.

Lunch

Here, finally, is the Butterfly Exhibit post. Dr. M & I went with Daddy & Amy & we enjoyed it quite a bit (there was a bonus visit to the small aquarium there, but that's a post for another day). I had thought that it might be too hot & humid for comfort, but it was really fairly pleasant. Although I was dripping by the time we left, I didn't feel that hot.

The butterflies were busy

Doing their butterfly thing

Hither and yon

Yon and hither

Mostly ignoring

The "other" beings

In their midst.

Fixing their gazes

On that most important thing

Lunch!

Project 365 – Week Twenty-three

Why are you looking here? There are no Important Matters this week. Heh.

Sunday, May 30^th
On Sunday we were still in NC. After church (where Amy read her wonderful essay), I went with my cousin H and sister-in-law B to see another cousin's brand new baby. P is so cute! Aren't she & her mama precious in this picture?

When I got back to Daddy's house he & Amy were making homemade ice cream – Sundrop banana! Yum!

Monday, May 31^st
Monday was our trip back home. I've already shared some pictures from that journey. Here are a couple more. They're both from our stop in Charleston, West Virginia. The first one is a picture of Dr. M standing in front of their most excellent 20^th century war memorial. They have sides for WWI, WWII, Vietnam, and Korea. Inside the monument were carved the names of those West Virginians who had died in those wars.

And here is a close-up of one of the magnolia blossoms near the capital. Gorgeous!

Tuesday, June 1^st
On Tuesday we reacquainted ourselves with our plants. Aren't the tomato plants lovely? You'll see them again in the Saturday pictures.

And here are some of our pansies & the begonias. We were so impressed with how well they did while we were gone. They were saying, "Oh no! The watering man is back! Make him go away again!" Dr. M tends to have a heavy hand with the watering can (as you can see from the water droplet on one of the begonia blossoms).

Wednesday, June 2^nd
On Wednesday I came home to a new hanging basket. Petunias are so cheerful, I think. This is also the day that Dr. M started the project he finished on Saturday.

Thursday, June 3^rd
Guess what time it is? Tax Time Pig Time! This week she was dressed for Memorial Day. Correct me if I'm wrong, but is she wearing a little skirt & just a flag for a top? Racy! Someday I'll actually get out of my car to take her picture – so far I'm just pointing & shooting through the front windshield.

Friday, June 4^th
I was enjoying some Skinny Cow ice cream on the swing when Dr. M rounded the corner with the camera. I mostly wanted you to see my spicy teal toenails (click on the picture to make it larger - although, really, I don't need to be larger!). I usually pick some sort of neutral polish, but decided to get some to match my purse. I'm a wild woman!

It's been a while since I showed you one of our finch pictures. They still love to hang around the feeders – although not as much as in winter, obviously. They're such cheerful little suckers, don't you think?

Saturday, June 5^th
Dr. M has decided that we need to take up gardening in earnest. Well, at least as earnest as we have he has energy for. This week he bought kits to make these raised beds. I can't wait to see everything grow! He's already moved the tomato plants into one & put some bell pepper plants in the other. Today we found some cilantro (after I realized that cilantro & coriander are the same thing. Duh.). Aren't the boxes lovely?

And at long last we've put a tomato plant in the Topsy Turvy. We bought the plant while we were out looking for cilantro. We figured it would be a while before our seed grown tomato plants would be ready so we wanted something that might have tomatoes sooner. When we moved into this house I had a dream of growing my own tomatoes. Now I think it might actually come true – sort of (in that Dr. M is pretty much doing all the growing). I'll help eat them though!

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

The Nature Bus and the Magpie

Once again I’m combining The Poetry Bus and the Magpie prompts. The Mag prompt you can see below. The Weaver of Grass is driving the Poetry Bus on Monday (yes, I’m tad early). She wants us to take a ramble in the countryside and write about nature. This is a bit of a cheat because it’s not exactly about nature, or I guess I should say that it’s not the poem I thought I would write. But it’s what came – and we all know how that is! And now the explanation is officially longer than the poem. So I’ll shut up now!

Swimming that Dark Sea

My life goes on in endless song

Above earth's lamentations…

Above would be nice.

I thrust a hand upward

through the murk,

the tips of my fingers

free,

the knuckles of that hand

straining toward a fresh hope

I can’t quite reach.

Not quite.

And earth’s lamentations

cover me like

a familiar quilt

stitched together

by ancient creation

weeping, as it sews.

Weeping.

To read other Magpie entries go here. If you want to check out the crazy folks on the bus, go here on Monday.

P.S. Dr. M thinks the Magpie prompt looks like one of the Weeping Angels from Doctor Who. And now I am officially creeped out. Yikes!

P.P.S. I know I shouldn't, but I wanted to make it clear that I'm talking about the gulf oil spill crisis in the poem.

Not Fluttering Today

We took over 400 pictures while we were gone! My plan is to do several posts about our different activities. Today was going to be the butterfly exhibit at the Catawba Science Center.

But I'm not feeling very fluttery today. Last night we received a call that Dr. M's mom had taken a turn for the worse.

It was POURING during part of our drive home on Monday

His father suspects a mini-stroke. As of last night she had lost the use of her hands and wasn't able to see.

Heading toward rain

A friend was visiting her and suspected that Frances couldn't see. She asked her what color blouse she was wearing. Frances said green. It wasn't green. The friend started crying.

And we all feel like crying, but we also know that with Frances, things change. Last November we thought it was only a matter of time before we lost her. A couple of days later she was up drinking coffee.

So we'll hope. And pray. It's really all we can do right now.

One of the bursts of sunshine during the trip - making the Charleston, WVA capital dome sparkle

Project 365 – Week Twenty-two

I'm starting a tradition of talking about Important Matters before I get to the pictures. Or at least I did it last week & I'm doing it this week.

First – I PASSED MY NOTARY EXAM!! I know – I'm as shocked as you are. I love how they worded the letter: "I will cause the successful application blanks to be signed…" What if the application blanks were unsuccessful?

Next – we went to North Carolina on Wednesday to see our families. We just got back yesterday & I am completely & totally behind on reading blogs. You will most likely not be getting comments from me this week (if you do get a comment it's because I FORGOT THAT I DON'T HAVE TIME). You will find this almost as shocking as me passing the notary exam – I had to actually work today instead of reading blogs. Apparently when you're out for three days (plus a holiday) work accumulates. Who knew? This is why there aren't any cute frames this week. Corners had to be cut. Sorry!

OK – now onto the pictures for the week.

Sunday, May 23^rd

On Sunday I went to a multi-church gathering to watch three of our own be confirmed by the Bishop into the Episcopal Church. It was quite a dealio – LOTS of people from different churches were confirmed, & there was one baptism (the cutest little baby – I wish I had gotten a picture. As a former Southern Baptist I'm still not totally comfortable with infant baptism, but I enjoy the ceremony).

Monday, May 24^th
 Here's the weekly tomato update. Aren't they getting big? You should see them now (but you have to wait until next week – sorry).

The neighbors got a puppy. His name is Hunter & he's really cute. I love how he looks like he's stalking something in this picture. Does he think he's a cat?

Tuesday, May 25^th

On Tuesday I spent a wonderful evening reading comics & blogs in the swing (after I vacuumed – blech).

Wednesday, May 26^th

After I took my notary exam we headed south to see our families in North Carolina. Here's a highway picture. As you can see we have to drive through some awfully desolate country to get to NC. Heh.

North Carolina knows how to treat its medians – poppies! It's one of my VERY favorite sights in the spring.

Thursday, May 27^th

Thursday we took so many pictures that I had a very difficult time choosing. The only thing that made my task easier was that I decided to do separate blog posts about our activities. Here's a sneak preview of one of them – we visited the butterfly exhibit at the Science Center.

Daddy found a black snake taunting his dogs (from the other side of the fence of course). It caused much excitement, as you might imagine.

Here is Amy working on some bread dough. You can tell she enjoys her task. Which reminds me, we totally forgot to bring any bread back with us. For shame!

Friday, May 28^th

On Friday I wandered around the "farm" & took some random shots. My one of the four leaf clover I found didn't turn out. Darn. Here is daddy on his Gravely (it's his baby).

His new composter…

Which he needs for this garden! Here you can see their garlic (which I thought was short corn), some viney thing (Beans? Okra? Tomatoes? Help me out here people!), lettuce (I ate some for breakfast yesterday – lettuce, strawberries, hardboiled egg, rotisserie chicken, pecans – it was pretty yummy), rhubarb and in the background their blueberries. We're going back later in the summer so we can participate in eating some more of the great stuff!

Saturday, May 29^th

On Saturday I went with Dr. M to visit his mother in the nursing home. She is going great – we're so pleased with all the progress she's made since her accident last year at the end of April. Aren't they a cute couple?

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