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I lost the other post so am starting over. darker mornings when it is supposed to be getting lighter…or so I thought.

I am deep in trying to put together a new book….Patchworks of Poetry and Prose.   Forty-eight poems, eight essays and five new short stories. There will also be some illustrations of patched cloth and drawings.  Likely I will use smaller black and white images.

This week I made my first whisky mac drink. Perfect use of Stones ginger Wine and Kentucky bourbon. Here I added an orange peel.

It was originally named for Mack’s Ginger Wine and a blended scotch. Now it is Stones Ginger Wine 50/50 with Kentucky bourbon….actually Jim Beam because other countries have slowed down ordering from the US and our liquor stores seem to have plenty.

Dilly keeps an eye on me.

If you are thinking of coming to the United States, don’t. We are reaping the consequences of unbelievable ignorance that has resulted in a government of greed, grift and cruelty. Go anywhere but here. Thank you to Minnesota and especially those living in Minneapolis who yesterday ran a nazi out of town. But not before he hollered out, “Don’t be mad at me. You are getting what you voted for.” Unfortunately we should have known earlier how many Americans have fascist tendencies. Please don’t come here. And if you live here, take care of those who remember who we were and fight for the rest of us.

I leave you with a new poem.

I Have This Boat

I have this boat

made from two leaves.

The first, that would float

if I let it,

is a long, brown and spotted

oval, curved upwards,

stem extended from the stern.

Closer to the bow,

a leaf of equal size,

but flattened and lace-like,

stands erect to catch

the wind,

and sail past

my desire to climb aboard.

 

Til next time…

Beautiful mornings on my way in to have coffee with the men. Tragically one of the best of them passed away from a sudden heart attack a week ago today. I waited for him to come in on Monday so we could have a good visit, but he never showed up. His wife came in later to share the news. I told him not to go back to Florida for the winter. Told him it was a lousy state because of the politicians they continually vote into office. I gave him a scarf to help get through the colder winters here in North Carolina. He had just made sure I had his number in case I needed anything. Such a decent fellow. I miss him.

Later this past week I went to poetry reading. Read the poem about the leaf boat. Well received. Then I raised the question about the difference between a prose poem and an essay. And can an essay also be a short story. There were different responses so I ended up doing my own research. I love doing research! Anyway, it turns out that several of what I thought might be prose poems  are actually lyric essays. Essays need to be based on fact…like a memoir that evokes an emotion. Like poetry. A prose poem is fiction-based and purely poetic. Lyric essays can read like a poem but be more of a creative nonfiction that poetry will lack. Isn’t that interesting? Well it is to me as I try to figure out how to lay out my next book …what the sections should be.

As the weather turns colder and more damp, I am using my fireplace more. Quite cozy for me and the cats early in the morning.

This morning I wanted to fix a protein packed breakfast. Crusty seedy toast topped with heated ham then fresh spinach and topped with a fried egg. Half a naval orange added to the plate.

If I photograph my plate, then my kids can see I am eating a proper meal. Later this morning after the Sunday family call, I made savoury scones. Ten made their way into the freezer to pass as a quick lunch. These have ham, spinach, green onions and parmesan cheese. While they were in the oven I did my workout that concentrates on balance and heart rate. Here are those scones.

Friends in St. Louis are gathering in small groups to say good bye to a dear friend from the textile world out there. I have known her since mid-eighties. There will never be another with such an infectious laugh and terrific smile. I stayed with her and her husband every time I went out there to jury an exhibit or teach a workshop. We loved sitting and stitching or drawing together while remembering some fun times. Now a mutual friend wants to know if I would like to come with her to Australia next year. I must decline. Too old for such a trip now. And when I left there in 2019, I had a feeling that I might not be back, so placed parts of my exhibit for the Waterhouse Natural History in the hands of friends and tucked into crevasses of my favorite places. They were the soil-colored Eucalyptus leaves cut from Robert Hughes’ book, Fatal Shore. All the edges were burned as a nod to the fires and heat brought on by intense climate changes. A scattering of those paper leaves make up my screen saver image. I so hope the horrific fires going on now in Victoria come to an end soon.

It would be so hard to return and get to all the places I would want to go to see so many friends from over the years. Best to save my energy and memories and not find it so unbearable to say goodbye. But Suzy, go if you can. It is the most delightful place full of the best people you will meet.

Better go now. I have a hankering for a bit of Aussie red!

Til later….

It is over. Company returned home. Everything taken down and stored for another year. I have always taken it all down the morning after Christmas. Enough!

Here is Dilly trying to read her name on any package.

Sadie prefers to stay in the bedroom.

Remember that English Christmas cake I made a few years ago? We cut a slice or two back then to have with Madeira and sharp Irish cheddar? Well each year I take it back out of the fridge and we have a bit more. It is almost half gone as I wrap it back up until next year.

It is better this year than before. And does not have to meet the fate of fruitcakes in Edward Gorey’s delightful drawing.

I had a bit of a cold during Christmas. Been resting up most days but still getting those 8000 steps in. I listened to a dreadful Dan Brown book. Did he ever read some of those lines out loud!? Do all his books have the same story? Just more sorry, idiotic characters? I have reached the bottom in mysteries to have to listen to his books. I use Libby from the library systems for my audio books and can only get what they have on offer, but need more suggestions.

Yesterday I spent the day watching Jack Smith’s testimony before a committee on the January 6th insurrection and accountability. Of course, during the same time, the president here decides to act in a most illegal and irresponsible way by invading a country to take their oil and kidnap their president. Can we get more aggressive and stupid?! No. Not with such an ignorant, greed-filled cabinet and slow-witted, compliant population that will follow their president any where he points while sending him their last dime just to feel a part of the country’s demise. Okay, I am through with the rant.

I am going to spend this year doing more writing and drawing in my sketchbooks. Sometime this year I will publish a new book of assorted short stories, essays and poems.

Here is a new one…

 

I Have This Boat

I have this boat

made from two leaves.

The first, that would float

if I let it,

is a long, brown and spotted

oval, curved upwards,

stem extended from the stern.

Closer to the bow,

a leaf of equal size,

but flattened and lace-like,

stands erect to catch

the wind,

and sail past

my desire to climb aboard.

 

Several years ago I made boats. None were built to go in the water. Just be there to take themselves and me away. I often think that the best boat ride would be in a wide row boat floating gently among cattails and water lilies, looking over the edge through green/brown water to watch what I was floating over. Then tracing a finger in the surface to make small ripples until I was brave enough to put my whole hand in to hold the coolness.

This week I promise myself to get something accomplished. For now, a nap seems nice. A nap with my cats.

Til next week.

A beautiful morning here this week. This was the view on my way home from having breakfast Friday morning with a group from the coffee shop.  I had just finished a pecan waffle with strawberries on top and a touch of whipped cream. Very nice.

Saturday I went back to pulling pages from old journals. Several things to toss out, some to save. I also went back to doing some copying of writings found in last week’s Nick Cave journal.

Here is one for fun….

My Feet

The right foot:

            Always in the lead

            Taps to music

            Can’t wait to put its shoe on

            Must be first

            Controls all pedals

              on the car floor

              sewing machine

              foot-levered waste basket

            Whatever!

            It is there to be counted on.

But the left!

            Just a follower

            And slow at that!

            Clumsy on the dance floor

            Uncertain where to step next

            Every stumble is likely its fault

            And just guess which was the first to get a bunion!

 

My fortune cookie prophecy this week…

“Embrace the rhythm of life, and dance to your own unique song.”

Seems like a good idea to me.

This afternoon I head over to a neighbor’s house to drink champagne….another good idea.

Amy, Patrick and Marla arrive tomorrow. I need to make a soup for when they get in exhausted from the drive and probably one another’s company. 10-12 hours on the highway is an adventure that I no longer take. It wears me out thinking about it. I do tell them that they are free to skip coming down to see me in person. We have Zoom type calls twice a week, so they can check up on me that way. And already some neighbors have made sure I won’t be alone for Christmas and am welcome to come spend the day with them if I am alone. Such good neighbors!

I wish there was more news, more happening in my life right now, but the quiet is good. Lots of time to write and next, get back to drawing in my books. I miss concentrating on making drawings of the things I find interesting to look at. I need to do a drawing for a neighbor. She asked for something quite simple and she has the nicest smile…I could not say “no”. First thing tomorrow I will get it done.

There are no other pictures this week…just Dilly having a bad hair day.

More next week after Christmas when company is making their way back to the cold north.

Til then….