NaPoWriMo 2024 Day 5

Today NaPoWriMo.net offered a lovely poem and idea as a prompt. Isn’t it better to see the tiny good things than to not see them or worse to never see them?

How lucky I am to be able
to fill the bird feeders
while the chickadees and cardinals
whistle waiting in the shrubs.
Today I thought – how lucky
despite doing pretty menial work
I am able to stay home now
“retired” so I can paint
and spend time with my mother
I can fill the pantry and
enjoy some snacks and go out
to enjoy the clouds.
Maybe each day, I’ll
catch some words
lured by hot coffee or wine.
To every life may come some joy
small moments not always shiny
and if I’m lucky enough
I’ll get another chance
to know how each day
can be a blessing.

NaPoWriMo 2024 Day 5

Day 2 NaPoWriMo 2024

While waiting for Mom doing her PT, I pondered today’s prompt:

…write a platonic love poem. In other words, a poem not about a romantic partner, but some other kind of love – your love for your sister, or a friend, or even your love for a really good Chicago deep dish pizza. The poem should be written directly to the object of your affections (like a letter is written to “you”), and should describe at least three memories of you engaging with that person/thing.

And as I slurped the last of my coffee, it came to me in a flash!

This familiar paper cup
This brown cardboard sleeve
this carefully molded white lid —
How I look forward to our meetings!
I know the level of half and half
I know how much sweetener
I know how to pour the fragrant liquid
quickly and neatly
I have exact change ready
We fling open the door
to face the day!

And a couple haiku:

A card from a friend
pen to paper, add a stamp
reading in the yard

Three postcards today
happiness in the mailbox
unexpectedly

Day 2 NaPoWriMo 2024

Fixing the Mailbox

When I went out with my holiday cards, all zip-sorted and rubberbanded, I noticed that the rivet holding on the mailbox door on one side was gone.

So yesterday, I returned to a local hardware store where one young workers cheerily asked if I needed help and the other, apparently remembering my last trip, said – yeah! after this we can go home!

Last time I bought 3 allen wrenches to stash away. My bill was like $2-3 dollars.

This time, I bought 2 sets of nut, bolt, washer and my total was 95 cents. We all had a good laugh. I said they could go home now and I was going home to fix the door on my mailbox.

Which I did and like most jobs it was easier than expected. I managed not to lose any of the new parts and I duct taped the spare set to the inside of the mailbox for future use.

Fixing the Mailbox

Recommended reading and listening

A gazillion years ago this book was assigned reading for a short round of couples therapy. I read it and had huge ah HA! moments. The therapy didn’t go very well but I found it personally successful. Since then, I’ve recommended the book to people over the years, along with a couple others by the same author.

I had a few Audible credits to use up and for some reason this turned up in recommendations so I took a chance on it. I also found an Audible version of The Art Spirit by Robert Henri (pronounced Hen-rye) and I got that too. Previously I’d listened to a a handful of recordings from the Dalai Lama.

The Art Spirit was good in audio form. Reading it is like reading a lot of quotes and snippets stirred together. The narrator really did a good job and made it sound like a kind, knowledgable and skilled art instructor and mentor, talking to and instructing his students. I came away with a lot to think about, not how to apply paint, but what to aim for and a lot of whys about being an artist.

Today I started the Albert Ellis book, How to Stubbornly Refuse to Make Yourself Miserable about Anything, Yes, Anything! and it is even better than I remember! If you want to work through the exercises it comes with a PDF version you can download. I also had a moment of being wildly excited as the basic precepts of buddhism snuck in during the introduction. Guess all the time spent with the Dalai Lama was well spent. Also guess I might pick up the new edition after listening to it.

Recommended reading and listening

From the Quote Box

Sometimes our light goes out but is blown into flame by another human being. Each of us owes deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this light. — Albert Schweitzer

From the Quote Box

NaPoWriMo 2023 Day 23

This evening, the sun has peeked out of the clouds. I may have eaten too much spaghetti with very aged Parm. Reg. Is that even possible?

Last night’s dark hard rain
I closed the windows while it
blew in sideways

Steady rain today
got soaked giving coffee grounds
to the wet garden

Painted inside
a still life, vegetables
cold from the frig

NaPoWriMo 2023 Day 23

Painting while Poem-ing

Yesterday was Day 19 of 19 of doing at least one watercolor each day during National Poetry Writing Month and I’m sticking with it. When doing a month-long writing thing, I have found it nearly impossible to paint so that was my resolution for April, even if it made both things rocky.

Last night I really didn’t have an idea about what to paint so I impulsively chose a photo I’d just taken of the one spot of bluebells that blooms so briefly in the garden. It had been too cold to paint outside in the afternoon. The garden is full of daffodil leaves and daffodil flowers which are starting to go past. The day lilies and hostas are turning into clumps of leaves.

The result isn’t the best work of the month but while painting I was thinking of one of my earliest teachers who taught me about “juicy” watercolor and negative painting. So yes it was messy – just like the scene – but I am having a real moment of gratitude for my teacher Fred Lisaius and my other teachers Tony Conner and Robert H. LaFond and will endeavor on.

One piece of paper at a time!

Painting while Poem-ing

Sewing Follow-up aka The Serger

Since I whined a bit yesterday about the serger, I thought I better show what I was doing with it. I used both my serger and my newly fixed Bernina to make chair cushions for a chair that has been waiting for cushions! I did the first of two cushions while having no problem with the serger. The moment I started the second one I had to stop and rethread it. Because, you know, it’s FINE to have all four thread tracks exposed to anything that comes along to unthread it. Fine.

But having rethreaded and made sure everything was still passing through the tension disks, it worked well. This fabric is intended for inside or outside use so I expected without serging the edges there would be quite a bit of raveling and this way that’s not a concern. Could have done it on the Bernina but not as fast and as a bonus it trimmed down the seam allowances a bit. I think I’ll invest in some new thread since this stuff is **mumble-mumble** years old, like I don’t remember. But it’s fine.

Oh and measure at least twice, do the math and then remeasure and cut once. Whenever possible sew once because ripping out is… I didn’t rip out today.

Sewing Follow-up aka The Serger

Found on the way to something else.

I found some interesting stuff last night on my way to finding my traditional shamrock pin for today. I think every little kid should be given a rather substantial box of some kind in which to keep treasures, whether they’re rocks and feathers or all the pins and stuff that come along.

Found on the way to something else.

One Good Thing

Let’s find one good thing every day.
Show or tell us your one good thing.

During the Pandemic, a fellow I am friends with on facebook, Carl Mastandrea, was posting a photo every day with “Let’s find one good thing every day. What’s your one good thing today?” He was interrupted by life and I started posting my own, to encourage myself and others to look around at the little things and see how much beauty there can be. I remember during the early days of COVID, going out each morning and looking around, taking some photos and waiting with anticipation to see what Carl and others would post. Thank you Carl.

If you’re on social media, I encourage you to share little things that catch your eye because we all need a little beauty and focus these days. Your cat’s whiskers, a blooming plant, some clouds, a visit with a friend or family member. Make someone’s heart glad for a moment with what made your heart glad.

One Good Thing