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If we were having coffee, I’d tell you it’s been a busy – and mostly fun – week. Yard work, inside work, playing with the grandkids, playing with my dog Chules, nature walks, peeling almonds for almond milk, making overdue phone calls (and getting good news), sorting through things I had put aside (see previous post)…
I’m laying down a row of concrete blocks to replace a railroad tie terrace wall that runs along the back of my property. The block wall will be shorter, but the plan is to slope the upper level into a bank where I can plant a groundcover. And hopefully not have the freshly disturbed dirt wash away when the rains begin.
It’s slow going as I try to keep the blocks level and running in a straight row. I am beginning to wish I had intentionally designed the wall to curve a bit so I could worry less about alignment. Ah, hindsight.
I suppose I could rip it out and start over. I’m much better at demolishing than I am at constructing, so it would bring an instant gratification.
And then a lot more work. Obviously, I need to think this project through a bit more carefully.
It’s time to get Chules out for a walk before the day heats up. Thanks for stopping by. Let me know what you think: curved or straight?
Thanks to Diana at PartTimeMonster.com for hosting #weekendcoffeeshare.
Sad to think
I never really knew you.
As I sift through gleanings
of a life concluded,
hidden facets surface that I am
just now seeing for the first time.
Sad to think
I am left to piece together
a life story that for all these years
lay nestled in yellowing tissue paper,
carefully tucked away at the bottom of
your cedar chest.
The Daily Post weekly photo challenge: Quest
Humans are so creepy,
with only four legs and
hairy heads and
just two eyes that sometimes
have glassy covers or dark lids which
obscure their eyes completely.
Whenever they see me
they jump and scream
and start flailing their four legs about;
you’d think they’d caught a hornet
in their web.
It’s really quite scary.
I wish they’d leave me alone
and go back to where they came from,
wherever that is.
Sometimes I play with them.
I know it’s not spiderly of me,
but it’s such a kick to hear their squeals when they
pull back the shower curtain and find me
hiding in the bath tub.
This Halloween I think I will dress up
as a human.
The Daily Post one-word prompt: Jump
© Barbarico | Dreamstime.com – White Dove
September 21st is International Day of Peace or “Peace Day.”
I can’t help but wonder about priorities when a day or so ago, I saw a lot of internet hype over “Talk Like a Pirate Day.” And today, I happened to see Peace Day listed in a single obscure online post.
Granted, that may say more about my own interests and inclinations, as Big Brother of the Internet parses my cursor’s every move and feeds me whatever It thinks I want to see and/or what It wants me to see. But I’d rather not perceive myself as so simplistic, nor the Internet as so intrusive. No offense to pirates.
At any rate, I’d like to add my voice (figuratively) to the call for world peace, and share with you a favorite video of mine (but not me). “United” by Playing for Change. Enjoy:
One hand clapping
Today the Daily Post’s one-word prompt is Silence.
I wrote a poem years ago with that title, and will share it here. The poem has a totally different voice and came from a completely (almost) different person than I am today.
I am content with who I am today, and grateful for the journey that got me here. Sometimes it’s a valuable exercise to look back and be reminded from whence one evolved.
Before ego there was silence.
Then ego emerged, dragged by intangible forceps
from the serene sea of oneness with its maker
into the harsh artificial light of material world.
No wonder ego screamed.
The small, still voice – also part of Oneness –
was drowned out by a raucous cacophony.
Ego began devouring material world like a strident crow
feasting at an overripe dumpster.
I meditate, try to invoke the resurgence of silence,
but my goal eludes me.
I strive to empty my mind,
but ego will not go away.
It careens from synapse to synapse,
ricocheting off every thought mote
that sifts down through my span of consciousness.
Silence is golden (so they say),
but when I fall mute, others worry.
Outwardly I am judged as too quiet.
Inside, ego shouts in derision.
Is silence relative or absolute?
Is there such a thing as too silent?
Or partial silence? (The sound of one hand clapping, perhaps…)
We seldom understand what we hear.
Why would we expect to comprehend silence?
It is not essential to fill every void.
Only ego thinks this way.
Silence is not a void begging to be filled,
but I do beg…
that ego will surrender, and the void in me can be filled
with the still, small voice that is Silence.
~ MCC (@ 2000)
“Somewhere we know that without silence words lose their meaning, that without listening speaking no longer heals, that without distance closeness cannot cure.”
~ Henri Nouwen
If we were having coffee, you might ask why I haven’t been posting a whole lot lately. I would tell you I hadn’t really noticed until today, but it’s probably for the best that I post when I have something to share, and not just to meet self-imposed quotas.
I have many interests that seem to ebb and flow: blogging, stained glass, gardening and landscaping (a newly formed interest), home improvement DIY projects, reading, poetry, walking my dog and taking photos, binge-watching entire seasons of my favorite programs on Netflix, playing with my grandkids, playing with my (adult) kids, playing with my food… and probably some other interests that are so far into the ebb stage I have forgotten them for now.
Blogging seems to be ebbing for a bit right now. With the rainy season coming up and more time spent indoors, my posts will likely pick back up. Be forewarned!
If we were having coffee, I would tell you that I took my dog Chules to a doggy daycare for the first time this week. It tuckered him out and he’s been napping a lot since. The daycare streams webcams of their play areas so you can see what your pet is up to at any given moment. I admit I spent a lot of time checking in on Chules.
There were a lot more white dogs in attendance than I expected, but I had no problem picking Chules out of the crowd. While other dogs walked or ran around, there was one dog that literally pranced in and out of the camera’s view. That would be my Chules. Perhaps I should have named him Prancer.
I’d better sign off for now. It’s time to attend to something that is definitely not one of my favorite pastimes: house cleaning. Thanks for stopping by and allowing me to put off my chores for a while. If you want to hang around, there’s a pile of clean laundry that needs folding.
No? Alright then. Have a good weekend. Hopefully you will find time to enjoy your favorite activities.
Thank you Diana at PartTimeMonsterBlog.com for hosting the #WeekendCoffeeShare.
