To Try

To try when muscle and brain 

tell another story

To ignore normal, 

to slip into cosy,

to nap, 

to let turbulent waters settle.

Reasons are of little use,

mere curiosities. 

Only knowing that 

challenges physical and mental

slow drained eagerness and energy 

until only a drop or two were left.

Challenges set by little old me

to participate in life as it is

to learn and to share. 

to develop a community of writers. 

 It is a draining, but rewarding journey. 

“When you put the hard work in…reward will come out.”

~ Johnnie Dent Jr., author

Things that Matter

A good book full of 

    mystery and enchantment.

Grandchildren and all children

Scrambled eggs - or eggs ..

Colouring: 

    inside or outside the lines

Taking a challenge just because 

Coffee: strong and hot made

    from beans from the tropics

Seasons that rotate through 

    green leaves and flowers to gold to drifts of snow

Trees for beauty, shade and breath.

My big black kitty 

    that loves me just because

Strength of mind, body and spirit

A blank page, and a pen

A cosy sweater in winter 

    just for home.

The aroma and taste of fresh bread

The moon, the sun and the stars in the sky

Parents to honour and to love, 

    warts and all.

A cup of delicious hot chocolate 

    topped with marshmallows.

“The things that matter don’t necessarily make sense.”

~ Russell Hoban, writer

(1925 ~ 2011)

It's All Wireless

I like to think I’m 

turning on the radio. 

like the old brown one 

we had at the farm, 

with the gold trim on 

the front and the grey 

knob that we twisted past

the static until we found 

either CJME or CKRM. 

It was usually to hear the 

news, the grain report or 

football or baseball game. 

On the weekend it was 

Howdy Doody. In the fall,  

before moving to town, 

the hockey season would 

start. Howie Meeker called 

the play. Were any of the 

curling matches broadcast? 

I don’t recall - maybe they 

weren’t as interesting to me.

Now it’s all wireless.

“I’m going to get myself one of those, um, 

movable computers ~ what do you call them….? 

Laptops! I am bad. I still call my radio a wireless,”

~ Katherine Parkinson, actress

One Gorgeous Knickknack!

The pink flamingo stands 

forever frozen in porcelain 

The beautiful bird has graced 

many a shelf since coming into 

my home in 1988, not aging a day.

even though now a senior citizen  

In and out of boxes, she travelled with 

me from Texas to British Columbia, 

and finally to Saskatchewan. 

Only the lily lost a tiny chip.

Because she doesn’t get to 

any ponds or lakes to clean 

and splash, it falls to me

to keep her plumage bright.

“She is pure Alice in Wonderland, and her appearance and demeanour 

 a nicely judged mix of the Red Queen and A Flamingo.”

~ Truman Capote