"We Are the General Girls"

Regina General Hospital and Nurses Residence

Each year we gather, still standing although our Nurses Residence and Hospital are gone with the tick of the clock. Vanished into a parking lot. Our numbers have gotten smaller with the passing of time but we are still laugh, visit, reminisce, and sing. Family stories have become histories. What once was career, advanced education and travel, is now full of grandchildren and great grandchildren, nephews and nieces ~ ~ and travel. At the end of our gathering each year we sing our school song: “We Are the General Girls!” some voices not quite as strong, but all still full of the joy and hard work of our nursing years.

“Our fingerprints don’t fade from the lives we touch.”

~ Judy Blume, author

Warm Sun, Warm Friends

Over the Hill Orchards and Winery, 
Lumsden, Saskatchewan

On a patio overlooking 

the Qu’Appelle Valley 

in the warm sun, 

we shared a lovely afternoon. 

Cold drinks and fresh desserts

 - saskatoon pie, 

    crepes stuffed with cherries, 

      rhubarb crumble, 

         apple pie kept conversation 

to a minimum for a short time. 

If we didn’t eat quickly 

our ice cream or 

  whipped cream toppings 

would melt!

Discussions ranged from travels 

throughout the world to 

   one member's garden with monarch butterflies 

then it was a walk down to explore  

     Over the Hill Orchards and Winery.

“Friendship is unnecessary, 

like philosophy, and art…It has no survival value; 

rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.”

~ C.S.Lewis,  The Four Loves

Contact: Over the Hill Orchards and Winery at

   overthehillorchards.ca

The Real Autumn Comes

As autumn settles in 

wasps are sluggish 

yet still annoying; 

fruit flies still hover

and are yet to feel 

the cool of autumn,

playgrounds are quieter

as schools absorb our children, 

golden leaves drift from elms, 

yet to fill the corners and curbs

The air breathes sweater cool.

Calendar dictum remains in summer, 

autumn equinox only days away 

These cool days prepare the world

 for the beauty of real autumn.

“And all at once, summer collapsed into fall.”

~ Oscar Wilde

Only a Rocking Chair

Only a rocking chair 

wood and varnish 

teeth marks on a rocker

from a puppy

to sit in it 

close my eyes 

rock gently 

memories slide 

to the old black rocking chair 

    with the wide seat 

  in our living room 

to the big solid oak 

 rocking chair with 

embroidered head rest and seat to 

 the small neat dark wood rocking chair 

of my grandparents home ~ 

gentle memories in 

only a rocking chair

wood and varnish 

teeth marks from a puppy.

“There is a peacefulness, an air of reflection, about a 

rocking chair that attaches to no other moving object.”

~ Wallis Simpson, socialite

(1896 ~ 1986)

At the End of the Day

The story we tell ourselves 

at the end of a day can be 

our saving grace. 

Where was the bright spot 

in the day just passed? 

That one flicker that filled 

a moment or an hour 

with joy and excitement 

to feel the goodness of others 

or the warmth of the sun after a rain

or the broad smile of the girl at the till.

Yes they pass as each moment passes, 

but the memory remains to shine 

in darkened corners at the end of the day.

“At the end of the day, give up your worries 

and give thanks for the journey.

~ Ben Vereen, actor

From the Inside

 

A narrowed life from the outside 

~ from the inside a broad expanse

 

of story and imagination; 

 of chatter and discussion, 

  of viewing the world as it is 

~ always a new direction 

for mind and feet to travel.

“What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, 

pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.”

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, 

philosopher, poet and essayist

(1803 ~ 1882)

A Fresher Touch

The land is watered from 

dawn to dusk and into the night.

If I close my eyes and listen 

I am on Vancouver Island, 

yet with a fresher touch of cool.

“Light - dews - breezes - bloom - and freshness; not one of which

 …has yet been perfected on the canvas of any painter in the world.”

~ John Constable, painter

(1776 - 1837)

Noticeable

I like to notice the world around me, 

 bees nuzzling sunflowers, 

  thunderstorms being built in the sky, 

 rain pelting down or in a mist, 

  glorious sunsets on the prairies,

 colourful tiny bird houses in a tree, 

  snow settling soft and gentle,

 wind raking through the trees 

  prairie flowers bright, small and delicate

but today I saw new sight: 

three geese on an ordinary city sidewalk.

not Canada geese but 

squat, waddling, brash and bossy 

geese with insistent honking that rivalled 

their much larger cousins.

No pausing for a photo op either!

Upon inquiry: 

   “they are from a goose farm!”

“You can find pictures anywhere. It’s simply a matter 

of noticing things and organizing them.”

~ Elliott Erwitt, photographer

Keeping Watch

I haven’t had my human put a note out for a while. I do believe it’s time. One might think that all I do is sleep, and yes I make certain to do get my rest. However, there are squirrels and birds on the other side of the glass. It was a bit too cool to get outside today - and I do hate that harness that my human puts on me. She does seem to think it’s important, so I put up with it. I can keep watch for the outside life that I desperately miss, but I do like my cozy home. It’s always a toss up. I’m writing this in the evening. Now, I’ll just patiently wait for my supper - only minutes away!

“Cats don’t like change without their consent.”

~ Roger A. Caras, author and wildlife photographer 

In This Moment

Today I noticed 

blood pulsing  

from my heart to my toes, 

feeding my lungs, 

all the organs of my body, 

my brain and through all 

my muscles small and large. 

A reminder, 

sitting still or walking

sleep or awake that 

in this moment, 

this life is good.

“You notice. And noticing, you live.”

~ John Graves, writer

(1920 ~ 2013)

Follow Your Star

North of the North Star ~ a

direction onward over the top 

of the world to the stars of the 

south where the east and west 

remain constant companions 

while the journey goes. 

In these four directions 

treasures and lean times grow, 

there are joys and there are sorrows. 

And yet they each remain true ~ 

those Stars of all directions. Each 

our choice to follow one or all.

“For my part I know nothing with any certainty, 

but the sight of the stars makes me dream.

~ Vincent van Gogh, artist

(1853 ~ 1890)