the night black, greyed by
clouds of blowing snow
blotting out all but
our headlights and
red flashing tail lights
of vehicles leading the way
past the white centre line
invisible or ghost like,
we crept cautiously through
this April winter night.
“When you are worried about the weather,
you are worried about everything.”
~ Mantaranjot Mangat, Plotless
Opening doors we didn’t know……
could be opened ~
done with caution,
expectations tempered ~
is a risk
and a challenge
at any age
keeps us engaged
with the life
we have been given.
“The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live.”
~ Flora Whittemore
Every big idea is made better with food. The idea this weekend is, for many, a family gathering on this Thanksgiving. My challenge? Bring cabbage rolls, a dish I have made maybe once, on my own, in the last forty years. I approached this….this intimating challenge cautiously. But dammit! I would make them and do a good job! From cookbooks and YouTube videos, I researched what was needed. Purchased the groceries needed. Cleared my kitchen. Gathered my tools and ingredients. And then, something interesting happened. I slipped into ‘the zone’ as I cooked brown rice, chopped onions and garlic, parsley and celery, measured out dill weed and smoked paprika and made tomato sauce. Over a dozen cabbage rolls later, tucked in and covered with bacon, they went into the oven for a two hour bake. I did reserve one small piece of filling and cooked a tiny meatloaf to taste the finished product. The flavours are quite good - but I’ll wait till tomorrow to get more objective opinions.
“….no one is born a great cook, one learns by doing.”
~ Julia Child, My Life in France
no hesitation about
where we go
how we get there ~
except ~
when true age is forgotten ~
vanishing as though a mere mirage ~ appearing magically with creaks, groans, and stiffness ~
still willing to keep moving…..
cautiously and grateful for
time to rest ~ waiting for
the magic of mirage to return.
“For the moment I can only cry out that I have lost my splendid mirage.
Come back, come back, O glittering and white!”
~ F.Scott Fitzgerald
Hidden pools of cold water shelter thick purple starfish but threaten injury to intrepid humans. A dare answered with caution can be a risk worth taking.
“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.”
~ T.S.Eliot
edging higher while
our smiling faces peer
cautiously through
anxious fences of community.
“Life has got all those twists and turns.
You’ve got to hold on tight and off you go.”
~ Nicole Kidman
It’s been like an invisible brick wall ~
all the masks and distancing
But emerging from it all
brave businesses open up
Most patrons still masked ~
on the street, masks tucked away
Like a deep breath of fresh air
the city is cautiously unmasked.
“Don’t ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up.”
~ Robert Frost
