Christmas Day at Home

Reading

 Resting

  Visiting across the wires

   Watching movies

     Snacking

It’s all good!

“At some point, you gotta let go, and sit still, 

and allow contentment to come to you.”

~ Elizabeth Gilbert,  Eat, Pray, Love

Coffee Break

A view from my table inside 
13th Ave. Food and Coffee House

Which is more important? The coffee or the break? The coffee must be dark and milky rich, to ease me into my next book. Of course a salad and a cookie rounds it out just right. The music familiar and toe tapping. I was fortunate to share the space with only one or two others. After a day of heavy lifting of words and ideas, I came to this favourite spot for respite and to read.

At the front door of 13th Ave
Food and Coffee House

“When you rest, you catch your breath and it holds you up, like water wings…”

~ Anne Lamott

13th Ave Food and Coffee House

3136 13th Ave.

Regina, Sk.   S4T 1P3

Can be found on Facebook

On an Afternoon Walk ~ A Short Story

A Short Story 

To walk in solitude past the sleeping geese gave Delilah rest. A long day’s work staring at a computer screen had taxed her mind, not to mention her eyes. Column after column of numbers blurred by days end. She was jealous of the sleeping geese, ignorant of anyone passing them. It was silly, but she felt like tiptoeing past them. Instead she found her special bench and sat. Feeling like she should keep walking but enjoying the fall colours, Delia breathed a sigh of relief. It was Friday ~ no more computers til Monday. Face to the sun, eyes closed she gloried in the late afternoon.

“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees 

on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, 

or watching the clouds float across the sky, 

is by no means a waste of time.”

~ John Lubbock, The Use of Life

Tomorrow’s Post

When today has been full,

and my cup has overflowed,

my pen is still, I rest my mind

~ tomorrow's the stage for story.

“The principle of art is to pause, not bypass.”

 ~ Jerzy Kosinski

 

**Author’s note: Wednesdays are for the next episode of Situationally Theirs with Dez Eliot and Emelina Beaufort-Crawford.  I’ve had wonderful family time this week so have decided to write Chapter Two, Episode 146 tomorrow (July 27, 2023) ~ Good night!

The Last Straw!

When worries wrapped my head in knots

and my cat's health was driving me mad,

there was no need for my stalwart phone

to close it’s eye and fall silently dead!

I burst into tears and scared my cat.

I crumpled and sobbed like a baby.

Wiping my face and taking deep breaths

I knew my iPad would keep me connected.

When rested well all morning long,

I gathered fragile strands of strength.

In the afternoon heat I went downtown

and bought a new phone instead!

“Stress should be a powerful driving force, not an obstacle.”

~ Bill Phillips

It Felt Good

There are days when everything clicks along from the time eyes open, this wasn’t one of them. It was deceitful. Eyes opened, morning moved along to breakfast and then it was time for a nap…..a long one. When I thought about it, the last several days had been busy. Keeping me on my toes whether I wanted to or not. It happens to everyone. How many know when to stop and just breathe - or take a nap. Listen to body and mind. Many of us have an old message on repeat play that says ‘You’re lazy’ or ‘Get the work done and quickly!’ Even if it’s the weekend or retired. So changing the message becomes the challenge. Giving permission for time for some ‘me time’ and then taking it. Our futures just may depend on it!

“When you rest, you catch your breath 

    and it holds you up, like water wings….”

~ Anne Lamott

 

p.s. After I had rested, I finished the laundry……and some other things on my to do list.

It's Time ~ 2

It’s time. 

Time for words 

to fill the page ~ 

words that have meaning. 

only silence. 

Scribbles, 

looking for poetry, 

often find a whiff of inspiration

but only scribbles appear. 

air is sterile.

All these words on the page are details ~

details of ordinary life feeling uninspired. 

Today my life was ordinary. 

Not boring because it held the things important to me. 

Reaching out to a friend

Self care at home and in the community

Reading a couple chapters of a popular book

Resting late in the day because it was needed.

Walking against the cold wind was tiring. 

Lumpy, bumpy ice slowed my pace. 

And still there is nothing to write?  

“I tell my students there is such a thing as ‘writers block’, 

and they should respect it. It’s blocked because 

it ought to be blocked, because you haven’t got it right now.”

~ Toni Morrison

Rainy Day Rest

glistening drops drizzle

down cool window panes

branches sway wildly

damp breezes waft 

through open windows

to freshen cosy inside 

curled under a blanket,

the steady patter of rain

surrounds my rest.

“Let’s just sit quietly and listen to the secrets the rain wants to tell us.”

~ John Mark Green, author

(from goodreads.com)

Time Out

No words tonight.

All sound asleep!

Not even snoring ~

only car motor rumble.

Rather than get angry,

my mind can rest for tonight.

“When you rest, you catch your breath and 

it holds you up, like water wings….”

~ Anne Lamott

A Pause

The blank page stares at me

with its single white eye 

   ~ ideas flown,

     ~ fantasies buried 

       ~ memories deep in the past.

And so I let creativity rest.

     ~ just for tonight

“The principle of art is to pause, not bypass.”

~ Jerzy Kosinski

R & R

Floating on the surface

buoyant, relaxed

pressures of the day

settle into the silt.

“Rest and be thankful.”

~ William Wordsworth

On a Morning Walk - The Three R’s

Rest

Reflection

Ready to go

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

~ Leonardo da Vinci

A Gentle Day ~ 2

My old friend arthritis 

paid me a visit this week ~

unwelcome and jabbing

and grabbing at joints 

hobbling my morning walks,

my afternoon walks.

Did I take any missteps?

Too much sugar

Not enough yoga

Skipping exercises

Trying to push through discomfort

Walking in the heat of these days

(Just don’t tell anyone.)

Settling into the cool,

resting, writing and reading, 

watching TV and gentle exercise

has eased discomfort ~

Just in time for a short walk…..

“My message is - keep moving. If you do, you’ll keep arthritis at bay.”

~ Donna Mills

Over There

'Over there' is always an option 

- a boat I can travel on

start the engines to stir waters

feel the sun warming my face,

and wind combing my hair ~ but ~ 

does it fit with my intention 

to put my feet down and

stay still while my pen moves 

curving into letters 

swirling into ideas 

until my hips get sore

my hand cramps and

I wiggle just to keep my blood flowing. 

over there may be across the room

or outside on the water or the prairies 

when the words begin to flow again. 

am I making excuses for myself

so I can put my pen down?

this artistry paying only dividends of enjoyment 

painting word pictures in black ink or pixels. 

bending to the old messages 

- maybe not always so old -

that zeroes in on dollars and cents 

when it is sense that should be attended to. 

bending to those messages 

carved and curved into my memories 

like rutted grooves of an old vinyl recording. 

spinning ‘round and ‘round without stopping 

until I really look over there 

is that option really all that much better?

is it just busy work?

only a different form of play?

will I come back to what intrigues me most 

putting pen to paper to curve and carve out 

what my head, hand and heart want 

until over there is a rest, a pause, a refill for

it is the well outside of me that

refills my spirit and gives my body rest 

from this unproductive but joyous thing - 

(I sound like a scratchy voice on a very old message machine.)

So I hoist my sails,

sling a pack on my back

and write a story of 

over there. 

“Writing is its own reward.”

~ Henry Miller