Friday Letters

I've written a few Friday Letters to recap my week, say what's on my mind, and take the opportunity to offer a thank you or two. Let's open the mail...

Dear Mother Nature,

I know I whined about the weather all winter and I'm determined not to do that now that spring has (sort of) arrived. So even though it is snowing today and you have deposited graupel on my grape hyacinths, I'm not going to complain. Instead, how about if I thank you for providing me with the obvious choice for dinner - chili in the crockpot! Never mind that I originally had planned to do hamburgers on the grill; I'm sure it will warm up enough for that by August or so. 

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Dear Drivers,

Since Justin had his accident in March and has not yet replaced his totalled vehicle, I have been without a car. I'm a sucker for loaning him my Subaru, but his being able to get to school trumps my need for a car. Life and errands don't stop, so I've been walking everywhere - to the bank, locksmith, florist, post office, and I may attempt the three mile round trip to the grocery store next week if I feel adventurous. Exercise with a purpose! 

However, I kindly request demand that drivers pay attention to pedestrians in crosswalks and look for people walking across the road before you screech around the corner making your right turn on red. True, I have been getting a small amount of upper arm exercise by shaking my fist at you, but I would really rather not end up run over in the street next to the "Yield To Pedestrians in Crosswalk" sign. Thank you for your kind attention to this matter.
 
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Dear Sock Knitting Mojo,

Welcome back! I don't know where you went or what caused you to leave in the first place, but I'm glad you have returned. It became clear that you have been gone far too long when I could barely remember how to knit a heel flap last night, but I'm humming along now, looking forward to the magic of the heel turn. I may even throw you a party if you stick around long enough for me to finish both socks!

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Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, safe, and warm weekend!
 

Ten on Tuesday - Many Reasons

Since Carole is enjoying sun, fun, and tequila on vacation in Mexico and not around to do Ten on Tuesday this week, I've come up with my own list - Ten Many Reasons Why I Would Love to Move to Colorado.

  

1. Oldest Son lives there
2. Youngest Son would like to live in the West (as soon as he finds a job there).
3. Mountains
4. The climate
5. A Reader's Haven 
6. A truly wonderful library system that is quickly becoming my local library even though I am currently 1700 miles away!
7. So much good beer
8. Whiskey, too
9. The best reuben I've ever had
10. The Loopy Ewe
11. Celestial Seasonings and the Mint Room
12. Pike's Peak
13. Mesa Verde
14. Friendly, accomodating, and accepting people
15. Gorgeous wildflowers 

 Some day!

  

B is for ...

Bird houses!

Several people commented that they would like to see the bird houses I mentioned on Tuesday, and since it's time for me to get out the ladder and put them up, I'm happy to oblige and take some pictures. They aren't terribly artistic, but it really makes me smile remembering all of us painting together, with both boys very concerned that they were painting designs that the birds would appreciate and make them feel welcome.

This one says Welcome right up front.

 This one Welcomes the birds, both forwards and backwards.

What family wouldn't also enjoy the covered porch and the green and gold striped

 awning over the side window?

This one has a skylight.

Here is one of my personal favorites, with some lovely nest-related art on the back.

I spent some time climbing the ladder and also climbing some trees

 to hang the bird houses, including one on the porch in a prime spot

 just a few feet away from one of the feeders.

Now all I have to do is wait for the birds to get ready to nest. We've been hanging these bird houses for fifteen years or so, and they've had nests, eggs, and baby birds almost every year, maybe because we made the birds feel so welcome!

A is for ...

I've taken some long blog breaks this winter; some were due to lack of time and many happened because I just didn't feel like I had anything worthwhile to say. I was thinking about NaBloPoMo last November, and while posting every day was difficult at times, it became easier once I overcame my initial inertia. I know an ABC-along was a blog thing long ago and while this might be a similar idea, I hope it will provide me with a way to find a topic when I'm stuck. So, with the intention of posting more often (definitely not every day, and I'm not making any promises), A is for abecedarian.

Izambert, Cecile. "Lettrine A". Atelier Cecile Izambert. 2011. Web. 15 April 2015.

More tomorrow!

Seeing Poetry II

After my rediscovery last weekend of the poetry right in front of me, I went in search of more poetry. Youngest son Justin wrote a lot during his high school years. Most of his writing was penned only for himself, privately filling many journals still housed in his desk, but I did find one of his public poems in my copy of his high school literary magazine.

He hadn't shared it with me before it was published, but when Élan came out, he left a copy on the kitchen table, knowing that I would read it. As soon as I did, I knew exactly who and what it was written about. I had inwardly fumed at the initial incident; how dare someone hurt my son in the dismissive and yes, callous, way she had done it. Justin showed me a much more effective and beautifully-worded way of dealing with feelings - by writing a poem. I was reminded of this lesson again just a few weeks ago when this same woman behaved in an even more callous and downright cruel manner. Sadly, I don't think Justin is still writing poems, but perhaps I should start writing and stop fuming.

As his mother, I'm completely partial, but I do love this poem. In honor of National Poetry Month, my youngest poet son who has the ability to use just the right words and things to teach me, I'm sharing: 

Callous Liasons

Sympathetic?
             No.
Malicious?
             Yes.

Everyday,
Struggling to hear
             Yearning for the words.
Why can't they say
             Yes?

We all covet it
At some point.
Sometimes at
             Ten,
                          Twenty,
                                       Forty.
             Arduous for some
             Effortless for others.

High school.
Should be simple,
             Right?
             Not for me.
                          Not for them.

Not an ordinary
Weekend.
             Met once before
             Mesmerized then
                          Still now.
Must restrict myself
             But I asked.
I got an answer.

She said
             She must shout.
So my heart can hear
             The lethal response.
                           No.   

Ten on Tuesday - It's Delightful!

This week's Ten on Tuesday is 10 Everyday Things That Delight You. What a lovely topic to consider the multitude of delightful things in my life. Some are things, some are experiences, and some are a combination of both, but they are all wonderful to me.

Mt. Moran in Grand Teton National Park delights me immensely.

These people at Mt. Moran give me even more delight!

1.  PG Tips Tea - Proper English tea, this is what gets me out of bed in the morning and starts my delightful day.

2.   My ipod - This is how I listen to audiobooks. I use it every day and it's probably my favorite piece of technology.

3.   The stained glass over my sink - It's simple, but I love the reflections and colors it casts on the kitchen wall, and allows me to have a rainbow-colored view while I do dishes.

4.   ChiaoGoo interchangeable needles - I love everything about these needles and the fact that they make knitting even more enjoyable.

5.   Our birdhouses - Years ago, my husband built several birdhouses from scrap lumber and we all decorated them. I put them up every spring and delight in our colorful painting and the families of birds that move in.

6.   Talking with my kids on the phone - Certainly a commonplace occurrence, but it's wonderful, especially when it's good news like it was Monday evening!

7.   Cleaning out flowerbeds and seeing new green shoots on almost everything - I was overly excited to find bright green shoots on roses, mums, and hydrangeas yesterday.

8.   Getting into a bed freshly made with sheets that have been dried on the line - That happened last night and was a wonderful ahhhh moment.

9.   The abundance of family photos and artwork in our home - I find it delightful that I can look around almost every room and see great photos that have captured some truly happy memories. Photos of childhood, vacations, graduations, art projects by and from the boys are all treasured and fill me with happiness.

10.  Knitting, reading, and enjoying a glass of wine at the end of a long day - Another ahhhh moment when I sit down in my comfortable chair, glass of wine nearby, and lose myself in knitting and/or reading. This is definitely delightful and I look forward to the experience almost every night.

So what brings you delight? I hope everyone has a a nice long list!

Seeing Poetry I

I'm guilty of becoming blind to some things in my surroundings and not really seeing them. This piece of poetry has been hanging in our home for 12 years, but thankfully, some spring cleaning and dusting this weekend served to make me notice, read, truly see, and remember all the surprise and joy it brought me back in 2003.

Ryan wrote this as a school assignment back in sixth grade. His teacher was taken with the imagery, submitted it to Creative Kids magazine, and he became a published author. I remember reading this for the first time and shedding some tears myself, thankful for being able to see things through his eyes, and that he could describe a perfectly average scene from his window so beautifully. I'm not impartial in any way, but I do love this poem. In honor of National Poetry Month, my oldest poet son who still has a way with words, the fact that the gutter is no longer filled with white flakes, and that I actually did some spring cleaning (but his window is still speckled with smudges of dirt), I'm sharing:

 Gutter Filled With White Flakes

Gutter filled with white flakes as they billowed out-

ward, roof dappled with melting snow. I sat watching

 birds. By chance, I saw them, flooding by like water in

 the rapids, rippling, fluttering about madly as dragon- 

flies. Small, dark, brown birds with tan flecks all down

their bodies ending in bristled curls on their tails. One

halted its skyward ascent to sit on the edge of the

snow-filled gutter. A twig snapped above the bird's

head and plummeted. The bird, startled, slapped its

wings and gracefully soared away from its certain peril. 

One bird gone, yet another replaced it almost immedi-

ately, squatting down, making itself look ever more

pudgy, so pudgy in fact, that I almost had to laugh. 

That bird's visit, too, was cut short. A heavy truck rum-

bled down the road startling the bird, it drove onward 

in its trek to an unknown destination. A cardinal sits

on a tree branch, tree's trunk striped with ribbons of

rolling droplets as if in tears, weeping with sorrow 

at the cardinal's departure. As the smudges of dirt with 

which my window is speckled begin to cloud my view, 

I begin to slip into the world of knowingness. I turn

away, in tears, vowing to look back on this day and

behold again all the glory and peace it brought.