Designer Beauty

Spring bursts brightly forth

From the barren winter ground

Designer beauty

Written for dVerse Poetry.

Quote of the Week

Listen or thy tongue will keep thee deaf. 

-Native American Indian Proverb

If you are always talking, the only thoughts, ideas and opinions you will ever hear are your own.  This is akin to being deaf, for you will never learn anything new.  Hear...Listen...Learn.

Monticello

A Lesson in Patience

The mama cat sat staring into the weeds at the edge of the farm.  Only the tip of her tail moved.  "Patience is a virtue", she tells her litter, as they watch her.

Suddenly she pounces into the weeds and turns back with a plump field mouse.  Our patience has been rewarded.  We have dinner."

Looks like there's no dinner for you guys!

Written for Friday Flash 55.

It Finally Happened!

You may remember several years ago I had a Day of Mourning after my car died.  That led to two years of searching (some might say I'm too picky) for another car.  As you know, we keep our cars for a long time, so I searched high and low for a car that would meet my wants and needs.  You can read about some of my adventures in My Quest for Wheels and More Car Stuff.  

Fast forward to the present.  The search is finally over, and I am the proud owner of a 2006 Toyota Highlander.  

Happy Birthday to me!

It has the power seats I need, and it even has a sunroof!  Now we have two reliable vehicles and hubby can actually drive his "new" car...after nearly two years.

Quote of the Week

Argue for your limitations and, sure enough, they're yours.

- Richard Bach

Arguing for your limitations is like betting against yourself, and when you bet against yourself you never win.  We are quite often our own worst enemy, so do yourself a favor - believe in yourself and be your own best friend.

The Door

Image Source:  Spiros Vathis

Before her stands a mysterious door.  Though afraid, she finds herself drawn to it.  She has a key.  The lock turns; she crosses the threshold.  She needn't have been frightened.  This is her dream come true.  A world of merry-go-rounds and games, hot dogs and popcorn, cotton candy and soda fountains.  It was...a carnival.

Written for Friday Flash 55, this was inspired by an episode of the "The Ghost Whisperer", where a door suddenly appears in the middle of the street.

The Voices Are Silent

Image source: Anuj Kumar Pradham

The voices are silent
Their silence brings
A different kind of agony
No chaos or anger
Only confusion and sadness

The voices are silent
They were my enemies
And strangely my friends
Their silence brings
Truth and despair

There is no freedom
Even with the silence
There is no escaping
Where they made me go
What they made me know

With or without them
I have no self
No peace, only pain
No joy, only misery
No life

Edited to clarify:  This poem was written and posted for dVerse Poetry, and is purely fictional and not reflective of my life.

Quote of the Week

Don't let life ruffle your feathers.

Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect, it means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections. - Unknown


Once you have made this decision, you are in control of your happiness, and this is the greatest gift you can give yourself.

The Diner

It had been a long day and their relaxing swim had left Edith and Francine hungry.  "Are you ready?" called Edith from the hallway. 

"Almost.  Just looking for my slip-ons", replied Francine. 

"They're by the door where you left them.  Really, Francine, you are getting absent minded", chided Edith.  So now that we've solved the mystery of the missing shoes, where do you want to eat?"

"How about Mexican?  I heard there's a new place on Channel Road across from the drug store."

"No, that's too heavy.  You know I get heartburn on the travel day if I eat too much", Edith reminded.  How about that little deli on the corner...no that closed last year."  I know how about that diner on Main.  That place always has such good food."

"And cheap, too," retorted Francine, "but you're right.  That's another thing that hasn't changed in the last 20 years.  Do you remember the first time we came here?  We ate at the diner nearly every night."

"Of course I do", said Edith quietly.  That was the year Chester passed away, and the year I had gall bladder surgery.  Neither of us felt like fixing meals."

"Yeah, they had the most delicious BLTs.  Why they even had a garden and grew their own tomatoes.  Home grown are so much better than store bought.  I think they do something to those.  They don't even look like tomatoes."

"Those sandwiches were huge, and only $1.25."  You just couldn't beat it."

"That was 20 years ago.  Prices on everything have gone up, but they are still a great value," said Edith.

"Well you always were the frugal one.  Shall we go?"

The sisters drove to the diner to reminisce over juicy tomatoes, smokey bacon and crisp lettuce, the things memories are made of.

When they pulled into the parking lot, they saw that the place was packed.  "Apparently, we aren't the only ones with this great idea," exclaimed Edith.  

Then they saw it, in the window was a banner.  The diner was having a 20th anniversary special...  You guessed it.  BLTs for the long-ago price of $1.25- while supplies last, of course. 

Written for Write on Edge.  You may remember Francine and Edith from The Beach Cottage.

My Favorite Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day to us!

We're not like everyone else!

But it works for us!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day yesterday!

Quote of the Week

To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly. 
- Henri Bergson

As long as we exist on this earth, we are constantly changing, growing and evolving.  Change is important, but not always easy.  How are you creating yourself?

Jane or Janet

The following is a fictional story written for Write on Edge.  

Jane packs her bags and head for the beach.  Two glorious weeks...days spent lying in the sun and dancing the nights away.  You see, Jane is plain.  Jane works long hours as a waitress, saving for her annual trek to the sea.  

Here she becomes Janet.  Janet is cute, fun loving and carefree.  "It's amazing what adding a "t" to your name can do for your confidence" she said to herself.  Free from the waitress uniform, the pony tail and name tag..."Jane".

Janet settles into her lounge chair, with her music and and an ice cold Diet Coke in her hand.  "Life is good" she sighs.  As she slathers on suntan oil, from several chairs away she hears, "Can I help you with that?"

It's the blond, beach bum surfer dude she'd seen earlier.  "That would be great, thanks!  By the way, my name's Janet"  

Jane would never do that; Janet does.

They chat for a while and it turns out the surfer dude is actually a trust fund kid.  Richard G. Harding, III, but more commonly known here at the beach as Rick.  He, too, has a double identity.  He desperately wants to shed his rich kid persona while Janet is trying to escape her dull life as a waitress. Often times people want what someone else has - those with straight hair want curly, brunettes want to be blond, you know that whole "grass is greener" thing. 

"I know a great club where they have an awesome DJ and the best margaritas in town, if you're interested" Rick invited.

Again not something Jane does.  She gets off her shift at the diner, goes home and watches reruns until she falls asleep with her cat.  Dull!

Janet, however, responded with an enthusiastic "I'd love to!  I am staying at the Windsor, room 423."

Rick and Janet danced the night away on a sea of margaritas, and then talked until the wee hours exchanging phone numbers, email addresses and friending each other on Facebook.  

That night Janet found something that had been missing for a long time.  She found the real Jane.

After meeting Rick and rediscovering herself, she legally changed her name to Janet, since Janet helped her find herself.  They are now married and live at the beach.  Rick still surfs but Janet is no longer a waitress.  Both have found their greener grass.

Golden Sky

The late evening sun

Casts a golden glow upon

our upturned faces

Written for dVerse Poetry.

Quote of the Week

Image Source:  Wikipedia

The robbed that smiles, steals something from the thief. - William Shakespeare, Othello

You don't have to steal or be stolen from to experience this.  Every time we smile at someone who was rude, petty or hurtful, then we have one-upped them.  Those who take pleasure in others' discomfort are thwarted by the very thing they sought to erase.

Nursery Rhyme Redo: This Old Man

Image Source:  Imelda's Photostream

This old man, he played dumb

He played blackjack for my rum

So what the heck, stack the deck

And give the man a loan

This old man is in the zone

There are more verses with different variations.  The origin is uncertain, with the first recorded version in  Anne Gilchrist's Journal of the English Folk Dance and Song Society (1937).

Groundhog Day 2012

Image Source:  Aaron E. Silvers

Tomorrow is Groundhog Day, the day a groundhog predicts just how much more winter weather we will have.  But, it is not just some random groundhog wandering out of his hole in some farmer's field.  No, this is an EVENT!

It all takes place at 7:20 tomorrow morning at Gobblers Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.  Phil, the celebrity groundhog, will make his appearance and give his prediction.  According to the legend, if he sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter weather.  If not, then we get an early Spring.

Phil has been doing this for about 125 years, so he must be getting good at it by now.  You can read more about Phil, and the history of Groundhog Day here.

I am eagerly awaiting Phil's prediction because as you can see, it has been a mild winter so far here in the sunny South.  For us to really have winter now, Phil would need a sunny day indeed.  

I spied this daffodil yesterday while taking advantage of the warm weather to work in the yard.  It is not unheard of to see them in January, but are usually a bit later.

These snowdrops are normally the first flowers of the season, and they are right on schedule.  

So whether we pull out our straw hats or toboggans, hats off to Phil for 125 years on the job.  If you'd like to watch the ceremony, it will be webcast here.

Quote of the Week

Image Source: Wikipedia

Benjamin Franklin said:   

A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned.

A penny is just a penny, right?  You find them in parking lots, shopping malls and restaurants.  So insignificant you often don't know you've dropped them, or don't bother to pick them up.

So why would we want to save our pennies?  Remember when you were a child, filling your piggy bank with pennies, nickels, dimes and the occasional quarter?  It was not a lot, but you learned the value of saving money.

I took my virtual piggy bank filled with a my savings of a penny a day for one year ($3.65) and calculated how much I would have after 50 years ($182.50).  Allowing a modest interest rate of 3% compounded quarterly, I would have $439.98.  OK, that's still not a lot of money, I will admit.  But, that is just the savings of one penny a day - one penny that might otherwise go unnoticed in a parking lot.

The point here is that small amounts add up over time, and even mighty oak trees were once acorns.

For my calculations, I used an online compounding calculator.

The Sillies

This is the kind of silliness that happens when you have a new phone, a stuffed animal and a glass of wine all in your possession at the same time.

Uh oh, Tiger down!

  

What do you think the tiger would say if he could talk?

No tigers or plushies were harmed in the creation of this post.

Beyond The Night

Though the sky at night be red

Tell me of the day ahead

Speak to me at dawn's light

Of things beyond mortal sight

Walk with me upon the grass

Where others before have passed

What do they know that I know not

All the things that time forgot

Written for dVerse poetry.

Quote of the Week

As I was walking up the stair,
I met a man who wasn't there.
He wasn't there again today.
I wish, I wish he'd go away.
- Hugh Mearns

I have come across this one many times in my quest for quotes, and always passed it over because it didn't seem to fit.  But I like it so it is this week's quote.  

What does it mean?

Some things that come to mind are, of course, ghosts, or figments of our imagination.  The thought that we are seeing people from our past, and talking to them as though they are real.  Or maybe it is an event that troubles us and causes us to see what isn't there.

On the other hand, it reminds me of a Dr. Seuss story I had on an old record when I was just a sprout.  It was much spookier back then.

The Pants With Nobody Inside Them

Most of you have read or listened to Dr. Suess?  What was your favorite tale?