PASS THE PEAS Obtuse comment from My Reader: "It is about time...!" Personally, I had hoped that 2016 was going to be a banner year for the whole lot of us. However, it looks as if the result on several particular outcomes, just two mentioned...Brexit and Mr. T...has snapped more than garters, and left more... Continue Reading →
SIMPLY ORANGES THREE Caps with flaps or Santa hats Presented here for thee and thee, A modest image as sure as you please Of simply orange oranges three.
IT'S A TOSS UP NO IT'S A COW Both of my kids have a picture of a framed cow that graces a wall in each of their respective homes. They were born on a family dairy farm and know the value of hard work. They also know the value of working together and of... Continue Reading →
NUMBER FORTY-SEVEN "All his own geese are swans, as the swans of others are geese." Horace Walpole (1717-97) British writer Referring to Sir Joshua Reynolds. Wait! Wait! shouts My Reader. Geese? What geese? That's a cow...I don't see any geese! Point taken...
CONVERSATION CUL-DE-SAC She wasn’t an easy person...understand not in the infamous being easy sense, she just wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Safely said, her glass was always less than half-empty. Who is kidding whom? It was empty. My Reader might think this a rather harsh and hard-to-tell recollection of The Mother. She was exactly what... Continue Reading →
Curious still about the etymological origin of twice…as defined in Origins A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, authored by Eric Partridge is this: “2. In double degree or quantity (twice as good).” Twice. As. Good. Originally, my thinking was this would be easier to explain than I’m [actually] finding it to be. I’m attempting... Continue Reading →
My Reader says I've really truly stepped out of my comfort zone of darkened-corner-wall-flower-status by signing up to be a guest speaker on DOODLEWASH. Charlie O'Shields, an artist himself and a WordPress Freshly Pressed Prominent, show cases his own art, but also provides a WordPress venue for artist's around the world by inviting them to... Continue Reading →
ice>noun 1 a roof covered with ice: frozen water, icicles; black ice, frost, rime, glaze. icy>adjective 1 icy roads: frozen, frozen over, iced over, frosty, frosted, ice-bound, ice-covered, iced up; slippery; literary rimy. Yes. All of the above. I'll be in touch...
A WORK IN PROGRESS... Note: My grand-daughter just celebrated her 13th birthday. I know, I know. I didn't think I was old enough to have a thirteen year old grand child...and I'm not. Not really. But while My Reader debates the above "not old enough" statement, please read the letter I sent to My... Continue Reading →
SEASON OF REMEMBRANCE
BIRD IN A BOWL Funny thing about that weather. Yesterday on the half-past five morning first dog walk of the day the weather was clear-skied, star-studded crisp and thirty-three degrees. Then again, at the morning nine o'clock second dog walk... Continue Reading →
SHACK and PUMP HOUSE The telephone would have exploded had he not answered it. The Stepfather knew who it was. His mother. She never minced words. She demanded and commanded. The Old Man was getting old. No, he was already old. He was getting older. There was debt. The Stepfather had to come help... Continue Reading →
No, she never wanted to be a burlesque dancer. What she wanted and only because he asked was a china teacup and saucer preferably English and old, blue or orange or both. Her immediate vision was that it was to be similar to the small collection they once had. The collection he took with him... Continue Reading →
Grandmother’s house was always dark. That’s what I recall anyway. The heavy drapes were always pulled shut which swathed the living room in darkness. The living room became an unmistakable cave when you entered through the front door. Grandmother’s house was always dark, but it also always smelled of blackberry jam. The scent was pungent.... Continue Reading →
"...The sound of silence. Background noises no longer there... painful spaces of time... Other sounds eventually fill the empty space..." __ Other sounds do eventually fill the empty spaces that once filled a home that played the daily tune of "BEWARE OF THE DOG"... whether a big bark threat or not. He spoke openly about... Continue Reading →
Normally, I’ve been reluctant to besiege My Reader with facts, that particular part of my art researching profession that requires accuracy closely bordering the edge of boredom. However, just this once and feeling safe in the “historical fact” arena because I’ve taken liberal liberties with wording and comments…the curious art researcher and enquiring mind bubbled... Continue Reading →
This is how it goes, usually… 1 January – take down Christmas tree. Pack. Store. This is how it went… 26 December – Christmas tree down. Packed. Stored. Five-day head start on usual Christmas tree take-down. Forget January. Early. Easy. Done. Forgotten. Bliss. Thirty-one plus five extra days of forgetful bliss. Thirty-one plus... Continue Reading →
The day couldn't have been darker, colder, more foreboding or windier. What did we expect? It was, after all, the East Sussex seacoast in early spring; a perfect day to get out of the cottage and explore the neighbourhood in spite of the dreadful weather. Right. The residential hill behind the train station looked straightforward, and looked straight... Continue Reading →
We’ll be dining in the kitchen…surrounded with the savory aromas of a holiday meal all day in preparation. The reclaimed, battered and bruised farm table is covered with a treasured cloth sprinkled with rose images that mirror a Renaissance floral still-life. It is etched with faint stains from many meals now past, and creased permanently... Continue Reading →
PEAKING Call them what you will: new year's resolutions, personal goals, self-improvements, better behaviors or realistic wishful thinking. My Reader has already made a new and improved list of resolutions for the 2015 new year. This IS a new beginning. I've read My Reader's list. It is impressive. No! It is better than impressive it... Continue Reading →
FIG ON A PLATTER ON the ninth day Before Christmas It came as a vision A flash. No, a scare! THIS FIG Was just sitting On a silly green plate In the shape of a pear. AS if by a thread Poised high in mid-air A twee bit of mistletoe Was hanging just…there. WHAT could... Continue Reading →
Sometimes things just get away from you. The day. Time. The weather. A swear word (or words) that is or are supposed to be silent but end up being out-loud swear word(s). Really LOUD out-loud swear word(s). Don't you just hate that when it happens? Occasionally I do, but most of the time not so... Continue Reading →
I think that I shall never see A fig that fails to entice me.
At first it was curiosity and wondering about a word. Then mental machinations and mindless wanderings took the high road and soon profound curiosity became a fever-pitched research obsession. It was all about a word, and the word was G-R-E-A-T-N-E-S-S. A good word GREATNESS. A great word. Greatness (n.): from the adjective GREAT to... Continue Reading →
My Reader brought the post in today and set it down on the table. "You've received a letter from your lovely Irish friend. You know...the one who lives in Ireland." Slicing the envelope I quickly but gingerly pull out the sheaves of brightly coloured paper and begin reading heart-felt words written half-a-world away from this... Continue Reading →
Jots from a Small Apt. 