Microfiction Monday

MICROFICTION MONDAY #20   PHOTO PROMPT - My take on it




The white one is scary,
but I think the brown one laying back in the weeds
has a cowpie launcher.
If they take another step toward us Doris, floor it!





I found microfiction monday through  sylviafromoverthehill.blogspot.com. She posted a wonderful microfiction story based on this photo from Susan  over at http://www.stonyriver.ie/ who hosts Microfiction Mondays,where you tell a story, based on a photo she has chosen, of only 140 characters or less.


***Suz

WARNING SIGN

I think this kid is going to be an artist

My day job

She rules the house

I love dogs,but somehow cats decided long ago to push them out and take over.
When this one arrived in my life we had one cat in the house named,Webster. Webster came to us from the animal shelter. But this story is not about Webster...Kitty reminds me of this as I'm writing this; I want to tell you about Miss Kitty O'Shea.
About six years ago I was lying on the couch deathly sick with the flu.
I heard my husband walk to the back patio door and open it.
I heard him come back inside talking.
I was too sick to look up or answer him, besides I don't understand his words...I have a pounding headache.
Well, I hear him talking in a sweet voice. Oh, I forgot to tell you that it is snowing outside.

"You poor baby,I'll bet you're cold and hungry..."

I think he's talking about me and to me....I lift my head
There in front of me is my husband-a small kitten laying across his forearm......
He had brought in this little cat about 7 months old
need I say she is still here.......
My daughter was going to take her, but Webster had taken a swipe at this kitten and her eye was injured and I had to take her to the vet and.....We named her Miss Kitty O'Shea.....after a downtown restaurant and bar we had been in and our admiration for the toughness of Irish women..
She's still here
But the best part of the story is that 63 days latter.....yeah, you guessed it...KITTENS!
She had four kittens, one died two days after birth. Miss Kitty was the most wonderful mother...it was a delight to witness..Everyone of her kittens ...she had a different call for....she actually called them ..she did a head count several times a day and she had a different call for feed time....and she made gutteral sounds for contentment (not purr) while feeding them.....her paw around them
My daughter took one and her friend took two...well ,now my daughter has all three.....long story
Miss Kitty has not spoken since we took her kittens away..I miss her sounds...
Needless to say, she is fond of my husband
I think they are two cranks
who fall asleep on the couch after dinner
watching tv..
fighting for dominance of the sofa
You know who wins?
Funny to watch a grown man squished

Today was a girlfriend day.
The other grandma watched Finn..so whoopee...I couldn't say "yes" to breakfast and going to Homegoods fast enough...with my buddy, Mary. I had to mention her name..'cause she knows I blog now and she loves her name in lights!

We had fun bumping into each other in the aisles and oooing and ahhing at all the pretty stuff. I was looking for something for my garden...what else is new?
Mary managed to hold onto every penny in her purse....how DOES she do that?

Oh and I also got my hair cut and colored ....all that in one whole day..can you imagine that.
And.. I worked on a little painting and some collage....wow.....must be all this supressed inner-me-ness!

Mary and I are going to the same Black Tie affair on a Yacht this May......and we both need to shape up for our
slinky dresses....hehehe
I watch her..she watches me.
I asked my husband if he would drop me and Mary off in Galena...no car...and only with the food we should eat....and if we wanted anything....we would have to walk up and down those blasted hills!

What do you think? ...  I asked him...

Why, do you believe he actually said....
 YOU AND MARY WOULD JUST ORDER CARRY OUT.....

..the nerve of that man.

Dusting off the sketchbook

I haven't drawn lately. But I had a sudden urge to look at my sketchbooks....guess I needed to connect with that part of me
that I feel is stirring.
A simple thing...to keep a sketchbook.....you carry it around
and sit a while (which is something I should do anyway)
carry it around and just draw the ordinary.
In high school art class I had to keep one for the whole semester....for my grade
I wish I would have kept it
I would have sketches of
...Soldier Field and a demolition derby
...Beverly Shores Indiana
...It's Here Coffeehouse
...Peter Cora's Coffeehouse and Samatha the folk singer
...Michigan cherries
...the beach at 76th street
...the dragstrip
...and who knows what else I have forgotten

I'm glad I kept my grown up sketchbooks
(actually I tossed them in a drawer)

And seeing them fresh...seeing something that has rested in a drawer for a while
you look at it in a more compassionate way
It's not bad...not bad at all
:)

Walking up the stairs of my daughter's house,doing my good mother deed,I happened to take a wee glance down at my feet, and the shock of what I saw nearly sent me flying onto her porch swing!
Green, I tell you! Green! My whole being has been starvin for a shot of any color that isn't on a street sign or fire hydrant....and I'm sick of "winter color"...let's stop kidding ourselves...they're just dried up old plants! Dead...d.e.a.d..!!
But this....is living.... Green....oh, it is almost March isn't it? And she does live in Chicago! ... must be enchantment of the wee people....
 Finn! That's Irish!  .....must be the magic of the wee child!
Oh, I don't care whose enchantment it is...I'm lovin it! Loving it!

Trumpets of yellow
on my window sill
look that much better
against Winter's will

Their brazen color
before frozen white
Wanton joy they bring
a weary soul's delight

It's hard not to be filled with wonder
awakening to a fairyland of snow
covered branches

Like an enchanted being
I tarry at the top of the stairs

forgetting at this moment
the poison apples that await me
on the road this morning

Scratching away
at the snow covered feeder
I wonder
if the Purple finch
dreams of summer
Or is his thought
only of today
getting to the seed first
this early morning

A gift from a friend

Do you think she was trying to tell me something?

rush rush rush

Lately that's seems to be my method of operation....rush
But I did manage to get my nails done yesterday
and I did lose 4 lbs this morning..well not this morning...I weighed myself this morning...down 4 whole pounds
It only goes to show that when you are deliberate in what you do
you enjoy results
now if I can only figure out a way to get back exercising
can't fit in a pilates classs...wrong times
not yoga either
I will work on that one too...fitness is an essential practice
but for now...it's flying out the door to see Finn...he weighs 13 lbs now!
I do walk him in the stroller..
does that count...I wonder?

From Tallgrass Writer's Guild's Black and White Anthology

The subject matter of the anthology was "wild things"
this was my take on that:

ANNIVERSARY MEAL

We were eating medium rare prime rib,drinking Diet Cokes
when they walked in
dressed in black leather,fringed vests,boots and bandanas
They took two tables and banged them together
moved chairs around as they pleased
On of them, handsome, with salt and peppered long hair
tied behind his head in a ponytail
flung his chair around, straddled his long legs over it
...as if her were mounting a horse
I tried to ignore them,
but I kept looking over
drawn to the fun they were having
as they slapped hands,talked loudly,and swore
with abandon,throwing their heads backwards with laughter,

as we ate our meal quielty.

How many meals have I eaten this way?

They were drinking beer out of bottles,
including the one woman with them
whose tee shirt was torn
just above her left breast;
there,tattooed,a slivered moon with indigo stars
Large silver hooped earrings skimmed her neck
as she leaned over to the long-legged guy
kissed his lips...like a porn star

The waitress brought us two more Diet Cokes
...asked if there was anything else
she could get us...

I don't think they have new lives in that kitchen

So, I politely said  No, raised my glass
watched
as the bikers clinked their bottles.

**

A peek at Galena country

I promise next time I will take a non filled camera!  But I did manage to get a few pictures to give you a glimpse of how it looks in Galena...these are not the best vistas by far...next time

Today I'm heading back up north for a day with Finn.
After Mary Ann's knowlegeable adjustment in my attitude...I go with wings on my feet
knowing when I step done again....I will be in a different place in the waters of life.of course!
These very things that interrupt our lives change us most of the time for a reason

Can you see my raised foot?
 This foot over the water of my life?

there are bells and seashells twined around my ankle
with one little turquoise bead hanging down
across my ankle bone
see it?

Back from Galena

I hope you had as wonderful a February weekend, filled with love and beauty, joy and love as I had.
It was the great backyard bird count this weekend....though we did not officially enter...we counted.
In one 15 minute segment of time we counted
8-Blue Jays
5- Crows
2-Downy woodpeckers
1-Hairy woodpecker
6-cardinals
10- Juncos
5-Titmouse
2- Nuthatches
1-redbellied sapsucker
5-Chicidees

It was bird central on our deck!

Early in the morning deer were walking through our yard looking for scraps left from the feeder.
I took some pictures of their tracks...so beautiful on the snow with all the shadows.

I wish I could show you how amazing the night sky is here.....brilliant with stars! 
They treasure the darkness in Galena.....I hope that remains...For it is a wonder to behold....something you don't see above you in urban areas...too much light pollutions.
 In the summer I love to sit on the deck and watch the sky...and watch for shooting stars.....But it is winter now....so I watch for tracks in the snow istead. 
They tell a story but, I am not good at figuring out why all of a sudden the tracks stop...and mish around and then take off again...or when two different track bisect....who blinked I wonder....
In town there were many famliies enjoying the long weekend. It was almost festive. Of course I shopped..got some very nice jewerly.
 In one shop..one of my favorite "junk shops" I found an old incense burner...so cool...with chains and charcoal and monastry blend of incense..but hey, I could be burning grass for all I know..it's in this funny looking metal can.....I'll give you an update.
 I also bought the neatest copper and siver hammered plate with an Aztec figure on it....now where will I put that? I don't know but it called to me as did a painting of a half nude women draped in shades of beige,green,red,and periwinlke!
We love the merchants in town and visiting their shops is like hanging over the back fence. We know so many by now that they trust us with local gossip..What fun.
The best thing about our weekends there is how my hubby acts...like a young dude again.  Money can't buy that. We are two happy people strolling the streets of Galena.
One lady said I was cute when she saw me trying on a necklace.
I smiled, then looked at my husband..."Cute?... I'm not sure about that?"
He looked at me and said, "It's harder for a woman of your age (grrr!) to be cute then to be beautiful."
I think that was my Valentine.

I still have my foot up over the water......Mary Ann, my blogger friend, Blue Sky Dreaming, so wonderfully explained to me that when it comes down (after all my loving obligations are done) my foot will not touch water at the same place.
Wow. Thank you Mary Ann.  She is right. Where I am now in my daily rhythm has changed my current.
I rose to the occassion- and today brought my own mother along  - whose foot will not step down in the same spot either.
Three generations of women in one room with one baby..feet up out of the water
having a serious talk..and I mean serious talk..about motherhood and life
and how the choices have changed
but really are the same emotionally
What a challenge and priviledge it is...
and how one can lose oneself in the process
simply disappear..call it sacrifice...good intention
..the right thing to do....
losing oneself is never good
for anyone
I guess the trick is to never start losing yourself
but be aware that you are woman
a sensual,thinking creative woman
and to nuture that part of you forever 
My daughter is struggling with all that is on her plate
and with the help of her mother and grandmother
I know she will be just fine....

out of the stream of "life' for a while
but able to step right in and travel the waters again
in a new place
like her mom and grandmother

I'm going to watch Shirley Valentine today.
 Now, I am a happily married woman,with wonderful married,successful children. I want for nothing. But still there are days...
used to be a lot of days
where I wanted to just run away.
It took me a long time to figure out what that what was and where it came from....
I was happy..why should feelings of wanting to run away stir within me?
It's about knowing who you really are..what you're made of

I Love this quote from Jack Kerouac:
No man should go through life without once experiencing healthy even bored solitude in the wilderness, finding himself depending soley on himself and thereby learning his true and hidden strength

The movie,Shirley Valentine, possesses this very feeling.
After talking to many people throughout the years, I have discovered that this feeling is very common.
But few go on to experience this wilderness
that Kerouac speaks of
Or have the courage that Shirley Valentine has
leaving her comfort zone
Discovering things that held her back
were misinterpreted by her all along
...braving to be alone
I can't go to Greece right now or the wilderness
But I can mentally go where I need to go
Dare to travel the thoughts of desire
Go to the wilderness of my own fear

Shirley Valentine

yes,,,,,,,,today

blah blah blahs

my alter ego

Oh, I have a bad case of the blahs....winter seems longer than married life.
And the extra nine inches of snow hasn't helped.
the driving up north everyday hasn't helped...though I'm glad to
but sometimes the traffic is just all too much
I get home...ready to eat the refrigerator
the cats want attention
the mail has to be opened
 I have to run to the cleaners or the drugstore
or grocery
then hubby comes homes
dinner to be made
and on and on...and on

Whether we work fulltime
or are retired or a student
we have ryhthmns
life ryhthmns
and mine is off
I have been flailing about

I need to figure out a new rhythmn
until I can return
to the rhythmn I thrive in
and maybe by then
it will be Spring!

** :)

Scary,huh?

Begin again....getting harder. Just look at all those wrinkles and droopy lids.
I wanted to be at goal weight by Feb. ...not looking good.
Maybe it's the dreary weather...
maybe it's the overbooked life
maybe maybe maybe

I really had to have a good talk with myself this morning
Remember what worked?..why have you abandoned those ways?
I'm hardly even writing anymore....
I'm shutting up
I'm ignoring
I'm letting it roll off my back
It never is about dieting
never
never
never
It's about living true
it's about not swallowing feelings...good or bad ones
it's about expression
expression expression
Whether I do it with my clothes
my jewelry
my shoes
my writing
my artwork
my living
it is always expression
of self...the self only I know is real
and wants out

My choices right now are not expressive
in a creative way
and that is crucial for me
I am a creative person
a wild at heart person
a rule breaker
a gypsy
a wanderer
a sensual being
a devourer of life
who isn't
right now
One look in the mirror and I knew...
it showed on my face
it wasn't the years...though they are packing on
but it's not about age.. one bit
I know this
I had to love myself enough to have this talk
get your ass back expressing
or you will die
bit by bit again
and that is not the kind of
begin again I want
It is not either or...
know this Susan
your sadness is of your own making
begin again
you know the way
go there

My son turned 35 on Saturday. how could this have happened so quickly? He was the funniest little boy you could ever hope to meet. Loved by everyone. Still is.
He has always loved warm..hot..weather.  During college years,home on break..he left me a note one morning.."Me and Bill are off to Hawaii. I'll call."  That's him...a risk taker.
I guess that's why he decided to start his own company and move to California
...I mean..move to the beach.
He married the most wonderful woman in the world for him...for anyone. She dreams with him.
I wish I would have had some of his free spirit growing up....but he was born that way..from the very start..one toe over the line...always pushing past his comfort zone....I love that about him.
A dream follower.
A risk taker
A believer in himself

a good son.....

I had the best time at the party today. So many wonderful friends,paper,glue,stickers,hole punches and valentines everywhere. Valentines bring out the best in women....we are the feeling component of creation.
So many ways to express love.
So many there at the party forgot their troubles for 4hours.
When I got home my husband was out running errands,the cats were sleeping and I was alone to clean up all the mess from making valentines last night. I put on a little music, made myself a cup of tea and lovingly returned all my collagy stuff back into the bins...for next year.  You should know me by now...this made me weepy.
 Next year...no one promises tomorrow let alone next year. Our friend Patty was with us last year,I drove her home....last time I saw her.  She had been ill on and off for over a year....and last year she was feeling good enough to come to the party. She had a fun time mixing around with everybody. All the way home in the car she talked about making valentines..how much fun it was..and what a pain in the ass it was...that was her....God love her...I mean it...God please Love her...she was one of a kind.
So, knowing how my mind seems to wander in a connecting kind of way.....I sat down and looked out the window at the fresh white snow and blue skies.....thank you for love I said out loud....to God
Thank you for the friends I enjoyed today...
.and for the ones with troubles of the aching heart kind and the aching body kind....love them too, God.
Handsome hasn't been around in days.....
he could use a little of your love too....

**

Tomorrow I Party

Well, they're done..all 30 of them.