Why do things happen all in one day?

I'm sure you've had things that need taking care of and you try to... space them out... so you... don't space out. But it doesn't always work out that way. Sometimes, it is because you have scheduled one thing when your calendar was clear, and then when something else needed to be scheduled you either didn't have your pocket calendar with you or this new appointment was very important and you had to take the day that they had open.
Now I hear you young ones out there thinking why doesn't she just use her phone calendar...uh...
ask your mom,especially if she has been a stay at home mom who is almost 60. Technology just somehow landed on earth and I was busy.
And then there is resistance...to change. I so didn't want a microwave...didn't need one. Didn't need cable either or a cell phone.
Anyway, today I have three sets of people coming to my house not to mention the unplanned visit from a friend who is in crisis and needs to talk.( I should hang out a shingle)  So there is gong to be chaos in my peaceful abode today as Best Buy is installing two new TVs with sound system.....a gift from my dear husband..for me..right.
And they are giving us one remote for all three items...receiver,cable,blue ray...oh dear....I'm dead.
And then there is the painter coming to talk about staining our new window casements.....
and the landscaper coming to discuss fall cleanup in my garden.

The first team arrived at 8am.....Mr. Darcy, my little kitten (aka Boo) thought this was great fun diving through boxes. But I had to watch that he didn't run out of the door
..all this while talking to the painter about the right color of stain and when he can schedule this work...see more scheduling
The landscaper arrived around 9 am and I had a brief discussion about exactly what I wanted done...and he said okay I'll look around and give you a quote.....and as I'm talking to the painter I see the landscaper looking at the wrong flower beds.....oh dear
And then the Geek Squad wants to know if I want the speakers mounted on the wall.....
and the painter thinks he has a good match for the stain and the landscaper rings my bell and Boo tries to run out of the door.....ARE YOU DIZZY YET?
and to top things off....I see my girlfriend's car pulling in my already crowded driveway..... she's crying!
Yes...mount them on the wall
Yes, colonial something or other is fine
Girlfriend....get a cup of coffee and sit down in the kitchen
Landscaper...thanks, but no thanks
Boo...you're getting locked up

One good thing the Geek Squad has promised me that I will be able to learn how to use the new universal remote ..it's easy......yeah, I say....could your mother work it?
By the look on their faces.....I'm dead.

Now... to sit down and face a friend's broken heart......
something that wasn't scheduled....

Have you had days like this?

Magpie tale

MAGPIE TALE #29

Willow at http://magpietales.blogspot.com/

hosts a weekley writing challenge

using the below photo

write a vignette or poem

I am now in eighth grade,but I have walked passed her well kept house every school day since the 1st grade. I have never actually met her, but learned a lot about her by watching as I passed by her house. She often walked around her sun porch dusting aimlessly with a big feather duster, but mostly she just sat by the window staring out. I know that she liked birds from the many feeders hanging outside on her trees, and that she loved red roses...her garden trellis was covered with them, as was her garden. Her taste in music ran to the classical, often playing as I walked by. I remember one day hearing the most beautiful music coming from her open windows. For days I hummed it then discovered that it was Beethovens' Ode to Joy. And that is how I felt when I heard it.

Once,when I was in 3rd grade, she smiled at me as she caught me trying to pick a rose...she motioned with a nod that I knew meant, go ahead, take one. I smiled back at her thinking maybe we could become friends,but she never looked my way again. But I knew she was aware of me passing everyday. I knew in the way a person sometimes feels things that they can't explain.

This past winter she put tiny paper snowflakes in her windows and one night it snowed so much that I felt compelled to ask my mother if I could go and help some lady down the block by shoveling  her snow.

  I found my father's big snow shovel in the garage and headed down her way, the snow about 8 inches,the wind blowing it around in huge drifts.

As I neared her house I saw that it was completely dark and that the snow had not been walked in. I thought to ring the bell, but instead thinking I might wake her,I just went about shoveling her walk. When I finished I drew a heart in the snow with a smiling face..childish, I know, but somehow I wanted to do it.

 I never knew if she saw it, in fact, I never saw her again. Within months her garbage cans were filled to the brim with thrown out stuff. And soon there was a  FOR SALE  sign on her lawn.

On my way home from school Friday I saw a man coming out of her house with a handful of records about to throw them into the trash.

"Did she move?"I asked.

"No,she died.Want some records,kid?" the man asked shoving the record albums at me then turning around and leaving me in my emerging grief as I realized a part of my childhood had ended.

The albums slipped from my hands and fell onto the ground. I looked down and saw an album of Beethoven. I picked it up and held it tight until I got home. This lady had become part of my life,a private part that I never shared with anyone. And now she was gone,except for the record album that I held in my hand. Who was this woman who loved Ode To Joy so much but seemed to be so sad? Maybe I should have tried harder to be her friend.

And then I thought of her well kept house,her birds and the roses and the paper snowflakes and that  kind nod she gave to me.

Maybe I was one of those tiny pieces of joy in her life. 

I hope it was so.

**

magpie tale of fiction..and it wasn't easy coming up with something

**

Microfiction

Microfiction #46

Susan at http://www.stonyriver.ie/

hosts a weeekly writing challenge

using the below photo write something using only

140 character or less

*

Stephen King characters could live in a town called Coolville,

so he drove on,then fell asleep hitting the Belpre exit sign and died.

                                                                              -134-

characters of fiction

*

Wednesday Poem

 Wednesday...another opportunity to post a poem

thanks to

http://oneshotpoetry.blogspot.com/ 

Morendo

*

There is a beat

and a rhythm full of

graceful movements

A symphony being

created, while

floating in darkness,

unaware

that someone

doesn't want music

and will soon

 silence

every

note

*

Microfiction

Susan at http://www.stonyriver.ie/

hosts a weekly writing challenge

using the below illustration write something using

only 140 character or less

She turned into a skeleton, and now I have female eyes and lips,not to mention plucked brows

I better give up research and teach English

*

139 characters of fiction

**

Magpie tale #28

Willow, at http://magpietales.blogspot.com

hosts a weekly writing prompt.

Using the below photo

write a vignette or poem

Sandy's beautifully red painted toes were getting pruney and the bubbles were all but gone. The water was now cold, despite the rising heat of her anger. He wasn't coming. He wasn't going to celebrate her birthday in the tub of bubbles with her-two slick bodies rubbing together in the perfect birthday gift.

He said he was working late and would try to be home by 8. A quick glance at the clock told her he was more than late, he was a no- show, again. It wasn't enough that she had shed those extra pounds she had put on,it wasn't enough that she had revamped her wardrobe or cut back her work hours, he was somewhere else and probably with someone else. The lingering candlelight flickered on the wall like a message written by some ancient Goddess--It isn't you,it's him

She raised her toes to the faucet and thought of the old TV show where Lucy gets her big toe stuck in the spout...and for a second, Sandy forgot her hurt and anger and laughed. But she had no Ricky Ricardo. She had a lying,cheating son-of-a -bitch. So instead she lifted the lever to drain the tub,knowing she would have to pull the plug on this marriage,too.

***

magpie tale of fiction #28

Tonight we will all be together. The house will be bursting with family and for this I am thankful.

My two daughters and their husbands and my son and his wife, and best of all the three blessings

Reagan,Maverick and Finn

What can I say....God has blessed me

We're having sloppy joes,corn on the cob, and mac n cheese

by request

In the midst of my happiness I chant AKAL

in memory of M.Heart's mom

who left this earthly realm 9 months ago

I first began reading her blog right as her mom was dying

and it has been an honor to follow along

as she shares her journey through grief

and discovery...she is one special woman

Blessing to you M.Heart

God continue to bless you M.Heart

http://secretnotebookswildpages.blogspot.com/

***

Wednesday poem

http://oneshotpoetry.blogspot.com/

I found this wonderful drawing

on the internet

I used it to inspire a little poem

of what I saw

The artist asks that I link to his site

http://www.notmyhome.com/mack

Walking on Empty

No one knew her

hurried steps

were going nowhere

Just the pretense of a life

walking through 

snow and frigid cold

wanting to feel

something

microfiction 44

Susan at http://www.stonyriver.ie/

hosts a weekly writing prompt

using the below photo

write using only 140 character or less

He said I was a woman

who could not be trusted

So chastity,

thy name is armor

***

-81- characters of fiction

Magpie tale

MAGPIE TALE # 27

Willow, at http://magpietales.blogspot.com/
hosts a weekly writing prompt

using the below photo

write a poem or small vignette

She heard the car coming up the gravel driveway and watched as a slim chestnut haired young woman existed the car and walked toward her.

"I'd like to know if I can photograph your farmstead, particularly the out buildings. Buildings like these are disappearing from the American landscape and I want to preserve their images."

Mabel Price just stared at the young woman, remembering when she had such ambitions. In that brief pause she thought about her life choices, marrying Karl and living the life of a farm wife, an isolated life with the man she loved. 

"What' your name?" is all she managed to ask this wisp of girl in front of her.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Claire,Claire Dunn."

If she had said anything else Mabel hadn't heard, but rather she took in the sight of the young woman's large hooped earrings and the silver bell she wore around her neck on a long silver chain, the fitted tank top with a strange symbol on the front and the rather masculine Harley Davidson black, lace up, leather boots on her feet.

"I promise I won't be long...just a few shots. May I?'

Mabel gave her permission and watched as Claire began shooting photographs of her farm. She watched her climb onto things twisting her body to get just the right shot of something that had caught her eye.

Mabel felt something akin to excitement rise in her, something long abandoned. She watched as Claire stopped by an old ruin of a building, the only things remaining of it were a brick wall and the old pipes that once connected to a sink. She watched as the young woman with great ease squatted on the ground and began shooting pictures of the pipes, then watched as she put down her camera and just stared at them. 

"Yeah, it's a sight those old pipes," said Mabel,"been meaning to do something about that old building, but out here folks don't bother with things that fall down or wear out. They just leave 'em. It took me a long time to learn to live with all that.  I don't even see it anymore."  

Claire stood up and looked Mabel straight in the eye and said, "I'm glad it was here. I saw the desert."

"What?" asked Mabel.

"See here," Claire said placing her fingers on the pipes,"See the turquoise and rust, it's the colors of the desert."

Mabel might be old and have lived alone for decades, but she knew longing when she saw it.

"Well, Claire, what is it about the desert that interests you so much that you would contort yourself to get a picture of some old pipes on some old lady's farm?'"

"It's my boyfriend, he's moved to Santa Fe. He wants me to move there."

"Well?" asked Mabel.

"I don't want to live in Santa Fe, all my family is here in Illinois and Iowa."

"Do you love him?"

"Yes."

"Do you see yourself marrying him?"

"I thought so,but then he moved. He said that is his dream as an artist, to live there."

Mabel looked into the fields just beyond and remembered when she almost let Karl slip away because she had wanted to be a newspaper reporter in the big city.

"Now I'm just an old lady, but if you want my 2 cents, I say go...go to Santa Fe...and take your camera. There must be old buildings needin preservin there. If you saw the desert in some old rusty pipes, I say it is a sign."

Claire hugged Mabel and began laughing with tears, "You're right."

Mabel walked Claire back to her car, and yielded to Claire's request for a photo of her.

Mabel wondered if the photo captured the longing in her eyes.

***

Remember me telling you about my found treasure of the four volume set of Don Quixote and I said that I had also found an oil painting that looked to me to be Santa Claus? Well here it is.
Actually I think it was drawn by an illustrator that worked on Disney's Pinocchio. The fellow from the Antique Roadshow said if I could find and verify that connection it would be worth about 3 thousand dollars. If not, only about $300.
The eyes of this white bearded fellow have the ability to follow you around the room. My daughter who was still living at home at the time I purchased this for 40 dollars..hated it. Me, I love its combination of colors and the grandfatherly look of the toy maker. My daughter said he looked like a molester. What! I replied...but in a way I can see it.
It has some damage on the ends due to being stored in a hot environment and the varnish has pulled away the paint and it is very dirty. Someday I will take it in to be cleaned and repaired ...I think I have found someone who will do it properly.
I used this painting to write a short story once...and boy was I surprised by what came from this prompt. A tale of child molestation by a well respected grandfather...certainly my daughter's opinion seeped into my mind.
The mind of one who writes....a dusty dungeon or a sunny cafe....but always seeking the edge of a story.
My eyes saw Santa, but the pen saw a child molester
...maybe that is why I found it discarded in a shop ...those eyes..they really are haunting
The story is still in a drawer and the painting is stored in my closet...
not sure what I should do about either of them.

****suz

Wednesday Poem

http://oneshotpoetry.blogspot.com/

host a weekly opportunity for poets to post

one of their poems

Here's mine:

  A Bar of Ivory Soap

Held its familiar shape in my hand

 it lathered and released a fragrance of time

It took me back to claw foot tub

 mother kneeling beside it soaping my body

as I played in the cloudy water

I raised the soap to my face like a sacred object

tried to inhale my mother back to me

and for a moment she was there

but my grip failed

and the bar slipped from my fingers

splashed

into the sink

vanished

under cloudy water

and

she

was

gone

***

The clouds appeared
as angels with billowing white robes
against the heartache blue sky
And I stood planted in the light
of the sun and was bathed
in grace
and all I was doing was going
to the bank

***

Microfiction

microfiction#43

Susan,at http://www.stonyriver.ie/

hosts a weekly writing prompt

using the below photo

write using only 140 character or less

While packing books,a saved postcard fell out.

My husband,Joe,picked it up and read it:

Marry me Peg!

This,he still hasn't unpacked.

***

-137- characters of fiction

Now I have been known to rescue a feral cat or stray dog or two, but I think this is my all time accomplishment....that is, if you're an animal lover..as I am.
The other day I took my elderly cat Webster to the vet...however, before I did, I had to find him.....
So I went down in the basement dungeon looking for him and jumping Jehoshaphat....there in my escape window well was a baby muskrat...looking pretty bad...his eyes closed and laying flat.
Now what? I had to get Webster to the vet. So I went outside and dropped down some long branches that i had just cut from the trees in the yard,hoping he would crawl out by time I got back from the vet.
Oh, and when the vet got through with Webster, I said, "Oh, Doc, I have a muskrat stuck in my window well..any ideas?"
"Put a stick down there he should climb out"......Glad I didn't pay for that advice.
When I got home, he was still there looking worse. I also noticed that he had ripped the screen to pieces. He must have been there a while and had tried frantically to get out.
I went online to see what these critters eat.....cattails mostly...and water lilies.....Nope,don't have any of those in my larder. Then I read on that they sometimes eat farmer's corn if things are tough.
Well, I had a moment of decision. You see, just that morning I had gotten fresh corn from the local farmer.....delicious sweet corn..at 3/$1 Should I throw an ear of my fresh corn to a musk RAT?
Well, yes. And while he was ravishing over the corn I opened the window and slipped (forgive me little miss) a Dollie bathtub into the well..real fast like...and sure enough he found it and drank and swam as happy as a baby muskrat can be. He didn't crawl up the branches,but he was looking better. When my left -brain husband got home he went to the store and bought a large net and fished him out....and away the baby musk rat scampered. We are about a block away from a pond...I hope he finds his way back..I have since covered the window well.
It was just about two weeks ago when I rescued a large toad from there.
If I had called someone they would have gotten him out and then killed him. So I am very happy to have had a part in setting one of God's little creatures free.
Besides, Bethany and April and Dogwood and Dar and Goldenbird and even Red will be proud of me.

Thought some would like to see how Mr. Darcy is doing.
He has grown into the most wonderful addition to our family.
This morning he found his way up onto the bed...he has arrived.
My husband calls him "little bastard" due to his constantly biting his feet as he tries to watch the ballgame.
I call him boo boo baby....Mr. Darcy is such a big name for such a squirt.
I took my senior cat to the vet yesterday with the help of my mom(thanks mom)
and I was full of dread at what I was sure was going to be bad news...Webster is almost 14
Well...the vet called this morning and said he has an infection somewhere in his body
but all his other blood work came out fine....so he has to go on antibiotics..that's it..for now at least
He is an aging kitty, but if I can have him around for a bit more....praise God
Webster has been so tolerant of boo boo Darcy...guess the good guy upstairs saw that
and gave him a reprieve

Magpie tale

MAGPIE TALE #26

Willow, at http://magpietales.blogspot.com

hosts a weekly writing prompt

write a small vignette or poem

using the below photo as your inspiration

the old man sits down

the water can beside him

both of them empty

***

Wandering Day

I need a wandering day.
Do you ever desire to just wander? I do.
I feel a very strong pull
sometimes to just get into my car
and stop where I am called to stop
It may be the park, the library, a bookstore,
a thrift shop,an art store or TJMaxx
Or maybe just a drive with music playing
and my mind doing the wandering
There have been times in my car with music playing randomly
and Oh my gosh..something reaches deep inside and I am overwhelmed
with feelings
Gypsy Kings is the kind of music that sometimes.lots of times
aims an arrow at exactly the right thing
I love the beat and passion of their music
and most times that is enough and I drive back home
having danced and loved and released some passion
all in the privacy of my car..wandering
Wonder where my wandering will take me today..?

                                                             BEM BEM BEM MARIA......

***

Wednesday poem

http://oneshotpoetry.blogspot.com/
 host a weekly poetry opportunity
for you to post a poem you have written

BEARER

Often I think of loss

and how it seems to be

 an account

that is drawn on

when it's

added to

***

Microfiction

microfiction # 24
Susan, at http://www.stonyriver.ie/
hosts a weekly writing prompt

                                                              Using the below photo
                                           write something using only 140 character or less
                                              Quite a challenge....why not try it yourself?

Family ruins,not the kind you cast

but the kind you're given

Cast before you were born

Like it or not,the foundation

of your own house

-138-

characters