no,no,no

Sometimes things you see

give you thrill

color, form,texture

I spent the day with Finn

We explored his tiny city yard

...and found so much to thrill us

like stones and shells and spiders

no no no he said to the spiders

no touch

While he played with his trains

I observed the fence...

thoughts of writing on my mind

The two images on the fence gave me a chill

not a thrill

one life, one death

You think you can control your writing

maybe that is true for seasoned writers. 

As I type, the writing is going on in my head

and I have a sense that I will go there

But who knows......

only the keyboard does and the mind

I've put the story in a drawer to stew

along with the others

I think I'll go back to something light

like the ghost story ...it's been stewing for months

It should be interesting to see what the characters have been up to while I was absent

Fear

I've been working on a story that takes place at a church carnival.
There are two girls who meet up with their old priest who now sits in a dunk tank.
One girl holds a secret about the old priest and a child.
My writing friend is pushing me to go full out dark...write to the edge
I don't think I want to dwell there, in that darkness
unless I somehow make it supernatural.....unreal
The thought of a child being harmed or murdered or held captive
is bone chilling to me
I know I could write it...but do I want to travel there?

Has anyone stood in such a crossroad in a story they were writing?

Kid jep has never been anything I would want to read
so why this path... that has led me here?
to the greatest of fears
I would like your input..... from readers and writers alike

#84

inculcation fails

her agreement must be kept

crow collects the debt

http://magpietales.blogspot.com

I read the book Simple Abundance, by Sarah Ban Breathnach

about 20 times

each time drawing something different out of it

But the one thing that stayed constant was her

call to make an Illustrated Discovery Journal

a sort of scrapbook journal where "you created

a visual autobiography of your authentic self

by crafting collages that reflected

your long-forgotten passions and preferences"

I have several of these, and each one reveals

progress and change

The photo above,from a long forgotten ad in a magazine,has become a visual mantra to me:

warrior woman

Does it matter that I started too late (55) to look like a buff 25 yr old?

does it matter that I fell off of the wagon of practice many times?

does it matter that it is getting harder to lift those weights?

no.

I am a warrior

for myself...the only warrior that counts

and yes, I have had to begin again

even in the last few weeks

but the woman in the photo inspires me

NOT A QUITTER

a warrior woman

2 more pounds banished

blood pressure (with new meds) down

LDL.....well, let's not throw a wet blanket on my party

but I'm working on lowering it

cheers on this beautiful day of Autumn

listening to music too early in the morning

like so many leaves

                    some dreams just fell to the earth

  succumbed to season

...to trust our heaviness

 from Rilke's Book of Hours:

Wenn etwas mir vom Fenster fallt

How surely gravity's law,

strong as an ocean current,

takes hold of even the smallest thing

and pulls it toward the heart of the world.

Each thing-

each stone,blossom,child-

is held in place.

Only we, in our arrogance,

push out beyond what we each belong to

for some empty freedom.

If we surrendered

to earth's intelligence

we could rise up rooted,like trees.

Instead we entangle ourselves

in knots of our own making

and struggle, lonely and confused.

So like children, we begin again

to learn from the things,

because they are in God's heart;

they have never left him.

This is what the things can teach us:

to fall,

patiently to trust our heaviness.

Even a bird has to do that

before it can fly.

Serpent of Notes/ Magpie #83

                                                     a prompt from Tess, at Willow Manor


 Notes

I saw his shadowy form and was afraid,
listened as he played a reed,
watched as serpents slid out of trees,
out of water,wrapped themselves
around his naked darkness.
The light of night hung in the sky behind him
illuminating a path under his feet.
I stood in the sound, wanting to be like it.
The serpent of notes plunged into  my ears,
calling me to my belly to crawl to him
 who played what I desired
...an apple at his feet


http://magpietales.blogspot.com

Autumn writes

 



Autumn tree branches

ancient language sillouette

colbalt sky parchment

As Autumn approaches
 I am able to see more script against the evening sky
words of the Hawthorne,willow,oak,maple
words illuminated by the sun setting in the distance
moments of  spirit
  

Kitty O'Shea

I'm back to my writing group...another good thing about Fall.
Last week we were given a prompt to write about.....1200 wc
about a public argument. I finished it. It's called, Seeing Red
Cathartic,actually. Felt good.
This is Ms.Kitty O'Shea, boss kitty of the house
she finally stopped walking across my keyboard and settled down on the bed next to me.

Will she ever give up her dream of becoming a writer?
I wonder.

They got me.

I bought it.

Maybe I will find something to relate to in this magazine.

I am on a fitness journey

I am choosing healthy and complex foods

I want to look good

So I laid down my money and walked out of the food store

with a cart full of veggies and chicken and eggs

and some nuts and vitamins

When I got home I made myself some slim yoga tea

The house was quiet, the sun was pouring in, I had two kitties next to me

competing for an ear rub,and I flipped open the pages of opportunity

for better living...some sage advice on how I could live better

feel better, look better

I flipped the page....

Okay...I can see myself in that hat...sort of

not exactly..lets read on Susan

Oh, flip

I hit the bed and am out in 10 seconds

just ask my husband :)

ooo..she's cute....I wear glasses

hmmm.did a male write this one?

who wears mom jeans....not me

hmm.now we're talking

I have always wanted to get my hands on pair of those russian kettles

mmmm...such wonderful advertisement

I'm liking this magazine

yes I can....could...wanted to

I'm good at the child's pose

what?

there aren't enough roads

maybe next year.....it's inspiring

to read

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh???!

that kind of girl's night in

I don't do rearranging :)

yes, they are right

glad I bought the magazine

Besides, I'm a sucker for a good ad
and I am going to work very hard at getting into that hat

Women's Health....buy it at your newsstand now

The Revenant haiku Magpie tale # 82

Andrew Wyeth

the revenant

spirit in daytime

sooty stained walls of the soul

paint exorcism

 http://magpietales.blogspot.com

This is from google images

not my scale...though I wished it was

even with the chubby toes...if only I weighed 120 again

But I do have good news

my number on the scale has gone down

4 lbs since last Friday

whoo hoo

I am struggling with hypertension...will see the doctor again on Monday

another med, I'm sure

But it's really the clothes that I love that I cannot button  around my

bazoomies and all the other clothes that don't fit just right or not at all

Darn, I worked so hard getting into them 5 years ago

What happened?

I know where it began......I lost my beloved trainer

nuts that he was

But he worked me harder than I have ever worked before

no mercy

no excuses

This is not a TEA PARTY he used to tell me

move

Well,his personal life took a very bad turn and he was gone

I tried to find another trainer.....but no one was him

no one......nutso and all

I did the reformer for years

and yoga....

I stayed flexible...but it was the free weights and other taxing things that did the job

and the strenuous 3 day a week full body work out that did it

and walking an hour a day and being disciplined about my diet.....especially carbs

What happened?

Inch by inch it happened

ounce by ounce

I almost gave into my old lifestyle

But, I gave myself a good talking to

and said....JUMP!

So here I am.....4 measly pounds lighter

and working out again

3 days a week.....trying to be my own Dave the trainer

but it's the beauty I'm after

it is important to me to be beautiful

this is not a shallow goal

and it took me years to figure this one out

I've kept the outside beauty ...the changes

but inside I was losing my own standard

I was not true to myself

so it's off to getting back into those clothes

and gorgeous shoes

and jingling with my bracelets on toned arms

Ah...if feels good to be back full steam

 

Oh, and thank you to all you wonderful blogger friends

for your encouragement

Jj......I like your eating pattern

Dr. Meeta...... very good advice

Dar...it is a struggle isn't it girl, but that is not an excuse

we're really tough broads..now we need to be our own warriors

and Teri.....oh my ...bless you for your helpful words

it is our health too...really formost.....but for me it is taping into

my desire that does it for me...fuels my engine to live well

let's check in with each other

 

Losing weight is one of our punishments handed down to us from that lousy Adam and Eve's first boo boo in that lovely garden...I just know it
Sucks....big time
Did you ever wonder why one weekend of thoughtless eating can pack lbs on
and yet, one weekend of watching every crumb that goes into your mouth does not even move that darn scale one ounce!  I think science should look into this contradiction
There are many ways to accomplish weight loss
mostly it's eat less move more
but that's not all of it...truly it is not

And have you ever noticed that when you start watching the food that goes into your mouth...your mind starts to be obsessed with cooking and recipes and cookbooks!
Get thee behind me Satan.....oh yeah,,,,,that snake

But I am dwelling in  possibilites
like getting back into my fabulous leather jackets
and my little jingly belts
and my red high heel shoes.......did you know that you can gain weight in your feet.......rotten serpent!
So I will go to sleep tonight
with that thing that perches in my heart
that thingy with wings....

Magpie #81

Thanks to Tess for always offering interesting photo prompts

a broken axle

mud washed up around a tire

life passes quickly

http://magpietales.blogspot.com

 

 

 

abandoned barn junk

long gone the cries of children

the silence of wood

 

 

 

I had a wonderful weekend of blue skies, sweet corn, friends,wonderful naps,and of course looking at the junk store

This beautiful warbler hit the window

and I finally went and held it in my cupped hand 

until it recovered....then placed it in the lilac bush

our spirits communicated

I saw this sign in front of the yarn shop and thought of

all my knit wit blogger friends

This a look at the objects I saw the treasured junk shop

This a photo looking into the window

from the outside

Okay...what did I find?

It's a good thing I purged so much

from my life the last few weeks

opening a place for these

They will stay in Galena with the rest of the pottery

I find on our road trips through Iowa and Wisconsin

Soon it will be Fall Fests

with pumpkins and apples and fresh baked cherry pies

one can hardly keep ones heart quiet

Everyone is scattering their own way
this weekend
So me and the hunk
are going to Galena.....for some much needed quiet and dark skies
I hope to visit my favorite junk shop
I just love me that junk shop
especially the owner...he is so knowledgeable about so many things
and very foxy about the items in his shop.....plays dumb
but he knows the worth or worthlessness of everything there
He knows I love to look through old pictures and cards
especially the Valentines
and that I love pottery....old pottery
and old childrens books and jewelry and rocks
Heck...what don't I like, now that think about it
anyway......We will have fun
making memories