goodbye march

goodbye march

and all the cups of porridge
i’ve stirred
under your grey
forsaken
skies


march on
you month
of
bane and
blessing



*I like how Charles Dickens describes a typical March day (at least the description fits where we live. If you live in Mexico it might be different.) :)


“It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.”             ~Charles Dickens



Bye, bye March!

give me grain

Beans,
Wheat berries

Couscous and
Curry

Yum
  Yum
     Yum


*So, when I was in Dillons last week I went to the deli counter…the one with the cheese, olives, hummus and amazing salads. I sampled a “seven grain salad”….and said “oh my!” The deli man was kind enough to give me the ingredients and off I went to purchase what I needed. I found a recipe online and came up with a salad pretty close to what I had sampled.

 

*Trying this salad led to my adventure of week 13:  exploring mideastern cooking. Besides the salad,  I made Lebanese Chicken and Moroccan Chicken. Next on the list is Tava (a Turkish stew) and Challah. You can find these recipes on allrecipes.com. If you happen to have a great mideastern recipe, please share. J  

 
 

late march snowfall

winter is

letting go

slowly


*Perhaps nature is in need of one more quiet night before the bustle of spring.

**"The cold was our pride, the snow was our beauty. It fell and fell, lacing day and night together in a milky haze, making everything quieter as it fell, so that winter seemed to partake of religion in a way no other season did, hushed, solemn."         - Patricia Hampl

heirloom

"it was my
grandmothers"
she said

"and i want
you to have it

it has the colors
of your
memory"


*My beautiful and creative friend Marsha came over Saturday. She’s starting a “side business” called “Shop Your Closet” She helps women assemble outfits from the things in their closets that they have accumulated but don’t quite know how to wear. We played for around 3 hours in my closet and I am so exicted about the outfits that were already there but I had not thought to put together. It’s her gift. On top of her wonderful “style” input, she gifted me with a sweater, some slacks and this wonderful broach of her grandmothers. I’ve maybe worn a pin three or four times in my life…..but this one I will wear proudly and often. It will be a symbol of continually leaving negative things behind and embracing that which is good and right and true. 

Observing Marsha use her artistic talent in the area of clothes, color, and style reminded me of this quote:

“Somehow, we humans are never happier than when we are expressing the deepest gifts that are truly us.”  ~Os Guiness

illumining

Light above
you chase the darkness
away

letting us see
the divine lines
and designs

of a Master

sign

everything is A-
OK

is what it
said to me

as i walked along
the country road
with
heavy heart

"oh, weary one
lift up your head
instead
of staring down

for all is well
yes,
all

in the matter
concerning thee"



* I don't know who placed the glove on the fence, but i think i would like them.:)

yogurt, yes yogurt

yesterday
i knocked over a carton of yogurt
which just happened
to be open!

it splattered everywhere
including
up into
my hair!


*After wiping up the mess, i thought "Oh shoot, why didn't i photograph the design it made on the cabinet."  So i improvised, took a spoon and hurled some yogurt onto the cabinet. (My husband just happened to walk through the kitchen at that very moment. Ha!) "Modern art!" i told him. :)

Hope you enjoy the results.

And by the way, i remembered this Shel Silverstein poem which i felt gave some legitimacy to my actions:

"Draw a crazy picture,
Write a nutty poem,
Sing a mumble-gumble song,
Whistle through your comb.
Do a loony-goony dance
'Cross the kitchen floor,
Put something silly in the world
That ain't been there before."
— Shel Silverstein

whispered to a rock (another word for you)

that patience
could be etched in me
the way i see it
etched in thee

*Patience is the companion of widsom.   ~St. Augustine

**Yesterday I went to KU Med Center to visit my friend Linda who received a new kidney last week. I was accompanied by two amazingly delightful friends: Terri, who brings color to the world, and Aleda who brings the wonderful gift of storytelling and humor. It was a wonderful outing. The hour and a half drive was filled with interesting conversation ranging from spring color, diet fads, fashion, and books, to the Lybian conflict. How refreshing it is to share this life, in all it’s pain and glory, with others.


Upon arrival we found our way to the local dining district and some delicious sandwiches. At least I can personally vouch for the Eggplant Parmesan. :)

We walked back to the car through the brisk March wind which chilled us to the bone and, as cold weather does, made us very aware of being alive! When we got to Linda’s room we found her sitting up in a chair waiting for our visit. She fairly glowed! As we sat in the warmth of afternoon sunshine coming through her window and listened as she shared her experience, I was reminded of the days, weeks, months, and years that she has lived with a failing kidney.

I must say that she has been the ultimate example of patience. Watching her go through this process with strength, dignity, humor and faith has been a privilege and an inspiration. Go Linda!

I came away from the day with two thoughts I mind:
The first (about patience) is expressed in the poem above….
The second (about friendship) could be summarized by the following quote:

"In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit." --Albert Schweitzer

I was rekindled yesterday. …thanks to the friendship of 3 amazing women.

Oh, spend time with your friends……and if you are going through a “friend drought”…don’t lose hope. There are new ones out there, waiting to be discovered.

a word for your day

"As a culture we have confused velocity with accomplishment."
                                                                             ~anon.

Come, sit awhile.:)

Yesterday i cashed in a gift card from a phenomenal friend. She gave me a 90 minute honey infused coconut body wrap (which, btw, included massage.) I must say, it was SOME experience! It is going down as my adventure for this week. Goodness, goodness, goodness!

If you can't do a wrap or massage today, (or any day this month or year) lean back in your chair, breathe deep, and relax your heart, mind, and body. mmmmm, mmmmmm, mmmmm

old porch

she is creaky
she is worn

and
she is

very very
lovely

mid march

it won't be many days
till the trees
are laden
with leaves

their greenness
lovely

and i, like others,
will be pleased
with birdsong
in the mornings

and the arrival of
crocus
and forsythia

but oh
how i shall miss
the transparency
of scenes

such as these

*There seems to me an “honesty” portrayed by the naked trees of winter. Stripped of their outer coverings, we see both their strength and fragileness with a clarity not seen in summer, spring, or fall.


**This thought leads me to my adventure of last week. I had the privilege of waiting in the surgical waiting room at KU Medical Center while my very dear and close friend Linda Y. underwent a kidney transplant. Linda has been on the transplant list for some time now so this adventure has been anticipated for awhile. However, when the call came, it had the feel of a total surprise.

Surgical waiting rooms, (especially, transplant surgical waiting rooms) have the feel of the “mid march” scenes above. Families sit huddled together, in both strength and fragility, and the arms of their hearts are lifted high. Usually, one stands apart, at least inwardly (the husband, the wife, the father, mother, or maybe a long lost child). The “truth” that we are but mere men is clear.

I’m very happy to report that Linda is doing quite well. She and her husband attribute this precious gift to the hand of God through an unknown fellow traveler.

art in motion (kansas from a car, scenes from I-70)

i didn't want you

from the beginning
i thought
no! don't scatter
scraps of metal
across this sacred prairie

don't clutter up my view

don't
don't
don't

but now that i see you
i can say

you have
more than one way

to contribute

elevator (kansas from a car, scenes from I-70)

oh silhouette
in blue
it's surprising
what you do
to me

This grain elevator near Salina brought back an abundance of childhood memories. I wrote the following poem several years ago. I thought it fit well with the image and the memories.


summer of sixty-two

we held our breaths
that year
from fall, through spring,
into early summer

and the crop was still
good

finally
the wheat tested
dry enough

my brother and i
did belly flops
into golden grain
and watched kernels
fall through our fingers
like time
through an hour glass

chicken was fried
watermelon chilled
and farmer's old trucks
lined up at elevators

request (kansas from a car, scenes from I-70)

hey!
frito lay truck
among the mighty windmills

tell me what you
say
at the end of the day

you
who have watched
the sky
change and rearrange herself
before you

going
always going
on

though wind
rain
and early dawn

please,
oh please
tell me your
stories

grasses (kansas from a car, scenes from I-70)

and then there are
the grasses

sweeping me
away

tree tops (kansas from a car, scenes from I-70)

some people think
kansas
doesn't have trees

but i can tell you
it isn't so

oh no,
there are trees

tantalizing trees!

they sway
in summer's breeze
and bend to winter's
blizzard

in spring
filled with praise
they raise their arms
high

and wave to all
who pass by

symbols of mercy
are trees
such
as these


*The tree is more than first a seed, then a stem, then a living trunk, and then dead timber.  The tree is a slow enduring force, straining to win the sky.  ~Antoine de St. Exupery

space (kansas from a car, scenes from I-70)

mountains are
breathtaking

but this thing called the prairie

verily releases
my soul

convergence

as japan
rocks and reels
in the aftershocks

and their nuclear plants
rumble

i awaken
to fresh fallen
snow

as surreal in beauty
as that tiny island
in devastation

and where is God
in this paradox?

dead
evil
uninterested
unable?

a question
easily asked

but perhaps in our confusion

we fail to see Him
clearly

standing
in the gap


*I will be back to the "Kansas from a Car" series tomorrow. Awakening this morning to this dreamlike world of white after going to bed having watched such sad news caused me pause. How in our finite minds, do we reconcile such suffering and such beauty? For myself, i find them amazingly converged in the person of Christ...(the beautiful man of sorrows).
Be well this day. I hope you see much beauty in our broken world.

semi (kansas from a car, scenes from I-70)

you fly
by

riding
riding high

emperor of the road
vehement
in red and gold

bold
bright
master

tin shed (kansas from a car, scenes from I-70)

oh, give me a home
where there is
character in the land

stone posts
tin sheds
and forever

the smell of the
earth

*My adventure this past week was strapping pieces of wood to my feet and pointing them down a mountain. It has been a few years since we have gone skiing so I thought it qualified as something “new”.  However, I discovered that driving through Kansas on I-70 to Colorado presented another “new” experience: photographing “while in motion”.  The pictures in the following series were taken from the car as it sped down the highway at a little over 75 mph.  I deleted many photos but came up with a few that I am pleased with. Most of the images were taken on a slow shutter speed…thus, the enhanced sense of motion. Hope you enjoy.

jaybird (soft series)

a busy fellow he is
back and forth
from tree to tree

but in a moment of stillness
the shutter
clicks

and i see softness
in the hue
of his stuuning
blue

baby face

one can't think about
natural softness

without thinking of
skin such as this

ah, collagen bliss


* "There is one order of beauty which seems made to turn heads. It is a beauty like that of kittens, or very small downy ducks making gentle rippling noises with their soft bills, or babies just beginning to toddle.

         ~T.S. Eliot

**This is a photo of Campbell Joy.  She is my neice Kelly's sweet daughter.

foam (soft series)

oh ocean,
vast

you frighten me

but alas
your roaring wave
recedes

and i see
tenderness beyond
reason



*It seems to me that tenderness and strength are both best, when paired together.

billowy clouds (soft series)

oh that you would
be my bed

that i could rest
my weary head

upon you

foxtail (soft series)

i grew up
running through
fields of
foxtails

and like a fox
fancy
and free

i longed to be
winsome
and wise

not
simple
plain

me!


*Soft things stir our imaginations, whatever our age.

end of day (soft series)

have you ever wondered
why the day
comes in and out
so softly?

why sunrise doesn't come
with the crash
of clanging cymbal

and sunset to a
blaring
brass band?

instead
we get a slow
and soft
awakening

and when the firey ball
drifts out of
sight

it is
to
calming

silence

on a cold morning (soft series)

the softness of his muzzle
and the softness
of the snow

bade me well
that day

peach fuzz (soft series)

i start the poem

"soft green
and peaches' fuzz"

fuzz?

buzz
cuz
does

whatever
wuz
i thinking of?


*This image reminds me of the "ripening" process. These peaches will only get sweeter and more lovely as time passes by. Yum, yum, yum. Just love fresh ripe peaches.

yarn (soft series)

it looks to me
a work of art
already

it’s texture alone
a marvelous
masterpiece

*When I looked at this yarn, I was reminded of the process it went through to become so soft, beautiful, and usable for the expression of someone’s art. It occurred to me, that we go though a similar process in life. Here are some of the steps in yarn making:

1. The cotton seed is planted. Cotton grows and matures and is then picked and baled.

2. Baled cotton is sent to the “bale opening” room where it is sent through a "breaking and opening" machine. (the result is small loose bunches of cotton)

3.  It is then placed in a "blending" machine and is blended with other grades of cotton.

4.  Next is the "breaking picker" where it is partially cleaned by beating.

5.  Followed by the "finishing picker" where final cleaning and fluffing takes place.

There is more to the process but i think you get the idea. :)    
 

puppy (soft series#1)

there is so much
about the world
that's harsh
hard
hurtful

it's before us every day
if we have a television
if we have a heart

but there are soft things
too

sent
i think

to remind us


*The Lord is good to all and His compassion is over all that He has made.    ~Psalms 145:9

**This week's adventure is to search out "soft" things and to write about them. Hope you enjoy.

carried

once in awhile
people are sent
to carry you

when this is so,
relax
and let go

you'll find yourself
riding high
on the arms
of love


*I must say that through the whole month of February i felt "lifted" (like this happy boy) by the well wishes of many of you in regard to having completed a year's worth of daily blogging. Thank you dear Kelly and sneaky Ben for instigating your "surprise and encourage aunt terry/mom month". It TRULY was a surprise. At first i felt a bit uncomfortable at receiving such attention but very quickly decided to relax and receive from the joy and generosity of everyone who took part. The kind words, gifts, calls, etc. were very much appreciated. Thank you one and all. May your acts and words be returned to you a hundred fold.