Mainely Write

Today is the day I submitted my inspiration pieces to my partner for the Spark 29 challenge that Amy Souza hosts.  Both my partner Alyscia Cunningham and I have decided to participate as Artist and Writer.  So early this morning she sent me a photograph and an excerpt from a written piece so that in the next ten days I could respond to each. When I saw the photograph, a phrase came immediately to mind and I began the poem just as soon as I zipped my two files off to her - one poem and a photo.  On June 5 we will reveal to each other what we have produced from our inspiration pieces. Unless something else occurs to me, I have finished the written piece.  It was just there for me, so I wrote the whole thing in one sitting (even though I was supposed to be writing something else entirely - as I am supposed to be doing even now!) Now for the hard part.  The art.  I know I can take a picture pretty easily for this one.  Well, I think I can anyway.  But I was thinking I might want to d

Here it is!  My husband and son went to look at it last night and bought it.  It has lots of extras and is very loud!  And shiny.  It is a well kept bike, and we are the proud new owners of a 2004 Harley Davidson 1200 Custom Sportster, pearl white. Here's my husband on the bike for the trip home.  If you look closely you can see his beard peeking out from under the helmet... no, that is not a white shirt! Now I need to get a helmet.  The bike needs a change of seat so I can join him on rides, and I need a new jacket.  Discovered the ones we have, although they fit, are just a bit too heavy for my back just yet.  We also need some bags for souvenirs and snacks, and a windshield to keep the bugs out of our teeth and the wind from freezing us solid on the cool evenings. I'll get a picture of me when I'm all ready to roll! Ready to roll and ride the roads Back to our earlier days Yearning to grasp a little more time Before we're put out to graze! HA!  I knew

Here's the thing.  I have now finally officially lost 35 pounds.  I am continuing to lose weight slowly but surely.  I finally weigh less than my husband, which is like SO exciting! I am boldly starting more physical therapy to further strengthen my core and lower back.  I can now easily walk a mile - fairly briskly and not get winded or have to stop and stretch my back muscles.  And here is a secret that is even more exciting: I can now fit into my old leather motorcycle jacket!   You didn't think I owned one, did you? So, BOLDLY, we are looking at a "new" used Harley on Monday!  We are going "on the road again"!  My husband has always wanted a Harley Davidson, and this will be a dream-come-true for him.  Feeling this good has also been a "dream-come-true" for me! We'll need new helmets.  Ours have long ago dried out, I'm sure.  It's been a LONG time since we rode and helmets should be replaced periodically to be safest.  We wi

I have an awesome poem by a student to share with you today.  I signed up to receive a postcard from Jone MacCulloch ‘s Silver Star Poetry Project this spring, and my postcard with it's illustrated poem arrived just over a week ago.  It is by Lotus B. in fifth grade. Lotus sent me a Diamante that started with Summer and its hot, dry days of time spent on the beach relaxing, then meandering to Fall with the browning and decaying of all that was green.  Lotus illustrated the postcard poem with some enticing icons of summer!  It makes me excited to get started on the summer season, though I will have to forego the ice cream cones... Wait... I think I see me lounging on the beach right there under that big beach umbrella! This project is such a lot of fun for the recipients of these poems, and I have a feeling, just reading and looking at the postcards posted on blogs so far, that the students are enjoying this sharing, too! Let the Summer Begin! Summer can start now I have

- If there is nothing on this page yet, check back later after I have realized that I have posted no poem and nothing of interest.  It is a scheduled page.  I should write this more often on my scheduled pages, as I have uploaded half finished work before and realized it too late. Ok.  Just in case - here is a poem.  Still check back.  This is not an authorized, approved post if you are reading this.  There is certain to be a better one to replace this! - Nevermind.  I started writing as soon as I wrote the above disclaimer.  This was going to be a short, nothing poem that I started... and now it has grown longer, and it is fine to use today after all.  I'm keeping it for Poetry Friday.  I did start out with a toad - it rhymes so well with road.  But the ending then made it necessary for me to change to a frog.  Toads don't eat leaches.  But frogs do. I was successful in not rhyming anything with "frog"! For that, you will probably be grateful!  I was. Tads and

Today's post is based on the prompt from Laura Purdie Salas' photo she took of a mounted fish. A Batman cartoon episode had the Joker trying to patent his Joker Fish after he gave the fish in the bay a potion that made them all turn into fish that looked like him. Here's the Joker Fish ad from the cartoon:   Funny fish's     Deadpan humor  -         The drier the better,              That’s the rumor.

I promised to feature some pictures of my backyard, neglected azalea yesterday .  Here she is! You can see the pot it is still in, and how it leans to grab some sun. It looked delighted that I took pictures of her.  So though she is not in my front yard where she rightly belongs (she doesn't realize that still we, and the UPS and FedEx guys are the only ones to see who would see her in the front yard anyway, as we aren't exactly on a heavily traveled road...), I actually can see her all day every day, all seasons, from where I sit to write.  So in fact, she gets much more viewing time than she would in the front yard!  She has been one of the most delightful surprises I've ever been gifted. Portrait of Miss Azalea Azalea's a sweetheart. Never complains; She weathers the storms Rejoicing in rains.   Though Rose may be sweet Bringing others to tears; I'm awaiting Azalea As spring sun appears. One day she's asleep White cloaked wit

I did not post on Monday, and if I don't post today, then I run the very good risk of not making my bold goal of 1000 posts by December 31.  So even though this is late today, I am posting.  Azalea Delicate vessels, Lavender blossoms afloat, Buoyed by green capped waves. Our "discarded and ignored" azalea bush in the backyard, is blossoming again...lots and lots of blossoms.  Years ago, we had meant to plant it in the front yard, but time got away from us that summer and we set it, pot and all in the back yard on the edge of the woods.  Even though the pot was exposed all that winter, the plant stayed alive.  We determined that it would be planted that spring.  It wasn't.  It didn't blossom and we kind of forgot about it.  About three years later, it was STILL alive, and it produced one blossom.  We determined to plant it.  We didn't.  The root system was through the little holes in the bottom of the pot, and we were afraid we'd break them and

Today is post 800 !  And it is Poetry Friday! Sylvia has the links at Poetry for Children . I'm posting stanza 3 of my "May" poem.... with Wednesday's and Thursday's stanzas 1 and 2.  Maybe I'm finished? May May all days be filled with wonder May the weeks be laughter driven May each wind be ever gentle And may grace to all be given. May the good be seen in others And more patience found each minute Sweetness guide each day's adventure As with joy I dwell within it. May I give more than I'm handed May I take only what's needed And when sage advice is offered May I wisely see it's heeded. I may have one more stanza tomorrow for Post 801, but I May B done.  Either way, I'll take Sunday off.  I'm totally going to make 1000 posts by the end of the year. A side note: I announced on March 9 that I'd lost 23 pounds.  Today, I hit 33 pounds gone.  I may just hit my mark by year's end, or close to it.

It's post 799 and the second stanza of my May poem. May the good be seen in others And more patience found each minute Sweetness guide each day's adventure As with joy I dwell within it. Happy Cinco de Mayo! Cinco De Mayo is celebrated to commemorate the Mexican Army's victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.    If you are looking for something to do to celebrate this in Maine....  Well, here you go! There are, however, a great number of people of French  descent in Maine, so in some respects I would be surprised to find many celebrations here.  Like most celebrations nowadays though, it seems that we just want to celebrate regardless of the meaning or origin. Happy May!

This is post 798! I will hit 800 posts probably on Friday!  It's exciting.  I'm aiming for 1000 by the last day of the year.  Is that even possible?  How many days into 2016 are we anyway?  Do I have 200 days left to do this?  Let me check. Okay, Siri says, "There are 241 days until then."  So, yes, in theory and days I have enough time.  That will mean I can take off 34 Sundays and miss a couple more days and still make it. My other goal is to be moved into Gull Haven in Friendship by the end of the year.  And while I'm at it, I may as well be going for achieving my weight goal.  It is going to be a busy year. I think I will start a poem here and finish over the next two or three days.  Don't know when it will end.  Then when it does, maybe I'll start another one that is also in daily stanza doses.  It will make for an interesting way to build a poem - kind of a progressive poem, only by stanza? I'll try it anyway.  Nothing to lose, maybe - ex

Today is the third day of May, three days past the end of the A to Z Challenge.  It is difficult just stopping, but it is also good to have a change of pace for a bit.  I made it through the month of April, posting a poem a day with vanity plates as my theme for A to Z.  I was sick for two weeks, and it made it difficult to post some days, but I got it done.  However, it meant that I didn't get to visit other sites as much as I would have liked. I'm going to try to make up for it this month.  So my posting may be lower, but my visiting will be higher.  I am feeling much better now. I have also been visiting my daughter and her family, and been away from home for a few extra days without my computer.  I'm working on either my iPhone or my iPad to post.  And unfortunately, when I am in edit mode, it doesn't like to scroll down to the bottom of a page easily, so the past few days haven't been the easiest of blogging days. May 3.  It's the day before my daughter

Finally the A to Z Challenge has concluded!  NaPoWriMo is finished!  National Poetry Month is over!  It is May!   But before saying good-bye to April, I want to thank those who not only read my Poems on Plates this month but wrote poems, too!  Brenda Harsham not wrote on her website, but also wrote to a plate each day in April, right along with me!  So awesome! And Violet Nesdoly used a selection of the plates to create a found poem. Here are the plates that arrived this week to accompany a license plate: jolly Vollie barks gallops thru lavender fields trees squirrels Brenda Harsham, all rights reserved dark clouds billow rain sizzles on hot car wipers sweep, expressive Brenda Harsham, all rights reserved zip, zap, zoom  move over, I need room! Y R U rushing? Y not? Brenda Harsham, all rights reserved road tripping hyena laughing wild thing Brenda Harsham, all rights reserved zeal for poetry words tap at windows shelter in i