Friday, June 17, 2016

Friday is

Oh, wow.  I wasn't sure of what I'd write today, and had just started writing the title to my post when the phone rang.  I stopped at "Friday is", and answered the phone.

It was one of my brothers. Now I have something to write about.

On Wednesday he was attacked by a pit bull when he was out jogging.  
He sustained multiple bites up his legs, requiring stitches in his ankle by the Achilles tendon.  He won't be jogging for a bit.  
The dog is in quarantine and then will most likely be put down.  The dog came tearing out of a house at him.  The owners tried to stop the dog and chase it off, but it circled him and came back, attacking four times. My brother was finally able to get himself into an enclosed porch and relative safety.

Scary.  He and his wife had been out jogging together, but his wife had stopped jogging just before reaching that house and headed back home.  He jogged on a bit farther, before turning around.  It was on his return trip past the house when the pit bull attacked.

Six weeks prior to this, the dog had attacked someone, but no charges were filed - a family member perhaps?  The dog should have been taken care of then, but it wasn't.

There are lots of kids that play outside in that neighborhood and a home with older people who go out with walkers.  Was this a blessing in disguise?  I think so.

My brother was able to withstand the attack and get himself to safety.  Yes, he was badly hurt, but almost anyone else would have been killed that day.  Or another day in the near future.  It comes so close on the heels (June 6) of a child being killed in Maine by a pit bull.

We need responsible dog owners.  We need people to realize that first and foremost a dog is a dog, not a human, not a toy, not a baby... and, as such, it has instincts.  Even when you try to train and domesticate the "fire" out of them, it is still there.  They are a dog.


Dogs

They wag,
they run,
they sniff,
they fetch,
they slobber
on your toes;
But always be
aware that
they have
thoughts
nobody knows.

by Donna JT Smith, June 17, 2016

Poetry Friday offerings are being hosted today by Carol at Carol's Corner.

Monday, June 13, 2016

Bike Week in Laconia

Saturday was a long day of driving in the car behind my two of my favorite people in the world.  If my daughter were there, I'd have to say my three favorite people, but she wasn't there this day.

I spent the day driving while my husband and son each rode their motorcycles up to Laconia, NH, for Bike Week at Weirs Beach. 
Lots of bikes line the streets everywhere this week.
Since my husband hasn't been riding long, after our very long break from biking, he wasn't comfortable yet on his new bike to take a passenger.   So I followed in the "support vehicle".  It ended up being a very nice thing for me, as it was never sunny, and started raining for the trip back home.  I got to stay warm and dry, while the guys braved the elements.  We stopped frequently for cups of coffee, and at one stop I bought them dry gloves to go with their coffee!  Boots and socks would have to wait until we got home, though I contemplated having them pour the water out of their boots and drying them at the gas station hand dryers.
It was a fun day of food, music and shops carrying all sorts of motorcycle paraphernalia.
Check out the two mopeds in the center - decked out like Harleys!
I don't know if I'll ever ride my own bike up there or not.  I enjoy being a passenger.  I remember that took a while getting used to also, so who knows?
I think we are driving up again this Saturday to check out another section of the festivities.  Hopefully the weather will be better!

Friday, June 10, 2016

Bold New Learnings

It's Poetry Friday, and I have a couple of thoughts today on my new learnings.  It is another uncomfortable zone to put myself in.  BOLD.  Bold is not necessarily "comfortable"!  As a matter of fact, it is mostly UNcomfortable.  I am outside of my comfort zone lately - definitely in my UN-Comfort Zone.  It is something that is good for us to do, especially as teachers, I think.  It puts you more in tune with the students' zones of comfort and uncomfort...?  Perhaps that is the "Discomfort Zone"?

New Learnings

So many things to think of,
So many things to do,
So much to be aware of,
So much I never knew!

Someday it won't seem novel,
Someday it won't feel strange,
Somehow it will come natural,
Somehow it all will change!
by Donna JT Smith

I have barely had the time (and definitely ran out of energy) for posting this week.  After last Thursday's departure from my motorcycle riding class... I was too slow and holding back the rest of the class of men who had ridden motorcycles before.  Who knew the basic class would not be to learn how to ride a motorcycle?  It said I would learn how to... but I guess if everyone else already knows, then that is the baseline.  And I was too far below it.  Of course I was disappointed.  I haven't ever been asked to leave anywhere.  I have never really failed at things I've attempted.  So this was crushing.  I cried all the way home.  Two hours.

But when I got home, my son and husband were there to support me.  They encouraged me and immediately got my Burgman out of the garage and drove it to a parking lot.  There they had me practice starting and stopping, turning and balancing.  It was a redeeming exercise.  It was really quite like the old saying about getting back on the horse after a fall.  I hadn't fallen off my horse, but I'd been told that I wouldn't be able to ride.  So I basically had fallen and wasn't confident in my abilities at all!

I re-enrolled in another class at the end of the month at a different school.  Then I realized, my Burgman is an automatic, so practicing on it for long, was going to only help with my fear of speed and get me some turning practice.  I still wouldn't be ready for clutch, brake, throttle coordination to go with that.  The grips on the Burgman are both brakes and your feet have no jobs to do except hold the bike up when you come to a stop.  It's like moving from an automatic to a manual shift car.  Just because you can drive an automatic doesn't mean you can drive a manual.

Sooooo - I needed a manual motorcycle to learn on.  And that is just what we did.  I searched Craig's list one more time, and came up with this:
2004 Yamaha 250
We picked it up the next day after insurance and registration were all set.  My son drove it home after work, and he IMMEDIATELY spent about an hour with me at an empty parking lot, getting me comfortable on this bike!  Phew.  I can't tell you how nervous and anxious I was... and still am!  I go back and forth with feeling like "I can do this." to "What am I thinking?"!

I am a little more comfortable than the first day.  I still don't know if I will ever be totally "at one with the bike", but it is still too early to tell.  When my husband or son talk about taking it on the road when I get my license, I start to sweat and want to get rid of the bike just so they will stop mentioning it!  I'm so far from that it seems.  I don't seem like it to them for some reason.  Maybe because they are not inside my head listening to me do the checklist of things I want to remember.  "hand on brake, hand on clutch, ignition on, red engine button on button, push start engine button, press shifter (left foot) to get into first gear, release hand brake, slowly release clutch, start rolling, feet up, don't touch the brake pedal or shifter when you put your feet up...look up, not down".   I'm getting a stomach ache just writing this down.  And yet, it is becoming quicker and more automatic all the time.

If you don't ride a motorcycle, then going through the checklist is just a bunch of words.  When I think about it, it is like reading.  When you come to a word you don't know as a first grader, and we put the list of strategies in front of them:
Look at the first letter, get your mouth ready, look through the rest of the word, skip it, go back, think of the meaning, listen to yourself as you read... It is a confusing jumble of things to do when they are reading, but pretty soon it is all happening without them even being aware that they are doing it.
Pretty soon they are just reading. Pretty soon they are just writing.  Pretty soon they are blowing a bubble, whistling, swimming, diving, dancing, painting, hitting the ball...
And it seems like they always have been doing it to them and even us.

I'm looking forward to the day when I don't overthink it, when it feels like I've always been doing this!  And if that day never comes for me... well at least I can say I tried it, did it, and decided not to do it! 
Look, I'm riding!
Naturally

I once became a reader -
Words tumbled from my tongue;
I once became a writer -
With pencil words were sung.

I learned to dance and whistle,
I swam and gulped at air;
I swung and hit a baseball
No matter foul or fair!

Each day I keep on learning,
There's time for one more lesson;
Each day that I am breathing
Is time for one more blessing.

by Donna JT Smith

Please visit other Poetry Friday contributors!  Head to Carol's place at Beyond Literacy Link There's lots to learn out there!

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Watercolor Averages

On Friday, Jama asked why she never knew that I was a painter.
Well, there's a reason for that.
I'm a secret painter!  I've always loved to draw, but haven't done it often.

I've actually recently begun painting with watercolors.  I think I can safely say that.  About 30 or more years ago, I took one class in watercolor and I was not very good at it.  It's really something you need to keep doing to get a real feel for the paints.  So I stopped and resumed life instead of doing another painting, I had kids.  And we raised horses.  And moved.  And then I retired and thought, "Why not try that watercolor stuff again?  You don't have to eat on a schedule anymore.  There are no horses waiting for supper.  No kids waiting to be picked up at soccer practice." 
One day out driving, I noticed a sign by a library saying they were doing watercolor classes on Wednesday mornings.  It was only hour away from home, which may seem far to you, but everything is about an hour away from home (or more) in Maine. I signed up and went for a couple of months.  It was a wonderful time of paint and coffee and talk - very informal, not pushy, lots of trial and error and error and praise for good attempts and minor successes.  It was a wonderful time and maybe I should go again.  It stopped for a bit in winter, and I haven't been back.  It's an hour away, and I did one good painting.

I do a few really awful paintings and then one good one.  Then I stop for a while, frozen in fear that I cannot do it again.  And that becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Of course you can't do it again if you never do it again.  But then again, you can't fail either, if stopping isn't failing, that is!  I regulate my success/failure rate that way I guess.  Or I think I do.  I don't really.  You have to swing and miss most of the time to bat a .300.  If you don't swing, you don't miss.  If you don't miss you don't get any score.

I do love all manner of creative expression.  As with most things in my life, I've just never become proficient at them.  I know a little about a lot of things.  Some things I do well, but most I do just at a moderately successful level.

Here's a chronological ordering of watercolors I've done that I am okay with right now.  I say right now, because, just as a child looks back at work they did when they were younger and thinks - "ewww!"  I have done that with work that I let percolate a bit.  "Ewww! How could I have thought that was good?"  And then pick apart all the bad things about it.

My Cow (I don't have a cow)

A Spark entry
This year's Christmas card
Ginger - a present for my husband
It is time to pick up the brushes again.  It was a long time coming and lots of experimentation and futzing about, but finally for Spark 29, I got my paints together and came up with my Journey to Iceland watercolor.

Journey to Iceland
Bravely, boldly.  And not too seriously!  Who cares what it looks like?  Right?  Just have fun.  You should try it.  You don't have to show anyone your work.  I just do it as a bit of validation (maybe?) for myself.  Or a bit of trying out "Bold", my olw for 2016. Good, bad or indifferent, I'm trying to make things to be okay in their own right.  A beautiful attempt, maybe not a beautiful conclusion... but beauty in the boldness!  Oooh,  now there's a title for a poem... "Beauty in the Boldness".  Perhaps a theme.  Let me mull this one over.  I think I have something percolating.  Bye!




Friday, June 3, 2016

Spark 29

Today for Poetry Friday, I am merely going to point you in a direction....
Spark 29, organized by Amy Souza, is now being uploaded item by item on the GetSparked website.  Writers and artists are paired and then given 10 days to respond to a work that they are given by their partners.  I participated for this session as both artist and writer and was paired up with Alyscia Cunningham, who also signed up as artist and writer.  Alyscia sent me a piece of writing, called "Journey to Iceland".  I did a watercolor as a response to it.   And she sent me a photograph, to which I responded with a poem.  The poem may be found here and the watercolor with her story is here.
Shortly Alyscia will post my writing with her artistic interpretation, and my art/photograph with her written response.  Keep checking for more pairings at GetSparked.org, and consider joining in for Spark 30!
Thanks Jone for hosting today!  There are more links to poetry on her website "Check It Out"!

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Are You Ready for This?


If you joined me last Tuesday here, you saw that my husband had bought a Harley Davidson Sportster, white and shiny, for me to join him on to tool around the countryside... my son also got himself a big ol' bike, sharp and black!
We are going to Laconia for Bike Week opening on Saturday, June 11.  I would be the passenger on the new saddle we bought for my husband's bike.
But then suddenly these two guys started prodding me to get my own bike - that I'd really enjoy driving instead of being a passenger.  It's not like this is the first time my husband's mentioned it.  But somehow with the two of them coaxing me... well... I am now the proud owner of a blue Suzuki Burgman.  It is a motorcycle size scooter, with automatic transmission.  It's much easier to get on and off this, since you don't have to straddle the bike.  It can go highway speeds and great distances comfortably.  It has a 400cc engine, so it is considered a motorcycle though you sit on it as you would a scooter.
Because the engine is large and it is a motorcycle, I need a motorcycle license to drive it.  I must have two days of motorcycle training.  The training sessions are not that easy to find, since Maine just in May changed the laws and will not issue permits any more.  Classes are backed up into July and mostly in August.  However, after making many searches on the Internet, and a few phone calls, I was fortunate enough to find a "no show" for this week!  So now it is looking like I may just be able to ride into Laconia Bike Week under my own power!  It's just over a two hour drive - since I'll need some breaks (not brakes) probably, it will be closer to three hours, I'm sure!
I got my temporary vanity plate plate for my blue bike.  "DAISY".  Daisy was the name of my blue Schwinn bike when I was young - my pretend horse for a number of years.  I think it is a fitting name for my new blue Suzuki bike!

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Spark Start

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 do a watercolor instead.  I have not done much watercolor lately.  I need to do that.  Then again - maybe it should be something else entirely.  Not sure what.  I will let that stew a bit longer.

A Writer's Path

I'm writing along
And humming a song,
I have to take care not to trip.
My words tumble out
And wander about;
The words are all doing a flip,
Omitting some there
Resitting them where
They're sensible, with the right clip;
Yes, that is the way
All writers convey
Their story, and end with a quip.

Donna JT Smith

Not a great poem, but one nonetheless... and it didn't take a long time to write.  That is the plus.  That is the poem's finer quality.  I will write something good some other day when I don't have a million things to do.  I was going to say bazillion, but I don't have THAT many things to do!  No one does.




Tuesday, May 24, 2016

The Bike

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 there'd be a poem in it somewhere.

Saturday, May 21, 2016

Bold and New

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 will also get a new headset, so we can talk to each other as we cruise along the back roads. 

Yes, I hear you.  Of course, we will be careful!  We always have been. I know that isn't always the issue with riding a motorcycle.  There are always deer, dogs and drivers who aren't watching out for your best interests.  But that's how life always is.   I'm always a passenger on our treks, but I still love the openness, the smells and sights from the motorcycle.  Stopping to smell the roses is done best on a bike.

We have mostly toured Nova Scotia by motorcycle where we own a piece of bold oceanfront property.  I would like to take the ferry up and see the land and all of the Province again.  I would like to tour the state and maybe some adjacent states.

I'll post a picture when we finally get it all together... bike, helmet, gloves, intercom, and maybe even a new jacket ...because this jacket is just fitting, and it could be too large for me in a little while... (hope, hope!)

From a Motorcycle

Before the view,
The sweet savor
of wild roses
is visor-captured;

The bouquet
lingers longer
than the vision.

Donna JT Smith

And this is what I like about riding.  You smell the deliciousness of new mown hay, of flowers, and of ocean before you see them; and the delicious, delightful smells remain helmet-bound even when the vision has passed.



 


Friday, May 20, 2016

Summer Poems

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 my flip flops;
The sun can get hot cause
I've got my tank tops.

The grill has been wheeled out;
It's barbecue time -
The breeze is just right
To awake the wind chime.

The flowers can bloom
Where I planted seeds,
And before you know it
I'll be out pulling weeds.

The grass will need mowing,
I'll get a sun burn,
The mosquitoes will gather
To each take a turn.

The fan will be whirling,
The ice cubes will clink,
And I will need plenty
Of cold things to drink.

Could we just skip summer?
There's sweat on my brow.
It's looking much sweeter
To fall ahead now.

Donna JT Smith, 2016

PS: I'm not a fan of hot weather.  Can you tell?
Happy Poetry Friday, all!  Now go visit the other poet lovers.  They may be found at Reflections on the Teche where Margaret Simon is hosting this week.


Friday, May 13, 2016

Poetry Friday

- 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 Lads and Combing the Sea for Leaches

One day as I was walking
A bitty frog I spied
The baby frog was hopping
Across a road quite wide.
I asked him of his journey,
And this he said to me
"I am a young amphibian
intent on reaching sea."
I put him in my pocket
and took him to the beach
And there I placed him in the sand
The waves just out of reach.
He hopped into the water
But it was icy cold!
He leaped back in my pocket -
So much for being bold!
"I'm ready to go home," he said,
I didn't understand;
I thought they said 'leach-combing'
Not 'beach-combing' in the sand."
I walked him right back to his pond
And there he found his pad
And when he's old his tale he'll tell
Of when he was a tad.

by Donna JT Smith

Join others for Poetry Friday at Violet Nesdoly's!  You won't regret it!  It's warmer than the ocean and you'll be braver than a frog.


Thursday, May 12, 2016

Joker Fish

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.

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

My Azalea - I Promised

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 with snowflakes;
Next time as you peek
 Zaly yawns and awakes.

She's held on to leaves
Darkened against snow
Until it is time
To put on her glow.

Translucent and light
No longer concealed;
Delightful and delicate
Her beauty revealed.

Fine feathered flowers
Of lavender petals
Filter the sunlight
As a pink halo settles;

And I am smiling,
Miss Azalea in view,
As she waits in the pines 
For each fresh morning dew. 

by Donna JT Smith



 




Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Tuesday 801

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 kill it.  After that year, it started blooming every spring.  And every spring we think about how we should try to move it.  But it has SO many flowers now and seems SO happy where it is.  No matter the winter we have, it doesn't freeze the roots somehow.  We could not have been more neglectful of this hardy bush.  I love it.  Tomorrow I will take a picture of it and post it.  It was small when we bought it, and it hasn't really grown by leaps and bounds (I wonder why?), but it has grown some and definitely is a beautiful plant.  It deserves the front yard!  But I do not want to kill it or set it back any more than we have.  Maybe I will get it some dirt and surround the base, slitting the black plastic pot it is in...maybe it already is breaking on its own.  I'll look tomorrow.  I can at least give it a little help.
I love gardens and plants, and know the names of many wild plants.  My husband was raised on a farm, so we know our potatoes.  But we are just not gardeners.  Plants in our care have to be self-sufficient, self-motivated, self-starters - independent sorts.  I have the utmost respect for those out there who enjoy gardening and have thriving plants surrounding them, and I would like to be in that group.  But I'm not.

Friday, May 6, 2016

800 Posts Today

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.

Happy Poetry!  Happy Friday!  Happy May!

Thursday, May 5, 2016

799

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!

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Wednesday Post 798

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 - except sleep and weight.

Here's the first one:

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

Happy beginning of May!

Happy real birthday, daughter!




Tuesday, May 3, 2016

May Days

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's birthday - a day between two false alarms and her actual birth.  No false alarm that day, but the doctor wanted me to stay the day before (May2).  He'd decided I'd be induced, since it was my second trip into the hospital.  I refused, and went home.  So she could have been born on May 2 and would have been a day old on May 3.  Instead she was born on May 4.  Every beginning of May I think about how hectic and strange those first few days of May were back 33 years ago - how she was almost born on the 1st and then the 2nd, but held out until the 4th, to be born naturally with my regular midwife (not the one on duty), in the same room with the brass bed with yellow rose covered sheets as her brother had been born in two years earlier.

May Days

May's knocking gently,
Waking winter's sleepyheads;
Last call for breakfast!

I've had a good stay, and today we head home again.  We celebrated her birthday early - on May 1 - one of the days she could have been born, but decided against.


Sunday, May 1, 2016

After the A to Z Comes May

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 ideas

Brenda Harsham, all rights reserved


Fewer browns today
Greens overtaking at last
April's bowed to May

by Donna JT Smith

Happy May Day, everyone!

Saturday, April 30, 2016

A to Z on a Plate - Z

AmaZing!!!!
I can't believe April is over! No more A to Z Challenge.  National Month of poetry concludes.  What will we do with our time?
Z is the final letter embrace that graces our plates for 2016.  And the month is done.  But let's not finish without a bit of ZEAL!

Here are two zealous acrostic poems - forward and backwards each....for A "to Z" Finale....
(And after that, there is the Progressive Poem... so if you are here only for that... keep scrolling down!)


Zip and
Energy in
All of
Life, with
Laughter
Abundant and
Especially
Zestful.

Zest or zeal to
End this ordeal
A to Z- no
Letters to go. None
Left in the
Alphabet - the
Eventual outcome -
Zero!


The plates were full.  The plates have been licked clean.  They are parked just as they were found, so we can start over next year!
Zero left!!
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

But now there is one LAST piece of "poetic business" to attend to....

This is the final line of the Progressive Poem.  Thank you Irene Latham, for beginning this wonderful group poem idea, nurturing it and coaxing it's growth!
It was begun on the first day in April with a single line.  Then line by line, poet by poet, it has grown into a living, breathing poem that has never been here before - a new creation birthed in and of the minds of 30 writers in one month's time.
I've checked in on the poem's progress a number of times over the month, checking its pulse, height, weight, motions and timing. I looked into its eyes, listened to it breathe, mulled over the sounds it made. Yes, it was alive. Yes, it was growing. And, yes, it had something to say.
It was/is amazing!

I hope my line can fill the need for summary,
for enlightenment,
for more wonder....
I felt the need to change the title and a few of the areas with quotes.  I also took out the stanza breaks and added indents where there were quotes.

So here it is:

Thoughts Take Flight

A squall of hawk wings stirs the sky.                               Laura at Writing the World for Kids
A hummingbird holds and then hies.                                Joy at Joy Acey
     “If I could fly, I’d choose to be                                  Doraine at Dori Reads
      Sailing through a forest of poet-trees.”                      Diane at Random Noodling
A cast of crabs engraves the sand                                   Penny at A Penny and Her Jots
Delighting a child’s outstretched hand.                             Carol at Beyond LiteracyLink
     "If I could breathe under the sea,                               Liz at Elizabeth Steinglass
      I’d dive, I’d dip, I’d dance with glee."                        Janet F. at Live Your Poem
A clump of crocuses craves the sun.                               Margaret at Reflections on the Teche
Kites soar while joyful dogs run.                                     Pat at Writer on a Horse
     "I sing to spring, to budding green,                             Buffy at Buffy's Blog
     to all of life – seen and unseen."                                 Michelle at Today's Little Ditty
Wee whispers drift from cloud to ear                              Linda at TeacherDance
and finally reach one divining seer                                   Jone at Deo Writer
who looks up from her perch and beams —                   Matt at Radio, Rhythm and Rhyme
     "West Wind is dreaming May, it seems."                    Violet at Violet Nesdoly
Golden wings open and gleam                                        Kim at Flukeprints
as I greet the prancing team.                                           Irene at Live Your Poem
     "Gliding aside with lyrical speed,                                Charles at Poetry Time
     I'd ride Pegasus to Ganymede."                                 Ruth at There is No Such Thing as
To a pied pocket, the zephyr returns.                              Jan at Bookseedstudio
Blowing soft words the seer discerns                              Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge
     "from earthbound voyage to dreamy night,                 Ramona at Pleasures from the Page
     The time is now.  I give you flight!"                            Amy at The Poem Farm
Yet I fear I am no kite or bird –                                      Mark at Jackett Writes
I lift!  The world below me blurred                                 Renee at No Water River
by tears of joy.  I spiral high,                                          Mary Lee at Poetrepository
     "I hum, I dive, I dip, I hive!"                                      Heidi at My Juicy Little Universe
     "Behold, Spring is but a dance away!"                       Sheila at Sheila Renfro
I grasp my pen, then capture this day.                             Donna at Mainely Write

As you can see by the ending, this was all a writer's observations, interpretations and emotions; some seen, some spoken.  It seemed that the poem embodied all the things a writer would see and say... and so a writer it was.  I only came to see this after the line "Yet I fear I am no kite or bird"... which we can even fear as we are writing, as we try to become that kite or bird for just a little while as we write "blowing soft words", and even have some "tears of joy"!
I took the liberty of illustrating the poem.  I started to put everything in the picture that was mentioned in the poem, but then decided against that.  The words paint their own picture!  I painted the hands and cut them out to superimpose on the large sheet, adding a real pen before photographing it.
I offer it again here with its illustration:



I don't think I will do this, but anyone who wants to print out a copy is free to do so.  No problem with me...it isn't copyrighted, nor is it worth a million bucks!  So print it as you see fit.  I would have the names of all the contributors on the back.







Friday, April 29, 2016

A to Z on a Plate - Y

Y - We are nearing the end of the plates!  There's only one plate left in the set of 26!
If you get a chance, check out Violet Nesdolay's "found poem" using some of my vanity plates in the challenge! Way cool!

It is day 25 in the A to Z Challenge, and it is Poetry Friday over at Buffy Silverman at Buffy’s Blog.

Michelle H. Barnes has rounded up the collection of poems written on the theme of "echo" today, on Today's Little Ditty.
So here's The Poem on a Plate for Y.
I talked to the woman who had this plate to ask her permission to photograph it.  Then I asked her why she had this plate.  She told me that she wants to give people the message to slow down... stop rushing around and speeding.  I'm with her!

Why you rushing?
Why You Rushing?

Don't ask me that question,
I don't know just why
But when I am driving
I tend to just fly;
I'm not really rushing,
I just can't drive slow,
And if you don't like it
You know where you should go ->
There's a lane to the right
Where traffic is crawling,
And you could go there -
Though I find it appalling;
So either speed up,
Or get out of my lane
For I'm right on your tail
Like cars on a train
Why am I rushing?
I could ask this of you -
Why AREN'T you rushing?
Have you nothing to do?
Nowhere to go,
and nowhere to be?
No one to meet?
and no one to see?
Well, I am important,
and I have some friends
I need to be somewhere
and my life depends
on getting to someplace
and going real fast
Because I just hate to
Get anywhere last.

©Donna JT Smith, 2016, all rights reserved

See you tomorrow for the final course: a plate of Z!!!

#atozchallenge 
Please leave a comment and put your url or link in your comment, so I can jog on over to your site!  Here's how - insert this with your info at the end of your comment:
[Your name or Twitter handle] from
 Here's what I write to make my blog link for you:
Donna Smith



Thursday, April 28, 2016

A to Z on a Plate - X

Here it is, Day 24 of the Alphabet on a Plate in the AtoZ Challenge! We are nearing the finish line.  According to my calculations we have approximately two more days to go.

X marks the spot on a plate...
 
YEAH!  WAHOO! 
X-cellent!
I found a good one on March 28th....

Expressing Yourself

When you know what you want to say,
And then you really say it;
When people hear just want you mean
And wince when you convey it;

When you, my dear, articulate
Expressing honest feelings,
Then you, alone, are subject to 
The harshest of their dealings.

So think before you speak too much,
And temper what you're saying,
Or consequently, from your words
The piper you'll be paying.

©Donna JT Smith, 2016, all rights reserved






#atozchallenge
Please leave a comment and put your url or link in your comment, so I can jog on over to your site!
See you tomorrow for a plate of Y!

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

A to Z on a Plate - W

I am posting "on the road" with my iPad today, so bear withe me if there's a glitch.  Sometimes my iPad won't let me do as much as easily as I want!  For some reason, after using the touch screen for a while, it doesn't recognize my fingers anymore. Then it skips letters I thought I'd typed and auto-corrects into gibberish.  It hasn't as much to do with the iPad as it does the temperature or "electro-something" of my fingers, because a stylus okay and so are other fingers that I've "borrowed" to test it out!

I had not started a poem for W yet, and thought some about it last night before going to sleep.  I tried a couple, but Wolf 7 kept popping up and ruining all the other poetic attempts   So I succumbed to the Wolf poem.  I wrote it this morning without a lot of edits. So I guess this is supposed to be " the one".

               

Goldilocks and the 7 Wolves

Goldie came to live one day
Beside a flowing stream
In a house amid the woods -
A setting like a dream!
One day a wolf came knocking
And wanted letting in;
He said his name was Harry
And created quite a din.
"I'm sorry you may not come in,
For I am not a fool!"
The lone wolf went away before
She really lost her cool.
Wolf 2 arrived within an hour
and said, "Hey, open up!
"Surely I could borrow sugar
I only need one cup."
"Go away, you tricky wolf,
I have no sugar, dear;
You and your brother, Wolfie 1,
Should stay away from here!"
He went away but number 3
Soon on her step was found
With pizza to deliver there
But Goldie only frowned,
"Away with you, you sneaky wolf,
You pizza-toting phony!
This is not mine - I ordered cheese -
Not ham and pepperoni!"
3 went away but soon enough
Wolf number 4 arrived;
He had a dozen roses
For a birthday he'd contrived.
"Leave them on the doorstep
Then run along, my friend;
I won't be out to get them
Until you're 'round the bend."
With a sigh 4 went away
And gave the job to 5
Who knew they needed to be fed
If they were to survive.
He pounded on her door so loud
She wondered who it was;
She peeked out of the window
To see what was the buzz.
"Oh, just another wolfie
Who's wanting me to eat
This really is quite troublesome
That I'm such a wolfie treat."
She ran upstairs with water
To dump upon his head
Then Wolfie 5 ran down the drive
And put himself to bed.
The sixth wolf had some mops and brooms
He was selling door to door
But Goldie told him she was set
Her vacuum did the chore.
Now number seven was the last
And wouldn't take a "No".
He rattled on the doorknob
When Goldie said to go.
He climbed up to the chimney
But there was too much smoke
He climbed back down and turned around
Cleared his throat and spoke,
"Oh, Goldie dear you need not fear
We're done wanting to eat you
If you will just give in to us
Whenever we entreat you.
We're only hungry for some meat
Some food you have, one dish!"
"I'll tell you what I'll do," she said,
"I'll teach you all to fish.
Then you can keep on eating
Even when I'm gone away
For though I may be tasty once
I won't be there next day!"
The wolves agreed and kept the deal:
They learned to fish for trout;
And that is how this story ends -
A happy one, no doubt!

By Donna JT Smith, 2016, all rights reserved

Now it's time to check out more A to Z Challenge posts. Time is running short!
Then the Progressive Poem is nearing its end!  Both links are on the side navigation.
See you tomorrow for X: A Poem on a Plate!






 



See you tomorrow for a plate of X!

Please leave a comment and put your url or link in your comment, so I can jog on over to your site!

Zero

Each day (except Sundays) in April, I'm writing poems with some obscure words starting with the letter of the day, and then doing a sm...