by Kat | Nov 5, 2018 | General, Words
Are filled with persistence….like the last roses from my garden. These blooms have persisted despite few frosts! And, they are a good reminder to me… don’t give up – persistence wins!
P.S. I won’t be here tomorrow – I am putting in a 14.5-hour stint as a poll worker! PLEASE REMEMBER TO VOTE!! Really! Go say hello to your local poll worker! Maybe bring them a nice hot cuppa! I hope they will be way busier than they imagined, and they will appreciate it!
And, in case you need a few words of wisdom… Captain Sully has spoken! Yeah! Smile at everyone when you are at polls… people may be voting in unexpected ways!
Happy Monday everyone! See you all back here for Unraveled Wednesday!
by Kat | Sep 28, 2018 | General, Words
Happy Friday, everyone! We made it through another week and while my list is not entirely finished this morning (I hope yours is!), I am confident that it will be done by the days end! And, so with that list in hand, I am doing a TGIF post today – sans links…and I am sorry if that is what you stop by for on Friday’s.
Thinking About: I continue to contemplate all I learned during the last three weeks of the Busy Boycott. There is so much to consider and “try on” and it will be an ongoing process as I figure out how to implement some of the things I learned about myself in the last few weeks. One thing I know for certain – that “just because I always have” is not a good reason for doing anything. I am excited to see where this leads me!
Grateful For: Time away! And, I mean really grateful! I am really looking forward to spending time away from media and electronics and being present in my life with my kids (and especially with Genevieve!!) The weather forecast is looking seriously wet, but I am not letting that ruin one second of my time in Michigan. **FYI there won’t be any regular blogging during the week – but I will have a post for Unraveled Wednesday for those who like to play along!
Inspired By: The arrival of autumn, a change in the weather, and yes – cooler weather meals! And, I have found some great inspiration on Pinterest for squash!
Fun, fun, fun: I have my list of “things” that I like to do when in Michigan from the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive (and walk!!) to the Empire Hops Festival to visiting some of the new breweries my son says have popped up in Traverse City. This year it includes a Fiber Festival in Leland and a stop at Wool and Honey in Cedar! While, I won’t be posting here every day, you can follow me on Instagram to catch all the fun! Who knows, I might even figure out how to do an Instagram story or two! Ha!
That is all I have for this week – I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
by Kat | May 15, 2017 | General, In This Moment
Weekends are over just too darn fast, aren’t they?
Anyways, here we are and it is Monday and I was not ready to say goodbye to the weekend!
Saturday, we headed down to Mt. Lebanon for the return of the Farmer’s Market. New vendors this year meant that we had a bit of a Whiskey Tasting with Wiggle Whiskey (yes, before 10AM) and we also had a Maple Syrup tasting. Okay, stop the presses – that maple syrup was so good we bought a gallon of the stuff. Because, you know, we might want to bathe in it or something. Now, I am by no means a maple syrup connoisseur, but I know that I do not like any of the mass produced, high fructose corn syrup varieties available at the super market. This is made locally and it has a slightly smoky taste due to the fact that it is cooked over a wood fire. It is so good. Really. And, they ship, hint hint! Oh, and the wonderful gentleman who was there let me know that his mom is a knitter, so really can it get more perfect? Perhaps if they had sheep, and maple syrup, and knit…but 2 out of three is not bad!
We did a good bit of walking after taking our spoils to the car. The rhododendrons were all in bloom and even though it was an overcast day, the riot of color everywhere was stunning.
We also did a good bit of garden prep work. All the “deer netting” has been replaced and I will be transplanting my young plants out to their new beds over the course of the week. I am a bit worried about planting so close to our “safe time” (which is Mother’s Day) but the forecast is calling for a super warm week, so maybe I am okay. (Says the person who has been burned by this every single year since moving here…)
Mother’s Day was quiet, which was fine by me! I am almost caught up on Call the Midwife and am in the semi-mindless repeats on the Brambles Shawl. And, I made my favorite dinner – fresh asparagus, wrapped in Speck and roasted in the oven – topped with a couple of poached eggs.
Also, a blogging note…no post tomorrow but I will see you back here on Unraveled Wednesday!
How was your weekend?
by Kat | Nov 28, 2022 | General, Words
I spent much of this month in quiet *internal* contemplation. To start, there was lots of debating with myself but eventually the debates gave way to an exercise in finding joy… and really, what held the most joy of all!
What am I talking about? Well, the Great Christmas Decorating of 2022 (and beyond!)
And all this thought showed me that while some “things” help usher in the season, it is really more than that. And so today I will begin my decorating with a much pared down list…so much pared down!
And I confess… I am a bit nervous. Sort of like that feeling you have when you know you are forgetting something, and don’t realize what it was until you get to your destination. If it is *absolutely necessary* you go and buy a replacement and you have a wonderful time or you realize that you did not really need that something and you have a wonderful time.
Either way – I will have a wonderful time. And if I find that something is *absolutely* necessary, I can get it out!
And in the midst of all this angst, I realized that my year of pondering a full life was….well realized!
Living a full life means choices. Saying yes to things… and saying an equal number (if not more) of no’s as well!
Living a full life means having priorities… but ones that are not set in stone so that when something intriguing appears on your radar, you can switch gears and try it! (Watercolor Painting… I am looking at you here!)
And, perhaps best of all, living a full life means that at the end of the day, the week, the month, the year… you can look back and know that you did all the *absolutely necessary* parts and, most importantly, you had a wonderful time!
Oh… and for those wondering about those things that “made the cut” for my holiday decorating… here is my brief but spectacular list:
- Outside lights, because Christmas is something to share.
- The Christmas Tree… singular. One with lights, because Dark December, but with only those ornaments that hold the most special place in my heart.
- One candle on the dinner table (it is out already!)
- My Year of Gnomes gracing my mantel. I did pick up one fun NEW thing for this last Gnome… stay tuned for peeks into how they are all anticipating her arrival!
Finally, I want to thank Carolyn for hosting us all to share our Word Inspiration. Each month I am amazed at what you all teach me as you work through your word.
I have one final month to contemplate Full… and I am so excited about how I am going to close out this year!
See you all back here on Wednesday for a Welcome to December Unraveled!
by Kat | Oct 20, 2022 | General, Poetry
Welcome to the second installment of A Gathering of Poetry.
Today, I am going to introduce you all to a poet I discovered late last month on the Poetry For All podcast. I had never heard of Rafael Campo but I was so enamored of the poem, Primary Care, that I checked out two of his books of poetry (and he is a prolific poet) and have been reading one or two every morning.
I tried to find online links to Rafael’s poetry and The Poetry Foundation just has two of his poems listed. My list of favorites are long in just the few weeks I have begun reading his poetry. He writes such beautiful poetry that moves me deeply.
I was going to share Primary Care, but you can listen to Dr. Campo read it here. I just love this poem… so much but I might love the poem I am sharing today the tiniest bit more and I hope you like it as well.
Nude
by Rafael Campo
I enter unexpectedly, and see
your hair cascading white-and-gray in loose,
long tresses down the full length of your back.
The nurse is bathing you in a honeyed light,
when sunrise in the hospital makes all
seem gorgeous, even the gleaming bedpan,
even the scuffed but bright linoleum,
even the faces peering into death.
Your heart is failing, yet you have the strength
to turn, your breasts still the world’s nourishment,
your eyes, though I have diagnosed in them
thick cataracts, alight again with youth’s
demure, coquettish indignation. “Please,
excuse me Doctor, I am indisposed!”
For just a moment, as you pull the sheet
to safeguard your imperiled modesty—
your operatic thighs, your blatant hips,
your ruined neck with its distended veins—
I think you are like Goya’s ageless nude,
eternal beckoning of human form,
inviolable, innocent, a gift
that both of us acknowledge, knowing that
such love is too sweet ever to be shared.
Nude from Alternative Medicine by Rafael Campo. Duke University Press copyright 2014.
Bonny has a link up for our Gathering of Poetry… we ( Bonny, Kym, and myself) encourage you to join us in sharing a poem that you love! We will be gathering our poetry on the third Thursday of every month!
And with that, I am off to Erie! BUT!! I will absolutely have an Unraveled post next Wednesday – see you all then!
