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Thursday, December 31, 2015

Happy New Year's Eve 2015

Mourning Dove sunning on the deck


When you find your sunny spot,
stay, enjoy and then move on.

Happy New Year's Eve, 2015. 

May your New Year move 
through many sunny moments.

Thursday, December 24, 2015

Almost There



The house is clean and the turkey is in the oven. We're almost ready, almost there, feeling the tingle of anticipation, a gentle glow spreading over us.

Happy Christmas Eve to all.

Sunday, December 20, 2015

Let Christmas Unfold as it Does





It hasn’t been the pre-Christmas season I’d imagined.
I’ve been ill with a cold which morphed into sinusitis, complicated by adverse reactions to another procedure’s prerequisite meds. But, it will end. I’ll get better. I’ll live.
I’ve done no baking this year as I didn’t think anyone would want my green-gold seasonally coloured snot anywhere near their food. Prior to getting sick, I had made my own Christmas cards and written all the inside notes. I added quotes to the cards and discovered some which spoke to my own feeling-sorry-for-myself state of mind.
“Don’t spoil Christmas by anticipating how it will be.
Let it unfold as it does,
and be grateful for whatever comes.”    Tori Sorenson

So I am grateful for:
lots of rest
outside Christmas decorations done in early November
the invention of tissues
a tree finally decorated
daughters who helped with shopping
antibiotics
Gary’s care
reduced expectations

I look forward to feeling well again soon and being able to smell the fragrance of the fir tree, warmed by the fireplace.  And, I remind myself of the words of Dr. Seuss. “Maybe Christmas, the Grinch thought, doesn’t come from a store.”

I’ll be grateful for whatever Christmas offers this year.






Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Dear Elizabeth






It’s New York at the Women’s Project Theatre, a full house. The audience settles and reads the Elizabeth Bishop poems left as “A Poem for your pocket” on each seat. Programs rustle, anticipation mounts, the house lights brighten then dim, a cockroach scurries beneath a desk on the stage. We are there to watch Dear Elizabeth, a play written by Sarah Ruhl, originally published as Words in the Air in 2008.

The play is based upon the thirty year correspondence and friendship between the poets Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell. Their relationship is complicated.

Pulitzer-winner Bishop, who was lesbian, was left financially stable enough to be able to travel as she wished, a love for travel reflected in her work.  Lowell, also a Pulitzer recipient was twice divorced and his third marriage ended when he died in 1977.

All the words in the play are taken from their letters and their poetry, and force the audience or reader to look at their lives not as story, but as lives lived.

Bishop’s and Lowell’s admiration for each other’s work is immediate and their letters are full of compliments and professional observations and suggestions. Their friendship is an ever-evolving affection, with each seeing the other as that rare person who understands the need for a balance of solitude and public image. There are oblique references to infidelity, depression and alcoholism. (BWW Review, Michael Dale)

The play begins with the poets as adults, so no mention is made of Elizabeth’s childhood in Great Village, Nova Scotia, her Canadian connection.

Dear Elizabeth unfolds as letters are read from two wooden desks placed on opposite sides of the stage. The cast frequently changes. The evening we attended, the actors were Ellen McLaughlin and Rinde Eckert, with Polly Noonan as a kind of stage manager, stationed in an upstage corner.

Familiar with the work of each of these 20th century poets, the play is a delight for me. As a poet, I value the profound effect of friendship and knowledgeable critiques of one’s writing, as well as the necessity of dealing with real life while writing.

I appreciate the kindness and generosity of my daughters in taking me to see Dear Elizabeth, as I know their own tastes would have led them to another sort of play. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and appreciated the evidence of their recognition of me, as poet.

The cockroach provided a play within the play, scuttling around Rinde’s shoes during the evening. When foot work became too active, it took off for the safety of the travel props at the back of the stage.

Life intrudes into our stories without warning.

Words is colour will take you to another site with additional information, if you click on them.


Sunday, December 6, 2015

Travelling by Air


Monty Python's Holy Grail
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Sir Bedevere: 'Now, why do witches burn?'
Peasant: '... because they're made of wood?'
Sir Bedevere: 'Good. So how do you tell whether she is made of ... wood?'
Peasant 2: 'Build a bridge out of her.'

A Cautionary Tale of Travelling by Air
My plane is late leaving LaGuardia, an hour late, which will cut into the time I have to make connections in Montreal. I need that time for customs, picking up my suitcase, going through security, dropping off the suitcase and then getting though the next security before boarding my final flight. If I’m lucky, I’ll have time to eat.

Everywhere in the Montreal airport, there are signs saying, “This process will take 10 to 15 minutes. Following that, you have a 5 to 12 minute walk to your gate.” This is supposed to be helpful. It isn’t reassuring when I’ve lost an hour, sitting on the runway at LaGuardia.

I hustle through the Montreal airport, walking-running-sprinting, paying attention to where I’m going so I don’t waste time getting lost. All is well, though time is tight, until I reach the place where I hand over my customs form and am about to return my luggage to Air Canada. I fumble handing the form to the staff person. My hands are sweaty from hurrying.

He looks at me, sees an older, overweight, sweaty woman who appears nervous.  Automatically, he points at an open door. Now, I have to go to a second level of security screening. The officer decides I am trying to hide something.

Him: What are you declaring?

Me:  (I think, holy shit I’ll never make the plane now, but remain polite.) I bought two small books and a DVD while in New York.

Him: You’re telling me that you were in New York for Black Friday and all you spent was $60?

Me: Yes. I went to visit family, to spend time with grandchildren.  All I’m bringing back are two books and a Monty Python DVD.  (I offer the additional information hoping it makes me look ordinary, boring and non-threatening.)

Him: Are you saying that if I search your bag and your purse, I won’t find undeclared items?

Me:  That’s what I’m saying.  I have a cold, caught it from my grandson and I’ve been running trying to make my connection. That’s why I look flustered.

Him: Yes,’ tis the season for giving. (No smile.)  I want to search your bags.

Me: That’s OK with me.  Can you help me lift the suitcase?

Him: You look anxious? Are you hiding anything? (He glares at me.)

Me: (Trying hard to remain calm and polite.) No I’m not hiding anything. I visited my family and I didn’t want anything badly enough to take the train, then the subway into New York to shop over the Thanksgiving holiday. I am anxious as I don’t have much time to get to my next flight.

Him: You are shaking and your eyes are watery.

Me:  Yes, I have a cold, and yes, my nose and eyes are runny.

Him: I think you are hiding something.

Me: (I think every swear word I know.) I say: I am hiding nothing but you are welcome to search. Perhaps you could help me lift this bag to your counter.

Him: (Smirking.) You look suspicious because you dropped your customs form and because you are sweating. (He stares and bends over the counter to push his face closer to mine.) I can go through everything. What will I find?

Me: (I stare back, feel bullied. I hope he catches my cold. He continues to stare at me silently. I blow my nose.)
Finally...

Him: Have a good trip. You can go now.

Me: Thanks. (I think bad thoughts.)

 I run-walk to return my bag to Air Canada: this contentious bag containing two small books and a DVD and my clothes.

It is 20 minutes until final boarding for my plane. I go through the next security point (10 to 15 minutes) and then run to my gate (faster than the seven minutes it says it takes). I make it, sweating, out of breath, feeling miserable.

Because of delays, I eat nothing since breakfast except airline pretzels and water. I feel sick and shiver uncontrollably in the uncomfortable, cold and noisy Air Canada Dash 8 which flies from Montreal to Moncton.

The air hostess is friendly, asks if I want water and free pretzels. I say no. She asks if I enjoyed my trip.

The answer is yes, except for this last day of travel with Air Canada, coming back through Montreal.

What have I learned?

Don’t sweat or look nervous when passing through security’s scrutiny.  (Yes, I know they have a job to do and an important one, however this issue of being hauled over and given the gears for merely sweating has happened before. I’m sorry but I’m a damp kind of person.)

Don’t fly with a cold. Wow! That was a painful lesson and one I won’t repeat.

Drive instead of flying whenever possible.

Learn to sprint without perspiring.

Why am I not complaining about my trip from Moncton to New York?

I flew that part of the trip with West Jet.

Perhaps, the Monty Python writers could make a movie moment out of the idiocy of harassing older, out-of-shape women in airport security.

The photo and quote above are from Monty Python's The Holy Grail.

Monday, August 31, 2015

Buy a Lily



If you have two loaves of bread,


sell one and buy


a lily.


Buy a lily.


Feed your heart


and your eyes.


Feast!



If you have two loaves of bread, 
sell one and buy a lily. 
(An old proverb)

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Gagetown Ferry NB




long-horn cattle wade
to stay cool


and ignore the ferry 
with its picture
snapping passengers.


The humidity, the heat
hold the river and the land.
Even a sunny day
is hazy.


A red dragonfly rests.


The calm river


is not peaceful.



Engines and shouts of laughter
break the quiet


rock the water meadows.


The photos and words are mine. If you want more information, click on the coloured words to go to another site.

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

What's Left?



After the petals fall 
from the clematis vine,


what's left?


What's left is changing,


rearranging 


in its quiet, 
spectacular way.

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Kayaks on the Bay of Fundy


We spent a day wandering near Fundy Park
While lunching at a picnic table 
near the Molly Kool Centre in Alma, NB
we watched a "how-to" lesson on kayaking, 
across the river from us.


After they got into the kayaks, 
they had to stay close to shore 
and learn left-turn, right-turn.


This is the building where they first learned 
to work life jackets and paddles.


It took some time to get organized, to make sure everyone was comfortable, could paddle, 
could stay in the kayak.


They were supposed to line up single file to exit into the Bay. 
Not everyone understood the concept of single file.


Eventually, they were one behind the other ... nearly.


We left as the cluster of kayaks sat in the foggy 
Bay of Fundy, waiting for the stragglers.

I hope they had fun and made it back safely.


Photos are mine. Words in coloured print will take you to another site for more information, if you click on them.

Thursday, August 6, 2015

To Bike or Not to Bike




To bike or not to bike? That is the question.

Gary has had motorcycles off and on, all his driving life. Fifty years of riding and now, after a shoulder injury, and a decision to downsize, the Harley sells to a new owner ... today.

The decision was and continues to be extremely difficult. 



There's nothing like driving by the fragrance of fields of clover in summer, the breeze, warm as a massage, feeling every nuance of the road. Nothing like the scent of moisture in the wind, the sudden downpour and sitting it out under a highway overpass or beneath a cluster of maples, just talking until the sun dries the road.



Selling the Harley is rough for each of us but particularly for Gary. Driving is Gary's favourite form of meditation. He forgets his worries and the to-do's, the bills and the challenges when he is on the bike.

Gary went out for a ride yesterday. These pictures are of him getting the bike ready and leaving the driveway. He enjoyed the time by himself, one last trip.



But, it's time. "Not to bike" is the answer.

It's been a good run.

Monday, July 20, 2015

Men in the Trees



BEFORE



AFTER

“It gets to me; some days, it feels never-ending.”
 
Gary says this at least once a week, referring to all the “to-dos”, and the repairs needed on the house. This rant is always followed by a discussion with me (or with himself) about the merits of selling over owning our home.

That’s a hard decision. And, is one with which we struggle. But, no matter if we stay or if we go, home maintenance must be done. And this summer, it seems like more and more needs to be done.

THE OFFENDING TREE

Gary has accomplished many repairs himself; he is a capable, efficient man. He needs to focus on what he has completed, instead of cursing and listing all the chores which remain. 

Some of the maintenance has been too overwhelming for us to manage. 


We had our roof re-shingled in late June. Last week, we had an arborist come to remove an enormous maple which had grown too close to the house, and was overhanging the roof and the northwest corner of our home.

For a few hours, we were entertained by men in the tree with chain saws and limbers and tree saws. What an efficient group they were! The men took down the tree with patience and care, and no cussing.


But the work doesn’t end. We have frequent-flyer points at the waste management site from weeks of shrub trimming, damage repair on our hedges and smaller trees, and the subsequent trips to the dump.

There are still more small repair and paint duties waiting for us, outside and inside ... the work that needs to done whether we stay or sell.

THE HOLE WHERE THE TREE ISN'T
Even selling and moving are challenges. The real estate market is tricky, (a buyer’s market, we’re told) and we would need to sell our house before offering on another or renting. So, in the meantime, we work at keeping our house in the best shape possible. 


The discussions continue.

Saturday, June 20, 2015

Will We Stay or Go?



I wonder how I will know, when it is time to sell our home and move to another place, someplace smaller, easier to maintain.

Will it depend upon my health, my energy, my finances, my desire to spend time doing things other than house chores and upkeep? Will it depend upon how many other demands there are for my time, my attention, and upon who else needs help in my family?

I am unsure.

Even though I, that is, we are unsure, we have begun to plan and to discuss the possibilities. We have started to weigh pros and cons of home ownership. To look at what selling means, what it takes away.

We do not consider ourselves elderly, but we are aging. One or the other of us has faced health challenges in the past five years: emergency surgery, long term illness, cancer, mobility problems … problems serious enough to make us stop and take a hard look at our living situation.

We have checked the costs of staying here against the costs of renting or buying a much smaller home. With home ownership, we build equity, but that is leveraged against the dollars needed for ongoing maintenance and keeping the house in good repair.

We know we don’t want to deal with the petty politics of condo associations, or of living in a neighbour's armpit that condos require, so that is an option we won’t consider.

We’ve looked at hiring some help with our enormous yard and its upkeep. We’ve talked about the real estate market; it is not conducive to selling and doing well with a house sale right now. Will that market turn around soon? Can we wait?

How much does it cost to stay put? We’ve had to put on a new roof, a necessity.  It had to be done whether we stay or we go.

These questions feel like they contain nothing but words about loss. And there will be losses: letting go of belongings, notions of what a home should be, letting go of relationships with people, with pets. Some losses will be difficult.

We do love where we live, and enjoy the privacy our big yard and mature trees provide. We like our neighbourhood, appreciate the variety of ages and lifestyles around us. We are attached to our home by emotion and memories and dreams.

But, life and reality are all about change. There will always be changes, and yes, some bring a deep sense of loss but there will also be a sense of something new coming, perhaps something better, easier. A pleasant surprise?

For now, the conversation about how and when we will know it is time to let go continues.
I’ll keep you posted.

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Dandelion Dreams


If we didn't know dandelions were weeds,
would we love their sunny faces?



If we didn't know they were invasive,
would we stare in wonder 
at fields of yellow?



If we didn't know they'd keep coming back,
would we let them be?



If we didn't try so hard to be rid of them,
would we appreciate their tenacity?



If we didn't know they were weeds,
would we love their transformation 
into blow balls of seed?