partridge in a pear

present shopping done.

days ahead of eating christmas treats.

and many vacation days from work, almost here.

with visits from friends, and visits to family.

& then, 2010.

a.word.a.day wend

wend

PRONUNCIATION:

(wend)

MEANING:

verb tr., intr.: To travel along a route.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Old English wendan.

NOTES:

If you've ever wondered why we have the peculiar form "went" as the past tense of the word go (go, went, gone), today's word is the culprit. "Went" is the archaic past form of "wend". In current usage, the past form of wend is wended. The word is typically used in the phrase "to wend one's way".

december evening

finishing christmas presents.

trying to keep warm. furnace roars, constantly.

thinking about all the time ahead, with friends & family.

a little surprised each day, how early night comes.

wondering what will come, and what will go, in the new year.

december afternoon

last night baked a gingerbread (cake) recipe that called for a cup of guinness & a cup of molasses. along with a ton of ginger. not only was it the tastiest, it made my house smell delicious.

I shared it with friends & bourbon. and ate it for breakfast too.






















been fighting an urge all weekend, to take a long nap. thinking I could wake up and feel rested, in mind and body. somehow trying to prepare for a new year. closing one book, and opening another.

for the weekends ahead, it will be nothing but holidays.

seasonal hello

seriously, how does it know its (almost) christmas?

o tannenbaum

I put a little bit of holiday on my mantle.

works

(a picture from the barn.)

I don't know what works.

but, I wish I did.

the snow

It makes an even face
Of mountain and of plain, --
Unbroken forehead from the east
Unto the east again.

-Emily Dickinson

snow coming

the weather looks snowy in the next few days.

baking bread made my house smell warm. and it will be tasty with some soup, on a snowy evening. or just with some cheese & jam, which may be supper tonight.

this was a new recipe. I realise now it just looks like a big zwiebach, but it is actually a style of bread called a "cottage loaf". I got the recipe from an old neighbor. (thank you again!)

with snow, I hope comes some productive evenings ahead.

about the season

It takes awhile for me to appreciate these holidays. Since I usually just get annoyed by the constant jingle of christmas commercials. but have noticed a few things to be happy about.

the lights I keep up in my kitchen year-round, actually seem prettier than usual.






















the retro-print christmas fabric, which I could never wear but wanted to buy. became a dress for my little niece.


















sort of hard not to smile at the town's display of holiday lights.

feeling myself lighten up a little. so will try to keep looking around at reasons. to enjoy, the season.

thanks be.

for hugs from my niece.


















for the questions & the stories that come from my nephew.






















for seeing beauty in something forgotten.

for my family.
for my friends who are without question.
for my home. and a cranky old cat, who occasionally still plays like a kitten.
for living in Kansas.
for creativity, generosity and care.

and thank you for the sunshine on thanksgiving day.

great things list #17

the place where I'm hoping to spend some quality time over the next week.
can be dreamy, especially when the sunshine joins me.

finding the way

for some reason, at this time of year is when I wish I could visit Paris.
something about walking around that beautiful old city, all covered in twinkling lights.

anyways. Paris. Please.

I'd like a getaway.

being four

one of several birthday parties for the 4-yr old. sunny afternoon at the farm. roasted hot dogs & marshmallows over the fire. and a walk around the pond.

if you ask him, he'll offer up that he still kinda feels three sometimes.






















I made him a superhero cape. and it didn't take long to figure out that capes are fun to run around in.




















and he is very much one of my heroes.

the pumpkin & the elephant

my favorite halloween visitors.
were given specially made gingersnaps.
the elephant was excitably moving around so much,
that it was hard to capture a picture.


















until she discovered her candy stash again.

daredevil

I bought a scanner.

this is me, on my bigwheel. It is a little out of focus, since it is a high-speed action shot. I've heard from both of my parents that I was fearless on this thing. and often scared them to death, with bigwheelin' speed, twists & turns.

it is possible this was the only time I've ever been thought of as a daredevil.

I avoid things that frighten me. And I don't always make the best decisions, because of that fear. but I think in doing so, I ignore my own strength.

and i've been working on that. trying to be a little more of a daredevil. and hoping that if I take some chances, I might find that fun ride on a bigwheel again.

rusty

fall in kansas. rusty-colored milo.
where I live now, is where I grew up. and it will always feel like my home. sometimes wonder if it is meant to always be.

the leaves have finally changed. and there are shades of fall everywhere. and today's wind is leaving them everywhere scattered.

enjoyed my evening out last night. but it left my today feeling more quiet than normal.

spending time today prepping my kitchen for some fresh paint. for something brighter.

and thinking about the season changing. what is ahead. and how it is a person knows, what the right path is. how to fit the future into the present.

leaves falling

harvested the basil from the garden.
all the green is fading.
feel the need to buy new, warm socks & sweaters.
crowding all my plants into my few sunny windows.
found some fallen oak tree leaves in the backyard.
my mums are blooming in orange, pink & purple.
fall is very pretty.
but, I can't escape knowing, that what follows it, is winter.

fall falling

fall is here. today it is chilly in my house. and I couldn't wear flipflops outside, for fear of cold toes.

over the summer, some things happened.

-finally, I stripped off leafy wallpaper and made my front room pretty. I've now fixed the things left behind by former owners. now to start fixing other things.
-someone I saw goodness in, finally showed me that what goodness he had, he wasn't going to give to me.
-my niece learned the cuteness of waving and saying hi & goodbye.
-my nephew got a bike.
-my garden has gone from green, productive happiness to prettily fading away.
-i started riding my bike again.
-I got to see two people I adore, get married with honkytonk & honey.
-enjoyed yet another Winfield, with amazing weather. one of the prettiest places to take an afternoon nap.
-got overwhelmed (or no longer felt worried) by my books on politics, history and Lincoln. so, started reading short stories again.
-I got to be around friends and family that love me for who I am.
-and oh, came down with a cold.

for the soul

a cure for a rainy day, for getting up on the wrong side of the bed, for a bad work day. or just the plain ol' blahs.

having the two most important people in the world, come over, dump out every toy in the toybox, and play on your living room floor.

a.word.a.day forwhy

just found this word.a.day in my inbox from awhile ago.

sums it up, doesn't it?

forwhy

pronunciation:
(for-hwy)

meaning:
adverb: why.
conjuction: because.

morning quiet

a very quiet morning. just the distant hum of the highway, and insects humming overhead.

squirrels sitting in high branches, drop pieces of walnuts & acorns. in no rhythm, the pieces plop onto my lawn.

everything covered in rain. from an overnight storm, which I didn't wake up to.















it is cloudy, and cool. and the kind of morning which, if you didn't have to get out of bed, you wouldn't.

catching up july...some more

saw lyle lovett and his large band play, last weekend in Salina.

















though, first we stopped at the Cozy Inn for some burgers, chips and pop.


















the show was at the beautiful, old Stiefel Theatre. we had our programs flapping, (like old ladies in church, lyle commented) because of the heat. but the sound was great, as were our center balcony seats.

















the theatre is full of old architectural elements. but many I couldn't capture without using my flash.

















my friends and I were almost speechless in enjoyment and excitement.

and I left with a tank top that reads "lyle lovett my baby don't tolerate"

catching up july

back in mid-july. my brother had an art opening at one of our downtown galleries. the cobalt gallery, inside the pages bookshop.
















my brother has the ability to be good at whatever he attempts. he can create beautiful and mysterious things. this includes his darling children.







































a fun evening. (wish my photos did better justice to the art.)

mid-july

with harvest over. and the 4th now past. we've past summer's mid-point. now we get the heat.

we had a storm last night. one of those summer things that blow a strong hot wind, then crack & thunder, rainy. then you wake up to wet morning air.

realizing how i'm not ready to lose summer yet. last night I munched on a salad made mostly of freshly-picked tomatoes & cukes.

and the morning light is so much brighter than winter's.

the cicadas hum as the sun drops. I find their outer shells in the morning, tucked into my garden plants.

and the fireflies come out. like night sky glimmers.

if only it wasn't too hot to bake some cookies.

(image found courtesy of Google's Life archive)

105degrees and roma tomatoes

a fat green roma tomato, an heirloom plant. which my mother gave to me.
over a hundred degrees today.

the tomatoes surely enjoyed the heat.

summer seems to be moving too fast.

my thoughts are not moving along with it.

summertime

at day, hot. in the evening, warm. at night, breezes.

cicadas & fireflies.

eating out of the garden.





















handfuls of purple coneflower.

and in a couple of days, a pool party with fireworks.

kansas june saturday

evening at my brother's. kids ran around in swimsuits.
except my nephew, determined to be naked.
friends. family. beer. food. soft summer air. cool in the shade.
a hayrack ride. without the hay. and with an old smelly tractor.
wheat is ready to harvest.
soybeans are just coming up.






















my smiley niece. in a dress that I made for her.
she's more than just cute.

bicycle dreams

this western "fairway" flyer didn't sell at my neighbor's garage sale. so, they had put it on the curb for trash.

I walked by it and couldn't pass.

she's a little heavy. and a little rusty. but when I sat on the seat, seemed to be a perfect fit.
so now she waits, in my garage. for someone to make her pretty again. so I can go for a ride.

one day. dream a little dream.

june time

june.
it starts right after I turn another year older. gasp.
it gets hot. you "have" to turn on the a/c for the first time.
and then it rains. and everything is cool again.
you get your first sunburn.
and you remember that with the amazing growing garden you have, you also have gangly, indestructible, chameleon weeds.

















a new dress for little A.
sewing for myself, just not as much fun.





















learning to grow tomatoes in pots.
in effort to get more sun.

















sweet peppers.

















and that basil, is happily in the ground. (but, somebody has been munching on my marigolds)