Stacey Joy of California challenges us with a fabulous prompt on this first Monday of April, when we can feel all the promise of spring and the budding words, when shimmers of dew sparkle on the morning grass. This is a lovely way to start the day at www.ethicalela.com for the third day of #VerseLove. Her mentor Haiku Sonnet abounds with all hope and promise, restoring my morning of a sleepless night. I took her second line ~ Ancestors’ prayers and dreams ~ and meditated on this as I considered the quality of sleep that plagues me for weeks on end after the spring time change, last night especially. I also added one extra Haiku to the mix because I can’t ever count, so my Haiku Sonnet might actually be a Haiku Syllable Sonnet since there are 17 lines.
Life at Times
sleeping country nights
overhead ceiling fan whirs
windows open wide
blurred nightmare airing
my life hangs in layers on
laundry line in dreams
night fog, striated slices
dense as fear, tense as monsters
past, present, future
random rumblings
REM: impossible journey
uncertain murmurs
billowing slumber
sheets dancing, ghostly breezes
whipping, wrestling, wavering
woeful, restless angst
real nightmares play out
I’m hosting #VerseLove today at http://www.ethicalela.com, where we write in verse everyday throughout the month of April to celebrate National Poetry Month. You can read the prompt and the poems shared by others here, or simply see the prompt below:
Inspiration
One of the most uplifting parts of a writing community is getting to know other writers, feeling a connection, and developing a sense of belonging as others welcome you to the group and encourage you in your writing journey. This is my fifth year writing with #VerseLove after meeting Dr. Sarah Donovan at NCTE. Today, let’s introduce ourselves through a Weekend Coffee Share poem, which can take the form of a list poem or a prose poem – or any other structure that you choose. Pour a cup of coffee and come sit down. You may have seen other bloggers writing as part of the Weekend Coffee Share, a powerful weekend writing topic developed by a blogger whose idea inspired this prompt. Raising a mug to Natalie!
Process
Pour yourself a cup of coffee or tea, and imagine being in a small coffee shop among friends. We’ve all strolled in from the cold, damp drizzle and are eager to meet you for the first time – or to catch up with you since last time. Pour us a cup, too, and share something about yourself with us. Invite us into your world, friend! Let your first line be If we were having coffee (or tea, or wine…)….
Oh – and share a picture of yourself with your cup in the comments if you wish!
Kim’s Poem
If We Were Having Coffee
If we were having coffee,
I’d tell you that #VerseLove changed my life
because of you.
Here, come closer and lean in.
Do you like light roast or bold?
Let me pour you a cup. Cream? Sugar?
If we were having coffee,
I’d ask you about your favorite poets
and tell you that as a child,
I spent hours, days, weeks, years reading
Childcraft Volume 1 Poems and Rhymes
and was twice gifted A Child’s Garden of Verses
for Christmas from relatives ~ in 1971 and 1972
and have been hooked on poetry since then.
If we were having coffee,
I’d tell you that I’m a bit of an introvert,
so I prefer writing over talking,
and that over the years, I have come to know
you through our writing ~ so I call you my friend.
I’ll be talking to someone somewhere and you’ll come up.
You always do.
When someone tells me they like Thai food, I say,
No way! One of my writing friends is in Thailand right now!
And when someone hums a tune from CATS, I say,
Girl! One of my writing friends sent me
Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats last year.
And when someone says they’re going to the west coast, I say,
Have fun! I was just there with my writing friends in November.
If we were having coffee,
I’d raise my mug to you and say,
Cheers to you, friend! Welcome to #VerseLove 2023!
Glenda Funk of Idaho is our host today for the first day of #VerseLove at http://www.ethicalela.com. You can read her full post here. She inspires us to write Haibun poems, which combine prose and Haiku poetry. This one was inspired by my trip to South Carolina yesterday to bring my grandson on a fishing adventure today.
Haibun
Rescue
On a birthday fishing trip with my grandson, we were booking it to get to water when we spotted a turtle in the passenger side tire path of my lane not booking it to water at his dawdling speed, so we swerved to avoid hitting it, BRAKED HARD, pulled onto the shoulder, and put it in reverse there on the roadside to rescue this traveler caught between the land and the water world ~ like us
Haiku
we brake for turtles caught in the crossroads: roadside reptile rescuers!
Since we were up early this morning, I asked him to write about the experience too – and here is what he wrote. He said, “I even gave it a title, Nana.” I love his title – – and his last line gives the emotional sigh of high-five satisfaction for terrific turtle teamwork.
Fifteen years ago today, I married my best friend. I still enjoy thinking back on our wedding day…..looking at our wedding album photos. Here are eleven of my favorite memories from that day that I’ll be sharing with Briar today:
Those were the days I didn’t even own a hairbrush. I dried my hair on the way to the wedding in the wind by holding my head out the window of the car. Right before I went down the aisle, the wedding director told me I needed lipstick. So I put it on for everyone else, but not for me.
2. Both of our mothers dressed in blue and were alive and excited to see us happy, in love, and getting married. They are no longer with us, and we miss them.
3. We asked three ministers to tie the knot extra tight – your childhood pastor, our good friend minister, and my preacher dad. In one of my favorite wedding pictures, The Lord’s Prayer is playing and Dad is standing over us with a hand on each of us, praying for us.
4. The florist didn’t put the wires in the tulips (my favorite flowers), and shortly after the wedding began, they started drooping….and drooped….and drooped……
5. We turned our wedding around. We didn’t want our backs to our guests; we wanted them to feel like they were a part of the ceremony.
6. I’d wanted a simple pair of gold sandals to match the gold in my dress, not flats and not high heels, but I couldn’t find any that I liked. So I found a pair of white sandals I liked, taped the soles and footbeds, and spray painted my wedding shoes gold.
7. I wanted a fresher, more updated version of Canon in D, so I chose Lullaby by Bond as the processional for the entire wedding party including me, because it makes me feel good inside time I hear it. It just rolled on and we all did our best to walk slowly. I remember that everyone’s face lit up with surprised expressions during our recessional, because at the very last minute as I was heading down the aisle at the start of the wedding, I had whispered up to your brother in the sound booth, “I want to change the recessional music. Ditch the Trumpet Voluntary and play the Hallelujah Chorus, will ya?” And so he did.
8. I remember just having the BEST time planning our wedding to be exactly what we wanted it to be – a small gathering of friends and family, with a short and personal service followed by a catered dinner reception. And we spent hours together making our own wedding favors that matched the candles on the tables. We cut giftwrap to go in bands around the candles and added our names and wedding date. And we are still burning these, fifteen years later.
9. You smudged my nose with carrot cake icing. That’s my favorite cake – so we had carrot for me and chocolate for you. Every part of that day was so much fun, but ironically the only bite of cake I got was the bite for the picture. We tried to eat the topper a year later, but after a year in the freezer, the frostbite had set in and it wasn’t tasty anymore.
10. We each served our new mothers-in-law a slice of cake to earn some brownie points on the front end. And it paid off!
11. And right before we left on our honeymoon, we called all of our children, nieces, and nephews up to gather around us. I gave each of them a flower from my bouquet, and then we prayed for them. We also prayed for all of the students in our community attending prom that evening, that they would be safe.
I didn’t think it was possible to love my husband any more than I did on our wedding day, but fifteen years later……I sure do!
My daughter in her desert rockhounding playground, where she locates stones.
When one of my daughters moved to Nevada, she began taking a greater interest in natural foods and overall wellness through diet, exercise, prayer, and meditation. She suffers from anxiety, so the healing properties of Himalayan Salt lamps and hikes through the desert to calm the mind and familiarization with the properties of crystals to alleviate stress are all pathways of interest for her. I made a commitment in February to involve others in my blog posts throughout March, and I invited her to share some of her knowledge of crystals. In today’s first part, our dialogue is exchanged through texting.
My daughter has been teaching me about each stone and what it can be used for – here, she holds an amethyst, used to promote serenity and calmness, and even help with headaches that come as a result of anxiety and tension.
I asked my daughter if it was true that crystals and stones really have healing properties.
What’s fascinating, Mom, is that ancient civilizations all used stones and found the same benefits from them, and this was before the days of communication between these civilizations, yet they somehow still found that a crystal or mineral that could be found in both places had the same benefits.
We were texting about her knowledge of crystals as I was suffering from a tension headache that has been debilitating since February 1, and I was willing to try anything – anything – to get my normal head back.
And they were all using them, especially certain civilizations that were known for it – like the ancient Chinese. Jade is very precious to them (as are many but everyone associates the ancient Chinese with jade) and even Cleopatra would grind down Lapis Lazuli for her famous blue eyeliner.There is an impact glass that formed millions of years ago from a meteorite crashing into the Libyan/Egyptian desert sand (I have a piece of this impact glass called Libyan Desert Glass) that was found set in the breastplate worn by King Tut and was found when his tomb was discovered. The history of people using stones in the ancient world is even an interesting topic on its own. There are even mentions of stones in the Bible.
The hour-long text session was taking us through the twists and turns from history to actual uses of stones, and I found myself growing more and more impressed by her vast knowledge of the topic.
I asked her how crystals fit into religion, because several years ago, there was backlash that stones were being used in place of God.
Honestly, this is just my opinion, Mom – nothing researched – but after working with and meditating with crystals, I am pretty convinced that the prophets in the Bible, I believe they had the gift of prophecy from God, but I believe they used crystals to help facilitate this gift. In Exodus, the breastplate of Aaron was a sacred object used by the high priest in order to communicate with God. It had 12 stones set in it, for the 12 tribes of Israel. During some of my meditations using crystals, when I’m in my meditation and visualizing, sometimes I get very unexpected quick flashes of visions. For example, if I’m visualizing things in my head during this meditation and I’m going through a walk in the forest on this journey, I focus on that, but on several meditations, visions of things have come into my head like a flash, just an image, without me ever thinking about them. I can’t explain it but it’s very cool when it happens. I think the prophets used them for sure. I haven’t researched that topic, but I just believe that.
But what about the people who say crystals are the work of the devil? There are folks out there who believe that, so I asked if she’d explored the reasons and the case for Biblical uses of crystals.
Mom, that’s because some people think they are associated with the occult. But why would God put them in such abundance on this earth if they weren’t for us to use? There are things that I don’t like or wouldn’t ever use when I go into a metaphysical shop that sells crystals because of my beliefs. For example, tarot cards. I don’t know much about them, but there are things in there that fall too far on the extreme side for my beliefs. I would never ever want a psychic reading. First off, you never know if you’re being scammed and second, that’s just not something I need.
She continued her line of reasoning.
As long as people don’t practice idolatry when using crystals, they’re fine. But that can be said for literally anything in the physical world: cell phones, televisions, anything. And why would he put them here on earth for us?? Okay, I’ll play devil’s advocate for a second and say the same reason he put Adam and Eve in a garden with forbidden fruit but he said not to eat the fruit, he never said not to use the crystals. That’s coming from humans, not God. He just said never to worship anything/anyone other than him.
I was following her thinking, even as my eyes landed on the prescription bottles in the kitchen window. What was the difference in using chemicals ground with a mortar and pestle, swallowed to enter my bloodstream to combat the effects of this severe tension headache and using the magnetic properties of stones to alleviate a headache? I had to believe in whatever remedy I was doing either way, but that didn’t mean God was knocked off the top pedestal of priority any more than when I consume the food I eat to sustain my life.
There are those who associate mediation with a variety of religions, like it’s different from prayer, so how do you think meditation is the same or different?
I believe that prayer is powerful, but I also believe the energy the crystals emit from vibrations can help calm you down for more focused prayer, uplift your spirits, help with appetite, anxiety, blood circulation, everything. When a lot of people are passing on into their eternal life, I’ve heard of people laying crystals on them as they’re dying and in all of the instances, it’s a calming peaceful last few hours/minutes. My boyfriend’s sister did that for their grandmother when she died too.
There are extreme minds who will not for one second wrap their mind around accepting the use of crystals in their lives, though, and will even go a step further and disparage anyone who would. How do you respond to these folks?
Mom, people use crystals and don’t even know. Watches are powered by quartz. When you use a barbecue lighter, it’s piezoelectric energy from hitting a quartz that sparks the flame.
I had to admit – – she had enlightened my thinking in a way that took me away from all of the negative connotations associated with crystals and had my mind turning. What could be harmful about a crystal that could have a worse reputation than headache pills? I was opening my mind to the new possibilities……
In January, members of my family and I became intentional about savoring Saturdays with coffee and things we enjoy. We’ve developed a whole new affinity for coffee shop culture – the aromas, all the coffee blend options, the food offerings, the buzz of conversation, the lingering togetherness and our own coversations percolating on the day’s possibilities.
I’ve recently downloaded the Roadtrippers app and saw right away that it was worth the upgrade from the free version to Roadtrippers Plus. Now I can locate coffee shops on the road trips we plan and add them as waypoints to our destination for any of the day trips we plan. So when we set out for St. Simons Island, Georgia on a recent weekend, I filtered the app to show me all the coffee shops along our chosen route.
Queen Bee Coffee in Forsyth, Georgia off I-75 seemed like just what we would enjoy. It was right on our way, and it opened about the time we’d be at its place on the map. We parallel parked on the street and went inside. The sign on the steps assured us we were in the right place. We chuckled, veering a hard left.
Inside, we chose a couch with a coffee table. We sunk into the comfort of both cup and couch and noticed the place – the way it appealed to all five senses and awakened us to this new place!
Yesterday, we spent the day in Winder, Georgia and had coffee at La Gabrielle, a little cafe with a European vibe. I fell in love with the light fixtures! My husband said they reminded him of the television show Bewitched.
I checked my Roadside America app to see if there was anything of significance nearby, and found that either the shortest or the second shortest road in the United States (shortest in Georgia for sure) with a traffic light was a mile and a half from our coffee shop. So we checked it out. It’s basically a named street in the middle of other streets, and one and a half cars can fit on it at once. John Bowen Way.
Been there, done that.
And that’s the way we love spending Saturdays – whether we are on the road, at a campsite, at home, or out of town on business, we enjoy coffee to start the day and something to pique our interest afterward. Even if it’s a short little road right in the middle of everywhere.
Savoring Saturdays has quickly become a self-care habit, woven into the tapestry of our weekends.
We savored last Saturday, March 18, in Pine Mountain, Georgia on F. D. Roosevelt State Park Campground. Here’s a slice of our day, in pictures.
There’s something amazing about this door. It feels like a time warp. I think it weighs 500 pounds. Rock buildings in the mountains on a cold morning give me a feeling of belonging.Here we are! We were looking for a coffee shop and found history.Simply a delicious breakfast. The muscadine muffin was off the chain. The windows overlooked the valley below. Gorgeous spot to start the day. We took the boys on a short walk down the trail. They enjoyed all the new smells and looking over ledges.y’all. Boo Radley found a slice of sunshine after his long walk.Ollie sunk down into the comfort of the bed for a nap. We love camping!
Ken and Jennifer flying kites on Amelia Island Beach in Florida, February 2023
You might remember these two faces with hearts full of love for each other. That’s my baby brother, Ken, and his girlfriend, Jennifer. I featured them on Valentine’s Day on the blog and shared their winning Godiva chocolate preference (dark chocolate lava truffle) after their taste test in March. They were set up on a blind date early last fall by mutual friends, and the rest is history.
As a way of involving others in my blog posts this month, I recently texted and asked Ken and Jennifer one question: if you were giving advice to a new couple on how to plan a great date and spend time really getting to know each other, what would you say?
My brother responded first:
One of the things we did was to try and find things that were new to both of us, or at least that we weren’t experts at – like the painting party. Neither of us were experts at that, but we’d do another painting activity now. Also, something active is good, outdoors. Stay away from cliche’ and make sure there are plenty of opportunities to talk.
Jennifer responded a little while later:
I really loved riding bikes on Jekyll Island on one of our first outings together. We rode about ten miles, then stopped for lunch and a beer. It was a beautiful, sunny day outside, and they had live music. It was amazing. You really learn a lot about someone else by their spontaneity.
They really did follow their own advice. They’ve played golf, they’ve run a 5K, and flown kites on Amelia Island at the beach. They’ve been on bicycling adventures and ambled down Broadway in Nashville, Tennessee checking out the honky tonks. They’ve also attended each other’s churches, finding ways to make two faiths meaningful for both of them as a couple.
They’re adventuring.
They’re sharing life – investing in each other.
They’re savoring moments.
On a golfing adventure
Running a 5K
Attending an Ash Wednesday service
Ken and Jennifer on Driftwood Beach, Jekyll Island, Georgia
On a bicycling adventure
Ornaments made at Paints & Pints
Cheers to Ken and Jennifer for reminding us to be active at adventuring and talking – whether we’re dating, married, or single and loving it!
Throughout my childhood, I was obsessed with one particular book. I spent hours on end reading it – – even took the flashlight into my closet so I could read it in there too and not be bothered while I was mesmerized. I not only fell in love with the words in the book, but also with the pictures – they were enchanting. I studied every detail of the pages in Childcraft Volume 1 – Poems and Rhymes – with the pink band on the gold-numbered spine.
One poem in particular was my favorite among favorites.
Overheard on a Saltmarsh by Harold Monro (14 March 1879 – 16 March 1932).
I lived near salt marshes in those days, on a coastal island in Georgia. I’d never seen any nymphs and goblins in the marshes, but I wondered – – could they really be there? How had I missed them?
Overheard on a Saltmarsh by Harold Monro
I fixated on the goblin and the nymph in the illustration. That’s a water nymph – – they often have plants growing from their heads, I learned. She’s not afraid of that ghastly looking goblin, either. She is confident in herself there in the moonlight, wearing her green gown and green glass beads.
That’s what I’d wanted to be when I grew up – a beautiful nymph with a shapely figure, wearing a flowy gown and green beads, telling my goblins NO.
And so to celebrate this St. Patrick’s Day, I will not sport a shamrock. I won’t wear a green flowy gown or drink a green beer or flash a Kiss Me, I’m Irish t-shirt or paint my face green. Or get a tattoo.
Instead, I have framed my favorite childhood poem and will nymphatically wear these green jasper beads.
Hush, I stole them out of the moon.
A framed childhood favorite poem, with green beads
Special thanks to Two Writing Teachers!
Please join us at http://www.ethicalela.com Saturday through Wednesday for the March Open Write. We’ll be writing poetry for the next 5 days. Come write with us!
Special thanks to Two Writing Teachers for giving writers space and voice
I was a strange child.
Still am.
When I worked on a 50 States project in 5th grade, I wrote to every state capital’s Chamber of Commerce requesting brochures I could include in my presentation binder. I learned far less about the states from that project than I did about the power of written communication, and writing the letters was not an assigned part of the project – it was something I enjoyed doing because it enriched the experience – – much like bath salts enrich the bathtime experience. Today, I’ll share my favorite variety of the bath salts I have used.
I also learned that written communication could get me free samples of products – and more mail with my name on it. Back in the day, magazines would list where you could write for free samples, and I had every free beauty product they offered, whether I needed it or not. Mom always got me stamps when she knew I was writing for a worthy cause – plus, it kept me out of other trouble. I had lipgloss, eyeshadow, and even a jar of Gerber’s Dutch Apple Dessert when their campaign persuaded buyers that it wasn’t just for babies, but that people of all ages could enjoy it as a snack. I also got coupons for cool products like Lemon Up Shampoo and Conditioner – and I got in trouble for using the entire bottle of each in one bath on my angel wings “because it smelled so good.” I’ve learned through epsom salt reviews that there are far less expensive ways of taking a great-smelling bath!
Lemon-Up Shampoo from the 1970s
Pink Himalayan Mineral Soak Restore & Replenish – this variety is a mineral soak that contains pink Himalayan salt along with bergamot and sweet orange essential oils to help rejuvenate the body. It has a grapefruit-y smell, and the salt crystals seem less coarse and smaller than the other varieties I have used. It smells amazing, but again – this one is one that does a better job of awakening than relaxing, so I would not recommend it before bedtime.
Vapor Bath with Menthol, Camphor, and Spearmint Essential Oil – this one is for a special purpose, and it isn’t for sleep when you can already breathe freely. But when you can’t breathe, this one will work to help open sinuses and airways. It’s so powerful that you have to sit in the bath with your eyes closed, because it will flat out make your eyes water like you’re slicing an onion. I would definitely recommend wearing swim goggles when soaking in the vapor bath.
Today’s favorite between these final two varieties is Pink Himalayan Mineral Soak, simply because the vapor bath is more for medicinal purposes.
This brings the overall competition to my three daily favorites – Pink Himalayan Mineral Soak, Cannabis Sativa Hemp Seed Oil, and Calm Your Mind.
My third favorite bath salt is Pink Himalayan Mineral Soak.
My second favorite is Calm Your Mind……
…and my favorite aromatherapy soak is Cannabis Sativa Hemp Seed Oil Soaking Solution.
I did not review any of the foaming bath counterparts that go along with these products, and I did not review all of the varieties. There are still other varieties that need bloggers’ reviews. Here is the Dr. Teal’s website with all of the products and varieties (I am not selling their products, just providing the link for the ones I did not review).
And here I am, the cleanest I’ve been in years – – probably the cleanest I’ve ever been in my life. I’ve learned that epsom salts have multiple health benefits, but more importantly, I’ve learned that it takes a deliberate mindset to shift the balance between baths and showers. While I still prefer showers because of my busy lifestyle, I will continue to carve time for soaking as a way of regulating the pace of life.
Common Threads 