Open a Newspaper, or Not

Quote of the Month: Open the window in the center of your chest and let the spirits fly in and out. Rumi
(My theme for this year's A to Z Challenge is Open.)

Millie and Willie Cottonpoly, a sock puppet creation, are here to tell you their story during the April A to Z Blogging Challenge.  

Millie and Willie enjoy the Neighbors section of the local newspaper

 

Millie:  I just love the Neighbors section of the newspaper.

 

Willie:  And, the funnies. Gotta read the funnies, especially on Sundays.

 

Millie:  What happened to the front pages, Willie?

 

Willie:  Oh, I spilled coffee on'em. Threw'em away.

 

Millie:  Spilled coffee, eh? Something upset you?

 

Willie:  You know, Millie, I've been up and back and all around this great country. I've seen every natural disaster and traveled through towns that in one year went from prosperous to ghost towns as times changed.

 

Millie:  Yes, Willie, you've told me some sad tales.

 

Willie:  I've also seen heroic people jumping in rivers to save a drowning child. I've heard the farmers talk of doing the harvesting for a neighbor who had been diagnosed with cancer. I've watched other railroad workers leave an extra large tip from their rather small income to help out a waitress down on her luck.

 

Millie:  I know, you've told me those stories, too.

 

Willie:  I want to think of those stories today.

 

Millie:  I understand. Some days, you'd rather not open the newspaper and read about tragedies.

 

Willie:  You already saw it, didn't you?

 

Millie: (tears welling in her eyes, nods)

 

Tillie:  (barks and jumps up on Millie's lap)

 

Willie:  (gets up and grabs the leash) Let's take a walk.

 

Millie:  (gets up, takes a bag of home made chocolate chip cookies off the counter)  Noticed the new neighbors are settling in. We'll stop by and give them a proper welcome to the neighborhood.

 

*************

 

Go. Create. Inspire!

 

Journaling Prompt:  Have you ever tried to shield someone from bad news? Do you bring cookies to new neighbors?

Upbeat Sunday

Quote of the Day:  What I want to know is...Who put the bomp in the bomp bah bomp bah bomp? Who put the ram in the rama lama ding dong? - Barry Mann and Gerry Goffin

First pages of my family gift journal.

This weekend was filled with so many of my favorite things.  I got my journal ready for our family journal exchange.  The boys came home from scout camp, a little stinky and itchy, but in one piece, and quite happy. Eric said my journal looked "cool." Thanks, Eric. He's also participating in the journal exchange.

I was invited to a small, intimate wedding reception for a former piano student, as a friend of the family. I felt very honored to be there.

We had an outdoor worship service at our Pastor's place. He has a large yard. The weather was cool and sunny, almost no wind, so the music pages didn't blow around. I sang a song called What a Beautiful Morning (not the one from Oklahoma). Then, we enjoyed home-made caramel and cinnamon rolls.

I came home and took a nap (a gal gets wore out from all that singing and fellowshipping), then got domestic and made a delicious stir-fry and banana bread.

I shared the second loaf with my neighbor, who, in turn, invited me to join them for dinner.

Delicious eggplant parmesan that we enjoyed out on the front porch where we chatted with the neighbors.

While I was cooking and baking I tuned into Pandora (isn't that a brilliant idea), and cracked my eggs and stirred my food to good old tunes of the 50's and 60's. I clicked "like" to all the best by The Cordettes, The Archies - Sugar Sugar (which could also be the theme song for that wedding reception - a dessert buffet - yum), The Four Tops, the Chiffons, Little Eva, Lesly Gore (You Don't Own Me - one of my top five favorite songs), Betty Everett, Sam Cooke's What a Wonderful World: Don't know much about history, Don't know much biology, Don't know much about a science book, Don't know much about the French I took. (A great song to hear just as we're getting ready for a new school year.)

These songs have a great beat. They're simple, yet lyrical, and full of harmony.  This is my "Lollipop" playlist.  In fact, one of my favorite movie soundtracks is from Stand By Me. Which reminds me, it's time to take out the paper and the trash, Hey, Zach, Yakkety, Yak, don't talk back.

I'll leave you tapping your toe and humming along to these great lyrics, (from the quote of the day song):

Each time that we're alone
Boogity boogity boogity
Boogity boogity boogity shoo
Sets my baby's heart all aglow
And everytime we dance to
Dip da dip da dip
Dip da dip da dip
She always says she loves me so
So who put the bomp in the bomp bah bomp bah bomp?

Journaling Prompt:  What songs set your hips twirling, your toe tapping, and your lips humming?  In other words, what songs give you an upbeat feeling?  Anyone want a slice of banana bread? It's still warm.

Signs of Spring

Quote of the Day:  my favorite springtime poem by Mary Oliver.

Such Singing in the Wild Branches

It was spring

and finally I heard him

among the the first leaves -

then I saw him clutching the limb

in an island of shade

with his red-brown feathers

all trim and neat for the new year.

First, I stood still

and thought of nothing.

Then I began to listen.

Then I was filled with gladness-

and that's when it happened,

when I seemed to float,

to be, myself, a wing or a tree-

and I began to understand

what the bird was saying,

and the sands in the glass

stopped

for a pure white moment

while gravity sprinkled upward

like rain, rising,

and in fact

it became difficult to tell just what it was that was singing-

it was the thrush for sure, but it seemed

not a single thrush, but himself, and all his brothers,

and also the trees around them,

as well as the gliding, long-tailed clouds

in the perfectly blue sky-all, all of them

were singing.

And, of course, yes, so it seemed,

so was I.

Such soft and solemn and perfect music doesn't last

for more than a few moments.

It's one of the magical places wise people

like to talk about.

One of the tings they say about, that is true,

is that, once you've been there,

you're there forever.

Listen, everyone has a chance.

Is it spring, is it morning?

Are there trees near you,

and does our own soul need comforting?

Quick, then - open the door and fly on your heavy feet; the song

may already be drifting away.

Listen to Mary Oliver read more of her amazing poetry here.  She has a loving and emotional way of describing nature and all its glory.

The birds have come and woken up something new inside me.  I tried to capture a few on camera. 

I need a stronger lens or better bait.  I tried cut up oranges and grape jelly. 

So far, I've attracted ants.  I did see one come close, but of course, I wasn't ready with my camera.  So, this morning, I'm sitting in my kitchen with the deck door open.  A cool breeze is coming in, and I've heard a few birds, but none have landed on my deck railings.  This is the closest they came.

While I was looking for images of orioles verses yellow finches, I found this blog by Lisa Sabin-Wilson.  Her post on trying to capture her orioles on "film" was much like mine.  It was an older post, so I clicked her title to see what she's recently done, and discovered a glorious video of an NPR recording of Adele. Sweet, soulful music.

I had intended to write this post yesterday, but it didn't work out.  I ended up doing yardwork.  Here's what happened.  On Tuesday, Lisa, my friend and neighbor, asked if I had any hotdogs.  I had four left in a package, so I ran them over to her house.  On Wednesday morning, she came over to my house while I was at a meeting, and started digging up a voluntary tree that had grown from a seed that came down my downspout.  Once she got started, there was no stopping her.  She trimmed my bushes, and cleaned up the brush around my house.  We solicited the help of her nephew.

He was more than happy to pull the Radio Flyer to the back and call for Someone (me) to help him unload it. I offered up lemonade as a reward.

Birds, buds, blossoms, and being a good neighbor - that's what makes Spring so beautiful!

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  What are some signs of Spring in your neck of the woods? Or, what are the signs of changing seasons in your part of the globe?

Cucumbers, Books, and a Sense of Community

Quote of the Day:  Let mutual love continue.  Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.  - Hebrews 13:1-3

Do you have a sense of belonging in your community? While you're taking a walk, do you stop and notice your neighbor's garden?  Do you have someone nearby who makes you feel like family?  I felt all those things this weekend, from teaching piano to kids in the area to attending a church service in the Pastor's backyard.

I drove up to a Book Arts Festival in Hackensack, MN with my friend's daughter, 13, who is an aspiring writer.  She seems like a niece to me because her mom and I are so close.  We talked with authors, bought some of their books, looked at the arts and crafts, tried on hand-made jewelry and ate kettle corn and ice cream. 

For our Sunday morning service, our little congregation, called Rejoice, met in the Pastor's backyard.  Carol, his wife, played the keyboard, with a little help, and hindrance, from the wind.  During the sermon, the piano book hit a note on the keyboard.  The Pastor paused, looked back at the phantom player and said, "That must have been a good point."

It was so relaxing to sit outside and sing together, listen the the message, and watch the runners go by.  Yes, today was a local triathlon and the route was along the street in front of the pastor's house.  You know, you can't just stare at the Pastor during the whole sermon.  Plus, the runners were interesting.

After the service, we pulled our lawn chairs over to the tables set up outside and enjoyed Carol's home-made cinnamon rolls, coffee, and great conversation.

In keeping with God's request that we share our bounty, one of the members brought in extra cucumbers to share with anyone who wants them.  Here they are, along with the books I bought at the book fair.

And, this evening.  My nearest friend and neighbor, Lisa, called to ask if I had any lime juice.  I did, dated July 2007.  She said she'd take it (how bad could it be?), and invited me to join them for dinner.  After that, a walk, time with my boys, and a recap for you readers.

Journaling Prompt: What did you enjoy about your community this weekend/summer?  Did you plant a garden and share your harvest or enjoy the bounty of another's garden?

Playing in Puddles

Quote of the Day:  Sometimes you have to shut off the inner critic and just play! - Mary Aalgaard, playwright

When life gives you puddles, JUMP! The dad next door said, "You still need to be a kid some days."

We've had rain for about 10 days straight.  Hey, Mother Nature, you can turn off the faucet, now!  We're good with the precipitation.  The grass is green again; the flowers are blooming; the strawberries are ripe.

Yep, these are growing in my backyard.  I had to pick them in the rain, but it was worth getting a soggy shirt.  My hair was already a lost cause, frizzy, then flattened, then limp.  Ugh.  I'm getting a cut next Tuesday. Thank God! (or should I say, Thank Aubrey!)

I was working on my script this weekend, Coffee Shop Confessions, and the annoying inner critic started saying:  Oh, you're back to that old thing?  Hmm. Well, aren't you putting too many elements in that?  I mean, you'll confuse your audience with all these issues and songs and comparisons, and ha! do you really think you're funny? And, other stuff too dumb to repeat.  I had to turn off that inner critic and just JUMP off the page.  Turns out, I like what I wrote.  It moves the story forward, PLUS it's interesting and funny.  So, PTHWEOEW! to you inner critic.

When you turn off that inner critic (I had to put duct tape over the mouth of mine!), you find yourself in new and interesting territory.  It might even change your look.  See what it did for my twins.  Their friend came along when they got haircuts, so they took the dare and got buzz cuts!  Ah, that will feel great when the summer sun and breeze finally get a chance to come out and play.

Journaling Prompt:  Write about a time when you turned off the inner critic, took a giant leap, and let yourself play.