Promises……..

Sun strands streak the sky
Promise flip flop days to come
Warm my starving soul

 

 

Lady~In~Waiting

        

november  (Photo credit: kygp)

   I have been largely absent in the blog world of late. Plying my trade in haiku—17 syllables at a time. Good discipline. Clarity of thought. But now I find writing anything longer to be quite a task. I am now thinking in syllables. I come up with something, and count the syllables in each of the words. It can be creative. It can be limiting.

          I feel almost as if I have nothing to say that cannot be put into three lines of seventeen syllables. I am adrift and must find my way back. It is as if I have nothing worth saying that cannot be edited down, parsed fully in few words.

          It is November, and on the face of it—this poor dreary grey month suffers as much as my writing. But it can be a full month where autumn has not yet given way to greyness. Where the sun shines not quite as warmly but brightly. Where anticipation of the holidays is joyful as the deadlines are still comfortably far enough in the future that we can enjoy them before being caught up in the whirlwind.

          In November, anything is possible. I can dream of a white Christmas, of a homemade Christmas, of a Christmas wrapped in gold and silver, red and green. Yet it is still far enough away to be a dream and not a nightmare.

          I have always thought of November as the bridesmaid and not the bride. But there is honour in being a bridesmaid—you get to share the limelight without being the focus. You get a pretty dress but no huge change in lifestyle. You get to celebrate, have fun, and come away unscathed (not of course that marriage is scathing, but it is life changing).

 

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

         I love to read all the December magazines in November, celebrating the perfect Christmas, the best Christmas ever, without the anxiety of making Christmas perfect and the best ever. I will enjoy this lady in waiting month—switching over my autumn décor mid-month to neutral before readying for the festive holidays.  I will enjoy November, take a deep breath, and get ready to plunge heartily into the month of endless celebrations.

What are your feelings about November?

 

Friday morning

(Photo credit: UGArdener)

Mellow morning sun

Hidden by fog strewn landscape

Faint rays penetrate

Welcome October

October’s Palette (Photo credit: dibytes)

Veil of enchantment

Reveals dreamlike October

Burnished by the sun

Let Go

Shaded Path (Photo credit: brightsea)

Sun streaming through slats

Trees still in summer quiet

Breathe, enjoy, let go.

6:30 a.m.

Dawn  (Photo credit: Sheba_Also)

Dawn. Sun bursts faintly ~

Builds to a bright crescendo

Lighting reality.

Picnic Time

Picnic (Photo credit: Carlos López Molina)

Summer breezes cool

The blazing sun’s white hot breath

Time for a picnic!

I love picnics and I love picnic food. I remember when my mom would pack for a picnic, she would fix fried chicken, potato salad, and coleslaw. I loved her fried chicken. She would boil the chicken first, then coat it with her magic coating of flour and spices and  fry it up to brown it.  She made the best fried chicken in the world.

(Watermelon) Citrullus lanatus (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Another picnic food I remember fondly is my Aunt Elma’s made from scratch macaroni and cheese she would bring to the church picnics. It was wonderful and I often wondered how the heck she kept it hot–but she did. It was the creamiest cheesiest mac and cheese–and all the more special because my mom did not make it–so it was a treat.

Favourite picnic desserts were cold watermelon and brownies. As a kid pies held no real delight for me, but as an adult, I appreciate them. My favourite is cherry but there are very few I would say no to.

What is your favourite picnic food?

Rain Day

Rain days (Photo credit: @Doug88888)

The sun does not peek

From behind angry grey skies

It is a rain day.

I secretly like rain days. I like the sound of the drops on my roof. I am not tempted to leave my work, but bend over it and diligently get it done. Then at the end of the day reward myself with the satisfaction I have a day well done under my belt.

Do you find bliss in rain days?

Worship

Inca Trail (Photo credit: Pedro Martino)

What is that

Sneaking in through the slats

Of the shutters on my dining room windows?

My cat found a place to sit in its slanted presence

In front of the open door~

I am feeling more cheery, zesty even

Could it be?

Tell me it is so—

Has the sun finally decided to show its shiny face?

I am almost afraid to utter its name

Afraid it will be scared away

To hide behind the clouds again

Sun (Photo credit: DBduo Photography)

Its rays lost in the mysterious ether.

I understand the Incas now.

Is the sun showing its face in your neck of the woods–sometimes bliss is just enjoying the sunshine.