Me:

I'll be okay. Got stuff to read and plenty to do. Like continue to wash, clean and un-clutter! Have a friend who may stay in my place for 3 months. Need to discuss the details. Another friend took 3 plants to his place yesterday, so that helps.

I just want to avoid the whole thing by reading Jo Nesbø's book Leopard.

And I just might. In the end, what is left to do won't matter much. Although, I must decide on luggage: one or two.

May have a ride to the airport early Monday.

See? Things are coming along...

This is just the Pre-Panic Party. The real panic hits this weekend.

Yep. That was Thanksgiving dinner.

ME:

Travis decided to come later. So, by 4 pm I was as ready as I was going to be. Also made an interesting salad. The hit of the evening was the rolls made from kinnikinnick. Travis can't have wheat, so he was thrilled. Sent him home with the flour as I'll be gone three months. Then Kathlene stopped by. Turns out she needs a place as of December 2nd. I'm gone December 5th... We may work something out where she can sub-lease for 3 months I'm gone.

That would save me money. Plus the place would be looked after. Plus a friend would have a breather as she looks for her own place.

In other snews: 39 letter-prose-poem-thingys written. I seem to focus on people I know now or knew in my youth. The 80s, 90s and 00s seem to be mostly missing. The 00s I understand. Written a lot about that. But the 80s and 90s? Is my memory really that bad? Could be. Major head injuries in '86 and '88 didn't help.

Not feeling too overwhelmed after a very quiet weekend. This coming week may not be so quiet. I have to shop for my trip. I may have two poetry group meetings as well as the Spanish group. The football game is Saturday (Central Arkansas Bears come to Montana).

I've had my list for ages. Need to call Continental about luggage... One suitcase or two (a carry-on) makes a huge difference in how much one can pack.

Other things should get done too, but in the end...

Will it matter?

Anyhoo. Three months! It seems like such a long time. Then there is May... Iceland Air round trip Seattle to Bergen is $900. or ~$1129 Missoula to Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo more to Bergen on other airlines (checked at Orbitz).

Greyhound bus to Seattle with 21 day advanced purchase is $73... ack. MSP is $129. ...double-ack. Discovery 60 day pass is $556. If I wanted to travel the USA in the Spring...

Regardless, I've wanted to go to Norway since I was 12. It's about time.

And Sweden is close ...and tempting...

me:

Packets of poems: up to 2 rejections out of 3. Need to submit more so I can get 100 rejections. I really think Katya is right.

Today? Today I clean. Don't want to. Must. Travis is coming over tomorrow and it mustn't look like a disaster. It won't be squeaky clean regardless. But less cluttered is necessary.

I keep dishes clean and garbage taken out, so that's never a problem. But papers and dust...

Anyhoo, did two washloads yestereve. Have very little left that needs washing. Can probably wash what's left out by hand and be done with it. Much better to have everything properly hung or folded away when I leave. This last wash was more than just shirts.

Want to take a nap. Not good. Got up after 11. Turkey dinner may have been too much for "breakfast". At least, no turkey tomorrow!

Alas, with this unexpected mild weather Turkeyday may just be dreary instead of white.

Keep It Simple, S*****

Open Salon... Writer's Digest... so many places to put stuff. I stick with WDC because it gives me plenty of storage... and it's stable.

I stick with facebook because I need to keep my on-line social interaction fairly simple.

One storage place, one social place... wish I could do more. But, if I get overwhelmed I'll be doing nothing.

ME:

I've caught up with my annual writing goals. My goal of 60 prose-poem letters (whatever) for the month of November is at 30, so that goal will not be achieved. But... it's been worth the effort.

Been reading CC Alick's "Dancing with the Yumawalli" Claude is a local writer originally from Grenada. I'm enjoying the writing because it takes me places I'd never go: leprosy, Amazonian tribal beliefs, Caribbean beliefs, thalidomide...

As for my health:

Turkey dinner yesterday. Today cod in orange. Blood pressure was up: 152/84. Life goes on. Thanksgiving will be with Travis who is wheat-intolerant. This shall be interesting. I have some kinnikinnick flour which is non-wheat so maybe we'll try to bake with that. Potatoes, chicken breasts? Parsnips???

There's really nothing to report. Life is in a doldrum. I can put off shopping till next week if I want to or have to. Over ten days left before I leave. But, plenty to do. Like cleaning. Since Travis is coming over, that may be a good place to start!

Hope your life is more exciting.

In other news

Go read: "100 Rejections"  by Katya the Poet . This was my response:

Need to do what I said I would... submit!

Since October: 3 packets, 1 rejection, 2 pending.

Since I already bundled three poems in that rejection, it would probably be easiest to just resubmit them together... hmm.

I have one place asking for poems, but what I have isn't quite ready yet. They're on-line, do Spanish and English and photography. I have a couple companion poems (one in each language) and a photo that fits. Need to get with this!

The reading magazines is a real issue for me. 100 magazines = $500+ and I can afford that. Unfortunately, I'd have to wait till March when I come back from Costa Rica. I read every journal I can get my paws on.

But on-line... that I could do. There are about 1,500 journals out there; most have web-sites. Many accept on-line submissions. So... what's keeping me? Energy? Excuses? Yeah... excuses.
 

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ME:

Montana won over Montana State 36-10. I didn't go with my friend on a roadtrip (he had a $100 ticket) as the weather was frightful. Got better by game time. 10 degrees F and sunny. It was the 111th Battle of the Wild.

So now there's a playoff game on the 3rd of December against a team from Arkansas or Tennessee. They should expect a frigid welcome. I'm hoping to be there along with over 20,000 fans wearing maroon.

And the chance of snow?

If the stars align right MSU will visit UM on the 17th for a rematch. Me? I'll be in Costa Rica.

In other news: only snooze, no news. Met with other poets on Thursday. Zach and Tiara were visiting from Chico, California. I'm hoping to see the other usual suspects once more before I leave. From here on in, I may be saying goodbyes. Three month's a long time.

Should be a quiet week. I need to shop Tuesday or Wednesday. No way I want to be any where near a store on Friday. Need to recheck my list and be ready to roll. Monday is turkey-day at the Senior Center, so we'll see. Thursday? Probably spend it with Travis (he can't eat wheat which makes eating out problematic). Which means, I need to clean my rooms. Which means I need to find the psychological and physical energy.

Packing... At least I washed 28 shirts this past week. Need to do another wash and just before I leave a maroon wash. I'm only wearing maroon or black before I leave. Need to pack. And everything else will be hung clean ready for my return in March. (It's a plan... a concept...)

I know I can't plan everything and mostly... it doesn't matter... n'importe pas.

I've been in touch with Johnny in Costa Rica. Same place, same number as before his trip to Germany. May go to Perez Zeledon directly on the 6th. Try to get settled in. If I have an extra room/bed/couch I'll be inviting folks down. I hope to be able to offer my place to couch-surfers as well. If I don't? Well... I'll still be begging folks to visit! At worse I know a decent hotel that costs $14/night.

I'll be posting blogs and facebook of course. But... expect more of my stuff to be in Spanish. I need to get headphones and use my Skype before I leave as that will be my main international phone connection. I'm hoping to have a cellphone number there. So much to arrange in this internet age!

In olden days one just traveled, sent a postcard, showed everyone a few photos or just told stories of all the adventures when one got back.

Ah... the olden days... nah.

ME:

Been very cold and Saturday may or may not hit 20ºF.

My writing is doing fine; but, today I didn't want to leave my room. Just don't feel like doing nuthin.

Washed 24 shirts at the laundromat yestereve. I will have a closet of clean shirts when I leave. Yes, I will! For the next two weeks I'll just wear Montana maroon.

I wash those separate!

Travis thinks we should do Thanksgiving dinner together... a very nice thought and unexpected. I used to love Thanksgiving, but without family around it's not the same.

Might go to the GAME in Bozeman on Saturday. Need to call Nick. Should call Teresa to see if she'll be in town... Roadtrip?

Salmon loaf at the Senior Center so I'm keeping my self well-fed. At home it's been mac&tuna or rice&beans. Have successfully cut back on beef/pork/chicken ...for now.

It'll be interesting once I'm in Costa Rica if I can find and try new fruits. San Isidro de Pérez Zeledón is a market town. Farmer's Market is all day Thursday and Friday mornings. I plan to get there as much as I can. The regular market is open 6 days/week, so I'll always be able to get stuff. There are super-mercados as well.

I should be eating more at "home" and if these 3 months prove to be more relaxing than the previous trips I'll be able to focus more on observing and trying out new things. Traveling day-to-day is exhausting.

Even with taking pictures... I won't feel as obsessed. The down side of my visit to England was that I lived it behind a camera. (And a few of those photos still remain to be posted!)

I envision myself sitting on a balcony, overlooking the city-lights, inhaling the fragrance of the tropical night. We'll see...

ME!!!!!!!!!

Okay... time to get over me, myself and I.

A bit depressed or calm? What's the difference? I am writing. I am getting out. I'm ignoring the pile of dirty shirts. I promise I'll take them to the laundromat. I promise I'll lose 30 pounds (2 stone). I eat parsnips and gallo pinto. I drink too much coffee.

It is snowing out.

What I wrote (edited) in my Journal to Gary (page 2855):

25k... made it...

me:

This blog finally hit 25 thousand views. One milestone down...

About last blog... if you haven't read it, please do. When I put it on my wall at facebook, the link works correctly ... but I tried "sharing" it at facebook and it didn't work... I'll have to figure out another way to share my blog. I will!

I want to tweak it into a piece for ten-year-olds, especially boys, as a friend's son is now 9.

So few comments...



Yep. Sunny yesterday and today. That is forecast to end by tomorrow. Flakes are in the forecast for the next 9 days. Temps around or below freezing.

And I must wait till the 5th to get out of here? Fortunately, I do love .

Oh... 4 pm isn't far off! Meeting a friend. Once, a long time ago, my friends would call and we'd go out or visit each other at our homes. I think that was the 1980s... a century ago. Nowadays, I'm lucky if anyone calls, ever.

In other news: wonder who felt the earthquake here at 10:52? My neighbor did. (I wondered whether our portly janitor had fallen...) Anyhoo... 4.2 about 20 miles southeast of here.

The folks at the Senior Center didn't feel a thing; but I live on the third floor next to the river (different soil substrate?). In any case, it wasn't me and I'm not going totally crazy.

Although, I aM NutS.

Taking a bath once a year is a luxury for some. I hadn't taken a good soak in two months since I'd come back from England. I bathed there every time I could.

Here, the bathtub is out the door, turn right, turn left and go down 17 steps. It's a trudge with towel, soap and bubblebath. I prefer patchouli in winter, but hadn't taken a bath at home since Spring; I carried the essence of lilacs in a bottle.

The week had been cold, snow in the air, so I reveled in the moisture and warmth that flowed from the spigot into the tub. A squirt from the bottle and Spring filled the air! Then off with the clothes.

Once, who knows when, I took a bath fully clothed. Just because I could. But I agree, naked is best. I'll spare you the details. The sag of age has given me a tire round the middle. My life-saver or taker. I'm not sure which.

At least I still fit in a tub, an old fashioned one, a deep gravy-boat with claws. Me the lumps floating. I leaned against its smooth porcelain slopes, slid into the warmth and grabbed soap. Ah, Coast. And more memories unlocked.

It's a lonely place this, this bathing alone in a room with a tub. A rack loomed overhead sat my feet, a wired place to hang ...something. A basket for soap and the bottle of suds. A mirror I avoid. Hooks for the towel and my clothes.

No place for a book. So I'd brought a chair so I could read "Nemesis", a detective novel about murder, that Jo Nesbø the Norwegian wrote. A tome to gnaw on while I soaked.

There were voices outside in the hall, the slam of a door, muffled quiet fading into silence. I rake the back of my hand over the wainscot, reassuring myself with the clack-clack-clack of my nails. The water is rising, turning pink by the inch, smelling of lilacs as each bubble bursts. Then pinker. I'm not fond of pink. I'd rather bleed red.

The pinkness surrounds me, enshrouds me as toe-nails sing hallelujahs. Skin sloughs off my ankles in a dirge, and the toe nails join in. My neck loves the warmth, dirt coming off under my nails. Is it dirt that keeps us from falling apart? I scrub behind ears, hear water churn red.

I relax, let the water take me to Norway. Harry Hole has just witnessed a bank heist, the gunshot, the hole spurting red. He doesn't know how it will turn out and neither do I. The water is cooling. I turn on the handle that pour hot on ankles with my toes.

The bubbles are gone now. The lilac is fading. I feel like a lobster being served up for dinner. I don't want to turn pink. I already am.

Then it's over. All over. The water swirls down the drain taking its redness elsewhere.

My toes feel thankful, my ankles well scrubbed and even my ears fell the lightness of being. I dry off, put on clothes, grab the chair, the soap, the book and the bottle of suds, my towel over my arm. Trudge up 17 steps, turn to the right, then the left. Set everything on the chair while I let myself in.

Then the duty of drying all that's still red. 7 hangers next to the stove, 7 maroon shirts, at least one running red. I've never quite figured out which. Does it matter? They'll dry by tomorrow. They are cleaner with a slight hint of Coast, a fragrance of lilac still clinging to threads.

ME:

I'm better now. All scrubbed and dried off. I have more piles of shirts. It's the maroon ones I wash separate, that tint everything a pale shade of red.

me...

Oh, I thought I'd just vary things a bit.

I'm baaaack after a wonderful weekend of writing in Dillon (about 2-3 hours south-east of Missoula on the way to Idaho). Roger Dunsmore is a retired prof who still teaches at age 73 ...48 years in the field. Cedar, Leah and I went to visit him, his wife Jenni and friend Ann. The six of us wrote...

...and wrote some more. We were joined by the two cats, Zuli and Dave and the dog.

I finally wrote an Adolf-Hitler-at-age-4 poem that may be a keeper. Two poems start with a jackrabbit. About 6 or 7 in total.

Slept well; although, one night I was freezing and the next too hot. Since the basement was the same temp both nights it had to be me.

Ate well. Squash soup = yum. Morning Happy Juice = oranges, carrots, beets... and more oranges.

Got some lovely pictures of the snow. 2 inches fell over Friday night and greeted us Saturday morning and stuck as it was c.o.l.d.

I would go again. A very profitable weekend with fellow poets! (And not at great cost!)