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 |   A terminal for all blogs coming in or going out. A view into my life. |
Started July 1st 2019 for contests, etc. as other blogs are filling up and have other purposes.  I'm starting a new blog because
I'll be linking to
I've started an appendix (I no longer have one personally) to keep track of my Space Cadet journals for Space Blog. It's a work constantly under construction. Mind the mess.
I needed to start a folder for contests as there are so many deadlines and details to remember.
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 Ridvan"Inhale the fragrances of the Ridvan from His roses and be not of those who are deprived. Appreciate the bounty of God upon you and be not veiled therefrom - and, verily, We have sent Him forth in the temple of man. Thus praise ye the Lord, the Originator of whatsoever He willeth through His wise and inviolable Command!" - Bahá'u'lláh, The Tablet of the Branch Coffee. Will make clam chowder and add pork today. They mix clams and pork in Alentejo, Portugal. I wish I were there. Lovely day in Évora today. Nice here as well. A photo I took of porco à alentejana 2017 in Évora.  My flash fiction from yesterday was found acceptable:
Looking forward to writing my poem-a-day for Katya. She wields a wicked whip. I'll probably skip the Daily Flash Fiction prompt because it doesn't inspire me. One image from the windows facing the river: black-clad kayakers in rainbow colored kayaks. I can use that for my poem! Prompt is "a body of water". I immediately think of puddles, ditches and lakes because of where I grew up but I have a river outside to gaze at. Flowing water will have to do for now. 30DBC: sounds ... "I live alone in silence in a quiet building in the center of town. Mostly I just hear traffic. There is no birdsong and there is no wind today. Occasionally I hear Jacob stomping in the hallway. Earlier meals-on-wheels came to Billie Joe's door. They finished putting in a new floor in the shower, so I heard that as well. I'm half-deaf so I hear my own ears, my fingers typing, but the drip from the faucet? I know it's there but I can't hear it now. Sometimes it's loud. 5 minutes, 5 hours, 5 days or weeks. The sounds are a background I can nod at and ignore. Unless there's a soft knock at my door ... and then it's probably Lavinia. |
| My friend Nick visited today (Saturday the 18th). It was great to see him and have a chat. I asked for two hugs: for today and tomorrow. We'll see whether it's enough. It had been too long without touch. My energy's still low but I managed to write "April 18 poem--an article of clothing [40]"  and "Old Bob plants his garden [39] " .I have a sneeze ... Temp: 99.4. Every sniffle is suspect. I've been so careful. I have nothing good to say about the pandemic and this American insanity. Wish I were in Taiwan around sane friendly people. UPDATE: My aunt is okay. My sister called; my mother is still alive and kicking. I took a long walk and bought milk on the way back. |
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllspringlllllllllllllllll  lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll  lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll  lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll  llllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll  llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll ███████ PORTHOLE ███████ SPRING: 11 Jalal 177 (18 April 2020) O my Lord! Make Thy beauty to be my food, and Thy presence my drink, and Thy pleasure my hope, and praise of Thee my action... - Bahá’u’lláh  MY THOUGHTSI told Chewie Kittie  : I'm shutting down. My temp last night was less than 96°. Today, 99.5°. I took an aspirin. Now 98.8°. I have no interest, no energy. I just want to curl up and sleep. Wake me when this is over?  WEATHER (April 17)Sunny mild, have the windows open.  POULTRYToday's nightmare, an on-going one that's dissipating: "April 17 prompt: a poem based on a dream [38]"  READINGFinished In the meantime by Robin Lippincott. Local Visitations, Stephen Dunn, page 82.  MOVIETIMEStarted "Joy Luck Club" (USA 1993)  SENIOR CENTERSaid hello to Merry, Ben. Ham-and-cheese sandwiches.  BLOGVILLEI should be reading and commenting. Not up for it. |
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllspringlllllllllllllllll lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll ███████ PORTHOLE ███████ SPRING: 10 Jalal 177 (17 April 2020) O my Lord! Make Thy beauty to be my food, and Thy presence my drink, and Thy pleasure my hope, and praise of Thee my action... - Bahá’u’lláh  MY THOUGHTSDo I wish I were somewhere else? I'm 'safe' here ... as long as I'm careful using the toilet, don't shower and never get close to people. I should consider myself lucky. I've lived with people who would have never understood this concept of physical-distancing and when I was homeless we slept cheek-to-jowl. And my rent is paid and I have internet. I also have enough food. So I'm on hold ... like so many other times in my life. I'm not happy about that, just resigned. WEATHER (April 16) 3°. 11 a.m. in Missoula. Sun. Calm. Got up to at least 15° later. 5°. 11 a.m. in Minneapolis. Some sun.  22°. 6 p.m. in Santiago, Chile. Haze 20°. 7 p.m. Harare, Zimbawe. Some sun. Pleasant autumn weather this week.  IMAGESSunshine. Went for a walk. It was trying to be Spring out there today. Noticed the sun and blue skies, how everyone was avoiding me ... not saying hello, not even smiling. POULTRYToday's 'marauding emoticons' poem: "April 16 prompt: plane, train, or automobile" Yesterday's depressing offering: "April 15 poem--leave something unresolved in a poem"  PORK Yesterday's flash fiction.
READINGIn the meantime by Robin Lippincott, page 135 Local Visitations, Stephen Dunn, page 48.  QUOTE"...the kimono she was wearing at the time had been burned off by the blast...its pattern of flowers--pink peonies against a whit background...had been imprinted upon her body..." Lippincott, page 66. MOVIETIMEFinished "Beautiful Thing" (UK 1996) Started "Joy Luck Club" (USA 1993)  MY LIFEAs I recounted to Lorem Ipsum, Perhaps?  : I wasn't an athlete. I loved to have my hands in the dirt ... not oil though, never a mechanic. I was a gardener. There were two neighbors I specifically remember: Mrs. Blumen and irises (her name was Irene) and Mrs. Melrose of the dahlias. My grandparents were gardeners; my parents weren't. Funny how small kindnesses really matter and can be remembered for a lifetime. SENIOR CENTER and  COFFEEHOUSENot today! I have bologna and ground pork in the icebox. Why would I want a hot dog? O PINIONS!Maybe not voicing an opinion today is best.  TRAVELSlogging through my photos from Taiwan. Still hundreds to edit and post. I'm getting there ... just slowly. When I get through those I have former trips to attend to!  WATT'S GNUSIvanka Trump, Disregarding Federal Guidelines, Travels to N.J. for Passover New York Times, Annie Karni I do understand. I'd be tempted to do this too and I'm sure they are staying away from people; however, her family is high-profile and sets an example ... or not. Especially since they are supposed to be working on 're-opening' the country. It comes off as elitist and hypocritical ... even if it's not. 'It Conjures Up Every Racial Stereotype.' For Black Men, Homemade Masks May Be a Risk All Their Own Time Magazine, Alejandro de la Garza Which begs the question ... why aren't commercial-medical grade masks available? Why wasn't 3M or other mask-makers nationalized for this crisis (it's been done before). As for the stereotype? I keep forgetting that they are out there. This town is lily-white, but when I lived in an inner-city I could tell y'all stories and heard many. No, it's NOT safe to be a black man in America. BLOGVILLESometimes I should let things just slide by, but... 30DBC: Staying at Home: Love Me Tender. Share a tender moment you’ve had with a family member or friend during the lockdown time. A moment you’ll treasure when this is all over. My mother, who lives in NYS, broke her hip, went to the hospital, doctors decided not to operate. She was transferred to a nursing home where she'll die, possibly before her 98th birthday in May. My sister won't be allowed to be there. She'll get to die alone like so many others. I need to give this news to my aunt, age 92, who lives alone in North Carolina. I have no family that I know within 500 miles. Family seldom calls. Friends don't either. If it weren't for WDC and spacebook ... Most of my friends who I met when I moved here have moved away or moved on (young people do that) while my older friends have just upped and died. Most recently on March 21st but I'm sure there's more coming. A tender moment? A treasured moment? I realize that these prompts can't apply to everyone but reading about people's close family and the antics of their children or how, as a suburbanite, they all went in the SUV on a road trip looking for TP leaves me sad. I don't celebrate birthdays for that reason. Other people's happiness doesn't make me happy. It's not an infection. I do go to weddings but prefer funerals, at least the pain is over for the deceased. charitykountz is getting married this Sunday in the park. Send good-weather vibes her way. I told The_Cavity has wisdom teeth! : I collect mugs. I plant in used yogurt containers and then place them in mugs. Less mess. I used to give parties ... long time ago in a different place ... and I had mismatched mugs that people used for the evening. Bill always chose the purple heron mug while Christopher Robin (his given name) chose the rabbit. Old memories. |
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllspringlllllllllllllllll  lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll  lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll  lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll ███████ PORTHOLE ███████ SPRING: 9 Jalal 177 (16 April 2020) O my Lord! Make Thy beauty to be my food, and Thy presence my drink, and Thy pleasure my hope, and praise of Thee my action... - Bahá’u’lláh  MY THOUGHTSI always want to sleep.  WEATHER (April 15) 2°. 10 a.m. in Missoula. White, no color. 31°. 10 a.m. in Nicoya, Costa Rica. Buffalo. The rains mark the end of Dry Season (verano). 19°. 6 p.m. in Cape Town. I was there 5 years ago today. 12°. 1 a.m. in Tokyo. IMAGESIt rained over night with actual puddles! Then it turned to slush and heavy snow. Now the snow sifts lighter but it's white with clouds thin enough to make skies shine bright white. POULTRYToday's poem: "April 15 poem--leave something unresolved in a poem" Yesterday's poem: "April 14 poem--"break" a sonnet somehow" PORK Drawing on my roots:
READINGNovel: In the meantime by Robin Lippincott, page 42 Poetry: Local Visitations, Stephen Dunn, page 43. QUOTE"...patriotism, that friend of nationalism and distant neighbor of xenophobia, now -- because of the war -- was in full hue and cry." Lippincott, page 41. MOVIETIMEFinished Rumpole of the Bailey, volume 2. MY LIFEI SAW TOILET PAPER! But I didn't take my camera with me so I have no proof and I had no need of any either. I did manage to buy (cheap) bread and butter (on sale) though. SENIOR CENTER and COFFEEHOUSELasagna at the senior center today. I picked up two. Barely talked to anyone. Cold clammy weather. Pots of coffee at home.  O PINIONS!I'm not a true patriot: "a person who vigorously supports their country and is prepared to defend it against enemies or detractors." I am quite willing to point out flaws and don't think of people of other nations as enemies. I'm merely human on a small insignificant planet that happens to be the only one I know. I will defend it against those blind patriots who by word and action care little about its destruction. TRAVELPhotos of the airport in Singapore with a display of orchids makes me want to go there. Five years ago I was on my way from Melbourne to Cape Town. A brutally long flight I have no intention of doing again. WATT'S GNUSMissoula taking advantage of traffic lull for street work Missoulian, Kim Briggeman Well it does make sense. They say that potholes are less this year but paving when there's traffic is a yearly problem. May as well take advantage of the lull! Too bad they aren't working on the bridge ... that's another issue. Biden's Biden: How the former VP is approaching his running mate search NBC News, Mike Memoli and Marianna Sotomayor It does make sense to have someone you can work with who will tell you privately that you're full-of-s***. An approach I should have used with a former boss. But also, someone who can step in and do the job. BLOGVILLE30DBC: Staying at Home: Wall Talk I'll pass on this prompt. The walls gave up long ago trying to talk me into uncluttering. If I won't listen they won't talk. And I live a boring life when I'm home. I told intuey GoT Survivor!  : I'm thinking of moving but ... 11 years here and although I want a yard and a garden and an open landscape ... here I sit.I've had a big house. Smaller is better for me in some ways. I keep promising I'll get my writings together but I need emotional support and a plan. Not happening at the moment. Traveling is best done while you still can. I'm slowing down with age. In response to "Apr 11 '17 Action Adventure" I told bobturn:It has a rollicking rhythm that compels one to read to the end. Also interesting because masks do have a negative connotation in our culture. May be why people are reluctant to wear one now even when they should. |
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllspringlllllllllllllllll lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll ███████ PORTHOLE ███████ SPRING: 8 Jalal 177 (15 April 2020) O my Lord! Make Thy beauty to be my food, and Thy presence my drink, and Thy pleasure my hope, and praise of Thee my action... - Bahá’u’lláh MY THOUGHTSMeh. I keep thinking that I'm supposed to be doing something. Then I give up. Depression is settling in day by day. WEATHER (April 13) 3°. 10 a.m. in Missoula. Sun trying to break through. Very trying. 5°. noon in Buffalo. I grew up here. This is as good as it gets some days in April. 6°. 6 p.m. in Prishtina, Kosovo. Light rain or snow but better days ahead. 20°. 7 p.m. in Istanbul. Wonder whether the tulips are in bloom? IMAGESThe hills are slowly greening but the pines cast their pall high on the mountain slopes. In town the trees are budding but not quite yet. They will burst out this weekend after promised days of warmth and sun. POULTRYToday's poem: "April 14 poem--"break" a sonnet somehow" Yesterday's very silly poem: "April 13 prompt: pottery, crockery, ceramics" PORK Yesterday's flash fiction. No comments no reviews, no idea:
READINGStarted: In the meantime by Robin Lippincott, page 36 Poetry: Local Visitations, Stephen Dunn, page 43. QUOTE"God knows nothing we don't know. We gave him every word he ever said." "Konwledge" Dunn, page 32. MOVIETIMERumpole of the Bailey, volume 2. MY LIFETo Jyothi: When I was homeless we slept about 1 meter apart and shared everything. As much as I'm ready to climb these walls they are mine to climb through the end of May. My rent is paid. About moving ... I commented to Celia: We aren't a family of movers. I've been here 11 years now. My mother lived in the same apt. for 25 years until she fell. My sister still lives in the family home (1951); she's never lived anywhere else. SENIOR CENTER and COFFEEHOUSEPicked up chicken & vegetables at the Sr. Ctr. Looking forward to that split pea soup later. Said hello to Phil and Ben. Didn't hang around much.  O PINIONS!Still steamed about the lies and fake news perpetuated by social media. I told Caoimhe: "I have opinions but I'm not always right". But people do not fact check or think everything is a joke and then claim innocence. I claim criminal ignorance. And I'm not laughing. TRAVELTo Naomi: "One of the joys of staying in hostels has been getting to know the staff, the owners, their friends who hang out there. I love going back to my favorite places. In a very nice hostel, Anchi Guesthouse, in Dubrovnik the delightful owner is also the house-keeper; she hires a couple receptionists. Many small hotels/hostels have a personal touch but even at larger places it costs nothing to smile at the help." WATT'S GNUSSome Chick-fil-A stores are banning cash in favor of the company app after WHO says bills could further spread the coronavirus Business Insider, Shoshy Ciment The problem? Pay only with an app? Pay only with card? The last I checked ... "this note is legal tender for all debts, public and private" as printed on all $1, $5, and $20 bills. Someone somewhere is going to file a lawsuit. If I can't pay in cash and I don't want anyone to have my bank information where does that leave me? If I MUST have a credit card or app ... then cash is worthless. BLOGVILLE30DBC: Storytime: Which items in your home have a story of how they came to be there. I sleep on a queen size bed. Not exactly by choice. My neighbor down the hall moved to San Diego. The mattress was too large, too heavy or too whatever ... she took it down to the dumpster. I dragged it back up 2 flights of stairs. It takes up half of my one room. But no problem! I have a book case sitting on top of it with part of my VHS collection and a double-size futon sits on top of the rest and wedges the shelving against the wall. Of course, it blocks the closet and would be better moved to the other side; but, don't ask how much of a chore that would be! There is so little room in these two rooms. I'd rather have a single-bed bunk. I don't need anything wider, although a twin would be perfect. With bunkbeds I could hang dark drapes like a fourposter bed. It would be much better. But, one should not complain too much about free 'gifts'. |
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllspringlllllllllllllllll lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll ███████ PORTHOLE ███████ SPRING: 7 Jalal 177 (14 April 2020) O my Lord! Make Thy beauty to be my food, and Thy presence my drink, and Thy pleasure my hope, and praise of Thee my action... - Bahá’u’lláh MY THOUGHTSStewing over what I cannot control does not get this place clean. But then, neither does NOT stewing over things. WEATHER (April 13) 6°. 3 p.m. in Missoula. As warm as it's going to get. 6°. 5 p.m. in Buffalo 1°. 11 p.m. in Tromso, Norway. Lots of snow and expecting more.  1°. 11 p.m. in Oslo. Sunshine all this week!  IMAGESFrom yesterday. Repeat today: Snowclouds in the mountains north of here. Sunshine in the valley. Calm. Cold. My kolanchoe has begun to flower orange, the geraniums continue in pink and purple, the stick plant holds onto February with a few last yellow blooms. Add: flowering trees are beginning to bud and the kayakers have been annoying the river for quite some time now. The sunshine did not warm. POULTRYToday's poem: "April 13 prompt: pottery, crockery, ceramics" Yesterday's poem: "April 12 prompt: a poem with a door in it #30" PORK Another new flash fiction. I seem to be focused on death ... In this one "I'm" a ghost trying to help the living:
READINGStarted: In the meantime by Robin Lippincott Poetry: Local Visitations, Stephen Dunn QUOTE"He dared to raise his fist to the sky. Nothing, gloriously, happened. Then a different terror overtook him." "Sisyphus and the Sudden Lightness" Dunn, page 26. MOVIETIMEFinally finished "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" MY LIFEEating cranberry-cheese and pears. Finished off the chicken-pasta SENIOR CENTER and COFFEEHOUSEEverything is still closed here. Bernice's closed for walk-in. One must phone now for pick-up. Since I do not have a proper phone ... screw that. I didn't venture over to the Sr. Center earlier. It's just 'drive-through' pick up a meal. Not in the mood today. By Wednesday when I do my weekly shopping or maybe tomorrow if I run out of milk. O PINIONS!Re allegations about Biden: Part One: Jeremy, It is sad that you have designated yourself judge and jury. How omniscient art thou. Planning to run for God? Let me explain to you and everyone else who reads this: slander is slander; pointing your finger at someone and making accusations does not make them guilty. The rest of the rant (it gets worse) is found here: "While we whinge, the CMTA marches forward. " WATT'S GNUS"I'm a Domestic Worker Who Was Fired Because of the Coronavirus", Melissa L. St. Hilaire, NYTimes On the other hand, nurses can see my mother who at 97 is at the end of her life but my sister can't. That said, Ms. St. Hilaire makes great points about how some working people are falling though the cracks without a safety net in place. If I were her friend or a friend of the daughter I might suggest a live-in situation ... but I'm not ... and I'm as helpless and hopeless as they are. BLOGVILLE30DBC: Staying at Home: Enough already! Do you actually use all the rooms in your house all the time? A pertinent question growing up. We used the living room off and on. We used the attic for storage although I slept there when I moved back in. We were kitchen and porch people. The garage could've been redone as part gazebo ... but ... Later my sister raised the roof and added two bedrooms and a full bath. Lovely now. When I rented three places over 9 years I'm sure I didn't use every room. In one I preferred the dining room and living room. In the other I used the wains-coat dining room the most and neglected the kitchen. In my two houses it was the same. In one I tended not to use the dining room. One bedroom was my office. I lived in the garden. In the other my bedroom was either a small closet with a window under the tower or a small room off the rear entry. We did use the front porch, tower, bedrooms, kitchen, etc. but the dining room had a magnificent gardenia and not much else. The sun-room was nice with its wicker-ware. It was a grand house I avoid thinking about. Now I rent two rooms. Enough for me! I was using three fourths of it until recently. I rearranged one quadrant so I could watch movies in a high-backed chair. I need to unclutter another area so I can use a desk. I've 'consolidated' in the past but at this point stuff has got to go! |
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllspringlllllllllllllllll lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll ███████ PORTHOLE ███████ SPRING: 4 Jalal 177 (11 April 2020) O SON OF THE SUPREME! I have made death a messenger of joy to thee. Wherefore dost thou grieve? I made the light to shed on thee its splendor. Why dost thou veil thyself therefrom? - Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh A32 MY THOUGHTSI know I worry too much, but having a Plan B and knowing where the exit was became a pathway to survival. And although I may not always thrive, I have survived. WEATHER (April 12) 2°. 2 p.m. in Missoula 18°. 4 p.m. in Buffalo 23°. 4 p.m. Fayetteville, North Carolina 24°. 2 p.m. in Cartago, Costa Rica IMAGESSnowclouds in the mountains north of here. Sunshine in the valley. Calm. Cold. My kolanchoe has begun to flower orange, the geraniums continue in pink and purple, the stick plant holds onto February with a few last yellow blooms. White and yellow are the colors outside. The sun grows stronger and greets the daffodils in gold. The forsythia opens one bud to test the temp and I pinch a leaf of tarragon and taste it's mintiness. POULTRYToday's poem: "April 12 prompt: a poem with a door in it #30" Yesterday's poem: "April 11 poem--technology or artificial intelligence" PORK I wrote
a contest started in 2004 before I even joined WDC. I wasn't inspired by the prompt, but then my quote for the day became an opening idea and ... well ... it flowed from there. Started an hour before the deadline! Sometimes it just spills out of me ... like coffee. READINGFinished with "Guardian of the Veil" by Gregory Spencer. QUOTE"He felt more manly with this drink ... at least until he added cream and sugar." page 368 MOVIETIMEHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets MY LIFEDoes boiling potatoes count? How about getting up this morning. Coffee? I did finally boil some chicken, boiled farfalle in the chicken broth, added the potatoes and made a meal for two. I live alone. SENIOR CENTER and COFFEEHOUSESunday and it's a wee bit cold to go out but I did go around the block and ran into Nick, a fellow writer. He asked whether I was documenting this event. Of course I am! In my journal, this blog, in poetry and rants, on spacebook. As isolated as I feel, I am aware. O PINIONS! and WATT'S GNUSPlenty, but my mind is elsewhere today. BLOGVILLE30DBC: Sometimes the prompts do not speak to me or do not apply. A do-over for a room in my house? Which of my two rooms would I choose? I'd just as soon have someone come and help me unclutter and clean. I did comment to QPdoll  "... the home I grew up in was 960 sq ft with concrete walls! Knocking a wall out would've been major work and could've compromised the structural integrity. The kitchen was tiny and we tended to be kitchen people! The phone was there among other assorted things. Built/bought in 1951, my sister still lives there." |
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllspringlllllllllllllllll lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll  lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll ███████ PORTHOLE ███████ SPRING: 5 Jalal 177 (12 April 2020) O SON OF THE SUPREME! I have made death a messenger of joy to thee. Wherefore dost thou grieve? I made the light to shed on thee its splendor. Why dost thou veil thyself therefrom? - Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh A32  MY THOUGHTSWhitescape: the shrinking world fading to white. Today the wind and snow should blow through my brains and disperse the clouds of deception and doubt. Alack, not happening. WEATHER -1°. 10 p.m. in Missoula 3°. 12 a.m. in Buffalo 0°. 11 p.m. in Bismarck 16°. 10 p.m. in Denver; storm coming your way. IMAGESWhite. POULTRYToday's poetic offering, "AI AI AI": "April 11 poem--technology or artificial intelligence" Yesterday's poem, a villanelle: "April 10 prompt: an instance or pattern of repetition" "My Word" poem in free verse for this week: "You dreamed this path" PORK I write flash fiction for "Daily Flash Fiction Challenge" . Some days I'm inspired and can write something in less than 30 minutes. Other days? I prefer the prompts that are three words. I can weave words and images. But oddly, a line of dialog I find more restrictive. So none yet today. READING"Guardian of the Veil" by Gregory Spencer, page 272. QUOTE"Don't forget, Perce. You can't read everything you believe." page 219 MOVIETIMEHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets MY LIFE and SENIOR CENTER and COFFEEHOUSEStaying inside. Staying alive. Spoke to Lavinia and Adam in the hallway. The walls close in. But at least I have plenty of coffee. O PINIONS!Edited comment I made on spacebook: "No ... I don't think Biden is evil. I didn't think Hillary was either. All those white middle class folks need to think outside their tiny little boxes: it's not all about them. There are reasons why Biden in particular has support in the LGBTQ and African-American communities. Why poor immigrants will support him and yes, even women who care about who controls their womb. Is this just a pity party for perfectionist 'progressives' who aren't getting their way. For some of us, this is about our ability to live peacefully without fear for our lives." Added note: I refuse to identify with a partisan political party but I'm more a social-democrat in the Swedish sense so I prefer Sanders/Warren/Buttigieg, but I believe that "perfection can be the enemy of the good". If there were a progressive member of the GOP I'd gladly support them as well. WATT'S GNUSA plan to defeat coronavirus finally emerges, but it’s not from the White House WaPo The test, track, quarantine idea is why I felt safe in Taiwan. True, the USA isn't set up for that culturally or legally, but you can't have it both ways. Americans shouldn't bitch about not being able to see their dying loved ones or go to their funerals while they insist they have rights to congregate whenever and wherever they want under the guise of religion or 'this is essential'. Queen Elizabeth does it again: BLOGVILLEI told Jayne  that I don't post my picture on the internet but wish I could. Other than those frequent bad-hair days ... I just look like any other decrepit old man with a white beard (some have said ... a bit like Richard Dreyfuss). I seldom wear red for obvious reasons. To explain for those who don't already know: when I left and lost everything years ago I cut off my friends (oh ... I kept in touch [with some], but at a distance) because I was deeply hurt ... but also because I had a social-psychopath threatening me. I hope he thinks I'm dead. So ... no I don't post pictures of me at spacebook nor here. Sadly, after over 15 years I still don't feel safe. I told Katya the Poet  : I write ... because ... well not to mention any names ... but ... SOMEONE has a poetic prod and I must obey.To 💙 Carly  : "Ah ... yes, it's physical distancing [not social distancing]. I just wish we could've followed the East Asian model (masks, testing, tracing, quarantine and treating) rather than what we did. I live alone. My mother is in hospital; my sister can't go visit her; I wish I had a cat. Loneliness has a cure: a coffeehouse, a cup of coffee and a daily hug. A cat in my lap would be a bonus." One June day ... A photo sent to me by Sheila: |
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllspringlllllllllllllllll lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll lllllllllllllll lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll ███████ PORTHOLE ███████ SPRING: 4 Jalal 177 (11 April 2020) O SON OF THE SUPREME! I have made death a messenger of joy to thee. Wherefore dost thou grieve? I made the light to shed on thee its splendor. Why dost thou veil thyself therefrom? - Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh A32 MY THOUGHTSMy mother will die alone. I will die alone. I don't mind living alone ... it's less complicated, but right now I need a hug and there's no one here I feel close enough to ask. A small hug? No. I long hug, so I can cry if I need to. WEATHER 14°. 10 p.m. in Missoula 3°. 12 a.m. in Buffalo -2°. 6 a.m. Oslo 6°. 7 a.m.Midnight in Istanbul IMAGESCalm before the storm. Blowing snow in the forecast. Now warm, partially sunny. POULTRYToday's poem, a villanelle: "April 10 prompt: an instance or pattern of repetition" "My Word" poem in free verse: "You dreamed this path" Yesterday's poem: "April 9 prompt: suggest or evoke an interruption" PORK I write flash fiction for "Daily Flash Fiction Challenge" . Some days I'm inspired and can write something in less than 30 minutes. Other days? I prefer the prompts that are three words. I can weave words and images. But oddly, a line of dialog I find more restrictive. So none yet today. Maybe later? READING"Guardian of the Veil" by Gregory Spencer, page 186. QUOTEnone today MOVIETIMEHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets MY LIFEAnxiety is very high. Everything appears normal here in Missoula except for the Emptiness. My mother is in hospital, broke her hip. At age 97, she told my sister that she wants an operation because she can't be just lying around. I told my sister that I'll support her decision regardless. We'll know by Monday. SENIOR CENTER and COFFEEHOUSEFettuccine with fake-crab. Tasty. Saw Kathi, Elizabeth, Phil, Ben ... O PINIONS! and WATT'S GNUSWe can't shelter in place forever: How the coronavirus lockdown might end LA Times Yes, if we had followed what Taiwan did (it's mentioned in the article we may not have had to "shelter in place" at all. Testing, actively pursuing contacts, strict quarantine, universal health care for the sick, masks ... all of this would have helped. But I would tell the author of the article: But NO ... Americans cannot learn from others. Obama Warns Against Spread of Misinformation Amid Coronavirus Pandemic Newsweek Well ... duh! Obama said, "Speak the truth. Speak it clearly. Speak it with compassion. Speak it with empathy for what folks are going through." Again, duh ... be like the Queen of England! Anyone else missing Obama as much as I am? BLOGVILLE30DBC: How are you finding community in these locked-down days? Dismal. I'm not really finding community. I kinda sorta have a phone number (Skype) that no one has and no one calls me on. I am in touch on spacebook but find fighting fake news and hyperbole to be exhausting. I do use Messenger. The blogging community here ... isn't strong. I'm not doing enough commenting. I know I need to comment more. I really depend on face-to-face when I travel and at home I can always crawl out of my cave; I'm quite chatty when I leave it. I feel trapped. I don't have close friends in Missoula any more. They've died or moved away. I can make new ones but that demands face-to-face. There's little of that these days. To Chris Breva  : I saw a comment elsewhere about growing up on a farm. Her answer was very similar to yours. I grew up in a factory town, but at age 8 I wasn't allowed to go anywhere.I like the fish story,  I've been here 11 years ... a lifetime ... moving has crossed my mind ... like a shadow in a horror story. |
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