Monthly Archives: December 2020

6 A.M., Dec. 24, 2020

6 Replies


6 A.M., December 24, 2020

All around my room and all around the house,
everything is still and quiet as a mouse.
All the sounds of living are muffled by the night,
as if a large hand censors both my hearing and my sight.

Then the greater world is thrust into my ear—
a single church bell tolling is all that I can hear
signaling the hour—6 A.M. again—
a barrage of fireworks setting up its din

to welcome us to Christmas Eve though it is merely morn.
It is our second  notice that a child will be born.
First the star low in the west—a bauble in the sky
tells the whole world of the day that is coming nigh.

Odors of the pine tree, presentiment of myrrh,
the stirring of the dogs, the cat’s insistent purr,
the roasting of the turkey—the onions in the dressing
bring another sense to transmit the Christmas blessing.

A touch of lips ‘neath mistletoe can’t be far away,
bringing that last sense of touch to calm the worldly fray.
May all the troubles of the world thereby find surcease
and for this brief holiday, may all the world find peace.

Prompt words today are mouse, great, bauble and living. Image by Peter Bucks on Unsplash, used with permission.

Hibiscus: FOTD Dec 24, 2020

8 Replies

I stopped the car, parked and got out to take this photo of a stunning hibiscus.  Five minutes later, I was stopped at a stop light and a motorcycle ran into the back of my car!  I saw that he was trying to get his bike up and get on it, so I pulled over to the side of the road and got out to see the damage to my car. When I turned to see how the motorcyclist was doing, there were people from other cars grouped around him but he had turned his bike around and was getting ready to take off in the direction he’d come from–and away from me! I guess he was afraid he’d have to pay for repairs to my car. As it was, I just got in my car and drove away in the opposite direction–the direction I was going in the first place. Every little mark makes it easier to identify the back of my car in a parking lot!

For Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge.

Dear Santa

16 Replies

Dear Santa

Make the sleigh bells jingle, put leather to the back
of every lazy reindeer. You’ve an extra-heavy pack
to deliver in this year when folks can’t get out shopping
so there’ll be way more presents that you’ll need to be dropping. 

You’ve always been a busy guy every Christmas Eve,
but this year with the extra presents that you’ll have to leave,
you’ll need some extra energy and upon great reflection,
we’ve come up with some special means to show our great affection.

Milk and cookies will not be enough for you this year,
so we’ll leave you a Wassail cup, a porter or a beer
along with a sub sandwich, some cookies and some chips
and some vaseline with glitter to protect your chilblained lips.

May you have sufficient energy. May reindeer find a way
to keep up with the pressure of this extra special day.
And may you be assured while you’re delivering your plenty
that no year in the future will rival 2020!!!

 

 

Prompt words today are glitter, leather, wassail and jingle.

 

Flower of the Day, Dec 23, 2020

8 Replies

 

Sorry, I’m unsure what this flower is.

 

For Cee’s FOTD

SANTA CLAUS AIN’T COMING TO TOWN – A SONG BY RICH PASCHALL

4 Replies

I love these reworked 2020 song lyrics by Rich Paschall

Rich Paschall's avatarSerendipity - Seeking Intelligent Life on Earth

You should not go out
You should not come by
This year’s a washout
I’m telling you why
Santa Claus ain’t coming to town.

He’s making a list,
He’s crossing you off,
He’s heard that you sneeze and heard that you cough
Santa Claus ain’t coming to town.

He sees you when you vomit
And he knows when you’re confused
He knows that you’ve been bad, not good
Cuz your mask has gone unused.

You should have stayed home
Or worn a mask.
No presents for you, so don’t even ask
Santa Claus ain’t coming to town.

No little tin horns, little toy box
No bright colored ties and orange-colored socks
Santa Claus ain’t coming to town
No cheap plastic dolls that tinkle and poo
No baseballs or bats or basketballs too
Santa Claus ain’t comin’ to town.

The kids and sickly parents won’t have a jubilee
They won’t be…

View original post 56 more words

I Won!!!!!

14 Replies

When I turned down the offer for a partial refund for the huge bait and switch purchase I made from an outfit in China, I thought they’d probably not make a counter-offer, but just on principle I wasn’t going to let them get away with making me pay shipping for an obvious bait and switch shyster deal, but today I received this notice in my email:

So, I won one!!!!!! If you didn’t read my earlier post detailing the gross difference between what I ordered and what i received, see the photos HERE.

I have been feeling depressed all day. (Uncharacteristic for me.) But, this certainly made my day!!!!

Flower of the Day, Dec 22, 2020

2 Replies

I love how the flowers in this arbor perfectly match the color of my friend Blue’s dress. I found this photo from a number of years ago on the old computer disc I’ve drawn some other photos from lately. No, that isn’t a mistake. I did not mean to say my friends’s blue dress. Her name actually is “Blue,” and her dress isn’t! ;o)

For Cee’s FOTD

Hopeful Holidays

12 Replies

Hopeful Holidays

In almost every culture, at least once every year,
there is some celebration that brings on belly-cheer.
So bring out the turkey, the cranberries and beer.
Commence that over-eating that we all hold dear.

Over-feeding is a statement, a type of family caring,
as are the ugly Christmas sweaters you seem to be wearing.
After all the wrapping up comes all the paper tearing,
all the boxes opening and all the surprise-baring.
Then we dedicate ourselves to other acts of daring,
be it ham or goose or turkey, lutefisk or herring.
Lucky, lucky people to have family for bearing:
Aunt Stella’s time-worn stories and Uncle Herman’s swearing.
Each of us just wondering how far-flung friends are faring.
Here’s hoping you have friends and family with whom you are sharing.

Even though we may have  masks spread out from ear-to-ear,
let’s end the year departing from these months of constant fear
to shift our expectations into a higher gear,
hoping 2021 turns out to be less queer!!!

 

Prompt words today were caring, lucky, dedicated and belly-cheer.

Merry Christmas everyone. Treasure your families, even in their absence.
This, too, shall pass.  xooxox

For Jay, April 23, 1947––December 14, 2020

40 Replies

For Jay, April 23, 1947—December 14, 2020

The billow of the curtains, the deep tolling of a bell
below me in the village, what stories they might tell
if I only knew their language. The voice of bronze and wind
may just be a passing zephyr, or the tale told of a friend
seven days departed, now reduced to ash and bone.
Words scattered by a priest, to bless and to atone
for some small ineptitudes, hardly sin at all,
now he sits upon a shelf in my entrance hall.
Does he sense our daily passing? Does he know we know his worth?
Does he long for his reunion with water and with earth?
Soon, my friend, you’ll be released for a final time—
freed from the ineptitude of flames and bells and rhyme
to record your passing in sermon or in verse
as you rise again once more to join the universe.

R.I.P. Jay—friend, father, brother, lover. Fellow expat, now a citizen of the Universe.

We spread Jay’s ashes in Lake Chapala on December 29, 2020. If you’d like to read about the ceremony and see photos, go HERE.

Prompt words today are billow, inept, admire and bells.

Hibiscus: FOTD, Dec 21, 2020

4 Replies

 

 

For Cee’s FOTD