mermaidcamp
Keeping current in wellness, in and out of the water
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Instant
April 8, 2016
— 1 Comment
blurry flowers
woman with vessel
Wake and take in the surroundings, sift them through a fine sieve
Look for the truth as it encompasses the conversation and the will
Harmony and dissonance find places in the choir, singing praise and doubt
Words without meaning come pouring out of mouths fed with rhetoric
No thinking behind the listless existence slumping along the time line
History will remember how complicated and yet how vapid we have been
Preening our personal images and treasuries for self sustenance
We fail to notice that everything is connected to everything, us included
Tragic environmental horrors are being concocted to torture the future
While we wait for somebody else to be present and stay present in this instant
NaPoWriMo2016
The poetry party is rolling across the internet in April. Join the fun by submitting a poem, attending a local event, or just reading something new. Find out how to participate at #NaPoWriMo. You may find out that you are a poet!!!
Ride the Poetry Train
April 6, 2016
— 5 Comments
poetry train
caboose
The journey on this train takes place in the dark, starlit cabins full of images
Rush through the night collecting emotions, memories, deeper instincts
Collecting these soul-shaper consciousness experiences into words takes place
In the dining car over tea and coffee in the morning, and in the lounge all day
Poets sit in silence to straighten out the prose that spills onto the pages
Comparison is healthy, normal, and confusing as each work grows into itself
The train is full of poets yet each one of us has a different destination and fate
In prompts, styles, discussions and reverie we join in a common mission
To bring forth the poetry that only we as poets can bring up from the mine
History holds poets and potters in high regard, finding all the meaning
Of civilization in broken ceramic chards and discarded recorded words
NaPoWriMo2016
The poetry train departed the station 1 April and will travel non stop until 1 May. Join the fun at #NaPoWriMo by submitting your own work or finding new poets to enjoy.
Influenced by Mummies
April 5, 2016
— 1 Comment
cactus blooming
cactus blooming
Falling skyward into dream state fairy tale diving deeply
Horror of afterlife/formerlife/continuum takes wings
Unfurling from a tightly fitting sarcophagus wrapped in grace
Signing in to the drifting tide of shifting sands and secrets
The scene is altered when the clouds obscure the day’s sunlight
Lifting shadow into the focus, draping foggy memory with darkness
Long forgotten history influences the way we see past as ladder to future
Much myth surrounds the way we imagine change without effort or will
Down to go up, a bouncing rebound, is the way to the center of things
Perpetual notions of shadow and light require motion as well as presence
What is the hieroglyph that will represent this present moment in time?
NaPoWriMo2016
Ride the poetry train this April at #NaPoWriMo. 30 poems in 30 days
Dust and Dusk
April 4, 2016
— 1 Comment
dusk
sunset
sunset
Withering on the vine the dusty fruit of the season lingers
Waiting to be picked by hungry fingers
Color brightens and signals
The end of the cycle
of life
Painting crimson orange pink blue velvet purple sky
Sunset melts the day, seals the night
Pastels over brilliant hues
Unique curtain closure
daily
NaPoWriMo2016
Please enjoy the writing of poets around the world this April at NaPoWriMo. Submit your own work or find new poetry you love to read.
Work Order, 2016
April 3, 2016
— 2 Comments
blooming
fruiting
Work is tangled between disordered sheets of paper covering a desk
Trapped in envelopes and receipts the drugery
Takes time to unravel, the benefits illusory
Piles of time seated in one place stuck firmly to slavery grotesque
Punching an invisible time clock, the hours drain slowly as we recheck
The mission we set out to accomplish which has dissolved into tomfoolery
Does each worker, in a separate way, discover workplace dysfunction peculiarly?
Our ancestors toiled in primitive times, without electicity, running water, or tech
What is the goal of work today as we compare it to history?
We live to work, not work to live, and thus rob ourselves of mystery
NaPoWriMo2016
Ride the poetry train all month in April to enjoy the work of poets everywhere. Find #NaPoWriMo participants here. I encourage you to find new work you like.
Taste Treasure
April 1, 2016
— 1 Comment
cauliflower
cheers
Flavor dizzy cells race together then spin apart in a slice of lively colored food
Gearing up for a tango with wine or beer or cocktail medley, served impecably
Sourcing the elements was a task for a magician of presentation so shrewd
The table sparkled with novel and exotic cuisine presented with style innately
Suitable for instagram, twitter and all, these pics will lift the mood
The main thing to capture is imagery, the way the meal is arranged ornately
If the taste lives up to your well focused lunch shots, then you win
Join the #NaPoWriMo poets all month in April to enjoy poetic words from around the world.
April is for Poets #NaPoWriMo
March 31, 2016
— 4 Comments
April in Tucson
During the month of April, starting with a bang on April Fool’s Day, I join fellow writers around the world writing poetry. The exercise of creating 30 poems in 30 days is inspirational, difficult, and self challenging. I think I would benefit greatly from writing a poem each day of the year, but I have at least made it my practice for April. Tomorrow I will begin, and true to form, I have nothing started.
On this, my third year as a participant submitting poems, I know I will meet new poets with styles and messages that call to me. The wide diversity is a big appeal, which has made me think about going farther afield with my subject matter than I have in the past. I have a desire to work up to writing an epic (story) about some figure in history. I like comedy in poetry, but have found it extremely hard to master. I read Dorothy Parker and Ogden Nash to keep my comedy poet muse fed. Dr Seuss shows us that simple words and concepts can go viral for all ages, forever:
I encourage all the gentle readers to throw your hat in the ring to create poetry this year for #NaPoWriMo. Reading and writing in this disciplined, yet mind expanding way, is an intellectual exercise to savor and share. Find the other poets boarding the train for the month long ride here. All aboard! It might be pretty corny on this train, but you can count on a really good time with words. All kinds are welcome.
Natural Grocers Grand Opening in Tucson
March 23, 2016
— 1 Comment
bulk grains
healthy desserts
specialty foods
wide variety of items
tasty probiotics
body care section
marketing and management
essential oils
ready to eat
organic produce
sauce of the gods
I arrived home after gym and shopping today and received a call from my favorite neighbor, Heidi. She advised me to check my mail for a coupon for a new store opening close to home. I was really not in need of groceries but she convinced me to visit the grand opening of Natural Grocers at Broadway and Country Club in Tucson. She was right that this is a very happy event to celebrate. This store is a treasure trove of shopping wonder for me. They carry all kinds of exotic and wonderful local health foods, very well priced. There are items available in bulk for those who can utilize a giant bag of oats or other grains. The produce is organic. The body care and vitamin section rivals Whole Foods for selection and beats them on price!!! We are so lucky to have this new asset in our ‘hood.
I cruised the store and tasted the various special offerings being sampled. I found many new products, of which I was unaware, now available right down the street. I am highly attached to grocery shopping at all price points and levels. I go grocery shopping when I travel just to have some fun and inform myself about the local market situation. It is how I bond with a community other than my own, through groceries. I am thrilled to see all the fun discount programs offered by Natural Grocers, as well as noting that the base pricing is very customer friendly. The staff was overcome with joy to receive the new shoppers. I have never been so well greeted and treated in a grocery store. Methinks they have training in the 5 and 10 rule….showing eye contact and acknowlegement to anyone within 10 feet, and speaking with uplifting gusto to any customer who is within 5 feet of the staff. They were giddy with welcome, happy greetings for me. What’s not to like? I will shop here for sure. Today I was crammed packed in my home fridge but found some great items to put in the pantry, very well priced. I am a huge fan already, and look forward to the fun events they have planned for education and enrichment.
#WorldPoetryDay and the Poet in You
March 21, 2016
— 1 Comment
Today is World Poetry Day, so twitter is all aflutter with haiku. UNESCO is running a thread for pros and amateurs to enter the fun using the hashtag #tweetku.
There are some funny and inspiring poems flying around, and we see coffee houses where they are accepting poems for payment today. This celebration has grown and become more popular since last year. I urge you to join the creative fun, even if you are not feeling very poetic at this moment. Read some of the other tweets for inspiration or just to tickle your funny bone. I know that we are all poets because I write a poem each day for poetry month in April for #NaPoWriMo. I have no particular talent or style, but after 30 days of poetry I feel very accomplished and more creative. I use original art or photography on my April poems to make them a little more interesting. The important part is the practice rather than the poems themselves. I am hoping to expand my subject matter again this year. My first year was way too drippy, all about spirit, dreams, and tinkle tinkle reality..pretty dull and one dimensional. Last year I did some new topics like my ancestor’s beheading at the Tower of London. The art and the poem were infantile, but I did give it a whirl. Practice does not really make perfect in my case, but it does make psychological inroads into my own thinking and ability to write. I am warming up for next month today:
Here is one I love, with a little pun:
https://twitter.com/BarvanderVossen/status/711979640378826753
Let the poet in you loose on the town today..or at least read some.
Big Skye Bakers Mesquite Pastry
March 15, 2016
— 2 Comments
In Tucson we have an abundance of mesquite trees. The beans, which are the fruit of the tree, develop at the end of summer. In many neighborhoods they fall all over the ground and go unused. In recent years the practice of milling the mesquite beans to make flour has become popular. The taste of baked goods and tortillas made with this flour is exquisite. I am a huge fan of the taste and texture. Although there are plenty of native beans here, some local companies still import mesquite flour from South America. I am not sure why this gets my goat, but the imported flour just bothers me. I have a tree in my front yard and some very large ones in my garden lot that I have not tried to harvest, but maybe this will be the year that I do it for the first time. I am inspired by the way these tasty treats are created from beans in walking distance from the bakery.
The pie I bought from Big Skye was amazing. The pecans are a perfect companion to the mesquite flour crust. I plan to try more varieties, but have been dreaming of the flavor of that pecan pie I purchased. This bakery is a super asset to the community. They sell on Sundays at the Rillito Farmers’ Market, where I will go to get more pie this week. My mouth is already watering at the idea of it.
Bodie of Big Skye
pies
cherry pie with mesquite crust
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