mermaidcamp
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If we were having coffee this weekend I know you will want your beverage on ice because we have hit triple digit heat. I don’t really mind it too much, but it is too much for most people. I am drinking a lovely white pear iced tea with a hint of fruity aftertaste that cools the tastebuds if not the entire body. If we were drinking tea this weekend I would tell you I did manage to write my first tea review, and found it to be easier than I thought it might be.
If you want to know the most interesting part of my week I have to tell you about my friend Gita. I was invited to a pot luck dinner party in honor of an old friend who now lives outside Guadalajara, but lived in Tucson for years, and visits here frequently. She was my mother’s lawyer, and a brilliant one. She had been a fancy tax attorney in Chicago when she decided to become a yoga teacher. She studied at Kripalu and later moved to Tucson where she developed a large following of devoted yoga students. She practiced law on the side, and was doing very well in life when she learned she has Parkinson’s Disease. She lost much of her physical strength and abilities, but still she persisted.
She became a teacher of laughter yoga, and developed a following in that innovative for of yoga, calling on her vast experience in al forms of yoga. I admired her greatly for shifting to accommodate anything that came her way. Since she moved to Mexico I had not seen her, and I assumed her Parkinson’s would be much more difficult to handle with time. I did not make the dinner party, but scheduled a private visit to catch up with her. She fit me into her busy social schedule for a visit before her donkey photo shoot.
Much to my great surprise I found my friend healthy happy, and showing no symptoms of her disease. She now spends her time studying and dancing the tango. I was shocked to see how great her recovery has been. She found a Mexican doctor who put her on the right drug, and then performed brain surgery. After ten years of pain and downhill slide, she got her life back. She drives, lives on her own, and will join a group of tango aficionados on a trip to Buenos Aires in the fall. I asked her if she felt bitter after 10 years of failure with the medical pharmaceutical industry. Her response has blown my mind and made me think about what it really means to be a yogini. She said she had been bitter during the 10 years, but then medicine gave her back her life. Parkinson’s taught her patience and gratitude. Once she got her strength and ability back she knew he just wanted to dance for the rest of her life. Gita is by far the greatest yogini I have ever met ( and I have known many great ones). Yoga is not flexibility of the body..it is strength of mind and character.
Her custom now is to meet a donkey in each city she visits and have a photo shoot. I had not planned to go along for the donkey photo shoot, but it turned out to be the icing on the cake. Here is a woman with a donkey, but not just any woman. This picture captures an ascended master with a donkey, enjoying the great cosmic joke. Dance on, Gita. Your insight and sense of humor are precious. You embody the meaning of yoga.
Let me pour you another glass of iced tea while you tell me about your week and your writing projects. I enjoy keeping up at these digital beverage parties. Read or contribute to the party at Nerd in the Brain’s party link. This movable feast takes place every weekend, rain or shine. Join us.
If we were having coffee this weekend I would offer you your beverage on ice. The weather is warming up quickly, and the wind is blowing outside. The jasmine in the front yard is in full bloom so the breeze is heavily scented as it wafts in through the screen door. It is pleasant this morning, but later you will need your parasol and sunscreen. Relax for a while and tell me how your week has been.
We enjoyed our time away last weekend at the Deep Dirt Farm sleeping in a tiny adobe house. It was the perfect celebration of Earth Day for us. The town of Patagonia, AZ is darling. The humming bird center was very cool, but not so populated with hummers. There are more in my yard in Tucson at this point. There are many birds down there we do not have. Our encounter with nature and farming could not have been better. We plan to return in the future. It is an ideal retreat for us.
We picked vegetables from the farm’s greenhouse to bring home then ate a wonderful breakfast in town before leaving. The drive is beautiful because the elevation changes, and the vegetation along with it. The desert plant ocotillo is in bloom now, painting the landscape with brilliant red flowers on tall sticks. I wanted to stop to take a look at them, but there are few opportunities to turn out on the road. We stopped at a winery to take in the view. I tasted the wine, which was pretty good, and we noticed how strong the wind was. Then we looked across the valley to see the Sawmill Fire, just as it began. The dry grass is kindling for the wildfire, which has spread all across the area rapidly. I tried to find news on twitter, but it had not yet become news. We saw the smoke growing as we finished the drive home. It was a spooky and terrifying reminder of Mother Earth and her freaky powers. We had seen burned scorched land from a previous wildfire along the road and I had just remarked that a fire now would be fed loads of dry grass and be hard to contain…and that is exactly what happened. The cause seems to be target shooting by an off duty Border Patrol officer. He caused it and reported it right away, but the fire still raged out of control. It is early in the year for fires in Arizona. This does not bode well for the summer.
If we were having iced tea to take our minds of the fire, I would tell you that I am almost finished with #NaPoWriMo this year. I always say each year that I will continue to do a poem each day on my tumblr, but it hasn’t happened yet. I still need to crank out two more for this month, then we shall see where the poetic muse will reside in the month of May. No predictions. I plan to review teas, and may do it on Tuesdays on Tumblr. That could be poetic perhaps.
If you want to catch up with other digital beverage drinkers please visit Nerd in the Brain, where the party continues each weekend. Read, comment, or submit your own coffee share post.
If we were having coffee this morning I would invite you to sit in the antique glider that sits next to my desk (since last week when we spotted it at a yard sale), and chat with me while I take care of all my office and internet chores. We are taking off later this morning for a night in a tiny house on a farm in Patagonia, Arizona. Nothing could be earthier. There is no internet, which is fine since it is only an overnight trip. I am not constantly connected anyhow, but this will be a tiny earth house kind of disconnect. I am excited because it is a big time for the humming-bird migration, and Patagonia is right on the flight pattern. It will be a lovely place to take some photos. I will fill you in next weekend over coffee.
If you were in my office you would see that since taxes have been filed my excuses for the big pile of paper on the desk have vanished. The desk is clearing up, and I am tossing out old stray junk from the office closet as well. I am rounding up some books to take to the used book store while examining my own need to surround myself with cookbooks. I love to read them, but seldom actually follow any recipe. Ditto with all the yoga books in my library. I feel secure somehow owning them but never pull them off the shelf. I had the occasion to want a yoga book recently and it took me a while to locate it. That is just silly. If I trim down the total number of books and make sure they all give me great joy, as the Japanese tidy lady advises, I believe my whole life will improve. That is my next great task. I do own her detailed tidy book on kindle, but I am not following her recipe. I am starting with books and office clutter. I may discover my need to own all these rules and directions I do not obey. There must be some crazy thing going on there. I had some issues about buying the very chair in which you are gliding, but decided it was an asset and it does bring me joy. I hope it is bringing you some to sit in it while I type.
I am not in danger of becoming a minimalist any time soon. I think that is what Earth Day really should be, a celebration of using and owning less. I will consume a bunch of gasoline to go assume my minimalist tiny house on a farm lifestyle for a night. Then I will drive back to Tucson on Sunday where it will be time to start air conditioning the condo. It will be hot today while we are down south at a higher elevation chilling. I will check in at the library in Patagonia to use the internet and post my daily poem for #NaPoWriMo this afternoon. All this is making me realize how very high maintenance I still am.
I want to know how your life and writing projects are going this week. Fill your cup and then fill my ear with your stories. I look forward to hearing the news from this talented and diverse group of writers. Nerd in the Brain hosts this lavish party each weekend. This is where you go to submit your own coffee share post, or keep up with the news of others in this lively group. Thanks for visiting today, and happy Earth Day to you all.
If we were having coffee today I would serve you some iced tea because most of you would find the weather hot here. I love this time of year. The pink jasmine has subsided but the major waves of jasmine are just now starting to bloom. The star and the Asian bloom one right after the other, and are much bigger than the pink one. I am about to be lifted to heaven on a cloud of jasmine scent each time I walk out my front door, or open it. You might catch a whiff this weekend, but by next week it will stun you. Sit back and relax while I pour your tea. I am enjoying a refreshing glass of passion fruit black tea.
Today we are also featuring tomato specialties at the tea party. I went to the produce pick up this morning and scored a box of perfect produce, including about 40 large tomatoes and three boxes of cherries. We just finished mozzarella, olive, basil and tomato grilled sandwiches. I would be happy to whip one up for you if you are hungry. Later I will make a minestrone soup, and juice some of the ripe tomatoes for cocktail hour. I like very spicy red snappers (Bloody Mary made with gin), and have all the fresh ingredients on hand to make them. We plan to stay home today to do some gardening and home maintenance chores. Our peaches are ripening and we need to start scaring the birds away from the tree. We try new shiny objects each year.
If we were having coffee I would like to hear how all your writing projects are going. Some of you are so prolific with your word count I can’t believe you have time to fit it all into 24 hours each day. I would tell you that I am still writing a poem every day, having been recently inspired by a group doing #veggiepoetry for National Poetry Writing Month. I took a stab at it yesterday writing an ode to my least favorite of all vegetables, the rutabaga. I think I will probably go with a tomato poem today, since they are on my mind. I would tell you my favorite tea company approached me about tweeting for gift certificates. I do want to start a system to review teas because it is a big interest of mine. I will probably do it on my tumblr, which is supposed to be my artsy blog. I thought about combining poems and tea, but nothing has popped into my brain for this poet-tea. I will probably attempt the tea reviews in May and see where that leads. I legitimately believe that my tea company has the best selection and prices, so it should be easy to find enthusiasm, if not poetry.
Thank you for stopping by today. This coffee share is hosted on the weekends by Nerd in the Brain. Visit this link to submit your own coffee share post, or read those from the diverse group participating.
If we were having coffee I would invite you to relax with a cup of tea or coffee of your choice. It is getting warm (hot for most of you), so I have a couple of iced teas on hand to quench your thirst and take the edge off the heat. We just returned from a road trip to take in the blooming trees and cacti. We always intended to visit the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, but have somehow managed to postpone the visit for years. The place is out of the way, so we created an itinerary around it. Initially we had planed to go to the Greek Monastery in Florence, then the ruins. When we passed the road to the monastery it was too early to visit, so we decided to drive a few more miles to a place we know and love, Queen Creek.
We stopped to shop and picnic at the Queen Creek Olive Mill which as expanded since we last saw the place. It was swarming with customers, but the ample outdoor picnic space is ample. We purchased a few choice groceries and a mimosa for me, then headed out to the porch to enjoy our fare. After lunch we went across the street to the Schempf Farms for a little more gourmet grocery procurement before we hit the ruins, about 15 miles down the road. My senior pass gets us in to all the National parks and monuments forever for free. It is my favorite senior benefit.
The ruins must have been a complete wonder when first built. The Casa Grande has such thick walls that even in the heat of summer the people could find great relief inside. At one time when the rivers flowed these people had a great civilization, which vanished. Like the Anasazi people the Hohokam had advanced agriculture that sustained a large population for a while. Nobody knows exactly how and why they vanished. The Parks Service does not restore, but does preserve the structures as much as possible. It is impressive that it is still standing. It gives one a very large sense of history.
If we were having coffee I would tell you I am still true to #NaPoWriMo, although I do not plan to combine the two this week. I will write another one with a poem in it today. I am really impressed with many of the contributors this year. I have been reading some very inspirational poetry of all kinds. I never knew there were so many formal formats in use. Some poets are incredibly flexible with all these various forms. I just crank one out in some form every day, and am satisfied just to do that. How are your writing projects going? I know many are going to novel writing camp this month. That seems like a very big challenge to me, but the poems I can handle. How are you handling your latest challenges?
Thanks for stopping by today for a beverage and a visit. I look forward to spending time on the weekends catching up with this talented group. To read, comment, or submit your own coffee share post, please visit Nerd in the Brain. Meet interesting writers from all over the world.
Dear Gentle Readers,
In April I write 30 poems in 30 days to honor my famous ancestor who was an exceptional poet and a special kind of historian. Today I join folks from around the world to participate in this year’s #NaPoWriMo. Since it is a global initiative it is also known as #GloPoWriMo to make it clear that everyone is invited. You can follow both these hashtags on twitter or Facebook for more information. I invite you to partake as a fan or a poet. You my be surprised at the poet you find inside of yourself. There are many wonderful styles of writing to discover in this treasure trove of artistic expression. Don’t be shy. Write a poem.
Please sit down, relax, take a load off your feet
While I tell you the story of Ann Dudley Bradstreet
She published her poetry in the Puritan times
Her English is old school, her well crafted rhymes
Were concerned with religion and current events
She made poignant requests to her progeny to stay
On the right side of God’s will, never sit on the fence
She begged us to be ethical, honest, virtuous and bold
Her legacy is eloquent, the details of our family were told
In real time as America took unexpected turns toward liberty
Finding her voice as a woman was a rare privilege, an anomaly
As her descendant I call on her esteemed presence in April every year
I ask for her assistance to drop a few decent beats, to be pertinent and clear
And so, dear ancestor, now scattered into stardust and moonbeams
Visit me with your discipline, your wisdom, and all of your ancient dreams
To follow in your footsteps I am going to require a great deal of your love
Look down on your daughter here on earth, send inspiration from above
If we were having coffee this month I would ask my coffee friends around the table to ride the poetry train if you are able. I know it is corny and may turn perverse. I assure you than in May I will return to verse. The coffee share and the poetry train go well as a duo, in my opinion. Help yourself to coffee, tea, and poetry. For more digital beverages and prose, please visit Nerd in the Brain. The weekly party is always interesting and stimulating.
If we were having coffee this weekend I would invite you to relax and take in the jasmine scent, still going strong in my front yard. I have ordered more tea (not that I was in need), so the selection has grown to epic proportion. The lazy Susan pantry literally groans under the weight of all the tea. I am digging a new blend called Hugs and Kisses, with a rose/caramel aftertaste that drives me wild. I also ordered a black passion fruit flavored tea that tastes delicious iced. We drink iced tea all year, but in summer I brew in the sun daily and we consume mass quantities. If you like, I can brew you a hot cup of roiboos jasmine to go with the flowers in the yard. It is one of my favorites, and there is a little chill this morning that will make a hot beverage feel just right. Please, make yourself at home while I fetch your drink of choice, and tell me how your life is. I want to hear what you have been doing, and how your writing is proceeding.
I have been trying to finish a non-fiction story that has unfolded over many years by creating a happy ending in real life. This is the nature of non-fiction, being just the truth. It limits one to facts. As I struggle to make my real life ending happen I am writing some fiction and poetry as a relief. I am a neophyte at both genres, and, if I do say so myself, pretty shitty at both. I like to practice to improve because I do find it liberating to just make up stories rather than try to influence hard reality in favor of a heroic outcome. It is so much easier to imagine an alternative vision than it is to bring one into being on the earth.
I spend a lot of time investigating my genealogy, discovering facts about my family tree. I have attempted some short historical fiction based on some factual data I know about my ancestors. I think this is a direction in which I could take my writing that would not only make use of the years of research I have done, but also allow me to create stories based on facts, but not limited strictly to them. All that has happened already, so there will be no changing the historical facts. Embellishing the truth, imagining the dialog and the settings, then bringing them to life seems like something I could really enjoy. I have a very famous poet ancestor, in whose honor I write 30 poems in 30 days in April as part of #NaPoWriMo. It is a challenge, but I think I owe it to her to give it a whirl for one month a year. She provided her DNA and poetry about her life and children (of which I am one). She was religious and wrote in olde English, so there is that. There are a couple other poets in the tree who lived in Tudor England. One was beheaded by Henry VIII. I tried to write a comedic ditty about his death a couple of years ago..it was one of my worst poems ever…but I published it. When I become an accomplished poet I will edit and spend much more time finishing each piece. Reaching a conclusion for a poem should be creative journey that has a universal ring. Someday I aspire to do that. My poetic muse has a short attention span that needs to be expanded. The fiction one is in the same boat. They are lazy, so they like to jump to conclusions rather than work it.
This year I am gearing up by writing some warm up poems and collecting some interesting images to use for illustration and inspiration. All I do is publish a poem each day. I only hope to improve over time and stir my genetic muse to awaken and say something profound and poetic. I keep the bar very low for quality, but do find lots of great ideas by reading the work of the other participants. I have finally finished my tax preparation and have returned to some written correspondence with a my new pen pals from February. I loaded up on stamps and plan to hand write and mail some of my shitty poems to my pen pals as a fusion of #NaPoWriMo and #InCoWriMo. They will be on great post cards, so even if the poems suck the presentation will be artful. This is the major lesson learned from the #InCoWriMo peeps, who tend to also be bullet journal, #BuJo, peeps…presentation counts, so don’t slack in that department.
Please join us on the weekend to sip and savor digital beverages with kindred spirits around the globe. Nerd in the Brain hosts this jolly group of writers. Please visit the party here to read, comment or submit your own post.
If we were having coffee this weekend I would show you my new favorite item, which is parked just inside my front door. It is my new Power Plate Personal vibration platform. I had purchased a cheap knock of version of this equipment and become very addicted to using it. The knock off completely died electronically after two month’s use. I am always bragging that I am thrifty but not cheap. In this case I proved myself wrong by purchasing an inferior product while trying to “save” money. Imagine my ire when I looked it up on Amazon and found out they are no longer even selling the thing. I left a horrible review, then went on to read many other horrific reviews of the many cheap knock off brands. I reached the conclusion that I needed to invest in a Power Plate to make the most of my dollar expenditure. Amazon delivered, as usual, and sold me a 5 year warrantee on parts and labor that makes me feel secure that I have made a good decision this time about my purchase. My new equipment is far superior to the trashy thing I bought, and comes with a free month of video training. This is the spring training I had in mind. I learned my lesson about Chinese knock off merch.
If you were hanging out here today, perhaps trying the Power Plate, just for fun, you would be seriously treated to major aromatherapy. The pink jasmine in front is in full bloom, along with the white Lady Banksia rose. The jasmine scent is intoxicating, and will soon be followed by two other varieties of jasmine. In the back yard my lemon tree is blooming and setting fruit profusely this year. Last year I had a crop of zero lemons, which saddened me greatly. It looks like a bumper crop this year. The bees are very busy pollinating the flowers. Please sit back and enjoy some iced tea, pink grapefruit juice, or freshly squeezed tomato juice. I processed fresh tomatoes all week, and still have almost a full case, so this morning we are making a big brunch with fresh tomato juice. Please stay for brunch, which will feature very fresh eggs from my neighbor’s pampered chickens.
If we were having coffee (juice or iced tea) this weekend I would extend my sympathy to those of you who suffered severe snow storm, Stella. I loved snow as a child growing up in Pittsburgh, and as a serious downhill skier in middle age, but have no use for it today. I don’t know how to drive in it, and probably could no longer construct a decent snow fort if challenged to a snowball fight. Winter weather does seem rather perfect for writers, in a way. Stuck indoors, perhaps with winds howling past the door, and perilous conditions on the nearest waterway, a creative person could come up with some imaginative stories. I read some really good ones this week on Sue Vincent’s Daily Echo #writephoto blog. My own little fiction story took a hellish, dark, underworld turn, once again surprising me with the disturbing sinister tales my fiction muse creates. I think maybe I need to listen to Homer’s Odyssey to get into this whole journey into darkness and then home again theme. I found it free on Amazon and will add it when Alexa finishes reading my next book. I never hurts to review the classics.
Pray tell, gentle reader, what have you been reading and writing? This movable coffee, tea, juice, and story smorgasbord meets each weekend at Nerd on the Brain’s blog. Please join us here to contribute, to comment, or enjoy the literary and imaginary international gourmet feast.
If we were having coffee this weekend, you might notice I have not shown up until Monday morning. No real impediments kept me from meeting my own deadline here. I have just been feeling spring fever. I have been particularly lazy on my blog, although I did manage a short piece of fiction this week. After my quick trip to Tempe and Scottsdale last week I started to shop around on air bnb for other wildflower destinations. I told myself I would fit in one more photo safari on this exceptional rain year when I am finished preparing my income taxes. I found some excellent options near Anza Borrego, California, where there is a gigantic super bloom happening now. It is very tempting to just pick up and go, but I do need to consider finances.
My vacation and photo shoot quickly turned into a spa staycation when a surprising turn of events changed my financial picture. The cheap knock off vibration platform I have been enjoying daily kicked the bucket. This was distressing because I am now addicted to using it, and must replace it with one that will not break after two month’s use. I read reviews and did more research than I did the first time, including calling an old friend who is a vendor of the Power Plate brand. The superior quality as well as the warranty convinced me to order a Power Plate platform. It will arrive tomorrow. I have a new appreciation for it, and see it as a good exchange for a short vacation. This will contribute to better health every day. I have become accustomed to the convenience of using it whenever I want at home. The wildflowers will have to wait. I have invested in my home spa gear and my every day pleasure. This investment will pay off in the future.
We are still finishing the ruby red grapefruit, and Bob brought home two cases of mangos from the produce distribution in the neighborhood on Saturday. He arrived as they were leaving, and wanted to get rid of extra tomatoes and mangos, so he took six cases of tomatoes, and two of ripe mangoes. They are in perfect condition, so I was roasting and simmering stroganoff and soup yesterday. I still have many tomatoes, so today I will set up the food drier to take care of more of them. I will make a batch of mango chutney and some salsa today too. I love the smell of chutney while it simmers. Please help yourself to fruit to go. We are overstocked once again.
If we were having coffee I would ask you to enjoy the scent of the lemon tree blooming in the back yard and the pink jasmine and white roses blooming in the front. The perfume of spring is heady and floral. It is warm and sunny. We cleared out all the wood from the garage, not expecting to need another fire in the stove this year. Tell me how your writing has been going. I hope you are not on a lazy streak like I am. This is not writer’s block. This is plain old procrastination. Do you suffer from that? It seems like after I miss one day of blogging it is easy to skip another. I need to jumpstart that writing engine and get in gear. Thanks for sharing stories and digital beverages this week. Pardon my tardiness, please. I will work on that for next week.
If you would like to connect with a group of talented diverse writers, check out Nerd in the Brain, our gracious hostess.
If we were having coffee I would invite you to once again sit by the wood stove, which has been cranked up for a couple of days. This short cold snap may be the last time we need to burn wood this year. The quick warm up has caused all the trees to go into blossom mode. My peach tree is in bloom, and the apricot and grapefruit are budding up. Since I still had a large crop of ruby-red grapefruit on the tree I needed to act quickly to get them picked. It stresses the tree and the fruit will start to lose weight if I leave it much longer. I picked about 100 pounds, and took them to the farmers market. I am a member of a coop sponsored by our food bank that allows us to drop off our produce to be sold at the coop table.
It is great because small growers who do not produce enough to want to rent their own table use the coop to sell their fruits, herbs, and vegetables. I joined last year when I had too many grapefruit at the end of the season, and think it is a wonderful service to the community. I take extra herbs and citrus that turn out to be more than we can use. Others are doing it to increase income from home gardening. I came back to the market at the perfect time!! Tomorrow there will be a party at a brewery downtown hosted by the Arizona Small Scale Farmers Alliance, a ranger and farmer meet up. This will be a very fun event for me. I plan to attend and find out what is happening in local farmer land. I have also made my plans for wildflower safari to Tempe and Scottsdale in the beginning of March. One of my Air bnb hosts up there has a miniature farm with free range chickens and organic gardens. Guests are invited and encouraged to eat the produce and eggs. That will be interesting to see as well as taste. I want to see what farmers do in Scottsdale.
My trip to Maricopa County will include the opening of a new butterfly pavilion at the Desert Botanical Gardens for which they are having a party. It will be wildflower as well as citrus bloom season up there, so the sights and scents will be very exciting. On Sunday I will visit the Museum of the Musical Instrument, where I will see the exhibits at leisure the attend a classical matinée concert by the Phoenix Symphony. There are special exhibits about 20th century guitar art, and another about Woodie Guthrie. I could easily spend an entire day there. I am enthusiastically looking forward to my weekend away, not very far from home. I plan to purposely take some botanical/architectural images to use later as prompts for poetry or fiction. There will be plenty of subject matter from which to choose. I am still writing fiction once a week to Sue Vincent’s photo prompts, which gave me the idea to capture a few of my own for future use. April is poetry month and I always use an image with each of the 30 poems, so might as well prepare.
If we were having coffee I would be seriously pushing the grapefruit juice, and sending a few fruits home with you when you go. I want to hear about your week and writing projects. I know many of you are still in winter, and are probably getting tired of it. My early spring farming issues might not inspire much sympathy if you are still snowed in. Think of it this way. Soon you will be able to enjoy the blaze of color and flash of Phoenician spring without leaving home. I will bring it to you on coffee share. I only wish I could transmit the amazing aroma of citrus in bloom. It is sweet and uplifting beyond measure. Thank you for visiting this week. Take some spring vibes home with you.
If you want to join other writers and digital beverage drinkers visit Nerd In The Brain to hook up with stories from around the globe each weekend. Feel free to read, comment, enjoy, or submit a post of your own here.