Have You Read This Book?

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A good book should leave you… slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading it. ~William Styron, American novelist

Normally, I’m reluctant to hop on the bandwagon when it comes to books everybody says I must read.

Maybe my taste in reading differs from that of the masses, or maybe I’m just flouting my rebelliousness.

Last week I went to our public library to check out Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens for my mom. When I heard it was “sweeping the nation” in popularity, I had to force myself not to roll my eyes.

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Unwelcome Guest

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Hospitality is making your guests feel at home, even if you wish they were. ~Author Unknown

Come listen to the tale of a woodchuck pest
Who used my back yard shed as a nest.
He dug a deep hole,
Went out for a stroll,
And returned just in time for a much-needed rest.

Now Woody, or Chuck, or whatever his name
Probably decided I was onto his game.
He lay flat out
There was never a doubt
He was dead. What a shame, What a shame.

But hanging out clothes one Sunday fair
I heard a clink from the fence over there.
It was Woody, I know.
Or maybe her beau,
Dash into that lair with nary a glare.

I can only assume this rodent I dread
Was faking all along when I thought it was dead.
Didn’t mind all the flies,
Never opened its eyes.
Just knew it was safest underneath my shed.

 

Note: True story. Poetic form is a Limerick.

Beading in the Storm

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You may be deceived if you trust too much, but you will live in torment unless you trust enough. ~Frank Crane, Presbyterian minister and writer

I’ve heard that when a healing bracelet breaks, it’s a sign the stones have done all they can do for you, and you need to move on.

Recently, my bracelet did just that, so I used a gloomy, stormy day to make another:

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Thrift and Order

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I believe that thrift is essential to well-ordered living.  ~John D. Rockefeller, American industrialist, business magnate, and philanthropist

If John D. is correct, then that explains why I’m so naturally organized.

My late dad used to say he could send me to the store with a dollar, and I’d come back with 95 cents!

Some would argue I just didn’t find anything to buy. Truth is, I pinch pennies until they holler.

Always have.

My parents were little kids during the Depression years, and they passed along to me the value of thrift. As American religious leader Boyd K. Packer said, “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.”

So this weekend — when the stormy weather forced me off my computer — I tackled a long-overdue project and came away feeling pretty pleased.

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A June Wedding

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We need beauty because it makes us ache to be worthy of it. ~Mary Oliver, American poet

She arrives at the chapel, her heart in a flutter.
Today, at last, is her wedding day.
Her bouquet is a medley of cream and butter;
Her gown a snowy vision in applique.

Her best friend approaches, tears in her eyes.
“Things will be different, you’ll see.”
She shakes her head, denying such lies
And pledges lifelong friends they’ll always be.

The music swells, her dad takes her hand
And together they step down the aisle.
This day is going just as she planned
Her lover awaits with a radiant smile.

When sacred vows join a couple in love
It’s a union of bliss blessed from above.

 

Note: My first Sonnet — Woo Hoo!! June is traditionally the most popular month for weddings. Nothing like that is going on here! I simply took a photo of the Popcorn Drift (R) Rosebush in my front yard and was stunned at how much it resembled a bride’s bouquet. I guess the weather conditions are perfect for it this year because it’s a mass of blossoms.

Another Attempt

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An old dog, even more than an old spouse, always feels like doing what you feel like doing. ~Robert Brault, American writer

Dallas here.

I told Mama you were probably tired of her dumb haikus and Sunday gems by now, and it was time for me to let you know what’s really important in our world.

Mobility, or rather, the lack of it.

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Sunday’s Gem — Pyrite

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Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. ~Albert Einstein

Nicknamed “Fool’s Gold,” Pyrite is a brassy-gold iron sulfide mineral formed in igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks around the world.

Pyrite crystal (thanks to http://www.pixabay.com)

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Sister Trip

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A vacation is what you take when you can no longer take what you’ve been taking. ~Earl Wilson, American journalist

The pressures had been building for some time.

An aging parent. A fur-kid with arthritic hips. A new laptop that I didn’t have time to set up properly. A work-in-progress that was going nowhere, thanks to some web design projects demanding my full attention.

In short, an overburdened psyche.

So I did what any rational person would do — called my sis and persuaded her to take a vacation with me.

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