gratitude

I’ve been AWOL from my blog for a few weeks. I had a head cold for two weeks and realized, finally, that I needed to quit fighting it and allow myself to rest. The first thing I am grateful for is that it was just a cold and not allergies.
The second thing I’m grateful for [...]

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how great to stay at home / poem 99

I got the phone call first thing this morning: no meal delivery today. The coordinator had a meeting and had the Thursday volunteers deliver Friday meals. Hurray! I was relieved for I’d awakened with that damned morning stiffness and had to prepare for the online class I’d be teaching Saturday morning.
So I’ve had a [...]

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a special hour with 2 young women & poem 97

I spent an hour this afternoon recording a girl and a teenager from summer camps at Women Writing for (a) Change. They were both very special. While the teenager wrote mostly about her parents, with anger and love, the middle school girl wrote more upbeat stuff. Both will be posted on the podcast page of [...]

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preparing . . . & poem 94

Someone phoned me a little bit ago and said she hoped she wasn’t interrupting a 4th of July gathering. No, I reassured her. I told her if I sounded a little out of it it was because I was still ‘in my head.’ I’d been on the computer, thinking, and writing much of the afternoon.
This, [...]

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my 100th post / poem 76

It’s hard to believe I have written 100 pieces since I started this blog. I had a blog elsewhere several years ago but bought a house, retired, and sold the old house, making me too busy to tend to a blog properly. This time I’m inspired. Part of it is my challenge of writing a [...]

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release of rain after the readaround / poem #62

The Tuesday morning writing class at Women Writing for (a) Change had a good turnout for our public readaround. We had a great time sharing some of our writing pieces from the quarter.
I noticed a theme of humor this time. Sure, there were pieces that mentioned abusive relationships, dementia of parents and partners, and other [...]

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a podcast with Sylvia, along with Poem #32

I just finished listening to the podcast I hosted with Sylvia Meek, a fellow student in the Tuesday morning class of Women Writing for (a) Change. Sylvia is quite inspiring! She had a career as a speech pathologist; she and her husband Henry had adopted a little girl; and Sylvia is a polio survivor.
When the [...]

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spending the day creatively, Poem #27

I spent a working day over at The Writing Hall, as some of us at Women Writing for (a) Change call the school’s building in Silverton. I am a student in the Tuesday morning class, newly into Spring Quarter. The class is largely returning writers interspersed with a handful of new ones.
Today we made altars [...]

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Last class ~ and Poem #6

Today ended the Winter Quarter of the Tuesday morning Women Writing for (a) Change class. As I wrote on my ‘Soul Card,’ I wasn’t feeling much separation anxiety because I knew I would be seeing most of the women in a few weeks — for next quarter’s class. There are so many women I’d like [...]

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Poetry Mala: a poem a day for 108 days

First, I want to credit Puerhan for this abundant idea! (He is a poet and architect from the UK. His website: >http://puerhan.blogspot.com/search/label/108P).
For those who don’t know, a mala is a Hindu or Buddhist rosary with 108 beads used for focusing when chanting a mantra. As you touch each bead, the practice (japa) helps to [...]

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