1. Good Friday

    The morning sky was melancholy today.
    Quiet and contemplative.
    Lots of layers to the clouds.
    White and gray interspersed.
    Then, the clouds parted and a l’il blue sky peeked through.
    Good Friday is a moody melancholy day.
    The Crucifixion.
    But the promise of Good Friday is, “Sunday’s a comin’!”
    On Sunday we celebrate and shout, HE IS RISEN!
    So it’s only fitting, for Heaven to be a bit subdued with extra clouds in shades of gray, for even though we call it Good Friday, it is a melancholy day.

    March 29, 2013
    Good Friday

  2. a l’il quiet time

    I’m sittin’ in a sunbeam
    listenin’ to the clock tick tock
    my children are Spring Break snoozin’
    that big sweet pup went back to bed
    bits o’birdsong drift in through the outside walls
    breakfast, coffee, things To Do
    yet I’m curled into a corner of the love seat
    my favorite cozy couch spot
    I’m sitting in a sunbeam
    so thankful a new day has begun

    March 27, 2013

  3. springtime sunrise

    mornin’ arrived today
    right on time
    no more sleep for me
    uncrated that dog
    you know
    that big sweet pup
    the one I love,
    my Blue
    clipped on his leash
    in a vivid hue
    of the color
    he is named for
    we step outdoors
    he sort of catapults
    (well, dog-a-pults)
    from the front door
    chilly March temps
    continue to linger
    and yet,
    the magical beauty
    of birdsong
    robins are hoppin’
    along the thawin’ ground
    atop the grass
    that may be greener
    or else I’m imaginin’
    just tryin’
    to will Spring along
    steadily the sun rises
    from behind a bank
    of glowin’ clouds
    mornin’ arrived today
    right on time
    I was outdoors
    feet on the ground
    ready to greet
    this new day
    me and my dog,
    Blue

    March 23, 2013

  4. turn it upside down

    One of my closest friends and I have been texting, literally since we both woke up today. This is nothing new between she and I…we both have A LOT to say! Best of all, we just say it. No holds barred. No walls.

    So, at 8:40am, when she texted me a sad face :(
    I replied…
    No sad faces
    I have a f’ing rule!!!!
    I cannot bear them
    My heart is already breaking a zillion different ways
    I’m making an egg and toast and coffee for me
    Dog needs to stop woofing!
    Or I could just go back to bed. Like all day.

    That oh, so smart woman, a beyond marvelous friend, responded, “Do what works for u… :)”

    A smile! Much better! That just helps me cope.

    I wrote again to say:
    Food
    Art
    I’ll be ok
    Have a happy Florida day!

    She believed me, for she knows me well enough to read my barometric pressure, even while on a l’il bit early Spring Break getaway, from more than a few states away.

    It’s nearly 10:00am now. My breakfast has been consumed. First mug o’coffee is in my weary system too. I planned ahead and made an extra mug today. Knew I needed whatever amount o’kick in the arse it’d give me.
    ~ Janean

    March 22, 2013

  5. I’m finally mailing our Illinois state taxes. Snail mail is necessary, to send extra paperwork required. Doggone Tax Time. Stapling W-2 then mailing. Just a week or so after finishing… There is a grape jelly smudge on them. Oh well. A l’il sign of Food, Family and Life. That about sums it up. For these are the things that go “in between” the famous Ben Franklin quote, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” So we learn to savor each day and happy moment we are given, even as we dutifully see to the need to fulfill all legal requirements. March 13, 2013

    I’m finally mailing our Illinois state taxes.
    Snail mail is necessary, to send extra paperwork required.
    Doggone Tax Time.
    Stapling W-2 then mailing.
    Just a week or so after finishing…
    There is a grape jelly smudge on them.
    Oh well.
    A l’il sign of Food, Family and Life.
    That about sums it up.
    For these are the things that go “in between” the famous Ben Franklin quote, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”
    So we learn to savor each day and happy moment we are given, even as we dutifully see to the need to fulfill all legal requirements.

    March 13, 2013

  6. everything

    keep moving
    day by day
    step by step
    quietly abiding
    that is all
    (yet everything)
    we can do
    as time
    marches on

    March 12, 2013

  7. just show up

    The place I am in, is saying aloud, again and again, “I’m showing up.”
    Sometimes, that alone is enough.
    Just being present, in the moment.

    Skimmed a Girl Power article in newest Time magazine today. (The March 18, 2013 issue.) One nugget jumped out, quoted as a sign that hangs in the Facebook offices (article was about Sheryl Sandberg):

    “Done Is Better Than Perfect.”

    That helps me, as I face so much needing done. Needed it. Gleaned it, in the time I spent waiting. Brief, though it was.

    day by day
    step by step
    quietly abiding
    that is all
    (yet everything)
    we can do

    ~ Janean

    March 12, 2013

    TIME magazine article link citing poster quote:
    http://ideas.time.com/2013/03/07/why-i-want-women-to-lean-in/

  8. an Illinois observation

    snow flurries dance upon the wind
    bird song floats from the trees
    the ground is nearly thawed
    now the sun is shining
    the flurries already gone
    on this chilly March afternoon
    must be spring in Illinois
    when anything can happen
    just talkin’ ‘bout the weather
    it’s still Lion Time

    March 12, 2013

  9. The broken chair is on the curb. Garbage day is Monday. I told my oldest son, “Next time something breaks, just tell me.” He understood, quite clearly. This chair is one of six that I bought second hand, for $50 maybe. I’m not sure of the year, sometime between July ‘95 and January of ‘98 is the best I can do, to pinpoint the timing of the sale. I brought ‘em home, two by two, in the backseat of the car, on a 52 mile commute. Honestly, they were a l’il wobbly way back then, but better than the folding chairs we’d been using round a third hand kitchen table. We still have three o’these chairs left around the house to safely sit in…at least that’s what I sorta think. March 9, 2013

    The broken chair is on the curb.
    Garbage day is Monday.
    I told my oldest son, “Next time something breaks, just tell me.”
    He understood, quite clearly.
    This chair is one of six that I bought second hand, for $50 maybe.
    I’m not sure of the year, sometime between July ‘95 and January of ‘98 is the best I can do, to pinpoint the timing of the sale.
    I brought ‘em home, two by two, in the backseat of the car, on a 52 mile commute.
    Honestly, they were a l’il wobbly way back then, but better than the folding chairs we’d been using round a third hand kitchen table.
    We still have three o’these chairs left around the house to safely sit in…at least that’s what I sorta think.

    March 9, 2013

  10. I awoke

    I awoke with a smile
    I nearly always do
    sleep refreshes
    body, mind and soul

    I awoke with a smile
    and lollygagged in bed
    purring cat sat atop me
    ‘til sunlight was shining in

    I awoke with a smile
    even as I heard
    a muffled woof
    that’d be Blue dog
    testing the airways
    from the main floor
    to see if I was up

    I awoke with a smile
    and tonight shall fall asleep
    with one too
    a quiet curving of lips
    upturned
    speaking of joy
    and contentment
    within

    February 24, 2013