July 31, 2012

my cat 

turning seventeen

medical miracle

quilting a baby quilt

lunch with a friend

more fabric found

playing mahjong

with three friends

July 30, 2012

rescuing a fly

from the hot tub

a full moon shines

household chores

novel revision suggestions

major work ahead

annual eye exam

new quilts planned

July 29, 2012

shapes

within shapes

pieced quilt top

deck addition

ready for action

quilt top pieced

played lots of games

enjoyable day

July 27, 2012

cloudy day

a snail crawls

along the deck

piecing a quilt top

nearly half done

errands run

Sasha’s vet calls

surgery scheduled

July 28, 2012

snails and slugs

friends sharing

my outdoor shower

redesigning

a quilt top

now all laid out

Saturday chores

clouds turn to sun

July 26, 2012

a cat hangs

upside-down

batting a toy

cutting fabric

laying out

another quilt

dentist appointment

word games

July 25, 2012

faeries hiding

under mushroom caps

baby birds sing

cutting fabric diamonds

scholarship meeting

teaching my bridge class

therapy appointment

weekly vet visit

July 24, 2012

cutting diamonds

out of fabric

a robin bathes

three quilts

bound and finished

lots of word games

nice nap

new quilt started

July 23, 2012

text messages

from son and daughter

a wonderful surprise

deck addition

mapped out and begun

two quilts quilted

three quilts squared

exhaustion continues

July 22, 2012

a fly

on the rubber duck’s head

hot tub soak

day after

Strawberry Festival

barely moving

reading and

playing games

July 21, 2012

Strawberry Festival

watching the parade

with my granddaughter

Strawberry Festival

parade followed by

carnival rides

curly fries

good music

July 20, 2012

early morning

major thunderstorm

staying in bed

therapy appointment

running errands

eleven cases of cat food

playing online games

nice nap

July 19, 2012

six cases each

green beans and pumpkin

three wagging tails

quilting a quilt

running errands

stocking up on

green beans and pumpkin

for three dogs

July 18, 2012

a robin hops

along the fence top

dogs bark

sauna service

sewing three quilt backs

and pinning three quilts

weekly vet visit

time to unwind

July 17, 2012

meow, woof

tweet, ack, ack

start of day

writing my

back book cover

piecing three 

quilt tops

online games

July 16, 2012

morning fog

fills the ravine

breakfast on the deck

piecing quilts

writing and laundry

reading penultimate

novel in a series

with a cat in my lap

July 15, 2012

a student

turns pirate

The Pirates of Penzance

writing

household chores

afternoon nap

matinee performance

The Pirates of Penzance

Wordle 65: The Dragon and the Unicorn

Here is my response to The Sunday Whirl’s Wordle 65 using these words:  flicks, swells, spray, grittle, gravity, plant, trigger, relishes, chain, crack, humility, refrain, and claim

The Dragon and the Unicorn

The unicorn flicks

her tail with a crack as she stands

trapped and chained

at the cliff's edge.

How could she have been caught?

An iridescent purple dragon

soaring overhead swoops down

onto the cliff as the force of

gravity sprays grittle into 

the surrounding plants.

With the greatest humility

the unicorn asks for help.

The dragon's anger now triggered

rises like swells in the ocean as

she ponders the cruelty of

capturing a magnificent unicorn.

Humans claim all sorts of reasons

for their abuse of other creatures

chanting the old refrain of

dominion over all, but the dragon

relishes the chance to foil their plans.

She quickly breaks the chains

binding the unicorn, and together

they forsake that barren cliff.

July 14, 2012

new bedside table

from old shelf

cats sleep 

quilt top pieced

pillow case sewn

flannel cover for

bedside shelf

a lovely nap

July 13, 2012

double arch

holding the birdbath

a robin splashs

therapy 

and tutoring

errands completed

mahjong tiles

with friends

July 12, 2012

baby robins

around the pond

too many to count

cleaning algae

from the pond filter

and the fountains

dogs enjoy

rolling in the grass

July 11, 2012

skimming algae

from the pond surface

a sparrow drinks

teaching

my bridge class

therapy appointment

pond cleaning

day turns warm

July 10, 2012

eating breakfast

on the deck

a crow drops by

rearranging

the bedroom

picking strawberries

sewing a few seams

a cool sunny day

July 9, 2012

rainbow maker

colored sparkles everywhere

the cat naps

hot tub scrubbed

yard weeded

ponds cleaned

son double-booked

visit postponed

July 8, 2012

refilling

the bird bath

another sunny day

sitting outside

eating breakfast

and reading

piecing 

a quilt top

July 7, 2012

picking strawberries

the dragonfly

takes flight

pond filters

and fountains

cleaned in earnest

barley ordered

for algae blooms

July 6, 2012

the nymph 

becomes a laurel tree

thwarting Apollo

therapy

and a hair cut

errands

and pond cleaning

a full day

July 5, 2012

white flowers

in the green grass

a robin hunts worms

picking strawberries

hot tub repair

household choirs

napping and reading

before the vet visit

July 4, 2012

piecing quilts

for twin girls

two crows bathe

twenty-five minutes

massive fireworks

why not instead two teachers

for a school year

choices

July 3, 2012

waking

eye to eye

the cat and me

household chores

phone conference

with my publisher

reading, napping

playing word games

July 2, 2012

twigs dangle

from the crow’s beak

nest building

summer tutoring

mapped out

eighteen turns played 

end of a novel

start of another

July 1, 2012

a half inch

taller than me

my younger self

eight strips

cut into 

thirty-two squares

writing poetry

a nice nap

Wordle 63: The Crow and the Cat

Here is my response to The Sunday Whirl’s Wordle 63 using these words: gesture, other, stand, act, hanging, touch, lips, thin, sent, snapshots, skin, and utter.

The Crow and the Cat

A crow stands

on the birdbath’s thin rim 

wings glistening in the sun

a piece of bread

hanging from its beak

as a sleek cat watches

from the window

uttering his thin ack acks,

with face pressed

against the glass leaving

prints where his lips touch.

Feathers and fur covering skins

taut with suspense as

each watches the other,

with gestures of utter disdain

sent back and forth,

snapshots of an age old conflict

acted out of instinct