a river of stones #31 January

Thanks once again, Fiona and Kaspa, for bringing the world together

for another month of stones!

united we stand

in the river

of stones

a river of stones #30 January

once again half of the moon

a river of stones #29 January

Yesterday was Emmy's third birthday. For three years she has been my constant companion. She always curiously tilts her head back and forth as she listens to my complaints and ideas when no one else is around. She agreeable weathers the sand at the beach or twisting mountain roads when she goes with me on photo shoots. She waits patiently, except for one yarn incident when she was a puppy, for me to return home from a day out of town, only to greet me with the most ambitious welcome. Today, as I gave her an extra treat for being so cute, I thought, she did all this without speaking on single word.

a river of stones #28 January

on the horizon

a ball of fire sizzles

January's end

a river of stones #27 January

Why is it so spooky under the pier at night, even as people are laughing and drinking at the restaurant above? Their footsteps echo below as I step into the dark and disappear, shivering; so, I quickly rush back into the light, safe and sound, and I become a timbered shadow.

moonless night

in between shadows

I find a dime

a river of stones #26 January

These past two nights the crescent moon has been gleaming in a cloudless evening sky, reminding me of a haiku that I wrote last year. Can't help but giggle a bit.

crescent moon

the way you smile

late at night

a river of stones #25 January

red sunset

my heart beats

faster

a river of stones #24 January

The store went silent as we watched her yank his ear and call him stupid. She quickly looked up at the four of us, then hurriedly rushed her son towards the front door. As they passed me, I spontaneously raised my right hand and signed, "I love you". The little boy smiled back at me as he walked out the door.

winter rain

jumping through mud puddles

all the way home

a river of stones #23 January

If this used to be a one-lane dirt road when my grandmother was born, and it's an eight lane plus freeway now, I wonder how many lanes of traffic there will be when her great-great grandchildren learn how to drive?

weekend trip

to los angeles

how fierce the dust spews

from the horses' nostrils

a river of stones #22 January

I have so many folders on my computer that I spent most of the day organizing and deleting files that were not needed. I ended up throwing out several hundred photos, over 350 files, 143 documents, and not one piece of paper was shredded or lost to the trash can.

I think I just saved a tree?

next year's firewood

bleeds into the sky

tree of life

a river of stones #21 January

Saturday, so much to do, places to go, pictures to take, poems to write. By mid-morning I decide to do absolutely nothing.

sometimes

it's called a break

procrastination

a river of stones #20 January

a river of stones #19 January

my muse

still on vacation

home alone

a river of stones #18 January

I guess I'm getting used to this new decade I'm in.

When asked how old I was today, I responded,

"Old enough to buy a string bikini

and wise enough to not wear it."

underneath all this

a wiser eighteen year old

senior citizen

a river of stones #17 January

Spending the afternoon with a two-year-old is demanding. Spending the afternoon

with two of them....nothing but trouble.

time out

on the sofa

tornado season

a river of stones #16 January

editor editing duster dusting

dusty mustard dastard fretting

edit deadline fretting bedtime

betting online light on

all of the time

bedding no sleeping weeping

no eating no meeting no knitting

commiting ommitting

delete delete delete instead

then edit some more

and get to bed

a river of stones #15 January

It’s true, a writer’s life can be lonely, yet, we can fly to any city in the world, put ourselves in a precarious situation, go back in time and change things around, take on a lover in France, write a three word poem or a monstrous novel, and, if things get too dangerous or the lover in France becomes too obnoxious, there’s always the delete button.

How’s your afternoon going?

solitude

how still the silhouette

of a bird

a river of stones #14 January

Where's the snow????

mid january

the oak tree

starting to bud

a river of stones #13 January

I was on a walk at the beach when the sun started to set. I stopped to take a few pictures and thought about how lucky I was to catch such a beautiful sunset. Then, a helicopter flew into the frame of my camera and I thought, what a hell of a view this guy must have had! Hope he had a camera.

sometimes

the grass is greener

lucky duck

a river of stones #12 January

Because I was busy, all day long I concentrated so hard on what stone I was going to write that I forgot to write it.

lonely night
across the canyon a dog barks

continuously

a river of stones #11 January

As I watched the dark night turn to ashen gray it expressed a glowing aura of timid light that divided the earth and sky. Through the dense atmosphere a crown of blue morphed into brilliant streaks of yellow and pink across the skyline and mingled with orange and royal blue brush strokes; darker, deeper blue, a deeper pink that bled into a silver swirl of blue and gray and slowly settled on a thin layer of pale cirrus clouds. After several minutes of this ritualistic dance a white ball of fire emerged gloriously, pompously, above the horizon; all colours faded into black and white, and then it was day.

sunrise
steam slowly drifts to my lips
from your tea cup

a river of stones #10 January

happy birthday, son

you are officially older

than me now

love, mom

a river of stones #9 January

Wondering what it would be like to crawl around the earth on sixteen legs and then one day shed an outer skin, antennae, eyes, legs included, and turn into something completely different? With wings yet? Guess we'll all find out one day.

in my sleep

I can fly to other worlds

full moon

a river of stones #8 January

come on sky

what colour are you today

california heat wave

in the middle

of winter

a river of stones #7 January

Sitting at a traffic light, I observed a pigeon standing in his own crap, watching the traffic go by. After I completed my errand and returned to the same intersection, I saw that the pigeon was still there. Does he not even care that the moon is almost full?

domesticated pets

my cat plays the piano

after midnight

a river of stones #6 January

Not feeling well today, I decided to take it easy, read a bit and rest on the sofa. That quickly turned into a nap. I dreamt of flying with a flock of birds, the sun setting on black wings in a cloudless sky, the sound of cawing; loud, louder. Then I was in an Alfred Hitchcock movie, black birds everywhere; in the street, on the roof, still cawing even louder. When I heard their huge wings flapping far and near I realized that I wasn't dreaming anymore.

reality

sometimes it haunts you

in dreams

a river of stones #5 January

Finally took the tree down today. Now there's a big empty space where Christmas used to be.

winter blues

I really miss

my dad

a river of stones #4 January

No, Stella, Grandma's not mad at you for breaking the trunk off of her Ming Dynasty jade elephant.

spilt milk

is just that

spilt milk

a river of stones #3 January

The moon followed me home again tonight, peeked through my window as I got ready for bed, then silently sank into the horizon as I drifted off to sleep.

gibbous moon

the night light in the hallway

burned out again

a river of stones #2 January

A female white ringed dove flew down from the pine tree and sat in the frigid stream right next to where I was sitting. She didn’t look very well and my human side wondered if she would let me pick her up and take her to the Veterinarian’s. She sat in the cold stream, taking small sips of water now and then, choking a bit on something I couldn’t see and then closed her eyes. I felt helpless, yet remembered all of the National Geographic films that showed the natural life process of Nature’s animals. She seemed to know what to do with her fate and did not complain once.

mid-winter

still no snow

on the mountain

a river of stones #1

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

First Stone...

On the drive home from the mountains back to the beach, the average traffic speed on the hiway was 60-65 miles per hour, compared to the day before the New Year's Eve traffic that exceeded 80 miles per hour. Either the drivers were recovering from a wild party last night or they decided to slow down and enjoy each moment of 2012 because it might be their last Mayan year on earth.

holiday traffic

everyone goes home

with a story

up all night
the mocking bird
and me

a river of stones #31 End of July

a bright sunny day

might have a huge cloud

hanging over it

but

it's still

a bright sunny day

Thank you Fiona and Kaspa for another insightful, inspiring month!

a river of stones #30

we need

to get our ducks

all in a row

a river of stones #29

..and then

there are other

beautiful things

so small

that we

barely

even

notice

them

a river of stones #28

sometimes I think

they're just showing off

blue jays

a river of stones #27

even

in a nursing home

bullies

a river of stones #26

wheel chairs, walkers

oxygen tanks, penny slots

tuesdays at the casino

a river of stones #25

Today, I gathered all my worries

put them in a jar and threw them

into the sunset

I watched as they melted

then disappeared

out of reach

far beyond the horizon

a river of stones #24

sunday afternoon

watching pelicans go back

and forth

watching

me

a river of stones #23

only a second

away from death

we breath in

we breath out

all facing

the same

direction

RIP Amy

a river of stones #22

I didn’t go anywhere today, again

I was here in the garden, thinking about you

And me and how long the nights used to be

As we danced and drank and made love

Without a care or want for anything more

Than the space we shared between us

a river of stones #21

I am not a political person and certainly do not want to step on anyone's toes but feel I must say something in response to the apocalyptic fear that has been recently fed to The People from our government.

If I was 14 trillion dollars in debt and unable to pay my bills, wouldn't I pretty much be on my way to jail?

Book 'em.

a river of stones #20

sunset over Catalina

tomorrow, I think I'll paint something

a river of stones #19

Think about it.

and the sign says

long hair freaky people

need not apply

a river of stones #18

I have a feeling my husband gives my dog lots of treats when I'm not there.

a river of stones #17

sometimes I get so deep into my thoughts

I get so deep into my thoughts

deep into my thoughts

into my thoughts

sometimes

so deep

a river of stones #16

today I had an appointment

to do the unthinkable

but, I couldn't

so I didn't

meow

a river of stones #15

full moon

sometimes just thinking about it

is overwhelming

a river of stones #14

today my mind is blank

a river of stones #13

always on the edge

forgiving, forgetting

trying to get ahead

to the front of the class

ahead of the BMW

that always has to pass

every car on the freeway

spinning wooden wheels

deep into muddied holes

splashing, trashing

when steel rims are required

faking it, making it, not

one inch closer

to the truth...not

one inch ahead

of anything

a river of stones #11, 12

#12

please don't ever

call me

your significant other

I am no one's

significant anything

much less

an 'other'

#11

It's midnight, all the doors are locked, everyone's asleep, and still, the moonlight is coming through the upstairs window.

a river of stones #10

Let’s say you needed ten thousand dollars. Which would be easier, faster, and more practical? Selling ten items for a thousand dollars apiece? Selling a thousand items for ten dollars apiece? Or, selling ten thousand items for one dollar each?

Go for it.

a river of stones #8, 9

in dreams I fly through the fog on the wings of a bird

#8

I taught Olivia how to play a song on the piano today

then listened to it in my head

...all night long.

a river of stones #7

I saw four birds today

all were singing

none were complaining

a river of stones #6

Mr. B

It's been five years

Since you've been gone

I still smell the scent

Of your aftershave

I feel the strength of your smile

I see the look in your eyes

As the side of the hospital bed

Clanks you safely into place

I remember that moment when

Your heart and mine knew

There was no turning back

And now, all I can say is

I miss you terribly and, like you,

I do not care for hospital beds

a river of stones 3,4,5

July 5

trash day

just wondering

if the those guys

ever get tired

of picking up

the trash

just wondering

July 4

sometimes

I can't believe

how wonderful it is

to not have a schedule

and be alone with one's self

with the world

July 3

grandchildren are here

to remind us of our childhoods

what went wrong

what went right

a river of stones 1,2 July 2011

July 2

no matter how early I rise

in the morning

the birds and my grandchildren

are already up

July 1

already

the year is

half over with

six months closer

to the end

of our lives

I felt safe

even with the doors unlocked

now you're gone

and I wonder

forsaking all deadlines

I find it overwhelming

taking care of mom

I love you, mom

I love it when I'm driving somewhere

it's getting dark and gray

and the clouds decide to entertain me

Sending Love and Strength

christchurch earthquake

even the dandelions

quiver

a river of stones #31

the end

only

the beginning

1/31/2011 Stevie

a river of stones #30

As we were leaving, a cold fog rolled in and a fresh layer of snow clung to the warm timbers, gracefully lacing green pines with ice and frost, composing a monochromatic landscape that was very hard to leave behind.

winter wonderland

the fog in between the trees

where gnomes and fairies live

1/30/2011 Stevie

a river of stones #29

halfway through winter

every single oak leaf

now in my garden

1/29/2011 Stevie

a river of stones #28

CAREGIVING

Trying to remember what it's like to worry about nothing more important than which team will win the Superbowl.

mother

still not not happy

living at the Ritz

http://helpguide.org/mental/depression_elderly.htm

1/28/2011 Stevie

a river of stones #27

I spent the whole day without electricity because I forgot to mark on my computer calendar a planned ten-hour maintenance outage in my neighborhood that was to start at seven in the morning. Totally unprepared with a full days work ahead of me, I was left with a half-charged cell phone and a set of car keys to get through the busy day. The partial to-do list I made the night before was as follows; pay bills, wash all sheets, work on taxes, clean master closets, catch up on emails, catch up on writing deadlines, send e-cards out for Mom...all to do with using electricity.

I didn't realize how dark the inside of closets were or how many times a day I actually turned on a light, or, how dependent I was on the coffee maker. It was frustrating at first but I opted to turn the phone off, hang the car keys up on the hook, and see if I could manage a productive day without any modern day conveniences...save the porcelain goddess. I was lucky that the weather was unseasonably warm.

By the end of the day I found that I rather enjoyed the surprising change in my schedule and wrote down a revised list of to-dos; garden, read, sit on the swing and write with pen and paper, garden some more, watch a spider work its web, take pictures of the spider working its web, learn how to make a pot of coffee on the bar-b-que, start enjoying the outdoors like I used to.

I learned a few things things that surprised me and thought a lot about how frustrating it must have been for all those who have gone before me.

electricity
wondering what in the world
they did without it

1/27/2011 Stevie

a river of stones #26

mid-winter
the hills so green
you'd think it was spring

1/26/2011 Stevie