kitchen

January 30, 2014

hostage situation

My ten year old son just said to me from the kitchen, “I have the olives as hostage, until you tell me where the yard stick is.”
(I’m laughing in reply.)
“I took the olives first because I know you like them best.”
“I took the whole pantry hostage.”
“No more large pitted olives from the pearl company.”
“No more mini moos half and half”
“No more honey, grade A.”
(A longer list goes here that I didn’t all type.)
“Tell me where the yardstick is and you’ll have all these objects back.”
“No more cake mixes, Mom.”
(Oh…there’s more…it’s not bedtime or anything. Maybe I should give him the yardstick?! He wants it to measure Blue’s tail.)
“Let’s see what else I should take for ransom…”
“I have the battery charger on ransom.”
“No more white distilled vinegar.”
“Where’s the yardstick?!
(Answers his own question) “Oh. Found it.”
(To the dog) “Hey, Blue, can you lay down?”
“No more mini marshmallows.”
“No more dark chocolate.”
“No hot traditional salsa. Even though I don’t see anything hot about it.”
“No more brooms.”
“No more measuring cup.”
Me: “That’s to measure Blue’s food with.”
10 year old: “Well, you’ll have to guess now!”
This is where the pantry hostage taking standoff ended at 9:27pm. That is when I walked into the kitchen from the family room to see all the items he held hostage from the pantry stacked on the counter. Tomorrow is soon enough to shove them all back in. By 9:41pm my youngest son was tucked into bed with his covers all straightened out from last nights acrobatic sleeping and the bedside light on. Never a dull moment. I’m so glad!

January 29, 2014

January 19, 2014 Gallery

don’t mind me
one more skyscape
from this morning
because I can’t help myself
even though
my stomach is growling
the sky keeps changing
golden glow
just now receding
to reveal
bright blue sky
with puffy white clouds
today I think
is for painting
all is well

P.S. Blue stopped getting up at the sound of the sliding door unlocking. Dog realized he’s staying inside right now so he went back to zzzz’ing on the love seat. Me?! I’m still doorjamb leaning. Children still sleeping. They need it. They were wound up, laughing, rambunctious Wild Things last night, and we all loved it! Sleep is much needed. So is quiet time, spent watching the rising sun. Today is good. Typed while those white puffy clouds drift off into the distance leaving me with a humongous patch of bright blue sky straight ahead. Soul Balm. All of it. Peaceful and calm. “Island Mellow,” I call it. Much better.

January 19, 2014
7:43am on Sunday morning

January 19, 2014 Image

This morning’s sunrise was pink. Blue and I came downstairs and caught it just in time, before it faded to gray, now white, as snow is falling. Prettily. It’s a good view looking out. Inside work is on the list for today, even the kind that doesn’t show on the outside. Healing kind.

January 18, 2014
sunrise picture taken around 7:00am
words to accompany photograph written in an email at 10:18am

January 14, 2014 Image

Blue and I saw the sunrise begin along the horizon. It was orange and gold then, as we circled ‘round the block and headed toward the park for the first time in weeks, due to cold and snow packed sidewalks. We both were missing our longer route. A few days ago he tugged that way, but I said, “No” and we took the shorter route to home. Today we ventured further once again. I was feeling ready and the dog was more than eager. “Let me at ‘em,” he said, with his nose down tracking. As we rounded the corner to the wide park path the glaze of ice was evident. Drat. Plan B was better. We walked in the grass. Diagonal even. A shortcut, “As the crow flies,” to quote an old expression. Blue looked at me with eyes that said, “Really?! You sure about this?! Fine by me, just checking.” That dog. I love him. Amber eyes that say so much. He didn’t woof, just trotted and stopped until I tugged. We made it home. Told boys, “Time to get up.” No one did immediately. Eventually they did. Before then though, a rose colored light caught my attention through the kitchen window. Oh. I opened the sliding glass door to the back deck. This. Pink clouds galore. Rose colored light. The essence of living life focusing on the Bright Side. Rose colored glasses. Except it was the whole sky casting rose light everywhere it touched. What a glorious way to begin a day. Today. I stood on the deck alone for just mere moments. Blue watched from the other side of the door, but greeted me as I walked back in to home. Good morning. I woke up hungry before 4am, but stayed in bed awhile longer. Morning whirl of dog walked, boys to school, now I can stop and breathe a second. Much better. Breakfast for me is next. Today is here. Embrace it.

January 14, 2014

January 4, 2014 Image

vivid crazy daisy blooms
and a shamrock plant for luck
are the flora and fauna
keeping me company
in the kitchen
plants hold down the counter top
I hold down the sink edge
elbows propped up
leaning, typing, thinking
as I pause just a moment
to daydream and woolgather
before moving the dirty dishes
along to the dishwasher
as happy voices drift up
my boys are playing in the basement
after visiting the kitchen for food
(thus, the dishes)
Blue dog is alternately napping
and wild front window woofing
‘cause the new neighbor
is having a moving party
the street is lined
with pick up trucks
my brother and his son
are coming over later
in this very moment
life is good
thankful and blessed
smiling a l’il brighter
thanks to a bouquet of
vivid crazy daisies
and a shamrock plant for luck
that I’ve kept alive
for nearly a whole year
I’m still here too
not sure what to do next
never had coffee today
wishing for a nap

January 4, 2014

January 4, 2014 Quote

1. I can’t get up at the crack of dawn to carpe fucking diem because I’m out five nights a week chasing laughter and the moonlight.

2. I don’t want to wake up feeling comfortable. Fuck comfort. I want to wake up and know I’ve woken up, I want to feel my life as it happens and if that means a throbbing headache, so be it; I’d rather dance in the dark than under a rainbow.

3. Eat whatever you want, idiots.

4. My breakfast happens at 1pm and I’d like to read whilst I eat it, thankyou very much.

5. I don’t need to stretch, nor do I need to reach for the sky; I am not a member of S Club 7 and my head is already in the clouds.

6. Drink all the water your body needs, put a chopped up lemon in your bottle but never neglect iced tea and vodka – whatever your poison, indulge yourself in it sometimes. Striving for perfection in any aspect of your life is just going to disappoint you; have a shot every now and then.

7. If you’re living life, you might not have time to write down your activities until four in the morning. Your life record may be scribbled onto receipts as you ride the train. That’s okay too; it doesn’t have to be beautiful to be valid.

8. Sleep on a pile of towels if you have to. Sleep in the grass. Sleep at a new friends’ place every night. As long as you’re sleeping next to something you love – whether it be a partner or the latest Palahniuk – scented fabric softener won’t mean shit.

9. Chaos can be better sometimes.

10. Run into the ocean instead.

11. You don’t owe strangers your smile. You don’t owe nature your observation. Maybe you don’t have a dog to walk.

12. Don’t make plans you can’t follow through with, it’s unfair.

13.

14. Fuck it. Pick up a book because you liked the cover. Pick up a book because the person before you keft it behind. Scribble all over it if you want. Tear pages out and cut out words if you want. Pick up no books for a month, then ten in a day. Books will always be there.

15. Be yourself without imposing cliche’d values and movie-romance ideas onto your personality. Do what comes naturally. If you don’t want to pay your speeding fines, don’t fucking pay them, it’s your life. If you don’t like old people, don’t go and volunteer at their homes, you’ll only make everyone there miserable. Find your true bliss rather than assuming you’ll know what it is by sticking your tongue out at babies. You’ll get there, there’s no rush.

16. Don’t fucking daydream about it. Do it. Write your own ending.

Fuck Your ‘Sixteen Small Steps to Happiness’, love Daisy Lola (via spearmintblonde)

Thirteen must have been left intentionally blank, either for us to write our own, or as a reminder that what happens next is a mystery, right up until the moment when whatever “it” is occurs. Learn to embrace the moment, even the kitchen sink leaning, woolgathering ones. ~Crazy Daisy Me

January 4, 2014

January 2, 2014

disaster averted

My coffee pot flubbed up this morning. Just two cups were brewed and the rest of the pot wouldn’t drain on through. WTH?! I didn’t panic. I didn’t stomp or cuss. I talked to it nicely, and said, “Why won’t you make coffee?!” Then I calmly opened up the top of the coffee machine and jiggled the carafe atop the warmer, like any sane person would do. The best part is, it worked! Woo hoo! Pouring my first of two mugs now. *whew* Yes, I talk to inanimate objects. Don’t you?!

January 2, 2014

December 23, 2013 Gallery

Today was Happy New Front Door Day here! I. So. LOVE. It. A bare tree. Meant to be. *lots of smiling and kitchen happy dancing going on*
December 23, 2013

December 8, 2013 Image

I’m standing with one foot on the ledge between the kitchen sinks, and one foot on the adjacent kitchen counter, twisting a hook into the window moulding to hang a birthday treasure. My youngest boy just says, “Hi, Mom” as he ducks into the half bath off the kitchen. Blasé. No big deal. Curiosity not piqued at all. Even though, for the record, I am not often found counter climbing. In other news, both of my feet are back on ground now, even if my heart is soaring a bit, as I daydream and smile at the blue crescent moon made of glass now dangling over my head. On sunny days the faceted clear crystals will add colorful rainbows to my kitchen walls. I can hardly wait! Until then, I’ll smile at la lune and dream about the kind of moments that happen just once in a blue moon. Smiling crooked crescents are my favorite moon phase, other than half, three quarter and ginormous full. I sort of love them all!

December 8, 2013

December 8, 2013 Image

My youngest son slept in this morning. Sweet ten year old boy needed those extra zzzzz’s. The sound of his door creaking open from the top floor drifted down to where I stood in the kitchen. I smiled in anticipation even before I heard his joyful exclamation, “IT’S SNOWING!!!!!” He spied those tiny white flakes through the big picture window. I met him in the front door hallway. He hugged me. We stand nearly eye to eye. A few hours later, on the phone with my father, he told me my mother met the snowy morning in much the same way. Joy is all around us, especially in the simple things, those quiet moments, like a prolonged good morning hug that says, “I love you” without the actual words. Snowflakes are no longer dancing on the wind. My youngest boy has been window gazing periodically, still hopeful for a blizzard and no school snow days. Patience. Winter is just begun.

December 8, 2013