New girl on the block, Daisy, is crazy for Blue.
ooo la la
woof
*nose touch*
Then me, dragging him away from her fence, after he tugs me to hurry up and get there.
They don’t feel the cold.
Must be LOVE.
That’s amore.
Puppy kind.
woof
February 19, 2015
[Weather Note: at 10:00am the air temperature is 3*F, but “feels like” -15*F in central Illinois.]
I have a prism hanging in my dining room window. The heat vent underneath the window is making the prism swing gently from side to side. It is an east facing window with morning light. Blue dog is chasing rainbows in the living room. Well, more like light swatches at the moment, that move across the floor to the furniture, walls and back to the floor again. I knew he liked chasing the cat’s laser light, flashlight beams and the sunlight glint from his collar tags. Now rainbows via prism light. Blue also stops to smell the flowers, takes me on startlit/moonlight walks and woofs to go out in time to catch the sunrise/sunset. May you have a blessed rainbow chasing day. Woof.
February 17, 2015
the moon is full
the stars are bright
fresh snow shimmers
on a winter’s night
a rabbit waits
a dog barks
the woman walks
brrrrr shiver
February 4, 2015
Sitting at my kitchen table
Still in pjs
Drinking coffee
Blue on guard in the backyard
[quietly]
Boys voices drifting up
[talking over video game sounds]
I took a long hot soaking bath with a light book yesterday
Had a good day but was tired and fried
That helped
A lot
I’ll do it again
I forget to
Best of all woke up early [4:40a] but fell back asleep until 7a
Bliss
[PAUSE]
Dog woofed
He jumped the crooked bent ineffective wire mesh garden fence and got stuck
Out of leash but also the leash clasp was caught around the edge of the fence
Stuck
Unclipped him
Bent fence down enough he could jump
Loved him
He scared himself
For today anyway
He followed me in
Muddy paws which he hates having touched
Got a layer of dirt off
My house is nowhere near spotless
Ever
A little garden dirt won’t hurt
Poured the last of my coffee
Not rushing anywhere today
I am so thankful for lack of rush
October 26, 2014
A diary of my Sunday morning moments that occurred between 8:18a and 8:51a today. I can pinpoint the timing so exactly because this is an excerpt of an email reply I sent to my cousin. On a wild whim decided to share this snippet from my life here too. I’ve been quiet in my public writing spots. Have needed to be. Still do. ~Janean
sitting in the sunshine
a ladybug lands
upon my shoulder
hello little ladybug
I’m wearing green
Do I look like a tree?
my hair blows
in the cool breeze
mere moments pass
the ladybug flies away
a crow calls
from above the rooftops
doggone dog barks
a squirrel has been spotted
beyond the reach of his leash
time to drag the dog inside
don’t want to be bother
babies are napping
a woman is reading
two actually
myself and another
goodbye sunshine
goodbye ladybug
good riddance crow
hello library book
I’m going to read you
just a little bit longer
in my cozy love seat spot
missing celestial warmth
October 8, 2014
Dear La Lune,
There you are.
It’s been awhile.
You’ve been obscured
by cloud cover.
Caught a glimpse
a few nights ago.
Crescent shaped then.
Saw a half moon by day.
Leading up to tonight.
When you are full
and beaming bright.
It’s been awhile
since you made me smile.
Shining with your celestial light.
I fell asleep penning this poem to you.
Stretched out on the living room couch.
Moonlight shining in the window.
Eyes shut tight until 2am,
when I moved myself to bed.
You greeted me as a new day dawned.
The dog and I begin our walk.
You met us in the morning sky.
Honey hue of nighttime gone.
Darkness faded yet you remain.
Glowing white come daylight.
Until you disappear from sight.
I’ll look for you again this night
and admire your changing shape.
Waning now.
Love,
Janean
August 13, 2014
sitting at my art table
a movie
playing in the background
“Finding Normal”
first time I’ve seen it
mostly listening
when John 10:10 is spoken
the latter part of the verse
catches my attention
“…I am come
that they might have life,
and that they might
have it more abundantly.”
I look up as I hear it
for sitting on the windowsill
in my direct line of sight
is John 10:10
though the translation varies
the sentiment is the same
live abundantly
as you walk with The Lord
twice
this passage came to me twice
both times through art
first time as a response
to my Good Friday art
then again today
a year later
in mid June
as I work on a gift
a piece I’m sort of keeping secret
until it is done
the timing is His
meant to be
this whispered reminder
from an unexpected source
so much has happened
in the in between
so much
my heart is still processing
some days reeling
art making helps ease the ache
heartsore
art is my path
to healing
to life
more abundantly
The photo shows two passages of scripture propped up by whittled animals, both the handiwork of my grandpa, Erwin A. Thompson. The hound dog is in charge of John 10:10 from the March 2013 Good Friday art show mentioned above. The cat is curled up with Revelation 21:4-5, the prayer team’s response to, “Restore” and “Rebuild,” the art I made for the April 2014 Good Friday show.
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.”
Revelation 21:4-5
Feels right. Even more so rereading and pondering two months later. It goes together. All these seemingly random parts of my life story. My art medium is collage. I cut and glue and puzzle together pieces of cut and torn paper to create an image. The art in progress now is a river. Grandpa’s River. The Mississippi. The Mighty Miss-is-ip.
June 14, 2014
…and I clicked publish on this post before unpausing the movie and watching a little more to find out cancer is one of the themes in the movie. Of course it is. Damn it.
Sitting on my parents’ back porch. Bird song began hours ago. Fancier birds than sing at home. Peaceful and calm.
June 1, 2014
Yesterday was a lilac scented morning walk, filling and delivering 100 water balloons to the park for the fifth grade picnic, attending junior high chapel presented by eighth grade, and more. Today started with another morning walk, though birdsong was more noticeable than the still blooming lilacs. It will be a quieter morning inside than usual because my oldest gets to sleep in a bit, not needed at school until midday for pictures and practicing for eighth grade graduation. No caps and gowns, just dressed up with a tie, but not the Star Wars one that he really wants to wear because it is against the rules this time. Half a day of school for my fifth grader because I'm springing him early for the 2pm ceremony. Cake after. Store bought. Big day here. Hoping for more smiles than tears. My, but that was a fast school year.
May 23, 2014
Spring has been extra beautiful this year
maybe it’s because winter was so extra cold and snowy
maybe it’s just because every spring my heart soars as the trees and flowers bud and bloom
daffodils have come and gone
tulips are still tuliping
lilacs are just beginning
magnolias and forsythia fade into redbuds and the white burst of Bradford Pears
oh
Springtime
the sky seems extra blue
the birds serenade with the most melodious of songs
especially this morning
in the quiet stillness
of that moment just before dawn
I heard them through my bedroom window
saw the sun filtering in
heard the dog stir
we walked
few cars
just us and a few other early dogs
thankful for the lack of wind
savoring the sunshine and blue skies
a backdrop for the renewal of Spring
it’s all rather glorious
simple joys
early on a Sunday morning
May 4, 2014
Turquoise Tangles 