SOL 22/31: Bound for the Mountains

 On the road again

 Can't believe I'm on the road again

Only slept two nights in my own bed

We can't wait to see Carolina's mountains. 

(with apologies to Willie Nelson)

SOL 21/31 and Poetry Friday: A Double Etheree!

I'm posting late tonight. Imagine my delight to see a fix to my problem with a video from Stacey at Two Writing Teachers. I'll watch it soon. Too tired now! I hope Betsy rescues my link in time to post it to today's round-up. This post is also my offering for Poetry Friday.

 

Hear

my plea

ye WordPress

platform slicers!

For some weird reason

my comments disappear.

One possible fix? Check spam

folder for comments from friends like

me who yearn to support your writing.

No explanation for why this happens.

I hit submit and comments disappear.

After twelve years without this issue,

the spam folder snatches my words,

mutes my musings into its

darkness. Stop this madness, 

WordPress! Free my words

to encourage

and inspire

pals who

slice.

SOL 20/31: Party with Leigh Anne!

My delayed flight out of Seattle resulted in a missed connection to Greensboro that necessitated an overnight stay in the Dallas area. My niece came to my rescue and put me up for the night, but it was already past the midnight (east coast deadline) for posting when I opened my computer.

Thanks, Leigh Anne, for inviting us to this Word Bugget party. You can find more Word Buffet fun at this link. When I got to the airport, I realized that my word list was in my checked baggage! I had fun creating sentences in the context of my airport setting.

folderol

noun     

1. mere nonsense; foolish talk or ideas.

2. a trifle; gimcrack; gew-gaw.

I wasn't tempted by the folderol in the Hudson shop at the airport, but I simply could not resist the siren call of an overpriced Seattle Chocolate Salted Almond Bar.

cattywampus

adverb

3. diagonally; obliquely: We took a shortcut and walked catawampus across the field.

It would be faster if you could walk cattywampus across airline terminals.

whippersnapper

 (Word of the Day at Dictionary.com)

I was amused to see this Word of the Day yesterday. My folksy father often used this word.

noun

      an unimportant but offensively presumptuous person, especially a young one.

I was unimpressed by the whippersnapper at the deli counter who had much to learn about customer relations from her older and wiser work companions. 

savor

verb 

      10. to give oneself to the enjoyment of 

Once we are in flight, I plan to savor two squares of my Seattle Chocolate bar. (I indulged in four squares since we had waited so long on the tarmac.)

cozy 

 adjective

Giving a feeling of comfort, warmth, and relaxation

I am hoping for a cooler environment on the airplane since my long sleeve, turtleneck top seems too cozy for the airport terminal and spring’s imminent arrival. (It was perfect once we were airborne. I even reached for a light jacket as another layer.)

SOL 18/31: Celebrating

I slept fitfully as one does when one knows the alarm will go off at 2:50 am and your ride will arrive at 3:50 am for a 6 am flight. About an hour before my alarm was set to go off, my phone was making those clicking noises indicating arriving text messages. I wondered which friend was texting in the middle of the night! I was surprised to see that American Airlines was the culprit and not a sleep-deprived friend. They were notifying me of a delay in my flight that would make it impossible for me to make my scheduled connection. My husband phoned and we scheduled a later connection. I texted and called my driver, and waited for him to respond.  Once he got back to me, I settled in for a few more hours sleep before our planned departure at 11 am.

But things were not to go as planned once again. My flight was delayed again until later in the afternoon resulting in . . . you guessed it! Another missed connection with an overnight stay before I could get home. After some back and forth with husband and daughter (I was supposed to watch the grand boys tomorrow), we decided I should just wait and leave tomorrow. Daughter scrambled to arrange child care and I showered while son sorted out a lingering confirmation that should have been cancelled. Some people say it takes a village, but for us, it takes the whole family and a friend willing to let you extend your stay for ONE MORE DAY!

Given all the changes that had to be made, you may wonder why I titled this post Celebrating!

In Spite of the Bad, I Will Count the Good

1. I was not at the airport when I learned of the delay.

2. Family members helped me with the needed changes.

3. My daughter was able to find child care for tomorrow.

4. It is another beautiful, sunny day in Seattle.

5. My friend and I packed a lunch and headed to the park.

6. I am taking my accommodating friend out to dinner this evening.

7. I will get a full night's sleep before tomorrow's mid-morning flight.

SOL 17/31: 7 Good Things About This Week

I love reading blog posts because I can always find an idea for the days when I'm in search of a topic. I borrowed from Elisabeth's post (who borrowed from Beth) and probably a few others who have used this format. I did tweak it a bit. 7 Good Things +3 Photos. Enjoy!

Yesterday, I was unable to post on Word Press blogs which also meant that I couldn't leave my link on TWT. The problem persists, but I'll write my post and try my best to add my link to Day 17.

 7 Good Things About This Week

1. Time in Leavenworth's independent bookstore with my book-loving friends
2. Mountains
3. Blossoms
   
4. Sunshine
5. Leta's homemade rolls
6. Becca's Brownie Cookies
7. Our annual book club retreat in Leavenworth
   

3 Photos From This Week 

Choosing books for another year is serious business!

SOL 16: Tricube Poem for a Book Club Retreat

Fellow blogger, Lisa, inspired me to use a tribcube* to capture our yearly book club retreat. Some of us have been in this book club for twenty-six years. We meet at a member's family cabin in Leavenworth each March. It's a pleasure being together and choosing our books for the upcoming year.

Friends gather

Hugs abound

Laughter rules

 

Luscious food

Books chosen

Friendly vibes

 

Midnight snacks

Late night chats

Friends for keeps 

 

- Ramona Behnke

*Rules for a tricube:

• Each line contains three syllables.
• Each stanza contains three lines.
• Each poem contains three stanzas.

SOL 15/31: A Stroll through Slices on March 15th

I rarely write a slice ahead of time, but my book club retreat on Friday calls for me to plan ahead. I chose to glance back at my writing on March 15th through the years with an accounting of the main topics of my slices:

2012  Hope Springs Eternal - cockeyed optimist embraces new day (haiku)

2013  A Frenetic Slice - work first, then the reward

2014  Surrendering to Joy - a white flag slice or when a teacher surrenders

2015  Telling Our Story in Pics - book club retreat

2016  Cut from the Same Cloth as Uncle Frank - I don't even have an Uncle Frank!

2017  Parking Garage Blues (verse two) - Nightmare Parking at Bellevue Place

2018  Read by Numbers - How many books did I interact with in one day?

2019  A Call to Action - climate change on Poetry Friday

2020  Padlet Power - a post about being "padlet happy"

2021  I Went to Island Books - first in-person visit in over a year

2022  My RSVP - responding to Leigh Anne's invitation 

2023  Kitchen Memories - remembering the kitchen of my youth

 

# of Slices by Topic

Reading/ book love - 3 (no surprises there)

Poetry - 2 

Book club retreats - 2 

Memories of childhood - 1 

Adventure with a friend - 1

Classroom whistlers - 1

Padlet creations - 1

RSVP to a fellow slicer - 1 

If you'd like to read one of my more humorous slices about teaching, check out "A white flag slice" from ten years ago in Surrendering to Joy. It's just a paragraph long, but captures a joyful interlude from my classroom.