Tanka for my Mother

a true Libra, she

needed beauty and colour

red, yellow, blue, green

the artist splashed a rainbow

on canvas to free her soul

Imitate the Sun, oil painting by Frances Etlin-Rapoport

Daily Haiku Prompt: red

Detour

Canada geese take a

detour in protest of the

evil southern winds

Photo: Getty images

(Daily Haiku Prompt: Geese)

Daily Haiku Prompt: Wild

waitress auditions

to get bigger tips as she

dramatizes the menu

acts out the daily special

she serves wild rice with panache

https://tenor.com/view/monkey-dancing-monkey-dance-gif-3790182910027680828

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egMWlD3fLJ8

Time Magician

soft guitar music

shrimp and white wine

on the patio

magenta-streaked sky

typical Key West sunset

at Mallory Square

the snake charmer

was charming but

had too much wine

need to leave now

"hurry up but walk slowly

and don't make me laugh"

impossible requests

you did two of them

but you did make me laugh

Harmony

three voices singing:

pure gold harmony in a

Brian Wilson tribute

I wanted to listen to some Carly Simon music (because I Haven't Got Time for the Pain, with my sore elbow) and came across this gem, 

In My Room, with Carly Simon, David Crosby, and Jimmy Webb.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKj6309Gx_o

Unexpected

it's March, barely spring

wisteria vine surprise--

first purple flower

wisteria won't

bloom until its seventh year--

mine waited for nine

This happened when we lived in our house. There were lots of green leaves climbing the fence but I had given up on ever seeing a flower.

https://boreal-owl.livejournal.com/62556.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZj032MNIx4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9IwBJYTwQ0

Literary Quotes

 "He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to a dictionary."

            - William Faulkner about Hemingway

"Does he really think big emotions come from big words?"

            - Ernest Hemingway about Faulkner

Elbows Up Revisited

banged elbow on the wall

so elbows up hurts me now--

need to ice and rest

A Day Brightener

toddler in stroller

saw my owl t-shirt

said "owl," waved, smiled

perspicacious child

because he knows the

most important word

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQetemT1sWc

In The Early Morning Brain

In The Early Morning Brain

early morning phone call:

wasted time listening to

a useless message

fast-tracking breakfast

stumbled while I was half-asleep:

nearly dropped coffee pot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B34qwRrkSvQ

Prompt word: happenstance

Happenstance

I met you on a blind date

arranged by a woman

who knew our parents

but not us.

She thought we liked fine art

but you liked classical music

and I preferred writing.

You lured me with humour

and we've been married 32 years.

Were you my beshert? Fate?

Or happenstance?

Monday Nightmare

Remember these golden oldies from a student's nightmare playlist?

I haven't done my homework!

I didn't study all year!

I didn't read the textbook and today's the exam!

I don't remember how to get to school!

I forgot to bring my books!

For the past month, Monday nights have brought interrupted sleep, insomnia, or nightmares.

When I wake I realize that I'm anxious about Tuesday mornings, for a good reason which has now been resolved. I hope.

Last night's nightmare was  unique and funny--in retrospect. I was told, "You have to have the Passover seder for the entire family. Tonight!" Of course, I hadn't done the shopping, cleaning, or cooking for this. It came as a complete surprise.

So I madly scurried around in a shopping frenzy. I sent flowers to my maternal grandparents. In the dream, I couldn't remember who was still alive and who wasn't. Just which relatives did I need to include? The invitation list and the to-do list grew longer and longer and time was running out...

When I woke I remembered that this was July, not April, so it wasn't Passover after all. I had to laugh. 

Only a Jewish woman would ever have such a dream. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h81Ojd3d2rY

 

How to Improve Mornings: Advice From Splenda

 I'm an unrepentant night owl. 

I go to bed late, partly because it fits my biological clock, and partly because I'm busy doing household stuff. After that I have time for self-care: exercise, meditation, listening to relaxing music. Sometimes I write. Self-care time is non-negotiable.

But I now have to get up extra early and do a lot of chores before I get to have coffee. So I'm chronically sleep-deprived. 

Coffee, as everyone knows, is the only reason for getting up before noon. Unless you have a job where someone expects you to be awake and mentally alert. When I had such jobs, I always picked up a cup of coffee and took it to my desk.

I take my coffee black but M puts things in his, including Splenda.

Splenda used to put corny but optimistic advice on its packets. I found they made mornings a little better.

So before I run out of those packets, I'd like to share some 

Splenda Advice.

"Create your own sunshine."

"Be happy. It drives other people crazy."

"The perfect moment is now."   (I used to debate about the accuracy of this one, but then I realized that the only moment  you have now is now.)

"The best way to get there is to start."

"Leave a little sparkle wherever you go." (Sparkle, not glitter. Glitter makes you memorable, but not in a good sense.)

"Life is short. Make it sweet." (Poignant, but true.)

And my favourite:

"Every day is a fresh opportunity."

I'll drink to that!

Daily Haiku Prompt: rain

 Rain

owls don't like the rain

it makes their feathers soggy--

dinner will be late

Fog

steady puffs of white smoke

now you see it, now you don't--

Golden Gate magic

Daily Haiku Prompt: garden

 Garden

cholesterol pill

becomes a health garden

for ants on the floor

Tanka for Father's Day

 my father's birthday

doesn't hurt as it once did

nor does Father's Day

pencil sketch hangs on the wall

memory of his voice fades

Supportive

 

"Why do I buy more

owls?" I ask and he replies,

"For more-owl support."

Political Cartoon: Some Statistics

Flight Plan and Copy Editor's Debut (two haiku)

Flight Plan

Photo: NASA

fly me to the moon

with its one-sixth gravity

instant weight loss plan

Copy Editor's Debut

seven-year-old me

puzzled over Babar's name--

Barbara, misspelled?

Ambitious and Breathless

 Ambitious

Hemingway's six-toed cat

dreams of 

Kilimanjaro's leopard

https://www.hemingwayhome.com/our-cats

https://pdcrodas.webs.ull.es/naturalismo/HemingwayTheSnowsOfKilimanjaro.pdf

Breathless

kissing me breathless:

like vintage Dom Perignon

without the headache

(Daily Haiku Prompts on BlueSky: breath, wine)

Mystery Bird Visit

Early this morning we noticed a GIGANTIC bird on the ledge of our 6th floor terrace. Assumed it was a Canada Goose. Its leg seemed to be injured because he/she was limping along. I was going to call Wildlife Control after we finished breakfast but it disappeared in the meantime.

Did he drop by for some of my blueberries or a cup of coffee?

If he was after my weed collection (I'm talking dandelions etc. in planters, not cannabis), there was a glass railing between him and them. If he had landed a bit further, he could have had a nibble.

If he could fly, why did he land? 

Happy Birthday to Ya, Stevie!

 Stevie Wonder's birthday was actually yesterday, May 13.

Thanks, Stevie, for being the beautiful person and talented musician you are. Also thanks for bringing me luck on your birthday yesterday. I'm Happier Than The Morning Sun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4PcSOLtf-U

A Mother's Weekend Smile

My favourite funny story about mothers involves mine and the mother of one of my childhood friends.

This happened about 1960, long before the days of cell phones.

Frances (my mother) called Florence (her friend) to arrange a lunch get-together. They agreed to meet at the club at noon.

At noon, Frances arrived at the club. She waited but Florence never showed up.

"What happened?" Frances asked Florence that night. "Why weren't you at the club for lunch?"

"I was there, "said Florence. "Where were you?"

Frances had gone to Northwood Golf Club and Florence had gone to The Primrose Club.

I still giggle thinking about this.

Nest

 

owls don't build nests

they renovate, decorate

someone else's home

(daily haiku prompt: nest)

April 23 Daily Haiku Prompts: grass, pears

neither grass nor pears

alas! weeds, I know them well

on Shakespeare's birthday

"As" by Stevie Wonder - live studio version

I needed some music therapy today, and this did Wonders for my mood. 

Hoppy Easter/last day of Passover!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_sG0weS1d8l

weeds

 hills of yellow weeds--

dandelion profusion?

Dijon mustard plants

Unfriended

 Tariffs, tariffs, everywhere.

Annex our country? Don't you dare!

A border formerly undefended.

But now you're officially unfriended.

Former allies, no longer friends.

Elbows up, we fight back. This is where it ends.

Where Does Creativity Hide? TED Talk from Amy Tan

 https://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_where_does_creativity_hide

Here's Hooting at You: 2024 Owl Cam Highlights

 Here's Hooting at You, Athena!

Owl's well at the Cornell Lab's Great Horned Owl Cam. Take a peek at Athena and her brood of 2024.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKOZvHLeqb0

 

Athena raises a duo of owlets at the Lady Bird Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas. 

Snow Day

Yesterday 14 fresh inches of snow dumped on Toronto and lots more elsewhere in Ontario.

Great for kids and teachers who are getting a long weekend anyway. (Thursday was the first Snow Day and they all got Friday off. Today, Monday, is Family Day.)

But not so great for the rest of us. No mail, not much TTC, blocked driveways, and much more inconvenience.

Doug Ford should be ashamed of himself, among other reasons, for calling an unnecessary winter provincial election. 

Which inspired this poem...

Snow, snow, go away

Dougie Ford will cause dismay

'cause his PCs want to stay.

Snow, snow, take a dump

on the head of ______ _____ .     (Hmmm, what three syllables rhyme with "dump"?)

Happy Place Meditation & A Modest Proposal

 I love California.

We've vacationed there maybe 20 times, mostly to get away from Pre-Spring. It has everything: nice people, great weather, great food and wine, wonderful scenery, lots to see and do.

When I do my Happy Place Meditation, there are two California places I visualize.

The first doesn't exist anymore because of redevelopment. Upstart Crow was one of my favourite places to sit with a cup of coffee (and sometimes a piece of chocolate cake) to write.

Upstart Crow Cafe and Bookshop, San Diego

The second one is the view from the parking lot of Coit Tower, overlooking San Francisco Bay. I could see Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge, and if I moved over a bit I could look down and see cars zigzagging down twisty Lombard Street. If I was lucky, I could see sailboats. Ahh...instant relaxation!

Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco Bay from Coit Tower

WARNING: POLITICAL COMMENT AHEAD

A Modest Proposal

A political leader from the United States has proposed that Canada become the 51st state and is applying economic pressure to get his greedy hands on us. This is absolutely not going to happen, no matter what.

(Also, he's ignoring the fact that we aren't one big clump of people. Ontario is five times the size of Texas. We are 10 provinces plus some territories occupied by Indigenous people. Therefore, we would become at least 10 states with 20 senators--all of whom would dominate the Senate and stop anything he wanted to legislate.)

But I digress.

If there are any changes to be made--not that we need any--here's one I could get behind.

I suggest that California join us as the 11th province.

"Cana-Cali" (or "Cali-Cana"--I'm not picky)

could share our natural resources, energy, and great health care

and we could enjoy its weather, wine, and fresh produce

all tariff-free.

A Reminder About The Continuing Importance of Holocaust Education

 January 27 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Holocaust_Remembrance_Day

There was an article in The Toronto Star about the need to teach teenagers and millennials about the Holocaust. There have been attempts to improve history education over the years. But today's young people still are terribly misinformed.

This article reminded me about an incident that happened to M and me in the mid-80s.

We were invited to the new house of a Gentile couple, friends for many years. It was about a year after their wedding. I'm sure they don't read my blog, so I feel safe in writing about them. 

We had been invited to their wedding. M had been the groom's good friend for 20 years. In fact, M was told he would be the groom's best man--until he was usurped by the groom's brother. Okay, he's family, we thought. We can understand how you have to please family members. M was asked to be an usher instead.

At the receiving line, we felt that the brother was very cool to us.

There had been other hints of this family's antisemitism here and there over the years, mostly from the man's father. Most were addressed to M, but I got to hear some of it, too, at the wedding rehearsal.

After the wedding, we hardly heard from this couple and wondered about it. Until this dinner party at their new house.

Before dinner, the wife asked M about where his family came from.

"My parents escaped from France during World War II when my mother was pregnant with me in 1944. My mother's family was stuck in occupied Romania. My father's entire family all died in Poland during World War II. One of his brothers died while he was in jail."

"In jail? Why? What did he do?"

We looked at each other, shocked at her ignorance. She was totally clueless.  

M had to explain to her what it was like to be Jewish in Europe at that time. 

This couple was the same age as M and had studied World War II history from the same high school textbooks that he did. Both of them were well educated professionals, with masters degrees.

After that experience, we dropped them as friends.