Happy Halloween From The Nins of Droon

Sweet Sixteen on Halloween

Seven Billion Today

Meatless Mondays at least, people.  Changes must be made.

On Earworms

In the car last night, I started singing the adverb song (Lolly, lolly, lolly) and the Lone Star Baby asked me why.

Me:  I don't know.

LSB:  I get songs stuck in my head, too.  What's really annoying is when I am singing the same short verse over and over and over again because I don't know the rest of the words!



Amen, Sister.

Swim Mom

Yesterday, I got up very early so I could swing by the store and buy Much Fruit for the Hospitality Room at the swim meet before getting the Lone Star Girl to the swim meet by 8:30am.  Then I worked concessions at the meet all day except for brief breaks to watch the Lone Star Girl's heats and one errand for the coach to get more lunches for the team when there was a miscount.  The meet didn't end until 5pm.

I also worked concessions the last time it was our team's turn.

I think I am making up for being a bad swim mom last year whose only volunteer contributions were attending the mandatory meetings and bringing stuff to sell for concessions.

But probably I shouldn't say that lest the swim parent gods strike me down for my arrogance.

Shedding

Remember how, after you had a baby, the thick lusciousness of hair that you had grown during gestation would fall out in clumps to form little hair tumbleweeds that blew into eddies among the piles of laundry while you sat nursing?

My hair is falling out like that, but I'm forty and haven't had a baby in more than seven years.  What is this about?

Poetry Published!

My poem, Thirsty Elbows, has been published on Vox Poetica today!  Please read it here and tell me what you think!  After today, it will be archived on the poemblog at Vox Poetica.

Autumn Gardening and Peace

More and more lately, I am relying on gardening as a sort of first aid for my mental state.  It soothes me more than anything except the sea and my responsibilities do not often give me time to sneak away to the beach.

I have added two lettuces, an arugula and a watercress, along with a replacement cucumber to the salad garden - and marigolds, of course.  It seems like a proper salad garden now, although the tomato plant is turning brown.  Plenty of tomatoes, though.

I have added a replacement zucchini to the vegetable garden - I have had no luck with zucchini so far.  My last few plants grew teeny, beautiful zucchini before shriveling up.  The sweet potato vines I planted have quite taken over the vegetable garden but I am uncertain as to whether there are actually sweet potatoes under there.  Soon it will be time to see.

After some perhaps questionable behavior on my part involving purple flowers, pollen and cotton swabs, my old eggplant plants are finally growing some lovely eggplant.  I guess eggplant growing is for grown-ups.

I planted two lovely boxes of marigolds for Love.

I planted another herb container - this one with two kinds of parsley and some dill.  Mainly because since the basils took hold in my other herb pot, they seem to want to be alone with the rosemary.  No parsley makes it in there anymore and even my once super-prolific oregano seems to be struggling.

I am also working on a little project that I am thinking of as the succulent nurseries.

It will never be Eden, but I come as close as I can, sheltering a little patch of urban Wild that also shelters me.

Sleepy Listener

Last night I was reading to the Lone Star Baby in her bed and she touched my arm.  

Me:  Yes?

LSB:  I'm listening to the story and I'm really sorry but I want to know the story and right now I'm really sleepy so I can't understand what you're reading anymore.

So then I marked our place in the book and just snuggled with her as she drifted off.  Little sweetie.

Writer-Mama Update

The bad news:  My chapbook submission did not advance in the contest so I need to find a new place for it.  I'm bummed because it really is wonderful and full of my heart.

The good news:  I submitted eight poems across the ether today and am working on some Lone Star Ma stuff.

Write hard, die free.  I carry on.