Category Archives: Essays

Echoes of my Neighborhood

Happy Thursday! It is that time again! Time to take a look at my neighborhood! This week we had an interesting development! I remember sharing a photo of one of our neon landmarks downtown…the Dr. Pepper sign. Back then it had a few visitors…Spider-Man and the Hulk, I believe. This week Batman and Super Man are gracing the platform! 

Let the epic battle commence while an unsuspecting but hopeful population sleeps! 

     
 
  
 The local paper getting ready to run tomorrow mornings paper.  
  
    
    

Thanks to Jacqueline at a cooking pot and twisted tales. Click HERE to see other neighborhoods from around the globe! 

 


Sunday’s Week in ReVerse ~ The Extremes ~ 6 March 2016

cloud9Happy Sunday, The signs of spring are all around here in the Northern hemi. Winter is having a few final hurrahs but her days are numbered. It’s just a matter of time. How comforting to know that the seasons follow their prescribed paths year after year. Just as we weary from the extremes…the cold, the heat…the transitional seasons slip in, right on cue, to give us relief. Spring with its warm, wet fecundity and Autumn with its vibrant, surrendering release. We need the in-between to pause, take a breath and gain perspective.

Today is my in-between. As I lifted verses from the poetry and prose of the past week I began to see that I played a balancing act each day within each piece. Happily I have arrived here today relatively unscathed by the entire rollercoaster ordeal, my usual optimistic, positive self.

It is fascinating to me in retrospect, for truly there were some dark, emotional moments last week. The added burdens of being a caretaker took its toll, exhaustion finally having its way with me Saturday. I slept most of the day. Sleep is good. Generally, life is good. Here in the in-between it’s easy to see. And this is the most interesting thing…I maintained balance through it all precisely because I embraced the extremes, letting the pendulum have its full sway each day eventually settling me back to center softly swaying, giving me pause, time to breathe.

To illustrate this amazing contrast of extremes I give you two lines of ReVerse from each post this week. It is evident from my words that I could have easily lost myself on either side. How clearly the chaos makes perfect sense in retrospect. I know that no matter what the coming week presents, I will survive, thrive even, because of the amazing balancing act of my subliminal self in its ability to center me. It’s a reminder that I am equipped with everything, the tools I need to live this life of extremes…beautiful perspective always to be found in the in-between.

Have a wonderful week!

Sunday’s Week in ReVerse ~ The Extremes ~ 6 March 2016

diurnal dance
                             waning flush
polarized rivals
                            “soft launch”
hint at hidden truths
                            images captured in silhouette
a voyeur is thrilled
                            sitting front row center
while she fumed
                            dilly-dallied
much maligned
                            to bloom
some prefer routine
                            chaotic bliss
stir my imagination
                            Cloud 9

unsung, unpaid
                            also called

duties as assigned
                           do-it-all
when something breaks down
                           a hero with tools
on the wing…
                           fragrant sweetness swirls faintly on the wind   

kat ~ peace out y’all 🙂


Friday’s Word of the Day Haiku – Factotum

factotum

Happy Friday to you! Today’s Word of the Day from Dictionary.com is “Factotum.” The expanded definition is:

  1. any employee or official having many different responsibilities.
  2. a person, as a handyman or servant, employed to do all kinds of work around the house.
Origin of factotum
Factotum has roots in the Latin facere meaning “to make; do” and tōtus meaning “all.” It entered English in the mid-1500s.

Vocabulary.com offers a more expanded description:

“If you’re running late and still need to iron your clothes and make breakfast, but can’t find your shoes, you may wish you had a factotum, or a servant who does a variety of odd job for their employer.

Factotum sounds like the two words “fact” and “totem” spliced together, but this curious noun originally come from the Latin words that mean “do” and “everything.” In current times, since servants aren’t typical anymore, we might call someone who has a paid job like this a jack-of-all-trades or possibly a personal assistant.”

Having been a stay-at-home mom for a number of years as well as performing my current day job as an Executive Administrative Assistant, this is a word that really resonates with me. How have I not heard it before?

Well, it could have something to do with the fact that this is just another one of those historical words that doesn’t really apply in our modern culture…or does it? I can think of at least one application of this word that is true to it’s original meaning. I give you the modern “housewife”, “homemaker”, stay-at-home mom (or dad) who provides a variety of services, often for free. Though some will say that their rewards are intangible things like love, fulfillment and joy. But having lived the life, I can tell you that it is a paycheck that validates what we consider to be “work.”  At any rate, I will leave you with a trio of Haiku that hopefully make good use of this “new” old word.

And…it’s the weekend you know. Don’t work too hard!

They cook, clean, parent
unsung, unpaid factotums
also called “Mothers”!

Admins do-it-all!
They are office factotums
“Duties as assigned.”

When something breaks down
call a handy factotum
a hero with tools!

kat ~ 4 March 2016

Have a great weekend! And don’t forget, you too can join the Dictionary Word of the Day Haiku Challenge. Click HERE to learn more and play along. Some of the words this week were real doozies. I’m interested to see if anyone took the challenge!

 


Echoes of my Neighborhood

Happy Thursday! Next to trees, I love clouds. White clouds, storm clouds, sunrise, sunset…and the sun shining through them is spectacular. They stir my imagination. They inspire me.

Today is a gray, overcast sort of day, so I pulled out some of my favorite sunshiny, blue sky cloud photos (I had so many it was hard to choose!) And I would like to share them with you. Hope these little snap shots of the sky above my head is an inspiration to you wherever you are. 🙂

This post is in response to Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha at acookingpotandtwistedtales.com. If you would like to see other “neighborhoods” from around the globe, click HERE.

I call this little montage, Cloud 9 🙂

cloud5
cloud21cloud6cloud24cloud26cloud19Cloud12cloud14
cloud9


Sunday’s Week in ReVerse ~ 28 February 2016

img_6342-1
Happy Sunday to you this Leap Day’s Eve! What a week it has been! I missed participating in a few of my favorite challenges this week being otherwise occupied while attending to my partner who had surgery. It made for a short work week which meant cramming 5 days of work into three, a very early, long into the night, hospital day and a flurry of prep to bring the patient home.

Here we are beginning a new week and I am overwhelmed. Not because of the detour from our routine, but because I feel so blessed! The surgery went well, I got all my work done, I was able to fit a few naps in between the craziness and I am blessed to have people in my life to care for and who care for me. And btw…the sun came out today!

Life happens. Despite our best attempts to plan and schedule, things can change in an instant. Even when we know a detour is coming up ahead, there is no way to fully prepare for every twist and turn of the revised trip. We might even find we arrive slightly off our intended destination point. Life happens.

I have learned that it is best in these situations to go with the flow. To pause along the way to take in the new scenery. To embrace the blessings to be found in the unfamiliar (sometimes those are the best kind) :).

The circumstances outside may be a chaotic jumbled mess but if I remember to pause, to breathe, everything I need is tucked away in that moment waiting for me to notice, centering me in peace.

The coming week is sure to be full of surprises…I’ll write when I have a window, nap when the lulls give me a wink, and go with the flow of this beautiful, messy thing called life. may you too have a week of surpising blessings! Here’s a quick look back…

Sunday’s Week in ReVerse ~ 28 February 2016

Prone to incessant word churn
Lips, on the cusp of a smile
mischievous poltergeist,
’twas me who blinked first.
Like a dull needle skipping clumsily
across a broken record, they repeated
the same words.
And we wait…
Engage in futile stances,
Grace
embracing
Undeserved
Heart murmuring
Trusting
Peace.

~ kat