June 2026

Memories of India…

Not mine. Kate’s.
Mathematicians get to have so much fun.
OK, they have to do very, very hard mathy stuff..
Some of which can help develop string theory…
Or even not-string theory.
Yes, apparently that’s a thing, too.

The math conference was in Bengaluru
And one day the group visited some nearby sights.
Kate had this Mysore masala dosa…
In actual Mysore!
She said she loved it.
The traffic, tho, overwhelmed her.
And cows were everywhere, everywhere…
Like Chicken Man of yore.
She was perfectly whelmed
By street cows.

 

Me, too, even at this distance.

So I just had to make a cow-alternative calendar.

...
If this isn't nice, what is?
              ~ Kurt Vonnegut, of course 

May 2026

Blossoms Abounding...

Every year,
Along with my fellow Torontonians,
I watch reports
Of High Park’s cherry blossoms…
When to expect them
And what stages they’re in…
Along with lots of pix,
Of course…
It is our Rite of Spring.

In Spring of 1988 
I visited Japan
With a group of my
Canadian Buddhist buddies.
We attended a wonderful 
Buddhist meeting
In a member’s home
In Yamanashi.
Sakura was in full tilt
But early that morning
It had snowed.
In anticipation of our meeting,
Members went out 
Before the snow could
Demolish the glory,
They cut limbs
Lined with the pink blossoms
And hung them
On the walls.

This year my friend, Fiona,
Lives in the England,
In the West Midlands...
Where she offers
Things like reflexology,  
Reiki, and intuitive readings.
In the last couple of weeks
She visited her brother
In London and 
she shared this image
Of apple blossoms
In Maylow Park’s
Community orchard.

I love that humans
Everywhere
Come together
To celebrate
Spring’s resplendent luxury.

I also love seeing humans
In my own hood venture forth
In shorts and flip-flops.
Of course, this is the time
Of flip-flopping back to
Coats and boots the next day.
As I write this, we 
Have a forecast
Of overnight frost.
May 24th can’t come
Soon enough.
Then on the 25th
We’ll complain
About the heat
Again.
We can, after all
Rejoice in
All the cycles…
All the rites.
...
If this isn't nice, what is?
              ~ Kurt Vonnegut, of course

 

April 2026

And that reminds me...

The older we get
The more we say that.
Of course.
It’s because we’re
Fortunate enough
To have memories to connect…
And a lucidity that
Still does the linking.
I rejoice.

Case in point:
I just finished a super book.
And one of the scenes
Therein
Took me back to the early 1960s.
The woman pictured above
In this month’s offering
Would have been 
My godmother
If I had had one.
Sammie and my mum
Met at university
At a time when
Women didn’t go to university.
My mum was majoring
In architecture
And Sammie was majoring
In English Lit.
Sammie was blind,
Having lost her vision
When she was eleven…
And she was determined
Not to be slowed down
Or kept from living
A life she wanted.

She went on to found
The Waco, Texas, 
Lighthouse for the Blind
Where she taught others
To be determined, too.
She earned her master’s
In psychology and eventually
Headed up the whole of the
Texas Lighthouse
And when she retired
The State of Texas
Declared a Sammie K. Rankin Day
And now there’s an annual 
Memorial award in her name
For people contributing
To teaching the blind.

Anyhow, after I grew up
And moved to a central Texas home
Sammie and her Seeing Eye dog
Visited me
And continued 
Enrich my own totally sighted life.

But before then
When my mum and I
Visited Sammie in Waco
We often helped with things
That she wanted to change
In her home…
After all, not only could we see,
But we were both artists.
She said she could trust us
To do a job and do it well.

One such visit my mum
Built pantry shelving
Between the studs
On Sammie’s enclosed
Back porch.
My part was to make
Braille labels for
The canned goods.
That evening
We all three
Carried cans
To the porch and
Sammie decided
Which shelves for which cans.
At one point
The power suddenly went out
Leaving us in total darkness!
My mum and I 
Both stopped and
Exclaimed in surprise…
Sammie just quietly continued
Walking and carrying..
Asking, “What’s up?”
Of course,
My mum and I were
Too busy laughing
To answer.

It’s a sweet memory,
Not a major one…
And the scene in that book
Was neither sweet nor major…
Just part of the story…
But look where it took me!
I was enjoying the book
So much I’m late getting 
This missive to you today.
I had to find these old Sammie pix,
Make them into matching duotones…
And tell you all this.
...
So: 
I’m late, but with an 
Inspiring cause.
I guess since Sammie
Wasn’t my godmother,
I’ll claim her as 
My goddess-mother.
...
If this isn't nice, what is?
              ~ Kurt Vonnegut, of course

 

March 2026

 

Needing new definitions

     for lions and lambs...

In Toronto, our recent weeks
Have continued to show us
Grey days with
Record snowfalls 
Where even our sunny days
Were coated with slippery ice.
And the weather prognosticators
Are telling us
There’s more to come.

Thank goodness
Kate takes glorious walks
In Oakland
To remind us that
Spring’s olours 
Are sure to return
And explode all around us.
Remember???

In the meantime,
I’ll have another
Cup of hot chocolate…
Maybe laced with
A bit of Kahlúa…
And be ready with my own
Hooray!
For Spring...
Whenever
She decides to arrive.
...
If this isn't nice, what is?
              ~ Kurt Vonnegut, of course

Feb 2026

Yes, it’s the Year of the Horse, again...

Just the word:
HORSE…

As a girl, I was a great fan of
Roy Rogers and his ever-present Trigger.
Oh, how crushed was I when I overhead
Aunt Mary say to Aunt Florence,
"I don't know what she sees in that Roy Rogers.
"His eyes are too small and he's
"Not handsome at all."
So I didn't talk to her about him anymore.
But I did still talk about Trigger!
After all, horses were the
Main reason I liked cowboys.

As an adult, I learned that my mother
Never liked cowboy movies,
But when I was little…
And my father travelled...
She took me every week
To see Roy and Trigger.
And Dale and Buttermilk.
And Gene and Champion.
And Hop-A-Long and Silver.
She even named her little
Willys Jeep car Nellie Belle
In honour of my enjoyment
Of these western forays.

Driving with my parents
We would seek white horses.
I learned to lick my thumb and
Place its wet spot on the palm
Of my other hand, then make
A fist and slap it quickly and loudly
Onto that same wet spot.
It was called "stamping white horses."
Do you know of this game?
There was no score kept…
Just spotting and stamping.

Once visiting my grandparents'
Little gas-station-cum-general-store
In Van Alstyne, Texas, I fell in love
With a clock in a horseshoe
Next to which stood a golden Trigger.
It was some kind of painted cast metal.
I don't know if the Horse Clock was
One of the items for sale... or a vague
Attempt at décor... but I was totally smitten.
And my grandparents, in the
Great tradition of all grandparents,
Gave. It. To. Me.
Again, the adult me knows
How this Horse Clock
Must have offended my mother's taste.
But I looooved it with all my heart.
Whenever we moved (which was often)
This same mother ensured
My Horse Clock took pride of place
Next to my bed where I could easily touch it
From my pillow.
Yes, I did learn to tell time
With that Horse Clock.

Other horses came over time.
On our frequent trips to Matamoros
And Nueva Laredo, my mother
Helped me find a photographer
In the zocolo who always had a
Wooden Horse for posing upon.
My childhood scrapbook is spattered
With these images showing me
As I grew. There are even a few
From my late teen years
In happy counterpoint.
My blind almost Godmother, Sammie,
Even prevailed upon my mother
One time to help her climb aboard
One such steed so she could
Send me her picture like mine of yore.

During fourth and sixth grades
We lived in tiny Bartonville, Texas,
And there pastured an aging
And gentle Sadie for a neighbour.
Sadie let me lead her to our fence
So I could climb from fence to her back
And explore our vast four acres
Bareback.
I fed her carrots that she
Delicately bit as I held them
And sugar cubes that she
Lipped from my open palm.
My mother, the city girl, later
Confessed her fears at the time.
I'm glad I didn't know.

When I was preggers with Peter
His dad and I visited friends
Who lived on a very remote ranch
In the mountains of northern Mexico.
One day, we rode our horses
For so many hours
Our hosts sent out cowboy
Search parties to find us...
To ensure our baby's safety.
Later, Peter and I rode horses
On a bridle path at Lake Louise.
He remembers the horses' names
Still.

Of course, Little Peter and Little Kate
Each had their own horse on springs.
I painted them white, because,
Like my mother, the aesthetic
Has always been more important to me
Than the commercial.
Peter called his horse "Wrong"
And Kate called hers "Mine."
They know why.

What's that other little horse
On the calendar?
The one in the middle?
I discovered it while looking
For something else
And kept it because
It's sweet.

Have a very happy
Year of the Fire Horse,
My friends.
...
In China it's known as a time for victories, unexpected adventure and surprising romance! The horse is associated with fire and therefore always ready to race on… during the Year of Horse, we must be careful not to let that fire consume any wood that might be around us. The lesson this year is to run, but to plan and to pace ourselves, to ensure we reach our ultimate goals.
...
In western astrology, Mercury will be going retrograde for the first time this year from Feb 25th to March 19th. Back up everything on all your devices about a week before. Double-check all your documents. Try to avoid entering into any new contract, but if you must, be prepared for delays. If you have an on-going contract negotiation, revisit areas you thought were settled… they might have become unstuck.
...
If all this sounds familiar, I confess to recycling this month’s offering, albeit a bit more teal-y this time. See my previous Year of the Horse calendar from 2014.
...
If this isn't nice, what is?
              ~ Kurt Vonnegut, of course

 

Jan 2026

 

And here we all are again...

On New Year’s Eve
A quarter century ago,
I wrote my first
New Year’s poem.
It’s about peeling
An onion.
I hand-delivered 
Printed copies
Along with a fresh
Purple onion
To people in the GTA.
I continued
With my New Year’s poems
For another seven years.
That’s when I started
Folding these
Into my January calendars
Like this year.
You can find those
Early offerings here.
...
In another time 
And place
The Russian poet,
Joseph Brodsky
Wrote annual observations
He called Nativity Poems.
Here from his 1968,
His compelling exhortation:
     So, if only in our lifetime,
          let us be various!
...
Like this maverick pelican
Who’s left his herd 
Huddled on their
Lake Merritt island refuge…
This might be the pelican
Known as Hank.
He’s definitely
Reminding us 
Each to find our own way
To be various.
The very act
Of striking out
On our own
Can give us
The precious option
Fresh perspectives
Every day.
Hank makes it look easy.
...
Thank you, Kate, for this Oakland pic. This month, at the usual link above right, I’m including higher resolution options with the 2026 watermark and without. You choose.
...
If this isn't nice, what is?
              ~ Kurt Vonnegut, of course

Dec 2025

Defying the Season...

Look at these glorious
Tulips…
Just for me…
Not the usual chrysanthemums 
For November birthdays,
But Spring’s promise
Just for me...
Gifted by my grandson Lucas
In honour of my own day.
They’re blooming… 
Opening up bigger each day.
And I am so proud
Of their seasonal defiance…
Because I’m old now
And I like to think
I’m blooming
Ever wilder each day.
...
Like Sara Millican says,
     It's a privilege to get old 
     Because not everybody 
     Gets the chance.
     And I don’t just mean
     People we’ve lost,
     I also mean people 
     Like Madonna…
It’s NSFW, but some of you
Might enjoy watching her here.
     I also love her Zuri dress.
     I’m guessing she doesn’t
     Have to do
     Her own ironing.
...
So…
I’m blooming wilder
And joyously
Letting myself go…
     Even
          More.
...
If this isn't nice, what is?
              ~ Kurt Vonnegut, of course

Nov 25

Remembering to Remember...

Because I’m a Buddhist
My non-Buddhist friends
Have frequently gifted me
With Buddhist items from
Their travels.
One such gift was 
A Tibetan Buddhist prayer wheel
And another,
These small 
Tibetan Buddhist prayer flags.
I also own a table-top 
Balcony Buddha.
None of these is any part
Of my own Nichiren practice…
But
I do enjoy their peaceful
Intentions.

November is
The month where
I remember and share 
My intentions for a better
Tomorrow.

This is the month 
Of NaNoWriMo…
Which sadly now is no mo..
But you can still sit down
And write for the month.

Then there’s Polished Man…
A movement started in Oz
To help end violence
Against children and women.
Grab a bottle of blue 
Fingernail polish,
And paint just one nail..
And tell others and give money.

And Movember.
Grow a mo and donate
To promote men’s health.

The eleventh, of course,
Is Remembrance Day.
I always set my alarm
For 11 am 
And stop
     Whatever…
     Wherever..
And think of my friend, Van,
Whom I met in Oz.

I entreat you,
Be sure to remember
To remember
On the eleventh
Vonnegut
Et al.
His birthday
And pleas
For humanity.

Which brings me back
To these prayer flags…
I like to infuse them
With the intention
Of Peace.
    In my Buddhism
     We call it
     Kosen Rufu…
Peace in the world…
Every day a part
Of my morning and evening
Chanting. 
...
If this isn't nice, what is?
              ~ Kurt Vonnegut, of course

Oct 2025

 

Celebrating black cats all month long...

About a year after
I moved
To my current abode,
Kate met Hoochie and
Was immediately captivated
By these eyes!!!
She snapped a pic
To show us all.



I used to look after Hoochie
When her mommies,
Nancy and Katherine, travelled.
Hoochie has since moved on
To another plane and we all smile
As we remember
Her incredible softness...
And those eyes.

Of course,
Kate still has Batman…
Here showing how
To get ready for
The end of the month…
If not for 
The end of times.
Marje still has Toffle.
Of course
Kelley’s Domino and Moneypenny and Oliver
Dot my black-cat memories
And
Many years ago
Our own family had Cocoa…
Except for the occasional fleeting
Deep chocolate Siamese highlights,
She looked black.
And that counts.
All black cats count...
Especially this month.


...
If this isn't nice, what is?
              ~ Kurt Vonnegut, of course

Sep 2025

Loping across longitudes...

For a long time now
Kate has developed
A daily habit
Of running at least a mile.
Often more, 
Sometimes a lot more,
But always
At least a mile…
Every day, rain or shine…
At home or away.

Over the years she’s shared
Pix of things she sees
Along the way.
I’ve shown you
A lot of them.
Now I’m showing
You some more.
Because, again,
I just can't choose!

For the last few days
She’s been running
Near Oakland’s Lake Merritt.
OMG.
We could do a decade
Of calendars 
With just these pix.

...
If this isn't nice, what is?
              ~ Kurt Vonnegut, of course

Aug 2025

I wandered..

Lonely as a cloud…
Then found
I was in the spotlight

Doing an amazing
Solo. 
...
Thank you Roy for the pix
And your 13 years of
Being my wonderful 
Neighbour
...
If this isn't nice, what is?
              ~ Kurt Vonnegut, of course

July 2025

I’ve been in Canada since 1976...

Every year
At this time
I like to add my voice
To the sentiments
Of admiration
And appreciation that
Today’s celebrations
Imbue and
Saturate into everything
That I have come
To love about
Being here.
Thank you, Canada.
And thank you, Don Watt,
Flagman extraordinaire.  

Lucas is celebrating
In Portugal
Where he visited this beach
Last Friday.
It’s near Lisbon
And overlooks
The Atlantic.

I invite Lucas
AND ALL OF YOU
To add your voices
In whatever language
Singing… singing…
And feeling…
O Canada!
...

Enjoy this 
Celebratory calendar today,
Then move on to
This beach-only version
Sans flag. 

Both are in the
Drop Box link.
Have a great July.
...
If this isn't nice, what is?
              ~ Kurt Vonnegut, of course

June 2025

Remembering My Date with David...

About ten years ago
I told you about
Kate’s kidnapping me
And whisking me off
To Florence
And fulfilling my
Lifelong wish
To meet
Michelangelo’s David.

Kate was abetted
By her David
Along with Peter and Lisl…
Who all joined
In that glorious day.

I remember the surprise.
I remember what we ate.
I remember the cobblestones.
I remember the immersion
Of awe.
I even remember
What I wore.
...
Last month Peter and Lisl
Returned to Florence
With several of their
Friends from Barbados.
They basked in the glory
And meandered further
Around Tuscany
Where they found more awe
In the countryside and its
Traditional offerings
Of food and wine.

Their pictures evoke
Timeless traditions…
Centuries of humans
Who have
Lived here.
Toiled here.
Flourished here.
I can see how
People here
Become
Part of the land.

...

Here’s another June calendar
Because I simply
Couldn’t decide.
I call this one
     Becoming Wine…
     It’s a cycle thing.
...
If this isn't nice, what is?
              ~ Kurt Vonnegut, of course

May 2025

In a Galaxy Near You...

Almost 48 years ago
In Vancouver, Canada,
Peter enticed me
To take him to see
The original Star Wars movie.
We were both enthralled.
Of course.
This guy George Lucas
Had found a way to talk
To both of us…
In fact, to everyone
In our whole galaxy.

What we didn’t know
Was that the flick
Suffered something
Called “production difficulties.”
Seems the cast and crew
Believed the film
Would be a failure
PLUS
With tons of delays,
It was $3 million over budget.

Of course, we now know,
Via our ever-accurate
Hindsight,
This iconic first
Iteration of
The ever-expanding franchise
Ended up almost out-grossing
Top grosser Gone With the Wind.
And made household names
Of both its actors
And their characters.

Eventually Peter
Took his own sons
To see Star Wars
As well as subsequent
Titles as they
Were added.
Now we have
Multi-generational
Touchstones...
All from that 1977
Genesis.
...
Before the internet
We phoned each other
To say
Happy Luke Skywalker Day!
When email came along,
We continued digitally
And I’ve been
Adding my wishes
To you via my calendars
On and off for fifteen years.
This year is an ON-year.

I invite you to join us
In the throng.
In 2027 it’ll be 50 years!
Get ye ready!
...
If this isn't nice, what is?
              ~ Kurt Vonnegut, of course

April 2025

Remembering Comic Books...

When I was a little girl…
Let’s say about 1947-48-ish…
My parents were partners
In the downtown Waco drug store,
Praetorian Drugs.
Their friend & partner,
Sammie’s husband Everett,
Was the pharmacist.
We lived in San Benito
In the Rio Grande Valley
And every month
My mum and I
Rode the train to Waco
So my mum could
”Do the books.”
I thought that meant
Reading all the magazines
In the drug store...
Cuz she did that, too.

There was a general clerk
And even an old soda jerk
Named Andy.
I knew Andy was old
Because my mum and dad
And Sammie and Everett
Talked about his age and
His possible retirement.

I was only 4 years old
And didn’t know
Andy had instructions
To clear the comic book section
Of all except Disney offerings
During our visits
And to give me milk
No matter what I ordered
While I sat on a stool
At the old soda fountain.

My mum’s commitment
To Disney comics
Continued as I got older
Once she even refused
To let me get
Lady and the Tramp
Until I showed her
The Disney logo.

Needless to say
I didn’t continue
My interest in comics
After I outgrew Disney.

Fast forward to
Toronto circa 1985.
Kate was about
The same age
As I had been in the above…
But this is not her story.
That’s just for our
Mutual perspective.
So, 1985-ish
I went to a small
Buddhist meeting
In the home of my friend
And mentor, Mark…
One of our fellow members
Brought a guest
And after the meeting
We chatted.
He was a recent OCA grad
And he was working
As a comic book artist!!!
Mister X meant
Nothing to me,
Of course,
But it was obviously
Something impressive.
He told me a bit
About the art
And introduced me
To the concept
Of what comic books
Had become since my
Disney days in Waco.
He even told me
About the Silver Snail,
Comic book heaven
On Queen Street West.

I visited the Snail…
Spent about three hours
That first time.
I won’t tell you
How much money I spent.
But I was hooked.

That young artist
Is now one of Canada’s
Comic book royalty.
His name is Seth.
Just Seth.
I became a fan.
I’ve bought, read,
And gifted his books.
I’ve greeted him
At Word on the Street
Where he autographed
A book for me.
There’s even
An NFB doc about him.
And
Now Canada Post
Has honoured
Seth plus a few
Of his comic sibs
With their own stamps.

I just had to show you!

...
If you, like me, like to use
My calendar as your desktop,
I've made another version
This month with the right half
Shaded down so I can still
See the folders and files
I keep handy on my own desktop.
Its higher resolution version
Lives with the regular version,
But with the word "shade" added
To the filename. 
...
If this isn't nice, what is?
              ~ Kurt Vonnegut, of course

March 2025

 

Speaking of Snow...

Seems the Inuit have
50 words for snow…
Different types of snow:
Qanuk is snowflake.
Snow on the ground
Can be qanikcaw, aput
And muruaneq
When it’s soft and deep
And nutaryuk
When it’s fresh.
More words are for
Kinds of blowing snow
And still more for
All kinds of snow.

The Inuit languages
Are agglutinative…
New words are built
By putting existing parts
Together.
There’s no limit
To how many words
For snow there ae
Or might become
New another day.

I moved to Toronto
From San Antonio
And Dallas
Via Sydney and Vancouver.
And Toronto is considered
The Tropics of Canada…
We mostly don’t get
Tons of snow.
Unlike Montreal…
Or even Barrie,
Just 50 or so miles
North of here,
Gets loads more
Than we do.
It’s partly due to
The moderating
Lake Effect…
But some years
Mother Nature
Reminds us that
This Canadian land
Is indeed
A land of the
Great White North
Despite Lake Ontario’s
Beneficence.

And those are the times
I add to my own
Snow vocab:
Snowfall…
Snowflake…
Snowdrift…
Snowbank…
And
Even
Falling in the snow.

2025 has shown us
Just what
A white-out looks like.
My balcony buddha
Was wrapped
And topped for
Two weeks this
Past month.
I stayed home
Away from the
Freezing temps
Plus wind chill factors
Sometimes as cold
As -22 degrees Celsius.

Imagine my delight,
Then,
Espying Fiona Beth’s
Lovely Snowdrops…
Yes, Mother Nature
Has treats dripping
With snow
Just to show us
Her promise
Of Spring.
...
Fiona Beth
Is an eco-activist
Who spends her days
Teaching school.
This pic is from her
Recent family trip
Exploring Cannock Chase
In Staffordshire…
Yes, in England.
...
If this isn't nice, what is?
              ~ Kurt Vonnegut, of course

Feb 25

A fearless year of fresh starts...

Yes, the Lunar New Year
Came a bit early this year
But I’m on my regular schedule,
So please accept my
Well-wishes for this coming year
Even though they’re arriving
A few days late.
This snake is a
Blue Komodo Island Viper
AKA Trimeresurus Insularis...
Native to Komodo Island,
Indonesia.
Traditionally a Snake year
Is expected to be one
Of positive transformation
As people shed their old skins…
All negative energy from the past…
And slither into new beginnings.
...
Like many in my world
I never felt attracted to snakes.
In fact, because I loved all animals
As a girl and always
Stopped to pet them
On my way to and from school.
My mum was afraid I wouldn’t
Respect the danger
They represented, so
She asked my dad
To take me to the reptile house
At the San Antonio Zoo.
She couldn’t take me there herself
Because she was
Too afraid of snakes
To even look at them
Behind glass.
The purpose was to ensure
I knew what a snake was…
So she could teach me
To steer clear
And
TO BE AFRAID.
VERY AFRAID.

My mum spent the rest
Of my childhood
Sharing her
Abject horror of snakes.
And
The result was
A thoroughly ingrained
Fear that brought on
Screaming nightmares
From movies
And even pictures
In magazines.
...
Fast forward to 2015
When I med KC Blair
Of Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The day we met he asked me,
“What are you afraid of?”
And I replied, without hesitation
“Snakes!”
“But,” I told him,
“I don’t encounter any snakes
“In my daily life, so
“All I have to do
“Is close my eyes in movies.
“It’s never been a hardship.”
And KC said
“Holding such a strong fear
“Can affect your health
“And wellbeing
“In unexpected ways.”

So KC offered to help
Rid me of this
Well-intentioned
But irrational fear
Using something called
Tapping.
No, not dancing this time.
He guided me through
A process where
I tapped my fingers
On specific places
On my hands and face.
It’s called Thought Field Therapy
And apparently
There are many adherents
Everywhere, everywhere.
Yes, it’s indeed
As woo-woo as it sounds.
He took me through
The short process twice.
And since that day in 2015
I have had no fear of snakes.
None at all.

Of course, I still don’t
Run into them in my daily life
But I can watch movies,
And see pictures
And even YouTube videos
And love how beautiful
And graceful
And colourful
They are.
...
People use tapping
For more than snakes.
Other fears, of course,
Like fear of flying
Or fear of water,
Plus
Anxiety, depression,
Pain…
The list goes on.
I’m guessing tapping
Probably works
On just about anything.
Also, it’s fast
And free.

I’ve put a little
How-to JPG here.
If you want to learn more
These are the two
Best-known books.

But my little JPG
Is truly enough.
You can always
Ask me...
You don’t have
To believe it.
You just notice
Over time that
Your old skin
Is gone
And your new one
Feels great
...
KC’s son told me
That KC passed
About three years ago.
I am saddened to hear…
But happy to be offering
This to you in his memory.
Happy New Year to us all!
...
If this isn't nice, what is?
              ~ Kurt Vonnegut, of course

jan 2025

Awe Immersion...

Each new year
Invites us to indulge
In a bunch
Of resolutions
To help us be better
Human beings, perhaps…
Resolutions which we
Promptly
Make jokes about
Breaking.

I prefer to call
My efforts
Determinations…
That way there’s no
Breaking…
Only daily actions…
Some more
Remarkable
Than others…
But always
Pointing the way.

This year brings us
A fresh new
Tabula rasa..
A clean slate
To indulge our
Best ideals…
This year I offer
Some thoughts
About
Awe.

Seems there are scientists,
Like Dacher Keltner,
David Bryce Yaden, and
Marianna Graziosi,
Who have been researching
The positive effects…
Both physical and emotional…
Of experiencing awe.
They say awe is defined
As an emotion
Akin to joy, amusement,
gratitude, love, pride.
Plus
Awe is the provenance
Of so much that is human…
Music, art, religion, science
And even
Transformative
Insights
About our lives.

Awe is the feeling
Of being
In the presence
Of something vast
That transcends
Our understanding
Of our world.
Awe is about
Our relation
To the vast mysteries
Of life itself.

Science says
We all experience awe
In differing ways
Several times every week.
EVERY WEEK!
And Science also says
We can
GET MORE AWE
And find ways
To live more
Awe filled lives.

It’s about wonder
And
Curiosity
And
Being open
To new ways
Of seeing.

Perhaps,
These scientists say
While awe is
An ordinary response
To the extraordinary,
Is also
An extraordinary response
To the ordinary.

I’m determined to be
More awesome
This year.
I’ll be
Starting by reading
Keltner’s book

And exploring
The Awe Experience Scale
Developed by these
Awesome scientists.

Mostly I’ll
Just focus on
Feeling
MORE AWE
All around me.
Join me?
...
If this isn't nice, what is?
              ~ Kurt Vonnegut, of course


AWE

Dec 2024

Constantly Seeking Teals...

Remember when
I told you
About my love
Of this colour?
And you know
I often use it
In my missives
To you…

Like how it
Matches my kitchen…

And
How it can
Ignite wonder…

I’ve also told you
About how
I rediscovered
All blues
When the dark veil
Of cataracts
Was lifted.

This month
I’m using this colour
To invite you
To join me
In taking some
Colour walks
To rediscover
How the daily
Wonder of colour
Ignites
Our every step.
I’m starting today’s
Colour walk
With this…
My bathmat rug…
One of my first
Encounters
Every day.
It’s my bath mat rug
I bought it when
I still had those cataracts
And I thought
It was this colour

During my cataract surgery
I chanted to be able
To see ALL my colours
Clearly again...
Imagine my surprise...
   And wonder...
   And appreciation...
When I came home
Immediately
After my surgery
To find my bathmat
Is the colour
I had been looking for
All along!
...
If this isn't nice, what is?
              ~ Kurt Vonnegut, of course

 

Nov 24

 

Finding Adventures in the Mundane...

As you know
I’m mostly a TTC gal
And with my back issues
I’m not going out
     So often
Or going
    So far
As I used to.

Laura, however, is reawakening
My adventurous spirit…
And giving it wheels,
If not wings.
A couple of weeks ago
She borrowed her dad’s car
(Thank you, Brian) and
We went to IKEA
     In Etobicoke,
     On the west side of Toronto.
Both Toronto IKEA locations
Used to have shuttle buses
To and from the nearest
TTC subway station,
But no more, so this is
A big deal for me…
     New small downtown IKEA
     Notwithstanding.
We shopped and
Ate lunch,
Then we drove down
To the lake and
I got to show Laura
The house I designed
And built on Lake Promenade
Overlooking Lake Ontario...
   Lo those many years ago.
Then I introduced Laura
To Tom’s.
Chocolate soft serve
That’s real ice cream.
   Some of you can relate.
I loved my
Adventures in Etobicoke.

In the meantime,
Kate had her own
IKEA adventure in NYC.
She rode an elevator
To Hoboken
And a train to Manhattan
Then caught
A free IKEA ferry
To the Red Hook store
In Brooklyn.
It was a rainy day
And hard to see
Out the ferry’s window

But she did get
A glimpse
Of the Statue of Liberty

 

And she got to watch
The fire boat playing
In the water...
That you see
In this month’s calendar.

I invite you to explore
Your own mundane
Adventures this month...
Here are a couple of suggestions.
   ...
November marks the time
To write your own story.
Why not get started on yours?
NaNaWriMo.
   ...
Have a great Mo/November
And
Be sure to remember
While you’re remembering
On the eleventh:
Vonnegut
Et al.
His birthday
and pleas
For Humanity
   ...
If this isn't nice, what is?
              ~ Kurt Vonnegut, of course