In the end, no one will know who we were, what we loved why we fought, or how we died In the end all that will matter is how well we lived today for each day, every moment is filled with glorious second chances to see the beauty in the sublime no one can change the past but let us change our futures make right now … the beginning
Your prompt for #JusJoJan and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “the beginning, the end.” Write about the beginning of something and the end of something. Bonus points if your first sentence contains “the end” and your last sentence contains “the beginning.” <– Read that again. Have fun!
Peter from Australiain Meeting the Bar: Critique and Craft urges us “come on poets, join me at the beginning. Let’s find that best first line:
see if you can hook yourself a new reader with upfront vivid images and unusual word use
Storm Broken
The storm left me broken as it swept through my life like August thunder leaving only the discordant buzz of cicadas the whine of a distant trimmer the static discharge of lightning that singes my lungs and eyes tears fall as I await the rain but none comes to quench the shattered spirit only the distant roll of thunder as the storm moves on leaving me dry and broken
I find that when I accept my circumstances, feelings, pains, health, finances as they are right now, a subtle alchemy of spirit occurs. I stop fighting and start seeing all the blessings I do have, my vibration changes, I relax, and I once again tap into the positive energy of the universe. Then, my T-Rex eats your sparkly vampire.
Winds from the north, fog blowing in changes are coming, it’s about to begin Winter blows in with his terrible might the sky up above me is soon blocked from sight specs of light from behind now the clouds sweep away rainbow breaking through blessing me on this day
Nephology weirdness out my back door. Some of the cloud patterns we have here in South Dakota defy identification.
Mountains peeking out from an ethereal layer of fog and cloud taken from the beach in Kaikoura, NZ
And of course no discussion of fog and clouds should overlook the bizarre manifestation that is frozen fog. A couple of bushes up the street covered in fog crystals
closeup of frozen fog phenomenon
And no compilation of clouds would be complete without a flamboyant sunset (or sunrise). This was taken out my front door a few weeks ago
“It’s clouds’ illusions I recall, I really don’t know clouds, at all” — Joni Mitchell – (saw that coming didn’t you?)
For our JusJoJan and SoCS prompt: Your prompt for #JusJoJan and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “close eyes and point.” When you’re ready to write your post, open a book, a newspaper, or whatever is handy and close your eyes and point. Whatever word or picture your finger lands on, make that the basis of your SoCS/JusJoJan post. Enjoy! “Advantages”
One of the advantages of retirement is the extra time you have to invest in those projects you’ve been putting off. Of course, that’s also the greatest disadvantage of spoonie retirement, all that time stretching out before you, time to study subjects long ago forsaken in the name of “making a living.” Time to tackle the lifestyle changes and projects you have planned to do for years but hadn’t the time. And, naturally it also gives you lots of time to lament that spoonie reality of now having time but lacking energy, strength and resources to perform those studies, projects, and lifestyle changes. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining (well maybe a little *sniffle, sniffle*) I’m happy with my lot in life, although not particularly energetic.
I took some time measurements this week and found out that it takes me every bit of 1.25 hours every morning just to deal with basic medical treatments of a variety of the manifestations of my disease(s), all of which are repeated again at the end of the day. So that’s 2.5 hours out of my day right there. Needless to say anything that can save me a few steps (or a few bucks) or increase my energy level even a bit, I’m game for a try.
Last week I mixed up a batch of immunity tea blend and this week I brewed up a pot, added a touch of manuka honey and used it for an immunity boosting tonic. I cannot really say as to the effectiveness of it but I haven’t gotten sick but I do seem to be recovering from multiple minor injuries better than I expected and hey it tastes good, has no known side effects what’s not to like right? I say bring back the hippy dippy teas of my childhood! Now for those of you who lack the energy or resources to make your own tea blend, there are lots of immunity boosting teas on the market. I don’t generally use them because many include echinacea which I don’t use (autoimmune diseases …. duh). Whether using this blend or a store purchased one, always make sure there are no contraindicated ingredients based on your particular spoonieness. With that said, here is Farren’s “Immunity Tisane” recipe. Yes … Farren is a dear and yes it’s a tisane since it doesn’t actuallycontain leaves of the Camellia Sinensis(tea plant).
Farren’s Magic Immunity Tisane
1/4 Cup dried hibiscus flower 1/4 Cup dried elderberries 1/4 Cup rose hips (I buy whole and crush them with the flat of a knife) 1/4 Cup dried apple bits (very small) 2 Tablespoons finely chopped crystalized ginger (is what I had on hand but unsweetened dried will work fine) 2 Tablespoons dried orange peel 2 Tablespoons dried cornflowers
Place all ingredients in a 2 Cup glass jar (I use a wide mouth canning jar), replace the lid and shake until ingredients are well disbursed.
To brew: use 1 Tablespoon of tea per 12-16 oz boiling water, steep for about 5 minutes. Use more or less tea, and/or add sweetener to taste.
I was, back then, rather limpy, friends just called me “gimpy” I kept on hiking all the same til I could no longer bear the pain these days I look forward to all the hikes and trails yet to come all the things that I’ve longed to do now that I have knees made of titanium
Your prompt for #JusJoJan and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “first thing.” Start your post with the words, “first thing” and go from there. Bonus points if you end your post with the last thing. Have fun!
First things first, it’s snowing and we just got home from getting Superhubs’ first dose of Covid vaccine. Doesn’t look like the snow will really stick but it sure is pretty. I am bundled up inside with a nice cup of peppermint tea, getting ready to start dinner *insert contented sigh*.
The week has gone by as weeks do, I’ll write more about the vaccine in a few days but so far, so good. This week, I’ve been experimenting around with home remedies, using items from my pantry and those purchased in my bulk spice order from the coop last week. I have not attempted the fennel tea just yet as the seeds alone quell my GERD symptoms so well I’m hesitant to change it. I’ve also mixed up a batch of immunity tea which I’ll share soon, but for now, I’m off to whip up supper. After all, first things first. 🙂
Wide Eyed Wonderings 