Is it just me or does mist evoke a feeling of 'other worldliness' in you, too? In mist, mysteries emerge. Anything can happen on a misty road where treetops touch. One step further and you could be on a cobbled road where a horse drawn carriage waits outside a house as a young woman appears, her long skirts swirling mist, her hands clad in silk gloves past her elbows, encased in the scent of roses. She sails to the carriage. The door opens and a young man extends his hand, guides her into the cab and into his arms. The door clicks closed and the horse's hooves clomp on the cobbles. The horse whinnies as it passes you and disappears into the mist. You glance back but they're gone. Were they ever really there? Ahead, the road stretches cobble-less. As you continue your walk you wonder who in years to come may catch a glimpse of you on a misty morning like today, a morning where time merges and nothing is really as it appears.. Everytime it's misty, I try to drive down this street. Something about the canopy of trees fading into the mist makes me believe that if I stop and listen closely, I can hear the echo of a horse neighing and the clatter of carriage wheels on cobblestones. I love mist and how it transports me. How it blurs the everyday into a world where nothing is as it seems and anything is possible. We all need misty mornings every so often in our lives. May your day be one where anything is possible.
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This little tin is crammed with love. A present from my dear friend Linda over 25 years ago, it has sat on my hallway table for all those years. We both love Mary Engelbreit's endearing, sometimes pointed, designs and quotes and I especially love tins so this gift stole my heart immediately. It houses everything I need to mail a letter or card, right by the front door. For me, it represents organisation at my peak, too. Three semi-transparent crinkly folders from the post office divide my stamps into Canadian, American and international postage. They sit on a cushion of return address labels and air mail stickers. I imagine that this charming little tin holds more loving energy than anything else in my home. Each time I've opened it, it's to connect with someone special whether through a long newsy letter (not so much these days), a card for a noteworthy occasion or no reason at all, or to send ATCs to someone I've never met but forged a bond with. Last night it came to work with me so I could stamp and mail my son's birthday card on the way home.
I often walk past the tin, never giving it a second thought. Other times I'll stop and admire it, maybe hold it and remember some of the people I've reached out to through the mail over the years: a loving journey across many miles that started with a pretty painted tin on a hallway table. May your day be full of love connections. 'I remian affectionately yours.' The moment I had been waiting for had arrived. I could go for a walk in steady rain and listen to its comforting thrum on my unbrella. Once snow starts to melt in March and April, I'm eager to embrace spring. A walk in the rain works perfectly. I had a small parcel and a card to mail and books to drop off in a friend's free library and I needed to take my car out for a drive so I bundled all those things together with a walk in the Friendship Gardens. I had the park to myself, both sides. Well, it was a rainy day after all. This reminded me of words Mam had told me when I emigrated to Canada and joined her and Dad here: "Even though it's pouring down, you just have to go out in it. It's not as bad once you're in it." We were living in North Vancouver, British Columbia at the time and the torrential rain day after day could be overwhelming. We came from England so rain was a fairly constant companion but Vancouver rain is in a league of its own. Mam loved to observe the weather and recorded it everyday for years. After my parents moved to Thunder Bay, Ontario, I followed a year later. They gave me interesting welcoming presents: a pair of imitation-fur-lined heavy mitts and an outdoor thermometer. "You won't even believe how cold it can get here," Mam said. How true! So rain is such a welcome sight because it means it's getting milder. Plus rain washes away the last stubborn piles of grimy snow . A time to celebrate with a stroll around the park, the comforting thrum of rain on my umbrella. Wishing you a day filled with whatever comforts you. For me, the heart chakra's shade of green is moss green. This vibrant yellowish spring green speaks straight to my heart. Totally uplifting. Completely fitting then that yesterday I found this moss covered log in the heart of a tiny wood. The woods are really a copse of mainly birches just beyond the end of my road. I've walked past them lots but have never ventured into them. Yesterday, such a brilliant spring (could even have been summer!) day, lured me on a walk that way. I stopped to take a photo of the trees and the clear sky and noticed a butterfly flitting by a narrow path into the trees. So I decided to see what lay beyond for the first time. Enthralled at first by straggly sprigs of green grass, the deeper I walked into the woods, the more delights I found; the greener and the more abundant the undergrowth. Spring had sprung without me noticing. I clambered over deadfall, ducked under branches until I reached a sunny glade. The butterfly sunned herself on a twig, lost amongst the dead leaves. I took photos of her (none of them worked with her wings open!) and when I thanked her for sharing the moment with me, she twirled up into the air above my head and danced with another butterfly. Then I discovered the moss-covered log, spotlit in sunlight. My heart sang. I took it to be a reward for taking a small risk, for feeding my curiosity, for listening to my heart, for embracing a tiny adventure.
May your day be full of tiny adventures that make your heart sing. Such an indulgence. A before-bed bath with a plumberry spice bath bomb and lavendar epsom salts, candleight and my Soothing Slumber Spotify playlist on my phone (one of the best things I ever did for myself was to subscribe to Spotify premium and remove those ads!). As I sank into the warm water, I could hear a kind of creaking rumble. I have a dread of my bathtub crashing through the floor into the basement, especially with the added weight of me and a whole lot of water. So that was my first thought: the floorboards are finally giving way! But no. Neither the water nor the tub seemed to be moving. Last week a similar noise was simply the water gurgling through the overflow. Not this week. A train then on the nearby tracks. Had to be. I let my shoulders sink beneath the water, The noise continued but without the regular rhythm of a train. Thunder! Yes! Our first thunderstorm of the year. I rushed my bath. I had to see if there was lightning and rain. To my delight, there was! Purple lightning! Forked and sheets. Incredible! (my camera was too slow in capturing it unfortunately!) I stood on the front steps and watched the lightning and listened to the boom of the thunder and felt plump rain drops plop onto my face and into my already wet hair. The air smelled fresh, that year's-first-rainfall-fresh-scent that nothing manufactured can ever reproduce. I inhaled again and again, absorbing the promise of spring, imprinting it on my heart. May you find hope in your day today. Ah yes! Now I remember how wonderfully uplifting this Artfully Wild Blog Along with Effy can be--the delightful abundance of blogs to read and comment on and the love and positivity of comments on my own blog. Who doesn't need a sprinkle of love and attention everyday? I participated in Effy's Blog Along a couple of years ago and despite feeling overwhelmed with commitments this year, I knew I wanted to join in again. Now i remember why. That high of being seen. Of putting something out into the world and of having people respond to it in a loving way. Inspired by a Life Book 2017 lesson with Mandy van Goeije, I created a storyboard about this blogging experience as it seemed like such a powerful force and a potent reminder. The slip of paper has been pinned up by my computer for a couple of years now. My heart warms every time I see it. It became my spring board for today's haiku. The storyboard idea captivated me. It's simple, concise and immediately comprehended on a level beyond words. Whenever I view this little scrap of paper, it lifts my spirit, reminds me of the joy of writing, not only blogs, but of writing and reaching out in all ways and the joy of reading, of applauding and acknowledging others' works. Such a vital energy exchange. The way Effy has set up the Blog Along reinfoirces this exchange: for every post I 'announce' in our facebook group, I have to read and comment on three other blogs. It's like a smorgsabord! For the 'price' of my plate, I have all these delectable blog posts to choose from.
Another storyboard that I have pinned in my studio is my original response to the lesson by Mandy van Goeije (see below). I love that although they require thought, they are quick, use few tools and don't demand perfection and, as mentioned, storyboards are easy to relate to in a very primal way. In fact I'm tempted to play with some more today. How about you? What would a storyboard of your today look like? Wishing you a day of heartwarming storyboard moments. Wouldn't you know it? Early yesterday morning driving home from work I saw the moon almost perched on top of a tower then, as the road curved and I drove further away, the moon seemed to slide down the side of the tower. Something about it made me laugh and sparked a lightness inside me. So it became my haiku for today but I didn't have a photo to accompany it for my daily instagram post. No problem. I could capture the same scene on my way home this morning. But no. This morning the sky was cloudy. No moon to be seen. My photo is simply of a tower in front of a cloudy sky! Which in itself is funny. Boring but funny. And that was the point of the haiku--lighten up! I felt as if the moon had a message for me to not take myself so seriously. I called it a half moon. This is what I've always known it to be but really I should know better, being in my 4th year of Moonshine with Effy. This moon is the third quarter moon. When I got home today I checked in with my Moonology cards by Yasmin Boland to see if this moon phase had any special messages. Fittingly, she says that this moon phase is saying that 'adjustments are required'. She recommends 'reevaluating the situation'. Well, that makes perfect sense. Time for me to lighten up, to stop taking myself so seriously. To laugh more. I can generally find the humour in life easily but I tend to be one of those people who doesn't necessarily laugh out loud. When I was a teenager, a rather reclusive boyfriend told me that he felt comfortable with me because I laughed easily. We're not living through a time when it's so easy to laugh. But maybe finding the time to laugh can be what helps gets us through. I work midnights alone in an apartment building attending to people with various physical and/or mental challenges and I have our office/work space to myself and often have stretches of downtime. One night I let YouTube on the TV be my guide as I couldn't get Netflix to work. It took me to reel after reel of news bloopers. I have a bit of a sadistic sense of humour and laughed until I cried then laughed so hard I fell out of the chair. I imagine that night I was a much lighter presence and greater help to my clients. So, thank you, third quarter moon, for your seemingly silly antics yesterday morning. Message received loud and clear...and with a smile. May your path be sprinkled with smiles and laughter today. Yesterday in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada the sun shone and the temperature reached plus 7 degrees Celsius so my hubby and I took a drive along the highway and visited a local park. Immediately, from the car park, we could hear the rush of fast-flowing water. The sound delighted me. We have cold winters here where rivers turn to ice. We may hear a trickle of water under thick ice but rarely more. The sound of flowing water is one that I don't even realise I miss until I hear it again in the spring and it melts my heart. Even a quick walk around the block lifts my spirits when I hear the constant trickle of water in a drain on a mild spring-from-winter day. Part of surviving what can be brutally cold winters is 'forgetting' such springtime delights, I think. Winter's sounds tend to be winds whistling through trees and through draughty doors and the beautiful soft silence of fresh snow. But I grew up in Britain then lived on the much milder (and wetter!) west coast of Canada for 7 years so I am more used to the constant, year-round sound of water trickling through my senses.
But there is something quite magical in rediscovering something I had forgotten I was missing. I revel in experiencing all the seasons, each with its own delights. What do you realise you've missed when the seasons change? Do your seasons change much? Wishing you a day of noticing and embracing subtle shifts. Last night just before bed, I was pondering my daily haiku and subsequent blog post. I took some photos of storyboards from a Life Book 2017 lesson (more on those in another blog) and was thinking they may be the muse for today. But when I turned my bed down, Spook (aka known as Little Cat in my haiku even though she is now far from little) burrowed her way under the sheet. Confident she was completely hidden and safe from view, she began to purr deeply. My inspiration! She reminded me of how much I loved blanket forts when I was young. I called them tents. I'd drape tableclothes over the extended leaf of the dining room table and weigh them with books and heavy ornaments until they stayed hanging down to the floor on all sides. Then I'd bring cushions and dolls and teddies and books and cats and dogs in with me. I loved hiding from view like this. Of course, everyone knew I was there but it didn't matter. I felt safe and secure. And hidden. The pets didn't always stay as long, eager to not miss out on something but my teddies and dolls had no problem staying with me for as long as I wanted. So I snuggled under my sheets last night with Spook beside me and I drifted off to sleep night with good childhood memories swirling in my mind. Did you have 'secret' hiding places as a child? Do you still? Wishing you a day of feeling safe and secure. Day # 62 of #100daysofsybhaiku & #the100dayproject & day #92 of #365daysofsybwriting & #365daysofhaiku on instagram (please follow me at @lassfromyorks) As you can tell, I was a little concerned about my sloppy writing being mistaken as 'blanket farts'. Lol. Definitely not as enjoyable!
Welcome if you're new to my blog. I'm very happy to have you here and I hope you'll enjoy your stay. Most often my daily blogging for Effy's Artfully Wild Blog Along will be my haiku and picture for that day. I write a haiku every day and post it on instagram along with a picture--just a personal snippet from my day/life. I'll post today's a little further down. Today is day # 61 of #100daysofsybhaiku (for the present #100dayproject) and day # 91 of #365daysofsybhaiku which I started at the beginning of this year. I enjoy the rigors of a daily practice and enjoy being 'seen' in the world and even if I get nothing else productive done during the day, I've put a haiku out into the world to maybe touch someone else's life for a minute or two. That's a cool feeling. The following haiku was inspired by my cat Kaden when he was sleeping one day. Oh to be as efficient as he is--yoga while he's sleeping! It's become one of my favourite haiku and photos and sparked a regular feature of one of my cat haiku and accompanying picture in a monthly newletter for a local cat rescue charity--Kitty Kare. This is especially delightful as Kaden has diabetes and I have to give him insulin shots twice a day. He is the most patient patient. Lol. Such a sweet fella.
Below is my haiku and picture for today. Enjoy. What has touched you in your day so far? What would your today's haiku be about? May you find many moments to savour today and all days. Thank you for visiting and commenting if you choose to. |
AuthorWelcome! I'm Sue Blott: a writer of all things, a poet at heart, mom, wife, daughter, step-mom, grandma, tea drinker, tai chi-er, mystic, artist, dreamer...and now a blogger! This is my world. Categories |