SOL #16 (should be #19) See below for info on the Slice of Life Challenge
The sound of rain outside... while you're warm and dry inside. Feeling tired... and being able to curl up on the couch and take a nap. Being hungry... and fixing some eggs and potatoes, topped with a drizzle of raspberry salsa.
It's the little things that fill up my morning today...
SOL #15 (should be #18) See below to check out what the Slice of Life Challenge is
Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day. In St. Louis, we have a parade in the Dogtown section of the city. The area is a sea of green (hats, beards, hair, shirts, beads and make-up) and a river of yellow (there is way too much urinating in alleys and side streets).
Apparently beer and whiskey are great breakfast drinks, because when you get there early (early enough to be able to navigate the sidewalks before they get packed with people) the drinking has already begun.
Things were different the last couple of years--with Covid--but the parade returned yesterday... the first time since 2019.
Things change. Sometimes the changes are for the better, and sometimes they're for the worse.
Yesterday I celebrated St. Patrick's Day with a shot of Bailey's... and plans to take a trip with a friend sometime in June. We're thinking Tennessee... or Wisconsin... or France... or Maine. Maine's too far, really. I found a place in Tennessee where you can hike with a llama (each hiker has a llama that carries your stuff). Part of the fun is finding out what your llama likes (and dislikes, I imagine). We'll see.
I hope you're seeing good changes around you...
SOL #14 (should be #17) See below if you want to know more about the Slice of Life challenge
Ode to My Hunka Hunka Burnin’ Love
Oh, your fast, hot breath
Makes me eager and excited
About stepping out
(towards the park).
Your liquid-brown eyes
Let me know I’m desired… wanted… needed.
Your tongue licks my skin with such care
And thoroughness
And so much drool,
I drip after each of our love sessions.
Oh handsome boy,
You’ll always be my best boy…
(until, sadly, you’re gone…
And then I’ll adopt another dog…
But they’ll never take your place)
SOL #13 (should be #15) See below to find out what the Slice of Life challenge is
One of my favorite shows was on tonight. It's winding down--only 6 or 7 more episodes until the series is over--and there was a line that resonated with me.
The character was drunk and sitting in the bottom of an empty community swimming pool with his siblings. From his perspective, he was the screw-up, his brother had it all together, and his sister would have it together if only she stopped putting obstacles in front of herself.
I don't belong in the deep end. I belong in the shallow end.
It made me think of what was the deep end--for me, for other people. It made me think of how many of us are just treading water as we desperately attempt to keep at least our nose above water.
SOL #12 (it should be #14) See below if you're curious what the Slice of Life challenge is
Last night I had a dinner meeting. It was only supposed to be a meeting, but the woman who was hosting the meeting generously (and deliciously) made dinner for us.
On the table was a basket of two loaves of bread--a marble rye and a rustic, crusty loaf of white. Just the smell reminded me of France--where the best bread lives. As we ate and talked and worked, it reminded me of how important it is to break bread together.
(It also reminded me of my love of bread. If I could have just one food for the rest of my life, it would probably be bread. Unfortunately, bread loves me way too much. Bread's the kind of friend that never leaves... it never leaves your hips. Your gut. Your butt.)
Sharing food with people is an act of love. You get to know people as you sit together and eat a meal together. If you don't feel comfortable enough to sit next to someone during a meal... well, something is wrong.
How about you? What are some of the dishes you most enjoy sharing with others?
SOL #11 (should be #13) See below if you're curious about what the Slice of Life challenge is.
There is something delightful when you have a day or two (or three... or four... or more) where everything is arranged for you. Food? Check. Someone is there--wherever you are--to plan and prepare the meals and clean up after you eat. A place to sleep? Check. There is a bed with clean sheets, along with clean towels--just waiting for you. (This weekend the bed was especially waiting for me to sink down into it for a long nap on Saturday. *)
A table to write at? Check. A beautiful view, if I choose to daydream occasionally too often for a moment a while instead of working? Check.
A cocoon surrounding you of creative, inspiring people who are generous with their time and talent? Check. Check. And check.
Sometimes all we need is time away. Time to recharge our battery. A change of scenery.
And if that change of scenery makes is easier for us to write, paint, read... Well, all the better.
* Naps are wasted on the young. We should hook them up to a treadmill to power things while we--the adults--take naps.
