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Showing posts with the label 2022

The Last Thursday of 2022

  My wise Mama liked to say, “If something doesn’t work, oh well. Try again.”  And that was my aim throughout 2022, The Year of Experimentation.  Try this, try that. Give that a try. And, if a try doesn’t work, try another way. Try until I am satisfied and then give another way a try. Why not?  Here are some  highlights of my 2022:  1.  Paints poured and roared over paper, canvasses, and other surfaces. 2.  Beads and buttons and bits of jewelry were strung into sun catchers. 3. Fabric, paper, pictures, and etcetera were turned into cards, collages, calendars  hangings, and a headboard. 4. I got over my fear of sewing elastic, as well as practiced patience ripping out worn-out elastic from pants and skirts. 5. I got back into writing poetry . 6. I’ve opened the folders of an unfinished project I started, oh my gosh, 40some years ago, about the history of Filipino Americans in my hometown and county, where I was born, raised, and returned. 7.  I discovered that the slips I grew from a sw

Word Association

H-O-T! It’s best not to know the temperature when it’s crazily hot. Thankfully, we’ve only had to deal with the heat for the last two days this time round. I wonder if it feels hotter because we’re in a drought. Such is life. Today’s  Sunday Stealing  is  a word association. I like those games. So, she said and I thought… Hurry!:: Go Dumb:: Stupid Fudge:: cannabis Sturdy:: plunky Printing:: book Itch:: damn eczema Creaks:: Ghost Paste:: yummy pasta Waste of time:: Republicans Let down:: Republicans Cancellation: evangelical christians Suspect:: righteousness Fireplace:: heart Spring:: hope Commute:: Angry drivers Places:: travel Fraud:: Republicans Adoption:: Love Election:: Determination Moving Day:: Exhausted Want to play or see how others responded? Head over to  Sunday Stealing .

Hello, Monday Mosaic!

Hello, Angie and Mosaic Monday ! I’m so very happy to be hooking up this week. It’s been a very long time.  In April last year, my words went on vacation, to put it nicely. I’d draft things in my mind only to be abandoned, erased, or deleted on paper or on the iPad. Such was the way things went until this past February.  Doesn’t that gopher look like it’s smiling at the camera? The Husband and I were trudging along a trail of some sorts when we saw this gopher pop in, pop out of his hole repeatedly. Maybe it was waiting for us to go by. It was quite healthy. We were down by the high school so it must come across a variety of leftovers on campus.   Fortunate for me, I had my camera. I don’t carry it with me much because the lens has several water spots on it. It’s good for me to be without a camera to my face (click, click, click) more often.  It turned out that the oldest photos in the camera were from a local free outdoor concert the Husband and I went to last September. A gorgeous su

A Fortunate One

Every day I’m getting a hang of being older. Other than paying bills and returning library books on time, any deadlines are self-imposed. Lucky me. May I not find out otherwise. Golden Days Wake up.  Play.  Eat.  Play.  Eat.  Play.  Sleep. Repeat.  -30- I’m participating in Fridays Writings   at Poets and Storytellers United . The prompt this week is small rituals and daily routines. 

A June Calendar

This year I’m making collages for our monthly calendars. June is all about the Husband, being his birthday is in June.  About 20 years ago, a friend gifted the Husband with a six pack of Dick’s Pale Ale. When she saw it in Oregon, she said she had to get it for the Husband. I agree the little boy could’ve been the Husband long ago, and yes, that’s the Husband’s name. By the way the cute doodles were drawn by the Husband, and that’s the Husband’s dad’s photo pasted onto the tractor driver.  Sharing the joy with Gillena’s Art Fun Friday . Please, take a look at Gillena’s and other participants’ artwork. 

Why?

1. Nobody wants to hear about mass shootings. La la la la la la. 2. I’m rambling and researching about the subject as I write. So thankful, I am, for the Internet. It would be so easy for me to be a recluse, a hermit, an eccentric, a looney tune. Thank goodness for the Husband! Though, it would be easy for him, too. See, rambles. 3. Guns don’t kill, grump some gun owners. I suppose those people merely have guns for display behind beautiful etched glass doors. “Ooh, isn’t that the cutest gun,” I could say if I was shown such a private display. May that not ever be. 4. “Bah! I’ve got my rights to own guns. Says so in the Constitution, you libtard, Nazi, socialist, communist hussy.” That’s what I imagine some grump, hand on firearm of choice, could shout at me. At my senior age, I may not mind being called a hussy. There goes yon hussy. Waddle, waddle, venture I.  5. The imaginary grump can thank the late Justice Scalia for re-interpreting the Second Amendment to make possession of a fire

Unconditional Love

Missy Molly by Golly, the pinky-nosed (wilde) Cat, has moved on to new adventures soaring through the Universe. I like to think that Molly’s Spirit reunited with Mama’s and it’s all a tumble of joy. Cheers to sweet Molly! Thank you, my girl,  for gracing our lives with unconditional love.  I’m taking part in  Art for Fun Friday  at Lunch Break. Click here  to check out hostess Gillena and the other participants. 

At Wits’ End

The past few weeks I’ve been participating in Friday Writings  at  Poets and Storytellers United ,  who are a friendly group of creative writers. Taking part has reintroduced me to that writer long ago who wrote poetry and stories. Why did I feel like it was gone, no more, I was done? Haha, silly me.  This week’s prompt for Friday Writings  is a thinker. I thought I would pass but thinking about it is helping distract me from stressing out. Who would’ve thought? Here’s the prompt:  Be witness to these times we are living in and how it feels to be living in them. How does it affect you and/or how do you observe it affecting others? how does it affect me? today no different than forever smelling in the background, that aroma of fear, restless  eager and ready to be manipulated by the greedy.  how does it affect    me? these eyes haven’t changed these features only older this skin may be less darker still a potential target in those fearful minds brainwashed by the greedy. how does it aff

His & Hers Cavities

Yesterday afternoon I began writing this post to share with Thursday 13 , but interruptions and distractions kept me from finishing. So, here I am this morning to try again. Just pretend this is yesterday. 1. I didn’t think I would write today. Then, the Husband and I went to the dentist for cavity work.  2. At our teeth cleaning, the dentist found we each had a cavity. Another first for us: his and hers cavities. 3.  Our dentist is a very cool guy. He plays in a band called the Sake Bombs. Old rock and roll.     That’s cool, but even cooler is he had us come in at the same time for the cavity work. 4. Dr. R&R has two stations dedicated for dental work other than cleaning . I got the corner one with all the windows to the busyness of passing everything and everyone. It was nice to look out a window and see something else, even if was waiting for decay to be drilled out of a back molar and the hole refilled. Is all decay the color black? Can it be gold or white?  5.  Dr. R&R wor

Cycle of Life

 What a morning it has been!  We dropped Missy Molly the pinky-nosed (wilde) Cat at the veterinarian’s office. She’s not her curious self at all. She’s hungry but nothing appeals to her, and she wanders only to find a more comfortable spot to lay down. Her stomach is bloated. Poor baby.  The Husband and I miss Molly. The house feels different without her, a presence missing. Hopefully the doctor will give us positive news. 

Friday Writing: Stay Curious

“Stay curious” is this week’s prompt for Friday Writing , hosted by Poets and Storytellers United . Molly the Pinky-nosed (Wilde) Cat was overtaken with so much curiosity, she fell asleep on the keyboard. Zzzz. As for me, the prompt led me to thinking about the “Who’s on First” comedy routine by Lou Abbott and Bud Costello (You can easily find it online, if you’re unfamiliar with it.) and eventually to letting a poem in the hay(na)ku format fall out of my brain.  stay curious. Who, said Bud, is on first. Who, asked Lou, is on first? Alternating Who. Who? Back and forth. Why?  asked Lou, distraught, desheveled, deflated. Why, said Bud, plays left field.  ©️Susan Echaore-McDavid For more Friday Writings , please head here .

Who’s Eating the Sunflowers?

1. Who is snacking on the sunflowers? They only started sprouting a few days ago. A happy thing because the seeds were several years old.  2. Was it the snails? the slugs? the aphids? the birds? the squirrels?  3. I don’t mind sharing some of the sprouting sunflowers with the bugs and such, but not all. 4. If the offenders could only read, I’d post a sign to tell them “No More for You! Move along!” 5. The experts say that the scent of marigold drives aphids away, so this morning I planted marigolds near the sprouting sunflowers. You go, marigolds! 6. It turns out marigolds attract slugs and snails. Make marigold plants your sacrificial lambs, say some experts. The snails and slugs will feast on the leaves and flowers at night to be easily picked off come morning.  7. “Marigold or sunflower?” asked one snail to another. “Smelly thick leaves or young tender shoots?” 8. We shall see to tomorrow which the snails and slugs liked. 9. If I get my act together this evening, I’ll set out saucer

More Sunday Q&A

1. Do you like your handwriting? When it’s readable. 2.  Do you like rollercoasters? Yes, but I’m done riding them. 3. Do you like scary movies? Boooo! Nope. 4. Do you like shopping? Now and then.  5. Do you like to talk on the phone? Sure. It’s the dialing and the answering parts that I don’t care for. 6. Do you sleep with the lights on or off? Off. 7. Do you use headphones or earphones? No. 8. Do you have any tattoos? Do you want any? Why would I want to cover my scars and old age spots and wrinkles? hahahahah 9. Do you wear glasses? Guys do make passes at girls who wear glasses.  10.  What is your strangest talent? Untangling knots. 11. Have you ever been in a hospital? Yes, even stayed a night. 12.  What color mostly dominates your wardrobe? Blue 13. What’s your most expensive piece of clothing? My 27 year old off-white cotton  dress that cost me $120.00. I bought it for a trip to Italy, then a year later wore it when I married the Husband. Today, it’s my knock around house dress. 

Revisit, Revise, Renew

This week’s prompt for Friday Writings  at Poets and Storytellers United  is to rewrite a discarded poem or slice of prose from long ago. So, I went digging into notebooks past and found a poem I wrote after the First Husband’s Spirit soared into the Universe 27 years ago. I give you first, my rewrite.  Lemon Drops and Jelly Beans yellow, red, purple, pink lemon drops, yellow jelly beans—red, purple, and pink— sealed in your glass jar sitting on your desk for how many months only the sun seeing it I see it now only clearing out your desk music in the background drowning my melancholy the imaginary rustle of your candy bag yellow, red, purple, pink  ©️Susan Echaore-McDavid Here’s the original piece. Lemon drops and Jelly Beans yellow, red, purple, pink how many months old sealed in your glass jar sitting on your desk only the sun seeing it me seeing it now only because I’m cleaning up Jennifer Warren of the early 80s singing out my melancholy and I hear someone out there with your voice

May!

May May come play in May?  Who played Mother May I when they were young? Come what may! For the first May Art for Fun Friday , I’m sharing my May calendar made with scraps of fabric and loose ends. To see other bloggers’ art, please click here .

13 Homes

For awhile, I lived longer in San Francisco than in Hollister where I was born and raised. I moved away at 19 years old to study at San Francisco State University. A couple of times, I moved back to Hollister for a few months. The  first time I couldn’t handle being on my own, and the second time it was because I took the concept of being a good daughter too seriously. When I realized my parents were essentially okay about me having a Mary Tyler Moore single girl life in the big city, off to San Francisco I scrambled to live and work thereabouts for another 24 years. During those 30 years, I moved 13 times. In San Francisco, I had 11 different addresses, all rentals: 28th Avenue in the Outer Sunset district Clement Street in the Outer Richmond Theresa Street in Mission Terrace, right across from a freeway. This is where I learned to pretend that freeway traffic sounded like ocean waves. Byxbee Street in Merced Heights, a couple blocks from college Balboa Street, near Ocean Beach, in th

Who’s on First?

This week’s Q & A at Sunday Stealing , hosted by Bev Sykes, is all about firsts. Who’s on first base is not one of the questions. That’s okay. We know who was on first base, right? If that doesn’t make sense, then you may want to search for “Abbott and Costello who’s on first” in your browser. Now, on with the actual questions. First job: Cutting apricots for three days when I was 9 years old.  First favorite politician: George McGovern. His presidential campaign was the first one    I ever worked on. First record/CD: There were two albums in my family’s collection of six that I liked to play a lot when I was young, “Sing Along with Mitch Miller and the Gang” and “My Son, the Nut” by Allen Sherman.  First sport played: Baseball.  What a thrill it was to whack the ball that first time. I  was in first grade. How can I forget the teacher coming over to first base to tell me that I must put the bat down, not throw it willy-nilly after I hit the ball. First concert: In 8th grade, I was