Seeing Light

I've been alone all morning.
Puccini is playing softly, from the corner of the room.
Outside the fog wraps itself around the canyons below the house. I'm safe and quiet..., I will leave some footprints on paper....

Seeing light

Peace and time are candlesticks
On my windowsill.
I know my ebbing candle shines,
But now I watch it's glow
And know it will not last forever.
I see it's beauty in the flame
And form of melting wax
As it slowly disappears.

I understand, now,
That only my thoughts are forever
And what comes is the Wind.
I wrap my hand around the flame
Because the Robin is at my window
And spring is coming soon.

Wordless Wednesday on Thursday night after three tries.

Autumn Sunset

Blogger did it again. I posted these photos last night and Blogger left all of it as a "draft" so it never showed up on my blog. This morning I tried to publish the post and I got this message that said I waited too long to publish. WHAT? Sometimes I feel like it's a blind study and someone is logging my response for some future book on "The frustrations of Blogging" . Why these things happen, I have no idea. When you ask them, they don't have an answer in "known issues" but they refer you to other people out there who have had the same problem...., AND NEVER GOT AN ANSWER. So I did the whole post again even though it's Thursday....,

..., and now the writing is centered as if I wanted to write a poem. So in honor of this "program", with a mind of it's own, I will include a poem, hoping that the photos will magically appear.

"Listen...With faint dry sound,
Like steps of passing ghosts,
The leaves, frost-crisp'd,
Break free from the tree

and fall."

~Adelaide Crapsey, 1878-1914, November Night~


...,and again Thursday night. Third time's a charm?

All is well ; except I forgot the persimmons.

This was a quick trip to see Mom. Just wanted to see her for myself and give her a hug. She's doing so well . She told me that she would probably stay at the care home for a while because she feels so much better, now, and doesn't have to worry about anything like she did at home. We knew that she was having a very hard time trying to take care of everything ,and herself, when she was living at the house but she didn't want to admit it and she really didn't want to leave her home. So all is going well ..., very well indeed. She's happy and well taken care of . What more could we ask for.

I stayed at my sister's house during this visit because I was invited and because Mom's house is kind of lonely to be in without her. It was so nice to be in a home filled with people coming and going, and dogs. I felt very much at home. I had my own beautiful blue bedroom , with a VERY comfortable bed and ATTACHED BATH. That's important when you're my age and get up a lot at night( if you know what I mean ). The three dogs and Ben( my sister's youngest son ) kept me laughing and, all in all, I had a wonderful visit.
My sister's home is lovely and relaxing. I had such a good time. Good food, conversation, and "just chill'in".
Her oldest boy had 4 wisdom teeth pulled on Friday so he was in a lot of pain and I didn't get to see him much, but his girlfriend ( a real Florence Nightingale ) took such good care of him that he has no choice but to get better fast.
The Persimmon tree in sis's front yard (on the bottom middle of the picture above) was breathtaking. The morning I left "the attorney/ farmer dude"( my sister's husband ) went out and picked some for me to take home to the prospector, who loves persimmons and eats them like candy. Somewhere along the Delta highway I remembered that they were still sitting on my sister's kitchen counter.
Agh!@#&*#!!

I'm glad to be home. Now we'll have to find a Persimmon tree around here somewhere. Maybe the farmer's market is still open. The prospector is having a "cow" over the FORGOTTON FRUIT. Like he never forgets anything? Come on!

The Road Home

These are photos of the San Joaquin Delta area that I drive through everytime I go to see Mom. It's so beautiful and there is always something to look at and take pictures of. Most of these pictures were taken on Brannan Island Rd. that cuts off the main highway(160) and comes back into highway 12 west of Lodi. It's my favorite short cut, coming or going. The top left photo is a bridge on Peltier Rd. in the wine country of Lodi . between interstate 5 and highway 99. If you live in Northern California these are wonderful "day trips" to take this time of the year. The little photo of the Pine tree is on the road up to my house and is the best part of the "Road Home".

A Day in the Pine Grove

I got home from the Bay Area yesterday afternoon and today I had plans to meet friends up-country in Pine Grove. I worked in this town for five years at the elementary school. Always loved it here.
The weather is unseasonably warm this week and I'm really ready for winter, but it was beautiful driving up to my friends place. She lives in a lovely area above Pine Grove and down a long one lane road. We met at her house and then drove back into town for lunch.

This is the Blue Moon Cafe where we ate lunch. It's a new place with very good food. I had a salad with prawns. It was delicious! We enjoyed the company of old friends and got caught up on families, politics and opinions about all kinds of things. It was such fun.
We went back to our friends house and had dessert and tea..., talking and laughing about all kinds of things. It was such a relaxing day. Good friends are a gift.

Tomarrow I will have photos of my weekend visit.