Santa Ana Winds

~ Santa Ana winds are back! A large branch from our neighbor's tree just tore apart and landed in our backyard.  It's a pretty large piece and will most likely require more than one person to lift it or cut it into smaller pieces. Smoker was knocked over in the process but doesn't appear to be damaged. Debris such as small tree branches and various leaves are scattered across the yard. I hope that the beautiful Australian willow tree doesn't topple over. I love that tree!

~ I am currently burning the candle Marshmallow Fireside by Bath & Body Works. The candle gives off a lovely yellow glow and flickers gently within the brown, leaf patterned glass. The scent is sweet marshmallow and campfire smoke.

~ Still no sign of Ginny.  I check the patio constantly but she's not there. I miss her.

Missing Ginny

~ Ginny, a female orange tabby that I've been feeding in the backyard (along with three other cats) for about 9 or 10 months now has been gone for 3 days.  This is NOT like her at all.  The most she's been gone is one day and then she always reappears.  I'm very worried and I think something may have happened to her.  I get the terrible feeling that I won't be seeing her again.  The last day I saw her was on Sunday and we had lots of rain and very cold temps.  I wanted to take her in to at least the garage...but I can't.  Someone in the household is highly allergic to cats and I will leave it at that.

~ I re-watched the movie Dracula Untold with my husband and son.  I honestly didn't remember a thing about it and enjoyed it like it was my first time watching it like it was for my son.  After the movie and I must admit, during the movie, I thought about Ginny again. Where is she?

Poem: Velvet Bookmark

As Autumn's red heat
set the night sky on fire
a fallen feather
fluttered into my book of days.

A feeling of hope and resilience
cradled me in its arms
like a warm nest.

Gently, I retrieved
the ash-brown feather
and placed it between
the book's spine for safekeeping:
a velvet bookmark
to mark this moment in time.

Poem: In the Butterfly Room

I pay $5 to watch hundreds of
shape shifting wings flutter and soar 

towards the sky. A ceiling painted 

pale blue with a crooked yellow circle 

lurks in the distance like a sunflower 

birthing deformed seeds.

A stray moth searches for the light, 

while life glows inside paper lanterns 

surrounded by purple ivy. The room
is uncomfortably humid, a small pupa 

with no windows. The decoupage forest 

is wilting on my shoulders.

So, I sit alone with the butterflies. 

Contemplate how to set them free 

while carrying my basket of dreams 

through the narrow exit.

* This is a poem I wrote many years ago and it appears in my latest chapbook, The Night Garden.

I Saw Something Supernatural

~ This morning I saw something or someone in my home that I can't explain.  I never imagined that I would experience something supernatural in my life and now I am one of those people.  I've always been a horror fan whether that's movies, tv shows, or books...especially haunted houses and tales about ghosts.  In my later years, I've cut down on certain types of horror that freak me out too much.  I go over the event quite often, trying to figure out exactly what I saw and I can't comprehend it at all.  I was sitting in the family room, watching the news and happened to glance towards my husband's direction in the kitchen.  He was stooped down by the freezer drawer, searching for frozen sausage patties or hash browns.  All of a sudden I saw a dark figure walk by the kitchen doorway into the formal dining room.  I thought at first that it was one of my "kids" or adult children but wondered why they were walking into the formal dining because we rarely use it.  We have a table in the kitchen where we mainly dine. I waited a few seconds to see if someone would eventually enter the kitchen or walk by...and no one did either.  Quickly, I got up and speed walked over to the formal dining room.  There was no one there!  I looked towards the stairs, just in case, and no one was going back up the stairs either.  I walked back into the kitchen and told my husband what just happened.  He thought I was seeing things or maybe it could have been his dad who passed a few years earlier.  

I honestly don't know what I saw this morning.  It wasn't something that happened at night or late afternoon as you usually assume with ghosts or spirits.  It was a dark figure with a human shape and walked by the doorway so quickly...just mere seconds and then it was gone.  I know what I saw, I was wide awake and still cannot believe this happened to me.  

The Warbler by Sarah Beth Durst

~ I finished The Warbler last month and thought it was a very unique, magical tale involving three generations of women trying to break free from a supposed curse. If you like fantasy and magical realism, then I think that you'll enjoy this too!

DESCRIPTION:

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Lies Among Us comes a magical tale about mothers and daughters, choices and consequences, and the real meaning of home when every place feels like a cage.

Ten months. That’s the longest Elisa has stayed anyplace, constantly propelled by her fear that if she puts down roots, a family curse will turn her into a tree.

But she’s grown tired of flitting from town to town and in and out of relationships. When she discovers a small town in Massachusetts where mysterious forces make it impossible for the residents to leave, she hopes she can change her fate.

As Elisa learns about the town’s history, she understands more about the women in her family, who seem doomed to never get what they want. Now she believes she’s stuck, too—is that a patch of bark on her arm? But her neighbor’s collection of pet birds sings secrets that Elisa can almost understand—secrets she must unravel in order to be truly alive.

Cherry Blossom Days Chapbook Free on Amazon

~ My poetry chapbook, Cherry Blossom Days will be free from Feb 2-6 on Amazon Kindle Reads.  If you're in the mood to read romantic or Spring poetry, please consider this book.  Also, if you read the book in it's entirety, please leave a rating or review.  Every bit helps as it's so hard to get reviews anyway.

~ If you click on the book cover for Cherry Blossom Days on the right hand column of this blog, it will bring you to the book on Amazon. :-)