The first Numbers Journal was published here on Sunday, June 3. It gave rise to this latest version, with additional entries and many new contributors. A collective list of phrases encourages the reader to ask "What lies behind/beneath/beyond these words?" Aren't you curious? I am! But there is also something intriguing about not knowing the whole story. We are presented with possibilities and invited to fill in the details ourselves.
I hope you will enjoy reading this word-collage, and perhaps it will inspire you to keep your own Numbers Journal, even if only for a few minutes, or an hour. But who knows? You might discover that once you begin it is hard to stop!
8 dark pink peonies in my blue vase
45 long minutes in the dentist's chair
2 Indigo Buntings on a fence in Arnot Forest
30 people ahead of me in line at Purity Ice Cream while I'm dying for a hot fudge sundae
1 lonely bug
4 vacant walls; 3 panes of glass; 1 mound of bedcovers tossed back
3 loads of dirty laundry
300 micrograms of navy wool
34 silent shuffling steps
2 conversations I can't have
7 escape routes I can take
4 tethers holding me back
1 stone in my heart
440 Facebook friends online; 40 upon whom I can count
1 dull ache in my head
2 swollen limbs
6 nanograms of ear wax
1 elephant in the room
2 angular sides of my face
1 little creep
3/4 empty tank; 1/2 way home
479 breaths in and out
6 perching starlings aiming for the red sports car
2 pairs of glasses slid down her nose; one dark, one clear
1,247 seeds to be eaten by an unknown number of chickadees before the feeder is packed away
19 days until her five-and-a-half birthday
3 more days until the day after the day after the day after tomorrow when we'll go berry picking
1 ray of sunlight as the bride walked down the path
3 tiers on the wedding cake
90 minutes until he calls
7 minutes walk to school
5 of my favorite "bottle-to-pen" (B2P) pens
1 brother, 4 dogs, 2 cats, 2 turtles
3 cups of coffee, each with 2 Splendas
3 photographic art books depicting older adults
3 courses that I created and taught
5 Nalgene bottles, all beat-up
3 completed journals, full of irrational worry
6 windows in my tiny apartment
1 apology
2 giggles
1 parrot throws 4 ping pong balls off the top of her cage
8 separate rainstorms in 1 day, each occurring just as I thought things were clearing up
1 cake recipe made 6 cupcakes and 6 small cakes just large enough for 2 people
100 clothespins that always want to escape from the bag every time I pick it up
1 decade of the rosary on small pink crystals blessed for my father who deserves no such benediction
2 long conversations with my son about fathers who do not love their offspring
35 Bing cherries eaten from a dark blue bowl on a dark blue day
6 thumb-sized yellow potatoes boiled in singing salt water dressed with olive oil and vinegar
60 revolutions around the sun; so far so good
1 stinky fish; 2 smelly dogs
3 strange birds, seen then gone
64 for the last day
75 minutes later than I planned to get up; I roll over and make it 90
3 bluejays screaming in the ornamental cherry tree
1 big boy cat slinks up the stairs, avoiding eye contact
89 days since I last looked into your eyes — I still miss you
7 . . . 8 . . . 9 deer grazing at the top of the hill near the Pleasant Grove Cemetery
6 a.m. — fog on the lake
1 red squirrel chased up a tree by a gang of four gray squirrels
47 shards of sea glass — green, brown, blue, and white — on the bathroom shelf
2 purple-starred globes of allium on long stalks
6 orange poppies and 3 fuchsia peonies opening at the same time
3 tethered shopping carts, escaped from the cart corral at Wegmans, rolling in front of my car
4 wilted stalks of rainbow chard, 3 curly kale leaves, and 6
squeezed lemons in the compost bucket
8 steaks cut from the wedge of Ithaca Soy firm tofu
40 corn tortillas my mother packed in her suitcase and brought to us from Texas
8 trashy novels read, even before summer begins
30 pages into two books by local authors that I "should" read
6 dog license renewals — a quiet day in the town clerk's office
8 sprigs of fresh oregano, picked to be dried
3 attempts to send one email message
1 card that says "EXHALE"
4 shelves in the book case; 16 books on the second shelf
5 bills received today
50,000 blades of grass that I did not mow
17 times 4 will yield my age — that makes me 186 in dog-years
3 bottles of cocktail sauce, 6 cans of pineapple, 8 cans of diced tomatoes — does that make me a hoarder or just well prepared for any emergency involving shrimp?
6 stoneware birds on the deck, 4 tails up, 2 tails down
5 clickers in the basket prove that, around here, only the dog and I are not remotely controlled
95 years old, my house was built in 1917, back when nobody believed in closets
1 great blue heron at dusk, flying down the inlet
8 new-used books on the shelf, clamoring to be read
1 tall little girl giving that mosquito a piece of her mind
6 soft elbows
2 blue eyes forgiving me for being a hot-headed mama
1 brown-eyed boy dancing on the smooth bamboo floor
1 mountain of dirty dishes I cannot even see the top of
1 brother (my only one) 2,930 miles away
6 different kinds of berries growing in the yard
114 zinnias: 2 inches tall, green, and so hopeful
49 lavender blooms from a plant nearly dead last summer
1 mallard duck sitting at the edge of the pool each dawn
1 summer quilt of seersucker plaids that I'm nearly finished stitching
2 operations performed on a wheeled toy skunk, but still it won't drive around
8.439 memories of Crowe Lake, Ontario
5 requests for money in the mail — that’s all there is
17 magazines on the coffee table
8 stalks of Swiss chard in the bunch
4 old friends laughing at the kitchen table
10 prayer flags blowing in the breeze
3 broccoli plants chewed to the ground; damn rabbits!!
15 messages in the Inbox
43 points for “cleave” in Words with Friends
6 impatience plants waiting to be put in the ground — patience!
4 quarts of fresh strawberries picked this afternoon
18 almonds in the little white dish; wine time
1 glass of red wine, almost empty
6 classic cars, beautifully restored, parked in the barn
8 interesting rocks lined up on the porch railing
2 clematis twining in the trellis
1 dear little grandbaby smiling at me
75 years; why does my head think 25?
16 friends — another "Girls' Night Out" — followed by 35 minutes of dish washing
13 carpeted stairs
14 trips to the mailbox; will it never arrive?
5 different colors on my favorite pair of shoes
7 days since someone cruelly and violently attacked the orchid given to me by my first love, but 4 little buds give me hope that she'll live to blossom again
4 lips and 2 tongues make a sweet kiss
29 ounces of Gertrude Hawk smidgens eaten in 12 days
7 plays of "Little Romance," by Ingrid Michaelson, in 3 hours
1 dozen lovers in 2 years
3 baskets filled with crocheted squares waiting to be turned into blankets
1 hour set aside for reading a book I've been waiting to get to for the last 8 months
100 first class stamps and 100 postcard stamps but really, who knows what FOREVER means to the Post Office, anyway?
Contributors:
Peggy Adams
Mara Alper
Stacie Leone Bornstein
Barbara Cartwright
Dolores Dewbury
Pamela Goddard
Donna Holt
Linda Keeler
Noemi Kraut
Laura LaRosa
Barbara Kane Lewis
Pat Longoria
Deanalís Resto
Maude Rith
Maryam Steele
Charlotte Sweeney
Sylvia Taylor
Lisa Todzia
Anne Wexler
Zee Zahava
