Tuesday, December 16, 2014

What is Clear to Me, by Sue Perlgut


What is clear to me is that each day is a gift. That every moment is a choice. That some choices work and some don’t. That memory may or may not be useful. That I’m glad I forget, yet delighted when an old memory surfaces with sounds, colors, and tastes.
What is clear to me is that I haven’t mastered joy or maybe even recognize it. That loss is inevitable. That good health is to be treasured. That I’m in charge and yet, I need to let go.
What is clear to me is that breathing, deeply, can change a moment, a thought. 
What is clear to me is that I am still afraid and run from my fears and at times run right into them.
What is clear to me is that as I age what I believe has softened, giving me a new understanding and love and at the same time I have become more fierce.

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

My Favorite Things, by Sue Norvell


steamy windows in a bakery when it's cold outside
the smell of fresh baked bread

watching woodpeckers on our suet feeder

waking, and realizing there is no pain

realizing I'm stronger today than yesterday

evergreens with snow caps

our two year old neighbor who has been taught to cough or sneeze into his elbow

blood donors — "Thank you!" to three people who shared with me

the feeling of being snug in my house as a storm approaches 

jewel-toned colors

maps — any, all, old, new, but especially old Esso maps of the U. S. from so many car trips as a child

new shoes, even new slippers or new socks, but especially shoes

chocolate with mint, chocolate with almost anything, chocolate by itself

street cars

a good mystery, especially finding a new-to-me author

sugar maples in autumn and new growth on my lilies showing through the mud in spring

our oddly feathered junco with the "white earmuffs" — he's been around for more than a month now

jigsaw puzzles done with family at holidays; the puzzle is fun, the peace it helps bring is even better

ingenuity and people who can problem-solve creatively

lentil soup

turkey stuffing and gravy

the aroma of spices, particularly cloves

the fact that parsley is very resistant to frost and pokes up, bright green, with snow all around it

paisleys — nearly all of them

yummy textured fabric: firmly soft wool melton, elegantly sleek silk-satin, crisp white lace, navy soutache braid, patable polypro, and comfy corduroy

rag rugs, especially ones made of old clothes — oh, there's that skirt I loved in high school

aprons with BIG pockets

fires in fireplaces

being warm in winter, being cool in summer

my silly fuschia-pink cyclamen from the grocery store now blooming in its 3rd year

my orchid, which seems to have forgiven my inadvertent neglect

old buttons — shoe buttons, metal buttons, and the funny bone or plastic ones my grandfather had on his boxer undershorts; for some reason the holes for the thread are huge compared to the diameter of the button, and I don't know why

challah

the clatter of the mailbox when the post carrier delivers

the sound ice skates make as they carve across a pond

the sound of wind in our huge evergreen trees

the hum of the phone wire as it is strummed by a tree branch; it's connected to the bedroom wall and can sound like a low, drawn out note on a cello

the sound of the car's engine turning over and "catching" when our battery is a bit low, and the temperature's even lower — whew

the cat's purring in my ear, but not at 4 a.m. please

being back at writing circle

being able to drive again — cautiously, for short trips
 
talking with my daughter on Sunday mornings

naps: all good

hardwood floors — so much subtle variety

well-made furniture, especially the chairs I can recover repeatedly

the Sunday "funnies" in the New York Herald Tribune (a happy memory)

150 watt bulbs for reading

a clock that ticks, a clock that chimes

old photographs and family to help sort them

Note: This list was inspired by the book "My Favorite Things," written and illustrated by Maira Kalman