so much going on
if nothing else
you might never need
to shop anywhere else
so many options
none really appeal to me
maybe because i’m in the
‘& everybody else’ category
maybe it’s something else.
—
“marketing is too important to be left to the marketing department.”
~ david packard
on a winter walk in the woods
came upon a labyrinth made of pine
fall to winter vegetables as offerings at its center
beautiful yule celebration on display
left for all to enjoy.
—
“the trees will tell their secrets to those that tune in.”
-steve magee
—
greenview nature preserve, ann arbor, mi, usa – january 2021
i got a lovely holiday card from my dear friend
sharing all of her family’s news
including her oldest daughter
taking her driver’s ed training online
all i can picture is mario kart.
actual humans in tokyo, mario-karting on the road
clearly someone had the same vision.
—
“most of american life consists of driving somewhere and then returning home, wondering why the hell you went.”
-john updike
—
image credits: nintendo/mario kart, google images japan
sign of new beginnings
wonderful surprises ahead
my ever-struggling orchid
suddenly burst into bloom
just in time
to welcome in the new year.
—
“hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come whispering – it will be happier”
-alfred lord tennyson
this year’s celebration is just going to be a low key affair
how will you be welcoming in the new year?
—
“embrace curiosity, be open, playful, and persistent.”
-Debra Kaye, Red Thread Thinking: Weaving Together Connections
—
image credit: pinterest vintage images, the pickle sisters vaudeville troupe, 1920s
A common story traces the tradition of the twelve lucky grapes, or uvas de la suerte, to grape farmers in Alicante, Spain, who suggested the idea when they had a surplus harvest to unload in the early 1900s. But according to food writer Jeff Koehler, newspaper articles about the tradition from the 1880 suggest it developed from Madrid’s bourgeoisie copying the French custom of drinking champagne and eating grapes on New Year’s Eve.
Either way, Spanish tradition eventually became a superstition that spread to Central and South America. Eating one grape at each of midnight’s 12 clock chimes guarantees you a lucky year—if and only if, you simultaneously ruminate on their significance. (Each grape represents an upcoming month.) If you fail to conscientiously finish your grapes by the time the clock stops chiming, you’ll face misfortune in the new year.
Superstitions tend to be specific, and uvas de la suerte is no different. Most Spaniards eat white Aledo grapes, which farmers in Alicante, Spain, protect from the sun, birds, and other pests by tying paper bags around as they grow. This process, which slows the grapes’ development and allows them to grow a finer skin, produces a grape that’s soft, ripe, and ready to be sold in twelve-packs in December. Now isn’t that lucky?
the doctor asked me
the usual litany of questions
general health, lifestyle, habits, history, medical issues
she was excited to find that i was not on any medication
her happiness continued on through the list of ‘red flag’ questions
as i answered no, no, no, rarely, on special occasions, safely, long ago
heard myself reciting my answers
finally blurted out that i must be really boring
she told me that is exactly what doctors want to hear
i made her day, but now i’m left wondering how to kick it up a notch.
—
“everybody’s life can be a movie but most of such movies will be boring!”
-mehmet murat ildan
—
image credit: google images
i wonder if when he looked at the shape, he guessed this was a basketball, even before opening it.
—
“each new day has a different shape to it. you just roll with it.”
-ben zobrist
he is all in.
as the family enjoys their breakfast
one of the grand cats
decides to have his.
jumps on the counter, straddles the cake,
eats fresh whipped cream to his heart’s content.
until he is outed.
—
“whipped cream can remind you why it’s good to be alive.”
– deb caletti
I didn't have my glasses on.... 