The Garden Gate

Daily Prompt:  Gate

Garden-Gate-1024x675
Picture From Garden Lovers Club

Welcome to my garden.
Please enter through the gate.
Come and meet my children
As happily they wait.

There’s Lily, Dahlia and Camellia
Sitting there by the bench.
And Kunal resting by the pond.
As Rose watches from the fence

You can see Myrtle’s hiding in the back.
Petunia’s playing shy.
Begonia’s lounging in the shade.
Daisy’s dancing toward the sky.

Enjoy the sweet aromas
Of cocktails served on the breeze.
Drink in all the flavors
Hear the buzzing bees.

Then sit back and imagine
How bland our life would be.
If God had not provided
The beauty we now see.

© Wanda M. Williams

Crunch Time

Daily Prompt:  Lollipop

Do you remember the Tootsie Roll Pop commercials that used to ask,  “How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll PoP? ”  It always made me crazy because I can’t just lick a lollipop.  No matter how hard I try, I start out licking and wind up just biting right through the hard candy.

As far as I am concerned, they should be called quick pops, not lollipops.  The name lollipop brings to my mind slowly savoring something I love, not eating it as fast as I can like when you have to swallow medicine.

I guess I should have realized that it was a warning of how things would be in my future. I am definitely not known for my patience.  I can actually feel myself start to shake inside sometimes when I have to wait.  Even at my ripe old age of 65, I still am a bit impatient.  And for the record, I was at the bank the other day and grabbed a lollipop off of the desk.  Before I knew what was happening I was crunching on the hard candy once again.  Somethings never change.  🙂

Wanda

Cirque du Soleil® La Nouba™

Daily Prompt:  Disastrous

DSCF3775

 

As many of you may know I have been staying at my friends home in Orlando helping her during her husband’s recovery from a serious illness and surgery.  He is recovering nicely now and is able to get around much better.  Last night Dottie and Frank took me to see Cirque du Soleil La Nouba at Disney Springs.  I have always liked the circus, but none of my kids did so I haven’t been to one in many, many years.  I had no idea what to expect.

An acrobat couple, suspended upside down, hold hands as the woman extends one leg towards the ground
Borrowed from Walt Disney World

Acrobats, aerialists, break dancers, singers, trapeze artists, jugglers and clowns performed a show that was absolutely fabulous!  It was an hour and a half of non stop movement and music.  So energetic.  The talent of these performers is unbelievable. During the acrobatics and dance the story of  a house maid’s dream is played out with grace and humor.

Four girls in matching short frocks stand onstage, each spinning a giant yoyo shaped like an hourglass
Borrowed from Walt Disney World

There were two performers who rode bicycles.  I have to say that the strength these two men displayed while making those bikes do things only imagined was stellar.  They actually stopped short at the face of one man who was lying on the stage and then hopped over he and the man lying next to him from a dead stop.  I couldn’t believe it. Missing by an inch could have been disastrous.

Two of the 3 members of a breakdancing act stand onstage with their arms open, awaiting applause
Borrowed from Walt Disney World

The trapeze artists were amazing.  Flying high above the stage in perfect rhythm. Exchanging places and catching each other while we looked on in awe.  It reminded me of the first time I saw an act similar when I was a child.

Ballerina doing a pirouette with arms spread wide at Cirque de Soleil – La Nouba
Borrowed from Walt Disney World

There are over 65 performers in the show and they represent 15 countries.  I  recommend seeing this show it will create a memory you will savor always.

These break dancers were unbelievable.

Three male break dancers, with their faces painted, perform onstage
Borrowed from Walt Disney World

To see more photos from the show check my Pinterest Board.

Wanda

 

Moxie Mike

Daily Prompt:  Moxie

Mike walked along the shaded street
While twirling his walking stick.
He tipped his hat
To the lovely young lass
And smiled charmingly.

The sun was shining and all was well
Birds chirped a melodious tune.
He offered his arm, winked once then said
“Allow me to show you the fair.”

What moxie!
What flair!
He’s so debonair.
A gentleman to envy for sure.

A fine couple they made.
She in lace.
He in tails.
They strolled on the promenade.

© Wanda Williams

The Dancing Bumble Bees

Daily Prompt:  Bumble

Every morning when I walk Gracie, I pass a beautiful yellow mimosa. As I walk under its branches I see the fuzzy black and yellow bumble bees busy at work pollinating the flowers.

I am allergic to bees, so I don’t dally along this part of my walk, but I do love to watch the bees. It looks like they are dancing with each other in uncoordinated movements back and forth from flower to flower. They pass over and under each other never touching, but coming very close.

We used to have a swimming pool and when we were landscaping around it we were told that bees liked yellow flowers the most.  So we never had yellow flowers in our yard. I always felt bad about that because yellow flowers just seem happy.

Watching these dancing bees made me think about this Neal Diamond song from 1979. Take a listen.

 

Published on Sep 29, 2010

 

I Am A Tailor

Daily Prompt:  Tailor

I am a tailor.
A maker of clothes for the smartly attired.
I measure carefully
The man, woman and child.

I am a tailor.
I sew with precision
The edges of cloth
With straight even stitches.

I am a tailor.
I have chosen wisely
Richly charcoal colored fabric.
For your suit.

The texture
The feel
Perfection.
I am a tailor.

© Wanda Williams

The Beach

Daily Prompt:  Savage

 

I took a walk on the beach today.

Blue skies and white clouds welcomed me.

Pelicans and seagulls flew over my head

A beautiful sight to see.

 

Waves gently rolling into the shore

Saying a quiet hello.

Sandpipers running on the sand

Following the water’s ebb and flow.

 

The dunes are alive with sea grasses

With vines and sea oats holding onto the sand

They hide their inhabitants successfully

Keeping them safe and sound..

 

Life is glorious on the beach.

It calms me and soothes my soul.

I was lost in my thoughts of wonder

At what God has given to me.

 

Then quickly the clouds began to change.

They grew dark and caused the wind to form.

The birds began to disappear

Heading for shelter to ride out the storm.

 

Then waves slammed into the beach

With a warning to leave at once.

So with regret I walked away

As the wind savagely beats the dunes.

 

I thought about the drastic change

That God had designed today.

And realized I must put my faith

In His all knowing ways.

© Wanda Williams

 

 

The Saga of the Nuts, Bolts and Screws

Daily Prompt:  Jangle

Back in 2002 my husband and I moved to North Carolina.  We had a relatively big house that had stuff stored in it from my mom’s house, my mother’s house and all the stuff my husband collected over the years.  We had been in that house for 27 years.  My husband, being a pack rat from the word go, collected every screw, nut, bolt and washer that was left over from everything he had ever put together.  He also had all of the miscellaneous pieces of metal he would bring home from work in his pocket.

We had to sort through all of the stuff in the garage.  There were boxes of little metal “things” to go through.  We would open up the boxes and I would say we can get rid of this.  Gary would say no, we need to keep it.  This went on with all of the cigar boxes he had with the varied little metal screws, nuts and bolts.  So, the day came to pack up the truck to move.

All of these little screws, nails, nuts, bolts were put into the truck.  At our new house we emptied it all into the garage there.  Every time Gary needed to fix something, he would run to one of the Home Depots in the area and pick up the hardware he needed for the task.  I would remind him we had boxes, jars, coffee cans full of that kind of hardware and we would just say it was quicker to pick up what he needed.  I just shook my head.

When my in-laws were getting ready to sell their place, there were jars, boxes, coffee cans full of little metal screws, nuts, bolts, and nails in their garage.  Every time Gary heard that familiar jangle he would smile and say that we needed to keep these.  So, we added to our collection of those little metal pieces.

Now, my husband is gone and I am going through all of the stuff he thought we couldn’t live without.  In the garage, if I pick up a box, can, jar of something that jangles I don’t even open it.  I smile to myself remembering how Gary had to keep it, then toss it in the get rid of pile.  I am confident that when I get rid of all of this stuff, there will be another man that will see the value in holding into all of the nuts, bolts, screws and washers just in case he needs one.

Wanda

Just A Feather?

Daily Prompt:  Quill

bf07e920f55347726bb9d9273cfc8d2cWhen I was in elementary school I went to a number of historical sites on school field trips.  I must have gotten quills at each of them.  I was fascinated that you could pluck a tail feather out of a large bird and use it to write with.  It made me realize that something so benign so ordinary could be used to do something so extraordinary.  Now, I know that the  quills I got as my souvenirs were probably synthetically made, but I just always had to have one to memorialize my field trips.

I have never written with any of the quills I had saved for so many years.  Finally when I had gotten married and was moving my things into my new home I got rid of them.  I can remember thinking I had no idea why I had so many.  I am sorry that I never tried to write with them though.  It would have been like the signers of the Declaration of Independence.  Statements such as “The mighty quill.” make you think about writing something that is profound.  Maybe if I had used one of those quills I would have turned out to be a writer.  Who knows?

I will tell you though, that when I was in elementary school, I did write with a fountain pen.  I always liked how the pen felt in my hand.

Where I went to school we had writing practice.  We were taught the Palmer Method of handwriting.  I used to have quite beautiful handwriting.  I never do any writing by hand anymore.   It seems that since computers have taken their place in our society, I have given up handwriting.

My grandchildren aren’t even learning cursive.  I think that is a shame.  I think that when you can sign your name to something of importance, it instills pride.

Wanda

Dash or Dash

Daily Prompt:  Dash

Who would have thought that using the little dash would be so complicated.  I always check the definitions of the words for the daily prompt before I write my little piece.  I just checked the definition of dash.  Wow!  I thought I was pretty intelligent, and maybe at one point in my life I learned some of this, but I swear I don’t remember it.

This is what Wikipedia has to say about the dash.

“The dash is a punctuation mark that is similar to a hyphen or minus sign, but differs from both of these symbols primarily in length and function. The most common versions of the dash are the en dash (–) and the longer em dash (—), whose names historically were loosely related with the length of a lower-case n and upper-case M, respectively, in commonly used typefaces.

Usage varies both within English and in other languages, but the usual convention in printed English text is as follows:

An em dash (or an en dash) denotes a break in a sentence or to set off parenthetical statements.
Glitter, felt, yarn, and buttons—his kitchen looked as if a clown had exploded.
A flock of sparrows—some of them juveniles—alighted and sang.

The en dash (but not the em dash) indicates spans or differentiation, where it may be considered to replace “and” or “to” (but not “to” in the phrase “from … to …”):[1]
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was fought in western Pennsylvania and along the present US–Canada border (Edwards, pp. 81–101).

The em dash (but not the en dash) is also used to set off the sources of quotes:
Seven social sins: politics without principles, wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, and worship without sacrifice. — Mahatma Gandhi”

I don’t know about you, but I am just a little confused by this.  However, if I am completely honest, it doesn’t take much to confuse me anymore.  I think it has something to do with getting older.  🙂

Wikipedia goes on to say, “There are several forms of dash, of which the most common are: (link to site added by me)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dash.”

Then Merriam-Webster’s definition is this.

  1. transitive verb
  2. 1:  to break by striking or knocking angrily dashed the bouquet of flowers against the table

  3. 2:  to knock, hurl, or thrust violently dashed water onto his face a boat that had beendashed against the rocks

  4. 3:  splashspatter his pants were dashed with mud

  5. 4a :  ruindestroy the news dashed his hopesb :  depresssaddenc :  to make ashamed dashed by her scorn

  6. 5:  to affect by mixing in something different his delight was dashed with bitterness

  7. 6:  to complete, execute, or finish off hastily —used with down or off dashed down a drinkdash off a letter… he dashed off the book in eight weeks … — Paul Fussell

  8. 7[euphemism]:  1damn 4 Dash it all!

  9. intransitive verb
  10. 1:  to move with sudden speed dashed down the hallway

  11. 2:  smash waves dashing against the rocks

 

So the simple little dash has many meanings and uses – my work here is done.  I have dashed to the internet and dashed off my research with dashing results.  I hope I haven’t dashed your enthusiasm for using dash as that would have dashed your interest.

Wanda