And, this time, I am deliberately late. I knew both of these would happen on Tuesday, and rather than tell you they were going to happen, I wanted to wait and tell you they did happen. I wanted to give you the link to the short poem, and tell  you what happened at my cooking lesson.

Story the first:

Last week, we had crappy air quality in town. It was in the red, Unhealthy, category, and by Friday, when I was hosting our weekly poetry prompt i was talking, when I could be heard, more like a pubescent boy than an old lady. I wrote my poems, squeaked them out, and everyone said they were surprised I didn’t write about the air and my voice. So on Saturday, I wrote that poem, and sent it to a couple of gals in the prompt group who were the most vocal about why didn’t I write about it the day before. They both liked it, and one suggested I submit to New Verse News. Once I realized it meant New Verse as in Poetry Verse and not Biblical Verse, I submitted it.

New Verse News accepted it, and here it is, Living with Ma Nature, and the photo they chose to go with it is perfect, I think. We lost a huge old trestle somewhere near Colfax, I believe it was crossing the Palouse River. Anyhow, enjoy the poem. 

And after three days of yellow, moderate, air quality, tomorrow, we’re headed back to red, unhealthy for at least 3 days. My phone says it’s currently green, good, but my throat is beginning to get that smokey feel to the back of it.

Story the second:

60+ years ago, I decided I wanted to learn to bake bread. I loved baking cookies and cakes, and loved the idea of baking my own bread. Alas, I had no one to show me how, or correct my mistrakes as they were made. To the best of my limited knowledge and comprehension, I followed the recipes, but some of the terms made no sense to me. I tried, and tried, and tried a couple times more. The flavor was always good, but the texture was, if not off the scales, pretty close to the edge. I had no idea where I was messing up, no idea what to do, so rather than subject my husband to any more tries, we bought bread at the store like good capitalists.

This morning, Tuesday, I spent 10 minutes shy of 3 hours in a friend’s kitchen learning how to make pita bread! I now have all the knowledge to make my own. All I need is practice, and he said if I get stuck, to call him. The important part, for me, is I know what it is supposed to look like, and feel like. It will be a while before I try, because he also operates a bakery, and I love his bread, and would rather he bake it than me, especially in the summer. 

Follow-up:

My sister of the heart, Val and her family have returned to their homes in Spokane. They still have homes, and nothing appears damaged. Everyone is relieved to be home, but so many people lost everything, one almost feels guilty in rejoicing for the ones who lost nothing but time. However, as far as I’ve heard, the lives lost were two firefighters. No one I’ve heard about was caught in their home. I grieve for the two responders and their families and friends, but am so grateful everyone else got out safely. It’s so much easier to replace things than people. Mementos burn, memories remain in our hearts.

Remember, gentle readers, I love you, I appreciate you, I value you. Have a great week and create something—a sentence, a painting, a song, loaf of bread, whatever you choose.

Took this last November. A little something cool to ponder in this heat 😉

“A fox should not be on the jury at a goose’s trial” —Thomas Fuller