Honey

Each spring brings a wave of honey consumption into my life. Local honey. Not because I love the sweet taste, although it is good. Not because I need to add calories to my diet; I clearly don’t. No, it’s about spring allergies. Local honey helps bring the sneezing, sniffling, itching throat and burning eyes under control. Another measure I’ve reluctantly learned to take in the battle against the runny nose is to wash out my sinuses with salt water. Ew. I like the non-drug, old timey remidies because . . .

Please leave a comment with your first 50 words on the topic “honey” or something suggested by the photo.

Wolves

There will be wolves. Today as part of Earth Day, there will be wolves on display at Whole Foods. Wolves are huge, awesome and powerful. We could learn a lot from the wild predators. We are predators ourselves, a fact we manage to ignore very successfully most of the time. But when you look at the state of the predator in nature, you realize that the survival of the ecosystem depends on the health of the predator. Predators are big and easier to see and all the little growing and furry things that they depend on. . . .

Please leave a comment with your first 50 words on the topic “wolves.”

What do you want to know?

I’m getting excited about going to Taos for the workshop with Natalie Goldberg. What do you want to know about it? Anything? Are you already bored with hearing about it, or do you want my impressions of the experience? Talk to me.

Please leave a comment with your first 50 words on the topic “What do you want to know?”

Food

The food was on the table. People were crowded around it, seated before the good china, the good silver, the turkey, the cranberry sauce. No one was talking. No one was looking at the food.

Everyone’s eyes were on Jeremy, who had arrived with Aunt Rosie’s daughter Tina. He had a conductor’s baton in his hand, an iPod plugged into his ears. He leapt on the coffee table and conducted the music only he could hear. He wobbled a bit and stopped conducting to dissolve in huge sobs and tears. Tina grabbed . . .

Please leave a comment with your first 50 words on the topic “food.”

Covers

Here in the Southwest, all the standard milestones for the last freeze are past. Nevertheless it’s 33 degrees this morning and I’m hoping the plants I covered with colorful beach towels last night will be snuggly and warm beneath their beach blanket covers. I’m always too eager with my gardening efforts.

I’m watching the weather in Taos, too, since I’m headed there for the much anticipated Natalie Goldberg workshop soon. It’s 12 degrees there right now. I’m going, cold or not, by golly!

Please leave a comment with your first 50 words on the topic “covers.”

Mind games

I run around inside my head playing stupid, senseless, repetitive mind games. The most persistent is audio Jeopardy. I hear some singer on the radio. Can I just say to myself, “ah, Sting.” No, I have to answer the audio clue with a question, “Who is Sting?” What a waste of mental energy. It must be the deepest groove among all my mental pathways, a real rut.

Please leave a comment with your first 50 words on the topic “mind games.”

The Garden

 She calls the grass outside her house the garden, the living room in her house is the lounge, and the shoes on her feet are trainers. Yep, she’s a transplated Brit. She works and lives in the U.S. but home is across the sea and she clings to the vocabulary of home.

I often wonder why she doesn’t Americanize her language choices, since she knows the words. I haven’t asked her why, it’s too much fun to make up reasons. . . .

Please leave a comment with your first 50 words on the topic “the garden.”

Why Doesn’t Anyone

Why doesn’t anyone point to the money spent in Iraq as the source of the economic slowdown instead of the mortgage morass? Why doesn’t anyone talk about the future of our children and grandchildren in relation to corporate profit taking? Why doesn’t anyone in the city have a garden full of vegetables? Why doesn’t anyone dance under the full moon instead of watching TV? Why . . .

Please leave a comment with your first 50 words on the topic “why doesn’t anyone.”

Eating Out

Eating out can be a celebration. An event. Or it can the fastest way to get dinner. Or the cheapest way to get dinner–two items at Taco Bell are under $5, can you feed two people for that at home? Eating out is a social event–you go out for a movie and a meal with a friend.

Eating in can be a celebration–the family gathers, company comes, it’s an event. Eating in can be the cheapest way to get dinner–a can of soup and some cheese and crackers run about $2, can you eat for that at a restaurant? Eating in can be fast–toss a frozen dinner in the microwave and three minutes later you’re eating.

The question becomes . . .

Please leave a comment with your first 50 words on the topic “eating out.”

350

The closer Jake drove to the city and away from his remote home in the desert, the higher the carbon sensor on his dashboard registered. Several miles back the numbers passed the 350 parts per million safety limit and blinked red every few seconds, mocking him for leaving home.

He knew his electric hauler would not add to the problem. In fact, when he returned home, he would upload energy to the grid from his travels. But he had to get some new solar voltaic panels to power his daughter’s . . .

Please see 350.org for information about a fledgling Global Action in need of support and inspiration.

Please leave a comment with your first 50 words on the topic “350.”