a prophetic voice-

Yesterday was a delight...beautiful snow showers...a visit to an old friend at Trinity Glen...coming home to a house decorated for the holidays...hot chocolate in front of the fire. Lovely... But this morning, tears came unbidden as I found myself longing for Thanksgivings long past and the people no long present. I felt suddenly bereft...of purpose, of hope, of joy. A shroud of loneliness covered me, blotting out the already-brightly-shining sun. I was alone... felt alone...and I found myself wondering just what these nearly seventy-two years of my life have been all about.   The tears passed, as they are wont to do, and as I stood in the blessedly hot shower, I began thinking about this day- meant to be a day of giving thanks, though it has taken the meaning of a day for family and feasting- not a bad thing, except for those who have neither family nor food. And I have both- in abundance, if truth be told. And friends...beautiful, wonderful, sharing, caring fri...

a new month A new month, the calendar says. And I leave behind the turbulent memories & emotions of October, step carefully into November, pausing at the brink to scan the road ahead for potholes and pitfalls, realizing all the while that I cannot know what lies in wait around that distant turn, hoping only that the roads I have taken thus far have prepared me well. And perhaps what lurks ahead, beyond the hills and valleys I can see is joyful surprise- the gift and grace of laughter, the wonder of delight. A new month- welcome November. I wrote this poem five years ago, a year when October had been especially difficult for me, as I recalled the death of my first husband, my bout with breast cancer, and the birthday of my dad who had died years earlier but whom I still dearly missed. As a child, I had loved autumn, but for many of my adult years, autumn had become a season which, though I continued to revel in nature's colors and the feel of the air, ...

And suddenly it is mid-July...summer is simmering, and here in Carolina the rains have been on-going, breaking records from the mountains to the coast, while forest fires continue to rage in the west. Reminds me to be grateful for whatever each day holds, however it unfolds. And summer foods are a special gift: home-grown tomatoes, corn-on-the-cob, peaches, watermelon, blueberries, green beans, peppers...virtually all of my favorite fruits and vegetables, making each dinner table a veritable rainbow of colors, a cornucopia of flavors.     The grands are loving summertime, too, spending long hours outdoors and relishing every moment of the somewhat intermittent sunshine. I see them growing brown and strong and, again, I give thanks for the gift of their presence in my life. Now that I have more time for myself, I have been cooking and baking, loving the time in the kitchen, imbuing each recipe with lots of love for all those who will share the abundance with me....