Trip October 17, 2017

Linda Airport

L inda’s time to go to the airport.

I went with Lori and Judy to take her,

N ervously wondering if we’d make it through traffic. We did and then Lori

D rove to French Café,

A nd we enjoyed the pumpkin muffins

A nd crepes and eggs. Judy, Lori and

I loved the café and the delicious food. Then we

R ealized we had no ambition to go any

P lace else. Waitress gave us free muffins. So we headed

O n home to Lori’s and played Splendor. We

R eally had fun. We watched some Jeopardy.

T hen I did some homework. Still finishing up the last class for GCU. 

Trip October 16, 2017

Shopping

S isters simply deciding where to shop was

H ard. We ended up at the mall, but we were

O nly looking for Turrid. Shopped at Lane Bryant.

P rices were tempting. We each bought a few

P ieces for the trip. And then we went

I nto Catherines, bought some more clothes and lunched out.

N ext we went to Chandler and browsed through a

G iant antique mall. Traffic back was scary. Evening games.

Trip October 15, 2017

Church + Dolly

C onnie and Linda go to church.

H ave a great time singing hymns.

U nderstand the message about worry.

R eturn home and pick up Judy.

C arefully drive through traffic.

H ave a lunch at Dairy Queen. A sundae on Sunday.

D rive up curvy narrow road to Dolly the Steamboat.

O penly frightened. Wait in

L ine. We all enjoyed the boat ride,

L anguidly cruising the lake. Awesome cliffs, cactus and rock formations.

Y et, another harrowing ride. Play Splendor-an addictive game of cards and chips.

Trip October 14, 2017

Papago Park + Escape Room

P lopping into Karen’s rental car after a delicious breakfast

A nd we sissies head to Papago

P ark in Tempe, Judy with trepidation

A bout the hike. Lori and

G uys are at home to pack the picnic lunch.

O n the way, we chat.

P apago park looks like Bedrock of Flintstones Fame.

A nd we hike up to Hole in the

R ock and take a lot of pictures.

K eep walking till we get back to picnic table. The others come and we munch.

E vening comes. We eat spaghetti.

S ome of us goes to an escape room

C reative and logical thinking in tact

A nd we start in the Monopoly Room and begin at

P ark Place. We figure out

E very clue, with a little help. The next

R oom is Scrabble. We have a good time

O ne by one getting the clues, but

O pening up one lock proves futile.

M inutes tick by and we come up short.

Trip October 13, 2017

Graduation Day

G et ready after breakfast. Soon rolling down the

R oad to Grand Canyon University in the newly-fixed van.

A nd then we pile in the golf-cart shuttle, hanging on for

D ear life. Take pictures, and then scurry off to

U se correct lines. Receive gold cord. Worry about my white tassel. Seems

A ll others are gold. Why do I have a different color

T assel? Hours early. I walk around, go to the bathroom and

I sit alone in the back until it’s time to go down front. I see

O ther white tassels, now. Listed as the arts. Hey, I’m summa cum laude.

N ow I’m a college graduate, at last. Met with clapping people. Brings tears.

D irectly after, we pick up hubby and client

A nd go to Red Lobster. Sissies surprise me with a basketful of gifts.

Y ummy food. We sissies have sleepover in hotel. Too tired. Go directly to bed.

Trip October 12, 2017

Sisters

S hannon sisters coming. Daughter Lori and

I pick up Linda and Judy

S afely at the airport. Next--graduation

T ickets. Pick them up on campus.

E ven though it’s early, we’re

R avenously hungry. We

S top in Phoenix. Taste buds dance. Karen arrives and we enjoy Lori’s cooking. 

Trip October 11, 2017

October 11, 2017

First Day, AZ

F irst we realize,

I need to check

R ight away if the van needs

S erviced. Bad news. All

T he mounts are stripped or broken.

D oing errands and groceries.

A nd getting second opinion.

Y es, it’s as bad

A s the first guy said it was. And it needs new tires.

Z ealously cleaning the house. Sissies are coming. Will the van be fixed in time?

Trip October 10, 2017

On the Road

O ne sunny golden day

N ow leaving at eleven

T he first stop—post office

H old the mail for three weeks

E li and Lori, here we come

R olling down the road.

O n and on

A nd on

D id you hear that strange noise when we hit bumps?

Gnomes Celebrate

This October First

Thirteen years of daily poems

Nearing five-thousand 

Couplets

Preparation

Feeling a bit crazed

As I’m counting the days.

Soon we’ll take a trip,

Trying not to flip.

Got so much to do,

Will I make it through?

Just have to put one foot before the other.

No need to be crying for my mother.

7 Slow Start

Morning Write

My toes are cold,

My fingers, too.

My nose runs.

Are my lips blue?

I need a robe

And a pair of socks,

And a little umph

To quit this box.

Gnomes Sijo

The autumn leaves of my mesquite hang golden like kings’ crowns.

Though beautiful, they signal snow will soon fall, and I brace myself.

I resolve to enjoy the cheery colors while they last. 

Poetic Asides Recognition

Recognition

When my husband had a stroke,

our host home client stayed in respite care.

Three weeks later, I picked him up

and we drove the 75 miles to visit

Hubby in the rehab center.

Hubby was in bed when we walked in.

I thought our guy would be happy,

but he didn’t seem to recognize him.

Hubby got out of bed and wheeled

to the table in the dining room.

We talked about his therapies.

After a few minutes, the light went on

in the childlike man’s eyes.

He lunged toward his caregiver.

Recognition. 

Poetic Asides Recognition

A silver cord

Will grace my purple gown

Forty years late

Acrostic

Clutter

C ollection of what have yous

L etting the dust settle on them

U seless but sentimental value

T ime to give some away

T ime to trash some

E xcept how can I get

R id of stuff with meaning?

Gnomes Out of reach to the left

Sparkly Heart Rock

My heart-shaped rock sits barely out of reach.

It’s edged in sparkly, silvery chenille.

No bigger than a pit of a small peach,

For many dollars, I’d refuse to sell.

It’s decorated with six plastic beads

And filled with golden glitter in between.

In capturing my heart, the rock succeeds.

The beads are yellow, pink, white, blue and green.

Created by a girl who cannot talk,

But with a smile can warm up any room.

And neither could she rise, get up, and walk.

We cared for her, but she has moved too soon.

                                                                       

To dwell on losses makes me feel so sad.

The rock reminds me of the joys we had. 

haiku

The wind sways the pines

Sounding much like the ocean

Singing soothing songs