Sunday
Positive Living
Haiku
~ Haiku ~
Frozen fog on trees,
crept softly into the night.
Caught in morning light. ~
Thank you for visiting. ~ terre
Terre’s Blog – Women of All Seasons (c)2021
Sunday
Trip Around the World Quilt
I know I post mostly poetry and photography, but another love of mine that I have not shared so much is my love for quilts. It seems they are all vying for my time. When I am not doing the other, I can be found cutting up perfectly good fabric from my stash and making new creations. If I lived forever, I would always have more quilt ideas than I could possibly ever make. However, this doesn’t really matter as it is more about the art of quilting and sharing that love with others.
This love of quilts came early when as a child my grandmother would let me sleep under one of the colorful quilts at her house. When it came time to go to bed, we would lay on the bed and she would tell me about the pattern, stories of the quilt pattern, or about the pieces of fabrics in the quilt. She had Sun Bonnet Sue’s, Ladies with Parasols, Log Cabins, appliqued butterflies, among others. The funny thing though, she didn’t quilt herself. She had her group of Kentucky quilting lady friends as she called them and they made the quilts. She loved quilts, but her talent was embroidery. She would sometimes take some of her embroidered pieces to them to be included in her quilts, such as the Ladies with parasols.
I never had my own quilt though, until she had her quilting friends make the one above. A beautiful, colorful, ‘Trip Around the World’. She gifted me with this special quilt when my children were young. The few quilts I had made were small baby quilts or quickly tied comforters for giving as gifts. I didn’t own a real quilt. I thought I was rich with this beauty with all the small tiny squares set on point so that they almost looked like diamonds. It was with this quilt that my children learned how special a quilt was and that it was like being covered by a blanket of love… and also to never sleep with chewing gum in your mouth. I thought of the pattern that was made just for me and hoped that it would be a lucky one that would help me to travel someday. Thank you Grandma for sharing your love of quilts, your stories, your time, and for my very own beautiful quilt. ~
Thank you for visiting today. ~ terre
Terre’s Blog – Women of All Seasons (c)2021
Haiku
~ Haiku ~
A white winterland
fresh, clean, all yards look alike,
Snowmen and sledding. ~
02-16-21 tch
Thank you for visiting and stay safe. ~ terre
Terre’s Blog – Women of All Seasons (c)2021
Photography: Birds
Sunday
Random Thoughts
Mind-Body-Spirit
Photography: Nature
Haiku
~ Haiku ~
Too many gray skies,
even the birds are hiding.
Long, cold, Winter months.
Thank you for visiting. ~ terre
Terre’s Blog – Women of All Seasons (c)2021
Poetry ~ Betrayal
~ Betrayal ~
The wounded bird soars
         with a blood-soaked breast.
Swirling,
         Crashing,
                              or … Soaring Higher.
– terre  031117
Thank you for visiting. ~ terre
Terre’s Blog – Women of All Seasons (c)2021
Photography: Birds
The Carolina Chickadee and the Black-capped Chickadee are so much alike that even Audubon didn’t realize that they were different until years after they had been first discovered. Both are part of the mixed community of birds that visit woods and backyard feeders. ~
1/400 sec, f/11/ ISO 500.
Thank you for visiting. ~ terre
Terre’s Blog – Women of All Seasons (c)2021
Haiku
~ Haiku ~
Wake me up coffee.
Jolt, bolt me into the day,
soothe me with your warmth. ~Â
Thank you for visiting ~ terre
Terre’s Blog – Women of All Seasons (c)2021
Sunday
With closest custody, guard your heart, for in it are the sources of life.
                                                        ~ Proverbs 4:23
Wishing you a peaceful Sunday ~ terre
Terre’s Blog – Women of All Seasons ©2021
Haiku ~ Wasting Time
~ Haiku ~Â
Always wasting time,
follow the Yellow Brick Road,
politicians sow. ~
Thank you for visiting. – terre
Terre’s Blog – Women of All Seasons (c)2021
Poetry – Voices
~ Voices ~
Voices in the night,
voices calm
or fright.
Voices caustic,
toxic,
loving,
or caring.
Voices in the daylight,
in the coffee shop,
amongst the traffic.
Voices in the day
or night.
Voices that fight,
to conquer,
all that is silent.
~ terre
031117
Thank you for visiting. ~ Terre’s Blog – Women of All Seasons (c)2021
Sunday
Travel
Haiku ~
~ Haiku ~
Other peoples words,
I heard it through the grapevine.
The music plays on. ~
Thank you for visiting. ~ terre
Terre’s Blog – Women of All Seasons (c)2021
Poem – In His Beauty
~ In His Beauty ~
What am I to the Lord –
He that has provided for
every wildflower of the earth?
I am like that wildflower
that springs from the rocky cliff.
He sends nourishment for it
to open and lift its face towards him.
It grows and flourishes till it has spread
over the face of the barren cliff.
He sends the rains so it can live.
If he did that for a wildflower–,
What did he do for me?
He gives me his word, so I can believe.
He lets me feel his spirit
and I know that he loves me.
He will guide me and let me find truth—
for in that truth—He died for me.
As he loves the smallest wildflower
that seems to grow from neglect—
The Lord also loves me.
~ first published by Terre, July 7, 1989. ©1989.
Thank you for visiting. ~ Terre’s Blog – Women of All Seasons
Photography ~ Backyard Visitor
I call this large female Pileated Woodpecker a visitor, but she and her mate appear to have moved in. They are the largest birds we have here regularly (about 16 1/2 inches), besides an occasional visit from a hawk… then everyone scatters, including the squirrels. ~
ISO 1000, 1/250sec. f6.3. 600mm, Nikon, cropped only.Â
Thank you for visiting today. ~ terre
Terre’s Blog – Women of All Seasons (c) 2020
Poetry ~ First Snow
First Snow
Gentle rain turning
to soft downy flakes,
each intricate and unique.
Sounds of the world
muted in the deep.
Solitude calling us
to slow down,
memories we keep.
Soft downy flakes
turning all to white,
except the dark bark of the trees,
standing sentries
along the steep banks
of the creek. ~
~ Thank you for visiting today. ~ terre
Terre’s Blog – Women of All Seasons (c) 2020
Places Traveled ~
“Write a novel if you must, but think of money as an unlikely accident. Get your reward out of writing it, and try to be content with that.” ~ Pearl S. Buck, (1892 – 1973).
Pearl Buck was a prolific writer and the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1938 for The Good Earth. She was the daughter of missionaries and spent the majority of her formative years in China as well as her early adult life. Her Chinese name is Sai Zhenzhu. She wrote extensively in her novels about the plight of women, the poor, and social injustices.
This image was taken while on a rural road trip through West Virginia. I wasn’t expecting this to be here, so it was a great surprise! The stately rural home is now a museum. It was not only an interesting experience, but educational, and the staff was so welcoming. The natural beauty of this part of West Virginia is so breathtaking and is a journey I would love to take again. Oh, and don’t forget to stop along the way for a slaw dog, a menu specialty throughout West Virginia. ~
Thank you for visiting today ~Â terre
Terre’s Blog – Women of All Seasons (c) 2020
Haiku
Haiku ~
Enter December,
A time of laughter and mirth,Â
Christmas tide and cheer. ~
Thank you for visiting today ~ terre .  Terre’s Blog – Women of All SeasonsÂ
c2020
Sunday
Dream
Photography: Travel
Poetry: The Echo
As I lay sleeping
familiar faces do I see.
These long forgotten fragments
of people once so dear to me.
Â
Some sneak in
with more than an impression.
I never think of them
when I’m awake,
that would be an obsession.
Â
These visitors who once
our lives briefly crossed,
we all took our separate paths.
Now they come gently in the dark,
a friendly, welcome haunt.
Â
I see me as I remember me.
I feel the warmth of the noon sun.
Someone ever so kind has stopped
to help me with a gentle embrace.
The gesture is so real.
Â
The wildflowers sway in the breeze.
Even the weeds are alive I see!
It is happy here as I dream.
I’d like to stay forever,
please don’t change a thing!
Â
Then the picture changes.
I hate to leave.
Another face from a more recent time,
has come to rescue me.
Â
In the abyss of my mind,
those souls traveling years apart
can meet and share company
within my heart.
Â
When I regretfully awake,
whatever became of them?
Did they get lost
or did I?
Â
I hope they’re happy.
I hope they know
however much,
I love them too.
I wonder though,
do they also dream of me?
Thank you for visiting today! Terre’s Blog – Women of All Seasons
c2019Â tcholland
Beauty
Living…
Photo Prose
Shimmery glows of soft pink
and gentle hues of blue,
paints the calm at end of day.
Thank you for visiting! Terre’s Blog – Women of All Seasons
c2019
Quilters’ Haiku
Scrap bag overflows,
more colors than the rainbow.
Cut, Piece, Sew, Quilt, Done!
Photography – Birds
(American Cardinal, male. 1/1000sec. f8 600mm, Iso 560.)
Yea, after many years, I’ve updated my camera and added a bigger lens! This is one of my first attempts. I have a pretty big learning curve. Thank you all for letting me share. Thank you for visiting and a huge thank you if you’re a Follower! –Terre
Haiku
Haiku
Warm, clear morning sun
Blooms wakening, opening
Beautiful day, joy!
tch c. 2019
Positivity
Gratitude
People
Poetry: Requiem for the American Worker
Requiem for the American Worker
I hear America crying
across the flatlands, hill and dale.
Embittered tears of weary souls
the beaten down, the proud.
American workers holding on
with a cry in their voice.
Fighting hard to not be counted
among the growing poor.
The waitress at night with a babe upon her breast,
The coal miner tired of his long rest.
The automobile worker doing her best,
The bakery is closing, the baker is next.
The bus driver without a human load,
The young black man never given a chance.
The hospital worker called off, worries how to pay the rent.
Telephone workers marching, out in the cold.
Voices, hands, and hearts
traded for those across the seas.
The small, American farmer
still fighting hard to believe.
I hear America crying,
as those “who have”,
with no remorse, no guilt,
build empires upon the workers backs.
Americans trying, trying, and trying.
I hear America crying.
(Printed with one time American rights, Labor News, Indianapolis, In. Feb 2006.
This Author: tch maintains rights).
Reprinted @ Terre’s Blog – Women of All Seasons c. 2018.
Photography Black & White Challenge Day 3/7
12 Tips for Living “Your” Day
“If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.” Â –Yogi Berra
Do you ever float through your day and then wonder whatever happened to all of your time and not accomplishing what you had planned? I know that I do this on some days and then have to step back and regroup. The many demands on our time from tending to children, spouses, aging parents, household, and work demands can all add up to more than the 1440 minutes in a day. Wow! 1440 minutes in a day might sound like a lot to some of you, but then not very much to others. Of course, you have to consider if we are taking good care of ourselves and getting 360 minutes – 480 minutes of sleep every night there is a huge deduction. To those who are committed to getting in their 10,000 steps a day, 1440 minutes definitely sounds small! But good news, you only have to take 6.94 steps per minute, which is a piece of cake, right? Oh, sorry, I didn’t really mean a piece of cake.
Everyone has the unexpected appear even in their best laid plans. But when it becomes more of the normal and makes you feel like everyone else is in control of “your” days, then new strategies may be needed.
12 Tips for living “your” day:
- Keep a calendar that is reasonable
- Have a plan. Don’t just go with the flow.
- Make a to do list. Prioritize your list with the most important items that have to be done. Determine those that can wait or move to another day, eliminate those that are not necessary or that you really don’t enjoy
- Not everything or everyone has to be on “your” list. It’s okay.
- It’s okay to say “No” if it is your own personal time
- Eliminate or limit activities that do not add quality to your life (checking email, committing to last minute requests, talking for extended time to negative people, checking social media or texts) especially after work hours
- Be mindful of your attention you give to those you are with. Live in the moment
- Don’t work consistent overtime day after day, week after week. Do not lose vacation days because you didn’t make time to take them
- Share what needs to be done. (Preparing dinner together, laundry, taking care of pets, let extended family and close friends help when they offer)
- Plan ahead & organize. (What everyone needs to take for the next day, quick meals on busiest days)
- Make “Sleep” a priority. Even if you have the most chaotic day, enough sleep will help you be more resilient, feel better emotionally and physically. You will be able to be deal better with stress and problem-solving.
- Make time for yourself. This is not intentionally last, but often that is where time for ourselves fall on the list, if it makes it on the list at all. (Take a short walk somewhere in your day, reconnect with nature, develop a spiritual practice, meditate, be grateful, do yoga, listen to your favorite or calming music, read a good book, bathe with some special body wash)
Hopefully, you can find one tip above that will help to make your days more enjoyable, manageable, more yours, and to end up where you want to be! Thank you for taking time out to visit today.