Loose Leaf Notes

1. A bonfire, a high tea and a slime making workshop are all on my calendar this month.

2. I bought a calendar with pictures of Monet’s Garden when Joe and I were in Paris in August, but just now noticed it’s all in French with only French holidays are marked down.

3. After getting close to a foot and a half of snow, I posted an “Oh Gee, It’s Up to My Knee And My Car is in Over its Head” blog post.  See HERE.

4. Facebook update from my friend Kanta after the snow storm: “Green box dumpster trip a no-go. Snow was so deep, I couldn’t find the stairs. So, I just put my trashbag in the freezer, like any normal ax murderer.”

5. A star made of hops sat on top of The Buffalo Mountain Brewery tree. Golden Christmas lights on the tree were in the shape of beer mugs. – More from our 24th annual Winterfest and Festival of Trees at the Floyd Center for the Arts HERE. 

6. We put stars in poems / because we lost our parent / who followed two of our brothers / and we like to pretend / that the night sky is a city / and if we give good directions / they might come home / for Thanksgiving this year …   Read the rest of this poem HERE.

7. Backyard Burglars: The fat cats are squirrels / They scare away sparrows / Like fury Kongs / they hang in gangs / They swing from feeders / like pirate raiders / Slinging nuts and seed / like wild west thieves / Chasing off chickadees / like outlaws at the bar

8. My Asheville Potter son in the news:  The indefatigable potter talks about his “enthusiasm for the process of making” without a sense of the understatement. This winter, he wants to build a showroom, which will join the other structures he’s made on the couple’s Madison County property: a barn, a labyrinth, a wood-fired pizza oven, an outhouse, and a (seemingly unnecessary) sleeping platform. More HERE.

9. Colleen to Joe: I missed watching the nightly news.  Joe: That’s great!  Colleen: No, it’s not. I wanted to watch the news, but I lost track of time, like when I try to cook vegetables but burn the pot because I get busy doing something else. Joe: It’s nothing like that.

10. My postman drives a red jeep and has a white beard.

11. My answering machine message says, “Leave your Kris Kringle After the Jingle.”

12. It’s not news but it’s a new study that finds: The more you hug your kids, the more their brains develop. More HERE.

13. I never want to do THIS but I love to watch.

_________Thirteen Thursday