Loose Leaf Notes

Found on Facebook

Name Spell by Colleen Redman When it’s spring my name is Colleen Redrobin In the Fall it’s Redelicious On the road it’s Redroof Inn On an vacation island it’s Redpassionflowerwoman When I’m in love I’m Redmana When I meditate I’m Redmantra When I haven’t written in a long time I’m Redmanymoons When it’s Christmas I’m […]

I spent a recent morning writing the following poem, which started when I realized that cheery and cherry are almost the same word and are fun said together. But now all I can think about is, ‘what is my writer’s group going to think when I bring THIS as my latest work to be work […]

I and Pangur my cat… “Tis a like task we are at…Hunting mice is his delight…Hunting words I sit all night. ~ Excerpt from a stanza scribbled into a ninth century Latin manuscript by an Irish scribe.   In March everything is turning green and seems to revolve around St. Patrick’s Day. The March issue […]

The Irish were intoxicated by the power of words. Every noble Irish family maintained a family of ancestral poets. The Irish sons of Mil were accompanied by their poet, Amhairghin… ~ From How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill Word Drunk I’ve been pulled over for driving while doing it I’ve stayed up late […]

There’s a word on a Draper Street sidewalk in Blacksburg carved in cement that I love. It says WORD. I wondered then and I continue to wonder who carved it there and why. Maybe someone always wanted to carve a word in wet cement and so they did, literally. It makes me think about the […]

Names fascinate me. They add color to a place and time, whether in stories or in real life. In “The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy names like Gandalf, Bilbo, Frodo, and Aragorn stir the imagination. In the adventures of King Arthur, it was Lancelot, Galahad, Gawaiin, and Guinevere. Recently, over at Simply Wait, Patry, a […]

AKA: Things overheard while playing Scrabble… Is topsy a word without turvey? Is hob a word without nob? Can the word oodles be singular? Is pest an alternative plural for pet when you have too many of them? Coyote is coy. His name tells us so. I know listen and silent are the same word […]

AKA Give Me A Vowel: Since my friend who I frequently play scrabble with won’t let me post the picture I took of him playing, I’ll just have to describe it. It came out great. We’re playing at the Café de Sol wireless café in downtown Floyd. It’s his turn. He’s burly with a full […]

This is what cohorts do when one is having a birthday and she and her friends are celebrating at Floyd’s Oddfellas Cantina. One friend in the group introduced herself to another friend’s new boyfriend as “a cohort,” which then triggered the game we, women of a certain mature status, frequently find ourselves playing. It’s called […]

Mara contemplating her strategy. If you were playing The Millionaire on TV and were stuck for an answer, the rules of the game allow you 3 options that give you a better chance at choosing the correct answer. You could eliminate half of the answers, leaving only 3 to guess from; you could ask the […]

Playing Scrabble at the Cafe de Sol