Dancing petals

A ballerina 
waiting for her music cue
a dress of petals

waiting in the wings

the music intensifies
and taffeta skirts rustle and move

a graceful pause

a swirl of crinolines

and hidden petticoats

giving frothy volume

a butterfly with trembling wings

and the grand finale 
before the curtains fall.



The Snowstorm: a real-life story

She strode up the street in the deepening snow
the laces on her boots swinging out with each step.
She had forgotten her gloves that morning and had pulled the sleeves 
of her sweater over her hands.
I could hear the scrunch of her boots as she walked
and imagined the soft thudding sound that the snow must be making on her umbrella.

The snowstorm had brought everything in the city to a grinding halt.
The cars could hardly get up my street without their tyres squealing and slipping
on the slippery surface,
and those going down the hill slid down sideways when they hit the breaks.

Dogs still had to be taken for walks
and red cars showed off their red paintwork
gleaming against the white of the snow.

Passers-by dashed past
wanting to get home as soon as possible
and thankful they had taken their umbrellas with them that morning.

But I was snug in my apartment
watching the big flakes floating down against the building opposite.

I ventured out onto one end of my balcony,
feeling as excited as when I was a child and I used to rush outside
in the snow with outstretched arms
as if to catch all the flakes in the sky!

I zoomed in on the nearby small park to capture the beauty of it all.

embracing the scene with my eyes
in its tiniest detail
I went outside a little later and captured this bench on which no one would sit that day.

A bush with red berries gave a welcome splash of colour

My pot of purple flowers, which had survived since the summer,
looked a little shocked by their sprinkling of snow.
I pulled them nearer to the kitchen window to protect them as best I could.

I returned inside to the warmth of the kitchen where there was the aroma of soup
simmering in the cast-iron pan.
Carrot and sweet potatoes were cooking with grated ginger.
Perfect for a day like today!

When I looked outside again, the snow was coming sideways ...
or was that the window which had turned when I wasn't looking...?

Well that was the story of Friday
and now it's already Sunday
and an array of coloured crocheted hearts
are sitting on my work table.

Red ones and pink ones with assorted chocolates

Turquoise and orange
made into pouches with handles

Some with frilly edges

... and one just for you with a Lindt chocolate heart
just in time to wish you all a
Happy Valentine's Day!




This pattern is called Granny Heart Superstar
which you can find


When Words Conjure Up Images

BEGINNING
A new beginning emanates such creative energy that I'm swept away 
in a whirl of vitality
towards new horizons shining in the dusk of my day.

CONFESSION
Not all confessions reveal wrongdoing. 
For example, a confession of love is often considered
positive, both by the confessor and the recipient of the confession, 
and is a common theme in literature.
Wikipaedia

To confess is to recognize, acknowledge and embrace a part
of who I am to myself and to others.

FORGIVENESS
To forgive myself and to forgive others gives me freedom.
This street art I discovered says it all!

CRISIS
For me, the word crisis is when a situation is coming to a head 
with tensions mounting.
This situation pushes us to make a decision.
It's a turning point where an explosion of energy allows us to decompress
and liberate ourselves.
A crisis is an opportunity of starting anew.

In this image,
the thistle head has exploded
liberating new possibilities of growth elsewhere.


MATURITY
is the plenitude I feel
through my ongoing life experiences.
They contain the past, the present and the continuation.

Maturity is the embracing of events or situations as they are.
It's about connecting with the essential,
gathering treasures and letting some things go
it's also in the hesitations I may have and finding flow.


Note:
These words were taken from a book called
"Consolations, The Solace, Nourishment 
and Underlying Meaning of Everday Words"

I am part of a group with
Kim Manley Ort in the study of these words
and our personal interpretation of them.
The photographs we choose to go with our words
express visually what the word of the week means to each one of us.