herstory. poetry. recipes. rants.
It’s a rainy, dreary Christmas here in Buffalo. The cats had me up early to get their Christmas presents.
After a breakfast of eggs, polish sausage & tator tots, I made a fire in the fireplace & curled up on the couch with a good book. In a little while, I dozed off. When I woke up, the firs had died down & the kitties were sleeping in front of the hearth.
I’ve rebuilt the fire & soon dinner will be on the table. Back to my reading!
Merry Christmas, everyone!
photograph & text © polly macdavid
Have a Merry Christmas!
View original post 76 more words
Happy Yule!
THE TWELVE DAYS OF YULE
If you’ve ever heard the Christmas Carol “The Twelve Days of Christmas” modern heathens opt to celebrate this as the Twelve Days of Yule, with the last day culminating on 12th Night. Since ancient calendars followed a different method of time, the solstice celebrations as well as later ‘Christmassy’ style observances can vary from place to place as to when they occur. Today, most pagans and heathens celebrate the yuletide as running from approximately December 20 – December 31 (but there are variations). For Christians in 567 AD the Council of Tours would officially proclaim that the 12 Days were to be celebrated from Christmas Day through to the Epiphany.
We do know that the celebration of Yule wasn’t always twelve days long. In the Norse text Heimskringla: The Saga of Hakonthe Good talks about it once lasting for three days, or as…
View original post 3,139 more words
INCREDIBLE gingerbread houses!
I’ve been seeing a LOT of memes lately about cats & Christmas/Yule trees. I am sure you’ve seen them too. Cats climbing Christmas trees. Cats sleeping in the Christmas tree. The Christmas tree knocked over because of the cat. ETC.
In my adult life, I have had eight cats & NOT ONE OF THEM has ever climbed a Christmas tree, slept in the tree or knocked a tree over. The only time a Christmas tree was knocked over by a pet was when I was a kid & our German Shepherd dog knocked over the tree with his wagging tail, smashing a bunch of brand-new blue ornaments that we had just put on the tree.
Amazing that there’s so many memes about cats & Christmas trees but I have yet to see one about a dog screwing up the Christmas tree.
My cats have never been interested in the tree. They like the tree, for sure. They like to sit by it, underneath it, they might play with a few of the lower ornaments … which is why I don’t put anything breakable on the lower branches … but they have never messed up the tree at all. In fact, I have never worried about it.
I found these pictures from when my son was ten months old … his first Christmas! Notice the fence around the tree. It wasn’t there to keep the cats (Jet & Little Joe) away from the tree! It was there to keep JAMES away from the tree!
Notice Little Joe in the chair, watching James, trying to get to the tree. BTW, I still have those hand-made ornaments … the Santa & the queen of hearts playing card. & a whole bunch of other ones I made … I was so poor in those days, I made most of the ornaments for the tree. They remain my favorite ornaments.
Here’s a picture of Jack, sitting underneath the tree on Christmas Eve, 2011. He loved sitting underneath the tree. How I miss him!
So the hell with stupid cat & Yule tree memes! Maybe your cat is simply not very well brought up! I know it’s popular to say that you can’t train a cat but this is not true … believe me, my cats know the word NO & they also know the sound of my voice when I am NOT HAPPY with their behavior!
They also know when I am a happy mommy & how I express my love for them.
Happy Winter Solstice, everyone!
I’ve been going through old photographs & scanning them & then organizing them to put on flash drives.
Here’s an old picture of Jet showing his tummy … it has to be from early 1992.
photograph © polly macdavid
I hate to repeat myself with a poet but I opened the book of poetry & here was a poem by Robert Frost & I was like … YEAH! I can identify with this! So sorry about about posting another poem by Robert Frost. I mean … it’s not like he was any kind of amateur or anything.
The thing is … I don’t stay up all night anymore … I go to bed early & get up early … but often, I wake up in the middle of the night & have a bowl of Cheerios & a cup of Sleepy Time tea & a nice doobie & do a bit of writing & then I go back to bed … I love the night. I’ve always loved the night. I love being up in the middle of the night. I love the dark. I’m not one of those people who hate the dark. I don’t get SADD in the winter … I look forward to the coming of the darkness in the fall & the winter. I actually get summer SADD when it’s light & bright for hours on end. I hate how it’s light until 8 or 9 in the evening! I love the dark & I love the night. Yeah, I do love the sunlight but I’m happier when it’s dark.
Yes, I am quite acquainted with the night & I love the night. Even if it’s the dark morning at 4 or 5 a.m. & I’m making my coffee & my oatmeal. I love the dark & the night.
References
Frost, Robert. “Acquainted With The Night”. The Penguin Book of the Sonnet: 500 Years of a Classic Tradition in English. Edited by Phillis Levin. NY: Penguin Books, 2001. poem is found on page 171.
Like a lot of people my age, the news that Mike Nesmith, formally of The Monkees, had died, was another milestone in our aging process. I was six years old the year the TV show “The Monkees” debuted & while I could sing “Hey Hey we’re the Monkees” like any other kid in school, the Monkees never grabbed me like the Beatles did. As far as who was the “better group”, I was firmly in the Beatles camp. I remember vividly arguing with my girlfriends (& a few boys) about who the the better band. Usually the arguments were about “who was cuter” … Paul McCartney or Davy Jones … so it was really childish … but we’re talking about the debates of children no older than seven or eight years old!
In my view, the Beatles were always the better band because they wrote & performed their own music. But as I matured, I changed my view somewhat. I mean, the Monkees had some really great tunes. “Take the Last Train to Clarksville” is one of them. It was written by Bobby Hart & Tommy Boyce, who wrote several other Monkee hits, including “The Monkees Theme Song”.
I was talking to my son yesterday. He is in the Army & he is stationed at Fort Campbell, KY, a base which is partly in TN … Clarksville, TN. He currently lives in Clarksville, TN. I mentioned the death of Mike Nesmith & he said, “Who?”
“The Monkees,” I replied.
“Man, they sucked! & so did the Beatles! The Zombies were the best!” & he went off about how corporate bands were lousy & the Beatles “sucked the air” out of the musical universe & even the Rolling Stones were “overrated” until I broke in with, “Well, the Monkees had this great song called ‘Take the Last Train to Clarksville’ & it’s about a dude in the Army having to go to base – maybe you should give it a listen.”
“I know the song, Ma,” he answered in that voice & then told me he had to leave & that he loved me … & we ended our conversation.
I plan to go down there to visit him in the spring. I was thinking, maybe I’ll take the train. Take the last train to Clarksville. I was wondering if there still was a train to Clarksville, so I got on Amtrak’s website & YES THERE IS! So maybe I’ll be on the train this spring. Maybe not the last train to Clarksville … but one of them!
RIP Mike Nesmith.
Love this.
A Poem by Coyote Poetry
Youth is the sweetest wine. No fear of failure and fearless in the game of love.
I wanted everything and I needed nothing….
Dancing on the edge.
Using and abusing woman without regret.
Giving enough to birth passion and running for the door before the morning light.
Many kinds of greed in life.
Good booze and easy woman lead a man to a destine hell.
Greed lead you to the lonely and sad road.
You must decide.
I watched my father drink himself to death.
In my youth. The Hemingway’s ending was my goal.
Enjoy life, drink and test life.
I wanted everything and I needed nothing.
One day I awoke alone and with no purpose.
Put two brothers into graves. They decided suicide was better than life.
I had a 30-30 rifle sitting on the…
View original post 108 more words
silverapplequeen 