My Gift to You

{Post: 333/365}

it is small

and dainty

but made by my hands

crafted with all the love

in my heart

and given

with the spirit

of hope

that

everytime

you see it again

and hang it on your tree

you will be reminded

that you are

cherished

appreciated

and loved

my gift to you

Tree Lights

{Post: 332/365}

how to express

the feeling

the joy

of tree lights

twinkling

red

blue

yellow

green

orange

shine

reflecting

in the glass

baubles

and ornaments

hanging

from the branches

beautiful angel

lit up inside

topping the tree

handmade love

and gifts

included

it brings me joy

and peace

and the willingness

to work harder

be more tired

and give more

LOVE

Socks

{Post: 331/365}

socks in the 

laundry room

socks on the

floor

rolled up

in piles

in every corner

filling entire

clothes hampers

overflowing

onto the floor

mismatched

full of holes

woolly socks

sport socks

fancy socks too

and I HATE

to manage

this scary

sock affair

but I need

to purge

all the lonely

non-paired socks

to make room

for all the pairs!

Taking a Day

{Post: 330/365}

taking a day

to decompress

from all the stress

and pressure

I put on myself

no crafts

no writing

(except for this poem)

no cleaning

no research

no work

(except the dishes)

(and laundry)

but instead

some chats

some fun 

conversations

and bits of time

with friends

made my heart lighter

and recharged

my drive

to get everything done

Colours of Christmas

{Post: 329/365}

breathing in

the colours

and emotions

of Christmas

tree shining

and twinkling

with lights

in blue, red, yellow, orange and green

and shiny

ball ornaments

in purple, silver, red and blue

catching the lights

glass icicles and angels

sparkling in the branches

santas, balls, bells

and cute little critters

in all the vibrant colours

adorn the Christmas tree

and my heart

is full of all the

peace, love and hope

of the season

I LOVE it!

Embrace the Changes

{Post: 328/365}

getting down to

the wire

coming to the end

but it is also

a beginning

to the next bend

in the road

the next project

every closed door behind

leads to an open door

forward

all that is left

is the willingness

and ability

to walk through it

and embrace

new challenges

embrace the changes

Chaos

{Post: 327/365}

too much to do

swirling in my head

causing chaos

and stress

only a moment away

crochet gifts

decorate

sort financials

publish and post

my queen book

for sale

(with official ISBN)

do more research

mapping and planning

for my new book project

and get ready for 

annual

Christmas Dinner party

and even more than this

is on the list

swirling in my head

causing chaos

this is just my life

too many balls in the air

I have HOPE

{Post: 326/365}

days full of stress

worry

visits to Drs.

social worker

and case worker

and eventually

the job is done

sent in the mail

and out of my hands

it is out in the universe

and I have hope

for better days 

around the corner

I have HOPE

Excited

{Post: 325/365}

excited

and can't wait

to put up my tree

it is almost here

my favourite

time of year

and this year

I'll hug my

baby girl

for the first time

in years

excited

and waiting

to finish

the presents

wrap them

and set them

under the tree

shiny new ornaments

twinkling lights

and a new kitten

experiencing

his first

Christmas tree

excited

Learning

{Post: 324/365}

I am learning

to work within

the confines

of the life

that I am in

I am learning

to make peace

with the 

journey

I am learning 

to find

the strength

to face

every new day

I am learning

to believe

in myself

and I am learning

not to sweat 

the small stuff

Crocheting for Christmas

{Post: 323/365}

I am crocheting

gifts for Christmas

and as I crochet

I remember

the grandmother

who taught me to

crochet flowers

somewhere

locked away in a bin

is the bedspread she made me

crocheted by hand

made with love

all the more special

because I understood the WORK

she put into it

and somewhere a pillow

made by my own hand

to match

but more

the gift...

the GIFT

of not only a skill I could master

but a talent I could cherish

and for you, grandma

I am grateful

then I also remember

the other grandmother

my nanny

who always made us

socks and mittens

for Christmas

even while the arthritis

in her hands

made it difficult

and before she had to stop

she would knit

and I never could figure out how

to knit

but my mother knows

 I am struck

by the passage of time

and the loss 

of so much

and I wish

that my daughter

wanted to learn

to crochet

but maybe

just maybe

I will be the grandma

who teaches her own

grand daughter

to crochet flowers

or toys

or something else

I HOPE

Sleep and Dream

{Post: 322/365}

restless sleep

riddled with dreams

strangeness

fighting

crochet

passion and pain

obvious stress

and worry

keeping my dream life

full and busy

and my sleep

from being complete

hot flashes

potty breaks

thirsty for water

cats causing ruckus

crashing and banging

waking me out of a dead sleep

and causing my nerve ends

to jangle

hope for better

and restful sleep

tonight

Getting Ready

{Post: 321/365}

isn't it funny

having something

even a small thing

to give to my family

my children

my friends

even if just a beginning

settles my spirit

eases my mind

slows the beating 

of my heart

and brings

my soul peace

i may not be finished yet

but i have definitely

begun!

it may not be perfect

but I will be ready

for Christmas

Stay in Bed

{Post: 320/365}

I want to stay

cozy

curled up in my bed

warm

and safe

comfortable

dreaming 

sleeping

reading

cuddling a kitty

or a hubby ;)

lol

but

life awaits

so I begin anew

The Day

{Post: 319/365}

it's a new day

closer and closer

to THE day

the day when 

all my work

all my effort

all my blood, sweat and tears

will PAY

will mean something

if only

that I finished

what I started

and it was

BIG

Raina

{Post: 318/365}

she is much

that she can't even see

there is power

in every fiber

of her being

there is compassion

love

hope

wisdom

courage

and so much more

she is only beginning

to scratch the surface

of her heart

of her mind

of her soul

of the power

inside of her

she is the hope of her world

and it's destiny

she is it's protector

it's angel

it's guardian

she is not the first

will likely not be the last

and even when she fears

what she must do

she will find her way

she will be 

the wise guardian 

of the way

and that is only 

one small part of

Raina

Characters

{Post: 317/365}

you would think 

it would be easier

to name them

to find the titles

to find the 

"labels"

if you will

that only begin

to let you know

who they are

to invest

meaning

emotion

connection

a story

a person

into the letters

that give voice

to their spirit

for they do have a spirit

a vibe

a being

inside the creation

and I want to do them justice

Striving to Be ME

{Post: 316/365}

is she me?

is she a

new version

a different

idea

all the dreams

and wishes

hopes and

desires

that I carry

in the deep

places

inside me

is she me?

of course she is

she is 

the hope

the dream

the best parts

of myself

she is

only some parts

of who I

strive to be

writing her

I honour ME

Obsessive

{Post:315/365}

why

must I

sink so deep

into the story

into the process

that I forget

to eat

to drink

and I get irritated

by the time it takes

to do that

and to have a 

potty break

or to have a wee break

why must I

be so obsessive

tenacious

like a dog with  a bone

who won't let go

until he is done

but

it is NEVER

done!!

Set Myself Free

{Post: 314/365}

behind again!

my only excuse

is being busy

and distracted

by a whole new world

the characters

the story

the reasons why

their names

their back stories

and what is it

they are trying to say?

these are new characters

to me

but I have known many

through the years

and always been

reticent

about telling their stories

perhaps

it is just time

to set them

and myself

free

Kitten

{Post: 313/365}

psssssst

pffffff

grrrrrrrr

uggggghhh

baaaaahhhhhh

tzzzzzzzz

grrrrrrrrrr

you brat!

behave!

quit beating up the big girls

quit climbing up my furniture

stop biting on those cords

Good God

little fuzz!

I forgot how aggravating

such an adorable

and sweet little

HELLION kitten 

can be!!!!!!

Spirit and Intention

{Post: 312/365}

renewed spirit

and intention

for my dietary needs

I will attack it

till I kill it

and it will NOT

kill me

I will find the best

balance

I will find the right

combinations

and I will

get my attitude

in line with my needs

until I have

created

the easiest and best path

for me

Good Intentions

{Post: 311/365}

trying to

make a plan

and stick with it

follow my diet

don't eat the bad stuff

balance the good stuff

and stay on track

and as healthy as I can

but sometimes

life

blocks me and my

good intentions

Crunch and Munch

{Post: 310/365}

hungry for days

and now

all I can do

is crunch

and munch

and feed

the voracious

appetite

empty belly

bred

while it waited

for yummies

Apples

{Post: 309/365}

crunchy and crisp

juicy and sweet

baked in a pie

or with brown sugar,

nuts and raisins

wrapped up into

a pastry dumpling

and covered with

sweet sauce

but mostly

covered in chocolate

and also caramel

 one of my absolutely 

favourite treats

sliced or diced into a salad

or taken in hand

so many choices

and different flavours

of apples

Down

{Post: 308/365}

down

and depressed

feeling the bluest

of the blue

dreading

freaking out

worrying

stressing myself out

trying not to

lay down and die

and give up

long before it is time

i have to climb up

again

climb out 

of the troubles I'm in

and find the strength

find the faith

to continue

Don't Know

{Post: 307/365}

I

don't know

whether to

write

paint

make jewelry

draw

watch tv

play games

read a book

do some research

question my own self

or just go with the flow

of ME

and just BE

ME

Change of Perspective

{Post: 306/365}

purple sunshine

blue leaves

green skies

yellow bushes

orange rivers

red tree trunks

flip the vision

of the world you see

on its head

and create

whatever you want to see

sometimes a change

of perspective

is fun!