It's a dream of anyone who is proud of what they write, getting published. There are many ways to go about it, heck if you have the money you can publish yourself. I am not one of those fortunate ones. I rely on our local monthly newspaper, The Back Country Messenger.
Meeting Tony and Lynn Neff, the owners of the paper, was purely out of the blue. My husband and I were in town one day, at a quaint little shop, known as the Enchanted Village. I was speaking with the shop owner Shelly, as my husband Wayne, conversed with a gentleman who was exchanging the BC Messenger. We came to find out this man was none other than Tony Neff, the owner.
After a moment or two, I had asked who wrote for the paper, to which he asked if I am a writer... I laughingly said "Yes, Poetry." He gave me an assignment for the paper, TOLERANCE. I balked at first, with my non-political, non-religious ways, I wasn't wanting my first published work to be so radical. I write about gardens and rainbows for heaven's sake, I feared this assignment wasn't in me, but gave it a try none the less.
Tony and I set up a date for him to come over to our place to see if what I wrote was what he was looking for. When Tony arrived, I do as I do with any one that comes to our place, I took him on a tour of our garden !! He was very impressed, and as he took MANY photo's, he asked questions. That month, much to my delight, Tony wrote about us in the paper. It was extremely awesome !!! The month after that, I had sent Lynn a poem I wrote called AUTUMN IS GENTLY FADING, which was my very first published work !!!
I was so happy !! (OK here is the picture... imagine a lady {47yrs old mind you} getting her first publishing.. JUMPING up and down, squealing like a child of ten, grinning from ear to ear, all at the same time, almost peeing, YEP that was me!!) Tee Hee Hee !! Well believe it or not, I'm am about to be published again. Lynn sent the automated reminder of when the submissions were due, and I really thought that she would like to read the most recent poem, {I liked most}, that I had written. HOW TO TRIM A ROSE... she said, and I quote, "That's very cute! I may use it on the Gardening page. I couldn't have said it better!"
So again, I'm jumping, dancing, squealing, grinning... well you get the picture ! Thank you Tony and Lynn for making my dream come true !! YOU ROCK !!! I'm a published poet... and I didn't have to spend a dime ! Maybe the next step will be that one of my poems get bought !!! My next dream... LOL... for now, I'm that over the top happy girl, sending everyone I know a copy of the paper! It feels so great !
Time for today's Prompt Tease...Write an English Sonnet
Come join in @ http://dodgewrites.blogspot.com/
or just stop by to see ours...
Hope to see you there!
ENJOY
JL&B
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
A MOTHER'S NATURE
Many of my writings are about things I lived, am living now, or feel within my heart and mind. I often think of the beauty in my life and use that as a bases or a starting point. One of the things I find most beautiful is Mother Nature. I have a genuine wonder in the ways of Nature and how she always takes care of her own. Just like a human mothers' nature to nurture and give tough love, so it is with Mother Nature.
Sometimes things in my garden seem like they are coming up the wrong time of year. This year is a very good example of what I mean. I have a habit of photographing all the flowers (or plants) that are in our yard. This not only gives me a great photo album, but also gives me a record of when all of our plants grow and bloom. The things I planted most in our garden is bulbs, they reproduce each year and they have always come up. Don't get me wrong here, I have a ton of other plants as well, but bulbs have never let me down.
I should also mention that I live in the sunny San Diego mountains, where the weather has a way of going from 79 degrees (day time temps today) to 39 degrees (over night low tonight) . Sometimes we have winds that (like today) come in gusts ranging from nothing to 60mph in the same minute, other days (like yesterday) not a hint of wind.
OOPS... sorry i have ot finish this later, we just got company ! I love company !!!
May be tomorrow, but I'll be back, until then
Today's prompt tease is WRITE YOUR OUW WORDS to the song Welcome to my world.
Hope to see you joining in too
ENJOY
JL&B
Sometimes things in my garden seem like they are coming up the wrong time of year. This year is a very good example of what I mean. I have a habit of photographing all the flowers (or plants) that are in our yard. This not only gives me a great photo album, but also gives me a record of when all of our plants grow and bloom. The things I planted most in our garden is bulbs, they reproduce each year and they have always come up. Don't get me wrong here, I have a ton of other plants as well, but bulbs have never let me down.
I should also mention that I live in the sunny San Diego mountains, where the weather has a way of going from 79 degrees (day time temps today) to 39 degrees (over night low tonight) . Sometimes we have winds that (like today) come in gusts ranging from nothing to 60mph in the same minute, other days (like yesterday) not a hint of wind.
OOPS... sorry i have ot finish this later, we just got company ! I love company !!!
May be tomorrow, but I'll be back, until then
Today's prompt tease is WRITE YOUR OUW WORDS to the song Welcome to my world.
Hope to see you joining in too
ENJOY
JL&B
Thursday, January 13, 2011
In the garden with Grandma
I learned so much from my Grandmother. My love of words, numbers, color and flowers were nurtured by her in ways that still effect me today. I miss the garden she loved so much, it was a wonder filled place for me.
Yesterday, in a garden not my own, I was asked many questions about fruit on a tree. My answers were so influenced by my Grandmothers teachings that it felt like she was right there with me. The questions that stood out most were how to pick fruit... How do you get the best, how do you prune etc.
It brought me back to the time I was around nine years old or so, peaches were in season, and Grandma gave permission to pick some. Much to her dismay that year, I got up in the tree and shook off all the peaches, thinking I was helping. She was so heart broken it took her years to allow me near the tree again. At that time, she took me out to the tree and showed me how to properly pick a peach ( with examples of other fruit as well) . Her patience that day was above and beyond any prior, and it all stuck with me throughout the years. Now with her teachings and a few years experience of my own I get to tell others what I know about picking fruit.
Yesterday's tree was a limon, (no, I didn't mis-spell it) a hybrid mix of lemon and lime. The tree was loaded with fruit and I was told that I could have the limons that were ready. ALL of the fruit on that tree was ready ! The owner asked how to tell how fruit was ready, so I passed on the lessons I learned.
A citrus tree needs a bit of a tug to get the ripe fruit. I told him to think of it as hair on your head and the hardest you would want it pulled. He understood that without even thinking, and a few fruits later, he learned it for life. (I thought I could hear my Grandma tell me very good )
Each fruit has its own signal, if you cup a peach for instance, it is ready when it falls off in your hand. Vine fruits like blackberries, are much the same.( Although grapes are in a category all their own) Strawberries on the other hand should be easier to know, the color gives them away. Learning these differences saved me from getting cramps from eating green fruit, a lesson well learned. (Thank you Grandma !)
Well for those of you who have made it through this ramble of mine, it's time for the prompt tease.. Today' Prompt is USE THESE WORDS ( A favorite of ours) , you can see today's words and my effort on Dodge Writes, my poetry blog.
Hope to see you joining in too
ENJOY
JL&B
Yesterday, in a garden not my own, I was asked many questions about fruit on a tree. My answers were so influenced by my Grandmothers teachings that it felt like she was right there with me. The questions that stood out most were how to pick fruit... How do you get the best, how do you prune etc.
It brought me back to the time I was around nine years old or so, peaches were in season, and Grandma gave permission to pick some. Much to her dismay that year, I got up in the tree and shook off all the peaches, thinking I was helping. She was so heart broken it took her years to allow me near the tree again. At that time, she took me out to the tree and showed me how to properly pick a peach ( with examples of other fruit as well) . Her patience that day was above and beyond any prior, and it all stuck with me throughout the years. Now with her teachings and a few years experience of my own I get to tell others what I know about picking fruit.
Yesterday's tree was a limon, (no, I didn't mis-spell it) a hybrid mix of lemon and lime. The tree was loaded with fruit and I was told that I could have the limons that were ready. ALL of the fruit on that tree was ready ! The owner asked how to tell how fruit was ready, so I passed on the lessons I learned.
A citrus tree needs a bit of a tug to get the ripe fruit. I told him to think of it as hair on your head and the hardest you would want it pulled. He understood that without even thinking, and a few fruits later, he learned it for life. (I thought I could hear my Grandma tell me very good )
Each fruit has its own signal, if you cup a peach for instance, it is ready when it falls off in your hand. Vine fruits like blackberries, are much the same.( Although grapes are in a category all their own) Strawberries on the other hand should be easier to know, the color gives them away. Learning these differences saved me from getting cramps from eating green fruit, a lesson well learned. (Thank you Grandma !)
Well for those of you who have made it through this ramble of mine, it's time for the prompt tease.. Today' Prompt is USE THESE WORDS ( A favorite of ours) , you can see today's words and my effort on Dodge Writes, my poetry blog.
Hope to see you joining in too
ENJOY
JL&B
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Valentine
When Wayne and I lived at MaTarAwa RV Park, we loved it. It is in, what many people in San Diego, consider the mountains. I grew up in the area of Harbinson Canyon and Alpine (where the RV Park is) So living there was just natural for me.
After the Cedar fire in 2003, my Mom and I got a 25 ft travel trailer to live in until the house was rebuilt. When the work was done, Mom lovingly gave me the trailer and the boot ! So off to MaTarAwa I went.
Fast forward two years or so and you find me living with Wayne in that same trailer. Right after we got married a new couple moved into the park, becoming our next door neighbors. They became very good friends of ours and to this day it's what I miss most about that place.
April and Jason already had a little girl named Jessica, but within a year April was pregnant with twins. Jason had to deploy by the time she was showing and she needed her family, so she made plans to go back to Texas to have the twins. April had a cat, that much to her dismay was also pregnant and due at any moment. She asked if we would take Kit-Cat so she would be with a family she knew, otherwise April was afraid that Kit-Cat would have the kittens on the trip.
We agreed to take her in and within a few weeks we had seven of the cutest kittens ever ! As they grew I became more and more attached to them, but as I promised Wayne, I found great homes for all of them. ( I still know where they live and all of their names) I agreed to this because I had Kit-Cat and we lived in a pretty cramped space.
One night while Wayne was at work, I was making some quilts and letting Kit-Cat out until her regular time to come in. She never did though and when Wayne came home I was in tears at the door. Even though he was tired from working, he still got a flashlight and searched the park with me for two hours. We reluctantly went to bed, hoping we would find her at the door in the morning, but she never showed. ( Here I am in tears again, like it was yesterday) Every morning I'd rush to the door just hoping upon hope that this would be the day she came home and every night I cried because I was a bad Mommy and didn't keep my baby safe. (This went on for weeks )
Poor Wayne just couldn't take my heartbreak any longer I guess, because the day before Valentine's day, out of the blue he took me to the pet store in Alpine. She was all alone in the cage, rubbing up against the door just asking to be loved. A tortoise shell calico, (AKA a tortie) dark as the night, with highlights of burnt orange and blotches of tans and whites all over. She has one very large white spot on her underside, that is hard to see unless she rolls over. She also has a blaze of burnt orange and tan smack down the middle of her face to the tip of her nose. She is beautiful !!! I didn't let us leave without her and on the way home we were thinking of her name.
I came up with Rascle, it just seemed to fit her, but I also thought of Valentine, because we got her on the day before the holiday. Liking both the names equally, we combined the two to give her a first , middle and last name.... just like that Valentine Rascle Dodge fit into our lives. We are so happy !!!
Well for those of you who have made it through this ramble of mine , it's time for the prompt tease... Today's Prompt is LEMONS
Hope to see you joining in too
ENJOY
JL&B
After the Cedar fire in 2003, my Mom and I got a 25 ft travel trailer to live in until the house was rebuilt. When the work was done, Mom lovingly gave me the trailer and the boot ! So off to MaTarAwa I went.
Fast forward two years or so and you find me living with Wayne in that same trailer. Right after we got married a new couple moved into the park, becoming our next door neighbors. They became very good friends of ours and to this day it's what I miss most about that place.
April and Jason already had a little girl named Jessica, but within a year April was pregnant with twins. Jason had to deploy by the time she was showing and she needed her family, so she made plans to go back to Texas to have the twins. April had a cat, that much to her dismay was also pregnant and due at any moment. She asked if we would take Kit-Cat so she would be with a family she knew, otherwise April was afraid that Kit-Cat would have the kittens on the trip.
We agreed to take her in and within a few weeks we had seven of the cutest kittens ever ! As they grew I became more and more attached to them, but as I promised Wayne, I found great homes for all of them. ( I still know where they live and all of their names) I agreed to this because I had Kit-Cat and we lived in a pretty cramped space.
One night while Wayne was at work, I was making some quilts and letting Kit-Cat out until her regular time to come in. She never did though and when Wayne came home I was in tears at the door. Even though he was tired from working, he still got a flashlight and searched the park with me for two hours. We reluctantly went to bed, hoping we would find her at the door in the morning, but she never showed. ( Here I am in tears again, like it was yesterday) Every morning I'd rush to the door just hoping upon hope that this would be the day she came home and every night I cried because I was a bad Mommy and didn't keep my baby safe. (This went on for weeks )
Poor Wayne just couldn't take my heartbreak any longer I guess, because the day before Valentine's day, out of the blue he took me to the pet store in Alpine. She was all alone in the cage, rubbing up against the door just asking to be loved. A tortoise shell calico, (AKA a tortie) dark as the night, with highlights of burnt orange and blotches of tans and whites all over. She has one very large white spot on her underside, that is hard to see unless she rolls over. She also has a blaze of burnt orange and tan smack down the middle of her face to the tip of her nose. She is beautiful !!! I didn't let us leave without her and on the way home we were thinking of her name.
I came up with Rascle, it just seemed to fit her, but I also thought of Valentine, because we got her on the day before the holiday. Liking both the names equally, we combined the two to give her a first , middle and last name.... just like that Valentine Rascle Dodge fit into our lives. We are so happy !!!
Well for those of you who have made it through this ramble of mine , it's time for the prompt tease... Today's Prompt is LEMONS
Hope to see you joining in too
ENJOY
JL&B
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Our Garden
In our garden there are many delights, we almost always have something blooming, about to bloom, or needs dead heading. (Tee Hee Hee) Yesterday I trimmed and cleaned the rose bed, which got them ready for the winter. Today I took a photographic journey through my yard to document it. Each picture I took has a story (or a few ). From the rock beds to the flowers to the Nick-knacks. We know where they come from and how they came to live with us.
All of the rocks that make up the retaining wall ( approx. 30ft long X 3ft tall) behind the work shed , to the stairs, came from the place we lived before here. ( MaTarAwa RV PARK ). At the time, as I've said before, I didn't know what a blessing it was to have to bring all of that here. We worked for three weeks to build that wall, and it had one problem after another , but in the end, it does it's J.O.B. LOL !
Not only is it a retaining wall, but it also serves as a two tiered flower bed. The beds contain a variety of bulbs that grow at different times of the year. We call it the cutting garden. ( although I have a problem cutting flowers just to have a bouquet in the house) When the flowers need trimming I clean them up, other than that I leave them in the garden.
This time of year, things are going to sleep for the Winter, the gardens look bare to me, yet lovely all the same. I do a lot of winter cleaning, taking out the spring and summer mulch, replacing it with fresh mulch. At the same time I remove any greenery that has died back, remove any weeds and see what is about to peek through the ground. It is my time with Mother Nature, which I very much enjoy.
It 's pleasant this time of year. We have had a few hard frosts, which have caused the pre-spring flowers to think it is time to wake up. Today I noticed the Daffodil's, Hyacinths, Freesia and Snow Crocus have decided to start. I talk to them, asking them why they are so early this year. "Do you know something I don't, my lovely ones?" (No, they never give up their secrets) Still I worry that they won't make it through what is still our winter season. ( I put a bit of extra mulch on the tender shoots, in hopes that it will save them.z)
A walk through my garden provides more that just flowers, if one takes the time to look. Our winter gives every one a chance to see the nick-knacks we placed, ( in the growing season a lot of them are hidden) Each of them were gifts from the people in our lives. They all have a special place in our garden. Most of them have a nick or two, (wings break off the fairies, dragons lose their tails), still I keep them. Even when the have a mishap and shatter, I try to keep them.
We have given an ID to each of the beds, with eleven beds to speak of, it's important to know which one we are talking about. (and that is just the back yard!) We also have three patio areas in the back yard (two of them are kind of together) a BBQ area, a place for the bird seed we feed the critters and a mock waterfall. If you look through the pictures I post on Facebook, you will get it. (Also on my blog) It sounds pretty big, but it really isn't.
Well now for those of you who have made it through this ramble of mine, it is time for the Prompt tease... Which is Haiku..
Hope to see you joining in too
ENJOY
JL&B
All of the rocks that make up the retaining wall ( approx. 30ft long X 3ft tall) behind the work shed , to the stairs, came from the place we lived before here. ( MaTarAwa RV PARK ). At the time, as I've said before, I didn't know what a blessing it was to have to bring all of that here. We worked for three weeks to build that wall, and it had one problem after another , but in the end, it does it's J.O.B. LOL !
Not only is it a retaining wall, but it also serves as a two tiered flower bed. The beds contain a variety of bulbs that grow at different times of the year. We call it the cutting garden. ( although I have a problem cutting flowers just to have a bouquet in the house) When the flowers need trimming I clean them up, other than that I leave them in the garden.
This time of year, things are going to sleep for the Winter, the gardens look bare to me, yet lovely all the same. I do a lot of winter cleaning, taking out the spring and summer mulch, replacing it with fresh mulch. At the same time I remove any greenery that has died back, remove any weeds and see what is about to peek through the ground. It is my time with Mother Nature, which I very much enjoy.
It 's pleasant this time of year. We have had a few hard frosts, which have caused the pre-spring flowers to think it is time to wake up. Today I noticed the Daffodil's, Hyacinths, Freesia and Snow Crocus have decided to start. I talk to them, asking them why they are so early this year. "Do you know something I don't, my lovely ones?" (No, they never give up their secrets) Still I worry that they won't make it through what is still our winter season. ( I put a bit of extra mulch on the tender shoots, in hopes that it will save them.z)
A walk through my garden provides more that just flowers, if one takes the time to look. Our winter gives every one a chance to see the nick-knacks we placed, ( in the growing season a lot of them are hidden) Each of them were gifts from the people in our lives. They all have a special place in our garden. Most of them have a nick or two, (wings break off the fairies, dragons lose their tails), still I keep them. Even when the have a mishap and shatter, I try to keep them.
We have given an ID to each of the beds, with eleven beds to speak of, it's important to know which one we are talking about. (and that is just the back yard!) We also have three patio areas in the back yard (two of them are kind of together) a BBQ area, a place for the bird seed we feed the critters and a mock waterfall. If you look through the pictures I post on Facebook, you will get it. (Also on my blog) It sounds pretty big, but it really isn't.
Well now for those of you who have made it through this ramble of mine, it is time for the Prompt tease... Which is Haiku..
Hope to see you joining in too
ENJOY
JL&B
Monday, January 10, 2011
Our Garden
As a child, I was treated to the wonders of my Grandmothers love of gardening. In her front yard, there was ( and still is ) a twenty-foot long hedge that was trimmed perfectly at six foot high. It separated her front grass area from what little traffic came through the neighborhood. The grass area swung around the east side of the house towards her back yard. Along the way were a variety of fruit trees, ( apricot, peach, lemon, lime) forming the property line. Where the grass ends you come upon her rose garden, raised strawberry beds, and the back patio. There is a walk way that was poured in concrete by my Grandfather, many years before I was born, between the roses and the strawberries. Walking to the end of that led you to another level in her yard. Every year form Spring to late Summer the best boysenberries and blackberries I ever tasted were there for the picking.
Each year Grandma also had a bed of sweet peas, the fragrance swept through me like a summer breeze, the colors so soft I could feel them on my skin. I would always ask permission to go play in the garden when we went to visit. I would first go to the berries(if they were in season) and eat my fill. With my fingers red or purple, Grandma always knew where I had been. She would then hand me a few baskets and I would fill them up for her. (payment for the treat, LOL)
I remember her doing things that, at the time I thought were strange, but now do myself in our garden. Like putting egg shells and coffee grounds in the flower beds. Grandma did it, that is good enough for me. Only recently did I even question why she did these things, now it makes much more sense.(deters snails and adds nutrients to the soil) But , alas, she is no longer alive to answer, so I dive into books or sites that give me the answers.
Well that is where it all began for me, the fruits of my Grandma's labors seeded deep within my soul. I love to be in a garden, our own or the ones we tend, makes no difference to me. I enjoy cleaning the weeds, trimming the plants , blowing leaves, all of it. I really think it is cool that I get to do it for a living, I get paid to do what I would do anyway, the money is (for me) an added bonus.
Wayne and I may be very bias about our yard, but we can't help it, it is pretty-not-bad !!! When we were in the process of looking for another place to rent, we ventured up to a mountain area in the East county of San Diego. We agreed to rent a space in the Lake Morena RV Park, where we now reside. When we first looked at our spot, it looked a bit different than it does now. The photos I took really don't tell the whole story, in fact people who have seen them have said (although they are amazed) they don't really do justice to seeing it in person.
The spot we rented had plywood and metal fence posts as a retaining wall. ( for a three-foot high slope)The back yard was so over grown that I could only see a two-foot clearing in it. Wayne and I asked if we could make a yard back there by clearing some of the brush and build a rock retaining wall and flower beds. The people who ran the park agreed to that and three weeks before we moved our fifth-wheeler to the spot, the work began.
The place where we were living at the time is on the Veijas Indian Reservation, in Alpine. We lived there for four years, and deceided it was time to move when we started to not agree with the management. There we had a nice yard too, bringing in rocks (with their permission) to build a fire pit and garden beds. When we told them we were moving they requested that we take all those rock beds and paver walkways with us. At first it really broke my heart that I had to rip out four years of work, but in the long run it worked out for the best. It took us three weeks of removing the rocks and pavers, driving them up to the new place, working on the retaining wall and clearing the back yard, before we could move the fifth-wheel into place.
Soon the new yard started taking shape. The retaining wall was a challenge , to say the least, but now it looks like it had been there for years. All our hard work to prepare for the move paid off.
For those of you who have actually made it through this ramble, it is time for the Prompt tease... FREE FORM on Roses
Hope to see you join in too
ENJOY
JL&B
Each year Grandma also had a bed of sweet peas, the fragrance swept through me like a summer breeze, the colors so soft I could feel them on my skin. I would always ask permission to go play in the garden when we went to visit. I would first go to the berries(if they were in season) and eat my fill. With my fingers red or purple, Grandma always knew where I had been. She would then hand me a few baskets and I would fill them up for her. (payment for the treat, LOL)
I remember her doing things that, at the time I thought were strange, but now do myself in our garden. Like putting egg shells and coffee grounds in the flower beds. Grandma did it, that is good enough for me. Only recently did I even question why she did these things, now it makes much more sense.(deters snails and adds nutrients to the soil) But , alas, she is no longer alive to answer, so I dive into books or sites that give me the answers.
Well that is where it all began for me, the fruits of my Grandma's labors seeded deep within my soul. I love to be in a garden, our own or the ones we tend, makes no difference to me. I enjoy cleaning the weeds, trimming the plants , blowing leaves, all of it. I really think it is cool that I get to do it for a living, I get paid to do what I would do anyway, the money is (for me) an added bonus.
Wayne and I may be very bias about our yard, but we can't help it, it is pretty-not-bad !!! When we were in the process of looking for another place to rent, we ventured up to a mountain area in the East county of San Diego. We agreed to rent a space in the Lake Morena RV Park, where we now reside. When we first looked at our spot, it looked a bit different than it does now. The photos I took really don't tell the whole story, in fact people who have seen them have said (although they are amazed) they don't really do justice to seeing it in person.
The spot we rented had plywood and metal fence posts as a retaining wall. ( for a three-foot high slope)The back yard was so over grown that I could only see a two-foot clearing in it. Wayne and I asked if we could make a yard back there by clearing some of the brush and build a rock retaining wall and flower beds. The people who ran the park agreed to that and three weeks before we moved our fifth-wheeler to the spot, the work began.
The place where we were living at the time is on the Veijas Indian Reservation, in Alpine. We lived there for four years, and deceided it was time to move when we started to not agree with the management. There we had a nice yard too, bringing in rocks (with their permission) to build a fire pit and garden beds. When we told them we were moving they requested that we take all those rock beds and paver walkways with us. At first it really broke my heart that I had to rip out four years of work, but in the long run it worked out for the best. It took us three weeks of removing the rocks and pavers, driving them up to the new place, working on the retaining wall and clearing the back yard, before we could move the fifth-wheel into place.
Soon the new yard started taking shape. The retaining wall was a challenge , to say the least, but now it looks like it had been there for years. All our hard work to prepare for the move paid off.
For those of you who have actually made it through this ramble, it is time for the Prompt tease... FREE FORM on Roses
Hope to see you join in too
ENJOY
JL&B
Sunday, January 9, 2011
When I met Wayne
In the first few months, knowing Wayne as my Supervisor, was about as far as it went. Fresh out of prison all I wanted was to get through each day without getting fired and get off parole ASAP. I did well on both, but never expected the love I found a long the way.
After doing my time in the half way house, I only had one option for a living space... my mom's. She was very loving, as a mom should be, very supportive and giving. I really appreciated her help, probably more than I expressed at the time.
That was Jan - June 2003, life was great, things were going very well. Wayne and I started checking out each other, more than in just a work related way... and by July we officially had our first date. Movie and dinner, it was really nice! When he brought me back home we sat on the patio and looked at the moon rise. Something I have loved to do since I was very young. Sounds like a song in the making, but that is how it was. I th9ink that is why Wayne calls me his Princess Moon Beam, we had a few nice months of that there.
Then in October, the 26th to be exact, our county was hit by a wild fire. The cedar fire, as it had come to be known, was devastating. Fourteen people died, several of them as they were trying to escape. The firefighters were spread so thin, it seemed like all we could do is watch our houses go up in flames. Living in the Canyon was awesome as a child, but the last big fire we had through there was in the seventies, you do the math. The Cedar fire was set by someone who was lost, he tried to set a signal fire and it got away from him. By Thursday Oct 30th, the fire had destroyed 2,232 homes. It burnt 273,246 acres of land . Several thousand people were without... well everything.
That was when I knew Wayne really started to care about me. He was so supportive, allowed me time off work when I requested it, ( I wanted to be at work, its the only thing left I had that was normal) called me after work to make sure I had dinner. Thought of things like toothbrushes, hair brush, soap, shampoo, the whole nine yards! Made my heart go pop !
It was hard to separate us after that, we were like peas in a pod. We went into work early, so we could have a cup of coffee together before anyone else arrived. (A few smooches too, Tee Hee Hee.) We started becoming closer, and everyone could see what we thought was so well hidden. During a company pick-nick, in Sept. 2004, we let it be known that we were in fact a couple. Not long after that I was fired for using the company computer, during my break, for a non work related task.
Wayne and I were starting to see a lot more of each other by this time, and in the way that things progress, he started spending more time at my place than his. We decided that we should make it official and jumped into the living together status in May 2005. It has been really great having this man in my life. I never knew a lover that I had no fear of, the guy's I had in my life before Wayne, I wouldn't ever consider now. He has taught me that much. Yeah I'm getting a bit mushy now , but I honestly feel that way.
Now for those of you who actually got through this ramble, its Prompt time...
Today's tease is BLANK VERSE
Hope to see you join in too
ENJOY
JL&B
After doing my time in the half way house, I only had one option for a living space... my mom's. She was very loving, as a mom should be, very supportive and giving. I really appreciated her help, probably more than I expressed at the time.
That was Jan - June 2003, life was great, things were going very well. Wayne and I started checking out each other, more than in just a work related way... and by July we officially had our first date. Movie and dinner, it was really nice! When he brought me back home we sat on the patio and looked at the moon rise. Something I have loved to do since I was very young. Sounds like a song in the making, but that is how it was. I th9ink that is why Wayne calls me his Princess Moon Beam, we had a few nice months of that there.
Then in October, the 26th to be exact, our county was hit by a wild fire. The cedar fire, as it had come to be known, was devastating. Fourteen people died, several of them as they were trying to escape. The firefighters were spread so thin, it seemed like all we could do is watch our houses go up in flames. Living in the Canyon was awesome as a child, but the last big fire we had through there was in the seventies, you do the math. The Cedar fire was set by someone who was lost, he tried to set a signal fire and it got away from him. By Thursday Oct 30th, the fire had destroyed 2,232 homes. It burnt 273,246 acres of land . Several thousand people were without... well everything.
That was when I knew Wayne really started to care about me. He was so supportive, allowed me time off work when I requested it, ( I wanted to be at work, its the only thing left I had that was normal) called me after work to make sure I had dinner. Thought of things like toothbrushes, hair brush, soap, shampoo, the whole nine yards! Made my heart go pop !
It was hard to separate us after that, we were like peas in a pod. We went into work early, so we could have a cup of coffee together before anyone else arrived. (A few smooches too, Tee Hee Hee.) We started becoming closer, and everyone could see what we thought was so well hidden. During a company pick-nick, in Sept. 2004, we let it be known that we were in fact a couple. Not long after that I was fired for using the company computer, during my break, for a non work related task.
Wayne and I were starting to see a lot more of each other by this time, and in the way that things progress, he started spending more time at my place than his. We decided that we should make it official and jumped into the living together status in May 2005. It has been really great having this man in my life. I never knew a lover that I had no fear of, the guy's I had in my life before Wayne, I wouldn't ever consider now. He has taught me that much. Yeah I'm getting a bit mushy now , but I honestly feel that way.
Now for those of you who actually got through this ramble, its Prompt time...
Today's tease is BLANK VERSE
Hope to see you join in too
ENJOY
JL&B
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