May flowers and memories (small stones)

I just finished my tenth month writing small stones. The only break was during  my husband’s Grand Canyon accident and recovery in November – December 2016. Here are my May small stones, including a couple of photos I posted with the words.

By the way, the admin of the small stones  Facebook page, Ger O Neill, creates a new name for our group every month. Last month the name was May flowers and memories. This month we’re writing Jewels of June.

May flowers and memories

1. May Day and the beginning of mental health month. A great day for people watching and writing at a little café.
2. Congress is trying to decimate mental health care. If they pass the amended American Health Care Act (AHCA), millions of Americans will lose their mental health coverage. Please tell your congress representatives to vote No on AHCA.
3. How can so many things in my house go wrong at the same time? My stove cooktop, a water heater, and dryer are all dead. And service people are nowhere in sight. Frustration is the keyword here. But, then again, they are only things, right?
4. As I sat out on the shaded patio at The Rose Café having lunch with my son and daughter-in-law, I thought it couldn’t get any better than this. Loving company, delicious food, and a beautiful spring day.
5. Thank you to one brilliant appliance service man for discovering we had a gas problem that had caused all our gas appliances (2 water heaters, dryer, cooktop burners, and heating system) not to work. We called the gas company and within an hour’s time all was well again. I’m forever grateful.
6. It’s gray and cool, and threatening to rain. This is May not December. Where’s my sun?
7. Today is International Bereaved Mother’s Day. I send love to mothers who have lost a child today and every day.
8. The music of Puccini’s Tosca is absolutely beautiful. How can the characters be so evil and violent and the plot so bleak and tragic?
9. A squirrel decided to demolish my gorgeous giant bird of paradise flowers yesterday. Nothing would chase it away. I wonder if it’s possible to train a squirrel.
10. My novel editing is getting down to the nitty gritty. I’m knocking out unnecessary words like Procrastinators that delay or postpone the action: begin to, start to, seem to, decide to, going to, supposed to, try to, need to, able to, best to, have to, causing.
11. What our new president is doing makes me so upset and angry. Fighting back is the only solution.
12. Today is calm and clear with pure fresh air, hopefully the precursor to a peaceful weekend.
13. Some new purple blooms in my front yard.
14. Mother’s Day greetings abound make this day feel good despite how much I miss my son, Paul my seventeenth Mother’s Day without him.
15. This is a sad day. A very long-time friend has died. He will be missed.
16. A bright, sunny, warm day and a funeral don’t seem to go together, do they?
17. A hummingbird just took a long shower in my garden fountain. Its wings never stopped fluttering.
18. A huge black crow sped by my windows. Was it going to do some damage or forage for some food and drink?
19. My beloved husband of almost 47 years took me to lunch and shopping for my birthday. I couldn’t feel more blessed.
20. I have managed to live five years longer than my father, and I have a way to go to catch up to my mother. However, all I know for sure is I only have today, and I’m thankful for that.
21. After two busy birthday days, I’m enjoying the quiet of sitting, looking at the greenery swaying in the breeze outside my family room window, and writing. Another wonderful gift.
22. Today I finished going through my novel for the second time, during revision eight. And I always find something to fix. The third time starts tomorrow.
23. A sad day for Manchester and the entire world. Let’s do what we can to give peace a chance.
24. On the shelf in my writing room sits a smiling Buddha with a fat belly holding his hands pressed together, fingers pointed upward, and thumbs close to his chest, silently saying Namaste. It faces me as I write
25. Lines from a new poem that will be published next month:

“The hills were bright green, like technicolor,
and flecked with dark green clumps of trees
and patches of mustard.
When the sun appeared,
they had an iridescence
like mounds of emerald chips.”

26. Burning eyes, running nose, and tired bones. Not a very good day.
27. I’m listening while my husband talks to a very blasé Apple guy about installing our new Apple TV box. I’m glad he’s doing the talking. It all sounds too complicated for me.
28. I worry about the squirrels that climb up to eat our giant bird of paradise blooms. I hear the birds are poisonous. Plus the squirrels have made a mess of the beautiful bouquet.
29. Our wedding anniversary was yesterday. Here’s our 47 years photo.
30. Another month of small stones completed. I’ve been writing here since August 2016. Where do all the words go?
31. I forgot we had 31 days in May. Even so, I’m ready to start a new month of small stones. I love this writing habit.