The Diva's Weekly Zentangle Challenge #227

Another guest blogger with another great challenge this week at www.iamthedivaczt.blogspot.com. The guest blogger is Lee Darter, CZT and the challenge is Circus Life - to use the tangles Cack (by Adele Bruno), Tropicana (by Kate Ahrens) and either Florz, Fescu or Linq (by Lara Williams).

I felt like this week's challenge needed some colour. Here's my tile with Cack, Tropicana and Florz.

Tangle with U-N-I

I was a little confused when I was choosing patterns for this week's challenge from Diane and Carolien. I am trying to first use original zentangle patterns listed on www.tanglepatterns.com. I noticed there is only one listed for U (Umble) and as we have been through the whole alphabet with this challenge already I thought I must have used it. Then I worked out there it has only been made available on the internet since the challenge including U. Last time I chose the pattern Unyun. I have used Umble before but not as part of this particular challenge so I used it, along with Ing and Nzeppel. Three of the original tangle patterns for me this week! Ing was a lot more fun than I imagined it would be.

Tangle with X-G-K

This week's letters for Diane and Carolien's Weekly Zentangle Challenge are X,G and K. I'm still making my way through original tangles and chose Keeko for K. For X and G there were no original tangles that I haven't already done for this challenge so I had to look further afield. I chose Girdy by Karl Stewart for G. What a great one! I'll certainly be using it again. For X I chose Xenso by Sue Clark, CZT. Another interesting one and worth some more practice I think. 

5 poems in 5 days - Day 5

It's the final day of the poetry challenge I have been participating in on Facebook as well as here. Today's poem was written a couple of years ago about events more than 19 years ago. It was published last year in Ochre, an anthology by the Ochre Coast Poets. 

I love you already 

Pregnancy test in the post 
spots of blood in the night 
talk of the flying doctor 

A bumpy road 
and a car full of strangers 
hours without words 

Voices outside 
the window 
of a motel room 

Alone 
with an air conditioner
and the hope of you 

Repetitive reading 
of signs and symptoms
fear so loud 

Another day 
stark, gray walls 
a bladder too full 

Blip blip blip 
on a screen 
reassurance 

In this moment 
all is well 
future unknown 


I chose to start the challenge on the 14th of July so the fifth day would be today, my daughter's birthday. 

This post is doubling as my post for Six Word Saturday - 

Happy Birthday to my fabulous daughter!!!

Today is also my Grandma's birthday. My day 1 poem in this challenge was about her. She was born on this day in 1918 which is also the day that Nelson Mandela was born!

My grandma holding Alysha

5 poems in 5 days - Day 4

I was excited and honoured to win first prize in the poetry section of the Positive Words Short Story and Poetry competition 2014 for my poem, Mosaic opportunity. 

Mosaic opportunity 

I chose 

from dusty shelves saucers without cups 

a lone salt shaker 

teapots missing lids 

wobbly stacks of plates 

each piece unique 

leftovers 

My heart, my mind 

I search through the rubble 

Smooth and shiny 

or dull and dappled 

beetroot reds and sunshine yellows 

the sparkle of a golden rim 

I imagine 

the breaking of the old 

to form something new 

The chosen will soon hold 

just a trace of its former purpose 

I watch as she wraps 

newspaper around my purchase 

layer after layer 

I almost tell her not to do her job 

that the breakage she aims to prevent 

is no concern 

I am not buying a plate 

or a saucer 

or a teapot missing a lid 

but the possibility of what could be

5 poems in 5 days - Day 3

Today's poem began with a mis-write in my journal. Cope instead of hope.

Tiny glimmers of cope

At times your mood may feel so dark 
As if there is no hope 
Until you catch the light, some sparks 
Tiny glimmers of cope 

The sparkles settle on your skin 
To seep into your week 
A quiet birth of hope within 
Is it really all so bleak?

5 poems in 5 days - Day 2

Today's poem is a reminiscence on fun had at Moana caravan park where I spent a few school holidays. This poem was published last year in the anthology my poetry group put out, Ochre - an anthology by Ochre Coast Poets. 

Playground, present 

Holiday lessons in physics 
where to sit on the wooden plank
to compensate for variations in weight 
keep it even and fair 
up and down 
to and fro 

The children from neighbouring vans 
met earlier in the day 
become playmates 
our limbs coated with sunscreen goo 
faces with smiles 
sand between toes 
a summer uniform of bathers 
under shorts and t-shirts 
sandals discarded at the gate 
we salt the air with laughter 
nervous giggles and gasps 
as we take turns 
to bounce off half tyres 

With new friends called to caravans 
learning continues 
how to keep the plank 
parallel to the ground 
my body a letter x 
toes curled, tense 
a shifting of weight 
from side to side 

To balance in the now 
was easier then

The Diva's Weekly Zentangle Challenge #226

This week there is another great challenge at www.iamthedivaczt.blogspot.com. This week the challenge is 'Simplicity' from guest blogger Katie Crommett, CZT®.

Simplicity - not always easy! Fun to think about and try!

5 poems in 5 days - Day 1

I am participating in a fun challenge on Facebook, beginning today and will be posting a poem a day for the next 5 days. I thought I would post them here as well. I waited to start today so I could begin and end with dates that are extra special for me. 

Today's poem has been posted on this blog a couple of times before. 

For my Grandma

Katherine Eliza Rachel Mathews (18/7/18 - 14/7/98) 

I remember you waiting for me out the front when I came to visit.
I remember meat pies with their lids off and sauce inside.
I remember you telling me about your trips to the supermarket ,
to buy my favourite cordial and ice-cream.
I remember a White Knight bar at the movies.
I remember two Minties after dinner - no more and no less.
I remember the time I had to write, to sing, to dance,
to invent new games when I stayed with you.
I remember meeting your friend in the city.
I remember, at your urging, reciting the limerick I had written about her.
I remember, it started:
"There was an old lady called Walk,
Boy, did she know how to talk..."
I remember how proud of me you both were.
I remember laying in bed, talking for ages, before calling out the final goodnights.
I remember the stories you told me.
I remember how your eyes lit up when you saw me.
I remember that you were always happy to see me.
I remember that you loved me.



originally written 14/7/09

photograph - my Grandma holding Alysha 4/8/96

Snow is big news in Adelaide

My six words for Six Word Saturday this week -

Snow is big news in Adelaide

 



It's been a colder than usual day here today. There was a little snow in South Australia. It snowed a little at Mt Lofty as well as in the Mid North (Peterborough and Burra). This is big news here in Adelaide as it only occurs every ten years or so and there were lots of photos on Facebook as well as news pages.  

I didn't see any snow but I did see hail twice today. I took a few photos this morning at around 8am when there was quite a lot of heavy hail. The cat ran to the door when I opened it, as she normally does, but stopped short suddenly when she looked outside. Too cold and wet!

As it was quite cold this morning the hail was around for quite a while. Usually it disappears almost as quickly as it appears. Half an hour later though there was still quite a lot around today.

It was quite clear this afternoon when I drove to Flagstaff Hill to pick up Brianna and her friend. On the way back though I drove through hail that started very suddenly and was a little scary to drive through and there was no easy spot to pull over to where I was.

We are in for a windy night. I can hear the wind howling outside. The estimated temperature for tomorrow is 12C which is rather cold for Adelaide. We certainly know it's winter this week!