Specialthanks to Eliza David Lady Writer, for sharing her writing prompts for NaBloPoMo. The prompt for Day 2: “If this was my last day, would I be satisfied with my life?” See her list of 30 prompts at http://elizadavid.com/nablopomo2020/.
My dreams of preparing ravioli from scratch are inspired by mother and brief memories–real and imagined–of my maternal grandmother. I grew up calling her grandma, but now I want to remember her as nonna.
Steph’s nonna
Nonna was born in America in 1913 of Italian heritage. Her mother from Abruzzo, her father from Calabria. She lived a life I know little about, yet her shy muted spirit lives in my heart.
My few memories of Nonna have the naive fuzzy edges of a six or seven year old. She had gray hair and carried the weight of her years in a barrel atop two short legs. She lived humbly, in a rundown home patched with corrugated metal and an outhouse, in a depressed community out in the middle of the desert.
Visits with Nonna were short and usually involved my parents bringing her practical items from our middle-class home. (If we got a new kitchen table, then we brought her our old one.) Our trips from the big city took most of the day, with our visit to be just long enough to unload the car and for my folks to address any familial matters. My limited time with Nonna was precious.
Mostly, I remember that Nonna couldn’t speak–Italian or English. Her vocal chords were irreversibly damaged as a young child. Yet the spoken word wasn’t necessary for her to be understood and endeared.
Her smiling eyes would light upon an item and her body would dance. My eyes would follow her movements and my mind would race. Her gestures and facial expressions could tell stories and demonstrate basic needs.
Nonna lifted an item, made some moves, and I understood. She showed me a bottle of milk and raised her hand to her lips. I smiled and nodded. She made me an egg (or was it bologna?) sandwich, and I watched her cook potatoes. Her kitchen was bare, but my belly and heart were full.
Rocco’s Homemade Cheese Ravioli
Unfortunately, I never learned much about her or even how to cook ravioli by watching her. But I liked to imagine the sound of her voice, the stories from her life, and the tastes from her table. Perhaps her voice and her ravioli were as endearing as those of the nonna from my dreams?
Nature is my balm. I yearn to study her random texture, learn her simple secrets, and lavish in her fickle gifts. Pray she heals me.
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My image: I took this photo of a pine tree as I passed it while #walking today.
My post: I wrote “Let me–Oh, Pine!” while on my phone, laying in bed, half asleep tonight. This is the last day for my personal challenge to create daily during the month of November 2018.
Also, November 30 marks the anniversary of the death of one my favorite authors, Oscar Wilde.
In light if this mundane factoid (about the date), I share these two Wilde quotes with a nod and a wink:
“The more we study Art, the less we care for Nature. What Art really reveals to us is Nature’s lack of design, her curious crudities, her extraordinary monotony, her absolutely unfinished condition.”
-Oscar Wilde, “Intentions” (1891)
Most modern calendars mar the sweet simplicity of our lives by reminding us that each day that passes is the anniversary of some perfectly uninteresting event.
Tonight, before brushing her teeth and going to sleep, Stella might:
Fix dinner, do dishes, launder clothes, clean up, an prep for tomorrow.
Or, she might:
Order take out, be happy for an hour or two, toast to friends, enjoy a slice, watch an episode of retro noir on Netflix.
Hmm… What might you do nightly?
About this post: I wrote this on my phone, lying in bed, while watching Sabrina the Teenage Witch on Netflix tonight. I took the photo while walking past a unique shop earlier this evening. This is all part of a personal challenge to create daily this month. I am tired. Good night.
Do you find beauty where others find ugliness? Hold on, because this quote is deep…
“I demand that the world be good, and lo, it obeys. I proclaim the world good, and facts range themselves to prove my proclamation overwhelmingly true.”
-Helen Keller
The World I Live In and Optimism: A Collection of Essays
Personally, I demand for some young people to benefit from a law-related education and support Trial By Peers, a diversion court operated by the Clark County Law Foundation.
#lookingforflowers
#findinglife
#trialbypeers
#NaBloPoMo18
#Create30
#GivingTuesday
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About this post:
Image: Photo of an artichoke cactus I found among along a walk in downtown Las Vegas earlier this year.
Quote (above): I chose this quote for a variety of reasons, including my experience of working (briefly) for a woman who was both deaf and blind.
Today’s post follows this prompt: “Whether it is on a teabag or in a fortune cookie, tidbits of wisdom are everywhere. What is one you have read that was worth keeping? Share it with us. #NaBloPoMo18, Day 27”
Today, have reblogged this haiku (again), because I am exhausted. Mondays can be stressful, yes? I appreciate your understanding.
Also, I found it to be conventient for today’s #NaBloPoMo18 prompt: “Imagine you and I have met for a cup of coffee (or a glass of wine). What would you tell me if we were having a cup of coffee?” courtesy of the Reticulated Redhead.
Does your mind, heart, and soul move in concert to make your world dance on its axis? Or does your mind take over? Grasping to lead you towards an assumed position? Distracting you with each dip, lunge, sashe, twirl, kick, ball, and step? Tilting your axis only to wobble your will? Losing your focus finally to fall down?
Don’t get carried away. Learn to let it go.
Take a deep breath. Pull back, square your shoulders, follow your heart, and let your soul dance.
Or listen to a song that tells you to let it go. My favorite rock and roll song for that is “Jenny Says” by Cowboy Mouth. Check out their video on YouTube at https://youtu.be/NEfpoUuKFOY
These are my silly thoughts late on a Sunday before returning to the frenetic dance of the work week.
My thoughts are inspired by this quote:
“By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try, the world is beyond the winning.”
-Lao-Tzu, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 48, as translated by Raymond B. Blakney (1955)
About this post: I am trying to create daily this month. Today, I followed a prompt posted by the NaBloPoMo Revival group on Facebook: “Choose a quote, picture, song, etc that you feel epitomizes something important to you. Tell us why.” I created this image using ArtRage a few years ago.
About this post: I wrote this on my phone, lying in bed, while watching Sabrina the Teenage Witch on Netflix tonight. I took the photo while walking past a unique shop earlier this evening. This is all part of a personal challenge to create daily this month. I am tired. Good night.
