The Apples in My Orchard

Upscaling, Upcycling, Updating … they all carry the connotation of getting better or more use or moving forward for me.

Hold that thought, I’ll return to it soon.

This week has been an odd one. Last Saturday night, my husband took off to drive to the Twin Cities, about three hours away from us.

Our youngest son, a successful artist, had a commission for a large commemorative painting that needed to be delivered to Florida by January 6th. It was for the Tampa Bay Lightning, an NHL Hockey team. The problem was that the 72-inch-long painting had not dried enough to be able to ship it.

So, as we are retired, my husband offered to drive the artwork to Tampa with our son to deliver it. They left last Sunday morning, in a rental van (it would not fit in our vehicles), for Florida. The drive was long – over 2,000 miles in two days.

It all worked out. My son was in touch with his contacts and arrived the day before the painting was needed for a special presentation. They were blessed with good weather and enjoyed being present to see the person for whom the painting was done receive it.

The next day, they headed home and got back to the Twin Cities last night. My husband is on his way to our home now. Whew!

This left me at home with our pets. It’s been a strange week. Ice has coated everything in sight, and it’s been hard to walk without fear of falling, but we did it. I’ll be glad that things will be returning to normal today.

Thus, I have not had a lot of time to think about writing poetry. But, I was able to read from one of the two books our eldest son gave me for Christmas – books I had asked for.

I had specific reasons for requesting these books and knew that my bibliophile son would grant my request.

The poem I’d like to share is from When We Were Very Young (1924). It is in the public domain.

Daffodowndilly

She wore her yellow sun-bonnet,
She wore her greenest gown;
She turned to the south wind
And curtsied up and down.
She turned to the sunlight
And shook her yellow head,
And whispered to her neighbour:
"Winter is dead."

© A.A. Milne, 1924.

You can read more of Milne’s poetry here. His books When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six are in the public domain.

I like this poem because it is centered on nature rather than on Milne’s characters from his Winnie-the-Pooh stories, although I love those too.

With all the ice, snow, and subzero temperatures we’ve had this year, I am looking forward to our annual escape to the USVI’s, coming up in a few short weeks.

I might not see daffodils there, but I will see hibiscus and other tropical plants, and for a short time, can declare that “Winter is dead.”

Ruth, from her blog “There is No Such Place as a God-Forsaken Town,” has the roundup today. Thanks for hosting, Ruth!

Back to the Update/Upscale/Upcycle/Upgrade…

As an afternote, I have not done much more work on revising (or updating/upscaling) my blog this week. I ask for your patience in doing so. Thank you!