Haikus and Friends

Dale and I got the seed orders off on Monday.  It was a surprise how many seeds were already sold out.  Woody and I have always done our seed ordering the first week of January and considered ourselves early birds.  But this year, apparently many people were ordering in December.  We’ll have to rethink out schedule.  It’s hard to do seed ordering during the holidays, and seed catalogs come at different times.  For instance, one place I have liked ordering from just came on line yesterday and no hard copy catalog, which is what we use as we make our orders together.  Switching to on line ordering may save them money, but I’m less likely to impulse order on line, so I order less.

Anyhow, seeds began arriving yesterday. Tuesday, Dale and I will check them in and discover what more is out of stock and has to be searched for in places I order from in those instances.  Tuesday, because of MLK Day, of course.

I saw Dr. Shay this week.  Generally, a very good report. My heart and lungs are working well, I’m generally healthy and lively.  Woody says I’m livelier than I had been in perhaps nine or ten months.  Dr. Shay recommended I go into physical therapy for my sore left elbow [from something that happened in the ICU while I was out of it] and unknown to me] and for my back which acts up especially when I have to stand for a period of time and if I walk a distance.  Doesn’t hurt inside normally or sitting, unusually, or lying down.  I tried but they won’t even considerate my application till after next week.  Even then, I was warned, they probably won’t start me for months.

I have continued writing haikus.  I’m not really sure why.  I’ve written and had published some haikus over the years, but more haibuns.  But now I keep writing haikus.  I am wondering if it’s related to what I’m trying and often succeeding in doing in this, my second life.  I try to concentrate on the moment and be totally present as much as I can. I’ve written a few what I’d consider normal poems for me over the past weeks, but haikus seem to be whatever that part of my brain wants to make.  I’m curious how long this will last. I’m still working on THE HOUR OF MY DEATH at least six days a week, a page or two each session. However, I still haven’t succeeded in getting into the long and intense meditation I was doing for years every Monday evening. Some time after I got home, I began to meditate for very short and then gradually longer periods. 

We had two women friends over for supper. There was supposed to be a fifth, but she cancelled very late afternoon.  I made a smallish roast lamb with herbal mustard dressing, a big dish of pureed pumpkin with pureed cannellini beans, lots of herbs and much gruyere.  Both recipes are old favorites of mine adapted from Julia Child.  Less butter, more cheese more herbs in the pumpkin dish. We have leftovers for tonight, which I look forward to.  Both woody and I would like a quiet weekend, preferably on the restful side if that’s possible.  We’ve both been extremely busy.  I am still getting submissions to my June poetry workshop. I filled it already.