Time to grow up

Is anyone in the mood for a little adventure? I sure am. I've spent the week thinking about who I want to be. You know, when I grow up.

Care to join me? Come on over to visit.

A beautiful day for a ride

Open road beckons.
She adjusts her collar, waits for the rumble of the engine
(when is that battery going to be charged?)

She turns to look and he grins.

Brushing out her hair before crushing it with her helmet.

Her one regret?
She knows she’ll have to arm wrestle him for the keys.

“Galen?”

Check out G-Man's place for more and try your hand at your own 55.

Seven

Today is a banner day in Pheromone Girl Land.

Blog numbr 250. My work here is done. I was given a project and it is now being filed away as complete. I'm rather amazed at how far I've come in the months since I started blogging. There's a lot more self awareness. I've learned that just because I can't sit across a table from most of you and have coffee that doesn't mean that you affect my life and my world any less. I find myself sharing things I learn on your blogs (about baby puppy and her love of bats, about the Wolverines playing Notre Dame today, about Fireblossom's most beautiful poetry). And about deep connections with almost complete strangers.

I have also spent more time than I care to admit explaining myself. I stopped doing that recently, with a strong suggestion from a very wise woman. I can say yes, please or no, thank you. But I am no longer allowing myself to say "That blog post wasn't about you...", "You took that the wrong way..." or anything else. Take me as I am or shove off.

The next week will be very interesting. I get to decide if I want to continue to write as Pheromone Girl but take things in new directions, if I want to start a whole new blog with a compleptely different theme or some combination of the two. But I promise you this - I will continue to write - keep up with my friends and be a part of this bigger world that has drawn me in.

You probably won't see me again until next weekend, when I will create my new persona, a new look and some new, interesting points of discussion. I hope!

Until then, be well, thanks for following and go out and live, would ya?! By the way, that's me on an elephant at Wildlife Safari with my brothers. It was the year I turned seven.

Downtown

Driving through town,
a story erupts
as a homeless man
crosses at the walk,
waiting for traffic.

I was at Naito at Harrison
or was that Harrison at Naito?
Never mind.

He reminded me
of how close I came
to being in his shoes.
Kids in tow.
Living under a bridge.

Thank you, kind universe.

As usual, my 55 starts with G-Man. Check out his site to read more fiction, written in 55 words - no more, no less. I am blessed that my vision of a homeless Pheromone Girl and family is just that, fiction. Today, in honor of September 11th, my 55 means a little bit more. For every comment left on my blog, I will make a $5 donation to Sister's of the Road cafe in Portland, where people work or barter for meals to feed their families, their souls and themselves.

Please know how close I came to needing their help and think of those less fortunate than you are today, as a way to memorialize the victims of September 11 with ACTION. Comment. Please.

"...one in fifty children in America is homeless," said U.S. Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr. (Pennsylvania), chair of the Advisory Board to the Campaign to End Child Homelessness.

Peace to you all and may you never feel want.

137

I love the changing of the seasons. It reminds me, in a way, of the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, a sight I've always wanted to see.

Those that have done their duty - quietly guarding my world in a leafy canopy - are ready for the sudden drop in temperature and leaves.

The rain comes early here in my city and brings the realization that, although there will be plenty more sunny days, the nights have cooled and the air conditioning will be off now. Windows open to the sound of the rain, the sound of the breeze in the trees outside my garden gate.

It makes me live the wonderful moments of summer again (kind of few and far between this year, but they are there nonetheless) and it makes me look forward to getting out the fire pit on a rainy night. Having a nice, quiet evening curled up on my four poster with a quilt and a book and the smell of oak burning just outside my bedroom door. Candles lit to warm me.


Sometimes music will play in the background - a little Segovia, a little Talking Heads, maybe even some Franz Ferdinand, a new favorite. Peaceful times, happy times, and they are mine alone to savor. I bet everyone has a favorite song for a night like this. Are you ready to brush it off and bring it out?

You may wonder at the title of my blog. It has great significance and is rather silly, all in the same breath. It means I have made a major decision, a step in the right direction, and have decided to focus a larger portion of my energy on something important to me. After all, what kind of dream life fulfills everyone but yourself? This little number is a daily reminder of the efforts I make on behalf of me. It makes me realize that wishing for something is only half the trick. Wanting it but putting off the work it takes to get there is futile. So, today, I'm doing what it takes to get where I want to be. The words flow like the rain, always present, just sometimes not visible to the naked eye.


Have you every seen a cloud form? Watched a blue sky turn grey and stormy in a matter of moments? Felt the hair on your neck standing up from the electricity in the air? Today, I wish you that energy, the power of the clouds and the sky, and I hope it brings you clarity.

A good rain washes away the muck.

For Galen

Tempted by the past,
I look out
to see the ghosts arrive.

They pay homage to the leaves
as they tumble from the trees.

But the ghosts are still and silent.
Uncertain, seeking purchase
tangled, perfect moments
pure and rare are on their mind.

Watching as the wind blows sweetly,
my trees bare their secrets.


Write a fictional story, 55 words long - no more, no less.
Go to G-Man's site (hi Galen!) and let him know.
Then check out the others.
'Scuse me, my wings need a little Feather-Brite...

Seasons change

It's been beautiful in Portland. Last night was the perfect night to sit out and watch the sun set, catch up with friends and enjoy summer's last few waning days. But in the back of my mind, crystal clear, is the fact that soon, the mornings will smell like Autumn. The leaves will start to change then begin their descent.

It's going to rain soon.

We get tons of rain here. I am just as affected by the dreary, grey weather as the next guy. But I get a kind of sick satisfaction when the weather turns cool, the rains come and there are, finally, puddles everywhere.

I can't imagine my world in a place without the extremes of the seasons that we see in the Pacific Northwest. Warm summer days, crisp autumn evenings, snow in the winter and some of the most beautiful colors on the planet in the spring.

Next year I will not see the spring bloom at the park, my view will be of elsewhere. There is a choice to be made and a new path to travel. Yet change is good and I spend most of my days rolling with things, allowing life to lead me steadily forward. I wonder what today will bring?

Where did I put my boots...?