Roberta Writes – d’Verse, TDWC26, Sunday Stills, The Flower Hour, and Thursday Doors

After six weeks of sabbatical, I am starting a new job on Monday. I’m glad I was able to see Paris over Easter and nurse my mother and Michael through the new Flu B. It is a reduced hours job so I’ll see how that goes. Wish me luck.

d’Verse, TDWC26, Sunday Stills, and The Flower Hour

Restless Jo provided a delightful photograph for Dan’s TDWC26. This yellow, blue and white house was the initial inspiration for my haibun below. You can join Dan’s challenge here: https://nofacilities.com/thursday-doors-writing-challenge-2026/

Punam from d’Verse provided some artworks as inspiration for her Poetics Tuesday: What art says challenge. You can join in here: https://dversepoets.com/2026/05/12/poetics-tuesday-what-art-says/

Terri’s Sunday Stills challenge is pastels. My Primrose antique doll and the flowers in the background are pastels. The flowers are for Terri’s The Flower Hour challenge too.

You can join in Sunday Stills here: https://secondwindleisure.com/2026/05/10/sunday-stills-monthly-color-challenge-pink-and-pastels/

You can join in The Flower Hour here: https://secondwindleisure.com/2026/05/12/the-flower-hour-30-camellia-a-little-closer/

A Fresh Coat of Paint (haibun)

Picture caption: Yellow, blue, and white house photograph contributed by Restless Jo

Primrose looked at her freshly painted home with satisfaction. Arthur had recently finished reading a first edition of Tom Sawyer. He’d been so inspired he’d volunteered to give her dolls house home a fresh look. It looked terrific. Its yellow, blue, and white walls sparkled under the bright display lights of the antique children’s books and toys room.

She glanced at the tapestry on the opposite wall. The dark yellow room was exquisitely sew with careful, even stitches. She liked the wall hanging and it helped to keep the room warm and snug. Museums were drafty. She was glad she had her delightful dolls house to live in and her home wasn’t merely a 2D dream.

rainbow dreams elude

bricks and mortar evidence

my reality

Picture caption: Art inspiration provided by Punam

Click on the bar to view Primrose, an antique doll form Faversham in England, with a background of roses I received for Mothers Day last Sunday. A little past their prime but they are still pretty … and pastel. You will also see Arthur, a vintage doll from Graaf Reinet in South Africa.

Thursday Doors

These are a few more random photographs form my short trip to Paris over Easter.

The two images above are of the moving walkway in the Paris Airport (Charles de Gaulle). It was very long and there wasn’t another soul in sight. For me, it was a little creepy as it was my first time in this airport. I was glad to see the door at the end of the walkway coming into sight.

68 thoughts on “Roberta Writes – d’Verse, TDWC26, Sunday Stills, The Flower Hour, and Thursday Doors

  1. Good luck in the new job Robbie, I hope it excites and suits your needs.
    Lovely haibun and tapestries are so intricate and skilful. The roses are still beautiful 🤩. My daughter used to have a collection of dolls and then she developed a fear of them and they were boxed up, I must look for them…. I can imagine how quiet and eerie that felt at CDG, quite claustrophobic too…. 💞

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  2. Hope the job goes well, Robbie, and the family stay fit and well. Thank you so much for selecting my ‘doll’s house’. You’ve done a lovely job with it. xx

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  3. Good luck with the new job, Robbie! It’s great you had that time off.

    A thoughtful haibun. I liked the Tom Sawyer reference. Beautiful roses.

    That long walkway with no one there does look creepy–like something in a horror movie. 😱

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  4. Click on what bar? Is this doll not Primrose? I am confused. Bit I am not confused about your wonderful story and haiku- I think Primrose is one lucky girl, I mean doll, I mean…..

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  5. That long walkway in an airport made me think of “The Langoliers” by Stephen King. Not a comforting thought. I love the doors.

    I love your story, too and the poem. That’s a very interesting twist on Jo’s door. I like it 🙂

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  6. Good luck with your new job, Roberta. With reduced hours, I hope it covers your costs.

    It’s great that you participate in all those challenges.

    That house painting is nice and your haibun is marvelous. The dolls are lovely.

    Your pictures of your Paris trip are great, and the moving walkway is kind of creepy.

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  7. Those walkways look like they could lead to a dystopian city of robots! When we first moved near Heathrow in winter, missing our toddler groups etc with a lively toddler to entertain, I took him to Heathrow to play on the moving walkways!

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  8. You received beautiful roses for mother’s day, and those dolls are very pretty. I love the blue, yellow and white color combination. It is happy and bright colors and it is a very nice story. Lots interesting links to people I was not familiar with.

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  9. Happy late Mother’s Day. I didn’t know yours was the same Sunday as ours. Beautiful roses. Those vintage dolls are really cool. Those long passageways at the Paris Airport are creepy.

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  10. just came across this one, Robbie; and I’m glad I did; exquisite photos and verse — I like bricks and mortar too, I love the ‘Room That Breather Stitches’. glad mum and Michael are coming good — and all the best in your new job; hugs 🙂

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  11. That was very kind of Arthur, and I congratulate him on the neat job! That background of roses is very classy; they are definitely still beautiful. Good luck with the job!

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