My poem for W3 (which is two days late) was inspired by two photographs from Dan’s TDWC26 as follows:
Picture caption: This building appears to me to have many doors which my mind interpreted as many relationships in life. The photograph was contributed by Dan Antion.
Alone (freestyle poem)
We walk alone
navigating our way
up hills, over obstacles, down slopes
Sometimes, we walk with another
a lover, friend, family member,
even a group
These periods of companionship
often bring great happiness
But, every life phase has an ending
Someone’s life must be shattered
Someone must suffer pain
Someone must be left behind
It’s best to acknowledge that ultimately
we walk our paths alone
Picture caption: My mind interpreted this single door standing alone as a solitary person – the one left behind to go on alone. This photograph was contributed by Lois.
Tiny flowers growing in a crack between the rocksLate autumn bougainvillea against yellow autumn leavesThe aloe tree is full of flowers this yearA single red rose
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
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.
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.
Last Sunday, TC and I went for a 5 kilometre walk at the Johannesburg Country Club in Woodmead. The trees were all dressed in their autumn best and there were plenty of birds out and about enjoying the warm day. We came across a strange scene where a cat and a peahen were living together in a little domed shelter. There were water and food dishes so they are obviously fed by the residence of the surrounding houses.
I was immediately reminded of the nonsense poem by Edward Lear, ‘The Owl and the Pussy-Cat’. It was first published in 1870 in the American magazine Our Young Folks and again the following year in Lear’s own book Nonsense Songs, Stories, Botany and Alphabets.
Dan Antion’s Doors writing challenge starts today and continues throughout May. I used one of my own doors pictures because the colours inspired a poem that also fitted Yvette’s W3 challenge to write about a fantasy world (mine’s 22 lines and not 20 – sorry Yvette!)
Picture caption: One of Robbie’s Doors entries for Dan’s Doors Writing Challenge – its of the lifts at the Hilton Hotel in Munich
Dinah in Wonderland (freestyle poem)
Beyond the door
Dinah sees the colours
Dancing and swirling
Enticing … calling
“Come and play, Dinah
Come and play”
Squeezing through the cat door
She pitches forward
Falling … down and down
Landing softly on
Pink, blue, green, and yellow
Sweet! Her nose quivers
What? It’s candy floss
Between the bright puffs
Pale shapes swarm
Marshmallow fish
They wriggle their tails
“Chase us, Dinah, chase us”
Off she goes
Bouncing from one sugary cloud
to the next sweet indulgence
Extraordinary!
Thursday Doors
For Dan’s Thursday Doors, I’m sharing the rest of my Hilton Hotel, Munich photographs. I was only in Munich for ten hours so this is what I saw of it in the hotel from about 8pm until 4am the following morning.
This poem is another contribution to my Paris Diaries Poems.
Chateau de Chenonceau (Loire Valley, France)
A survivor of the French Revolution
Five-arched bridge its saving grace
Not sacked; it survived dissolution
Ladies chateau of flowers and lace
Due to it’s owner’s quick actions
It’s now a major tourist attraction
***
Famous for its facade of white stone
And spectacular gardens with terraces
Diana de Poitiers lived there alone
The first of its female heiresses
She planted flowerbeds, vegetables
And an orchard before the entrance
***
King Henry II favoured his mistress
Causing resentment by his jealous wife
When he died after a short illness
Catherine de Medici changed her life
Evicting Diana from castle and court
Queen Regent her vengeance wrought
***
The chateau received an Italian facelift
And a grand gallery over the bridge
Catherine was a notorious spendthrift
Living a life of splendour and privilege
Installing beautiful historic tapestries
While France fell deeper into anarchy
***
Madame Louise Dupin saved the castle
Nicknamed ‘goddess of beauty and music’
She advocated the bridge’s use for travel
Utilising her popularity and good ethics
In spring, the gardens still flourish
It’s natural beauty the soul does nourish
Thursday Doors and The Flower Hour
For Dan’s Thursday Doors I am showing you the exterior of the Chateau de Chenonceau and the separate tower as well as an outside cottage. You’ll have to wait until next week to see inside. You can join Dan’s Thursday Doors here: https://nofacilities.com/2026/04/16/the-hungarian-room/
The Jardin du Luxembourg was created in 1612 when Marie de’ Medici, the widow of King Henry IV, constructed the Luxembourg Palace as her new residence. This is the number one garden in Paris and is known for its lawns, tree-lined promenades, tennis courts, flowerbeds, model sailboats on its octagonal Grand Bassin. It is also home to the Fontaine de l’Observatoire and Medici Fountain. I’m showcasing the Fontaine de l’Observatoire today.
Click on the slideshow to see the Fontaine de l’Observatoire:
This is one of my Youtube videos of this fountain:
You can see more of my Paris Youtube videos on my channel.
Thursday Doors
The Universite de Paris Institut d’Art Et d’Archeologie is near the Jardin du Luxembourg. I really liked the brick patterning of this building which is why I took these photographs. It reminded me of lego.
These photographs are of flowers and statues in the Jardin du Luxembourg. They are for Terri’s The Flower Hours (most of the flowers are tulips) and for Dan’s CFFC as these were taken while we walked. We walked approximately 20,000 steps a day for the 6 days I was in Paris.
The gallery includes a giraffe bending down to drink and bats on the roof of the entrance to the Huhluwe-iMfolozi National Park.
My video footage of the giraffe drinking and the bats.
Thursday Doors and The Flower Hour
I am posting these photographs together because the flowers photographs were taken at Lodge Afrique and I’ve also featured the front entrance and door to the lodge.
When I was three-months old my biological father died of a massive heart attack in front of my mother. She was left on her own to raise me as best she could. According to my mother, I was a very easy baby and never fussed or cried unless I was hungry or wet. Mom believes I could sense her sadness and distress and behaved accordingly, making her life easier.
Mom also said that after my father, William Cecil Weatherburn-Baker, died, she promised me that we would always stay together. She travelled with me all the way to South Africa when I was nine-months old and when I was two years old, she married my stepdad who I refer to as Dad. Mom and I have always been together, just as she promised. When I got married, TC and I bought a house in the same road as my Mom and Dad. When Mom could no longer manage the stairs in their house, we sold it and TC and I bought a house with a cottage for my parents. They have lived there for over 21 years now. Mom turned 87 on 21 October this year (2025).
When I was in prep school and junior high, all the girls were obliged to take domestic science as a subject. The syllabus was split into six months of dressmaking and six months of cooking. During my first year of junior high, I was obliged to do an applique project for school. Each girl was required to draw a design on paper and then cut it out of pretty fabric. The process then involved ironing a piece of white backing onto the fabric pieces so that the fabric didn’t fray around the edges. Each piece was then sewn onto the two pillowcases and duvet cover that comprised the project deliverable. Our parents had to purchase the fabric, backing, and bed linen. I decided to create a Holly Hobbie design and took great delight in drawing each piece including a flowery pink dress, patchwork apron, and flowery bonnet. Mom kindly bought me a plain pink duvet cover and pillowcases. I meticulously cut out my shapes and ironed on the backing, ensuring the sticky side was downwards onto the fabric. I used blanket stich to sew my pieces onto the pillowcases and duvet cover. My sewing was neat and tidy and my teacher was pleased with the end result. I was delighted with my new Holly Hobbie bed linen.
I continued to use my applique knowledge to decorate bed linen for my sisters. I entertained myself this way for an entire school holiday. One day, I placed the backing back-to-front and ironed onto the sticky side. That was a disaster as the glue burned onto the iron. I managed to clean most of it off but, after this, Mom wasn’t keen on me using the iron for applique.
I kept my bed linen all through my teenage years until I was seventeen. Cath, however, decided one afternoon soon after her bed linen was finished, to cut out the Holly Hobbie with a pair of scissors. Obviously, that didn’t do the duvet cover much good and it was the end of her Holly Hobbie bedlinen set. She never got another as between the destruction of her duvet cover and Mom’s reluctance to let me use the iron, I gave up applique as a hobby.
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