Update about Michael
Michael had a gastroscope on Monday and we saw the doctor yesterday. He has been diagnosed with laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR), a condition in which stomach acid flows back up the esophagus (swallowing tube) into the larynx (voice box) and throat. His throat is quite swollen and burned. The condition is being treated with medication. In terms of Michael’s complex medication history, this isn’t that serious for which I am very grateful.
Esther Chilton’s writing prompt
Esther Chilton’s writing prompt for this week is gifts and you can join in here: https://estherchilton.co.uk/2024/12/04/writing-prompts-43/
The gifts (tanka prose)
When I was a little girl, my dad landscaped the garden of his aunt’s new house. It was a big job and he spent a few months working there. When he worked on a Saturday, he would take Cath and I with him and we would have to make the best of it and entertain ourselves as best we could in his aunt’s old fashioned and rambling house.
We were scared to go out of the house as the garden was in an uproar with huge machines moving great piles of earth to shape hillocks that would one day be covered with grass or flowers. There was also a small cottage across the cemented back yard. This slightly ramshackle cottage appeared creepy and mysterious to me. Cath and I used to watch the cottage from the back doorstep. It fascinated us. Sometimes we could see shadows moving about inside and always we could hear loud and strange music playing. The reason we were so interested in this cottage and its occupant was that Dad said that the young man who lived there was a drug addict and a disappointment to his mother.
Naturally, this made the cottage as interesting as the locked sweet cupboard to a curious and sheltered child like me who didn’t know what a drug addict was and would very much like to see one.
In between our watch from the back doorstep, Cath and I wondered about the large, empty house looking for amusements. We found them in the form of toilet roll holder dolls. We would remove them from their places atop the extra toilet rolls in the four bathrooms and take them into the kitchen where we could play with them and still watch the cottage. The dolls had crocheted dresses in green, pink, yellow, and orange. The dolls looked a lot like the first flimsy Barbie dolls, but they had long hair, and the skirts of the dresses were very full to facilitate their going over a toilet roll. To me, these dolls were beautiful, and I desperately wanted one.
One day, while we were deeply absorbed in our dolls game, a young man came into the kitchen. He didn’t come out of the cottage but rather from inside the house somewhere. He had long hair and a guitar, but other than that he seemed ordinary. He spoke to us girls and was very interested in our doll game.
The next time Dad took us with him to work, the domestic helper presented us with a doll each. Mine was green and Cath’s was pink. They were from Aunty Roz’s son.
I was delighted with this wonderful gift. So much so that I still have that green crocheted dress. It was a while before I realised the gift was from the drug addict. My delight at receiving the doll helped to mitigate my crushing disappointment in the drug addict who looked just like any other young man in his early 20s.
Magnificent gifts
Slender dolls in fine dresses
With wide, ruffled skirts
Providing entertainment
For two lonely little girls
Tanka Tuesday
This week’s Tanka Tuesday is hosted by David and this is his great challenge:
So, this week’s challenge is to compose a ‘Sekar ageng’ poem , according to the following rules, as laid out by Murisopsis:
Sekar ageng – This Javanese form is traditionally recited as a song. The modern form is comprised of any number of quatrains (4 line stanzas) with 17 syllables per line. Each line is divided by caesurae (breaks) after sections of 4 syllables, 6 syllables and 7 syllables in that order.
You can join in here: https://tankatuesday.com/2024/12/03/tankatuesday-poetry-challenge-javanese-poetry-12-03-2024-syllabicpoetry/
Packing
Looking forward, with anticipation, a big part of the pleasure
Packing snow boots, thermal vests and leggings, fleece lined jacket in pale blue
While drinking wine, white and packed with ice cubes, the humming fan turned to high
It’s nearly time, to fly across the world, fast forwarding seven hours
Sunflower Tanka
Colleen has shared the cover of the forthcoming Sunflower Tanka journal which is a joint effort between Colleen and I.
You can read more about the cover and Sunflower Tanka here: https://tankatuesday.com/2024/12/06/sunflower-tanka-cover-reveal/
Thursday Doors
These are some photographs of doors I took while walking around in the Netherlands in May. You can join in Dan’s Thursday Doors prompt here: https://nofacilities.com/2024/12/05/random-doors-and-december-schedule/
Travelling
I am travelling to Japan on Monday so I will be posting and visiting a lot less until 6 January 2025. I have a few scheduled posts going out and I will pop in and visit you all when I can. Wishing you all a wonderful festive season.
roberta-writes.com 