I'm Off To See the Wizard.

Y'all can whisper among yourselves till I get back.

Greens in the Pot

Leftover cornbread in the fridge. I had forgotten how delicious fresh turnip greens taste, even raw or barely steamed. If any are left over, I may try making some cornbread dumplings.

A New Experience

Well, it's been many a year, I think, since I had stage fright,
but today made up for the hiatus.
I read a selection
of my "relative" poems to the Castalia club meeting, and for some reason I was so nervous I could hardly hold the papers. Maybe it was because I was reading to so many people that know me. A room full of strangers is much less intimidating than a dozen friends or acquaintances. But I stuttered and spluttered my way through, and sold a bunch of books.

A Favorite Food

When we went to England, I filled about half of a suitcase with Twinkies as insurance against starvation. If I ever go again, I'll take Little Debbie Oatmeal Crème Pies. They're healthier.

Nijinsky on an Ordinary Day

That's the title of a new poem that I'm going to write. Someday.

"I merely leap into the air and pause"

Maybe today.

"and wait for the applause" ?

On Tuesday this week I'm supposed to read to the Castalia literary club. I made a list of poems I've written about my kinfolk. I didn't realize there were so many. One of my favorites is about Maw Maw and the pear trees.

Can't Win for Gaining.

As the nicotine craving subsides, the food craving increases. I've already gained five pounds. If this keeps up, by summer I'll be my old roly-poly self.

Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child . . .

But yesterday I woke up feeling like eighty is the new sixty. So I gathered up most of the boxes of stuff left over from the newly-wed dolls' house, and planned Grandma Gray's old house for the empty bookcase. I miss some things that are not there, so I know there's more hidden away somewhere. And all the people who live at Graymont are present and accounted for: Alex, Miranda, Camilla, Peter, Little Joe, Grandma Buff-Orpington, Billy Bones, Cook, Beau, Lucinda, Mrs. Gudenov and her daughter, Tiny, the three sooner hounds, the cow, even a ghost or two.

Actually, Grandma B.-O. doesn't live here; she has an apartment in town, but she spends a lot of time with the family.

Ned, Beauty, Maybelle, Dolly, Spot, the Mama cat and two kittens, and Kitty are at the new house.

Graymont will have six levels:
1. The gardens, service yard and garages
2. The kitchen, butler's pantry, and conservatory
3. The dining room, living room and library
4. Bedroom, bathroom, guest room
5. Day nursery, nurse's room, bathroom
6. Children's rooms and attic

*

I didn't go to book club on Thursday, because it was so cold outside it put the fear in me. I've been sick, and I don't want to repeat the process any time soon.

Lots of stuff has happened in the past week.

On Friday, Dave came and cleaned the carpets, and Jennifer came and cleaned the house. We're going to try her coming over every other week to help clean, and see how it works out. She's a lovely young woman. Her seven-year-old son came with her, and I wanted to keep him.

 On Saturday, Jed, Susan, Pat and I celebrated my birthday with lunch at Carrabas, one of our favorite restaurants, and they gave me some lovely gifts. Jed went back to Atlanta, and on Sunday, Mary Anne M. phoned and asked me to have the Castalia literary club program on January 20th. So that's something to look forward to.

I gathered up most of my quilts and put them in the former TV cabinet, mainly to see how big a stack they make. If I decide to leave them here, I'll have to protect them somehow from the wood.