Fall into the northeast.

The painters are here
I'm taped into my kitchen
because they're
sanding in the hallway
I'm in a bubble
of plastic and blue tape

I dreamed last night
of colors
for the hallway

soleil
windham cream
weston flax
cornbread

nacho cheese

there is a color called nacho cheese
funny
because it makes me
want to either get a bag of chips
or a wet wipe

I'd like to paint the hallway that color
just so when people ask
"wow. what color is this?"
I can say "nacho cheese"

but 
the kids outvoted me

they picked soleil.

The painters are coming today
at 6.00 a.m. the whole family does

a quickclean

you know, moving things away
from windows so those frames could finally be finished
then there is a mad dash
to clear the boxes and shoes out of the hallway
after that
it's breakfast
making lunches
finding shoes
an umbrella for one
a coat for another

runningforthebusintherain

at 7.30 my husband gets the e-mail

nopainterstoday

I'm going to go sit
in the nice clean hallway

and drink my coffee
and write.

happy Friday.

what color would you paint the hallway? : )
I'm thinking lighthouse yellow.

So a very nice Jehovah Witness just
knocked on my door.
An older man with white hair and crinkly eyes.
He introduced himself and his wife.
Nice names. *
They both had warm hands.

I didn't mind the interruption
I don't have any heat in my house
at the moment
and my hands were quite cold
from trying to type and update my
online portfolio.

Anyway, he asked me, 
"Do you believe in a Doomsday?"
and he pointed to the cover
of the pamphlet he handed me.
It had a black and white photo
of a broken train and burned cars.
And some concrete blocks.
I liked that detail because it reminded
me how happy I was
that my husband had removed
the concrete blocks from our driveway
just yesterday.

And I said, "Yes, I do, I meet up
with a Doomsday every day at Stop and Shop."
And then I told him it just wasn't
illustrated correctly on  his cover.

He laughed.

His second question was, "Do you
believe God cares about women?"
He then showed me the cover of
pamphlet number 2.
That had quite a nice collage of various
women and girls involved in happy activities.

And I said, "Of course! We are 
walking gifts on this Earth. We're
the better half as they say. I am
slightly biased though, being a woman myself."

He laughed again. A nice hearty laugh.
And I laughed. His wife laughed.
We all stood in the sunshine on my front stoop
laughing.
I was just so happy I could answer his questions.

We shook hands again and parted ways.
I told him and his wife
to be very careful walking on such a busy road.

It is always nice to share a laugh.
Don't you think?
I'll try to laugh today at the grocery store.



* can't divulge their names, I want to retain their privacy. : )
but maybe you'll meet them someday.

still flying high after SCBWI

she stopped on her walk to look at the

purple crocuses smiling by the birch tree

She walked up the hill

with a little bit of sunshine

coconut ice cream

and

jingling

in

the bottom

of her bag

two spoons.