Laundry on a Windy Day

Photo: This is from an earlier post, way back in September of '07. But it is part of what I want to say today, too.

Hung out to dry
I love hanging sheets and clothes out on the line to dry. Not in winter! I'm talking about starting in April, on days like today, when it's 60° with a good breeze. This will continue right through until late October, probably.

Saves on my electricity bill
By not using the dryer I can save over $200 on my electric bill. And there's nothing sweeter than clothes dried outside in the sun and wind. I don't do towels outside. That's where I draw the line. No scratchy towels on this bod!

Today is one of those perfect spring days as described above. I hung out my sheets around 8 a.m. and they were dry by noon. I mean dry. I took them in before lunch. Dry!

Condo Associations
One day condo associations will have to allow clothes lines. I wrote a poem about that and I might as well share it with you now that I have mentioned it.

Why Condo Associations Won’t Allow Clotheslines
Blue jeans run in place
stagger, run again

Shirt sleeves wave to all passers-by
the nerve

Socks do a fancy two-step
fit to break an ankle

Bras are filled
seductively shimmy and flounce

Panties do a vigorous hoochy-koochy
exposing lust in the imagination of some beholders

Sheets with a come hither undulation
offer promise

Laundry hung out to dry
on a windy day

Scandalous!

Beverly R. Titus
4/15/08

NCAA Tournaments - The Finals

It's all over but the shouting

The UCONN women...Champions For Sixth Time!

How sweet it is. Number Six Championship. There are a lot of good coaches out there, but Geno is one of the greats! He has notched SIX championships. Pat Summitt has eight...so what. I'm already excited about next season...can't wait for it to begin!

Now for the men

The men went out in the Final Four when they lost to Michigan. They went further than I thought. I had them going out in the Elite Eight to Memphis. Who knew Memphis would go out in the Sweet Sixteen? That busted everyone's brackets. 

What's next?

Baseball. Go Red Sox.

Sun Damage is Ugly!

Click on this photo to get a good close-up view. Sun damaged skin is not pretty when it's being treated by a dermatologist. This damage probably occurred years, decades, ago before I even turned 20.

Sun damaged skin probably doesn't look pretty if it is left untreated and turns to skin cancer.

The attached photo is what my face looks like right now because I'm being treated for sun damage.

When I was a kid I never protected my skin...who knew. I worked out in the sun-baked tobacco fields from age 5 to 15 and never wore a broad brimmed hat or protected my face in any way.

This is the result. Pretty ugly! But the good news is that I will continue to have a face and nose because I'm getting medical attention!

If you, or some one you know has been out in the sun a lot with no protection, show them this picture. Have your skin taken care of now!

Good News…Bad News

Photos
Laurel Park in Manchester. The pictures show two pathways through the park...one solid the other liquid. A beautiful spot if you like hiking.

GN/BN
1. Good news: My mother came home from the nursing home on Tuesday, March 31st.
Bad news: On Wednesday April 1st, she wrenched her knee getting into the car and on April 2nd was back in the nursing home.

I’m not sure if she realizes it yet that she isn’t going to come home again. I cannot keep her safe in the outside world and she is not strong enough to keep herself safe.

The nursing home staff will do a full evaluation and they will give her the bad news. I do enough things to tick her off; I don’t want to add this to her list.

2. Good news: I’m treating the skin on my forehead and nose for sun damage.
Better news: I will get to keep my face and nose.
Bad news: my face is splotchy, red as a beet and looks terrible. Funny thing is, no one has asked me what happened to my face. Either they recognize what I’m doing or they are afraid to ask. Trust me, you can’t help but notice!

3. Good news: I will be self-publishing a chapbook of my Spiritual, Magical and Dark Side poetry. I’m waiting for the cover to be finished. The title is “Beyond the Mists.”
There is no bad news with this one.

This just in
My poem, Time, has been posted on the poetry share page of the Prosser/Wintonbury Libraries in Bloomfield. Go to www.prosserlibrary.info. In the left hand column click on Wintonbury Branch Poetry Series & Open Mike and there it is. How exciting!

Just plain other news
The poetry circuit is getting very busy this time of the year. If I do everything I have penciled into my calendar I’ll be exhausted before next week is over.

At the Riverwood Poetry Series BOD meeting last night we devoted the entire meeting to the upcoming poetry festival at the end of June. That will be a blockbuster four days of poetry. You can go out to our website to keep checking on our progress, the venues, and the readers. Once again we are attracting poets from all over the country. Two well known poets have said they will make a special trip to Connecticut to be part of this festival.

I’m thinking seriously of going to visit my daughter, Anne, and her family in late May. My grandson, Jacob, will be Knighted! Yes. He will be Sir Jacob. The fifth grade class at his school gets to study medieval history and if they wish to be Knighted, they must choose quests and report back to the class. If they are successful in their questing, they are Knighted. How special is that? That will be May 27th and if at all possible, me thinks I must be there.

Let’s see. What else is going on? Tomorrow is bulk document shredding day at the South Windsor Bank on Ellington Road. That’s not too exciting, but it’s one more thing I have to remember to do.

A Shout Out!
A big shout out to Joyce who works with my daughter, Kathy. Joyce reads my blog. That's more than Kathy does! ☺ ☺ ☺

NCAA Tournaments – Saturday and Sunday

UConn men still in it!
Saturday night I listened to the UConn men’s game while driving to Middletown to attend a poetry reading. When I pulled up in front of The Buttonwood Tree the game was close…I think UConn was ahead 58-56. It had been so close with the lead being tied and changing constantly I thought for sure UConn was going to bite the dust.

What a surprise when I got home and checked scores on line. UConn won. On to the Final Four they go where they will meet Michigan State. Hmmmm. I really don’t think UConn can get past State…not if State plays the way they did today against Louisville. I had picked Louisville to win, but I am unable to feel sorry for Rick Pitino. His players, yes. The coach, no.

On to the Women
The UConn women steamrolled over California. It was a rough start, though. For the first time this season UConn was down by eight points…the most ever this season. At the half UConn was up by two. In the second half UConn just ran away with it, winning 77-53.

Have You Paid Attention to Mother Nature This Week?

Earthquake swarms along the San Andreas Fault.
Epic blizzard conditions across the Northern Plains.
Flooding along the Red River putting Fargo, ND and Moorhead, MN at devastating risk.
Mount Redoubt in Alaska has erupted.
Tornadoes and severe thunder storms are ravaging the Gulf Coast States.

What? No hurricane? (sorry I didn’t mean it)

NCAA Tournaments - Going Into the Elite Eight and Sweet Sixteen

The Men's Game

Louisville vs Michigan St.

UConn vs Missouri

Pitt vs Villanova

North Carolina vs Oklahoma

Who will come out of these contests the victors? I think it will come down to Louisville vs UConn, and Pitt vs UNC. I guess it won't be an all big east Final Four but three out of four isn't bad.

What about the Women?

The Sweet Sixteen is next on the list of games. My interest, of course, is with UConn tomorrow.