X-mas Mystery

“Christmas is doing a little something extra for someone” Charles M. Schulz

X-mas Mystery

Peeking, lurking even, from behind the closed, thick curtains
Heart beating, ever so loudly, in uncertain, anticipation
The waiting time, has been, far too long
But the belief, has still been, all this time, ever so strong
Now, the price, so long awaited, will finally be reviled
And the faith, of at least a short period, will be, sealed
Just, what mysteries, may lie behind the tinted window
On this day, on this holiest of days, filled, with crisp falling snow
The only way to find out for sure,
Is to venture out there, as if this thing, was a true dare
What ever may be awaiting, it certainly was worth all the anticipating

A Christmas Tale

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” Charles Dickens

A Christmas Tale or, “Can I have some Figgy Puddin’, please?”

The year was 1845. I was about ten years of age and working as a stable girl. Our family lived and worked in Lord Hamilton’s manor house. It was Christmas time and as a gift for the servants, the Lord arranged a feast for the staff and their families.

Mommy had the children dressed in their Sunday best. My two brothers were complaining about the stiffness of the shirts. Starch was itchy and could cause rash, especially if one scratched the itch.
I had my favourite dress on and my younger sister was a bit jealous of the red and green colouring. She was wearing a plain blue coloured hand me down.

After all the fuzz and hassle with the wardrobe, the whole family was finally set to go to the main house and start with the Christmas dinner. Us servants would be dining in the large kitchen. Several long tables were brought in with extra seats as well. This wasn’t a large household. With around fifteen servants and their families, well not all had children and spouses, all in all around sixty people in total crammed around the tables. The two cooks had had their hands full with the preparations and naturally every one that could had chipped in.

But now it was time for celebration. Everyone was finally sitting down and getting quiet. After grace the noise level rose again. Food containers were passed around and everyone was filling their respective plates. After all, it wasn’t often we got to eat in this manner and variety.

After a while, everyone had cleared their plates and it was time for dessert. My favourite was the Figgy Pudding. If possible I opted for seconds. As I got my plate of the delicious substance before me, I licked my lips and dug into it with gusto. It did not take too long for the food to disappear from my plate.

My mom looked at me with a smirk. I looked back at her and passing my bowl I asked: “Is there any Figgy Puddin’ left?”

I was smiling widely, feeling exhilarated, when the bowl was passed back to me with an other helping.

When the final bits were eaten, it was time for the traditional sing along. The farmhand brought out his accordion and after the first few tunes, we all joined in. The evening was spent singing, chatting and finally picking up the tables. We all went back to our dwellings, thanking the Lord for the special meal.

Merry Puddin’ and God bless Us Everyone!

Madam Claus

“She does most of the work, don’t she and then stays, behind the scenes” Gun Roswell

Madam Claus

Always, fully and nicely dressed,
All in, that deepest of reds
Never mind, if she just got out of her bed
She is already neat, and totally complete

Breakfast, lunch or even fine dine
She is always the for to die
The Madam, oh, so totally divine
Just looking at her, makes one feel fine

They call her by many names
Madam, Mrs, Lady, nothing ever shady
In our memories thoughts the year she stays
Even if it’s just on day she does us grace

A day or two, before X-mas

“’twas the Sunday, just a day or two, away, from the holiday ” Gun Roswell

A day or two, before X-mas

Seemingly calm
On the outside, but be warned
It’s hotter than hell
Inside where it smells
Just like the holiday is blaring
And upon us without a fair warning
The house is a mess of people and things
Everyone is running, no stopping to sing
The hustle and bustle
Of cooking, cleaning and if you must know
It’s too damned busy
For any kind of seasonal spirit
Not today, not tomorrow
But when the Eve is upon
Then without any sorrow
We all settled down
Sit quietly around the table
Tell another Christmas fable
As the calm has finally descended
And all the work ended

Glitter and Glam

“It’s that time of the season, when glitter and glamour is all around for no good reason” Gun Roswell

Glitter and Glam

Stroll, slowly around
In this seasonal holy ground
In a great big shopping mall
Making you feel quite small
As you glare around in much awe
With a gaping dropped down jaw
All that glitter and all that glamour
Causing even the neighbour lady to yammer
Myself, I try not to stammer
As all the lights and decorations
Are causing some seasonal heart palpitation
Without really a good explanation
But at this point it really doesn’t matter the reason
Just enjoying and joining the celebration
For all of this only comes along once a year
So hop along the festive train without any fear

Sleepy Cats

“When it’s time for a nap, there is no time to look for that perfect spot, just drop, where you are and sleep” Gun Roswell

Sleepy Cats

It’s nearly past noon
Which, in the furry felines opinion
Came way too soon
Just when the morning prowl was done
And then it was time for a little fun
The heavy weight of the eye lids waved
And the sleepiness catching on
To resist was way, way too strong
It was that time when the light
High up in the blue skies
Was telling the furry felines
It was their time to make a b-line
Find the nearest soft spot
And drop all their wight, on the dot
Sleepy time, nap time
What ever you want to call it
That is their prime time

Seasonal Spirits

“Greetings to one and all, holiday and seasonal cheer in tow” Gun Roswell

Seasonal Spirits

When this season is upon us once again with the realest of feel
And it is the time when the home becomes filled with smells and kind of a cheer
Maybe even catch a glimpse of the grumpiest of neighbours with leer
It is the time with colours and lights so bright, the X-mas Eve is sure to be near

The colours and lights of green and red
Filling each corner of this small homestead
No time for sleep, just jump out of bed
And get out now the holiday spirits to spread

But if you are not feeling this thing at all
Never, mind, not everyone can have it all
Just try to be cool and then, just stand tall
And maybe, for a beer, head out to the nearest mall

What ever floats in my mind (two)

“Whatever floats your boat as long as it doesn’t sink mine!”

float boat 1

What ever floats in my mind

Start your engines and may the best women; win!

Yes, yes, yes! I was watching the season finale of the RuPaul’s Drag Race today and, no, my favourite queen was not crowned today. This is actually supposed to be, again, one of those exercises for where I type in what ever floats in my mind in an allotted amount of time.

Problem: There is a *lot* floating there, whether it is inspirational, interesting or even artistic, is another matter. So here I am tapping the keys on my mac, which I actually wrote an homage to a little while back. Go figure!

OK, so back to the subject at hand: What is going on in my mind? Thinking, thinking, thinking… Ah here is a topic! Well, as my Mommy used to tell me: “If you don’t have anything nice to say, shut the fuck up!” And she was right. I try to count to five, sometimes even ten is needed to calm down when ever something really sets me off. But I am going to share a little secret here, trying not to be to harsh about it.

For a little while now, I have gotten deeper and deeper into the underbelly of the wery wide web. Yeah, the “w” was on purpose ;P So like the rant said, I am socially investigating interesting and well to be honest, not so interesting sites and people. (No, *not* stalking 😉 ).

Where was I? Oh yes, so I have been following this TV show and kind of liked it. Actually liking is an understatement! I got pretty much hooked on it. Enjoying the seasons so far (last season was kind of ‘meh’), but now I have learnt of a few changes in the show and the main characters are about to happen in the upon coming season. To be honest, all the hype out there generated by the “real” hard core fans is getting really annoying and the changes seem unrealistic to the nature of the show, so it may be I need to start looking for a new favourite series sooner than later. They say change is good, well, let’s see. Maybe I will turn off the television all together and pick up knitting!

Alright, enough about that subject. Guess now since I have actually shared my pain I can move on! Oh please grow up! It is a television series, not real life.

So back to the topic and what is floating in my mind. Oh, oh, oh, I have revived my life passion of photography. Not that I ever left it, but for the past year or so, the extension of my arm, also known as a c.a.m.e.r.a, had been a wee bit neglected, but now I once more feel it detached to myself. Snapping away like a mad woman!

Talking of which, or witch: yes you can call me one if you like ;P. So talking about being a little cuckoo or hii-haa or (whistling sound while spinning my finger pointed at my head), so crazy basically. I have come to realize you have to be a little off your rockers to actually pull out any kind of regular job people do in today’s world. And I think it is actually a requirement for the artistic field. So guess I am on the right track, either way. And to think about it, I used to be worried, especially having such a crazy family. But that tale is a topic for another day!

So what is floating in my mind… Let’s see, of course the pending surgery, that is a given. What else. Train of thought, OK, now I am actually thinking and when that happens, all ideas are out the door. For example if I plan my writing ahead, characters, plot (what plot?) and all that jazz, I end up having a nice setup and then start writing and the complete work is actually something completely different. So, I have realized thinking is no good, not for me at least. This may not be a good guideline for everyone and certainly not what the books on the subject matter teach. But when I let go, and let the characters guide me, the story writes itself. OK, so I am telling a little tall tale here, since I currently have at least ten stories in various stages of incompletion, but still. Take this rant for example. No planning and here I am typing, still typing, just typing. Utter, complete, nonsense!

And with that thought, I will take the exit to the right. Thanks Ladies and Gents! It’s been real! Please come back for more in the near future for more of… Tales of the Unexpected (or what ever floats in my mind)!

Vienna for WWW (three)

“Österreich ist eine kleine Welt, in der die große ihre Probe hält.”
Friedrich Hebbel

On the Streets of Vienna

Vienna, Oh Vienna
We’re always glad to see ‘ya

You may not be as pretty as Sienna
Or even as hot as High Sierra
But we still love ‘ya
We really really love ‘ya

Vienna, Oh Vienna
We’re always glad to see ‘ya

Your old town feel
Some of it real
The others can’t steal
Don’t worry,
We made that deal

Vienna, Oh Vienna
We’re always glad to see ‘ya

Footfalls in the snow

“Mondays are mundane, like Tuesdays minus 24 hours.
” 

footfalls 1

Footfalls in the snow

Imprints, in the freshly fallen snow
Leaving, after them, a very soft glow
Trying hard to follow, in this eternal flow
With my own pace, set, completely,  to a very slow