#haikuforhealing - November 2024

It's late November and the chill is on. Lady Autumn sheds her leaves and prepares for warmer apparel. The scattered leaves fall here and there. Thanksgiving decor and dinner menus are in the preparation phase while grocery stores are busy with shoppers and turkey talk. This year my little grandgirls are coming to Grandma's house for Thanksgiving. We will have a wonderful time gathering together

In the meantime, I am sharing haikus with the hashtag #haikuforhealing. Thank you Mary Lee Hahn for offering this poetry project. What better time to share our thoughts via poetry and photos! (The above image is from Pixabay. Isn't it beautiful?)

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Last Leaves of Autumn

Can you spot the heart-shaped leaf below?

brisk wind spins through trees

leaves bare their heart to nature

autumn transitions

©CVarsalona, 2024

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Hempstead Lake Park, Long Island 2020 

fall's chilled weather

kisses the leaves goodbye

life moves on

©CVarsalona, 2024

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Thanksgiving

handmade-crafted wreath

honors giving side of fall

gather together

©CVarsalona, 2024

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"The thankful heart opens our eyes to a multitude of blessings that continually surround us." -James E. Faust

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Be blessed and thankful at all times. I am grateful that I finally have time to write this blog post and send it to Poetry Friday's host, Ruth Hersey at There is no such thing as a God-forsaken town. Ruth is in East Africa working with her husband. Besides being interested in birds with a tremendous knowledge of different species, she teaches English. Her Spiritual Journey blog, My world, your world, our world, is interesting since she has been around this world of ours.  

#PoetryPals November Challenge-Happy Thanksgiving

"A poem is a way of capturing a moment in time and making it eternal." -Valerie Worth

Each month, the Poetry Sisters, Tanita, Laura, Mary Lee, Liz. Sara, Tricia, and Kelly, offer a new poetic challenge. This month they are writing in the style of poet, Valerie Worth, whose poems are known for their simplicity and attention to detail. She was inspired by nature and ordinary objects, as exemplified by her poem, Porches. Valerie Worth's poem (see below) is one of her "small, portable pieces of magic" that draws attention to simple items.

You can learn more about Valerie Worth and read some of her poems at Spotlight on NCTE Poets: Valerie Worth, with Lee Bennett Hopkins, a post at Renee M. LaTulippe at No Water River.

Welcome

On my gathering porch,

Ornamental decor sparkles.

A festive wreath clangs

Against the front door.

Garlands wrap around

A single silent chair.

On the patio, flowers

Explode in fashionable colors.

Fragrant herbs spill over

Vases onto clay-filled soil.

My doors open

Welcoming sunkissed gatherings.

©CVarsalona, 2023

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In Thanksgiving

After the fixings

Are prepared and

The table set,

The kitchen hums

With delight.

The turkey sizzles.

Vegetables pop

In sparkling hues.

The soft-lit house readies

To welcomes guests

Into the thankful gathering.

©CVarsalona, 2023

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On this day after Thanksgiving, I send wishes of gratitude for family, friends, and the Poetry Friday community. May our host, Ruth Hersey, be blessed as she opens her doors (here) to bring poetic goodness into the world this Thanksgiving weekend.

A November Conversation

This week, November's weather swung back and forth like a playground swing. Conversations arose: Chill in the air. 36 degrees to 70 degrees." Beyond human talk, there was a huge stir in the sky when my son and I were in the parking lot of Tyson's Corner Mall in Virginia. A mass of blackbirds swarmed the sky above the building. Dipping, diving, screeching they flew up and down. Loud conversations were heard as in the chasing scene in the movie, The Birds by Alfred Hitchcock. Immediately, my son shot the photo. We stood in awe of what we witnessed.

This week I thought about that stunning but eerie scene. When Anastasia Suen posted her #smallpoem challenge with the theme "Conversations", my mind started sparking ideas.

Photo by Derek Varsalona edited in FotoJet

Poem and digital artwork by CVarsalona

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November is the month to reflect on what we have learned over the past months. The holiday season begins and conversations are full of opportunities to listen and pause with hope, gladness, and appreciation. It is time to reset our journey with gratitude. 

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Thank you to Irene Latham, poet extraordinaire for hosting Poetry Friday and filling my thoughts with wonder. Today, she brings the gift of reflecting, pondering, and poetic goodness. 

With Gratitude

The week before Thanksgiving is a time of merriment, remembrance, and special thanks for what we have. There is always a busy hum throughout the house during this time period. Pans clank, cabinets displaying fine china and linens open and close, and groceries are transported from the car to the kitchen. Decorations are set in place. China turkeys filled with artificial flowers adorn the front foyer and buffet and LED candles provide low light. There are no more traces of Halloween and some small fall decorations are stored away. Herbs from the garden have been brought inside and dried for the stuffing. The kitchen becomes a mini-version of Grand Central Station with people coming and going as preparations begin for the upcoming feast. 

As I look around, I see items from my childhood displayed linking the past with the present. The kitchen looks a bit topsy-turvy because three sets of hands are active. The aroma of sweet baked items is present.  A distinctive atmosphere of gratitude flows throughout the house. 

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The busyness of the day before Thanksgiving does not distract me from pensive thinking. I pause to remember those who came before and prepared a feast of enticing and delicious selections. I am grateful for those in the family who continue the traditions. Thanksgiving is a day of thanks that provides time to appreciate one another and the gifts bestowed on our family and friends. 

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WHAT'S LEFT TO DO?

Prepare the stuffing.

Bake another pie. This one will be a new one, chocolate pecan pie with bourbon.

Pack all my offerings for Thanksgiving at my daughter and son-in-law's house.

homemade harvest treat

fresh pumpkin and chocolate

grateful thanksgiving

©CV, 2022

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What's left for you to do before the feast begins?

Since I fell asleep before finishing my Slice of Life for Two Writing Teachers, I send it out now to thank my slicer friends for their weekly writing.

Autumn's Glow

The countryside was awake with the glow of late autumn. Stillness surrounded except for the intermittent chatter of children playing in the gardens. The landscape was regal in its color of golden-brownish hues and fresh air was plentiful. Inhaling the scent of autumn mixed with the hint of chocolate from Hotel Hershey provided a euphoric sense of contentment. 

With autumn in the air, my 2-year-old granddaughter and the family made memories at the sweetest place on the East Coast. Wide-eyed and energized with excitement for each new experience she saw, Sierra strolled Hershey Gardens overlooking the town of Hershey, Pennsylvania. There she found a hall of trees exquisitely decorated for the holidays, a tropical butterfly room filled with brilliantly-colored butterflies and exotic moths, a children's garden, winding paths, and huge trees, one named Sierra Redwoods which delighted her.

Sierra Kathryn standing next to Sierra Redwood

All of this countryside beauty, the warmth of family, and so much more provided the perfect setting for my birthday and Thanksgiving celebration of life. What more could I ask for? Plenty of chocolate surrounded me, a massage therapist at the spa awaited my arrival, and interesting delicacies were plenty. It was a picture-postcard holiday with family. 

Sierra, summed up her feeling with a hilarious statement, "I'm going to party all night!" (...and that she did until the adults were more tired than she.)

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While we visited Hershey when my adult children were young, we never experienced the full Hotel Hershey experience. During this trip, I found Hotel Hershey to be a true historic treasure, rightfully named 2018 "Best Historic Resort" by Historic Hotel of America and Historic Hotels Worldwide. Lovely accommodations, beautiful views, gourmet food, an amazing museum of historic facts, memorabilia, and story, and plentiful activities allowed me to make delightful memories that I will cherish for years to come. Will my granddaughter remember this holiday? Perhaps, not every part but her digital photo album will provide a look back at a wonderful family memory. 

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#TravelTuesday is approaching so I am moving over to Two Writing Teachers for the Slice of Life Tuesday. Join me in celebrating a slice of my life. Then, look for my Abundant Autumn Gallery of Artistic Expressions to arrive on social media. 

Celebrating Learning and Community This Week LVIII

This past week was one to celebrate learning and the joy of community. Each week Ruth Ayres invites individuals to reflect on their week and link up at the Celebrate This Week site. 

Below is a graphic I created after the exceptional four days of learning at the National Council of Teachers of English  2014 Convention in Washington, DC.

As I travel back to Long Island from Washington, DC, I am thankful for:

Gaylord National Resort
and Convention Center

1. A pleasant, safe ride with family to Washington, D.C. for NCTE 2014, despite crazy drivers on the parkways.
2. A momentous NCTE 2014 Convention where engagement was in the air and learning surrounded me
3. Face-to-face meet-ups with Twitter friends from Poetry Friday, Two Writing Teachers, Wonderopolis, NYEDChat, and Nerdy Book Club.
4. Three wonderful family get-togethers for dinner at a Thai, Mexican, and Korean restaurant. It was fabulous combining a professional trip with a family visit. 

Rosa Mexicano Guacamole Prepared at the Table

Since I am overdue with this post, I will leave the part about growing as a learner at NCTE 14 until another day. 

May everyone celebrate a week of Thanksgiving joy with their family and friends.

Don't forget to check out the other posts by the Celebrate this week writers!