Category Archives: Blather

And I Will Call It Silence

Today I am enjoying the silence. It’s a pretty noisy silence. The freezer compressor is going. The busy street outside remains busy. There’s the occasional bird cry. I expect at some point I’ll hear very loud music. My upstairs neighbors will move and all three of them are heavy walkers, so there will be the dully thudding of footsteps at some point. A truck just gently honked.

But, with the exception of pre-recorded message on the bus announcing it’s route, I’m not hearing voices. Which, despite my extroversion, is delightful.

It’s a funny thing, to be an extrovert who is mostly surrounded by introverts. I’m generally the person to invite people over, I’m expected to be the one who makes sure conversation happens (which isn’t the same as driving the conversation, and I’m expected to know that distinction too).… Continue reading →

Thawing

We’ve had a bit of a warm snap here in Chicago. I’m not sure how long it’s been going on. For me, it started yesterday. It was glorious. And distracting.

It feels like very early spring. The snow, which was rather deep, completely melted off our balcony. There’s enormous puddles all over town. I’m wandering around in a relatively light jacket.

It’s all a lie, of course. Winter will come back soon enough. Two days, I think, before the daily high temperatures drop below freezing again. But there’s no snow predicted for the next ten days, which I deeply appreciate.

Days like yesterday and today, I just have to get outside for a long time. They feel like little gifts. Even if, occasionally, I wish for an ice bridge between the crosswalk and the sidewalk, given I can’t leap the puddle I’m staring at.… Continue reading →

Bramble Rye is Memories. Those Made and Those to be Made.

The Session, a.k.a. Beer Blogging Friday, is an opportunity once a month for beer bloggers from around the world to get together and write from their own unique perspective on a single topic. This was supposed to be up last Friday, but I missed. You can have it today. The host this month, for #84 is Oliver J Grey and he asked for “alternative beer reviews.” This is mine. Even if you don’t love beer, you may enjoy this review.

I have never had a chocolate covered raspberry. I feel they must exist, somewhere. But I’ve never had one. And, frankly, I’m fine with this. I adore chocolate, but raspberries are generally not my thing.

Blackberries, on the other hand, I will eat like the world is ending.… Continue reading →

Strawberry Mermaid and Sea Smoke – Story

When she’d walked up to him & announced she was a mermaid, he’d responded that she looked like neither Darryl Hannah nor Ariel. A furrowed brow and cocked head were her only response. As the silence had stretched, with her mouth twisting into a small frown, he’d found himself compelled to break the silence.

That had been a mistake too, he thought, sipping his effervescent bitters. He should have ignored anyone weird enough to tell a complete stranger her delusions of fishiness, but he had hoped it was simply a unique come-on. And when he was incapable of ignoring, he should have bolted away from anyone who didn’t know some very mainstream mermaid references.

But, no. He’d been entranced from the moment he’d laid eyes on her a half an hour or more before she had approached him.… Continue reading →