sojourn

where have all the letter writers gone?

our personal communication has been abbreviated to

snapchat, memes, & filters.

this proves that i have always been:

a) a list-maker

b) a lousy nightowl

c) ocasionaly poor at spelling

d) able to find many reasons not to do something.

my typical pattern.

it's horrible,

but

i'll survive.

&, usually,

after all that,

i never want to leave.

you'd think i'd be over it

by now.

& perhaps i am,

finally,

in my middle age.

i did a lot of

arriving & leaving

in my childhood.

we lived in St. Andrews for three years

(1975-1978)

this class photo is from Primary 4

(third grade)

i believe you'll be able to figure out

which one is me.

~ ~ ~

my best friend was Caroline.

she is on the row behind me,

with a red bow in her hair.

& i still recall

which boys

i thought were

cute.

Primary 2 (second grade) Guess which one is the American Import?

a family member requested a copy

of some original family documents,

so my mother has been sorting through things.

i had never seen this photograph before,

of my paternal grandmother's parents.

William Evans Hannum & Charlotte Davis Hannum,

likely around 1909 in Massachusetts.

he was an electrical engineer; she was a nurse.

i see my eyes in her face.

i'd wanted to see the You Are Here

exhibit at the NCMA...

interesting to see it

after going to the Renwick's Burning Man exhibit

when we were in DC.

i do so like some *SPARKLE*

this is a rather disjointed post,

but it is the events that filled the sojourn.

which mainly was filled with

lazy hours in my parents' house.

this is NOT their house,

but it is one in the neighborhood.

when i was growing up,

it was the Cat Lady's House

(rarely a positive descriptor).

i waited for my school bus here

in 7th or 8th grade,

standing on the cat-stinky porch

when it rained

(compounding the odor).

before & after,

i am allergic to cats.

it was fixed up nicely

since them,

but it has been sold.

& unbelievably,

the new owners

ARE TEARING IT DOWN

to build a new house.

looks like it's being scavenged

by architectural salvage

at least.

there's actually quite an uptick

in construction projects

in my parents' neighborhood.

there are very few open lots

in Cameron Park,

and only one in the area

where my parents' live.

it was just sold.

& i'm eager to see

what they'll build.

walking towards vacant lot

looking at vacant lot

walking back to 1810

childhood home*sweet*childhood home

my parents have a fox family
in their backyard!
there are four pups,
& the den is under a low, wooden deck.
on the deck is a swing....

fox on a swing

foxes waiting for dropped birdseed

&

a few fleurs from a walk

in the neighborhood

sweet pea

black-eyed susan

naked lady (belladonna lily)

spiderwort (purple heart)

then it was

time to go home