Reviews from

Things I Think about

Viewing comments for Chapter 7 "Squigglies and Green Pollen"
thoughts that consume, worry, intrigue, and tickle

9 total reviews 
Comment from robyn corum
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Katharine,

hahahahahaha Well, it could have been TWO parties gone green and sneezy, so we must be happy for small favors, right? Since I'm so late reading this, I'm sure you can tell us how the HOA event went now. Hope it may have also surprised you. haha

Thanks! This was a lot of fun. The scansion and meter were rather delightful as the rollicked and rolled down the page. I enjoyed!

 Comment Written 14-Apr-2021


reply by the author on 14-Apr-2021
    Thanks, Robyn! After a frantic (and i have to say, forceful) call to my pool service lady, she sent two guys out the morning of my HOA meeting and I mean they shocked the hell out of that pool. So... after I wiped green pollen off chairs, tables, etc. and provided wine and cheesies, meeting went just fine. Mucho thanks for asking.
Comment from Begin Again
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This sounds exactly like my house and also my creaking bones - What a clever and enjoyable poem to read and it definitely made me smile. Thanks for sharing - Smiles to you - Carol

 Comment Written 09-Apr-2021


reply by the author on 09-Apr-2021
    well, hello!
    And thanks for reading! My creaky bones are vying with my closing eyelids. Any minute my head will hit the keys - BUT I've got to write today's poem for the NaPo Wri Mo (may have that mixed up :) so got to keep at it a bit longer.
reply by Begin Again on 09-Apr-2021
    Just so you know - I'm not a poet (know nothing about the technicalities) but I know when I read something that makes me feel good. Now, hurry before you fall asleep...Smiles - Carol
reply by the author on 09-Apr-2021
    now youre makeing me laugh - woke me up!
reply by Begin Again on 09-Apr-2021
    See - I am good for something... Old lady or not, I love to laugh as much as I love to write. Now - Goodnight! Smiles - Carol
reply by the author on 09-Apr-2021
    night :)
reply by the author on 09-Apr-2021
    almost
Comment from judiverse
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You can't win. Steps can be tricky for the elderly if there's no railing. Sounds like you did a lot of planning for Easter, How great the squigglies held off their appearance until after Easter. I can tell you were expecting the worst. But there's still the HOA meeting to contend with. We always tend to expect the worst. Very enjoyable tone, and rhythm is great except off in some of the lines. judi

 Comment Written 08-Apr-2021


reply by the author on 09-Apr-2021
    Thanks, Judi. I think I'm a little off, myself. going to bed before my head hits the keyboard. thanks mucho, for reading!
reply by judiverse on 09-Apr-2021
    You're very welcome. I've been known to fall asleep at the keyboard. judi
Comment from Debra White
Exceptional
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Hello Katharine :)
What a great poem! Your sense of humour is really 'up my street!'
You have a great story telling tone and some of the words you use are just gorgeous - 'squigglies' and 'bubblers' being among my favourites :) Your descriptions are rich and funny and I love the part about the seats around the fire-pit being reserved for those with their knees still intact!
Thank you for the smiles :) :) :)
Best wishes, Debra

 Comment Written 08-Apr-2021


reply by the author on 09-Apr-2021
    and thank you for the praise!!! and the 6!!! I keep a list in Word of especially great reviews and yours just went in it. Very special.
    Many thanks! About to fall asleep.
    Going to hit the sack. Bye
Comment from Raffaelina Lowcock
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You lucked out on Easter Sunday. However, you still got your squiggles later. We have Maple trees that spout hundreds of green seeds 1 1/2 inches long. That was a lovely poem you rendered about the situation.

Ralf

 Comment Written 08-Apr-2021


reply by the author on 09-Apr-2021
    You mean they rain green seeds? Lots of little maple trees-to-be coming up all over everywhere?
reply by Raffaelina Lowcock on 09-Apr-2021
    Yes, they multiply, but most of the seeds land on the sidewalks and the grass. Where there is churned earth is where the grow.
Comment from Carol Hillebrenner
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A very fun story about springtime in Texas and Georgia where it's yellow. My husband came back from helping our daughter make her house livable after a tornado put a tree through it and he hated pollen. Thank heavens Illinois isn't that fertile.

 Comment Written 08-Apr-2021


reply by the author on 08-Apr-2021
    Heavens. How do you make a house livable after a tree fell on it? Bless her heart!
    Yep - pollen is awful. My eyes burn, hair and clothes get covered, ugh. Hopefully it will be over soon. Sometimes afterwards it's caterpillars - same oak! It just keeps on giving. :)
    Thanks for reading. Bet your husband was glad to get home.
    Katharine
reply by Carol Hillebrenner on 08-Apr-2021
    She had water in one surviving bathroom and in the kitchen and electricity only to the part if house that survived. He's handy to have around. Real caterpillars or long fuzzy things that stain everything black like we get from our Chinese elms.
reply by the author on 08-Apr-2021
    Oh!!! the caterpillars would do me in! I used to take a boa constrictor around to schools when I was a docent at the zoo, and he would wrap around my waist, but caterpillars and rats? I come unglued.
    How wonderful that your husband can do all that stuff!
Comment from Lighthouse Keeper
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What a great, simple story of a normal, everyday experience. That was wonderfully refreshing and simple in tone and format, yet the rhyme and rhythm flowed well with very minor hiccups. Great descriptions and story structure throughout. Nicely done. Thanks for sharing what sounded like a marvelous Easter day.

 Comment Written 08-Apr-2021


reply by the author on 08-Apr-2021
    thank you, sir! It was a lovely Easter.
    May I ask the significance of your pen name? Are you a...? :)
    Thank you for your very nice comments. They are much appreciated.
    This one was a break from my political rants. I needed a break and I think my FS friends who stuck with me, did, too. Writing about simple things was my usual fare before this administration. It is calming.
    Thank you again!
    Katharine - pome lover
reply by Lighthouse Keeper on 08-Apr-2021
    We all need something keep calm in crazy times.

    Not a lighthouse keeper. I have a book of stories in verse about an old man who tells stories to children in an old lighthouse. All my stories are in verse so when I signed up here in Fanstory it felt appropriate to take on that mantel.
reply by the author on 08-Apr-2021
    makes sense. I love writing in verse, too, as you can see. It's a challenge everyday, though. plus critiquing.
    Good luck to you and happy writing.
    Katharine
Comment from lyenochka
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I like your fun word "squigglies" for the oak tree catkins. They are certainly prolific at times. Here it's the alder trees making ensuring future generations of trees. Hope the masks help with the allergies!

 Comment Written 08-Apr-2021


reply by the author on 08-Apr-2021
    that's actually what we call them - at least the people I know, do.
    Will be so glad when they've done their thing and departed! Affects my eyes the worst.
reply by lyenochka on 08-Apr-2021
    Have you tried eye drops like Zaditor or Alaway? these have a mild antihistamine that takes the itching away and doesn't make you drowsy. It's over the counter.
reply by the author on 08-Apr-2021
    wrote them down. thanks. am not familiar with those. I've got Systane, and Walgreens' eye lubricant, which i think i'll go get a squirt.
    Thanks for the suggestions and your kind concern!
reply by lyenochka on 08-Apr-2021
    You're welcome! The drops immediately help my husband. I have more dry eyes so I'll get some systane in my eyes now. 💖
Comment from Susan Louise Gabriel
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ha ha ha! You were really blessed on Easter this year! Those things sound awful - I think you picked the right word for what to call them. lolw

We have pecan trees, but they are far from this house, which I'm glad for whenever the crows decide to hold a dinner party in them. The noise is unbearable!

Thank you for sharing!
Susan

 Comment Written 08-Apr-2021


reply by the author on 08-Apr-2021
    I bet. And I wouldn't want to be standing under them, either!
    Thanks for reading, Susan!