if it's tuesday ...

i must be babysitting. mind you, his little lordship is not so much a baby anymore. he talks, makes decisions (whether you like them or not) and has the most wonderful tantrums. reminds me so of his daddy at the same age.
when we bump into each other unexpectedly he shouts ... "it's granny!" for all the world to hear and runs to me as fast as his two year old legs will carry him, arms outstretched in welcome and a smile to chase away the ayrshire grey all over his handsome, little boy face.
grandchildren are such a blessing and i have six (number seven, waiting in the wings) of the magical creatures!
each one unique, each one special, each one a beloved child of my beloved children.

what rhymes with scissors?

My hair once short
Is now quite long
It falls and moves
To the wind song
My hair once straight
Now waves and curls
I hate to say it
Like a girls
My hair is falling
In my eyes
It looks quite good
To my surprise
I think perhaps
It’s time to see
The woman who
Cuts hair for me
She’ll take one look
And purse her mouth
And say ‘hey girl’
Your hair’s moved south
It’s grown so long
You’ll have to pay
My work’s cut out
For me today
And then she’ll grab
Her scissors tight
And snip and cut
Until it’s right
My hair once more
Will stay in place
With no more curls
Around my face
No more wispy
No more long
No more dancing
To wind’s song
Short and straight
And all in place
Of the girly
No more trace

Copyright © 2012 by Eryll Oellermann

weather overwhelmed

wtf?
there is a daffodil flowering in the garden!
daffodils are the harbinger of spring, last i heard, spring finds her way to scotland in april/may.
january and february ... well, the weather is still nasty. not really the time for lady daff to be weaving and bobbing her graceful bloom in the great scottish open air.

has mother nature changed her mind? has she taken pity on us poor weather overwhelmed scots and sent us an early spring to make up for the completely AWOL summer she indulged us with in 2011?

whatever! i won't complain if spring arrives a couple of months before due date.

Pesti si aschii

which, in case you are wondering, means ... fish and chips.
in romanian of course!

this evening the animal doctor brought her romanian friend over for a fish supper at my place. her very attractive and charming romanian friend, i might add.
we had a perfectly delightful time despite the fact that none of us speak the same language.

hah! you were under the impression that the scots speak english?
no, no, no!

last weekend in a moment of new year weakness i agreed to play scrabble with the animal doctor. silly me!



there we are, playing scrabble in english, or so i thought.
the good doctor slaps down the word 'lum', well ... i'm sorry! i am a really well brought up and polite south african, but, the hell i am about to let her get away with that!

i arch a questioning eyebrow, me, i always try for subtle to begin with.
clear grey eyes meet mine, innocence personified... oy.
me, soft and gentle ... "lum is not a word."
animal doctor ... "of course it is!"
i reach for the oxford english dictionary.
the ultimate insult!

feck me! lum is indeed a word ...

lum [lʌm]
n
(Fine Arts & Visual Arts / Architecture) Scot a chimney
[of obscure origin]




huh!!

the next day whilst enjoying a delicious, day after new year meal with the middle child and family, i think to shock him with the animal doctor's infamous treatment of the scrabble board.
says i ... "lum, who ever heard of lum?"

well of course mom ... "lum, as in" ...
"Lang may yer lum reek!"

for those of you who have never ventured north of hadrian's wall.
that would translate to ... "A salutation wishing long life and prosperity. Literally, long may your chimney smoke."

middle child is smart, much like his father, a right know it all. in fact all my children are way too smart, much like their father!
they know the words to every song they ever listened to, they can act out entire film scripts - their all time favourite being ... "thoroughly modern millie." they appear to have the ability to remember every damn thing they read or hear.
i won't even bother to ask the other two if they ever heard the word lum - of course they will have!

hmmm ... wonder if they (my beloved offspring) know how to say fish and chips in romanian ;-)

hello 2012!

day three of the new year.

time to remember that a writer is meant to write and a poet is born to spout verse and rhyme.

2011 was interesting and somewhat iffy! i made some mistakes, i learned some lessons. i loved and was loved. i disappointed some and pleased others. there were good days and bad, happy and sad days. aspirations and regrets.

i lost old friends and made new friends. i realized that sometimes there is wisdom in giving up. i came to understand that some of the past we will carry with us always. some memories shine within us bringing light and peace to our lives. other memories, we carry to remind us that we are human, frail and imperfect, these memories may not bring us joy but they are with us to remind us of mistakes we made and pain we caused others.
let me never forget the life lessons i have been offered.

in this new year ... 2012
may i learn to be a little kinder, a little stronger, more patient and understanding, slower to anger, less full of ego and self righteousness!

i hope that i will love whole heartedly and laugh loud and long with the sheer joy of life.

we exist in a series of moments, may i use my moments wisely.