Oh Sicily, I miss you . . .

Photo: P. Tonery

Since returning home from Sicily, I have been steeped in creative work and tending our vegetable gardens, which are growing by leaps and bounds.

These are the pendants  I made, using the collected seaglass and lentil size stones I found on the shingle beach in Scopello.

I have been writing a lot of essays and poems, trying to recapture the best of the experience. (Some of the travel is a bit daunting, especially when you're flying with over 500 people.  I think I learned something to make those flights a bit kinder. Seats on the sides of plane or just behind the walls that divide travel classes have a bit more room.  If you are given the opportunity to select seats, then pick these areas. You may have to pay a bit more, but it will be worth it. Trust me, I know the difference in leg room.) Thus far, 3 poems and two essays have been selected for publication. What a thrill that is, especially when it's challenging to make scenes as poignant as being there.
Maybe that is always the challenge. Besides writing about Sicily, I have been working on my 100 word story collection.  Hoping to put together one hundred 100 word stories. I am writing 1-2 stories a day.Everything and anything can trigger a story. The characters, for the most part, are quirky and behaving badly, or are strangely righteous, or  just trying to get by, day by day, and make sense of their lives. These stories are so different from my poetry, and I am having a lot of fun writing these terse ironic scenes. It's deliciously wicked, letting readers "see"  the underside of situations.

Here's a link to a 100 word story that I wrote last summer.  It was accepted in the fall, and has just been published on Lost Balloon https://lost-balloon.com/2018/07/25/cry-baby-by-m-j-iuppa/

The 100 word story form is a bit addictive, too.

Our gardens are doing quite well, especially having the two week late start.  I think we're catching up.
I cannot believe how we have managed to stay ahead of weeds. Seriously, this is a miracle.  It's been so hot here.  No rain for days, weeks to be exact; then, this past week we have had some slow soaking rain.  The plants have jumped in size and fullness, especially squash plants. We had to water, which  works, but rain water is the real elixir. We're going to take pictures today and I will post.

I think I did something smart in the section that holds the squash type plants: zucchini, yellow, acorn, butternut, etc. these are shorter rows, north to south, whereas the other rows are longer, east to west.
Consequently, the squash vines are contained to their area and not running amok across the whole garden, which is quite large.

In other news, several weeks ago, we had a terrible disaster with our chickens and turkeys, which were growing up so nicely. A fierce raccoon came in and killed all but three birds. Ugh.  We lost 20 birds. I was heartsick.

Now we have that situation solved, and have acquired some new birds. To everything, there is a season . . .

  

Imagine beauty. Imagine Sicily

Castellammare d. Golfo, photo, K. Iuppa 2018


I went to Sicily with my sisters and their children and my brother's oldest daughter, and my youngest children. We stayed in Scopello Sicily, which is near this vista of Castellammare d. Golfo. We (my family)stayed in  a cozy villa  perched on a cliff that overlooked the Tirreno Sea. My sisters and their children and my Brother's oldest daughter (all first cousins) stayed in a very glamorous, modern villa, with a pool, that slept 12!  Truthfully, I loved where we were staying and didn't want to leave it. My sister Andrea made this family trip possible.  We celebrated her upcoming "wisdom" birthday.

I kept a travel journal, with small drawings.  I was faithful to entering the day to day experiences, large and small. I wrote some creative work while I was away,; but, since I've returned, I have been writing every day. Poems, essays.  My perspective has changed completely, and I feel utterly calm.  Not sure if that's a jet lag hangover or not, but I think I have come to terms with a lot of life that I can't change.

I swam in the Tirreno Sea with my sisters and nieces and daughter!  The shingled beach was hard to nagivate bare foot, much less with flip flops. I persevered, tho!  Walked the beach collecting small lentil-sized stones of blues, tans, and whites, and sea glass mostly green; some amber. When I came home, I decided to make keepsake lockets with my collection.  So far, I have completed four in rose gold and silver. I think I have enough for one more.  Then, I went to the garden store and bought an assortment of cacti and succulents that resemble or are related to the cacti in Sicily and have created dish gardens with the  larger stones I pick up from the shingle beach.

I miss Sicily.  So does, my husband. As we begin to play catch up with our planting here, we talk about our trip and what it meant to us. We have two countries stamped into our passports. Soon, we will have more.  I love history and culture. I loved being in crowds where I looked like the people.
A salesperson in Castellammare d. Golfo asked me what town I was from. I think Peter and I could settle into that landscape and thrive. There are no street signs, anywhere. Yet, we were able to find our way, even in the dark!  At first, we  turned around a lot; but then, we became quite certain of the right direction.  Even, called lost travelers "tourists," when they  had to turn  their cars around. Too funny. We made our own mental maps, with landmarks.  The roads are actually quite good, but narrow and "blind" turns.  Many corners had  mirrors.  So you had to look left, right, up, around while driving. Thankfully, in Sicily, they drive on the right side of the road. So, that was a shared
driving expectation.

I will be a bit more faithful to this blog, now that  it is summer, or nearly summer.

Poetry prompts, Day 25-30.

Day 25: The World's Forgotten Beauty
Day 26: It Is Not Easy
Day 27:Write a list of distractions, and go from there.
Day 28: You are here, but where would you rather be?
Day 29: Someone left Something on your porch. You didn't see
it at first. Then, you did.
Day 30: Who knows about the Odds?

Hope these prompts triggered some surprises for you!

Happy Spring!
 

Poetry Prompts Day 17-24

Day 17:  You're on your own.
Day 18: Lost and Found poem. Where did I put _____?
Day 19: Begging the Question: Create a poem using "Because" as the first word for each end-stopped line. 
Day 20: The Parting
Day 21: Keep Moving
Day 22: What is Gentle?
Day 23: Earth Day: No One Observed It.
Day 24: Ode to an Insect.

Waiting for Spring. Photo K.Iuppa

 
 

Poetry Prompts: Day14-16

Poetry Prompt: Day 14
Focus on Nothing.

Poetry Prompt Day 15
When____ was still in style.

Poetry Prompt Day 16

Enormous Vowels!
Let this poem sing . . .

Poetry Prompt: Day 13

Poetry Prompt Day 13: Write 5 Haiku, using ideas and images from your day.

photo K. Iuppa. Tomatoes from MJ's garden. Yum.

Poetry Prompts Day 10-12

Poetry Prompt Day 10: Write a Triolet, using an adage. Look up adages and pick your favorite one.
Triolet:
1st line is repeated in the fourth and seventh line;
2nd line is repeated in the final line;
and only the first two end words are used to complete the tight rhyme scheme. Only 5 original lines, giving the triolet an ABaAabAB form. Captial letters indicate repeated lines. (Marna Rossi and Celeste Helene Schantz) I have been having fun with this form. Celeste Helene Schantz presented it in JP's meeting in March 2018. Prior to that workshop, I had written one Triolet. Enjoy.

Poetry Prompt Day 11: Go into a room (messy or neat) write a poem that catalogues what's in the room. This could be a self-portrait or portrait of someone you love.

Poetry Prompt Day 12: Confetti. Freeze frame a celebration. What does it mean to you?