Dare to Care – Page 3 – construct, create, communicate, collaborate, and think critically

Slice of Life 28 – The Coaster and Margherita #sol24

27/Mar/202428/Mar/2024 Denise Krebs8 Comments

Today we took the Coaster train to San Diego. When we got to the station, we realized the next train would be coming in a little less than two hours. (Hmmm…why can’t we do better research?) Anyway, while we waited, we got some coffee/tea and I sat and read and commented on some Slices. We then rode the train, got off at the last station, and spent time walking around downtown and near the harbor.

We decided to go to Old Town for lunch, but when we came back to the station, the next train was leaving again in two hours. What? So as we talked to a policeman nearby, he recommended Little Italy and told us how to get to there, which was quite close. We decided on Isola Pizza & Pasta. Keith ordered a gnocchi dinner, and I ordered from the happy hour menu, a salad ($5) and margherita pizza ($7), thinking a $7 pizza would be a slice or a personal pan size. Instead it was the same size as all their pizzas, probably 12-inch. I was thrilled because: PIZZA! And it turned out to be the best margherita pizza I’ve ever had. Keith ate the crust of one piece, otherwise, I ate the whole thing. (It turns out Isola’s might be known for their happy hour margheritas because every other table in the restaurant seemed to be getting the same pizza delivered to them.)

Here are a few photos from our day:

One of the lagoons we rode by on the train

Tilework at the Santa Fe Station in San Diego

U.S.S. Midway, former navy aircraft carrier, is now a museum in San Diego harbor. It seemed weird to see people eating lunch on the deck of a war ship.

One of Hanna’s Murals at Seaport Village

I loved this colorful building on India Street in San Diego.

Keith gave me a red rose again. (I had to leave it on the table at the restaurant, though.)

Yes, please, I WILL eat a whole margherita pizza, thank you very much.

The first three art pieces are at Seaport Village. The fourth is ‘Pacific Soul’ by Jaume Plensa.

A pizza for me

Every chewy and charred bite

screamed delight

Slice of Life 27 – Another Date Redo #sol24

26/Mar/202426/Mar/2024 Denise Krebs9 Comments

Today my hubby and I relived another date, which also took place 47 years ago. This time we went hiking again at Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve. One difference I noticed between now and then were the amount of people multiplied by decades of population growth. (It is spring break for a lot of people this week.) This week I find myself so thankful for state and federal governments that are committed to preserving natural places like this one for public use. The parks in California get so much wear and tear, but they are still peaceful and beautiful.

Haha, I just noticed the DANGER sign in our picture.

The oldest building still standing in Encinitas is this schoolhouse built in 1883.

The best taco stand ever, I think. There seems to always be a line out the door.

You Can’t Always Look the Sun in the Face

I had time tonight to sit and
think about how
only at the sunset
in the last moments of
the day at hand, the
sky opens and I
do something
orange and magical
and that is I look the sun
blue in the face and
get filled with peace
along with wisdom to
so not do such a thing at noon.
Well, of course not.

A golden shovel SFD using a striking line “I think only in the sky do orange and blue get along so well” translated from Spanish in a fabulous post that Ana Valentina Patton wrote last Friday.

Slice of Life 26 – Plants and Food and a Lifelong Love #sol24

25/Mar/202425/Mar/2024 Denise Krebs10 Comments

Forty-seven years ago my husband took me on a date to Quail Gardens. Today, for the first time, we returned. Now it’s called the San Diego Botanic Garden. So often today we were reminded of something from our first time here. Just a few of the dozens of photos I took:

A staghorn fern. Wouldn’t this be fun to have mounted on your wall?

Peaches and Cream Angel Trumpet – Isn’t that the cutest name?

The bird-of-paradise (lower left hand flower) was one of the first plants we saw. I told my husband just this morning I had read a Bird-of-Paradise poem, and he asked me to tell him about it. So I looked it up and read it to him! (Written by our own slicer Joanne Emery.) Speaking of birds, today was the first time I confirmed my email on Merlin and used the app to listen to the birds in the garden. Thanks to Fran and Kim, my bird lover friends and fellow slicers. There were a lot of song sparrows, but the most interesting time was when I record this Red-Shouldered Hawk and Yellow-rumped Warbler who seemed to be carrying on a conversation.

We got new hats–mine with a quail and Keith’s with a roadrunner. Notice this is after I lost one of my earrings. I didn’t realize it until a couple hours later.

After this we ate (a sandwich) and ate (a chocolate oatmeal bar) and ate (ice cream) and ate (a made-to-order donut).

It had Heath bar pieces and caramel on top of a warm cake donut.

Then we went to the beach to walk a couple more miles.

The water was 58 degrees. Here are some surfers getting ready to go in.

Inspired by Barb’s recent pantoum, I gave it a try today.

To Keith

Years later and even more I belong to you
One of our first dates was to Quail Garden
It took seven years for you to break through
For you to convince my heart not to harden

One of our first dates was to Quail Garden
You say I had on white shorts and a red tee
For you to convince my heart not to harden
You had to be patient, and you were with me

You say I had on white shorts and a red tee
Don’t know how you remembered what I wore
You had to be patient, and you were with me
Though it took me time, it is you I adore

Don’t know how you remembered what I wore
There’s magic in the moments you give
Though it took me time, it is you I adore
Red roses and quail on a day to relive

There’s magic in the moments you give
It took seven years for you to break through
Red roses and quail on a day to relive
Years later and even more I belong to you

Slice of Life 25 – Dinner in Leucadia #sol24

24/Mar/2024 Denise Krebs16 Comments

This afternoon we drove to Encinitas for a little getaway. As soon as we got into the hotel room, the rain started pouring. We waited a few minutes for the shower to pass. Then we left to get some dinner.

We ended up at Solterra Winery and Kitchen. It was busy, so we sat at the bar and watched March Madness games. Interesting sidenote, I do not drink. I made a decision early in my young adulthood to not drink. My husband has spent 40+ years with a teetotaling wife, and he enjoys an occasional glass of wine or margarita. I just enjoyed my water tonight with the mushroom flatbread we ordered.

Leucadia, a beach neighborhood, is the “art and soul” of Encinitas. (I read that today. It is a cute little neighborhood.)

As soon as we got back to the hotel room, the rain picked up again for another really heavy shower. We were thankful we managed to get dinner wedged in between those bookends of heavy cold rains.

I wish I would have taken a video of this tree. The bark was so loose; so many bits were swaying in the wind.

A found poem from my first photo

Ever feel like life

is too short to drink cheap wine?

Drink water

Slice of Life 24 – A Prayer on Palm Sunday #sol24

23/Mar/202424/Mar/2024 Denise Krebs13 Comments

St. Joseph of Arimathea Episcopal Church has chosen this prayer as their vision statement:

O God, lover of all souls, we desire you.
Move us to act justly, to love mercy, and
to walk humbly as we carry on Christ’s work
of reconciliation in the world. Amen

Yes, please. I want this. I’m so happy to be a new member at St. Joseph.

Today is
Palm Sunday.
Can all those
who enter here
be more like
Jesus?
Here’s to
leaders
who ride
a young
donkey
rather than
a war horse.
Here’s to
those who
are quietly
strong and
don’t have
to beat their
own drum
and sing
their own
praises.
Here’s to
whispering,
re-creating,
resurrecting
leadership.

Slice of Life 23 – Up on the Roof #sol24

22/Mar/202422/Mar/2024 Denise Krebs14 Comments

I spent a lot of time on the roof today. It was at one of my sister’s places. Her houses are really rustic and stay together with a bottle of glue, a hammer, and a prayer.

A huge part of the roof over the living room was down to the plywood recently. In the background is the mound of flat roofing that had not been put on properly and was blown into a pile in a big storm last week.

First, we had to rebuild the edge by screwing the plywood down to the 2×6 fascia boards. Each of us was on different sides of the same ladder in the photos below. After I took a picture of her, she really said this to me, “I need to take a picture of you now. After they find us dead when we fall off the ladder, they will see that we were taking photos of each other.” That’s why I’m laughing in the photo of me. But, I did TRY TO BE EXTRA CAREFUL after that!

The photos of us are before we had tar all over our hands and on my hat, shirt, pants and the bottom of my shoes. Who knew roofing could be such a messy affair!? We pulled that giant mound of roofing back over the plywood, nailed it down, and put roof pookie over all the edges, seams, and on the nail tops (We also made a huge mess with it!) Then we celebrated by sucking up rainwater from the carpet in the living room. Hopefully, the next rain will not come into the house again thanks to our work up on the roof today.

Poetry Friday – Three Poems from March Open Write

21/Mar/202422/Mar/2024 Denise Krebs15 Comments

Today is Poetry Friday and Rose Cappelli is hosting with lots of bird watching fun and poems.

Today for Poetry Friday, I’m sharing the prompts (click on the dated links) and some of the poems I wrote this week for Ethical ELA’s Open Write.

Saturday, March 16, 2024 with James Coats

I was a quiet anarchist in high school, subverting the authority of those I deemed unworthy. Mr. B. was one of those who received my disdain. He promised a literary magazine of our creative writing that semester. As the semester wrapped up, we realized it was not going to happen. The haikus and sonnets and reviews and short stories were stuffed in a file on his desk. I asked for the writings he had collected. Then I typed them on ditto masters, copied, collated, and stapled them in my business class. I passed them out to my creative writing peers. That may be the only good thing I did to/for Mr. B. Mostly I was indifferent and disrespectful to a man I judged as lazy and unworthy to be in his position. That semester something good he did for me was refer me to my guidance counselor, a visit to see if something was up, if something was bothering me. There was. I wasn’t honest with the counselor, but I began to face my fears as a result of that visit.

Since my experience with Mr. B., I am always extra careful with students who are disrespectful to me. I know it’s not a reflection of who they are, but maybe it’s something they are going through. (And maybe, I have to realize, it may be something about me too.)

Sunday, March 17, 2024 with Katrina Morrison

Mondegreen is a series of words that result from the mishearing or misinterpretation of a statement or song lyric. Here’s a great example poem on Poetry Foundation by Randall Mann. How many of these song lyrics do you recognize?

Mondegreen

Hold me closer Tony Danza
We built this city on sausage rolls
There’s a wino down the road
Give me the Beach Boys and free my soul
The ants are my friends, they’re blowing in the wind
Wrapped up like a douche another lover in the night
I can see clearly now, Lorraine is gone
Saving his life from this warm sausage tea
This is the dawning of the Age of Asparagus
I remove umbilicals
_________________________________
Elton John “Tiny Dancer”
Starship “We Built this City”
Led Zeppelin “Stairway to Heaven”
Uncle Kracker “Drift Away”
Bob Dylan “Blowin’ in the Wind”
Bruce Springsteen “Blinded By the Light”
Johnny Nash “I Can See Clearly Now”
Queen “Bohemian Rhapsody”
Fifth Dimension “Aquarius / Let the Sunshine In”
Hot Chocolate “I Believe in Miracles”

Monday, March 18, 2024 with Wendy Everard – My Double Dactyl

Tuesday, March 19, 2024 with Rex Muston – My Junk Drawer Affirmation

Wednesday, March 20, 2024 with Shelley Martin-Young

Relax
Bad things are going to happen.
You won’t get Wordle in six guesses.
You’ll accidentally put light mayo
On the Reuben sandwiches; they
won’t get crisp on the griddle.
You’ll have to wait three months to take
delivery of your custom-built closet.

And then when you go to write
a poem about the bad things,
you will remember your life right
now is nothing if not relaxing.

So, you’ll spend time thinking
about those who aren’t able to
relax
due
to
war
hunger
poverty
child labor
lack of housing
human trafficking
climate disruption

And you wonder when you will
do more than think about them.

Slice of Life 22 – Rehoming Books Today #sol24

21/Mar/202422/Mar/2024 Denise Krebs7 Comments

Quiero aprender español, así que hoy la pregunté a alguien si ella podría ayúdame buscar alguien quien quiere aprender ingles. Tal vez podamos aprender juntas. La pregunté en ingles porque yo no hablo español. Puedo leer y escribir mejor de lo que hablo.

That’s all I’ve got in Spanish.

I’m not sure my paragraph above doesn’t have 101 grammar errors.

Here’s a little more about my day in English…

I had six boxes of books in my truck from the Friends of the Library. When they get too many mysteries or the books are outdated in someone’s opinion, the Friends don’t want to put them in the bookshop, so they need to be “rehomed.” I was helping my sister, who is the volunteer who handles that job of getting the books to nursing homes, community centers, and other places that can use them. First, I went to two of the Little Free Libraries in our town, but I could add only a half dozen or so to each. Then I went to a thrift shop that donates the money they make to a local nonprofit. They were delighted to receive all six boxes of books for their shop. It was the manager of the thrift shop that I mentioned my desire I wrote about in the first paragraph above. I left my phone number and she gave me the phone number of their volunteer coordinator.

I need to stop talking
about speaking Spanish
and just start doing it.