March | 2025 | Reflections on the Teche

Archive for March, 2025

Slice of Life Day 10: Crochet Sweater

Posted in being mamére, Slice of Life, Writing, tagged #beingmamére, Stella, toddler crochet sweater on March 10, 2025| 10 Comments »

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.

I’ve crocheted for years, so this year I decided to try to make a garment. I’ve made baby blankets, shawls, and hats, but when I saw a pattern for a baby sweater using two hexagons, I thought this will be easy enough.

We were taking a driving trip with our family to Oklahoma right after Christmas, and I wanted a project to do on the drive and while relaxing at the house. I picked out three colors from my inherited boxes of yarn from my friend Marion who died in 2020. My daughter Maggie, the mother of Stella, said of the three colors, “Stella will wear that.”

I crocheted and crocheted until I realized that it was way too big. The first hexagon would almost fit me! I had not accounted for the gauge of the yarn. I was just following the pattern.

Rather than lose the project all together, I decided to rip out the extra rows to make it fit. Then I spent a while making the other side.

Finally it was ready to block.

Two hexagon crocheted sweater blocked on the ironing board ready for steaming.

I brought it to Stella one afternoon when we were visiting. Stella has her own unique sense of fashion. Her preference is to wear leggings in one pattern and a top in another pattern. Sometimes she wears a dress as a skirt or a costume. Her favorites are skeleton, ninja mask, and Elsa nightgown.

Stella ready to go the art show (pj top, dress as skirt, and Elsa wig)

When Stella first saw the sweater, she said, “Nobody anywhere ever has worn a short sleeved sweater.”

My daughter Maggie explained to her that I had made it specially for her. She eventually came around and posed for a picture in her new sweater. Her dad sent me this picture.

Stella fashion: Hexagon sweater over Christmas pj top and Mardi Gras pants

Currently I am looking at a pattern for a summer sundress. Do I dare?

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Slice of Life Day 9: Morning on the Bayou

Posted in being mamére, Gratitude, nature, Slice of Life, Writing, tagged Bayou Teche, being mamére, canoeing on March 9, 2025| 9 Comments »

“Do you know if there are lily pads, it means the water isn’t deep?” Leo, the 6 year old expert asked his sister Stella.

“Well, I can paddle through these lily pads,” Stella replied as she put her short metal paddle into the water.

Thirty minutes earlier, Stella, age 4, was unsure about getting into a canoe, but she quickly became a brave expert.

Stella stops to smile for the camera while Leo looks out for wildlife. The man in the stern is Papère.

“Look, Stella! I’m making a tunnel with my paddle!” Leo discovered how water passing over a paddle makes a wave.

“I see two, no four birds!” exclaimed Stella.

Papère asked, “Do you see those bubbles? That means there’s something under there.”

“Maybe it’s an alligator?” Leo responded with no fear in his voice.

As we paddled, we came across a real alligator. Here’s a video of our encounter.

Alligator encounter in the bayou. Estimated size 6 ft.

Our canoeing morning was just the right end to a weekend with our grandchildren.

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Slice of Life Day 8: Albert Antics

Posted in Writing on March 8, 2025| 13 Comments »

First off, before you start reading, you need a lesson in pronunciation. When we adopted a golden doodle puppy in June, I posted on Facebook that we were looking for a name for him. My friend Mary suggested Albert because she thought Jeff would like “You can call me Al.” I thought it was funny, too. Since the puppy was all black with poofy poodle fur, we decided to accent the -bert part like French, so he is not Albert, but Al-Bear!

During he car ride home from the breeder, our new puppy was calm and sweet. He was shy and couldn’t get far enough under my arms. He never cried, but he was what we thought was going to be a calm, shy dog. At his first check-up, the vet warned that he might need some extra socialization to help him come out of his shell. That proved to be an unnecessary warning. Albert is friendly to everyone!

Albert was unsure of the rare snow we had in January.

We have outside cats, one of which is 16 years old (Buzz). Buzz was wary at first, but now he lets Albert attack him. We know Buzz could get away if he wanted to, but he seems to like it. He waits for Albert out on the deck by the side door to the “dog yard.”

I had conveniently forgotten about the puppy stage. I forgot about the training part. Albert turned a year on Feb. 22nd and is now fully house trained but after multiple starts and stops.

The best parts of having a golden doodle puppy are:

Albert loves everybody. And everybody thinks he’s adorable, so he introduces me to neighbors I wouldn’t normally stop to talk to. On walks, he will stop in front of Claire’s house. Claire is an older yellow lab who tolerates Albert’s antics like an older sister would.
Albert loves children. Good thing because we have 4 grandchildren. The problem here is he jumps on them and they are about his size, so they get aggravated. Sometimes he has to take a break in the laundry room.
Albert loves his toys. He can entertain himself with his many toys, a ball which he is learning to fetch, a lamby, a Sasquatch ball we got in Oklahoma, and many more. The kitchen floor is littered with them, but since we put down a flannel sheet, he is very good about piling his toys all on his blanket. One of the funniest games he plays is hiding the toy and finding it. I love this because it’s independent play. It’s always nice when toddlers learn to play independently.
Walks are the best. Albert is leash trained, and he will prance next to me with royal airs. He loves to pick up trash on the road, so he helps reduce litter. Of course sometimes it’s yucky stuff I have to remove from his mouth, but often it’s a stick or pine cone or pile of moss. Trotting with his prizes, he looks like a prancing show horse.
Albert is small, miniature. He fits nicely on my lap on a chilly morning. And as long as he is not licking my face, or snapping at my writing fingers, he is welcome to curl up in my lap.

We think we’ll keep him. Every day we discuss his progress and decide we’ll give him more chances. Every day gets better. One day he will be an old dog, and I will completely forget the puppy stage.

Albert with a camellia branch he picked up outside. He wanted to bring flowers to Papére.

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Slice of Life Day 7: Poetry Friday is Here: Hermit Crab Poem

Posted in Poetry Friday, Progressive poem, Writing, tagged 2025 Kidlit Progressive Poem, Aurora Forecast poem, hermit crab poem, Poetry Friday on March 6, 2025| 34 Comments »

I am hosting Poetry Friday. Please leave your links at the end of the post.

This month’s Inkling challenge came from Molly Hogan. “Write a hermit crab poem–a poem that takes the structure of an existing text like a recipe, job application, multiple choice quiz, script, or whatever! Here’s some more info https://jmwwblog.wordpress.com/2022/10/18/its-an-experiment-hybrid-how-tos-with-arden-hunter-hermit-crabs-part-1-of-2/“

I put this one off, I admit. I knew I had a week of break to prepare, but still I created this last minute. I went back to the poems I wrote for Laura Shovan’s February project using the theme of Space. I had a different poem in mind when I found one I had written about the Aurora Borealis. I had just talked with a friend whose daughter had seen the Northern Lights on a trip to Norway. He shared fabulous photos from his phone. Definitely a bucket list item for me.

I realized I could transform my poem into a weather forecast. The creation part took some time using Canva and playing with placement of lines. I tried to adapt some of the words actually used in a forecast. Forget time; I was in Flow. The image is a bit busy for my taste, but I had to get this post done for the early Poetry Friday posters.

To see how other Inklings did this challenge: Linda, Molly, Mary Lee, Catherine, and Heidi.

If you are interested in participating in the Kidlit Progressive Poem, click the link and leave a comment or email me your name, date chosen, blog name, and URL. Thanks!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!Click here to enter

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Kidlit Progressive Poem 2025 Sign Up

Posted in Progressive poem, Writing, tagged 2025 Kidlit Progressive Poem on March 6, 2025| 55 Comments »

Please sign up to add a line to the Kidlit Progressive Poem coming April, 2025. On your chosen day, you will copy and paste the previous lines of the poem to a blog post and add your own line. When you sign up, create a hyperlink to your home page. For example, Margaret at Reflections on the Teche. Thanks!

April 1 Linda Mitchell at A Word Edgewise
April 2 Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect
April 3 Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge
April 4 Donna Smith at Mainely Write
April 5 Denise at https://mrsdkrebs.edublogs.org/
April 6 Buffy at http://www.buffysilverman.com/blog
April 7 Jone at https://www.jonerushmacculloch.com/
April 8 Janice Scully at Salt City Verse
April 9 Tabatha at https://tabathayeatts.blogspot.com/
April 10 Marcie at Marcie Flinchum Atkins
April 11 Rose at Imagine the Possibilities | Rose’s Blog
April 12 Fran Haley at Lit Bits and Pieces
April 13 Cathy Stenquist
April 14 Janet Fagel at Mainly Write
April 15 Carol Varsalona at Beyond LiteracyLink
April 16 Amy Ludwig VanDerwater at The Poem Farm
April 17 Kim Johnson at Common Threads
April 18 Margaret at Reflections on the Teche
April 19 Ramona at Pleasures from the Page
April 20 Mary Lee at A(nother) Year of Reading
April 21 Tanita at {fiction instead of lies}
April 22 Patricia Franz
April 23 Ruth at There’s No Such Thing as a Godforsaken Town
April 24 Linda Kulp Trout at http://lindakulptrout.blogspot.com
April 25 Heidi Mordhorst at My Juicy Little Universe
April 26 Michelle Kogan at: https://moreart4all.wordpress.com/
April 27 Linda Baie at Teacher Dance
April 28 Pamela Ross at Words in Flight
April 29 Diane Davis at Starting Again in Poetry
April 30 April Halprin Wayland at Teaching Authors

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Slice of Life Day 6: Spiritual Journey to Wholeness

Posted in Slice of Life, Spiritual Growth, Writing, tagged spiritual journey, wholeness on March 6, 2025| 8 Comments »

Denise Krebs is hosting first Thursday Spiritual Journey posts at Dare to Care

Each month a group of bloggers, who met through the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Challenge, gather to write posts about our spiritual journeys. This month Denise asked us to write on the topic of wholeness.

I think I may find wholeness by looking outward
to someone else to make me complete,
to their words of affirmation.

Wholeness is a river where my path moves in and out.
I find balance one day,
then a wind knocks me over the next.

I can watch the seedling grow,
but cannot see the growth in myself.

Whole means all of me–
Here now, in the present moment
where I am welcomed, accepted, and loved.

Broken, cracked, grieving, or angry.
All of me
Whole.

Resurrection fern on an old oak tree revived by rain.

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Slice of Life Day 5: This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Sky

Posted in nature, Photography, Poetry, Slice of Life, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged #sky, cherita on March 5, 2025| 41 Comments »

Welcome to my weekly photo prompt. A few years ago, Laura Purdie Salas held a weekly prompt called 15 Words or Less. When she decided to stop posting, I took the idea and made it my own. If this is your first time here, the idea is to write a quick, small poem draft in the comments and leave encouraging comments for other writers. I also post this prompt for my students each week on Fanschool. This week we have a break, so they may or may not join in.

I love to look up at the sky. On any given day, the sky can change my mood. On the day I took this picture, the clouds were wispy cirrus clouds that mean high air pressure and cooler temperatures. They are a happy contrast to storm clouds or the grey stratus of a winter day. Even as an adult I enjoy looking for images in the clouds. I took this photo while out on carline duty, so only now do I have the time to see the shapes. Do you do this? Can you find an image in the clouds? What do you imagine?

Did you know there are many names for colors of the sky?

Try to use one of the color words in your poem. Today I am writing a cherita. It’s a short form of three stanzas. The first line is one line, the second: two, the third: three. Similar to haiku, a cherita captures a small moment or story.

Carline Duty

Look into the Carolina blue sky.

Find the great white heron
with whispering white feathers.

Be curious about the secrets
of sky gods
who oversee the safety of children.
Margaret Simon, draft

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Slice of Life Day 4: Courir de Mardi Gras

Posted in being mamére, Slice of Life, Writing, tagged Breaux Bridge, Courir de Mardi Gras, Louisiana, Teche Center for the Arts on March 4, 2025| 11 Comments »

Happy Mardi Gras, y’all! Today is Fat Tuesday, celebrated with parades and food and fun, the last day before Lent arrives, and we enter a season of penance and fasting. I decided to skip the New Orleans festivities this year and enjoy a quiet Mardi Gras; however, yesterday, my daughter invited me to go with her and her two children, Leo and Stella, to an event in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana.

A few years ago I attended the “Courir de Mardi Gras” with my family in Eunice, Louisiana. I had some trouble with the drunken parade and abuse of chickens. This event in Breaux Bridge changed my view somewhat. It was specifically for the children, so the adults were drinking coffee and water and handing out snacks to their children. There was a chicken involved, but we were assured that the chicken was tame and would not be injured.

Traditional Courir de Mardi Gras mask made from home crafted materials.

The costumes were fabulous and fun!

The history of the courir, which in Cajun French means run, dates back to before Louisiana became a part of the U.S., from a time when the Acadians came to Louisiana without much of anything but a promise of land. The small communities would celebrate Mardi Gras by having a chicken run. The idea was to go house to house to get all the ingredients for the gumbo. The gumbo would be shared by the community.

The Teche Center for the Arts recreated the courir specifically for children. El Capitaine, the leader, assigned the children to groups. It was a wild chase, for sure, but it was quick and usually ended with at least one child crying about being knocked in the head or not catching the chicken or, in Stella’s case, losing a shoe. We paraded house to house and shared in the tradition. This was more my style, watching the children, carrying their catches, and taking lots of photos and video.

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Slice of Life Day 3: Crawfish Time

Posted in Bayou Song, Slice of Life, Writing, tagged Bayou Song, crawfish boil, Louisiana Life, poetry prompt on March 3, 2025| 13 Comments »

Have you ever eaten crawfish? They are seasonal crustaceans here in South Louisiana. We measure the goodness of spring by the crawfish season. I think we’re expecting a good season this year because of all the rain. And it looks, by the catch above, that the hard freeze in January didn’t get deep down into the mud of the crawfish ponds.

On Saturday we attended our first crawfish boil. Our friend Patti has a home in Arnaudville with two ponds that produce crawfish. She told us the catch for this boil was from her neighbor’s pond. Notice all the (healthy) vegetables cooked along with the crawfish, potatoes, corn, Brussel sprout, and garlic. We spent the afternoon drinking beer, eating mud bugs and king cake, and watching all the dogs (and young boys) play in the pond.

For my poetry book for children, Bayou Song, I wrote a poem about the geometry (eating) of crawfish. The book also includes poem and drawing prompts for kids. You can do them, too.

The Geometry of Crawfish

Grab a long line antenna
Avoid looking into round peppercorn peepers
Hold the cylinder cavity containing fat
Watch out for triangular tweezer pincers
Detach the arced accordion tail
Remove curvy meaty muscle
Dip in a puddle-circle of spicy ketchup
Eat
Margaret Simon, Bayou Song: Creative Explorations of the South Louisiana Landscape

Bayou Song Illustrations by Amelia Cantrell

Write it: Make a list of geometry words, words about shapes. Choose an animal to describe using shapes. What shape is a snake? a bird’s beak? What about a cat’s nose?

If you would like to see some of my students’ slices, go to Fanschool: GT Allstars.

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Slice of Life 2: Walking Meditation

Posted in Slice of Life, Writing, tagged 90 Ways of Community, Denise Krebs, free verse poem, Kim Johnson, meditation, mindfulness, morning walk, poem, poetry, writing on March 2, 2025| 13 Comments »

Kim Johnson, fellow slicer, has made a plan for her daily musings. I’m not one to make a plan. I like to be more open to what the universe is giving me to write about; however, I read Denise Krebs’ post yesterday. She sliced about the early morning. She reminded me of my daily walk.

I usually start out around 6:15, buckle up puppy Albert (who is now a year old and much better about the leash). On this particular morning, I went to my Insight Timer app for a walking meditation. I selected the first one in the queue. A soothing female voice guided me to be present in my body, to feel the breeze, to listen to the sounds around me, and to let my thoughts float in and out without giving them much notice.

Ah, yes. A walking meditation is the just right way to start my day. Sometimes my walk inspires a poem.

Notes from a Walk

I want to pick up a pile of oak leaves
the pile of leaves blown from the curb,
rejected into the street.

I want to hold
a gathering of leaves in my hands,
carry them home, make mulch.
Mulch that will feed the soil.

I want to pick up all the gumballs
those countless gumballs that fall
from the sweetgum tree. We could
create art together.

I could give you
supplies:
leaves and gumballs,
a cardboard tube.
You can make it yourself.
You can make a masterpiece.

We can be a masterpiece, you and me.
Margaret Simon, from 90 Ways of Community: Nurturing Safe & Inclusive Classrooms Writing One Poem at a Time (available for free download here.)

Photo by Vladimir Srajber on Pexels.com