"A January Fog will Freeze a Hog"December 30, 2022

A mild and mister mid-winter morning brought that old Appalachian saying to mind today. At first I couldn't tell if my windows were dirty from the midwinter snow and rain and wind or if it were really foggy outside but a trip to the back door with my Husky/Lab Uma quickly revealed that we had a January fog. I love FOG, the mystery of it, the soft focus like looking at the world through a veil or a sheer curtain, the softness of it. Although I love a fog, it didn't inspire me as yet to walk my dog. I had chores to do - but - I didn't get them all done because I got DIVERTED!

The topic of this post is the POETRY OF DIVERSION. Despite the fact that I have forged a compromise with my poetic and artistic soaul to avoid allowing too much diversion into my day, nonetheless, I do believe that diversion and the drift of the dreaming mind is the well spring of much of my creative work - whether painting, poetry, or writing of any kind. One of the things I lament in the modern of life of children is that they are so scheduled that they rarely have th eluxury that I enjoyed as a child which was long afternoons, regularly of unscheduled dreaming time to read or draw or simply study the ants on the sidewalk. And I did study the ants on the sidewalk and the crystal pebbles in the alleyway at the end of our street in Philadelphia, and the similarly unscheduled, unleashed and roaming neighborhood pets who dropped by to visit with me.

So, today, in the midst of one chore, I got diverted. I had been searching the attic for more blankets to take to the man who helps the homeless and I ran across some photoalbus that DO NOT belong in the attic. I know how they got up there, though. Periodically if I am having company, generally it is my daughter, I round up my clutter in the living room into a storage tub which I then put into the attic. The albums were recent ones filled with photos for projected projects: photos of local train stations, local theaters which are now gone, mixed with current photos of family get-togehers, my brother's Joe's birthday. And I found an old old art piece. That was very DIVERTING! It was a rough handmade canvas bag onto the front of which I had sewn some plastic covered items: a postcard with two photos from the black and white photo strips you could get in machines at the seashore, of Lavinia, aged one or two on my lap, and on her father's lap. Above the photos of us were a postcard from the seashore bought that same day, and shells collected from the beach that day. This 'pocketbook' art piece was in the mid period of my pocket book art series.

The first pocketbook art works I did were when Lavinia was born. I bought a bunch of items at a 2nd hand store for their fabrics, silken lingerie, a faux fur collared top, something in velvet, curduroy, satin, and each of these items I cut into a square. In the middle of each square, I sewed a fabric pocket and into each pocket, I put a fun object for discovery, a shell, a plastic animal toy, an interesting button, and so on. I sewed all the squares together into a kind of book and I sewed a long strap to the spine to make it a carry item. I called it "Pocket book" and it was for Lavinia to play with, to enjoy the wonderful variety of fabrics and to find the wonder pieces in the pockets. She loved it. Somewhere in some trunk in the shed or the attic it sits now along with two Vietnamese pajama outfits from my brother sent to my sisters, some Turkish slippers I sent to my sisters while I was traveling, and some little dirndle dresses I made for them when I lived in Germany.

Anyhow, that pocketbook was in the 1980's as was the seahore memorabilia one. The most recent one was the one I entered into the BRAVE 100 Show at Eiland Arts in 2019 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Passage of Women's Suffrage.

So I got diverted by these albums and the canvas pocket book and it took me time traveling like Billy Pilgrim in SLAUGHTER HOUSE FIVE, one of my lifelong favorite novels by Kurt Vonnegut. He so captures how time travel can be so real it steals you right away from the present.

Against my better judgement, I sent a photo of the seashore pocket book piece to my daughter but it wasn't a good idea because I think she finds these kinds of interludes intrusive and interfering with her present life and mood. I have learned that I should save these forays for my Journals and friends and for this blog, after all, each of us have our own 'state of mind' and it is, in fact, kind of intrusive for someone to impose theirs on yours. I am kind of sorry now that I sent that photo and text message to her.

Anyhow, that dreamy state of diversion, for me, is the fertile field from which comes the emotion that drives the inspiration to make or paint something. It seems that it was the perfect diversion for a January foggy day too. Hope you have plenty of open space in your life for a day of dreamy diversion!

I will be back for the New Year, this is just my entry for New Year's Ever. My next one will be on RESOLUTIONS!

Happy Trails, Jo Ann wrightj45@yahoo.com (for comments, avoid the comments feature here as it is polluted by robospam)

Away in a Manger, No crib for his Bed

The other day when I was getting some Christmas Carol Lyrics printed out for our Woodbury Friends Meeting Christmas Get-together tonight, Friday, when we sing and decorate the tree, I was struck by the line about Jesus Christ having no crib and it reminded me of the homeless people in tents in Camden NJ and Kensington, Pa. Fortunately, today, when I was up in the attic looking for something else, I found a brand new, never used red sleeping bag and a fleece comforter, which I was able to drop off at Mr. Jim Piscatelli's garage door today while running errands. He is a volunteer who takes clothes and food and other useful items to the homeless in the tent cities mentioned above. This will be the fourth delivery I have managed to make of bags of clothes and canned foods from friends and neighbors and myself.

When I texted him to ask if the homeless had dogs and cats to feed and if they could use dry food, he said they could but to limit it to smaller bags and boxes of biscuits, so next week, I will buy small bags of dog and cat food to drop off at his garage, hopefully, in time for his Christmas in Kensington event.

In case anyone reads this and would like to help, Mr. Piscatelli's house is on the corner of St. Martin's and New Jersey Ave, in Haddon Heights. Take a right turn off Kings Hwy if traveling north, onto St. Martins until you come to New Jersey. His house is 1901, the corner, and you can turn left and put your items, in plastic trash bags for safety from the damp, by his garage door. I usually call first and let him know they are coming. I will be dropping off the dog and cat food next week. His phone number is 609-332-9484 and his mailing address is 1901 New Jersey Ave., Haddon Heights, NJ 08035 in case you ight want to send a card and a donation instead of dropping off bags. I believe when he does Christmas in Kensington, he gives the people little decorated Christmas Trees so a donation can help with that! I may send a donation as well. If you want to read an article about his work, look him up via google and there is a column in "The Sun" about him and his volunteer helpers.

I can tell you from the way I felt dropping off that sleeping bag and blanket, that it is a Christmas blessing to think you helped someone cold and homeless to have a warm place to sleep.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Jo Ann (you can reach me at wrightj45@yahoo.com if you have a comment. Please don't bother with the comment function on the blog as it is polluted with robot spam)

AAA Newsletter of things to do in SJ for Christmas

In case you aren't a member of AAA automotive organization, here are some things from their bulletin that you can do to celebrate the season: WinterFest Ice Sckating at Cooper River North Park Drive on the right or East side over the bridge.

Dec. 16 Merchantville Holiday Party 6:00 pm to 8 pm, Downtown Merchantville, food and crafts along the way.

Drive through Light Show at Diggerland, 100 Pinedge Drive, West Berlin, Wed. through Sunday until Jan. 1st 2023, $35 per car

Drive through Creamy Acres Winter Wonderland with Christmas Musicd, warm up at fire pit and get snacks from food trucks #30 per car 448 Lincoln Mill Road, Mullica Hill through Friday, Dec. 31st

The other events on the list are already over. This Friday, Woodbury Meeting Members will gather to sing carols, decorate the tree and eat Pizza and then Christmas cookies for dessert.

My Christmas tree is up and decorated as is the bannister (with garand and lights and stockings) in my living room, and my outdoor lights are almost finished as soon as my Landscape guy comes back to hook up the last extension cord. Somehow between last Christmas and this one, I lost two of my extension cords in my shed. Truth be told, my shed is not as tidy or organized as it used to be or that it should be, or the Elves may have been at it - who knows? Anyhow, today they should be finished as well.

This time of year always evokes sentimental trips down memory lane and when I drove over to Carr's Hardware Store on Broadway in Gloucester City where I go for EVERYTHING hardware or yard, I couldn't help thinking of my old teaching days in Gloucester City, when the kids came in with jingle bell bracelets and ankle bracelets and Santa hats and the halls were filled with their anticipatory energy at old M.E.C (Mary Ethel Costello School). The teachers all outdid one another with decorated Christmas sweaters and all the classrooms were filled with Christmas projects. In my Art Room we made stained glass window ornaments with black construction paper and colored cellophane which decorated our windows. Also, outside the Art Room was a display of pets' photos for our food drive for local animal shelters which was run by me and a colleague, Dr. Jacky Brady. I collected and she delivered. It was a fun time. Poinsettia were on the desks of teachers and the main office, and our classroom doors were decorated with Christmas lights. We all looked forward to the long winter break.

I also miss the family I used to be able to visit in the old days when I was a child and my parents would take me and my brother (the one closest in age, Joe), to visit the grandmothers and uncles and aunts. They are all gone (not my brother - he will by up from W.Va. for Christmas). On my bureau is a doll I have had with me through all those years. She is almost as old as I am and was given to me for Christmas, by my beloved Godfather Neal Schmidt, also long gone.

It isn't good to look back too much however, best to keep your eyes forward as in driving. Enjoy where we are and live i the moment and let the past stay where it is, in the past. Inevitably, when you look too hard at those old memories, the hardships come up as well, the struggles with money in the early days, trying to juggle Christmas preparations with full time work and housekeeping - all that! But, now I am old and retired and I can snuggle more easily into the season and contemplate the deeper meaning, to me, of this holiday, which is the Passage of Time and the celebration of the season and survival and all the other living things, the things that remain green in the depth of winter's sleep. The part of the Christmas season that is older than the Christian aspect.

For me, the decorated tree, the trappings, the warmth and comfort of having survived long enough to retire with the companionship of my animal friends, these are the real holiday treats these days. But it is good to get out and about and share the seasonal celebration with others!

Happy trails, through the snow, the leaves, the Christmas Lights! Jo Ann and if you wish to contact me please use my e-mail - comments funtion has been poisoned by spam. Merry Christmas be well, be safe and be happy!

wrightj45@yahoo.com ,