Welcome to my corner of this wonderful community where I share my poetry, short stories, and occasional photos. My husband and I have been married for almost thirty-five years, and we have two adult children. Our furry family member is Copper, an 80-lb chocolate lab mix, and he just turned 13 years old.
I have published two collections of poetry: New Day, New Dreams (2013) and Finding a Balance (2015). My memoir, More than Coffee, was published in 2021, and my recent publication is a poetry collection titled Ever So Gently released in July.
I have finished my first children’s book and am working with my illustrator with plans to publish in 2024.
When you visit, I hope you find something to take with you, but that you also find something enticing enough to keep bringing you back. I truly appreciate your visit.
Cheers,
Lauren ❤️
It doesn’t matter if we’re celebrating the best thing that ever happened, or staring at our heart lying on the floor in millions of tiny pieces. Time moves ahead (seemingly) as if we pushed the fast forward button. Those hands on the analog clock have a mind of their own, turning and turning, making our heads spin, wondering where the hours have gone. Where have the hours gone? How does a decade ago feel like yesterday? Why does my mind tell me I’m forty when my driver’s license tells me I’m wrong? Just yesterday, my daughter and son played with Lego and Barbies. Today they’re adulting, living with bills that show up in the mailbox on a monthly basis. Always prompt. Just yesterday, I took my last photo of our senior pup, not knowing it would be the last photo I would take of him. Right now, a man in his seventies is undergoing bypass surgery. Just yesterday, he and his wife were walking on one of their routine five-mile daily walks. Time is precious. Do we need reminding? We’ve heard it before, but have we ruminated on the concept, held it in the palm of our hand, massaged it, comprehending? This is the question as the conveyor belt of life carries us from here to there, wind in our face. But do we notice what’s in the middle? Because in the middle is what we shouldn’t miss.
We needed the getaway a couple of weeks ago, so I’m sharing some highlights. Luckily, our destination wasn’t too far, and driving the back country roads at this time of year was truly magical with the rolling green hills dotted with black and white dairy cows, not to mention, the umbrella of blue sky and downy clouds.
A curious guy!
The town was small but charming with just the right amount of excellent restaurants and quaint, quirky shops.
Cheers!
The best ever gingerbread latte!
Saturday morning, we walked through the old growth redwood grove, and as you can imagine, it was another enchanting experience.
“Preserve the trees, for they are the finest art.”
Then we were ready for some wine tasting, and the winery we chose gave us the best experience so far – Char Vale Vineyards and Winery. We lucked out with the weather on Friday and Saturday because Ms. Rain held the raindrops until Sunday. Her thoughtfulness allowed us some outdoor exploring on the main two days without messy conditions. Our palates enjoyed the elegant, fruity, and velvety notes, and the delicious adventure lasted about 2 1/2 hours, gracing us with a bright blue sky and cool but comfortable temps. We also had a good chat with the owners, a husband and wife team, who have been in the business for decades. Our knowledge about making wine expanded on this day, but don’t quiz me!
Lastly, we reflected a lot about our beloved Copper.
He enjoyed the season of autumn.
April 3rd marked one month since his passing, and one of my photos just happened to prompt a poem. It’s still in draft mode, but I’m sharing anyway…
March to March
Reminiscent of Elton’s circle of life, from March to March he arrived with youthful spirit and left with angel wings – our family for thirteen years, now glowing memories in the spaces and around each corner. We celebrate his life – those soul-searching eyes that connected to us – we were links in a golden chain, now one link is missing, our golden boy – tears still follow like a shadow – the shadow he was, but smiles gently find their place because he is in our hearts, because joy needs room to simmer.
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Thank you for popping in, and I hope you enjoyed the photos and poem. Have a wonderful week ahead. ❤️
Hello Everyone, we had a wonderful weekend away and I’ll share some photos later. But today, I want to thank Manuela Timofte, Editor of Gobblers at Masticadores, for publishing my poem “In Darkness there is Light.” A wonderful surprise on this first day of April. ❤️
Nighttime falls inside the doors of the beautiful hotel an experience to tuck away in my memory box Many sprint here and there following their agendas in the midst of mild chaos – some scrambling from point A to point B wondering what happens next or maybe they’ll discover a cozy spot like mine with a small, round table and chair in my private slice of darkness
An unexpected power outage doesn’t stop me Who doesn’t wish for a little light, but functioning without it… bring on the adventure!
As I look around in blackness and listen, words flutter nearby…
You can read the full poem by clicking on the link below:
I hope you’ll consider following Gobblers at Masticadores to immerse yourself into evocative worlds of poetry. And if you missed my original post of this poem, you can read it here.
Thanks for stopping by, and I wish you a great day and joyful new month! 💖
My hubby and I are going away for the weekend, returning home later Sunday. It’s been a while since we were able to get away, even for a few nights. So we’ll celebrate our 36th, his 65th, my 64th, and our 13 years with Copper Boy! January, February, and March brought a whirlwind of emotions. I’ll be offline while away, and confession time: I am so behind in reading blogs, but I look forward to visiting your blogs next week.
About March 27th…
Today marks the day when Copper came into our lives in 2012 – his adoption day, his gotcha day! Today marks 3 1/2 weeks since he left our earthly world. And though our hearts still ache from missing him (look at this face), we celebrate his life and the 13 years we all had together. 🤎
Photo credit to my daughter – a younger Copper
“You will always be in our hearts, Copper, you handsome boy.” ❤️
Thank you for staying with me during this time of grief from when our 14 1/2 year old puppycrossed over the rainbow bridge on March 3rd. We will see him in the next life. 🌈
I want to leave you with another poem for Spring, another oldie, from my memoir: More than Coffee: memories in verse and prose:
Her Offerings
Harmony lives in each flow of a breeze In each gentle embrace of evergreens The clear blue enchantingly shields Let nothing stay concealed.
Blooms tender their affable smile Leaves listen in for awhile Birdsong soothes the whirling mind A landscape perfectly designed.
Nature’s lessons are plentiful Shall our choices be flexible? We are not ignorant to her offerings Receive them for relief of suffering.
A painting of beauty and brilliance Mesmerizing even in distance Can you deny the splendid view? Allow serenity to fall into you.
I hope my poem gives you a spring in your step and helps you to appreciate Nature’s offerings, and I’m turning off comments for the sake of time. Yours and mine! 🙂 I will miss our connection and interaction, but I will see you next week. Until then, enjoy the upcoming weekend and each day, for each day is a gift. I appreciate you all so much! ❤️
There’s a lot happening in this post today, so I will start by thanking my friend, Dawn Pisturino, for nominating me for the Sunshine Blogger Award. I haven’t seen awards for over a decade, from when I first joined this amazing community. I’m grateful that Dawn thought of me. I like to think that my blog does spread sunshine, although sometimes, life throws curve balls, which is why this month hasn’t been a good example. Anyway, thank you so much, Dawn!Time won’t allow me to follow through with this lovely award, but I am grateful for your kindness! 🙏
Then yesterday I was surprised with another award! Should I play the lottery? 😃 My good friend, Ernie from The Dawghouse, recently created an awesome award called “Dawghouse Choice Pawsome Blog Award.” When I posted several times this month about our beloved dog, Copper, passing on March 3rd, Ernie was touched. So, please click on the following link to read his post that brought tears for me: https://dawgydaddyresponds.org/2025/03/24/dawghouse-choice/ Thank you, Ernie! Now I’m touched by your kindness! 🙏
Photo credit to Ernie!
If you haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Dawn or Ernie, I encourage you to pay their sites a visit. They’re both amazing writers and have so much to offer to this warm blogging community. I’m honored to know them both. ❤️ https://dawnpisturino.wordpress.com/ & https://dawgydaddyresponds.org.
Copper’s passing took over my creativty this month, with the exception of my last two posts. Writing helped me move through the grief, and as a result, a book is taking shape. A collection of poetry not only about Copper when he was with us, the joy he brought us, but also about grieving. My wish is that my words will help others in a similar situation. All of my energy has been poured into this unexpected but therapeutic project. More info. to come as I make progress.
A happy, young Copper years ago. 🧡
So, I missed writing about the new season that has arrived, Spring. Instead of a new poem, I’m sharing an oldiethat expresses the transition between winter and spring. I hope you enjoy!
A Cup of Spring
Miss Spring sips her tea as we anticipate her arrival. She says, “Be patient, for soon I will bring you colors so pleasing and new life, delightful. But first, Mr. Winter must finish acting out his scene.
Previously published in my memoir: More than Coffee: Memories in Verse and Prose
And lastly, this is out of the norm for me, but since this month has been anything but normal, a song came to mind because it’s fitting for today:
Did you guess? Yes! Light 64 candles for yours truly! Here’s my version (not Beatles worthy), but worthy for my day:
Sixty-Four Candles on the Carrot Cake
Another year has buzzed by like jets in the big blue. I repeat, “Where does the time go?” I know some of you join me in wondering too. Memories transport me through the last twelve months where I walked with smiles, tears followed when due. This body doesn’t feel old, age is just a number, but it yawns a bit, and yet, gratitude rests in my heart for more than complaints justify. He’s older by one year so we’re both climbing the ladder. We still give each other cards in spite of any gray hair and nice to know there’s a perk in one more year with Medicare! I’m not afraid to say the numbers; every laugh line has been well-earned. I’m thankful for my roots, for perseverance, and for my bones that continue to hang in there! So, light those candles, extinguisher on the sidelines, Cheers to another year of life, my husband – best friend, my daughter and son, all of my family, my friends, despite hurdles on the path, I have won, so bring on the fun!
My son made this delicious carrot cake (my fave) a few years ago.
My husband’s birthday was last month and Copper ‘gave him a card’ and also landed in several photos. I will miss my Copper Boy as I celebrate another year of life. Love you, Copper! Life can be bittersweet. ❤️😢
Well, thank you for being here today, and for reading this long post! Thank you for lending me support throughout my blogging journey. Thank you for being you! Have a wonderful day! ❤️💫🎉🥂
I am honored and grateful to be included in Gabriela Marie Milton’s upcoming anthology of haiku! This is the second anthology I’ve been part of following the beautiful Petals of Haiku released in May 2024. Thank you again, Gabriela and Literary Revelations for believing in my work. 🙏
From Gabriela’s blog post:
@LR_Publisher, just sent out letters of acceptance (or rejection) for our upcoming book Tranquility: An Anthology of Haiku. Congratulations to everyone who was accepted. Please help me spread the news. Soon, we will send you the whole design of the cover – as you know, the art on the cover belongs to Japanese artist Hikari and the fine art photography included in the book to Japanese artist Naoki Kimura. Over 240 authors were included.
All photos courtesy of Literary RevelationsPublishing House.
For more information and gorgeous photography by Naoki Kimura, and to read beautiful and evocative poetry by Gabriela and other poets she features, please visit her site by clicking the link below.
Nighttime falls inside the doors of the beautiful hotel an experience to tuck away in my memory box Many sprint here and there following their agendas in the midst of mild chaos – some scrambling from point A to point B, wondering what happens next or maybe they’ll discover a cozy spot like mine with a small, round table and chair in my private slice of darkness
An unexpected power outage doesn’t stop me Who doesn’t wish for a little light, but functioning without it… bring on the adventure!
As I look around in blackness and listen, words flutter nearby I feel their gentle presence like a hummingbird’s I exercise patience, pen in hand, journal lying open like a flower in bloom ready to soak up sunshine A page lies in wait until it feels satisfied with vowels and consonants tumbling upon its lined surface
The flameless candles glow, yellows dance a jig, comfort in my bones chaos maybe, but laughter echoes in the distance I accept a complimentary champagne validating my existence And so, it is in darkness when I become inspired
On March 7th, Brian from https://writingfromtheheartwithbrian.com/ wrote a post that will bring a smile. He talks about the wonder of children’s books and how they show us what is “right and good in the world, and what is real.” Brian was kind enough to include my book, Cora’s Quest, but because of Copper’s passing, I wasn’t in the mindset to share. My heart still aches, but today is a better day to reblog.
Thanks again, Brian, for including Cora and your amazing review in your inspiring post. I’m so grateful, and I hope the students in your wife’s class love reading about Cora too! 🙏
I’m sharing Brian’s review below, but please click on the blog link to read his full post. Other children’s literature is mentioned that will evoke great memories.
Looking for a little courage
For example, when police investigations into the New Orleans truck attack that killed 15 people and the Tesla Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas dominated the news in January, I found myself reading fellow blogger Lauren Scott’s children’s book Cora’s Quest. (Lauren can be found on her blog, Baydreamer Writes.)
In Scott’s wonderful little book, fawn Cora gets separated on a wooded trail from her ma and pa. When she looks up from investigating a fuzzy caterpillar, her parents are gone. She starts to worry about being in the big forest all alone. Of course it gets scary. The tree branches look like they’re reaching out to grab her. Have you been in the woods in the dark? It can be a scary place. She can feel her tummy rumble and fear “trickle from her nose to her hooves.” I was right there with her.
Despite everything, she stands firm and reminds herself that “My body may be small, but my courage is big.”
When she thinks she can’t bear it anymore, her parents come from behind a bush. Of course, the three kiss and celebrate. They hurry home to feast on apples and acorns. If we ever needed a reminder to be courageous in the world, now is the time. Everyday some new problem comes out of the woodwork and the world seems minutes from calamity. Despite it all, little Cora shows us the way. “My body may be small, but my courage is big.”
What a great reminder. I can’t think of better advice. Yes, you go Cora! Lauren’s writing is touching and the colorful images by her illustrator Chris Mendez jump off the page. It’s perfect for young kids and the young-at-heart like myself. Be sure to check it out.
And if you don’t know Brian, check out his blog! He’s a wonderful writer who shares his thoughts and experiences in a way that entertains and engages, and usually prompts a giggle!
Thanks for stopping by, and I wish you a wonderful Friday and weekend! ❤️🙏
Baydreamer Writes ~ Lauren Scott, Author & Poet 