Porch Stories

All About Me

Hi!

C'mon up and sit on The Porch!

It's not a place so much as it is a state of mind.

A place where you are a friend the first time you come and family if you are crazy enough to come back!

A place to tell your story

And to make a story for another night.

We stay up late here on The Porch.

And we get up early.

There's a lot of living to be done!

Permanent residents of The Porch are me, a special education teacher and 52 years of fun,

my husband and best friend Tom, singer of songs and resident drunken Irishman,

my daughter Caitlin, 17, cheer leader in charge of giggles

my daughter Mariah, 27, who really tries to keep a handle on things,

,Jack...dog of of the boundless good humor,

, .

the cats, who are the real bosses of the place,

Emily, Bitty and Skooter.

We laugh hard enough to drown out the crickets on the velvet Alabama nights here.

Survey

SOMETHING I HAVEN'T DONE IN A WHILE...A SURVEY..ENJOY!! GOT IT FROM Brit's Blog...I love her and her stalking Yorkie!

1. What was the highlight of your day? reading a very good book called "Island Justice' by Elizabeth Winthrop

2. How many meals do you usually eat a day? dinner and nibblles

3. What's your favorite movie? WOW..WAY TOO MANY FAVS I love musicals

singing in the rain

..across the universe

rent

Oklahoma

West side Story

Moulin Rouge

4. Have you ever thought George Clooney was hot? well yeah, I have a vagina and a pulse

5. Have you ever doubted your sexual orientation? I would love to be gay and never have to put up with men, just hang with my girlfriends, but I don't have the attraction

6. How long has it been since you have seen an ex? I ma actually pretty good friends with the guy I was quite serious with in my early twnties. He also so dated 3 of my best friends

7. Name 5 of your best friends. Paula Stacey Dana Stephanie Mariah

8. Would you ever consider moving to Zimbabwe? NOPE

9. What would you do if someone dyed your pubic hairs bright pink permanently? that would be kinda cool

9. Would you ever dye your hair pink (the hair on your head)??? I would not be horribly averse to it

10. When was the last time you had Starbucks? I boycott Starbucks, they are trying to drive little independent places out of business. In my town, the mom and pop businesses flourished and the TWO Starbucks they built on the sam e street have gone out of business Yay...one for the little people

11. Are you single? nope married 29 years

12. What is your opinion on global warming. WE ALL NEED TO DO OUR PART...

13. What about abortion? I AM AND WILL FOREVER BE PRO CHOICE....my wish for the world is that every child would be a wanted child

14. Which would you rather star in: High School Musical or Striptease? striptease if it wouldnt empty out the theatre

15. What's the worst movie you've ever seen? the third Pirates fo the Carribean , the meaning eluded me, but Johnny Depp in eyeliner was enough to make me happy

16. How many times do you sneeze a day? not a real snnezy person

17. Are you an "adult"? LEGALLY I AM...BUT SOME OF THE THINGS I DO WOULD MAKE YOU QUESTION THAT...LOL

18. Where do you live? LA Lower Alabama

19. Have you ever thought Michael Jackson was going to kidnap you? MAYBE IN A NIGHTMARE

20. What color hair do you have? almost black with a charming gray streak

21. Would you rather have a hybrid vehicle or a Hummer? no gas monsters for me.

22. Who is prettier: Angelina Jolie or Kate Bosworth? Angelina!!

23. What do you think about the tabloids? NICE WAY TO KILL TIME AT THE CHECK OUT

24. Have you ever been to Texas? Yes

25. Would you want to go? I love Texas

26. Do you wear a watch? SURE DO I have no concept of time without it

27. Have you ever had the sensation that you were falling while asleep? ABSOLUTELY..YOU KNOW IF YOU HIT THE GROUND YOU DIE RIGHT?? OR SO THEY SAY..HOW WOULD WE KNOW THOUGH? HMMMMM....

28. Would you rather work at Goodwill or McDonalds? GOODWILL Could be fun

29. What do you think about Britney Spears' 16 year old sis getting pregnant?why why why dont' kids use condoms?

Getting pg is not the worst thing that could happen

30. Do you recycle? Yes.

OK, I hope some of you will take up the challenge.... copy and paste and answer the questions. (Leave me a link so I can check out your answers).

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Thursday, July 24, 2008

8:39:01 PM EDT

Small Joys

Little things
pieces of my life's mosaic
Ordinary days
with small joys
to run through my fingers like rosary beads
Caitlin took me to lunch
and for a pedicure
ten toes
giggles
and just us girls
a memory to keep

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Wednesday, July 23, 2008

5:40:24 PM EDT

52 woo hoo

I'm feeling good here lately
I find feeling good has little to do with what is going on in my life
and much with what happens in my head
I have been given a gift of peace
I don't know exactly how I arrived here
I started taking care of myself
doing what I wanted to do

there are some things I am powerless to fix
so I may as well
let them go
toss them in the figurative river
let it flow on by
every one has their own path they need to follow
we all have to find our own way
so I go my way
make my own choices
not excuses
and find what joy I can along the journey.
I've also been playing with some new friends
babysitting Mariah's friend Michelle's boys

renewing an old friendship with Dell
who used to live next door
we lost touch for a few years
but fell right back into our comfortable ways

and like a baby turtle
blindly headed for the ocean

floated in the amniotic fluid of the Gulf of Mexico

and emerged reborn
finding my smile on the beach
like a seashell

wishing you happy births all of your days,
Marti

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Saturday, July 19, 2008

2:42:46 PM EDT

meme

I got this from Russ, my friend from Inner and Outer Demons.
Go follow his link to his Shoebox Blog... it's great!
If you came to my house…

I’d probably feed you: red beans and rice or jambalya

And offer you this to drink: Beer or wine

I’d undoubtedly ask if you’d read: my latest favorite book is called The Death and Life of Bobby Z my Don Winslow. It is that rare novel that is funny crime fiction with all kinds of plot twists.

I’d want to play this music for you: Some Bruce Springsteen for partying, the Sirius jazz channel as a background for conversation.

I’d want to tell you about: how I am moving rooms and grade levels when school starts.

I’d probably suggest a game of:poker

I would definitely show off: my dog Jack's tricks

I might get on the computer and show you:My MySpace Martigilley

If it was a long enough visit, we might watch: the kitten play

Ok, that was me-- now...

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Wednesday, July 9, 2008

6:47:50 AM EDT

On Base

When you are on base
You are safe
No one can touch you
You can catch your breath
Before you have to start running again.
I was with Dana, Paula, Stacey & Stephanie this weekend
I was safe.

Wishing you all freedom and family,
Marti

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Thursday, June 26, 2008

4:25:21 PM EDT

Bad Idea

I was tootling around
putting off doing the dishes
when I got the idea to look back
to see what was in my journal this time last year.
I thought I might ask everyone to do it
Post an entry from a year ago.
Never look back
I saw pictures of my dear dog I lost
pictures of my little Victoria (the child I babysat)
who moved away
and I had to curl up in the big chair with Emily kitty and a blanket for awhile
It was a rough year, folks
Lots of bad vibes and negative thoughts at work
I used up so much of my energy trying to stay loving
Some nasty old misunderstandings between Tom and I keep rearing their ugly heads
I never know whether to beat them back down
into the psychic swamp they crawled out of
or to sic them on him and let them fight it out!
I am trying to walk this road peacefully
but there have been some potholes to circle around this year.
I want better times
I have to make them myself, I know.
Gathering courage,
Marti

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Wednesday, June 25, 2008

5:33:20 PM EDT

Perspective

My eldest, Mariah
is my staunchest ally
my best friend
but she gave me a special wrinkle in the middle of my forehead during her teen years.
One day I was at work
and received a phone call from a neighbor informing me
there was a great party going on at my house.
As I was storming to the phone to call Mariah,
I was called into the library by the principal.
She asked the whole staff to join hands
then she told us the book keepers seventeen year old had been diagnosed with a brain tumor.
After we all wept together, I left a message n the answering machine
"you're busted, Mariah, pick up"
"Yes, Mom?"
"I just called to tell you how much I love you".
I never caught her skipping school again.
As a postscript, the child with the tumor is a 10 year cancer survivor, married with a four year old.

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2:41:51 AM EDT

and it's another party

My Friend Steve tended bar with me during that magic time 25 years ago at a little Irish pub.
He found my first gray hair.
He taught me how to dance the Hustle.
We shared a lot of stories after last call in the light from the exit sign.
I don't keep up with people I went to high school or college with but all of us from that little bar stay close, even though our evenings consist of tea sipping much more than beer drinking these days.
We celebrated his birthday this weekend

Every birthday is precious because we almost lost him 10 years ago.
He is HIV positive, but doing well.
His partner Vaughn fell right into our family.

Tom was not up to a road trip so I went all by myself

The trip went fine except a raft blew out of the back of a pickup truck and hit my windshield,causing a really scary moment of blindness!
It was a great weekend.
I met some interesting people and enjoyed old friends I don't see enough of these days

and I was reminded so strongly of why I quit drinking tequila that I gave myself the opportunity to quit drinking it again!
I don't think anybody has ever died from a hangover but I may be the first!
Lemons and Love to all,
Marti

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Saturday, June 21, 2008

12:46:57 AM EDT

We Can't Wait

A year is too long to go without Mardi Gras
so we had a summer solstice parade!
I do so love my home town!

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Monday, June 16, 2008

11:48:04 AM EDT

Father's Day

We found a secret way through the woods to the beach!
(no one I know locally reads this, so it will stay secret)

Sneakin

Smilin

Still smilin

You should have seen us parking way down the street and darting through the underbrush!
Wishing you all a sweet secret place,

Marti, Tom , Caitlin and Jack

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