Eccentric Tea Woman

  After crying, I decided to meditate so that I could finally listen to the silence. Eyes closed, mouth in need of moisture, I felt nothing, yet heard the house settling all around me.  Cracks, a sigh too deep to be anything else, and soon the heater came on providing me with that wonderful white noise. I am terrified of silence and what it represents. Noise has been my babysitter ever since I said yes to giving up my life. Perhaps we need more silence in our hate-filled world.  Maybe then we can finally speak our truths.  Viridian Tea Company - Strange and Unusual Tea Blends! Click HERE for the Etsy store link!

 (Frederica artwork by J.W. Bullard) Tea Muse: (sitting on the couch while eating a large bowl of imaginary ice cream) Hey, Kimberly. We need to talk about (looking around) . . . Frederica. She's been acting really weird lately and I'm worried about her. Me: (sipping my cup of hot chocolate) Well, she's always kinda distant. I know she's still getting used to being in Colorado. Maybe that's what you're picking up? Tea Muse: (shaking her head no) Nope! It's something else, I KNOW it! Frederica: (suddenly appearing in the living room) Hello all, what's going on? Tea Muse: (glancing at me) Hey, we need to talk. About you. Are you alright? What's going on? Are you on imaginary drugs?! Frederica: (glancing at my calm face and Tea Muse's worried face, then sighs) I guess I do need to talk with you both. (sitting on the floor, something she NEVER does) You see, this is a new year . . . .and well . . . .  Me: Well???? Frederica: (glancing at her violin h

  I moved to Colorado for a change of scenery. Actually, I moved because I was bored. Bored of living in that small podunk town that I had called home for thirty years. The same people, the same backward mentality, the same everything. The same fears, too. My parents, never ones to rock the boat, loved their small town with all their hearts. They knew that if they loved living here, then their two children must love it as well. My younger sister was a wallflower. She was mousy and quiet and refused to stand up for herself. She was also a talented artist and her constant wins at the school art fair could contest that. She received notices from various art schools all over the world to have her become a student in their prestigious halls. She said no to all of them, mostly because she thought they were liars. I shook my head in frustrated silence yet didn't say a word. I, on the other hand, wanted to be a writer. I wanted to capture my view of the world onto pages so that people woul

I think writers are gods- To create a life within a sentence Give it breath or a disease To finally cut it short Like Fate, shears in blood Rusted. The power of the Word, written, oral These powers come at a dear price- The loss of sanity. But, sanity is a blocker To uncharted areas, ideas Fantasies, images. I gave up my sanity at 13. Virginity at 19. My colours are brighter, now. Faces appear while my caramel fingers Move across a keyboard, or hold a pen The ink precious, like angel tears. The lives I create are mine to mold, Destroy and learn from. I am mad, true But my Fate is here, varied and colour-full. Viridian Tea Company - Strange and Unusual Tea Blends! Click HERE for the Etsy store link!  

  I am a weirdo and I am proud of it. And yet, in my years of being on this planet, I realized that there were many who weren't happy with how I lived my life (or at least tried to). Ever have those friends who just wish you would fit in with everyone else? Why do you dress like you're attending a funeral? Why are you so happy all the time? Why are you wasting your time painting, or taking theatre classes, or whatever else? Then, there are those who think that they should guide you in your mess of a life. They swoop down upon you with "concern" and that hey, I'm JUST like you, so you need to listen to me because I've done it all. And yes, while they may have good advice, they are also there to control you. And, when you stop listening to them, they begin to belittle you, criticize you for your choices, or insult you behind your back (or right in your face). Then, you have those people who are family to you - they are the sticky ones. They see you as different

 I arrived here dirty and tired. Stressed out and riddled with anxiety. I wasn't sure of myself, yet I knew I wanted to change. I wanted to feel free. I arrived here and fell to my knees as I wept. I wiped my face and stood up. I was in a different land, one that I never expected to be in. I looked to the west and saw mountains. They stood before me without judgment or harsh words. They merely said, "Welcome." I walked closer to the mountains and it was then that I noticed a woman with her back to me. She stood tall and proud, her hair clean and flowing around her. She turned and I gasped: she was me. I was her. Welcome to the next level, she said with a smile. Why am I here, I asked through cracked lips. Because you've carried so much dirt on your back that it's seeped into your body, she replied. You are here to clean up and be the person you've always wanted to be. She handed me a towel and I went to a small stream to wash my face and arms. With every swipe

 (Tea Muse artwork by Brittany Lewis) Frederica: (sighing while writing in her journal) I know that I shouldn't get so worked up over this dilemma of mine, yet I AM worried about it! I truly do hope that 2023 is MY year to- Tea Muse: (standing in the doorway) HEY! Frederica: (holding a hand over her heart) I say, I wish you wouldn't do that! (closing her journal and placing it under her pillow) What do you want? Tea Muse: Kimberly and I are going to a bookstore; wanna come? Frederica: Sure, why not? (grins) Can you give me just a minute? (pulls out her journal again) Tea Muse: (runs upstairs to the living room) Yo, she's coming but . . .  Me: But what? Tea Muse: I don't know. She seems a little off, more so than usual (grinning). Like something's on her mind. Me: New Year jitters. Happens all the time. Even to imaginary Muses. Tea Muse: Oh ha ha. LATER! Me: (Setting my bag on the floor at home) Can't believe I found that series for only $30! That's a deal! T

For quite some time, I hated Winter. Winter, to me, was the symbol for the upcoming Christmas season, a time when simple drives would become encumbered by ice and/or snow on the streets. A time when you're so cold that your fingers go terribly numb and all you want is a very hot cup of tea or hot chocolate. I hated having to deal with ice storms in the South; when two flakes of snow appeared, everyone went into a panic. When I moved to Colorado, I realized that the Winter I had previously experienced in the South was nothing compared to the Winter out here. Snow is a big deal out here and when it hits, it HITS. My neighbourhood is still under some of the snow from our last storm and the melting is slowly yet surely happening. I hate the thought of driving in the snow because I don't have a truck. I don't have an SUV. I have a Toyota Corolla, and an old one at that. I really, truly hated Winter. Today changed all of that. As I enjoyed a cold walk around the lake near where w

 (Tea Muse and Tea Meditation Girl artwork by Brittany Lewis ) Me, Tea Muse, Frederica, and James: Three . . . two . . . ONE! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Tea Muse: (blowing on a horn) I can't believe it's a new year! Hello 2023! Me: (enjoying a stiff cup of Earl Grey) Let's hope that this year will be a good one for all of us! Who's got resolutions? Mine is to hopefully attend a new tea festival in Canada and finally finish that new manuscript! ARGH! Frederica: (drinking a glass of white wine) All I want is to practice more, read more books, and drink more tea! Tea Muse: I never believed in resolutions, so here's to another year of driving Kimberly and Frederica crazy!  Me and Frederica: (groaning while laughing) James: (enjoying a glass of IPA) Well, I'm hoping I can use my living room again. (pause) Having three women live with you, and two of them are imaginary, well . . . . (laughing) Nah, I'm just happy to have figments of my girlfriend's imagination living w