Mama the policeman will have something to say about that. 
Every photograph, though taken on the same day, has slightly different light and is viewed differently by each reader. This is why every writer has something viable to say. 
Some might say: Mama you are looking fat. Others might think she is looking a little bit pregnant, an oxymoron – to be a ‘little bit’ pregnant
My mother, who was not fat, always wore red lipstick and heels every time she went out, even if it was just to the shops. In fact, towards the end, one of her good friends said to me that she could tell Mary was really sick because she had stopped wearing lipstick. Mum wore perfume sprayed from a crystal decanter that she kept on her low oak dressing table. She once laughed about an actress who would spray a mist of bright perfume into the air ahead of her and then step into it allowing the scents to envelop and drift down onto her person at will. My mother did not like to be too heavily scented you see. So she would spray just a little behind her ears, into her soft curls and the aroma of my mother, combined with the drifts of sea spray from just beyond the front gate, would linger there for hours. When she got home and said goodnight with a hug, and her hugs were always quick and to the point – her lipstick still firmly in place, we could smell that mingle of scents in her throat.
nrHatch has thrown down a very gentle challenge. She is hosting a writing competition. The prize is the book A Writers Desk. But more importantly she asks us to write a little about our desk and our writing methods to enter the competition. This is what I was thinking about as I followed the footsteps of a light coyote with a heavy left back paw around the boundary of the farmy. Now, here is my entry for the competition.
Thing One approves of course. 
For me – writing is a little like that long forgotton actress’s footsteps as she moves into droplets of perfume scented air. I hear her light step as I spray the mist of another world into the air before me and then I walk straight in, and I am gone there. The scents and stories settle around me and cling to my skin. The characters lurk about the desk, sitting on old books and sniffing at empty, long stemmed glasses. I sit at our desk for a while. Then I write.
Chomping on consonants and sipping at vowels I was, as I walked the boundaries in the biting cold. 
Then the light changed.
Good morning. Thank you for yesterdays comments, I have ordered my long silk drawers and have even ordered a pair for John. When I present them to him I am going to call them Tights, just to see the look of horror on his face! Why are they called Long Johns anyway. I guess Johns being underwear, but why are undies called Johns?
Have a lovely, lovely day.
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
83 responses to “The Mists of Writing while Walking the Boundaries.”
What a beautiful story
Eunice
Photos too!
Thank you Eunice, have a wonderful day.. c
you too
A long john, also known as long underwear, is a style of two-piece underwear with long sleeves and long legs that is usually worn during cold weather. The company John Smedley Mills who have a 225 year heritage created the long johns and named them after the boxer John L. Sullivan who wore the long johns in all his matches.
Most of the other sites I looked at said there wasn’r any real explanation, then I found the quote above on ASK. So, are you telling us Mama is pregnant? Good luck with the competition. Laura
Thank you for the info.. now we know.. Mama should be pregnant, hard to tell for a few months.. I need to find out where I can get her a scan so that we will know for sure! that would be fun.. c
see http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-lon2.htm for a possible explanation of the term Long John’s
And re yesterday’s cold: wool, wool, and wool, plus trousers, jackets, and gloves with Thinsulate™ or those garments made of down; or put duck/goose down outer clothes over the top of it all for the total Michelin Man look. :-)) Snug
The Michelin Man look is what i am going for!! I would love some wool trousers, i need to learn to sew! morning carrie.. c
Oh, if we were neighbors I would love to help you learn.
wouldn’t that be grand,, sewing is hard to teach on the internet!! c
That is a fact, though I have learned to quilt via the internet, and I did locate some good information on sewing machine navigation for another friend of mine. So, it is not impossible. 😉
smiley face.. c
That whole post will win the competition. Mama, bon courage. Celie, keep warm and happy.
There will be a chance to vote – if I reach the finals, I will keep you posted!.. c
I’ve just posted my entry, but I’m no competition for you.
every writer has a special voice and something rich to say, your voice is magnificent! c
very beautifully written as for telling john that they be tights that would not get him to wear them.:)
He will wear them if he is cold though! I won’t tell!! c
Love your analogy, Cecilia . . . writers wading into droplets of inspiration to see what waits. 😀
Enjoyed all the scenes from the farm. Thanks!
Thank you and welcome to the farmy! The farmy is my desk actually, I have a notebook in my jacket pocket! Have a lovely day Ms Hatch! c
I love everything about your beautiful post this morning, but especially how you’ve captured the essence of your mother in her perfume (pun intended) also the image of the perfume spray. “I hear her light step as I spray the mist of another world into the air before me and then I walk straight in, and I am gone there.” Yes!
I’m betting that all of John’s doubts and suspicions will evaporate the minute he has the “tights” on under everything else and steps out into the cold! I know you probably prefer natural fibers, but the polypropylene stuff that keeps my husband warm all winter works really well, and I understand it is made from recycled materials, which helps somewhat…Have a wonderful day! Cold here too, only 3F this morning! Woodstove stoked with ash logs working overtime…
Thank you Maggie.. yes.. essence .. good word.. c
Beautiful, evocative story today, thank you! And you could always be very genteel and call them his “Under Garments”!
Oh splendid.. ! morning tanya.. c
Beautiful winter light in your photos today. My mum applied perfume in pretty much the same way (Coty L’Aimant) and her advice to me was, “A perfume should whisper, not shout”. We sometimes get guests with VERY ‘loud’ perfume and when they leave it’s really difficult to get rid of it. One of my pet hates!
Christine
I absolutely agree. I object to invasive scents.. i like that idea of a whispering perfume! c
Love love love this! I think you have the competition in the bag!
the voting does not start until groundhog day, i will put out a memo!. c
Please do!
Your photos do indeed have the chilled air about them, even the sky looks cold and crisp. It’s a very grey day today in Toronto with light bouts of snow casually falling; they will deceive us because by the end of the day they will have accumulated to a shovel-able amount on the driveway and walkways to the house. Sigh, only 4 more months….
Do take a photo of John’s face when you tell him they are tights.
Our snow is just going to sit in the sub freezing temps being idle, I would not mind if more fell.. you have a long time to go, by march we will be thinking about thawing.. a little.. i hope.. fingers crossed.. morning eva.. c
It is always interesting how these words come to us. From whence? Sometimes they glide in with ease. Sometimes they struggle to climb a mountain into our brains. Good day to you, C.
I think there is a mountain of fog in my brain this morning, but it will clear! morning audrey.. c
Simply lovely, Celi. Good luck and I hope you do win!
it is just as fun to be involved.. there will be a chance to vote later on! c
Quite the desk–walking and writing do go together. I thought of my mother’s lipstick (“Deep Carnation”) and perfume too–from a crystal bottle.
I still have my mums crystal perfume decanter with the silver band.. so beautiful.. c