A decent spray paint or gloss?
(We only need a little for the garden gnomes.)
Shampoo bottles with just a few drops?
(Mix it with vinegar. It works on ants by the base of the door.)
Empty mayonnaise jars?
(For pouring hot grease after we cook the ground beef.)
Leftover two-by-fours?
(To raise the garden. My husband can’t bend at the waist anymore.)
Print magazines in color?
(Do people still read them? I’d like to make a collage.)
Mismatched earrings or broken necklaces?
(I glue beads to the sides of silk flower vases.)
Socks with no mate?
(They’re great for polishing end tables.)
Cassette tapes?
(I still have a recorder, and I’d like to listen to music.)
A rotary phone?
(I remember the numbers, but my fingers can’t feel the cell.)
Time to talk about my mother again?
(I’m as old as when she was old.)
Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt
V1 April 25, 2026
Author's note: Still considering this draft. I might set it aside for a while. Let it breathe. Let it tell me what it wants to become.
Posted in Drafts, Katherine's Coffeehouse
