Poetry and Hums

Six Word Saturday - Long Time Away

2009-12-19T08:18:00.003-05:00

Oh, I've missed 6 Word Saturday!

I miss this little blog too.

I long to write a haiku.

Snow sifts down from opaque sky.

Savoring memories made with family - Christmas

Cranberry French Toast for breakfast - Yum!

Okay, 6 Six Word Saturday statements will do. To read more, go see Cate at Show My Face

An Old Post, Cheerleader Haiku and an Interview

2009-04-26T20:20:00.002-05:00

Thank you all for the blog advice. I spent last week moving my food blog, Eat at Home to a new self hosted site. I learned a lot while doing it, because the tech stuff was over my head. But I managed to make the move and I'm pleased with it.

Another very cool thing happened last week that has to do with this blog. I got an email from Darcy at The Geek Girl's Guide to Cheerleading. Darcy had been googling for cheerleader haikus and found an old post of mine here on Poetry and Hums. She asked if she could publish my haikus and also asked me to do an interview. You can read the interview here. It includes two haikus about bacon and a fictitious to-do list for Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice.

Darcy and Charity have a book coming out soon with the same title as the blog they run. Congrats to both of them on getting published!

Blog Advice, Do You Have Any For Me?

2009-04-15T06:26:00.002-05:00

Mama Kat's workshop this week included a prompt to write some blog advice. I don't have a lot of blog advice, but I do have some questions that have been rattling around in my brain a while.

1. Why does Blogger sometimes add lots of space between paragraphs and sometimes scrunch things up with no space at all? No matter how I try to fix it, Blogger does what it wants.

2. I have two blogs; this one and Eat at Home. This is my fun blog. Eat at Home is fun too, but I'm also trying to build it up. Sometimes I'd like to get these two blogs together into just one, but they are so different. I'm not sure how I could do it that would make any sense.

3. Plus, I would need to get different templates with some navigation buttons at the top and I don't know how to do that.

4. Of course, I really would like a blog makeover with a custom header and logo. My quandry with doing this is wondering if it's really worth paying for. Should I invest real money in this bloggy thing? Would it pay off by growing Eat at Home?

5. What is up with the rss feed thing? I do not get this at all. I tried to put an option for people to subscribe to Eat at Home in rss (is that even how you say that?), but I don't know that it worked. I used feedburner. For a while, I could log into feedburner and it said I had no subscribers. Now I can't log in at all. I know that some people subscribe through a reader, because they've said they do.

6. And what does a blog look like in a reader? Can you see pictures? Pictures are a big part of Eat at Home, and sometimes this blog too.

7. And how do you count those people? Do they show up in statcounter? What about people who subscribe through email? Do they show up in statcounter?

8. I keep thinking about starting yet another blog - Peanut Butter Sandwich 365 - but does that just divide my traffic? When someone views my profile and sees 3 blogs, they'll probably just pick one to visit. Is it a good idea to have more than one blog if you're really trying to grow one of them?

9. Twitter - time sucker or useful tool?

I'm sure I have more questions, but now the fluff in my head is strained so I'll stop there. Anybody have any answers for me?

For more Mama Kat's workshop, probably even including real blog advice, visit her site here.

Superior Scribbler Award

2009-04-14T16:41:00.003-05:00

Mrs. Scribe at Scholastic Scribe passed this award to me a few weeks ago. I repent for taking so long to post it and pass it on. Actually, I can't in good conscience repent, because that would mean I will not do it again and I can't promise promptness.

Here are the rules:
Of course, as with every Bloggy Award, there are A Few Rules. They are, forthwith:
Each Superior Scribbler must in turn pass The Award on to 5 most-deserving Bloggy Friends.
Each Superior Scribbler must link to the author & the name of the blog from whom he/she has received The Award.
Each Superior Scribbler must display The Award on his/her blog, and link to This Post, which explains The Award.
Each Blogger who wins The Superior Scribbler Award must visit this post and add his/her name to the Mr. Linky List. That way, we'll be able to keep up-to-date on everyone who receives This Prestigious Honor!
Each Superior Scribbler must post these rules on his/her blog.

Now to pass this on to other bloggers. The award goes to:

1) Jenners at Find Your Next Book Here - Jenners has had some amazing interactions with authors recently that she has shared with those of us who read her blog. She also does interesting things with blog award rules - things I wish I had the imagination and lack of bloggyland guilt to do myself.

2) Weston Elliot at Wendword - for her amazing to-do lists for Carol Brady and Alice. Scroll down the the comments of the "Fictitious To-Do List" post to read it.

3) Jewell at Pink Ink - She's got cool quotes at the top of all her posts, that relate to the post. I'm impressed!

Okay, I guess I don't have too much bloggyland guilt, because I'm only passing this on to 3 people. They are all very cool bloggers though, so that makes up for it.

Six Word Saturday - This is What It's All About

2009-04-11T08:42:00.003-05:00

For God so loves the world...

I know this isn't a springtime picture, but it reminds me that
No matter how hard and cold my circumstances are
No matter how frozen and far away my heart is
God's love for me remains
One breath from Him brings it all to Life again.

Happy Easter!

For more Six Word Saturday, visit Cate at Show My Face

Scrabble Haiku

2009-04-08T13:57:00.003-05:00

tiles drawn from bag
placed strategically on board
inner geek awake

Six Word Saturday

2009-03-28T07:25:00.002-05:00

Pack, drive, talk, eat, eat, talk

We're off to visit my parents and sister's family for the weekend. Talk will probably center around our upcoming beach trip together. And we'll eat. And eat. Mom made 2 cakes and 2 pies in addition to the meals she's going to serve. I made Coconut Macadamia ice cream and am packing it on dry ice to take with us. My dad loves that flavor and has trouble finding it, so I made it homemade for him.

For more Six Word Saturday fun visit Cate at Show My Face.

Fictitious To-Do Lists

2009-03-21T10:18:00.004-05:00

I ran across an idea in an old "Real Simple" magazine the other day while I was killing time in a waiting room. I have no idea how old the magazine was, but it was a January issue. The writer had created to-do lists for various people, including Genghis Khan, Steve Jobs and J.K. Rowling. That little nub of an idea turned out to be lots of fun.

Sarah Palin
1. Call First Dude
2. Go moose hunting
3. Sell the plane
4. Fire the cook
5. Put on lipstick
6. Tell lame joke

AIG Execs
1 for the bailout
2 for CEO
3 for the bonus
4 hit the road

Shakespeare
1. Sharpen quill
2. Sharpen wit
3. Trim beard to fine point
4. Decide to be or not to be

Jack Sparrow
1. Commandeer ship
2. Pillage and plunder
3. Swagger
4. Woo wench

Wee Willy Winky
1. Run through town in nightgown
2. Rap at windows
3. Cry at locks
4. Check status of children at 8 o'clock

Your turn! If you decide to scribble out some to-do lists, please let me know! I'd love to read what you come up with.

Signs of Spring

2009-03-17T15:46:00.003-05:00

Robins visit my yard everyday.

Tulip leaves are pushing up through the earth.

I saw my first clump of blooming daffodils today.

Soft green buds line the branches of the weeping willow trees.

Barefoot kids enjoy the warmer weather.

Balls, bikes, and boys fill the yard.

My mind is full of ideas for curricula and classes for next year.

Soccer practice fills the evenings.

Forsythia bursts into gaudy, vibrant bloom.

I count down how many days of school are left for the year.

Open windows let in breezes that blow loose papers off tables and counters.

Sunshine days alternate with cold rain and mud.

Six Word Saturday

2009-03-14T14:56:00.004-05:00

Cold sprinkles dampened my grocery trip

Saturday almost always means a trip to Wal-Mart for the week's groceries. I don't like going in the rain, but it makes me really thankful that we now live in a house with an attached garage.

I saw a bumper sticker this week that said Mall-Wart - your place for cheap, plastic crap. So true, but I still shop there.

Go visit Cate at Show My Face for more fun with 6 words.

Impassioned to Write

2009-03-11T20:33:00.002-05:00

Mama Kat's writing assignment #4 "What inspired you? Write about a time you were impassioned to write."

When I was 29 years old, I didn't write except in a prayer journal and that only sporadically. I had just given birth to my third child. And held him as he breathed his last breath only 5 days later. He was born missing the left ventricle of his heart.

Reed was beautiful. Honestly, the most beautiful of my five babes. His head was perfectly shaped. His eyes, a deep navy. His hair so soft, light brown in color.

I woke one morning several weeks after he died with feelings on my heart that had to be written down. The only line I remember is "a life measured in days, not decades". There was much more. I have a copy somewhere. It was published in our state La Leche League newsletter as well as in New Beginnings Magazine, another LLL publication. (I was a LLL Leader at the time.) It's the only piece I've written that's ever been published in a publication that large. But that's not what makes it important or memorable to me.

Something Really Important and Winner Announcement!

2009-03-11T09:44:00.003-05:00

It was so much fun to read which book you would choose and why. Thanks so much for playing. This little blog has never gotten so much traffic!

The winner of the book is Brandy at Not Your Average Soccer Mom. I'm pretty sure she wanted Sundays at Tiffany's - a great choice! I may have to do another book giveaway. That was so much fun.

And now for something important.

Today is Compassion's Global Food Crisis Day. A small group of people have pledged together to give $1 for every comment on my other blog, Eat at Home. They are willing to give up to $100 and all you have to do is go leave a comment there. Please help us get to 100 comments!

Spring Fling Giveaway!

2009-03-10T00:00:00.001-05:00

The ladies at The Secret's in the Sauce are hosting a Spring Fling. As part of that, I am giving away 1 book to 1 lucky winner! You get to choose the book from this list:

The Weekend Novelist, by Robert J. Ray - A dynamic 52-week program to help you produce a finished novel, one weekend at a time.

If You Want to Write, by Brenda Ueland - I just finished reading this book on the recommendation of Jenners. It's a remarkable book about being true to yourself and pouring your creativity onto the page.

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, by Rebecca Wells - Women, friendships, mothers and daughters. Laughter, tears, pain and understanding.

Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons, by Lorna Landvik - A story of the friendships forged in a book club.

A Parchment of Leaves, by Silas House - Eastern Kentucky in the early 1900s. A fantastic story from one of Kentucky's best writers. His words flow over the page like poetry.

Girl with a Pearl Earring, by Tracy Chevalier - Historical fiction placed in Holland during the 1660s. Wonderful story.

Sundays at Tiffany's, by James Patterson - I talked about this book on my blog recently. Pure book candy at its best!

All you have to do to enter is leave me a comment telling me which of these books you would choose if you win. Easy, right? The winner, who will be determined by random number, will be announced Wednesday. One entry per person, please!

Six Word Saturday, Update on February Writing and My First Giveaway

2009-03-07T15:58:00.002-05:00

How's that for a lot of stuff in one post? Since we're a week into March, I'll start with my update on my literary goals for February. Overall, I slid on the slippery path that other resolution makers slide down. Not much in the way of writing. Only a bit in the way of reading. I blame the flu, four kids who also had the flu and the heavy, gravitational pull of inactivity.

Now, Six Word Saturday and my first giveaway announcement:

Leave a comment, choose a book

On Tuesday, March 10 the ladies at The Secret's in the Sauce are hosting Spring Fling. I'll be participating here with my first book giveaway. So come back on Tuesday and leave me a comment for a chance to win one of my books. I'll have a list that you can choose from, should you be the lucky winner!

For more Six Word Saturday fun, visit Cate at Show My Face.

Don't Let Me Scare You

2009-03-04T21:00:00.002-05:00

Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia is the fear of long words. Isn't that preternatural?

Metrophobia is the fear or hatred of poetry. What folly, what melancholy.

Scriptophobia is the fear of writing in public. Maybe that's why so many of us have blogs.

Verbophobia is the fear of words. In case this is your fear, I'll end this post now.

Seeing Things

2009-03-03T09:59:00.002-05:00

Writing is my main creative outlet. One reason I enjoy it is that it helps me see things in a different way. I notice the man who carries a packet of peanut butter crackers, a checkbook and a plastic fork in his shirt pocket. He's prepared for anything. My attention is drawn to the clothespins bobbing and pulling on the line as the shirts try to escape into the wind. I'm awakened at night by the puddle of moonlight spilling in through the window, like so much liquid mercury.

Lately, I've been dabbling with photography. I have a lot to learn, but trying to capture an image in the view finder has also taught me to see. What do I want to focus on? How does the background influence the subject? How can I make it more interesting? What about a photo makes me want to linger there a moment?

I don't draw well at all, but a few years ago I picked up the book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. That book is full of fascinating research about how we see things and how we are creative. There are also exercises to teach you how to draw what you see. First, you have to learn to see. Lines, angles, shapes and their relationship to each other.

Both drawing and photography have helped me see things better for writing. Dabbling in these pasttimes illuminates the details in life and that spills into my writing. What creative pursuits have you tried and how has it affected your main creative outlet?

Six Word Saturday

2009-02-28T08:26:00.002-05:00

These 6 words have been playing in my mind all week and I couldn't wait to write them here. I'm so ready for spring.

At last, February melts into March.

We had highs in the 60s this week. The kids played outside and my oldest son had soccer practice. Unfortunately, now the weather forcast is calling for snow! Two or three inches of snow!

My only hope lies in that age old 6 words about weather:

In like lion, out like lamb

Wishing you sunshine and daffodils.

For more Six Word Saturday fun, visit Cate at Show My Face.

Guts

2009-02-26T09:37:00.003-05:00

It died a slow and natural death caused by old age, dust bunnies and the general abuse doled out by four kids and two parents. We had no choice but to spill its guts.

Banned Words

2009-02-25T16:20:00.000-05:00

One day while writing "morning pages" in my notebook, I started to notice certain words I used over and over again. Words like maybe, should, might, probably, need to. I made a list in the margin and marked it "banned words" These words appear most often in passages where I'm haggling over a to-do list, trying to motivate myself to accomplish something.

What I need to realize is that there is accomplishment just in the writing. In getting past all those things that tangle up my brain and try to force me out of the chair, try to force the pen out of my hand I am moving myself to a place of really writing. Describing people, scenes, memories. Committing to paper the stories that have been floating in my mind. That is accomplishment.

It doesn't matter if anyone reads it. It only matters that I've put it on paper. It doesn't matter if I write dozens of maybe's and shoulds. If those are bridges to the next line, the next thought, then they have served their purpose.

Still, those words nag at me because they are my own lack of commitment pouring out on the page. Instead of will, doing and work I write probably. Fear of committing to see the work through. I should address that fear.

Awards!

2009-02-22T09:17:00.008-05:00

I have to admit that I'm so surprised and please that anyone even reads this blog, let alone likes it! I started it several years ago so that I would have a way to participate in several other writing blogs. Sadly, I think both of those blogs are now gone (One Deep Breath - a weekly haiku blog and Poetry Thursday. Does anyone remember these?)

I let this blog sit idle for quite a while before deciding to revive it a few months ago. I'm so glad I started writing here again. I've really enjoyed getting to know all of you and I love reading what you write.

Now I've been honored with two awards. The first is from ElfTea. She is living in Japan with her husband who is a Marine, raising their little ones. She also was one of the first participants of my haiku prompts, which means a lot to me.

The rules for this award are to nominate 7 or so other blogs and to share 10 honest things about yourself. I've also been given this award on my other blog, Eat at Home, so I'm going to split it up a bit and nominate 3 blogs here and 3 blogs over there and share 5 things about myself on each blog.

1. My best writing ideas come when I'm in the shower or vacuuming. You would think this would inspire me to spend more time vacuuming, but no. I do however like to take long showers.

2. I took a creative writing class in high school. I was so bad at writing short stories, I stuck to poetry. Most of my ideas for poems came from reading the submissions in Seventeen Magazine and then trying to write them from memory. I never actually copied them and always put my own spin on them, but it was borderline plagerism. However, the teacher liked "my" work and I got good grades. I also think it did help me learn to write poetry. I've loved it ever since and have not stolen anyone's work since high school.

3. My first car was a Honda Civic. I don't even know what year the car was made, probably 70 something (I bought it in 1985). It had a manual choke that I learned to tweak so that the car sputtered a bit less while I was driving it. What I didn't learn was that the oil needed to be changed, or at least added to, on a regular basis. I drove the car to Purdue to visit a friend and on the way back it just quit. Stopped right there on the interstate. My friend and I accepted a ride from two men who stopped to help. They did get us back to where we needed to be - but, what were we thinking??!! It's this kind of judgement that makes me nervous about having a teenage daughter.

4. While I was getting my hair cut yesterday, I looked in the mirror and realized that I look exactly like my sister. This isn't really a revelation - we've always looked alike - but, you know that weird feeling when you look at yourself, but you see your sister or mom? It's nothing like when we were younger and used to be mistaken for each other. Once, we even swapped class schedules in high school. I went to her classes and she went to mine. I don't think we fooled anybody, but it was fun.

5. I was pretty insecure when I was younger. I went to a dance in 9th grade and one of the popular guys asked me to dance. The entire time I danced with Alex, I wondered if he had been put up to asking me to dance. Maybe he'd taken a dare from his friends to dance with the quiet, nerdy girl. I still wonder.

At the same dance, Andy asked me to dance with him. I thought he was the geekiest boy ever. I'm pretty sure I turned him down, or maybe I did dance with him and blocked it from my mind. Turns out that the geeky boy grew up and now lives in Paris, France working for an important company, making big money. He speaks a bunch of European languages fluently. I guess he paid a lot more attention in French class than I did.

Okay, now for the blogs I'm nominating for the Honest Scrap Award:

Jewel at Pink Ink

Cate at Show My Face

Denene at My Brown Baby

Katie Lane of Sunshine and Bubblegum gave me this award. Thanks, Katie! I'm passing this award onto Melissa at The Scholastic Scribe

Six Word Saturday

2009-02-21T19:50:00.003-05:00

New stylist, new style, verdict out

This reminded me of a haiku I wrote a long time ago:

New stylish hair-do
Confident, looking pretty
He doesn't notice

Today, he did notice and even says he likes it. I just hope I'll like it.

For more 6-Word Saturday fun, visit Cate at Show My Face

Bad Writing

2009-02-17T10:37:00.002-05:00

Time to play Fun and Games with Jenners. This week - Bad Writing - a take on the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest. The goal is to write a horrible first sentence for a novel.

She couldn't know that the man who was puckering up to kiss her was the same man who swindled her five years ago because she had amnesia. Remember?

Visit Jenners to play along!

Flowers - Haiku prompt

2009-02-16T17:59:00.004-05:00

Thank you for all the well-wishes for health for my family. I think we are finally on the mend. Flu is not fun.

I was playing around with my camera yesterday, taking pictures of the tulips my husband brought home the other day. I like how this shot turned out. It struck me that this would make a good haiku/poetry prompt as well. I am so ready for spring.

I took a 3-5-3 syllable pattern this time:

red petals
cup honey nectar
springtime bliss

If you want to play along, just leave your link in the comments. One of these days I'll give Mr. Linky a second chance, but for today we'll do it the easy way.

Six Word Saturday

2009-02-14T11:15:00.002-05:00

Front half February foiled by flu

Five out of six people in this family have Influenza A. I think we're getting to the end of it. Hopefully, my husband can stay healthy.

For more Six Word Saturday visit Cate at Show My Face.

Friday Photo Finish

2009-02-13T09:07:00.002-05:00

Isn't that lovely? I didn't take that picture. My oldest daughter and husband did it in secret. They like to tease me about all the pictures of food I take for my food blog. I found it mixed in with my photos when I uploaded them from my camera. Aren't they funny?

Have you ever found unexpected photos on your camera?

For more Friday Photo Finish Fiesta fun check out Candid Carrie.

Five of My Favorite Things

2009-02-12T10:33:00.005-05:00

1. The Dick Van Dyke Show - My favorite tv show of all time. What's not to love? Classic black and white, 60s fashions, timeless husband/wife relationship stuff, funny neighbors, the suburbs, those twin beds! My very favorite episode is the one where Laura opens Rob's mail and out pops the inflatable boat. Classic! I think of it every time I open my husband's mail.

2. My chocolate stash - It's a good thing I took a picture of this, because it's now history. I did take quite a while to eat my way through it all. It included two dark chocolate bars with espresso beans, Ghiradelli dark chocolate with raspberry filling squares, Ferrero Rocher chocolates, and Godiva milk and dark chocolate squares. Yum! Makes me remember that movie Chocolat.

3. My new Nikon D40 camera - I'm loving this camera. I'm even learning to change the settings. I can use terms like ISO, aperture, shutter speed and sometimes know what I'm talking about. Sometimes, I know. The rest of the time I just fake it. But my pics are getting better.

Unfortunately, my camera has a problem with the auto focus. It isn't working right so I have to send it in to be fixed. I'll miss my camera while it's gone. But maybe learning on the new camera will improve the pictures I'll have to take on my old point-and-shoot. I can only hope.

4. The Easy Bake Oven - My youngest daughter wanted this for Christmas. I almost didn't buy it for her because I didn't want to have to purchase those expensive and yucky tasting mixes - I'm cheap! But then I found out that you could use real ingredients to bake things in the EBO and a whole new hobby was born. It's fun to cook with my little girl. She loves it. And the treats taste good too. Here's a link to a couple of recipes we made and posted on my cooking blog.

5. My current favorite song - My favorite songs change frequently, but right now it's You Found Me by The Fray. There's just something about that song. Such longing in the lyrics. Love it. I don't know how to put a song on a blog. I rarely ever watch videos on blogs or listen to the music, but I'll include a link to this song. If you want to hear it, click here.

For more Favorite Things or creative responses to her other writing prompts, visit Mama Kat at Mama's Losin It.

Classics and Candy

2009-02-09T10:59:00.002-05:00

I admit that I am not a very well-read person. I got through high school English with Cliff Notes. The last few years I've been trying to read some of those classics that I missed in my wayward, misguided youth.

At Christmas break I started reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I enjoy it while I'm reading, but I'm still only half way through. And honestly, it's just not pulling me in the way I would like. It doesn't call me back to it, so I forget that I'm trying to read it. I could leave the story now and never wonder what happens in the end. I would feel a bit guilty about abandoning a classic - but only a little guilty.

Enter the book candy I bought off the Walmart shelf on Saturday while grocery shopping. I was looking for a book for my poor, sick son who has the flu. They didn't have the one I wanted for him, but I did find Sundays at Tiffany's. Oh my, that was the perfect antidote to "too much classic syndrome". I read most of it on Saturday afternoon. Finished it off Sunday evening after running a few errands and tending to my youngest daughter's fever (over 105 degrees!).

I knew Sundays at Tiffany's was going to be good when the main character was eating a hot fudge sundae with coffee ice cream in the first chapter - that's my favorite treat. The book is a fun, easy, melt-in-your-mouth, sweet read. One that you can devour.

Are there classic books that you've abandoned mid-way through? Do you have favorite easy reads? Do you have a well balanced diet of reading or do you binge on the book candy? Or maybe you're the literary equivalent of a vegan, only reading books that require lots of chewing and are packed with good-for-you stuff. Share your book consuming habits!

Six Word Saturday

2009-02-07T10:22:00.002-05:00

Temporary Winter cease-fire, Spring teases

~~~

Schedule stutters over two sick boys

We're battling the flu over here, hoping that these boys feel better soon and that nobody else get this thing. If you're battling colds and flu, pop over to my food blog, Eat at Home. I've got a recipe for Virus Killing Soup - yummy, healing chicken soup. I sure am ready for Spring!

For more Six Word Saturday fun, go visit Cate at Show My Face.

Interview Meme

2009-02-04T15:37:00.003-05:00

Jenners, who is providing me all kinds of inspiration lately posted an interview meme on her blog. She asked another blogger to send her interview questions and then answered them. In turn, she offered to interview other bloggers, so I took her up on that. Here are her questions and my answers:

1. What is your favorite time of day and why? That is a hard question for me, because it varies each day. I'm not a morning person and I'm not a late night person, so my favorite time comes somewhere between those two (obviously).

Lately, I've been trying to get to bed by 9 in order to get enough rest and ward off migraines. I take my notebook and current reads to bed and spend about an hour with them before turning out the lights. I really like that time.

Sometimes, my favorite time is when we all sit down to dinner, especially if it's a night when we're all home together, which is increasingly rare.

Sometimes it's when all the kids (except teen daughter) have gone to bed and my hubby and I can pop in a M*A*S*H dvd and watch together.

Sometimes it's early morning when my littlest climbs in bed with me.

2. Can you tell me about a book that transported you to another time and place?

When I was 8 year old that book was Little House in the Big Woods and Little House on the Prarie.

When I was 12, Julie of the Wolves caught my imagination.

When I was 16, I loved the romance of Gone with the Wind.

I'm having trouble choosing one book from my adult-hood. Every good book should transport the reader to another time and place. I could choose Memoirs of a Geisha or Snowflower and the Secret Fan or The Poisonwood Bible or... Since February is Black History Month, I'll choose The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Ernest J. Gaines. The story is about a woman who was born into slavery and follows her life up to the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. It is a fictional story, but sheds light on the stories of so many African Americans who lived during that time.

3. Pretend you had all day to yourself to do anything you wanted to do (money is no object). What would you do? Hmmm... All day by myself? I'm not much of a loner. I really prefer to have company, but if I really had to be by myself I would probably choose a warm, sunny beach, a few books and a notebook.

If I can invite someone along, I would enjoy a day in NYC or a day in Disney World. Or how about something simple like lunch with a friend and trip through a bookstore?

4. What do you think are the five ugliest words in the English language? (You can choose purely by the sound of the word or by meaning.)

- congeal - I don't know why, it just sounds gross

- coagulate - Same reason as congeal

- crepuscular - How this word can have to do with twilight, I don't know. It sounds more like a seeping skin condition to me.

- sh** and the "f" word - These two cuss words really bug me. I think sh** is just ugly. Use a better vocabulary. And the "f" word - in my opinion, there is just no excuse for using this word. It is hateful and vulgar. I won't entirely abandoned a book or blog or other writing for use of these words, but there better be a lot of substance for me to keep reading. If not, I'll move on to other things.

5. How do you feel about the way Disney has handled Winnie-the-Pooh? First of all, I must say that Walt Disney World is one of my favorite places to visit. I also really like Disney movies. I know some folks are highly against all things Disney, but that is not me.

I like Disney's classic Pooh - the artwork, the stories, the animated movies. One of my favorites is The Blustery Day, on which The Many Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh ride in WDW is based. When she was little, my oldest daughter's imaginary friend was Roo. These characters will always have a special place in my heart.

Although I'm not totally against the newer Pooh shows, I don't think they are nearly as good as the classics from the 60s (or the books, of course). And I really don't like any of the children's books that are based on Disney movies, whether they be Winnie-the-Pooh or any other movie. The writing in these books is dreadful. These books have made their way into our house, but I usually refuse to read them to the kids, or I only read the first line on each page. The kids only want to look at the pictures anyway.
~~~~

Thanks for the interview questions, Jenners. If anyone would like to have interview questions from me, just let me know in the comments.

Found Poems

2009-02-04T13:32:00.003-05:00

The topic of found poems came up on Jenners blog the other day. She used several definitions from the dictionary to write found poems. Kitten also wrote a found poem. She used one definition from the dictionary for hers.

I remember reading Natalie Goldberg's Writing Down the Bones where she also talked about found poems. She told about giving a few pages of her journal to writing students and asked them to create poems using some of her phrases and words. Several students took the challenge. Each poem was different, but she was interested to see that they all included one phrase in common - "The hills of New Mexico are everywhere you go".

I decided to go back through my writing practice notebook, looking for phrases that I could use in a found poem. The phrases were scattered throughout the notebook and I combined them in a way I liked. Here's what I ended up with:

When were you going to tell me?
The days have lost their meaning and rhythm
Color variations, swirled patterns
Pass in front of my eyes
Warming and thinning my mood.
When were you going to tell me?

Here is another one from phrases taken from one page of my journal:

He smelled of
dry cleaned clothes and
aftershave and
his favorite brand of cigarette

A compilation of everything
that's gone before and
everything that's to come after

Butterfly - an Award and Haiku prompt

2009-02-03T16:37:00.004-05:00

My bloggy friend, Jenners has bestowed on me an award! I love how Jenners changes the rules on blog awards. It makes it fun and unique each time it's given. This time, she has requested that I write a butterfly poem. So here is my poem:

orange wings in sharp contrast
to azure skies of late September
fragile fluttering against Autumn breezes
rushing as cold weather pursues
how do they know the path to follow
when they've never been before?

I know - that's not much of a poem, but it still counts!

And because I love haiku, I'm turning this into the haiku prompt for this week. If you want to play along and write your own, just leave your link in the comments.

Here's my butterfly haiku:

orange wings marked black
fragile strength defies logic
flight to Mexico

Oh yes, I'm bestowing this lovely Butterfly Award to Cate at Show My Face. She is the host of Six Word Saturday and has a great blog!

Six Word Saturday

2009-01-31T17:38:00.002-05:00

Listening to him read brings tears

My 10 year old son is dyslexic. We have struggled to teach him to read, and he has struggled to learn, for many years now. Finally, we have him in a program that is bringing results! Today, he read to me. Read more in one sitting than he ever has. Read without me forcing him to try. He still has a long way to go, but we are on the way and it feels good. So the tears this time are tears of joy and not frustration.

For more 6 Word Saturday fun, visit Show My Face.

January's Over - How am I Doing on My Goals?

2009-01-30T22:33:00.004-05:00

This is our world right now. Ice, frosted with a fluffy layer of snow. The sun came out today and turned everything into crystal. The trees looked as if a thousand tiny prisms hung from their branches, splitting the light into colors.

So how have I done on my Lit Themed Goals for this month?

1. I wanted to keep better track of the books I read. I regret to report that I have not finished a single book in January. I am currently reading three books, and one of them is pretty long. That's my excuse. I could come up with more excuses, but I'll spare us both. I am enjoying the books I'm reading.

2. I wanted to get in some writing practice/free writing each day and fill a whole spiral bound notebook. I didn't quite do that. I did fill most of a notebook and wrote many days out of the month. I used the time while waiting on kids to finish activities to write, so I'm happy with that. Often, this time gets sucked up running errands, so to turn it into writing time is good.

3. I wanted to host weekly haiku challenges here. I missed one week. I have not held the challenges in the same way twice. I may need to revamp this goal.

4. I signed up for the Random Complexity Writer's Challenge hosted by In Search of Giants.
The goal is to write 1000 words of fiction each month. I wrote several stories in my writing notebook, although I never estimated the number of words written. For January, the entries in the Clarity of Night writing contest counted for the entire 1000 words, even though the contest called for a maximum of 250 words. So, I've met the January goal for the Writer's Challenge.

5. Speaking of the Clarity of Night contest, I was happy with my entry. Thank you to those of you who read my entry. Your encouraging comments mean a lot. I did not win or place in the contest, but it was a great challenge and I really enjoyed participating. I also learned a lot from reading the other entries.

On to February!

I feel compelled to say that I really did think this was January 31. Maybe I'm just very ready for the month to be over!

Haiku prompt - Winter Weather

2009-01-27T19:35:00.002-05:00

We were supposed to get lots of snow today, but instead we had about an inch of ice and the freezing rain is still coming down. I let the kids go out to play for a few minutes while it wasn't raining. They had a blast because the backyard was a skating rink.

I know I missed posting a haiku prompt last week. If you want to play along this week, post the link to your poem and blog in the comments section here.

Here's my haiku:

Carefully climb steps
Slipping on icy play set
Slide down across yard

I wish I had a picture of the neighbor boy sliding today. He slid all the way across the yard after going down the slide!

Notebooks closed today
Boots, snow suits, cookies, cocoa
January fun

Six Word Saturday

2009-01-24T18:56:00.002-05:00

Finally slumped my weary self down

It's been a day of basketball games, dance classes, groceries, laundry, cooking - the usual Saturday stuff. It's all good, but I'm tired!

For more Six Word Saturday fun, check out Show My Face

Bookshelf Meme

2009-01-18T15:04:00.009-05:00

What book lover doesn't love to share their bookshelf? I found this meme on the excellent blog, Find You Next Book Here.

Tell about the book that's been on your shelf the longest:

I remember sitting on my bed with my mom, sounding out the words in this book. Mom didn't read to me very much so maybe that's why I remember this incident so vividly. Or maybe it was because learning to read was so important to me. This poor book is missing the cover. It think it was a Little Golden Book passed down from some older cousins.

Tell about a book that reminds you of something specific in your life (a person, place, time etc):

Like most people, there are several books I could have chosen to fill this category. I decided to go with a happy choice. This is the book my husband and I used to help us navigate NYC on two separate weekend get-aways. The maps are marked up, the subway "cheat sheet" pulled out, restaurants review circled. Two great trips together - what more can you ask for from a book?

Tell about a book you acquired in some interesting way (gift, serendipity in a used book store, prize etc.):

I participated in a Secret Sister program this fall with a group of homeschool moms. The purpose was to get to know each other better and it was a big success. On the form, I listed my hobbies as reading and writing fiction. As it happened, the person who got my name also loves to write. The first gift she gave me was a huge birthday cake and balloons. She told me in that first card that she also loved writing. Throughout the weeks, she gave me a journal and pen and several notes that included more teasers on her writing. Every week at Learning Zone, our homeschool co-op I would try to guess the identity of my Secret Sister. Finally, she gave me this book at the reveal and we were able to talk about writing. One of these days she's going to have to let me read a little of her work.

Tell about the most recent addition to your shelves:

This book came through Paperbackswap. I haven't started it yet, but I've heard good things and I like the cover.

Tell about the book that has been with you to the most places:

My Bible is over twenty years old and has travelled with me a lot. I'd like to say that I read it every day, but I don't. I keep up well for a few weeks and then slack off. The cover has a place for a journal which I use for writing thoughts and prayers. I have lots of prayer journals from years past stored in a drawer upstairs. My Bible is easily my most precious book.

Tell about a bonus book that doesn't fit any of the above categories:

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe is my current favorite fiction book. It was one of the first books I ordered from Paperbackswap. Foolishly, I put it back into circulation and mailed it out again. The book in the picture is the second copy I received from PBS. One of these days I may break down and buy a new copy. There's something about the characters in this book that I just fell in love with. In my mind they are all real and visiting them in Whistle Stop only requires me to let the pages fall open.

The Rules for this meme:

1. Tag 3-5 people, so the fun keeps going!
Leave a comment at the original post at A Striped Armchair so that Eva can collect everyone’s answers.
If you leave a comment and link back to Eva as the meme’s creator, she will enter you in a book giveaway contest! She has a whole shelf devoted to giveaway books that you’ll be able to choose from, or a bookmooch point if you prefer.
Remember that this is all about enjoying books as physical objects, so feel free to describe the exact book you’re talking about, down to that warping from being dropped in the bath water…
Make the meme more fun with visuals! Covers of the specific edition you’re talking about, photos of your bookshelves, etc

I'm not going to tag anyone with this, since I basically snagged it from Jenners. If you want to participate, consider this your tag. Please let me know if you do - I'd like to read about your books!

Six Word Saturday

2009-01-17T20:19:00.002-05:00

Cate at Show My Face hosts Six Word Saturday. This is my first time to play along.

Eyelids are heavy this cold evening

It's only 8:30pm and I'm about to fall asleep. I'll never make it through the movie we rented tonight.

A Few Things

2009-01-14T16:47:00.002-05:00

Haiku - Games
Elftea has already shared the link to her haikus on the Monday post. I'm going to link it here as well, to make it easier to find. If you haven't written a haiku or poem for the prompt "games" and you would like to, please leave your link in the comments here.

Here's mine:

travel colored squares
Rainbow Trail and Gumdrop Pass
Candy Castle treats

"Ascension" Short Fiction Contest
Most of my writing time this week went to my entry for this contest hosted by The Clarity of Night. The word limit for the contest was only 250 words. I found this to be a good challenge. It forced me to focus and pack as much as I could into the work. Each word really needed to count. I'm not sure how I ended up doing, but I'm happy with the result. I re-wrote it several times as I worked to show, not tell. My submission is #105, The Lottery Winner.

Writing Challenge 2009

2009-01-12T19:29:00.002-05:00

If you're looking for this week's Haiku prompt, click here.

Jenners let me know about this writing challenge hosted by In Search of Giants. The goal is to write 1000 words a month. The writing can be fiction or creative non-fiction. In one year, I should have 12,000 words to show for my efforts. I have a terrible pattern of winning National Novel Writing Month and then putting my pen down until the next November. Hopefully, being part of this challenge will keep me writing this year.

Through In Search of Giants, I found a writing contest hosted by The Clarity of Night. I'm working on my 250 word entry. I'll post it here when I finish.

Haiku Prompt - Games

2009-01-12T10:23:00.002-05:00

Let's play this week. Write a haiku or other type of poem based on games. Use your imagination and have fun.

For those who might be new to writing haiku, it traditionally follows a 5-7-5 syllable pattern in three lines. I'm all for breaking rules though. Give it a try and have fun. I'll put up a post on Wednesday so that we can share our poems and visit the other participants' blogs.

Here's a haiku I wrote a few years ago. I'll be writing a fresh one this week for the prompt.

Ivory bishop
Diagonal move to check
Long-standing bet lost

Don't forget to come back Wednesday (or later, I'm not set on deadlines!) to share your writing.

Haiku Prompt - Building - Share your poems

2009-01-07T09:45:00.002-05:00

This is the second haiku prompt I've shared on here and I'm hoping to make this a weekly event. The comments for this post will always be open, so even if you can't post your haiku or poem today, please come back and share later.

Here's what I wrote this week:

Seasons sweep over
Roof timbers and red plank walls
Securing history

~~~

Plastic bricks clicked tight
One on top of another
Model pyramid

I can't wait to read your poems. Don't forget to visit the other participants and leave them an encouraging comment.

Now for a bit of technical stuff. I'm not in love with Mr. Linky yet, so I ditched him for this week. Please leave your permalink in the comments of this post, so we can find your poem.

What's a permalink, you ask? If you click the title of your haiku post on your blog, you will notice that the address in the address bar has changed a bit. This is the permalink. Copy and paste that into the comments here and that way visitors can always find your poem for this prompt.

Want to make a real link in the comments? To do this you need to use a little html code. It is easy to do - I made it work yesterday, so it must be easy! For a great explanation of all of this, go to Luke Holzmann's blog.

Haiku Writing Prompt - Building

2009-01-05T08:57:00.004-05:00

The writing prompt for this week is "Building". You can treat this as noun or verb. Write haiku or another form of poetry and come back on Wednesday to post the link to your poem on your blog. You can also post your link after Wednesday - I'm not strict on deadlines around here.

The barn picture is one I took from a moving car as we drove along I-75 (no, I was not the one driving!). My husband got me a new camara for Christmas and I have loved playing with it.

Now, I'm off to write my haiku for this prompt. I can't wait to read all of yours!

My Lit Themed Resolutions

2009-01-01T15:01:00.003-05:00

1. Keep better track of the books I read - I love reading the list of books people read in a year, and start off with good intentions of keeping my own list, but somehow I don't follow through. I've started a project called "Book 100", taken from Chapter after Chapter: Discover the Dedication and Focus You Need to Write the Book of Your Dreams by Heather Sellers.

The goal of Book 100 is to read 100 books that are similar to the one you want to write. Read the book and then record these thoughts about the book: summarize the book in a sentence, summarize the book in a paragraph, the best thing about this book, memorable and useful techniques the author used.

I've got about 14 books in my list of Book 100. I haven't been adding the new books I read, though, thus the resolution.

2. Write Morning Pages - I thought I knew where this idea originated, but now I'm not sure. I think it came from a book that I've never actually read and I can't remember the name of it. (Anybody out there know?) The idea with morning pages is to fill 3 pages of a notebook each morning with whatever is on your mind. I've done this before and it's a great exercise, but I'm not regular with it. If I did it for a month I would fill one of those cheap, spiral bound notebooks. That's my goal - fill one notebook full in one month.

3. Host regular haiku/poetry writing prompts here on this blog - Check here next week for the next prompt.

One of My Favorite Christmas Gifts

2008-12-26T09:10:00.002-05:00

My oldest daughter has become passionate about ending modern day slavery. For Christmas she chose gifts for each of us that were all Fair Trade appproved. Many were from small, entreprenuership businesses. The gifts included a leather journal, Fair Trade coffee, a thumb piano made in Kenya, a small purse made by women in Guatemala and a soccer ball stamped with "Not For Sale". Most soccer balls are made by children, but not this one.

With each gift, my daughter included a note and a Bible verse that held a "clue" to the gift. The note she wrote for me is priceless. The best gift of all.

1 John 1:4
"We write this to make our joy complete."

We write joy and tears. God, too, has written that in His book. His book has your name in it. He desires to create a hapy ending for you. Because he is the Author, He will.

This journal was made for Freedom. So was God's book. He wrote your name there because you are free from sin. Because Christ died for you.

Teaser Tuesdays

2008-12-23T09:57:00.002-05:00

I just discovered a blog last night called Should Be Reading - wonderful blog! And she hosts Teaser Tuesdays.

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
Please avoid spoilers!

Pipe dreams he thought to himself, even while he was telling her about his dream winnings. But oh, how wonderful, he though, if everthing you talked about could come true! - A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith pg. 34

For more teasers, go here.

Writing Prompt - Shiny Things

2008-12-16T19:07:00.005-05:00

I hope you had fun writing about Shiny Things. I did! If you've written and posted your poem on your blog, please leave the permalink in Mr. Linky. If you haven't written yet, go write and then come back to leave your permalink. It doesn't have to be today - I'll wait for you. I can't wait to read everyone's poems!

Update - I really need a Mr. Linky lesson! If someone out there could help me out, I would be very grateful.

Here are mine:

Sun glints on french horn
Christmas jingles beckoning
Coins dropped in pail

~~~

Pulled from rinse water
Tumbler glides from soapy hand
Scattered shards of glass

~~~

Miniscule balls
Gathered together form one
Mercury sphere

(I know this last one is missing a syllable in the last line, but I still thought it sounded good this way.)

Your turn!

Haiku Writing Prompt - Shiny Things

2008-12-16T13:17:00.002-05:00

Shiny Things will be the first writing prompt on my blog. You can write haiku or other poetry. I am no expert in writing of any kind, but I love to play with it. Please play along!

Traditionally, haiku is made up of three lines (5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables). It's fun and kind of addictive to fit your idea into that form. Get out your Thesaurus and have at it!

I'll post a Mr. Linky on Thursday for you to link up your poem on your blog. This will be my first time to use Mr. Linky on my site, so bear with me!

Now, I'm off to write my own Shiny Things haiku! Don't forget to share your poems on Thursday (or any day after that)!

Open Letter to the Impatient Woman

2008-12-12T19:52:00.002-05:00

Dear Impatient Woman,

I'm so sorry that you found yourself waiting behind my car on a busy Friday night only 13 days before Christmas. I know that you also were waiting to turn left onto a busy road and traffic was backing up. You must have had lots of shopping to get done. I understand that you got fed up with waiting on me to have enough space to pull out. I'm okay with you deciding to go around me and take another route.

But was it really necessary to "point 1 with your finger", as my six year old daughter saw you do? Really, did you have to use a vulgar gesture to express the fact that you had spent an extra sixty seconds in traffic?

For you, dear impatient woman, I wish all the joys of Christmas. I hope that you find peace and fulfillment and happiness. I pray your heart will overflow with love and joy. And when it does, please pass this love along to others. You have shown that your heart is in great need of the love that Christmas brings.

Please pass this love on, when God showers it on your heart. I'll pray that you won't be so hard hearted as to turn the love away when it is given.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a patient, happy New Year,
Tiffany

Dear Santa

2008-12-10T10:03:00.003-05:00

Dear Santa,

It has been over 30 years since I last wrote to you. Please forgive me. Thank you for all the gifts you have given me and my loved ones in the past. The Christmas memories have been priceless.

This year I do have a request. Could you reach into your bag of magical gifts and turn me into a Morning Person? I want to be able to get up at 5:00am feeling energetic and refreshed from a full night's sleep. I want to be clear headed and able to concentrate on my writing.

And could you make it so that my getting up early does not rouse any of my children, for that is counter productive. I want this time alone, to read my Bible, pray and work on my writing.

If you can't turn me into a Morning Person, could you bestow on me energy that lasts fully until 11:00pm or even mid-night? I would like to be clear headed and focused late into the evening. Not just awake on the couch, vegging in front of the TV, but creative and productive.

You see, the daytime hours that are my best are also taken up with necessary daily tasks that demand my attention and concentration. So you can see how I need these extra hours of high energy time added to my day. And if I could have these hours without the risk of migraines that lack of sleep usually causes, that would be wonderful.

Thank you,

Tiffany

p.s. If you can't give me this request, could you please help me carve out writing time with my current limited hours in the day?

Another Nano Win!

2008-11-28T21:48:00.002-05:00

I finished 50,000 words! I'm happy to say that by about 45,000 words I finally found the story I really wanted to write :-) That's what Nano is all about, right?

Happy Writing!

Haiku Prompt for Mama's Losin' It

2008-11-13T06:54:00.002-05:00

This week's writing prompt at Mama's Losin' It included writing a haiku about what you see out your window. I can never resist haiku - love them!

puddles under swings
reflect dripping pewter skies
playtime chased inside

Just a short piece again this time, because most of my writing time is going to Nano.

Top 10 Pet Peeves

2008-11-06T08:13:00.002-05:00

This is my first time to participate in Writer's Workshop at Mama's Losin' It. I chose to write for the Top 10 Pet Peeves prompt. I figured it was just a list and I'm in the middle of Nano (I'm on track with my word count at 8463 words)

Top 10 Pet Peeves

10. Trash that gets left on the floor next to the trashcan.
9. Repetitive music on video games
8. Smudged lenses on glasses
7. Chicken that doesn't get done in the time the recipe calls for
6. Walmart not carrying their brand of chocolate chips now that we're entering baking season
5. Bad directions (and getting lost as a result)
4. Broccoli crumbs in the bottom of the frozen broccoli bag
3. Telemarketer/credit card/political phone calls
2. Being interrupted while reading the end of a really good book
1. My own whining and complaining (For more on how I've tried to combat this read this)

Write on Wednesday - Marathon

2008-10-29T11:30:00.003-05:00

This is my first Write on Wednesday post.

The question is:
So, how about you? If you’ve done NaNoWriMo, what was the experience like for you? If you’ve never done it, do you think you could? Do you have a novel residing in you somewhere, waiting to get out?

This will be my 5th Nano! It's hard to believe I've done it that many times and I've won each year I've participated. I love the mad-dash writing, the creative ideas that flow when I least expect it, the horribly bad sentences that make me laugh out loud, the thrill of finishing 50,000 words, the characters and story lines that not only entertain me for 30 days, but stick with me forever.

My first Nano novel was also the first time I'd ever tried writing fiction, unless you count the pathetic attempt in high school English class and I don't count that attempt because it was embarassing and frustrating! I spent the month of October coming up with some characters and a plot and note-carding possible scenes. I wrote each of those note card into scenes, plus added more to get to 50,000 words.

Story in a sentence: Working at the library while raising her younger sister after the death of their mother, Sharla befriends a lonely, old widower who gives her an amazing gift.

For my second Nano novel I did similar prep work, but a bit less than the first year.

Story in a sentence (or 2): In Everybody Eats at Mina's, Mina's restaurant has been closed for years, but she continued to feed people in the neighborhood until her building was threatened by new development. Helped by a local pastor, a young woman on her own and not long out of foster care and a recovering drug addict Mina works to re-open her restaurant and save the building where she works and lives.

My third Nano sent me into a mind block for ideas. I know that it is not advised to work on a story that you've been working on because you'll care too much about it to hack it up for Nano. Well, I ignored that advice a bit. I'd done a short story that I really thought I could turn into a novel and decided to do that for this Nano. I had mixed results. I still like the characters and still want to work it into a novel, but it also seems doomed. I've worked on it more than any other story but... it just won't gel for me yet.

Story in a sentence: Elvis Presley Walker has left her life in Bug Tussle, KY for Lexington and a new career, never mentioning to her friends or fiance what her life was like before, but when her mom calls to tell her Memaw is dying will Presley (as she's now known) go home and make peace with her past?

Last year was my fourth Nano. I forced myself to come up with characters and a plot idea just a few days before Nov. 1. It worked out and I liked the story.

Story in a sentence: Single mom, Marla loses the job that provides for her teenage son and herself and now faces homelessness, until Pastor Sparks defies his son's desire to put him in an assisted living facility and invites Marla and her son to move in with him and care for him. Can they all find a future together?

This year: I have no idea what I'm going to write about!! Time's a-wasting! I've got to go get me some characters and a problem or two for them.

Nano time again

2008-10-23T17:05:00.002-05:00

Only 10 days left till Nano. I have no idea what I'm going to write about yet, but I will be writing. Nano is the challenge that started me writing in the first place. I love the thrill of the story that seems to come out of nowhere and the victory of finishing 50,000 by the end of November. It's a satisfying way to move into the end of the year.

A Kind of Beauty

2007-12-18T10:01:00.000-05:00

Tarnished winter skies
Polished by white solar rays
Gleaming crystal world

~~~~~~

Babe laid in manger
Immanuel, God with us
Long awaited Hope

For more beauty visit One Deep Breath

Yummy - One Deep Breath

2007-12-11T13:59:00.000-05:00

His lips brushing mine
Rich hint of coffee lingers
Sweet awakening

For more yummy haiku go here

Container Haiku

2007-12-04T08:57:00.000-05:00

Inside the city
Cardboard walls propped against winds
Shelter our neighbors

~~~~~~~~

Tiny hands reach high
Cardboard boxes colored pink
Play castle with me

For other takes on containers go to One Deep Breath

Friday Felicitations

2007-05-04T16:15:00.000-05:00

I haven't done these in way too long.

1. I'm back to Friday Felicitations!
2. I've been getting up early to work on my novel. It's slow going (but isn't that the way it should be?) but I am working on it. I'm not a morning person so this is a big accomplishment for me.
3. I've been getting the kids enrolled in various classes for next year and picking out curriculum.
4. I chose Breyer's Fat Free Double Churned ice cream over the regular. Not quite as yummy, but worth it for the fewer calories.

One Deep Breath - Spring

2007-04-03T09:23:00.000-05:00

Tender leaves unfurl

On thorny branches, entwined

Around white pickets

One moon more

Blooms pale pink roses

Spring cascade

For more spring (or fall, for those in the Southern Hemisphere) haiku go here.

One Deep Breath - One line haiku

2007-03-26T17:57:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted anything to my blog in a long time and it feels good to get back to poetry and hums. This week at One Deep Breath the prompt is one line haiku. These are my first attempts at such and they were fun to do. My favorite poetry is always short. I think these one line poems will be new favorites, both to read and write.

Fiery-necked Nightjar laces her song around the moonlight
~~~

Pink blossoms drip from bending branches of a weeping cherry tree
~~~

Bent and bruised blade of grass bleeds green on knee

One Deep Breath - Spicy Fibs

2007-02-20T08:58:00.000-05:00

The prompt this week from One Deep Breath is Spicy Fibs. These are haiku written using the Fibonacci Sequence of 1,1,2,3,5,8. I'd never tried this before, but it was really fun!

Sweet

Dough

Rolled in

White sugar

Mixed with cinnamon

Bake up to be Snickerdoodles

~~~~

Fine

Salt

Crystals

Sprinkled on

Fluffy white popcorn

Washed down with cold Coca-Cola

~~~

For the last one is used the fib sequence but skipped the spice part of the prompt. I read an article recently about a paper that has proven that sound can produce light, and thus it can be scientifically suppported that the universe was spoken into existence by God. Read more about this here.

God

Made

All things

By speaking

Sound produces light

Let it be...God saw it was good

Friday Felicitations

2007-02-17T09:42:00.000-05:00

This week's felicitations:

1) One of our Sunday School members said he enjoyed my comments in class. This meant a lot because our class is mostly older people who are very wise and mature in their faith. I've learned so much from them.

2) I was complimented on the poem that appeared in our church newsletter.

3) My husband told me he loves me so many times this week. He's the best.

One Deep Breath - Shelter

2007-02-12T14:40:00.000-05:00

The prompt this week at One Deep Breath is Shelter. Here are two very different takes on the prompt. The first is just fun, the second more of a prayer.

Plastic rain poncho

Useless against Florida rain

Disney fun goes on

~~~~~~

Shelter me, O Lord

For you are my strong tower

Let me run to you

(Proverbs 18:10)

Friday Felicitations

2007-02-10T09:42:00.000-05:00

I'm a day late with these, but that's ok.

1. I found out that there are several stay-at-home moms at my church and several of them are considering homeschool. That was so encouraging to me.

2. The things I'm learning in my writing class, I've been passing on to my daughter who has been working on short stories. It's fun to be able to help her in this.

3. I've samed some money on groceries the past two weeks by using the grocery game.

4. I'm feeling supported by friends during a difficult situation that has dragged on for a while now.

I have no idea if anyone out there ever reads these Friday Felicitations of mine, but I do them for me because it is good to think about the good things in life. I encourage you to try it too.

One Deep Breath - Dusk/Twilight

2007-02-07T21:34:00.000-05:00

Scarlet stained skies cloak
Strand of purple-gray mountains
Appalachian dusk

For more twilight scenes go here

Tagged

2007-02-07T20:47:00.000-05:00

I was tagged by Megan the other day and I've been neglecting my blog lately, so this seems like a good thing to post.

Five things you may not know about me:
1. I love to color with crayons. I like the way they smell. I also like to play with playdough.
2. I get hiccups frequently and cure them with a big spoon of peanut butter.
3. I nearly always use a headset when I'm talking on the phone because I don't like holding the phone. Also I can't talk on the phone and drive at the same time.
4. My favorite children's picture book is Good Night Moon. "In the great green room..."
5. My favorite dessert is a big bowl of vanilla ice cream with lots of chocolate syrup and nuts. At times in my life this has been a daily treat for me. Can't do it daily anymore if I want to fit in my clothes!

Friday Felicitations

2007-02-02T20:23:00.000-05:00

I keep thinking these felicitations will be easier to come up with but so far they are not. It is a good habit though, so here goes for this week:

1. I got in some writing time again this week.
2. I received good comments on the prologue and first 3 chapters of the novel I'm working on from the others in my writing class. They gave lots of positive comments and some really good constructive criticism.
3. While reading through the church newsletter today, I found a poem I wrote had been printed.

Passing it on:

1. My husband held a retreat for his board members this week and it went very well.

Sunday Scribblings - Chronicles

2007-01-29T20:17:00.000-05:00

The Chronicles of Linda Dawson

Linda worked everyday in the bank, standing behind her teller window. She wore gray wool skirts with white sweaters and black low-heeled shoes. She had worked at the bank for over twenty-five years. She had a habit of chronicling her life in a journal. She’d been doing this since she received a diary for her tenth birthday, rarely missing a day of writing. Moon phases, flowers that had bloomed in her yard, customers who had come to her teller window that day, what she’d had for lunch, lists of the mysteries and criminal thrillers she read - these are the things that Linda’s journal contained.

In February, Linda’s journal told of the seventeen days South Bend, Indiana had gone without sunshine. The weather had been as gray as Linda’s skirt, as gray as her house cat. Her pale blue eyes had taken on a grayness behind the metal frames of her glasses. Linda ate lunch in the break room of the bank, flipping through a Travel & Leisure magazine someone had left. In the magazine was a four page article about tropical getaways. Linda stared at pictures of azure skies and seas, waves crested with white foam, sand, palm trees and sunshine. The people in the pictures were soaking in the sun, their tan bodies looked warm and relaxed. Linda folded the magazine and threw the remains of her lunch in the trash can. She smoothed her gray skirt and adjusted her glasses on her slim nose, then took her place again behind her teller window.

On the twenty-second day with no sunshine in South Bend, Indiana Linda Dawson was still thinking about those pictures of the tropical places. That evening she balanced her drawer as she always did, carefully and quickly. But this time it didn’t balance. She was off by $5362. She knew why she was off. A new customer had come in to deposit this amount in his account. The money was in cash. She had done the deposit but for some reason it hadn’t registered in the computer and the customer left without the receipt.

Linda counted out the $5362 in cash. The drawer balanced without this money. Normally she would go back in to fix the error. She would call her boss over to help her with this. Linda looked up at the other tellers. They were all busy counting and recounting. Her face felt flush and she dabbed at her forehead with her fingertips. She slipped the cash into the pocket of her white, cardigan sweater, pushed her glasses up on her slim nose and smoothed her dull brown hair, making sure it was all tucked under the thin metal headband that held it back from her face. Linda closed her teller drawer and finished her paperwork.

Three days later Linda Dawson was laying on a beach in the Bahamas, her hair in tight cornrow braids done by a local girl. Sand clung to her feet and legs. A trickle of sweat ran down her back. Soon she would walk into the ocean water, letting the waves wash over her, cooling off her bronzed skin. For now she held a hollowed out pineapple and sipped the sweet drink. Her eyes had taken on the deep blue of the ocean and sky. Although she had packed her diary, it remained in the bottom of her suitcase. The last entry read, “Took the money and ran. Now I will live.”

Friday Felicitations

2007-01-26T17:18:00.001-05:00

I’m still doing these for me, just so that I can remember the good things that happen each week and focus on those.

1. We’re having friends over tonight and I’ve got dinner made and ready to go.

2. I edited the prologue and first 3 chapter of my novel for my writing class. It’s been uploaded for critique and so far I’ve gotten good comments and some helpful suggestions for improving it.

3. Last week I wrote a tiny story for Sunday Scribblings prompt, fantasy. That tiny story has been taking shape in my mind all week for a much longer story. Now I just need to start writing it.

Poetry Thursday - Why I love poetry

2007-01-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

The prompt this week at Poetry Thursday is "Why I Love Poetry". Here's my poem on loving poetry.

Poetry captures a moment
Illuminating it
Revealing the hidden things
I am pulled in
To savor its essence

One Deep Breath - Process/Craft

2007-01-23T15:03:00.000-05:00

Inklings drench paper
Imagination flowing
From the tip of the pen

~~~

Instantly captured
An idea snatches my mind
Other thoughts vanish

Find more at One Deep Breath

Sunday Scribblings - Fantasy

2007-01-19T21:03:00.000-05:00

Unless you count Ella Enchanted and a few of the Chronicles of Narnia series, I've never read any fantasy literature. But I decided to try my hand at writing a bit for this prompt. Here's my attempt. Hope you enjoy.

Risa huddled with her knees drawn up under her chin. The velvet hood of her cloak covered her hair and she held the treasure in her arms. She knelt in the open place, not far from the silver forest, just as she had been told. Stars of turquoise, amber, emerald and sapphire pierced the ebony sky. Her small body shook as she knelt, not from cold but fear. Chimes rang, random notes sounding haunting in the night. The trees of the silver forest knew she was near and tapped their branches together to alert the ogres who served the usurper.

As she waited she let her hand run over the treasure, a bronze key about the length of one of the leather slippers she wore on her feet. The key was encrusted with three amethyst jewels. Risa was only a courier in the service of the One and Only King and didn’t know what the key opened.

The chimes were getting louder and she was afraid that the ogres would discover her soon, but still she knelt on the mossy ground. The air stirred around her face, blowing the tendrils of black hair that escaped her hood. As she brushed the curls from her eyes she heard the rush of wings in the air behind her. Risa was lifted from the ground, cradled in the dragon’s talons more gently than she thought possible. Quickly the dragon flew, lifting her high over the silver forest, away from the danger. Everything was just as she was told. The treasure would be safe. The Kingdom assured.

~~
More fantasy here

Friday Felicitations

2007-01-19T17:12:00.000-05:00

Friday again and time for more felicitations.
1. Several people told me this week that I’m handling a difficult situation well. This was good to hear because the situation is challenging, in not a good way.

2. Despite not making it out of the house to do any writing this week, I still managed to work at home on it.

3. I had coffee and dessert with a friend this week and another friend stopped by to visit for a while.

4. I went for a walk this afternoon with the kids and youngest daughter rode her new two wheel bike. The sunshine was wonderful and it was fun to see her bundled up on her bike.

Passing it on:
1. Karen from my writing group finished the first draft of her novel! Yeah!

One Deep Breath - Reflection

2007-01-16T09:48:00.000-05:00

Cratered sphere of rock
Suspended in galaxy
Reflects sun’s glory

~~~

Mirrored gazing ball
Curved mercury images
Of gardener’s vision.

~~~

Grace bends down
Drinking deeply
Of its own reflection

I know the last one isn't a traditional haiku. I wrote it after remembering a picture of a giraffe's reflection in the water as it bent to drink. I've looked for the picture but can't find it again.

For more Reflections visit One Deep Breath

Sunday Scribblings - Idea

2007-01-13T11:57:00.000-05:00

Idea

An idea materializes in my mind and I’m intrigued with it and enamored by it. I turn it over, examining and admiring it. But once I commit to the idea and begin to work with it, I find its flaws. Maybe it’s not as complex as I first thought, or maybe it’s too complex. Maybe it’s too dark, ugly, sickly sweet, plastic, one dimensional. I become frustrated and want to destroy the idea rather than continue to work with it. It is a bad idea anyway.

Or is it? I’m beginning to believe that there aren’t any bad ideas when it comes to writing. Ideas only become truly good when they are worked with by writers who are committed to refining them, sculpting and carving until their beauty shines through.

Look here for more Ideas.

Friday Felicitations

2007-01-13T11:03:00.000-05:00

I know it's Saturday but better late than never, so they say.

It's hard to come up with felicitations for myself, to list those good things that have happened to me over the week, compliments I've gotten or accomplishments. Maybe with practice it will get easier.

1. I found an old poem I'd written called "Satisfy" and I sent it to my pastor, who told me he liked it.

2. I kept my three writing dates for the week. Two are while waiting for my daughter to get out of dance class and the other during the week with no other excuse to have to go out, only writing. All three were productive, relaxing and worth the effort.

Passing it on:

1. To my sister-in-law for bravely traveling with her two children from Germany to Ohio and back again. A true adventure on military flights, especially the return which took many days more than she expected.

2. To Lara in my writing group for perservering through a tough place in her novel. She's an example for all of us!

For more felicitaions and to find out what Friday Felicitations is all about click the link in the side bar at the right.

One Deep Breath - Subtle Changes

2007-01-09T20:19:00.000-05:00

Sun warms their faces
Healthy glow of rosy cheeks
Sprinkle of freckles

~~~

New stylish hair-do
Condfident, looking pretty
He doesn't notice

~~~

Ivory bishop
Diagonal move to check
Long-standing bet lost

~~~
For more Subtle Changes

Sunday Scribblings - Kissing

2007-01-06T17:50:00.000-05:00

“Kiss her again! Kiss her again!” These were the cries of my two youngest children a few weeks ago when they caught my husband kissing me in the living room. Our kisses mingled with laughter as we kept kissing, egged on by the encouragement of our kids.

I’m not sure why they decided to enjoy our moment with us, but it was funny to hear them. A snapshot memory to treasure.

For more Kissing click here.

Friday Felicitations

2007-01-05T18:58:00.000-05:00

Megan, from my writing group explains Friday Felicitations on her blog, Flaming Renaissance. Here's an excerpt from what she wrote:

Why is it we are so ready to remember those negative things we hear about ourselves and so quick to dismiss the compliments and offers of a step up in this world? Who, may I ask, taught us that being proud of something we’ve done well or accomplished is the same as being arrogant?
Let’s give up that thinking once and for all! Stop hiding the gifts of positive words behind your back and start thrusting them out in the open - join our Friday Felicitations Movement!

This goes well with the more positive outlook I'm striving for in myself, so here are my felicitations.

1) Two people recently have told me that I look good and wondered if I've had my hair done or something (I haven't, but I did realize that I was wearing the same outfit both times. It must be the color.)

2) I got several compliments on my cooking and baking over the holidays, especially for my peppermint patties.

3) A friend saw my kichen for the first time and complimented me on the color. I painted it red this summer.

Now for passing on felicitations. We talked about this at dinner and my husband and oldest daughter also tried to think of some for themselves. We all agreed that it's hard!

1) My daughter got complimented on the jewelry that she was wearing, which she made herself. She also was told that she is pretty.

2) My husband was told he is humble. (We laughed about this, because can you give yourself felicitations over being humble?) He has also recently been nominated to serve on the Federal Home Loan Bank board. What this means is over my head, but it is an honor.

Poetry Thursday

2007-01-04T21:12:00.000-05:00

Here's an old poem that I wrote several years ago.

Library computer systems can’t
Satisfy sentimental longings for
Old card catalogues.
Heavy, wooden cabinets
Laden with small drawers,
Filled with paper and ink symbols
Of each book

Printed receipts are no substitute for
Due-date cards slid into
Envelopes inside front covers of books.

Plastic cards like so many other plastic cards
In my purse make me long for
My old heavy paper library card
Worn soft with use,
Embedded with a small metal plate to
Stamp the card of each book checked out.
Slipped into the stamping machine with a satisfying
Ka-thunk.

Click here for more Poetry Thursday

One Deep Breath - New Year

2007-01-01T19:43:00.000-05:00

In our family we make fun predictions for the New Year. We read what we wrote down from the year before and then make up new ideas of what the next year will bring. We always keep it fun - things like a child losing their first tooth, the number of soccer goals kicked in the season, what the new cousin will be named etc. It's a fun way to think about the year the is past and the year that is coming.

New Year’s predictions
Pondering past and future
Of our family life

For more New Year haiku click here

Sunday Scribblings - Destination

2007-01-01T11:12:00.000-05:00

The prompt this week for Sunday Scribblings makes me think of the writing plan I've been working on. I've been pondering it for a few weeks, since it was brought up in a writing group that I'm part of.

The plan will be my map to get me to two destinations: 1) establishing a regular writing habit 2) concentrate on my novel.

I spent Nov. doing National Novel Writing Month and won for the third consecutive year. December was dedicated to poetry. I started this blog and have participated in Sunday Scribblings, Poetry Thursday, and One Deep Breath. I also renewed my quiet time/morning pages habit each day.

With that ground work laid, here's how the plan is shaping up for the first three months of 2007

January - March
1) Continue with quiet time/morning pages
2) Start the Gotham Writers' Workshop class that was a Christmas gift from my generous and loving husband. I chose Novel Writing and I'm excited and nervous. Over a year ago I took Fiction Writing and it was wonderful.
3) Continue with this blog. I may blog about the class and what I'm learning.
4) By the end of March I'll come up with a new plan that will help me reach the two destinations I'm working toward. The Novel Writing class will be over and I'll have a better idea of the work that will need done on my story.

Last year when I finished nanowrimo, I nearly stopped writing. This year will be different. I have destinations in mind and a map to get me there.

One Deep Breath - Weathering/Aging

2006-12-28T11:39:00.000-05:00

The haiku prompt for this week at One Deep Breath is weathering/aging.

The first is inspired by my own reflection in the mirror.

White strands sprinkle through
My brown locks like foil
Icicles on tree.

~~~~

Our House

One hundred fifty
Years of daily life under
This old, metal roof

~~~~~~~~

This one is inspired by my cookbook that is falling apart and bulging.

Recipes

Passed down, collected
cooked, simmered, baked, concocted
Savor memories

Poetry Thursday

2006-12-28T09:13:00.000-05:00

This week I played with the magnetic poetry set on my fridge. Here's what I came up with:

Bare, pink peach
Cool honey water
Sweet Southern summer

~~~~
new Year
whisper Eternity
into silver-blue wind
sing Time

For more Poetry Thursday click here

Sunday Scribblings

2006-12-23T17:17:00.000-05:00

“If you don't like something change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain." - Maya Angelou

A few weeks ago I read an article in the newspaper about a church in Kansas that decided together to stop complaining. With the assumption that it takes 21 days to change a habit, they agreed to wear “complaining” bracelets for 21 days. If they complained the bracelet was moved to the other arm and the 21 day count started over.

Two weeks ago my husband, oldest daughter and I decided to try this for ourselves. My daughter made friendship bracelets for all of us. As of today I’ll get to take mine off on January 6, if I don’t have to move it again. This has made us all aware of how prone we are to complain and grumble and gripe about things. We’ve all had to move the bracelets to the other arm but we’ve also had times where we stopped ourselves before complaining.

I can’t say I’ve broken the complaining habit yet but I do seem to have a more positive outlook on things and I can honestly say I’ve tried to cut out the complaining and grumbling. I intend to keep this up even after I’ve made the 21 days and get to take off the bracelet.

Anyone want to join us? We want a complaint free world and are trying to start with a complaint free house. We may never totally purge ourselves of complaining and grumbling, but the effort does pay off, bringing all of us a little peace.

Feel free to leave a comment if you decide to join!

For more Sunday Scribblings on "Change" click here

Poetry Thursday

2006-12-21T10:46:00.000-05:00

There was no prompt this week at Poetry Thursday and we were free to do our own thing. I looked back through past prompts and chose "food" because I've been doing lots of cooking and baking the last few days.

Glossy, ebony semi-sweet
Gilds peppermint creams,
Peanut butter balls,
Salty pretzel knots.
Deep, rich comfort,

Sweet, soothing balm

Book List

2006-12-20T13:30:00.000-05:00

Karen, who is part of an on-line writing group with me, asked all of us for our favorite books. That inspired me to put together an extensive list, maybe more than what she wanted! Many of the books that I read this year I got from PaperBackSwap.com. It’s a great way to trade in the books you’ve already read for new-to-you books. Like getting a little of Christmas in the mail!

Fiction I read this year:
Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden
Like Water for Chocolate – Laura Esquivel
The Kite Runner – Khalid Hosseini
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café – Fannie Flagg
Standing in the Rainbow – Fannie Flagg
Welcome to the World, Baby Girl – Fannie Flagg
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman – Ernest J. Gaines
Girl with the Pearl Earring – Tracy Chevalier
The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Real – Neta Jackson
The DaVinci Code – Dan Brown
Tears of the Giraffe – Alexander McCall Smith
A Bend in the Road – Nicholas Sparks
The Notebook – Nicholas Sparks
Too Many Cooks Spoil the Broth – Tamar Myers

Non-fiction I read this year:
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain – Betty Edwards
Writing Down the Bones – Natalie Goldberg
Overcoming Dyslexia – Sally Shaywitz

Favorite Christian Fiction Authors/Books:
Francine Rivers – especially the Mark of the Lion series
Brock and Bodie Thoene – especially Zion Chronicles series and Zion Covenant series and Shiloh Autumn
Lisa Samson – The Church Ladies and Song Bird
Ray Blackston – A Delirious Summer, fun, easy read
Jan Karon – Mitford series

Other Favorites –
Dorothy Gilman – Mrs. Pollifax series
Debbie Macomber – lots of good books, easy and fun reads
Nicholas Sparks – The Wedding
Some of the books I read this year are new favorites and Fannie Flagg is now a favorite author. I love her style of writing.

Favorite Books on Writing:
Gotham Writers’ Workshop: Writing Fiction
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamotte
Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards, even though it’s not a writing book, it does help unleash creativity.

One Deep Breath - Storms

2006-12-18T15:51:00.000-05:00

This week’s haiku prompt at One Deep Breath is Storms. Here are four that show what storms make me think of. The first is one that I’ve already shared on here, but it is the storm that rages most often for me.

Migraine
Electrical storm
Shocking, jolting pain in brain
Bring me quick relief

~~~~~~

Rain to sleet to ice
Transforms world into sparkling
Fragile, glass sculptures.

~~~~~~~

Whirlwind twisting house
High over Kansas crushing
Wicked Witch of East

Withered witch’s feet
In rhinestone, ruby slippers
Magic passage home.

~~~~~~~

Storm rages at night
Over Sea of Galilee
“Save us, please!” they cried.

Jesus rose and spoke
The wind and the waves obeyed
The men were amazed

The Creator calms
His creation and quiets
Our storms even now

He cradles His flock
As peals of thunder rumble
And lightening strikes near

Lord Jesus calm me
When winds howl and gust and rage
Hold me close to you.

Sunday Scribblings #38 - Anticipation

2006-12-16T20:33:00.000-05:00

The Water Hole

The low rumble of the lion’s roar rolls through the South African night as thunder during a storm. I’ve heard the sound before but never caught a glimpse of the lion On this night the waiting has paid off. The lion pads quietly to the edge of the water hole and drinks long and deep. He stands and waits, listening to the crickets and frogs, listening for the sound of other animals calling out. He walks slowly into the perfect viewing area, his tail swishing from side to side. Moving off into the night, he roars over and over, letting every creature within a few miles know that he is here tonight.

The magnificent, male lion is in South Africa. I am at the computer in my living room watching him via Africam at Nkorho Pan, a natural water hole at the Sabi Sands Game Reserve. There is a certain anticipation in watching the cam, almost like hunting, without killing, of course. Because it is live streaming video it is impossible to know what types of animals will be seen at any given time. I’ve seen nearly all of Africa’s Big Five - lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino. I’m still waiting to see a leopard and get a better look at a rhino. My favorite animal to watch are the giraffes. Only God could give so much grace to such an awkwardly built animal.

The sounds on Africam are as intriguing as the sights. Hyena cry a “whoop” sound, calling to each other. Baboons have an intense, scary sounding alarm cry. The Square-tailed Nightjar sounds like a laser gun from Star Wars or Buzz Lightyear.

Watching the water hole has reminded me of how amazing God’s creation is. The sight of dawn seeping over the night sky, the power of a storm sweeping in, the variety of wildlife all testify to God the Creator. One night I watched the full moon out my kitchen window and knew that in just a few hours that same moon would hover in the African sky. Amazing.

Moon out my window
Will rise over Nkorho Pan
In only hours.

Reflect in the pond
And brighten the sky tonight
Lion will come drink.

For more Sunday Scribblings click here

Poetry Thursday

2006-12-14T12:04:00.000-05:00

The Poetry Thursday writing prompt this week was “streets”. Here are two poems I wrote after pondering that prompt for a while. The first is a memory from my childhood. The second I wrote out quickly and the last line made me laugh.

Barrier
Little girl on this side of the street
And little girl on that side of the street
Looking at each other
Separated by wet, sticky tar
A black, oily smelling barrier.

One stands and places her bare foot
On the street, testing,
Imprinting a permanent reminder of the day
The street pavers kept her from
Playing with her friend.

Direction
Streets curve and veer
Joining and parting haphazardly
I search for order
And make a right turn
On Destiny Drive.

Cheerleading

2006-12-13T14:27:00.001-05:00

A friend of my husband was at a ball game the other night and noticed that all the cheers were done in rhyme. He wondered if they could try another style, like haiku. So these are for Chris – thanks for the prompt! I’m not sure that haiku cheers will catch on, but they were fun to write and gave me a good laugh. I picture stadiums with fans meditating, beaming good thoughts to their favorite team. Or maybe they will give up and devise new, non-competitive games that only promote peace. Hmmm….interesting to think about.

Pirates pillage and
Plunder, raid the other team
Win the game tonight

Wildcats attack
Cardinals, true Blue will triumph
Go Kentucky, win!

Containers - One Deep Breath

2006-12-12T16:52:00.000-05:00

This week's prompt from One Deep Breath is "Containers". Here are three haiku that I wrote from the prompt.

Humble ziplock bags
Hold long strands of Christmas lights
And homemade toffee

Black violin case
Green velvet within cradles
Mellow memories

Dance bag overflows
With ballet and pointe shoes
Pink leather, satin

More haiku

2006-12-10T20:06:00.000-05:00

Composing haiku seems to be addicting. This one came to me as I drifted off to sleep last night.

His arms surround me
Nestled together in bed
Peace covers us both

Haiku

2006-12-09T18:59:00.000-05:00

Here are three haiku poems I wrote today. I'm trying to concentrate on poetry during December as a change from finishing Nanowrimo in November.

Migraine
Electrical storm
Shocking, jolting pain in brain
Bring me quick relief

Bare branches against
Blue sky, withered leaves resist
Winter's icy pull

From Mia
Blue magic marker
Scribbles on white paper
Love letter to me