Christmas

I have been very negligent in keeping up with my blog for a long time. I haven't seemed to have the time to do it. It's one of those things where there has been alot going on and I just haven't had the time that I would like to devote to writing in my journal. I seem to be at odd ends lately, and not being able to settle down to anything. We have almost all of our Christmas shopping done, but I haven't wrapped the first gift yet. There seems to be so much to do.

I'm posting a picture of our Christmas tree. We decided to put it in our sunroom this year. We are really enjoying it.


This little guy's name is Fred. He's a cutie!


Last week I was off from work the whole week with a cold/flu bug. Today is my first day back at work. We went to the Christmas on the River in Demopolis, AL last weekend. We had a craft booth and I sold some of my handmade Christmas ornaments and greeting cards. All together I made $92. My friend, Susan, made around $120, I think. It was alot of fun. After we closed our craft booth we went to the parade of boats on the river. It was a very good weekend, even though I was beginning to get sick on Saturday morning with a sore throat, which got progressively worse as the weekend went on. By Sunday, I was ready to come home. We left to come back home right after breakfast and I went to bed as soon as I got home. Then I got worse later in the week and missed the whole week.

Susan and her husband had some real mistletoe that he had shot down out of a tree on their farm. Eddie and I took advantage of being under the mistletoe. It was great fun. Of course, now he's sick too, but it was worth it.

Uninspired

I was reading Willa's journal post about writing in the NaNoWriMo in November, and it brought to mind that I'm taking a poetry writing class this semester at the college where I work. I started out being inspired to write poetry for the first time earlier this year. When I found out that the college was going to offer it this fall and I could take it for free because I work there, I decided to give it a try.

I'm really enjoying it, but for about the past 2 or 3 weeks I have lost interest. I have to be inspired to write a poem. I can't just sit down and write one because someone asks me to. It has to come on its own. We are supposed to write a poem every week and then we critique each others' poems. The only person I really appreciate the criticism from is my teacher. I don't know why I've lost interest lately unless it's because I've just not been interested in the type of poetry he wants us to write right now. Also, Christmas is coming up and I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with making gifts. I guess I feel like I'm running out of time and don't have time to write anything. I'm sure that after the first of the year when things settle down, I will begin writing again.

Yesterday I worked on making some greeting card to take to a festival on the river in Demopolis, AL in December. A friend of mine, Susan, is renting a booth in the crafters area and she invited me to go down with her and sell some things. I'm making greeting cards and Christmas ornaments (pictures to come later). I'm really enjoying it, but I have to get this done so I can get back to the Christmas gifts I making.

Clear As Glass

Last weekend my hubby and I went with some family and friends to Spring Creek Retreat. It was so relaxing that none of us wanted to leave. On Saturday I was looking down into the creek water, mesmerized, and this picture is what I saw. The creek was as clear as glass and you could see a reflection in the water of the trees and sky. I aimed by camera straight at the water and this is what I saw. It's just an awesome sight. It looks like I turned my camera upside down and took the picture or like I was lying on my back on the ground while taking the picture. That's the reflection of the moon from the sky above. I tried to get another picture of it, but I couldn't quite get the camera angle right when I tried to take it a second time. I took several more pictures of the trees reflected in the water, but this was, by far, the best one.

I haven't been doing very much lately, craftwise. I have sporadically been knitting and alternating with sewing. I'm working on a quilt top that is in a bow tie pattern. A friend of mine and I are going to set up a craft booth in December at the Festival on the River in Demopolis, AL. I'm going to make a few shawlettes and she is going make and sell some cloth dolls that she has made. I have one at home that she made for me, along with a really pretty outfit. I have played around with making doll clothes before, but she has gotten me in the mood for doing it again. This doll's name is Trilby Wragge, and she is a unique doll. Back in the 1800's, Trilby was a doll that used to visit all the sick little girls in Demopolis. She would go and stay for a week, and before she came home, the little girl made her a new outfit to send back home with her. It's a great story, and my friend has written a children's book, but she hasn't published it yet. I told her if her book were published, it would be neat to have some copies of the book there with the dolls, along with some history of how the doll came to be.

Small Wonders

Barbara Kingsolver is one of my favorite authors. From our library I just checked out her collection of essays titled Small Wonders. I found her website www.kingsolver.com and she has included an excerpt from one of her stories. I had intended to include the link here so that you could go to the site and read it for yourself, but for some reason, my links feature is not working. Maybe just a blip or a hiccup. I have included the excerpt below.

"It is widely rumored, and also true, that I wrote my first novel in a closet. Before I get all rapturous and carried away here, I had better admit to that. The house was tiny; I was up late at night typing while another person slept, and there just wasn't any other place for me to go but that closet. The circumstances were extreme. And if I have to—if the Furies should take my freedom or my sight -- I'll go back to writing in the dark. Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly, writers will go to stupefying lengths to get the infernal roar of words out of their skulls and onto paper. Probably I've already tempted fate by announcing that I need to look upon wilderness in order to write. (I can hear those Furies sharpening their knives now, clucking, Which shall it be dearie? Penury or cataracts?) Let me back up and say that I am breathless with gratitude for the collisions of choice and luck that have resulted in my being able to work under the full-on gaze of mountains and animate beauty. It's a privilege to live any part of one's life in proximity to nature. It is a privilege, apparently, even to know that nature is out there at all. In the summer of 1996 human habitation on earth made a subtle, uncelebrated passage from being mostly rural to being mostly urban. More than half of all humans now live in cities. The natural habitat of our species, then, officially, is steel, pavement, streetlights, architecture, and enterprise—the hominid agenda.

With all due respect for the wondrous ways people have invented to amuse themselves and one another on paved surfaces, I find that this exodus from the land makes me unspeakably sad. I think of the children who will never know, intuitively, that a flower is a plant's way of making love, or what silence sounds like, or that trees breathe out what we breathe in. I think of the astonished neighbor children who huddled around my husband in his tiny backyard garden, in the city where he lived years ago, clapping their hands to their mouths in pure dismay at seeing him pull carrots from the ground. (Ever the thoughtful teacher, he explained about fruits and roots and asked, "What other foods do you think might grow in the ground?" They knit their brows, conferred, and offered brightly, "Spaghetti?") I wonder what it will mean for people to forget that food, like rain, is not a product but a process. I wonder how they will imagine the infinite when they have never seen how the stars fill a dark night sky. I wonder how I can explain why a wood-thrush song makes my chest hurt to a populace for whom wood is a construction material and thrush is a tongue disease.

What we lose in our great human exodus from the land is a rooted sense, as deep and intangible as religious faith, of why we need to hold on to the wild and beautiful places that once surrounded us. We seem to succumb so easily to the prevailing human tendency to pave such places over, build subdivisions upon them, and name them The Willows, or Peregrine's Roost, or Elk Meadows, after whatever it was that got killed there. Apparently it's hard for us humans to doubt, even for a minute, that this program of plunking down our edifices at regular intervals over the entire landmass of planet earth is overall a good idea. To attempt to slow or change the program is a tall order."

From Small Wonder "Knowing our Place" pg.37-39. Copyright © 2002 by Barbara Kingsolver. All rights reserved.

Tournee du Chat Noir

Yesterday and friend and I were in our local Hobby Lobby and noticed that they have some art prints, posters, etc. at 80% off. I saw this great art print, and since I'm such a cat lover I naturally fell in love with it. It's in a nice black wooden frame and the original price on it was $99, and it was marked down to $19.99. Now, I don't know if there is an additional 80% off of that (probably not), but that's still a really good price.

My friend tried to get me to buy it last night, and I didn't because I couldn't figure out where to hang it. I don't have any more wall space in my house, and she asked me if I could hang it in my office at work. I didn't think I could, but now I realize I have some stuff hanging on one wall that's been there for ages, and it's probably time for a change. I can justify anything if I put my mind to it. I decided this morning that I will go back after work and buy it. They had about 3 of them last night when we were there, so I don't think they will all be gone by the time I get there after work today. The sale ends tomorrow, so I better go today since I won't be able to go tomorrow.

Now, I'm intrigued about what those words mean on the print and the story behind them. My friend said she thought it was a play. I researched it and found a really elaborate explanation, but I like the following one the best.

What a club, the Chat Noir (Black Cat), Montmartre, Paris: Guy Maupassant would read his stories, Coquetin would act out various Shakespearian roles, Debussy the musician would turn up and you had regulars such as Edgar Degas the artist and Anatole France the writer; Theophile Steinlen's poster seems to capture it all with its Black Cat shroud of mystery.

One account I read said the Chat Noir was a cabaret club, and that it was a sort of theatre where different artists and writers went to perform. There was even a photo of the inside of the Chat Noir club. It seemed to be mainly a men's club. At this point I'm still not sure who the artist of the print is, Theophile Steinlen or Salis. I'm still intrigued by it all, and I'm going to research it some more. At any rate, I really love the print and I think it will look nice hanging in my office.

Favorite Southern Writer

Lee Smith is my favorite Southern writer. In her third collection of short stories, News of the Spirit , she gives one of her characters a memory that could have been her own:

"More than anything else in the world, I wanted to be a writer. I didn't want to learn to write, of course. I just wanted to be a writer, and I often pictured myself poised at the foggy edge of a cliff somewhere in the south of France, wearing a cape, drawing furiously on a long cigarette, hollow-cheeked and haunted."

Ho Chi Minh Getaways

My husband, Eddie, is a Vietnam veteran and I have heard him tell many stories from when he and his best friend (now deceased) were in Vietnam. Not necessarily together at the same time. They would just get together over the years and talk about their separate times together while they were there. It turns out that they were only about 10 minutes from each other and didn't even know it until after they came back to the states.

One of the funny stories he tells is about these sandal type shoes they wore while they were in Vietnam. They called them "Ho Chi Minh Getaways". Eddie said they were made and sold by the Vietnamese to the servicemen because the servicemen had no access to real sandals. Since it was really hot in Vietnam, at least 150 degrees, they were happy to get these getaways. He said they were made from old tires that the Vietnamese had found. The bottom of the sandal (the sole part) was made from old tires and still had the tread on them. The inner tube part came around the top of the sandal some way and made the straps of the sandal. I'm sure it was a sight.

I would love to see what a pair them looked like, but when I do a search in Google for "Ho Chi Minh Getaways" all I get is hotel information for a "getaway" to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. I even did an Images search in Google and I got a picture of a high rise hotel from the Vietnam Tourism web site.

How ironic. Somehow I think during the Vietnam conflict, the term "getaway" had a whole different meaning.

Ok, I did some research and found some pictures that must be similar to what these looked like. There is even a web page that someone created with instructions for how to make them. Here is one of the pictures that I found, not from Vietnam, but apparently the Vietnamese weren't the only ones who made these.

Poetry

I was excited to learn yesterday that one of my poems made it into the literary magazine that we have here on campus. It's not published for sale, but it's really exciting to see something I've written in a publication for the first time. Mostly the magazine is distributed here on campus. You can see them lying around. Here is the pdf file, but I don't know if you can view it this way or not. Hopefully, you can. Just look for Sharon King in both the Biography section and the Poetry section. It's really exciting for me to think that someone thought my poem was good enough to appear here.

In my last post I talked about dressing in thrift store finds and being comfortable and not worrying about what other people think. Being ourselves. During the summers on campus, we are allowed to wear jeans to work, but when school starts in the fall we will be required to dress more professionally. More professionally in my view is not wearing jeans. I don't have that many professional type clothes, just some slacks, and a few dresses. I don't feel comfortable in professional type clothes. All dressed up and uncomfortable. There is another person in my office who also marches to her own drummer, thank goodness. She wears black type jeans and doesn't dress up that much unless she is giving a special presentation or is going to a workshop of some kind that calls for professional dress. There is another term they like to use around here. Professional casual. What the heck does that mean? To me, it's either professional or casual. Either way, I just dress in what is comfortable for me, and so far that has worked out fine.

I really would love to be able to wear jeans every day to work. That would be right down my alley. That's why I love summers here so much. Everything is much more laid back. It's hard to believe that summer classes end Aug. 9 and we will soon be gearing up for the fall semester. That's always a stressful time, but once it's fallen into its routine, it's not so bad. I am excited about the fall semester this time, though, because I registered for a Creative Writing Poetry class. I have really become interested in poetry writing within the last year and have enjoyed it. Since I work here the class is free for me, so why not take advantage of it? I would be a fool not to.

Better

My mom had her surgery yesterday to repair her aneurysm. They did the stent procedure and I'm really glad that she is not going to have to go through the ordeal and long recovery of traditional surgery. She was in ICU last night and moved into a room today and she will possibly go home tomorrow. I'm really glad that it wasn't worse than what it could have been. The doctor said he was very pleased with the way it went. Now we will have our hands full trying to get her to rest like the doctor wants her to, so that she can heal properly. She is very active and independent and it's really hard for her to sit still for very long at a time.

Eddie and I spent the better part of yesterday in the hospital waiting room. It's hard waiting in hospital waiting rooms. It's very stressful and exhausting. I took some knitting with me and I noticed that several other people had books and were reading. It was really crowded in the waiting room and noisy. It would have been hard for me to tune everything out so that I could read. I prefer quiet, calming atomospheres for reading and writing and knitting. I don't do well in noisy, crowded environments. After awhile, though, I guess I got used to it, but I was glad when it was over and we could move to a quieter area.

I was really inspired by Keri's post for July 12. She talks about how she likes the simple life and doesn't require that many material things. Also, about dressing the way she feels comfortable and not a certain way because society says you should dress in a certain way. It's a really inspiring post. I'm sort of like her in a way in that I love dressing in jeans, t-shirts and whatever shoes I happen to be wearing. Sandals, or some kind of tennis shoes. I used to worry about being different, but the older I get, the less I care what other people think about how I look. I don't like to comform that much to what other's might consider appropriate or normal. I dress cleanly and neatly, but I have no problem whatsoever wearing a thrift store find, or an interesting hat or anything that makes me feel comfortable and happy. I'll have to elaborate on that a little more in another post.

Permission to Nap

Last night I started reading the book titled Permission to Nap by Jill Murphy Long. I had bought the book awhile back on a whim and decided to get it out last night since I'm in need of some calm, meditative reading. I really enjoy napping. I don't get to do it through the week since I work during the day, but on the weekends, when I get sleepy in the afternoon, I go get back in bed, cover up with my cat, Heckle, and take a nap. It's really good sleep too. There are some really good illustrations in the book, along with suggestions for making your retreat special.

I know several people who say they are just not nappers. I don't know how I got into the habit of it myself since I didn't use to nap. I think I heard a couple of my coworkers talking about how they like to take a nap on Saturday or Sunday afternoon and then I thought, why not? What's stopping me from taking a nap? I don't have children and my husband just leaves me to my quiet time because he knows when I need a nap, I need a nap. He has been known to snooze from time to time himself. My cousin even takes regular naps in the afternoon.

The main theme of the book, as I have read so far, is that napping is important to revive us and make us more alert. It's something we should all do and we should not feel guilty about it. It's really a good book. There is even an article in the current Weight Watchers Magazine that talks about how important it is to get a good night's sleep. Most of us are sleep deprived and don't get nearly as much sleep as we should. The article says that not getting enough sleep can actually contribute to weight gain. They are both really good resources on sleeping and napping.

Birthday Calculator

My brother sent a link to me that is the Birthday Calculator. Here is the calculator for my birthday:

You entered: 2/25/1953

You were born on a Wednesday
under the astrological sign Pisces.
Your Life path number is 9.

The Julian calendar date of your birth is 2434433.5.
The golden number for 1953 is 16.
The epact number for 1953 is 14.
The year 1953 was not a leap year.

As of 6/22/2005 6:31:02 AM CDT
You are 52 years old.
You are 628 months old.
You are 2,730 weeks old.
You are 19,110 days old.
You are 458,646 hours old.
You are 27,518,791 minutes old.
You are 1,651,127,462 seconds old.

There are 248 days till your next birthday
on which your cake will have 53 candles on it.

Those 53 candles produce 53 BTU's,
or 13,356 calories of heat (that's only 13.3560 food Calories!) .

You can boil 6.06 US ounces of water with that many candles.

Your birthstone is Amethyst
The Mystical properties of Amethyst

Amethyst is used to increase spiritually.
Some lists consider these stones to be your
birthstone. (Birthstone lists come from Jewlers, Tibet, Ayurvedic Indian medicine, and other sources)
Bloodstone, Onyx, Moonstone

Your birth tree is
Pine Tree, the Particularity

Loves agreeable company, very robust, knows how to make life comfortable, very active, natural, good companion, but seldom friendly, falls easily in love but its passion burns out quickly, gives up easily, many disappointments till it finds its ideal, trustworthy, practical.

There are 186 days till Christmas 2005!

The moon's phase on the day you were
born was waxing gibbous.

**********************

This morning on the way in to work I heard a song that brought back alot of memories of an aunt who passed away last year. I'm an only child and my mom and dad did not have much money. In fact, we basically lived from paycheck to paycheck. My mother had a sister who had never married and saved just about every penney she ever made. I guess she must have felt sorry for me because when I was a little girl she used to come and pick me up every Saturday and spend the day with me. She would take me shopping with her, and sometimes she would buy me something and sometimes she would buy herself something. Usually, we would have lunch somewhere. In our town, there was a hamburger place called Oscar's where we would go and have a hamburger. There was another place called Shoney's, where we would go and get hamburgers. After we ate lunch, alot of times we would go back to her apartment and spend the afternoon. Usually, she would rest or take a nap and I would listen to her records. Yes, phonograph records. She had one of those old timey huge console stereos. I thought that was the berries. She had several albums that were to her taste and some of the artists were Nat King Cole, Perry Como, Boots Randolph, Ace Cannon, and Floyd Cramer, just to name a few.

This morning I heard a song by Ace Cannon called Tough. It's a saxophone number and it's ironic, but I remember every single note in that tune. Every time I hear Floyd Cramer play Last Date, I remember how I used to sit on the floor in front of my aunt's stereo and listen, and look at the album covers as I was listening.

Another funny thing that I used to like to do when we went to my aunt's house to rest. I loved to iron her sheets while she was taking a nap. Is there something wrong with this picture? I must not have complained because apparently I loved doing it. I sure can't imagine doing that now. It's all I can do now just do get the laundry done, much less any ironing. How things change.

Troubling News

I received some troubling news yesterday. My mom called to tell me that she had had a free medical test that was offered for seniors by one of our local hospitals. The test was for aneurysms. Her doctor called her yesterday and told her that they had found a small aneurysm in her stomach. I guess it's called an aortic aneurysm. It sounds serious to me. Anything with the word "aneurysm" in it can't be good. I have been researching it some on the Internet on several medical sites and it just doesn't sound good. The doctor wants to schedule for her to have a CAT scan to see how large the aneurysm is and if it's changing in size since the test. She said she might have to have surgery. My mom is concerned and so am I. We just don't know much about it, but we will have to research it and find out what we can.

Please keep us in your prayers.

The Cat in the Book

I was surfing the Internet this morning and found an interesting article called The Cat in the Book. It talks about cats in books and the relationship between people who like to read and who also love cats. It's that way for me, at least. I love cats and I also love to read. There is nothing I love more then curling up with a good book and my cat by my side.

On the new lifestyle front, I lost 5 pounds last week. I was really pleasantly surprised since I didn't think I would lose anything, except for maybe a pound or two. So, I'm really encouraged and working hard at eating better and living the lifestyle I know I need in order to be healthy again.

Earlier this week my boss gave me this this article with information about the little birds that we saw at Spring Creek Retreat last month. They were really sweet little birds and we thought they were baby birds that may have fallen from their nest. They were very tame, too, and allowed me to take several pictures. It's nice to read about them and finally know what kind of birds they are.

Lifestyle changes

When I thought about the title for my blog today I realized that it is a true thing that is happening and a metaphor for the rest of my life.

About 20 years ago I was diagnosed with a heart murmur. From time to time I have palpitations and it usually gets worse with stress. About a month ago I started having palpitations off and on all day long instead of just once a week or so. I was worried about it and made an appointment with my cardiologist and was able to see him within a day. When I got there they did an EKG and took my blood pressure. My bp and EKG were both normal, so we talked about how I can make myself better. I need to lose weight in a major way. I'm about 50 pounds overweight, and with high bp (I take a medication for that), and a heart murmur, that's just setting myself up for disaster. I have always had a sweet tooth and I can not control my sugar intake. In other words, I can't eat just one cookie. He told me to not even bring desserts into the house. He said not to have chocolate, desserts, sugar or any sugar substitutes. He said when you consume something that has a sugar substitute, your body thinks it's getting something sweet and the more sweet you get, the more you crave and want. I could drink a diet drink and then immediately want some cookies to go with it. He said if I'm still hungry after I eat, to eat an apple. He also said I should walk 30 minutes a day before dinner. I know all of this of course, but had been basically ignoring it. I guess I just needed to hear it from a doctor to make the commitment to make the change. When I walked out of the doctor's office that day I made up my mind once and for all to make myself healthier and lose this excess weight that I've been carting around.

On Wednesday morning I went for a lipid profile since I have not had one in awhile. I knew my cholesterol would be up, but I had no idea it was going to be as high as it is. My tryglycerides are also way up. The lipid nurse put me on Lipitor and said I should walk 30 minutes a day, 7 days a week if I can, but if not, I should walk at least 5 days a week. She also gave me a handout about lowering cholesterol and went over it with me. It talks about how to read food labels, etc., and what you should eat and what you should avoid. It's pretty flexible, really. As long as you eat the permitted foods, you can do alright.

I have been walking since Monday, and I have not had any sugar or sugar substitutes for a week. He said not to eat anything that is not natural, and to not eat anything that is advertised on TV. I can eat fruits and fruit juices, but not anything that has refined sugar, or anything that has sugar added to it.

It's a new direction for me. It's taking commitment on my part, which I have. This time it's for real. I have to do this. I don't have a choice, and I'm doing fine. I had not lost any weight as of this morning, but I'm not going to let that bother me either. As long as I keep doing what I'm doing, the weight will begin to come off. I told my husband to hide the scale, though. I'm too obsessed with wanting to weigh all the time to see how I'm doing.

I guess the thing that really irritates me is the fact that almost everyone, with the exception of a few people, think my doctor is absolutely out of his mind for taking me off of sugar and sugar substitutes. They see no harm in having a sweet dessert once in awhile or using artificial sweetener. There is research out there that proves artificial sweeteners are bad for you, but if a person chooses to ignore that, it's up to them. As for the sugar, the people who tell me it won't hurt me don't have a problem with sugar or high bp or cholesterol. They can eat one cookie or a small dessert and don't feel the need for any more. They just don't know what it's like. I have compared my sugar problem to an alcoholic. If I have just a small amount of sugar or a dessert, then I won't be able to stop at that. I'll enhale that and look for more. The best thing for me to do is give it up altogether. I know I have some friends and family who are probably skeptical, but I will succeed, and when they see me walking around in a sexy outfit they will know it. I'm doing this for myself and no one else so I can be healthier.

So, there.

Horoscope

I really like my horoscope for this week. This describes me almost to a T.

Pisces (February 19 - March 20): I am absolutely democratic and non-hierarchical. In my view, no one is more important than anyone else in the big scheme of things. God has an equal love for Paris Hilton, the Dalai Lama, and Ahmed, the clerk at the convenience store where I buy gas. Every single person's role is crucial to the unfolding of evolution. I urge you to meditate on the possibility that this perspective is true, Pisces. Be especially eager to discover what it might mean for how you live your life from day to day. Here's one implication, articulated by Martin Luther King Jr.: "If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven played music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well."

Freewill Astrology

****************************

I love this writing from one of my favorite southern writers, Lee Smith. I love the way she describes how she first felt about wanting to be a writer.

"More than anything else in the world, I wanted to be a writer. I didn't want to learn to write, of course. I just wanted to be a writer, and I often pictured myself poised at the foggy edge of a cliff somewhere in the south of France, wearing a cape, drawing furiously on a long cigarette, hollow-cheeked and haunted. I had been romantically dedicated to the grand idea of 'being a writer' ever since I can remember."

Touch of Spring

Over the weekend we came home and I happened to look over into our rose garden and saw this.




I told Eddie that I saw a rose and he said he thought it was already dead and gone. But, no is was not. I didn't want to cut it off the bush, so I ran and got my camera to take a picture. It came out beautifully. It's the only rose that we have seen this year. Of course, if we took better care of them we would see alot more I'm sure.

The Haunted Bookshop

In every bookstore, small or large, there are books we have not read; books which may have messages of unsuspected beauty or importance. They may be new books, they may be of yesterday, or of long ago.

The store where you found this volume exists in the hope of knowing--and learning--about books. There is no habit more valuable than that of dropping into a bookstore occasionally to look around--to look both inward and outward.

"We have what you need, though you may not know you have it."

-the Haunted Bookshop by Christopher Morley, 1919

Today I discovered two new books to read. I often read Keri's blog Wish Jar Journal and have always found it to be inspiring to make journal pages, for writing, and reading books. This particular book by Christopher Morley looks very interesting. There are actually two books in the series. The first is Parnassus on Wheels and the second is The Haunted Bookshop. They both sound really interesting and I'm going to either check them out from my library, or buy copies of them.

Chat Noir

Chat Noir

Last week some of my coworkers went to Chicago for a conference and one of them brought back these cute envelopes which have postcards with them. I have seen the Chat Noir poster before, and note cards and journals at Hobby Lobby, but I have not seen these postcards and envelopes. I may have to go back to Hobby Lobby and get that journal that I saw, if they still have it. It was really cute. Or maybe the poster.

Spring Creek

Spring Creek

This is the relaxing scene from the deck of the creek house at Spring Creek Retreat. We went 2 weekends ago. The way I feel today I could go back tonight. At least I have these pictures to help me remember. It is cloudy and rainy here today. I am at work right now and have been working on something repetitous which has made me very sleepy. I long to be at home right now taking a nice nap.

I have been having some trouble posting pictures on my computer at home. I first thought it was either Blogger or the Hello software, but now that I've used it here at work with no problem, I realize it's my computer at home. Sigh. I guess I'm going to have to see if we can afford a digital connection instead of using dial-up. I guess dial-up is the equivalant of the dinosaur age. Maybe one of these days we can afford a better connection.

Keep a Poem in Your Pocket

I love this. It's so inspiring and comforting. Keep a Poem in Your Pocket Day. It's April 21st. I think I'm going to put my favorite poem, which is Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost, in my pocket that day.

Emily Dickinson

Yesterday I was browsing in my neighborhood used book store and came across an interesting book titled The Diary of Emily Dickinson by Jamie Fuller. It's a fictionalized account of the diary that Emily Dickinson kept during 1867-1868. Since I have been writing a little poetry, I was intrigued by this little book and since it was only $2 I decided to buy it. In the Prologue the author is talking about how the diary was found, etc., and describes the area in Emily Dickinson's home where she did her writing. The author describes it this way:

"One of Emily's favorite spots in the Main Street house was the conservatory on its east side. There she grew a variety of exotic plants that bloomed through the winter, and at a little writing desk by the window she composed many of her poems."

Since this is a fictionalized account of her diary, I'm not sure how much of this is true or fictionalized, so I'm going to research Emily's life a little more and see what I can find out. At any rate, I love the description of her writing area. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a place like that where a person could have a nice writing desk near a window and look out the window at nature for inspiration in writing?

I have never thought much before about Emily Dickinson, but this book has given me enough to make me intrigued enough to research her life further. Since I work in an academic library, it shouldn't be too hard to find more information on her life. I'm really looking forward to it.

Apache Blessing

Saturday we celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary with a luncheon reception with friends and family. Our anniversary is not really until March 29, but we figured since that was so close to Easter, we should have it this past weekend since many people do not like to travel at Easter time.

We had a wonderful day and I will post some pictures later. We received many cards and gifts, but one card in particular stood out in my mind. It was from my cousin and she has been writing poetry for years, but this is not something that she wrote. I can see where her thoughts are, though. In the same place as mine. I will put it here for you to see. I don't think I will be violating any copyright laws since it is available freely on the Internet.

Apache Blessing

Author Unknown

May the sun bring you new energy by day,

May the moon softly restore you by night,

May the rain wash away your worries

And the breeze blow new strength into your being,

And all of the days of your life may you walk

Gently through the world and know its beauty.

iPod Shuffles in Libraries

I work in an academic library and one of my coworkers email this link. It's a story about how Huntington Public Library on Long Island, New York became one of the first public libraries to loan out iPod shuffles to patrons. It seems that it's much cheaper for the library to have books in MP3 format than buying the CD's. Interesting.

Lent

I've never really paid much attention to Lent. I didn't really know what it was and I'm still not completely sure. I always thought it was particular to a specific religion and since I had never heard of it in mine, I never thought about it.

I subscribe to an online newsletter from The Upper Room. Every day I get some scriptures and then an inspirational story. Today I saw two different newsletters for Lent. I read them and they were just so inspiring to me. They really spoke to me. I printed them off and I think I'm going to put them in my written journal that I keep at home.

I have my online journal here, but I also have a spiral bound sketchbook at home that I use for drawings, collages, just anything that inspires me. Wish Jar Journal is a great inspiration to me for collages, and other things that inspire me that I want to write down. The other day I drew my first mandala. I realized after drawing it that it resembled spring, which reflects what I feel these days. I am really wanting spring to come. I have also been using rubber stamps in my written journal, and anything else that inspires me. I think I'm going to put these two entries from The Upper Room Newsletters. They are as follows:

PRAYER FOR RENEWAL

COME, SPIRIT, breath of God,
breathe new life into me.
Blow away the cobwebs in my mind;
clear away the debris in my soul.
Bring healing to my wounds and comfort to my grief.
Refresh my spirit, set my feel to dancing,
and set my heart ablaze.
Wind of God, touch my life
and open me to your direction,
Amen.

-- Larry J. Peacock
OPENINGS
********************************

TREASURE

SO OFTEN, Divine One
the tasks before me
feel overwhelming and impossible.
The expectations of others weigh heavy
upon my shoulders.

At times like these,
I think I need to do something
to invest more time and effort
to pray longer and harder
to embark on a journey
in search of the Kingdom.

When I am too tired to "do" anymore
when I am content just to "be"
when I stop long enough to rest
when I am finally ready to give up

I find myself sitting on a treasure
You have hidden in a field
waiting for me to discover.

-- Susan Gregg-Schroeder
IN THE SHADOW OF GOD'S WINGS

Dreams

I've been having some really weird dreams lately, but I usually can't remember too much about them the next day. I do remember one in particular from last night (one of many from last night), but I don't want to share it. It's just too weird and out of character for me. Way out of character. I found myself wondering this morning where in the world did that come from and what did I eat last night? We had spaghetti and that usually doesn't make me dream, but it could have been that excess of cookies I ate yesterday.

I have never kept a dream journal, but having those dreams reminded me this morning of a dream book that we used to have when I was growing up. It was called Zolar's Dream Book. Whenever we would have a dream we would look it up just for fun. We never took any of it seriously, but it was fun to see what it said about the dream we had had the night before.

This also reminds me of a time when Eddie and I were dating, back in the late 70's. We both worked on a bookmobile of our public library and one day we saw a book called Linda Goodman's Love Signs. We are both Pisces, so we looked it up, just for fun, to see what it said. It said that two Pisces together are not supposed to get along in a relationship. Well, we are getting ready to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary next month. So, there, Ms. Goodman.

The last time I saw the dream book the pages were yellow and brittle with age. If it's anywhere, my mother has it. I'm going by there after work today, so I'll try to remember and ask her if she still has it. If not, or if she does and it's in bad shape, maybe I'll check to see if there is a newer version.

Just for fun.

Journals

I started getting a sore throat yesterday after lunch. I'm probably getting a cold, so I see some down, nesting time coming up. I'm feeling a little bleary eyed after taking cold medicine this morning. I'm at work today, but I may stay at home tomorrow.

I've been reading some other blogs about journaling, collages, etc., and it occured to me that I would like to try that. When I was taking art classes, the teacher told us to keep an art journal and just put everything in it that we wanted to. Anything that occured to us, sketches, anything goes but I never did it then. Yesterday after work I went to Hobby Lobby and bought a spiral bound sketch book with blank pages. I got to thinking about how much I like rubber stamps. I found some really pretty ones awhile back at Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and other stores. So I decided that maybe for each day I would use a rubber stamp that fits my mood that day and then write something in my journal for that day. Or another day it might be a quick sketch of something. Or it might be a collage. I would like to keep this up on a regular basis, but I want it to be something that I look forward to and not something that I feel like I have to keep up every day. So, I'll see how it goes.

Awesome View

When I got up yesterday morning and looked out the sunroom windows, this is what I saw:


Awesome View

It was an awesome, beautiful view of the trees that are right in front of the mountain behind our house. The clouds were really dark, and threatening rain. Then there was the mountain right in front of the clouds, and then right in front of the mountain were the trees, and the sun was shining on them, giving them an almost eerie yellow-orange hue. I thought it was really unique and pretty and decided I had better grab my camera and try to capture it. It's a good thing I did because almost immediately after I snapped the pictures, the sun went back behind the clouds, never to reveal such a sight as this again any time soon.

I've been thinking about poetry lately. At the college where I work, they publish a very short booklet of poems and stories that have been written by students, faculty, and staff at the college. I noticed in the last two booklets that one of my coworkers has had 4 different poems published. The last time the booklet came out I talked with him about his poetry. He's a very quiet, gentle person of few words spoken, but he apparently has alot to say through his poetry. He said that he writes poetry often and has a notebook of them. I told him that he should think about getting them published into a book.

I think I'm kind of like him, in that I would much rather write than talk. I know that I'm an introvert. One year at the college, they gave everyone the Briggs-Meyers test to see what our personalities are. I already knew before they told me that I was introverted. I remember very well one of the questions was something like, "Which would you rather do, go to a party and meet new people, or stay at home and read a good book?" My answer to that was obvious: I would much rather stay at home and read a good book than go to a party or gathering where I know no one and meet new people. It's not that I'm opposed to meeting new people, but I'm just not the type of person to go up to people I don't know and say, "Hi, my name is ......" People have called me "backward" and "shy" all of my life. I have even been perceived as snobbish by people I have just met and who don't know me very well. It's not that. It's just that I don't seem to have much to say to someone I don't know well. I guess it's a miracle I have as many friends as I do, which are not that many, really. Probably just more people like myself who don't really enjoy mingling with big crowds of people and trying to act like we are having a good time, when all we really want to do is go home and curl up with a good book, or some needlework, or watch a good movie.

The college doesn't seem to have very many submissions for the book of stories and poems. I'm sure they would like to have more. I have always wanted to try my hand at some type of creative writing, although writing a book or short story seems to be more than I can create. I have never really thought about writing poetry, but I would like to try my hand at it. In fact, I thought of one just yesterday. I decided to title it, "In Full Bloom."

"In Full Bloom"

There it is again -
The delicious, phantom smell
that has haunted me.

It has appeared only as a wisp
of a scent, then disappearing.

I have found the scent!
My face is buried in a
hedge of jasmine.

I cannot get enough.
I want to absorb it.

It's really short, but describes what I think is a wonderful, fragrant scent of something that, up to that point, has not been identified by someone who maybe walks out their door and smells it every day, but doesn't know where it's coming from. Finally, one day they find it and they just can't stop smelling it. They can't believe their good fortune. At least, I hope that's what the poem describes. I have a few more in the back of my mind that haven't been written yet. I love to try to find the words to describe beautiful scenes or smells or landscapes, or events that I have attended that left a distinct impression on me. Maybe I'll try to write one about the picture I took yesterday of the trees on the mountain.

I bought a journal the other day. I decided that I should keep one handy so that I can write down thoughts as I think of them or observations, etc. My problem is that if I don't write something down as soon as I see it or think of it, it's forgotten. I do my best reflective thinking in the morning hours after I have just awakened. Later in the day, after my mind is tired, I don't seem to be able to do this as much.

I remember really liking poetry when I was in high school. I even had a notebook that held poems that I really loved and had typed out and put into it. I don't know what happened to it, except it seems like I came across it about a year or so ago when I was doing some cleaning. Now I don't remember what I did with it. I have a book that I have owned for a really long time, maybe since high school, titled "The Best Loved Poems of the American People." One of my favorite poems is "Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost. I just now realized that that particular poem is not in my book, so I did a Google search and found it. I just have to repeat it here for you to enjoy. I just love the smooth, easy flow of the words. It's probably my favorite poem of all time.

"Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Books

I'm toying around with the idea of creating a Books blog that will have lists of books on it that I have read. It seems like this would be the easiest way of keeping up with what I am currently reading and what I have read. I really like Willa's books link on her site. It has a list of books that she has read separated by year and month. I have been wanting to do this for several years, but by the time I get around to thinking about it, it's too late in the year to do anything about it. I thought now would be the perfect time to create one. I probably need to try to look at some other web pages with books lists and see how they are done.