Every month a question will be posed that may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Remember, the question is optional. You can write about anything that relates to your writing journey.
Let's give a warm welcome to our co-hosts: J.H. Moncrieff, Tonja Drecker , Patsy Collins, and Chrys Fey!
This month's question is: What are five objects would we'd find in your writing space?
Just five?
1. Do books count as one? Because I have lots of books in my writing space. Children's books, various kinds of thesauruses (thesuari?), history books, books on Tibet, books on myths and fairy tales... books, books, books.
2. Lap top.
3. Paper: which would include post-it notes, loose leaf, spirals and three ring binders.
4. Pens and pencils.
5. Various quotes on post-it notes like: "All religions are the same and all of them are good for those who believe in them." 14th Dalai Lama
"As long as space abides and as long as the world abides, so long may I abide, destroying the suffering of the world." Shantideva
"Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair." Kahlil Gibran
"Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle." Anon
"One word frees us of all the wight and pain of life: That word is Love." Sophocles
***
I missed last month entirely. (Thanks for reminding me Margaret!) Apparently I was doing something very important (which I can't remember) and lost track of time and space.
***
Christmas is coming, so I thought I'd throw out a Christmas memory.
Every year my sister Erva and I looked forward to the arrival of a very special tome: the Sears Wish Book. Most all of our presents came from the catalog. There were no Wal-Marts or K-Marts, no malls or stores where my parents could go shopping for things we might want. Sears was the ideal solution. They sold just about anything and shipped just about anywhere.Erva and I would pour over the pages. We'd ooh and aah and sigh and giggle and dream and wish. Santa must have been listening most of the time because somehow those things we'd paused over the longest, or circled with a pencil, or out right asked for, miraculously appeared on Christmas Day.
We got our first Barbie dolls around 1957 or 58. Mom sewed each of our dolls separate wardrobes. All the dresses were made on a treadle sewing machine, either during the day while we were at school or at night after we were asleep.
One time I got a wonderful two-story aluminum doll house that looked very similar to this one.
When I was nine I saw a beautiful doll in the Wish Book. She was a bride doll with a gorgeous white dress and veil. I wanted her so badly.... This was during the era of our aluminum tree which, by the way, we put lights on.
And here I am on Christmas day, in my favorite dress, with the red net petticoat, a little Bolero jacket, my white patent leather shoes, and my doll.
You know, I hardly ever played with her. I was just too much of a tomboy.
One time I got a wonderful two-story aluminum doll house that looked very similar to this one.
When I was nine I saw a beautiful doll in the Wish Book. She was a bride doll with a gorgeous white dress and veil. I wanted her so badly.... This was during the era of our aluminum tree which, by the way, we put lights on.And here I am on Christmas day, in my favorite dress, with the red net petticoat, a little Bolero jacket, my white patent leather shoes, and my doll.
You know, I hardly ever played with her. I was just too much of a tomboy.
Merry Christmas!!
Just
Being Thankful
Today I'm thankful I remembered to show up for IWSG!
What are you thankful for? Did any of you every get a toy you desperately wanted only to never play with it?
The Sears Wish Book! Yes, I always attacked it and circled what I wanted. My biggest wish was a Snoopy dog house and I was so excited to open it. I did play with it though. And I still have it in its original box.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the memory of the Sears Wish Book. Wow. My sister & I would dog ear pages where we'd circled items. Have a great month.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a lot of people remember the Sears Wish Book. Love your quotes for inspiration in your work space. Happy Holidays!
ReplyDeleteThat Sears catalogue was still popular in the 70's when I was a kid and we always got excited to see it.
ReplyDeleteOf course books count! Got to have them for inspiration.
ReplyDeleteI love your dollhouse and that your mom sewed your Barbie's clothes on her treadle machine.
Have a wonderful holiday, Bish.
Books always count.
ReplyDeleteI remember going through the wish book when I was a kid and making wish lists. I don't think I often got what I put on there, but by Christmas morning I had forgotten what I put on it, so it didn't matter.
Yes, books count. A necessary item.
ReplyDeleteThe dollhouse is lovely! I'm not sure we even made much of a wish list. Santa brought what he wanted to...and it was more than fine.
I remember that huge Sears catalog, and I remember my doll house that looked just like yours. So funny, but yesterday someone brought one like it to our work to be raffled off. The house remains the same, but she handcrafted all sorts of things around the outside, trees, a lawn, lattice work, a mail box, etc, and all sort of little creatures to fill the area. It's retro meets current day creative.
ReplyDeleteYou are the second person to mention pens and pencils in their desk space. No matter the technology, the physicality of writing (jotting) something down makes it stick! (I also have the writing utensils!)
ReplyDeleteWhen the Sears catalog arrived, it was the most well-read book in our house. Things were circled and pages dog eared.
ReplyDeleteYears ago, my sister brought home a book called something like "The Giant Toybox at Sears." I still have it somewhere. All the "author" had done was make black-and-white photocopies of the toy section from Sears Christmas catalogs from the late 1950s to the early 1970s (IIRC). I really doubt it was authorized by Sears. The author (editor?) also left out all the pages advertising dolls and other so-called "girl toys," maybe thinking that only guys were collectors?!? Weird.
ReplyDeleteI love that you have quotes on your desk. I used to do that too until we moved. Maybe I should start again.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas!
I used to love looking at the Sears and JC Penny catalogs and circling all the things I wanted Santa to bring. It was such fun!
ReplyDeleteHope you had a Merry Christmas and wishing you a happy and healthy 2019. :)
~Jess