Blog Schedule

I post on Monday with an occasional random blog thrown in for good measure. I do my best to answer all comments via email and visit around on the days I post.

Monday, November 30, 2015

Six Impossible Things, Abstractions, Question of the Month, Eloise, Being Thankful

ImageChef.comIt was the White Queen, from Through the Looking Glass, who said to Alice: "When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." 

When life gets you down think of, or believe, six impossible things before breakfast. Take a deep breath and close your eyes. If you are aren't smiling by the sixth thing, think of six more. Keep thinking of impossible things until you smile, or until you understand that life itself is impossible. Yet here we are.


Here, for your entertainment, are Six Impossible Things. You can believe them or not as you wish.


1.) Traveling through space on a comet.

2.) Seeing the world from inside a raindrop.
3.) Living inside a beehive.
4.) Discovering Mu.
5.)  Loving to eat liver.
6.) Tea with Buddha.


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Abstractions
An abstraction is a concept that acts as a super-categorical noun for all subordinate concepts, and connects any related concepts as a group, field, or category. (Clear?) An abstraction is a word like love, hate, joy, beauty, cunning, disgust. In this game we turn them into a kind of poetry or a piece of flash fiction.

The rules are simple and you can change the order around.
 1: Abstraction plus verb plus place
 2: Describe what the abstraction is wearing
 3: Summarize the action

Today's ABSTRACTION is:

Integrity walks gracefully through life completely nude.
She has nothing to hide.



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The Question of the Month is hosted by Michael D'Agostino at A Life Examined .  The question this month is:


Which one social convention would you get rid of?

As Michael explains, "In other words, what’s one thing that society insists you do that you can’t stand? My first thought is that I hate being told to wear a suit to weddings or 21sts. Or that I have to stop and talk to every person I vaguely know when I pass them on the street."

I'm not perturbed by social conventions. I think of them as the oil that lubes the gears of society. Without them I think we'd be less civilized. I say "thank you" if a door is opened for me. I talk to people who recognize  me though I may not remember where they know me from. I kiss people on the cheek when in Puerto Rice because that's what they do. I shake hands or hug, here in the U. S. It's these little niceties that help to make living easier, particularly in this age when we seem to be so self-centered and preoccupied with our own likes/dislikes. It's no skin of my nose to be courteous. 

***

And, lastly, Happy Birthday to Eloise, who turned 60 on the 28th of this month.
Here is my beloved, well worn copy, which I got one Christmas when I was about eight. 

On the opening page, you can just see where my sister, Erva, put a line through Eloise's name and wrote in mine. 
She has her own suite of rooms at The Plaza Hotel in New York City.
Ooooooooooo, I absolutely LOVE Eloise.
***
Being Thankful

Now that we've had our first hard freeze, the trees are finally turning colors and shedding their leaves which means winter is on its way. Therefore, today I'm VERY thankful for central heat.
Although I do enjoy a nice fire, I lived for several years with a fireplace or wood stove as the only source of heat. Hauling logs, keeping the fire fed, dealing with ashes and burned fingers, may seem rather romantic, but give me central heat any day.

(Why to I relate so to this picture?)
A haggard old woman taking a large file to the corns on her Wellcome V0011168


Fireplace-RM


Cast Iron Wood Stove

What are you thankful for? Care to share an Impossible Thing or an Abstraction? What are your thoughts on the Question of the Month? Are you a fan of Eloise?

Monday, November 23, 2015

Alternative, P. F. Sloan, Being Thankful

We now return to our regularly scheduled program.

Thanks for stopping by last week and leaving such loving, supportive, and understanding comments. I had to step back and breathe for a while, regroup, and remember to be thankful. 


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Alternatives is a recurring post in which I give synonyms for an over used word. Click on the tab above for a "complete" list of over used words.




Today's word is:

ImageChef.com
So basically, to replace this word you might have to use another lesser used but still dreaded "ly" word. However, there are a few alternatives that don't require it, like, "at heart" or "first and foremost." But even then, these phrases seem a bit trite to me. To my mind there isn't an adequate or uniquely different word to use. So my advice would be to avoid it as much as possible.

Depending on how you use it, this list may come in handy for finding another way to say the same thing.

about, above all, altogether, approximately, at heart, at bottom, at the end of the day, au

fond

broadly, by and large, by and large

chiefly, commonly

essentially

first and foremost, first of all, firstly, frequently, fundamentally

generally

incompletely

in essence, in substance, inherently, intrinsically

largely

mainly, more or less, most of all, mostly

near, nearly, next to, nigh, normally

on the whole, ordinarily, overall

partially, partly, plus or minus, predominantly, primarily, principally

radically, rather, roughly

some, somewhat, substantially

the fact (of the matter) is, typically

usually

virtually

well-nigh, when all is said and done
***

On the Sunday, the 15th, P. F. Sloan died at age 70 of pancreatic cancer. You may not know him, but I bet you know at least one of his songs, the protest anthem made famous in 1965 by Berry Mcguire called "The Eve of Destruction." What's incredible is that P. F. Sloan wrote it while still a teenager living at home. He was quite versatile and talented writing songs for groups Jan and Dean, (1965), The Turtles, (1965), Herman's Hermits, (1965)  The Grassroots, (1966 one of my favorite pop -rock groups) and The Fifth Dimension, (1967). He also wrote Secret Agent Man, recorded by Johnny Rivers in 1966.

"From a Distance" is from his album P. F. Sloan: Twelve More Times recorded in 1966. I was such a teenager and loved this album. You can hear influences from Bob Dylan and The Byrds. It's a fitting song to share at his passing. 


***

Being Thankful
Today I'm thankful for:

HOPE

Even though she released pestilence and evil into the world and slammed the lid closed, Pandora had the presence of mind to heed the small voice crying from within the box and opened it a second time.
What she also gave us was HOPE.
Pandora's box (artist unknown)
There is always hope. 

***
What are you thankful for today? Is "basically" a word you use in your writing? Ever heard of P. F. Sloan? Recognize/know any of his songs?

Monday, November 16, 2015

A Moment of Silence

I'm not in the mood to blog today. My heart is aching for all the suffering going on, not just in Paris, but in the world. So much anger. So much violence. So much hatred.

I pray for compassion. I pray for peace. I pray that I can continue to be grateful.


 

Thursday, November 12, 2015

The Unicorn Hunt

Unicorn Hunt hosted by L. Diane Wolfe
How could I resist being a part of a Unicorn hunt? 

Here are the rules:
You are charged with tracking down the unicorns!
Every day the week of November 9-13, a new blogger will host a photo. (See Diane’s site for list of bloggers and prizes.) You will have to find the unicorns in the image, much like the famous “Where’s Waldo?” Leave a comment stating how many unicorns you find in that image. The most correct guesses out of five, wins. Grand prize include gift cards and books.
Five images - many unicorns - only one winner!

Realms Faire site:

L. Diane Wolfe site:
 How many unicorns can you find? Leave a comment and let us know. You to could win The Grand Prize!

Monday, November 9, 2015

Welcome to Karen Walker and Being Thankful


Today I'm pleased to have Karen Helen Walker take over my blog. 

She is a widely published essayist and author of the 2009 memoir, Following the Whispers. When she isn’t writing, you will often find Karen performing in nursing homes and retirement communities as part of the Sugartime or Sophisticated Ladies musical groups, traveling with her husband of 20 years, Gary, or relaxing with a good book at their home in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Visit the author’s website at www.karenhelenewalker.com or her blog.

For her latest book, a novel, called The Wishing Steps, I asked her where the idea for the story came from. Take it away, Karen!

Thank you, Bish, for hosting me today.
“This burial ground dates to around 2,000 BC,” said Hugh, our guide in Scotland. It was 2009 and earlier that year I’d published my memoir, the culmination of a ten-year journey to bring that project to fruition. This trip was celebrating that journey.
It was gently misting rain and we were the only tourists visiting Balnauran Clava Cairns (cairns are piles of stones). I wondered off by myself, leaving my husband and Hugh talking at the edge of the site. I stopped for a moment, trying to imagine the people who built the structure and what their lives were like. Suddenly I heard a voice inside my head say, “Tell my story.” At first I thought I was hearing things, but it repeated a few minutes later, “Tell my story.”
Now, I’ve heard my own voice inside my head all of my life, as well as the voices of my parents, teachers, etc. It took me years to learn to sort out those voices and let my own voice come through. This was different and it scared me. So I did what I always do when I’m scared. Retreat. I said, “Sorry, I’m on vacation,” and went on exploring the cairns.
A few days later we were at Blarney Castle in Ireland. On this day, it was pouring down rain and there were very few tourists out and about. After climbing the tower to kiss the famed Blarney Stone, I wanted to explore the forest surrounding the castle. The brochure said there were wishing steps, a witches’ kitchen and a druid’s cave -- my idea of a good time. As I stepped on the wishing steps, I closed my eyes and asked Goddess to remove my self-doubt. Well, I was on wishing steps after all. Why not ask for something important. I was filled with an energy that nearly knocked me off the steps and that pesky voice said, “Tell my story, tell my story.” Being me, I still tried to ignore it and succeeded for the rest of our vacation.
But when I came home, I couldn’t ignore it any longer. I had several sessions with my writing coach, Mark David Gerson (www.markdavidgerson.com), who is very metaphysically oriented. His book, The Voice of the Muse, is one of my favorite writing books because it teaches you to go within and allow the story to emerge. Over the course of the next few months, I did the exercises in the book and worked with Mark David to discover whose voice I was hearing and what story it wanted me to tell. The Wishing Steps is the result.
Here’s the scoop on the story:
Three Women and a Single Story That Unites Them Across the Millennia
“Totally engrossing. A must-read for today’s wise woman!”Rev. Kathleen McKern Verigin, minister/priestess
Brighid, Ashleen and Megan: Bound through time by a curious light, a mysterious voice and a call they dare not ignore. Yet in obeying this strange force, the women must face soul-searing trials that call into question everything they know and believe — about themselves and about the world around them.
“Guaranteed to inspire you to a deeper level of spirituality and a new appreciation for Goddess.”Rev. Clara Z. Alexander
The Wishing Steps will be available for purchase on October 31 in both print and ebook versions at:Amazon.com. You can also purchase it as an ebook on Kobo, I Tunes, and at Barnes and Noble.

Karen wanted to let you all know that she may be a little late returning comments today, but she will be here!
***
Being Thankful

Today I'm thankful for:
Art
In Amsterdam at the Rijksmuseum viewing the painting below, by Vermeer.
The Love Letter - Jan Vermeer van Delft
Awesome.

Are you following Karen? Curious about her book? What the most famous painting you've seen live, up close, and personal?

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

IWSG!

Posting first Wednesday of every month YOU can sign up HERE to find out more about the purpose of the Insecure Writer's Support Group, the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh.

Let's give our co-hosts  a warm welcome! 

Monday, November 2, 2015

The Listing Hop, Question of the Month, Being Thankful



The Listing Hop

Red Thank You HeartA HUGE BIG THANKS goes out to all who participated in The Listing Hop, but most particularly to Captain Ninja Alex Cavanaugh who volunteered to co-host. I mean I didn't even ask!


I was totally blown away by the variety of lists; from humorous to serious to helpful to fact filled, from frightening to enlightening it was all good!


I made a valient attemp to visit everyone but I suspect there may have been a few I didn't get to. If that's the case please forgive me.

I believe I can safely say it was a resounding success and that it will become an annual October event to celebrate the anniversary of my blogging career.

Question of the Month

I decided to join this monthly bloghop because answering thoughtful/challenging questions is one way to expand one's mind. Hosted by Michael D'Agostino at A Life Examined ,  the question this month is: Are you an introvert or extrovert?

A classic picture of me being shy. I was just 
5 years old. I used to hide behind my mother's 
shirts or doors when people came to the house.



I think of myself as an introvert. In high school I was almost painfully shy and some people interpreted that as my being snobby. Despite that, as a young adult, I sang for a while in a jazz trio and I've been in plays where I sang and danced. But I think working with abused, neglected, and emotionally disturbed kids really helped to pull me out of my self-imposed shell. As an aging adult I still much prefer staying quietly at home to going out and being around people, especially people I don't know. But I've learned how to be outwardly friendly rather than socially awkward. I also push myself in small ways and will speak to complete strangers and say complimentary things. (But not every day and not every time I go out!)

Being Thankful

Today I'm thankful for rain. There are many parts of Texas that are suffering from too much. But where we are, the rainfall amounts have been quite manageable. There's been no flooding or damage. It seems we are in an El Nino pattern and may, at last, be coming out of a drought that's lasted almost six years. 

It's made the concrete hard dirt in our yard soft enough to weed which is something I like to do... yes, I like to weed! 

Of course I have to include this clip of the great Gene Kelly.


What are you thankful for? If you participated, did you have fun with The Listing Hop? Do you consider yourself and introvert or extrovert? Have you ever danced or sung in the rain?