Creative Soul

Ready, Set.....WRITE!

2009-11-01T15:58:00.004-06:00

At the stroke of midnight last, NaNoWriMo began. I had sort of planned to be up then and get a few hundred words in, but when I crashed early (as usual for me.) Since the Pilot Guy needed to be at church early for Praise Team practice I ran over to Starbucks for a quick shot of caffeine and words. The rest of my words for the day came after lunch. Even though I had an opening scene in mind, it was exciting to finally get to lay it down on the page. It was much more detailed than when I doodled some notes about it the other day. I love how my mind keeps on working on a book even when I'm doing something else.

2,088 words for today. It was fun to meet Addy and Mac, my heroine and hero. From the start they have, I predict true love will not run smoothly. And I sincerely hope not. I need conflict and issues to get through the required 50,000 words and into the 60,000 words I want to write.

NaNoing is fun!!!!!!!!!

Update on Artist's Daybook Pages

2009-10-30T20:05:00.005-05:00

Back in April I posted that I was free writing each morning as a creative exercise. You can pop over and read all about it here: http://creativesoulbydebmc.blogspot.com/2009/04/artists-daybook.html

Like many endeavors I've been hit or miss on following through. That's unfortunate because when I consistently do artist's pages, my creativity soars. I now call it 'taking out the garbage' creatively. When I clear the gunk and junk from my head, I can create.

It really is that simple.

Have you tried it?

NaNoWriMo Preparations Part 2

2009-10-28T10:43:00.005-05:00

My preparations for National Novel Writing Month continue...

4. Chocolate, Snacks and Food. Many of you have reminded me that I didn't list chocolate on my last post. LOL! We always have chocolate around here. In fact, I have a fairly big stash of the good stuff--Belgian chocolate--courtesy of the Baseball Guy who lived in Belgium last summer. We was a good boy and brought his mama a lot of chocolate.

I'm also laying in a supply of healthy stuff, too. Apples, pears, granola, almonds, walnuts, carrots, peppers. Green tea. Ravenous is the only word to describe me after a lengthy writing session. Last year I gobbled too many Oreos.

5. Jamba Juice cash. Just like last year, for every 10,000 words I write I get my favorite Jamba--Peach Pleasure. Ahhhhhh....

6. Walking shoes ready. Do you realize how many authors use long walking sessions as a time to work out character and plot? Stephen King and Julia Cameron are two well known ones. No iPods allowed--just you and the breeze in your hair. Fresh oxygen to the brain, endorphins, and stronger muscles. Good stuff.

7. Crock Pot. The other people in my house expect some sort of hot meal at least once a day. Every day. Imagine that. I'm digging out my trusty supply of crock pot/one dish meals/easy fix recipes to use. I'm assembling a menu list to post on the fridge. With encouragement those other souls in my house can pick up some of the slack. They'll have to--mom's gonna be writing!

8. I've joined my NaNo buddies online. At the NaNoWriMo website, for sure. The pep talk emails from them are terrific pick me ups. There's a group of local real life NaNo buddies who'll communicate by email each day. My favorite homeschool group of writers has an online meeting place. Plus, I gathered a few email addresses from the NaNo kick off party. I'll be emailing those folks from time to time. Having a wealth of support is only one of the fabulous benefits of playing the NaNo game. I didn't blog about NaNo last year. I want to this year, so stay tuned!

9. Lastly, I've found a fossil. If you've read Stephen King's 'On Writing' you know he calls a story idea a fossil. When he finds a fossil laying on the ground, he knows there's a story to be excavated nearby. It's his job as the author to extract as much out of the ground as possible. As a gardener I think of story ideas more as a seed that needs to germinate and be nurtured until it is full grown. Either way, I've got an idea in my head....NaNo always calls for something completely new so I'm not so emotionally involved with it that I can't take creative risks. I'm beginning to take notes and form characters. From the characters shall come the plot. I can't wait to see where they will take me.

10. Okay, one more...the good folks who hosted the official kick off party for my region last Sunday gave out some fun goodie bags. Included in it: Chocolate, of course, Marbles (for when I've lost mine), a paper clip (because you never, never, never staple a completed manuscript going to a publisher), a yellow balloon (who doesn't like a yellow balloon?), a small plastic policeman to keep me from wandering, a pen, a word count calendar, colorful star stickers for decorating my calendar after a good writing session. Best of all, there was a trusty NaNoWriMo decal/sticker straight from the writing folks at the Office of Light and Letters.

I'm set. Are you ready to write with abandon?

NaNoWriMo Preparations Part 1

2009-10-23T08:36:00.007-05:00

Okay, I'll admit it. I'm on the verge of giddy in anticipation of National Novel Writing Month this year. A little apprehensive as well. NaNoWriMo was such an exhilarating experience in 2008. I want to have the same fun, freeing, and fantastic experience this season.

To that end, I'm doing a few things to prepare. Take a look at my list and see if any of them strikes you as helpful.

1. Reading. I've done some market research by diving into a half dozen current books in my selected genre. Stephen King's 'On Writing' is being savored once more. In a few days, I'll pick up my copy of "No Plot, No Problem" to amp up to November 1st. If you are a writer and haven't read either of these books, remedy that by clicking on the link to the right and getting your own copy. Every writer should have a copy of "On Writing." It is simply the best. R-rated for language, but you knew that about Stephen King anyway, right?

2. Cleaning house. I hate cleaning house, but I love living and working in a tidy, clutter-free, and well decorated space. I'm doing some clutter busting, especially in the kitchen and my writing spaces. If I clean well now, I can ignore vacuuming, dusting, and mopping until December 1, don't you think?

A corollary to this is cleaning out my computer. My poor Traveller (my laptop's name) is packed to the gills with photos, writing, forms, brochures, good stuff and junk. The Pilot Guy and I think my hard drive in on it's last legs. If I get myself in gear, I can transfer my data and get the new drive installed. If not, I'll tidy up in here and defrag so I get the best performance possible.

Grabbing any supplies is a good idea, too. Paper, pens, pencils, white board markers, file folders and disks for backing up every day...lay in your supply now.

NaNoWriMo Prelude

2009-10-19T18:54:00.001-05:00

It's almost time!

November is National Novel Writing Month...

thirty insanely fun days of writing with

passion,

abandon,

fervor

and not much skill.

NaNo is one of the creative highlights of my year.

If you've ever thought even for a minute you might like to write a book someday, head for the National Novel Writing Month Website to join in the fun.

Stay tuned to the next few posts here to see how I'm prepping for NaNo

Memoir Monday ~ Cars

2009-10-19T15:40:00.005-05:00

I'm amused when I look through old photos of my parents, especially during their dating years, at how often the young couple was posed in front of their car.

My mom and dad

There are a number of reasons for that, I'm sure. Fifty years or more ago, film definitely liked the bright sunshine and flashbulbs were expensive. Photos were done outside. Secondly, those cars were a great big purchase...still are today, too. There is just something about those hunks of metal and combustion that make us happy. I'm even more amused to find a number of photos of me in front of my car. Cars are nice and all, but you'd think there would be more photos of me with a dog.

So, what did your first car look like? (Or what was the most interesting vehicle you've ever driven?) Was it given to you or did you slave at some job to purchase it? Standard or automatic? How old were you when you learn to drive?

My first car was a Ford Maverick I shared with my mom.

My mom and I

Mavis as I called my little vehicle, was an odd grass green color. No air conditioning and black interior. We are talking Texas here, folks. Can you say hot? We kept towels in the car to sit on, especially in the summer. I sorched my shorts clad legs several times before I figured out the towel thing. Mavis was also a standard shift car with the gear on the steering column. It was an adventure learning to drive in traffic while also learning how to shift gears. My mother said if I learned how to drive a standard I could drive anything. How right she was. I've driven all over Europe in standard shift models. I've driven tractors and an eighteen wheeler. Thanks, Mom, for teaching me how.

Look, here is one of the Pilot Guy and I in front of Mavis.

We hit the jackpot here because we not only have a photo of Mavis, but we have a glimpse of the Pilot Guy's red LTD in the background.

One last note...every dress I'm wearing in these photos I made with my own little hands.

We had a great little car in Europe. I'll have to write about that car some day soon.

Alright, people, show me your first or favorite car. If you post photos on your blog, come leave a comment here so we can traipse over and enjoy.

Creative Chains

2009-10-15T09:17:00.006-05:00

In India of old, young elephants began their training in a simple way. One foot was shackled and chained to a sturdy post. Pull, pull, pull though they might, the young beast couldn't break free. Eventually, the animal learned it was useless to struggle and quit trying. For the rest of it's long life, the elephant could be tethered not with a chain, but with piece of string, so strong was that early conditioning.

What 'chains' hold you back?

Are they real or are they imagined?

For me...I've noticed lately I quit on a project before I really get into it. In the back of my mind are those nasty voices. 'The publishing industry is hurting in this economy.' 'Maybe I'm too over the hill to write for a younger audience.' 'This is too much a who you know industry and I don't know enough of the right people.' 'What a waste to spend weeks and weeks and weeks writing on something I can't guarantee will ever sell.'

Chains of 'quit before it hurts too much.' Just like those elephants.

Do chains hold me back or a simple piece of string? How will I ever know unless I flex my creative muscle?

Memoir Monday ~ A Favorite Teacher

2009-10-12T11:26:00.002-05:00

As you can see I've been blogging a lot in my head lately. I'm making a real push to get the words out of my head and onto the screen. Follow through, right?

For today's memoir prompt...who was your favorite teacher? This does not have to be a childhood or school age teacher, but someone who taught you a skill or concept that you value today. Perhaps what they taught wasn't as important as how they taught it.

So...favorite teachers....

Two of my favorites were Sharon K., my English teacher and Mama Marge W., my journalism teacher. Mama Marge ( and yes we often called her that) had already encouraged my love of photography by putting me on the photography staff of the school newspaper and yearbook. She is a tall, thin woman with a quick, sharp mind. She treated her staff students not as students only, but as adults capable of doing amazing work. My sophomore and junior year of high school, she taught me to write according to strict journalism standards. Just the facts and economical with words. Deadlines became my friends.

Sharon K. (whom we called Mrs. K---) loved being an English teacher. I ate her class up. We studied classic books with enthusiasm. It was in her class that I discovered Ray Bradbury. What a discovery! During my junior year, she taught me to write in a traditional English manner. Vivid description, powerful presentation, and the joy of organizing a big project.

Having both of these teachers in the same year was excellent for me. Because of their demands, I learned to write according to the audience. I can't tell you how valuable that skill has been in my creative life. Whether I'm writing a marketing piece for my studio or a letter to the editor or a piece of fiction, I know to pay attention to the unseen person who will be reading my words and craft accordingly.

As I said, I had a very adult type relationship with Mama Marge. She attended my wedding and my dad's funeral. A few years ago, her children arranged a party to celebrate her 80th birthday. It was delightful to see her again. She was, as ever, a sharp, insightful, and intelligent woman.

In my thirties, when I was showing German Shepherds in obedience, I ran into Mrs. K-- at several shows. She, too, had taken up dog showing. Her Bernese Mountain Dogs were like huge teddy bears...all plush fur and happy expressions. She introduced me to her husband by his first name. When she noticed I was still calling her by Mrs. K--, she said, you know, you've graduated. You can call me Sharon. With a smile, I shook my head. "Nope, I don't think I can."

Memoir Monday ~ Back to School

2009-09-21T15:53:00.003-05:00

For today's memior prompt, how about school memories?

Do you remember your first days of school?

Did your family have a ritual for first days?

Who was your favorite teacher?

What were your favorite subjects?

Happy remembering!

Creative Quote

2009-09-15T05:59:00.005-05:00

I'm always thinking

about creating.

My future starts

when I wake up every morning...

Every day I find something

creative to do with my life.
Miles Davis

Memoir Monday ~ A Book Review

2009-09-14T09:28:00.004-05:00

Instead of an assignment today, I'm doing a review of "My Life In France" by Julia Child and Alex Prud'Homme.

Why a book review? Because this is one of the best memoirs I've read recently. It was built and written from collections of letters, journal entries, and photographs saved by members of the family. Exactly the type of writing I'm urging you to do each Monday.

From what I understand, Julia Child's grand-nephew, Alex Prud'Homme would read aloud from the saved letters or he and Julia would sort through photos and Julia would tell stories sparked from those memories.

The writing is warm, witty, and engaging. For the writers among us, there are some terrific turns of phrase and lovely language. It is a look into the passionate pursuit of creativity. It's the story of someone who loved life abroad and truly came alive when she found her calling. You'll want to pack up and move to France, roast a duck, or at the very least, you'll be inspired to try something new and challenging. What ever the call, I hope you hear it clearly.

If you loved Meryl Streep's Julia Child in the movie, you'll enjoy 'hearing' Julia's true voice through her words and rememberances. This is a good read!

Celebrate!

2009-09-10T15:10:00.005-05:00

Today,

the Pilot Guy and I a

re celebrating

years of marriage.

Chains do not hold a marriage together.

It is threads, hundreds of tiny threads, which sew people together through the years.

Simone Signoret

Marriage is not just spiritual communion; it is also remembering to take out the trash.

Joyce Brothers

Real giving is when we give to our spouses what's important to them,

whether we understand it, like it, agree with it, or not.

Michele Weiner-Davis

They do not love who do not show their love.

William Shakespeare

The Beauty of Love:

The question is asked, "Is there anything more beautiful in life than a young couple clasping hands and pure hearts in the path of marriage? Can there be anything more beautiful than young love?"

And the answer is given. "Yes, there is a more beautiful thing. It is the spectacle of an old man and an old woman finishing their journey together on that path. Their hands are gnarled, but still clasped; their faces are seamed, but still radiant; their hearts are physically bowed and tired, but still strong with love and devotion for one another.

Yes, there is a more beautiful thing than young love.

Old love."

Unknown

Two persons who love each other are in a place more holy than the interior of a church.

William Lyon Phelps

There is nothing more lovely in life than the union of two people whose love for one another has grown through the years, from the small acorn of passion, into a great rooted tree.

Vita Sackville-West

Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be.

Robert Browning

Get Smart

2009-09-08T07:05:00.003-05:00

Want to get smarter? Here's some tips I gleaned from a passionate discussion between homeschool moms over the summer. See if you agree or disagree.

1. Read. Pick up books and dive into subjects which fascinate you. Read, study, and ponder things you love...quilting, business marketing, gardening, calculus, photography, dog training, biographies, education, creativity(!) human development, Biblical truth, writing, foreign languages, quantum physics...whatever your passion...follow it. Read deeply in a subject and read widely across a number of subjects. Read authors you agree with and authors you don't agree with.

The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them. - Mark Twain

2. Process your thoughts. Write...journal, blog, or write papers only for yourself. Educated people in the days of Thomas Jefferson kept a book in which they wrote thoughts, notes from their daily reading, questions, observations, and ideas. They called it a commonplace book. Writing is a good way to think through a maze of thoughts. Remember, your writing doesn't have to be for anyone else but you. Talk to others. Listen. Think. Muse. Or as my horse-trainer mentor said, 'observe, remember, compare.'

Writing is thinking on paper.-William Zinsser

3. Experience. Get up and do something. Actually learning to rock climb, salsa dance, or how to hold a paint brush activates more brain cells than reading about it. Travel often. Experiencing new cultures (even within our great country) expands your knowledge base and gives insight.

A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way. ~Mark Twain

4. Ask questions. This is two actually, because you must really listen for answers. Too much of the time, we only half listen to each other's conversation because we are busy thinking about we are going to say. Today, listen carefully and completely to other people.

The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. Albert Einstein

There is no such thing as a stupid question; only stupid mistakes made because you didn't ask the stupid question. Charles J. Lewis

I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen. Ernest Hemingway

5. Quit doing stupid. The laugh out loud moment for me in the discussion came when someone suggested the best way to get smart was to quit doing stupid things. Like, for example, watching too much TV, playing video games, or spending too much time twittering. Obvious and oh, so true.

Men's natures are alike; it is their habits that separate them. ~Confucius, Analects

What do you think about these? What would you add to the list? How does getting smart affect your creativity?

Creative Fears

2009-09-04T09:44:00.005-05:00

In this month's 'MORE' magazine is a terrific article about Kathy Davis of Kathy Davis Designs. Her greeting cards, scrapbooking supplies, and line of home accessories are a thriving business. What you might not know is Kathy left teaching to pursue an artistic life during her thirties.

On being an artist...
"'I was not confident about my ability. I sat next to a boy who painted so beautifully." She (Kathy) taught English and science for six years and got married. She earned her master's degree and certification to teach art, but it wasn't enough. "I remember being in class one day thinking, I want to be sitting with them, not standing up here. I want to be creating.""

Her first venture into the National Stationery Show...
"All the old feelings of not being good enough came back: feeling like no one needs me, that there was too much competition..."

On finding focus...
"I had to ask myself, do I want to be a retailer or a designer?"

And finally....
'I'm a late bloomer, but I finally figured out that there is always going to be someone better than you, and, at that point, you just have to say, that's OK, I still have something to offer."

These quotes resonated with me. Let me know in the comments if any of them spoke to you.

I hope you'll grab a copy of "MORE" this month and read the article for yourself.

Inspiring.

A Creative Passion

2009-09-03T20:14:00.003-05:00

Which one are you?

I just saw the 'Julia/Julie' movie starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. Quite good, much better in my humble opinion than the book. (And I know everyone else saw this a while ago...we had a wedding at our house, remember?)

So which one are you?

Julia--who found a passion and pursued it with vigor?

or

Julie (at the beginning of the story) dead end job, little drive, not able to finish what she started....

Why did you identify with that one?

Memoir Monday ~ Weddings

2009-08-31T09:52:00.003-05:00

Today would have been my parent's 53rd wedding anniversary. With our son's wedding just a bit over a week ago, the taking of vows has been on my mind a lot. So today's memior assignment is to write about your wedding day...or go ask your parents or grandparents about their day.

Actually, it was a few pages in a journal I found after my mother's death which inspired Memoir Monday. Three handwritten pages she had penned about her wedding day. The fun they'd had getting married in my dad's parent's house, the flowers, the cake, the people who made the small wedding a pleasure. There was a page and a half about how my parents glossed through their three day honeymoon to come back to their rental house early. Unfortunately they didn't have a key, but my enterprising dad managed to 'break' in so they could settle in. I could feel her happiness and delight come through those pages. Have I mentioned that my mom was a sweet sixteen bride and my dad a mature twenty year old? (I know, I know!)

When I found that journal and read the story, I wept. I cried, in part, because my grief was still fresh, but I wept because there was no more. Only those few pages. The rest of the journal was blank. How I wanted more! My mother probably wrote those lines after she was sick. Probably after she realized she wasn't getting out of breast cancer alive. I imagine she wanted to fill that book up with the story of her life...but she didn't have the strength emotionally to go back into it all...or perhaps it was a simple matter of little physical strength. I'll never know. All I know is this daughter was greedy for more.

That's what Memoir Mondays are for...in bits and pieces you can capture the stories of your life. Every year you can print them out, bind them into a book or notebook, and shelve them. Your children, grandchildren, and great-grands will love having an eye witness account of your life and times. Include photos when ever you can.

Now--go write.

Creativity, Venting, and Change

2009-08-30T14:24:00.005-05:00

Do you ever vent?

Blow off steam?

Griping to your spouse about your boss or your child's school situation. Complaining to your best friend about your mother in law or your wayward cousin. Moaning and groaning to anyone who will listen about your inability to create because of your time commitments outside your studio.

Me, too.

The thing is, venting is non-productive. Yes, it makes you feel better in the short term. You get to have your say and someone who loves you makes murmuring noises in support of you.

But nothing's changed.

Let's consider history for a moment. These terms, 'venting' and 'letting off steam', come from one of history's significant inventions--the steam engine. For the first time, a person didn't have to depend on the variables of the wind or tide. Nor did a person have to harness an animal's muscle or his own to move a load from one point to another. A hot fire under a vat of water turned the water into steam vapor.The resulting vapor built up pressure and was eventually forced into an engine where the pressure powered pistons and turned gears. A steam engine could move comparably huge loads of men and cargo with little effort. Across a bay or up and down a river using a steamboat or across a sprawling continent with the railroad. Steam was the most powerful fuel of it's day.

To be effective, steam has to be captured and directed. An uncovered pot of water boiling on the stove is not going to move anything. Heat applied to a closed container of water will build pressure. If that pressure is piped correctly, that pressure will move a piston which moves a gear which moves a wheel which moves boat, train engine, or steam shovel. As long as that pressure remains, things move.

When we 'vent' we are like the pot busily boiling on the stove...there's a lot of heat, a lot of bubbles, a lot of steam. But nothing moves. All that energy wasted.

Whatever is causing a hot spot under your pot...don't boil and bubble to your buddies. Use that energy to power a change in your life. In other words, don't complain without doing something to fix the situation.

Break the venting habit. No 'letting off steam' this week. Use that energy to find a way to modify the situation or your attitude about it. Even doing one small thing can make a difference.

If you dare, leave a comment about what you vent about most frequently. And what small or large thing you will do at the first available opportunity to make a change in the situation.

Me? I'm going to quit griping about not having as much time as I want or need to create and MAKE some time in my life.

I'm going to write a few letters and make a couple of phone calls to some folks about important issues.

It's a start.

“Steam is no stronger now than it was a hundred years ago but it is put to better use” -Ralph Waldo Emerson (American poet)

"No steam or gas ever drives anything until it is confined. No Niagara is ever turned into light and power until it is tunneled. No life ever grows until it is focused, dedicated, disciplined.” -Joan Rivers

2009-08-25T09:37:00.004-05:00

Memoir Monday ~ The Week Before....

2009-08-17T16:10:00.003-05:00

Here at Chateau Creative Soul, we are in crazy mode. Our son's wedding day is T-minus six days and counting. Prayers are being said for good weather for the outdoor ceremony....stacks of wedding decor materials are multiplying....and the lists of things to be done seems to be getting longer, not shorter.

Thus, the inspiration for today's Memoir Monday. When have you been 'behind the scenes' of a big deal family event--a wedding, an anniversary, a birthday, a reunion, a holiday dinner....? What craziness happened? Who forgot to order something important? What were the costs involved? What did you make or create just for the event? Don't forget to detail the food and clothing.

Fifty years from now, your grandchildren will appreciate your memoir.

Memoir Monday ~ Family Visits

2009-08-10T08:28:00.005-05:00

A week or two ago, some of our favorite people came for a visit~the Pilot Guy's youngest brother, his wife, and two teenagers. Together we shopped, watched baseball games, shopped some more, ate too much, stayed up too late, and laughed a lot.

In my growing up family as well as the Pilot Guy's family, relatives were welcome in our home all the time. In fact, it was a sign of something gone terribly wrong if the relatives didn't stay in your home.

Today's Memoir assignment is to write, draw, paint, or compose about your remembrances of family visits. Vacations, holidays, or other trips...who came to your house?

Did Grandmother and Granddad kick you out of your room? Did you have cousins sleeping on pallets on the floor of the living room? Who did the preparations for visitors? Did everyone pitch in to help clean and cook? Were you a formal bunch or loud and rowdy?

Was your family one of the ones that never hosted guests? What are your memories of being a guest in your grandmother's or aunt's home?

How have you changed from how your parent's or grandparent's generation did this?

I can't wait to see what you dig around and find in your memories this week.

One other thing...some of you know we are in the middle of planning a wedding this month. In fact, it is in less than two weeks. (YIKES!) In our backyard. (August. Texas. Outdoors. Are we brave or what?) I'm not blogging much because I simply don't have many working brain cells left at the end of the day. That's too bad, too, because now that I think of it, blogging is relaxing and refreshing. We will see what happens...

After the wedding...some exciting stuff will be happening here at Creative Soul. Thanks to each and everyone of you who read. You make my day!

Memoir Monday ~ Where Were You?

2009-07-20T05:52:00.007-05:00

(Thanks to FreeStockPhotos.com for the images)

Today's topic for Memoir Monday practically writes itself. Forty years ago today, man walked on the moon.

Where were you when Neil and Buzz first stepped on that beautifully desolate landscape?
How old were you?
What are you memories of Apollo 11 and the rest of the American space program?
Did man walking on the moon directly affect your thinking or decisions?
If you are too young to remember the actual event, seize this opportunity to find out where your parents or grandparents were on that day.

At age twelve and already a science fiction devotee, I loved the space program. To me, the Apollo missions gave a strong foundation to my reading. Anything seemed possible. As a family, we watched every mission from lift-off to splash-down. I still get tears in my eyes when I remember the Christmas morning when Apollo 8 looped the moon for the first time. The astronauts read from Genesis about the earth's form. It was a lovely moment.

As I said, I was twelve years old. My mom and dad hosted a gathering of family at our house that day, very much like a holiday event. Grandparents, uncles. The mood was joyful expectation. Food, fun, and anticipation. That day was the first and only time we set up a net across the dining room table and played ping pong. It's funny the things you remember.

My uncle, who is only five years older than I and at that moment, a budding photographer, set up a twin lens reflex camera on the coffee table in front of my parent's console TV. In those days before VCRs and DVRs, he wanted to capture the images on screen to the more permanent medium of film. I remember him saying he had to slow the shutter speed down to 1/30 of a second in order to 'sync' up with the TV. My uncle went on to spend almost thirty years as a photo-journalist.

We all cheered when we heard Neil Armstrong say the Eagle had landed. It was a great time of celebration. Later that evening, well after my normal bedtime, it was just our family around the TV taking in those grainy black and white images of Neil Armstrong stepping out on the moon.

The moon landing, in fact the entire Apollo program, made me think our country could do anything. Even more, it made me believe I could do anything. Education and work were the keys.

As a family who emphasized seizing both educational and travel opportunities, we saw the space program as the ultimate of both. Looking back, I can see my mom thought her children would have the opportunity to travel in space during their lifetimes. Certainly, in her grandchildren's lifetimes. I know that my twelve year old self believed forty years into the future our society would have a few colonies on the moon and would have traveled to Mars.

So...the question begs to be answered...where do you want to 'boldly go?' Where do you need to make a giant leap? Where are your footsteps being left?

Forty years from now, what do you want people remembering about you?

All Who Wander Are Not Lost...

2009-07-16T11:34:00.002-05:00

"The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page."
Author: St. Augustine

We are out 'reading' a part of the world these days. Seattle and Vancouver to be precise. It's been a great trip so far. Smooth flights, good hotels, easy drives...the weather has been warmer than typical for the Pacific Northwest...which means I've not been too cold. Refreshingly cool is the way I'd describe it.

There have been a few very interesting creative moments I'll share with you in coming days. There have also been some flat out awe inspiring gardening moments to share as well.

Here's a few photos to share the flavor of the trip...

Memoir Monday ~ Fourth of July

2009-07-06T09:41:00.004-05:00

We just had a great time with family and friends over the Fourth of July holiday weekend. I hope you did, too!

What memories do you have of the Fourth?
What did your family do to celebrate?
Did you stay home or travel?
Were you around for the country's bi-centennial celebration?
What foods make the holiday special?
Who made those foods?
Who were the people you remember spending time with?
Any special or unique outfits or activities?

What's YOUR favorite memory of the Fourth of July?

Ready,

Set,

Write! Paint! Create!

Garden Bounty

2009-06-25T17:43:00.003-05:00

Today was a good day in the garden. Tomatoes, peppers, basil, and okra. The heat is on here in Texas so the tomatoes will hunker down for a few weeks. Everything else will kick into high gear. I love plants like okra and basil that laugh at our heat....as long as we keep them watered that is.

We picked more blackberries.

I had a batch we picked a few days ago in the fridge. Together with today's harvest, I had enough to make 8 pints of blackberry preserves. They'll be yummy on biscuits or ice cream. It's been a few years since I made any kind of fruit preserve or jam. It was fun and fairly easy to do.

For the next little while, gardening means watering and keeping ahead of the weeds. Why is it that weeds don't seem to suffer from heat stress like my favored plants do?

Memoir Monday ~ Engagements

2009-06-22T14:32:00.004-05:00

Kevin and Lisa

Since it's just become offcial that I'll be a mom-in-law in a few short months (more about that later), let's stroll down memory lane a bit considering our own engagements. Write about the day you got engaged. Or write about a romantic evening, trip, or event. A special date, perhaps....or a day that turned out to be very romantic in memory, but you didn't think so at the time.

Got any photos to put with your memoir story? If you are an artist, take a moment to sketch an image. What would a quilt block of your memory look like?

I hope you have a pleasant trip down Remember Lane.

An insistent and nasty infection kept me sluggish all last week, then a trip to an out of town wedding, so I didn't get as much done on my travel memoir or the blog as I planned. Hopefully, I'll post my travel piece by tonight.

Until then, muse upon your romantic memories. Happy writing!