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A tale of two writing spaces

05 Nov

NaBloPoMo, Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Tell us about your writing space. Where do you write your blog posts?

upstairs writingIf I’m home during the day and there aren’t a thousand other things vying for my attention, I take time to actually sit down at my desk in the upstairs office to write. When I’m here, I am usually surrounded by silence–which, depending on the day, may or may not have a beneficial effect upon my concentration. My desk is rarely this uncluttered, so writing up here often gets interrupted by filing, shredding, phone calls, emails, balancing the checkbook, organizing the pen jar…

photo 2

 

When I’ve been too busy or too lazy to write during the day, I usually end up downstairs on the couch in the evening, banging away on my laptop while the hubby watches TV and reads the paper. More distractions here, but since some days it takes me a couple hours to spit out a hundred words, I hate to lose that time with him. (Although maybe he’d rather I just go upstairs and write what I’ve got to write than snipe at him when he asks a question in the middle of me nearly…almost…just about…damn, lost it…stringing together a coherent sentence.)

NaBloPoMo November 2013

 
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Posted by on November 5, 2013 in Challenges

 

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Gratitude Photo Day 4: Art

04 Nov

101_8943Art is something I’ve decided is completely in the eye of the beholder. I, for example, would consider these antique bread knives to be art. Just look at the detailed carving of the handles. Does the fact that something is utilitarian preclude it from being art? Is it only art if it hangs on the wall or collects dust on the mantle…or worse, is kept behind security glass in a climate-controlled museum? To me, art isn’t merely about beauty; a piece must reach inside and grab my soul. There’s not much rhyme or reason to what I like, but I’m definitely more likely to swoon over a hand-carved knife handle than the ceiling of the Sistine chapel. I can certainly appreciate the time and talent masters like Michelangelo invested in their paintings and sculptures, but they generally are not pieces that resonate with me. I’m grateful that I don’t just think of art as something on display in a museum…because I’m surrounded by artwork in the form of a hand-knit scarf, a mural on a downtown building, a sculpture made from vintage farm equipment, even a carved pumpkin.

30day photo challenge

 
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Posted by on November 4, 2013 in Challenges, Photography

 

Think, think, think

04 Nov

winnie-the-pooh
NaBloPoMo Monday, November 4, 2013
Who is your favourite character of all time?

Okay, I’m not really sure what this answer says about my worldliness, but my favorite character has always been Winnie the Pooh. In an attempt not to appear overly childish, I struggled to think of a protagonist from classic literature or a hero from stage or screen whom I love more, but just couldn’t do it.

Pooh is a character that can be loved at any age. As a small child, I loved him mainly for his cuteness. He made me giggle whenever his love of ‘hunny’ led to trouble.

As I moved into middle school, I began to appreciate more of the clever truths disguised in his off-hand remarks.

“To the uneducated an A is just three sticks.”

Throughout college and beyond, when I was tackling the world on my own and battling occasional bouts of homesickness, Pooh understood.

“I wonder what Piglet is doing,” thought Pooh.
“I wish I were there to be doing it, too.”

Now, even as an adult, Pooh’s words, uttered in his gentle sing-song voice, can encourage me to do the right thing, even when I’d much prefer to hibernate bear-like under the covers…

“A bear, however hard he tries, grows tubby without exercise.”

…or jump willy-nilly into a project.

“Organization is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it’s not all mixed up.”

Winnie the Pooh embodies many admirable qualities that, if everybody adopted, would make the world so much nicer. Pooh is fairly unflappable, even with a ‘hunny’ jar stuck on his nose–there is no screaming or unnecessary drama in the Hundred Acre Wood. Pooh does not easily take offense, or look for reasons to start a fight, even when insulted by Rabbit. Pooh treasures his friends, and stands by them through thick and thin. He accepts them just as they are, stoically ignoring Eeyore’s gloom, patiently waiting through Owl’s lengthy explanations, and gamely trying to keep pace with Tigger’s hyperactive romps. Above all, Pooh knows that

“A little Consideration, a little Thought for Others, makes all the difference.”

Maybe Winnie the Pooh doesn’t seem like such an immature choice for favorite all-time character after all.

(Blogger’s note: Winnie the Pooh quotes from GoodReads.)

NaBloPoMo November 2013

 
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Posted by on November 4, 2013 in Challenges

 

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Gratitude Photo Day 3: Tradition

03 Nov

photo 3Philly cheesesteak pizza…a change of pace from the traditional pepperoni

When I was growing up, it was tradition to have a large family dinner on Sunday. Mom would make roast beef or fried chicken or some other too-fancy-for-a-weeknight meal, and the four of us would gather around the table to enjoy it. The family time was great, and the food (homestyle Southern cooking) was amazing, but it meant a lot of time in the kitchen for Mom.

I’m grateful that my husband has his own ideas about traditional Sunday dinner. All he wants is pizza. Pizza on the sofa in front of the football game. My biggest worry is making sure there are gluten-free pizza crusts stockpiled in the freezer. Prep, cook, and clean-up times are minimal, so I have the entire day to relax with the hubby–for which I am truly grateful.

30day photo challenge

 
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Posted by on November 3, 2013 in Challenges, Photography

 

The Simple Woman’s Daybook

03 Nov
simple-woman-daybook-large

For today, Sunday, November 2, 2013

Outside my window…this morning I watched the leaves blow around the yard, dancing with the squirrels who were rooting around for nuts. Now, as I write this, it is getting dark way too quickly! I love the bonus hour of sleep we get from “falling back” but do not appreciate the early sundowns throughout the winter.

I am thinking…about new directions I can expand my job search this week. Maybe a volunteer opportunity could morph into a paying job? Can’t hurt to try!

I am thankful…for so many things, I couldn’t possibly list them all. But I’ll pick one…I’m thankful that my husband’s family will be gathering at our house for Thanksgiving this year. At last count, there will be 8 coming from Massachusetts and 6 (plus a dog) coming from Alabama. I gotta get to the store before all the 25+ pound turkeys are gone!

In the kitchen…there’s not a whole lot going on. It’s pizza Sunday, so it’s an easy prepping/cooking/cleaning day for me.

I am wearing…grey sweatpants and an over-sized Lions Club sweatshirt. Oh, and socks with frogs on them. 🙂

I am creating…lots of DIY projects around the house. This past week I sewed a valance for the master bath and curtain for the man door of the garage, repainted a full-length mirror for the master bath, and put a base coat of paint on a tissue box cover.

I am going…to start making large batches of soup to stockpile in our new freezer. The old freezer did not survive its five years in storage, so we just got a replacement delivered last week. Lots of room now for soups, stews, chili, and casseroles for the upcoming cold winter evenings.

I am wondering…how long it’s going to take me to catch up on seasons 3 and 4 of The Good Wife…the promos on now for season 5 are spoiling the storyline for me!

I am reading…the Sunday paper and Orkney by Amy Sackville.

I am hoping…that the guy who wants to buy our gym equipment on craigslist really shows up to collect it next weekend.

Some disassembly required.

Some disassembly required.

I am looking forward to…turning the current gym into a craft room/reading room/she-cave (see above).

I am learning…how to use Numbers on my iPad. I am building a spreadsheet of all the lightbulbs in our house. Why, other than catering to my Type A tendencies, would I require a spreadsheet? On the first floor, I need a ladder to reach every single light fixture (the stepladder, if I’m lucky, but a couple require the 4,000-lb. finger-crushing Little Giant). If a bulb blows, I don’t relish the idea of dragging out the ladder today to find out what wattage bulb I need, then dragging it out again whenever the day comes that I have simultaneously been in town and remembered that I needed a light bulb. If I have a spreadsheet of all my bulbs in Numbers, I can magically access it on my iPhone (thanks, iCloud) while at the store, without the struggle of the preliminary scouting climb.

Around the house…I see that it is time to dust and vacuum again. Didn’t I just do that??

I am pondering…dessert options for Thanksgiving dinner. I don’t do pumpkin, but I have a fast, easy recipe for pumpkin mousse that I’m thinking I could serve instead of a traditional pie…

A favorite quote for today…Ghandi-on-Change

One of my favorite things…is going to the library. So I’m thinking about volunteering there once a week. Downloaded and printed the volunteer application today.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Going to the gym (more than once), job-hunting, more DIY projects, cleaning light fixtures (and filling in the rest of that bulb spreadsheet), planning menus for the week the hubby’s relatives will be in town, and reorganizing the filing system in our home office.

A peek into my day…

margarita

Football and a margarita–a perfect Sunday afternoon.

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To read others’ Daybook posts, or to learn how to participate, visit The Simple Woman’s Daybook.

My Sunday free-write for NaBloPoMo.
NaBloPoMo November 2013

 
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Posted by on November 3, 2013 in Challenges

 

Eicke’s game

02 Nov

dachau-pistol-range-61.3Photo copyright 1999 by Philip Greenspun 

“It is the first day of November and so, today, someone will die.”

Bound and blindfolded, all hold their breath. Few hold their bowels.

“Anlegen, zielen, Feuer!”

Pistols crack.

Eicke’s words are an empty promise. Again.

Dignity is the only victim in this SS game. Today.

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Thirty-three words (not including the bold prompt, which comes from The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater) for Trifextra: Week Ninety-Two. For me, the words brought to mind the horrific mental torture endured by prisoners in Dachau, marched repeatedly to stand before SS firing squads. Sometimes the guns were loaded…sometimes they weren’t.

NaBloPoMo November 2013

 
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Posted by on November 2, 2013 in Challenges, Fiction

 

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Gratitude Photo Day 2: Love

02 Nov

loveMy true love and me exiting the theater into this afternoon’s sunshine.
I’m grateful that he still holds my hand everywhere we go.

Lessons learned from this quick snapshot:

  1. The middle of a busy parking lot may not be the best place for photography.
  2. Even a spontaneous shot could benefit from a little composition (I just spent 10 minutes retouching a yellow parking line out of the hubby’s shadow).
  3. Consider the perspective–neither of us is 12 feet tall, although you’d never know it from this photo.

30day photo challenge

 
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Posted by on November 2, 2013 in Challenges, Photography

 
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