Words mean things... or do they?

Topiramate promethazine used to keep me going but they are now set aside for nortriptyline gabapentin verapamil which allow me to get out of bed without having to have sumatriptan- an important sentence that may mean nothing to you but means the world to me. Which is why my last post for this year's NaBloWriMo is less than- well maybe I should say just barely articulate.

Happy Halloween! 

My favorite monster!

I don't want to let this month go by without giving the No.... thank you! 'Great Comments Award' (awarded to me by Trisha at WORD+STUFF) to Michael Offutt! Michael told me he didn't want the award but I am ignoring his wishes because I wanted to make sure you meet him. ONE of the reasons Michael is a great commenter is due to his honesty. I always appreciate what he has to say. Another is that when I was going ballistic with my computer one day (a year ago or so? It wasn't finding any of the USB ports- completely maddening!) Michael talked me down before I tossed it out the window and made some helpful suggestions. Fortunately, it wasn't as big a problem as it seemed to be but his help was invaluable! The other reason I am ignoring his wishes is that I wanted to be sure that you went to his blog this evening. He's been doing a Halloween Fetish Count that is worth going back and catching up on, so pop on by. The other thing I wanted you to know about Michael is that last year his first book published by  Double Dragon called...

Click to purchase

If you want to get a small taste of his writing style, you can download his short story for FREE.

click for download

And in the spring, Michael will have another of his WIPs published. He gave an interview over at MPax's blog if you'd like to hear lots more about the story as he describes it.

Congrats on the upcoming release of Oculus Michael!!



Finally:

 

 

(photo: Possible Futures)

 

If not now, when?

Our politicians have steadfastly avoided the issue of climate change. We are like small children who think if we keep our eyes closed it will go away. It won't go away, it will only get worse. 

I'm a writer and I can't imagine how much worse it will be. 

This seems worse. 

my head sounds like that

The angles are sharp and colors clear. The person talking close by is saying something about the neighbors that kept him up all night and the listener exclaims then breaks into a time-bombed guffaw. I am sitting a few feet away but the words slip between my fingers, then trickle onto the ground, joining the sandbox of sounds that gather in a place of congregation. I turn to see where the conversants have gone and notice the meteor trail left by wall, desk, phone... the blurred edges of the computer screen and metal shelving. My eyelids shutter closed, giving my visual cortex a quiet control+alt+delete before reengaging in light and geometric analysis. The chattering box and his captive audience sway gently sideways, their expressions out of focus and smearing into the distance as I fade off- back into the closet I briefly attempted to escape. 

Saturday in the park

 I am proud to tell you that Denver has the 13th best park system in the U.S. according to a survey conducted by the Trust for Public Land. And it's something we don't take for granted.  

Today we decided to take a lesser traveled (for us) path and went to Sloan's Lake, a man-made waterway- ostensibly for the beauty and pleasure of the residents.

 

In more water bountiful states they might consider this a pond but in Colorado, a semi-arid state, a trickle becomes a stream, a stream becomes a river, etc. etc.

 Walking around the park, we had glorious late fall temps and blue skies. Quite a crowd of folk (although not as crowded as some of the city's more popular spots- spots we usually avoid) were walking, running, biking, talking... Well, you get the picture. 

I was busy snapping photos so you could enjoy the scenery.

Just shoot me now!

I am a political junky. I listen to talk radio in the afternoon to get the latest on politics. I read several different political magazines to find out what is happening in the world but OMG! This feels like the longest political season ever and I am tired of this political football game -and that's what it is! The corporate media longs for this to be a neck and neck- down to the finish line- contest. Will Obama kick the football right between the uprights scoring the game winning three points or will Romney throw a hail mary to win with a touchdown? As a woman I could never (ever, ever, ever) vote for a Republican- not that abortion is the single issue I would ever vote for (or against) but the religious aspect of the far right candidates adds that extra ooomph to my opposition to the Republican party. But that doesn't mean I am enjoying this farce of a electorate season. I am tired of the non-response responses of politicians and worn out with the phone calls and the door knocking. So, with less than two weeks to go, I am happy to say  

and I don't have to worry about it anymore- except to make sure my vote registered.

I hope you vote too-- after all, no matter who you're voting for or what issues are at stake and which side of that issue you are on:

If you don't vote- they win!

Also, want to give the 'No... Thank you!-- Great Comments Award' to Judie at Miss Steps and Milestones. (btw: I added the "No... Thank you!" part and tweaked how I was giving it out but the award was originally given to me by Trish at Word + Stuff) I always her enjoy smiling face and her sense of humor.  Thanks for being a blogging buddy, Judie! 

Hope you stop by and give her a little congrats.  

don't know about you...

but for me, I write a bit like I take a photograph.

Focus...

Move it and focus the object, adjust the camera, focus again:

Move it one more time. Look at it from another new angle. Focus and click.

 Now a little editing. Tweak the color, crop the edges, now add a softened edge.

hmmmm, maybe. 

Try it from another angle. One of the other pictures.Crop it, boost the color, soften the edges with a soft greenish vignette feel.

Pretty good. I'll put my name to it (another edit which entails a bit more scrutiny)...

and wa-la! 
Not a masterpiece but at least it's pleasing for me to look at.

Unless I am completely lazy and just post it without editing- which I do sometimes but I NEVER write without that process- except on my blog.

And... A piece of cake, right? 

Or a painful process which makes one wonder why they ever began writing in the first place...

I missed it

and I'm strangely sad. 

I missed the anniversary of David Foster Wallace's death. With all the trauma that surrounds the day, it's no wonder but I still wish that I had paused for a brief second on September 12 to recall the life of this relatively young (He was my age. Hey! No chuckling I am too young---ish) and brilliant writer. 

 I wasn't an English major in college (although even if I had been, we read a LOT of William Faulkner and James Baldwin and frankly had I been an English major, I might have quit with such a meager fare of modern literature) and I didn't read literary fiction until I met Mo (he's very well read). He called me at BnN where I was working at the time and told me about Wallace's passing (sadly, he killed himself after having suffered with depression for 20 years). 
The death of a writer is always sad and of course I vaguely knew that he was one of the best of a generation. And then I read 'The Pale King' and 'Brief Interviews with Hideous Men'... brilliant, both of them brilliant! 'Interviews' was dark- scary realistic dark but amazing nonetheless and 'The Pale King' was wide open, loose ends all over the place, but gripping and compelling- it had little cultural/social references in that made me feel like I was reading a book about my past. I loved it. There's a new biography on him- well, relatively new. It came out about two months ago. I plan on reading it along with Infinite Jest. I think they will make nice companion pieces.  Anyway, just sharing a bit of my reading history and future with you. And here's a flower for Mr Wallace (next year I'll try to remember).

How about you? Do you have any great reading schedule?
 

Whispers of time

Fall in all it's glory

 reminds us that Time

with it's inevitable

inexorable 

force

moves on day by day into and through
the next season

Reminding us 

that the flower's bloom is as fleeting as life itself

  and should be savored

A tiny blogfest

Delores at The Featherednest wanted to try something different by having all participants of her blogfest post a video of us reading text from our WIPs. I was ridiculous enough to raise my hand (like the silly kids in sixth grade who think they have the answer to the math problem but, in fact, don't) so here's my feeble attempt to get this done... 

This took me way too long and I am almost tempted to ask you NOT to watch it but que sera sera (whatever will be, will be. The future's not ours to see...)que sera sera!

Thank you!

I was awarded a beautiful award today and I want to take this opportunity to tell Ian... THANK YOU SO MUCH for the award!! It is beautiful, isn't it? It is an honor, really!

The best part of this award is that it doesn't come with rules attached so there are no prerequisite numbers: no five this's or 7 that's that I have to write, so I will simply bide my time and pass on to other bloggers as appropriate.

I want to also take the opportunity to award the Great Comments Award to (drum roll please...) Marcy at Mainewords. (by the way, the award came from Trisha at WORD + STUFF who was given it by another. This is not original to me, just so I credit the right people here) I ran into Marcy quite a while ago- another blogfest (do they begin to sound like bars to you? You know, I met her in a bar some time ago, can't remember which one...) and I have had the pleasure of seeing the seasons come and go in Maine for the past couple of years. She blogs on her home state, her job at the vets and gives some insight into what she enjoys about certain WIPs that writers have emailed her. She also (and this is what I most want you to see) posts yearly on the Pumpkinfest in her neck of the woods and has some great pictures right now, so go drop by.
Now, hmmm... I was going to post some pictures, but I have already written quite a lot so I think I shall post this simple sunset and call it a day:

 

This is just a lolz

I didn't watch the debate but even I have heard the clip of Mitt Romney's now infamous statement that he had a "binder full of women". As a result, shoppers all over the internet have been on Amazon looking for binders of women-- some with greater success than others. I found the reviews of the Avery Durable View Binder with 2 Inch EZ-Turn Ring, White, 1 Binder (17032) to be very helpful. Here's just a few...

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3,552 of 3,619 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Changing my tune October 18, 2012

By:

Color Name:White

I was originally going to rate this only 1 star. You see, I'm a big girl and I can only squeeze about 53% of myself into this binder. But then I decided that I'm not going to worry about the other 47%.

44 Comments | 

Was this review helpful to you?

7,053 of 7,225 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars One Missing Bit of Information You Might Want To Know October 18, 2012

By 

Color Name:White

For any of you who might be considering, like me, purchasing this binder based on the reviews, let me just point out one glaring omission: While this is a lovely, multi-purpose binder, IT DOES NOT COME WITH WOMEN. Presumably one is expected to find women on one's own, or contact women's groups who are supposedly eager to help stock your empty binder with women.

For a first time buyer like myself, I have to say I would rather have waited until I had accumulated a few women before investing in a binder. Just a little warning for prospective buyers.

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2,459 of 2,528 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm a Binder Mom October 18, 2012

By

Color Name:White

I'm proud to say that I'm in this binder. I've spend 20 years working my way up from Walmart mom to soccer mom, and finally, I've hit the glass ceiling. I'm a binder mom! I highly recommend this binder I'm in, but be aware that if you purchase it, you must be flexible and let me put a ham in the oven by 5. Otherwise, my kids might resort to gun violence

It's just cyclical

 

 (Photo By The Ponca City News, Rolf Clements)

 

 

 

 Yup that whole global warming thing??? No worries!

Scenes of 'Dust Bowl Days' Return As Oklahoma Storm Causes Highway Pileup

the desert

I'm parched. I open my mouth to speak and the dry skin of my palate is grated by tongue. Words collide into each other, a shredded cheese attempt at articulation. Jaw clenched, I swallow to dredge up saliva. My throat reflexes to pull the liquid upwards but the scant fluid that makes it's way past the epiglottis evaporates in the desert of my mouth. I move to speak again, to ask for their patience but the effort only draws air in, vaporizing communication. Need relief. Curt words of excuse pop into my mind, ambushed in my gray matter by system failure. Hard disk failure detected. System will close down in 10 seconds. 
1- 2...
One finger raised, I frantically pause the non-interchange.
3-4...
water, need water. 
5-6...I grip my ever present relief. The bottle tilts, water flowing out freely. My mouth baby birds upwards, liquid waterfalling down my chin as the pool in my mouth overflows. I swallow and hand-dry the water on my lower face. 
 Smiling in relief, I turn to renew my dialogue with the couple. "Now, how can I help you?"   
     

Ain' happenin'

Several things happened today I would have written on extensively in order to fulfill my blogpost for the day-- interviews (some thoughts- or a description- haven't really decided yet), a thank you note (a few tears here), a friend. But it's late (for me- after 11, OMG!!!) and I just learned today that if you don't get at least 6 hours of rest, your insulin levels will be low and you will eat more and craaaave more sugar -which is already a staple in my diet so I can't afford more. So I must go to bed. Check out a post from earlier this week if you want to read something more like an actual post (at least from me). Oh and...

The "No.... Thank you!" award goes to Delores at The Feathered Nest. Here is a woman of varied interest. She photographs burial plots for families who are interested in seeing the location where a loved one's interns are interned, and she cooks (great recipes for those who are trying to create a healthy diet), writes poetry (among other things) and has her very own stalkers (like me!).

A text game

Nothing untoward. You get points for recognizing the movie musical and coming up with a new one from the same musical or coming up with a new one that matches it for memory and sentimentality.  Any takers? (If you can name 5 of 6, I'll add you to my google chat and we'll play a few rounds! :)

Her: Cellophane, Mr cellophane shoulda been my name

me: Lol. He had it coming, he had it coming

 

Her: When your good to mama

 

Me: And all that jazzz.. that jazz!

 

Her:  My gift is my song, and these words are for you, and you can't tell everybody that this is your song

 

Me: We can be heroes for ever and ever what d'you say

 

Her: Roxanne, you don't have to wear that dress tonight, Roxanne

 

Me: One day I'll fly away Leave all this to yesterday Why live life from dream to dream And dread the day when dreaming ends

 

Her: Its the circle of life, and it moves us all, through despair and hope

 

Me: Can you feel the love tonight? The peace the evening brings The world, for once, in perfect harmony With all its living things

 

Her: Oh I just can't wait to be king, everybody looking left, everybody look right, every where you look I'm standing spotlight

 

Me: Hakuna Matata! Ain't no passing craze

 

Her: The  bare necessities, the simple bare necessities, that's why a bear can't rest at ease, the simple bare necessities of life.

 

Me: We're your friend, we're your friend, we're your friend to the bitter end! the bitter end

 

Her: I admit that in the past I've been a nasty They weren't kidding when they called me, well, a witch But you'll find that nowadays I've mended all my ways Repented, seen the light and made a switch True? Yes

 

Me: Very good. That one trumped any I could give now-except... He's a tramp but they love him. Breaks a new heart everyday. He's a tramp they adore him and I only hope he'll stay that way.

 

She almost beat me with the witch from 'The Little Mermaid' but I think I pulled up a good one- although she hasn't responded yet. 'Her' is my daughter so I guess you can see what her childhood was full of. 

If you must know...

I am just phonin' it in tonight (like I've done a few other nights/days recently- so what's new? What was I thinking to join NaBloWriMo this year? And yes, I am an overachiever.). I had a busy, labor intensive day. My shoulders and feet hurt- my ankles are swollen and even my ribs are sore. So this one is going to be a picture that I took recently that captures autumn for me this year (and every year): 

I moved this flower outside to have it framed in gold...

(I should add as an addendum- it's not really phoning it in when I post pictures. I always takes me longer than I thought to select one, edit it, adding my name to the picture, etc. If I really wanted to phone it in, I'd tell you I was phoning it in and leave it at that, wouldn't I?)

Here's lookin at you kid!

Moving on through my list of "no... Thank you!" Great comments award awardees, I wanted to introduce you to Ian from Views from the Bald Patch. Another writer, he is a writer of fantasy, is in the midst of several projects and has built a fantastic pirate ship for his kids in the backyard as part of the project he was working on at the time. It's really amazing, you should check it out. (BTW: none of the recipients of the 'Great Comments Award' need pass it on. The great thing about this award is that it gives me a chance to thank my commenters. If you don't want to pass it on because then it means that your followers will feel obligated to do the same, I should tell you there have been a few of these awards that though I was thrilled with the thoughtfulness, I did pass on passing those on- SO NO FEELINGS WILL BE HURT!) Anyway, while I was there saying hello, he passed on a "Look at that" tag. (And since I was looking for something to do for my blog post...) So what you do is, what it is is, so it's like... here's the deal: Count up the 'LOOK's in your current WIP and choose your favorite three, then post the paragraphs around the word. And I'm taking it on:       

1. Her fake grin dissolves. Thick webs of tangled braids oscillate around her counterfeit affability. She smiles wryly. “Lookin’ to tell Martha Money how she will meet the love of her life.”

2. The original bridge stretches out alongside the highway. Henry Flagler would burst the buttons of his sacque suit if he beheld the remains of his folly still in use by the state of Florida for the infrastructure of Highway One, while the skeletal remnants of the “eighth wonder of the world” point knotted knuckles at the haunted tresses of the past. The view from the Bahai Honda Bridge is stunning, exposing a wide island vista. I dissolve into the liquid looking glass

Arms fall uselessly, dead wood at my side. My body lurches, reflexively seeking to    expel,        inhale. A beam of sunlight shimmers on the surface but fades and wanes as I sink down, down…  Kick. 

3. My ear piercing shriek resoun–  Ernesto’s face remains incongruently impassive. The young waitress across the bar scans her territory wildly indifferent. A Hemingway look-alike hugging his gin and tonic glances up, slurs something about “one thrue thring” then ascetically renews his devotion. Self-absorbed disinterest forces placidity. Like watching the news not report on political corruption. I screamed, didn’t I?   

I actually didn't have many to choose from so hope you enjoyed them! Oh and go ahead and take it if you want it, if not, NO FEELINGS WILL BE HURT! 

When a dog bites, when a bee stings...

Music

The ocean at sunset

and Poinciana flowers 

 Four weddings and a funeral

 

and warm pecan pie

pictured from: Simply Recipes

Well lit up Christmas trees and 

blue skies in spring

these are a few of my favorite things!

Conversations with a friend

We are faced with choices all the time. There are paths we take that lead us to... who knows where? 

It can be a bit frightening and we might want to turn around and hide. But we move on...

We struggle up the final leg and find ourselves looking at the world from a whole new perspective.

And if we're really searching, we will also find delicate wonders growing in an unexpected places

Inspiration in the final stretch

I have mentioned before (perhaps prematurely???) that I am in the homestretch in my piece. Perhaps I shouldn't have mentioned it before because I am still pushing toward the end. I have told some (or many) of you that I write s-l-o-w-l-y and I do. Not because I can't type or I am having a hard time with my computer but simply because... well, I'll spare you the excuses (you've heard them before). Anywho... One of the things I use for inspiration in certain segments are pieces of art or music. Not so much because I am in love with the piece, but merely because the fit with where I am going. The artist that is inspiring the particular section I am working on right now is Edvard Munsch. I'd never heard of him before but I went in search of a picture that fit the mood I was trying to create-- so I googled (isn't it funny that's now a verb? I never would have used that word in that way 10 years ago. I would have said, "researched", "search for" or "looked up.") "long ghost-like features" which led me to narrow my search to "ghostface". I learned that was a term used in Scream but they chose that term because it was a nickname given to this painting

It was painted by a man named Edvard Munsch. He was a Norwegian painter who was at the forefront of the expressionist movement and particularly influence the German Expressionists. His art is deeply evocative- his philosophy being that he did not just want to paint pictures but wanted to paint emotion. The Scream (seen above) was done in four versions all portraying the agonized expression.  Munsch described his inspiration for the painting this way,

 One evening I was walking along a path, the city was on one side and the fjord below. I felt tired and ill. I stopped and looked out over the fjord—the sun was setting, and the clouds turning blood red. I sensed a scream passing through nature; it seemed to me that I heard the scream. I painted this picture, painted the clouds as actual blood. The color shrieked. This became The Scream .

Like I said, it's not my favorite piece of art, not even one I love but it does evoke emotion and it is leading down a winding road- not unlike the one in the picture. Do you have art or music that inspires you?

Deadline approaching

and I haven't posted for today yet! Yikes!!! So I'll totally cheat because I can (well, it's not cheating when you post your own pictures but it feels like cheating because I have so MANY!!) So it's Wednesday, we're into the final hours of hump day and we have two days until we can get some much needed R-n-R. 

Here is your moment of zen...

 "There are always flowers for those who want to see them." -Henri Matisse

moment of pride

I don't talk about my kids much (do I? I don't think I do...) I have three beautiful kids (two girls who are quite grown, not really kids) whom I love very much (duh, what kind of mother would I be to say, "I have three kids who are horrible but here they are anyway) but tonight I'm kinda proud of this one.

I wrote his teacher because high school has been a bit challenging and this is part of her response (after the part about what he needs to work on in school): "On another note, what a great kid you have raised! He is kind, has natural leadership abilities that are rare to see, is thoughtful, funny... I could go on and on.  I really like him as a person."  What a nice thing for his teacher to say! And really what better things could be said? I would rather have a teacher say these things, ultimately, than to say that he is a genius but is socially challenged. (I plan on showing him this post by the way.) He's struggling a bit with school as I mentioned, but since the Nobel prize for Medicine was awarded to Sir John B. Gurdon whose teacher said about the future Nobel prize winner (and I quote) "I believe Gurdon has ideas about becoming a scientist; on his present showing this is quite ridiculous; if he can't learn simple biological facts, he would have no chance of doing the work of a specialist, and it would be a sheer waste of time, both on his part and of those who would have to teach him." So there's hope, yeah? (Okay maybe I'm going overboard now.)

Let's see... the next blogger to be awarded the "No... Thank you!!!" award is (yes I know it's really the "Great Comments Award"): 

Emily from Keeping Time. Emily writes "a series of scenes on life" and I couldn't have said it any better. She writes about her two girls, about waiting for her husband as he completes his service... About life. And she does it all with gentle style. She's also participating in NaBlo so you'll find plenty of action there right now.

Too cute

And a great message!

You can fast forward a bit but don't miss it when she comes out the first time- it's great to see and hear the reaction.

Oh and before I forget...
Today's "No... THANK YOU!" award goes to Michael Di Gesu of In Time- a writer, Michael is still in the process of doing the querying and submission thing. A former model, he now gets the green energy from interior design and you can see his good taste on his blog, the pictures he takes and in the designs he has posted (also pictures). He's been a blogging buddy for almost two years (I met him during a Christmas Blogfest) and have had the pleasure of his neighborly visits since. If you drop by his blog, you'll find that Michael also shares his getting into shape tips which are great suggestions for those of us who want to drop a  few pounds- and who doesn't? 

So THANK YOU, Michael for all your support and encouragement!

real life

this DVD wouldn't scan the other ones

found this book on the shelf, it's published by the

Thank you

I am over 90 years old imagine me running around

Would you renew all my

you're looking pretty good for a

print up a slip

it wasn't in the system

what

I was traveling around

in the computer, we didn't have it

I don't know how many times I saw things tha

can I help

you need to look for that, I returned it

those items at home, I'll bring them

check again. I returned 

renewed these, the others wouldn't

well I keep very good track of my

they had holds

did you renew 

you're going to have to let me get back to work

they wouldn't renew, there might be fines

you have a good even

you too 

have any music by Sting

I can check

Sting? 

from now on you're going to need to get a receipt and we'll go over it to

or Vince Gill

I'm sorry I was rude

I'd also like to know if you

time to go home

you'll need to check out

have a book about an Octopus

there are just a few minutes before

child or adult?

I'm signing out

adult

thank you, have a nice evening

I can show you

that would be nice

locking the door

shutting down the computer

it's snowing again

There was snow

I woke up this morning at the wee pre-crack of dawn stumbled into the living room and glanced out the window, "Ahhh!" It was heartfelt, raised a sleepy, "What's wrong?" from the bedroom. "Look out the window." "Ah, there's snow."

It's not really that I hate snow. Snow has done nothing to me personally -unless you count that morning when the roads were so slick that I slid right into that guy at the stoplight as I was returning from driving my son across town to his school. It's quiet, somber, blankets the world with a still blanced beauty.

As long as you don't have to go out into it.

Then it sucks.

 I miss this already:

 Summertime...

Come back!!!!