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 |  Day to day stuff....a memoir without order. |
 Imagination is described by Webster as...The act or power of forming a mental image of something not present to the senses in reality. Albert Einstein said "Logic will get you from A to B, but imagination will take you everywhere."  I never realized it until I read it somewhere but there are ways to boost one's imagination: Create a visual journal Draw whatever you see for 15 minutes a day. You don't need to be an artist. Think like an artist Cut out pictures from magazines & piece them together to create an original image. Listen to Bach Close your eyes while playing your favorite music. Or listen to the sounds of nature on a CD or in the great outdoors. Play word games Try thinking of as many words as you can that begin with MAR...or you pick. Daydream Let your mind wander, or focus on a single object & study its characteristics.     Everyone has a story....here's mine.....c   |
| I had another Memoir II class yesterday with lots of friendly and interesting ladies. I heard stories about a shipwreck, a speeding ticket, friendly advice that backfired, and illegitimate skeletons in the closet just to name a few. It is true that other people's stories trigger your own memories. Too bad it is another month until the next meeting. One of the ladies in the class is involved in an oral history program. They always need people to transcribe and she has sent me some info I will be checking out. She has worked on some from elders of the Seminole Nation and is currently working on the Veterans History Project. Sounds interesting. I don't know if others here have noticed a big increase in their stat info, but mine has increased more than tenfold from normal. I was so concerned I sent a message to tech. chopstixd said I was probably "getting crawled" and did not sound like it was any big deal. If any of you have noticed something similar, I would love to hear about it  .Our Spring Arts Festival is this weekend so you know where I will be . Hope everyone has a good one and...until next time...c ps - If you'd like a chuckle, read a few pages of this memoir...http://www.amazon.com/Lets-Pretend-This-Never-Happened/dp/0425261018/ref=sr_1_1?... |
I have been blessed or cursed to be able to see two sides to every argument, but most times one side will outweigh the other. A day or two ago Mia - craving colour  posted an item about strawberries on steriods in her blog. I couldn't get those huge strawberries I have been eating for the past two months out of my thoughts so I did some investigating.Of course, it is all due to breeding and chemicals, words that make the hair stand up on my arms. These berries are purposely bred for size, color, yield, and insect resistance. Large berries are easier to pick. Insect or other disease resistant chemicals allow the same crop to be planted in the same field over and over again without worry of any loss of yield. The red color is usually deceiving as all berries will eventually turn red even if picked green. The difference is inside which may be white and even hollow. Early picking and larger mass leads to less sugar content and less taste, sometimes even sour due to the acidity. A powerful fumigant called methyl bromide is what allows the same fields to be planted over and over without any threat of fungi or loss of yield. This fumigant can only be used with a government critical use exemption which apparently is not hard to come by. It has this restriction because it eats away at the ozone layer. When I was growing up, strawberry plants lay on the dirt, but in order to conserve this fumigant after injection into the soil, the dirt is covered with a plastic sheet. I always wondered about that. The first time I saw it was when we moved to Florida in 1978. I just attributed it to a southern thing. And of course when they did not taste like Delaware strawberries, I just blamed Florida's sandy soil. So the "new" strawberry is a hybrid, good for farmers and pickers, but probably not very good for consumers except in price which is debatable. The best thing we eaters can do is look for the smallest heart-shaped berries with no telltale green or white tips at the bottom and with seeds that are golden, not red. Since they are sold in closed containers whether they are white or hollow inside or not sweet cannot be discerned prior to purchase. Another choice is farmers' markets or local "you pick" farms where you can usually find smaller and sweeter berries. Or do without, probably not a choice. Thanks for lighting a fire under me, Mia ...until next time...c |
| Mopsy got me up early this morning with her aggravating noise making. She stirs up a racket trying to get behind the window blinds. If that doesn't work, she knocks around electric cords behind the nightstand. Ever heard an electric cord scrape back and forth against the wall...ugh. Next, she starts sharpening her claws in the carpet and trying to pull open dresser drawers. Then she's tapping me on the nose and when I open my eyes, there she is...staring at me with almost fully blackened pupils and that intense look she has. I have to get up because no amount of stern reprimands daunt her. She will keep on with her shenanigans until she gets me up. If only I had her perseverance. I will never need an alarm clock with Mopsy around. I hope everyone had a nice Easter. Mine was quiet and a little lonely but i was in touch by text and phone. Since I have 'gone vegetarian', I don't really have any special meal cravings for holidays so that helps actually. I'm not reminded by eating food of holidays past, just the memory association when I think about it. So I try to keep busy with other things. Yesterday I rearranged some furniture, something that always cheers me up if I can get myself to do it .I read back over some of my stories over the weekend (oh how awful some of them are) and see much of my own personality in many of my characters. I guess it is difficult to think up a character without some of myself in it. Even harder to make a character do something I would never do, I am wired so strict and straight. More surprising is the difficulty in writing knowingly about myself. No wonder I get writer's block. Even what I call my 'diary' is basically a journal of daily happenings. I need to loosen up to be able to write...but how... until next time...c |
| During the early years of my marriage, we lived about two miles from a monstrous potato farm. I loved the potato in any form, chips, salad, baked, any way. I never thought very much about where they came from or how they got to my plate. Down another road, not too far, was a pretty good size field of strawberries. I loved them, too, even hot and juicy right off the plant. I picked a few myself. Then, there were the fields of tomatoes, the watermelons, the peach orchard, the small asparagus field nearby. We often rode past the potato farm on our way to somewhere else. I saw for a few seconds the ugly concrete block white-washed structures and the dark-skinned families moving in and out of the doorless buildings. I saw them, but I paid no attention. I had a family of my own, and the weight of their care was heavy enough to tamp down all other thoughts. Now that I am old, I think back to all those strawberries and potatoes I have eaten. I think of the hands that picked them from the ground, the sun burning the skin, the aching back, the hurting knees. I wonder where they are now. I am ashamed of my callousness. |
| I went to see 9 to 5 yesterday and never clapped so much in my life. Musicals, gotta love 'em! My Delaware daughter texted this morning and said the flurries are falling furiously. The year we moved to Florida, 1978, it snowed in April. We were in shock. It was a big contributor to our move. Jim was a residential contractor which means working out in the weather. Most of the time. With all of his family down here, it was a natural conclusion. It is chilly here this morning, 50 something, with the wind blowing like Hades, but we are expected to fall to the 30s in the next three nights. In with the house plants...again. I do think this will be our last cool week though. {fingers crossed here} I have already planted some herb seeds outside. I saw them sniggering at me this morning as I peeked out the back door. I am really missing my Sunday night PBS fix...aloha Downton Abby. Last night it was the Steve person with travel tips. PBS, our local station here WUFT, is in 'begging mode' as I call it, and keep running the same shows over and over and over. This has been going on forever it seems, ever since Downton Abby ended! So I was forced to watch The Good Wife and The Mentalist. When these shows began, I liked them, but now they are so predictable...and dull, a little like me I guess .until next time...c |
| I just finished listening to "Wait, wait, don't tell me," on NPR. Love that show...makes me laugh and laugh. I think it's the only place where the news can always be funny. Earlier I finished a draft of the story I mentioned yesterday, not complete, but a good start, I think. I gave up on the fairy tale idea and just dove in until I could not write anymore in one sitting. I had some lunch while listening to the radio show, lentil soup and cornbread, yum. Now, Sikorski's Attic is on, which is a call-in with your antique question program. NPR is so much better than any TV show. A weather alert just cut into the program...severe thunderstorms with damaging hail and heavy rainfall until 5 P.M., a watch right now because it is only overcast here. I keep putting off doing my taxes, but I at least have everything together including necessary forms. Doing them is next on my list, only 24 more days. That is a long time to my procrastinating brain. I day trade some in the stock market and that Schedule D is what takes all my time, wash sales and all that crap. Tomorrow I plan on going to another play, 9 to 5. Yes, from the Dolly Parton, Lilly Tomlin, and Jane Fonda movie. The Community Playhouse here is putting it on. It just started last night. Tomorrow at 2 is the only matinee, important since I don't like to drive at night. I watched Compulsion on TCM last night, a movie I realized I had seen before after watching a few minutes (happens to me a lot lately). I watched it anyway because it was good, Dean Stockwell, Orson Wells, and Bruce Dern. It is about two college boys who think they have committed the perfect murder, based on a true story., and well-named for the psychological aspects of the movie. I recommend it even for the second time around. I am reading Your Life as Story by Tristine Rainer for more help with writing my memoir. It has helped and given me lots of ideas so far. I think my next memoir II class is April 4th although I've not received official notification yet. The prompt for our story to share is "write about a keepsake". Still have to do that, too. Guess I'd better get busy... until next time...c |
| I have been thinking about what to write next for my memoir and a very emotional memory is nagging me, emotional and personal although many might not feel that way. As they say...you have to have been there. In memoirs, we have the upper hand because we already know the story. At least, that is what we are told. I think I write what I know to see if I really do - know it, that is. Beginning, middle, and end are things all good stories have in common, but they don't have to be in chronological order. Deciding the order takes time when you want to create a good arc. Starting with the action of the story is one way and draws the reader in, but in a memoir it might not be appropriate. Action scenes call for present tense and the narrator's relationships might not present the arc intended. The beginning should draw the reader in, set the tone and set up a conflict, The middle keeps the conflict going, showing external, internal and emotional conflict and maybe, how they all are the same. The end has to show some kind of resolution, especially difficult in a memoir as the story is always continuing and changing. Just showing how the conflict is faced and its meaning as seen at the time or even in the present is usually enough of a resolution. To begin, I think I will write this story as a fairy tale. I will have more freedom of expression because I will be outside my story. This is a suggestion in several how-to books. It will be interesting for me to see how it comes out...guess I am a pantser, huh? Just rambling on today... till next time...c |
| I keep writing upcoming events on my desk calendar, but when the day comes, I never want to go. For instance, last weekend there was an India Fest within walking distance and I never got around to it. It was a little chilly but no excuse. I have tons of cleanup to do in my yard, yet here I sit typing away on a blog. Not only that, it is beautiful outside and warm. I keep saying to myself I am going to do things, then when it comes time, I put it off. I just hate that...I am not a soppy person. Is that a word or just my word? To me it means feeling sorry for myself. Okay, sorry for rambling. I am getting up to do something...now! till next time...c |
| Yesterday was my last memoir class just as we all were getting know each other and get comfortable. Several said they may come to the memoir II class but who can tell. I was the only one of our class to show up at their meeting last week. Everyone in our class had good stories to share, and our instructor was encouraging to all. Much of the information from the last two classes I have learned here. Look to replace narrative with dialogue - in short clips - eavesdrop to learn how. Use adverbs (ly words) sparingly or not at all. Active verbs are a better way to go and forget all those cliches! Make up your own. Eliminate 'I remembers' and try to move the story forward with every word. Do keep some slang language in your memoir to keep it realistic. Hook the reader and establish a bond from the beginning. Show, don't tell, whenever possible, create conflicts and resolutions, and use your senses (not sense, although that is important, too). If you decide to self-publish, make sure the printer uses acid-free archival paper with no clay. Adding an index is nice for the reader who forgets quickly, and Microsoft's Photo Story III is free and helps with picture layout if you decide to include photos. Always double-space and add an extra five spaces for the left indent (for the gutter). These were last instructions from our teacher, and they left my brain spinning. At the rate I am writing, it will take me a year to get close to a publishing point, but she was optimistic and wants to read all our books. She has already published a book on her parents' and grandparents' lives and is now working on her own. My next step is joining a critique pod in my writing group. I'll attend a couple more meetings before taking that step, but I know I will need to do it if only to keep writing. I finished a good book (biography, of course) a couple nights ago, Stop-Time by Frank Conroy, and am reading it again...high praise, indeed. Hope everyone is doing well. Spring is flirting with me here in Gainesville, and I am welcoming it with open arms. until next time....c |
| I roamed around another bookstore yesterday afternoon, one I frequent. I don't mean to put down the other store, but I hate to see books in such a haphazard mess. Even though much nicer, there is a section at my normal store where you can bring a used book and exchange it for another for $1.98. What I'm saying is that price is no excuse for the messiness of the discounted store. I do not see good things for it in the future, and it makes me sad that with just a little elbow grease and imagination, it could be just as wonderful a store. I like my 'normal' store because in addition to books (new and used), they sell unusual gifts (like soap rocks and feminine looking gardening tools) plus incense and a little jewelry. They have a small area with tables for sitting and reading. Once a month they usually have a visiting author, and they have a special section for books by local authors. They have about the same amount of space as the other bookstore. They have just made much better use of it, and it is an enjoyable place to go. As you enter there is a pretty fountain, a lovely display area changed often, and sale books outside on wheeled bookshelves. What a difference between two local owners! enough ranting... till next time....c |
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