Write on Wednesday-Goody Bag

In the spirit of filling your Halloween bag with goodies, here are some of the writing related books, sites, and activities I've been devouring: ~Cafe Writing opened for business TODAY, so make sure you stop in. Cafe manager MissMeliss offers a menu of six creative options to suit any and all of your writing/artistic talents. The prompts are good for one month, so you may partake of any or all of them, posting your individual "entrees" on your own blog. I'm torn between trying option two, three, four or five...so many savory choices!

~I stumbled on Writer Advice while looking for their interview with Gayle Brandeis. Not only advice is featured here- there are writing contests, interviews with writers and artists, and products. Lots of goodies to explore. ~My new friend, Michele, chronicles her experiences as a freelance writer at Writing the Cyber Highway. Michele inspires me with her positive attitude, as well as her writing advice. ~In my own personal "writer development training course," (which I chronicle in my other blog) I'm currently working my way through "Courage & Craft: Writing Your Life Into Story," by Barbara Abercrombie. This book offers super exercises and advice for writing personal essays in a no-nonsense, approachable fashion. Barbara also co-hosts Writing Time, one of my favorite places to go on the internet for writing tips and inspiration. ~I admit it - I'm a writing book junkie, and lying in wait on my bookshelf are these tasty goodies...Fruitflesh, by Gayle Brandeis, Writing Begins With the Breath, by Laraine Herring, and Making a Literary Life, by Carolyn See. You now have lot of things to keep you busy and inspire you to Write On Wednesday. So, what are you waiting for?? How about you? Have you found any inspiring writing sites, or read any good writing books lately?

Rewarding Posts

Reading blogs has turned me on to some great products - Adagio teas, Dansko shoes, Tartar Shield dog biscuits - all of which have become indispensable to me. Blog surfing allows me to meet so many people around the world, people who share not only ideas and emotions, but goods and services that make life more enjoyable. In turn, when I find a product or service that excites me, I'm happy to blog about it, to send it out into cyber space never knowing who might come across it at the exact moment in life when it could most help.

I've recently signed on to Bloggerwave which allows me to not only discover some great new products and services, but also to share them with you ~ and be paid for doing so! I can choose from a huge list of "opportunities," do some research, and write about any that peak my interest. Bloggerwave is a European based company, so I'm excited about being introduced to some cool new European products .

There are no fees to participate, and no obligations to complete a certain number of posts. It's a fun way to spark some writing ideas, sharpen your writing skills, and earn some money - and it gives me another good excuse to blog!

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Writer's Island-Renewal

Treesa cast a critical eye on her reflection, turning sideways to avoid the morning sun pouring into the sewing room. "You'll never remake this dress to fit me," she said, plucking at the delicate ivory fabric hanging loosely from her slender waist. "It was a stupid idea for me to wear your wedding dress anyway."

Anna managed a gentle "tsk" from around the mouthful of straight pens gripped between her lips. What made her daughter such a worrier? she wondered. Always determined that things wouldn't work out, that nothing would go her way. Sighing, Anna reached underneath the dress and folded at least two inches of fabric toward the inseams. Such a "skinny minnie", too, picking at her food, turning up her nose at the hearty meals Anna prepared for the family's table.

Of course, with all this food rationing, Anna thought, it's no wonder she's wasting away to nothing. Since the States had entered the war two years ago, Anna was hard pressed to cobble together anything fit to eat. Treesa's delicate appetite had waned even further, faced with dishes like Spam Casserole, Oatmeal Loaf, and boiled beef tongue.

Anna could feel Treesa's impatience as she knelt beside her, lovingly caressing the folds of fabric as she continued to work. She smiled, remembering the excitement with which she and her mother had shaped this gown from yards of satin, the tremble of her mother's hands as she sewed the last of the 100 pearl buttons, the shiver of anticipation Anna had felt as she imagined Andrew unbuttoning each one on their wedding night.

Treesa's deep sigh roused Anna from these pleasant memories.

"Really, Mother," she said, "shouldn't we give up on this once and for all? I'm perfectly happy to wear the floral tea dress I had for Aunt Rose's birthday."

"You will not be married in some garish flowered, short dress!" Anna exclaimed. "I don't care whether it's wartime or not, or that "all the other girls" are doing it. You have the opportunity to wear a perfectly beautiful, traditional wedding gown, and that's what you'll do." She jabbed one last pin roughly into the fabric, offering a silent apology to her precious dress.

"Well, at least get rid of this silly sash," Tressa complained, grabbing a fistful of the pale blue satin ribbon wrapped twice around her waist. "No one would use a sash on their wedding dress in 1943!"

"Fine," Anna muttered, trying not to think about the way Andrew had gently placed the ribbon against her cheek, comparing the delicate blue material to the shade of her eyes. Young people have no appreciation for history, she thought, for tradition, or cherishing the things that matter. Rising from her knees, trying desperately to keep the annoyance from her voice, she released Treesa from her obvious discomfort. "You can take off the dress now," she said, smoothing her red serge skirt and tucking a pincushion into the pocket of her apron. "I'll have to start work on it right after dinner if there's to be any chance of finishing it by Saturday." Anna glanced at her daughter, who continued to stand motionless before the mirror. The sun had shifted slightly, leaving the girl standing in the midst of one solitary ray, as if a spotlight were shining directly from heaven, setting her auburn hair alight with sparks of reddish flame, illuminating the satin where it lay in gentle folds.

Tears jumped into Anna's eyes-such a beautiful girl was her Mary Teresa, she thought, catching her breath. About to start a new life with a young solider off to war, embark on a future that held only God knew what. Could wearing this dress bring her the kind of love Anna had felt for her Andrew, a love that would ignite a spark of light and happiness into those dark, shadowy eyes?

At last Treesa turned from the mirror, meeting her mother's teary gaze. "You know," she said, smiling slightly, "perhaps there's still some life in this dress after all."

Anna grinned, briskly wiping a tear from her cheek. "There most certainly is," she agreed. "Plenty of new life to go around!"

for more stories of renewal, go here

One Deep Breath- Simple Pleasures

barefoot in the grass

one last time before frost~

indian summer

Today was a day of contrasts. It was almost 90 degrees (this is October in Michigan?), yet a stiff breeze scattered tiny elm leaves across the yard, making it look like fall. It was a day of "lasts" for me, I think- last tomatoes from the garden, last time to hang my sheets on the line, last lunch on the patio, and yes, last time to wander barefoot in the yard.

Tomorrow, the tide turns - rain is forecast, and a chill wind, dropping the temperatures into the 40's overnight. So tomorrow will probably be a day of "firsts" - first fire in the fireplace, first time wearing a jacket, and, sadly ('cuz I'm a barefoot girl at heart), first time wearing shoes and socks.

for more simple pleasures, go here

Encyclopedia of Me Monday: I is for...

Writers seek it constantly, as do artists, musicians, crafters, ministers, psychologists, doctors, mothers and fathers - every living thing is in need of inspiration. In Christian teaching, inspiration means "God's breath," indicating this genesis of great ideas and emotions has a divine and mystical source. When I'm inspired, whether it's from the flaming crimson leaves that are beginning to explode across the horizon, a Chopin nocturne, or a well crafted novel, I feel a sense of excitement, an electrical surge of creative energy which seems other-worldly.

Of course, "inspiration" also means to "draw air in and out," the basic stuff of life for every human being. How awesome is a baby's first breath on its own, outside its mother's womb, that first inhale of the world in which it will live, filled with all the mystery of creation and nature.

There are times in life when everything around us is filled with inspiration, and with each breath we inhale ideas, beauty, laughter. At this moment, I am in such a place - whether it's the beauty of the season, or the promise of the new life that will be entering our family next summer - the world appears vivid with excitement and filled with infinite possibilities.

However, there have been times in my life when the world seemed flat and lifeless, with barely enough air to keep my lungs physically filled, let alone leaving anything left to fill my creative spaces.

I have learned to become cognizant of my inspirational cycles, to accept whatever stage I'm in, knowing that the cycle will one day return me to a different place, with new challenges leading to new mysteries and ideas for exploration.