Do you celebrate solstice?

Winter Solstice is my time to contemplate the past; celebrate my successes; glean a few lessons from my failures; and set a few goals, née, resolutions, for the year ahead.  Darkest night behind me, Sunday morning I brewed a pot of tea instead of20120826-214538.jpg coffee; I set some sage to smoldering beside the candles on the altar and lit one candle in every room around my home; I open a new journal to page 1; and begin to plan for the coming year.

 

perle sherri mmdd 2

This year’s solstice, at least in part, was spent at various parties amidst friends.  By day, I began an early spring cleaning/rearranging of my studio/office (aka my aerie).  By night I enjoyed the festive mingling and conversations with friends; listening to live music, over-indulging in good food and wine.

Still, however late I arrived home on Friday and Saturday evenings, I lit the candles that I had set out before leaving the house and recited my annual evocation, née petition, née spell, for prophetic dreams of the path that lies ahead of me for the coming year.

I am one with the uni verse – See me.

Let me slip easily into the stream of time – Hear me.

Let me acknowledge my past, and accept my now – Help me.

Let me see in dream a little of my path ahead – Grant me.

That given time to contemplate, I may make better choices – Guide me.

As I give myself up to the ‘I am’ and slip into dream. Protect me.

So mote it be.

candles 5

I Once Thought 65 Was Really Old.

At 5, I remember thinking 65 was really old.  Now, at 64, my jet black hair a memory, and my 65th birthday just around the corner – not so much.

I am sometimes utterly amazed that I’ve been on this planet so long, as I’ve always been one of those people others say ‘burns the candle at both ends.’

Lately, I’ve been pondering the next 3rd of my life.  Yes, I think I’ll make it perle s 2to ninety-something, but not as some doughy old lady.

I can’t prevent getting old, but I can certainly prevent being a fat, infirm, old person.  A very real danger if I don’t begin doing something about it now.

Somewhere around 58, I started slipping, and I can’t really put my finger on any one reason.  I’ve been 128 pounds/size 7 with an occasional foray into 5’s (stress) as long as I can remember.

I think it was a combination – a not-so-perfect storm:  A sedentary job at Saks I knew would end in lay-offs, as the company was slowly divesting itself of all its properties; menopause that although symptomless in my case, slowed my metabolism; eight months on unemployment followed 6 months later by another year on unemployment; and finally, meniscus knee surgery that kept me from walking my morning 5 miles.

I’ve been looking at the scale for a while now and I don’t like what it says.  I look in the mirror and it confirms the numbers – 50 pounds in 6 years.

I’ve never dieted.  Not sure I know how.  In truth, I don’t think it’s about food.  I kept a diary and I eat about 1200 calories a day.  I think it’s the happy hours with friends – all those gratuitous calories in beer, wine, etc.

What Now?

Yes, You Can Publish from Your Journal

For me, my journal is the running memoir of my life, my confidant, Wailing Wall, canvas for creative thoughts, and so much more.  Most of the essays, remembrances and poems that I’ve published sprang almost full blown from the pages of my daily journal.cover 7 -2journal

I belong to a few writers’ groups; have many writer friends and acquaintances; and whenever I say, “Oh that piece.  It’s from my journal.”  I’ve been answering the questions for years and recently a friend encouraged to put it in a e-book.  Publishing has changed and anyone (for good or ill) can publish to Amazon’s Kindle platform for free.

Writing How to Journal and How to Publish from your Journal was the easy part.  I’ve been journaling more and more with an eye toward publishing.

Formatting the book to upload to Amazon was the stumbling block for me.  Fortunately, I found an easy and inexpensive software with great tutorials and I was off, and I found a great tutorial by a published author on how to create great book covers using PowerPoint.

Here it is:
Amazon is running a 7-day promo on it starting at 99¢ for the next 15 hours and rising in $1 increments back to the original sale price of $9.99.  I’m hoping at 99¢, some more folks will check it out and give me some feedback.

The Tarot Revisited.

My old Tarot deck perished in the fire a few years back along with so many of my things.

Some things were easily replaced, some not. A Tarot deck is so personal, so integrated with a person’s very chi, it is not as easily replaced as a couch, coffee pot or chair.

I’ve been looking, but nothing clicked. Today at Golden Temple, I decided to take the leap, and if a mistake, I’ll try another time til they feel right.

Tonight I’ll just shuffle and leave them on the altar amidst candles and my ladies. Tomorrow I’ll try a spread or two.

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Do you love leftovers? I do.

Leftovers part 1. 
My brother, Rick’s, cheesy scalloped potato ham bake was one rich dish among all the other rich dishes, so I only had a few mouthfuls.  Easy to do because I know he and mom will insist I take some home for later.  We set an abundant table and there is always plenty to go home with each of us.

I love potatoes and took several generous scoops in a mason jar to add to my other leftover containers. Frititta 1

This morning I put a generous portion in my smallest well-oiled iron skillet, cutting the potatoes into smaller portions, I added diced bell peppers, spinach and let it all begin to brown on the stovetop.  Then I beat an egg with a dash of Worcestershire and some Sriracha (red pepper sauce), poured it over the potatoes, and put it into a 350 oven to finish (about 15 minutes).  Yum.

Leftovers part 2
Sometimes, as above, I want leftovers to be different than the original, but not when it comes to turkey and dressing.  The Friday after thanksgiving I love to duplicate the original.  I pull out a slightly larger iron skillet, butter it and carefully arrange the turkey and dressing with liberal dollops of gravy over them, followed by a portion the 3-cheese broccoli mushroom bake and some sweet potatoes prepared with onions and other spices – no sugar thank you. 

I’ll put this to reheat in the oven around 6 to be ready by 7 and enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner encore.

Replete, I’ll pour another glass of wine and settle down on the couch to read, write in my journal, listen to music or throw on an old movie – programming is barren on the wasteland tonight.

I’m grateful for things small and large. You?

Thanksgiving Day 2013. 

Seriously:
 I’m grateful for things small and large.  I’m especially grateful for those we often take for granted.  In our mad dash to get from here to there and back again, we oft forget the things we have that had we not, our lives would be so different.  

I can walk and talk and hear and see and feel and breathe and think and love and more.  When I look around and see those who are missing even one of these things in their lives, I am doubly grateful for my largess.

I say a quiet thank you for these not-so-simple things we take for granted on an almost daily basis, as I cannot imagine how different my life would be without any one of them.

thanksgiving 11-28-13

Grateful for it all.

An then of course: 
I’m grateful for  family, friends, good health, sunrise, hats, sunset, eyesight, fall’s trees and kicking leaves, good food, Cabernet, dark chocolate, cold dos Equis, music, warm fire, candles, rainy days, martinis, sunny days, art, books, corny movies, poetry, my cat Jazmine, working from home, parades, Obsession perfume, red lipstick, leggings, l’oreal, red nail polish, friend green tomatoes, shoes high and low, pizza, etc., etc., etc…

How about you?

Grateful for small things. What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?

This morning I am grateful for the trees that determinedly grow in spite of humanity’s pavements, roadways, pollution and harvesting. 

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Although my neighborhood is urban, there are so many trees, and this day I am doubly grateful for the change of seasons that lets me run childlike through all the golden leaves strewn along the sidewalk just kicking leaves.

yellow orange tree

Gratitude 11/26/13 What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on all we have in our lives for which we are grateful.  I have so much, and I often reflect on my largess in my Blog.  

Thanks John Archibald for asking us what we’re grateful for yesterday on a FaceBook post.  His question gave me the idea for posting a gratitude theme on FaceBook and Twitter for the rest of the week.

leaves yellow dark path

Early Morning Walk

So although this Blogpost is fresh (I promised 1 new blogpost a day throughout November), I’ll be reposting some past Blogs of mine and others along with some and famous quotes, as my personal Homage to Thanksgiving.  I hope you do the same.

Today, I am grateful that I’m walking 5 miles again on a daily basis – yay.  It was a cold wet walk this morning, but I did it.  Hindsight is 20/20.  I wonder if I should have put up with the occasional swollen and achy knee, but no I had meniscus repair surgery and it’s been a long slow health; however,

I am Grateful that I had:

  • A health insurance policy that covered the entire surgery.
  • An excellent surgeon referred to me by a friend.
  • An employer that offered sick leave.
  • A friend to take me to Brookwood Hospital and drive me home.
  • A sturdy constitution that required no drug more potent than aspirin for pain.

I missed my morning ‘constitutional’.  There is nothing like walking at the break of day, before the cars’ traffic noise and pollution steal the freshness from the air.  I’m back and I am beyond grateful.

Mañana y’all.

Grateful NaNoWriMo is over for me & I’ve got a good first draft

Finished NaNoWriMo yesterday – Wordcount 51,414/ NaBloPoMo continues (25 for 25) 

I am grateful that NaNoWriMo is over for me for this year, and I have accomplished my objective.  I’ve got a first draft with an ending that leaves room for a sequel.  As I do with any written thing I’m working on, I’ll be printing it out double spaced with wide margins and putting it on my favorite blue Lucite clipboard.  I’ll let it lie until after Thanksgiving when I can take a red pen to it a little more objectively.  I’ll probably email it to the UPS store for printing as it’s less expensive than using up my own printer ink. desk edit 2

As mentioned yesterday, I’m shifting gears to other projects, although I’ll continue the blog a day thru November 30.

John Archibald mentioned he’s working on a gratitude post the Thanksgiving Day which got me to remembering various blog posts and published essays of my own on that very topic.

I might do the same, but as Thanksgiving falls on throwback Thursday, I planned on reposting an essay on gratitude I originally published in 2009 on the now defunct PavoMag.  I’ll see what time permits.

Mañana y’all.

Day 24 Another 3500+ words & 1 Blog Today NaNo / NaBlo

Day 24 of NaNoWriMo Wordcount 50,300/ NaBloPoMo (24 for 24) 

Sunday is my fun day…, and although I don’t really have any more Dilbertville manic Mondays in my life, tomorrow begins Thanksgiving’s home stretch prep with all its incumbent chores, and check lists.

Also, during this NaNoWriMo marathon, I’ve neglected too many other writing and painting objectives on my ToDo list.  Those neglected items stand a better chance of garnering income than the fledgling first draft of a novel I’ve just raced through.  I’m entering my current word count to register my ‘finished/winner status’; printing out a triple spaced copy to let cool off before beginning my red pen editing/rewrite process the week after Thanksgiving; and moving on to the neglected items on my list.  I’ve already taken care of # 1 on my list:

  1. Query one of my Children’s’ picture books to half a dozen agents.  (done)perle with Brie Sabrina cropped
  2. Follow up with the editor at Victoria Magazine to check the scheduling of my essay for their 2014 calendar.  Finalize, photograph and post to Amazon 10 paintings that are in various stages of completion.
  3. Monetize my WordPress Blog.
  4. Contact 10 affiliate markets on my list.
  5. Finish building my website beyond the starter page I threw up a year ago.

And so much more…

Excerpt from Murder is a Primary Color:
The Ghost

The sun could not chase away the chill Jade felt.  She shivered again.  The prospect of mind probe with that man was not a happy one.  James was on his phone already calling in the particulars to his captain, asking for permission for a probe and trace implant in case of escape.  It would take at least 24 hours for permission to probe, but the trace implant was an automatic.  He would try to expedite it if he could.  He could only hold Kane for 48 hours without some hard evidence he told her.  “Ghosts can’t testify and she doesn’t seem to know anything about how this happened.

Jade was walking back to the house, Sabrina draped across her shoulder face forward as she stroked her white fluff of hair just under her chin.  “Not bad old girl, not bad at all.” her thoughts went out.

Hmmmmm, Brie purred, what happened to ‘old woman’?

“Don’t know, old girl, she seems to have left us.”

The kitchen staff watched gape-mouthed from the kitchen doorway.  As Jade approached she sent calming thoughts and then stopping at their door, she smiled at them until she received tentative smiles back.  “It’s OK she reassured them.  This is my good old girl, Brie.  She won’t hurt anyone unless they plan on harming me.  Mr. Kane is under suspicion of wrong doing.  Please go about your business and don’t leave the premises in case we need to ask more questions.  Thank you.”  She walked past them to the hall and up the stairs to the room where that which was once Mrs. Kane paced.

Jade sat in the chair by the fire and waited, stroked Brie and prepared.  Mrs. Kane walked over and sat in the chair opposite her.  “Did he do it?  Did he kill me?  And how can I be dead?  I’m sitting here, you can see me, hear me, and I don’t understand.”

“Life has many levels.  Our bodies are just one of many dwelling places for that life.  You are life, some people call it soul and right now, you still have the form of your most recent body.  You never experienced your death, so you still project this form.  Perhaps when we solve your situation, you will let go and grow and assimilate all your lives and choose to be born again.  Perhaps you’ll travel the stars awhile and visit the planets, and sing awhile with the universe.  There are many options before you now – in many ways broader than the life of your once corporeal body.”

“I want to believe that.  Would you help me?  Right now all I know is, I’m dead and nothing more, and I’m scared”

“Of course, I’ll help you.  For now though, I need a little more help from you.”

Jade prepared as she faced the ghost of Mrs. Kane.

Mañana y’all.

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