Strawberry Season's Bounty

 

 To be absolutely spot on the mark, I should have a picture of my fresh strawberry shortcake or my strawberry/spinach salad here under this title.  As it is, I have pretty jars of strawberry jam before it went into the freezer, and strawberry sauce, my own recipe.  It gets frozen as well.

This year in my part of Ontario, strawberries were amazing; in fact, as Sue at Red Barn Berries said, it's the best year ever.  And even though I don't usually freeze berries anymore, my husband and I did hull a few for these goodies.  Couldn't resist.  The jar we put in the frig to use is almost gone but the others are waiting safely in the freezer for that cold day this winter when we'll feel like a taste of summer.

I'm not sure when the best feeling of accomplishment strikes, when I see the freshly jarred berries glowing red on my counter or when I go to my freezer and pull out the fruits of my labours to enjoy while winter's winds whistle at the keyholes.  

My daughter carries on the tradition.  She made strawberry-fig jam with a friend, teaching yet another convert the benefits to both tummy and personal well-being of preserving summer's succulent treats.  And that's a good thing.  Martha Stewart would be proud.

I'm Back...and I've Got Stuff!

Today is such a wonderful day that I just have to write about it. While making a pie shell for lemon pie this morning--my guy's favorite--I put on my new CD. Susan Boyle's I Dreamed a Dream grabbed me with the first song--"Wild horses couldn't drag me away." Exactly what I was feeling. Then came "I Dreamed a Dream" which was Boyle's leap into YouTube stardom as she competed in front of Simon Cowell and the world. The words fit her exactly.

I heard "Cry Me a River", an oldie but goodie, "How Great Thou Art" (chorus only arrangement), before something I didn't know began to play. I had to look. Stopped the pie crust, washed my hands and opened the case folder to find "You'll See." After the words for each song Susan's handwritten notes give her connection with each song. Such a personal yet stunning idea for the CD. I wonder whose it was.

Susan sings on with "Daydream Believer," "Up to the Mountain," "Amazing Grace", "Who I Was Born to Be," and "Proud." All are songs for the soul and spoke to me. I barely got the pie shell out of the oven, I was so entranced. I turned the volume to loud and raced for my computer to write about Susan. The final song is "Silent Night," a unique addition to a non-holiday CD but her voice soared to perfection with this carol. I hope Susan makes many more CD's. I'll buy every one. Right now, I'm going to add this CD to my iTunes list on my desktop. Oh, and I'll be visiting MusicNotes.com to get some of the sheet music if they have it.

By the way, my own stuff is that I finally finished the novel and am now into the agent process. Susan is with me on that journey, as well.

The Silver Lining

Today I am beginning to surface again after two horrible days with the flu. I still didn't want to chance giving my germs to my fellow Anne of Green Gables cast members so I sent my husband along without me and settled down to watch some tv via our new PVR box from our cable company. Yet again we have investigated and figured out another piece of new technology.
With the PVR I have learned to record single tv shows I want to watch, all shows of a certain title on whatever channels and movies.
Ah, yes, the movies. Today I watched Autumn Hearts: A New Beginning, and felt quite happy slowly letting the movie sink into my consciousness to feed me its message. The movie is about three people who were in a little-known Nazi concentration camp in France which was used as a collection point for people who were being sent to the more famous camps whose names we all know today. Two of the people were children and the third a kindly man who strove to make their lives a little happier in light of the grand tragedy they all were suffering.
I particularly liked the take in that movie that it was from maybe forty years later when they all meet at the farm of the girl, played by Susan Sarandon.
A poignant part in the film occurs when the older man tells the girl's husband why he was sent to a psychiatric hospital. The man is awestruck and cannot speak. His attitude changes immediately.
Finding a way to have this movie turn out well must have been quite a trial for the playwright but he/she did it. My suggestion is to settle in for a relaxing hour and a half and prepare to be awestruck yourself.
Oh! Another reason I really enjoyed this movie is the fact that it flies in the face of those naysayers who deny that the holocaust ever really happened. And, by the way, there is a silver lining at the end of the movie.

Evita Rocks With Dena and Stephen

My husband and I took the hour and a bit trip to Huron Country Playhouse last Saturday expecting a pleasant afternoon and a revival of the spectacular movie, Evita, we had seen years ago. For me that movie was so amazing because of the introduction of the everyman character with all his singing comments on the political tapestry against which Eva Peron rose. Her story is incredible enough--a poor girl who claws her way to becoming the wife of the ruler of Argentina--but the movie meshed past and present, love of Eva, hate of her and all she represented, as well as incredible music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. Of course we expected excellence of these giants and were not disappointed.

Just before the lights went down and the show began I commented to my husband that the actor playing Che, the narrator, would have an impossible job because Antonio Banderas owned that role in the movie. Indeed, it was my first notice of him. Well, the show started with Stephen Patteron stepping out as Che. I totally forgot Banderas, not because Patterson is so good-looking but because he lunged into the role, khakis and all, his powerful voice stunning in its take charge, I'm-a-person-to-be-reckoned-with sound. I turned to my husband and smiled. We were in for a treat.

The dancing was alive, pulsating with emotion, precise in movements and altogether enthralling. And the choreography on a relatively small stage, with a limited set, compared to movie takes, was inspired. I never saw a dance or dancer whose movement bored me. Rather my eyes just wouldn't open wide enough.

And now I must tell you of Dena Chiarcossi, whose debut in this starring role was without a doubt amazing. I know, we use that word all the time, but she amazed all who saw the show. Her athleticism added a dash of strength to the character and her profile was reminiscent of the famous Barbra Streisand. Her voice. A strong sound in the lower registers and then a tinkling winking glory as she went higher and higher. I loved her as Evita. Of course Madonna did the role in the movie but Madonna never sang like this girl, and never could, with any amount of coaching. Madonna was believable and strong as Evita. Dena was Evita. I predict we will hear much more of this young lady.

I cannot urge you to get tickets as we saw the second-to-last performance and there are no more. Pity.

Waiting and Hoping

Three hundred and seventy-six pages, about 102,000 words, and a lot of loving work--here is my first novel: Loyal to the Crown.

I have the final revised novel out to eight previewers and am somewhat on pins and needles. My work over two years is out there, not for the world to see yet, but certainly for a wider circle than just me. I have talked about this writing project with my family but have not really given them much to read, except for the first chapter to my daughter for her opinion on a problem I was having.

So here I am. Waiting. Waiting to hear from the helpful and ambitious previewers. Hopeful. Hopeful that they will have good suggestions and give the work close scrutiny. Of course, I want them to love it but I also want them to be truthful with their comments. This is a tightrope for them to walk, I know, but necessary.

I gave my work to my husband a few days ago with instructions just to read and enjoy it. I didn't really want to put him in a critical position because that would be difficult for both of us. Well, he read it in a couple of days, rushing back to it whenever he had a free moment, and now we talk about specifics and he can see what I've been doing for two years. Last night he made a special point of coming to me and telling me he was proud of my accomplishment. Pretty nice. Think I'll keep that guy!

Over the two years of researching, writing, revising, taking courses, forming a writing group, and bringing this book to its current place in my world, I have changed. My whole life I have been outwardly confident, full of strength and vitality but inwardly too shy to talk of my composing or writing forays. Well, that has all changed. Not long ago I even filled out a form and listed my occupation as 'writer'.

While waiting my typing fingers are not idle. I have an idea for a sequel to "Loyal to the Crown" and am starting to put my thoughts into rough notes. Also I have a memoir in mind, some parts of which I have already thought out as well. Now I am going to get back to the business (and fun!) of writing. Wish me luck, please.

A parting shot--the new 23" monitor my husband bought me on the weekend!

Three Best Things Again

At night when I put aside my book, turn out my bedside light and lie on my back for just a few moments, I let the day wash over me. I think of all the good things that happened, that made me smile. Of course the day usually had some bad things, too, but I try to let them go and concentrate on the good. And it works.

Last night I thought of how much I enjoy the Cantabile Ladies Choir and my membership in it. I am the oldest by far but that is part of the fun. I can listen to all those younger--some, MUCH younger--voices and match my sound to them. During breaks, the chatter is of jobs and kids, hit songs and movies, babysitting and babysitters, with nary a word about aches and pains, groans and grouches. They keep me young. And at last night's practice, when I didn't sing because of my cold, I got a chance to just listen. It was lovely. A marvel to me, though, was how much I missed hearing my own voice with the rest.

Before I went to sleep I also thought back to our short visit with our son yesterday when he took time from working on computers, video conference units and networking to just sit and chat for about 20 minutes. Like so many he is struggling in this economic climate and his health has been rotten the last few months. I don't think there is a cold or flu bug that he hasn't harbored this winter. Nevertheless, he keeps going working out the way of his life--with his wife and son--for the next few months. He is always thinking, always planning, always doing what's best. We are so blessed.

And the third thought that came to me was my novel and the way it has opened my life, changed my life for the better, and is nearing completion. Oh, I finished the first draft a year ago but now I am honing in on the final copy. This long, hard process has changed me. I thought last night about the fact that now I talk openly about my writing, about my hopes for it, about the process, about the hard work, about the dedication needed to get where I am going with it. And I have found many others who understand. So many, in fact, that when I talk to those who don't answer or can't relate I realize that has nothing to do with me and I shouldn't worry about it. Here I am, 62, and I finally don't worry about what other people think. My Eureka! is a little late coming but it's brightening my life anyhow.

I wonder what today's three, four, five, twenty zillion best things will be?

Weekend Wonders

We had a productive, interesting and relaxing weekend, mixing work with play and just enjoying ourselves. I took another picture of our bedroom paint job, this one with the pictures up. My husband did that while I was in Victoria a couple of weeks ago. If you look closely (at the second photo below) you'll see a bit of a theme happening in our condo.

While the man in the house worked on our income taxes--ugh!!!--I touched up the edges and woodwork of this paint job from last weekend. The colour is called 'Queen' and I thought it was fitting as I feel like a queen in our new place. We had quite a time rigging scaffolding to be able to reach everywhere above the staircase which winds at the top, making the job extremely difficult. Imagine me reaching the crown molding atop a ladder which we set up on the scaffolding and which Ron held to make sure it didn't slip while I did my magic above. Whew! Glad that's done. Next time we hire that area, I think.

After a relaxing drive for an hour or so on Sunday afternoon, we rented Australia and spent almost three hours watching it. Such a good movie. The images of Australia and the little 'creamie' have a way of staying in your mind. Next we sipped soup at Tim Horton's on the way to my concert in Embro. Ron took some pictures but they are not as good as we'd like because of the dim light.

We have a ladies' choir and a young men's choir, which we combine to do some joint numbers. We are small but pretty good, I think. Everyone has a passion for the music and a love of performing something special. Our director, my sister, is in the front row above at the right. She has a music degree from UWO and has made music her life so the quality is excellent. Almost all of the choir members have taken private lessons and are performers in their own right. The young men's choir has four members who have grown up with the choirs, moving from the children's choir (no longer active) to the young men's choir. Their voices have grown up, too, and with the addition of the other two, the sound is smooth and sure. I love to listen to their vitality.

I had e-mailed several people I thought might be interested and was delighted to see so many of them in the audience. We all had a snack downstairs afterwards, a great way to revel in the excitement of having performed well. (At least they told us so.)

This picture was taken in practice; hence, Director Linda is not in the picture as she was back a few rows listening to the acoustics. BTW can you find me in these pictures? Oh, a game!

Winter Wandering in Canada

This morning I happened to glance out my back window to see sun shining, icy snow on trees and a brilliant blue sky. I put aside my novel revision plans, my washing of clothes, my planning of meals and my bathroom cleaning and slipped my camera into my coat pocket for a photo walk around the neighbourhood. This is our back deck--you can just make out the barbecue--frosty snow icing the trees.

In front of our neighbout's house the sun sparkled on the fledgling trees turning them into fairyland jewels. I had to capture this before the sun melted the snow.

A Christmas leftover got a new coat of ice.

Ah, my favorite! This is a house up the street, beautifully designed to sit on its lot, but the trees behind are the treasure. The sun just tipped the frosty tops against the vivid blue. Can winter be any better?

Here is the same house with its neighbours from my vantage point across the street. Just couldn't get enough of those trees.

I have more pics but will save them for tomorrow. Oh, the sun's out again! Bye.

Revision, Revision

No one ever told me that writing a novel would mean hours of going back over my (to me!) wonderful work and ripping it all apart, virtually starting over again. I guess I was vain enough to think that my writing was good enough that revision would be a snap. Well, what has almost snapped is my patience.

In March of 2008, I put the finishing touches on my final chapter and thought my work was done. Oh, I knew there were things I had to revisit, but really I was finished my year long project. And then I took an extreme editing course. And found out a lot about myself and more about revision.

Things I've learned:
1. Not everyone likes or is qualified to critique historical fiction,
2. The choice and understanding of point of view is subjective and dependent on a reader's experience,
3. I have hours of work revising and rethinking elements of my manuscript,
4. I have to have a lot of time to mull over others' criticism, good and bad.

I found that several people in my class gave excellent, insightful, useful suggestions for me which showed they were familiar with the genre. Others did not. My quandry in the beginning was knowing whom to believe, and I went through much soul-searching, self-flagellation, and weeks of not writing at all while I wrestled with the problem.

My reading of published authors' work for the last six months has shown me that, indeed, chapters can be written from multiple points of view as I have done. This is contrary to the advice of several criticisms I received telling me that I had to choose one point of view and tell the whole story with it. I have known and used multiple points of view--omniscient it is often called--for years. And much of my historical fiction reading has used this as well. My struggle was gaining the self-confidence to ignore these criticisms, a task which took me months. In the end I have decided to reduce the multiple points of view in the chapters where both my major characters are speaking in order to make the reading smoother and the storyline clearer.

Rereading has shown me that there are many flaws and inconsistencies in my story. What is in my head is not necessarily on paper and I must make the story flow from the words on paper. I like this challenge as it involves crafting the sentences and rethinking my word choice, studying the cadence of words and sentences and the language of each character. A big task is keeping the particular personality of each of my characters in mind as I write their dialogue. Here I am wrestling with using period dialogue or slipping into more modern language patterns. I have to say writing the way we talk today is much easier.

While others may be wondering what New Years' resolutions to keep, I know what mine is: keep going and get my novel revisions done so that I can go on with my plan to publish. One of my Christmas gifts from my son is a website titled with my novel title, to which I can add material that is pertinent. So I have that as a carrot to help me finish. For now, though, I've already revised for two hours today, written this blog, and had lunch out with my sister. The sunlight streaming in my window beckons me to bundle up and walk out my frustrations.

Finishing Up 2008 in Fine Style

Butchart Gardens on Christmas Eve. What a fairyland! We strolled through the snow with Chelsea and her parents, mesmerized by the lights, trees, Twelve Days of Christmas theme, and even some flowers. I loved this blooming tree with its liberal dusting of snow.

Victoria gets snow for Christmas about every ten years so we were glad to see it for Chelsea's first Christmas. We even stopped outside and had her touch it. Of course the snow went right into her mouth.

This the the partridge in a pear tree display at Butchart. So pretty.

All the buildings at Butchart were outlined in Christmas lights, creating a magical land of wishing and hoping for all.

On Christmas morning we opened gifts and Chelsea got to see the cloth book I made for her. Because she is far from any of her extended family, I put us all inside with a named page for everyone. Of course she took an immediate bite. At ten months old what else do you do? She also liked to laugh at her own picture. I really wonder what was in her head?

Beth has carried on the family tradition which her father and I started many years ago--she made a lovely gingerbread house, labelled it with Chelsea's name and got out the wooden mallet to smash it on Christmas Day. Chelsea got first chance but all she did was experiment with the various ways of getting the mallet into her mouth. The adults had to take over.

In the afternoon we bundled in the car and went downtown to the elegant Empress Hotel where a huge display of variously decorated Christmas trees filled hallways, stairs and entry ways. I loved the old English quartet stationed in the restaurant (where Beth and I had tea years ago) and singing beautifully. We stood and listened for awhile.

I liked the soldier tree above about as well as any, I think, although the truck tree below was pretty cute.

Finally I have to put in a picture of some of the things I've done beading in the last month: on the left, two right-angle weave bracelets, above and to the right, my own creation of a right-angle weave with Swarovski crystals bracelet, a necklace and earrings focusing on copper, and--the piece de resistance!--a right-angle weave bracelet fixing Swarovski crystals inside. Yummy.

I hope you all had a happy Christmas and that your lives are filled with love and light.

Doin' the Christmas Thing

Tis the season for getting excited about Christmas and this year we are really ready for it. So many new things to celebrate and old friends and family to celebrate with. Nature has hopped right on the bandwagon with a wintry wonderland out every window. I love it now but by March I know I'll be ready to taste spring.


Last week I made my carrot pudding, a family tradition from my childhood, and baked our usual dark Christmas cake. Of course we have already eaten a quarter of it. Just couldn't resist. The rest I have cooling and percolating out in the garage. This cake is better made ahead and left to age. Say, maybe that's the way it is with people. Now that I'm not so young, I tend to think so.

A few years ago I was smitten with the usual Christmas euphoria on the day I started my baking and a song just jumped into my mind. "Oh, I'm doin' the Christmas thing, doing the wonderful Christmas thing..." I ran to the piano, played it to get the key, and madly wrote the notes on some manuscript paper. As I worked on the Christmas cake, words just flowed and I made many trips to the piano. Amazingly the cake didn't suffer and the song grew. The next day I was singing at a church event and sang this joyful song even though I didn't have any of the parts done and had nothing written for my accompanist. I sang it a cappella and the ladies loved it. I was transported back to my wonderful childhood. Hopefully it will evoke similar memories for you.

Maybe I'll try to figure out how to record it so you can all listen to it online. Meanwhile enjoy the words, print it out and play/sing it, whatever you like. (Just remember it's mine.)

I figured it out!

After about 15 minutes of testing and trying, forgetting and remembering, searching and just plain screwing around, I figured out how to put my MS Publisher file into my blog. And here it is. Blow it up to read the fine print about the event my friend and I are having November 8th. Should be great fun.

Christmas Creeps In

Well, it's started. Families are planning just what shape the celebrations will take this year, some stores have put up dual displays of Hallowe'en/Thanksgiving orange along with Christmas reds and greens and my friend and I are having our Christmas Jewelry Open House and Sale. I love this time of year. So much promise, so much excitement, so much love. People take on a softer side, as they think more of others than themselves and smiles shine more readily.

I know, October is pretty early to be thinking of this but maybe my blog will be prophetic for some, adding to the global happiness. We could sure use it. Thinking of good things takes our minds away from the price of gas, the soldiers being killed in Afghanistan, the fact that my nephew is headed over there in March, the health issues many I know face...that list is endless. Best to have happy things to think on.

Beading is always a joy to me, the only down side being that I end up with way too much lovely jewelry. When my large drawer starts overflowing with beauteous baubles I know it's time to sell some. Well, a lot, actually. Last year I had a grand time inviting friends and family to my sale at rock bottom prices. This year my friend and I are pooling resources and having the sale here. (If any of you are close and want a flyer, I will email it to you upon request.) The date is November 8, from 1:00 till 4:30 at my home.

Following are some pictures of things we have for sale:

Next post I will put in pictures of some Christmas earrings, so cute you just want six pairs. In fact, I don't know how I can bear to sell them!

Once a teacher, always...

This afternoon I spend a wonderful two hours teaching two lovely ladies about digital cameras, computers and merging the two. We had a great time and they put up with my less than perfect knowledge, ending with them being more comfortable with their cameras, downloading photo managing software (Adobe Photoshop Album Starter Free Edition 3.2), uploading photos to share on the web and just getting up and going with their cameras. Fun.

If you are looking for an easy piece of photo software try going on the Photoshop website for a free download as mentioned above. You can put in many, many pictures from your camera or those already on your computer. The photo managing abilities are clear and simple. The photo enhancing capabilities are few but easy to use and to back out of if you don't like the changes. You will not find the manipulating abilities extensive but for a few enhancements, it is just fine.

I like the Kodak Gallery for uploading pictures to the web. Saves emailing pics and clogging up some friends' email accounts. (Those with dial-up particularly.) You can choose to share with the world or just with friends and family.

So maybe you'd like to get out there and upgrade your photo/computer skills. And don't forget the videos you can take of your grandkids for emailing to the world!

Mind Moments

This title may confuse some but my creative outlets are for my mind. Something sweet and lovely happens inside my head when I see, create and behold beautiful things. Here is a second bracelet completed in green tones with purple accents. I still like the blue one better but this is very close to the first one which I sold. How exciting that was! I showed it to a group of acquaintances and made an immediate sale. A few weeks later I met Katie in the market and she was wearing her bracelet. I had a nostalgic visit with my handiwork.

Also in this picture are earrings in progress. One is finished and the other is waiting for the silver earring wire to be attached. Tonight I'll do it.

Snow Outside but Building Inside

Last weekend we had a powerful snow storm which kept us housebound for Saturday and we didn't get shoveled out until 5 minutes before we were leaving for church on Sunday morning. Oh, how we love living in a condo where OTHERS do the shovelling! Here my teddy wreath is looking rather droopy. He's probably freezing.

While the storm raged outside we spent Saturday morning building a closet in our new basement bedroom. We are almost ready for drywalling--saints be praised!--and are very excited about our progress so far. (We are not all that handy.) Here is the door we hung a few nights ago and it's straight!

Here is the wall we built complete with anchoring screws into the cement floor.

Here is the wall that was already there before we started and the door out of the bedroom which we used to know how to hang the new one.

And here, yes, HERE, is the the studding for the closet measured for the lovely doors we've already purchased. Say a prayer that it all fits when we're done, please.

While we were hammering, cutting, screwing (no comments!), measuring and pondering, the weather outside was pretty frightful to be out in but lovely to watch. I opened the front door at night and took these two photos:

Yes, that's snow falling, not a dirty lens!

In the morning we were packed in, but snug and warm so didn't mind. Here is our deck with almost three feet of snow.

And this is out our front door. The street is plowed but our driveway and walk are still waiting.

Here is the snow in front of our garage and I apologize for the lack of artistic quality but it couldn't be helped if I wanted to get a picture of the snow bank there!

Today is Friday and I am really hoping there will be no new snow this weekend. Our winter has been decidedly white--good, usually, but I'm ready for more sun and temps above freezing.

My Awesome Day

This week has been a milestone one for me although few people know why I am celebrating. Since last April I have been working on my most ambitious writing project ever--a novel. Yes, I have stepped out, up, all over the place to write a historical fiction piece centered around the Loyalists in the American Revolutionary War.

For those of you who don't know the term, Loyalists refers to those who remained loyal to the British in 1776 and beyond, eventually finding their way to Nova Scotia, Quebec and Ontario for the most part. My forebears were among that number; hence, my interest in just what happened or might have happened.

This has been a huge project for me, someone who likes to do short creations for the rush on finishing and the excitement of starting the next new thing. I started my journey by buying a very helpful book about the nuts and bolts of writing a novel and getting it published after our trip to Hilton Head last March, where I found in a wonderful Borders store the perfect how-to book. I needed to know about chapter length, spacing, organizing, types of books, and a million other detail-oriented topics, not to mention about finding a topic for my creative outpouring.

I am a lifelong lover of the creative word as many of my readers will know--remember my 1500-book library?--so that this is a natural progression for me now that I have the time to do it and have learned not to let life get in the way. I remember very clearly sitting on my porch reading a wonderful Children's Lit book by Jean Little and feeling tears welling with the absolute need I had to be able to write like her. And, of course, I did little about it, even having taken a writing course and having had excellent feedback from my professor at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo. I was a teacher, a mother of two wonderful kids and wife to my very own Prince Charming, all of which filled my life. I had no time to write.

Or maybe, more likely, I didn't bother to make the time to write. You know, we women are pretty good at filling our lives doing things for others, and I was no exception.

Over the past year, after my son said to me last March when we were discussing my dream, "Mom, you're sixty years old, you're healthy, you have the time. If you don't do it now, when will you?" all that changed. I have since learned to guard my morning writing time and have stuck to writing three pages a day, five days a week as much as humanly possible, although I did take a three-month hiatus through the nightmarish move time last fall, only starting again in January. Mornings are my best time to write and I absolutely love the energizing feeling of accomplishment I get when the day's pages are done. Conversely, when the muse forsakes me and I just cannot do it (a rare thing) I beat myself up for the rest of the day. I am a person who needs accomplishment for self worth.

This writing marathon has meant far less time for writing my beloved blog and I am sorry for that as marrying my very own pictures to words is some of my best fun.

For today, then, the announcement is that on March 5, Wednesday, I completed my first draft, a wonderful length of 100,623 words or 384 pages in its rough draft format and I am elated. Following the advice of my how-to book and, by now, my own intuition, I printed, saved and saved again, stored one copy offsite and am now going to let it sit for three months before I go at the revisions. This will allow me to get some perspective when I reread the thing and I'll know better what needs to be revised. In the meantime, I am working on short pieces which I will begin submitting to contests and publishers. The most exciting thing? I have no fear of the inevitable rejections I'll face; in fact, I welcome them as necessary steps along my path to publication.

Our New Home

Today, my readers, I am giving you some pictures of our new place, and I hope you enjoy the visit. Of course those of you nearby should just get yourselves over and see us (and the digs) for yourselves!
Right outside our condo is this beautiful light standard, a beacon for friends to follow and find us. And we are the end condo so we have lots of yard where our future grandchildren can play safely behind the brick wall and the lovely shrubs.


Our back deck looks up the most beautiful street of very lovely homes. I tell everyone we live in the 'row housing'--poor cousins of these single family palaces.

Here is another view of the same street:

Inside we have the largest clothes closet we've ever had, a walk-in with room for all my shoes on wonderful sloped shelves I found a couple of months ago and just kept boxed till we finally moved here. I am proud to say today there are no more boxes waiting patiently for unpacking so the carpeted floor is clear. What luxury!

And, yes, this is my new office, a lovely airy space facing west and beautifully lit with the setting sun. We almost need to put a couple of easy chairs in here just to watch the day end, it is so stunning.

On one wall I have my keyboard watched over by one of my framed photos of Hilton Head.

Here is the piece de resistance where all my work (and play) takes place. Here I write, I upload photos, I reconcile my bank accounts, I compose music on my software, and--oh, I hate to admit it!--I play computer games to while away empty moments. You can see I still have some photos to hang and a box to finish emptying but really most everything is in its rightful place in the whole condo. I do like order.

I hope soon to have a great announcement of a secret project on which I have been working since last April. This is where I do it. Stay tuned for its birth!

A Bear-y Merry Christmas To All

Once upon a time there were three bears…no, wait a minute, there were four! And they lived in a lovely big house on a quiet wide village street in rural heaven. All was well with the bears as Mama and Papa worked at their teaching jobs and Boy Bear and Girl Bear played and learned and gradually grew into lovely adults, eventually going off to find their own bear fortunes, one just across town and the other way across the country.

Mama Bear and Papa Bear were happy for their bear children but couldn’t help feeling their lovely big house was a little empty, so they decided to sell the lovely big house and look for something smaller, just right for two. Eventually, after a long, long time, these things came to pass, and Mama Bear and Papa Bear began to clear out their lovely big house. Many things would go with them to the new, just right for two condo, but many others had to be sold.
The Bears held two huge garage sales, advertised several bigger treasures in the paper, sent pictures over email to many of their bear friends, and eventually their house started to look really bare. (ha ha!) Piles of boxes filled the corners, all labeled with strange coding: Fragile, basement. Odds ‘n’ sods, m.b., serving pcs. Kitchen, and so on. Mama Bear wondered where she had put many things, such as the theatre tickets and the bear passports, and she said a little prayer to the Big Bear in the sky that all would appear in the new place.

While Papa Bear was off working very hard and very long hours, Mama Bear planned for the new home. She got the address, the phone number, the Internet connection, the water, electricity and heat---my! Bears need a lot of things---and every night lay in bed hoping she hadn’t forgotten anything.

Finally the big bear moving van came on December 14 and Mama Bear and Papa Bear got up for the last time in their lovely big house, showered for the last time in their shower, packed up a few precious breakables into their bearmobile and welcomed the Moose Movers at the front door. The Bears were off to their new condo in the city, hoping to be settled just in time for Christmas.

A very wonderful Christmas to all of you bear friends. We have our first bear grandchild on the way—Beth and Rich—expected March 1. We are ecstatic! Please come and see us in our new home.

Doors Open Oxford Still

Another of the places we visited during Doors Open Oxford was Windmill Hill, a private residence where the results of a lifetime of collecting and creating are evident. As we walked in the driveway we were met by this 'garden' along side the house. Lights flashed, whistles blew as we walked by a certain point, and metal flowers bobbed in the wind.

On a table in front of old gasoline pumps pride of place went to this eight-horse hitch and wagon, a reminder for me of the pair my mother had specially made for my father one year for Christmas. They were recreated from pictures of the actual horses my dad had used for many years.

And of course, memories are what this collection is all about. The residents' garage looks more like an old time service station.

This metal sign, a giant cog of a thing, beautifully painted like those saws you sometimes see, announces the name of the place and people.

In the back yard is a lovely garden of kitsch and flowers. It is so full I hardly knew where to snap next.

Here are more angles of the same garden. I cannot put a theme on this except to say it is all kitsch. There is even a camel!

This metal palm tree called to have its photo taken as we have a car wash/laundromat with several of these. They are obtrusive enough in the day but at night, fully lit, they jump right out of the black at you.

From Windmill Hill we moved on to the old County Jail in Woodstock, now beautifully renovated and housing the Health Unit. As we stood in the back courtyard talking to the first host, a friend, I looked up and saw this amazing shot.

Inside we heard about the five hangings that took place on the property, saw the place where lawyers would interview their clients, and even were guided by one of those lawyers who had done this many years ago. The renovation has kept enough of the history but opened the space up to uses for this day, a difficult feat but one the architects have achieved.

Outside we saw this picture of the death mask of the first person to be hanged on the grounds. Apparently a novice was entrusted with the calculations so that the gallows was set up outside the north door and, true to the custom of the time, a crowd gathered to witness justice being done. When the trap door opened the prisoner's head snapped off and flew into the crowd, probably giving the onlookers much more than they expected. After that the hangings were held inside the grounds.

At that time in England and elsewhere heads were often staked for everyone to see as a deterrent to further crime. In keeping with that tradition a death mask was made of this first prisoner to be hung at the Oxford County Jail. The picture below is of that mask.

Doors Open provides a multitude of different events and places to see, and changes every year. We'll be going next year for sure. In the meantime, London has its Doors Open next weekend. We'll be taking in several of the attractions. Will you?