Stain-glass Eyes

It’s almost midnight, the night before Thanksgiving.   I’ve just finished writing three thousand words for my NaNoWriMo Challenge. http://nanowrimo.org   I’m trying to make up for two days of non-writing.   I have plenty of reasons for not writing for two whole days, but none seem as good as they were when I came up with them. I’m sitting here in my made-for-a-short-person chair and I want to write a short post for my blog.  Mom just went to bed to read a bit (like she always does) before she turns off the light to sleep. Mom, Checking Facebook While Snuggled on my Couch Mom is visiting me for about ten days.   She brought with her (from St. Ignace) a horrendous storm that dropped about ten inches of snow on Ann Arbor.  She’ll be spending this Thanksgiving with me.   Snowy Day After Mom Arrived by Argus Farms My friend, Ameera, her mom, sister and her niece are coming.  And my favorite soprano, Lucy, is also jo...

I just clicked on the "GOOGLE" sign this morning and read a surprising story about Hedy Lamarr.  I always thought her name was Edie.  I had no idea she had a patent which became important to our communication progress. I love to read fabulous things about women.  Hedy not only was gifted in theater, but in the sciences.  And she dared to run away from her husband, which at the time was something women were afraid to do, culture in those days didn't support leaving your husband, regardless of the circumstances. http://www.women-inventors.com/Hedy-Lammar.asp https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedy_Lamarr Reading about her on Wikipedia made me think, "I wonder what her story is from her own point of view?  I wonder if she ever told anyone the fears and obstacles she encountered leaving her husband.  If she kept a diary?" Our stories will never be told from first person if we don't write.  Telling someone your story to someone you trust is a great r...

I’ve been writing for NaNoWriMo and am excited about the challenge.  You may have seen my counter at the bottom of my blog, ticking off the days until I've written 50,000 words by the end of November.   If you want to know what it is, here's the link. nanowrimo .org I wrote last November with the encouragement of my son, Holden.  It was difficult for me and at the same time very rewarding.  Some of the things I enjoy the most I put off and I don’t get to experience them.  I’m getting much better at diving into things and letting joy happen.  Sometimes it’s hard work, sometimes it flows easily.  I’m also getting better at not expecting a lot when I open myself to experiencing something new.  Then I’m not critiquing the experience and wasting energy I could use to have fun. I’ve always like the song Peter Pan sings about growing up ( I prefer the older version): https://youtu.be/93yX9SFVyks    Youtube video of "I Won't Gr...

I’ve been up in St. Ignace (North side of the Mackinac Bridge, in Michigan) visiting.  When I’m with my mom time gets whacky and my writing gets neglected.  If you can imagine stepping into a time machine, being transported to a small tourist-town with a huge, freshwater lake only a block away.  No street lights, no Walmart, no Rite Aid and a mother as enthusiastic about getting outside to explore as I am. The amount of daylight dictates our day. With slow-cooking food in the crockpot, Clyde’s Drive-In or Bentley’s Restaurant to choose from, for dinner, we’re free for the day. St. Ignace Already Getting Started on Halloween If you were raised in this small, northern town you would likely feel the draw from Lake Huron.  It’s like a strong, magnet pulling relentlessly as soon as the bridge is spotted.  Crossing over, Mackinac Island is on the right, St. Helena left, both sitting smartly on their own huge lake. Many variations of blue tos...

As I sit in Washtenaw Dairy, I feel relaxed.  (They made more than 300 dozen donuts for today.  There’s a U of M football game today and on top of that 30 dozen were specially made for a wedding)  This is a homey place to be.  I know most of the regulars that come in (for both coffee and comradery…a few get donuts). There’s a little girl with a pink, University of Michigan, T-shirt, with big, navy blue bow in her pony-tail, playing “I Spy” with her parents (as she eats her icecream).   She’s sitting at the long table  where I'm writing.  She's about ten years old.  Her parents are not winning.  She’s savy.  She reminds me of my niece, Jenna.  It’s Jenna’s birthday today.   I received a text from Elizabeth this morning, “Explosions in Ankara, but I’m safe.  Terrible news, over 80 dead.”    Ankara, Turkey.  http://www.bbc.com/news/world    I’m always so glad when...

The lunar eclipse tonight is better than all the fireworks I've seen in my lifetime. At first, when I was watching, the clouds were making the moon look like it was moving instead of them.  I didn't think it was going to be a good sighting of the eclipse. But, when there was about a quarter of a moon showing, the clouds got lost and it was mostly clear sky except some low clouds, not obscuring the view. The orangish glow made the moon look squishy. When I saw the all-orange glow I thought of the moon in Maurice Sendack's book "In the Night Kitchen". As the moon darkened I saw a face.  There's wisdom in the Native American culture about Grandmother Moon.  That was the face I saw. (Except it was orange, not white) Good night all who are sleepy and weary-eyed from watching the moon for so long. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fsu2SmNMX7c   (For my cousin, Jim Ryerse) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcnd55tLCv8      (Billy Joel) ...

ELizabeth's Pack on Bench Ellie the Hiker My Favorite... Elizabeth and Ellie Snorkling Here Would Be Fabulous! A week ago my daughter Elizabeth made a decision to go to Catalina Island to hike.  I totally understood.  She needed time be alone, think and rid some of the stress accumlulating over the past few months.   Elizabeth is doing her doctoral program at Irvine, in California, and is leaving for Turkey in a few days to establish her groundwork to do research and for a year or more.  She received the Fulbright-Hayes Scholarship about a month ago and I can hear the excitement in her voice when she talks getting started on her project in Turkey. So, you probably can imagine the compounding stress studying, reading, presenting, writing, teaching and completeing her oral candidacy exams.  That’s all on top of preparing her travel plans, visa and packing for Turkey.   I was excited ...