Summertime and I'm Feeling Lazy

As you've probably gathered from my last several posts, this blogger has been a little lazy and lax about posting. I wish I could say my laziness was limited to blogging, but the truth is I've been slacking off on just about everything but reading a good book under the apple tree, puttering in the yard and hanging out. Instead of feeling guilty about it, which is what I normally do if I'm not going a million miles an hour at all times, I've decided to just enjoy it while it lasts and do what I feel like doing it, when I feel like it.

I will contradict myself a little to say that I got some writing done this weekend and with a little help from my friends, I may have worked through some issues I've been having that have been giving me problems with The Foundling Wheel. I've been struggling with the direction of the story for weeks, struggling with how to structure the time shifts, and struggling with some of the early choices I made that appeared to limit things going forward.

This weeks epiphany has been that whether you plot and outline up front or take off with no direction, the pound of flesh is due eventually. I suspect that a more seasoned writer could handle a complete seat of the pants approach a little more easily than I've done it. Most of you have heard this a dozen times already, but I'll recap anyway. When I started the Dickens Challenge in December and decided to commit to drafting a chapter a week, I began without a plot, a premise or much of anything but the inspiration for an event. That got me through eleven chapters and about a hundred pages. At that point, there were things I'd done early on that I wished I hadn't and I had no idea how to move forward and end the story. I've since gotten most of this figured out and thanks to some great feedback and advice from my beautiful friend Kristin, I was excited and happy when I was writing today.

Vesper tagged me for this meme last week and although this is probably more information about me than anybody would ever want to know, it does give me something to post about that doesn't require any research or heavy thought and I'm into that the last couple of weeks. So here goes.

What were you doing 10 years ago?

Ten years ago I was thirty-six, getting ready to turn thirty-seven and I was living in Colorado Springs in the first house I owned (I'm on number four now). I was married to my former husband and my stepson was living with us and getting ready to start his senior year in high school. I had a civil service job and I worked about ten miles east of Colorado Springs at Schriever Air Force Base. I think my job title was commercial communications manager. We had a little sixteen foot fish and ski boat with an outboard motor. Back then on most weekends we went camping and boating and we dragged the boat out on a lot of weeknights too. Back then I started and kept journals every now and then, but I wasn’t doing much writing at all.

Five things on your to-do list for today

These are really five things for tomorrow’s to-do list. It’s a work day, so that will keep me busy until sometime between five and six. I’ll be optimistic and add a few other things I’ll probably manage to do:

1. Get Scott to help me take down the oversized painting in the living room so we can put something else up

2. Call the sprinkler repair man to replace a couple of bad heads in the back yard

3. Send Larissa a check for the beautiful necklace I just ordered from her at Unravelled

4. Keep working on Chapter 12 of The Foundling Wheel

5. Email Lighthouse Writers Workshop with my workshop choices for the retreat next month (woohoo)

What would you do if you were a billionaire?

Who among us hasn’t spent lots of time having this fantasy? Of course I’d make sure that all of my and Scott’s loved ones were set up with whatever they needed to be happy and secure for the rest of their lives. For the younger ones, this would be more along the lines of taking care of college and setting them up to find their own way in the world. I wouldn’t arbitrarily toss money at anybody under forty because I don’t think they recognize the value of it yet and I don’t think having an endless supply of cash is necessarily a good gift unless you’re old enough to use it wisely.

Since a billionaire has more money than she can possibly use or spend, figuring out philanthropic ways to spend it effectively would be important. I’d like to contribute to or start organizations that would help abused and neglected animals and children, to provide medical care to those who can’t afford it, to provide the opportunity for college and job training for people who can’t afford it, which would include single mothers and the homeless. So many worthy causes!

I’d love to award grants to writers and painters so that they could take the time to write or paint full time. I’d maybe want to create one or two retreat locations that artists and writers could use to do their things. I’d love to own two or three places to live so I could go there anytime . The houses would be nice, but reasonably sized and green and I’d create a program so that when we’re not living in the houses, writers could act as caretakers and earn a small income so they could write and not have to work.

Candidate locations for the houses would be places like northern California, Martha’s Vinyard or Nantucket, Mexico and probably someplace here in Colorado.

Needless to say, I would primarily spend my time writing and hanging out with Scott and enjoying life. Billions would be somewhat wasted on me because there isn’t anything in particular that I want that you need to be wealthy to have. As long as I could travel, write and have someplace comfortable to come home to with Scott, I’d be very happy.

I liked Bernita’s idea. I’d give each of you $100,000 (you being the people who comment on this post of course).

At least once or twice a week I'd like to head out and find ways to anonymously slip strangers cash, pay for their groceries or meals or just do surprise cool things like that.

What are three of your bad habits?

1. Occasional morning crankiness

2. Procrastination about work and writing

3. Outright laziness when it comes to exercise


What are some snacks you enjoy?

1. Kettle chips, especially salt and vinegar or salt and ground black pepper

2. Milk Duds

3. Fresh fruit

What were the last five books you read?

I’ll write more on these when I do my “Books I Read in June 2008” post, but the last five I finished were:

1. The Eleventh Draft, edited by Frank Conroy, which was a great recommendation from Tim Hallinan.

2. Rose’s Garden, by Carrie Brown, which was a great recommendation and gift from the lovely and talented Jennifer Duncan.

3. The House on Fortune Street, by Margot Livesey. This one is a brand new release and Margot Livesey’s essay in The Eleventh Draft motivated me to read her. She is wonderful.

4. Simon Says, by Kathryn Eastburn. I read this one because it’s the tragic true account of a triple murder that was planned and carried out by four Colorado Springs teenagers. My interest in juveniles serving long or life sentences led me to this one.

5. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger was one I reluctantly read after so many people had recommended it. I say reluctantly because I admit I am a total ass and since so many people loved it I figured it couldn’t possibly be anything I’d like. I was wrong. I consumed this fairly long book over the weekend and was captivated the entire time. Maybe I need to finally break down and read Water for Elephants too.

What are five jobs you have had?

These all go back a very long way, but they are the five most unconventional jobs I’ve had.

1. Vacuum cleaner salesman for Kirby

2. Factory worker in a metal stamping plant

3. Short order cook in a bowling alley

4. Bank teller

5. Cashier in a mom and pop grocery store

What are five places where you have lived?

1. Massachusetts

2. New Hampshire

3. Connecticut

4. New Jersey

5. England

6. California

7. Germany

8. Colorado

I know that’s more than five, but it only took eight to list all states and countries. I did attend a total of 13 different schools by the time I graduated from high school – and I went back and forth between some of them more than once.

I always have mixed emotions about tagging people since I’m never sure who has already done which meme and who likes doing them and who doesn’t. I’m going to try something different and tag five male bloggers. I think we (women bloggers) assume they don’t want to do these, but I suspect that’s not always the case. So gentlemen, you’re tagged if you feel like doing this and if you don’t feel like it, that’s totally cool.

Steve Wylder

Steve Malley

Charles Gramlich

Tim Hallinan

Billy Hammett

Six Things About Meme

My friend Karen tagged me for a meme. Here are the rules:

Link the person who tagged you.
Mention the rules in your blog.
Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
Tag 6 bloggers by linking them.
Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger's blogs letting them know they've been tagged.

Here are six of my MANY quirks:

1. I’ve never been able to accept anything on faith. I can’t recall ever believing in Santa Claus, although I remember pretending to for quite a while. I was baptized, went to Sunday school and was confirmed, but I never believed in any of it, despite my best efforts. In junior high school, I wrote a term paper called “Psychology and the Belief in a Supreme Being” where I theorized that religion is a historical invention of the people in charge to control the rest of the people with fear of invisible entities. I’m pretty sure my seventh grade English teacher wasn’t quite sure what to do with me.

2. The sound of someone chewing or breathing loudly is so disturbing to me that when I hear it, I have to find something to focus on to block out the sound or I might even find an excuse to leave the room for a few minutes to get away from it. When I was a kid and my sister Leslie and I shared a room, the sound of her making mouth noises after she fell asleep was so aggravating to me that I would actually get up out of my twin bed, walk across to hers and punch her to wake her up and make her stop. Sorry Leslie!

3. I feel very strongly about the proper way to hang a roll of toilet paper, which is obviously where the paper spools over the top of the roll as opposed to coming from underneath. I am so obsessed with this “right” way that I routinely “fix” incorrectly installed rolls of toilet paper when I encounter them. I will do it in other people’s homes and now and then I’ll do it in a restaurant or other public bathroom.

4. I have a terrible fear of poverty and unemployment. I got my first job working in a D’Angelo’s sub shop in Rockland, MA when I was fifteen (I lied and said I was sixteen), and I have never gone a day without a job since. At times I’ve worked two jobs at once and for a few months once I had three jobs. I’ve been a bank teller, Kirby vacuum cleaner salesman, factory worker, short order cook, military member, civil servant, government contractor and technical sales person. Due to my fear of financial insecurity, I stay in jobs much longer than I should. I often wish I might have taken some time off between jobs, rather than finishing one on a Friday and starting the next one on Monday morning. In August, I’ll have been working in my current job for eight years.

5. I have a semi-pathological need for neatness and organization, but the paradox is that I am often messy and disorganized. Consequently, when everything is in its place and I have my schedule straight and my endless to-do lists all written out, I can get an enormous amount accomplished. The other 50% of the time, I am mentally scattered and feel like I can’t get anything done.

6. I believe I have an unusually strong connection with animals and spend an inordinate amount of time in staring contests with my cat and my dog. I am convinced that they know things about me that human beings don’t and I frequently imagine that they’re frustrated at their inability to speak English so they can tell me exactly what they’re thinking.

I know that a number of people have been tagged for this and some people aren’t into the memes, so this is completely voluntary – do it if you want to, or not. I tag: Patti, Ello, Charles, Lana, Shauna, and Larramie.

Next up: What I am figuring out about The Foundling Wheel or lessons learned on why you should never get over 100 pages into a WIP without a premise, or it’s all about plotting stupid, or structure -- don’t leave home without it, or pantsing is cool up until the point where you lose your way (see quirk #5 for further insight).

O Christmas Meme, O Christmas Meme

Yogamum from Yoga Gumbo tagged me with this Christmas meme. I have to confess, I’m a little out of it this Christmas season. In years past, I’ve gone over the top with decorating, parties, elaborate wrapping and cards and this year, I just haven't been interested. Thinking about the questions on this meme really took me back to the past and made me think about why my 2007 holiday spirit isn’t what it was. It’s not a bah humbug thing and it’s not a holiday season depression. I'm not sad. I think perhaps it's just that things have changed too much and I'm more old fashioned than I care to admit.

Christmas Meme Part I:

What are your three favorite Christmas songs and who sings them?

O Holy Night

Good King Wencesclas

O Come All Ye Faithful/Adeste Fideles

I like only versions of these songs that sound “churchy”.

I am not now a practitioner of any religion, but when I was growing up, going to church was a part of my upbringing. Everyone in my family was crazy about the Christmas season. We played Christmas music constantly and it was always traditional music performed by the Vienna Boys’ Choir or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir -- sacred sounding recordings. I knew all of the words to every verse of every song that was printed in the Christmas carol pamphlets that the John Hancock insurance company gave away, including Adeste Fideles. In the 60’s, the people in my family were all big drinkers, and there is nothing that will get you in the mood for four verses of Joy to the World on a road trip like a whole lot of liquid Christmas cheer. Yes, it’s true. It was a family tradition to attend the 11:00 PM Christmas Eve Service at St. Paul’s with several adults who were three sheets to the wind and filled with the Christmas spirit. And who doesn’t sing Christmas songs while drinking and driving around looking at lights? Now before you start thinking how terribly sad this all must have been, let me assure you that it wasn’t. I wasn’t all that aware that they were drinking like fish at the time or that what they were doing wasn't completely normal. I have a lot of fond memories of those times, believe it or not.

What are your three favorite Christmas foods?

Roast Beef with Yorkshire pudding, Mince Pie, Christmas pudding with Hard Sauce

My grandmother’s parents were English and that carried over into most of the things we ate and drank. I don’t think anybody in my family even owned a coffee pot, because they all drank tea with milk and sugar all the time. My poor father had a sad little jar of Sanka somewhere in the house. My grandmother always loved mince pie and not everybody in the family ate it, but I did. I haven’t had Christmas pudding in too many years to count, but we always had it when I was growing up. The roast beef with Yorkshire pudding was a Christmas tradition and a Sunday dinner favorite if we weren’t having roast lamb with mint jelly.

What are three Christmas Secrets?

1. I’ve always thought there was something magic about Christmas Eve. That’s the night I’m most likely to secretly talk to my dead loved ones – and I think maybe they hear me. They all loved Christmas.

2. My parents used to tell us when we were little that there were little elves that hung around the Christmas tree and would watch us to make sure we were being good. I think they were right.

3. I can’t hear or sing O Holy Night without getting emotional. It doesn’t happen if the songs are sung by pop stars or with a modern sound, but if I hear it sung in the more traditional, church style, it brings me to tears. The same goes for Ave Maria and a number of other Christmas songs. Color me sentimental.

What are your three favorite Christmas movies?

1. Hands down favorite is A Christmas Carol, the 1951 version starring Alistair Sim.

2. It’s a Wonderful Life

3. The Charlie Brown Christmas Special and The Grinch That Stole Christmas

Part II is YogaMum’s Grinch Meme from last year (click on the link to see her answers).

What is your least favorite holiday task? (e.g. shopping, cooking, wrapping) I don’t like shopping for people who are so picky that I end up with a list of things they want and I have to choose one or buy a gift card. It sucks the joy out of the whole gift giving experience for me. These are the kind of people that don’t appreciate cool, creative gifts like yoga lessons or sealing wax or silk padded book rests or hamsters.

What was the worst gift you ever received? I can’t think of anything. I am very easily pleased. You could wrap up a chewed up old pencil and give it to me and I’d be delighted I was on your shopping list.

Who is the hardest person in your family to shop for? My father-in-law. He doesn’t need anything, doesn’t want anything and doesn’t have any hobbies or interests.

What relative do you dread seeing at the holidays? Or, when you were a child, what relative did you dread seeing? I’ve never dreaded seeing anyone that I can think of.

What holiday tradition would you eliminate if you could? If I had the power, I’d eliminate giving generic gifts that have to be purchased. Exchanging store-bought gifts just feels like an empty habit, without any real feeling behind it. It would mean so much more to me as a gift recipient if I got a poem, a plate of cookies, a knitted scarf, a contribution to a good cause made in my name, a song or a hand made card.

What do you swear, every holiday season, that you’ll never do again, only to find yourself doing it again the next year? I loathe buying gift cards. When I was growing up, shopping for gifts or making them was exciting. Everyone loved what they got, no matter how silly, because we really thought hard about trying to find something special for each other. I hate giving gift cards to people because I feel like I might as well throw a fistful of cash at them, but there are some people who will tell you that they’d actually prefer getting a gift card, rather than getting something they don’t want. I think we just have too much now. Do we really need to go out and buy more crap and create more waste with all of the gift bags, wrapping paper and ribbon? Disclaimer: This doesn't pertain to little kids. I love watching them open toys.

This concludes the official meme part of my Christmas post. This year my stepson and his children (okay, okay I’ll say my grandchildren but it kills me every time I do) are coming over to open presents on the 23^rd. I started the cookie baking process today and have vowed to finish my shopping and figure out what to make for dinner by Saturday. On Christmas Eve, Scott and I are going to his sister’s house to have dinner and exchange gifts with his family. This year, we’ll spend Christmas Day alone together. Scott is Jewish, but not religious, but I think I’ve got him convinced that we should observe one of the great traditions of his people on Christmas Day: A movie and Chinese food.

I’m not going to tag anyone, but hope you’ll give the meme(s) some thought and maybe post your own.

What are a few of your favorite and un-favorite holiday traditions?

The Eudaemonia Year in Review

The lovely and talented Olufunke at iyan and egusi soup tagged me for this fun meme. The instructions are to simply show the first line of the first post of each month of the year. Eudaemonia debuted on April 10, 2007. I enjoyed reviewing these posts and I’ve enjoyed reviewing the year with blogging friends on other sites too.

April. I always believed we have some notion of who or what we're meant to be from the time we're eight or nine.

May. Painting is as lonely a business as writing can be, so Scott has developed friendships with other artists over the years and alternates his studio time with group outings to paint en plein air, visits to other artist’s studios and vice versa.

June. I was not much of a joiner as a kid.

July. Close to three months ago when I made the decision to write in a committed and purposeful way, more specifically, to write a novel, I found many great blogs about writing and I began reading them religiously.

August. In a workshop I recently attended, we did an exercise I wanted to share.

September. It's been a weird couple of days.

October. Evergreen, Colorado is a small town in the foothills, about forty five minutes west of where we live in Centennial.

November. Hola! Scott and I had one of the best vacations ever in Baja.

December. Organization is important to me, even when it’s only in my mind.

This was so fun, fast and easy that rather than specifically tag people, I’d like to suggest that everyone reading this go ahead and do it. You’ll like it and as Olufunke mentioned when she posted hers, it lets you take a look at where you’ve been.

What's in the Middle

It's not what you think. My lovely friend Larramie at Seize a Daisy, chose me to complete this meme. I was literally working from 7:30 this morning until after midnight when I found out that I’d been tagged and I thank her for the diversion!

As an update to my last post, I’m happy to report that so far, so good. My 500 word per day goal has been working out very well, no matter how busy I get. It’s reasonable enough that no matter how tired or busy I am, I can make time to do it.

OK, here are the rules:

1. You have to post these rules before you give the facts.
2. Players, you must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don't have a middle name, just make one up...or use the one you would have liked to have had.
3. When you are tagged you need to write your own blog-post containing your own middle name game facts.
4. At the end of your blog-post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog.

J – Justice, demonstrated by the degree to which we deal with the world with honesty and fairness, as individuals and as a culture may well be the thing I feel the most passionate about. It is certainly the one thing that can draw me into a heated discussion where very little else can.

E – I’ve always been very Empathic. There was a great discussion on empathy here not long ago and I naturally had to research more deeply into empathy. I feel genuine joy at the good fortune of others and I feel real pain for complete strangers. I don’t consider it a virtue. I believe it’s just the way I’m wired. It mystifies me that I am normally very level headed and rational, but I am easily brought to tears over things that happen on the other side of the country or the world. Commercials and music videos can do it to me. I have determined there is a big visual component to how emotional my reaction and it extends to the printed word.

A – Animals are a great love of mine. I have a rescue dog and cat and I don’t recall ever meeting an animal I couldn’t feel affection for. Even the animals that I have irrational fears of – like snakes – I admire, just from afar.

N – Novels. I am obsessed with reading them, I love to watch my friends making progress on theirs and nearly all of my free time is spent working or thinking about mine.

N – Although I’ve been away for the better part of my life since I was 19, New England will always be a part of me. All of my nostalgia, reaches back to that small cluster of states.

E – I consider Education to be a lifelong, joyful pursuit and the greatest gift I can receive as long as I am always open. It comes in all forms – all of my connections with friends, co-workers, writers, children, animals, strangers, books, magazines, newspapers – there are new things to learn everywhere I look and there are few things I find boring.

Middle names are always interesting. Let’s find out what they are for:

Kristin at From Here to There and Back

Kristi at Yoga Gumbo

Moonratty at Editorial Ass

Shauna at For Love of Words

Karen at Beyond Understanding

Carleen at The Pajama Gardener

Next up – My TBR stack has become so completely unmanageable that I think I’ll post a selection of books I want to read and ask you to recommend one. It will be interesting to see what you recommend.

I’ve gotten into a pattern lately where I try to alternate a hard book with an easier read, a long book with a shorter one.

I’ve also been reading books written by people I know. For a while, I was thinking that just buying the book was a good show of support and if a friend published a book that I might not normally read, I didn’t. I’ve been pondering the question more deeply and wondering how I’d feel if people I knew and liked didn’t read my book and I decided that I think I’d prefer it if someone took my book out of the library, read it and told me what they thought about it than if they bought it and it sat unread. It’s ambitious, I know, but little by little, I think I can work those books into my ambitious list.

So far this past year, I’ve read fabulous books by Patry Francis, Judy Merrill Larsen, William Haywood Henderson, Therese Fowler, Carleen Brice, Kim Reid, John Elder Robison, Nick Arvin, Chris Ransick, and Shari Caudron and just last week I read a fabulous short story by Bernita Harris in a recently published collection.

Books in the stack of people I know (or sort of know via blogging or because they are part of the Lighthouse Writers Workshop faculty) are by Karen Degroot Carter, Patricia Wood, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Jennifer McMahon, Tish Cohen, C.S. Harris, Charles Gramlich and Timothy Hallinan.

I am certain there are books around here that belong on one of these lists, but at the moment, I can’t place what I’m missing so I apologize to the author(s) in advance and will update this list if I remember more.

So whether published or not – which would you prefer? Would you rather know that a friend bought your book or that they read it?

All About Books

Mardougrrl at One Hand Typing tagged me for this meme, and I am honored and humbled to share my answers. The answers to these memes are always so dependent on timing and mood, so I’m sure I won’t recognize my own answers in six months, but here goes:

1. Hardcover or paperback, and why? Hardcover if I really want the book as soon as it’s released and/or there’s going to be a book signing and/or I know or know of the author and I want to support the book release and the author with my wallet. Most of the time paperbacks are just dandy. They’re cheaper and their much lighter to carry around in a purse. And, if I ever go back to the gym, I feel much less guilty cramming them into the book holder on the stair master.

2. If I were to own a book shop I would call it... Eudaemonia. This is purely hypothetical because far too many people ask me how it’s pronounced, which would indicate that it’s a poor choice to name a business.

3. My favorite quote from a book (mention the title) is... This was tough. I drew a blank when I first read this question because the first quote that came to mind wasn’t exactly from a book, it’s an excerpt of Andrew Marvell’s poem, “To His Coy Mistress” that’s on the first page of Peter S. Beagle’s A Fine and Private Place.

“The grave’s a fine and private place,

But none, I think, do there embrace”

The other one that came to mind was exactly the same type of thing. It was the Robert Frost poem, “Nothing Gold Can Stay” quoted in S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders:

“Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.”

4. The author (alive or deceased) I would love to have lunch with would be... Tricky. At first I thought Joyce Carol Oates or maybe Philip Roth or somebody really iconic, and then I thought I’d be much too nervous and dorky to enjoy the time. My next thought was that I’d really love to have lunch with all the people who visit here, but then I thought, I really need to name someone I don’t “know” at all. I’ve loved the New Hampshire writer, Ernest Hebert for so many years and recommended his first book, The Dogs of March so many times that I’d have to say Ernest Hebert.

5. If I was going to a deserted island and could only bring one book, except from the SAS survival guide, it would be… I’d bring The Chicago Manual of Style. Kidding! I’m going to go out on a limb and I’ll bring one I’ve not read. The Recognitions, by William Gaddis is sitting here and mocking me at 956 pages. I’ll bet it would keep me busy for a while.

6. I would love someone to invent a bookish gadget that… Could someone please come up with something that would allow me to read in complete darkness? I’d say night vision goggles for readers would be just the ticket. They’d have to be comfortable, lightweight and of course, stylish.

7. The smell of an old book reminds me of… The smell reminds me to refill my allergy medication, but it also makes me reminisce about rooting through antique stores and second hand book shops and book barns in New England. Ah, the happy hours passed in those cozy places!

8. If I could be the lead character in a book (mention the title), it would be... Forrest Gump.

9. The most overestimated book of all time is… I can’t do it. Every title that comes to mind is a classic that I couldn’t get into, but rather than blame the author, I blame myself. I know this is a wimpy answer, but I can’t bring myself to single out a book and hurt the author’s feelings. Even if the author is dead. I will obviously never be a book critic.

10. I hate it when a book... Sucks. Um, wait, I can do better than that. I hate it when a book has me captivated for two or three hundred pages and then it becomes a struggle to wade through. Again, throw stones at me and call me a heretic, but that’s exactly what happened to me when I read One Hundred Years of Solitude. I was captivated and somewhere along the line, I was lost.

I feel a little guilty tagging people again, because this is twice this week, but this is a pretty good one and it was fun to do, so readers, do tackle this if you like and I would love to hear answers to some or all of these questions in the comments.

How about: Kristi, Candy, Liz, Usman and Moonrat

Five Writing Strengths

My friend and fellow Lighthouse Writers Workshop member, Kristi at Yoga Gumbo tagged me with a meme to identify five writing strengths I have. Like most others, I am more than happy to enumerate my weaknesses, but I'm a little reluctant to come up with strengths. After reflecting, I found it was an important exercise.

I’m just doing it in public.

1. I handle description well. Because of the workshop I just finished, I actually do have some external feedback to draw on. The most consistent positive critique I received was this.

2. My writing voice is somewhat distinct. I think people who have read my work could identify an excerpt of mine in a lineup.

3. I am not sentimental. As much as I tend to fall in love with a piece of dialogue, or the pretty turn of a phrase, I have no hesitation about cutting things that don’t fit. I believe this is known as “killing your darlings”.

4. I read a lot. I do this to learn and I am certain there is a direct correlation between reading and writing well.

5. I’m developing an ability to provide useful critique. I never anticipated how important the art of critique would prove to be in my journey. People place a lot of focus on seeking meaningful feedback, but I have learned a great deal about my own writing by learning how to closely read and provide feedback to others. I’m working to further develop my eye and my editing abilities in order to become a better writer.

I plan to revisit this list every few months. This was a useful meditation and I plan to follow it up by honestly thinking about my weaknesses – in private – in order to focus my goals.

Although I grimaced a little when I got the email from Kristi, telling me about this meme, I realize she gave me a gift. I hope the five people I tag will consider it the same. Even though I’ve only listed five people, I hope everyone who reads this post will give it a try. Leave your answers in the comments here if you're willing to share!

Kristen at From Here to There and Back

Ello at Random Acts of Unkindness

Charles at Razored Zen

Shauna at For Love of Words

Patti at The Patti-O

The Blogger Reflection Award

I was just about to pack up my laptop and had the biggest surprise I've had since I started Eudaemonia. Kristen at From here to there and back has honored me with a Blogger Reflection Award. The award “should make you reflect on five bloggers who have been an encouragement, a source of love, impacted you in some way, and have been a Godly example to you. Five Bloggers who when you reflect on them you get a sense of pride and joy… of knowing them and being blessed by them.”

So, here are five blogs I am honored to share with you. Each of these incredible people has made me think and has touched me with their kindness, encouragement and generosity. Had I gotten this before Kristen did, she would be at the top of this list. Kristen and I connected some time ago and she is truly like an old friend I've never met. Her posts are honest and real and through our email exchanges, we've found we share many of the same hopes, dreams and frustrations. She is a true friend.

1. Larramie at Seize a Daisy has been an unfailing friend and has provided a bright spot with her posts that are always uplifting in a world that often isn't. She's taken the time to indulge my curiosities and to answer my emails and she has been incredibly encouraging to me with my new writing endeavor. She is truly a fairy godmother and seems to always have just the right thing to say.
2. The Writers Group has been a source of inspiration to so many of us with their wise, funny and poignant posts on the writing life and on their own lives. Amy in particular has been a friend to me and has given me the support and encouragement I've needed at times I've needed it most.
3. Shauna Roberts at Shauna Roberts' For Love of Words has rapidly become a good friend and an incredibly generous soul. Her posts always teach me something and make me think. We have exchanged a number of emails and she has been incredibly helpful to me in my research about both scientists and musicians. Shauna is both, and a writer too. She is incredibly smart, wise, talented and I'm honored and grateful to have connected with her.
4. Patry Francis at Simply Wait was the first blogger I connected with. Before I even started Eudaemonia, this warm and talented author of The Liar's Diary responded to my email about her book and took the time to share her experiences with me and encourage me to follow my heart. I would not have started Eudaemonia and discovered the wonderful friends I've made if it had not been for her.

I may be straying from the accepted rules of engagement on this, but even though Kristen has tagged the following two women, they belong on the list of people I need to honor.

5. Judy Merrill Larsen at Not Afraid of the "F" Word is the author the beautiful and heart wrenching novel, All the Numbers, who has shown nothing but kindness, thoughtfulness and support to me and to others who dream of publication one day. Last, by by no means least, Therese Fowler at Making it Up, and the author of Souvenir has shown incredible generosity of spirit in sharing her ongoing fairy tale come true and offering her valuable insights and advice. I appreciate and admire them both, more than I can say.

If you've been tagged:

1. Copy this post.
2. Reflect on five bloggers and write at least a paragraph about each one.
3. Make sure you link this post so others can read it and the rules.
4. Go leave your chosen bloggers a comment and let them know they’ve been given the award.
5. Put the award icon on your site.

I'll be gone for the rest of the week, but if you're curious about what I'll be doing, check out my previous post.

A Meme

I’ve been tagged with a meme by our wonderful cyber friend Larramie at Seize a Daisy. I'm afraid I won't be able to follow the rules and tag eight people because everybody I know on line has already been tagged, or tagged very recently. I'm a meme failure! Here are my eight things anyway:

1. I own every single episode of the X-Files on DVD and have watched them all multiple times.

2. I went through a phase where I read every book about serial killers that I found. I wanted to find some clue as to what made these people so different from everyone else. I never found any answers but my friends and family all told them I was creeping them out.

3. When I was 18 I sold Kirby vacuum cleaners. I’d go to houses and shampoo one room and the customer had to listen to a sales pitch. Part of the pitch involved me heading into the bedroom, stripping back the sheets and vacuuming the mattress to show the customer all the dead skin and microscopic skin mites in their bed. It got me a few sales to horrified housewives and it got me thrown out of a house once.

4. In the 5^th grade in Mrs. Helmsdorff’s class, we had to memorize the poem, Abu Ben Adhem. It’s the only poem I’ve ever memorized and I can still recite the whole thing.

5. Scott and I met through online dating. He found my profile and since he’s a painter, he was intrigued by my online screen name, ArtLover492. He later told me he loved my profile but the photo I had posted was horrible and he fully expected me to be hideous. One of the things I love about him is that he still wanted to meet. Fortunately, he said I looked nothing like the picture.

6. I went to 13 different schools between kindergarten and high school graduation. I was perpetually the new kid and was terribly insecure and self-conscious until my junior year in high school.

7. I worked at a metal stamping plant called United Shoe Machine that was known in the mill town where I lived as “The Shank Shop”. It was one of the more desirable employers in my blue collar town because the jobs were union. I “nested shanks”, ran a metal stamping machine, hung unpainted metal pieces onto hooks on a running conveyor and then removed them after the paint was sprayed on and baked (picture Lucy and Ethel in the candy making episode) and sharpened blades for Black and Decker edge trimmers.

8. I’ve grown up emotionally backwards. When I was young I was suspicious of everyone around me and was cynical about nearly everything. The older I get, the more I want to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. Despite all of the bad things that happen in the world every day, I think most people are trying to do the best they can.