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Archive for the ‘Everyday’ Category

Soft As A Downy Chick

Posted in Everyday, tagged , , on November 21, 2011| Leave a Comment »

We were finally graced with our first snowfall in Minnesota.  I know a lot of people feel like they were cheated out of a proper summer as winter was slow to leave last time around, but I’m once again feeling renewed and refreshed with the drifting flakes.

With this first snowfall I made the obligatory adjustment to our sleeping quarters to accommodate the forthcoming cold temperatures ~ flannel sheets.  And even better than that is the most cozy, warm, fluffy feather bed.  Trust me, when you have a feather bed you’ll have a hard time getting up on those dark, cold, snowy mornings, but the six to eight hours spent cuddled up in flannel sheets on a bedding of soft feathers is worth the agony of leaving it for your day.

As I was making up the winter bed, I couldn’t help but think of a song from my past.  If you’re from my era you’ll definitely remember the artist if not the song itself.  Help yourself to this uber nerdy blast from the past, and if you don’t already have one think about picking up a feather bed for yourself this winter.

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It Is Happening Again

Posted in Everyday, tagged , , on November 14, 2011| Leave a Comment »

The older I get the more I see the completeness of the circle of life. Most of the time we go about our business, earning our living, enjoying our friends and family. Sometimes life becomes so intense we don’t really know what to make of it. Emotions melt into each other to a point where we can’t even define what we’re feeling.

In the last week I’ve heard news of blossoming new life and have seen a living body become a nearly empty shell.  Through the happenings of these two opposite poles of life’s spectrum the rest of the world goes on, oblivious to the intensity of each event to a small number of people.

I can’t help but think of a scene from Twin Peaks where in a crowded bar Donna and James are falling in love and mourning at the same time.  Melancholy underlies bliss.  Agent Cooper personifies the conflict we all feel at times; he tries to put together the pieces of a mystery the same way we try to make sense of our lives.  The giant gives warning, the old man gives consolation, emotions give way.

Yeah, it’s all pretty heavy.  But life?  It is happening again…

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It’s That Time Again

Posted in Blogging, Everyday, tagged on October 27, 2011| Leave a Comment »

It’s not that hard to get a book published these days.  With self-publishing you don’t even need those pesky editors and publishers, not to mention agents.  I won’t go so far as to say this is a good thing because I’m one of those people who wants to read good books.  I have a little predjudice in that I figure if someone has to go through all the red tape of getting a book published (those pesky editors, publishers, and agents) the book must be good.  Not necessarily so.  It’s also not necessarily so that a self-published book is a bad one.

The bottom line isn’t about who publishes a book though, it’s about who writes it.  The hard part isn’t getting it published, it’s getting it written, or at least that’s what I believe.  I would bet a great majority of people have at least once in their lives fantasized about writing a book.  Picture it, sitting at an isolated mountain retreat with your laptop and a never-ending pot of coffee, typing away at The Great American Novel.  You can totally see yourself doing it.  The thing is, you need a plot, characters, and a beginning, middle, and end of a story.  That’s hard.

The people over at NaNoWriMo are here to help.  November is National Novel Writing Month and dozens (if not hundreds, nay thousands) of people join the challenge to write a 50,000-word novella in the span of thirty days.  It’s a blast, and if you register at NaNoWriMo you can commiserate and celebrate with your fellow novelists.  You don’t even need to be at a mountain retreat to do it!

I’m going to give it a shot again this year.  I completed a “novel” a couple of years ago and it stunk.  But I did it and I’m proud of the discipline I had.  Don’t try to find me on the NaNoWriMo site because like most good novelists I’m going to have a pseudonym.  Probably something like John Smith.  I’m even going to open up a new (and private) blog for storage of my literary work of art.

I know a couple of you out there who could whip out 50,000 words without a problem.  Quit making excuses ~ it requires less than 1700 words a day.  This post alone has over 350 words and it took me less than 20 minutes to write them.

Join me this coming Tuesday for the big kick-off.  NaNoWriMo will be glad to have you, and the world will be glad to have your novel.  NaNoWriMo begins November 1st.  As Nike says, “just do it!”

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The Guys And Their Big Trucks

Posted in Everyday on October 18, 2011| Leave a Comment »

It was a big day at the Auntie B’s Wax World Headquarters. Finally, at long last, The Guys came over to put in our new driveway.

The Guys made our house the exciting spot of the day.  The neighbors had to drive by slowly because of all the equipment and big trucks parked in front of our house.  At first I thought they might be cursing the vehicular clutter, but then figured they were green with envy, wishing they were the ones getting a new driveway.

Husby was having tons of fun watching The Guys do their job. He sat and watched, awestruck by the cool trucks and bobcats and said, “at times like this I’m just a three-year-old boy.”

I liked the board shoes. It was quite refreshing to see with all of that equipment one of The Guys slipped on the board shoes and manually stamped down on the asphalt. Oh sure, there was a big, loud mechanical stamper, as well as a heavy roller, but apparently stamping by foot while wearing board shoes is an important part of the process.

It was all quite exciting.  When The Guys finished the project they waved goodbye, climbed into their big trucks and drove off down the road.  For the rest of the day Husby and I found ourselves looking out the windows admiring our new driveway.  It doesn’t take much to make us smile.

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Comfy Cozy

Posted in Everyday on October 14, 2011| 3 Comments »

With my contribution to a candlemaking book I was asked to submit a brief biography of myself.  One of the things I said was “my favorite state of being is ‘cozy.'”  OK, it sounds kind of corny and they deleted that phrase at publication, but there is nothing more true about me.  Cozy is something I aspire to nearly every day.

I suppose what constitutes cozy is different for everyone.  Autumn and winter are my favorite seasons simply for the cozy factor.  What feels more snug than a heavy turtleneck sweater?  Comforting foods like beef stew, freshly baked bread and homemade cookies make a cold winter day welcome.

Shadows cast by a flickering candle.  A walk through the orchard followed by a warm, toasty apple turnover.  Flannel sheets.   Snuggling up with your sweetie and watching a really good movie.  Crispy leaves blowing across a country road.  A steaming cup of hot chocolate.

The world moves way too fast for me.  Lots of us are expected to put in way too many hours as unfulfilling jobs and technology urges us to remain in constant contact at all times at the speed of light.  Calendars are double booked.  Food is cooked with microwaves instead of fire, e-mail takes the place of a personally crafted hand-written note.  The pace and substance of our society are big inspirations to get cozy and remember what’s really important.

How will you get cozy?  Curl up in a comfy chair with a good book?  Wear your fuzzy slippers?  Maybe take a nap in the middle of the day?

However you choose, I hope your weekend is a cozy one.

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