On this date...

Facebook reminds me of snippets I posted on this date through the years...

2012

 I am love, love, lovin' the cooler, lighter, fresher weather today.  

Ahhh...  It is so lovely.

…

 “The three hardest tasks in the world are neither physical feats nor intellectual achievements, but moral acts: to return love for hate, to include the excluded and to say, “I was wrong.” 

       ~ Sydney J Harris

…

 Two & a half months & I've just discovered a disadvantage of living in a teeny tiny place.  There's no place to get away from the sound of a creepy movie.  Thank goodness for headphones!!!

…

 I might have figured out why that little piece of leftover caramel & chocolate candy bar tastes different.  Maybe onions had been stored in that Glad box in a former life.  Hmmm…

…

 I've been preparing to be ready to start thinking about changing…

… the lyrics to a song.

… by the Ragbirds, a Michigan band.

… one of those lines that can seem exaggerated for emphasis, but which comes really close to the truth.

 

2013

"I feel a deep connection to you based on the books I saw on your bookshelf."

Meme source: The Well Written Woman

2014

Nice night. 

Dinner with dear friends.

Then our old tradition of ice cream snack before bed with my big brother... 

2015

Just a lovely spot we found along a little one-way street. A lovely spot indeed.

(Read more about this fun day.)

2016

I attended a nearby writers' group again last night - for my second time.

On my first visit I had heard about Lois, the 103-year-old poet who often attends - so I was thrilled when she showed up this time.  What a delightful person!  However she no longer writes poetry because she can't see - so she has switched to writing stories.  I love it!

2021

 Word of the day:  tohubohu

[ toh-hoo-boh-hoo ] 

noun

chaos; disorder; confusion.

…

Oh, my; what a fun and funny word.

But not fun to have too much tohubohu.

...

Friend Diane comments: I love that word! Our pastor uses it in his sermons.

...

Me: really? I had never heard it before.

…

 "The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts.”         - Bertrand Russell

25, 50, 75, 100

Today I think about numbers.

I notice numbers.

Numbers often feel significant to me.

Dates, anniversaries, birthdays, goals set and accomplished.

This year we celebrate some nice round numbers in our family.

25, 50, 75, 100!

Our first born marks those first two numbers - last month with 25 years of marriage and next month turning 50.  I suppose it is natural for parents to feel old when our kids celebrate such milestones, but Stacy has always been an old soul exhibiting at least the first two descriptors of that term - maturity and understanding - of someone much older so I am already accustomed to her seeming like more like my peer.

One week from today marks 100 years for my amazing mother-in-law, Betty.  I’ve met only a few centenarians, and have been blessed to know this special one for more than half of that century.

But back to today…

Today we celebrate 

Betty’s son

Stacy’s dad

... on his 75th.

What a guy!!!

Bob the builder

... and re-builder

Teacher

Mentor

Artist

Photographer

Musician

Camper

Adventurer

Husband

Dad 

Foster dad

Grandpa

… and so much more!

I am so glad I have had the privilege to walk beside this dear man for so many of those years.  I could not have imagined how good this journey could be.  

Happy birthday, Bob.

Alternatives to NaNoWriMo

So you’ve thought about NaNoWriMo but are not sure it’s for you?

You are in good company.  Lots and LOTS of people want to do it, but are afraid they can’t make it happen.  Lots of others have tried but didn’t make it to the finish line.

Or maybe you wanted to do it this year, but feel like it's too late to start.

Or maybe you did start, but it's just not coming together.

Never fear; there are alternatives to NaNoWriMo.

Don’t believe me?  Just keep reading!

I have somehow stumbled upon a plethora of articles about such alternatives - three, five, six, or nine of them, in fact.  Take your pick!

Here are a few samples to whet your “alternatives appetite.”  

…

Should you do NaNo?

• by Ellie Betts

Ellie swings back and forth between pros and cons… concluding with:  You know what?  Why not?  She speaks of her own NaNo attempt - and admits that failing NaNoWriMo was one of the best things that ever happened to her as a writer.

…

3 Alternatives to NaNoWrimo

• written by Emily Wenstrom
• presented by Joe Bunting at The Write Practice

Emily shares 3 catchy ideas that might work better for you:

1. Round of words in 80 days
2. 52 week short story challenge - inspired by Ray Bradbury who famously stated: It’s not possible to write 52 bad stories in a row.
3. Continuous Creation Challenge

…

Five alternatives to NaNoWriMo

• by Carrie Rembrandt

Writers don’t have to be novelists.

There is writerly life beyond novel writing!

1. The Notebook Project: One notebook, cover to cover, in 30 days
2. National Blog Posting Month: 30 blogs, 30 days.  I’ve discovered there are all kinds of these challenges and have actually participated in 31 Amazing Days - 31 because it was for the month of October.
3. Academic Writing Month  - Set your own goals based on these rules.  
4. Digital Writing Month 
5. Become a NaNo rebel - Actually NaNoWriMo organizers have set up an official forum devoted to NaNo rebels - for those writing non-fiction.

…

6  Alternatives to NaNoWriMo

• Dot and Dash

Sure enough, here’s one with SIX alternatives - although a few of them overlap with the previous article.

… and finally…

9 Alternatives to NaNoWriMo

Again, several overlaps with the articles above including poetry, blogging, and literary journals. Lots of fun stuff!

...

So there you go.  Lots of really cool options for you to try if you think that NaNoWriMo is too much.  Maybe you can tweak one of these to make your very own best version.

Images courtesy of National Novel Writing Month.

A day in the life...

Have I ever mentioned that I love Facebook memories?!?

Yep, I do.

And it's not just the exotic beach vistas.

Sometimes it's the exotic laundry facilities.

Other times it's the gratitude at finding internet access!

And some times it is being reminded of some particularly wise words of wisdom...

On this date, January 23, through the years we were...

2013  -  living at the Cove, El Frances, Samana, D.R.

 Wow! Internet again! Two days in a row. Wait; three times in two days! That won't be the pattern, I'm sure. But my neighbor with a car needed to get online for an hour so she invited me to come again. Yippee!!!

 Looks like I won't have time to post much this time - mostly just catch up on what's happening back home.

…

 After getting dropped off in town yesterday, we found a nice little French restaurant, a place to rent a four-wheeler - which we will probably do sooner than later, a little shop where I shall return to buy a huge cool tote bag, the supermercado, and then we successfully caught a gua-gua back to the cove. A very successful day.

2014  -  living at Kenney Grove County Park in Fillmore, CA

Mostly from the fruit stands out on the highway. I'm so excited about them.

2015  -  living in a campground on Dauphin Island, Alabama

Overheard at the monthly potluck at the campground: 

Those old people like to dance!!!

Celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Tater Tot. It's what's for dinner.

And...

We finally stopped at the bakery here on the island. Oh, my. Bacon bread and cinnamon rolls are good enough to eat. Oh, yah. Cheese Danish awaits evaluation.

2016 - living in Las Galeras, Samana, D.R.

(Walked 2.15 miles along the beach and to town)

'Twas a good walk. Until the dogs! Puppies first. Very aggressive puppies. Stuck with me all the way along the beach! And then bigger dogs. Not fun to deal with. But then things got better when I got to the boulangerie. A great selection, my reward for getting there so early. Mmmmmm.... How about one with chocolate for mi esposo and maybe some flan for me? Si. S'il vous plaît. Exquisite.

…

Well, I think that's the first time I've ever had to de-snag my drying laundry from the cactus plants growing nearby.

2019 - living in a house in Flint, Michigan

 Philip Yancey of his grandmother: She left me the gift of grace, which I can never repay. Because it was grace, she never made me feel I had to.

Amazing Day #2: Resources galore

I remember the day when the nearest Kmart was an hour away. Going to the city was a big event and it didn’t happen very often.  I also remember when Kmart came to a nearby town and then Walmart - still 20 or 30 miles away.  Even McDonald’s came to our town - which was nearly 10 miles from home.  Even then I would rarely choose to go to town for just one item because it hardly seemed worth the trip.  The shopping list might get pretty long before we would venture into town.  This tendency probably came from the stock-up mentality of my childhood.

And then I remember living on Dauphin Island and having to drive to the mainland for our serious grocery shopping.  We made the trip as rarely as possible.

But now…  Oh, my.  We have ALL of them within five miles of our house - Walmart, Meijer, Target - not to mention pretty much every fast food and chain restaurant known to man.  Incredible!  Amazing.  

And it’s not just the chain stores and restaurants.  There are also historical diners which we are still discovering like the one we tried today.  The West Side Diner offers an old-time atmosphere while serving yummy fresh food right now, today.  

And here’s the thing.  These are the places within five miles that we can drive to - BESIDES all the wonderful things within a mile that we can walk to!  That is something that I love and which provides me lots of amazing days!  I bet I’ll write about some of them in the next few days!

...

So, yes, today is an amazing day.

We were able to pick up supplies at the big modern supermarket and the home improvement center and then step back in time to meet friends for lunch at the diner.  

Pretty amazing.

...

Read other posts from this challenge here

Amazing Day #1: Bike-riding

We rode our bikes today - about 6.5 miles.
A simple thing, but amazing.  Amazing for lots of reasons.  For example I had not ridden a bike in nearly 40 years and didn't suppose I ever would again. But here I am riding again.  I marvel at the wonderfulness of that fact. 
  

This town has lots of biking opportunities - including a Thursday night party ride.  Hubby has gone a couple times but I don't think I'm up to it.  So... yesterday he brought the party ride to me - by taking me to some of the places they went last week.  It was so fun to ride in new territory and to discover new things about our city.  

AND we stopped at our daughter's house for a few minutes!  Who knew that I would ever be able to do such a thing?!?  Not only to be able to ride a bike again but also to be able to bike to a daughter's house.  Now that's amazing!

...

Read other posts from this challenge here

Take the challenge: 31 Amazing Days

Facebook just reminded me of something cool I did during October five years ago.

At that time I accepted the 31 Amazing Days challenge and blogged about it each day. 

Maybe I’ll do that again.

Anybody else wanna’ join me?

It’s really quite simple.

Basically just notice something amazing - or instigate something amazing - every day. 

I might try to post about it here each day.

I’d love to have you come along. 

If you are, please tell me in the comments.

... 

You can follow along with this year's challenge here.

Amazing Day Number 31: Amazing indeed

The last amazing day
No, wait; I hope that’s not true.
Try that again.

The last of the amazing days...
Of the 31-day challenge, that is...

When I decided to take this challenge, I guessed that I may not have the energy or the creativity to “make amazing things happen” but I hoped that I would begin to notice the amazing things around me. Sure enough; that was true. I didn’t make many amazing things happen; I simply learned to focus on some of the amazing and wonder-filled happenings right there in front of my eyes. Most of the amazing things that I’ve written about were not to my credit; I was not the catalyst. I was simply the observer, the celebrant.

By the way, a few of the things that I noticed were not what I would call “amazing good” – as in warm, fuzzy, wonderful things, but some of them were “shake-my-head-in-amazement" sad or disappointing or scary. They were things that made me wonder how people (including me) could be so thoughtless or selfish.

On the other hand there were also a few things that made me shake my head in wonder and astonishment about how unfathomable certain things on this planet are to my relatively small mind. They made me realize that I do not indeed “know it all” nor do I have things under control and, for the most part, that’s okay. I do not need to know it all – which is a great relief really – nor do I need to control everything and everyone. Well, except for the things that I should control – which I can/should/will keep trying to whip into shape, but which are quite few in number. Life is much easier and more pleasant for me and those around me when I stop trying to control things that are none of my business. Perhaps this 31-day practice of noticing the amazing stuff will be one more step in letting go of that inappropriate control. Now that would be amazing!

…

Disclaimer: To my credit, this is not my first time to realize that I am not the God of the universe nor is it my first attempt to relinquish control of things that are not in my department, but hopefully it has been a good reminder. And as for those things that ARE my responsibility, things that I SHOULD get under control, things that I AM in charge of… this has also been an ongoing process. So I choose to celebrate those areas where I am making good strides toward getting those things in order. And I commit to continue that noble effort.

…

Yes, these have been amazing days, days filled with amazing things. If I had not taken this challenge, I have to wonder how many of them I would have missed.

What a grand way this is to live, to notice and celebrate the amazing-ness all around me!
What if I were able to continue noticing and celebrating?
What if my eyes would be wide open in wonder more of the time?
That would indeed be amazing.