Let the sun shine in!

Shrinking walls of snow re-energize me, especially when the sun shines on the frozen lake so brilliantly! It's been a lethargic period of time for me; no energy. Then I feel guilty that I'm not accomplishing anything. Why is it that a first born kid never gets rid of the guilt of not achieving? I could have been a catholic for all the guilt I harbor. I've been spending days doing a jigsaw puzzle and reading...remembering Dad telling me to "get your face out of that book and go outside!" Well, reading is another world for me...what a great escape when I'm discontent with the present. Grayness darkens my mood...let the sun shine in!

Snowy days to write short stories

This is January, a month of ENDLESS SNOW! I'm aching from shoveling the driveway daily with my new scoop shovel...it's faster and easier, but..........it's LOTS of WORK! Give me time to think about constructing a short story with a new character...I'm tired of my old characters. I want fresh blood in my shorts! New class starts Wednesday on "Crafting the short story" which I'm quite excited about. We'll be studying short stories by several authors, then trying to employ their techniques in crafting characters and settings. It's going to be motivation and FUN! Writers will gather in my family room around the cozy blue Austrian stove, write, discuss and indulge in coffee and sweet treats.

WHITEOUT!

It's another WHITEOUT! I can't see across Carmen's Bay! My daughter Kate from Mexico City and her CA college pal Shanna plan to attend the Viking game today looking like snowmen in their layers of insulated, warm clothing, boots, scarves, mittens and hats. What a disaster: the metrodome's roof collapsed! Brett Farve (Shanna's hero) is injured! Another blizzard in MN! Game is being player outdoors in the falling 8" of snow! TV will be just like black and white TV of the 1950's...all we'll see is SNOW, SNOW, & more SNOW! What a memorable day!

St Lucia Day arrives Dec. 13th

Tree is up, decorated, but no smell...it's a fake, but lovely. No worries about fires, watering, drying out...all that mess. Best part of decorating is refinding the kids' Christmas ornaments they made in nursery school and grade school. Also, my Luther friend Ginger has made at least four or five handmade, stitched ornaments celebrating friendship. THAT'S SPECIAL!

St Lucia Day is approaching on December 13th! My annual party with neighbors and pals wearing THEIR UNIQUE versions of a Lucia crown are absolutely hilarious! It'll be such fun! And the Scandinavian goodies top off the day beautifully, tho they're sure to add pounds...ah, well, this the season!

It's coming fast! I'm really looking forward to being with the Sunnyside group of gals from Luther College. Wonder how much we've all changed in the two years since we've been together. In my mind, we're still the svelte, cute coeds of the 60's giggling and horsing around as we anticipate graduating and separating for years.

But we've stayed in contact! Amazing, as we weren't close friends with everyone who comes to the gathering. I hope we'll talk about our lives, what we've encountered, our marriages, our aspirations for the future. Now that we've all 65 and older, what will we look forward to ; what do we want to accomplish?

Gals, bring book suggestions of good reads! How about starting a newsletter for Sunnysiders? With email we could easily post news and keep up with each other's current status.

Hugs

Today I'm wondering: where do you get your most satisfying hugs? Who or what does it for you? Are hugs more meaningful from a spouse, a pal, a teddybear, from a deep thinking discussion...or, does a glass of wine of a piece or two of chocolate do it for you?

I'd like to know where the best hugs come from?

how do i create a new article?

how do i create a new article

Posting a new article today about my fall writing class beginning Sept 29, 10 AM, for 4 weeks. Topic is "Short Shorts", works of 1000 words or less. Writers will work on "choice" works which will impact their work and create an emotional response from readers. The perfect example is Hemingway's 6 word entry
For Sale
baby shoes
never worn

Doesn't that elicit suprise, a jolt, sadness....wonder?

I'd like to help writers achieve those effects with their poems, essays, short stories...
When I heard Tim O'Brien speak about writing (Into the Lake of the Woods, The Things They Carried ) I was struck with the the power of a single word and its effect on a sentence/ paragraph. Concise impact of a written work is what writers will hope to achieve in this fall writing workshop.

If you're interested in participating, just email pat at writerscircle@q.com and I will supply more information. Classes are kept small; we're almost at our limit enrollment today. Thanks for reading.