It's been maybe 4 or 5 months now. After encountering a number of decidedly disquieting, unsavory and altogether eek-worthy individuals on Facebook, I made an sudden decision to close my account.
While there are many delightful, funny and enjoyable characters that I have to say I truly do...did... enjoy and miss on Facebook, the constant WARNINGS about spammers trying to 'hack' my account (what that would benefit any, I have no idea), growing numbers of 'PASS THIS ON' nonsense blurbs popping up on my page and messenger, and chain letters that promise all manner of misfortune and assorted horrors if not copied and dutifully inflicted upon large numbers of my 'friends' immediately, I just found I couldn't take it any longer.
After my 'unplugging,' so to say, life has been much calmer. I've had time to rediscover old hobbies and am remembering how much I enjoy them. Without the constant 'busy' of dozens and dozens of others' concerns, queries, conflicts and interests blowing through my brain like winds whipping a whirly-gig into a frenzy.
I've found the moments of peace to be quite wonderfully surprising.
The company and ideas of others has always been something I've enjoyed. But now, I find myself wondering if a person that has been described as extrovert and highly social all of her life can actually change into an introvert.
While I doubt anyone would ever mistake me for being shy or retiring, preferring the softer hum of only my own thoughts has been something of a surprise. Becoming more acquainted with the sense and flavor of my own company has, of late, been a path more agreeable...certainly one less traveled by me up to this point in my life.
I've come to believe it's a good thing, for me at least, to sit back away from the crowd and watch a distance...under a shade tree...with a book in hand or while feeling soft strands of yarn slip through my fingers on it's way to becoming something useful.
Sometimes stopping is the only way to get to where you most need to be.
Sunday, February 25, 2018
Saturday, July 22, 2017
Woah! It's been a while since I've posted here. Lots has happened...
Where should I start?
I've discovered, as time dances on in the mystical way that it does, so many possibilities bubbling to the surface. Things in life are more exciting than ever, it seems! Sometimes I feel like a magpie collecting precious things, shiny objects that suit me and my fancy ;)
I've taken up vaping! No kidding! And it's a whole new kettle of stars and delicious bits of fun. It's also a great way to use the CBD oil that's replaced the pharma drugs I used to use to control the pain and problems associated with the fibromyalgia condition with which my body deals).
Yarning... LOVE knitting and crocheting. I enjoy whipping up something small and useful usually.
Roller skating... Yes! It's true :) What a wonderful feeling, how could I have forgetten?! Pink roller skates (quads) and padded from head to foot, my body has been reteaching itself how to balance and glide on wheels again. Too much fun!!
Picked up a 3/4 sized guitar in a small shop in Colorado the other day. I love to 'try' to sing. As a young single mother, I taught myself to chord. On a cheap guitar I picked up for a song and a dance I entertained myself in my earlier days. I'd take the boys to the park to play then sit under the trees with my guitar and play and sing folk songs.
I still have the 4 or 5 stories I've started always floating around in my head. They swirl and skitter in and out of the shadows playing and teasing. When one gets close enough to the surface of my awareness, little bits are added, characters get filled out a little more, the storyline progresses, then it slips away. It's like petting a cat, one stroke, two... that's enough and it's off like a light.
Painting... Ah painting <3 It's my heart, painting. My go-to when I need to find myself or, at least, begin the search when I temporarily am mislaid. I've put down a couple faces through the use of oil and brush. There are several lined up waiting... They've spoken to me and want to come through me onto canvas. We'll find a place, a time soon to enter that create-space...
Then there's blogging. What's this all about, really? Such a curious thing. Isn't it?
What drives us (or some of us anyway) to need or want to write down or share this way? No matter, life has taken me to the place where I tend to trust what my instincts whisper in my ear. Maybe we write down our bits of life for posterity. Does our inner selves know something, we don't? Is our time on this planet, in this realm getting shorter? Or is it just part of being a human being that we organically reach out to other souls and want to connect?
Well, for whatever reason, It feels right to do... so doing it I am :)
So I think we're all caught up.
Peace, love, clarity, balance and more than anything joy to all who pass my way. Keep learning, keep seeking your best self. Talk to you sooner... or later :)
Where should I start?
I've discovered, as time dances on in the mystical way that it does, so many possibilities bubbling to the surface. Things in life are more exciting than ever, it seems! Sometimes I feel like a magpie collecting precious things, shiny objects that suit me and my fancy ;)
I've taken up vaping! No kidding! And it's a whole new kettle of stars and delicious bits of fun. It's also a great way to use the CBD oil that's replaced the pharma drugs I used to use to control the pain and problems associated with the fibromyalgia condition with which my body deals).
Roller skating... Yes! It's true :) What a wonderful feeling, how could I have forgetten?! Pink roller skates (quads) and padded from head to foot, my body has been reteaching itself how to balance and glide on wheels again. Too much fun!!
Picked up a 3/4 sized guitar in a small shop in Colorado the other day. I love to 'try' to sing. As a young single mother, I taught myself to chord. On a cheap guitar I picked up for a song and a dance I entertained myself in my earlier days. I'd take the boys to the park to play then sit under the trees with my guitar and play and sing folk songs.
I still have the 4 or 5 stories I've started always floating around in my head. They swirl and skitter in and out of the shadows playing and teasing. When one gets close enough to the surface of my awareness, little bits are added, characters get filled out a little more, the storyline progresses, then it slips away. It's like petting a cat, one stroke, two... that's enough and it's off like a light.
Painting... Ah painting <3 It's my heart, painting. My go-to when I need to find myself or, at least, begin the search when I temporarily am mislaid. I've put down a couple faces through the use of oil and brush. There are several lined up waiting... They've spoken to me and want to come through me onto canvas. We'll find a place, a time soon to enter that create-space...
Then there's blogging. What's this all about, really? Such a curious thing. Isn't it?
What drives us (or some of us anyway) to need or want to write down or share this way? No matter, life has taken me to the place where I tend to trust what my instincts whisper in my ear. Maybe we write down our bits of life for posterity. Does our inner selves know something, we don't? Is our time on this planet, in this realm getting shorter? Or is it just part of being a human being that we organically reach out to other souls and want to connect?
Well, for whatever reason, It feels right to do... so doing it I am :)
So I think we're all caught up.
Peace, love, clarity, balance and more than anything joy to all who pass my way. Keep learning, keep seeking your best self. Talk to you sooner... or later :)
Friday, January 20, 2017
Back Home and It's Nice to Be Home...
Yes, I've returned home from my travels and I'm raring to get back to writing!
Over the weeks on the road, I kept notes of what might make a 'good story.' There were dozens of ideas floating around in my head. Worried I wouldn't remember a great idea that struck at an odd time, I remembered something I'd heard Stephen King say.
He said something like, he never had a problem thinking of ideas, he had dozens every day, and didn't worry about not remembering a good one. He said the really good ones won't go away. They'll keep coming back and coming back until you write them down.
That was a reassuring note to remember, but I'm not Stephen King and I pretty much have a notebook full of scraps of ideas. Funny enough, he was right about the ones that end up being the ideas that start forming a story are the ones that just keep coming back.
And, the people you meet along the trail are a wonderful source of characters, from heroines to villains. It's all a learning process, isn't it?
Maybe we're not meant to be looking year after year for that 'one thing' that we're meant to do. But, what we're meant to be doing changes with us. As we change, what we need to be doing changes as well. Just a thought...
So right now, the paints and clay are being packed away and I'm working on three different stories. That might seem excessive, but it seems to be the way that works for me.
Hopefully, I'll have something completed by the end of summer. Well, that's what I'm pushing for anyway...
Over the weeks on the road, I kept notes of what might make a 'good story.' There were dozens of ideas floating around in my head. Worried I wouldn't remember a great idea that struck at an odd time, I remembered something I'd heard Stephen King say.
He said something like, he never had a problem thinking of ideas, he had dozens every day, and didn't worry about not remembering a good one. He said the really good ones won't go away. They'll keep coming back and coming back until you write them down.
That was a reassuring note to remember, but I'm not Stephen King and I pretty much have a notebook full of scraps of ideas. Funny enough, he was right about the ones that end up being the ideas that start forming a story are the ones that just keep coming back.
And, the people you meet along the trail are a wonderful source of characters, from heroines to villains. It's all a learning process, isn't it?
Maybe we're not meant to be looking year after year for that 'one thing' that we're meant to do. But, what we're meant to be doing changes with us. As we change, what we need to be doing changes as well. Just a thought...
So right now, the paints and clay are being packed away and I'm working on three different stories. That might seem excessive, but it seems to be the way that works for me.
Hopefully, I'll have something completed by the end of summer. Well, that's what I'm pushing for anyway...
My First Published Story...
I'm so excited!
I'm also honored to be listed alongside the 17 other talented writers of Tales and Trails: A Western Odyssey.
The book is a compilation of short stories and one of them is actually mine!
Yes, my name is actually TYPED in the index and not hand written on the inside cover next to THIS BOOK IS THE PROPERTY OF! Yes, I'm such a nerd and had to share this news ...
My story is about a young man who is found at the start of the story standing in a cold, damp woods after waiting all night for the morning light of dawn. A tortured young man who struggles to make peace with a decision made in the passion and torment of a lovers broken heart.
It's just been made available at:
I'm also honored to be listed alongside the 17 other talented writers of Tales and Trails: A Western Odyssey.
The book is a compilation of short stories and one of them is actually mine!
Yes, my name is actually TYPED in the index and not hand written on the inside cover next to THIS BOOK IS THE PROPERTY OF! Yes, I'm such a nerd and had to share this news ...
My story is about a young man who is found at the start of the story standing in a cold, damp woods after waiting all night for the morning light of dawn. A tortured young man who struggles to make peace with a decision made in the passion and torment of a lovers broken heart.
It's just been made available at:
Tuesday, August 23, 2016
Fiddling Around with Twitter...
Eight am, first cup of coffee, checking in with Facebook folks (I love those people!). Currently, life is pointed in the direction of improving whatever writing skills I possess...so much to learn! One of tools that seem most helpful is Facebook writing groups. Like running a relay where the baton passes from one to the next, I end up redirected to individual sites and blogs on specific topics-- how to write fantasy worlds, characters mainly. Then, Twitter pops up, which is a whole new bucket of worms for me.
Just to be honest here, I have no idea why we spend the time we do on Twitter, except for the way it connects you (in tiny, bite-sized thoughts) to people you've never met or talked to before who may or may not also share a particular passion or interest on a totally superficial way, what is it good for? I suppose if we didn't already have Facebook, it might make a little more sense.
There's just a lot of pros and cons when I really start thinking about it though... There's not enough space to give a complete thought, but then again, there's no 'content police' that decides whose conversations, among your friends and followers/ed, you will get to read.
Ten am, second cup of coffee coming up, I'm tired of looking for the cool Blogger template I found on an amazing Blogger site I found and saved to 'favorites' just a minute ago and have decided to talk to my stark white Blogger page for a bit.
Well, time to get on with it, go pick up Gypsy from the RV doctor. Leaving for a trip to Lake Erie in a few days. Dropping my sister-in-law off at relatives for a visit then I'm heading further north to wander, read, write and visit a dear friend of years on Facebook. She's become a really special person to me even though we've never met. Yeah!
Hope it's a good day for all. Love and Blessings
Just to be honest here, I have no idea why we spend the time we do on Twitter, except for the way it connects you (in tiny, bite-sized thoughts) to people you've never met or talked to before who may or may not also share a particular passion or interest on a totally superficial way, what is it good for? I suppose if we didn't already have Facebook, it might make a little more sense.
There's just a lot of pros and cons when I really start thinking about it though... There's not enough space to give a complete thought, but then again, there's no 'content police' that decides whose conversations, among your friends and followers/ed, you will get to read.
Ten am, second cup of coffee coming up, I'm tired of looking for the cool Blogger template I found on an amazing Blogger site I found and saved to 'favorites' just a minute ago and have decided to talk to my stark white Blogger page for a bit.
Well, time to get on with it, go pick up Gypsy from the RV doctor. Leaving for a trip to Lake Erie in a few days. Dropping my sister-in-law off at relatives for a visit then I'm heading further north to wander, read, write and visit a dear friend of years on Facebook. She's become a really special person to me even though we've never met. Yeah!
Hope it's a good day for all. Love and Blessings
Sunday, July 3, 2016
A New Kind of Neighborhood
Tinkling laughter of a young girl wafts through my screen door and catches my attention.
Moving out onto the lawn with my camera, I asked her if I could take her and her puppies picture. She was being pulled along down the paved street in front of my RV by a 4 lb, tiny little dog on a blue leash.
She said, "Sure," and slowed allowing the excited puppy to come over to me. Looking up to the couple, looked like parents, not far behind her, they smiled and nodded consent and we visited a while.
As the family moved on down the street, across the way I could hear the relaxed conversation and quiet laughter of a group of ladies gathered in a circle of lawn chairs.
They were talking and drinking from a pitcher of cold tea on the center table. Needles danced between busy hands as bright colored yarns zipped up from bags at their feet--the park knitting, social circle no doubt.Down a few spaces, a small group is gathering, putting out lawn chairs, setting up tables. Looks like there's going to be a barbecue for the Fourth celebration. Four or five adults and a couple of kids playing with a dog on neatly manicured green lawn, portable pet fences corral dogs of all sizes on every other space. Most dogs seemed accustomed to the routine and have settled into cushions under trees. It’s a happy, homey scene.
Moving toward the rear storage of my RV for my own lawn chair I was met two small chihuahuas straining on leashes pulling their people behind them. A magnificent backdrop of purple and gray mountains. Trees, blue skies, friendly neighbors (who always pick up after their pets…well, because there is no choice and sometimes that’s a good thing ;)
I love playing with other peoples babies, you get all the fun stuff and kisses and when the funs over Mom and Dad gets to take them home ;).
We visited for almost an hour about this and that, dogs and parks, TV shows and favorite cities. Felt like visiting with old friends, then they continued on their way and I set up my table and chair, planning for my outdoor dinner tonight.
I just have to say, I’ve met more neighbors in the 4 weeks I’ve been RVing than in all the 30 years I lived in my brick and mortar home. I don’t know why that is, I’ve heard others say similar things. Probably because life has because so insular, we don’t feel the need to get outside.
Anyway, it’s like I’m finding myself a part of a large new tribe. It’s a friendly group. There’s an unspoken code that requires respect of those around you. It’s a pretty simply thing really. The members of this tribe are the sort of people who love their independence and also love being in nature.
They don’t mind bucking the system—the standard—at least for short amounts of time and as they can get away with it. They seem quite an eclectic gathering of wanderers and unique individuals but always courteous and friendly. Oh I’m sure there’s the odd duck that didn’t get the memo, but it seems that’s a rare occurrence. One reason might be because folks like that seem to have no desire to seek the solitude and comfort of nature or meet new people, I suppose.
Warm today, the 4th of July, 2016, almost 73 degrees in Shelton, WA, and the sun is out. The extended canopy on the side of my small RV gives the shade I need to cover the table and portable grill. I popped in the DVD to see if it actually works. Tonight is the first use of the outside TV screen. We didn’t ask for it when we ordered our rig, but it was standard. ‘Nightlife’ will be the movie playing tonight. Thankfully my headphones came with an extension (the code, you know).
Four weeks and 3 days living in my 23’ Thor Compass RV. I’m loving it. The longer I live in it, the more it seems to mold itself to my needs. Just today I’ve discovered a way to have a tiny office for my humble attempts at writing. I just fold up my bed to access the couch under it and erect the little table. Voila!
Now, looking out of my office/bedroom window, I’m greeted by a beautiful garden scene with a
My intention is to live 6 months on the road in my RV and 6 months in the brick and mortar home I share with my husband and 2 cats in Oklahoma. It feels like the perfect balance. Hope to see some of you on the road or in places between.
Saturday, July 2, 2016
Little Creek Casino RV Park
Plugged in and set up. Cleaned house, grabbed my computer bag and hung out in nice lobby of the hotel... Sweet ☺️😄
Doing a series of short stays, 5 days here, then 4 days in Paradise park also in WA, then Pacific City, Wa for 3 days.
I'm getting to see several parks while I'm here. Plan to come back next year and stay longer per stay at the ones I like best.
This little park is the only one that is't a Thousand Trails (TT) park, so it probably won't be one I return to. I have a membership with TT. I pay a yearly fee, then I can stay at any of their couple hundred parks for no more than 21 day at a time as many times a year as I want to. Pretty sweet deal.
It's pretty here and all but I think I might like to burrow in
someplace soon. i'd like to get to know some folks a little, maybe some
full-timers in the area.
I am looking forward to taking a writing workshop in Pacific City though. I'll only be in Pacific City for 3 days but after that I'll have 13 days in Long Beach. Really looking forward to that!
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