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Short Stories, Poetry, NaNo, Ideas & Articles about writing. |
| Short Stories, Poetry, NaNo, Ideas & Articles about writing. https://elfindragonlisag.blog |
| It's a very sad thing when a relative dies. It's an even sadder thing to have to watch (even if from afar) their slow deterioration before their finality. This is what's happening to my grandmother (my father's mother) who's seen 92 years thus far. It's only been this past year in which she's finally started to succumb to that tyrant age. I have been very luck in that I've known all four of my grandparents and a couple of great-grandparents in my (on the 15th) 45 years of life. My 2nd husband even got to meet my father's parent before my grandfather passed. My family has strong ties in that we believe in trying to stay as close as possible though we live several states apart. I suppose that's why I've been able to grow up knowing my grandparents. There were other reasons too, but mostly the first. But it also makes it hard to say goodbye to them, especially when you know the circumstances of their passing. My mother's mom was the first. I will only say it was not pleasant and my grandfather sold the house they had lived in for more than 50 years because of it. He did re-marry though. My father's dad was the next and also difficult. He'd been suffering from Parkinson's for a long time and in the end my grandmother decided to have him die at home with hospice so family could be around him. Of course then was my mother's dad. He also suffered from Parkinson's as well as Hodgekins. Fortunately his passing seemed more peaceful and more at ease. Now, as I know my grandmother is coming to the last part of her years (as we all must) I only pray her passing comes as a gentle whisper in the night. She has lived such a full and robust life. Always taking care of others as well as being an artist in her own right, though she'd never dare to admit it. I'm proud to own a couple of her paintings. I've talked to different members of my family and it seems they're all planning to try and travel to see her during the holidays. I only wish my health were good enough to do so. I'm not sure which trip would kill me first, the one there or the one back.  Don't get me wrong, I love her dearly. I just got off the phone with her and we have similar circumstances when it comes to "good" days and "bad" days at the moment. Although she's having more bad ones than good ones. But we're both of the same mind, traveling to see someone when they're not well, or when you're not well, is of no use to the person you're seeing. Or at least that's how she feels  She'd rather see you having fun than see you staring at her falling asleep because she has no energy. That's just how she is. I love my grandmother. I'll miss her much when the time comes. But for now I'll thank God she's still here and on her good days I'll give here a jingle and we'll talk til dawn. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| I know October is the month where everyone seems to get into what they call the "Halloween Spirit". But for me it's something entirely different and I just thought I'd share why because not everyone has the same viewpoint. My birthday is October 15th. Now you might think I'd be happy about the fact, in truth I'm not. I grew up in a very "Christian" home. We didn't celebrate Halloween. No trick-or-treating, no costume parties, no decorating the house; it just wasn't done. You might think I missed it and though my parents cruel, I didn't. I understood perfectly the reasons why. Halloween was not a celebration of Christ, it's the complete opposite. It was originally created to keep the "ghouls & goblins" away from your home. The jack-o-lanterns to scare ghosts away. Bible teaches to have faith in God, not to believe in the occult. So, this is how I grew up. And when I left my parents house? I kept those values. When I started working I let people know they're welcome to decorate anywhere but my area. If asked why, I told them. Sure, many think I'm a bid off my rocker but I let them. I believe that if we are to stay true to ourselves part of that is to stay true our faith. Our basic belief system has been slowly gutted by small things until people simply accept them. And one of them is Halloween. So the month of October causes me grief for everywhere I turn I'm reminded of the fact I live a very different life from everyone else. I'm reminded by everyone I work with (and often must remind them) that I don't celebrate the way they do. It becomes a very stressful month. Even if my birthday is in it. And I'm usually glad when it's over. Now I know I'm only one person among very few. And I'm certainly not going to make a fuss over all the goings on for Halloween stories and poems. Shoot, even I love a good scary story now and then. Even if it is a ghost story. I appreciate them. I simply want a voice to be heard in regards to how others such as myself have been raised and what we believe. I thank those who have read this and have not turned a frown towards me. Please practice safe measures with your children if you are going out. I only wish you the best. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| Can you believe it? An advantage to moving? Yeah, I thought it was a crazy idea at first too, but now that I'm looking around this small space I'm going to be calling home; I'm thinking it's not such a crazy idea after all. What idea am I talking about? The idea of organization and downsizing, well mostly the organization part. Think about it. We all collect stuff over the years of our lives. We hold onto collectibles, clothes, and momentoes of where we've been like they're going out of style. Don't say you haven't done it! I know you have, even if it's something as small as, say, those shot glasses or collectible spoons? Or even a T-shirt which says what state you were in? Yep, it's a terrible habit and sad to say I'm on the borderline of hoarding. Oh not like you see on TV where it's stack to the rafters (well almost), but I do have a bad habit with books, games, music, knick knacks (especially if they're horses, unicorns, pegesus, etc), swords, and movies. Well, you get the idea. Anyway, so when I became divorced last year knew I would be moving early this year, (I lived in a house and hubby washed his hands of the whole deal and said, "do what you want with it all") I knew I had to get rid of a lot of stuff. Especially since almost half of it really wasn't mine. I mean, I like John Wayne but not enough to keep the entire collection of John Wayne films. I'm more of a Clint Eastwood person. But I did keep at least 2 John Wayne films, my favorite being "The Quiet Man". But long story short on this part is I had one large garage sale and what didn't sell went to Goodwill and what they didn't take got hauled away. Unfortunately, I still had a lot of stuff to sift through. When you've built up 45 years of stuff you have to think hard on what's necessity, what you want to store for later use and what you can do without, especially when you're not sure of where you're moving to. My biggest plan was moving to Tucson where my Parents lived so I could be closer to them. Mind you, I was definitely NOT moving in with them. I knew when I got to Tucson I could ask the VA for housing assistance, but I first had to get there. So the object of looking at what I could store for later use was a necessity. The advantage of knowing you're going to move into a smaller space is knowing you have to get rid of large furniture items, especially if they're older pieces, and coming to grips with the fact that if you move into a larger space later on it will be better to simply buy new or gently used stuff. There were only a few items of furniture which were kept my ComfortAire California King bed (if anyone has one they'll know why I kept it); a matching set solid oak China Hutch, solid oak table & chairs (these are almost as old as I am); a solid wood coffee table (the kind with a cubboard underneath, my father-in-law put tiles on top for easy cleaning); 2 matching solid wood in-tables; a solid wood bedroom dresser; and last a wood toy chest my brother's first wife's mother made for me. And my parents gave me a sewing cabinet my dad made when I was about 4 which holds my sewing machine and has a bench with drawers in it; as well as a very nice wood night-stand. I know, it sounds like a lot, but in truth it really isn't. The only furniture items left in storage at the moment are the dining room table & chairs (they obviously won't fit in my studio apartment), one of the in-tables, and the coffee table. It's amazing what you can fit into a studio when you measure it out before putting the furniture in. The problem has been the boxes holding al the other stuff. You know, dishes, electronics, video game equipment, pots & pans, cookbooks, crafts. Not to mention what's still over at my parents & in storage for me to go through. My nephews, good intentions aside, just threw everything into boxes when I moved without marking them properly. So it's a big guessing game as to where some things are . But I do have the majority of things.Ok, Now onto the other reason why moving is an advantage. Because I've moved into a studio apartment, and it's just me here and no one else, I've found that I don't need as much stuff! Isn't that amazing. While I'm going through the boxes I'm unpacking, I'm finding that some of the items I've packed I can now either donate to other people or simply throw away because it's useless. For example: My ex- loved to cook and had tons of bakeware and other cookware. Now I had thought the majority of it had gone the way of the garage sale or to Goodwill already, but some of it had found itself into my moving boxes. So, I figured out what I would need and then found out I had a new neighbor who would love to have it and gave it to her. One less large box and more space in my cupboards and pantry. I'm also finding the ability to re-organize everything. I'm not just a writer but an artist and craft person so I need a lot of room for such things. Of course a studio doesn't have a lot of room so, re-organizing is the key. Today I bought a box to hold all my drawing supplies and my old box will hold all my painting supplies. Another problems solved and less space taken up. Now all I need to do is figure out how to do the same with my sewing projects.  Well, as you can see, moving has been quite an experience for me and I just wanted to share with you what I've been learning through it all. Hopefully you can apply some of it when you next move. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| It's a sad note which brings me here today. The above title may have some (or many) of you raising eyebrows and giving questioning glances my way. But yes, over this past week I've found that moving can be hazardous to one's health in more ways than one. We'll start with the simple fact that I have a lot of stuff which has taken up 2 small storage units. A total of 24 years of marriage to 2 different gentlemen and another 21 years of life will do that. And I will tell you I gave a lot of it away before I moved to my current location, so 2 storage units is actually pretty darn good. Now the unfortunate thing with the storage units is that when I moved to my current location my helpers (my brother, one of his sons, 2 of his sons friends) were in such a rush they refused to listen to me, my mother and my father on how the moving truck was to be packed as well as how the left over boxes and furniture were to be packed. Thus, in the end, both storage units were packed in a "willy-nilly" sort of way and things I would need immediately were difficult to locate. But we got through the first small move with only a little shouting. Now, the second half. I'm now able to move into a studio apartment. (I've been living in a WIC shelter due to finances) So here's one more move within 6 months. Luckily I didn't have my brother and his "Tasmanian Devil" attitude to deal with. This time I could move what few items I had at the shelter over little by little and my father and a friend would move all the furniture from the storage units and what other items with a moving truck all at once. And I would be the lead person calling the shots. It worked really good. We got the truck, went to the storage units, got the furniture out, decided what I needed for the studio, decided what I would give to Salvation Army (because I really couldn't keep all that furniture) and got all the boxes I needed for the studio. Then last, but not least, we made sure everything was in one storage unit. YEAH! I knew we could do it.! Next we drove to Salvation Army (my dad wanted me to make sure they didn't give away something I needed), then we drove to the studio. By this time my body was already feeling the toll but things had to be put in the studio. I'm sure the majority of you know that a studio apartment is not a very big place. If you have big item furniture, you really have to measure out your place and your furniture before it goes in or you're in big trouble. My little studio is not just a square place. It's got a nice little alcove right next to the kitchen. Just big enough to add one piece of furniture and for me it's a china hutch. It's a two piece, solid oak, beautiful stained piece, about as old as I am and has a matching dining room table with chairs. (yes they're about as old as I am as well; all standing the test of time well). Now, of course the studio is too small for the table & chairs but at least I can utilize the hutch. (The table & chairs are still in storage) The little alcove is also home to a homemade toy chest which holds all my board games. But on to the hard part of all this moving furniture about. The main living area is holding a California King Comfortaire Bed, a dresser, a sewing table, a nightstand and one end table. Eventually it will also have some sort of loveseat or recliner but that area is currently taken up by a wall full of boxes. The hardest part of all this? The bed. It's not something you can just throw on a bed frame and then put your bed sheets on. You actually have to put it together from the bottom up. It's like one giant puzzle. But once you put it together, ah heaven awaits! Bliss for the sore back. Ug but not for me yet, there's still more for me to do. I have to find the sheets! And it's getting late, so I'll come back tomorrow. So tomorrow is here and I'm so sore every joint is complaining at me. I'm glad I live on the bottom floor. My ankles and knees wouldn't make the climb and I'm leaning on my cane like an old woman. I get through three boxes today. One of them is the sheets for the bed, the other quilts and pillows. Another towels. So now my bed is made and ready for me but it took way too much out of me to make the bed. Why? I have trouble bending and kneeling. And it hasn't helped that for the past four days I've been on my feet toting boxes from car to studio. And the bed wasn't quite in the right place. The nightstand which was to be placed beside it was against the opposite wall with boxes on top of it. So, of course, I had to move the boxes, move the bed, move the nightstand, then move the bed again so it was against the nightstand. (this was because I needed as much room as possible on the other side of the bed) The result of all this moving is one extremely pained leg, two pained knees, one pained back, and one generally tired person. Now if you've stayed with me thus far I will tell you the last thing I had to do before I left the studio today was take out the trash. You know, break the few boxes down and put them in the trash bins. Never in my life has it been so difficult to do so simple a task. It seemed that every aspect of every ailment I have was working against me. All I wanted to do was stop and go home but I couldn't leave the boxes in the courtyard, that would be irresponsible of me. So I finished my task, made sure there was nothing which couldn't wait until tomorrow in the studio, locked up, then left. Never so glad to get somewhere and lay down. I'm only writing this to warn others when they move, especially if they have medical issues as I do. Take your time, don't rush. Perhaps even stretch some muscle before lifting those boxes. Take a walk around the block for a few days in advance if you're not used to doing a lot of walking. If you know you're moving to a place where you're not on the ground floor, start using the stairs where you work. Get yourself used to the idea. And remember when lifting; lift with your knees, not your back. Don't become a medical statistic when it comes to moving. Be safe and smart. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| These past few weeks have been horrendous for me. Moving ugh, a terrible thing even when done slowly. But today when I saw that Elle had started a group for those of us who wanted to stay in touch via "Snail Mail", I thought; "What a wonderful idea!" And then I thought of something else. The idea of the written word itself. So many of us, including me, have left our pen/pencil behind and opted for keyboard and mouse to write with. Some of us for medical reasons (arthritis is making it more difficult for me to write with pen/pencil for any length of time). Some of us use the keyboard because it's far more convienent. I mean who wouldn't want to be able to type, click, and erase mistakes all at the click of a button? But now consider what we're losing by relegating all our words to mechanical format. I've seen a few people who have trouble signing their own name because they were never taught how to write in cursive. Yet when I was in school it was one of the first things taught. And I know many classrooms from K-12 are moving towards using computers instead of books so that many of the children's notebooks have become files on the computer system which can be uploaded and downloaded between school and home. This is where the future is leading us. And yet.... I think there's meaning between the pen/pencil and paper for us as writers. If we do not occasionally use the medium we were born to, we loose that meaning the connection to our special world. As writers we should feel the joy of hearing the scratch of pen/pencil as it moves across the paper creating a new word for whatever reason. We should be exhilarated by the feel of the paper of a new (or old) book we've come across. Some have said the spoken word is a powerful thing. But that spoken word was first a speech written on a page, waiting for the speaker to bring them to life. The art is in the artistry and the artistry, in this case is the written word. So be brave, challenge yourself, pick up that pen/pencil and once in a while write at least one written word. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| I know we all have moved at least once in our lives. Me? I'm a Navy Brat. It basically means I grew up with my father in the Navy and I've moved around the States more times than I can ever remember. It got to the point that 3 years would pass and I'd be expecting to move somewhere new and if we didn't I'd be wondering why we weren't. I know, strange life. But for some reason, I enjoyed it, new towns new people, new things to explore. Now, moving is a whole different experience. As an adult, I get the terror a little more. If you haven't guessed, I'm in the process of moving to a new place. I finally got the OK from Vetern's Assoc. to move into my new Studio Apartment. This is a new experience for me. I'm not sure if any of you have ever lived in a Studio before, but it's small. You have one room, your kitchen and your bathroom. That's it. And I'm coming from living in a two bedroom house. I have two storage units packed to the brim with stuff, which I've already been through once. Now I have to go through AGAIN to make sure what's truly worth keeping. (there's part of the terror) A lifetime worth of stuff I have to think upon because I'm downsizing. Now, the exciting part is that after almost a year of fighting out of a somewhat messy divorce, I'm finally getting my life back in order again. I'm finally getting a place I can call my own. I can finally have some breathing room without bumping into other people or having my folks hold my mail for me. I'm finally moving FORWARD. But then there's that little inkling of terror screaming at me again that I have to get a shower curtain for the bath. I have to measure out the apartment to make sure certain furniture items fit before I move them in. Argh, life was so much easier when I was a kid.  I could let my parents worry about all this stuff. Oh well, I guess we all have to grow up and face life at some point in time. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| As many of you know, my computer has been giving me fits of anxiety lately and has finally "bit the dust" so much I've had to take it in to "Geek Squad". They've now informed me that it wasn't just a software glitch but have had to send it into the manufacturer under it's hardware warranty. So now I'm confined to using my bosses computer on a somewhat limited schedule. If I thought my living space was cramped before? Now I feel like the whole world has just caved in on me and I've been confined to pen and paper again. Which is really not so bad, except my fingers and wrists aren't what they used to be and I can't just magically erase mistakes when I want. And now onto what I've really been thinking about lately. Those lovely little phone game apps. I've got several which I like to use to keep my mind busy while waiting at doctor appts. or just when I don't feel like doing anything else. Come on, I know we all have them. I've been wondering what makes us so eager to reach that next level? That urge to press on when it tells us we've failed and we must either move those little jewels around the board faster or try and get more of them in a row to save those little critters? We should just be able to stop any time we want, right? But no! It's midnight, and we really should be getting to bed. Yet "Candy Crush" is still calling our name to finish just one more level. Or, as I've discovered a new one, "Puzzles and Dragons", begs for just a bit more leveling up on just the right monster. We're not really competing against anyone but ourselves, since in many of these games we constantly beg our friends to send us more lives. So I ask, what is it which really drives us? ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| My God! What has become of the poor lowly computer? We've become dependent creatures of a device connecting us over millions of miles of land and sea. My poor computer has had the "hiccups" these last few weeks, accounting for almost a month (maybe more) of missed messages, review raid opportunities, contests, not to mention slow replies to those who have reviewed my work. I still have no idea what's making my computer turn itself off, I'm hoping to find out later in the week. But this short reprieve has given me the opportunity to wonder how it is we've come so far as to rely solely on such a whimsical machine. We are at its mechanical mercy. A machine which started as an item we only played games on or wrote term papers on in high school or college; has now become such a needed marvel. We do everything from our taxes to keep our cooking recipies stashed in its many "cloud" corners. We even have them connected to our cell phones so we can access any form of data while we walk around town. Did Steve Jobs have this view when he created the Apple? Did he think we would become so reliant on the machine he was creating in his garage? In truth, the lowly computer has become as deadly as the A-Bomb. The small invention of a genius mind has hit its intended targets and exploded among the masses creating a wave of unwanted, strange horror when computers have glitches because of hackers, viruses, worms, and whatever else may be thrown at them. It is then we become victims of our own genius and we wonder about the thing we have made. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| Ok, I'm going to try and get this out before my computer gives out on me AGAIN! I went to see the movie "Maleficent" a few days ago and was BLOWN AWAY! For those of you who've not seen it or the trailers, it's Disney's remake of their animated film "Sleeping Beauty" only Live Action. Angelina Jolie plays the part of Maleficent and does a wonderful job at it. For me the film really puts a new twist on the original and gives a new meaning to the words "True Love." I also saw a trailer for another film, "Cinderella." It wasn't flashy and done with incredible beauty and simplicity. A glass slipper begins to show up on the screen with a blue butterfly fluttering around. As soon as the slipper is in full view the butterfly lands on it. Of course everyone whose ever seen "Cinderella" would know the significance of the glass slipper. It will be interesting to see how the film is produced and who plays the characters. The other reason for this post is simply for the fact that I'm amazed at how many of our favorite fairy tales are beginning to show up on the big screen as remade live action films. I'm certainly not complaining because Disney, as well as others, seem to be doing a good job of it. And it's not just the big screen we see our fairy tales coming to life. It's also the TV. We have series like "Once Upon a Time" and "Once Upon a Time in Wonderland". And I'm sure others will begin to pop up as well. I think it's good that we have fairy tales told to children in today's age in a new way. But I miss the old ones. I miss classic fairy tales like "The Princess Bride", and the old Disney favorites. I also miss the animated tales like "The Aristocats", or "All Dogs go to Heaven." And even some of the Claymation stories we used to see. Today's children will never see the wonder of these old films, unless we remind them. I suppose it's one reason I never got rid of all my Muppet Movies. I want my nephews and nieces to be amazed at the simple things in life, not just the fascination of CGI and the rest of the techno world. Elfin Dragon ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| When opening my mail and I see the Prompt regarding the question whether Magic exists or not I thought to myself, What an odd question to ask a writer. Do we, as writers, not see or seek magic in everything we attempt to scratch out of our pens, pencils, or computer keys? Do we not look for it in our Muses as we attempt to play with the words we stumble over in our attempt to create something new? Poems, plays, screen-writes, novels, and the like; all have some magic hidden somewhere inside. Whether mystery, science fiction, fantasy or prose; somewhere we or our readers will be lost to the magic we've written in words. Why ask if magic exists or not when we, as writers, know in our heart of hearts it has always existed and has never departed from our world. Whether we see it with our physical eyes or our mental faculties, magic exists because we wish it so. We tell our children fairy tales at night and they dream of Peter Pan and Tinkerbell, then during the day they fight amongst themselves who will play the part of Captain Hook or Bluebeard the Pirate in another tale. Or perhaps they may be Robin Hood or one of his merry men instead. Or mayhap some being you've created in one of your own fairytales to keep them company before they fall asleep at night. Yes, magic exists in all its many forms for we as writers have not forgotten and will continue the tales as long as we have the will, the words, the paper, and ink to write. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
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That is like A LOT of accomplishments. 
Rock the Red Cross!!!
