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 |  Day to day stuff....a memoir without order. |
 Imagination is described by Webster as...The act or power of forming a mental image of something not present to the senses in reality. Albert Einstein said "Logic will get you from A to B, but imagination will take you everywhere."  I never realized it until I read it somewhere but there are ways to boost one's imagination: Create a visual journal Draw whatever you see for 15 minutes a day. You don't need to be an artist. Think like an artist Cut out pictures from magazines & piece them together to create an original image. Listen to Bach Close your eyes while playing your favorite music. Or listen to the sounds of nature on a CD or in the great outdoors. Play word games Try thinking of as many words as you can that begin with MAR...or you pick. Daydream Let your mind wander, or focus on a single object & study its characteristics.     Everyone has a story....here's mine.....c   |
| I've been preparing for the Sunshine State Book Festival! It is sponsored by my writing group, Writers Alliance of Gainesville, and will be held this Saturday (April 9th) at the Oaks Mall in Gainesville, Florida. If any of you are nearby, I will be at table #56 and would love to meet you. Maybe you know another author who will be there...check here, https://www.sunshinestatebookfestival.com/2022AuPage/ssbf-authors.html |
| We're still getting some rain off and on but thankfully no tree limbs have fallen...yet. The limbs get very heavy when they are wet and wind or not, sometimes they break and fall. Pine trees, gotta love 'em. The birds and squirrels do. I had a very enjoyable Sunday afternoon. My writing group (Writers Alliance of Gainesville) has a monthly program and the topic this time was on publishing, all the ways and all the mistakes you can make. KDP was high on the list, not mistakes but ways. I'm the admin of WAG's Facebook Page if anyone is interested in taking a look. Then, after the program, I went out to supper with a couple of writer friends to Bonefish Grill and really enjoyed the Cobb Salad with grilled shrimp! And getting together like we used to was another real treat. Hopefully, Covid will stay away. So now it is "hump day" and everything is back to dull and normal, at least normal and who can complain about that? I'm planning another children's book based on my "rooster story" from long ago, doing some thumbnail sketches, so keeping busy. And a couple of weeks ago I published a Kindle Vella story but I think it's too dull for the type of readers that congregate to that. Anyway, it was a pleasant experience. Hope everyone is staying well and writing a lot! |
| It's raining cats and dogs and frogs here in North Central Florida with more storms to come tomorrow and a big drop in temperature. We need the rain but I'm not looking forward to the cold. The birds fed early this morning somehow knowing what was coming and now I watch an empty feeder and a raindrop splashing birdbath outside my window. When I opened the mini blind on that window yesterday morning, all the slats slowly slanted to the left and I expected to be buying a new replacement, but you know me, try to fix it first. I got out my 2-step stepladder and miracle of miracles was able to climb it...several times...and I was able to "fix" the blind. In my "elevatory" mood, I imagined hanging a rainbow colored scarf across the top of the window to brighten up my painting/writing/office room. I had one that was a perfect fit (36 inches across) so I draped it over the now installed curtain rod as though a valance was at the top...very cute! And this morning my blind continues to work correctly with my very brightened work area on this very gloomy day. So now I wait for the ides of March to do their thing. Stay safe and happy! |
| Can you feel happy and sad at the same time...over nothing? I have been experiencing this lately. I'll be sitting on my back porch (for example) looking out at the trees, shrubs, squirrels, birds, even wasps, and think how beautiful everything is and how happy I am. Then, suddenly, I feel tears come into my eyes and am so sad that Jim isn't here to see and enjoy it with me. Then, I realize I'm happy just to be here...alone...it doesn't matter. Then, I feel guilty for feeling that way. And it's not that I'm bored. There's plenty to do and normally, I keep very busy with little thought to other things, zoning in on whatever I may be doing. But when I am just sitting and thinking, sad and happy thoughts are plentiful and intrusive. |
I just got back home from my in-person writing group meeting, and what a wondrous one it was after the long drought on ZOOM. Hopefully, we can continue with it in person once a month...not so much to ask. We had tons of news to share, things that you wouldn't think important enough to waste Zoom time with, but oh so nice to freely chatter away, not too sure much writing progress was accomplished. But that's ok with me! My written offering for the meeting is now posted on my blog, Connieann's Corner  . It's about the upcoming St. Patrick's Day holiday. My book club meets on the first Tuesday of each month (sadly, still on Zoom) and with February being so short, that is unexpectedly next Tuesday. Whoa, I haven't even cracked the book yet! Anderson Cooper's book about the Vanderbilts is for March. I guess I'd better get started but I'm in the middle of Russell Bank's Trailer Park. I'm in the process of reading all of his ebooks that I can borrow from my library...quite a few. I got hooked with Continental Drift. If you're looking for a good read.... Here in North Central Florida we are beginning to suffer from a high pollen count and for me that means pine pollen from the multiple pines in my back yard. My porch floor is slowing turning a yellowish-green, something very difficult to sweep away. I know what that means, though, spring is here no matter the date on the calendar, and that's ok with me too! Azaleas and pear trees are in full bloom...and the wasps are buzzing, looking for that old nest they moved out of a couple of months ago. Someone had a grand plan, didn't they? |
| I hope everyone successfully made it through the 2021 year of Covid, and I hope next year it will be far away in our past. I continue to wear my mask and be as careful as possible when out and about. I had a story published in November in an anthology of Covid experiences, Local Lives in a Global Pandemic: Stories from North Central Florida. It's available on Amazon. And I had a Christmas story published in our local paper in December. I hadn't realized it had been so long since I posted on this blog. My two great-grandsons celebrated their first and second birthdays in 2021. I still have a hard time believing that! Russell and Colt have so much energy. Oh if I could only bottle it up and take as needed. But at least I manage a 30-minute walk almost every day, work in my yard a little, grow a few herbs, write a little and paint a little, and, of course, read a lot. I've managed to lose a few pounds and my knees thank me for it! My Jacksonville daughter visits regularly to make sure I don't forget how to go shopping although the word to best describe me would be looking. It's the outing that does me good. I visited her in Jacksonville for Christmas and we had a delightful day. I enjoy Facebook, especially when I hear from my classmates. Sending my best to everyone. Stay happy and healthy! |
| I got my Covid vaccine booster shot last Saturday. On Sunday I was supposed to work our writers' booth at our local arts festival and had to beg off because of the side effects, fever, chills, nausea, extreme fatigue among others. I had no idea it would hit me like that as the first two shots gave me only a sore arm for about a day. If the ratio of side effects to shot is any indication, I should be good to go! Thankfully, I am much much better today. I slept just about all day Sunday. |
| Well, yesterday, as planned, my writing group met in person. After the long drought, we all wanted to talk at once! It was wonderful. Donald, whose home was our meeting place, had some sad news for us. His wife is in a nursing home, an end result of osteoporosis. She had some spontaneous vertebral fractures and one morning could not get out of bed. She was a tiny woman to begin with, under five feet, and with the fractures lost four inches in height. Both are in their 80s and I can imagine how Donald is missing Cecilia. She is in an excellent nursing home and one of their daughters is the director of social services so at least that part is good. But Donald says she has some dementia now and can do nothing all day but stare at the ceiling until someone gets her up. So very sad and not something I want to think about for myself...although it could happen. At least she has Donald. |
| This month I enjoyed my first two restaurant outings since the pandemic began over a year ago. Both were very enjoyable, one outside, one not, and I'm planning another for the 30th. It's wonderful to actually see and talk with friends again. The only visitors I had during the Covid crisis were family and one of them actually got the virus and had to stay away for some time (over the Christmas holidays even). I hope we all remain virus free. When socializing, I allow myself to be around vaccinated people only. My writing group is scheduled to meet at a member's home on the 23rd. That will be our first get-together in a year and a half. So, yes, my restrictions are easing. I hope I am being careful enough. |
| Does anyone get important post office mail anymore? Mail you do not immediately throw into the trash? I am a subscriber to the USPS Informed Delivery and through an email "see" all my mail coming to me each day. I visit my mailbox...maybe...once a week to clean it out. For example, today, I am receiving a pre-selected offer from Capital One (trash), a letter from Accent Physician Specialists to Oakleigh Austin (whom I have never heard of) (back into the box with NOT HERE in big red letters), and a flyer from Tuffy Tire and Auto Service (trash). Nothing to warrant a trip to the mailbox. I do have some mail to go out, the odd birthday or holiday card and my lawn guy, who invoices by email, accepts payment only by mailed check, a dinosaur. And I heard that stamps will go up to 58 cents in July. Did the post office ever stop delivering on Saturdays? Not a problem to me. |
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