North of North

Our oldest child, Albert, is now a good 12 hours and close to 1000 miles away from us! He is North of North! He is on a Canadian fishing trip with my parents and I am missing him terribly. There is obviously no cell service where they are as I haven't heard from him since they crossed the Canada-Michigan border at Sault St. Marie. I am in a summer 'rut'. I have soooooooooooo much work to do. Primitive orders, soap orders, garden weeding, apricot jam (apricots are all accounted for/sold now), canning, berry picking to become blackberry jam, herb gathering, house cleaning, piano lessons for our daughter...and of course, the Ann Arbor Art Fair is running this week. Friends who I have not talked to in 6 months have called, wanting to have lunch together and go antiquing. I am maxed out and tired.

When we head in many directions we succeed at nothing. What I need is a nap in a hammock and iced coffee aftewards with a good summer novel.

So many beautiful things to do, so little time to do them.

Checking in here to tell you all that I am still 'around', just buried in my work once 'gain.

Who Do You Write Like?

This is so fun. (Well, for a writer at least). Simply copy and paste a sample of your writing style in the box on this website, http://iwl.me/ and it will inform you what famous author your writing style resembles! Fun!

(For the record, it says I write like Mark Twain and...Stephen King...scary!) (Addendum on July 18th! I pasted in some of my 'blog' writing instead of my fiction and poetry and it told me I write like David Foster Wallace and James Joyce...ouch, that's dark and scary in itself...in addition to Stephen King!)

Extraordinary

OVERCOME the notion that you must be normal.
It robs you of the chance to be extraordinary.

Create, Do, Be, Live, Now

I DIDN'T SLEEP much last night, it is very very hot here in Michigan, and our old rambling farmhouse is not insulated well, so heat comes in and cold. We have one bold brave little window unit air conditioner for when things get really nasty (such as today). But, there is hope on the horizon. The children and I have been invited to go to a local lake to swim for the afternoon. Summer afternoon at the lake. Summer breezes and cold lemonade. It is, most surely, the heart of summer. How it has gone by so fast is amazing to me...how can it be this late in July?

And so, on that thought. I am going to attempt to be more creative, in the midst of life. I have commented to many that I don't understand how artists, writers, dancers and musicians jot down their work as the creative thoughts enter their head. It is a subject that I find fascinating. For me, ideas come all wrapped and packaged, instantaneously. And, I must write them down or, better yet, DO them at that moment, or they vanish. Tell me, do you write your most creative epiphanies on receipts in the car, on your hand, on the grocery bag, on lists, in journals...or, do you just go do them in the midst of life and living? That is my goal for today and the rest of my life, to just go do them and make and create them as they appear in all their full color and three dimensional glory...before they fade, and before life, and the ever present march of time wins out over the joy of art and music, dance and words!

And, I must also confide to you that God has been sending a whole bunch of new friends my way! What a gift. New friends! You know, the sort of friends who stay with you for life~Wow. I can't tell you how thankful I am for that. He knows just what we need, when we need it. And, so the above card is in honor of that. The photo is a tad bit askew, but then, so is life, huh? (-;

Round Peg Square Peg...What Is The Difference?

I was just emailing someone, and commenting, that 9/10ths of the time I feel as though I am a round peg in a square hole, or a square peg in a round hole. (Does anyone know the difference? Perhaps a square peg is a little less conforming to societal norms?) But, then I was thinking...maybe we all feel this way. Maybe all of us are all square pegs in round holes and round pegs in square holes and our pupose is to not 'fit' in, but to just be who we are, regardless of who we are surrounded by, related to and married to. Maybe that is the whole 'shape' of things. Be yourself, create, do what comes naturally to you, and don't worry so much.