Buoyed by the film I watched on PBS and the upcoming celebrations this weekend that honor women's suffrage (obtaining the right to vote), I thought it only fitting that my Thursday Thirteen this week speak to this issue. This is a particularly frightening time as politicians continue to take steps to erode this most precious right.
Here are some Virginia women who fought for the right to vote and a little information about how it went in this state:
1. Anna Whitehead Bodeker, who came to Virginia from New Jersey, in 1870 organized the Virginia State Woman Suffrage Association in Richmond. She tried to vote in 1871 but was rebuked.
2. Orra Gray Langhorne of Lynchburg in the 1890s attempted to organize another suffrage league, but it was unsuccessful.
3. In 1909, a group of Virginia women joined together to form the Equal Suffrage League. The leader of those women was Lila Meade Valentine, an activist and reformer in Richmond.
4. Valentine was joined by Mary Johnston, a writer from Botetourt County, VA (where I live). Johnston authored To Have and To Hold, the #1 bestseller of 1900, and 36 other books.
5. Ellen Glasgow, a Richmond writer, also joined this group. Her many novels were social tales, created to illustrate the plight of southern women.
6. Kate Langley Bosher, another writer of social books, also joined.
7. Adele Clark, an artist and dean of women at the College of William and Mary, served as an officer in the group.
8. Nora Houston, an international artist, also joined.
9. Kate Waller Barrett, a physician, author, and social reformer, was the other leader of the movement.
10. "Virginia suffragists employed a variety of techniques to enlist women to their cause, making speeches across the state (often from decorated automobiles), renting booths at fairs, and distributing "Votes for Women" buttons. By canvassing house to house, distributing leaflets, and speaking in public, the members of the league sought to educate Virginia's citizens and legislators and to win their support for woman suffrage. Beginning in 1914, the group published its own monthly newspaper, the Virginia Suffrage News. (Lily Meade) Valentine persuaded a group of Richmond businessmen to form the Men's Equal Suffrage League of Virginia. The state archivist Hamilton J. Eckenrode was among those who signed a resolution in support of woman suffrage in 1912, arguing that the state constitution should be amended "so as to enable Virginia Women to vote on equal terms with Virginia men." Eight years later, his successor as state archivist, Morgan P. Robinson, registered women to vote in Richmond. (Mary) Johnston visited women's colleges to rally faculty and students to the cause. Soon local leagues sprang up across the state." - Encyclopedia Virginia
11. "Virginia's suffragists argued that women were intelligent, sensible, tax-paying citizens, and therefore deserved to cast ballots. The home and the world in the early years of the twentieth century were overlapping, not separate, spheres, and women had special concerns and interests that were being poorly addressed by male legislators. Virginia suffragists staunchly maintained that women, in order to be good mothers, needed to be good citizens. "Home is not contained within the four walls of an individual home," suffragists argued; instead, "home is the community." When antisuffragists argued that men were the commonwealth's natural-born leaders, intellectually and physically superior to their female helpmates, suffragists countered that women could add valuable insight and energy to solving a number of problems largely ignored by politicians, including education, health reform, and child labor. The woman suffrage movement worked toward equal rights for women as citizens, as well as the right to vote. It was perhaps more important that the movement was building change on the foundation of a new, self-developed, economically independent womanhood." - Encyclopedia Virginia
12. Mary Johnston, through her suffragist efforts, became the first woman to address the House of Delegates in Virginia. As a suffragist, Johnston led the
way for quiet rebellion. Though she has been described as shy and retiring, she
ventured upon the Virginia House floor to beseech the gentlemen of the state
congress to give women the right to vote. In 1912 she spoke before a conference
of governors of all the states in the union, requesting the right to vote for
women.
13. Virginia suffragists succeeded in bringing the issue to the floor of the General Assembly three times between 1912 and 1916, but the vote never came close to passage. - Encyclopedia Virginia
Women in Virginia obtained the right to vote when the rest of the women in the nation did: 1920. The Virginia General Assembly DID NOT RATIFY THE 19th AMENDMENT (which gave women the right to vote in 1920) UNTIL 1952 (just 61 years ago).
Thursday
Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a
while and this is my 283rd time to do a list of 13 on a
Thursday.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Watching "Makers"
Last night I watched a documentary on PBS called Makers: Women Who Make America. You can watch it online here and I heartily recommend it.
This is particularly true if you believe in women's rights, as I do, and think that women are people, too. It is good to be reminded that it had only been 40 years since things were really, really bad for women.
The documentary outlined the women's movement, from the inception of NOW to radical feminists (they are not one and the same), to what the film called "the conservative push-back" and resulting decimation of the women's movement and the stalling of the female climb to her rights as a person.
While the women you might expect were in the documentary - Friedan, Steinem, Clinton - the thing was loaded with women you may not have heard of. It was empowering to hear these stories, from the first woman to run in the Boston Marathon to the Southern Bell switchboard clerk who took the phone company all the way to the Supreme Court.
I really admire women who can stand up for what they know is right, who can see that laws and attitudes in place are wrong. They made a powerful stand against injustice and inequality and fought not just for themselves but their daughters and granddaughters. They fought for me!
The patriarchy and the glass ceiling have always been very real to me, and I have experienced harassment in many forms, both in the workplace and outside of it. Some of it - most of it - has been simply because I am a woman. In the early 1980s Oprah Winfrey was told she didn't deserve the same pay as a man - because she was a woman. That was just 30 years ago for her - but I heard the same line only 10 years ago!
It is easy to be harassed because you're a little different - a woman in a man's workplace. It's easy to become the target when you're a little more ambitious or a little more conscious of what is going on (it doesn't take much to be different). As a woman, I have been harassed for having an opinion, (because women aren't supposed to have them), for having different ideas (because women aren't supposed to have those, either), and for wanting to do things that were not considered "womanly" (like the time I worked in a machine shop). It certainly makes you feel like you are less than human when you are treated as such.
I have hoped for the last several years that we are on the cusp of a new women's movement. Eventually there will be one too many transvaginal ultrasounds legislated, and things will erupt, I think. Or maybe I am just foolishly hoping that legislated rape with a probe will eventually outrage enough women that it takes them to the street. Perhaps it will have to go a little further, to the point of The Handmaid's Tale, before complacency is no longer a viable alternative to what is happening.
Homemaking certainly is a valid career or life path. But I am opposed to having that forced on every woman, and that is where certain political paths and ideas lead. It was the lack of choice and the lack of opportunity that drove the women's movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s. I certainly don't want to go back to that era. I like to work and I like being able to own property and have credit in my name. These things have only been allotted to women in the last 40 years. Just 40! No wonder it remains tenuous and slippery.
So I applaud these trailblazing women who have broken the glass ceiling, who have changed laws, who have taken their lives and made them their own, and not remained trapped in a life someone else molded for them. Thank you to the filmmakers for this marvelous film.
This is particularly true if you believe in women's rights, as I do, and think that women are people, too. It is good to be reminded that it had only been 40 years since things were really, really bad for women.
The documentary outlined the women's movement, from the inception of NOW to radical feminists (they are not one and the same), to what the film called "the conservative push-back" and resulting decimation of the women's movement and the stalling of the female climb to her rights as a person.
While the women you might expect were in the documentary - Friedan, Steinem, Clinton - the thing was loaded with women you may not have heard of. It was empowering to hear these stories, from the first woman to run in the Boston Marathon to the Southern Bell switchboard clerk who took the phone company all the way to the Supreme Court.
I really admire women who can stand up for what they know is right, who can see that laws and attitudes in place are wrong. They made a powerful stand against injustice and inequality and fought not just for themselves but their daughters and granddaughters. They fought for me!
The patriarchy and the glass ceiling have always been very real to me, and I have experienced harassment in many forms, both in the workplace and outside of it. Some of it - most of it - has been simply because I am a woman. In the early 1980s Oprah Winfrey was told she didn't deserve the same pay as a man - because she was a woman. That was just 30 years ago for her - but I heard the same line only 10 years ago!
It is easy to be harassed because you're a little different - a woman in a man's workplace. It's easy to become the target when you're a little more ambitious or a little more conscious of what is going on (it doesn't take much to be different). As a woman, I have been harassed for having an opinion, (because women aren't supposed to have them), for having different ideas (because women aren't supposed to have those, either), and for wanting to do things that were not considered "womanly" (like the time I worked in a machine shop). It certainly makes you feel like you are less than human when you are treated as such.
I have hoped for the last several years that we are on the cusp of a new women's movement. Eventually there will be one too many transvaginal ultrasounds legislated, and things will erupt, I think. Or maybe I am just foolishly hoping that legislated rape with a probe will eventually outrage enough women that it takes them to the street. Perhaps it will have to go a little further, to the point of The Handmaid's Tale, before complacency is no longer a viable alternative to what is happening.
Homemaking certainly is a valid career or life path. But I am opposed to having that forced on every woman, and that is where certain political paths and ideas lead. It was the lack of choice and the lack of opportunity that drove the women's movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s. I certainly don't want to go back to that era. I like to work and I like being able to own property and have credit in my name. These things have only been allotted to women in the last 40 years. Just 40! No wonder it remains tenuous and slippery.
So I applaud these trailblazing women who have broken the glass ceiling, who have changed laws, who have taken their lives and made them their own, and not remained trapped in a life someone else molded for them. Thank you to the filmmakers for this marvelous film.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Happy is Too Much to Ask
1. Where is your significant other?
A. On the couch watching TV.
2. Your favorite thing?
A. This is not a complete question. It needs a "where" or a "what in front of it. However, to offer an answer: my favorite "thing" is my computer and it's sitting on my desk. I also like my books, my telephone, my binoculars, my cameras, my stapler, my cookware . . .
3. Your dream last night?
A. I don't recall my dream from last night.
4. Your goal?
A. My overarching goal is to be content. I think "happy" is probably too much to ask but content is good.
5. Your hobby?
A. I love to read and write. I also like to take walks and watch the deer.
6. Where do you want to be in 6 years?
A. I want to be content and to have done whatever it might take to accomplish that.
7. Where were you last night?
A. I was at home.
8. What you're not?
A. Is this a real question? I'm not an alien from another planet even if I feel like one most of the time. I'm not green in color. I'm not ordinary. I'm not the sharpest dresser but I am a pretty sharp tack. I'm not sure why I am answering these questions.
9. One of your wish list items?
A. You mean like from amazon? I have a lot of books on my amazon wish list. Any book makes me happy. I also wish for world peace. Look where that's got me.
10. Your pet?
A. I have a herd of cows, free-ranging deer, and stink bugs.
11. Missing someone?
A. One of my friends has gone AWOL. She's in accounting and it is tax season. I haven't seen her in a month.
12. Your car?
A. I drive a blue Camry. It's 10 years old and I expect to be driving it for a few more years.
13. Something you're not wearing?
A. This is another question that I find to be poorly worded. But if you must know, I am not wearing my socks.
14. Love someone?
A. I love my husband. He is a dear sweet man.
15. When is the last time you laughed?
A. Saturday night when we were watching Bill Cosby: Himself.
16. Last time you cried?
A. Saturday during the day. You don't need to know the circumstances.
17. Favorite past time?
A. Reading. Although I also enjoy computer games.
18. Are you a hater or a lover?
A. A lover. Or at least I used to be. I fear I might become a crotchety old lady. But crotchety is not hateful.
19. Any vices?
A. I overeat and I chew my nails. I also hold grudges sometimes.
20. Favorite meme other than Sunday Stealing?
A. Thursday Thirteen.
A. On the couch watching TV.
2. Your favorite thing?
A. This is not a complete question. It needs a "where" or a "what in front of it. However, to offer an answer: my favorite "thing" is my computer and it's sitting on my desk. I also like my books, my telephone, my binoculars, my cameras, my stapler, my cookware . . .
3. Your dream last night?
A. I don't recall my dream from last night.
4. Your goal?
A. My overarching goal is to be content. I think "happy" is probably too much to ask but content is good.
5. Your hobby?
A. I love to read and write. I also like to take walks and watch the deer.
6. Where do you want to be in 6 years?
A. I want to be content and to have done whatever it might take to accomplish that.
7. Where were you last night?
A. I was at home.
8. What you're not?
A. Is this a real question? I'm not an alien from another planet even if I feel like one most of the time. I'm not green in color. I'm not ordinary. I'm not the sharpest dresser but I am a pretty sharp tack. I'm not sure why I am answering these questions.
9. One of your wish list items?
A. You mean like from amazon? I have a lot of books on my amazon wish list. Any book makes me happy. I also wish for world peace. Look where that's got me.
10. Your pet?
A. I have a herd of cows, free-ranging deer, and stink bugs.
11. Missing someone?
A. One of my friends has gone AWOL. She's in accounting and it is tax season. I haven't seen her in a month.
12. Your car?
A. I drive a blue Camry. It's 10 years old and I expect to be driving it for a few more years.
13. Something you're not wearing?
A. This is another question that I find to be poorly worded. But if you must know, I am not wearing my socks.
14. Love someone?
A. I love my husband. He is a dear sweet man.
15. When is the last time you laughed?
A. Saturday night when we were watching Bill Cosby: Himself.
16. Last time you cried?
A. Saturday during the day. You don't need to know the circumstances.
17. Favorite past time?
A. Reading. Although I also enjoy computer games.
18. Are you a hater or a lover?
A. A lover. Or at least I used to be. I fear I might become a crotchety old lady. But crotchety is not hateful.
19. Any vices?
A. I overeat and I chew my nails. I also hold grudges sometimes.
20. Favorite meme other than Sunday Stealing?
A. Thursday Thirteen.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Let's Meet Karen!
Karen Wright is the owner of Soothing Solutions. She is a massage therapist, yoga instructor, and great friend!
Her office is in Blue Ridge. She has created an oasis of tranquility in the corner of a small shopping strip.
Karen takes her work out of the office. She sometimes gives massages to businesses. I took this photo of her at an event in the county a few years ago.
I've been seeing Karen for problems with my back for about 10 years. She is always friendly, always helpful, and she always gives me a great massage.
I have even sent my husband to her! He loved his massage.
A few years ago Karen demonstrated something called Laughter Yoga to my arts and letters group, The Roanoke Pen Women. It remains one of the best programs we have ever had.
She offers yoga classes every Monday and Wednesday morning at the Blue Ridge Library. The classes routinely are full. “If you can breathe and sit in a chair, you can do yoga,” Karen said in an article I did on her in 2006. “Yoga is doable for just about anybody. Yoga can be done at the desk if necessary.”
Karen grew up in Botetourt County. She was the area's first massage therapist, blazing the trail for other alternative medicines to move into the county. She had a bit of a struggle getting the license to operate from the local government - officials didn't understand that she is a therapist, not a call girl, and thus her work is about helping you feel better. But once they figured it out, she was able to open her office in 1998. I did an article on her when she first started and that is how we met.
She has also taught aerobics, senior strength and stretching, and is a stress management consultant, among other things.
Once she spent an hour with me teaching me how to breath in order to help lower my blood pressure. It works when I remember to do it.
If you're interested in having Karen help you out, check out her website and give her a call. She is definitely a good person to know!
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Historical Archives
Back in 2010, I wrote about all of the photos from The Fincastle Herald that were stored in plastic tubs.
At the time I was sifting through them, I and another history lover were contemplating a book together. However, I went back to college to finish up my masters degree, and she is pursuing a book on her own now, something different from what we had contemplated.
So the tubs of photos went into my barn, because I had no place else to store them. The newspaper office had no place to store them, either, and in fact the former newspaper owners had instructed the editor to throw the photos out.
But he had saved them, and until they were in my barn, they were in his.
Last spring, I was at a Botetourt Farm Bureau Women's Committee meeting when they mentioned they were eager to locate old photos of agriculture in the county. So I told them what was in the barn.
A few weeks ago, I received a phone call from Gwen Ikenberry, co-president of the Women's Committee. They were ready to deal with these pictures.
So we hauled them over to the Farm Bureau office.
I spent about eight hours over there helping to sort photos, but felt that was all the time I could give to the project. This was mostly because the old photos have a smell to them and were causing problems with my asthma, which I could ill afford. People don't realize how sick that makes me or how long it takes me to recover.
In any event, the photos were sorted out, and some of the boxes went out to various historic groups, towns, or other civic organizations interested in preserving the pictures. The Farm Bureau Women's Committee kept all of the agriculture-related photos for their various projects.
Those with photos have been instructed to scan them and return them to the newspaper editor, where they will join the other unused photos.
Those unused photos went back into the newspaper editor's barn, where perhaps some day they will again see the light, and other folks with history on their minds will oo and ahh over the visuals.
At the time I was sifting through them, I and another history lover were contemplating a book together. However, I went back to college to finish up my masters degree, and she is pursuing a book on her own now, something different from what we had contemplated.
So the tubs of photos went into my barn, because I had no place else to store them. The newspaper office had no place to store them, either, and in fact the former newspaper owners had instructed the editor to throw the photos out.
But he had saved them, and until they were in my barn, they were in his.
Last spring, I was at a Botetourt Farm Bureau Women's Committee meeting when they mentioned they were eager to locate old photos of agriculture in the county. So I told them what was in the barn.
A few weeks ago, I received a phone call from Gwen Ikenberry, co-president of the Women's Committee. They were ready to deal with these pictures.
So we hauled them over to the Farm Bureau office.
There were nine tubs of photos. About half were loose and the other half were in folders with dates on them.
We set up apple boxes, courtesy of Ikenberry's Orchards, and created 21 different categories for the photos.
This is Elizabeth, who greatly enjoyed the work of sorting the pictures.
It was rather fun, for there was no way to not run across pictures of places and people you knew.
It was like a party all week, with various people in and out, putting pictures in boxes.
This is Gwen, who arranged everything and even took time off from work to deal with the pictures.
This is Toni, who also helped a lot.
I spent about eight hours over there helping to sort photos, but felt that was all the time I could give to the project. This was mostly because the old photos have a smell to them and were causing problems with my asthma, which I could ill afford. People don't realize how sick that makes me or how long it takes me to recover.
In any event, the photos were sorted out, and some of the boxes went out to various historic groups, towns, or other civic organizations interested in preserving the pictures. The Farm Bureau Women's Committee kept all of the agriculture-related photos for their various projects.
Those with photos have been instructed to scan them and return them to the newspaper editor, where they will join the other unused photos.
Those unused photos went back into the newspaper editor's barn, where perhaps some day they will again see the light, and other folks with history on their minds will oo and ahh over the visuals.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Thursday Thirteen
The Eclectic Thirteen!
I think this might be some sort of poem.
1. Dancing with myself, feet moving fast like a cat with paws in heated coal.
2. Heart bursting, blood rising, chest heaving as if breathing through bonds made of coarsely woven cotton.
3. Never knowing what is next not needing to know but wanting to all the same.
4. Breaking down beating up feeling sick, sorry, silly, and sad, emotions bursting out like firecrackers in flames.
5. Life never ending but ending soon nearly gone and then what who knows maybe deep darkness or luminescent light, blind either way.
6. Feeling the beat, the beat the beat the steady heady knock and rhythm, aching down into the soles of my muddy bare feet.
7. Look at the moon, see it high, sky high, feeling it ride the rhymes of the sun and the tide and the hold it has on the streams of my soul.
8. Drinking tea and rocking, rhythmically rocking, like a rollicking rascal with roiling energy, see it bursting out as I break into song.
9. Seeing myself move like a shadow a shade the ghost of me mewling melodically as I dream in the deepness the dank and the downers.
10. Needing to feel like the world knows who I am but knowing that the world doesn't dare can't care the world too busy bustling with burgeoning beliefs we are all trying to climb from the pits of despair.
11. Feeding the senses with sunlight with sound with sensual sustenance knowing it's mine its yours its ours we're all one if we would only turn to face one another not say hello with the backs of our heads.
12. Gathering rushes making baskets opening closing finding new tomorrows when the yesterdays are in play the way of the weaver and the joy of today.
13. Knowing love is luscious lonely lurid a longing we need yet we slight its sounds, ignore its lure when it lands on the ladders that lead to our heart.
Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 282nd time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.
I think this might be some sort of poem.
1. Dancing with myself, feet moving fast like a cat with paws in heated coal.
2. Heart bursting, blood rising, chest heaving as if breathing through bonds made of coarsely woven cotton.
3. Never knowing what is next not needing to know but wanting to all the same.
4. Breaking down beating up feeling sick, sorry, silly, and sad, emotions bursting out like firecrackers in flames.
5. Life never ending but ending soon nearly gone and then what who knows maybe deep darkness or luminescent light, blind either way.
6. Feeling the beat, the beat the beat the steady heady knock and rhythm, aching down into the soles of my muddy bare feet.
7. Look at the moon, see it high, sky high, feeling it ride the rhymes of the sun and the tide and the hold it has on the streams of my soul.
8. Drinking tea and rocking, rhythmically rocking, like a rollicking rascal with roiling energy, see it bursting out as I break into song.
9. Seeing myself move like a shadow a shade the ghost of me mewling melodically as I dream in the deepness the dank and the downers.
10. Needing to feel like the world knows who I am but knowing that the world doesn't dare can't care the world too busy bustling with burgeoning beliefs we are all trying to climb from the pits of despair.
11. Feeding the senses with sunlight with sound with sensual sustenance knowing it's mine its yours its ours we're all one if we would only turn to face one another not say hello with the backs of our heads.
12. Gathering rushes making baskets opening closing finding new tomorrows when the yesterdays are in play the way of the weaver and the joy of today.
13. Knowing love is luscious lonely lurid a longing we need yet we slight its sounds, ignore its lure when it lands on the ladders that lead to our heart.
Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 282nd time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
I Would Take Astronomy
Sunday Stealing: The Basically Obscure Meme-Part 2.5
38: How did you spend Valentines day?
A. My husband gave me a card and a cake, and I gave him a card, a little box of chocolates, and fixed him a steak dinner.
39: Do you eat enough vegetables?
A. Probably not.
40: Do you like horror movies? How about thrillers?
A. Not any more. When I was younger I enjoyed them occasionally but as I have aged they hold no attraction for me.
41: Do you like scotch?
A. I don't think I've ever had it. I do not drink, unless one counts the raisins soaked in gin that I use for arthritis.
42: Who is someone you would never swear in front of?
A. I think this is the second question about swearing on this particular meme. I tend to not discriminate in my colorful language and use it wherever, much to my dismay sometimes.
43: Coolest thing you've ever seen on Halloween?
A. I went to a great haunted house when I was 17. I guess that would have to be it.
44: If you could change your natural hair color, would you? To what?
A. No. I used to highlight it but now it has its own natural grey highlights.
45: What subject would you take if you were forced to take a free class?
A. Astronomy. I would love to know more about the solar system and the stars.
46: Do you use a reusable grocery bags?
A. Yes, most of the time.
47: City or nature person?
A. Nature person. I stay out of the city as much as possible. I do have to go buy things there occasionally.
48: Have you ever used something other than "makeup" as makeup? (Like paint? Markers?)
A. No.
49: Do heights bother you? Can you look out the window on the top floor of a skyscraper?
A. I have a problem with elevators, but I can look out windows of tall buildings so long as I am not standing right at them.
50: Post 5 awesome things about your blog. BRAG AWAY!
A. It has made me some friends, it has pretty pictures, it has good writing in it, it sometimes has useful information, it keeps me writing something nearly every day.
 |
| My rose cake from my hubby. |
A. My husband gave me a card and a cake, and I gave him a card, a little box of chocolates, and fixed him a steak dinner.
39: Do you eat enough vegetables?
A. Probably not.
40: Do you like horror movies? How about thrillers?
A. Not any more. When I was younger I enjoyed them occasionally but as I have aged they hold no attraction for me.
41: Do you like scotch?
 |
| Raisins soaking in gin. |
42: Who is someone you would never swear in front of?
A. I think this is the second question about swearing on this particular meme. I tend to not discriminate in my colorful language and use it wherever, much to my dismay sometimes.
43: Coolest thing you've ever seen on Halloween?
A. I went to a great haunted house when I was 17. I guess that would have to be it.
 | ||
| The ol' grey head ain't what she used to be. |
A. No. I used to highlight it but now it has its own natural grey highlights.
45: What subject would you take if you were forced to take a free class?
A. Astronomy. I would love to know more about the solar system and the stars.
46: Do you use a reusable grocery bags?
A. Yes, most of the time.
47: City or nature person?
 |
| This is rural. |
A. Nature person. I stay out of the city as much as possible. I do have to go buy things there occasionally.
48: Have you ever used something other than "makeup" as makeup? (Like paint? Markers?)
A. No.
49: Do heights bother you? Can you look out the window on the top floor of a skyscraper?
A. I have a problem with elevators, but I can look out windows of tall buildings so long as I am not standing right at them.
50: Post 5 awesome things about your blog. BRAG AWAY!
A. It has made me some friends, it has pretty pictures, it has good writing in it, it sometimes has useful information, it keeps me writing something nearly every day.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Hold Your Breath
Yesterday I glanced out the window and saw a huge line of smoke.
It was rolling down the valley towards Fincastle.
At first I thought it was a forest fire!
But upon closer inspection, I saw that the black dust was billowing from the area of a smoke stack.
Sometimes the smoke rolls out of this local industry.
That black line of dust stretched for miles.
*These photos were taken February 18, 2013.
Monday, February 18, 2013
The Sunshine Girl
Meet Botetourt County resident Lee Minnix!
She is The Sunshine Girl. She offers "Sunshine Services" which is assistance for seniors, new mothers, stressed families - pretty much anyone who needs a helping hand with anything.
She's about the happiest person I have ever met. She is always smiling and always ready to lend a hand.
\
Last week she held an open house for her new little office in Fincastle.
It's a tiny little building on Roanoke Street located across from the bank and the Commonwealth's Attorney's office, beside Valley Classic Acupuncture.
Lee also owned Happy Time Balloons and she had an ice cream truck!
She is the original entrepreneur.
The woman who can do it all!
Give her a call if you need help with pretty much anything!
Even if all you need is someone to make you smile!
Sunday, February 17, 2013
More Q & A
Sunday Stealing: The Basically Obscure Meme-Part 2
21: Would you swear in front of your parents?
A. I did that one time when I was teenager and got decked for it. But once I married I did.
22: Which continents have you been on?
A. North America and Europe.
23: Do you get motion sickness? Any horror stories?
A. Yes. When I was a little girl I threw up blueberry pancakes all over the car when we went traveling down dizzying back roads in the West Virginia mountains.
24: Why did you name your blog whatever you named your blog?
A. I named it Blue for the Blue Ridge Mountains, which I love, Country becaue I live on a farm, and Magic because magic is what life should be, don't you think?
25: Would you wear a rainbow jacket? A neon yellow sweater? Checkered pants?
A. I would wear a rainbow jacket. I think I would like to have a coat of many colors. However, I would not wear a neon yellow sweater or checkered pants, unless I were going to a Halloween Party as geek bumblebee.
26: What was your favorite cartoon growing up? Post a picture if you can.
A. I didn't have a favorite cartoon, but I loved H. R. Pufnstuf and Land of the Lost.
H.R. Pufnstuf! He's your friend when things get rough! H. R. Pufnstuf! Can't do a little 'cause he can't do enough.
Or something like that.
27: In a past life I must have been a...
A. A skullery maid in the service of Mary, Queen of Scots, in the year 1563. I lived in the castle and took long walks through a graveyard during my very rare time away from my duties. At night I crept from my dusty bed down to the stables for trysts with the young stable boy.
28: If you had to look at one city skyline for the rest of your life, which would it be?
A. Paris. Because if I were looking at Paris, I would be there, and what an interesting change that would be for me.
29: Longest plane ride you've ever been on?
A. From New York to London, England, where we changed planes to continue our journey to Madrid, Spain. That was in 1979, and I was on a school trip with my high school Spanish teacher. The return trip was just as long.
30: The longest you've ever slept?
A. One evening I was sick, so I took some cold medicine and went to bed around 6 p.m. I woke the next morning around 8 a.m. to discover that during the evening my husband had tried to wake me because some friends of ours had come visiting, and they had gone for a walk. The woman had climbed up in a tree and then fell, breaking her leg. The rescue squad had to hike into the trees on the farm in the dark to rescue her. I missed the whole thing. My husband said he was unable to wake me and for a while he thought I might need to go to the hospital myself. I hope I never sleep like that again.
31: Would you buy a sweater covered in kitten pictures? Would you wear it if someone gave it you for free?
A. No, and no. I am so not a cat person.
32: Do you pluck your eyebrows?
A. No.
33: Favorite kind of bean? Kidney? Black? Pinto?
A. String. Also known as a green bean.
34: How far can you throw a baseball?
A. As far as it will go, given the momentum I can give it when I try to make the pitch.
35: If you had to move to another country, where would you move?
A. Scotland.
36: Have you ever eaten Ethiopian food? Vietnamese? Korean? Nepalese? How was it?
A. No, I haven't. My diet is rather boring.
37: How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
A. Well, take the weight of the woodchuck, multiply by the number of woodchuck teeth, add in the length of the woodchuck tail, divide that number by the width of the tree, then subtract the length of the logs, and then square that by the weight of the wood, and you will have your answer.
21: Would you swear in front of your parents?
A. I did that one time when I was teenager and got decked for it. But once I married I did.
22: Which continents have you been on?
A. North America and Europe.
23: Do you get motion sickness? Any horror stories?
A. Yes. When I was a little girl I threw up blueberry pancakes all over the car when we went traveling down dizzying back roads in the West Virginia mountains.
24: Why did you name your blog whatever you named your blog?
A. I named it Blue for the Blue Ridge Mountains, which I love, Country becaue I live on a farm, and Magic because magic is what life should be, don't you think?
25: Would you wear a rainbow jacket? A neon yellow sweater? Checkered pants?
A. I would wear a rainbow jacket. I think I would like to have a coat of many colors. However, I would not wear a neon yellow sweater or checkered pants, unless I were going to a Halloween Party as geek bumblebee.
26: What was your favorite cartoon growing up? Post a picture if you can.
A. I didn't have a favorite cartoon, but I loved H. R. Pufnstuf and Land of the Lost.
H.R. Pufnstuf! He's your friend when things get rough! H. R. Pufnstuf! Can't do a little 'cause he can't do enough.
Or something like that.
27: In a past life I must have been a...
A. A skullery maid in the service of Mary, Queen of Scots, in the year 1563. I lived in the castle and took long walks through a graveyard during my very rare time away from my duties. At night I crept from my dusty bed down to the stables for trysts with the young stable boy.
28: If you had to look at one city skyline for the rest of your life, which would it be?
A. Paris. Because if I were looking at Paris, I would be there, and what an interesting change that would be for me.
29: Longest plane ride you've ever been on?
A. From New York to London, England, where we changed planes to continue our journey to Madrid, Spain. That was in 1979, and I was on a school trip with my high school Spanish teacher. The return trip was just as long.
30: The longest you've ever slept?
A. One evening I was sick, so I took some cold medicine and went to bed around 6 p.m. I woke the next morning around 8 a.m. to discover that during the evening my husband had tried to wake me because some friends of ours had come visiting, and they had gone for a walk. The woman had climbed up in a tree and then fell, breaking her leg. The rescue squad had to hike into the trees on the farm in the dark to rescue her. I missed the whole thing. My husband said he was unable to wake me and for a while he thought I might need to go to the hospital myself. I hope I never sleep like that again.
31: Would you buy a sweater covered in kitten pictures? Would you wear it if someone gave it you for free?
A. No, and no. I am so not a cat person.
32: Do you pluck your eyebrows?
A. No.
33: Favorite kind of bean? Kidney? Black? Pinto?
A. String. Also known as a green bean.
34: How far can you throw a baseball?
A. As far as it will go, given the momentum I can give it when I try to make the pitch.
35: If you had to move to another country, where would you move?
A. Scotland.
36: Have you ever eaten Ethiopian food? Vietnamese? Korean? Nepalese? How was it?
A. No, I haven't. My diet is rather boring.
37: How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
A. Well, take the weight of the woodchuck, multiply by the number of woodchuck teeth, add in the length of the woodchuck tail, divide that number by the width of the tree, then subtract the length of the logs, and then square that by the weight of the wood, and you will have your answer.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Books: Sabriel
Sabriel
By Garth Nix
Copyright 1995
311 pages
This fantasy novel deals with a lot with death: that's because Sabriel, the title character, is a necromancer. However, she is not just any necromancer: she is a necromancer who puts the dead back where they belong.
It's a family thing that gets passed along through the bloodline.
Sabriel is sent to school in a neighboring kingdom, one where magic is not the norm. She grows up with some knowledge of her powers, but she is not quite ready when her father goes missing and the duties of the Abhorsen, as this binder of the dead is called, fall to her.
She must return to the Old Kingdom to find her father and set things right - a huge task, since they have been array for 200 years.
Her adventures make up the heart of the book. In the end ... will she be able to beat the necromancer who has been the cause of trouble for the last two centuries, or will he take her life as well?
Good read, hard to put down. Since it deals with walking dead and such, I'm surprised this novel hasn't had a resurgence in popularity.
Many thanks to my pal in England for sending this book to me as a special New Year's present. She had read it long ago and during a discussion we were having online about necromancy (courtesy of its mention in The Hobbit movie), and decided to send me the gift.
I'm so glad she thought to send me this.
By Garth Nix
Copyright 1995
311 pages
This fantasy novel deals with a lot with death: that's because Sabriel, the title character, is a necromancer. However, she is not just any necromancer: she is a necromancer who puts the dead back where they belong.
It's a family thing that gets passed along through the bloodline.
Sabriel is sent to school in a neighboring kingdom, one where magic is not the norm. She grows up with some knowledge of her powers, but she is not quite ready when her father goes missing and the duties of the Abhorsen, as this binder of the dead is called, fall to her.
She must return to the Old Kingdom to find her father and set things right - a huge task, since they have been array for 200 years.
Her adventures make up the heart of the book. In the end ... will she be able to beat the necromancer who has been the cause of trouble for the last two centuries, or will he take her life as well?
Good read, hard to put down. Since it deals with walking dead and such, I'm surprised this novel hasn't had a resurgence in popularity.
Many thanks to my pal in England for sending this book to me as a special New Year's present. She had read it long ago and during a discussion we were having online about necromancy (courtesy of its mention in The Hobbit movie), and decided to send me the gift.
I'm so glad she thought to send me this.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Wedding Gowns and Zombies
Last night I dreamed that I was young again. I was getting married! There was much ado and fuss about my wedding gown, I remember. And then we had the nuptials, which were not the nuptials of my memory but rather some sort of fanciful affair. My husband looked so young and strong, though! And handsome.
After we married, we left and went to a cabin by a lake for our honeymoon. The lake had an island in the middle of it. During the night, there was a massive shaking of earth and multiple explosions! The power went down by half; there were emergency lights on only. We couldn't get water from the well.
We found a battery-powered radio and it said the world was in chaos; there were zombies! I looked outside to see fire raining down from the sky. I saw something huge and red and realized that there was fire racing through the tree tops on the far side of the lake.
Embers flew through the air and landed on the island, which was only separated from the cabin by a small ankle-deep eddy, and I raced out in my wedding gown to cover burning embers with dirt. James grabbed a bucket and began drawing water from the lake to keep the flames from burning down the cabin.
And that's when I woke up.
It's an odd dream to have had on the morning we wake to find that a meteorite has terrorized a community in Russia, eh?
I suspect the wedding gown came from Valentine's Day, the zombies from a book I am reading. I hadn't thought much about the asteroid that is approaching earth today, but perhaps my subconscious registered it.
After we married, we left and went to a cabin by a lake for our honeymoon. The lake had an island in the middle of it. During the night, there was a massive shaking of earth and multiple explosions! The power went down by half; there were emergency lights on only. We couldn't get water from the well.
We found a battery-powered radio and it said the world was in chaos; there were zombies! I looked outside to see fire raining down from the sky. I saw something huge and red and realized that there was fire racing through the tree tops on the far side of the lake.
Embers flew through the air and landed on the island, which was only separated from the cabin by a small ankle-deep eddy, and I raced out in my wedding gown to cover burning embers with dirt. James grabbed a bucket and began drawing water from the lake to keep the flames from burning down the cabin.
And that's when I woke up.
It's an odd dream to have had on the morning we wake to find that a meteorite has terrorized a community in Russia, eh?
I suspect the wedding gown came from Valentine's Day, the zombies from a book I am reading. I hadn't thought much about the asteroid that is approaching earth today, but perhaps my subconscious registered it.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Thursday Thirteen #281 and Post 2000
Happy Valentine's Day! What could be more appropriate than my 2,000 post in this blog on a day celebrating love? Because I obviously love my blog. I also love my dear readers, whomever you are. Thank you for spending time with me. I always humbled and honored to know that you are sharing a few moments of your time with me.
So without further ado, some thoughts on love . . .
1. Love doesn't sit there like a stone, it has to be made, like bread; remade all of the time, made new. ~Ursula K. Le Guin
2. If grass can grow through cement, love can find you at every time in your life. ~Cher
3. Take away love and our earth is a tomb. ~Robert Browning
4. Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired. ~Robert Frost
5. You know you're in love when you don't want to fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams. ~Dr. Seuss
6. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same. ~Emily Brontë
7. Love withers under constraints: its very essence is liberty: it is compatible neither with obedience, jealousy, nor fear: it is there most pure, perfect, and unlimited where its votaries live in confidence, equality and unreserve. ~Percy Bysshe Shelley
8. True love comes quietly, without banners or flashing lights. If you hear bells, get your ears checked. ~Erich Segal
9. What "love" is I don't know if it's not the response of our deepest natures to one another. ~William Carlos Williams
10. At the touch of love, everyone becomes a poet. ~Plato
11. We waste time looking for the perfect lover, instead of creating the perfect love. ~Tom Robbins
12. Nobody has ever measured, even poets, how much a heart can hold. ~Zelda Fitzgerald
13. We are not the same persons this year as last; nor are those we love. It is a happy chance if we, changing, continue to love a changed person. ~W. Somerset Maugham
A Love Story
The young man met the young woman beneath the goal post of the high school football team. They stood with their circle of friends, each eyeing the other. Finally, they moved closer. They spoke of their friends, and how they had both attended the same high school but were now moving on with their lives. She asked a few questions about the game.
He asked her out on a date. She declined, citing other commitments. Nonplussed, he asked for the next night. She declined again for the same reason.
That same evening, they ran into one another again hours later. By then both had left their friends. They spent hours talking.
Thirty years later, they are still together. They've weathered good times and bad, for that is the stuff of life. He has stood by her during illness and heartache, and she has done the same.
That is my love story. It is not much on its surface.
In my experience, love is not something that burns white-hot for years and ages. It ebbs, flows, blazes anew. Sometimes the embers seem nearly gone and you might wonder what all the fuss is about. But then along comes a little breeze . . . and the red glow returns. Love also takes work, and courage. Without effort, it fails. But with that small little wind, it sparks.
My wish for you on this Valentine's Day is a long-lasting love, one with banked embers that will last a lifetime.
Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 281st time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.
So without further ado, some thoughts on love . . .
1. Love doesn't sit there like a stone, it has to be made, like bread; remade all of the time, made new. ~Ursula K. Le Guin
2. If grass can grow through cement, love can find you at every time in your life. ~Cher
3. Take away love and our earth is a tomb. ~Robert Browning
4. Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired. ~Robert Frost
5. You know you're in love when you don't want to fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams. ~Dr. Seuss
6. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same. ~Emily Brontë
7. Love withers under constraints: its very essence is liberty: it is compatible neither with obedience, jealousy, nor fear: it is there most pure, perfect, and unlimited where its votaries live in confidence, equality and unreserve. ~Percy Bysshe Shelley
8. True love comes quietly, without banners or flashing lights. If you hear bells, get your ears checked. ~Erich Segal
9. What "love" is I don't know if it's not the response of our deepest natures to one another. ~William Carlos Williams
10. At the touch of love, everyone becomes a poet. ~Plato
11. We waste time looking for the perfect lover, instead of creating the perfect love. ~Tom Robbins
12. Nobody has ever measured, even poets, how much a heart can hold. ~Zelda Fitzgerald
13. We are not the same persons this year as last; nor are those we love. It is a happy chance if we, changing, continue to love a changed person. ~W. Somerset Maugham
A Love Story
The young man met the young woman beneath the goal post of the high school football team. They stood with their circle of friends, each eyeing the other. Finally, they moved closer. They spoke of their friends, and how they had both attended the same high school but were now moving on with their lives. She asked a few questions about the game.
He asked her out on a date. She declined, citing other commitments. Nonplussed, he asked for the next night. She declined again for the same reason.
That same evening, they ran into one another again hours later. By then both had left their friends. They spent hours talking.
Thirty years later, they are still together. They've weathered good times and bad, for that is the stuff of life. He has stood by her during illness and heartache, and she has done the same.
That is my love story. It is not much on its surface.
In my experience, love is not something that burns white-hot for years and ages. It ebbs, flows, blazes anew. Sometimes the embers seem nearly gone and you might wonder what all the fuss is about. But then along comes a little breeze . . . and the red glow returns. Love also takes work, and courage. Without effort, it fails. But with that small little wind, it sparks.
My wish for you on this Valentine's Day is a long-lasting love, one with banked embers that will last a lifetime.
Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 281st time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Meme Questions
Sunday Stealing: The Basically Obscure Meme
1: Do you notice a persons eye color?
A. Sometimes. But not always on the first meeting.
2: White, milk, or dark chocolate mocha?
A. None of the above.I don't drink coffee and I don't use milk products.
3: If you could get a tattoo free, would you do it? what would it be?
A. No, I wouldn't do it. So there is no point in answering the second half of the question.
4: Did you grow up in a small or big town? Did you like it?
A. I grew up on a farm. I enjoyed it for the most part but it was lonely sometimes.
5: Your favorite adult as a child? (and not your parents, if they were your favorite).
A. It's a tie: whoever was my teacher at the time, as I tended to be the teacher's pet in most of my classes. Or my maternal grandmother.
6: What kind of smoothie sounds really good right now?
A. How about a blue raspberry icee instead. Or a cup of hot chocolate.
7: Most embarrassing moment from your elementary school years?
A. I think I have more than one. But in the 4th grade, my mother decided to create this interesting hair-do out of my hair, which had something to do with pigtails and no observable part. In the middle of class, while we were reading along with the teacher, Mrs. Lanning stopped, looked straight at me, and said, "Anita, what has happened to your hair? Who did that to you?" and I slunk down in my chair and said, "My mother did it." The class laughed. I cried. I never allowed my mother to touch my hair again. From then on, and even today, it's brush and go.
8: Most embarrassing moment from your middle school years?
A. Probably the time I had on white pants and started my ... well, you know. I ended up having to borrow some other girl's shawl.
9: Most embarrassing moment from your high school years?
A. I can think of quite a few but I am not going to repeat a single one of them here.
10: Have you ever fired anyone?
A. No.
11: Have you ever climbed a tree more than twenty feet off the ground?
A. Yes. My father's farm had a huge beech tree on it tha we would climb.
12: Did you like swinging as a child? Do you still get excited when you see a swing set?
A. I did not much like the swings after wasps built a nest in the swingset at my grandmother's, and I was stung in the ear. So no, I do not get excited when I see a swing set. I tend to avoid them.
13: If you could have any pet in the world, illegal or not, what would you get?
A. Some kind of very small hypoallergenic dog that never sheds hair of any kind.
14: What's your favorite place to relax?
A. I don't relax. That is why I have high blood pressure.
15: What's your most favorite part of your personality?
A. My introversion.
16: Madonna or Lady Gaga? Neither? Both? Who cares?
A. Who cares? Besides, I prefer Melissa Etheridge or Sheryl Crowe. Or Stevie Nicks. Or Chrissie Hynde (The Pretenders). Or Ann and Nancy Wilson (Heart).
17: Have you ever watched the Superbowl all the way through?
A. No.
18: Have you ever watched any major sporting event live?
A. No. Wait. Does NASCAR count? If NASCAR counts, then yes. I've been to several races.
19: What's the most delicious food you've ever eaten in your life?
A. Chocolate. It is the food of the gods.
20: Margarine or butter? Which did you grow up with?
A. I use butter now but grew up with margarine.
1: Do you notice a persons eye color?
A. Sometimes. But not always on the first meeting.
2: White, milk, or dark chocolate mocha?
A. None of the above.I don't drink coffee and I don't use milk products.
3: If you could get a tattoo free, would you do it? what would it be?
A. No, I wouldn't do it. So there is no point in answering the second half of the question.
4: Did you grow up in a small or big town? Did you like it?
A. I grew up on a farm. I enjoyed it for the most part but it was lonely sometimes.
5: Your favorite adult as a child? (and not your parents, if they were your favorite).
A. It's a tie: whoever was my teacher at the time, as I tended to be the teacher's pet in most of my classes. Or my maternal grandmother.
6: What kind of smoothie sounds really good right now?
A. How about a blue raspberry icee instead. Or a cup of hot chocolate.
7: Most embarrassing moment from your elementary school years?
A. I think I have more than one. But in the 4th grade, my mother decided to create this interesting hair-do out of my hair, which had something to do with pigtails and no observable part. In the middle of class, while we were reading along with the teacher, Mrs. Lanning stopped, looked straight at me, and said, "Anita, what has happened to your hair? Who did that to you?" and I slunk down in my chair and said, "My mother did it." The class laughed. I cried. I never allowed my mother to touch my hair again. From then on, and even today, it's brush and go.
8: Most embarrassing moment from your middle school years?
A. Probably the time I had on white pants and started my ... well, you know. I ended up having to borrow some other girl's shawl.
9: Most embarrassing moment from your high school years?
A. I can think of quite a few but I am not going to repeat a single one of them here.
10: Have you ever fired anyone?
A. No.
11: Have you ever climbed a tree more than twenty feet off the ground?
A. Yes. My father's farm had a huge beech tree on it tha we would climb.
12: Did you like swinging as a child? Do you still get excited when you see a swing set?
A. I did not much like the swings after wasps built a nest in the swingset at my grandmother's, and I was stung in the ear. So no, I do not get excited when I see a swing set. I tend to avoid them.
13: If you could have any pet in the world, illegal or not, what would you get?
A. Some kind of very small hypoallergenic dog that never sheds hair of any kind.
14: What's your favorite place to relax?
A. I don't relax. That is why I have high blood pressure.
15: What's your most favorite part of your personality?
A. My introversion.
16: Madonna or Lady Gaga? Neither? Both? Who cares?
A. Who cares? Besides, I prefer Melissa Etheridge or Sheryl Crowe. Or Stevie Nicks. Or Chrissie Hynde (The Pretenders). Or Ann and Nancy Wilson (Heart).
17: Have you ever watched the Superbowl all the way through?
A. No.
18: Have you ever watched any major sporting event live?
A. No. Wait. Does NASCAR count? If NASCAR counts, then yes. I've been to several races.
19: What's the most delicious food you've ever eaten in your life?
A. Chocolate. It is the food of the gods.
20: Margarine or butter? Which did you grow up with?
A. I use butter now but grew up with margarine.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Books: This Year You Write Your Novel
This Year You Write Your Novel
By Walter Mosley
Copyright 2007
115 pages
Walter Mosley is the author of nearly 40 books, most of them mysteries of some sort. He is most famous for Devil in the Blue Dress, which was made into a movie. He writes the Easy Rawlins series.
This book on writing is a slim little volume packed with information. As a primer on writing, I don't know that I have read any better. I think I will read this book at least annually if only to remind me of what I am supposed to be doing.
One thing I really enjoyed about this book was Mosley's emphasis on poetry and the music of language. "Poetry is the fount of all writing. Without a deep understanding of poetry and its practices, any power the writer might have is greatly diminished," he writes (62).
The other thing Mosley advocates is rewriting. And rewriting. And rewriting again. He suggests going through your novel about 25 times (!) before you even think of it as done. The rewriting process comes across as a sacred modality to this author, and I appreciated this honesty about process. It's something you see but it is not encouraged to this degree.
To rewrite, he suggests sitting down and reading through the novel, then reading it again to rewrite it. You should also read the entire thing aloud, preferably into a recorder, and then play it all back and listen to it. This is the hard work of writing.
Definitely a keeper.
By Walter Mosley
Copyright 2007
115 pages
Walter Mosley is the author of nearly 40 books, most of them mysteries of some sort. He is most famous for Devil in the Blue Dress, which was made into a movie. He writes the Easy Rawlins series.
This book on writing is a slim little volume packed with information. As a primer on writing, I don't know that I have read any better. I think I will read this book at least annually if only to remind me of what I am supposed to be doing.
One thing I really enjoyed about this book was Mosley's emphasis on poetry and the music of language. "Poetry is the fount of all writing. Without a deep understanding of poetry and its practices, any power the writer might have is greatly diminished," he writes (62).
The other thing Mosley advocates is rewriting. And rewriting. And rewriting again. He suggests going through your novel about 25 times (!) before you even think of it as done. The rewriting process comes across as a sacred modality to this author, and I appreciated this honesty about process. It's something you see but it is not encouraged to this degree.
To rewrite, he suggests sitting down and reading through the novel, then reading it again to rewrite it. You should also read the entire thing aloud, preferably into a recorder, and then play it all back and listen to it. This is the hard work of writing.
Definitely a keeper.
Monday, February 11, 2013
Through the Curtain
I shot this photo last week. The white is the shears on my window; the picture was taken through a narrow gap.
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