Weather and Seasons are Changeable, so are Priorities
I’ve learned to listen to the weather report daily. I’ve also learned to consult my priorities frequently. I have to know what is, and what is not absolutely essential for living a good life. I have to always ask, whether this thing I’m doing or planning to do is essential. When I involve myself in the inessentials, it turns disastrous–as if I’m standing out in the middle of a hurricane. I should have stocked up on food and water, hunkered down in an interior room, barred the doors, shut the windows and blinds, and waited, even through the lull, for the storm to fully …
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Swimming Lake Superior by Rachael Hanel
Always, always keep learning. Hooray for author Rachael Hanel, who learned to swim at age 35. Check out her blog post, and consider learning something new this year. My plan is to learn how to write songs with Mac’s “Garage Band” program–songwriting fits in with the novel I’m writing. Music has always been part of my life and fiddling around with Garage Band (and hanging out with songwriters who know how to use it) just plain sounds like fun. Click on this link to read Rachael’s blog: Swimming Lake Superior. What new thing do you want to learn or accomplish?
While they’re not (yet) begging for your book, perfect your pie crust
Don’t give up. Keep writing and revising. Keep knocking on doors and learning. Keep thinking about exactly who your audience is and what they care about. And keep connecting with peers and mentors who can help you improve your writing (because growing as a writer is like growing in compassion, it’s a never-ending process). Published Author Rachael Hanel suggested to me that I might want to blog about the process that took me to publication. My memoir is coming out this fall, and yes, my chef and I are working on a cookbook, too. That looks likely to happen for …
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Choosing a doctor: window shop for one
This is part 1 of a 3-part blog-post on how to shop for a doctor. I am not a doctor. I’m not a professional advice-giver, or anyone who has any business telling you what to do or how to live your life. This is only my own opinion. The reason my opinion might mean something to you is because I’ve been successful at finding doctors I love. And I don’t love all doctors. I have exceedingly high and specific standards for my doctors. When I’m sitting there emotionally and possibly physically naked, if anything about the situation makes me the …
Pie–it's all about the crust
Well almost all. In pie, filling and crust are co-dependent. Co-dependency is not always neurotic. What would a pie be without the crust? It might be pudding or jam but it would definitely not be pie. What would a poem be without simile or metaphor or rhythm? It might be a story or a rhyme but it would not, as literature goes, be considered a poem. Mmmmm, pie! Here’s the best crust recipe. This of course is only my opinion, but in my kitchen, there are only two opinions that count mine and my sweetie-pie chef’s. If a majority can …
I needed a hiatus from blogging
You’ve been wondering where I’ve been. It’s difficult keeping up with the my rapidly-changing world so I took a hiatus. I had life reasons, nothing dreadful, but you (especially if you have chronic health issues) know how life goes. The biggest reason I didn’t blog for a month, however, is because I forgot why I’m blogging, or rather, I’ve changed my mind about why blogging matters. Why does blogging matter? Which lead me to the still-unanswered question, “What should I blog about?” I suppose that to find those answers, I’d better begin with the very first, basic question which is: …
Choosing a Doctor: it's personal
You’re going to have to take your clothes off for your doctor. Hello! Choose someone you really like, okay? I’m really good at choosing doctors. I’ve managed, no matter where I have lived, to find a terrific primary care giver, and when I’ve needed a specialist (oh, about sixteen bazillion times in my life), I’ve found a great one. After I saw my doctor again yesterday, I realized how incredibly vital it is for me, for the quality of my whole life, to have a great (and not merely okay) relationship with my health care provider. I enjoy seeing my doctor. My doctor knows …
Girl Scouting lesson applies to writing, to everything
The first Girl-Scouting Lesson I learned goes like this: Make new friends, but keep the old. Some are silver and others are gold. I’ve been asking my blogging friends questions all week: “Why am I blogging?” Now I know that answer–to connect with people. I can’t imagine remaining motivated or inspired (to write or to live) without my relationships, old and new because Everything I know I’ve learned from someone else. A new connection happened this week. I blogged (thinking aloud) “And what should I blog?” The really neat thing about blogging is, it turns friendly eavesdropping readers into people …
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Disclosure: This is almost a recipe for cherry-berry pie filling
Here’s another disclosure for you. I love to cook but I hate taking pictures of food and I hate writing detailed recipes with measurements. Cooking is the way I relax when I’m not writing or taking care of my persnickety health. My blog started to turn cooking into work and I didn’t like that so I was going to stop blogging about food. But my food posts get the most attention. Do you have any suggestions for what I should do about this conundrum? Here’s my last fess-up for the day: I’ve been pretending to be a different kind of …
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Is blogging just another cherry-berry pie-in-the-sky?
I’m starting a whole new blogging chapter. Let me start by saying that I cook WAY more often, and make a lot more variety of foods than I’ve been posting on my blog. Yesterday for example, I baked a vegetable pie with whole-wheat crust, stuffed with grated onion, zucchini, carrots, potatoes, mozzarella, romano & italian herbs. I had mixed up an extra crust to keep in the fridge to use later in the week. Then the crust when we tasted the vegetable pie was sooo delectable that listening to me talk about making a fruit pie out of it made …
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