Let It Snow???

“Oh the weather outside is frightful,” as the song goes. I’m staring out at snow falling in a rather sheepish way. No pun intended ’cause snow and sheep are both white. I mean the snow is kind of light and noncommittal. Like, “Eh, I’m falling, ’cause it be like that. But I may not stay.” The determined, take no prisoners snow has yet to arrive.

 

Though I’m irritated by the snow (I want autumn! Go away, winter), Henry, however, is in his element. He wishes every day could be a snow day. He might get his wish, since we’ve had two days of this.

  

This is a short and sweet post, because I want to get to the main reason why I posted (besides complaining about the autumn snowfall). Before I get to that, let me throw out that I’ve been nominated for a blogger recognition award. There are a bunch of conditions for this award one of which involves acknowledging that I’ve been nominated (done!) and thanking the one who nominated me—FictionFan, which she announced at this post. Thank you, FictionFan!

Another is to tell you how this blog got started. Since this is not the anniversary of my blog, I will give you the simple answer—my younger brother challenged me to start a blog back in 2013. Within a month of that challenge, another guy basically said to me, “If you call yourself a writer, you’ll start a blog.” I took the plunge in February of that year. The results, as you can see. . . .

There are other conditions for this award, which I am skipping over, ’cause it be like that. And now, on to the main point of this post. What more fitting day than a snowy one to announce the winner of the ice cream giveaway, which was announced here. So without further ado, Nancy Hatch, Ben & Jerry’s Non-Dairy Caramel Almond Brittle Ice Cream has been ordered and is on its way to you.

Thank you to all who commented! That’s all for now from the snowy Midwest!

Ben & Jerry’s ice cream image from their website. Other photos by L. Marie.

Resilience

Happy Post Easter/Resurrection Sunday!

Chag Pesach Samech!

See this? This might look like an ordinary budding tree to you, but to me, this is a cavalry charge.

This year, winter seemed to linger like a bad odor. Palm Sunday looked like this.

Winter’s (hopefully) last gasp. But the cavalry is here. Winter is defeated! Don’t let the door hit you on your way out, Winter.

Look at these flowers. They made it through last week’s snowstorm. So did we, like we made it through the Polar Vortex’s visit earlier this winter. (Polar Vortex, you will not be missed. Don’t write and don’t text. I will not accept your calls.)

The Seder I attended on Good Friday was another reminder of resilience, as the story was told of the Exodus led by Moses after the people of Israel were released after hundreds of years of slavery. (Check out Exodus chapters 5—15 in the Bible for that.)

This brings to mind the resilience of many during wars and other horrible events. (Columbine [check out Laura Bruno Lilly’s blog post about that], the Manchester arena bombing in 2017, and the recent fire at Notre Dame come to mind.) Perhaps in events like the above you felt like you survived by the skin of your teeth, barely holding on to hope. Hardly a triumphal march, you think. Yet you’re holding on. That is victory.

With the coming of this Easter, my family is especially grateful for the resilience of one of our own, whose sudden onset of mysterious seizures led to two recent hospital stays. For many days we waited by the bedside, hoping, praying. And now we rejoice at the release from the hospital.

This is sort of an awkward segue to the announcement of the winners of Caroline Carlson’s The Door at the End of the World. (See this post for an interview with Caroline.) But in a way, it isn’t. Caroline’s book is about adventures at the end of something. Easter and Passover are reminders of the adventure at the end of struggle and heartbreak. Reminders of the promise of a new life, a new beginning.

  

So, the first winner, thanks to Random.com, is . . .

Is . . .

Is . . .

Is . . .

Is . . .

Sharon Van Zandt!

The second winner is . . .

Is . . .

Is . . .

Is . . .

Is . . .

Marian Beaman!

Sharon and Marian, I rejoice with you! Please comment below to confirm.

  

Cross image from christianitymalaysia.com. Passover greeting image from americangreetings.com. Other photos by L. Marie.

Six Years A-Bloggin’—Happy Post Hoodie-Hoo Day to You

 

February 20 was a blink-and-you’ll-miss it holiday known as Hoodie-Hoo Day. Yeah, I didn’t know about it either until Alexa told me. (Yes, Alexa occupies my desk, telling knock-knock jokes far cornier than the ones I had heard when I was in kindergarten.) What’s that you say? You missed Hoodie-Hoo Day, but you’re wondering what it’s all about? (Well, the hokey pokey is what it’s all about. But I digress.) Here is an explanation of Hoodie-Hoo Day from holidayinsights.com:

It is a day to chase away winter blahs, and bring in spring. After all, everyone in the northern hemisphere are [sic] sick and tired of winter at this point and a little crazy being cooped up inside all winter and not seeing the sun.

O. . .kay then. Don’t let the twitching eye fool you. I’m not crazy.

While I didn’t celebrate the holiday, I love the fact that people keep inventing holidays to inject some cheer into life. (Like International Talk Like a Pirate Day, which is September 19.) Injecting cheer into life is kind of the mission of this blog. Which brings me to the first of three reasons for this post.

The title revealed it. This blog is six years old. I never imagined I would last this long as a blogger.

We tend to hear about benchmark anniversaries which are 5s and 10s. But six? Well, for wedding anniversaries, the traditional gifts to give are iron and sugar. I’m not making that up. You can find that info here. But wood is the modern gift. So . . . I guess I should treat myself to a cupcake, a crowbar, and a plank of wood.

 

My niece made this cupcake. 😊

Before I head to the nearest Home Depot to get my anniversary gifts, here is the second reason for this post.

To announce a Twitter giveaway hosted by Laura Sibson. You remember Laura from this post about the cover for her debut young adult novel. Today is the last day to enter, so you still have time to head over to her Twitter page. Click here to do so.

  

⭐GIVEAWAY! ⭐Today is 4 months from pub date for #TheArtofBreakingThings Please ❤️ & Follow. RT to be entered to win one of these amazing #novel19s books that would love to be on your shelf with mine. 😍🤗#giveaway #amwriting #amrevising #writingcommunity

Last but not least, this post is to announce the winner of a preorder of Castle of Concrete by Katia Raina, which will debut in June of this year. This post has the details.

  

The winner of is . . .

Is . . .

Is . . .

Is . . .

Is . . .

Lori from Lori’s Lane!

Congrats, Lori! Please comment below to confirm. And thank you to all who have read my blog over the years!

Author and book photos courtesy of the authors. Wood plank from homedepot.com. Birdgif by Sherchle. Number 1 from clipartix.com. Number 2 from clipartion.com. Number 3 from clipart-library.com. Number 6 from download-free-clip.art. Other photos by L. Marie.

Armed and Dangerous

See this?

This is a sword. It might not look like it, but it is. I use it to slay the elements.

You hear that, Winter??? You’ve thrown what you got at me. Minus 11-degree temperatures with -20 windchill. Snow falling every day. Freezing rain on top of that some days. Days when I have to scrape snow and ice off the car sometimes two or three times a day. But you will not get me down! No, no, no! You. Will. Not. Break. Meeeeeeeeeeeee!

This is my fighter pack.

Yes, that is a cup from Starbucks. It is a hot mocha. Got my sword and my gloves. And my lemon loaf cake. And I’ve got books to keep me warm. (And soft blankets.)

   

See these? My babies! I call the one on the left Darth Vader. And the one on the right has a space helmet vibe. How apt that these are space heaters.

   

Don’t let this sunny day fool you. It got to ten above (-12 Celsius) that day and sixteen on Sunday. The forecast calls for more below zero weather with snow.

   

Ha ha, Winter! You think you’ll break me. Think again!

Life is like that sometimes, isn’t it? It hammers at you, crusts you over in disillusionment with its icy winds.

So I bought this the other day.

It may not look like much. But the title on the package says something to me. Not to the surface me, but to the bone-deep me that needs a good word every now and then. It reminds me to keep dreaming even through the crusty moments. Dream big dreams, girl. Not just dreams of warm, sunny days to avoid giving in to the winter blahs but dreams that say cold, dark days like this won’t last forever. That there’s something beyond those midnight blue-hued days where you’re kicking icicles off your car. Off your heart.

Yeah, I know. Sometimes the iceberg of life is way too much for your little boat. And my little pep talk, with its mixed metaphors, is only a tiny splotch of Sunshine Yellow paint on your Great Wall of Despair. I don’t want to make light of anyone else’s pain. This pep talk is really to remind me to keep going, even when I don’t want to.

So, Winter, you won’t have the last laugh! Not on my watch.

Oh yes, Winter. I’m armed and dangerous. Don’t mess with me.

Even Kitty has a found a friend during the cold days. Though I don’t think this poor cat knows what she’s gotten herself into.

Photos by L. Marie.

In the Meadow We Can Build a Snowman . . .

Or we can try. With the recent snowfall in my area (another six inches of goodness), I gave snowman building a shot. (See photos below. . . . What’s that? You’re having trouble seeing a white-on-white image? Perhaps I should title it White Cat in a Snowstorm.) But the snow was too powdery and refused to pack. According to an internet article by Karen Sassone, “The Physics of a Snowball,” the snow was too cold for snowman building. (Wrap your mind around that!)

   

Henry’s snowman is coming along much better. And small wonder. He’s a yeti. Snow is supposed to be his element. Though camouflage, sadly, is not. He thinks you can’t see him in this snow. Please humor him and say you can’t.

   

With such snowy days upon us here, my friend Sharon reminded me of the following poem by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mary Oliver, whose recent passing many of us mourn. Here’s a snippet of her poem. (You can find the whole poem here.)

First Snow

The snow
began here
this morning and all day
continued, its white
rhetoric everywhere
calling us back to why, how,
whence such beauty and what
the meaning; such
an oracular fever! flowing
past windows, an energy it seemed
would never ebb, never settle
less than lovely! and only now,
deep into night,
it has finally ended.

Penny over at LifeontheCuffoff has a post with another of Mary Oliver’s poems here.

Even with a temperature drop down in the teens and below (Fahrenheit), sunny winter mornings still seem magical. Everything looks sharper.

  

Since I was curious about why that is so, I Googled and found an article entitled, “Cold winter nights offer clearer night skies.” Well, guess that says it all. But here is a quote from that article:

[C]old air cannot hold as much moisture as warm air can. Hence, on many nights in the summer, the warm moisture-laden atmosphere causes the sky to appear hazier. By day it is a milky, washed-out blue, which in winter becomes a richer, deeper and darker shade of blue.

So there you have it! Still, I can’t help feeling like I’m in a Van Gogh painting when I contemplate the winter clouds and breathe the crisp, cold air

Title based on “Winter Wonderland” lyrics by Richard B. Smith. Photos by L. Marie.

Twiggy

In the 1960s, a model from London named Lesley Lawson became a fashion icon. Oh, perhaps you don’t recognize the name. Maybe the name Twiggy will jar your memory. However, if the 1960s was a decade your parents or grandparents remember (rather than you), you probably still have no clue who this is. Back then Twiggy was known for her waiflike look. Even today, some vie for the Twiggy look.

Photo by Express Newspapers/Getty Images

During my Sunday drive, I couldn’t help thinking of Twiggy with every deciduous tree I passed. Bare, vulnerable branches reached toward the gray sky, which brightened to blue in the afternoon.

Winter strips all of the pomp out of a tree. The circumstance is survival as a tree sheds its leaves and tucks into itself to wait for spring. But in their winter starkness, you can readily see the lovely “bones” of a tree.

In grad school, I had an advisor who did to my sentences what winter does to a tree. I had a habit of trying to get all fancy with my writing, adding phrases I thought grand. My advisor would send me feedback like, “This is crap,” which stripped all of the pomp out of me. Lest you get indignant on my behalf (or you just feel like chortling at the baldness of that statement), she was right. (I almost typed write.) I wanted to sound good, to show the world, “Hey look at me. I can use figurative language to dress up my writing” (though it made no sense character-wise). There is nothing wrong with figurative language. But as my advisor pointed out, if I couldn’t write a basic sentence—one with good “bones” like a solid action verb and a clear subject; one that fits the narrative well, instead of drawing attention to itself simply because it exists to feed my ego—what’s the point? She wanted to feel something, but couldn’t, thanks to my pretentious language.

So that’s why the twiggy-ness of trees moves me. Trees are so well designed, so graceful in their form. Starkness becomes them—and good sentences.

  

Twiggy photo from thegloss.com. Tree photos by L. Marie.

The Play’s the Thing

By now, you’re probably thinking of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, since the title comes from that play, specifically Act 2, Scene 2:

More relative than this. The play’s the thing
Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king.

But I was actually thinking of what you do when you have downtime (like I did in this post). And in my area, we had oodles of downtime, thanks to the latest snowfall, which brought several inches overnight. What do you do when you barely have electricity (it flickered on and off on the night the snow began to fall in earnest and into the next day), no hot water, bad roads, and no internet, thanks to the snowstorm? (Working at home, I need internet.)

You go outside to scrape the snow boulders off your car, grumbling as you do so, because you can’t get your driver’s side door open. A layer of ice keeps it stuck fast. Same with the passenger door. And you need the scraper on the front seat. You grumble again. Finally, you get the rear passenger door open and crawl to the front over the center console, knocking your rearview mirror askew, and wind up in a tangled heap of boots, coat, and scarf in the driver’s seat. After shoving and shoving, you get the door open.

You scrape. And grumble. And scrape. Rinse. Repeat.

But then, something magical happens. In the distance, you notice the trees as the snow continues to fall. With the snow lacing their branches, they look like Christmas trees. And as you trudge wearily back to your building, you take in the sheer delight of a small child experiencing snow for the first time. His excitement is contagious. You think, The snow is pretty. Winter dresses the earth in frosting with a skill the finest cake decorator can only dream of emulating. (Okay, one tree is a little heavy on the frosting.)

   

This is a scene where you wouldn’t be surprised if a unicorn showed up.

  

As you talk with the child and his grandfather, you realize that going out to play is the thing to do on a day like this.

    

As I headed inside to cocoa it up, a friend texted, It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

It sure is.

If you have snow in your area, what’s your favorite thing to do on a snowy day?

Do you want to build a snowman?

Donatina thinks this chunk of snow looks like a dog.

P.S. The power finally went out for a while, then came back on, only to go out again and on again. Finally got internet early Tuesday morning.

Photos by L. Mare. Donatina Shoppie by Moose Toys.

Snow, Snow, Slow Your Roll

I’m sitting here as I write this, gazing out of the window at a gray-blue sky. We’ve had day after day after day after day of snowfall. And more is on the way, according to my brother and sister-in-law, who within hours of each other, texted the happy news to me.

   

Yeah, I know. That’s what winter is all about, Charlie Brown. Snow falls. Temperatures drop.

   

Anyway, I was complaining to Barbie about this recently. She’s a good listener. Even put down her magazine and gave me her full attention. I was explaining how the snowfall has caused me to slow down while driving.

She gave me a look as if to say, “Like that’s a bad thing?” Snow-Fro the Shoppet also concurred. She would. She was made for winter.

I like to zip around town, catching every green light, making good time, getting to my destination quickly. But zipping down a road, heedless of what the conditions are like, is how accidents happen. Having had my share of winter accidents, I learned the value of taking it slow. When you live with snow and ice, you adjust to the pace of the season.

Revision is that way. I’m revising a young adult fantasy novel for probably the twelfth time. I want to zip through it, like I zip down the street when the roads are ice free. But that’s what I did before. And I’ve discovered several things I missed in the earlier revisions. Like the gaps in logic or faulty descriptions I constantly find as I read the chapters.

My revision cave, where, yes, crocheting and video watching also occur

One chapter took me two days to work through. Two. Days. So, no matter how hard it’s been and how long it’s taking, I need to give myself permission to keep at it. “Slow your roll, L.,” I remind myself.

Winter is here in all of its messy glory. Just like revision. I’m trying to be present in the moment and present on the page in this season of change.

The sun is out, like a kiss of heaven. Though the snow lingers and threatens, I can’t help believing that I can weather the snow and the revision.

   

Barbie is a registered trademark of Mattel. Snow-Fro and Kissy Boo Shoppets and Fluffy Snowball and Terri Tennis Ball Shopkins are registered trademarks of Moose Toys. Photos by L. Marie.

’Tis the Season, or So We’re Told, to Be Thankful

With Thanksgiving around the corner here in the U.S., I couldn’t help making a list of things for which I’m thankful. At first, I resisted the idea, thinking that list making at Thanksgiving seemed a little too been-there-done-that. After all, do I really need a holiday to tell me to be thankful? If I’m not thankful throughout the year, how fake is it that I’m suddenly thankful on Thursday? (Well, I’m thankful for turkey!)

But since I’ve got the time, and you’ve come here anyway, here it is. I’m thankful for . . .

* Frost-rimed leaves representing the full spectrum of the seasons . . .

  

* Family and friends far and near who are as dear as family (Actual friends and family are not depicted in this photo. No one I know has a worm coming out of his or her head.)

* Friends who make cards for me . . .

* Blogger friends like FictionFan, who offer to send me free Audible books . . .

* This hand cream. Cold weather is hard on the hands, so . . .

* And chocolate of course. Oh and ice cream.

“Wait a minute!” you interrupt. “Are you really taking this thankful thing seriously? I mean, come on. Hand cream? Dead leaves? Chocolate? Ice cream?”

Well, I am thankful for those. And if I really want to go beyond just surface-level stuff, I’m really thankful to God and to incredibly generous friends who helped me through a difficult season. I haven’t mentioned even half of the things that have happened to me this year—good or bad. Some things I keep to myself.

But I am grateful. And that’s why I’m sponsoring another giveaway on this blog. Just because. No, I’m not crazy. And yes, I know this isn’t Christmas—the gift-giving season. But one way I show thankfulness is to give. Really, I only included the above list to lead up to this point. Comment below to be entered in the drawing to receive a $30 Amazon gift card (or its equivalent in Amazon UK). What are you thankful for, even if Thanksgiving Day is not something you celebrate? If you celebrate Thanksgiving, what are you looking forward to eating on the day?

Once again, the random number generator will decide the winner. I’ll post the name on November 27! Just in time for more holiday shopping (or to buy yourself something you love)!

Now, that’s something to be thankful for.

Turkey from wallyball.homestead.com. Lalaloopsy dolls by Mattel. Photos by L. Marie.

Get Cozy!

When you live in an area where lately the temperature seems to hover between 9 degrees (Fahrenheit) and 2 below zero, you tend to crave anything that makes you feel warm and cozy.

Like my Sherpa blanket.

Oh yeah! If I could wrap up with it while waiting for the train on frosty mornings, I would. When I throw it on, I instantly feel the weight and warmth of it. It’s like having a sheepdog wrapped around me.

I’ve mentioned the maple apple cider tea that makes me feel especially cozy. Nancy Hatch and Lyn Miller-Lachmann, expect to get some in the mail soon. (Yes, that is my way of announcing the winners of the giveaway announced in this post. I decided to go with two, since they both said they wanted the tea in the comments. Winners, please confirm below. If you would prefer to have a blend of flavors [click that link to preview] instead of only the maple apple cider, please mention that when you confirm.)

Another way of getting cozy is to watch a cozy movie. I’ve mentioned in many posts that movies and miniseries adapted from Jane Austen’s books are my usual go-tos. However, Enchanted April is another favorite. This 1991 movie, directed by Mike Newell, concerns four women (Josie Lawrence, Miranda Richardson, Joan Plowright, and Polly Walker) who rent a villa in the Italian Rivera. It’s based on the 1922 novel by Elizabeth von Arnim. With a cast like that, I can’t help feeling cozy, especially with so many sun-splashed days and lovely walks in the Italian countryside.

Still another way of getting cozy is to curl up with a cozy mystery. Agatha Christie, Ellis Peters, Ngaio Marsh, P. D. James, and Dorothy Sayers were my authors of choice for years on cold winter days. Agatha, Ngaio, and Dorothy wrote during the Golden Age of mysteries (the 1920s and 1930s). There are many cozy mystery series now. For a great review of a cozy mystery, check out FictionFan’s blog. She reviewed one of the Murder She Wrote novels starring the one and only Jessica Fletcher. (Click here for that review.) I used to read those ages ago. I think I’ll pick one up again.

I feel warmer already!

What’s your favorite way to get cozy this winter?

Book cover from Goodreads. Photos by L. Marie.