Out of Words?

 

I didn't put up a post last week. It was the first time in almost three years that I didn't post ANYTHING. That fact made me sad. I don't like it when a winning streak is broken. I tried, really I did, but I wasn't inspired by anything. Day after day I sat here, trying to think of something to write about, and came up with nothing. I didn't do a craft project, either  - actually I worked on some quilt tops but didn't finish any - so I didn't have anything to take a picture of. And since I haven't done much editing and had nothing ready to share from my writing projects, I didn't do my Sweet Saturday post.

It's not as if nothing at all happened in my life. I keep fairly busy, and so do the people around me. There's always a story in the paper that piques my interest. But nothing inspired me to write. I didn't add much to any of my writing projects, and I didn't write a blog post. I was – out of words.

This week, I went to my quilting group at church, and we had a special guest speaker. Carol Peters talked about Margaret's Hope Chest, a charity founded by her daughter, Caryn Vogelzang, after Carol's mother was mugged in a parking lot after buying groceries. Margaret was a quilter and her granddaughter was inspired to create the charity, making quilts for those who needed hope for whatever reason. They've given them to people who are suffering from tragedy, from economic troubles, or health problems. They've gone to children who are homeless at Christmas time. But the very first quilt went to the mother of one of the girls who killed Margaret. Carol spoke for almost a full hour about the journey their family took in the creation and development of Margaret's Hope Chest, but her audience sat, entranced. We were inspired. You will be too, when you read their story at their website. I was so inspired I went home, opened my laptop, and wrote.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that my inspiration comes from people who motivate others through their actions. In this case it came from two women have made enormous strides by listening to The Call. They are not sitting back, waiting for things to happen. Carol and Caryn are strong women of faith, the kind of women I like to read and write about. And now I have an idea for a story. So I guess I'd better get to work…

Carol Peters, of Margaret's Hope Chest

Sweet Saturday

   

Welcome back! I'm taking a break from sharing my quilting series while I do some major revisions. Today I have a short snippet from my very first novella, The Legacy:

The crate looked different from anything she had ever seen. It was black, inlaid with delicate gold flowers. Though it was covered with a thick layer of dust, she could tell it was a treasure. Inside were some old Japanese clothes, a scroll, and two swords, one long and ornately decorated, the other shorter and plainer.

“I wonder how your family got these.”

“Dad says we had a samurai ancestor.”

“It would have been over a hundred and forty years ago. The samurai were outlawed in 1870.”

Andy’s hands stopped. He sat up and stared at his friend. A single raised brow communicated his question.

She shrugged. “I read about it.”

His eyes crinkled and his lips curved. “Your manga?”

Andy was the only person who didn't tease or belittle her about her passion for the manga comics. “Yeah, I guess so. They teach a lot of history.”

They looked back at the items in the crate. “This stuff is super old, ”Leigh mused. “Seems kind of a waste to have it rotting out here. Let's bring it in the house so we can look at it closer in better light and show it to the rest of the family.”

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Virtual Blog Party

            

Today I'm participating in a blog party at The Mustard Seed, virtual home of author Joanne Troppello. Ten authors have gathered to discuss the characters we write about and the way we write. Several authors are giving away copies of their books! All you have to do is visit and leave a comment. Stop in at The Mustard Seed by clicking HERE.

         Hope to see you there!

Sweet Saturday

 

Welcome back! I have another scene from Sunlight and Shadows, my work-in-progress:

The shop was closed for the evening, so she could work on her project without being interrupted by customers. A knock on the door startled her. She looked up to see a familiar little face looking in and smiling. Her lips curved in an answering smile and she walked over to open the door.

"Hello, Jennie. What brings you here this evening?"

"Hi, Sophie. Daddy and I got a pizza for supper."

"Where is your Daddy?"

"He's right there." Jennie pointed to the car parked in front of the pizzeria. Brad stood next to the car, talking to another man. "He's talking to one of the band parents, and I saw your store's light was on and I wanted to say hi."

“That’s very nice of you. But does he know you came down here?”

"Jennie? Where are you?" Brad's anxious voice rang out. That answered her question.

"I'm right here, Daddy. I made sure I could always see you."

“I’m glad you did, Princess. I got really worried when I didn’t see you.”

Sophie's heart warmed to hear the exchange. Brad didn't sound angry, but his concern when he didn't see his daughter was evident, as well as his relief at finding her. As much as she grieved over the daughter she had lost, in a way it was probably better that the child had never been born. If she had, she would have been doomed to a life of constant criticism, and fear of not measuring up. She wouldn't have known what it was like to have friends, to express herself freely, play happily, and explore. She would have been as miserable as her mother had been. Maybe it was for the best the baby had never lived to experience such pain and suffering.

****

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How Sweet It Is!

Last year, the Chicken Soup editors put out a call for stories for their book about Brain Power. So I wrote about how studying a new language helped to pull me out of a mental funk. I wrote the thing in about an hour, emailed it off, and forgot about it. But someone decided they liked it and it's included in the anthology. That was great news to me!

As part of my compensation for the story, I get ten copies of the book. The package arrived sometime last week. Here's the book! And since I "created" the story, I guess that's going to count as my creative endeavor for the week. The book is below – so cool to see my name in print!

I'm leaving on Thursday for Chicago, where I'll attend the Spring Fling Writers' Conference. I'll also have a chance to visit with my college roommate, Debbie. So I'd better close this down and get ready! Gotta get inspired to do some more writing!

Sweet Saturday

 

Welcome back! I apologize for the technical glitches with last week's excerpt. I'm out of town again this weekend, so I hope pre-posting works this time! Here's another excerpt from Sunlight and Shadows:

Another typical Monday morning in the Carmichael household. Brad wanted to pound his head against a wall. He couldn't find a clean shirt, and none of his socks had a matching mate. He'd forgotten to do the laundry over the weekend, and now he was out of clean clothes. How could he have been so careless? Lynn would never have forgotten. The house was always showroom perfect, and the entire family always wore clothes that were not only clean but perfectly coordinated. He'd never appreciated that, just took it for granted.

"Daddy, do you have another headache?"

Brad turned to his daughter, who stood in his bedroom doorway. She was dressed in one of her Sunday dresses, complete with tights and dress shoes.

"Princess, it's not Sunday. You're going to school today, not church."

"I know, but I don't have any clean shirts or socks for school. So I put on a dress."

He grimaced. "I'm sorry honey. I'll have to do laundry tonight."

"I'll help you, Daddy."

"Thanks sweetheart. You're so smart, figuring out what to do. I wish I could figure out what to wear because all my shirts are dirty, too."

Jennie's little face crunched into a frown. "What about that sweater Grandma gave you for Christmas? You haven’t worn it yet."

A sweater. He'd never been into sweaters, and the stylish cable knit creation his mother-in-law had given him was still in the gift box in his closet. But desperate times called for desperate measures. He pulled the box from the closet floor and opened it. "That will work, but what shall I wear under it?"

Jennie pulled the sweater out from the box. "Daddy, there's a shirt in here, too."

He looked. A turtleneck shirt. Definitely not his style, but it was clean. It would do.

"Princess, you're a genius. Have you eaten breakfast yet?"

"No. I couldn't find any milk."

Rats. He hadn't done the grocery shopping over the weekend, either. "I'm sorry, Princess. I don't think we have anything on the calendar tonight. It looks like laundry and grocery shopping are what we're going to do."

"Okay."

"So what shall we eat for now? We have some leftover Chinese food."

"I don't feel like eating that. Can I have some crackers and peanut butter?"

Peanut butter. Protein. Crackers were almost like toast. "Okay. Do we have enough for me to eat some, too? Do you need me to get the peanut butter out of the cupboard?"

"I think there's enough. I can reach it. You put it in the snack drawer."

"Okay, sweetie. Crackers and peanut butter for breakfast."

He finished dressing, feeling like the shoe-in candidate for Worst Father of the Year.

Tonight, he would definitely have to put his band director hat away and wear his Dad hat.

****

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Family Road Trip

 

Last weekend I took a very quick road trip with my mom and both daughters. We went to Chicago (about three hours from here) to watch my niece sing in her college jazz vocal group. It was a rather expensive trip - hotels in downtown Chicago don't come cheap! But it was a nice bonding experience. In addition to spending time with my three favorite women, I got to see my niece. And an added bonus was seeing her dad, my youngest brother. Ken lives in North Carolina so it's been a really long time since I've seen him.

Having family spread out so far makes it difficult to maintain close ties. Of course, now it's easier with email and social media. But my brothers don't get on facebook often, so they don't see my news and I don't learn about theirs. One brother informed me that email is not a reliable way to notify him about things because his messages tend to get lost! We muddle along, though, using old-fashioned technology like telephones (yes, they're cell phones!).

I guess the point of this is that family ties, when they're strong enough to begin with, can persevere even though long periods of absence. Because we've had a long past, we'll continue on. That's what families do.

****

This week's project took a whole ten minutes to complete, once I got all the materials assembled. I took an old chipwood box and covered it with scrapbooking paper and ribbon and decorated it so it looks nice on the mantle or on an end table. I'm having so much fun trying to get things made each week using stuff I already have in the house! I wonder how long I can keep it going.