Cookin' Up Something Good...

"Writing is what we make from the broth of our experience..."

-- Julia Cameron from The Writer's Life Insights from the RIGHT to WRITE.

An Evening of Enlightenment...

Tonight my husband and I went to an informal gathering of writers, hosted by my friend and fellow blogger, Linda and her husband, Mike.  You can check out their blogs by clicking on the link of their names...

Linda and most of the guests attend the Henderson Writer's Group.  Linda invited me and I went with her a couple of times. Linda is a mover and a shaker, a talented writer, humorist, stand up comedian and soon to be Life coach... She has been busy finishing up her job so she can quit and move on to her next venture, traveling and getting married during the holidays, so she has not attended lately either.  She and Mike felt it would be a great way for everyone to reconnect and see what everyone has been up to...

It was fun seeing some familiar faces and meeting new ones.  I was so intrigued and impressed listening to all their accomplishments and projects as we went around the room introducing ourselves...

I met Linda and another blogger/friend, Lisa, who was one of the first bloggers I met when I started my first blog, Mystical Journeys.  Linda, Lisa and I used to meet for lunches and talk... which were always serendipitous and inspirational for me. When my husband and I were punching in the code at the front gate, Lisa drove up behind us... The last time we were all together was April of last year at the Las Vegas Writer's Conference. It was so good to get together with them again...


I am so glad I followed through and went...  Lately, it seems I make excuses too easily...which is why I am still finishing up projects from 2011, dragging them into 2012.  I think my retirement has spawned a Scarlet O'Hara-type-attitude..."I'll worry about that tomorrow..."


NO WONDER I FEEL SO UNHAPPY!!!!!


After getting home, sitting, reflecting at my laptop, I am left with two important impressions:

#1 Without really realizing it, I have made some excellent contacts and leads here in Henderson, Nevada, which could quite possibly help me advance toward pursuits in writing...

#2  I can achieve my goals and dreams if I just DO IT and NEVER GIVE UP.

Two of my greatest hindrances are my tendency to allow myself to be easily distracted  and over analyzing why I allow myself to be distracted.

I = Identify what I need, want, or plan to do.

D= Decide to follow it through to completion, no matter what...

E= Express my desire to stay on task with no excuses.

A= Action, Action, ACTION!


What an enlightening  IDEA...

Some Days...

Reality

"And so she smiled

  As sweet as can be

  In the face of the monster

  Called reality.

by Adina Levitan

Some days there is just so much to do and some days my energy level lags behind my drive to get things accomplished...

Some days, things just don't go the way I want them to.

Some days, I am angry as hell and wonder why things aren't going my way...

Some days I feel frustrated, agitated and I cuss a lot...

Some days, I just can't see clearly. I forget faith, the good stuff and the life lessons I've learned...

All I can do is my best effort each day.  If it takes me several days longer than planned, big deal, I am retired, so what.

I may have a plan, how I want things to go... but the Universe or God may have me scheduled for some personal tweaking...    Eventually, I will catch on and go with His plan...

Some days, this scruffy, strawberry-blond doggy, comes to me with her big brown eyes, wanting me to pick her up.  She licks my face and I start to laugh...she helps me relax and reconnect...

Thanks, I really needed that...

~dkb~

Unfathomable Devastation and Tragedy...

picture from Yahoo news



Only by a change in destiny, any one of us may have been in Japan.
Disasters like this, haunt me and affect me profoundly.
Empathy for the images and shaken, emotional voices,
reach inside my soul, gripping me in a vice of sadness.

Japan has now upgraded the magnitude of the earthquake to 9.0
US still records 8.9
A shaking so strong, it ruptured the earth's crust 150 miles long and 50 miles wide.
It moved Japan 8 feet to the East.

Japan had 30 minutes after this horrendous shake
Before freezing, speeding waters, crushing, 30 foot waves engulfed and demolished so many Japanese cities...
Racing, filthy water, filled with planes, ships, cars, homes, debris and battered bodies, flooded 6 miles inland before settling into a muggy swamp of twisted chaos.

As if it weren't tragic enough...
Now we hear of a possible nuclear catastrophe

Police reported 200-300 bodies were found along the coast of  Sendai, a town in the eye of the quakes epicenter...
A nearby coastal town of Minamisanriku, just two miles from the sea, with a population of 17,000 and over 9.500 people are missing.
Many are believed to be buried in the debris or carried out to sea...

Imagine having your home and car washed away...
No clothes but what you were wearing, which is most likely dirty, wet and torn.
No food.  No water.
Quite possibly, not knowing the whereabouts of your spouse, children, other family, friends and pets...
Continuous after shocks.  So far, over 160. Many measuring over 6.0,
Tsunami warning sirens still sounding.
Where to go?
How do you find higher ground in all this devastation?.

Or being trapped, unable to leave where you are due to all the water surrounding your escape?
Think of the Injured...
No doubt many in shock, overwhelmed with the unfathomable devastation and tragedy...

Regardless of life times of earthquake education,
how do you prepare for the one of such magnitude?
Unable to confirm anything...
The earth still shaking...
Questioning if "this is it?"
Homeless and hearing sirens.
Absolute bone chilling panic, fearing another tsunami is coming...

I cannot even imagine the overwhelming, stark reality of this disaster
I am just sick and crushed with a myriad of thought...

~dkb~

Microfiction Monday #70: Linger For Love...

Photo and Challenge by stony river

"Why do I torture myself?' Digging his finger into the clef in his chin nervously.

"Her beauty is no excuse. She keeps me waiting and I linger..."

~dkb~

Microfiction Monday #69 : Guilt

Challenge to write a story in 140 characters
 prompted with a photo by Susan at stony river

Hostess of microfiction Monday...

He walked slowly, heart pounding, stealing a glance.
Someone had boarded the broken windows.
Guilt was heavier than his backpack of books.

~dkb~

Microfiction Monday #68 Soapbox Miracle...

Susan at stoney river offers a writing challenge every Monday.  Submissions cannot be any longer than 140 characters, spaces and punctuation included.  Here's mine:

It's a miracle Shamus!

Keeping the fish catch money

in the soap box was genius!

The good Lord saved us!

~dkb~