Happy Holidays!

I am happy. Hope you all are!

My son is coming to hubs family for Christmas eve and day gatherings. And we are going out together for New Year's. Moms love their children, especially when they are hanging out together.

I am busy working for the Morris family lately. Love the girls. The younger one has a new saying "Wha happen?" She says it after everything. It may get annoying to most, but I find it funny.

My own son last night popped out a funny...he asked us what kind of wine his uncle wanted, "wasn't it a bordello." Hubs told him most men like bordellos, but they drink Barolo. Funny to us anyway!

Merry Christmas all, and a Happy New Year. Don't forget to eat your black eyed-peas!

I will be out of commission for a few weeks with the holidays and work. Peace!

Spark 18 is up!

Tell me...

tell me, have you seen it...

These two lines came out in my head more like a song, oh well.

Spark 18 is up! Each year I have participated in Amy Souza's wonderful idea of combing the arts (artists/writers/composers/etc). I do it at least twice a year. This go round my poet friend Tyson West out of Spokane, or somewhere around there, Washington and I decided to at it. He did the poetry and I did the photography. You can ARCHIVE us here, just type in our names and both our work will come up, hence our work together. As new work comes in, the day before or so goes off the main page.

I enjoyed working with him, but the whole point is to work your magic off of someone else. He was not so happy about his last partner, nor I my first. But Amy says it happens. I let others know its a good prompt, and maybe something greater will come of the piece you create. I think he and I will partner up in the future.

On that note, Dash made me realize what I should have said in the last post was 'a more experienced publisher'. The one whom has taken Pasquale and I on has had lots of experience. unBound Content is a small house, but a well known and well respected publisher. She has her work cut out for her, since we both are inexperienced in this realm.

Hope all is well and good for you all. With Christmas coming up, I know it is a busy time for us all!

(photo above fits into my theme and is my one and only hydrangea for this year. Sadly last year my bushes were taken down to low and late in year by the local yard Nazi (because if you are around she'll put you to work whether you want or not) so by the time they were ready for flowering, no sun on most of it, only at bottom where I spotted the flower. If you don't watch it she'll take you down and trim you up for the year!)

Are You Coconuts!?!

A man was asked to participate in publishing a book together with his new found friend, a female. He had already begun writing years earlier and knew which pieces he would put with anything new which came to mind. Over a years time he wrote many new pieces and added them to the former, and submitted them to his colleague.

Unfortunately time passed until it was another year before the editor was ready to deal with their book. She hired an editor to review and correct any of the two's writings, and afterward noted so to the female counterpart.

She then contacted the aging male counterpart and gave him the good news. He stated it had been over two years and was quite surprised it took so long. The female tried to reason with the male saying it was not over two years, that it had only been over a year, because they had not turned the manuscript in until a year later after discussing and agreeing to do this project.

Does a marathon runner say he has been running for months or a year rather than the three point five miles it took to finish the race, because all the former was training?

The female counter part knows the male is upset, possibly agitated at the publisher, but the female knows it takes time and the publisher has other writers to contend with.

Do people not realize you cannot build something solid so quickly.

Just because this male has published his own works three other times within a year of the writing, doesn't mean a real publishing house moves so quickly. I have heard of writers talking about publishing and working with editors and it taking years to finish something worthy of being in the readers hands.

The female is just happy her work is worthy...

(photo taken in Honolulu, HI 2012 by author- a refreshing stop along the highway)

Bah Humbugers

Should I dare complain again?

I know some of you out there don't like one particular thing about Christmas.

All that gift giving BS.

Give all year because you want to make someone smile.

Random Acts of Kindness is the way to go.

I like the decorations, carols, food and family, but not the spending. Or pressure of spending.

Spend time. Like I did yesterday- it was a good day to go out and take photos for my Spark 18 project. No poetry this go round. I have photos waiting in a file I have wanted to use. Some were rejected last month, so they are back in the mix.

Okay, on with the story...my sweet tooth (really all of them, and I heard them loud and clear) wanted multi-grain pancakes, eggs and bacon. You know, sometimes food taste better in someone else's kitchen from time to time. The waitress, after taking my order and fouling it up, seated an older person next to me. I began to feel like we were in the 'eating alone' section when she sat the third person on the other side of me. (snarky laugh)

All of us occasionally glanced at each other while we pretended to eat as if we were really alone. Part of me, the chatty E side, wanted to reach out and spark up a conversation, but I respected their privacy. Then it hit me, well when the check was laid on the table and I saw it was under priced from menu listing, I am going to buy these two people breakfast. So I did.

The waitress seemed stunned, so I explained what a Random Act of Kindness was, and told her to tell them Happy Holidays. End of story.

Christmas began as a random act of kindness that grew into a pagan Christian blended holiday.

Spread Joy and Give back to the community is what I say. As I just told Val on her blog, if you want something so badly, you could buy it for yourself, end results are the same as...

(photo above was taken on some trip, and I found it might entertain a friend of mine who writes poetry of Catholic origin)