A New Year

Surprise, surprise!! I am still here. Has been almost a year since I visited this blog. Time really does fly and the older we get, the faster it flies.

Have been working pretty hard on finishing my book and now it is out there to publishers, so we'll see. I am hopeful, but also realistic. Have had really nice feedback from the writers' association that I sent it to and their report will go out to multiple publishers. Passing that hurdle was a real pleasing revelation for me. Gives me a huge feeling of accomplishment, even if I never hear from a publisher. Just knowing that I've actually finished it and sent it out is something, a very big something.

Will keep you posted. I think.

Walking to a different standard

Haven't been here in a while. I just told my sister that it was because there is so much to do and so little time. Then said, no, be honest. I've just been lazy and not up to the task of working my thought processes as I should be. I really have no valid excuse other than it is too easy to find something else (or nothing) to do.  I saw a quote yesterday (and can't remember where or who by) that essentially said, saying 'I don't have time' is no excuse.

Time can always be found for what is important to us.  We just have to stop wasting it elsewhere.

Anyway, I was just reminded of an article in one of our local papers when I was looking over the feeds from blogs that I'm supposed to be following (but who has time?). One of them had something about "Clothes make the man..." and this reminded me of said article about the fact that this coming weekend a group of women (and some men) are planning to walk down Congress Street in Portland nude from the waist up. Their reasoning being they want to show their non-acceptance of the old double standard. They say, "if it's alright for a man to walk around without a top, then it's okay for a woman."

Aside from the fact that it could still be quite chilly on Saturday next, (it is still March, people, after all) I find this quite funny. No less for the fact that I also read that President Obama is planning a visit to Portland on the same day. I don't think there is any connection between the two events. It sounded like the nude walkers had planned this before any knowledge of the President's visit was made known. I can't help wondering if he has been told of the planned walk and if so, what his thought's were/are. Hope he gets a giggle out of it, as I have. Heaven knows, after the year he's had, he could use one.

I have a few other thoughts about the "if it's okay for the man, it's okay for the woman" rationale. Many years ago, I used that same rationale to condone my own foolish actions, namely, sleeping with whomever I pleased whenever I pleased wherever I pleased. And I pleased way too much.  My thinking, I'm not living by anybody's double standard, if a man can do it and everybody says, he's just being a man, then nobody has a right to say anything about me. I never stopped to think, hey, it is NOT okay for a man, they just tell themselves it is. It was naive, selfish thinking on my part. Thank goodness I snapped out of it.

There are many double standards still very much alive and well in this world, e.g. standards thought to hold for men and not women; for Republicans and not Democrats (and vice versa); for so-called Christians and not any other religion (and vice versa) and so on, and so on. We just have to see them for what they are: rationales for whatever person or group to use to condone their own bad behavior while condemning that of others. We simply have to be true to ourselves and to our God.

An incredible blessing

Have been away for a few days because I am caring for an elderly friend 24/5 and have been too busy and/or too tired to even think about writing. So my postings may be somewhat erratic for a while. It is impossible to say how long. Only God knows. To be privileged to be there when needed is truly a gift, to me that is. An incredible blessing that gives purpose to one's life, it is also a way to give back for all the wonderful things that have been given me. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You.

A Powerful Tool

Have been receiving some feedback, so far all positive. Of course, it has been from family and friends, so there may be a slight element of bias. You'll have to decide that for yourself.

Want to share part of an e-mail message from my son, Jon, who is a middle-school teacher in Kansas. We were having a discussion about writing and blogging and he wrote, "... truly believe that writing leads to insightful understandings of life, a wisdom that is found within. It seems that blogs are a powerful tool to "push the pen" and on one hand it is a collective product and every so often a composition is discovered and crafted that stands alone." 

Now, you'll probably say that I am biased also, and you'd be right. But, I think you'll have to agree that that is a cogent and intuitive piece of writing. Jon is an incredibly imaginative writer himself who publishes his poetry online at:  http://poetrypoem.com/cgi-bin/index.pl?sitename=ephraimsgarage&item=home  I'm so proud. And he's probably going to hate this, so I'll quit now. Although I have to add this picture of him and his youngest.

Isn't she something? I absolutely love this picture taken a year and a half ago. 

Back to the discussion at hand. I do agree with everything he said, especially that blogging is a "tool" or stimulus to keep you writing. And when you discover that there are people actually reading it, that stimulus becomes even more intense, albeit a bit daunting. I feel a responsibility comes with that knowledge. Each time I post, do I need to ask myself, "Does this have any value?" "Will this make a difference to anyone out there?" Maybe I do not have to. What do you think?

Dementia deterrent?

 Another little snippet from Parade Magazine, by Dr. Ranit Mishori, "Exercise Your Brain Online," Jan. 10, 2010. (I promise, this is not the only thing I read; although it is the first thing I read from the Sunday paper.)  It seems a new study (authors unnamed) shows that surfing the internet may be a good exercise for the brain, "in older adults," and "may even delay the onset of dementia."

Well, if that is true, how much more so would be blogging. Thinking of what to say and how to say it is definitely exercise for the brain. Plus, once you have written your own post, you'll more than likely surf through the "Next Blog" button to read others' blogs or will check out those that you regularly follow. That's a double whammy of exercise. So if an almost-64-year-old was looking for a reason to keep writing, I'd say that is a pretty good one. Especially since my mother's mind slipped into dementia in her last decade or more of life. It is a frightening prospect, I'll admit.

New look

Trying out a new look, or rather a very old one. The process is quite a learning experience. We'll see how long it lasts; maybe I'll try a new one next month. It's kind of fun, but takes a long time. Hope you'll tell me what you think.

Simply mindboggling

As I surf around the blogworld, it is becoming brilliantly clear to me that I have much more to learn about blogging, the internet, computers and my usage of each. Mindboggling to say the least. Hopefully, I will not let it scare me off. As a much more talented writer and sophisticated blogger, Beth, http://hellorhighwaterwriter.blogspot.com/ , said, "Just write." That is good advice that I'll try to follow. Just keep writing and let the rest take care of itself.

Over the coming year, I'm going to write about many of my interests; for example, woodburning, carving, walking. Of experiences and things learned, of people I've known (don't worry, no names). And hope at least a few of you will find something interesting here. I welcome all comments and questions which I will answer if I can. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll come again.