Now Fly!

Once there was a girl with wings

Once a book that flew

Poems lighting hearts

Art flowing like a river

& once is now

always now

now is always

Blog alternative:

180. Think of something you have loved doing or loved loving & love it all over again. Now.

November Dance

I can't believe I missed an opportunity to wish you all happy friday the 13th so I shall do so belatedly.

We have had a string of wonderful days. Some of them were rainy--there's a hurricane somewhere, or was--but they were wonderful anyway. Today it's sunny and seventyish. I'm sitting in a coffee shop. Or perhaps I should call it an ice tea shop.

I just finished typing in a little short story (just under a thousand words) that I wrote on 3 placemats. I have a BUNCH of poems to send out, so I hope to be reporting--oh, Cathy! I just saw this cool car that you would love to see drive past, all tailfins & chrome, with its spare tire encased in the same metal as the car & trimmed in chrome--that I've done a nice little marketing binge.

The other thing I've been doing of late is artwork. Dozens of placemats have laid down before me & offered their unblemished surfaces to my pens & pencils. Plus I've gotten out the watercolors & some scraps of paper I bought at a local letterpress. Such fun.

I read a new brain plasticity book: The Brain that Changes Itself by Norman Doidge--a very good read. I find out that multi-tasking is over-rated, as to make actual changes in the brain structure requires actually paying attention to tasks...

As you might recall from my last blog alternative, I invited stories or poems based on my list & was interested to hear from anyone who used every word. Drum roll. Her Chloeness sent me a story the next day that did that very thing--while attending graduate school! I am impressed & humbled & honored & tickled & all sorts of other words that end in ed. Thank you for Death of a Shoe, Chloe m'dear. I appreciate you.

Blog alternative:

179. Dance around outside to celebrate November--but only if the ground isn't icy where November finds you. (I would like to report that no readers were harmed in the writing of this blog. grin.)

Pi, piano, poetry

Heidi's hand,

old piano that came up the Yellowstone River by steamboat

& I shall tell more of the story later

(it involves Indians & horse thievery, etcetera)

I just wanted to see what it felt like to blog twice in a week...

This shall be short. I am thinking of silence & sunlight & fish & the moon & walking & glue & architects & poetry & Persia & mauve & zero & lemonade & blizzards & clean socks & samurai warriors & cats & roses & pink sheets & good wine & sticky notes & guitars & pi & salamanders & string theory & cards & wax & foot lockers & miracles & dynamite & rocket ships & baseball & sweat & music & triangles & nasal spray & seals & calendars & recipes & African violets & the yin yang &

Blog alternative:

177. Make a list of things you didn't even know you were thinking about until you started making the list.

or:

178. Take 3 or 5 or 7 things from my list & put them into a poem or story. (If you use ALL of them, I would very much like to see the poem or story...)

Old Growth Mosaics

6' man attempting to hug big-ass tree

in Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest

I know, I know--I've been missing. One person noticed and was worried that I'd fallen into a hole or had a personality transplant & was now blogging the blues under an assumed name. (Hi Ken!)

That is not the case. I am alive & well & floating an electron's-width above the face of the planet. Life is as fabulous as ever. I wish it was easier to switch the email address that owns a blog, as I am aiming to phase out of earthlink & into gmail, but one of these days I'll figure it out. Or, more accurately, I'll go through the complex dance steps required.

For those of you who are interested, my new email address is laurelwinter@gmail.com but earthlink will continue to work until I stop being a technolazydaisy.

I can't imagine filling you in on all the marvelous things that have happened since (gulp) July 9th, so I shall be selective. I did indeed reach New Jersey & Minnesota & Montana & Minnesota again. My Montana highlight--beside playing a few billion games of cards with my parents--was helping irrigate. No offense, Sister Shelly, but I still prefer irrigating to golf.

I've been busy taking classes again. Google SketchUp 7 rocks! Try it if you've ever wanted a (FREE) 3D modeling program with (FREE) tutorials on YouTube. I'm also taking a mosaic class & learning about hempcrete & getting the scoop (or at least the beginning of the scoop) on intellectual property.

Besides that, there's the usual writing-y & arting-y sorts of thing going on. Just drafted another picture book. The poems are coming lickety-split. A story idea is hovering just below the fingertips. Oh, & my beautiful childrens just celebrated their two-dozenth birthday.

Blog alternative:

175. Ask someone an interesting & uplifting question. A couple examples: whilst leaving the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest (Holy xylem, Batman! Those trees are big!) I asked a boy on the trail how old he was & then, seconds later, apologized for asking such an inane question. "What's something interesting about you?" I asked (or words to that effect). I found out he likes to build things & is good at climbing. Then his brother joined us & I found out that HE is making a mini-submarine. Much more fun than knowing ages. Also I just got my teeth cleaned (Yay!) & I asked my hygienist what were her favorite things about her kids.

Bonus blog alternative:

176. Give your gums a nice massage. (Wash your hands first!) (Notice I said gums, not gum.)

Fizzy Turquoise Mood

Although some of you have been speculating that I dropped off the face of the earth (perhaps checking out my home planet?) given that I posted not once in June, I do in fact still exist. Yay. Just been busier than usual, with a massive re-organization project.

No artwork today. I'm in a hotel in Virginia on my way to Montana via New Jersey.

Um, you say, have you been reorganizing the map?

Good idea, but no. I was going straight to Montana & then to Minnesota & Ohio on the way back home & then I found out my ex-husband was going to be in Rochester for a week so I rearranged my schedule to hit Minnesota first so I could say hi to him & then my son who just moved to New Jersey needed to get back to Rochester to get his Buick (it wouldn't fit in the UHaul) so I said, heck, New Jersey's practically on the way & I was maybe going to see him on the other end of the trip so why not? This will be a lot more fun. Plus we'll get to stop in Ohio to see my other son, so that will be lots of fun.

The title of this blog is courtesy of a reader who happened across me somehow & bestowed the concept of a fizzy turquoise mood. So, Elsa, wherever you are, thanks for you sparkling word sense. I would also like to honor Tami, another diner at the Boston Beanery, who overheard me asking a server if there was a Barnes & Noble in the mall (I'm looking for an audio book--thought of it on my way out of town, so no time to order it) & not only told me where she thought there might be one, but then looked it up on her I-phone & brought the information over to me. (Saved me a trip, because I called them up & they didn't have it either. Ah, well.) It's pretty cool when you want to fill out a positive comment card on other customers who provide great service at restaurants. My server was good, too.

This will not be the most scintillating blog entry ever, because I am going to go right to sleep. Sweet dreams, y'all.

Blog alternative: (which, Tami & Elsa, if you don't want to read down & figure out what the heck this is all about, it's simply a suggestion of other things to do rather than the writing or reading of blogs, or the watching of tv or such. I think I did the first blog alternative list on April 18th of 2007 or somesuch)
174. Take a round-about trip. Maybe Montana via New Jersey. Once I went to Los Angeles via Ohio, because I was going to a science fiction convention in Madison & was then headed to Los Angeles for an author in the school visit. Told my Ohio son that I was going through Rockford, Illinois to pick up the freeways that would take me south & he said, "Illinois is close to Ohio." "Yep," I said.

Brain Plastic

This is a (mildly belated) birthday card for a friend I haven't met yet. She's met me, kinda sorta, as her eyes & consciousness connected with the words in my novel Growing Wings. Her aunt told me her birthday was Tuesday, the day I flew back from Wiscon, & I am getting going now with sundry & various accomplishments, including this blog.

Wiscon & Madison & State Street & the farmer's market around the state capitol (someone told me it was the largest outdoor farmer's market in the country) & the food & the conversation & the friends new & old--I am very appreciative. I had fun reading poetry with 3 other poets & the panel I moderated on the workings of consciousness went VERY well. Richard Russell, who is an experienced moderator & was one of my panelists (the panel was his idea), later told me I used a technique for identifying 3 or 4 audience participants in advance that really let the conversation & information flow. He hadn't seen that used before & is planning on utilizing the technique himself. I brought art supplies (placemats & colored pencils) to the signing, so was very happy creating during lulls. Delia Sherman & Ellen Kushner sat at my table, so I had very good company indeed.

I am about to play some cards--a game that my business partner & I invented, which stimulates brain plasticity--so I shall ta ta for now.

Blog alternative:
173. Take a walk or a drive. Admire license plates that have cool numbers or letters on them. Make up a vanity plate for yourself.

From skull sutures to distal phalanges--I love thee so, dear skeleton

A few weeks ago I had a phone conference with a lovely bunch of girls in Nebraska, who read Growing Wings in their school book club. In appreciation for them & their attention, I offer this drawing! (I don't want to ignore Maryam & Nancy, the book club coordinators, but I didn't find out their favorite colors...)

It is absolutely gorgeous today. Sunny & breezy & brisk. (66 degrees as I write this in the midafternoon.) Just the sort of mountain day that lets you know it's still spring. I have nothing against summer, but one of the things I so love about living in the mountains is that even in summer, you get the cool-downs that let you appreciate the warm-ups more.

I just purchased an interesting thing--an iron creation with 12 large cups on it designed to hold bottles of wine. It hangs on the wall & looks like a vine. Now, currently I have just 1 bottle of wine in the house & I doubt I've ever had 12, so why did I buy it? Simple: art supplies! Paint brushes & colored pencils & markers & pen & glue sticks & scissors. Oh, what fun. I might even reserve 1 or 2 cups for tea lights, if I get some LONG matches to light them with. Probably cast some pretty fascinating flickers from deep inside the cups. It was on clearance because the top cup is very shaky & not wine-worthy, but a few paint brushes won't stress it out. I'll probably put cups of supplies inside the metal cups, so I can lift them out as a unit & set them on a table. Of course, a couple bottles of wine will be good to have as well....

(Yeah, I know, this is perhaps as deeply satisfying as a description of watching paint dry; but hey, remember my theory that you're better off doing something personally satisfying rather than reading blogs, so if I'm boring it's probably all to the good.)

Now it is time for me to go pack for Wiscon. Perhaps I shall see some of you there.

Ooh! I forgot to mention that Skritter has officially launched. Check out the website at skritter.com & be sure to look at the comic. (My connection with Skritter, which is a program that helps people learn to write Chinese characters, is that it is the brainchild of my offspring Nick.)

My other offspring, Zach, recently drove to Montana for the graduation of my lovely niece Crystal, who managed to be both valedictorian AND homecoming queen. Plus she's nice. So many beautiful people on the planet. (You among them. I'll claim you all as relatives.) The word on the street is that Zach represented us splendidly, which surprises me not at all.

Blog alternative:
171. Lie down in a quiet place (or sit in a noisy place, if that's what's available to you) & appreciate your bones. Think of them as the tree in the center of the garden that is you. Thank them for making your blood. Thank them for being a cosmic transmitter-receiver of energy. Thank them for making sure that you're not just a puddle of goo, blurping about on the floor, unable to throw a football or hold a paintbrush, unable to make love, unable even to make a sandwich. Rah, rah, rah, Yay Bones!
&
inspired by the word "Bones"
172. Go see the new Star Trek movie!