Jonas turns the light on in Molly's bedroom and gently puts a hand on her back. "Time to get up, Sunshine." Molly stretches and tries to open her eyes. This morning, she doesn't want to. She turns her back and tries to pull the covers back over her head to keep the light out. "Molly munchkin," Jonas prods her, "if you don't get up, I can't fix you happy-face pancakes." Molly peeks from under the blanket. "Five," she says. "That's a lot of happy faces. Are you sure?" "Mmm. Two." "OK. Two it is."
Jonas leaves his precocious 4-year-old in bed and starts to prepare breakfast. Soon Molly comes and wraps her little arms around his legs. He treasures their sweet little morning ritual. He often finds himself prodding her along, but he still treasures the sweet, sleepy girl he has been blessed with. "Let's eat some pancakes," he announces, "and then we have to brush our teeth and ..." "And put some clothes on," Molly finishes his sentence. "That's right!"
Today Jonas decides to walk Molly to preschool instead of taking the city bus. There is a fresh blanket of snow on the ground and they laugh as they make tracks on the sidewalk. Jonas slides his feet to make it seem as if his feet are as long as skis and Molly giggles as she tries to do the same. Her giggles stop when they reach preschool. "Daddy, are you going to pick me up?" "Of course, don't I always pick you up on Mondays?" "I think so, Daddy." "How about I promise you so." Jonas bends down to take off her jacket. He gives her a squeeze. "I will be back to get you in six hours." Molly watches her father leave, assured that he will be back later. (302 words)
I didn’t make the dialogue breaks here, thinking I’d save some space!
And the instructor's reaction:
You gave me chills, this is wonderful. Is it part of a novel? Tell me yes. Eva
I think I am totally excited and soaring and on cloud something or other! On to the next assignment, right!
Friday, October 10, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
Second Writing Assignment
Write about a color in the first person. Yeah, right! I thought this little exercise was going to whoop my fanny! Sheesh! The easier it sounds the more complicated it can get. Anyway, here’s what I came up with …
I am calcium aluminum silicate. I know, I don’t sound very exciting, do I? How about if I tell you I am more saturated than the green in a Christmas tree and more lucent that the lichen on the rock in your backyard. I am less valuable than emerald and tsavorite, but far more precious than green quartz and hessonite. I can be as varied as from lime to kelly, from avocado to olive, from spruce to Douglas fir. If you shine a light on me, I might be so dense that no light will pass through me, or I may be so translucent you will see a whole world in me. I am vivacious, but never listless and dull. I am moss on some days and fern on others. Some might call me plain old green, but there is nothing plain about me. My name implies I have been likened to the gooseberry. My name is in fact grossular garnet.
__________
I am floating right now, as I got this is from my instructor:
I didn’t know, have never known and this was a whole new world for me. Good job. The images jumped from the screen and connected to me at once. I’m delighted with your writing. It is tight and clever (clever is good), and that’s important. You’ve conveyed strong images too. I’ve discovered that the writers who do well with this assignment, seem to truthfully thrive for the remainder of the course … Eva
I am calcium aluminum silicate. I know, I don’t sound very exciting, do I? How about if I tell you I am more saturated than the green in a Christmas tree and more lucent that the lichen on the rock in your backyard. I am less valuable than emerald and tsavorite, but far more precious than green quartz and hessonite. I can be as varied as from lime to kelly, from avocado to olive, from spruce to Douglas fir. If you shine a light on me, I might be so dense that no light will pass through me, or I may be so translucent you will see a whole world in me. I am vivacious, but never listless and dull. I am moss on some days and fern on others. Some might call me plain old green, but there is nothing plain about me. My name implies I have been likened to the gooseberry. My name is in fact grossular garnet.
__________
I am floating right now, as I got this is from my instructor:
I didn’t know, have never known and this was a whole new world for me. Good job. The images jumped from the screen and connected to me at once. I’m delighted with your writing. It is tight and clever (clever is good), and that’s important. You’ve conveyed strong images too. I’ve discovered that the writers who do well with this assignment, seem to truthfully thrive for the remainder of the course … Eva
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Perfect Bargains!
I love it when I can get something at a fraction of the original price! I am usually not a very good bargain hunter ... could be because I don’t hunt. I shop. I just go, when time allows, and usually end up buying everything at full price. Yup. Not very smart, but I am just not that good at looking for the bargains. A month or so ago, I found myself some new underwear. Yes, a girl’s gotta have underwear. I got a couple of pairs on sale (yes, I just happened to find a bargain, but I wasn’t looking. And when I’m trying out a new style, I don’t want to pay full price.). Turns out I loved them and wanted to get more, since they had them in one of my favorite colors. However, they were going to be $10.50 for ONE pair. No way! I’m sorry, I may just be cheap in that area, but I am not paying $10.50 for a pair of underwear. Well, they did have them at a buy three for $24, but I was still not going to pay that. So, I was just going to have to wait and take my chances with THAT color being gone by the time they marked them down. Well, I stopped by the other day and saw that they were finally marked down to a doable $3.99 per pair. However, when I went to pay for them, they rang up at the original price and the cashier said that they were on the wrong table. “Well, never mind then,” I said. “I don’t want them at that price.” But, she was already in the process of telling me she would honor the sale price since it was their fault they were all on the same table. I may not be the best bargain shopper, but I am still blessed. If all it takes is getting three pair of panties for $11.97 instead of $24, it doesn’t take much to make this girl happy! God is good!
Monday, September 22, 2008
My First Writing Assignment
The assignment was to finish one of five sentences, of which I picked "Looking at Paris in this light ...," and to finish it in roughly five minutes and under 300 words. Here's what happened:
Looking at Paris in this light really reminds me of walking down Champs Elysee close to midnight, after a lovely evening with Jean-Paul. I wonder where he is now? What ever became of him? Does he still set up his easel at Luxembourg park every morning and watch that beautiful group of people do their tai chi? Does he stroll along Rue du Fabourg smoking his Galoise, telling some beautiful young woman she should become a model. I wish I had listened to him back then. Back when I still had the looks and
-------
And that's as far as I got in five minutes ... I seriously think there was something wrong with my egg timer! Well, a little bit discouraged, especially since I made the mistake of reading some of the other entries, I had to do a lot of talking to myself (is that a bad thing?!) to get the courage to try again. I tried planning my story a little better, and here is my second attempt:
Looking at Paris in this light takes me back to that night when I met Jean-Paul. I wonder what ever became of him. Does he still take his easel to Luxembourg park and paint while the others are doing their tai chi exercises? Does he still walk along Champs Elysees with a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth? Does he still tell that young lady that she should become a model? I should have listened to him. I should have taken that bold step back when I still had the looks.
"Mammy!" the voice of my grand daughter brings me back to the present.
"Bubby!" I give her a big hug, grateful for the love she is willing to share with her ailing grandmother.
"Mama, what are you doing with that old shoe box?" My precious daughter, always looking out for me and my well being. "Are you looking at those old postcards from Paris again?"
------
Now I wasn't at all happy with that new beginning, so back to the drawing board, so to speak. I wanted a combination of the two, so this last one is after five minutes of writing (from the beginning) and about seven minutes of editing. I'm a terrible typist, which is my second excuse for not being able to produce nearly as many words as everyone else. That and that dang egg timer!
Looking at Paris in this light really reminds me of walking down Champs Elysees close to midnight, after a lovely evening with Jean-Paul. I wonder where he is now? What ever became of him? Does he still set up his easel at Luxembourg Park every Saturday morning and watch that beautiful group of people do their Tai Chi? Does he stroll along Rue du Faubourg smoking his Gauloise, telling some beautiful young woman she should become a model. I wish I had listened to him back then. Back when I still had the looks and ...
"Mammy!" The voice of my grand-daughter, Barbara, pulls me back to the present.
"Babby!" The name she called herself when she was just learning to talk became my sweet nickname for her. I lean over and give her a hug, grateful for the love I always get from her.
"Mama, what are you doing with that old shoe box?" My precious daughter, always so full of concern for my well-being. "Are you looking at those old postcards from Paris again?"
"Yes, dear. Come sit here," I pat the space next to me on the bed. "Tell me about this one," and I hand her the post card with the upper left corner folded over and the little notch on the bottom. My daughter begins to tell me of the river running through the scenery on the card with the Eiffel Tower on the right-hand side. Just like I remember it when I had folded that corner over when my sight was starting to fail me. (261 words)
Looking at Paris in this light really reminds me of walking down Champs Elysee close to midnight, after a lovely evening with Jean-Paul. I wonder where he is now? What ever became of him? Does he still set up his easel at Luxembourg park every morning and watch that beautiful group of people do their tai chi? Does he stroll along Rue du Fabourg smoking his Galoise, telling some beautiful young woman she should become a model. I wish I had listened to him back then. Back when I still had the looks and
-------
And that's as far as I got in five minutes ... I seriously think there was something wrong with my egg timer! Well, a little bit discouraged, especially since I made the mistake of reading some of the other entries, I had to do a lot of talking to myself (is that a bad thing?!) to get the courage to try again. I tried planning my story a little better, and here is my second attempt:
Looking at Paris in this light takes me back to that night when I met Jean-Paul. I wonder what ever became of him. Does he still take his easel to Luxembourg park and paint while the others are doing their tai chi exercises? Does he still walk along Champs Elysees with a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth? Does he still tell that young lady that she should become a model? I should have listened to him. I should have taken that bold step back when I still had the looks.
"Mammy!" the voice of my grand daughter brings me back to the present.
"Bubby!" I give her a big hug, grateful for the love she is willing to share with her ailing grandmother.
"Mama, what are you doing with that old shoe box?" My precious daughter, always looking out for me and my well being. "Are you looking at those old postcards from Paris again?"
------
Now I wasn't at all happy with that new beginning, so back to the drawing board, so to speak. I wanted a combination of the two, so this last one is after five minutes of writing (from the beginning) and about seven minutes of editing. I'm a terrible typist, which is my second excuse for not being able to produce nearly as many words as everyone else. That and that dang egg timer!
Looking at Paris in this light really reminds me of walking down Champs Elysees close to midnight, after a lovely evening with Jean-Paul. I wonder where he is now? What ever became of him? Does he still set up his easel at Luxembourg Park every Saturday morning and watch that beautiful group of people do their Tai Chi? Does he stroll along Rue du Faubourg smoking his Gauloise, telling some beautiful young woman she should become a model. I wish I had listened to him back then. Back when I still had the looks and ...
"Mammy!" The voice of my grand-daughter, Barbara, pulls me back to the present.
"Babby!" The name she called herself when she was just learning to talk became my sweet nickname for her. I lean over and give her a hug, grateful for the love I always get from her.
"Mama, what are you doing with that old shoe box?" My precious daughter, always so full of concern for my well-being. "Are you looking at those old postcards from Paris again?"
"Yes, dear. Come sit here," I pat the space next to me on the bed. "Tell me about this one," and I hand her the post card with the upper left corner folded over and the little notch on the bottom. My daughter begins to tell me of the river running through the scenery on the card with the Eiffel Tower on the right-hand side. Just like I remember it when I had folded that corner over when my sight was starting to fail me. (261 words)
Thursday, September 18, 2008
The Dress & The Boots
So, the dress (from I.N.C. International Concepts at Macy’s) I purchased about a week or two ago, and now I’d love to have the boots to go with the dress ... yeah, I don’t think it’s going to happen. Not exactly in my budget (check for yourself here). But I can drool, can’t I?! Yeah, I’ll be doing that ... hm ...
What is it with being caught between a very conservative look and a rocker chick? I just can’t seem to stay in the same department, always mixing up the lacy with the leather. And yes, this dress is as much lace as I’m ever going to wear! I guess that’s the fun of it, though, making it my own style. This should in effect keep me from following trends, but alas, I am very much drawn to what’s in the stores at any given time. I do try to avoid buying the obviously trendy accoutrements, if only to save myself from cringing six months later when I see the item hanging in my closet after wearing it maybe twice. I try to fill my closet with classics. Lots of black slacks, black shoes and black boots. I go a little bolder with tops now than I used to. Have a little more fun. Try a few more different colors and cuts. Play a little. Why don’t you try a little more color?
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
And the winner is …
So, I have lived with my new hairstyle for 10 days now and I am loving it! I was just so set on donating my hair and just putting up with short hair until it grew out again, but now I think I will just leave it short. For now. For a while!
And for another change in my life, I am contemplating going back to school. Not physically, since that would be impossible, but school nonetheless. Kennesaw University has Continuing Education classes online and I am seriously thinking about signing up for a Creative Writing course. It starts tomorrow, so I guess I have to make a decision soon! Hm ... ya think?!
Thursday, September 4, 2008
One Haircut, Three Hairstyles
I just found this and really like the versatility of this cut. Look at all the options! I even love the slicked-back look, since that’s kind of what I’ve been doing on the days I’m too lazy to wash my hair in the morning. I know, it’s really short in the back, but my hair is going to have to go really short to get the full 10 inches Locks of Love requires. I also think this cut would work with the coloring on the upper right or lower right photos in my previous post. It’s just nice to know I don’t have to go, you know, crew!
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