Now showing at OMSI! I am a science nerd. If I'm vacationing somewhere and someone utters the words "science museum," I'll be on my phone checking hours, locations, and convenient bus routes to get us there. I don't need a reason to visit hallowed halls of geekdom and discovery, but if pressed, I can lay down a solid argument and can persuade most naysayers to go with me and get their
Viewing Blog: Euphoria, Most Recent at Top
Results 26 - 50 of 92
That kick I get from kid lit.Statistics for Euphoria
Number of Readers that added this blog to their MyJacketFlap: 1
My Blues needs to have things spelled out, like Marvin K. Have you ever let yourself luxuriate in your own tear bath? I'm not talking clinical depression here, I'm talking about wallowing in your own worries just a tad past what might be appropriate. Well, I have. I admit it. I typically indulge on those grey steel-cold days, when I should give myself a kickstart with a some hard-core yoga
Ouija Séance scene in Downton Abbey One Christmas, years before Downton Abbey summoned the dead down in the servant's quarters, my mother thought it would be fun to speak through a medium. She paid for me and my sister to join her and boy! did I learn a lot. Our well-paid channeler notified us that many spirits had joined us in the room, including at least three we knew intimately. These
My icon, plus inspirational writing quotes if you click here. Who are your holy, venerated figures that loom large in your imagination? Who wrote the stories that shaped you, that stay with you, that you return to again in your mind when you're trying to make sense of the world and mend yourself? What works do you keep by your bedside? For me, there are too many to count or list here,
Grape stomping dudes and dudettes It's cold and wet out. I'm sitting in a dealership cafe, surrounded by new Toyotas and overly eager salesmen circling the floor. I'm sipping free coffee while waiting for the mechanics to replace my irreparable back tire. My achy old knee tells me it's about to rain again. Good times! Happy as I am with drizzle and drip coffee, in truth, I'd give up these
ZP Dala is "the real thing' for me. I read this morning that a South African author named ZP Dala said she liked Salman Rushdie's writing style while promoting her newly released first novel What About Meera. Some people didn't like hearing that. They chased her down and broke her face with bricks. Now, Dala has been allegedly coerced into a mental hospital for refusing to withdraw her
The most beautiful baby ever (until my second was born.) Early this month, Allison Joseph offered up a challenge: "Write a poem about losing a piece of yourself." She explained that this was literally happening to her later in the day, because she was having a baby tooth extracted. On the same day I noticed the prompt, my friend Lynn, a card-carrying member of my neighborhood Brain Trust,
Today, Judi Korpi Webb and I have teamed up yet again to share our poems inspired by Allison Joseph's prompt. Her prompt today about "a garment that is more than just a garment" tugged at our fabric in unique and yet somehow similar ways. I chose to write a quatern.* My husband read it and told me between chuckles that I'm "super depressing." I take that as a compliment. That must mean I nailed
<!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only;
This woman is named "Gladys." Why not? Last night my daughter issued a dare. "Write a poem about poems," she said, "and make it funny." I decided to take her up on it and imagined a scenario where an older married woman running errands fails to notice her husband's attempt at affection. This poem is not bust-a-gut laughing funny. It may be only marginally humorous. I bet my daughter would have
Springtime sends me mixed messages. So much is growing, blooming, bursting its way out of the ground, but so many loved ones have found their way back in. My sister died 18 years ago on the night of the Vernal Equinox. This month marks the dates of two of our family friends. All three passed well before their expiry dates. So when Allison Joseph challenged us to "write a poem about the food you
The school my kids attend are chin deep in the latest round of standardized testing. For this new round of state mandated testing, each teacher has had to reserve an hour a day in the computer lab per class. For a month. An hour a day; five hours a week; 20 hours a month. To add to the list of indignities, my older kid just got braces and my younger one is gearing up for a second round soon. I
Easter, 2015 For The First Sunday After The First Full Moon Following Spring Equinox (and Every Other Day) Renew rebirth reduce, reuse, recycle read recall, review, reflect realize rebel reason reinvent, refine reassure, redeem receive. Oh "re-"— you're my favorite Latin prefix today! In this tiny poem, I played with the notion of going back and doing certain things again and again and
I'll never forget the day in 2007 when I caught my first earful of The Imperial March played on bagpipes. I was walking down Hawthorne running errands. It was one of a slew of dreary, drippy spring days and both body and soul felt cold and damp, when suddenly a Celtic blast from behind warmed me up right quick. He sounded like Braveheart Meets the Death Star. Or Rob Roy Joins the Dark Side, on
Modest home, but with all the essentials Ever get letters in your mailbox from redevelopment companies offering you cash for your house? We do. Every month. For sixteen years. With much of California moving north for jobs and water, our property is H.O.T. Evidently though, the house itself leaves much to be desired. In our neighborhood, many of the smaller bungalows like ours have been
This skirt was once a go-to item chez nous. Mall hopping has never been my favorite sport. I don't like the game of upscale, upsale, trendy, latest-thing marketing. I loathe traipsing through shops and shimmying in and out of sale shirts and pants with anti-theft tags. Don't offer me discounts and store credit cards. Don't hover over me with your pearly whites and your headsets. Please just
Sienna, Italy It's no news that April is poetry month, but it is news to me that I've decided to write a poem a day just to do it. I have the incomparable wordsmith and teacher Allison Joseph to thank. She's announced that she will write a prompt a day this month, and she shared one on Facebook today which I played with for awhile. I wrote a rispetto, an old Tuscan form of verse. Some are in
This is my 'To Do' pile. Ready to be folded. It was clean once, but now I spy a pair of pants with a belt still attached. So it is a dynamic, multipurpose pile! This is what has kept me from that pile. Words in Scrivener may look pretty, but believe me, this is a pile in and of itself. This has been a very welcome wintry distraction and a reminder of what a good story can feel like.
Fellow writers, let me spread the good word! On Saturday, January 28th, a practical, affordable one-day conference is being held at Tabor Space and promises to cover "everything from creating potent sentences and writing irresistible query letters, to writing killer openers and making it as a writer in a media-saturated world." Emily Whitman, author I'm attending because Emily Whitman is on
Blog: Euphoria (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: creativity, love, autumn, Andy Goldsworthy, impermanence, Add a tag
My son's class took a field trip last week. Not to the zoo, pumpkin patch, apple u-pick farm, or famous waterfall. To a park, just a short walk away. I joined in the fun, because autumn field trips happen quickly. Blink and you'll miss the sign-up list, and before you know it, it's winter and the only field trips offered are trips to the insides of places. Like museums, or puppet theaters. Which
Blog: Euphoria (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: patterns, gems, Richard Jesse Watson, Kidlitcon, little jewels, Mary Bradley, Add a tag
I'm back from KidlitCon 2011, but I must have left my brain there, because it is still very much engaged in writerly/ readerly thoughts. I attended KidlitCon with a friend in order to spend time with her and my newfound kid lit community, but also with the hope that I could pick up ideas for how to use my blog to full effect. What should I write about? What can I share that will benefit others in
Her wish is secret. What's yours? It's technically been summer for two days now and I'm sick of cold weather, cloudy skies, and wool socks. Enough already- this is bumming me out. I need some vitamin D. But you know what made me happy today? I saw a true harbinger of warm weather in my yard: our first dandelion. Thank the gods! For me, dandelions conjure all sorts of greatness. Rub them under
Scholastic, 2011 Julian Hector dreams in 32-page spreads. And vibrant primary colors. And tight narrative arcs. I'm certain of it. He didn't tell me this outright, but his enthusiasm for the medium is so contagious that he's got me doing it. Everything about picture books appeals to Julian Hector. Writing and illustrating utilize all the things that he loves to do as a creative person:
Calling all fans of Heart of a Shepherd: Rosanne Parry made me cry...again! The first time was when she depicted the loving relationship between a ten-year old boy and his rancher grandfather near Oregon's Strawberry Mountains. This time, she did it when a trio of girls bond with themselves and others while playing ensemble in Berlin and Paris. (For the record, she also made me laugh and gasp
Blog: Euphoria (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Newbery, children's literature, Caldecott, Add a tag
[email protected] TODAY Show Representatives: I am writing to let you know how disappointed I am that this year's Newbery/ Caldecott recipients were bumped from your show today. ... I try, but somehow cannot hide from 'Snooki'. I do not need to know about her ghost-written memoir. I am asking you for less reality television junk pseudo-news and more about quality literature for
View Next 25 Posts
Looks like a great day — enjoy it!
I love these flashes of your world, Amy. I love that you are choosing the good work over the laundry. :) Happy writing!