Busy Week

It's been a crazy-busy week. The last week of the month always get busy. Usually I'm scrambling to finish my writing assignments by the last day and update the accounting. This week, however, I did something special - I published my first eBook! It's a gift with purchase for my model horse company. It was a labor of love. I really enjoyed pulling it together. I have ideas for so many more eBooks. I already started one on how to promote your writing online. If you write for some of the royalty websites, you may want to check this book out. It will include 10 tips to help you make more money writing for royalty-payment or revenue sharing sites. Hey, everyone can stand to make more money!

Todays we're doing a marathan house cleaning. John helps me with the heavy cleaning, like washing and caring for the hardwood floors. It's hard to keep the pets off of them when we're mopping. Pierre's favorite time to play is when I mop the kitchen floor or sweep. He stalks the broom or mop, hiding behind the kitchen chairs or the island and peeking out. I'll see a flash of gray, and my little house tiger pounces on the mop. Last night I scrubbed the kitchen from top to bottom until everything gleamed. I washed the floor too. This morning, I found little kitty toe-prints all around the refrigerator, tracked around on my clean floor. Where is all that dirt coming from? How does he find it?

Thursday night after I'd gone to bed, John called me. He sounded upset. He just said, "Can you come down here?" It's his tone of voice when water is gushing from the ceiling, or the toilet overflows or something, so I ran downstairs in my pajamas and stocking feet ot see what in the world was going on. He was standing in the hallway by the pantry looking very upset.

"Pierre's in the freezer."

"What?"

"The cat is in the freezer."

"Um...can you open the door and let him out?"

"No, not that part of the freezer....he crawled into the back, where the wires are....he's boxed up in there and I can't get him out."

Yup, Pierre found a hole and crawled right into the electrical wiring and mechanics of our stand alone freezer in the pantry. Now we know why he's always scratching at the door of the pantry. He wants to go into his hidey-hole. We thought he was helping himself to the open bag of dog food. Nope, he's found a warm spot to hide in - the freezer back, where the fan blows warm air out. We had it away from the wall to allow the air to circulate.

So here we were at 11 o'clock at night, pulling the freezer out and trying to entice an amused kitty out from his little spot. He's fine. We have sore backs. And a new house rule: the pantry door must always remain closed.

I'm telling you, the fun here at Seven Oaks Farm never stops.

Winter Wonderland

It's like a winter wonderland outside. Although just hovering around freezing, ice has built up on the pines. I tried to take some pictures of their beauty this morning but they pictures aren't capturing the subtle white frosting on the evergreen boughs. I stepped out with camera in hand, Shadow happily trotting at my heels, until she spotted a huge herd of deer in the backyard. There must have been a dozen of them grazing on the patch of millet we left long and tall for the wildlife. The deer raced down the hill through the woods and towards the creek, Shadow galloping at their heels. I called and called her and she didn't come back, so I went inside to drop off the camera and grab the whistle we used to call her (not one of those silent dog whistles; just a regular old whistle John trained her to respond to). By the time I got back outside near the driveway, I gave one brief toot on the whistle - and there was my dog, rolling in the cow manure we'd picked up from the Hertzlers. Great. Now I have a wet, very smelly dog. Still waiting for spring.....!

The picture with this blog was actually taken during an ice storm, just not this one. I took it of the oak trees in front of our old house in Huntington.

Seed Starting Countdown

There's something about gray, wintry days threatening snow showers that makes me just want to put a big crock pot together of pot roast or stew, brew more coffee, turn up the heater, and focus on my writing. Hmmn, that sounds like my day today! Roast is perking along nicely in the magic pot as we call it, fresh coffee is on the burner, and I have my writing worked out for the day.

This weekend was filled with fun and friends. My neighbor Patty took me to visit Donna, a lady I had met at the goat seminar. We also went over to Donna's sister's farm, and enjoyed some quality time with her horses and inspecting their hen house and chicken coop. I came back full of ideas for our own little menagerie area. Our priorities right now are to finish up the front porch, finish the garden area, and get that growing this spring so we produce our own vegetables.

The picture with this blog are some of Patty's newest additions to the farm! She raises Boer Goats and Boer crosses. Her goats are so friendly and sweet, they come right up to you for pets.

It's countdown now to seed starting. I found a great free template online on You Grow Girl. It's in Microsoft Excel. You simply plug in the frost free date for your area, and it calculates everything - when to start seeds, when to sow outside, when to transplate. Some of it seems a bit off (four weeks from starting watermelon seeds to having actual watermelons must be a mistake) but in general it was great. I made up my own chart, printed it out, and put it in the kitchen so we are all set. I am also ready to try the crepe myrtle and hibiscus seeds. I hope they grow - we want more in front of the house!

Farm Day

Busy day on tap today, so short post. Spent the morning updating my articles on eHow. I'm really enjoying writing for them, and I hope you'll stop by and check out the latest.

This afternoon, my neighbor Patty and I are going to see her friend's farm. I am so looking forward to time spent with friends! Then if time permits, this weekend the first of the seeds get planted. I have to consult my handy-dandy spreadsheet to find out when seed starting times are, but I know I can start the crepe myrtle and hibiscus seeds soon. I saved them myself, so that's even more exciting. And my Parks order DID arrive - still without the November order - so time to add those seeds to the list of what to plant. Peppers, watermelon, cantaloupe and about a dozen herbs came yesterday. I look at them seed packets and smile. Spring is just around the corner!

Seeds of Change

Today's post title is a double entendre...not only do I feel as if I am metaphorically planting the 'seeds of change' in my life now, but it's seed starting time here at Seven Oaks. Just got emails from Parks & Burpee that all my vegetable seeds are en route (although the November Parks order is still missing!). I cleaned off the seed starting lights last weekend. John has to help me pull the trays and pots from the crawl space though - with the spiders and snakes around here, I am NOT going down there. And I think I'm going to move them all into the shed. At least the shed has windows so I can see what I'm touching. I'm shuddering just thinking about it. I hate spiders. I'm not phobic - I just don't like them. I leave them alone in the garden but they are not allowed in my house!

So what are the metaphorical seeds of change? Well, unfortunately I lost a client this week and a client I had truly hoped to work with for several more weeks. I was really, really upset. I was upset because I didn't think they got what they needed and I never want to leave anyone with work unfinished. But it was their choice to leave the relationship. The really odd thing about the situation was that just that morning during my prayer time, I was asking God once again to guide my business prospects. I put them into His hands daily. And suddenly, business that I thought was locked in was abruptly pulled out from under me. Once again I got the God breeze, the inspiration for a project that I believe He wants me to work on. It's scary though. It's something that will take time and generate no income for a while. But I keep getting the feeling He wants me to write a specific book. So I took about an hour yesterday to start writing it, and will do so again today. And I'm back to my freelance writing, the truly freelance stuff where I pick the topics.

Laundry

Tired of doing laundry? Dianne Permberton-Sikes, whose fashion blog I sometimes check out, posted this gem on her blog and I'm shamelessly stealing it. Supposedly, the following "how to" list was given by an Alabama grandmother to her granddaughter on her wedding day, circa a long time ago. Enjoy and think about this next time you want to complain about doing laundry!

"Okay - I don’t usually post stuff like this, but my aunt sent this by email and it made me chuckle. Remember that old chore list:

Monday: Wash Day
Tuesday: Ironing Day
Wednesday: Mending Day
Thursday: Market Day
Friday: Cleaning Day
Saturday: Baking Day
Sunday: Day of Rest

With few exceptions, it was the “to do” list of housewives everywhere for more than a hundred years. It was so common, in fact, that there were day-of-the-week dish towels available to remind women of which chore they were supposed to do when.

When you think back to the appliance technology available at the time, it’s easy to see why tasks took all day.

Here’s a wash day “recipe” that an Alabama grandmother gave to a new bride, found in a scrapbook (spelling errors and all):

Warshing Clothes

Build fire in backyard to heat kettle of rain water. Set tubs so smoke wont blow in eyes if wind is pert. Shave one hole cake of lie soap in boilin water.

Sort things, make 3 piles

1 pile white,

1 pile colored,

1 pile work britches and rags.

To make starch, stir flour in cool water to smooth, then thin down with boiling water.

Take white things, rub dirty spots on board, scrub hard, and boil, then rub colored don’t boil just wrench* and starch.

Take things out of kettle with broom stick handle, then wrench, and starch.

Hang old rags on fence.

Spread tea towels on grass.

Pore wrench water in flower bed. Scrub porch with hot soapy water.

Turn tubs upside down.

Go put on clean dress, smooth hair with hair combs. Brew cup of tea, sit and rock a spell and count your blessings.

======================

Paste this over your washer and dryer. Next time you think how awful it is to have to do laundry, re-read and be glad you don’t have to do the old-fashioned way…

*Wrench - Southern word for “rinse”"

Changes

Do you ever have a day when you wake up, think all is well, open your email and it's not? Today is that kind of day. God has seen fit to send me a bunch of messes to clean up today. I always pray that I do his will for me today. I guess his will for me today is to have a lot of changes in my life. I do not always like changes. In fact, I hate it when I think I'm on a straight, smooth road, and suddenly the road curves, zigzags, and bumps along. Today my road went from a straight highway to winding roads through dark forests. Time to do the next right thing, and trust that God will make that highway straight!

Waiting for Spring

Waiting for Spring is the title of one of my favorite CD's by jazz pianist David Benoit, but it's also how we're feeling here at Seven Oaks. Saturday found us again at Lowe's, John buying hardware to finish his workbench, and I flipping through the Ferry Morse seed packets. We bought seeds that I didn't already buy through Parks or Burpee; I made sure to buy only varieties I didn't think I could get locally, like Bull's Blood beets (great tops to eat as well as beets!) and other heirlooms. I ended up with packets of carrots, spinach, eggplant, radishes, and turnips. I can't wait until my seeds arrive! Gotta call Parks again...an order I placed in November STILL hasn't arrived!

We've also started all those indoor chores, all the little things that add up. We patched up the hole in the drywall in the laundry room from when the pipe leaked. We moved the washer and dryer, and cleaned behind them, and I scrubbed out the laundry room. We cleaned the dryer vents (by the way, if you've never cleaned your dryer vent, do it now...I had to research it for LoveToKnow; over 15,000 fires start ever year from lint that catches on fire! Who knew?). And then I baked Shadow a batch of peanut butter dog biscuits. Poor doggie, she's allergic to EVERYTHING, so I make her biscuits from scratch.

So the weekend went by in a blur of cleaning, cooking, and household chores, but what better was to celebrate a weekend? Every time I scrub the floors, I give thanks for my home. We waited so long to own a house, and I am grateful that I have a roof over my head, and that I get to work from home.

Life's good!

Creeping Along on the Diet

No this photo isn't of me...if it was, I wouldn't need a diet!

I feel like I am just creeping along this diet plan of mine, but at least I'm moving forwards, not backwards. I suppose this is a good thing. I'm reminded of a car. As long as the car is moving forward, it's getting closer to its destination. Sometimes, cars run out of gas and they sputter and stop. Then they need more fuel or a push to get going! My fuel or push is to read a lot of motivation and inspirational literature, and to read a lot of blogs. I like blogs. I like the personal stories and the people behind them.

I'm nearing the one month mark on my diet program. I have only lost two pounds, but my clothes all fit better. I have more energy. I think that if I adhere to it really well, that is cut out all the sugar instead of sneaking my cookies here and there, I'll do even better.

I started tracking my calories on Fitday. What an eye-opener. Here I was, eating my raw food diet mostly, and thinking I was starved for calories. WRONG. I was eating at my maintenance level! I wonder how many calories I was consuming BEFORE embarking on a food plan??

I just finished reading two books on raw food diets, green smoothies, and changing to a raw food diet that I want to recommend to you. I liked the book by Victoria Boutenko the best. She's a nurse and an educator, and she did a really interesting experiment with a medical doctor by feeding people green smoothies for a month. She also reported that someone in the experiment had a mole disappear after a month on smoothies. I am finding the same thing! I have a pearl-type mole on my face, above my lip, and it was getting bigger the older I got. I was even thinking of asking the doctor to remove it (dermatologists have checked it over the years and said not to worry about it). After a month on the smoothies it is almost gone. I've had this mark since grade school. I can hardly believe it but there it is, staring back at my in the mirror, almost gone. I wonder what other good things will happen on this diet?

Here's the link to Victoria's book - I highly recommend it.

Green for Life

Seed Catalogs

For gardeners, nothing shouts "spring!" like seed catalogs. They begin trickling into the mailbox in late December, a silent harbinger of spring. Then in January the flood begins in earnest, a torrent of glossy catalogs tempting me with their pictures and promises of warm gardening days ahead. From heirloom seeds to vegetable seeds, seed catalogs are one of my favorite rituals of winter and spring.

I remember my dad, half-moon reading glasses perched on his nose, pouring over the Burpee seeds, carefully selecting varieties for our backyard garden. We had a small patch of lawn behind our tiny house in Floral Park that my dad dug up to create as many raised beds as he could. He filled them with Pro Mix and vegetables. Seed catalogs for him meant the Burpee seeds catalog and the Park Seed Catalog - and nothing else. Now, we have more seed catalogs than we can possibly order from! Johnny's Select Seeds, Seeds of Change, Swallowtail Garden, and more.

Here are my favorites this spring - many with freebies if you order!

FREE Seed Sowing Guide when you spend $50 with Thompson & Morgan

Click here to get $20 off your first order at Gurneys!

Click here for $20 off your first order at Spring Hill Nursery!

Remember my story about Spring Hill Nursery? They replaced all my perennials that died AND sent me free plants. The links above will lead you to your big savings discounts and you'll know that you can order safely - my experience shows that they do live up to their promises!

PS: The photo is of Matt Fassetta, my nephew, taken by my sister Mary in HER backyard garden!

Conservative Books and Garden Update

Today's photo is one that I took last January, looking down one of the lanes through the loblolly pine on our farm. The log across the path has always been there. It's a decent size. Shadow loves to leap over it when we start on her evening walk - and if I had my horse, he'd probably love to jump it, too!



Now a warning: I'm going on a conservative, where are we going, where is common sense in the world rant. If this offends you, skip down to the garden update.



The Rant: Why do people believe glossy headlines? Why don't people look for facts anymore?


I'm feeling tired and pretty down this morning. I stayed up late last night to watch a C-SPAN interview with the author of "Red Hot Lies". His book is about the political ideology and the finances motivating the made-up global warming crisis. And by the way, if you don't think it's made up, consider this: Al Gore and his publisher were sued in Britain over their book, and when asked to provide all the numbers and proof of nine major points in the book (polar bears drowning from ice caps melting, things like that) they could not prove ONE point. There is just so much in the whole global-warming spectacle that makes me furious: the suppression of free speech (just try keeping your job in liberal-land if you say one word against the global warming bugaboo), the huge pots of our taxpayer money going to fund spurious science, and the list goes on.

Another example: On November 16 one of the top client scientists came out with a scary headline that October was the hottest month on record. He sounded the drum beat to hysteria about global warming. Only problem is that he had his numbers wrong. Someone in his office had accidently pulled numbers from August and September into the October calculations. When corrected, October was normal to cool. And you never heard the correction in the news, did you? Just the hysteria...


What makes me angriest, however, is the underlying argument made by the liberal professors and scientists. The attack they make is on American prosperity and the American way of life. The idea that our bounty, our beautiful prosperous nation, is somehow this evil giant sucking up the world's resources and killing the planet. The idea that somehow, we humans - who don't even understand the natural world around us, who make wrong assumptions all the time - should somehow "fix" a problem that is still ill defined, if it exists at all?

When did we lose our patriotism? When did we accept the media's assertions? When did we allow glossy headlines to pass for hard news? When did we become ashamed of being the best and brightest nation in the world? I'm tired of hearing America portrayed as this evil nation. I'm not talking about people in other countries upset with us - I'm talking about when news reporters roam the streets and interview the average person. They begin spouting a weirdly Orweillian-sounding chant about America that sounds as if it's been programmed by the devil himself. Maybe it has. I am just so tired of it. I would like to hear from people who love this country, who recognize it's goodness, and who want to fix the problems we have by constructive and positive thinking.

Somedays I feel like that's too much to ask.

Green is good. We should be recycling, conserving, and caring for our environment. I do not want species extinct or more farmland bulldozed for shopping malls. (Shudder). But ideologies without proof, false science, and brainwashing our youth into the cult of global warming isn't the right way to go.

Second rant: Why do people think 'anything goes' should lead to anything but chaos?

I also read Wendy Shalit's book, A Return to Modesty. I highly recommend it. She blows me away with her research. I cannot sum up the book easily, but I will link over to her blog. Her main point is that men and women are different. Modesty codes (mostly of conduct) protect women. And I think her entire thesis is spot-on.

So I guess I'm feeling down today because I was immersed in new information this weekend pointing out how far the world has fallen...how much people embrace false idols and false ideologies...I wonder all the time: is it me? Am I just noticing these things? Have they always been there? I don't want to bemoan something that is new that is really as old as the hills. For example, I've always chuckled at the contrast when people complain about how wild teenagers are, and then the paragraph from the ancient Greek writer is cited and he writes nearly the same thing. I'm not talking about things like that. I'm wondering if the world is actually speeding downhill, as I see it, and how far it will go before we hit bottom. Will we climb back up?

***
And now the Happy Garden and Farm Update

Sorry for being such a downer today. On to happier thoughts: My neighbor Patty at Shady Acres Farm, Prospect, welcomed several sets of twin baby goats this weekend! She has one solid red Boer baby that is just beautiful. She tells me it is a very rare color. For some reason I can't get the photo to post on the blog, but maybe another time I'll get a picture here.

I ordered seeds this weekend. That's one winter ritual I like! Here's the happy list:

• Golden beets & Bull's Blood beets (rich red foliage, red beets)


• Broccoli rabe: if you've never sauted this in olive oil with a little garlic, time to grow it just for the experience!


• Winter squashes: acorn, butternut, spaghetti


• Tomatoes: salad, slicing and an heirloom variety called "Mortgage Lifter" that I've been dying to try


• Peppers: California wonder green bells, mixed colors bells, and banana peppers


• Lettuces


• Corn


• Swiss Chard - I love "Bright Lights" because all the stems are different colors


• Watermelon (Moon & Stars heirloom) and cantalope


• Herbs - my herb garden is going to be huge! Chamomile, catnip, three kinds of basil, oregano, parsley, sage, thyme, rosemary, stevia, peppermint

We'll get the rest of the seeds - beans, cabbage, broccoli, more lettuce, cabbage, squash, zucchini, eggplant - at Lowe's or Wal Mart, along with bags of zinnia seeds for the flower garden. I only ordered by mailorder the varieties I didn't think I could get locally.

I will try to keep my garden in my mind today...happy thoughts....!

Delivery Men

Here's another one of those musings on the difference between city life and country life...delivery people. Actually, delivery men. No offense to the ladies, but I'm talking specifically about men here. Besides, I hate political correctness. I've never been offended at singing about "mankind" during church and trying to sing "humankind" instead really throws off the congregation, you know what I mean?

Anyway....

We got a propane delivery on Friday, the very first time since Phil built our house. That's pretty amazing in and of itself and a testimony to the energy efficiency in the heating system and how well this house is built. Sure we're frugal, but we use propane for heating, cooking, and fireplaces...and we haven't needed to refill since 2007.

So here comes Johnny the delivery driver. He pulls his truck back into the driveway. I race outside, coffee mug in hand to warn him. We have a guest in the propane tank inlet, a black widow spider, and she's not someone to surprise with company. I tell Johnny and he laughs. "As long as it's not a snake," he says. "I hate snakes. Yesterday I delivered to the middle school in Farmville and there was a starling nest in the intake valve. A whole flock of birds flew out!"

We learned all about Johnny. How he's paying off his mortgage as fast as he can so he and his wife won't have to worry if the recession goes on. How he puts mothballs in propane tank areas to discourage snakes (we also learned a lot about snakes from talking with him!). He chatted with us about propane, his job, his family, his home and the local wildlife.

Before he left, he took the time to write down his office's number, explain to us that we could pay the bill in person, gave us careful directions to the Appomattox building, and said goodbye.

Now I want you to contrast this with our oil deliveries in New York.

Most of the time, a surly guy in dirty overalls showed up. He dragged a hose from the street to the inlet in front of my in-laws house. Last year, one guy spilled oil all over the garden. When my father in law called the company, he was told rudely it was "his problem"! (needless to say, we never used that company again)

The guys who showed up were always gruff, rude and couldn't give a darn about anything.

When I was a child growing up in Floral Park, we used the old Sahner Oil Company by the railroad tracks. The propane man, Johnny, reminded me of the old fellows from Sahner who would deliver. My mother never went outside to talk to them, but I would sit on the back of the couch in the living room watching in fascination as they unrolled the big hose and uncorked the mysterious metal outlet in the front lawn. The man would always wave and if I made a signal to him he'd blow the big horn on the truck for me.

Bet I couldn't get a wave out of the more recent fellows in New York. Come to think of it, I wouldn't want a child seen by them.

I don't know what it is. Do the companies back in New York hire only guys who can't get jobs elsewhere? Are these guys so burned out, tired and discouraged that they don't care at all about anything? Why don't they care? How do you get someone to care about their job?

Wherever we go here in rural Virginia, people like to chat. The UPS driver can't stay long, but he always has a smile, and when he saw me walking the dog the other day he waved. The mail carriers and I exchange pleasantries about the weather. The FedEx man slowed down to admire my garden over the summer. Workmen stop and have a coffee and talk about hunting.

Country life at a slower pace?
Different people?

I haven't a clue. But I sure do enjoy it!

More Coffee Please

Some mornings I think I'd like to swim in a giant pool of coffee. Or perhaps drink a gallon. This is one of those mornings. If you can picture my office, I have a wet, smelly long haired German Shepherd snoring in front of the heater, Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite on the stereo, and over 80 emails this morning in my in box. That's what happens when I spend a day off line ( the emails I mean; the German Shepherd is thanks to the pouring rain!).

In response to the flood of comments, questions, annoyed reactions etc to my post of January 2 - here's why I wrote what I did and why I reacted so strongly to the original online post. Have you ever felt duped by someone's writing? That is what I felt when I read that fellow's raw food blog. I was so enthusiastic about his reaction and his posts there I decided to check his other posts. I'm glad I did, or else I would have linked over to his site, and promoted his warped and crazy view of life and marriage. So I felt duped. His original post was full of statements of how he felt more peaceful, more compassionate, while on a raw food diet. I feel that was too. Since embracing raw foods and eating now about 50% raw, I'm finding my senses are heightened, I too feel more compassionate towards people, animals and the natural world, and I guess you'd say I'm more spiritually in-tune with life. I've heard that this happens the more you cut meat out of your diet. Don't ask me why. I've noticed it in myself while on a raw food diet, and I've read several books now where others have reported similar feelings. I am guessing this is why many religions promote a vegetarian lifestyle. It makes sense, since you are eliminating meat that may have a spiritual dimension of suffering attached to it. Factory farmed meat, I'm afraid, has suffered while in life. I have a strong feeling that the meat we bought from a neighbor who raises a beef cow and sold shares in it had a much more peaceful, happy life grazing out in his field and a quiet time at death in the small local slaughterhouse than the cattle crammed into the commercial houses. But I digress again...

Anyway, I felt duped. I guess my anger should be directed at myself, becuase if I had been duped it was in no way the original author, Steve P's fault. He was quite open and has always been about his ideas. I just rushed ahead and judged him by one section of his website. This is a lesson to me to research more carefully.

Frankly, I'm so enthusiastic now over my diet that I just want to share it with the world. The weight isn't budging though. I do not know why. I feel better, and I guess that is what counts.

Anyway, I hope that clarifies my rant & rave. I never meant to offend anyone. Perhaps provoke a reaction - like being poked with a big pointy stick - but I'm a peaceful person. I want everyone to play nice!

Off to work on lots of writing projects today. Enjoy your day, wherever it brings you!

On Doing What You Love

This morning I opened my email to a wonderful surprise - I'd sold an article through Constant Content! Constant Content is a website where authors post original articles along with a price tag, and interested editors, companies, etc. can purchase them. I had posted two articles with rather high price tags, and I'm delighted to say that one of them sold!

I am officially a freelance writer again. I began writing seriously in the seventh grade. I wrote my first novel then, "Child of Wind and Sea". I still have it. It was for a contest for school. We wrote an original story, then we illustrated it and bound it into a book. I didn't win the prize but I was proud of my creation.

I continued writing, and in the 9th grade, my friend and mentor Pat Gross (now Dr. Pat Gross at the University of Scranton) noticed my writing and called me up to her desk. She asked if I would like to be in her Gift & Talented Program for Writing. At first I didn't want to be - I knew my parents wouldn't approve. They didn't like any of us kids to be singled out like that. But I went ahead. One of her first assignments was to write a science fiction short story for a contest. I balked and even went to speak with her - "I don't know how to write a short story!" She said "Just try". And so I did. I wrote a story called Runaway Boys about a widowed space pilot who takes in teens and trains them to be pilots too. There's a stoway on board his spaceship, a little boy and his cat, and the story is about letting the oldest child go on to school while making room for another runaway boy, and coming to grips with the loss of his wife. I can't believe I wrote that story when I was 13 years old, but I did. I won first prize in the Brockport Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer's Content. To this day I remember that there were 72 entries, and most of them grownups from around the country. I traveled that summer to Brockport and spent a week at the college studying writing with Stephen Donaldson and Nancy Kress.

The castle in the picture with this article is a poster I had over my writing desk for as long as I can remember. It finally fell apart, but the castle never fails to remind me of imagination....to soar with my imagination.

I've been writing ever since, but had most of my success with non fiction - articles, essays, commercial copywriting. I published a lot but still struggle with fiction. I was really writing a lot and seeing my work published in many magazines until 1997. Then my dad died suddenly, and I wasn't able to write. It was like my writing just dried up. I stopped writing.

Life circumstances intervened, and John and I married, and I decided to focus on my marketing and business career. Writing was on hold. I went on to a wonderful career that I cherish, working for many great companies, meeting lots of good people, and having a blast.

Now, eleven years later, I've found my muse. Did it take that long to heal from the grief of my father's death, having to sell my childhood home, moving away from Floral Park? I don't know. All I know is that I can write again and I love it.

I am now the Site Editor for three channels on LoveToKnow - LoveToKnow Herbs, Vitamins and Business. I write 20 articles a month for them and have fun doing it! I enjoy writing my blog. I write articles for a few companies too, and now I have an idea for a novel. I just need to sit down and start writing again. I'm working on eBooks and working with clients and enjoying every word I pen.

It's scary and wonderful all rolled into one. I am doing what I love, and I think the 'money will follow' as all the wise people tell me.

What do you love to do? What love have you carried through life as long as I have carried my love of writing? No matter what it is, cherish it. Few people find their passion in life.

Welcoming the New Year

Welcome 2009! May it be a better year than 2008 for the world. We watched the ball drop in Times Square last night and I got very homesick. I look up at the office buildings and remember meetings there...the time we saw Mayor Guiliani in the lobby (my second celebrity sighting in New York, and I didn't even see him! I was too busy digging in my pocketbook for my ID for the security guard when America's Mayor zipped past me with his entourage). My wonderful days at NYU's School of Continuing and Professional Studies, which is just down the street at 11 West 42nd Street...walking through Times Square from the College Board on warm May nights when I'd walk from West 62nd down to West 31st to catch the train out of Penn...so many wonderful memories. I love New York City. Sometimes I wish I had a transporter, like in Star Trek, so I could live my wondoerful life in Virginia and then zip up to New York to do all the things I liked to do there. I don't like the nine hour drive, and I feel like I need a car when I'm there if I take the train and crash at my sister's house.

The diet is going well - or rather the new way of eating. In fact it is going so well that when I eat off of the food plan I feel ill. I made a committment not to eat sugar this week. Last night, we had our New Year's Eve party. John made an Italian platter - his family tradition. Slices of bread and crackers, all sorts of cheeses and salamis, and a blue cheese dip. I cut up vegetables and had vegetables, cheese, salami and a few olives and sweet peppers, the kind that come in a jar. About two hours later my throat felt like it was on fire, I was coughing, my ears were red and burning and I itched all over. Something in the salami or the jarred olives and peppers made me seriously react. I've eaten all that stuff before, so the only thing I can say is that eating so healthy these past two weeks has made me super sensitive to whatever junk was in there! I remember having this reaction before, but never attributed it to foods. Now that I am studying more about nutrition, health and a raw food diet, I'm suddenly aware of all these connections between tiny, niggling symptoms and what I eat, drink or do in my day. The body is a miraculous creation, and I wonder if the Creator intended us to live longer and healthier than we do now. If we lived in the Garden of Eden, with all the fruits and natural things He put into the garden that were good to eat, how old would we actually live to be? If we even ate as our natures really demanded - and not our sinful willful selves, but as He dictated - how would we feel?

I'll continue to share my progress on the raw/living foods diet with you. So far I have been eating 'raw until dinner' for the most part with just the occassional cooked foods, like eggs, for breakfast. Usually I'll have fruit and nuts for breakfast or a raw food granola John found at the store (which is absolutely delicious!). Then for lunch I'll eat a huge salad, and for afternoon snack I will make a green smoothie of vegetables and fruit. Dinner time is a typical dinner with my family - a cooked meat, vegetable, and starch of some kind. My goal is to have another fruit, probably something frozen so that it mimics ice cream, but I sometimes slip and have a cookie or ice cream at night. The scale isn't budging yet, but my jeans are looser around the waist for sure, and my skin is just glowing. I'm normally quite pale (I used to wear a cosmetic foundation shade called "alabaster" which tells you something) but I have natural roses in my cheeks again. I'm hopeful the scale will budge sooner or later. I think it has to!

Have a blessed day!