Blingless

I’ve lost the pierces in my ears—that is my formerly pierced ears are refusing the earrings. For years I’ve had trouble with one ear and taking 15 minutes to get an earring through a half-grown-over hole was too much trouble so I stopped do it. Now the other hole formerly know as “Open for business” is now “Closed for Repairs.”

 

Now here's a girl who knows how to adorn herself.

 

I could have my ears re-pierced, but I keep eyeing a needle and figuring perhaps those formerly pierced holes are half-open, and just a little prick of a needle would open them and solve my problem. Time goes on with my desire not to inflict pain on myself trumping the desire to open the holes. 

Have you ever become impatient with diddily little things like spending 15 minutes to put in an earring? There are others like finding socks that match, phone menus that have 15 selections to get you to 15 more, and then you get bumped back to the original menu, taking vitamins, vacuuming the floor, washing the car, doing the dishes, feeding birds, well maybe you don’t do that, but I bet you do find frustrating anything that takes you away from that-thing-that-you-do.

For me that thing-that-I- do is writing and trying to complete a manuscript, and  re-vamp an old one, and find someone to send it to, and facing rejections, and trying again to ”Build a platform” which is what the writing gurus tell me I must do.  I jam that between playing with my grandson, daughter, husband, and collaborating a screenplay with daughter. While she and I hammer out words on the computer branch out into discussing the nature of reality and trying to figure it all out…

In the meantime my ears remain blingless.

 

 

Twittering

I have gotten hooked on Twitter. To read my tweets click on the icon at the right of this page or go to JewellD@jewellD3. My numbers are grown, 742 at last counting, aiming for 1,000 by the end of the week.

I have found some really good resources on twitter, places for writing, writing advice, lovely people.  I’m fascinated at how many readers and writers are around, how many really good people there are, and that people READ BOOKS. I was getting worried that people weren’t reading anymore with the closing of so many bookstores, yet people are reading if you look in the right places. On tweets there are more authors writing Vampire stories, Horror, Mystery writers than you can shake a stick at. Why would anyone shake a stick at anything?

This social media is a fascinating phenomenon. There are sites where you can pay to have followers, and another side that will automatically follow them back. I am doing it the old fashioned way, actually reading tweets and blogs—hey, that’s how I found the good stuff.

I have created a new blog called The Best Damn Writer's Blog on the Block. (I can claim that since I’m the only one on my block writing one.) You can find it at http://thebestdamnwritersblogontheblock.blogspot.com  figured that writers want information, but have precious little time for research. They need to keep their butts on their chairs, fingers on the keys, and brains engaged. Still we all want motivation and encouragement. I will post the best writing advice, networking, whatever, I can find. I figure the reader and I will both benefit.  Nothing to buy, only information. That blog features coffee for I have become quite an iced coffee fan. Care to join me? Want hot or iced?

Still feeding turkeys, chickens and quail around here. The three (one died) little original quail are the sweetest things. They come to me in the mornings to be petted, and one day those three little girls laid six eggs. Wow.

Okay, today is my daughter’s birthday, we are off to Disneyland—her choice. There are perks with living in Southern California—season tickets.

What will the day bring? I wonder…

Joyce aka Jewell

                            We were privileged to ride on the inside of the train.

Florencia and I traveled to India together some 30 years ago. Our motto was “Is the sun over the yard arm yet?’ Meaning is the time of day such that we can we drink the white wine (her favorite) from the mini-bar? Talk about a traveling companion par excellence—she was.

We didn’t always have access to a mini-bar as we hit an ashram where we bought our own mattress and slept on a cement floor, but we took advantage of whatever opportunities came our way.

I saw her yesterday after a 25 year separation.

She was in an “Assisted Living” establishment after having suffered a heart attack and a stroke. She was recovering and funny as ever. She told me that at an earlier home, when the owners heard that she was a Yoga instructor asked if she would teach a class. Well, she had to adjust the postures so the participants could sit in chairs, as they couldn’t get up from the floor, but then, neither could she. She whispered to a participant to assist her, the lady looked into her eyes and said, “Anheuser-Busch.”

Doesn’t that make you wonder what the question was?

Florencia said one item on her bucket list was going to Machu Picchu, which she did. Did you know there are pills to take to prevent altitude sickness? I didn’t—a must to investigate. Florencia added to her adventures: a ride on houseboat up the Amazon, and a cruise with the teacher Abraham to the Mexico Riveria.

What a woman!

Which brings me to travel, and finding Jeff Goin’s blog and this post:

3 Reasons to Travel While You’re Young

by Jeff Goins | 635 Comments | Twitter, Facebook, Google+

The other night, I had a conversation with a young woman who had a number of decisions ahead of her, one of which was whether she should go to grad school or travel the world.

I told her to travel. Hands down. No excuse. Just go.

She sighed.

“Yeah, but…”

Never were more fatal words spoken.

Yeah, but… what about debt?
Yeah, but… what about my job?
Yeah, but… what about my boyfriend (or dog or car or whatever)?

“Yeah, but…” is pernicious. Because it makes it sound like we have the best of intentions when really we are just too scared to do what we should.

I could probably come up with 100 reasons to travel while you’re old.

Number one is, “Stack it in while you still can.”

I love to travel, and wish to do it again. Wouldn’t traveling and writing about it be just the best? I dream of being the next Charles Kurult (On the Road with Charles Kuralt), that is not writing a travel log, such as I went there and saw that, but rather writing about people, places, events.

Kurult didn’t write about politics or how bad the world was getting. He wrote about people, and such events such as the “Ugly Trucks of Pelican Rapids.”

There in Pelican Rapids trucks with a few hundred thousand miles on their odometers, rust on their chassis, broken windshields, and small trees growing out of the cracks of their truck beds, are prized by their owners who would never think of turning in their ugly trucks for shiny new models.

Hey, we had such a truck in Hawaii.

A Day in the Life of...

First of all I must thank all of you who have visited my page, you honor me. My cockles are warmed.

 

Looks like Easter doesn't it?

 

I began this on Sunday. As I exited the back door, my olfactory glands were graced by the fragrance of yesterday freshly mowed lawn grass reactivated  by the night’s rain. I was aiming for the garage behind the house that houses the four original quail plus nine new ones. We had ten, I lost one—haven’t told the owner yet. The quail in its effort to escape the monster’s hand (mine), panicked and flew out of the cage and out the door faster than a eagle after a mouse.  I keep the door shut now.

After a bobcat got all but four of the thirty original quail; I moved them to the garage and have been guarding them like a border collie guards his flock.

The new quail are becoming tame, the old ones are so tame I can set the water pan on top of one and it doesn’t move. Both old and new are laying, as are the chickens. Today a sweet little hen added a brown egg to the aqua-green ones that have been appearing as if my magic in the same spot every day.  This may not seem like much to others but for me it’s like planting a garden and waiting for the tomatoes to ripen. Husband and I ate today’s two fresh eggs soft boiled. Their yolks were the color of a California sunset, and their the taste was exquisite.

In the dangerous art of turkey feeding I wounded myself about a month ago. Not from a turkey—but from a bungee cord. It sprang like as catapult slinging the hook and hitting me on the thumb. Three weeks later I was still suffering. I lanced it on Christmas day—not as bad as it sounds although I spent most of the day mustering up the courage to do it. The next day the infection was gone and I was pain free. Now I have new skin, and a vibrant pink thumb. Beautiful thumb, lovely thumb. I love my thumb.

Okay, back in the house, I check in on twitter. Recently I have met the most wonderful people there. Today I was inspired by Claire Cook who has written a number of books, time flies, wallflower in bloom, Life’s a Beach and others. She said when she was 45 she wrote her first novel from the back of a minivan. When she was 50 she walked the red carpet regarding her book made into the movie Must Like Dogs. It had a Newfoundland dog in the movie, which is what Bear is. (Bear is daughter’s dog who lives with us and who uses Peaches for a pillow.)

From Claire Cook:

Protect Yourself from Negativity

“I’m always stunned when people aren’t happy for me. But sometimes they’re not, so I try my best to rise above other people’s negativity. People told me you can’t get published without connections. I didn’t know a soul. Lots more people told me the Must Love Dogs movie would never be made. Ha ha. Long shots happen every day. Believe in them. Believe in yourself. And if there are people in your life who aren’t supportive of your dreams, dump them if you can. Or at least stop sharing your dreams with them.” –Claire cook

From Kevin Parson’s blog
 www.kevinparsons.blogspot.com who is traveling across America with his wife on a motorcycle and with a pop-up tent.

“Think of yourself as on the threshold of unparalleled success. A whole, clear, glorious life lies before you. Achieve!” –Andrew Carnegie

From AnneLamott@Annelamott:
 (Wrote a wonderful book on writing, Bird by Bird)

“A bad 1st draft means that half the way home. God, how can something be so scary and such a relief at the same time? Welcome to creation.”

From Martha Alderson’s book, The Plot whisperer:
“Writing demands that you:

“Give over vast swatches of time and deep emotion to an endeavor with absolutely no guarantee of success.” (Yipes!)

Finally a word of encouragement  from the world’s richest man:

“Live the present intensely and fully, do not let the past be a burden, and let the future be an incentive. Each person forges his or her own destiny.” – Carlos Slim