Well, the holidays are over. Christmas Eve and day have gone. I hope all of you had a happy joyful holiday time.
I love family rituals. Since my first Christmas with my husband so many years ago, I have made fondue on Christmas Eve celebration. We have a cheese fondue first, followed a little later by a chocolate fondue. All of us indulge in foods and treats we've tried the year to avoid, but we all look forward to Christmas Eve just for the food. My Christmas Eve and day were filled with family love. What more could one ask for?
Now, it is time to start preparing for the New Year. I begin to slowly take down Christmas decorations while I put out the few New Year's decorations. This year I gave my son and his wife many of my old decorations. I used to really get into the whole house being decorated. With my health this year, I've adopted more the idea of 'keep it simple'. I just didn't want to wear myself out.
This is a difficult time for me, as I now face some daunting choices and decisions that must be made soon. I know the path I must choose, but getting my feet on that path is the toughest thing for me.
We will see soon enough which choices I make and where my feet will lead me.
May God guide us all (and may we all listen) into this New Year, where dreams and goals can come true if we but hone our skills, face our fears, and put on our armor of strength.
LHR
Monday, December 27, 2010
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Changes to my Pages and Versatile Bloggers Award
As I add on to my other pages, it is becoming increasingly harder to make comments as the comment box stays at the very bottom. I have stopped comments on my additional pages. Please just place any comments here on the main page.
Recently, I was chosen for the Versatile Bloggers Award. How fun is that! Plus, it's an honor that someone liked my blog enough to name me. The Versatile Bloggers Award comes with 2 conditions.
The first condition is to tell 7 things about myself. Here we go:
1. I have lived in 6 states and traveled/visited 24other states along with Washington DC, Canada and Japan.
2. I am very crafty besides creative. I bake lots of fun goodies, crochet, knit, tat, embroider, cross-stitch and sew.
3. I love languages, linguistics and the study of words. I have a BA in French and German and a BA in Mandarin Chinese, I worked on my Masters (but unable to finish due to funds) in Classical Chinese from the BC era. I have also studied Spanish, Italian, Esperanto, Swedish, Japanese and Russian. I also studied Middle English and loved it.
4. I am a very quiet person who loves the quiet.
5. I am an avid reader of just about anything I can get my hands on. I am never without 2 or 3 books that I am reading.
6. I am against any and all forms of abuse to any thing - animal, vegetable, man. I am especially against anyone who can and would harm the innocent.
7. I believe the only path back Home is by love - unconditional love - of all things including self.
Ok. Next thing is to name 12 bloggers I like. Alas, but at present time, there are only 8 that I enjoy reading.
1. http://telegetales.com/wordpress Telega Tales and Tart cookies Karla named me Versatile Blogger and I return the favor. The best thing about Karla is her humor - very quick and she is a wonderful friend.
2. http://everythingintales.blogspot.com Everything It & Tales This blog is done by my poet friend Jennifer and her poetry is some of the best I've read. Jennifer has a beautiful layout.
3. http://ramblingsfromtheleft.com/wordpress Ramblings from the Left Florence has a very professional blog. She is an interesting and funny author. She often interviews other authors.
4. http://pkhrezo.blogspot.com PK HREZO PK has a wonderful way of writing. She talks about her travels and even critiques current movies.
5. http://williamkendallbooks.blogspot.com Speak of the Devil. William adds his wit to his blogs. William is knowledgable in current affairs and writes some witty commentaries. His character Lars is now one of my favorite written characters. Just don't get him on the subject of the Muppets.
6. http://beishirbooks.blogspot.com Beishir Books I am honored to call Norma a friend of mine. She is the published author of several books. Lately, she has been blogging about her past Christmases. Read some. You will be glad you did.
7. http://windchasersjourney.blogspot.com This is another of Norma's blogs. She has some really good interviews with fellow writers. Windchasers Journey is a book she and her son wrote. Anything Norma does makes for good reading.
8. http://scarlettjames69.blogspot.com Ok. I favor certain people and indeed, William and Norma are two of them. You just couldn't ask for better friends. But Scarlett and James are different because...well, they make things quite steamy. If you love excellent erotica, this is the site for you.
Check out these blogs and have a Happy Holiday.
LHR
Recently, I was chosen for the Versatile Bloggers Award. How fun is that! Plus, it's an honor that someone liked my blog enough to name me. The Versatile Bloggers Award comes with 2 conditions.
The first condition is to tell 7 things about myself. Here we go:
1. I have lived in 6 states and traveled/visited 24other states along with Washington DC, Canada and Japan.
2. I am very crafty besides creative. I bake lots of fun goodies, crochet, knit, tat, embroider, cross-stitch and sew.
3. I love languages, linguistics and the study of words. I have a BA in French and German and a BA in Mandarin Chinese, I worked on my Masters (but unable to finish due to funds) in Classical Chinese from the BC era. I have also studied Spanish, Italian, Esperanto, Swedish, Japanese and Russian. I also studied Middle English and loved it.
4. I am a very quiet person who loves the quiet.
5. I am an avid reader of just about anything I can get my hands on. I am never without 2 or 3 books that I am reading.
6. I am against any and all forms of abuse to any thing - animal, vegetable, man. I am especially against anyone who can and would harm the innocent.
7. I believe the only path back Home is by love - unconditional love - of all things including self.
Ok. Next thing is to name 12 bloggers I like. Alas, but at present time, there are only 8 that I enjoy reading.
1. http://telegetales.com/wordpress Telega Tales and Tart cookies Karla named me Versatile Blogger and I return the favor. The best thing about Karla is her humor - very quick and she is a wonderful friend.
2. http://everythingintales.blogspot.com Everything It & Tales This blog is done by my poet friend Jennifer and her poetry is some of the best I've read. Jennifer has a beautiful layout.
3. http://ramblingsfromtheleft.com/wordpress Ramblings from the Left Florence has a very professional blog. She is an interesting and funny author. She often interviews other authors.
4. http://pkhrezo.blogspot.com PK HREZO PK has a wonderful way of writing. She talks about her travels and even critiques current movies.
5. http://williamkendallbooks.blogspot.com Speak of the Devil. William adds his wit to his blogs. William is knowledgable in current affairs and writes some witty commentaries. His character Lars is now one of my favorite written characters. Just don't get him on the subject of the Muppets.
6. http://beishirbooks.blogspot.com Beishir Books I am honored to call Norma a friend of mine. She is the published author of several books. Lately, she has been blogging about her past Christmases. Read some. You will be glad you did.
7. http://windchasersjourney.blogspot.com This is another of Norma's blogs. She has some really good interviews with fellow writers. Windchasers Journey is a book she and her son wrote. Anything Norma does makes for good reading.
8. http://scarlettjames69.blogspot.com Ok. I favor certain people and indeed, William and Norma are two of them. You just couldn't ask for better friends. But Scarlett and James are different because...well, they make things quite steamy. If you love excellent erotica, this is the site for you.
Check out these blogs and have a Happy Holiday.
LHR
Sunday, December 19, 2010
The Message of Love
I want to wish all of you a happy and safe Holiday season. May your hearts be filled with joy and love.
This is a poem I wrote in interpretation of 'peace on earth, good will to man.' I don't believe it was meant for that night only. I believe it was a message meant for all of us throughout the years.
I hope you enjoy this poem, which can be found under the tab 'poem's.
Ho-ho-hoping we will all have peace on earth, good will to man.
LHR
This is a poem I wrote in interpretation of 'peace on earth, good will to man.' I don't believe it was meant for that night only. I believe it was a message meant for all of us throughout the years.
I hope you enjoy this poem, which can be found under the tab 'poem's.
Ho-ho-hoping we will all have peace on earth, good will to man.
LHR
Friday, December 17, 2010
Invisible/Common/Boring Words Words Words
While reading a 'how to' on writing Chapter One of a novel, I came across something I had not heard of: invisible words. Now, maybe somewhere/sometime I may have learned about these, but I don't remember. I put on my research hat and off I went, surfing the internet.
For writers and poets we need to be very much aware of these words. These are words that are so overused that their meanings are minimal anymore. If we want our work to 'sizzle' and catch the eyes of agents and publishers, we need to be on the look-out for invisible/common/boring words in our work.
Alas, but I am guilty of using such words. When I get that creative urge, I let the words flow onto the paper. Later, I edit, but I never thought to look for boring words. It's surprising how many of these words show up in my writing. The book I mentioned in paragraph one called 'beautiful' an invisible word. 'Beautiful' is one of my favorite words! I was shocked. Then I remembered Saturday Night Live with the church lady. Now, I have actually known women like this. As a matter of fact, I live in a state where 'special' really is a 'special' word. 'Isn't that special?' 'Aren't you just special to make that special dessert for our special dinner held in our special hall?' Somedays I think 'if I hear one more special from anyone today, I'll...I'll...I'll write my congressman to ban that word.' Well, maybe agents and publishers think the same about invisible words that are no longer, well, 'special.'
I read once that if you are having trouble cutting down the number of words in your writing, go back through and try to cut one word per sentence out. I thought 'each word is so special though, how could I ever do that?' Surprisingly, there were many words that could be cut out from overuse or because they made the sentence/paragraph tedious to read.
To make your work stand out, try to avoid common words too. Wikipedia lists the top 200 most common words in order. Now, granted, there are times when you can't cut these words and there is no other word to take its place, but I bet there are many places in your work that you can change, making your work sizzle.
Below is a short list of boring/invisible words and the 10 most common words. Let's take a look at what I wrote before looking at the list. I have used the word 'word' at least 20 times. If I took the time to polish up what I wrote, that would be a good 'word' to take out or change.
Invisible words: amazing, angry, beautiful, but, cool, delicious, eager, fast, hurt, kill, love, neat, old, really, said, tell, think, very, was.
The top 10 common words: the/be/to/of/and/a/in/that/have/I
I want to thank my fantastic critic partner, Florence, who loves to point out the words I overuse. Thank you very much, dear friend. Unfortunately, I love words. All words. Any words. In any language. I find them mysterious and beautiful, yes, beautiful. Thanks to Florence's guidance, I now have a glossary of common and boring words.
LHR
For writers and poets we need to be very much aware of these words. These are words that are so overused that their meanings are minimal anymore. If we want our work to 'sizzle' and catch the eyes of agents and publishers, we need to be on the look-out for invisible/common/boring words in our work.
Alas, but I am guilty of using such words. When I get that creative urge, I let the words flow onto the paper. Later, I edit, but I never thought to look for boring words. It's surprising how many of these words show up in my writing. The book I mentioned in paragraph one called 'beautiful' an invisible word. 'Beautiful' is one of my favorite words! I was shocked. Then I remembered Saturday Night Live with the church lady. Now, I have actually known women like this. As a matter of fact, I live in a state where 'special' really is a 'special' word. 'Isn't that special?' 'Aren't you just special to make that special dessert for our special dinner held in our special hall?' Somedays I think 'if I hear one more special from anyone today, I'll...I'll...I'll write my congressman to ban that word.' Well, maybe agents and publishers think the same about invisible words that are no longer, well, 'special.'
I read once that if you are having trouble cutting down the number of words in your writing, go back through and try to cut one word per sentence out. I thought 'each word is so special though, how could I ever do that?' Surprisingly, there were many words that could be cut out from overuse or because they made the sentence/paragraph tedious to read.
To make your work stand out, try to avoid common words too. Wikipedia lists the top 200 most common words in order. Now, granted, there are times when you can't cut these words and there is no other word to take its place, but I bet there are many places in your work that you can change, making your work sizzle.
Below is a short list of boring/invisible words and the 10 most common words. Let's take a look at what I wrote before looking at the list. I have used the word 'word' at least 20 times. If I took the time to polish up what I wrote, that would be a good 'word' to take out or change.
Invisible words: amazing, angry, beautiful, but, cool, delicious, eager, fast, hurt, kill, love, neat, old, really, said, tell, think, very, was.
The top 10 common words: the/be/to/of/and/a/in/that/have/I
I want to thank my fantastic critic partner, Florence, who loves to point out the words I overuse. Thank you very much, dear friend. Unfortunately, I love words. All words. Any words. In any language. I find them mysterious and beautiful, yes, beautiful. Thanks to Florence's guidance, I now have a glossary of common and boring words.
LHR
Monday, December 13, 2010
Dodger
I have a list of things I'd like to accomplish before I travel back Home. There are fun things on the list: visit Universal Studio's Hogwarts. Reread as many classics as I can. There are professional: Publish my novels and poetry.
One item on my list has been there for years: adopt a homeless dog. It breaks my heart that so many dogs don't have loving homes. Many of you know my feelings are strong in this area. Every living creature of our Father's has a right to a non-abusive, loving life. When will we ever learn to love and not hate? We read about it everyday, and it is sad. And I'm not talking just dog abuse. Earth and earth's children, humans, human children and the elderly, spousal abuse, anger, hatred, prejudice.
I have always found it ironic that so many people in our country think it is a terrible thing that some countries eat dogs. Yet, our shelters and rescue agencies are more full now than ever. We eat beef, yet think Indians are silly for treating cows as divine.
Well, about a week ago, I adopted a 4yr old Puppy Mill dog. Now, if you want to read about neglect, abuse, and just pure torture of animals, look up Puppy Mills. I warn you. This is not for the faint of heart. I adopted a Bichon Frise. I felt he would fit in with our family (including 2 poodles) the best. His shelter was Furburbia, a wonderful organization whose sole intent is to find loving homes for homeless dogs and cats. I named him Dodger. Dodger is unusually gentle and so loving - when he can. But, like any Puppy Mill dog, Dodger has strong trust issues. You would too, if you were kept in a wire cage, stacked on top of other dogs, with dogs stacked on top of you. Never let out except when they needed your services. Dodger will growl and snap if he doesn't want to be touched. It's all trust. These dogs have never known love or petting. They've never romped freely to play and certainly don't know how to play with toys. It will take a long time for Dodger to trust my family fully. But everyday I see the most amazing signs. He now goes in and out the dog door by himself. He will sometimes play with my poodles. He has let us pet him and pick him up, rarely. He even sometimes will take food from our hands. It has been one tough week for this dog. I read that a home environment is overwhelming to these dogs, and I believe it.
If you are thinking of adopting a homeless animal, please be sure you are willing to commit to a lifetime of showing them love. So many people adopt these animals. When they experience the negative side, they return them. Dodger had been adopted out twice before. How sad to start a homelife and be rejected. Each adoptor knew he snapped and was somewhat unfriendly. Yet they decided he was not worth it. I feel differently. I am working solely on God's principle of Love and Al Anon principles of 'let go and let God, keep it simple (one word training), live and let live, etc. He is welcome in our home, and I love this little guy.
One item on my list has been there for years: adopt a homeless dog. It breaks my heart that so many dogs don't have loving homes. Many of you know my feelings are strong in this area. Every living creature of our Father's has a right to a non-abusive, loving life. When will we ever learn to love and not hate? We read about it everyday, and it is sad. And I'm not talking just dog abuse. Earth and earth's children, humans, human children and the elderly, spousal abuse, anger, hatred, prejudice.
I have always found it ironic that so many people in our country think it is a terrible thing that some countries eat dogs. Yet, our shelters and rescue agencies are more full now than ever. We eat beef, yet think Indians are silly for treating cows as divine.
Well, about a week ago, I adopted a 4yr old Puppy Mill dog. Now, if you want to read about neglect, abuse, and just pure torture of animals, look up Puppy Mills. I warn you. This is not for the faint of heart. I adopted a Bichon Frise. I felt he would fit in with our family (including 2 poodles) the best. His shelter was Furburbia, a wonderful organization whose sole intent is to find loving homes for homeless dogs and cats. I named him Dodger. Dodger is unusually gentle and so loving - when he can. But, like any Puppy Mill dog, Dodger has strong trust issues. You would too, if you were kept in a wire cage, stacked on top of other dogs, with dogs stacked on top of you. Never let out except when they needed your services. Dodger will growl and snap if he doesn't want to be touched. It's all trust. These dogs have never known love or petting. They've never romped freely to play and certainly don't know how to play with toys. It will take a long time for Dodger to trust my family fully. But everyday I see the most amazing signs. He now goes in and out the dog door by himself. He will sometimes play with my poodles. He has let us pet him and pick him up, rarely. He even sometimes will take food from our hands. It has been one tough week for this dog. I read that a home environment is overwhelming to these dogs, and I believe it.
If you are thinking of adopting a homeless animal, please be sure you are willing to commit to a lifetime of showing them love. So many people adopt these animals. When they experience the negative side, they return them. Dodger had been adopted out twice before. How sad to start a homelife and be rejected. Each adoptor knew he snapped and was somewhat unfriendly. Yet they decided he was not worth it. I feel differently. I am working solely on God's principle of Love and Al Anon principles of 'let go and let God, keep it simple (one word training), live and let live, etc. He is welcome in our home, and I love this little guy.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
The Perfect Write
I am always searching for excellent information to guide me towards better writing. One day a few months ago, I chanced upon Robert Bacon's website and signed up for his newsletters. I have not been disappointed once. He currently has 3 websites and I encourage you to take a look at them.
Robert L. (Rob) Bacon, Founder
The Perfect Write ®
http://theperfectwrite.com
http://rb@theperfectwrite.com
http://robertlbacon.blogspot.com
The Perfect Write ®
http://theperfectwrite.com
http://rb@theperfectwrite.com
http://robertlbacon.blogspot.com
I am intrigued by his posting of some authors' works for critique. Be sure and look at his blogspot.
He has in the past mentioned how much top selling authors make. Today, he talked about the amount of rejections. I always find this inspiring. For anyone who has submitted their works to agents or contests, it can be quite frustrating. Here are just a few he mentioned:
Stephen King's 'Carrie' rejected 30 times.
Chicken Soup for the Soul - the concept rejected 33 times
Dr. Seuss - 24 times
Loius L'Amour - 200 rejections
J.K. Rowling - rejected over a dozen times. The Publisher of Christopher Little Literary Agency accepted it based on the advise of the 8-yr old daughter of the company's CEO! Smart publisher!
He also goes over grammar and other things that help fine-tune manuscripts. Take a look, if you have time. Sign up to receive his newsletters. I've never been disappointed.
LHR
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