Friday's Odds and Ends

Which won't be much this morning as there is nothing in the news that I care to talk about. The mess in Washington is just that, and nothing I can say will make those folks behave.

So let's just have some fun with some comic strips and forget about the news.

This first one is from One Big Happy, and I'm sure moms around the world can relate.

Ruthie runs up to her mother with a note. "Mom, I forgot to give this to you."

Mom reads the note. "A class play? Fun with Food Groups? On Wednesday?!"

Ruthie: "And I'm the zucchini."

Mom: "So I only have three days to make a zucchini costume?! Ruthie, I have a million things to do this week. (waving the paper in the air) How do they expect working parents to take the time to construct elaborate costumes on such short notice? I'm going to call the principal of yours and let her have it."

Ruthie: "But, Mom, they're using the same costumes from last year's play!"

Mom: "Oh.... You're in the class play? What fun!"

Next up is Baby Blues.

Wanda and Darryl are in the grocery store and the butcher hands Wanda a package of meat, saying, "You'll need to trim off the excess fat, Ma'am."

The next five panels show Wanda and Darryl finishing the shopping, driving home, preparing a meal, eating, clearing the table and doing the dishes. That's when Wanda asks THE question. "He was talking about the roast, right?"

Darryl: "For his sake, I hope so."

Finally in the spirit of snark here is one from Mallard Fillmore. I do love the way Bruce Tinsley nails issues.

Two dinosaurs are walking along and one is saying, "Sometimes I think that if the man-made meteors, the man-made volcanoes, or the man-made Ice Age doesn't get us, the man-made mammals will...."

Monday Morning Musings

I spent my weekend getting used to a new computer program, Dragonfly Naturally Speaking. I wanted the program so I could read columns written by the Winnsboro historian, Bill Jones, and get them into my computer to make a book for him. The thought of typing all those columns, or scanning them was daunting, so I though this program would be an asset.

Of course, my friends Marian Allen and Patrick O'Sheen, who write about dragons had a lot to say on Twitter as I posted updates on how my orientation with Dragonfly was going. There were many cautions about fire and such, but so far nothing has burned.

After a couple of days of practicing with the program my reactions are mixed. First of all, I really like not having to type as I have arthritis in my fingers and after a day of writing my hands really hurt. I do notice, however, that the process of getting words from my voice to words on the page is a bit slow. Perhaps that will speed up once I get more comfortable with the process. It took me a long time to get used to composing directly to the computer with a keyboard instead of writing stories with pen and paper and then typing them on the old manual typewriter that I used in the very beginning my career.

So I'm hoping that it will just take more practice for me to get used to yet another new way of getting stories written. However, there has always been something to the connection between a writer's brain and his or her hands, and that is one of the reasons this feels so weird. I don't know what to do with my hands. They want to be typing. Maybe my brain and my hands have to just get over it. (smile)

Throughout the weekend, I learned that Dragonfly Naturally Speaking can be used in a lot of different ways, basically anything you would normally use a keyboard for, such as updating Twitter, Facebook, and a blog. In fact I'm using it now, but the process is much slower than when I type.

So how did you spend your weekend? Did you try anything new different? Do you think you'd like to use a program like Dragonfly?

Now here are some things just for fun.

This one from the comic strip, Non Sequitur is not laugh-out-loud funny, but it does make one stop and think:

Two angels are standing by the gates of heaven watching people line up to get in. There are two entrances in the gate and two signs. One sign has an arrow pointing to the entrance on the left and reads, "Wrong religion entrance." That gate has nobody in line.

The other sign has an arrow pointing to the entrance on the right side and the sign reads, "Right religion entrance." There is a long line of people there.

One of the Angels says, "The funny thing is, none of them ever get the joke."

This one is from Rose is Rose:

Rose is reading a letter and says to Jimbo, "Betty moved. We'll have to send a housewarming gift."

Jimbo asks, "What kind of gift?"

"Oh, I don't know. A house plant is always a nice idea."

In the last panel, the houseplants are talking to each other. One says, "Does that mean one of us is leaving?"

Another says, "I'll go. I have seniority."

The last one says, "Hide me."

Mothers who have not always enjoyed every summer day with kids home from school can relate to this one from Baby Blues:

Early in the morning Zoe and Hammie are sitting on stools at the counter waiting for their breakfast. Zoe is wearing a bike helmet. Wanda, bleary-eyed and holding the baby, gets the cereal box and the milk and slams them down on the counter.

Zoe says, "Told you mom was in a mood today."

Hammie slides off of his stool and says, "I'm going to get my bike helmet before she brings the bowls and spoons."

 And that's why I taught my kids early on how to get their own cereal in the morning.

Friday's Odds and Ends

Tomorrow is the day. The Nite of Comedy plays on the stage at the Winnsboro Center for the arts in Winnsboro, Texas. If you are nearby, consider coming by and supporting the talented Young Players. 

200 Market Street - Downtown across from the Depot

I noted this past week that one of my favorite Dallas Morning News columnists, Jacquielynn Floyd, had issues with the spelling of her name on documents when she was going through airport security. Apparently the spelling on her driver's license did not match the spelling on her boarding pass. Long before this, I could have told her there would be problems. I never can spell her first name correctly when I mention her in a post and have often wished she could just be Jackie, or Jack, or maybe even Mary. All simple names to spell, right?

I'm rather fond of the simple spelling of my name. What about you? Is your name difficult to spell?

"Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us." FDR.

That quote caught my eye when I saw it at the top of a recent column by Alex Rose in the Dallas Morning News. She has spent several years in the Texas Legislature and wrote about how we can have our voices heard over those of lobbyists. Her message was that special interests groups do have significant influence in federal and state governments, but that does not mean that voters cannot have influence if they band together and speak up.

I won't argue the second part of that message. We do have to keep speaking up, even when it seems like our words are blown back in our faces by the wind of big businesses that have the biggest lobby groups. And one of the major things we need to speak up about is a drastic change in the political system, so businesses don't have the kind of power they do now.
 
Now for some fun from the comics.

This first one is from B.C. and Wiley's Dictionary: The definition of "Lip Service."

"Regular botox injections."

This one is from Baby Blues. The family is in a pet shop and Darryl says, "A puppy wouldn't be that hard to train Wanda."

She says, "O, really?

To which he responds, "It just takes patience. Look how well-behaved our kids are."

Then there is a loud crash and Darryl says, "Okay bad example."

Hammie runs up and says, "We just bought a tank of guppies." 

 I had to include that one as it reminded me of taking my kids to the grocery store - not something I did often, especially after one of them knocked down one of those towers of canned goods that stores used to have.

Do you have a favorite story of taking your kids to the store? Feel free to share it. And don't forget to leave your e-mail addy if you would like to be in the drawing for my Birthday Gift that I mentioned in Wednesday's post.

Monday Morning Musings

Yesterday was a grand day. Since it was Mother's Day I got to do whatever I wanted to, which included doing some gardening. For many years that was the day that I got a lot of bedding plants and put color all around my house. I don't do that much any more as I have a lot of perennials that come up every year, so in more recent years I just do some re-potting and mulching and feeding. The rest of the day yesterday was spent watching movies, eating popcorn, talking to my kids, working on a new jigsaw puzzle, and just have a relaxing day with my husband.

I did take a break now and then from all that relaxing to take care of the animals, brush the horse, walk the dog and pick a few berries. Thought I'd mention that lest you think I'm a slug.

The Sunday comics section of the paper celebrated Mother's Day in a big way on some of my favorite strips. On Baby Blues, Darryl and the kids buy Wanda a goldfish and a fish bowl for Mother's Day. Several panels show them shopping, wrapping, then presenting the present with a great flourish. When Wanda opens the present, the fish is dead. Darryl says, "Well, happy Mother's Day anyway."

Hammie says, "Can I flush the body."

To which Zoe replies, "It's Mom's special day. Let her do it."

In Pickles, Earl walks up to Opal and hands her a flower and says, "Happy Mother's Day, Opal. I don't say this very often, but you are a great mother and grandmother. And you deserve a much better husband than me."

Opal sniffs the flower and says, "You make a good point. But your trade-in value is shot, so I think I'll just have to keep you."

Then of course there was my favorite from Mallard Fillmore that I put in my blog yesterday.

Here is a picture of one of my Mother's Day gifts. The wooden horse, not the cat. Harry, the cat, thought it was great fun to try to get the horse to play. When it refused, he jumped down and attacked the kittens.

For those of you who like cozy mysteries there is a new one out, The Cat, The Mill and the Murder by Leann Sweeney.  You can meet one of the central characters and read all about the book at Dru's Book Musings.  And if you leave a comment on the blog you will be entered to win a copy of the book. I might even enter. Who can resist a story with a cat, or a dog, or a horse?

Over at The Blood Red Pencil there is a discussion about using cliches when writing. Some new writers think that they are okay because people use them all the time. I've even had some clients who were willing to take them out of narrative, but insist that they should stay in the dialogue. No, no, no. Give a reader something new and fresh to delight over.

Friday's Odds and Ends

The most talked about news story this week has been about the Cleveland kidnap victims Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michele Knight who were allegedly subjected to years of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of suspect Ariel Castro. This happened in a populated area of the city, not in some remote rural area, and questions have been raised as to why the police were not on some kind of alert since Castro had been charged with abusing his wife in 1993 and had other run ins with police. People also wonder how the neighbors did not hear sounds of the horrible abuse the girls endured, and if they did, why didn't they call the police? If this were fiction, an editor would poke holes in the plot line. How could this have gone on for so many years and nobody heard the girls screaming or crying? Were the neighbors deaf? Did the man never leave the girls alone and give them an opportunity to escape? 

We won't know the whole story until the investigation is complete, but it is another example of "truth is stranger than fiction." (Pardon me for using the tired old cliche, but it is so appropriate.)

Residents of Mayflower, Arkansas who were victims of Exxon’s Good Friday tar sands spill that coated their neighborhood in toxic tar sands recently traveled to DC to hand-deliver a letter to Secretary Kerry asking that he reject Keystone XL. The members of the Remember Mayflower Coalition stood in front of the State Department to appeal to Secretary Kerry to consider the recent spill—and the subsequent devastation—and listen to the Vice President’s opinion on the pipeline as he makes his final analysis of Keystone XL.

Here is an excerpt from the letter they gave to Kerry: Before you issue your final evaluation of Keystone XL, we ask that you and your staff come to Mayflower to see what happens when a tar sands pipeline ruptures in your backyard. We ask that you observe the remnants of black tar, smell the toxic chemicals that are polluting our air, and ask yourselves whether you can in good conscience inflict this same devastation on families along Keystone XL’s route.

Now for some fun. This is from the strip Baby Blues. Hammie is on the couch with a notebook and pencil and Zoe climbs over the arm to check it out. "What are you writing?"

"Nothing"

"Come on, tell me." Zoe takes the notebook from him.

"It's a list of things to avoid this summer."

Zoe is reading the list. "I see 'thinking' topped the list again this year."

Hammie leans back on the sofa pillow with his hands behind his head. "Yeah. It's kind of a tradition with me."

Literary Lesson

This one didn't come from a book written by the author of the quote, but I read it in the book, The Woman in the Photograph,  a memoir written by Mani Feniger that I am currently reading. Then I saw it on Susan Swiderski's blog, I Think, Therefore I Yam.  I thought it was a neat coincidence to read the same quote in two places on the same day. Perhaps I needed the message, so, without further interruption, here is the quote: "We all possess certain talents and gifts that are unique to only us. You already have everything that you need to start living an extraordinary life. It's up to you to turn the switch and let your light shine."   [Randa Manning-Johnson]

Everybody, all together now, lets sing, "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine..." 

One last note. My historical mystery, Boxes For Beds, will be free this weekend as a Mother's Day special. 

Monday Morning Musings

Our little town of Winnsboro. Texas is filled with creative people who love to share their artistic talents. We have singers, musicians, visual artists, actors, writers, photographers and many, many folks artists, who are all responsible for the vibrant downtown area that has live music every weekend, exhibits, and of course our plays at the art center.

One of the really fun events is the 3rd Friday Art Walk that was started when we were named an official Cultural Arts District by the State of Texas. Each month has a different theme - sometimes it is Steampunk, which draws a lot of people from all over the state. This past weekend the theme was Pioneer Days, connecting to the history of Winnsboro that was featured in an exhibit of old photographs at the Winnsboro Center For the Arts.

Also at the center, was a reception for the 10th Anniversary of Winnsboro being named a Main Street City, and people met there for refreshments before heading out to parade around town in costumes. We go into businesses and restaurants and talk to people, assuming the character we are dressed as. I went as Mrs. Gibbs, the role I'm playing in "Our Town." She was not really a pioneer woman, but close enough.

I had great fun with Doc Davis, a local actor and historian, keeping him in line because he started proposing to every pretty woman he saw.

Photo Courtesy of Michael Alford

 When we come in and start engaging people, most of them join in the fun after the initial shock wears off. We are hoping that they go back to Dallas, or wherever they are from, and tell their friends, "You have got to go to Winnsboro and see these people who dress up and parade around town. It is so much fun."

Since I had company most of last week, I did not get much writing done, nor was I online much, but we had a good time visiting with our daughter and her husband, and our son and his wife.

Being with the kids made me remember those years when they were little and I never knew what to expect from them. Maybe that is why Sunday's Baby Blues strip made me laugh out loud. The strip features Hammie, who is excited about his upcoming field trip at school. In the first panel he is telling his mother, Wanda, "Mom, I get to go on a field trip in two weeks!"

In the subsequent panels, he is still excited, telling dad or mom how many days are left. On the final day Wanda comes into his bedroom to wake him up. "Wake up, Hammie. Today is your field trip."

He bounds out of bed and starts digging through his backpack. "Oh, that reminds me..."

He hands Wanda a paper. "...a doctor needs to sign this before I can go."

Moms, how many times has that happened to you?