Pencil Shavings

Adventures in The Land Of The Wee Folks

and I'm not talking about fairies!

Today my kindergartener had a day off school.  Her sister went to school without her and it was left to Mom to entertain the wee imaginative one.

We started with a walk to the store.  Lots of time stopping to smell the flowers and listening to the songs of the Red-winged Blackbirds.  But it was cold so we didn't linger by the pond and go see if the Mallard ducklings had hatched yet.

Then there was her interesting request for a lunch menu “Mommy, can you please give me my options for lunch?”  that had me laughing so hard that lunch was delayed.  The we played school.  She was running the office and using the megaphone her grandma had made from Bristol board to page everyone in the school.  Especially the janitor.  Seems we have a pretty messy school around here! 

Then I substituted for the music teacher for a few rounds of “bunny hop” dancing and singing.

We sat down for a while to read my new art magazine.  She particularly loved the article on Eric Carle, and felt quite wise (if it's possible for her to be more than she is already) that she already knew quite a bit about him.  We talked about egg tempera painting, and that yes it's really made with eggs (how shocking!) and about collage techniques, and what kind of art projects we will do over the summer holidays.

She read quite a bit of the magazine on her own, with some help on a few words that she had not encountered before.  So that was the “educational” part of our day!  Then there was the time telling part of the day while she counted down the minutes until we could go get her sister to go to swimming lessons.

Mom is OK but her sister is REALLY fun.

Chaos, Panic, Disorder.... You Know, The Usual!

I know it sounds so elitist to say it, but I love my laptop and the fact that I can write my blog while lying in bed!

Why am I in bed on a beautiful sunny day?  Well this is the last few hours I'll have to myself for many days, and it's also some of the few hours that I have had for myself in weeks!  And I'm worn clean through.

I haven't updated this blog in a long time, mostly because I either have nothing to offer, or because I'm so tired at the end of the day that I can't string words together in any meaningful way.  Although a lot of interesting (and weird) things have happened recently, I really can't write about them without exposing my family.  I'm OK with exposing myself to critique, but my family and friends don't need that in their lives.

School is winding up and I've been busy helping out at the school, and winding up all the paper work that will set the kids up for next year.  I've been finding books, and socks, and papers.  I've been sorting and fussing about things, and going on a lot of “end of the year” field trips with my girls' classes.  I did get confirmation that the teachers do give me the more difficult kids on the trips “because we know you can handle it”.  Which makes it mighty tempting to “misplace” someone occasionally.  But of course I would not do that (as tempting as it might be).

So here are the highlights:

My buddy, who I paint with once a week, hasn't seen me for nearly a month.  At least she is understanding and is giving me 21 days to get my act together and get back to work with her!  Which is good, because I need the deadline right now.

I am working on a project, but I'm not sure how it's going to turn out, so you will just have to wait and see (I'm such a tease).

I discovered that two-bite brownies spread with peanut butter is an excellent treat (and may have saved my husbands life last week when I was feeling particularly stressed).

And finally, for those of you in the art world, I will be starting up a product review section of the blog over the summer, and let you know the results of some of the new things I've tried recently and how they worked for me. ( I'll even put in pictures, how's that for a deal)

But today.  Well today I'm going to put on some fresh coffee, lounge about, read a magazine and maybe work on a poem or two.  Tomorrow the chaos begins again!

Thanks For The Love!

Wow, I am so amazed and humbled.  Today has been my best day for readership on the blog.  It's like everyone who ever read me once decided to come back and see what I was doing on Valentine's Day.

Thank you, so much.

I started this blog several years ago, to track my fledgling efforts at being a published writer, and then when writing became too difficult for me, for a lot of reasons, I realized that I could still tell my stories through watercolour and paper, and paint and canvas, and just plain pencil and a post it notes!  Many of you have stuck with me for the journey, and I appreciate it so much, even those of you who only came along to see if my cat would attack me again.

My art career is beginning to bloom now, and I do value your comments, and your readership as you have cheered me along.  My friends, my readers, my lurkers, and my collectors, Thank You, and I hope that we can continue this conversation, even when it is mostly one sided, for a long time to come.

Please feel free to comment, I love reading your comments and I enjoy when we can move the conversation of the main page, and into something even more interesting than me talking!

Oh and this Image is appropriately called Cyber Love and it's for sale in my ArtFire Studio.

Overwhelmed With Being Mom

Sometimes being a mom and being the person who kisses boo-boos, finds the stickers, and knows how the grilled cheese sandwich needs to be cut can be overwhelming.  After a morning spent with the whole family (husband included) I am exhausted.  Because I  am supposed to bring the snacks, the drinks, the coffee money, the tissues.  I'm supposed to know where we are going, in what order.

I am the one who has to kiss the pinched finger better when daddy clips it into the car seat, and provide Lifesavers to the tear stained child to get her to settle down for the trip.

I picked up some new art supplies and made a few notes about people who might make interesting characters in stories...

but other than that it's just been mom work.

Why is it that mom's never get a holiday, even when the family is on holidays?

Now, Where Did I Leave My Clone-o-Matic?

I really need another couple of Me's. Right now I am working on pulling together a book proposal, researching starting a limited company, and being a parent and wife, writer and artist.

A couple more brains would be handy about now, not to mention the extra hands to hold tissues and do dishes and laundry. Some extra shoulders to absorb the tears of a five year old and a three year old who are both a little stretched from a busy week and the never ending stream of illness that seems to run through this house. An extra driver to tool around town picking up and dropping off would be nice too. I won't even get into lack of sleep, or shower time.

But right now is a really exciting time for me. I feel like I am coming into my own here. Is it really time for me to be doing this? It feels right, and at the end of the day when I fall into bed, I feel anxious to get the sleeping over with so I can get started on a new day.

Even if this doesn't all work out, it is great having new goals, new directions, and a renewed drive to show what I've got. And I've got a lot.

Predicting the Future

Have you read the Dune series of books recently? I have been going over them again – for the third time – and suddenly I am seeing them in a whole new light.

Do yourself a favour and look at them again… except this time when you see the word spice think “oil” and when you see fremen think “afghans” and don’t forget to chuck thoughts of George Bush and the American “empire” into it as well.

Frank Herbert was a genius who could create worlds, maybe he could see the future as well.

Uplifting

My husband gets a little frustrated that I leave so early from the house to get to the library for my writing time. I leave well before I need to. I get to the library when the parking lot is empty, turn up the stereo, and make some notes about what I want to accomplish once the doors open and I can get in and claim some workspace. I am immersing myself in the freedom of not being with the kids, being able to listen to grown up music, and think a little with out a small war breaking out in the back seat.

I watch people arriving. The line up starts about ten minutes before the doors open. This morning a middle aged woman, by herself like I am. An elderly man, walking with a cane, with snow in the creases of the cuffs of his pants. A dad with his two kids in tow. A smattering of students with bulging book bags who will be heading to the quiet study area (which I have established is far too quiet for me). Two people who I see every week who have laptop cases like mine, coffee cups like mine, who set up on tables in the main body of the library like I do. I wonder sometimes if they are writing like I am.

It lifts my heart to see people lining up at the library just before the doors open, as if anticipating a sale, but instead to get in to work, to read, to be, in the library.

If this novel ever gets published I think I'll dedicate it to this space, where I have had so many great creative moments come alive on the page for me.

Renewal

It is official, I want to read every word that Wil Wheaton has ever written. I just got his book Dancing Barefoot for myself for Christmas and sat down and read half of it in one sitting. It's no secret that I am a big fan of his blog, and his blog is so present here in this book.

I have to admit, I was a huge fan of Star Trek: TNG, but I wasn't a big fan of Wesley Crusher. I hated the way that TNG made kids of the 24^th century so stupidly un-hip and dorky, yet blessed with so much intelligence that it seemed impossible that they would have no clue as to their ultimate dorkiness. As a grown up I can see that it wasn't Wheaton's fault, they wrote him that way, but in my very early twenties I just relegated him to the “weenie” dept. in the back of my mind. Last year, with the ghost of Wesley in my head I approached his blog with a grim curiosity.

What I found wasn't some glory-hound looking to ramp up his celebrity status, but instead a real person, with a great sense of humour, most of it charmingly self-depreciating. He does write about what it is like to be a “b list celebrity”. He also writes about politics, geek stuff, the world in general and what it is like to try and make a living as writer and actor, while trying to be the best parent he can be.

I'm not sure why I like his writing so much, but it resonates with me. I love this book, and I am heading out to track down Just a Geek. This guy is one of only a handful of people that I would willingly read every word he has written. No matter if it is about poker, rush hour traffic, graphic novels or grocery shopping.

His writing is so smooth, honest, graceful, and natural, it's like he is speaking while I am reading, and I know that it takes a hell of a lot of work to achieve that. And I am reminded that this is why I am writing, to achieve that fluid grace of putting my picture into someone else's head. Letting them see my world through their eyes.

So, Wil, if you ever read this, I want to thank you for reminding me, so I could fall in love with writing again. There are so many creative avenues winding their way through my life right now, but the act of putting pencil to paper and drawing words has always been the most satisfying to me.

The Google Zeitgeist

Another Friday night, and another chance to do something frivolous with my time instead of doing some serious writing.

Here are the top ten search terms from Google for the week ending July 4^th (and a happy belated Independence Day to my American friends (all two of you).

#10 The Devil Wears Prada: The new movie based on the novel. My take... any movie with Stanley Tucci in it is a movie worth seeing (although given my child rearing state it may be on DVD).

#9 Kate Bosworth: the new 2006 Lois Lane. I'm still struggling with the idea of Lois getting hooked up with someone who is not Clark Kent... and have you ever wondered why so many comic book characters have alliterative names?

#8 Michelle Wie: Now here is a super hero I can support. If only because it's nice to see a woman making golf headlines instead of a buncha fat white guys with addiction problems.

#7 Fireworks: Did I wish all those American's a happy Independence Day? For a change we weren't awakened in the middle of the night on Canada Day by fireworks... the night before is another story.

#6 The View: Ah yes, that bastion of calm, rational, detached news reporting. Or am I thinking of something else?

#5 Spiderman 3 : the top ten seems littered with comic book characters this week... oh, sorry – I forgot not to count anything associated with The View. Superheros are made to suffer and none seem to suffer more than Peter Parker (see alliteration).

#4 Brandon Routh: Superman! Why is it that even when you are young, tall, fit and handsome you still look a little silly in tights?

#3 Wimbledon: Yes – there are other sports besides the World Cup, and Baseball... (I'll duck now!)

#2 Tour de France: I rest my case.

#1 Star Jones: Barbara erased from the show and the credits within 24 hours... I wonder if she was looking for a bigger eraser when Star went on the talk show circuit?

Friday Night Top Ten Blog Searches

It's Friday night, my brain is nearly sapped, so I decided to let the fine folks at Technorati give me the inspiration for this blog. Technorati provides a list of the most searched for blog and news topics in the last hour. The last hour. No wonder my life seems to be slipping away to quickly – and to reveal my antiquity - I remember when top ten lists were for a year!

The top ten blog searches for tonight are:

#10

Couchsurfing: Seems that the web site CouchSurfing.com has gone belly up. I had never heard of this site before, but it seems it was dedicated to the low budget traveler who wanted to crash on someone's couch while touring the local scenery, and to those who had couches to offer. I did a bit of this in my youth - both the crashing and the offering to people I barely knew. It was a great way to be immersed in a new city or country.

#9

Argentina: I was puzzled by this (living in a non-sporting household) until I remembered that the World Cup is on! D'Oh!

#8

The One Percent Doctrine by Ron Suskind: a chilling book about the Bush Administration and some of the things that we hoped were rumors but that in fact are moon cast shadows compared to the truth. I wonder if this is going to keep me awake tonight

#7

Britney Spears: Well if the former won't give me bad dreams....

#6

Clay Aiken: Is is my imagination, or are we obsessed with celebrity or even near celebrity?

#5

Tour de France: The top contenders are out due to a doping scandal. Makes you wonder if Lance got out just in time (sorry... I couldn't help myself)

#4

Azure and Coincidence: the title of a poetic blog written three years ago that was lifted in it's entirety (including the title) and posted as another woman's blog. Plagiarism on the web – I suppose I should be shocked.

#3

World Cup: the world is cup crazy right now. Who am I cheering for? The team I always cheer for, the underdogs.

#2

Pirates of the Carribean: Movie? Theme park ride? Book? All of the aforementioned. Interestingly Johnny Depp wasn't in the top ten list of searches.

#1

Star Jones: Fired/Quit from "The View". It's the talk of the Internet (which makes me a little sad I have to admit) Maybe she can give a boost to CouchSurfing.com It will at least give her a place to rest that ridiculously large ring she's been sporting.

Have a great night!