When I think of the sea I remember, with great joy and nostalgia, the year my family and I spent part of the summer on the beach in South Carolina, USA. My sister and I were very young, but the memories of that trip, which included our parents, one grandmother, and one aunt and uncle, are indelibly recorded in our souls.
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Take part in the fun. Get directions HERE.
When I think of the sea, I think of my novel Racing Toward the Light, primarily because it was a painting of the sea by internationally renowned artist Steven Sundram that inspired the story. A print of his painting was a gift to me from some friends, and the very day I received it, I was so drawn into the aura and mystery of that painting that I couldn’t resist putting my feelings into words. Those words became the setting for the novel, and I virtually lived in that painting for the whole three months that it took to write the book.
Steven’s painting is the focus of both the front and back covers of the book. You can find many more examples of his excellent and inspiring work on his website.
You can find the book at the publisher’s website: St. Ellen Press.
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Take part in the fun. Get directions HERE.
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Hey, I got a treat today: Gerry, (Sitting on the Porch, Rocking Away the Blues) and I are both what one might call award rebels. We believe in giving awards to other bloggers because they have done great work, been inspiring, or added some other positive dimension to the world of their readers. But we DO NOT believe in attaching a bunch of rules to those awards that the recipients must comply with. We figure if someone deserves an award, then they have already done everything they need to do. So we have decided that we will accept awards — and gladly so — ONLY if it’s understood that we do so on our own terms (which we consider much more sensible and friendly).
Since I know his heart in the matter is similar to mine, I am able to accept awards from Gerry and enjoy them. That is what I am doing today. This particular award says a lot, as far as I’m concerned. The title of the award is “Semper Fidelis.” That term is the official motto of the United States Marine Corps, and was one of the primary mottoes my dad lived by all of his life — faithful to God, faithful to his wife, faithful to his children, faithful to his nation, faithful to his employers, and faithful to his friends. And I, of course, was brought up to live by the same motto.
So this award touches on that part of my life. But it offers something else. In the explanatory notation on the award, “May you never howl alone,” I find a fun way of saying that friendship and faithfulness to it are so important in life. And sending someone this wish is just a creative and light-hearted way of saying I’m wishing you faithful friends to be with you in every phase of your life — good, bad, and indifferent. Because when we are happy and laughing, we need someone to share it; when we are sad and crying in pain, we need the same; and when we are just aggravated, bored, or generally out of sorts — and need to howl at the moon — we need a friend to howl with.
So with this acceptance post, I send my thanks to Gerry, and I offer this award to any and all of my faithful readers who have also become faithful friends via Cyberspace. If you would like to receive this award yourself, please accept it and post it to your own site as my way of sending you this friendship wish: “May you never howl alone.” If you’d then like to pass it on to others, feel free to do so. I’m also passing it on to one of my great writing friends who does not blog, but is active on Facebook. Her online name is “Lone Wolf,” and I think she needs this wish as well.
I probably should add that if you hear someone howling today, it might be yours truly — or it might be Gerry!
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I’m in the mood! Christmas is coming!
Catalog borrowed from one of my favorite Christmas websites: Wishbookweb.com.
Fun Music filled the air — everywhere — in the 1940’s
I do love shoes — especially RED ONES.
And I do love chocolates — EVERY KIND!
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When I chose the photo for my submission to this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge — Focus — I couldn’t resist looking through several other photos of a second river that I enjoyed during the same trip last fall. As I thought about that river, I also thought about the poem I wrote last April that shared some of my thoughts and feelings connected with it. So I went back and read the poem again, and I enjoyed it even more than when I wrote it. It goes without saying that I love this poem, mostly because it so honestly describes my response to the beauty and power of God’s creation and its ability to influence us. So — I decided I’d just re-post it and share it with my readers again. After all, many of you were not a part of my blogging family way back in April. Any of you who aren’t into poetry reruns can feel free to skip this post with my blessing.
ALONG THE RIVER
The sun is playing hide and seek with clouds
Along the river.
The clouds are gray, but friendly, soft, and free
Along the river.
I move unhampered by the flirting breeze
Along the river,
Breathing deeply of the moistened earth
Along the river.
Quiet now invades my mind and soul
Along the river.
I’m letting go of tumbling, troubled thoughts
Along the river.
My past recedes; my future quiet rests
Along the river,
And water speaks to waters deep within,
Along the river.
I sit and contemplate historic days
Along the river:
The generations served by this same stream
Along the river.
And sense that I belong to something great
Along the river:
A part of something bigger than myself
Along the river.
And far beyond my power to understand,
Along the river,
An elemental knowing I am known —
And I am loved —
By the Creator of the river.
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I “borrowed” this video link from Gerry at
http://cobbies69.wordpress.com/2013/08/21/award-from-karen/
I’m sending it out to all of my terrific blogging friends. Thank you for adding so much to my life by becoming part of my cyberspace family. Gerry and I were just discussing the other day the fact that we wouldn’t want to have to deal with communication the way it used to be — without the Internet and all it’s blessings — which include all of YOU!
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Hey, I have my new flag counter up on my site (thanks to Nando’s unselfish efforts at tutoring me in how to get it up). So be sure and come over and visit as soon as you can. That way, your country’s flag will show up on my counter.
I Know … I sound like a kid with a brand new toy. But … that’s what I am: a kid with a brand new toy!
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To join the fun: http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/08/16/photo-challenge-carefree/
GREAT NEWS: A friend of mine just began blogging here on WordPress, and she has some delightful things to share. She is a writer, a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a gardener, and a great cook. She plans to share on all of these subjects in the days to come, so when you have time, hop over to Jo Boester’s site and welcome her to WordPress. You’ll be glad you did.
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My good friend from Southampton, Gerry Ainger — alias Galan12 — has given his main blog an overhaul, with a brand new name: “Sitting on the Porch — Rocking away the blues.” I love it, and this post about the tranquil pleasures of rocking chairs and porches is delightful. Be sure to hop over and visit him — and sit and rock a while.
My newest Christmas mug — a gift from my sister yesterday. I’m drinking this evening’s coffee out of it even as I write. A well-brewed cup of coffee always tastes great, but it’s even better when you drink it from a Christmas mug. I’m challenging all my blogging friends to shake up their lives a little and drink from a Christmas cup in the middle of August. It’s a very freeing experience!
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I wasn’t in the mood to write a letter, but I did feel a little poetic, so here’s my response to the “green-eyed monster” challenge:
GREEN WITH ENVY
She has everything I want:
Beauty, money, love, and fame.
And, honestly, she’s such a dunce;
Can’t learn a simple game.
So why should she have all the fun
Of life’s most cherished joys and gifts
While I get stuck with life’s old scraps?
Through left-overs I sift.
If I were her, and she were me,
Life would be good; yes, right as rain,
For I would have what I deserve,
And she’d feel envy’s pain.
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Join the fun. Get rules here:
http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/08/03/daily-prompt-green/
(I originally posted this short article a little over a year ago, but since we keep getting older, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to have a little reminder along about now.)
When Moses was 120, he had just led close to 3 million people out of Egyptian bondage to a land of freedom, but his eyes were not weak, nor was his strength abated; when Caleb was 85, he waged successful warfare against the Anakim to take possession of Mt. Hebron as his own property in the land of Canaan; when Grandma Moses was 100, she was still painting (and getting paid for) the pictures that made her famous; when Eamon de Valera was 91, he had led Ireland in its fight for independence and was still serving as her president; and when Winston Churchill was 82, he wrote the 4-volume “History of the English-Speaking People.” So what’s a few wrinkles got to do with anything?
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In my spare time (?????) I’ve been working on learning the Cherokee language. For a while I was making steady progress, but then my work was interrupted by other responsibilities and got bogged down for many months. However, I’m determined to keep plowing forward – one word at a time if necessary. Perseverance is the key to accomplishing so much in life, isn’t it?
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