A change in direction

I am changing the nature of this blog a little bit. From now on it will just be a personal blog that I will update occasionally with family and quilting news.  I have established a new blog to handle my writing efforts:


writersstudioattheboxfactory.BlogSpot.com


Writers Studio at the Box Factory
This is a program I've been running at the Box Factory for the Arts in St. Joseph, Michigan and this year, 2014, marks its 10th anniversary. I'm trying to make it a little more active, a little more vibrant and a little more relevant ... this new blog is the first step, so check it out!

First peach of the season

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I just got back from a quick trip to North Carolina to help my daughter drive back to Michigan for the summer. I flew down Friday evening and we drove back on Sunday (13 hours).

But I had one day in Raleigh and we packed in a lot. First a flea market where I bought a bag of the freshest salt-water-taffy I have ever eaten (and with the exception of a couple pieces shared with others, I ate it all!). I also bought a Vera Bradley cover for my phone and for Tom's Father's Day present, a watercolor painting from the 1980's of a mid-century modern building with a certificate of provenance taped to the back.

After the flea market we went to the farmers market and I bought some peaches with the idea that I would bring them home and make a small pie similar to this picture - but they were so good, and tasted so much like actual peaches - I ate all of those too.

We went to a place for lunch where we could have chicken and waffles - and that was delicious.  After that we went to the History Museum - and after that I was ready to rest for a bit.

We're home now and back to being busy with summer projects, not the least of which is making preliminary plans for my daughter's wedding, which will take place a year from now. It should be a fun summer - it's almost time for the summer solstice - the longest day of the year.

Six Months Later

I last posted in this blog almost exactly six months ago when the winter was in the process of kicking the stuffin's out of me. I thought I would update with the same view out the same window in my office - this time with no ice and lots of greenery. The boats have returned to their docks and sometimes I can see fishermen walking around down there with their catches after a day on the lake. 

But beyond living through this hard winter, I've gone through a lot of other things in my life too. Nothing too dramatic or upsetting ... but life-changing nonetheless.

 

I finished my first year of teaching English Composition at the local college, and I like it well enough to do it again for another year, and perhaps take on more classes. I finally feel like a real, honest-to-goodness teacher.

 

I have finally extracted myself from a difficult and increasingly distressing volunteer situation, that was taking too much of my time and making me feel way too miserable.  I decided I could answer the door to "nasty" knocking on the other side only so many times, and I reached my limit. I feel better than I have in a long time.

 

I went to a writing conference, sponsored by the University of Michigan, and came away feeling renewed about my writing. I immediately came up with a top 10 list of goals for the next 18 months - some harder to accomplish than others - but it feels good to have something to aim toward.

 

And, my daughter became engaged.  She's getting married next summer. I have had such a hard time coming to grips with her moving so far away, and now I have to come to grips with this too.  But I feel okay about it. She'll be home for most of the summer working a summer teaching job, and that will probably be the last time she spends any amount of time here. But now I know I can enjoy her while she's here, and take the rest of the stuff one day at a time.

 

So, all in all it has been a productive first half of the year when it comes to all those internal things a person has to do to get her mind straight... now let's see if I can apply this new found peace of mind and get some writing done.  Before winter comes again!

 

 

 

 

 

Winter with a Vengeance

Winter has come on this year with a vengeance, starting in November with lots of snow, and continuing on from there.

Lately we have been living through bitterly cold negative-number temperatures as we deal with this Polar Vortex that's been hovering over pretty much the whole country.

It's only the first part of January - how do I face the notion of getting through at least two more months after this one?

This is the view from my third floor studio at the Box Factory for the Arts in St. Joseph, Michigan. It's looking over a river and a marina that's completely devoid of boats.  The black specks in the sky is a flock of birds that took flight just as I snapped the picture.

It's hard to whip up enthusiasm for things this time of year in Michigan.  But we are planning trips for the summer and trying to get involved in new projects - and somehow we'll get through, just like we do each year.