More offerings for Cee’s Black and White Challenge can be found in this post and its comments.
Mar31
CBWC: Triangles and Squares
Monthly Archives: March 2021
Mar31
Wordless Wednesday: Lotsa Lemons
Mar30
Midweek Madness: Church and Chapel
For Cee’s Midweek Madness Photo Challenge. The prompt was “letters Ch or Ck in the word,” which reminded me of my trip to St. Anthony’s Greek Orthodox Monastery a year and a half ago and the lovely church and one of the chapels on the grounds.
Mar30
National Poetry Writing Month
April is both National Poetry Month and National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo). Also Global Poetry Writing Month (GloPoWriMo), if you live somewhere other than the United States.
For the last few years, I’ve been on the poetry writing bandwagon, writing a poem a day (well, I try to, anyway) during April and October (OctPoWriMo). I invite you to join me this year.
There’s a number of ways you can participate. Check out the official website for the NaPoWriMo challenge. Or, join Writer’s Digest’s Robert Lee Brewer for his Poem-A-Day challenge. You may find other poetry writing challenges online. You can use the suggested prompts if you wish, or not—they’re meant to be a starting point to get the juices flowing, but you can take off in any direction. You can post them online if you want, on a blog, in website comments, on social media. Or you can write them in your notebook and share them or not. You have incredible latitude.
I only became serious about writing poetry a few years ago. I’ve always loved poetry, but my early attempts at writing were so bad that I gave up. A book titled poemcrazy gave me some direction, and I love writing poems now. I mean to write a poem every other day year-round, but life interferes. Poem-a-day challenges help me be more intentional, although some days I can’t write a poem to save my life.
You can also celebrate National Poetry Month by reading poetry. Go to the library and check out a couple of anthologies. Or visit the two websites linked above (and ARHtistic License!) to read the daily offerings. Dissonance also posts daily poems. Poets.org has a poem-a-day page (you can sign up to have them email you a daily poem). You can also sign up for a morning poem email from The Paris Review. Or read poetry on Instagram.
Whether you read poems or write them, don’t let April go by without celebrating them.
Mar29
Monday Morning Wisdom #303
“Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”
~E.L. Doctorow
Mar28
From the Creator’s Heart #300
Mar27
Weekly Photo Challenge: Sunlight and Shadow
Actually, the prompt I chose is Sunlight/Moonlight, but I think “Sunlight and Shadow” is more fitting.
More Weekly Challenge photos can be found at Of Maria Antonia.
Mar27
Tasks That Can Be Accomplished in Just a Few Minutes
It used to annoy me when I’m ready to go somewhere but my husband is not. “I just have to go to the bathroom and brush my teeth.” Instead of being mad or drumming my fingers or making impatient noises, I now try to use those waiting moments to accomplish something, anything. Often, I do things I’ve been procrastinating. It doesn’t take long to:
- Move a load of laundry from the washer to the dryer.
- Take out the garbage.
- Write a “thinking of you” card. (I have a friend who is medically fragile and has to limit her contact with people. I miss her so much and think about her all the time. A few times a year, I go to the dollar store and buy as many sweet or funny cards as I can find, and send one to her every week or so. I keep them in a plastic bag on my desk along with an index card with her address on it. Every time I realize it’s been a week, I dash one off to her. It only takes a couple of minutes.)
- Wipe out the microwave.
- Scrub the sink.
- Dust one room with a feather duster. (Now you have an excuse to buy a feather duster.)
- Do some lunges and stretches and yoga breathing.
- Play some scales on the piano.
- Sanitize the counter.
- Brush the toilet.
- Send up a prayer. (Can’t think of anything to pray about? Just say thank you. A spirit of gratitude improves your day and your relationships.)
- Drink a full glass of water. It’s good for you, and sometimes we don’t drink enough.
- Make the bed.
- Change a light bulb.
- Sweep the kitchen or laundry room or front porch.
- Sew on a button.
- Pet the dog or cat.
- Tickle a child.
- Comb your hair.
- Make sure you’ve got your phone/wallet/keys/sunglasses.
Every time I’m able to accomplish a little chore in what could have been wasted time, I feel positively virtuous. When I’m stuck waiting away from home, I’ll pray or do some small exercises (neck rolls, tightening my abdomen, etc). And I always bring a book if I’m going to a doctor appointment.
Now it’s your turn. How do you deal with waiting? Are there activities you complete in random moments? Share in the comments below.
Mar26
Rest in Peace, Beverly Cleary
Beverly Cleary, the beloved children’s author, passed away yesterday at age 104. She is especially remembered for her series about Ramona Quimby.
Mar26
Creative Juice #235
Things to try. Things to remember.
- Famous musicians photographed with their parents.
- Sketch of a Mumbai market.
- Traditional sculptures with a twist.
- An article about the pandemic from a year ago. Interesting.
- 25 ways to make your kid smile.
- Amazing tricks of nature.
- For the writers: here are some challenges to ramp up your writing skills.
- Have you always wanted to learn free-motion quilting, but were afraid to try? Here’s a free challenge to get you started.
- Is the pandemic over yet? Here’s a playlist.
- Could your kids use a virtual storytime? How about with astronauts reading from space?
- How choice and chance play out in our lives.
- A watercolorist describes her process.
ARHtistic License 