mermaidcamp
Keeping current in wellness, in and out of the water
You can scroll the shelf using ← and → keys
Savoring Sundays #NaPoWriMo
April 4, 2017
— 2 Comments
Sunday Brunch
Sunday Brunch
Sunday Brunch
Plates of colorful food served with cheer transform the morning into a celebration
Of seasons and reasons we like to spend time at a local cafe in no rush to finish our meal
We retreat to a table for two to enjoy each other’s company and toast with a fancy libation
A tiny world all to ourselves, we rent the space on the patio, the chef, the waiter, and the baker
They create for us all the elegance and sensual delight we need to carry us through the week
This slice of time is is fuel to feed the soul and spark appreciation of our good fortune
#NaPoWriMo2017
Please join poets around the world for poetry month in April. You can read, or submit poems here. There are many contests and prompts going on to help those who are not sure they can write a poem…You can!!! Just do it.
#GloPoWriMo
The Tedium Trance
March 28, 2017
— 2 Comments
facade
What is the worst band of torture ever known to human kind?
I believe it is tedium, designed to numb the mind.
The orders and the triplicate files of meaningless transactions
Fill the time and suck the life out of the worker bees who serve
The whimsey of the ruling class with the resources and the nerve
To spend without repentance, to waste, to make improvidence
A privilege they perceive is granted to them for outstanding cognizance
hombre
rusty
Dream Riders
March 27, 2017
— 5 Comments
adobe
wheels
A breeze blew through our dining room, lifting curtains made of lace
We caught a glimpse of a horse and rider moving by at a galloping pace
The lawn filled up with curious geese squawking as they ran
Shedding down like snow flurries, they covered the corpse of the man
Who died suddenly from mysterious causes but then returned to life
His presence disturbed horses who all began to spook and bolt
Ghost riders dressed in fancy chaps mounted the steeds and rode them into the sky
Outlaw gunslingers broke through the kitchen door in a flash of flames and smoke
We had lost hope, trembling under the dinner table in mortal fear when I awoke.
Inclined To Glory
March 22, 2017
— 3 Comments
sky
Tomorrow I might decide to fight but now I am inclined
To let the ship of fools sail out of the harbor without a word
They have enough rope and madness has made them blind
There is no stopping the clueless, no redemption for the herd
There is a stampede rumbling and roaring over the cliff so steep
The fog hides their destiny, Davey Jones awaits them in the deep
Neptune will have his way with them, drowning, gasping death
Takes them from the perils of living, choking out their last breath
Path To The River
March 19, 2017
— 3 Comments
Santa Cruz River
Santa Cruz River
On the way down to the river the thick grass rustled as we walked
Animals scampered away as we approached, finding shelter
Our thirsty tired bodies were weary from days of hiding and running
The heat of the day was dry and brutally bright with white sunlight
Tears fell into the river when we finally touched the water at last
Our latest disaster might be averted by this running stream we found
We can fill ourselves and our canteens with liquid we hope is not foul
Our lives have become precarious, supported merely by twists of fate
There is no question that we must drink it, polluted or not, or we will perish
Digital vs Manual Skills
February 16, 2017
— 1 Comment
post cards from the world
The journey into my stationary drawer and the the mailbox this month is a very healthy investigation into my skills. #InCoWriMo is a challenge in correspondence by hand, by snail mail during the month of February. I have received the most beautifully written letters from around the country. I am so impressed with some of the cursive that I tried it myself. Good grief, was I ever bad at it. It is not like riding a bicycle, it does not come back naturally. I was never great at penmanship, but I could do it 50 years ago. I am not sure when I switched to printing, but it probably was in architecture school. When I attempted to write longhand it was incredibly challenging, and I only lasted a short paragraph before I abandoned hope. I also notice how very addicted I am to spellcheck. I halt in the middle of writing a word by hand, and no magic feature steps in to spell for me..I am almost disabled by this. I have personally lost my own skills by not practicing them. It is not too late for me to recover lost skills of youth.
My new pen pals have shown me that I lean to hard on digital skills. If the internet goes down what will become of me? I must balance my creative life by spending some of it by hand on paper..I can still take a picture of it and post it on instagram. I used to sew, draw, write songs and poetry, all without computer assistance of any kind. I even had a treadle sewing machine at one point. I made my living as a production potter, throwing pots on a kick wheel. I was such a home grown/ hand made/ alternative economy hippie that I did now own a television. Now I hear people talking about going back to the old Nokia un-smart phone to regain balance in life. I don’t really have a phone addiction so much as a general digital device issue. Balance for me will involve spending more time writing by hand. I need the tactile therapeutic value of putting the pen on the paper. The muse responds differently than when it is coming through a keyboard. My manual muse needs encouragement. What about you, gentle reader? Do you still write by hand?
#WeekendCoffeeShare Moving The Feast
February 11, 2017
— 9 Comments
Barrio Bread
Barrio Bread
The movable feast known as weekend coffee share is itself on the move. Our gracious hostess Diana has arranged to hand off the coffee party action to Nerd in the Brain next weekend. We will still be a band of writers bonding over digital beverages and stories on the weekend. I am sure the move will not disrupt anyone. Thank you Diana, for finding us a new address to continue the party. If we were having coffee today I would invite you to taste some of the bread I just brought home from Barrio Bread. It is still warm, made from local grains, and crusty like crazy fire . I just had a smoked mozzarella sandwich, grilled, with all the trimmings. I can whip one up for you while you relax and tell me how you have been and what you have planned. We are very proud of this bakery, and would love for you to try our local organic, totally groovy food products. Our city is a UNESCO culinary heritage city because of our deep agricultural traditions and knowledge. I love to show it off to tourists.
It is warm here, and the peach tree is budding out. The grapefruit is still very full of fruit, although I am juicing like crazy. I hope you will help yourself to a big glass of ruby red grapefruit juice, with or without whipped vodka, as you tell me about your writing this week. Mine is rolling along, with the weekly photo prompt working for me very well. This week I wrote a short poem, still on the depressing side, a thinly veiled reference to current politics. The prompt picture was a fire, which gave lots of leeway. I wrote about pants and vanities on fire, since I feel this is our current backdrop for news in the real world. I plan to continue the once a week fiction with Sue Vincent’s prompts because it is inspirational to read all the other takes on the same picture. I do want to write more fiction someday. This is a good warm up for that day. I like taking a break from just the facts.
I am enjoying my correspondence challenge #InCoWriMo more than I imagined I would. I have gotten mail from several people I do not know, and a couple I know in on-line relationships. It is a blast to both send and receive the snail mail. Most of my pen pals have great penmanship and sealing wax, etc. I admire it, but that is not what I have to offer. My correspondence has enclosures and a little bit of art. My biggest advantage is all the cards and specialty paper I have collected around the world. I have started to enclose extra postcards so my pen pals can send them forward, and I get rid of twice as much collected choice paper. I also send a temporary tattoo and my biz card. Today I mailed some hollyhock seeds to Kentucky to a perfect stranger…Perfect!!
#InCoWriMo
I send or hand deliver more than one letter a day. I may get carried away with this and just keep mailing letters until all my paper is gone. It is so much fun, and I do have the supplies. I am meeting people and getting such a thrill out of checking my mailbox every day. I guess it is like riding a bike because I used to be a big letter writer, but not for many years. If anyone in coffee share wants to receive mail from me in February please send me your snail mail address on this secure form. I promise I have no reason to share it with anyone and will only use it to send you handwritten notes and surprise gifts from my exotic stash.
If we were having coffee today, I would recommend the grapefruit juice and invite you to stick around to go with us later to the local beer garden and metal arts village where there will be yoga with a DJ followed by live music, fire performers, stilts, acrobats on silk, and lots of hipsters. We will rock the full snow moon in our summer clothing. It is free and all in the hood. Stay and soak up Tucson before you go back home. For those of you who want to read, write, or post this week visit Diana here. See you next week at Nerd on the Brain. Cheers!
#WeekendCoffeeShare
#writephoto Pants And Vanities On Fire
February 9, 2017
— 9 Comments
bonfire of vanities
We watched them huddle around the fire to confer
About the plot they hatched to silence her
Laws and rule books were tossed in to burn
The flames grew large and the wind swirled
The bonfire of their vanities was burning in space
They were enveloped in a hellish backfire
There was no remedy for the sudden change
With pants all aflame they tried to conspire
We could neither believe them nor save them
They were consumed by their own vanities.
To participate by reading or writing a post about this picture go to Sue Vincent’s blog. She generously provides a new photo for inspiration each Thursday. Some very creative writers participate, and it is fun to see how the same picture inspires completely different responses in each writer.
#writephoto
#WeekendCoffeeShare Transformation Time
January 7, 2017
— 3 Comments
#WeekendCoffeeShare
If we were having coffee this weekend I would tell you my life is healthy and happy with few exceptions. I had a quiet week experimenting with historical fiction and multi camera live streaming on Facebook. I produced nothing of great artistic import, but have challenged myself to develop these skills in order to do so. I wrote one very undeveloped story in which I mixed some outrageous truths about my paternal great-grandfather with some embellishment I created. It was short and kind of silly, but I feel happy to have started down this path. I published it. I have studied my genealogy for a long time, and have many factual stories on which to base my future efforts. I believe in time I will write longer and more involved stories, but also have been reading and studying flash fiction. This burning hot brief format insists on an outstanding title, a perfect last line, and usually the events presented out of chronological order. I want to work up to that too. I started a bullet journal and joined a Facebook group on the subject. This calendar system is a brilliant way for me to incorporate my new writing styles into my regular blogging. I have much to learn from the Bu-Jo peeps, as they call themselves. They are inspiring and highly educational, much like the food preppers.
If you are here in Tucson at my home today I will invite you to drink a hot cup of coffee or tea of your choice. I had a big fire in the stove last night so the house is staying warm this morning. We have not had our first real freeze, so the flowers are still in bloom. Help yourself to fresh grapefruit juice from the giant crop I am harvesting in the garden this year. I am serving a large fruit salad with berries and watermelon. Enjoy our sunny day and some fresh fruit flavors while you tell me how your week has been. I so appreciate sharing this time will all of you on the weekends. In fact, many of my new efforts as a writer have been inspired by all of you. I love to learn about your writing studios, the writing challenges you accept, and the way you make it work with daily life. I admire the fiction writers and poets who tell stories from imagination. I also love to see the photography from your own environments. I get to travel without leaving my office. I look forward to your visits. You have encouraged and inspired me to transform and expand my writing skills. It reminds me of being in beginners’ ski school, where you see that everyone falls down, but with practice they get better. You fiction writers are like the intermediate skiers who make me want to be that good someday. Starting is key.
If you want to share some digital coffee and some relaxation with a group of writers go to Diana’s weekend party link. She holds this regular gathering of inspiring individuals from her home in New Orleans. Please join us to read, write, or comment on your week. Thank you all for stopping by today.
poet
Float, Sting, Sizzle
January 1, 2017
— 1 Comment
the watcher
I have joined Chris Brogan for several years in pronouncing three theme words for the year as it begins. I have had some random success with this method, but sometimes I completely forget the words. I could look them up, but I don’t know what the words I chose were last year, so it did little good to decide on them. Ironically, I usually have a word on my inspiration list that reminds me to practice regularly, or stay consistent. I believe I have not been specific enough about exactly what I would consistently do or practice. My approach to this year’s words, which I almost did not even do, relate to my wellness and creativity goals. Both wellness and creativity are the summation of small but consistent practices. This year I want to put in minimal effort for maximal results. I want to waste no time, money or effort on anything that does not serve me. If what I find myself doing does not pass the three word test in 2016 I will change my actions. I want to do exclusively three things:
- Float- An efficient swimmer uses glide to stay on top of the water. Getting the most out of each stroke is an art and a strategy for endurance. If I want to live a better life I need to make use of my leisure time to truly fully relax and glide. Meditation, time in nature, yoga, joyous communion with friends, and similar practices feed the soul and allow the mind to center and restore. The float can be active or passive, but in order to qualify as a float it cannot be distracted. We all need the restorative antidote to active lives. This includes sleep and dreams.
- Sting-In an obvious tribute to Mohamed Ali, I plan to sting like a bee in 2017. This represents clean, clear planning and targeted actions. If I am not floating like a butterfly I need to direct my full attention to the task at hand to make it work. I am forever flying by the seat of my pants. This has worked well (??) for me, so I am lazy as hell when it comes to planning. I have so much faith in my own ability to wing it that I do so. Planning and executing a bullet journal to foster ideas for fiction writing I plan to do is an example. I have thought about trying fiction for years, but have taken no action to begin. A sting can be active or passive, but to qualify it must have a target. Stinging involves hitting a predetermined bullseye. It can be a health or a creativity goal, but it is specifically planned to create a desired outcome.
- Sizzle- In order to make any project worth the time it will consume in my schedule it needs to shine. I have plenty of mundane tasks I need to accomplish without adding to the list. This is related to stinging, but is about how the outside world receives my work. If I am to write poetry or fiction worth reading I need to be much more discriminating. In planning what and how to sting I will look beyond my ego and ask the question, “How does this serve the world?” Maybe this will be the year I start to do comedy, which I think I am so good at doing all the time. If I really did comedy on purpose, and actually wrote some material, I could find out if the world would be amused. To sizzle means to score somehow with others to enrich their lives. It can be strangers or people I know, but it has to benefit somebody somewhere.
I think this year I will print the list of words and keep it in my office where I will see it. That is probably the easiest and best way to stick to it. I wish all my gentle readers a healthy and fortunate year.
