Writing Guild Hears Poet

Last night we had one of the best writing guild meetings. There three visitors and two joined on the spot. Our speaker was Olive Sullivan who once was a member a few years ago, and she know is on staff at MSSU.

Olive talked about writing in general and poetry in specific. She said she bounced around trying to find what kind of writer she was. She worked at a television station, did private editing, was on staff at a newspaper, and one job just lead to another. She did not want to teach, but now is teaching at the college level. She said she realizes now that teaching is her work that pays the bills; poetry is her passion. Once she focused herself and called herself a “poet”, her life took shape.

She said she knows not everyone would agree, but she sees journalism and poetry as closely related. Both take events and distill them for clarity into the shortest form possible. Both should leave the reader moved. She feels her journalism background helps her poetry. Both need strong active verbs to tell the story.

Olive pointed out writers would not make money at poetry. It is a love. Right now she said hardly any poetry is being published; most being published is self-published works.

She told us her best writing is done in her head while she walks, drives or showers. Walking has a rhythm to it and lines of poetry often shape themselves to the beat of her steps. Interesting. She read a few of her favorite poems to the group, one of which is being used in a poetry class at a women's prison.

The bulk of the group left inspired to go home and write, to practice their creativity whether it is with poetry or not.

Some Ozark Moonshine!

DH’s lab day rolled around again this week, and I always try to find something nearby to make the trip less routine. When I heard there was a still back in the hills, I knew what I wanted to do this time. At first, DH thought I had lost it. But since he is a design engineer, he did agree that seeing the process and machinery might be interesting.

My great grandfather was known to run a still in Crawford County, Kansas during Prohibition. During this time, Crawford County was nationally known for stills and moonshine production. Their drink was called Deep Shaft after the coal and lead mines that drew immigrants to the area for work.  I wish I could know more about this man and his times. His copper pot was out in the country somewhere, but one family member remembered he often cooked at home later. Said you could smell the sour mash when you visited! 

So I wanted to visit this modern day still just for fun. Like a Revenuer of the old days, we meandered the hills and hollers between Springfield and Branson. We finally found a sweet little log cabin nestled in a forested area. Two Shepard mix dogs met us with tails wagging. The tour lasted only about fifteen minutes because there isn’t much to brewing. There was the copper boiler for cooking….wooden barrels for storage while whiskey aged (some coming from Stone Hill near Herman, Missouri and others bought new from oak barrel manufacturer in Lebanon, Missouri)….a drill press where they bottled one bottle of white lightning at a time.

The Copper Run distillery of Walnut Shade, Missouri had a nice little tasting room for samples and where they made cocktails that included music on Friday nights. Now we stepped up to the bar for samples just for the heck of it. Even the smidge they put in a shot glass, was too much and we shared. I can’t see how folks can drink that stuff! Moonshine is not tasty to me! Burr…it made me shudder, just the touch I took on my tongue! But I did learn things and found the process interesting. True moonshine is clear as water. When you let it age, it becomes whiskey and you get the amber color. A fact I distorted a bit in a piece of fiction I wrote.

Finding ourselves close to Branson, we went on in to town for lunch and then walked around the Landing a bit. Now DH is NOT a shopper, but I had a couple of places I wanted to hit quickly. One was DEVO, a store of nothing but balsamic vinegars and olive oils. I wanted the oils until I tasted the flavored vinegars! Some had as much kick as moonshine but better tasting to me. I brought home their flavor of the month which was blueberry balsamic and a peach white balsamic vinegar. Yum, I can’t wait to use them.

Then before we left the area, I wanted to check out Hollister, Missouri, a tiny little berg known for its Old English style. Author Janet Dailey and her husband have bought the hotel named Old English Inn and have restored it to its original beauty. The staircase is gorgeous. Rooms are reasonable and the price includes breakfast in the little restaurant that is part of the project.

The day was disappearing and we both tired early. Although weathermen said the day was to be cooler by some, we found the heat strong enough to fatigue us. So home we came with our moonshine trip behind us.

The spring issue of the Oklahoma Review carries one of my still stories. If you are interested in reading, go to the table of contents page (http://www.cameron.edu/okreview/index.html and click Spring 2012 issue) to seek out a short story called DEEP SHAFT.

Rainy Day Baking

While having that first cup of tea on the deck this morning, I noticed a western sky shadowy as a young boy’s shiner. I knew the rain was coming, and we did need rain. In about an hour, the wind blew and twigs hit the roof. The rain poured down washing the earth tidy and fresh. Mother Nature was doing her own spring cleaning.

It was an opportune time to try some recipes and to use the oven. I stirred up some Lemon Ricotta scones. They were good but the extra work did not show. I believe my everyday oatmeal scones to be just a good. I stirred up a pasta and vegetable dish for lunch. again using ricotta. Hum, it was okay but not outstanding.

Then I did the tiny shortbread type cookie from one of Paula Deen’s books. That gal really knows how to use the butter! These cookies were fairly low in carbs, but then they are about the size of a quarter! These cookies were made into logs and chilled, then sliced and baked. The star ingredient is thyme. This is a nice herbal cookie that would go well will tea. I wonder if rosemary could substitute for the thyme? I know lavender would. So this versatile little cookie is a keeper.

By Golly, Road Trip Two!

How fortunate am I to get two road trips in two days? Yesterday morning we traveled to Tulsa with friends with the express purpose of seeing the Broadway play Jersey Boys. We left midmorning so the pace was leisurely. I was totally in the moment which rarely happens for me. With friends doing the driving and mapping, I kicked back and just WAS. I absorbed the countryside, the blue skies, and the cattle munching in pastures. Life was good.

We drove into the city without a hitch and straight to the theater area. Got out, parked, and walked across the street to a café none of us knew about beforehand. It was the Back Alley Blues and Barbeque. Wonderful! Décor was tasteful and simple utilizing the Blues scene and an old warehouse. Floors were plywood set with beer caps. Walls lined with painted guitars and murals depicting the Blues. Parts of the walls were made of shipping containers once hauled on rail flat cars.

Oh, but the food!!!! Sandwiches as big as wheels of a Conestoga wagon, homemade chips, peach salsa, pork or beer can chicken and then the real goodies were fried dill pickles and fried green tomatoes. I knew I was down home with all the fried stuff…ah, move over Paula Deen. I know, not healthy but for one day?

Then we went to Jersey Boys. The play, the music, the story, the acting, the singing, the stage changes and sets ups….all were superbly magnificent. Many of the songs made their billboard rankings before I was old enough to be aware of The Four Seasons, but I knew them all from the Golden Oldies hours on the radio. Walk Like a Man, Sherry, and one I do remember hitting the air waves was You Are Too Good to be True.

I loved the creativity, the talent, the memories evoked on a June afternoon. The day was flawless….

A Road Trip

I walked away from everything today. I gassed up the truck, shoved in an old Willie (Don’t Fence Me In, Sioux City Sue, etc.) and headed up Highway 71 to meet my friend. Despite dry fields, the corn was a lush green. Wheat in shades of saffron grew up to the ditches lined with orange tiger lilies and white Queen Anne’s Lace. Skies were a faded blue denim; it was a beautiful day.
Tracy lived two doors down from me for over a decade. Now it has been fifteen years since she moved away.  We met fairly often, but it has been almost three years since we had a girls' lunch without the men. We declared today ours. The years fell away and we slipped into conversation like we still lived on the same street and were out for tea. She had the lion’s share of driving because we wanted to meet in Nevada, a small town suffering fading in economic pinch like many small Midwestern towns.

But we found a delightful place to eat on the town square. The décor of Jenny’s California Café was simple but comfortable. No clutter, wide spaces and crisp cushions on the chairs! The food was very good. Many choices of sandwiches and salads. Some unusual things on the menu were a hummus sandwich and fresh mozzarella salad. We did the salad with our choices of other sandwiches. Known for gourmet cupcakes the size of hub caps, the day’s choice was German Chocolate cupcakes and raspberry cream cheese coffee cake muffins.  Yum.

After eating we meandered around side streets and found a most lovely yarn and fiber shop. The gals there sell stock yarns but also dye their own yarns. There were alpacas, wools, synthetics…colors of a rainbow! I brought home one hank of a hand-dyed yarn…beautiful just to see and feel. The shop is owned by partners Leslie and Janet. One being the weaver and the other is the knitter.  Something here for everyone.

My friend brought me Teavana tea…so fragrant! So tonight the day ends with thoughts of good food, a good friend, wonderful tea, a hank of yarn, and memories made…a good day for sure!

How Do You Manage Blogging?

It has been no secret that my winter and spring were eaten up like popcorn at a thriller movie this year from various interruptions. Some of it, of course, was my own poor management of time I am sure. But creativity and becoming lost in words does take time. Then there are blogs…like those famous potato chips, you can’t read just one!

I try to limit myself, but there are so many good blogs and newsletters out there that I can become derailed with some mighty good thoughts and opinions of others for a long while. Lately Becky over at Writer Searching for Bliss (http://beckypovich.blogspot.com) got so distracted by blog reading and writing she had to take a Blog Break! To quote Becky a bit, blogging “sure eats up a lot of time”.

I meant to limit by list of blogs that I would follow regularly, but mercy, that too has grown like Topsy. It is a job to read and comment on them all. I keep running onto more and more that are worthwhile. Some blogs are for pleasure and some for work. Several writing blogs challenge me to produce. I suppose one could do blogs like magazine subscriptions. Try it for a while and then drop it later, but too often I find the bloggers are such interesting people, that they become personal friends and who wants to drop their friends?

Today I signed up to follow a blog called The Dictionary Project. The idea of words, authors, books…ah, sounds good to me! You might want to check it out for yourself at http://thedictionaryprojectblog.com.

A recent blog I have been trying to tap into...and one I am way behind in reading….is Tend Your Inner Garden over at http://tendingyourinnergarden.com.This is a site for women searching to tap into their own inner guidance relying on the seasons as teachers...among many other topics.  Today I got the newsletter in my email and listen to what Deb Engle had to say:

"By cutting away what was no longer them, I revealed the beauty at their core. This is the process we do for ourselves when we tend our inner gardens and take time for spiritual practice. We consistently, little by little, let go of what is no longer us so we can reveal the beauty within."

Now the author was talking about looking for beauty in our own lives by showing how she trimmed her plants, but I saw this as writing advice as well. Don’t we often need to prune those wordy passages down and let go of things we “think” are vital only to see our writing become stronger and more lively?

This also reminds me of blogging again. How do you decide how much to blog, either reading or writing? Do you set limits for reading? Do you set goals for writing? Do you prune your blog list? How do YOU manage blogging, an informative and supportive activity for writers?

Alone Again

                                                  Will he eat that whole bag of Cheetos all by himself?


Red hair coating the carpets, the inside of the car also with furry coat. Wet smears on any window or glass door a coal black nose can reach. A few crumbs here and there. Storm has gone home again. It is lonely and quiet here again. Amazing how much love a dog can give!

She was happy all week. Bone tired at night, putting herself to bed and not making a peep until morning. She went to Sonic for the ice she loves and a gift from Sonic--ice cream in a Pup Cup. She rode shotgun to Joplin, waited briefly at the library, had Saturday breakfast at the lake where she ignored the ducks.

Yesterday about noon, she became restless. No longer wanted to be on the deck with us while we read. She wanted to sit in the front window. How did she know our son was on his way to get her? She watched and paced until he arrived an hour later. Last night she was happiest with us ALL in one room with her. Amazing.

                                                  Ah, I knew he was a nice guy! YUM!