President's Day - a photo essay

This is my 'To Do' pile.

Ready to be folded. It was clean once, but now I spy a pair of pants with a belt still attached. So it is a dynamic, multipurpose pile!

This is what has kept me from that pile.

Words in Scrivener may look pretty, but believe me, this is a pile in and of itself.

This has been a very welcome wintry distraction and a reminder of what a good story can feel like. Icy and warm at the same time.

This is what love looks like on a plate and in a cup with a spot of cream. This is one of the 500 kindnesses my husband performed between the hour of 6 am and now, with grace and sprinkled with cinnamon.

This very moment, my son is sketching downstairs.

My daughter and her friend are up a tree.

"To Do" does not need to be "Right Now." This morning, "To Do" can continue to wait.

Writing Conference: Making It in Tough & Changing Times

Fellow writers, let me spread the good word! On Saturday, January 28th,  a practical, affordable one-day conference is being held at Tabor Space and promises to cover "everything from creating potent sentences and writing irresistible query letters, to writing killer openers and making it as a writer in a media-saturated world."

Emily Whitman, author 

I'm attending because Emily Whitman is on the faculty. She's written two of my current favorite YA novels: Radiant Darkness and Wildwing, and I know from experience that she's a gifted teacher of the craft of writing. 

Here's a blurb from Jessica Morrell's fantastic  craft-oriented website, with info links to all of the faculty: 

Making It in Tough & Changing Times Mini Writing Conference

 January 28th

Times: 8:30-5:30

Location: Tabor Space, 5441 S.E. Belmont, Portland, OR

Christina Katz, author

Keynote by Christina Katz The Prosperous Writer:Tips For Navigating The Gig Economy

Workshops: One Strong Sentence After Another,Monica Drake; Killer Openers, Jessica Morrell; Anatomy of a Scene, Jessica Morrell; Paring it Down to the Truth, Emily Whitman; What Editors Want,  Hawthorne Books editor Adam O’Connor Rodriguez.

Panel/Q & A: Risk It To Get Published with Christina Katz, Jessica Morrell, and Adam O’Connor Rodriguez

Cost: $99 includes continental breakfast and lunch

 ALSO: A scholarship and half price scholarship are available. Please

contact me with details about your circumstances.

To register: Contact Jessica Morrell at jessicapage (at) spiritone(dot)com

Space is limited so early registration is recommended.

Payments can be made by check or through Paypal.

Mailing address is: Jessica Morrell, P.O. Box 820141, Portland, OR 97282-1141

Jessica asks for our help spreading the word, so please pass this around. Thanks!

Enjoy It While It Lasts

My son's class took a field trip last week. Not to the zoo, pumpkin patch, apple u-pick farm, or famous waterfall. To a park, just a short walk away. I joined in the fun, because autumn field trips happen quickly. Blink and you'll miss the sign-up list, and before you know it, it's winter and the only field trips offered are trips to the insides of places. Like museums, or puppet theaters. Which are all fine, don't get me wrong, but they're not out of doors.

We had a picnic. Some kids opted to roll down hills afterwards. I skipped out on that, preferring to keep my lunch down, but I loved watching them race around and hide in the rhododendrons.

After identifying five kinds of trees in the park, the real fun began. They scavenged for interesting leaves and fallen petals that pleased them. Then they got creative.

Just boys futzing around with leaves, right? Well, not really...

A pineconed, petaled offering.

Have you ever heard of Andy Goldsworthy? Have you ever seen his site-specific nature art? These kids have. Their teachers told them to use what was around them to create something beautiful, using no tools but their hands, heads and hearts. The results? Art installation on an autumn hillside in a city park, for passersby to enjoy.

A bed for a wood sprite.

Treasure it now. It is here and now.

Harlequin berry delight.

It is conceived of and crafted by our children.

Kids put bits of themselves in everything they make and do.

This is what they see in the leaves and the grass around us. Do you see their offerings?

 It will all blow away soon, and winter will come.

Enjoy it while it lasts. Find your own leaves. Make art to share. But be sure and look around for it. Blink and you'll miss it. The winds are coming.