HOLY MACKERAL! Google the Characters by name.

I tell you true.

I almost fainted when I did a web search for Danann and Sidhelagh.

Try it.

Homesick

Does looking at the photos make me homesick?

Or do I look at the photos because I'm homesick?

It isn't a matter of being unhappy where I'm at; 

because I am happy where I'm at. 

It isn't a matter of things being easier, or better, there; 

because things aren't easier, or better, there. 

So what is it about Victor?

What is it about Phantom Canyon?

Whatever it is,

it packs a whale of a punch.

Raven flies in the sun.

Works In Progress Ending 2014

Be patient ... they aren't done yet! Hint of what lies ahead:  see those little pine cones and pheasant feathers at the bottom of that lower photo? Mm-hmm ... those ones ... think necklace dangles, earrings, bow ties, hat bands, bracelets, and incorporation into paintings or other art pieces for the feathers - and who knows what for the pine cones ... let it be a challenge to us. May see if I can fit in more white on black pieces on these, but may run out of 2014 before I get to them ... 

This one is waiting to get stretched onto its frame (using one of the movie poster frames from the now-extinct theatre in town, to give you an idea of its size, though the design is centered so won't take up the whole of that space all by itself) so I can work on finishing it ... a base coat or two on the back to strengthen it so it can carry the weight of texturing, and then metallics I think ... depends on what it wants.

As this year of 2014 comes to an end, I've got a few pieces to finish.

These will be the last of the 2014 artwork ... and I can't wait to see what 2015 holds! 

I'm grinning with anticipation ...

Let the experiments begin!

Quest for Small Town USA - The Rest of the Story

Update to the below post!!!
I met the mother of the story at this evening's JuleFest Feast, a Norwegian culinary delight I have to say ... but the UPDATE is that this mother had TWO sons on the same mission, and the book was for her husband. One son was a little ahead of the other, and he's the one in the story below. It's just as well that was the last available copy, and that she and her sons communicate well, as otherwise that second son may have persevered until he'd succeeded in his quest as well - and the dad would have gotten two copies of the same book! 


How oh how I wish I'd remember to never go anywhere without a camera!

Walked over to the local grocery store a bit ago, to get stuff for supper.

In I go, right?

They told me that someone from out of town had just left to go see if Close to Home was open because he wanted one of my books and the store is out.

Not only did I not have a camera, I had no keys to get into the shop, either.

Even so, I slip-slided my way the half-block over to The Q  just in time to follow this person in.

Turns out it was indeed the one who wanted a book. When I asked him if he had a couple of minutes, as I would have to slide the block and a half home to get the keys, he smiled and said, 'Sure.'

Then a friend who happened to be there sweeping and such said, 'Wait! I have a set of keys!'

And so into the shop we went and out he came with a signed book for his mom, who had asked him to bring her one since he was in Fessenden on another errand.

I would have loved to get a photo of the people who all pitched in to get the mom her book! The people at the grocery store who steered him to The Q and Close to Home, the ones at The Q who helped us out, and the son who went out of his way to get something that his mom wanted.

Serendipity is awesome.

But serendipity rarely works in a vacuum. Without everyone's being the kind people that they are, she might not have gotten her book for quite a while.

So yeah.

Ya gotta love the people of Small Town USA!

Losing Your Marbles?

Some time ago I really was afraid I was losing my marbles.

Laughing at myself, I took some marbles and tossed them into the corners, nooks, and crannies of my home.

I would run across them when I cleaned, and smile - and leave them where they were.

'My marbles are fine,' I told myself. 'They aren't lost, not really. I just forget where I put them sometimes. But they always show back up!'

Now I've taken one of those marbles and made it into a little pendant I can wear on a necklace.

It's one I can have with me all the time ... a reminder that no of course I haven't lost all my marbles.

Been Having Too Much Fun

Mamm of Dunnottar

And that's just about enough of THAT for tonight.

It's three-thirty in the morning and I have to work later today (not until afternoon, thank goodness).

Still, Mamm would probably tan my hide for staying up so late for no reason except that I'm having fun, or poke me with that pointy sword maybe. On the other hand, she might have stayed up WITH me.

Maybe we're all Nutts at heart.

If any Nutts are reading this, please know that no disrespect is intended. I've found in the course of my research references to several by that name whose work I truly appreciate and admire.

So kudos to the Nutts of the world! I hope we ARE related!!

The 'Plan A' Post is lagging a bit behind the 'Sometimes You Feel Like A Nutt' Post

I have absolutely no idea in this world why those two posts get more hits than the rest, but am giving them this new little boost just to see if it makes any difference.

So here are links to the two of them. Maybe you can figure it out.

http://shielabranson.blogspot.com/2011/11/plan-moving-along-in-orderly-fashion.html


http://shielabranson.blogspot.com/2011/12/sometimes-you-feel-like-nutt.html

Sometimes you have to do things just for the fun of it, to see what will happen.

Designs Incubating ...

These are a few of the cedar shake paintings I did some time ago ... love the colors flowing together, and have missed doing them. 

So ... drum roll please ... maybe it's time to do some new ones since the inventory on them is pretty well depleted!

I know it's not even New Year's yet, but there are dozens of Valentine Designs running around in my head, with those colors flowing in the background and maybe some metallic pretties as little accents. 

After this weekend I'll have a few days to play, and am going to have a great time with all the playing I'm planning on doing! Got a bunch of cedar shakes from the roof of my 100 year old house, some brushes, some paints, and a lot of imagination just begging to be turned loose. Instead of (or in addition to?) landscape silhouettes, think designs maybe something like these I found in my internet roaming:

Here's where I found this version of a very old pattern:
https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQDDnhVPH16PdUX-PX_zwqI2HsMSWwU-0vRX2AKX5IKJE2NK2Td

Or something like this on a hand-painted card maybe:

Somebody's rendition of a fun design ...
https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ_E5YvuEfuEE0TjFtLXMT2APaf6SIU6vRQ2HM9W-u5x0vGyIJoyA

This could get to be a whole lot of fun!

There are thousands of intricately carved stones still in existence from a very long time ago, and even more fancies to be found in the metal-work of old times. Over and under and around and through, repeat and repeat and repeat in the most amazing ways ... fascinating stuff I tell you! A person can 'create' a design that they think is new and complex, then turn around and find almost the exact same thing that someone else 'created' a few thousand years ago ... and the wheel goes 'round and 'round ... so wrap your mind around it and come up with a 'creation' of your own! It's a challenge, and it's fun.

Let's see what we can 'create', shall we?

Some of the new pieces that I'm bound and determined to 'create' ought to be at Close to Home in The Q on Main Street of Fessenden ND USA just after the dawning of 2015 - a year that's something to look forward to - only a few days away!

A New Year Coming Up!!

And it's going to be a good one, I have a feeling.

It will be as good as we make it become.

One of the things on my 'New Year's Resolutions' list is to go through all of these posts and see if I can (again) sort out my blogs so there's some kind of organization.

I can hear you from here: Good luck with that, Shiela!

Well, I can TRY.

Books, artwork, INFJ, projects, poetry, short stories, yada yada yada ... I've GOT separate blogs for a lot of that stuff ... I ought to be able to cut and paste things from this my 'main blog' into them, right? And get the whole works into some semblance of order. 

One would think.

For Auld Lang Syne

Should Aulde Acquaintance Be Forgot?

And never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot?

And days of auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear

For auld lang syne

We’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet

For auld lang syne

Burns’ original Scots verse

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

and never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

and auld lang syne?

CHORUS:

For auld lang syne, my jo,

for auld lang syne,

we’ll tak' a cup o’ kindness yet,

for auld lang syne.

And surely ye’ll be your pint-stoup!

and surely I’ll be mine!

And we’ll tak' a cup o’ kindness yet,

for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We twa hae run about the braes,

and pou’d the gowans fine;

But we’ve wander’d mony a weary fit,

sin' auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We twa hae paidl’d in the burn,

frae morning sun till dine;

But seas between us braid hae roar’d

sin' auld lang syne.

CHORUS

And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere!

and gie's a hand o’ thine!

And we’ll tak' a right gude-willie waught,

for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

English translation

Should old acquaintance be forgot,

and never brought to mind?

Should old acquaintance be forgot,

and old lang syne?

CHORUS:

For auld lang syne, my dear,

for auld lang syne,

we'll take a cup of kindness yet,

for auld lang syne.

And surely you’ll buy your pint cup!

and surely I’ll buy mine!

And we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,

for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We two have run about the slopes,

and picked the daisies fine;

But we’ve wandered many a weary foot,

since auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We two have paddled in the stream,

from morning sun till dine†;

But seas between us broad have roared

since auld lang syne.

CHORUS

And there’s a hand my trusty friend!

And give me a hand o’ thine!

And we’ll take a right good-will draught,

for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

Scots pronunciation guide

Shid ald akwentans bee firgot,

an nivir brocht ti mynd?

Shid ald akwentans bee firgot,

an ald lang syn?

CHORUS:

Fir ald lang syn, ma jo,

fir ald lang syn,

wil tak a cup o kyndnes yet,

fir ald lang syn.

An sheerly yil bee yur pynt-staup!

an sheerly al bee myn!

An will tak a cup o kyndnes yet,

fir ald lang syn.

CHORUS

We twa hay rin aboot the braes,

an pood the gowans fyn;

Bit weev wandert monae a weery fet,

sin ald lang syn.

CHORUS

We twa hay pedilt in the burn,

fray mornin sun til dyn;

But seas between us bred hay roard

sin ald lang syn.

CHORUS

An thers a han, my trustee feer!

an gees a han o thyn!

And we’ll tak a richt gude-willie-waucht,

fir ald lang syn.

CHORUS

As this song is sung, the people join hands in a circle facing each other.

At the beginning of the last verse, everyone lets loose of each other’s hands, crosses their arms in front of them, and rejoins their crossed hands with those next to them.

Then at the final chorus everyone goes forward to the center of the circle and  turn around together without letting go of each other’s hands – which leaves them with arms uncrossed again in their circle, only facing outward this time.

Some content from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auld_Lang_Syne ... not a big wiki fan but there are a couple of audio clips there too ... one from 1910 or so by a guy who rrrolls his rrrrrs. Have a listen if you find a minute.

UPDATE! Small Town USA - Gotta Love The People!

Update to the below post!!!
I met the mother of the story at this evening's JuleFest Feast, a Norwegian culinary delight I have to say ... but the UPDATE is that this mother had TWO sons on the same mission, and the book was for her husband. One son was a little ahead of the other, and he's the one in the story below. It's just as well that was the last available copy, and that she and her sons communicate well, as otherwise that second son may have persevered until he'd succeeded in his quest as well - and the dad would have gotten two copies of the same book!


How oh how I wish I'd remember to never go anywhere without a camera!

Walked over to the local grocery store a bit ago, to get stuff for supper.

In I go, right?

They told me that someone from out of town had just left to go see if Close to Home was open because he wanted one of my books and the store is out.

Not only did I not have a camera, I had no keys to get into the shop, either.

Even so, I slip-slided my way the half-block over to The Q  just in time to follow this person in.

Turns out it was indeed the one who wanted a book. When I asked him if he had a couple of minutes, as I would have to slide the block and a half home to get the keys, he smiled and said, 'Sure.'

Then a friend who happened to be there sweeping and such said, 'Wait! I have a set of keys!'

And so into the shop we went and out he came with a signed book for his mom, who had asked him to bring her one since he was in Fessenden on another errand.

I would have loved to get a photo of the people who all pitched in to get the mom her book! The people at the grocery store who steered him to The Q and Close to Home, the ones at The Q who helped us out, and the son who went out of his way to get something that his mom wanted.

Serendipity is awesome.

But serendipity rarely works in a vacuum. Without everyone's being the kind people that they are, she might not have gotten her book for quite a while.

So yeah.

Ya gotta love the people of Small Town USA!

Yes, you can beat me up.

Text of SOUTH is done!

I swear.

The Younglings of Dunnottar are having fun as they begin their tour of the local communities.

They're meeting new friends and learning a lot - and they've only just started!

The text of SOUTH is finished, formatted, and edited.

Now all I have to do is decide about illustrations and get the cover done.

I've got a bunch of idea photos picked out and may just do a painting or drawing of the things they learn about in this part of their journey.

That would be twining and plaiting and netting and seafood.

The seafood they got to gather are kelp, fish, cockles, mussels, winkles. limpets, and lobster and I've got the idea photos of all of those, plus nets and a boat or two.

Fitting all that into one design might be a challenge but I do want the cover to show that it's the sea we'll be exploring a little in this book.

For the first time I've made a 'chapter book' with the chapter headings and the whole nine yards. I am not going to put a page in listing them, though. They're easy enough to find.

This will be the format I use for the rest of this little tour series so I'm glad I like it.

I might add chapter sketches but am sort of leaning toward NOT doing that.

These aren't picture books; they're for readers who are a bit older, more fourth or fifth grade level.

Writing for 'age groups' is a strange thing. Kids are as variable as the rest of us. One who is a 'reader' will be able to read books that are far beyond the level of his 'age group' or grade in school - or one who isn't a 'reader' might have trouble with books that are well below his 'grade level'. How's a person supposed to choose the words, sentence structure, length and all that when there's such a variance?

I guess I'll just write the books as they come and see how it all goes.

And my own education continues as I go along with the younglings. I learned a lot about the sea and its 'crops' ... next on the agenda is baskets because that's the specialty of SOUTHWEST which is the next stop of the Younglings of Dunnottar. That ought to be an adventure. The one basket I tried to make didn't turn out at all well.

But I'm not required to make baskets; all I have to do is observe and write things down. Thank God.

And thank God there won't be any more masts for Rua to climb for quite a while now; not until they get to Stonehaven will they be back to the sea. 

WHEW!

Body, Mind, Spirit

This day, and ones to follow, will be used for getting my house set to order.

That's not exactly what a literal type of person envisions.

There will be, of necessity, some of that ... but the hardest work of 'setting my house to rights' is going to be more emotional, intellectual, and spiritual than physical.

The good news is that I can multi-task!

While my hands, arms, legs, and back are busily sorting and filing and moving and arranging, my heart, brain, and soul can be just as busily at work on the hard stuff.

The ringer of my phone is turned off, and I don't plan to spend time on social media, but I'll not be entirely incommunicado. Messages, emails, and texts will be checked now and then. It's just that there are times (like now) in which I need to simply 'Be Still'.

Considering what I just said about the busy-ness that will fill these next few days, the 'Be Still' thing might sound pretty weird.

But, you know, it doesn't really matter, the busy-ness of my body and mind. All of it will have a peace-producing and calming effect so long as my center holds and is 'Still'.

The chaos and confusions of the past little while need to be stilled inside of me. Today's task is to strengthen that center and accept the Stillness that goes along with the words: 'Be still and know that I am God.'

And so, while I sort and file and am busy in my body and mind, my spirit can rest quietly at peace. Into the solitude of this day, busy though it may be, will come healing and strengthening.

It's a lesson sometimes hard to follow, and I honestly do need a certain amount of plain old REST, and have to make myself give my physical self what it needs - as it is the home of mind and spirit. If the body fails, the others are equally affected, so it behooves me to take care of it, right? 

Yup.

I'm pretty sure that's the way it works.

Open House and other stuff ...

I hope to high heaven that somebody took lots of photos of the Open House at The Q on Main Street of our very own Small Town USA this afternoon and evening.

It was so incredibly busy and fun that I totally forgot to take photos - then, when I did remember, the crowds were already thinning out ... and I found out the hard way that my camera needed new batteries. A quick but thorough search of my backpack - no batteries, and no time to go get any. 

say la vee

It was darned exciting to see people wall to wall and the little shops booming with customers, the temp vendors having a fine time, and everyone moving around laughing and chatting up a storm!

It gets to me, I tell you. I had to take myself outside a couple of times just to compose my sentimental self.

Close to Home, the little shop that my sister and I have, was packed for most of the hours of the Open House.

One of the draws was that my nephew had come to town to do some amazing cooking for the event. HOLY COW can that young man put together food for the gods. I kid you not.

For me personally, it was an educational experience. I loved it.

A lady and I got to talking about old stories and how too often they are lost to future generations because 1) kids notoriously fail to listen and remember the stories they hear their elders telling and aren't interested until it's too late; and 2) the stories don't get written down or preserved.

She had a couple of great stories (one of them was a ghost story) about one of our small towns nearby, and knows someone who she says tells great stories. I told her to get herself a little recorder if the person doesn't like to write, turn it on, and ignore it while the person tells the stories. If that really does happen, it's just a matter of transcribing, formatting, and publishing so the stories can be shared.

I also found out that there's a book out there, written long ago by a local person, which I'm going to look for on line. One mention led to the name of someone, and that someone led to another someone, and before you know it we had the author's name AND the information that there are a couple of copies floating around town. Exciting!

Now, remember that The Q has an open 'Community Living Room' type of area where people can sit with a cup of coffee from the coffee shop and visit, or read, or knit or whatever they feel like that's relatively quiet ... and what better reading material than books about and by our own people? 

And so the quest is on.

Not only would it be superb to encourage local authors to write and publish their work, it would be even more special to find and make available the works of those who preceded us! 

I have a very good feeling about the whole idea, which is somewhat increased by word that the next shop space to be filled in The Q will be a Printing Service! Assuming they can and will do bound works (books), how much more could we ask for than to have Vignettes House Publishing AND a printer AND a book store in the same building? The writers are all over the place, elders who know stories from 'the olden days' also abound, and I can see a very wonderful collection of local lore growing in our very own Small Town USA!! The thought of it makes me smile. Everyone has a story to tell, you know - here's their chance to tell them and share them.

I think I'm going to have to write a whole separate post about that, indeed I do.

Onward, b.

Okay, onward.

Another thing about both Home For The Holidays out at the Festival Hall and this Open House at The Q is that almost all of the cedar shake sky-scapes with silhouette landscapes are gone gone gone. That too makes me smile, partly because I'm pleased that they're selling but largely because I flat out love painting them. Somewhere around here are a bunch of them that are lost somewhere in the morass of my studio/porch/attic/store-room. 

Now that the Open House is done, my road trips are done, and things are settling down a little around here, I can maybe find the time to search them out ... and paint a bunch of new ones *happy grin* ... I'm selling them for ten bucks each and that's a pretty fair price all things considered. It's not too expensive but it's also not just giving them away or minimizing their value. It helps that I've at long last (don't give me that look; I know it's plain logic) figured out that it's quick and easy to drill a couple of holes in the top corners of them and string thin copper wire through so they can hang on walls.

So.

Guess what my next few days are going to consist of.

Yep.

See if I can find the ones already done, for starters.

Then paint on cedar shakes until I'm blue in the face, get them sealed and the wires on them, and take them up to the shop to fill the empty spaces!

That's one of this coming weekend's projects. The other one, since you know I can't have only just one thing going at a time, will provide the needed change of pace as more of the kid books get written. A third project will be doing the covers and illustrations for those books, which always takes WAY longer than the writing of them. 

Come Monday (and Tuesday and Wednesday) I reckon I'll probably be working on said projects (since they're never-ending with one following the other indefinitely) up at the shop. Mondays aren't one of our scheduled 'open' days, but 'tis the season and all that so what the heck, right? I can sit up there and paint to my heart's content, or patter on stories, as easily as I can here at home. 

I might go up tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday too, especially if those cedar shakes show up around here so I can drill the little holes and thread the copper wire through (or twine, when I run out of copper wire) and take them up there to hang. No they aren't my regular days to be 'minding the shop' but my sister told me that she's going to be home-bound until January 11th ... she lives clear across town, and I live a block and a half away, from the shop - so there you have it. My calendar is clearing finally, thank goodness, so I can pick up days.

I am, however, not going to be setting any alarms for in the morning, nor am I going to be obsessing about the whole thing in general. I can't afford, in any sense of the word, to work myself to a frazzle or to work myself up to a melt-down point. I do what I do because it's fun for me and I enjoy it. So far the positive is out-weighing the negative and I want to keep it that way. That means keeping my BALANCE.

And part of that balance is the eating and sleeping bit ... else the joy of creativity is liable to wane into fatigue which is never a joyous thing. My so-longed-for schedule of four days of part time shift-work followed by ten days of writing, drawing illustrations, painting, sculpting, sewing, marketing/promo, and whatever else strikes my fancy is definitely out the window. But that doesn't mean I can't make the best use possible of my time, and enjoy the heck out of all the changes that are coming along right quick here!

And enjoy it all I fully intend to do!

Really. How does a simple little children's book turn itself into a massive missive?

I would like to know. 

The only redeeming quality I can think of at this moment is that the more 'advanced' books require fewer illustrations.

That, and I enjoy writing them. Being longer, the story lines are a little more complex and include more details than the very short and simple ones. I like watching and listening in on the conversations of the younglings in these books, and the fact that we can get more 'into their heads'.

Keeping me up very deep into the night trying to get to an end that's nowhere in sight is NOT a redeeming quality. Especially when I have a fun-filled busy day ahead of me.

Writing a Book in a Public Place

Well yes, I've written in public any number of times, going back a great many years to journaling and poetry and more recently finishing Mamm of Iona partly in the Fortune Club (soda shop) in Victor, CO - and The Aspen Mine in Cripple Creek, CO - and about a third of the way down Phantom Canyon of that area.

So when it came to writing the most recent of the kid series I'm working on it didn't phase me to patter away at my keyboard between visitors at Close to Home in this Small Town USA.

But it is a little different.

For one thing, the writing is not my primary purpose when I'm at our little shop; having frequent visitors fragments the writing process somewhat so we'll see what, if any, difference that makes in the final draft of the story.

The visitors also provide me with a diversion during my writing time in the sense of making me take breaks (sometimes much-needed) from it.

I have to grin a little here because they also serve as 'sounding boards' for whatever scene I happen to be on at the time.

Like this afternoon and evening I was writing about the Younglings of Dunnottar being at the fishing village of South as part of their tour of the area. It's an educational tour for them, mainly, so they can watch and participate in the different specialties the different communities excel at. It's a chance for them to get to know the people and try their hand at the different skills their friends are so adept at ... and to explore the possibility of perhaps finding out what it is they might be called to do with their lives.

At any rate, little five-year redheaded Rua with the attitude climbs to the top of the mast of a boat that's being built at South - and she won't come back down.

Trying to figure out how in the heck to get her down from there naturally (for me) entered into the conversations I had as the hours passed and the visitors came and went and came back again.

Several of them were curious as to whether or not Rua had gotten down from the mast of that boat yet.

Thinking about it, I realize that there's a positive thing in this whole situation.

Yes my writing time is more fragmented than at any other time.

Yes I have to try to pick up where I left off without losing the stream of the story line.

But one of the side effects is generating interest and curiosity about the Characters of the books, in this case little Rua.

Wondering aloud to the customers how in the world I was going to get her down from there, and frustrated with her because she went up there in the first dang place gave me a topic of conversation to help break the ice for me.

Being as I'm generally not one to engage in small talk or chit chat, having my OWN bit of an opening line makes me feel at least a little less awkward.

And yes, Rua did come back down, but only to make way for Merri to climb up there to take her place. The rest of the Dunnottar Younglings climbed up too, and there I was stuck with a vision in my head of all six of them one above the other, arms and legs wrapped around that mast, and wondering what the heck they thought they were doing up there.

Turns out ... ach, never mind; I'm not going to rewrite the whole thing here - I'm not even done with the FIRST writing of it!

The point is that writing in a public place can mean creating some curiosity about whatever it is that you're writing, and if (as is the case here) the people are liable to be regular visitors there's the possibility they'll eventually buy the book to find out for themselves how come Rua was clear up at the top of that mast and what happened. 

Because, you see, I'm not going to tell my visitors the whole story (else why in the world would they buy the book when it comes out, right?) but just whatever situation might be occurring in the story line when they happen to walk themselves right into it. By the time I see them again, the story will be finished and the next one in progress for them to hear a bit about.

Continuing to patter with a bit more concentration after hours led to more visitors than you would think possible in this Small Town USA. They see the light on and me in there, so in they pop, which is fine by me.

Mostly they just chat for a bit and off they go.

Once in a while someone will stick around and have a real conversation about things that are of more import (to me) than the news, weather, and sports ... so to speak.

This evening one visitor stayed over an hour doing exactly that and as an INFJ/P personality type I have to say that it was a wonderful hour. We talked about religion and about spirituality and about the nature of the Holy Trinity ... retracing in many ways the earliest times of Christianity when everything wasn't as cut and dried as it now is and there were all kinds of differing views on the whole thing. I wish that I had thought to turn my recorder on to save that conversation for further thought. On the other hand my visitor is a local person so no doubt there will be more discussions. I look forward to that.

Some people come in just about every time I'm there.

For me, it creates an opening to become more visible in this little community, which truthfully I've kind of avoided for many years. Not because I'm anti-social but because I'm not a 'natural' at most of the social skills of Small Town USA and have always been a loner for the most part. A lot of the older people in town know who I am and most of my family, but us 'locals' are becoming a minority in this neck of the woods and most people who now live in town have no idea in this world who I am.

And, for the sake of the Characters (and my own in a strange sort of way), I'm ready, willing, and able to step out from my solitude in order to share with any who are interested the words that belong to the SONG of the Mamm Books. It's no doubt good for me, and might well be good for the Characters as well - because they too want to share that SONG ... and whose Voice can they use but mine, for the time being? 

Not that I go to talking about the underlying aspects of the story until/unless someone opens that door - but if/when they do ask words will surely be put into their ears. 

There are times I'm quite very grateful for guidance because there are times I'm not altogether sure ahead of time exactly what words will find their way out of my mouth. It's one of those Faith things.

On A Quest

I've decided that this is a good day to go hunting.

In the course of my research I've run across some mighty interesting creatures so I want to see if I can find them again.

Beginning with the Unicorn I think ... just because.

So off I go on my Unicorn hunt. The photos I find I'm hoping to use for inspiration or a painting or a sculpture. As the Unicorn is a darned popular subject for other people's creativity, the hunt will be made both easier and more difficult ... because there are bound to be many MANY artists who have already captured their Unicorn!

*DEEP CONTENTED SIGH*

As expected, I found lots of marvelous Unicorn ideas.

Then I went looking for other things as the Younglings of Dunnottar are surely going to be having a wide variety of adventures.

We got some dragon ideas and went on our merry way into faerie-lore and faerie-land.

That's when I remembered the Brownies.

A book from childhood has held its own dear little corner of my mind for all of these years. Although I didn't remember much about it except that you need to keep a bowl of milk set out and something about a cherry tree with big cherries, and that the children could see the Brownie when nobody else could, I did remember that Brownie.

So, me being me, I went looking and didn't stop until I found the book on line.

Here's the link:

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/30494/30494-h/30494-h.htm

If you read the book you'll know why MammTwo was in such a tizzy when LittleMamm hid the Brownie bowl in Mamm of Tarnos.

And now that I've gotten the link safely here in this blog, I'm going back to reading, with a bowl of popcorn and some hot cocoa, 'The Adventures of a Brownie' by Miss Mulock. The book is from the turn of the last century, but of course Brownies have been around a LOT longer than that!

I am so very grateful for the Gutenberg Project, and to my friend Nathan for reminding me of it.

Tomorrow: A Day OFF!

Yep. A whole day off tomorrow.

I'm very much looking forward to it.

This morning was more productive than I thought it would be, so now I'm all motivated to make tomorrow even more so.

There are dozens of things it would be great to finally have a shot at getting around to doing, so it's going to be kind of a gamble as to which ones will rise to the top of the list.

One is likely to be cutting up the long pieces of wood in my basement. We've had a bit of a breather from the more typical bitter cold of this time of year in Dakota but I think that breather is just about over with - so I'm going to want to have my cut-to-size stack ready for what's coming down the pike at us.

Since I can rarely have only one task going at any given time, my money is also going on the 'illustrations for kid books' task as the most likely to provide my breaks from wood-cutting.

I have one important phone call to make but that won't take long.

Other than that it's anybody's guess.

Writing the books themselves (once I decide which are for which age group), getting some paintings finished, digging into my sculpting supplies (so long neglected), catching up on some of the on-line things that need updating, going up to the shop to do the rearranging that needs tending to in my little section, stopping at the grocery store to get some things that will get me through the day with energy (i.e. beef and greens) ought to make it up into the top three, and Christmas things for my front porch windows (since the snow hit before I even got the Fall Leaves done) ... we'll see which strike my fancy!

SEQUENCING: HOW STUPID ARE WE?

I woke up this morning with a sequence on my mind.

I am an un-denominational Christian.

I work in a Roman Catholic care facility.

My sisters and I were raised Southern Baptist.

Our roots lie in Quakers of Great Britain and Huguenots of France.

Before the Quakers were Lollards.

Before the Lollards were Culdee.

Before the Culdee were Druids of both the Continent and Great Britain and the Essene of Judean roots.

Before the Druids and the Essene were the Greeks.

Before the Greeks were the Egyptians.

Before the Egyptians were the Faiths of the many Peoples, most of which (if not all) were Nature-based.

Before the People was God – the Holy Trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – Creator, Savior, Guide and Nurturer.

At different points in this sequence entered Egypt’s Amon-Ra one God belief system, Judaism, Christianity, the Romans’ brand of Christianity, and Islam, among others.

Keep in mind that this ‘linear’ sequence is not exactly very ‘linear’ as there was overlap, backing an forthing, somewhat akin to waves coming to shore.

Heh.

Come to think of it, that’s not a bad metaphor when it comes right down to it.

Here you have the waters of the world – oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, springs, precipitation …

It is from out of these waters that humankind came into life.

It is by the waters of the world that life continues.

It is the waters of our world that unite earth and air.

So go back to the metaphor of waves coming to shore.

It is from the waters of our world that those waves emerge, turn and turn-about but all with the same source.

It is from the shared affinity of mankind for belief in a Creator and the desire to both please and somehow associate with that Creator and Sustainer that the waves of ‘religion’ emerge, turn and turn-about but all with that same source.

From the earliest times we can identify, mankind has had some sort of Faith. Over the many many generations of mankind that Faith has ever only had one source – the Creator and Sustainer of our world.

The Faith itself has taken many many different forms, filling the same needs of all Peoples – when and where and how they lived had to have played a big part in their specific needs so the outward development of their Faith would by necessity and logic vary… but the bottom line need-fulfillment that underlies the whole concept is like the water of our world in terms of being a universal source for both Creation and Sustenance.

So I don’t understand where all this angst and turmoil are coming from.

The very concept that ought to be a unifying factor has been twisted into an excuse for hatred and hurt.

Really, what are we arguing and fighting about?

Do the rivers have animosity toward the seas?

Do the lakes vie with precipitation?

Do the oceans try to destroy the springs?

No and no and no.

Because what would be the point when they are all of the same substance and all necessary in their own rights? They are the Creative source, they are the Sustenance, they are the Unity.

What the heck.

Sometimes I think we’re all just plain stupid about some things.

Why can’t we just own up to the fact that we are greedy, jealous, aggressive, and selfish – and that the effects of those characteristics affect each and all of us as individuals, as nations, and as People of our world?

We the People of our world are fed up to the gills with listening to variations of the ‘Blame Game’, are we not?

That’s what’s called a rhetorical question as the answer is quite very self-evident.

Yet we all indulge in that ‘Blame Game’ – each and all of us are guilty.

Ach.

Stupid about some things, I tell you. We are flat out not being as smart as we could be. You’d think we’d be capable of learning a thing or two from our own histories, but NOOOO … we’ve got to just keep on keeping on in the same old ways, following that same old destructive path, led along by our propensity for greed, jealousy, aggression, and selfishness.

Again I say:

What the heck.

How stupid are we?