We spent the last five days in Montreal doing research for my book, seeing the St. Kateri Shrine, attending masses, seeing St. Brother Andre Bessette’s tomb and relics at the St. Joseph’s Oratory, and we also ate some really great food!
Picture heavy/links to restaurants below:
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This weekend I went on a much anticipated writing retreat with three writing colleagues. We have been meeting every two weeks for the past year, and the amount of feedback, suggestions, and camaraderie we’ve each received has been a glorious blessing.
We each had our own private bedroom as we shared other accommodations and a small conference room for meeting together and writing.
We interspersed our own writing with writing prompts and exercises to jump start our creativity and we enjoyed snacks, candy, and company and remarkably we each got quite a lot done on our individual projects.
As the “host” I had several goodies planned and I just loved both aspects of hosting and of participating.
The shared space worked out amazingly well, and we have tentatively scheduled another retreat in the fall.
Moving forward from this weekend, I have some goals set that need to be formally set down with specific timelines:
• Sample Book Cover
• Book Title Ideas
• Chapter Headers (each chapter needs):
– Titles
– Picture, sketch, or quotation
– Fictional narrative of this aspect of Kateri’s life, especially related to the shrines
• Timeline both of the formal governments & of Kateri’s life
• Questions to be answered
I’m looking forward to the rest of the week, planning, meeting again on Zoom, and focusing on the direction of my book.
Happy Writing to All of Us!
Caption for Photo Collage above:
For readers who have been here for awhile, I rarely if ever declare or think about New Year’s Resolutions. That changes this year. After the election, I’ve been inundated with lies and misinformation, not to mention the focus on stupidity rather than real news, and I am damn sick of it. That led me to think about my life and my writing.
I may have already written about my new job, but I started working in October, and it is the kind of place that feeds my soul. I have never had a job like this before, and every day is a joy to be there, and that allows that joy to follow me home. It’s been a good couple of months.
Obviously, I’m disappointed (understatement) about the election. I hope we can get through the next two years, and use the midterm elections to return to sanity. My first Election Connection of the new year will appear in this space next Tuesday.
As I mentioned yesterday, I am really proud of my series writing, and those will continue. In addition to Election Connection, there will be more Mental Health Monday, monthly Inspired and Friday Food posts, and I’m hoping for a return to Penny Prompts – the writing prompts based on Louise Penny’s writing and her Armand Gamache mystery series.
Those are both my intentions and my inspirations and I hope to find more throughout the year. You will find more of my new year’s thoughts below the cut.
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Yesterday we learned of the death of President Jimmy Carter after nearly two years in hospice care and after the death of his beloved wife, Rosalynn a little more than a year ago in November of 2023.
I remember bits of his presidency and his family, especially his brother, Billy and youngest child, Amy, who was a year younger than me. I remember his deep southern accent and his wide smile, but mostly I remember that after he left the Presidency did his public service really begin. I can’t begin to relate his accomplishments – there are others better suited to telling those stories, but I do want to acknowledge his passion for the American people and their experiment as well as his compassion and faith that I admired and hope to emulate, although I know I’ll never come close.
To read about his legacy, visit his Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, Georgia, online here and the Carter Center, next door to the Library and Museum.
For funeral arrangements and the schedule for his lying in state in Washington, D.C. and Atlanta, Georgia, visit:
USA Today has a fairly comprehensive discussion of what is planned both in Washington and Georgia at this link.
This short clip on C-SPAN has President Carter talking about some of the funeral arrangements for when “his participation at the Carter Center is reduced.”
The Carter Center and The White House will have more information as it becomes available.
The state funeral for former President Jimmy Carter will be Thursday, January 9.
All federal offices and some state offices will be closed in commemoration and as part of the
National Day of Mourning.
All flags will be flown at half-staff for 30 days, beginning on December 29, 2024 at all public buildings and grounds as well as military posts, and half-mast on all naval vessels.
A Look Back Through Photos:
Continue readingNow that the Catholic (Liturgical) New Year has begun, and the Global New Year is on the horizon, I thought that for this last inspired of 2024 I would share five things I’m grateful for and five intentions I plan for the upcoming months.
Continue readingWhile we wait for the election returns (whether that’s tonight, tomorrow, or the next day, I thought I would share some of the things that inspired me in the last few weeks.
Continue readingWe start planning for a vacation months in advance, right up until the moment that we actually get in the car to leave. In the last twenty years or so, I can count on one hand the number of times we’ve traveled by plane or train. We drive everywhere. This gives us a road trip model that works about 90% of the time, and with three kids that’s pretty much works out to 100% more or less.
Some of the most important things for a successful road trip never even leave the car!
You needs will, of course, vary and change over time, but these are the things I really miss when I forget them:
I’m not as annoyed when I see Halloween stuff in stores this early. Especially in the heat, I’m happy to be reminded that the cool weather will be arriving soon. At least, I hope so.
I’m also not a big fan of skulls. I know they’re popular at Halloween as well as Dias de Los Muertos, and my daughter loves them. She has a couple of skull designs on her hairdressing tools.
However, while I don’t want this table accessory I was taken by it and of course needed to add it to my picture collection.
Early Happy Halloween.
Griffins and Ginger Snaps 