The Best Laid Plans

Robert Burns, an eighteenth century Scottish poet, is one of my favorite writers. His poetry expresses his pure love of language and the rhythm of speech. That being said, my favorite Burns poem is To a Mouse on Turning Her Up in Her Nest with the Plough, November 1785.It’s a cumbersome title, but the jist of the poem is that he’s reflecting on what happens to this mouse once he’s ruined her “wee-bit heap o’ leaves an’ stibble.” The final stanzas are my favorite:

A New Semester in the College of Life

For the past month I’ve been looking nonstop at FWJ (Freelance Writing Jobs) to figure out how I can build a portfolio as a freelance writer so I can quit my painfully boring day job and do something I love. I’ve read every blog post on the site for a month. I’ve scoured the job leads. I’ve worked on my resume. And I’ve wasted countless hours in a fruitless search for any live links to one of the 300 or so advertorial articles I wrote over a seven year period for a local newspaper. (Apparently they don’t archive advertising!)

Can you spell f-e-l-a-f-e-l? Better yet, can you make it?

Yummy fruit has replaced cookies for dessert!

I started the month-long vegetarian experiment yesterday. Though it wasn’t scheduled to begin until August 1, I’ve been dying to try some of the recipes that I discovered while conducting my “veggie research.”  So we got a head start.

Dior on a budget

Another favored product has fallen victim to my budget cuts: Charmin Ultra Strong.

To be honest, I can deal with store brand dishwashing detergent, cleaning products, hairspray, sandwich bags, bread and spices. I will comparison shop. I will use coupons. I will drink Check cola. But even in the depths of debt, I have never, ever purchased cheap toilet paper. Until today.

Gifts

The only picture on my wall

I love artwork and I adore music. In church, I revel in the soaring and inspiring music prepared each week by the organist and choir. In a gallery or museum, I lose myself in pondering the skill it must take to complete a painting or sculpture. Much to my chagrin, I am practically tone-deaf, though I am adept at drawing stick figures.

Poetry on a Napkin

I’ve always been fond of writing on napkins and other handy scraps of paper. Grocery receipts and the envelopes from junk mail are also on my list of favorite ways to recycle. Perhaps this penchant for strange stationery comes from my father.

Summer Memories and a Pink Elephant

There’s something to be said for a business who has two large, fiberglass elephants in its parking lot. What exactly that “something” is, I can’t quite decide. I think it’s great advertising for a fireworks store in a rural South Carolina town, however. I’d never even been off that exit of Interstate-95 until my father proposed meeting at the elephants as a halfway point between Jacksonville and Aiken.

The Beach

ponte vedra

There is nothing more serene than a deserted beach at dawn. Listening to the familiar, eternal sounds of water falling upon water, falling upon sand… I can begin to imagine peace. How far removed is this scene from the usual view of sunrise? Monday through Friday those pink and orange clouds peak between overpasses. They are briefly glimpsed between fast food signs and billboards, if they are noticed at all.  

Why am I a hypocrite?

In my defense, I think everyone, at some point, is a hypocrite. We all have higher expectations of others than we do of ourselves (with a nod to Noam Chomsky.) And thus, in an effort to make a better person of myself, I’m going to “lose” my hypocrisy…

Shred it!

I am fascinated with the shredder at my office.

ABSOLUTELY enthralled.