Details Do Matter

“Friends of the Library book sale begins Tuesday” flashed on the screen behind the librarian. It was Monday when I spotted the sign. Yeah, I thought, tomorrow I can run over there and get in on the sale the first day. I started thinking about last year and the great mentor texts I found for incredibly cheap prices. Mentally I began to plan my day and thought this could make a great slice of life story. I couldn’t believe that I happened to be in the library and saw the sign. Anticipation was high!

Tuesday morning dawned and I had several hours to fill before the sale started. Finally, it was time to head to the sale. I put cash in my pocket. I put my purse in the trunk. I grabbed a light-weight tote bag to hold all my books. As I began my journey I was mentally plotting my approach to the building. I remembered last year it was difficult to make a left hand turn into the parking lot, there were so many cars coming to the sale. This year I exited before the building so I could make a right turn into the lot and avoid all the traffic. Not far to go, I’m feeling the excitement build inside as I get closer and closer to the building!

I check clock in the car, the doors opened fifteen minutes ago. I should miss the initial rush of the door, but I know I will have to park at the edge of the lot. I am noticing everything around me, wondering “Are you headed to the library sale too?” I will jot these thoughts down in my writer’s notebook when I park as I want to describe this event for my blog. What simile will I use to describe the scene of cars and people being drawn into this building? I’m thinking about ants or magnets, but that will have to wait. I’ll decide when I start to write.

Almost there . . .  right turn into the lot . . . and . . . it is empty?! Not a soul there! Where is everyone? Confusion crowds my brain as my brain tries to recall that sign in the library and vaguely I recall seeing dates. The numbers I am envisioning are in the twenties! I am a week too early! Details, they get me every time!

Next week I will not be able to attend the sale. I will be working on the other side of the state all week. Disappointment fills me. I wonder what great books will I miss? Oh well, there’s always next year.

So, today someone is buying the books I know I need. The only thing for me to do is head out to Hastings (a book store) and Barnes and Noble after school. Bookstores always make me happy.

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Book Spine Poem

Book spine poems speak volumes, especially if they are directly from your personal book shelves.  They are addictive. They are fun to create and read. The possibilities are endless.

Go to your bookshelf and read the titles thinking how would these go together to create a poem. 100 Scope Notes  has a gallery of book spine poems (click on the link to view many poems).

Last year Stacey wrote a post on book spine poems in early May. The concept intrigued me, so I immediately went to my shelves to see what I could create.  Here is my poem from last year:

First book spine poem

This year I perused the gallery of others (from above link). Using the posted poems as mentor texts, made me realize my poem didn’t have a clear focus. It meandered around. Good first effort, but surely I can be more focused. Back to the bookshelves, some new titles called out to me,  “Pick me, pick me!” Which led me to my most current book spine poem:

How to Write Your Life Story

Move

The pencil,

The wonderful happens.

The best story

Treasures of the heart.

My story won’t appear if I don’t move the pencil (or type on the keyboard). So by entering this blogging world, I have a new goal for myself. Write, because it is good for me.

Learning Curve

I have to apologize to anyone who read my slices in March and were teased by the empty box where a picture was supposed to be. Some of the technical aspects of the blog have totally escaped me. Trial and error play an important role in creating, posting, and managing this blog. I look at other blogs and wonder how did they do that? (I am still trying to figure out fonts.)  I read and reread the help section from WordPress and still can’t figure out what it is talking about. I think I need to get a blog tutor. In the meantime, I stumble through and make modifications as I learn. “When you know better, you do better,” says Maya Angelou. That is the philosophy I follow.

So, I couldn’t understand what was happening to the pictures I had uploaded into my posts. They were there, they looked great, they enhanced the post. Hit the Publish button, view the post, get the link. Come back later and no photos, just an empty box with a red x and a caption. What was going on?

Once I got back home I went to the Help section searching for key words to find the solution to my problem. Suddenly the lightbulb clicks on! Photos must remain in the Media Library to be seen in the post. (Here is where I hit my forehead with my palm.) I had been deleting the photos after I posted the slice of the day. My thinking was if the Media Library didn’t have a lot of pictures in it, it would load faster. That is true, it is faster, but then the photo disappears in the post.

I have spent the last several days  pulling photos out of the Recycle bin and reinserting them into the slices. All pictures are restored. Now I know better, I will do better. And I will find that blog tutor . . .  someday.

Tap, Tap, Click, Click

Here I am, alone in the house, sitting on the couch, computer on my lap, reading reflections from Two Writing Teachers, Today Show is playing in the background, when I hear tap, tap, click, click. I raise my head, look around, and wonder what in the world made that sound? All is quiet, I go back to the computer. Tap, tap, click, click, there it is again. What is that sound? Now I get up from the couch and slowly walk toward the sound coming from the kitchen.

Then I see what is making the sound. A female cardinal is sitting on the window ledge of the kitchen window. She is tapping on the window with her beak as she is talking. What is she trying to tell me? I quickly grab my phone and turn it on to the camera. Slowly, I walk toward the window, fully expecting her to fly away the moment she senses I am there, but she doesn’t. I get right in front of her, snapping picture after picture. Unfortunately she is not posing for me, she is fluttering up and down, tapping and clicking. Obviously something has distressed her. When I walk out to the patio, she flies away.

What an unusual encounter that was, I thought. Later, I show my husband the pictures I took. We wonder what was the attraction to that window. I do not see her again, until . . .

Today I hear that familiar tap, tap, click, click at another window. This time she is calmer, not as much fluttering or clicking. She has brought her boyfriend, there is a cardinal sitting on the patio chair watching over her. Quickly they fly away before I can get my camera out. However, she has been back a couple more times today.

What is going on with this little cardinal lady?

What do you see?

Reflections of the Month

I am home. I have an internet connection that actually responds to commands. Now I can reflect.

I am surprised, no more like shocked, that I enjoyed, no loved, the experience of writing a slice every day. This month has flown by and now I have the posts to remind me of my slices of life. These are the small moments that I would have  forgotten over time. Now I can remember.

This community of writers has been an incredible support. Thank you to each and everyone  who left a comment for me. Comments made my writing grow. I did not want to disappoint the reader. I hope you were not too disappointed by my words.

I have been carrying a small notebook to jot down words, impressions, or anything I want to remember. This is because I am living a more writerly life. I have not posted or written since March 31, I have missed it. This is a habit I need to continue, I think it makes me a more observant person.

I loved reading everyone’s posts and learning of your life. I am so sorry I was not able to read your posts the last two weeks, but I will be going into the archives and reading all the posts I have missed. You will be seeing me in the Tuesday slice postings and I will be looking for you. See you Tuesday!