Only One Month Until April!

Most of you probably know this exciting fact: April is Poetry Month!

I don't hear any sharp intakes of breath, horns honking, or cannons booming. Am I the only one interested? If you like to write poetry or you think you might like to write poetry, just blog a poem each day of the month. You'll be pleasantly surprised at the end of the month--and perhaps before the end. Robert Lee Brewer, an editor for Writer's Digest, is the brain that dreamed this dream and made it a reality. He provides a writing prompt for each day.

Another fun thing about April is the blogging prompt challenge. Just go to this site:

                    http://writinginwonderland.blogspot.com

and you'll get instructions on how to participate. Each day you will blog using a different letter of the alphabet as a prompt. You'll get Sundays off, except for the first one. You'll also get to visit many different blogs and meet interesting people. Sounds like fun. How many of you have ever written a blog post every day for a month?

Good poeming, good blogging, and good luck.                                                  

Doggie Daze

Cindy Lou and Pepper seemed overjoyed to see me. As one of the workers at the vet's office took them to the car for me, they made a side trip to water the grass, a long side trip. Hmm, could that have been some of the overjoy? I was now suspicious. I wondered if they now loved Ashley more than they loved me. Such insecurity. Pitiful. Of course they still loved me.

We motored on home without incident. I did detour as we came to the nearby Wendy's: a strawberry shake for me seemed appropriate. It would compliment my delayed lunch once we arrived home. The dogs eyed my shake but behaved themselves. I pulled into the driveway and then into the garage.

"Don't forget to close the garage door as soon as you're parked," I told myself. (Yes, I did have an earlier experience of letting them out of the car before closing the door. And yes, I ran all over the neighborhood trying to corral them. And no, they wouldn't listen. I frequently do idiotic things and probably don't deserve to have these precious canines who are such free spirits). This time I closed the door. They were home safe.

Their first stop was their water bowl. Then, with me ensconced in my comfy chair in the living room, petting and praising time lasted at least twenty minutes. Next they settled down on their beds and took a nap. Suddenly, sunlight poured down from the skylights. I smiled and gazed at that welcome light. What? I saw it was raining dog hair in my house. Then I looked down at my shirt and pants. Yuk!  Where did I put those whatchamacallits that pick up the fuzz and hair from your clothes?

Tomorrow I Get My Worshipers Back

If this is your first visit to my blog, take a little time to scroll down and meet my two dogs, Cindy Lou Who and Pepper. Of course, if you're not a dog lover, your finger is already poised on your mouse to move on. Please note that there are many other posts which may be of interest to you, so don't be in a big hurry to leave. (I'm shameless in my pursuit of traffic).

I have nothing against folks who are not animal lovers. My blessed stepmother was scared to death of all animals, large and small. My dad liked animals, but mostly for their utilitarian use on the farm. Because of these two wonderful people, I learned that not all people who don't have my type love for animals are without a heart. In fact, I have a best friend who wants nothing to do with animals of any kind. She is as kind-hearted and caring as anyone can imagine.

This post began so that I could tell you this: My two dogs and I have been separated since January 16 and tomorrow they're coming home! My eleven-year-old granddaughter cared for them and did a great job of it. Friday I picked them up and dropped them off at the vet's. They're boarding there for the week-end and will get baths tomorrow. Then I bring them home at 3 pm. Every day I feel a little bit stronger and more steady on my feet. By Monday I'll be back in the groove of feed, love-on, participate in dog-toy-play, usher into the back yard, rest.

When they first saw me on Friday, I thought the smaller one, Pepper, was going to have a nervous breakdown or a heart attack. She looked like someone stuck her nose, or paw, into an electric socket--fur standing straight out all over her body. She threw her body into my legs and wallowed. Don't worry, I was prepared for this. I know my dogs. She's the active one, actually hyperactive. I don't say this in front of her. Cindy was just standing by, waving her tail and panting and looking at me with adoring big, brown eyes. It took three of us to get them and all of their gear into the car.

Since I mentioned "gear." let's give that a few lines. Have you ever heard of dogs using electric blankets? Well, you're hearing of it now. Miss Pepper didn't seem to be taking the cold snap week-before-last well and Ashley decided to let her use an electric blanket. Everything worked well at first.

"She was so cute, sleeping on her back with her paws in the air instead of curling up in a ball to keep warm."

Oh, oh. One morning Ashley found that Pepper had begun to chew the cord. Fortunately she didn't hurt herself. (Or did she? How about the "fur standing straight out all over her body"? And I thought it was love for me that did it.) No more electric blanket for my dogs. Besides, I let them sleep inside. At Ashley's house, they were in an enclosed breezeway that wasn't heated.

I'll let you know what happens when I pick them up tomorrow. Perhaps I should be asking for prayer? 

I've just finished a review of a great book for writers: Stephen King's On Writing... You'll find it at another of my blogs, http://patmarcantel.wordpress.com  

The Lost is Found

Remember a few posts back I was caterwauling about losing my Kindle? The lost is found. Thanks to a great house-cleaner who can look and reach under beds, my Kindle is back in the fold. Cami was pleased with herself and told her helpers: "You should have seen her face when I held it up and asked her if this was her Kindle!"

Oh, happy day, Oh, thank you Lord God and Cami. Now to let Amazon know I'm back in the market for more e-books. I know they'll be happy too.

Just how I came to know Brenda Ueland's work is still a mystery to me. Her work--teaching writing, encouraging, and writing itself--goes so far back that, for many, she might be termed an anachronism. Her famous book  If You Want to Write, was first published in 1938. When the copyright was about to expire, her estate renewed it. This was in 1987.

Through her teaching experiences and just living life she came to realize that "everybody is talented, original and has something important to say." She backs this up with quotes from Carl Sandburg, who was a good friend of hers, and from Saint Beuve: "There exists in most men a poet who died young, whom the man survived." And from de Musset: "Know that there is often hidden in us a dormant poet, always young and alive."

Because this creative power and imagination is in everyone, this author/teacher believes/knows it is from the Holy Spirit, something I have also believed for many years. I can recall finishing a painting that I felt was fine and thinking, "How did I do that? I cannot remember exactly how I composed and finished it." Ms. Ueland says: "All children have this creative power. . .but this joyful, imaginative, impassioned energy dies out of us very young. Why? Because we do not see that it is great and important. Because we let dry obligation take its place. Because we don't respect it in ourselves and keep it alive by using it. And because we don't keep it alive in others by listening to them. The best way to love a person is by listening to them and seeing and believing in the God, in the poet in them. For by doing this, you keep God and the poet flourishing in them." 

This author and I both love the poet/artist William Blake. She says, "I know that William Blake called this creative power the Imagination and he said it was God. He, if anyone, ought to know, for he was one of the greatest poets and artists that ever lived."

"Now Blake thought that this creative power should be kept alive in all people for all of their lives. And so do I. Why? Because it is life itself. It is the Spirit. In fact it is the only important thing about us. The rest of us is legs and stomach, materialistic cravings and fears. How could we keep it alive? By using it, by letting it out, by giving some time to it.  Blake used to say that the Apostles and Jesus were all artists. God he often called the 'Poetic Genius' and he said 'He who loves feels love descent into him and if he has wisdom, may perceive it is from the Poetic Genius, which is the Lord.'"

"This free abundant use of his creative power made him one of the happiest men who ever lived...and he did not mind death in the least. He said that to him it was just like going into another room. Just before he died his countenance became fair, his eyes brightened and he burst into singing of the things he saw in heaven."

"The death of a saint!' said a poor charwoman who had come to help Mrs. Blake.

We who love the Lord are all his saints. And we all have sparks of His divine nature within us. All we have to do is breathe regularly upon these embers (this means work at our gifts),  stirring them up to produce His works of Art, whatever the medium we use.

This new year of 2012 has started off with quite a bang for me. After extensive phone calls and tests here in Lake Charles, LA, I flew to Tampa, FL and had back surgery. It was a success and here I am 13 days post-op, with an incision scar barely one inch long and no back pain!!! That deserves at least three exclamation points.

Now the bad news. I've lost my Kindle. No, it's not somewhere in Florida. It went missing before the trip. Today I finally gave up looking for it and had a chat with an Amazon.com rep. who cancelled the account so no one can charge books. All that's left for me to do is call my credit card company and tell them what happened. Sigh. I loved my Kindle. It was so easy to get spoiled.

If any of you reading this want information about the wonderful place in Florida where they do minimally invasive back surgery, just leave a message for me on this post. Oh, and if you do wind up in Tampa, the food and the ambiance is really good at Bahama Breeze restaurant.