We'll be back after these brief messages....

I took a brief, unexpected hiatus from my computer this month. Firstly, to get ready for Christmas and secondly, to show my dad the sights, sounds, and people that I write with. He was impressed. He wishes he had a similar group in Alberta to work with but says no one seems interested. Yet he tells me about people he records and works with in the music industry.

Sometimes it seems like we sail through life alone in a little wooden boat full of termites. Once in a while we find others just like us who are sailing through life in other little boats that seem to be made of sturdier stuff. They've just learned how to have a harder shell and endure the storms. Criticism can be a hard thing to take. I've heard it my entire life. So has everyone else. Sometimes criticism can shipwreck us.
Most of the time we weather the storm and sail on.

I plan to make 2010 a year of sailing on and weathering the storms.
I've joined the local Art Group. I'm still with the writing group.
And I'm making my novels stronger than ever. I'm also working on my dad's memoirs.
All I have to do is get them out of his hands!
All the best to you in 2010. May you be strong and weather the storms as never before.

Diane

A Romantic Life

I always find Christmas to be a dreamy, romantic time of year. Put aside the hustle and bustle and what you have left are moony eyed children making dreams and counting on magic to make the season bright. Friends and loved ones draw closer through force of nature and good will. We all try to be a little nicer to each other this time of year. Well, some of us do.

Romance is not for the faint of heart. Granted, I speak not of the heart-pounding, pulse-racing lust of a new relationship. I think of Romance as fulfilling your dreams and following your life's quest with Passion. Many of us have a less "practical" side that allows us to be dreamers and moony eyed children all year long. The Romantics are those of us who pursue their dreams with fervor.

I consider myself to be a Romantic. I am an artist, a lyricist, and a writer and I do each of these with passion. Passion ebbs and flows like the tides. It's easy to either ride the waves or get caught in the undertow. Lately, I've been in the undertow. Actually, that's were I was for many years. Denying my creative side and shoving the moony eyed child in the closet for safe keeping so she didn't get hurt by criticism and disappointment.

My moony eyed child is stronger than that. She fought back and developed a tougher shell. She smacked me across the head when I whine about not having time, energy, or focus.

Just write. Just paint. Just create. The Passion will follow.

When it rains it pours.

Okay, so December didn't roar into town with cold and snow. It blew into town bearing colds, pneumonia, and cabin fever. It was bad enough one of my little Creative Blocks got pneumonia now I have it. The world comes to a stand still in our house when Mom is sick. The good news is all the laundry and cleaning can wait until I'm well. Except for the matter of my Art Show this weekend.

I still have to clean like a madwoman for that. I figure if I do it one bit at a time and only do what I NEED to do I can get it done. Of course, there is something to be said for slowing down and not being able to run around. I got Christmas cards written, gifts wrapped (well, the ones I've already bought), and a gift painted. All from the comfort of my couch. As you can guess, I'm not the kind of person who sits still a lot except to read.

I have a follow-up x-ray tomorrow so I'll have a better idea if I need to cancel my show or not. I'm going with NOT! I've been looking forward to this for too long!
I'll keep you posted!

Let it snow, let it snow . . .

We woke up to a blanket of snow and more barking from up the hall. Another day, another sick kid. Seems our family is notorious for the barking coughs around here. I can think of much better things to be famous for!

I had a sudden abundance of broccoli today. No, it didn't appear out of the snowbank, it was from the snack program at school. Can you believe they were going to throw it in the compost? Yikes! I used my creative skills to create two masterpieces: Broccoli Soup and Potato-Carrot Soup. Oh, and some biscotti for my party. I was going to bake buns tonight but my energy is waning. Cooking certainly is a creative endeavor - especially looking at the mess I make of it. At least it turns out edible 99% of the time!

Still doing some edits on Take The Money and Run, my first novel, so that I can start to submit it all over the place again. My lovely editor Laura has both my other books to edit, critique, tear to shreds, etc. Hope she goes easy on me, it is nearly Christmas after all.

Had a lovely evening last night at a book launch for a fellow Headwaters Writers' Guild writer named Clare McCarthy. He published his novel The Hurleyville Taxi: Two thousand pounds of Bacon and Bone. Book Lore hosted a book signing and the place was packed! Congratulations, Clare! You can find out more at www.northwordbound.ca.

We also discovered another of our writers Harry Posner's book Word Bird. Harry graciously showed us his book and posed for pictures. It's on my list for Christmas!