'G' is for Gingers

Today is brought to you by the letter 'G', and my favorite word that starts with that letter, gingers:

 Ha Ha, fooled you. These are ginger plant flowers, also known as Beehive Ginger. And that is today's Random Plant Monday.

(Sorry for the lack of my usual acerbic wit, but it's been a long weekend. I promise to be better tomorrow!)

'F' is for Football, Especially in the South

I know that is it spring, but already teams are readying themselves for the Fall Gridiron Spectacle known as Football.

Don't get me wrong, I love baseball. Maybe one day the Braves will actually make it all the way again. I wonder if they hold the record for most times close but never there? I remember going to watch the games at the old Atlanta Stadium back in the 70's, where a ticket got you into the door, but there were so few people you could sit wherever you wanted.

I saw Hank Aaron hit quite a few of his home runs, listened to the games on the AM radio my father kept beside his bed with my pillow on the floor; but always and forever the fall weekends belong to football. On Friday night it is the high school games with their sense of community.  But Saturday the gloves come off and it is time for old rivals to square off again as college ball takes center stage.

We are a house divided. I cheer for the blue & gold of Georgia Tech. My son, alas, is a UGA Bulldog. And if that wasn't bad enough, now my daughter is hell bend on attending Auburn. Go War Eagle.

For those who manage to survive Saturday, grab a hair of the dog and hang on because the Falcons play on Sunday. That slides us back around to Monday where we will gather around the water cooler and debate the various games and teams until Friday rolls around and we start the entire circus all over again.

Yep, I love baseball, but give me a case of good old fashioned hatred anytime!

'E' is for Escher

I love the drawings of M.C. Escher. As a small child, my parents had a coffee table book with about two dozen of his words and I could spend hours looking at them, tracing all the possibilities with my finger. For those not familiar with his work, Escher is known for his often mathematically inspired woodcuts, lithographs, and mezzotints. These feature impossible constructions, explorations of infinity, architecture, and tessellations.

In plain English, his works appear to have no beginning or ending. Here are a few of my favorites:

This is his "Stair" composition. Dizzying, isn't it.  And another, this time one of his tessellations, "Pegasus":

One last optical illusion for your day:

Refreshed and renewed don't forget to tune in tomorrow for 'F' is for Football!

'D' is for Dogs, of Which I Have Two

It's Day 4 of the 'A to Z Blogging Challenge', which means today's letter is 'D'. So I feel I need to brag on my dogs. My husband will laugh to hear I am writing about the boys; he says they don't need the attention. But I love all my four legged pets, they are part of my family just as my children.

This is Ketka's Meriadoc of Buckland, commonly known around our little corner of the world as Merry. He came to us from a breeder in Michigan. Merry is a Norwich Terrier, and he lives to be loved. This picture doesn't show it, but he is actually laying on my helpful hubby's legs watching television. If you lay down on the carpet, he will lick your face so long you will actually not be able to breathe. He's a lover, not a fighter.

 

 

The white fuzz ball in the bay window is Peregrin, Prince of the Halflings, aka Pippin. Yes, here is the other adventurous hobbit. A West Highland White Terrier, we rescued Pip from a pet store. He is my boy; when we ride together to work he has a tendency to slide into my lap while I drive. We have an easy rhythm together and our lives would be slow without him.

 

My animals are just as much a part of my family as my children. Together we form a strange pack: Four humans, three horses, two dogs, and one cat. But we all get along, and having the patter of four little feet around the house is comforting.

 

Thinking of bringing a new animal into your home? Please consider a pet from either a reputable animal rescue or shelter. And don't be afraid of an older animal. They have just as much love as a puppy, and they need more reassurance. They've already been abandoned once.

 

AND... no matter where you find your next family pet, please spay or neuter to help control the pet populations.

'C' is for Confidence - Insecure Writer's Support Group

Today is Wednesday, April 3rd and the first Wednesday of every month is Insecure Writer's Support Group Blog day. Hoping to kill two birds with one blog, here is the letter 'C'. In a strange twist, I have chosen Confidence as my topic for IWSG and A to Z Blog Challenge.

Am I a confident writer? Not by any stretch of the imagination. When I put words on paper for the public to examine, it is putting a piece of my inner most soul on display for others to abuse or adore as they see fit. There is no power within me at all to determine which emotion will triumph. The words are an extension of me; if they are rejected how can I not take it as a personal rejection? The words and the woman are intricately woven as one.

I don't think I am alone in this feeling. Any performer who puts a part of themselves out there for the world, be it an actor, musician, or writer. Of course, that doesn't make it any easier. But with each rejection letter another piece of the armor is forged. I will be stronger for the journey than I would be if immediate success came without work.

That is what makes me open the computer night after night, writing the scenes that fill my head night and day. Therein comes the topic of the day - Confidence.

I am confident that no matter how long it takes, how many hills I must struggle to climb, I will keep writing. It is a part of me just as much as breathing. And that is enough for me.

'B' is for Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning

I was searching for "Blooms", thinking I would talk about flowers and Spring. Instead I was ambushed by diagrams for something called the Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning. Having studied Psychology in college before deciding I didn't want to listen to other people's problems for the rest of my life; I was interested at once. Part of my previous incarnation was administering standardized tests.

Basically, this triangle illustrates how our brains process information. Just as with the famous 'Food Group' pyramid, you start from the bottom and move upward. 

Now, why did this interest me as a blog topic for "A to Z Blogging"? This is similar to the process I use when creating new characters for my different series. I remember what the character has already revealed to me. Then I understand how they fit into the overall story. I apply the character to the story and analyze what his/her impact will be to the story arc. I then evaluate the positive and negative of the character in the long range forecast, and create the final version. 

It isn't perfect, but I find it works will with my particular form of attention deficit disorder. Maybe some of my readers can relate. Otherwise, happy "B" day, please return on Wednesday for "C". This will be a dual posting, as the first Wednesday of every month is Insecure Writer's Support Group Blog Hop Day. No telling what I will find that starts with a 'C' to mesh into both groups, but that's what makes it all fun. I love a good challenge. 

'A' is for All About Me

Today is April 1st - April Fool's Day, and the beginning of my journey through the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge. The object is to post each day, except for Sunday, using the appropriate letter of the day as the beginning of your subject. In that spirit, here are 18 Random Things About Me, your host for this stop on the tour!

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Thank God, no although Nancy Sinatra was popular around the time I was born.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? March 18th. But that doesn't mean anything, I might cry an hour from now, who knows?

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? I love my handwriting, except when there is a paper to be written. God Bless Computers and why didn't we have them when we were in school!?!?

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Turkey or Roast Beef

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?  I have two prime-time drive commercial-driven consumers, both in target demographic ages, but I still can't get the Nielsen people to ask my opinions!

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I'd like to think so!

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM? Only when I'm being sarcastic.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Nope, but my Happy Husband does, can't wait for that surgery to come around. 

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? There isn't enough money or tequila in the entire world to make me jump. I have an extreme fear of unconfined heights. 

10. FAVORITE CEREAL? Peanut Butter Bumpers. An Organic peanut butter cereal that puts Cap'n Crunch to shame.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Nope!

12. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? It depends on my mood. Most times I will order chocolate chip, but I might go with Cherry Vanilla or Chocolate Raspberry if I'm feeling crazy.

13. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Their eyes, followed closely by their hands. Those two things can tell you a lot about a person.

14. RED OR PINK? uh, neither.

15. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I can be very lazy, especially if I am working on a new storyline.

16. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My daddy. He died more than 20 years ago and not a day goes by I don't wish I could pick up the phone and ask his opinion on things.

17. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COMFORT FOOD? Macaroni and Cheese made from scratch, with real butter and real cheese. (I have great cholesterol thank God!)

18. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Blue jeans and Cowboy boots, what else is there to wear on a wintry spring morning?


There you go, a few pieces of useless trivia to start this month's project. Stop back by frequently, I don't know that I have 26 topics worthy of blogging about but I intend to find out!