writing101

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What Went Well

My “three blessings” this week:

  1. I received some new perfume that is making me foolishly happy. Because the flip side of how easily I can get sad is that it doesn’t take much to make me happy either, and I am working to focus on those things instead of the others.
  2. We received some good guidance on how best to help our bright child learn and master the materials in the advanced classes he is taking. Because we are able to send him to an excellent school that is a good fit for him, with excellent teachers.
  3. Our daughter is moving confidently into her senior year and college applications. Because she is focused, motivated and an all ’round good kid.
Where to Write?
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Where to Write?

Day 6 of Writing 101: where do I write? and what tools do I use?

I often write in the sunroom of our house. It opens into both the dining room on one side and the family room on the other; the other two walls are mostly windows. It’s a good place to write on my laptop, as I can be among the family activities and available to answer homework questions, for instance, but it is also very peaceful and somewhat apart. It has great natural light and the view is of trees and our garden. At night, I can hear the katydids and crickets outside the window.

I use a Macbook Air laptop to do most of my writing. I love this laptop! It is very lightweight and sleek, and I love how quickly I can find quotes, photographs, other blogs, publications — anything I could want to liven up my own writing. In the days when I wrote at a typewriter, I often had writer’s block because the perfectionist in me couldn’t bear to type words onto real paper until my sentences were close to perfect, or have to scratch out phrases. You can imagine how that slowed me down! Writing onscreen has totally liberated me from that, as any awkward phrase can be made to vanish instantly with no trace that it was ever there.

There are times, though, when I like to revert to the fountain pens I used as a child (required in a school I attended — yes, it was an old-fashioned European school), or some other nice writing instrument. If I write a personal note or card, or a poem, I do like the feel of pen, ink and paper together. I don’t, however, still use the Sheaffer’s “peacock blue” ink I favored for several years. Good thing I don’t yearn after it, because it was discontinued some time ago. Apparently it still has a cult following, though: Passionate About Peacock Blue Ink.  I’d better not dwell on that, or I might start yearning.

Writing 101: Social Media for Inspiration
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Writing 101: Social Media for Inspiration

Day 5:  go to Twitter and find a tweet that inspires you to write. I wasn’t inspired by the five suggestions, so I chose this:

9/11 Survivor Tree

9/11 is a melancholy day for so many. I was blessed not to lose anyone I knew, but I used to live and work in NYC, including for a time very close to the World Trade Center. I remember going to its observation deck the year it first opened. Some of my friends were in lower Manhattan that awful day and are still traumatized. So this story about a tree that was literally buried in rubble, was dug out and found to be severely damaged, but was nursed back to health and replanted near the 9/11 Memorial, inspired me with its message of resilience and hope. I love that its seeds are collected and planted so that seedlings of this tree can be shared with other communities that have suffered. There’s a reason why Eden was envisioned as a garden.

Photo: National September 11 Memorial and Museum.

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What Went Well

I forgot to post this on Wednesday, so here it is: what went well this week.

  1. My high school senior received a national award for scholastic achievement. Because she works very hard, studies conscientiously and deserves recognition.
  2. My college student won a coveted, named part in her college’s fall play. Because she also works very hard to develop the gifts with which she has been blessed, and chose a college program that is the perfect fit for her. And the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright is coming to see the performance!
  3. I am really enjoying a new part of my job which includes advising students one-on-one. Because I like students, they are very eager and motivated, and I enjoy knowing and helping them.

What went well for you this week?

Fragrance Friday: Ginger Lilies
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Fragrance Friday: Ginger Lilies

Late summer and early fall are the season in the South for white ginger lilies, hedychium coronarium. They are tall, tender perennials with long, sword-like green leaves topped by fluttering white flowers whose large petals inspire the plant’s other common name: white butterfly lily. Our next-door neighbor has a magnificent clump, which sends its perfume floating over both of our gardens. I have tried to grow it myself, mere yards from his thriving specimen, without success. The white ginger lily is fickle by nature. But oh, that perfume! Many scents have been called intoxicating; the ginger lily’s fragrance truly is. Designed to lure pollinating insects at night, the white flowers’ scent intensifies in the dark humidity of Southern summer nights.

Imagine my anticipation, then, when I learned that Jo Malone has a cologne named Dark Amber and Ginger Lily. I looked it up on Fragrantica.com and realized that it has notes of ginger, and water lily, but it has nothing to do with ginger lilies. It sounded lovely, though, and I had a sample from a purchase of Tudor Rose, so on my wrists it went. Mmmm. I don’t often like Oriental spicy perfumes, but when I do, I really do. And I really like this one. Warm, soft, a whisper of cardamom with the ginger top note, a floral bouquet for a heart, a touch of glove leather in the base notes. Definitely on my wish list. But nothing to do with actual ginger lilies.

My curiosity piqued, I decided to explore further. And voila! Continue reading →

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Make A List

Second prompt from Writing 101: make a list. Easy! A portion of my blog Serenity Now is dedicated to lists: categories such as Art(s) I Like. Some of my categories are still “under construction” but I have had a lot of fun creating and populating these lists. That particular category is deliberately inclusive, as I count many pursuits as “art” in addition to the more traditional visual arts. What are your favorite arts and/or artists? Feel free to comment!

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Why I Write

Writing 101 asks, why do you write? I am quite introverted but verbal almost to a fault, with many thoughts and words jostling for my attention and linking to each other; writing them down takes them out of my head and gives me a creative outlet. My daily work requires that I interact frequently with people, often in one-on-one meetings or conversations. I enjoy other people, and I am not shy, but my introverted nature means that these interactions do drain me of energy; solitude restores me and allows me to capture my thoughts in writing. I have an inquiring, INTJ mind and thousands of books. Many things make me happy. I like sharing them and reading about what brings joy or feeling to others.

Mindfulness is something I am working to cultivate in my life. There are many competing claims on my time and attention: family, work, etc. As my children are now in their teens, I am working to carve out some time for peaceful reflection and creativity in my life, in spite of a demanding, sometimes pressured job. Blogging is one way for me to do that, in a different format than the other kinds of writing I am also exploring. This blog also helps me cultivate positive thoughts through practices like “What Went Well Wednesdays”, when I write down three things that went well that week.

I also blog about gardens, gardening, garden books, art in gardens and garden photography at Old Herbaceous.