Memories of Grandma...

I stumbled across an old family video while cleaning out one of the closets. On it were old family moments from between 1979 & 1980. (I think) I'd forgotten the gems captured on it.

One gem in particular was my grandmother, my dads mother. I remember being with my father on the day we filmed. It was a Sunday and we were visiting her after church. He'd brought his video camera with him  and we'd spent the day filming random family moments.

My grandmother was the coolest woman. Ellen was her name. If I remember correctly from my 7th grade essay I wrote about her, she was born somewhere around 1896? (give or take a couple of years)  Spunky, sassy, and independent. I enjoyed spending time with her because she always made me laugh. She was also one of the hardest working women. She was up in age and still working her gardens. Anything and everything could be found in her backyard. A lot of her personality showed up in my character Aunt Abbey in my book GRAPE BUBBLEGUM

On a few occasions she'd have me out in her yard helping. That was some hard work! We're not talking this modern day gardening with the powered equipment. I'm talking loosening up dirt with a garden hoe. People still use those things? I'd stop halfway through a row crazy tired and she'd still be going. You'd think it would've been the other way around, a young kid should have more energy than their grandma, nope, not the case. She could work circles around me.

I've learned so much from her. Watching her pray before bed and she could pray for what seemed like hours!  She didn't pray those microwave prayers, she called out everyone's name during prayer, Lord, bless them, keep them, protect them! Then she would read her bible out loud, slowwwllly.

She taught me how to sew. I'd help her cut out pieces for her quilts. And we didn't take trips to JoAnne's fabrics for the fabric either. Whatever pieces of old clothing, bedding, etc ended up in the quilts. She taught me how to pin the pieces together before sewing. It was tedious work, but oh how I wish I would've kept one of them. She also taught me how to knit and crochet. I have a blanket that I named the 'never ending project' because it's been in progress for years, and I mean YEARS.

What great & precious memories I have of this talkative, loving, funny, joke cracking, tall, thin, proud, praying grandmother!

Blessings!

I've lost my Mojo!!

Have you ever just sat and watched waves? They flow out and a few moments later they flow back in. Perfectly in rhythm and if you continue to watch it has an almost hypnotic effect on you.

I guess that's why they sell mp3/CDs of the sound. Because it's very relaxing to listen to the sound of waves.

It's this ebb and flow that I want to talk about today, because the ebb and flow can also be applied to life circumstances. That back and forth movement. Good news one moment, then bad news. Happy days, then sad days.

Currently, for me it's the ebb and flow of writing. The past few months, I've been really struggling to write. I have plenty to write about or at least in 'my mind' I have lots to write about. But sitting down and actually typing the words, there seemed to be a disconnect or a short.  

I could spend hours writing, the words just poured out and I couldn't type fast enough to keep up with the flowing words. Then *poof* it stopped. I'd sit down to write and my mind was flowing, but I couldn't type, write, doodle anything.  I'm talking about not one itty bitty sentence. The tide has ebbed.

My "Artistic Muse" decided to pack her little raggedy bags, and sneak out the house while I was asleep. Not sure where she went on this impromptu vacation, but I'm sure it was to some island, and no, she didn't invite me to go with her, AND had the nerve to turn her phone off. No word on when she would be returning, no post cards, nothing. Just gone!

I'VE LOST MY MOJO!!

I felt like Austin Powers when he'd lost his Mojo (okay, well, I know that the 'mojo' he was referring to was not writing LOL) but that's how I felt.  I'd sit down to write and nothing would happen.

I panicked, tried all the tricks to try to get it going again....nothing, notta, zilch! It was depressing and so frustrating...but yet I persevered. I'd sit down to write and wait, try to write something, which was actually, blah, blah, blah, blah, and BLAH!

Then, suddenly, one day I had a spark, a tiny spark, but it was a spark of inspiration. I wrote a couple of paragraphs, I was thrilled!! I danced around the room as my feet splashed around in a small trickle of water that began to flow in.

The next day, the water flowed in around my ankles and I splashed around some more and wrote a full page...Off in the distance I can see a wave coming in...the flow is returning and my "Artistic Muse" is riding it in on a surfboard. It's not a tsunami sized wave, but a wave nonetheless, and she is back and I couldn't be happier!

Yeah, Baby, Yeah!