Don't Flit! Focus!

Autumn Haiku  

Blue skies Fluffy clouds

Ripe berries Purple and Red

Florida Autumn

                                                        

The ripened American beautyberries growing along our nature trail,  an early sign of autumn, have come and gone and it's now obvious I will not be making the beautyberry jelly as promised.



American Beautyberries

     As this autumn season slips by without my notice and, as I sink deeper into the morass of social media, flitting from one medium to another in my efforts to build an authors platform, advice emphatically given to me years ago by an art teacher, comes to mind.  "Don't flit! Focus!" he said. "Find your subject and Focus"!  
     An authors platform, I am told, is a must as it is the main marketing tool for selling your books and building author recognition.  But Social media and platform building are new to me.  I flit from LinkedIn to Facebook to Pinterest,  check my emails, pop into my blog to add a thought, tweet and re-tweet, then on to google+.  Dinner is late. A wash needs doing. My glasses misplaced.
     Reading this post, you may feel as confused as I do in writing it.  In my haste to build a platform I fear I have lost my focus.  What good, after all, is an authors platform if I'm not writing something to put in it.   Writing and Painting are my passions and, after God, husband and home, must be my main priorities.  The time has come for me to stop my flitting, reorganize my priorities and Focus!  But how?

    Readers, I would love to receive your comments filled with  organizational suggestions. 

Red Holly Berries

     Now that my thoughts and priorities are re-organized and re-focused,  I will enjoy the bit of autumn that is left.

     Sadly the Jacaranda, Crepe Myrtle and Plumeria, all deciduous trees, are losing their leaves.
     One would think that the berries on our Holly tree, now ripened to bright red against the shiny, waxy deep green leaves, would be an invitation for birds to dine.  Strangely, no birds come to this tree and we must wonder, is it that Lily and Stitch are catnapping on the patio again?

     As pretty as the holly berries are, the American Beautyberry will remain my favorite and next year I will make Beautyberry jelly.  I promise!

For those who enjoy making jellies,

I've posted a link for the Beautyberry jelly below.

American Beautyberry Jelly

http://www.hogtownhomegrown.com/Newsletter%20Recipes/Beautyberry%20Jelly.html



                                                                               

September Equinox in Sarasota, Florida, U.S.A. was on
Sunday, September 22, 2013 at 4:44 PM EDT

Story Time at Port Orange, Volusia County Regional Library

 Last Wednesday it was my pleasure to be the guest author for Story-Time at the Port Orange Library reading my children's picture book "Oliver's Wish" (subtitle A Tale From the Garden).  Decked out in what has become my 'uniform' for reading, I arrived at the Library at 9:30 and was greeted by the Children's Librarian, Thomas Jonte.  He showed me to the children's activity room where there was a table and two chairs for my and his use.  I had requested the use of a flannel board and there it was, sitting on the table.  By each door was a pile of round carpet pieces for the children to use for floor sitting.  There were chairs set in a u shape for the parents and grandparents. There were about twenty children in attendance between ages three and five years old.


 Thomas, first introduced me. Then, with the aide
 of a large Ukulele  he began story time by having
 the children dance a little jiggly jig to loosen and relax.  A song was sung and then they all sat down upon their carpet pieces.
 I begin by showing the children poster size
drawings of two flamingos. The first, a real flaming.
delighted the children.  They were all anxious to tell they knew what that bird was and some had even seen one.  The second drawing is of a wooden flamingo (named Oliver of course) living in a garden with many others. This is to familiarize them with exactly what kind of a flamingo Oliver is.

Now the story begins.

 I tell the story from memory in order that the book with pictures is always facing the children.  

 

 They watch the expressions on my face as much as they look at the pictures.

A round of applause delights the story teller.

Now that the story has been told,

each child choose a little picture copied from the story book. Each picture has been backed with velcro so that it can be attached to the flannel board.  

 

This is great fun! Once the pictures are attached they rearrange them.

Just enough time now to color one picture downloaded from

 www.oliverswish.com and the half hour allotted to the story teller is over.

I have had a wonderful time!

Thanks for having me Port Orange Library. 

 

~~~~

 

Credit for pictures go to Amanda Petrone.

(my granddaughter)

ABC Author's Market

Haiku poem of Apology

Much apology.

Write Haiku and unlock mind .

Maybe thoughts now flow.

Wow! Forty nine days since my last blog!

 To many distractions? Family obligations?

Maybe a case of writers block? Just, I think, a combination of all.
 But, whatever, from here on, I am going to try to post at least once a week.
________________________

ABC Author's Market

Haiku for ABC

Eager authors all

Books so carefully displayed

Traffic streams thinly 

This past Saturday I unexpectedly participated in an "Author's Market"

that was sponsored by ABC (Authors of Books for Children)

that was held in the Fisherman's Village at Punta Gorda, Florida

My space was just beyond the bench and post in photo

The traffic was very light and sales where few but meeting and networking with other authors was  worth the entry fee and more.

Saint Patrick's Day

                          
      March 17th! Saint Patrick's Day!   And what better day than this for me to sport a new green and white theme on my blog.

     St. Patrick's Day is one of the most popular holidays with parades and celebrations the week long, and everyone, sporting some green, claiming their share of Irish.  Corned beef and cabbage is the special on most menus in  restaurants for the entire week. 

     I expect many of you will be participating in some sort of Irish revelry this St. Paddy's day.  For us, it will be rounds of corned beef and cabbage with a glass or two of green beer.

     Tonight, March 16, it was at our local British Pub. The pub was decked out with shamrocks, shinny green curly strips hanging from the ceiling patrons wearing shamrocks, green beads and some with flashing green eyeglass frames.  There were pitchers of green beer on many tables.  The corned beef and cabbage was delicious. Desert was cheese pie made with Irish Whiskey.  Yummie!  Tomorrow, with other friends, more corned beef and cabbage will be had in a more quiet atmosphere.

              God Bless and:                   
May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon you face,

the rains fall soft upon your fields,

and until we meet again,

may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Boston Parade

Boston had the first St. Patricks day parade in 1773

~

Chicago turns it's river emerald green.

~

                                                    

Nearly two million people will line the streets along 5th Ave. for New Yorks Saint Patrick's day parade

~

Holyoke, Mass. claims second largest St. Patricks day parade in the U.S.

~

Hot Springs Ark. parade is held on the shortest street in the world, Bridge Street.

~

Savannah's parade is scheduled on the actual date (Mar. 17) of Saint Patrick’s Day, regardless of the week day. The procession winds through the Historic Park District, where the city fountains are dyed green

~

(Cloggers shown in photo)

     Dublin's parade, were thousands of people decked in green line the streets, is just part of a week long celebration.

~   

                                         

If you like Irish songs or read about Irish celebrations click the link below.                      

                                      
                      http://www.st-patricks-day.com/index.html

A Valentine Blog

 

       This February 14th morning, my Valentine and I planted new shrubs in our garden that edges the patio.  Stitch and Lily, our cats, sat on the patio critiquing all that we did.
       Yes, your right.  I know I should be working on a rewrite of my next children's
picture book, Ira Scrump, but promoting my children's picture book, Oliver's Wish. and trying to establish an author platform, not to mention the computer crash and broken links in my gardengossipart.com website, has consumed much of my time.  But, for me, today is a special day...a day to spend with my Valentine.
      My Valentine has not missed sending me a card on this day, in all the years we have been married. (and I also send him a card) We top the day off with a fine dinner at a favorite restaurant  while savoring a fine wine. A valentine tradition we established many years ago.
 

 A SPECIAL VALENTINE TREAT

click on joyeux-saint-valentine. 

 

     My next Children's picture book, titled. Ira Scrump, is about a Looper geometrid inch worm and the disappointments and fears he must conquer as he learns to round his 'loop' in order to measure through the garden.

     Oliver's Wish: A Tale from the Garden may be viewed and purchased at www.talesfromthegarden.org or purchased from your favorite on-line book dear - Amazon, Barns & Noble, etc.

Oxymora

   "Reserved Enthusiasm" - todays post on the "Todays Oxymoron" sign.  I see this sign,  which is placed quite near the roadway and can't be missed, each time I drive to and from town.
 
  I glance quickly as I speed by and hope the oxymoron has been deposited into my brain bank.  Today was different.  It wouldn't be deposited and rolled around my mind painting a picture of one who approaches life cautiously. 
   
      Same Difference,  Living Dead,  Passive Aggressive,  Sharp Curve, Nothing much,  are only a few of the many oxymora I have seen posted.
    
 Oxymora, I have read, can be used for a variety of purposes.  It can be used to create some sort of drama for the reader or listener.  It can be used to make the person stop and think, whether it's to laugh or to ponder.   "The oxymoron in literature," The Wise Geek tells us, "creates humor or additional meaning by using two contradictory terms together."  "It evokes new ideas in the reader’s mind by suggesting that the contradictory ideas are in fact linked." 
    
 According to Richard Ledera "the word oxymoron is itself oxymoronic because it is formed from two Greek roots of opposite meaning, oxys "sharp, keen," and moros "foolish," the same root that gives us the word moron
     To purposely use oxymora as suggested above does not come easily to me, yet I feel akin to Clearly Confused.   Drawing a Blank is  no stranger.  And Good Grief'! How many of us feel were Going Nowhere? 
      
      Oxymora appears, without thought, in most of our conversations and appears with careful thought in many of our writings.   Though I am not adept at consciously using the oxymoron as a rhetorical device to create humor or alarm or give a clue to a character's persona, my favorite oxymoron, Jumbo Shrimp,  continually evokes the image of that Wickedly Good dry martini that goes so well with that Awfully Good Jumbo Shrimp cocktail.
 


 

Story-Time at the Venice Library

      Last Tuesday, it was my pleasure to be the guest author, for Preschool  Story-Time "Viva Florida!-500-Flamingos" at the Venice Library, reading my picture book "Oliver's Wish" (subtitle A Tale From the Garden) .   I was asked to wear something pink. I did. Pink jeans and shirt and white vee neck sweatshirt with 2 large pink flamingos painted on the front.  The children's librarian, Jo Lize, and her volunteer greeted me wearing pink shirts. In the Story-Time room where I was to read (paraphrase) Oliver's Wish, they had placed, next to the chair I was to sit in, an easel to hold a poster of Oliver standing with "others that fly and others that crawl and lived in the garden by the wall."  A stuffed Flamingo sitting in another chair, was patiently waiting to be hugged and on table just behind the easel was a stack of 'pictures to color' that had been downloaded, on pink paper,  from "Oliver's" website www.talesfromthegarden.org  These were to be handed out after the Story-Time for the children to take home.

After Oliver's Wish had been read and after the stuffed flamingo had been cuddled and hugged, it was time for the kids to stand and move about.  As a volunteer played the tune to "This Old Man"' (Knick, knack, paddy whack) on the keyboard, the kids paraded around the room swinging their arms, around and round with a clack itty clack itty sound, just as Oliver does in the book.

Then, it was to the craft table where each child was given a paper flamingo and  a pair of wings to color and fasten to the flamingo with cotter pins - which allowed the wings to turn freely.  Befor leaving, each child was encouraged to go to the shelf in the back of the room and look through the five picture books of different flamingo stories that where on display.

To soon Story-Time hour was over.  It had been an hour that was carefully planned and orchestrated to stimulate imaginations and open young minds to the joy of reading, and yet, cleverly highlighted
my picture book.

                                                    
                                           

Kudos to librarians and volunteers who, week after week, work so effortlessly to bring the story time hour to our young children.

Thank you, children's librarian, Jo Lize and volunteers at the Venice Library.