Empty Nester – Extraordinaire

Posts Tagged ‘writing’

7-13/365

Pictures 7-13 of my 365 day project.  I’ll be honest, on a few of these days I was sick sick sick, so the girls helped out with the photo taking.  I do adore my little princesses.

WEEK 2, YEAR 1

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Sunday was our annual dance recital.  Ravynn and Whisper both performed, as did Alek. The picture we chose to represent recital was an impromptu surprise performance that Alek did at the end of one of the younger classes jazz routines.  They were dancing to a song from the Grease soundtrack.  Here he is as Danny Zucco.

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While I WANT to be a master gardener, I’m not.  My parents had incredibly green thumbs, but mine are black.  The joke is that if you want to kill a plant, hand it to me; however, last fall one of our neighbors gave us 5 pots of raspberry bushes.  We dug up a row of earth behind our shed and planted 15 raspberry plants.  I understand we shouldn’t expect fruit for several years, but you can see green berries – they’re trying.

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One of our neighbors is a great garderer – or at least he hires people who are. I snapped this picture while waiting at the bus stop with the girls.  I don’t know what these flowers are, but I wouldn’t mind having some.

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Whisper wasn’t really doing homework waiting for the bus, I promise, but she’s a writer.  She’s started working on a short project and wanted the moment documented.

 

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 Whisper took this picture on day 1 of me not feeling so great.  She saw the roses from across the street at the bus stop and thought they were beautiful.

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 Fever of 104.9.  I saw nothing but my feet sticking out from under the covers on the sofa.

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 I relied on Ravynn to take this photo for me.  Again at the bus stop.

Sitting at the Feet of Genius

The other night, Neil Gaiman spoke at the McFadden Memorial Lecture at North Central High School in Indianapolis. He was charming and entertaining. More than that, he was inspiring.  He read stories he’d written [one only a few weeks ago that I MUST own if it’s ever in print] and shared bits of his life with his father and his daughter.

We sat at almost the back of the auditorium, but on the aisle closest to where the podium was set up, so we got some amazing photos. I was surprised that although an animated speaker, the photos just don’t show it – and I took A LOT of them.

I did learn, even though I’ve heard the same advice a thousand times, that the best way to write is just to write. To get it down on paper and to edit it later. Honestly, I know that about writing, but something about the way he said it, made it relevant to the other areas of my life – design and parenting and being Sheila, among other things.  So I left with a new motivation to sew.  Yeah!

At one point, I had the distinct feeling that I was watching Peter Pan, after he learned those incredible storytelling techniques from Wendy.  Fascinated by the shadow he cast, I snapped this photo.

I think it’s my favorite 🙂

waiting… for?

While I’m not an incredibly social person, I do pride myself on keeping in touch.  I text friends and family sitting at stop signs or while waiting for trains. I tweet while standing in line at the post office or the grocery.  I love to write and receive long, detailed, hand-written letters. I’m still in touch with [thanks to Facebook] many of the kids I went to elementary school with.  I research my family tree, keeping track of cousins’ kids and grandkids – most of whom I have little chance of meeting.

Yet, I created this blog an embarrassingly long time ago and it sits – untouched.

Something about starting a blog post worries me into a level of writer’s block I’ve never felt before.  And the first one is even more frightening, because I’ve convinced myself it needs to be IMPRESSIVE and grab the attention of strangers and be written about the most important thing in the world.  But, what is that?

The truth is I am not like you; my children are not like your children; my home is not like your home.  What I consider incredibly important wouldn’t cause many of you to even blink or glance in this direction.  And what I look at with only passing interest may very well be the most important thing in the world to many of you.  So, this morning, standing in line at the post office, I decided to stop waiting and just to begin.

I am wife and mama to this bunch.  The photo was taken in October, 2007 at the Perry Monument in Erie, PA.

I own and operate, Bats! meow…, a website catering to the needs of goth parents and their gothlings.  I read tarot and work with candle magic.  I believe in the powers of herbs and stones.  I talk to ghosts.  I sew, crochet, and quilt – all skills taught to me by my father.  I love to work out and cook and eat.

Stick around and you’ll learn more about me and about each of those interests.  Probably more about each of the folks in that photo I just showed you as well.  Even though this is primarily a business blog, my life isn’t simple enough to keep all the parts separate.

By the way, it’s good to have you here.

~sheila