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It’s Never Too Late to Start

September 7th has five National Days attached to it so we’ll have a little fun, then learn that it’s never too late to start.

It’s Neither Snow, Nor Rain Day referring to having our mail delivered in all sorts of weather. Be appreciative! After a long cold, rainy day your mail carrier might go to his/her local bar to warm up with some hot Acorn Squash (Day) soup, order a Salami (Day) sandwich, then cool the tongue with a Beer (Lover’s Day). I know, silly, but you have to admit, it works! Sort of! And I know Facebook will probably only recognize the Beer part; maybe the mail carrier.

So let’s look at Grandma Moses;

Anna Mary Robertson Moses (September 7, 1860 – December 13, 1961) is an example to us all of an individual who successfully began a career in the arts at an advanced age. A renowned American folk artist, Grandma Moses first started painting in her 70s after arthritis made it difficult to embroider, her original medium.

Grandma Moses’ exhibitions were so popular during the 1950s that they broke attendance records all over the world.

“A cultural icon, the spry, productive nonagenarian was continually cited as an inspiration for housewives, widows, and retirees. Her images of America’s rural past were transferred to curtains, dresses, cookie jars, and dinnerware, and used to pitch cigarettes, cameras, lipstick and instant coffee.”

1950 – Cited as one of the five most newsworthy women.
1951 – Honored as Woman of the Year by the National Association of House Dress Manufacturers.
Age 88 – Mademoiselle Magazine named her “Young Woman of the Year.”
Awarded the first honorary doctorate from Philadelphia’s Moore College of Art.
1969 – A United States commemorative stamp was issued in her honor.
2006 – Her work Sugaring Off (1943) became her highest selling work at US $1.2 million. Sugaring Off was a prime example of the simple rural scenes for which she was well-known.
Grandma Moses’ painting, Fourth of July, was given, by Otto Kallir, to the White House where it still hangs today.

Did you catch that? She started painting at age 70, and was “Young Woman of the Year” at age 88. We should be so lucky!

I admire the bloggers I have contact with, some of them are under 30. I didn’t have enough life experience to write at that age. Like I said above, it’s never too late to start.

09/07/2016 0

What are you reading?

It’s National Read a Book Day. Give yourself permission to take time for yourself and read something you like; an old-time western, a poignant love story, the biography of someone you admire, a kids book about animals (because you still like the pictures), a spy novel, a young adult story so you can remember how innocent we once were.

I’ve mentioned before, this long family saga novel I have written. I’m working on the fifth draft, tightening and removing the fat. (It’s harder than writing it the first time!) I have had about ten people read it so I can utilize their feedback to improve my work. It’s interesting to discover each person wants me to slant the story to fit how they think. My most recent reader was the only one under the age of 30. When she got to the ending, at 4 AM, she woke her husband to tell him the outcome. I had surprised her. That’s a good thing. Personally, I’m glad it wasn’t me she woke up at that time and told her so. Her husband defended her and said he does the same thing to her.

So what is my book about? It’s about how far a mother will go to secretly stay in touch with her only child after his father has disowned him for not following family tradition of becoming a doctor; about the wife that can continue to love her husband and protect his reputation because she has that secret contact. It’s a portrayal of friendship and support between different sets of people and how many secrets they keep from some to help others; the story of four generations of a dysfunctional family that knows how to present themselves as happy and whole. It’s fiction, not about my family, but each character has surprisingly similar characteristics to someone I am close to, and/or parts of myself. That frightened me when I first started the project.

In one of the writing groups I belong to, most of the members are published authors. One of the ladies has offered to help where she can; her advice was to make sure I don’t have too many was’s on a page. If I do, I am telling the story, not showing the action. WOW! I just read page 16 of my manuscript and I found seven was’s in one paragraph. I have a lot to learn! At least now I know one thing to look for. After thinking about it for a time, I am actually looking forward to rewriting that segment. It will definitely be better when I get done, maybe not the best it could be, but certainly better.

As you read your book, enjoy the story, then think about the fact it was probably not the author’s first draft. In fact, it could have been the 50th or 100th draft.

09/06/2016 0

National Newspaper Carrier Day

My husband and I enjoyed a very nice conversation yesterday about his years as a newspaper carrier. He was involved in delivering the Sunday out-of-town paper(s) in Hornell, NY, from September 1960 until August 1966. During that time period Hornell was around 15,000 people and it took ten carriers, on foot, to cover the city.

The boys each pulled a wagon, with the sides built up, that held editions from Syracuse, Buffalo, Rochester, and New York City. At each house he would put the papers in between the screen and front doors so nothing blew away, and the person getting the paper didn’t have to walk outside for their morning news. Some of the papers were more than an inch thick and some houses got more than one edition. After he delivered, which took three hours, then he had to retrace his steps to collect from each patron so he could pay for the papers that day. That was a lot of work for just over $4.00 profit.

As we talked he remembered the names of all the streets he covered, then explained what a pain it was to pull the heavy cart, with small wheels, through the snow; generally in the street because sidewalks weren’t shoveled, around cars and drifts stating at 6AM. Once he got his license he went to work at 4AM to drive to pick up the papers at the train station, take them to the newspaper distribution building, help sort and stuff, then deliver. By that time he was active in high school sports and also had a night time restaurant bus boy job, on top of being interested in dating. He laughed when he told of some Saturday nights he didn’t go to bed, then slept most of Sunday after he finished his route. At the end of the conversation we realized he has been working since he was twelve years old, in some capacity or another. That has been his hobby all along. And he’s still at it 55 years later, more than 40 hours a week, because he likes to.

We now live in a city where all newspapers are either put in your box, or in a bag and thrown somewhere in the driveway. I tried to Google if small towns still have boy carriers that walk, ride bikes, or pull carts but I couldn’t find any information. I’m guessing with how labor laws have changed, the paper carrier is an adult, riding in a car, but I’m not sure.

Next time you go out in your pajamas to get your paper, think about what time your carrier got up to deliver it and be thankful it arrives, rain, snow, fog or humidity!

09/04/2016 0

National Lazy Mom’s Day

Personally I think this day should be named, Give Mom a Day Off. The description says this is a day for moms to not do the dishes or the laundry. I wouldn’t call that lazy, I would call that taking a break at the beginning of a new school year.

When I was a kid, my mother didn’t work outside the home. I can’t say as I remember seeing her do the laundry, but it was always done. When I would go upstairs at night to go to bed, there would be piles of clean clothes on the steps, in order of age, so mine were on the lowest step. I do remember her hanging the sheets outside even when it meant they would go stiff with frost. The reasoning was they smelled fresher, longer, and the electric bill liked it. I’m short and if I were asked to bring the sheets in, I had to stretch to get the clothes pins off the line, and in the snow, invariably it went into the top of my boots. We had a dachshund for a time, and she loved to bound between the foot holes, then bury her face in the white stuff and burst upwards shaking her head.

Oxford dictionary says lazy means inactive, unwilling to work or exert energy when capable, slothful, or in todays slang we would call that a “couch potato”. Again, if a person works hard all week, then doesn’t trim the bushes on the weekend because they were feeling lazy; are they really lazy? Not in my book.

I’ve been thinking all afternoon, and sharing thoughts at dinner too. I can’t come up with a really good description of lazy. One person we talked about doesn’t seem to be able to keep a job, yet, he’ll scrape, sand and paint the house every year. We decided he isn’t lazy, he just doesn’t like taking orders from others. We talked about another person that uses dishes out of the dishwasher until it is empty. The problem? The dirty dishes are left to pile up on the counter, not even rinsed, until the dishwasher is once again empty so it can be filled. I have witnessed this. It stinks and looks horrendous. So, is this person lazy, or do they have a form of some unnamed illness? I hope it’s the latter, it would be easier to accept.

I guess the outcome of a days thinking, comes down to, if you are a mom and you do your best to raise your family, if you don’t feel like doing a chore on a certain day, it will be there to do tomorrow; unless you have an elf, friend, husband, even a kid, that will do it for you. And, we didn’t even get to what retired moms might do with this day. Take it off; it’s the day designated to do so.

09/02/2016 0

National No Rhyme (Nor Reason) Day

When I first saw the picture for this day I wondered why they used orange slices. Duh! Orange is one of those words that has no rhyme. There are a few others, but for as many words as there are, very few. I’ll list some of them: arugula, beige, blitzed, chaos, circle, circus, fiend, film, gulf, kiln, midst, month, music, pint, purple, rhythm, silver, siren, toilet, width, woman.

It seems we could make a really interesting sentence using a whole bunch of those words strung together. Have fun trying. I tried to think if maybe we used an Irish brogue or southern drawl we come up with some words that sounded like they rhymed. I gave up, not having either a brogue or a drawl.

So let’s look at the (NOR REASON) part of this day. I hope you don’t mind my going off on a tangent. I am currently reading a book that has so many words I have never seen before, mostly verbs, that I am questioning the writer’s goal. I read to be entertained, not to take a vocabulary class. My husband and I looked up one of the words last night and couldn’t come close to understanding why the author thought it was the right word to use in the context of his sentence. I was glad it wasn’t just me that didn’t get it!

I have had the occasion to enjoy meals with doctors, lawyers, and professors. I have had people from those same professions in my quilting classes, and I have never met anyone that uses the big words they know while in general conversation. They talk like anyone else does when around the table with friends. So, why do authors do that, and why do their agents and publishers think it is all right? Maybe I should be more open minded and enjoy the opportunity to learn, but it takes me out of the rhythm of the story.

I have often been told I write like I talk and I’m proud of that. As you can see from my blogs, no big words here, just down home memories. Many years ago I can remember using; the car was purple and going as slow as maple syruple…. I wonder what the context of the conversation was.

09/01/2016 0

National Trail Mix Day

Have you gone shopping for trail mix lately? In the super market I use, Wegmans, there are multiple kinds in the nut section, there are different kinds in the bulk food section and there are yet others in the health food section. So, I leave the definition of trail mix to you. I have read the first one made was just peanuts and raisins.

I like to take a bag of trail mix when we go on a car trip. {It used to be motorcycle trip but the husband’s back gave out, and we have had too many close friends get hurt; I’m actually afraid to get on one now days.} The handy snack satisfies all sorts of cravings. You can pick out just the chocolate when you need a sweet fix, and you can pick out all the cashews at one time, before anyone else gets to the bag. The little pieces of dried fruit often give a more sour flavor burst if that is what you desire; and all jumbled together sends the taste buds into happy land, plus puts off the “I have to stop to eat!” demand for a while. It’s a great staple for in the room too, no refrigeration or heating necessary.

Trail mix was “invented” for just that, eating on the trail when hiking. I have been on some beautiful trails in my life. Number one would be on Mt. Rainier in Washington state. We parked in the Paradise parking lot and my friend pointed UP. “You see that bench up there?” “Yeah.” “That’s where we are eating lunch.” “Really?” I didn’t have the exercise gene back then either, but I made it. Trail mix was our dessert and the begging jay birds had some too.

Now I am back living in New York state, home territory. There is a park named Harriet Hollister Spencer State Park that has wonderful views from the trails. If you didn’t grow up around here, you’ll need a GPS to find it. We also have Letchworth and Stony Brook state parks, plus many others. I’m sure you have a great park near you. Grab a bag of trail mix and go check one out.

One word of caution; dried fruit and chocolate can last almost indefinitely, not so with some types of nuts. In an open bag in the cupboard they can go rancid. So buy yourself some fresh trail mix and enjoy the Labor Day Weekend (If you are in the U.S.) while eating it, even if you do so in front of the TV, on the golf course, or around a fire pit.

08/31/2016 0

Sue Spitulnik

Writing, Sewing, Travel, and Thoughts

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