Creativity, Crafts, Books, Movies, Greyhounds & Favorite Things

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I spent Thursday through Saturday (July 28-30) having a blast!  I went to the Midwest Writers Workshop at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.  Here are some of the things I did:

Spent time with a dear friend.  Susan and I met in the Army Reserve when our children were little.

Read out loud to the group.  It was called the “Message in a Bottle” Reading Event.  Here’s how it worked: Before the event, you put a ticket with your name in the bottle.  During the event, a ticket was drawn from the bottle and that person went up to the microphone and read from their work for five minutes.  I was impressed with everyone’s work.  I planned to read an expanded version of my “It’s Good To Know How You Rate,” post.  I was feeling like this didn’t measure up to the quality of work that was being presented and was relieved when the event was ending.  Here’s what happened:

The emcee said, “This will be the last ticket of the night.”

Drawing a ticket, “Tyler.  Tyler?  I guess Tyler isn’t here.”

Drawing a new ticket, “Lori Lohmeyer.”

DRAAAATS!  I lived through it, and Susan was tickled that I didn’t get off the hook.

Pitched my book idea to an agent.  Roseanne Wells of the Marianne Strong Literary Agency graciously listened to me stumble through my presentation.  Thank you, Roseanne, for your generous and helpful spirit.

Met Patti Digh!  It was through her blog, 37days, that I found the Midwest Writers Workshop.

I attended great sessions, met wonderful people and entered every contest.  It was fun, exciting, interesting and has given me a lot to think over and dream about.  Next year’s workshop is July 26-28, 2012.  Hope to see you there!

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Ten strangers are lured to an island by a mysterious host.  Once there, they are accused by their unseen host of murder, and one-by-one die, each in accordance with the Ten Little Indian Boys nursery rhyme.  This wonderfully dark and clever mystery (along with Nancy Drew), made me a fan of the mystery/suspense genre.

Ten Little Indians

Ten little Indian boys went out to dine;

One choked his little self and then there were nine.

Nine little Indian boys sat up very late;

One overslept himself and then there were eight.

Eight little Indian boys traveling in Devon;

One said he’d stay there and then there were seven.

Seven little Indian boys chopping up sticks;

One chopped himself in halves and then there were six.

Six little Indian boys playing with a hive;

A bumblebee stung one and then there were five.

Five little Indian boys going in for law;

One got in Chancery and then there were four.

Four little Indian boys going out to sea;

A red herring swallowed one and then there were three.

Three little Indian boys walking in the Zoo;

A big bear hugged one and then there were two.

Two little Indian boys sitting in the sun;

One got frizzled up and then there was one.

One little Indian boy left all alone;

He went and hanged himself and then there were none.

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I love both the book and this version of the film.  The Great Gatsby is a beautiful, diaphanous film that visually captures in images what the book captured with language.  Like the book, it shows a golden, excessive age and the shallowness that lurks below the glittery surface.  The actors are well-suited to their roles and portray their characters flawlessly.  You’ll take a step back to the Roaring 20’s when you watch this film.

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Inspiration:

blah to TADA! – Odds and Ends

Supplies:

Store box

Buttons

Glue

1.  Play with the buttons until you get the design you want.  If you have a digital camera, I find it helpful to take a picture of the design to use as a reference.  Glue the buttons over the logo.

2.  That’s it!  You now have a box that is so cute, the recipient may like the box better than your gift.

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My husband and I recently noticed that we still have a little too much self-esteem, so we decided to add another Greyhound to our family to finish the process of completely breaking us.  Welcome, Nikki!

Nikki (Nikita Silver) is our new four-year-old girl.  She was fostered by our friends, who also fostered Casper (do you see a trend here?).  Over the last several months, we fell in love with Nikki and couldn’t bear to think of her going to any other family than ours.

Nikki came to us on Saturday and things are going well.  Freedom and Casper are being very gentle and good with their new sister.  She’s still figuring out our routines, but she follows Freedom and Casper’s lead and has been playing with toys and even “roaching.”  She is a little shy but loves lovin’.

Welcome, Nikki…you’re home.

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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

The month of August will be “4 Faves – Friends Version.”  What are your favorite things?  Tell me about them during the month of July and one (or more) of your picks may be chosen as a “favorite” in August.  You can let me know what you like in one of three ways…post a comment, email me (whatremainsnow@gmail.com), or let me know on the What Remains Now Facebook page (either by commenting or writing on my wall).  Tell me what the item is and why you like it.  Want to see what 4 Faves – Friends Version looks like?  Check out this post from May.

Bath & Body Works® Liquid Soap

This is a favorite because it comes in three formulas (Foaming, Deep Cleansing or Moisturizing) and more scents than you can shake a stick at.

History Detectives

This is one of my favorite shows on PBS.  Each hour-long episode of History Detectives looks at three investigations of the history behind an object from someone’s home or town.  You get to follow the “history detective’s” journey and process, discover what the object means historically, and learn how that history played a part in shaping America.  Fascinating!

CorningWare®

Beautiful, functional (oven, microwave, refrigerator, freezer) and easy to clean.  It’s a kitchen staple, especially for those of us that don’t care to be in the kitchen.  The 9″ baker in the picture is from the new etch™ line.

The Speedy Plate

The Speedy Plate cleans silver, gold and precious stones simply by dipping an item in the hot water solution and touching the metal plate.  Here’s what you do:  Gather the pieces to be cleaned, lay the metal plate flat in the glass or plastic container, add 1 quart of hot water along with 1 Tablespoon of the activator, and you’re ready to get cleaning.  You can duplicate this process with aluminum foil and washing soda, but I like this neat little set.

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Lori, Now

What a wonderful book!  I just finished reading and working through Patti Digh’s book, Creative Is a Verb.  The final part closes out the theme of the book…our life as creative expression and art.

Patti presents two ideas that are really making me think.  The first is, “Life is yearning meeting obstacle.”  What do I truly yearn for?  How does that yearning manifest itself in my life, my work, my actions, my attitude?  We’re familar with setting goals, doing what we’re taught is right, fulfilling obligations; but how often do we truly contemplate what we yearn for our lives to reflect and represent?  If we don’t identify that yearning, do we miss the whole point of our lives?  Is that particular yearning the reason why we’re here and why we’ve been given the specific gifts that God endowed us with?  How would we overcome obstacles better or differently if we knew what we were yearning for?  “…when we live our story we also need to make sure that something is at stake, something with inner magnitude.”

The second idea that intrigued me was “Uncover Your Own Pentimento.”  A pentimento is “an underlying image in a painting, as an earlier painting, part of a painting or original draft that is revealed usually when the top layer of paint becomes transparent with age.”  When all becomes transparent in my life, what will be evident?  As I add new layers to my life, are they wise and do they support the beauty and relevance of the total picture?

What a lovely, thought-provoking ending…or beginning.

What’s next?…the exploring continues.  I want to do an e-course.  Here are the two I’m considering:

make art a part (of your life)

Emerge

What do you think?  Which one should I take?

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This month’s update on my creative space is brief…The closet hardware is purchased but not installed, and I am in the final stages of organizing my arts and craft supplies gathered from all around the house.  Next month’s update will be fun!

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I did not know the history of King Leopold II of Belgium and the Belgian Congo until I read this book.  This is history that will shock you, not only because of the scope and tragedy of it, but also because you may never have learned anything about it.  It is a fascinating look at Colonial Africa; monarchy at the height of its excess and before its almost total collapse; and the individuals (heroes, villains and victims) that populated the landscape.

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Set during the Vietnam War, Apocalypse Now is the story from Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.  Like Heart of Darkness, location is not the important aspect, it is the idea of the descend into the heart of darkness.  That said, Apocalypse Now is a masterwork of film and worthy to stand on its own with or without the viewer’s familiarity with the novel.