I AM NOT DIANA NYAD

WRITING TIP

When last we met, I was organizing years of accumulation of boxes of photographs. The closet where most of the photos were stored, looked like this.

 

and this.



My office looked like this.

 

And this.

 

And this.

 

 

When I had the closet emptied and everything piled around my work table in the office, my closet looked like this.

 

 

 

This is where I am no Diana Nyad, the 64-year-old swimmer who, on Monday, September 2, 2013, completed a swim of 112 miles from Cuba to the Florida, accomplishing a 35-year goal.

 

My goal was considerably smaller, and it didn't take as long to accomplish, but there is a similarity. Both activities called for steady persistence.

 

I stuck with it, and after a few weeks my office looked like this. (I loved this look so much, I was tempted to just leave the table up instead of returning it to the basement.)

 

 

 

And my closet looked like this.

 

The albums on the left I gathered from their hiding places in the basement and family room. They were already filled with old photos of ancestors, our early married years, and our daughter's baby pictures. They are arranged in chronological order beginning on the left. The boxes are titled with subjects such as Vacations, Holidays, Birthdays, Friends.

 

As I was working on this, I related my experience to a group at lunch. Okay, I didn't "relate" it, I bragged about getting organized. One of the group trumped my organization with her organization. She "related" to me that she had put all her pictures into Heritage Albums and created an album for each of her children. And written an accompanying genealogy. That is fabulous and her children are lucky, but I know that isn't the plan for me.

 

I am satisfied with my imperfect job. If you have read my "Write Your Life Story in Eight Weeks Workbook" or attended one of my classes, you know my motto is "Good Enough is Good Enough."

 

I plan to label each album on the spine with the years it covers, and in that stack of boxes, there is a small box of slides that need to be viewed, printed and filed, or tossed. Whether or not, I get that done, it is still good enough.

 

The Writing Tip? In our writing, we can all be little Diana Nyad's. Keep working on your memoir. Keep adding to your life story. Keep writing your novel or poetry. Keep at it and you will experience success.

 

Next time, I'll tell you what other wonderful things I learned while doing this project.

 

LAUNCHING PAD

 

I once sat at a table where . . .

 

Because I love the image of that empty table, I am thinking about tables: empty tables, full tables, tables of food and friends, or stacks of mail and bills.

 

I once sat at a table where my grandpa, wearing clean overalls for supper, dipped the end of his celery stick into a little mound of salt he had poured onto his plate. Next to the mound of salt, was a small puddle of molasses into which he dunked his bread. I tried to sneak a reach across the oil-cloth covered table tor the condiments so I could create a plate like his, but my mother stopped me with a frown and shake of head. Now, why wouldn't she let me eat like Grandpa?

 

Write about a table where you sat. Or write about a series of tables. Maybe you were a waitress or waiter. Maybe you had six children to control around a table. When you were a child maybe you got under the table when it thundered.

 

Start your own Diana Nyad-type project. Write about your life. It's easy and fun when you use the Write Your Life Story in Eight Weeks Workbook. You can order the workbook at www.angelinyourinkwell.com/buy.html

 

 CHOCOLATE INKWELL

Brownie Candy Corn - It isn't even October yet, but I have been looking at Halloween recipes. Isn't this one cute? Looks like giant candy corn, but it is actually brownies. Or, the recipe says it can be made with Rice Krispy treats. The recipe? Well, I didn't include it here because it contained one of the words that causes me to skip over a recipe -- fondant. However, the result is so cute, I thought it was worth including. I'll bet you can figure out how to make it without using fondant. Or -- hey, maybe fondant isn't scary to you. The recipe includes directions for making marshmallow fondant. And, you already know how to make brownies or Rice Krispy treats.

http://candy.about.com/od/halloweencandyrecipes/r/candycorncakes.htm

 

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