Good Morning,
I'm driving the Poet Laureate of Arkansas, Peggy Vining, to the Ozark Writers Conference this weekend in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. I'm going to take my camera with me and take pictures this year. I didn't enter any of the contests because I didn't think I was going. Now I wish I had. It will be good to see some of my writing buddies I haven't seen lately.
It's going to be an exciting conference. I'm looking forward to it. I haven't been to OWC in about five years. I love Northern Arkansas.
I'm also looking forward to the Maumelle conference in November.
I'll talk to you after I get back.
Carolyn
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Wanda (Faye Williams) Jones 1949-2010
The Arkansas writing community and I'm sure the writing communities in many other states are saddened right now because of the loss of a talented writer and a good friend, Wanda (Faye Williams) Jones.
I met her as Faye Williams Jones at a meeting of the Fiction Writers of Central Arkansas and didn't realize until quite recently that she had a pen name. She and I discussed the use of pen names by writers and how a writer's personality changes when using a pen name instead of one's real name.
Wanda as Faye Williams Jones wrote poetry. She was a student of Peggy Vining, the Poet Laureate of Arkansas. Wanda published a book of poetry about chemotherapy and cancer called Erasing People.
She courageously fought breast cancer for 11 years, even after it metastasized to her liver and then to her brain. She never gave up and continued to take radiation and chemotherapy treatments to give herself as many minutes of as many days as possible. She was recovering well from the treatments for a brain tumor and expected to be able to go home from the nursing home when she unexpectedly went into end stage. We lost her September 8, 2010. Fortunately, she went peacefully and without pain.
The nursing home she was in was close to where I live and I visited her once a week except for the week where my 20-year-old cat required 24-hour care while dying from kidney failure. I would go and visit Wanda and when the staff would come to collect her for her physical and occupational therapy, she'd insist I go with her. We did our best to talk while she did her therapy. She even dragged me down to the cafeteria one day for ice cream.
When I learned she was back in the hospital, I went to see her Labor Day. I only stayed for five minutes because I didn't want to disturb her as she was resting and heavily sedated. I told her "good morning" and she waved back at me with the most mischievous wave of her fingers. Those who knew her would understand how she could manage to insert a hint of mischief into the act of waving. I knew from that simple act that she knew it was me and she was glad to see me.
I went back the next day because I had a feeling I needed to say the things I wanted to say. When I told Wanda "good morning," she again waved at me, signifying she knew I was there, but the personality to the wave was gone. I told Bob, her husband, the things I wanted to say to her and asked him to be sure and tell her and I am sure he did when the time was right. I'm so glad I went back Tuesday because she passed the following day.
I have a feeling Wanda will be looking down on all of us who knew her from Heaven and inspiring us to greatness. She was one of those rare people that having a lifetime with her was not enough. I cherish the time I had with her.
I met her as Faye Williams Jones at a meeting of the Fiction Writers of Central Arkansas and didn't realize until quite recently that she had a pen name. She and I discussed the use of pen names by writers and how a writer's personality changes when using a pen name instead of one's real name.
Wanda as Faye Williams Jones wrote poetry. She was a student of Peggy Vining, the Poet Laureate of Arkansas. Wanda published a book of poetry about chemotherapy and cancer called Erasing People.
She courageously fought breast cancer for 11 years, even after it metastasized to her liver and then to her brain. She never gave up and continued to take radiation and chemotherapy treatments to give herself as many minutes of as many days as possible. She was recovering well from the treatments for a brain tumor and expected to be able to go home from the nursing home when she unexpectedly went into end stage. We lost her September 8, 2010. Fortunately, she went peacefully and without pain.
The nursing home she was in was close to where I live and I visited her once a week except for the week where my 20-year-old cat required 24-hour care while dying from kidney failure. I would go and visit Wanda and when the staff would come to collect her for her physical and occupational therapy, she'd insist I go with her. We did our best to talk while she did her therapy. She even dragged me down to the cafeteria one day for ice cream.
When I learned she was back in the hospital, I went to see her Labor Day. I only stayed for five minutes because I didn't want to disturb her as she was resting and heavily sedated. I told her "good morning" and she waved back at me with the most mischievous wave of her fingers. Those who knew her would understand how she could manage to insert a hint of mischief into the act of waving. I knew from that simple act that she knew it was me and she was glad to see me.
I went back the next day because I had a feeling I needed to say the things I wanted to say. When I told Wanda "good morning," she again waved at me, signifying she knew I was there, but the personality to the wave was gone. I told Bob, her husband, the things I wanted to say to her and asked him to be sure and tell her and I am sure he did when the time was right. I'm so glad I went back Tuesday because she passed the following day.
I have a feeling Wanda will be looking down on all of us who knew her from Heaven and inspiring us to greatness. She was one of those rare people that having a lifetime with her was not enough. I cherish the time I had with her.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
All Natural Ant Repellants
I'll be the first to say it. I hate ants! I waste more time trying to keep ants out of my house.
Why don't I have an exterminator spray the exterior of my house? Because my husband is seriously sensitive to chemicals and I have cats I dearly love. I don't want to expose either to chemicals.
I read on one Internet site about using cinnamon to keep ants away. The little pests were coming into the den from the gap between the heating/air vent in the floor and the hole in which it fit. I tried the cinnamon. It worked for a couple of days, but the air blew much of it away and it lost its potency within about a week.
So I read further. I read about using vinegar. I got out my bottle of white vinegar (which is clear), which was older than the Big Bang. I tried it and no more ants. Still no more ants two weeks later. I'm excited.
I'll keep you posted
Why don't I have an exterminator spray the exterior of my house? Because my husband is seriously sensitive to chemicals and I have cats I dearly love. I don't want to expose either to chemicals.
I read on one Internet site about using cinnamon to keep ants away. The little pests were coming into the den from the gap between the heating/air vent in the floor and the hole in which it fit. I tried the cinnamon. It worked for a couple of days, but the air blew much of it away and it lost its potency within about a week.
So I read further. I read about using vinegar. I got out my bottle of white vinegar (which is clear), which was older than the Big Bang. I tried it and no more ants. Still no more ants two weeks later. I'm excited.
I'll keep you posted
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
The Overton Window
I have just started to read The Overton Window by Glenn Beck. I read many of the comments on www.Amazon.com before buying the book to get an idea of what people thought of it.
Some of the comments were written even before the book was released, so I didn't put any stock in them.
Some comments were ridiculing Beck's writing. One person was discussing a poem which appears in the book, saying it was childish and simplistic and an example of Beck's poor writing. It was obvious the commenter had not read the book in detail because the poem was not written by Beck, but rather by Rudyard Kipling.
I will say it is well written and has kept my attention thus far.
Carolyn
Another hot one in Central Arkansas today
Some of the comments were written even before the book was released, so I didn't put any stock in them.
Some comments were ridiculing Beck's writing. One person was discussing a poem which appears in the book, saying it was childish and simplistic and an example of Beck's poor writing. It was obvious the commenter had not read the book in detail because the poem was not written by Beck, but rather by Rudyard Kipling.
I will say it is well written and has kept my attention thus far.
Carolyn
Another hot one in Central Arkansas today
Monday, March 22, 2010
Spring is Finally Here...I Think
The trees in central Arkansas are in bloom. Everything is beautiful. But Northwest Arkansas got a foot of snow and Dallas got some as well.
Weird weather.
Carolyn
Weird weather.
Carolyn
Friday, September 4, 2009
AT&T U-Verse in Central Arkansas--Don't Convert Your Phone Line
Our Comcast reception had gotten so bad we were forced to look for other options. We had numerous service calls to our house with cable after cable replaced. During the last service call, the tech told us that one of the main lines needed to be replaced. Obviously, Comcast doesn't care enough about its customers to do so.
We assessed our various options and finally chose AT& T U-Verse. It was a no-brainer because we already had AT&T phone service and AT&T DSL service. We just had to wait until the fiber optic TV service was available.
After several days of service, we have found our Internet speed is much faster and we have many more choices of channels for the same money we were paying Comcast. However, we have learned one thing the hard way--don't convert your phone service from landline to fiber optic.
Here's Why:
5. White noise is constantly present on the phone line.
4. It's difficult to hear what's being said during conference calls because the quality of the reception isn't as good.
3. You can't fax with VoIP under AT&T.
2. If you're someone who doesn't like call waiting, you don't have the option like you do under landline to not have it. It's automatic.
and the most important reason of all:
1. 911 SERVICES CANNOT FIND YOU IF YOU HAVE AT&T U-VERSE PHONE SERVICE. THOSE FEW SECONDS WHERE YOUR LOCATION IS AUTOMATICALLY IDENTIFIED MIGHT SAVE YOUR LIFE.
Have a safe and happy Labor Day weekend. I'm going to a writers' conference.
Carolyn
We assessed our various options and finally chose AT& T U-Verse. It was a no-brainer because we already had AT&T phone service and AT&T DSL service. We just had to wait until the fiber optic TV service was available.
After several days of service, we have found our Internet speed is much faster and we have many more choices of channels for the same money we were paying Comcast. However, we have learned one thing the hard way--don't convert your phone service from landline to fiber optic.
Here's Why:
5. White noise is constantly present on the phone line.
4. It's difficult to hear what's being said during conference calls because the quality of the reception isn't as good.
3. You can't fax with VoIP under AT&T.
2. If you're someone who doesn't like call waiting, you don't have the option like you do under landline to not have it. It's automatic.
and the most important reason of all:
1. 911 SERVICES CANNOT FIND YOU IF YOU HAVE AT&T U-VERSE PHONE SERVICE. THOSE FEW SECONDS WHERE YOUR LOCATION IS AUTOMATICALLY IDENTIFIED MIGHT SAVE YOUR LIFE.
Have a safe and happy Labor Day weekend. I'm going to a writers' conference.
Carolyn
Thursday, June 25, 2009
The Mandolin
I have taken up playing the mandolin.
Most of you are only familiar with the mandolin from the movie "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" with Nicholas Cage in which Cage plays an Italian officer in World War II sent to a Greek island unaffected by the war. IMDB (Internet Movie DataBase) .
The mandolin is a member of the lute family and originated in Europe in the 1600s. It is descended from the mandola. Here's what Wikipedia has to say about the mandolin: Wikipedia Mandolin.
Mandolin players worldwide talk with each other on the forum at The Mandolin Cafe. Here is the link: Mandolin Cafe. There is also a classifieds section for people wanting to buy or sell mandolin and mandolin-related items.
Three names are usually mentioned when it comes to the question "Who is the best mandolin player (and not necessarily in this order)?" Those names are Mike Marshall, Chris Thile, and Radim Zenkl. There are more, but I will discuss them in a future post as well as the up and coming female mandolin players.
Mandolin can be played in classical music, rock, jazz, bluegrass, and Celtic music as well as other types of music. More on bluegrass and Celtic in a future post as well.
I'm really enjoying learning. I've "met" people from all over the world.
Change your strings often!
Carolyn
Most of you are only familiar with the mandolin from the movie "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" with Nicholas Cage in which Cage plays an Italian officer in World War II sent to a Greek island unaffected by the war. IMDB (Internet Movie DataBase) .
The mandolin is a member of the lute family and originated in Europe in the 1600s. It is descended from the mandola. Here's what Wikipedia has to say about the mandolin: Wikipedia Mandolin.
Mandolin players worldwide talk with each other on the forum at The Mandolin Cafe. Here is the link: Mandolin Cafe. There is also a classifieds section for people wanting to buy or sell mandolin and mandolin-related items.
Three names are usually mentioned when it comes to the question "Who is the best mandolin player (and not necessarily in this order)?" Those names are Mike Marshall, Chris Thile, and Radim Zenkl. There are more, but I will discuss them in a future post as well as the up and coming female mandolin players.
Mandolin can be played in classical music, rock, jazz, bluegrass, and Celtic music as well as other types of music. More on bluegrass and Celtic in a future post as well.
I'm really enjoying learning. I've "met" people from all over the world.
Change your strings often!
Carolyn
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