A friend was showing off his coffee mug on Facebook, so I had to take a picture of mine.
The mug itself says –
RISK more than others think is safe
CARE more than others think is wise
DREAM more than others think is practical
EXPECT more than others think is possible.
It also has the benefit of being a rather large mug … because a mere 8 ounces is for whimps.
One of the sad things about this year for me, at least in terms of being able to follow through on my own personal Christmas traditions, is that I haven’t been able to print my own cards, or mail them out to my rather massive card list. It’s one of the things I love doing, since it is the one time of the year that I actually contact some of my old friends. I do it for myself, mostly, because I like letting people know that I still think of them.
So, this year, my mailing list has been cut way back. A dear friend bought me a box of cards and even included postage for them. I will use them (since I haven’t gotten them out yet, oops) to send to people that I don’t have email contact for. I’ll have to send out a lot of email greetings, which for me is a sad but acceptible substitute for a physical object.
That said, I still did a card design for 2011. I’d been thinking about this one for some time, wanting to toy with some ideas. So I figured I would go ahead and do it. This is, actually, the first design I have done entirely on the computer. It’s been a fun stretching of my skills.
And so, without further ado, the 2011 Christmas card design from yours truly –
With love to all of my friends, new and long-time, may God bless you this Christmas.
So, on December 8, CAPS gathered on its regular meeting day. But instead of meeting at our usual digs, we headed up the Montrose Bowling lanes. It’s a fun, amiable place, and it can be booked for private parties. In fact, as I arrived, one couple strolled in the door, missing the “Private Party” sign on the front door. They came back out as I was going in.
Inside in the warmth (it was chilly out!), some of the Usual Suspects were already arrived and sending bowling balls down the lanes. Age seemed to be no obstacle.
Nat was busy instructing his son in this entertaining activity.
I ended up not taking any pictures of the feast that was spread for us, perhaps because I was really hungry myself. Plenty of salad and rolls, delicioius grilled chicken breasts, beef brisket (yum!), plenty of mashed potatoes, fresh cooked veggies, and a really nice selection of desserts. Nobody walked away unfed (unless it was by choice).
Some folks continued bowling while others dined, but eventually we all paused for the small amount of ceremony in the festivities.
First off, Bill led us in a toast to the legendary Jerry Robinson. News of Robinson’s death had been circulating all day.
Then Pat stated drawing out numbers for those of us who brought items for the gift exchange. First one up just happened to be Bob.
Simpsons glasses! Yay. What followed was quite a variety of comics and cartoon (and animation) related objects.
This one was a bit puzzling, though –
(Hey! I’m a writer! Of course I’m going to go for the pun!)
Then there was this really Mickey Mouse present –
Some of the gifts were mere Peanuts. Chocolate, but still Peanuts.
The gift exchange was a nightmare for Steve, though. Well… a “Nightmare Before Christmas” (it was the one I brought).
Meanwhile, Jim was feeling neglected because his number still hadn’t come up. This is what happens to him when he’s let out to parties without his bride.
Brad got all wrapped up in Toy Story –
Sergio met up with Popeye.
Finally, Jim’s number came up. It turned out super for him — a really large Superman mug.
Someone contributed original artwork to the exchange, which got duly checked out.
These pictures only represent part of the gathering, of course. Not all of the pictures turned out well (figures in motion, blurry). And then I also ran down the battery (I really have to remember to fully charge the battery before events!).
It really was a fun evening. Nobody was taking the bowling too seriously. I even gave it a bit of a try as the evening wore down. Busted my thumbnail on my first bowl in years and years, but it didn’t draw blood, so it was okay. The fun of being around good friends outweighed it.
I am creating an Advent Devotional for myself. I am posting them daily on my Blogger account. Anyone who is interested can read the posts on http://scribblerworks.blogspot.com
I hope others find the posts of interest. It’s my way of celebrating Christmas this year.
I wrote THIS POEM when I heard about a tragic experience an acquaintence was going through. The story is not mine to tell, so I won’t go into the details here. But I will say that I was very moved by what she had to endure.
I think too often these days, we try to push people past their grieving periods. Because we care, our empathy puts us in the midst of their pain. But we’re not well trained in how to handle that, so we just want to get it over with as quickly as possible. But for the person suffering the loss, the grief, the comfort and healing does not come quickly.
My friend Jennifer Oliver O’Connell had invited me to join her and her husband for Thanksgiving, along with a couple of their other friends, Amy and Joyce. Jennifer is one of those people who loves to cook, so her holiday feasts are certain to be delicious. And the company is always good too.
As I prepared to go over there, it occured to me that it would be amusing to take the Creature along for the evening. He invariably adds a “Certain Something” to pictures, and so I figured posing him with the food could be fun.
Somehow the camera focused on the turkey more than on the Creature. I suppose that was a reflection of my own state. I’d eaten rather lightly on Wednesday, and by the time I’d arrived at the O’Connell’s place, the only thing I’d eaten was a buttered Kaiser roll. Jen’s turkey was delicious.
Here, the Creature checks out the dressing. Which he approved. Jen did a terrific job with it. But what appealed to me more was her yams – they were really good. She also had some baked mac and cheese at hand as well. I rounded out the non-meat offerings with a greens and tomato salad, with poppy seed dressing.
But there was also ham.
Jen garnished the ham with chopped pineapple, which definitely made the ham very tasty. It was so tasty, in fact, that we nibbled on it while waiting for the rest of the feast dishes to finish their close encounters with the oven.
It was a pleasant evening of light conversation – telling stories about our families, discussing odd things that we’ve seen show up on Facebook. We watched the Charlie Brown specials on ABC, checked out Person of Interest (since Jennifer likes the show) and then wound down our evening.
The blessing was to be in such comfortable company.
I’ve been a little bit out of practice composing new poems. The pieces I’ve been posting on the website have been older works. But THIS POEM was written today.
It’s a challenge to walk in faith, trusting what I believe to be true of God. But I have come to this day with a renewed sense of thanksgiving and trust in the Lord.
Hollywood Presbyterian Church has a service Thanksgiving morning, and this has become a special thing for me. As I enjoyed the service this morning, I thought about many things: about the trying times I’ve been going through lately, about all my friends who are also facing difficult things. I thought about those friends who don’t believe in God (for whatever reason) – I suppose they consider my declarations of faith in God to be an unfortunate delusion. But from my side of the fence, I can only shake my head. All my life I have had a sense of the presence of God, so I quite literally cannot imagine what that must be like. I have disagreed with God, resented and tried withdrawing from God, but I have never been without a sense that He was always there, waiting.
So, whether my readers believe or not, I wish them a wonderful day of Thanksgiving, and hope they have many things to celebrate this day.
Yesterday, the GLAWS Special Speaker Event was a panel of literary agents talking about their side of the business, what they look for, how they go about placing books with publishers. The discussion included the changes that e-publishing and the print-on-demand self-publishing options are bringing to the book business. The Ray Bradbury Room at the Palms-Rancho Park Library was packed to the gills with avid writers. The agents gave a lot of information to the attendees.
Afterward, GLAWS hosted dinner at Maria’s Italian Kitchen for some of the agents, and made the opportunity for members to talk on a more one-on-one basis with them. I really enjoyed the time, and even got to pitch one of my own projects. It was gratifying when the agent said he’d be interested in seeing that manuscript when I finish it. Motivation! Definitely time to get the nose back to the grindstone.
When other things in life are such big question-marks, it was nice to have something happen that had a touch of “ego-boost” to it.
I just uploaded a new poem to my Gallery. You can find it here.
I wrote this poem when I was still an undergraduate. A campus ministry hosted a retreat for college students one autumn weekend, and I took part. The retreat was at a Methodist Assembly campground that my church used for its retreats, so it was a generally familiar place. On the Friday night of the retreat, there was a gathering at a campfire near the small lake on the grounds. I’d left the cabin with a few other young women, but once we were off the path, crossing the uneven ground heading toward the campfire in the near distance, we realized that none of us had brought a flashlight.
I looked at the long yardage between myself and the campfire and thought of all the possibilities for stumbling that hid in the darkness — tree roots, rocks, uneven ground, holes. But then it crossed my mind to just say, “I’ll trust the Lord to watch out for my feet.” I also thought of the Apostle Peter when he saw Jesus walking on the water coming toward the boat. When Peter got out of the boat, he too could walk on water those first steps – as long as he kept his eyes on the Lord. It was when he looked away that he fell into the water.
So I stepped into the darkness, and kept my eyes on the campfire ahead of me. And there was not a single stumble for me.
This isn’t one of my most sophisticated poems, but after having gone through a stressful period recently, I’m pleased to be reminded of that evening and the adventure of stepping out, trusting my feet to God’s care .
(Check out the Gallery Index for other poems.)
This has been a week for social activity, that’s for sure.
Today, Premise celebrated its Thanksgiving fellowship. Rather than our usual evening of intensive prayer in our small groups, we gathered together for a sit-down Thanksgiving dinner and a large group time of worship and prayer.
We do like to talk with each other a lot.
The above group are waiting for the last dishes to be heated up. I believe it was the mashed potatoes that we were waiting on. When they were brought out, and the pans with the cut turkey, and all the other sides that were brought in (pot luck), we could all dig in. The turkey was wonderfully juicy and delicious.
That’s Nathan Scoggins with the guitar at the far end of the room. Our current fearless leader played host and master of ceremonies for the afternoon (we gathered at 3 and broke up in the early evening). He’s been doing a terrific job leading the fellowship the last few years, fostering excellent teamwork all around. His wife, Kate, did a lot of the coordinating for the day’s festivites – for which we gave her special thanks.
There was a bit more time over dinner for simple conversation, something at which Premise members excell!
The table decorations were simple but satisfying, visually, a nice autumnal display. Dried split peas were added for a dash of color (well, of course they were dried – I can’t imagine decorating with wet split peas!). And because I was relaxed and enjoying the occasion, I felt like being a bit silly briefly. I was curious if I could hold my hand still enough to balance a split pea on each of my fingernails — ta da!
Yeah, “amazing” achievement, isn’t it?
In all seriousness, it’s a wonderful thing to be in the midst of such a warm company. The joy of our time of fellowship creates a special atmosphere for those who are striving to stay constant in their faith while dealing with the stresses and strains of working in the entertainment business. The original definition for Premise had been for writers, directors and producers (with a few agents and lawyers added to the mix), where the members meet together and pray for each other. That’s the biggest activity we have: an hour and a half or two hours of intensive prayer for each other. In this last year, we’ve fostered the start of a second group for actors, following the same model. And those who are participating in the Premise Actors’ group also joined in this Thanksgiving celebration.
There’s also something special about being in a room with 60 or so people all raising their voices in harmony singing praise songs. It is indeed a “sweet, sweet sound” – in our ears, at least, and hopefully in the Lord’s.
The last of the desserts were inhaled by the dining scavengers as we wrapped up. I like to think of this as an excellent beginning to the Thanksgiving season. (Because Christmas for me does not begin until Advent.)
