This post was originally written and posted in September 2019, but in so many ways it is still applicable. This has been such a challenging ten months for so many of us since the first wave of the Corona virus brought us COVID 19, and now we're bracing for the second wave. How do we stay positive and upbeat through all the ways it impacts our lives? It was easier, I think, to deal with the challenges and limitations back in the spring when we thought they were short term.  We were positive. We were strong. We girded our loins and covered our faces and said we would get through this. We had no idea the pandemic would drag on this long and certainly didn't envision celebrating winter holidays without the usual family gatherings. For many of us, Thanksgiving was a bust, and the Winter Solstice Holidays, Christmas for me, aren't shaping up much better.   So, what do we do? Like I said back in September 2019, we can laugh or we can cry. I'll do my best to follow the advice I...

Every November we at the Blood-Red Pencil pause to consider thankfulness and what, or who, we are most thankful for. I don't have any one single person to put at the top of my list, but there have been many writers who inspired me, mentored me, taught me, and supported me in my creative journey, and I am thankful for them all, especially my friends at here at the BRP. In addition, I have had great support from writers in the Nebraska Writers Workshop . There are too many to name individually, but I learned so much from them when I lived in Omaha. Courtesy of http://www.myquotesclub.com/ Before moving to Omaha, I was a founding member of the Greater Dallas Writers Association where I met many terrific writers including Laura Parker Castoro;  a friend for many years. We were also neighbors and close friends for all those years we lived in the same Dallas suburb, and I am happy to say that we still are good friends, even though more distance separates us now. Laura is the autho...

We are having fun here at BRP revisiting some older, popular posts. This one was originally published in March of 2009, about the time we decided it would be fun to have a little humor now and then. Did you know how beneficial it is to laugh or smile every day? That releases a whole lot of endorphins, so let some of yours go. ----- Years ago when I first started writing, my children were all young and the formidable task of "writing around them" was daunting. I remember one time in particular when one of my two-year-old twins, Danielle, known lovingly as Chicky, had just settled down beside me to help or hinder my writing. That depended totally on one's viewpoint. She contributed a few words of dialogue consisting mainly of a few well-placed “Mommys,” spiced with a few unintelligible words of praise or criticism. Also, dependent on POV. When she left the room, I breathed a sigh of relief and raced to get a few thoughts on paper before she came back....

Years ago I wrote a humorous column in the vein of Erma Bombeck, and recently I compiled many of the columns into a memoir. This is an excerpt from the book, A Dead Tomato Plant and a Paycheck , titled for the wonderful Mother's Day gift I received one year. Enjoy.... If anybody ever bothered to ask mothers of pre-schoolers what they would wish for if they could have anything in the whole world, I’m sure the unanimous answer would be, PRIVACY! The privacy to be able to close the bathroom door and know that it will stay closed until she opens it again. The privacy to be able to take a shower without the kids and any number of their friends coming in to see if they can have a snack. The privacy to sneak a piece of candy without having to swallow it whole because one of the kids just walked into the room. The privacy to be able to talk on the telephone without someone picking up the extension and yelling in her ear. Or without someone jumping up and down and waving his arms t...

We are having fun here at BRP revisiting some older, popular posts. This one was originally published in March of 2009, about the time we decided it would be fun to have a little humor now and then. ----- Years ago when I first started writing, my children were all young and the formidable task of "writing around them" was daunting. I remember one time in particular when one of my two-year-old twins, Danielle, known lovingly as Chicky, had just settled down beside me to help or hinder my writing. That depended totally on one's viewpoint. She contributed a few words of dialogue consisting mainly of a few well-placed “Mommys,” spiced with a few unintelligible words of praise or criticism. Also, dependent on POV. When she left the room, I breathed a sigh of relief and raced to get a few thoughts on paper before she came back. But alas, she’d gone into the kitchen to get the box of cereal I left on the counter and was off sharing it with her brother. Should I have ...