SOL 14/31 & Poetry Friday: A Classic Read in One Afternoon

A shadorma* captures a chance encounter with daughter-in- law's aunt. I'm invited to her book club meeting that evening. I resort to a hack from college so I can finish the book.

Storytime

with two granddaughters

Grandmas chat

Planned nap lost

An unread classic beckons

I read standing up

 

*A shadorma is a six line stanza with syllables in this order 3/5/3/3/7/5. A Shadorma may contain more than one stanza with the same syllable count.  

I was inspired by Juliette's post who was inspired by Beth's post. 

FYI: Poetry is not always a faster write.

Curious about my unread classic? It was The Great Gatsby!

 

This is my fourteenth year participating in the March Slice of Life Challenge, writing every day during the month of March. Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for creating this challenge and providing the space and support for us year after year. And thanks to this magnificent community for sharing stories with me and encouraging my writing life.  

 

Janice Scully at Salt City Verse is hosting Poetry Friday this week.

SOL 13/31: Born to Gather!

We were just inside the restaurant waiting for our table when we found ourselves spontaneously breaking into song:

"Those were the days, my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live the life we choose
We'd fight and never lose
For we were young and sure to have our way"

We had a marvelous time together remembering our shared years of young motherhood and updating each other on more recent happenings. Two of our group are still in WA, one lives in UT, and I'm in NC. When I realized that one of the WA contingent would be in UT while I was there, we decided that called for a celebratory meal with our UT friend. And then I chatted with a fourth friend who was in UT helping her brother after a recent surgery. And that's how our foursome found ourselves at Beaumont Bakery & Cafe (highly recommended), enjoying an extended lunch together with takeaway pastries for later in the day.

And while we were enjoying our delicious meal and lively conversation, we spontaneously burst into song once again: 

"Slow down, you move too fast
You got to make the morning last
Just kicking down the cobblestones
Looking for fun and feeling groovy
Ba da-da da-da da-da, feeling groovy"

 

Our server took this picture for us.

 

As we stepped outside the restaurant, I requested one more picture of the group so we could have those gorgeous Utah mountains in the background. 

After multiple hugs, we reluctantly parted ways. One of our group starting her drive back to the Seattle area, one off to do errands before returning to Park City, one returning to check on her recovering brother, and me? I was off for a rejuvenating nap before hosting the grands for a bit of play before dinner!

I woke up contemplating this post, and humming a third song for our gathering: 

"Girls Just Want to Have Fun."

SOL 12/31: Friendship Fills Me!

RootsTech conference buddies, 

three shared Seattle years

two plus decades ago.

Every conference break

is filled with stories!

Jolene journeys from Idaho

we shop and walk and talk 

remembering four Houston years in the 80s

as young mothers, visits back and forth

continue our treasured friendship.  

This is my fourteenth year participating in the March Slice of Life Challenge, writing every day during the month of March. Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for creating this challenge and providing the space and support for us year after year. And thanks to this magnificent community for sharing stories with me and encouraging my writing life.

SOL 11/31: Angst Over Books to Recommend

I stopped by The King's English Bookshop to redeem a gift card, to choose 3 books to submit for consideration at our annual book club retreat, and to peruse the children's section. After pulling numerous possible titles, I narrowed my possible submissions. 

Here are the ones that didn't make the cut:

Here are the three still in the running:

Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry

(I've wanted to read this for a long time.)

Still Life by Sarah Winman

(A tonic for wanderlust and a cure for loneliness ) 

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson 

(An absolute joy of a book, utterly captivating from the first page)

Here are two titles that I may still consider:

Table for Two by Amor Towles

(newly available in paperback)

Absolution by Alice McDermott

(recommended by a friend) 

I purchased two books:

Feel free to recommend a title(s) for our book club in your comment.

SOL 10/31: The Best Part of Monday

It's the Monday after Daylight Savings Time began and I'm trying to decide the best part of today.

Was it the leisurely shopping in a bookstore?

Or was it the visit to Skeechers?

How about the TJ Maxx stop before lunch?

Or was it the delicious Golden Curry soup and Nuts About Berries salad enjoyed at Cafe Zupas?

Maybe it was my friend's Chocolate Pistachio Toffee treat from Trader Joe's that she shared?

Perhaps it was our visit to Sierra Trading Post?

Or could it have been our final stop of the afternoon at the public library?

They were all parts of a lovely day, but the best part was. . . (drum roll please) . . . 

spending the day with Jolene, a dear friend from Idaho who came to visit me in Salt Lake! Our friendship dates back 38+ years to when they came to Houston for medical school. Our friendship has lasted all these years, even though they left Houston after four short years. We share a background as teachers. She was often my late afternoon angel who would show up at my back door after a busy day of teaching to hang out for a while, be an adult voice, and love my children. Their home became a lovely stop between Seattle and BYU when our young adults were in college. Our daughter loves to stop by and use Jolene's long arm quilting machine. The last time we saw each other was almost two years ago when they came to Seattle for their son's graduation from Diver's Technology Institute. The best thing about a friendship like ours is that it's easy to pick up again, even when months or years have passed since we were last together.

We have one more day of delight before she heads home. What a blessing her friendship is!

SOL 9/31: A RootsTech Reflection

Someone asked on an earlier post about how I found cousins at RootsTech. It's through an app on the Family Search site that looks for Relatives Near Me. You are then free to send them a note on the app to see if they would like to connect. I met this sixth cousin from Florida on Saturday. We share a common Duff ancestor.

I've looked through my notes from three days of classes at the RootsTech Conference in Salt Lake City and decided on some projects/goals for the upcoming year. The important next step is to prioritize these goals. I'll leave that for another day.

Takeaways and Projects from RootsTech 2025:

• Have a focused research goal - Great Grandma Rebecca Cruzon?
• Finish two in-process writing projects - Storyworth Book & Storied Book
• Add more photos to Family Search Memories
• Add ancestor stories to Memories on Family Search
  
• Visit the Family Search Library in Salt Lake City
•  Practice the skills from Dana Palmer's classes
• Schedule regular time for research at the Family Search Center 
• Utilize the newspapers.com site. (I have a six month subscription.) 
  

If you have an interest in genealogical research, many of the classes are or will be available soon at the RootsTech site.  

Slice of Life 8/31: Eight Lines for Day 8

Conference weary

Eyes are bleary.

Lost an hour

Feeling dour.

Clothes are tumbling

I am fumbling.

Word count falls

My bed calls. 

This is my fourteenth year to participate in the March Slice of Life Challenge, writing every day during the month of March. Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for creating this challenge and providing the space and support for us year after year. And thanks to this magnificent community for sharing stories with me and encouraging my writing life.