One Writer's Beginnings...

I've been reading two books about authors: "One Writer's Beginnings" by Eudora Welty and Agatha Christie's autobiography. I've come to the conclusion that it's kind of confusing trying to keep their stories straight in my head, so I've put Agatha aside temporarily while I finish Eudora's book!

The Eudora Welty book is one I found for 50 cents at the library book sale and what a great find it was! It's LARGE PRINT, which is such a blessing "these days". It's fun to get an inside look at what makes anyone tick, but right now I'm particularly interested in writer's lives. This is a pretty quick read, so I hope to finish it tonight or in the morning, then I can continue with the saga of Agatha Christie.

After the two bios I plan to read some actual books on writing which, every writer knows, is just an excuse to postpone doing any actual writing myself. I bought several writing books at the above mentioned library sale (also the Christie bio). So I look forward to some good reading.

It's dark outside and I can see the occasional headlights of snowmobiles driving by on the trail adjacent to our pasture. The Olympics are on TV, hubby is napping, and I'm off to my favorite reading chair!

Shalom.

Jingle trucks...

I saw these on the news this morning and thought they were so beautiful! These are very old trucks which are "pimped" by their owners. The article below tells the story better than I could.




JINGLE TRUCKS
Name: CAPT Doug Traversa
Posting date: 11/27/06
Stationed in: Kabul, Afghanistan
Hometown: Tullahoma, TN
Milblog url: http://traversa.typepad.com
Email: traversa@gimail.af.mail

One of the first things that struck me about Afghanistan, besides the stunning levels of poverty I saw everywhere, were the gloriously colorful trucks I saw everywhere. The style of the art reminded me of India, and they had many chains with pendants hanging from the bumpers. I would soon learn that these were called "jingle trucks". I did not immediately learn why, but I spent many days trying to get good photos of them. We are never allowed out of our vehicles unless we are on a base, and jingle trucks never seem to come on base, photos must be taken from inside our moving vehicle. Despite these difficulties, I managed to get some clear pictures.

The most striking thing about the artwork is that it depicts beautiful landscapes, usually with woods, grass, lakes, rivers, and many exotic animals. There are often beautiful cottages or new, modern buildings. All of this is done in bright colors; no pastels here. The poignancy is that the artwork depicts everything these people will probably never experience. The area of Afghanistan I've seen is uniformly brown and trees are rare, and grass almost non-existent. The only animals I ever see are endless flocks of sheep and mangy dogs. Jingle trucks are the only bright color in an otherwise drab landscape, expressing the hopes of all for a land of beauty they can only dream of.

I finally had a chance to learn the secret of why they are called "jingle trucks" when one came onto the Afghan Army base where I work. It was parked, but there was a good breeze blowing, and I heard wind chimes. It was the chains and pendants hanging from the front bumper. This had to be the answer; surely the jingle referred to the music from the pendants! But I had to nail it down, so I took my interpreter Hamid with me to find the driver, and asked him why they hung all the pendants from the bumper. Was it for the music, or for decoration? He shrugged and said, "Who knows? Both, probably." So much for an authoritative answer. Of course, it's not really important. I just appreciate seeing them. I never tire of looking at them as we head to work or back home. They are my favorite works of art, living testaments to the hopes of a people beaten down for over 25 years. And to think, they pay me to be here!

High school recital music!

I was just going through old high school mementos and found the sheet music for two arias I sang for competitions in high school. Just for old times I'm saving a couple of videos of them. I didn't sing them this well, but just wanted to remember them!


This guy is pretty awesome! If you want to hear more by him look for him under Acapella John on You Tube.

Awesome song!

THE 250 WORDS A DAY CHALLENGE!

I've been wandering around cyber-land again and came across the 500 Words a Day Challenge. Fortunately, there is also a 250 Words a Day Challenge, because I'm not sure 500 is do-able for me right now. (Of course, if you're really serious you can go for the 1,000 Words a Day Challenge...)

Anyway, it's good to have a goal when it comes to writing or just about anything, so I'm taking the dare.

The "Words a Day" can include blogging or any kind of writing you want to count. I've been scribbling notes for a YA novel for a few months and this may be a good excuse to get a little more organized and disciplined about that.

Like to write? Click on the button in my right-hand column and join the challenge!

(That was only 140 words?!?!)

Book giveaway!

Michelle at the Beautiful Chaos blog is giving away a copy of her YA novel by the name of Eldala. Just go to her blog and leave a comment to enter the drawing!

Another great library book sale!

Well, this time I only had 1.5 hours before work in which to scour the boxes and shelves of books for sale at the library, but I managed to find some treasures!
I spent a grand total of $6! =0)



I'm a Beatrix Potter fan, so I was happy to add this little volume of "Tale of the Pie and the Patty Pan" to my collection. I also have a small collection of Chaim Potok books which I love! "Bleak House" is a book I've wanted to read and "Show, Don't Tell" looks like an interesting book on writing.






I couldn't pass up "Holiday Time" by Maj Lindman. I haven't seen this book before, but I read her Flicka, Ricka and Dicka/Snipp, Snapp and Snurr books to my kiddos when they were small. I love her illustrations. "Johnny Crow's Garden" has wonderful pen and ink illustrations, so I just had to give it a home.



Many people have recommended "The Brothers Karamazov", so I now have a copy for "someday". "Walden" is another I've never read, but am curious about. "Writing Without a Teacher" is one of several good books on writing that I found. I already have "Green Dolphin Street", but felt sorry for this little copy! Anyone want it? I thought I had read all of Miss Read's books, but maybe not this one! "Eden's Gate" is a Christian novel that looked interesting. "Twenty Letters to a Friend" has to do with Russia and just looked like something I might find fascinating. The "Basic Horsemanship" was for either my daughter or hubby since they are both horse people.



"A Window Over the Sink" looked like a fun read and "Christian Caregiving" should be full of good information on a subject I've wanted to learn more about. "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" is another book I've heard many mention as a favorite. Then four more writing books! Jackpot!