I have been a journalist for many years, beginning my published career around 1990. Though I haven't written articles for publication the last year-and-one-half, journalism still runs in my blood and my thoughts. In the early 1990s, I wrote columns for the Winsted Journal, which I enjoyed tremendously. That was before blogging became a part of our culture. The following column is one I wrote in February of 1995 during a tough time in my life. There were struggles in my marriage, and I was about to sell my hobby farm. It is a column of gratitude and acknowledgement of the blessings in my life. Daring to dream Do you remember what you wanted as a kid? I mean really wanted? The hopes and dreams that filled your heart and mind? Sometimes we have a tendency to get so wrapped up in our world that we forget what we really wanted. "This bill has to be paid, or this project needs to be finished." What happens to those hopes and dreams? Do they disappear because we "grow up" and realize how ridiculous they seem? Do they disappear because we decide it's time to live in reality? It's like Robin Williams in the movie "Peter Pan". He forgot what was important to him. … [Read more...]
Interactive Writing Project
I have a new project for you. Everyone is invited to add a sentence to the story and we will see where the story leads. I'll start: The hollyhocks shouted at me with their bright colors, "Come enjoy the peace." … [Read more...]
New Year resolutions started a month ago
"Happy New Year!" conjures up memories of bubbles floating to the top of non-alcoholic wine in colored stemware, party hats, and noisemakers ushering in the new year while watching the ball drop in Time Square from the comfort of our living room. New Year's Day is spent curled up on a couch with a notebook rewriting our lives with resolutions to become better people in the coming months. For me, this year was very different. When my supervisor told me our shift was working on New Year's Day I realized there was no reason for me not to work. Celebrations to usher in the new year with goals and plans to move ahead seemed counter productive since I basically started that over a month ago. The changes began in October when I got back from Nigeria. I had decided my work schedule needed to change, as well as my pay grade. Weekends off were a rarity in retail, and weekends were when my husband was home. For a few weeks I tried to accomplish those goals through changing positions within Home Depot, but nothing worked. Drastic measures were in order. I put in an application for a job that would give me longer shifts, the ability to work fewer days in a … [Read more...]
Exciting week
Have you ever had one of those weeks where you were so excited you were shaking inside? Tell me about it! … [Read more...]
Book Launch Celebration went well
Wow! The last few weeks have been a whirlwind! (Silence... Staring... Fingers perched on the keyboard...) That just about says it all... Two exciting things happened the week of July 29. Actually, one was not so exciting. I received my first copies of "No Time to Quit" and found out I have shingles. I'm not going to go into all the gory details of shingles in my head and eye, but suffice it to say, navigating through the details of moving forward with the book was much more difficult. I couldn't even schedule a book launch celebration because of not knowing when the symptoms would be manageable enough for me to function. The shingles did put a damper on the excitement of receiving the first copies of my first book, but I was terribly excited anyway. Holding a book in my had that has my name on it as the author has been a dream of mine since I was a child. The day I found out the book was available online at WestBow Press I was so excited I couldn't think the rest of the day. I was supposed to be working on publicity ideas and writing a press release. Within days, the book also was on the Barnes & Noble website, as well as Amazon. And Mom had been selling so many books … [Read more...]
Stick a Geranium in Your Hat and Be Happy
By Barbara Johnson Going through a rough time? Barbara Johnson lets you in on the secret that "Pain is inevitable but misery is optional". Her book "Stick a Geranium in Your Hat and Be Happy" comes out of four devastating experiences that equip Johnson with the credentials to help others work through their own pain. There are parts in the book that made me wonder how anyone could survive through the tragedies, and parts that made me smile. It is a book that makes one feel. Johnson first takes the reader through her own experiences - her husband's near fatal accident and slow recovery from debilitating injuries, followed by the loss of one son in Vietnam and another son to a drunk driver, plus a third son declaring he is gay and Johnson herself being diagnosed with adult-onset diabetes - all within seven years, She is candid about how each experience affected her, the emotions she had to process and the depression she went through. The book moves into Johnson's Spatula ministry to help others move through tragedy into joy with stories, anecdotes, poems, quotes and Bible verses. Given Johnson's reputation as a humorist, I expected to laugh more as I read the book. I also … [Read more...]
I’m onto the next step!
Decisions have been made, edits are done and the manuscript for "No Time to Quit" has been submitted for formatting! After the last few weeks doing nothing but working, editing the book and basic survival necessities, today was an exciting day! Maybe I should back up a little bit. The manuscript went through an editorial assessment where an editor at Westbow Press looked it over and did a sample edit on a few pages. Then she wrote a report about the manuscript's merits, as well as improvements that could be made to make the book stronger. She used words like "compelling", "inspiring" and "engaging" when describing the book. She also made some valid points and gave me wonderful changes to work on. To be honest, I was nervous about that part of the process. I didn't know how the manuscript would be received, and whether or not someone who is not invested in the story would really like it. The editor's comments pleased me. I put her sample edit next to the original and went over it one sentence at a time. The changes were minor, and they made the book stronger. The next step was getting an estimate for Westbow to provide the content edit she recommended. It was $1,200, and … [Read more...]
New Gardening Experiment
Have you seen the info on straw bale gardening? I like lasagna gardening because I don't really like to dig, but this year, I chose to experiment. Since I have never grown anything in a straw bale, I purchased one bale and placed it in the corner of my garden. I added about an inch of compost and then proceeded to plant my zucchini on and near the bale. The finishing touch was watering it well. So far, the plants look good. The wire cage to the left of the bale is an old display from work that I am using to support the pea plants. I put it in the ground about an inch down and then planted the peas. With the cool weather we are having, the peas should still do very well. The only problem with this consistent rain is the timing. It seems like the nice days I'm at work and the rainy days I am at home. I don't have to water, but I am finding it hard to finish the yard and garden. The mulch is still in bags on my front step and my tomatoes are still in the flat. Hopefully, I will be able to finish what I started soon. Otherwise the season will be gone. Blink and I will miss it. … [Read more...]
Picnic in the woods
Working in the retail business, weekends off are few and far between. I've taken to requesting a weekend day here and there just to be able to see my husband. Some requests are granted, some denied. My husband surprised me recently on a Sunday off with a picnic in the woods by the river. With spring being so late, it was like walking in a black and white film, sometimes with sepia filters. Color was void. Even the sky was gray, but it was wonderful. We found a log to use as a bench near a small creek running into the river where we could watch the reflection of the trees ripple as the breeze made the surface breathe. The quiet calm was interrupted by a bicycle or two on the tar path about 100 yards away. Then a bird, or the wind whispering through the tree tops. The undergrowth was just a thought under the leaves covering the ground, creating the perfect environment for trekking through the woods, investigating things we observed while eating our lunch. The woods were full of interesting details, many of the decomposition process. White shelf mushrooms forming on fallen trees were common. We also saw a few duck couples, some with their white … [Read more...]
Being a Mother
Late again! I know Mother's Day was yesterday. No matter what my true intentions are, I'm chronically three to five minutes late in getting somewhere, and at times a day late or a dollar short when it comes to acknowledging special days and events. My husband says he knows how I LIKE to do things, but it's not that I LIKE to do things that way. Normally it has to do with trying to get too much done in too little time. I digress... Anyway, I really wanted to say something about being a mother and what Mother's Day represents to me. There is nothing that compares to being a mother, and no feeling that bonds two people together as fully as the parent-child relationship. When I said that to my daughter, she said children change your life forever. They really do. And all the changing diapers, wiping snotty noses, kissing scraped knees, washing dirty faces, helping with homework, setting curfews, checking up on their friends and the challenges that come with raising them is well worth it. A child can melt your heart when she looks at you with love, completely forgetting she was so angry with you earlier in the day that she screamed for what seemed like forever, and then gives you a … [Read more...]
