Self-Imposed Cleansing

In addition to the props, costumes, and crafting supplies 

 I included in my (final) in kind donation 

to my "phavorite" place

were some of my own costume changes. 

Recently it was pointed out that had a t-shirt overload. 

I think of shirts as mini billboards.

My mood, mind set, focus, and hopes 

can easily be seen blazoned across my chest.

"Life is Good" branded tees have been a standard for me.

My castoffs may walk around 

Camp this summer or they may go elsewhere.

Regardless of where they end up,

the Raggers' Creed, 

"Be giving and forget the gift,"

resonates in my head.

Also, "out of sight, out of mind."

And closet...

Goodbye old friends.

Thank you JuJu's Vintage for the ga$ money I made for my roamings. 

(The wardrobe items shown below were purchased.) 

I remember wearing these classics to important events 

like weddings, anniversary celebrations, live radio show tapings,

conferences, outdoor concerts, birthday blowouts, 

the Art Institute of Chicago, festivals, national holidays,

and good old vintage vibe moments.

Now it's time for someone else to take them for a spin.

So long and thank you for your service!

I cleaned out a few decorating cupboards of

pottery, serving dishes, vases, and trivets etc...

It's nice to rotate things out after awhile.

LPs and CDs are my background soundtrack 

as I read, write letters, and do minimal amounts of exercise.

The HUGE selection of burned disks came to me

via an estate sale and are not able to be donated due to

copyright laws. I listened to some, 

but it was too overwhelming 

for me to feel the need to hear them all.

(This is a sheet of stamps celebrating the U.S. Postal Service!)

The CDs are too heavy to mail - even at media rate - but

happily I found a music buddy who wants them.

Earth Day makes me want to keep things out of the landfills.

Nature moments like this one keep me in awe.

(Note: Based upon the line up I will not 

be attending Lollapalooza this summer.)

Tasty Treats

Lattes and pastries!

Eggs with a chile oil sauce!

Media Moments this Month.

I read M.J.'s autobiography, "Moon Walk" recently 

and this bio-pic follows that storyline.

It's so cool Micheal's nephew is depicting him.

My college years were filled with "The Thriller" playing.

I watched a taping of a play performed in London.

What a sad storyline.

But well portrayed.

I loved this sci-fi flick!

It did make me question, 

are there aliens among us?

I was on Granny duty for a part of this month.

Having leftover PINK strawberry shake 

for breakfast was included!

Although I am allergic to cats

these two cuties were worth the trouble.

(See the TV remote between the paws?)

Not pictured are multiple rounds of Candyland, 

bottle making, yogurt and oats stirring,

dish washing, crumb picking up, 

and Raffi song singing - usually at bath time.

Of course personalized lullabies 

and Camp songs were sung at bedtime.

"The Big Green Monster" was read repeatedly as was the 

"homework" book - 

written by a favorite author - Jane Yolen!

Granny even signed the evidence of said reading worksheet. 

We sent postcards to loved ones.

We visited multiple playgrounds and a forest.

A neighborhood cat named Tiger came for a 

surprise visit and we watched out the 

glassed front door as a refrigerator sat out

in the rain on a sidewalk.

Guess what?

It was gone after naptime!

But most importantly, 

I had the challenge of wrestling 

very slippery hair

into a braid each morning. 

These arthritic hands were tested daily!

Speaking of hands, 

sidewalk shadows rock!

Light up monster slippers 

are essential for scaring away

unwanted monsters.

Being the "D.J." to change the tune of a dancing

cactus was one of my important roles.

Many a booty bounce accompanied the jaunty jangles.

A concert was performed for an audience of stuffies.

A Hello Kitty guitar was the instrument of choice.

Instead of my usual carwash karaoke 

we just giggled and screamed while the octopus arms 

swished across the windshield.

I got to go to a preschool classroom art show!

It was so nice to see the different variations 

on the theme the teachers proposed. 

 Afterwards we took a trip to the ZOO

and Granny got to ride on the seahorse 

of the carousel with a cutiepatootie 

who chose to ride the kitty.

After my week of helping we were gifted some stunning art!

Thank you!

Lots of miles were added to my bumper stickered "office."

Ga$ was pricey. 

This was 50 cents less than at home.

 Remember last month's panic about 

running into a TRACTOR???

Well, this ENORMOUS machine

was in the MIDDLE of the road

as I SLOWLY took a curve. 

I'm sure the driver was baffled 

when I snapped the pic.

It absolutely amazes me that people 

can drive this fast on a country road.

Believe me, I looked both ways multiple times

before peeling across these intersections.

One was right beside a graveyard...

Fortelling.

Have you ever seen a CATio?

What a great way for this feline 

to get some fresh air and

terrorize the robins digging for worms.

If you can believe it this is the kitty cat's roomie.

I had met Peaches' owner in 2021 

and on my way back home I swung by to say hello.

 

Unfortunately my trip included 

two traffic jams

due to accidents.

Hope everyone is okay. 

One was an entire highway shut down!

But I got to see some heavy metal I'd never seen before.

 

While I was gone some trees bloomed and lost their blooms!

The tulips were now open at the Chicago Botanical Gardens!

Can you see the two turtles on the rock

at the Japanese Garden?

Around the yard we've got little bursts of color too.

 What WOOD you do with some of these slices of trees?

There were a lot of tape measures on hips at this joint.

We had a big tree limb fall after a storm.

I am so thankful for the neighbor who helped me more 

the heavy branch out of the sidewalk!

Then I got my day's exercise bagging what parts I could. 

Our chainsaw broke awhile back so I couldn't play

Tim the Tool Man Taylor like I have in the past.

Overall it was a month of simple pleasures 

and "pruning" of more than foliage. 

I hope you were able to enjoy 

some laughter,

love, and joy.

Did you let anything go this month?

Peace be with you,

Jen Pen

 

Frozen Avocados

I would imagine the post title is confusing, but it did totally depress me to have the bag of teeny tiny avocados I brought to Dayton for energy boosts 

while I attending the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop 

become rock hard alien eggs overnight in a mini fridge. 

The same plight happened to the grapefruit and the mandarin I had packed. 

My healthy snack options became obsolete. 

Thankfully the conference site provided a protein peanut butter based option. 

I came to the very first offering of this writing workshop in 2000. 

Do not ask me to remember what I did or heard. 

But let me use a Maya Angelou quote adaptation, 

"How did it make me feel?" 

Joyful. 

Which is why I returned!

26 years later. 

Hey! 

Life happened.

I still wrote! 

I got rejections. I had some publishings. I self-published. I worked within the literacy and literary circles as a student, educator, and learner. 

Online options for Erma events were offered and I took those. 

But, when I found out Kelly Corrigan was going to be a keynote speaker I marked the registration date on my calendar and scored a ticket. 

(The event is held every other year. This year tickets sold out in 37 hours.) 

My only goals for the event were to have fun 

and hear Kelly's current perspectives. 

(I've been a fan for decades.) 

My low expectations had a very high payout. 

Kelly Corrigan's podcast takes essay submissions, did you know that?

Come with me now to 5:00 on the day I arrived, an hour past my lodging check in which had fallen through. My (basically blind date) roommate was on a plane. Things worked out, for the better thankfully, but it also meant my trip to the area would change. My plan was for my son and his family to come visit me at the home I had rented in Dayton. A place where a one year-old could take naps while we ate non-frozen avocados and played frisbee in a yard. Nope. Instead I drove to Cincinnati on a day when there was a three accident pile-up on the highway. My GPS diverted me to country back roads. When I told the story to my seat mate that evening during dinner I emphasized that I am a city girl and would have rather sat in bumper to bumper traffic than enduring the stress of my lucky 13 year-old Elantra climbing to the top of a hilly, curved road, dotted with horses, cows, and barns, to then smash into a tractor. 

"The app should have an option to avoid scenic farm lands," 

said the (Erma humor based) writing conference attendee. 

I told her I would be stealing her witty retort. 

The roommate I had bamboozled into trusting me with secure and safe lodgings heard my voice message as she changed planes. She replied back with gratitude for my ability to find us beds closer to the conference, even if they would be closer to each other. (I am so glad I packed that white noise machine to place between our two queen sized beds.) How thankful am I that grew up attending overnight camp, have taken teenagers on summer work trips, and have even opted for the group bedroom on a yoga nidra retreat. 

Sharing air, often noisy and awkward in close settings, is not scary for me. 

But it's not for everybody. 

(In May I have another "blind date" assignment 

for a trip to NYC for a Broadway tour trip!) 

Bunking up does save money, but my "roomie" had signed up for a single... 

In reflection, it felt like the dorm room experience of a freshman in college. Although there was an 18 year gap in our ages, the two of us were given the gift of proximity where we could disclose our thoughts and feelings about the conference in private confidence. Mind you, there was a lot of sharing at this event! The sectional in the lobby/bar/restaurant of the hotel 

was a buzz with activity sometimes late into the morning. 

I have tinnitus, so that kind of setting and large ballrooms full of chatterings make it hard to properly hear and process conversations, 

but wow, the people watching was A+!

On the first night of the events there was a shuttle bus to a library where an awards ceremony was held. As I topped the bus steps and looked for an open seat a woman patted the one beside her and told me to sit down. What a relief.  That kind of welcoming inclusion was carried on throughout the workshop. Predominantly attended by women, the tables of eight-ish at catered dinners and boxed lunches filled up more at random than in cliques with saved seats. Not saying any names, but female gatherings do not always have the same flavor. Oh, and the food was delicious! Erma Bombeck has a famous quip: "Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the 'Titanic' who waved off the dessert cart?" Well, I heeded that advice! By the second evening found like minded people willing to split the set treats so we could try both!

You meet who you meet at these things. 

With about 500 fellow attendees I imagine 

I really only got to know 5% of the people 

at a place where we exchanged personal information. 

(Trading calling/business cards/scraps of paper/social media profiles.) 

But I wasn't there to network. 

I didn't have a project to promote and happily no one was pushy about their's. 

Okay, I'll admit it, I sought out this hair soulmate 

for a selfie and then later was able to learn more about her. 

My once maniac magenta hair has now morphed into an anemic salmon color with streaks, but I am still loving it. 

There were at least a dozen people there with colored highlights! 

And the "costumes" donned at this literary performance were on point. 

Shoes with pizazz, angled eye glasses, baggy overalls, 

vintage and tailored dresses, 

and even a purse made from an LP. 

But there were also business suits, sweatpants, and college team swag tees.

Bob Eckstein's comic version of the basketball March Madness games.

I arrived wearing a Thurber dog cartoon shirt. The conference has a relationship with the Columbus based Thurber House and Thurber Humor Prize. I was the co-director of their writing summer camp. (A gum ball machine amount of age spots and a maze of wrinkles ago.)

I was able to speak with the now director about my joy 

of still being in touch with a former camper who holds poetry slams. 

Letters, emails, texts, social media, and more importantly intention 

help us all to be privy to someone's life sequel. 

We get to decide who we befriend.

Ends up I hang with the SHE-nanigans.

There's a Pitchpalooza at the conference where writers have one minute to sell their book and gain an agent's ear and assistance. Out of all those gathered I had already befriended the person who won! She had let me be her shadow/date in the bookstore area. My eyes now allow my ears to do most of my reading using audiobooks. (I am currently enjoying key note speaker Steven Rowley's "Lily and the Octopus" on Libby.) Just like when I go to an art show, I gave the author/artists a smile, so impressed with their bravery just to be there.

I used to open book flaps for authors at THE Ohio State University's Children's Literature Conference as librarians toted in trunk loads to be autographed. 

But not for every author. 

Meeting the public takes gumption and oxygen. 

Writers are not all extroverts. 

In my opinion and experience, most are not. 

Think of why you create - any art.

Most of the sessions were content based, 

focusing on the craft of composing fiction, 

memoir, nonfiction, comedy, and more. 

But many of the sessions of the conference covered 

what happens after you have completed your project 

and where the roles of marketing fall. 

For over three decades I have watched this part of the puzzle freeze up writers. 

While attending a "speed writing" prompt based session I was reminded that I do not write fictional pieces, but I don't mind the challenge. 

With a b&w pic, a few setting and character details 

we were tasked to compose a tale in seven minutes. 

You know what was revealed to me most? 

Dang! Some people can get a lot of words on a page fast!

And richly detailed sentences, laced with wit and one of a kind storylines.

It was enjoyable to hear all the different twists of plot!

But I write slow.

And I don't have the kind of imagination that whips up worlds in a frenzy.

But I am still a writer.

And I loved being around different kinds of writers.

After the session was over the woman beside me asked if I'd listen to her Pitchpalooza pitch. 

I did. 

She asked for feedback. 

I gave it.

That's what happens at a workshop where trust develops. 

Call up a friend. 

Read the person your writing.

You don't have to have publishing goals.

You can just like words and the way your brain arranges them.

Or, just take a quote you've heard and mail it to a friend.

That's still being a writer!

Imposter syndrome paralyzes people.

When people asked me what I write sometimes I told them a tidbit or two.

It's thoughtful they asked.

But I deflected mostly.

I let others share.

This workshop is a great place to hone your talents, network and schmooze.

It's also just a good time.

The authors that presented gave hilarious and heart warming speeches.

On the night names were drawn randomly for people to read a three minute essay I was seated at the table where the first person's name was drawn. 

She was elated!

Days afterwards the two of us head nodded 

and smiled at each other in the hallways.

Good endorphins.

Having a (safe) place where you can share your writing with others - no agenda, no critique - is rare and something to treasure. 

I was thrilled for those who got the opportunity.

Especially because it was through luck of the draw, not some standard.

One morning a person who had won a fluffy robe, room service, and her hotel fees paid to stay longer after the conference "to write" was in front of me as I exited the elevator. Her hair was wet and she was headed to go catch the shuttle to the site where the sessions are held.

When I offered her a ride in my car she took me up on the offer.

What happened in the brief drive was a, "Who's on first?" comedy bit.

No, I'm not going to tell you what happened. 

But we laughed. 

No writing was included.

Going someplace where you get to be human with another humans 

and share (sometimes silly) moments is so gratifying.

Sure, I paid money for the fees, lodging, gas, and extras to be in this setting - but there's plenty of library, recreation/senior center, 

and community events that are free where people 

can have camaraderie around their common interests. 

Have you found a place to celebrate your interests, with no agenda?

Could you create a place?

Peace by with you,

Jen Pen