Z is for Zipping the A-Z Writing Challenge Closed

Z is for Zipped and Done in the 2012 A-Z Writing Challenge.

It seemed right that Zippers should be the final entry in this year's challenge.  Finished the project and zipping it closed until next year -- that's what I'm doing. Never thought I'd finish, with all the outside things to do begging for attention; but, apparently, there's little else to do between the hours of two and three in the morning, and, so, why not prepare the next post!

We all love zippers, whether worn hidden in high-fashion or used as a statement in high-fashion, they make keeping ourselves contained so much easier; don't you think?  Why is it that they are rarely referred to in novels? Just curious. Not sure how I'd do it but I know any one of you great authors out there can create the right scenario. I give you the 'go-to-it' sign!




Obviously, this is far too in-your-face for my tastes; unless, of course, it's attached to a very good-looking young man looking for some cougar moments... (I digress... 's'cuse)

Yet, we definitely want access to our many-pocketed gear holders and need them to be very obvious so that we know at a glance that they are closed and our contents safe, especially, when coming down the airline baggage chute!





The only ones that irritate me, no end, are the nylon zippers that pop open in the center(!) and then you spend so much time trying to get them closed, evenly. And, they do this at the most inappropriate moments; don't you think?

But, fellow Challengers, it's been a lovely April with so many interesting posts I've yet to visit (but, will, in the upcoming months) and hope that you've enjoyed the Challenge, too! Yes, it's time to close this year's event and tell you that I look forward to participating in next year's, as well. I even think I might get some posts scheduled, in advance. Ha, ha, ha. This last is not a real zipper but I loved the artist's conception and couldn't resist!












For those of you who have just happened upon this page, do yourself a favor and check out a group of fantastic bloggers. You're bound to find someone you might like to follow. Don't forget to leave some loving comments and spread the word. It could even inspire you to think about joining next year's Challenge, yourself!

J is for Journal - A-Z Writing Challenge

J is for Journal in the  2012 A-Z Writing Challenge.

Do you keep a journal?

When I was growing up, a journal was something one kept that was far more exacting than a diary. You were recording your feelings about friends and events that you wanted to remember and pass on. And, it never got vicious -- you meant for it to survive the ages and be read by future generations.. (Narcissistic, I know.) My little Dear Diary (rarely kept beyond the first month, or two) with the attached key, revealed the emotional roller coaster of my transition from girl to teen. And, the spell of keeping a 'private' diary was broken as soon as my siblings would find it and share my heart with their world, laughing all the time.

And, then, I had another journal that was (I thought) kept well-hidden because I never told anyone about it. Nothing shocked me more than when I came upon my husband reading that journal with his breakfast coffee. I felt invaded in a way that, even today, I find hard to describe. He said he 'found' it.

When asked what he was doing reading my private Journal, he said it was his way of getting to know me better and to know what I was thinking. So, I asked for his journal so that I could get to know him better and what he was thinking. He said didn't have one because his thoughts were private. (I am NOT touching the psychology behind that dynamic!) That journal, whilst not revealing my absolute deepest feelings about my little life, was my place to explore, come to terms with, and resolve my feelings, about anything that was important to me, at the time. He destroyed that and I never wrote, openly, in the journal, again. It had, then, become just another job. Soon after, I stopped writing in it, altogether.

But, my point is that an offline journal is where your venting belongs. Repeat: Blogging is an illusory world. You live with real people. There's really no excuse for hurting others because you feel a certain way and compelled to write about them, at the time of writing. And, that's the key phrase, at the time of writing. We all change, as we grow up, and gain an understanding that often adjusts our first impressions. Your online caustic words will never go away and you don't know when someone you love will read them (and, yes, they do read them) and be deeply offended. Until you can prove that you're the litmus test for what's right and good in the world, let your words be mellow and let other folks have an off-day without judgment. Do you really want what you wrote a few years ago to come back and destroy the older, wiser, you?




For those of you who have just happened upon this page, I'm Entry #424 in a group of 1862 participants in this 2012 A-Z Writing Challenge! Do yourself a favor and check out a group of fantastic bloggers. You're bound to find someone you might like to follow. Don't forget to leave some loving comments and spread the word. It could even inspire you to think about joining next year's Challenge, yourself!

B is for Blogging - 2012 A-Z Writing Challenge

B is for Blogging in the 2012 A-Z Writing Challenge.

Blogging is fun, for most people, in the beginning.  It's a way of sharing a sunny day with those who can't be there because they were busy doing something else when you all got together.

But, it's a job -- an unpaid job. Most bloggers will fall by the wayside after the first few months or by the end of a year because it is a job. Or, they've been sucked into the dark side...  because, blogging is not journaling, not in the real sense. They've found that it's very difficult to keep their blog from unwanted visitors. Newbies, especially, don't have the skills to figure out ways of keeping everything private and, before you know it, they've shared more than other family members want known and, if too much, will find themselves in a hornet's nest of anger, jealousy, and, even, isolation. Family and friends become afraid of being the next topic. 

Those bloggers make a public blog apology and then announce that they are closing down. They may or may not open a new one, but you can be rest assured that the new one is going to be less free with what they think and feel. Is this good? Is this bad?

I think it's good. The blogging world is an illusion; you live with real people.  If you don't have permission to share someone else's life, picture, or story, expect to get into trouble when you step over the bounds. Bloggers are NOT professional journalists. While it may seem your right to vent, spew, or laugh at, other people's mistakes, problems, what-have-you, you have no business sharing it. Blogs never go away, even if cancelled. There's always a way to find it. Save your venting for your offline journal. You'll feel much better.




For those of you who have just happened upon this page, I'm Entry #424 in a group of 1682 participants in this 2012 A-Z Writing Challenge! Do yourself a favor and check out a group of fantastic bloggers. You're bound to find someone you might like to follow. Don't forget to leave some loving comments and spread the word. It coud even inspire you to think about joining next year's Challenge, yourself!

Why I Enjoy Blogging - a Year Later

Kaffeeklatch - Google Image, Courtesy pbase.com

The Old Geezer Blog poster, RJWhite, asked why we blog and gives statistics on how many more women than men were blogging, today. Suggesting our natural verbosity was the impetus for the high numbers is an interesting point. But, I think it has more to do with the availability of time and a natural inclination to share information, something the men of my generation, at least, didn't find easy. There are always exceptions and I think the numbers will change, before long. But, his blog is well worth your taking the time to visit. It's a fun blog and, my comment to his question, was the prompt for today's post.

My early blogging began on a long-since retired business site of mine. It was a place for me to share upcoming events and feelings about day-to-day blips and vexations. (I had to use that word. It's one of my favorites from another place in time.) And, I wasn't looking for followers -- I didn't understand their power or what it could mean for me, at the time. Living alone, it was a way of reaching out and communicating with others, a catch-as-catch-can posting done as the mood struck. Then, I discovered solar cooking and decided other mainstream cooks should know about this energy-saving appliance. I wrote my solar cookbook, "A Month of SUNdays - Solar Cooking at Home." People who had bought my book wanted more information and recipes and suggested I start a solar cooking blog. Reluctantly, I did. For them, I said. Because, they asked me to and I didn't want to disappoint them, I said. Then, something happened.

Blogging by Hand Started Long Ago With My Childhood Friend

I think blogging was started by my childhood friend. When she passed away, her daughters were left a shelf full of bulging three-ring binders of her life. She had kept every memory alive by journaling -- ribbons, invitations, pictures, and commentary, were all preserved for them, as they occurred. At leisure, her daughters could watch her become a woman -- and then their mother and their own lives -- through the pages...


We were both eleven when my best friend moved clear across the country. Little did we know that we would be best friends until her death at age 58. We were heartbroken at being separated and promised to write each other every day! And we did write, not every day but weekly, from that moment on. We literally sent the same Christmas card back and forth to each other for more than 20 years, until it became too worn to survive the journeys.
In the first few years, we wrote at least three times a week and then, as we became more involved with... well, boys!... the writing was reduced to just once a week, but the letters were thick and full of girl talk. We shared dreams, thoughts, activities, love interests, family life, disappointments, joys -- as I said, we knew each other and were best friends. It was a safe way to share because we lived so far apart from each other. There was little chance of running into the people in each other's lives, so secrets were safe. As we grew up, we began to truly treasure the other being there for venting or helping to work through problems and important decisions.
We could count on each other because we shared the truth, although we weren't as brutal as today's young people. We didn't sugar-coat but we found supportive ways of helping each other through our problems.  It would never have occurred to either one of us to share that privileged privacy with the world. That would be a true betrayal and not something you would do to a real friend. And hand writing everything down helped clarify problems. Sometimes, the mountains really were only molehills. It's said but I think the Internet has just about done away with young people being able to trust a friend. How sad. Everyone needs someone they can confide in without fear of being exposed to ridicule. We stumble. It happens. A friend gets you through it. The Internet has taken that freedom away from our children, it seems.


Our families met only once during that lifetime and our children couldn't understand that our bond was still so strong -- stronger than anything I have shared with my own sisters. She was a dancer instructor who spent ten years trying to figure out why she was eating so much but not putting on weight. One day, when she asked her doctor if he had ever given her a blood-sugar test, he said no and promptly administered one. She was a Class III Diabetic. Diabetes lead to other problems. She lost her battle to Lupus in '93 and her letters were put away with all the memories.


I can only imagine what my beautiful lifelong friend would have done as a blogger! Upon her death, her daughters inherited their mother's history and journaling. Every special event had its own page with mementos and their story written by her hand. When not attending something special, she would simply share her days and life with her daughters, along with any pictures taken on that day. The beauty of it all is that there were no computer crashes or lost files because it was all done by hand on hard copy.


There were 33 binders filled with this remarkable woman's life. A beautiful legacy from a woman who worked tirelessly for her family, church and community, and never complained -- not once. I know she was in pain but she only saw the beauty in her world. She humbled me. She was happily married and adored her family -- especially, the grandchildren -- and it hurts that she was taken from them -- from me -- so early. I hate that. This was a lady who would be the reigning queen of Bloggerville, Facebook, and Skype. It's hard to believe she never got the chance. Today is simply the anniversary of her passing but I've never stopped thinking of my very special childhood friend.


Do you have one, too?