Writing and Gifts from Old Friends and Sisters

I started meeting once a week for a few hours with a group of writers. It's not a workshop group but, rather, a real writing group. We really write. At the beginning, we sit down and chit chat for a few minutes, catch each other up, briefly, on what's happening. Then one person tears up a few strips of paper and we each grab one or two. We write down phrases or words, anything that comes to mind and can be used as a prompt. Then someone picks up a piece of paper, opens it and reads it aloud. Then we write -- the first prompt is for five minutes, the second is for ten minutes, then it's fifteen and then back to five minutes. When the buzzer goes off, we stop typing or writing and read aloud what we've written. We don't comment, except to sigh or smile or laugh or draw our breaths in. Then we're on to the next. We follow in a specific order -- whoever opens the prompt and reads it aloud is the first to read aloud what she's written. Then we go counter-clockwise. It works. This is so good, you writers out there -- so good and so inspiring in the way that writers need to be inspired. You just start with something, anything, and then you write. I've always thought there's way too much discussion about writing in general -- about how difficult it is, about whether or not you're good enough, about the anxieties and insecurities of The Writer. Lately, I've noticed a whole lot of hullabaloo about writing for free on the internet, how resentful "writers" are when they're asked to write online and not get reimbursed. My opinion is that there haven't been too many writers in history that got paid enough money to support themselves and that if you're a writer, you'll just write, whenever and however you can. If you're getting paid and can support yourself, I envy you. If not, get a job, but don't stop writing.

Here are the prompts from a week or so ago:

1. My skeleton
2. Blood-shot eyes
3. A Sense of place
4. The Rain They Say is Coming

This week, I got a spark of a short story from the prompt It Goes Like This. Think a man, tattoos, a bald head, the goods, the threat of a cult, Jesus freaks and the slippery slope of desire -- that's what I wrote about for five minutes.

When I got home this afternoon from the usual driving around the city, I had a pile of mail, including two mysterious packages. One was for Sophie, and when I opened it up I saw that it was from one of my oldest and dearest friends with whom I backpacked through Europe in the Let's Go Europe! days. Do you remember those? This beautiful, brilliant woman sent that mermaid to Sophie, and I'm taking it as a token of luck. Sophie did really well today, too, but who's noticing? The other gift was from my funny sister Melissa. She sent me a Ryan Gosling coloring book. She knows me all too well. Henry and Oliver took one look at the gifts and rolled their eyes. Are you really going to color that? Henry asked. I told him that I imagine it will be enormously relaxing to sit and color in Ryan Gosling's lines. You'd think I was stoned, but I'm not. I'm CBD'd excited.

Ryan Gosling, Los Angeles and Waning Bachelorette Days

Well, I had another 2/3rd less children day yesterday, and it was a quiet one. I finished a day of work and errands by going to a late afternoon movie which I don't recommend unless you only wish to gaze upon Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper for two and a half hours of gloom and doom. The older I get, the more movies have the power to depress me, and The Place Beyond the Pines was a real downer. There was a scene, though, where Ryan Gosling's character has just robbed a bank and he's exulting with his nasty co-outlaw, and even though he's basically dancing with an ugly little dog, I swear to you that his sexiness took my breath away and I felt about twenty years old swaying right along with him to Bruce Springsteen.

Anywho.

I parked at the top of the movie theater, though, and took some lovely shots of Hollywood, west toward the ocean and downtown Los Angeles. Here they are:

It's Saturday morning, and the The Brothers and The Husband will be home late tonight. I'll need to shut down this bachelorette pad and get busy with the usual. I hope ya'll are having a good Saturday.

Special Needs Ryan Gosling Friday

Make your own Special Needs Ryan Gosling by going to Sunday's blog Adventures in Extreme Parenting and linking up.

Hey, Girl: An Accompaniment to my Last Post with Ryan Gosling

I've wanted to do this for weeks and finally, sort of, figured it out. I'm participating in this week's Special Needs Ryan Gosling meme, started by the brilliantly funny Adventures in Extreme Parenthood.

You have to scroll down and read my earlier post to get it, I think.

Monday, Monday

can't trust that day.

I actually trust Mondays, love Mondays. And I'm looking forward to this one. Here's a cheerful weekend wrap-up, probably a welcome respite from the doom and gloom around here of late.

Our neighbor K made this beautiful swing frame for Sophie. She is in heaven under the tangerine tree once again.

I made this butterfly cake for a little girl's birthday:

Vanilla Cake with White Frosting

and I made this ladybug cake for the little girl's sister's birthday:

Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting

Red Fondant

I sat on two blazing hot ball fields:

That's Henry playing catcher

and I didn't take a photo of Oliver playing flag football, but it was hot:

We saw the movie Moneyball, which I highly recommend. Brad Pitt did such a great job in the movie that I actually loved learning about baseball and statistics. I'm not kidding. And I'm not crazy for Brad Pitt or anything (right now it's Ryan Gosling that I'm a tad obsessed with):

So here's a photo of Ryan Gosling, because that's really where I've been heading this entire post:

Oh Monday morning, Monday morning couldn't guarantee
That Monday evening you would still be here with me.