Life insisted - I needed to rest

 Last Friday I bent down to pick up something off the floor and somehow hurt my back.  It almost felt like something in my back, near my left shoulder popped. I couldn't move at all for a few minutes and cried in pain.  Then I struggled to move and realized, I couldn't use or move my left arm away from the side of my body or even move without wanting to cry or scream.  I had my daughter bring me a scarf from my bedroom and together we fashioned a sling for my arm so it wouldn't move and was supported, relieving some pressure in my shoulder.   I spent the rest of the day and evening in bed, propped up on a pillow, wondering whether I should call someone to take me to the emergency room.  In the end I went to sleep early and called a daughter the next morning to take me to the Insta-Care for x-rays
.  Luckily nothing was broken, and I probably just pulled a muscle.  Since I could not move my arm more than an inch or two from my side, the doctor gave me information on how to contact a physical therapist and sent me back home.  On the way home I stopped at the pharmacy and picked up some pain relief patches, and when I got home took another daughter up on the use of a heating pad.  I spent the rest of the weekend in bed, with pain patches on my back and a heating pad wrapped around my shoulder and behind my back.  By Monday I was able to be up and around, I could move my arm several inches away from my body and dress myself without help or extreme pain.   I have continued throughout the week with the patches and heating pad and each day it seems I can move a little easier without as much pain.  

The reason I tell you this, is to express my gratitude.  I guess life decided I needed a few days of rest and relaxation.  Since I wasn't doing it on my own, it found a way to force me to listen.  How often do we, or at least I know I do, focus on other people or concerns around us instead of caring for ourselves or giving ourselves permission to just chill out and relax.  I thought I was doing a good job.  After all I have been wasting time on Facebook reels lately, and even took myself to a movie alone.   So. I express gratitude for an injury which wasn't serious, but painful enough to make me pause my everyday activities and take time for some needed rest. (Daily naps for 3 days.)  I am grateful for unplanned time to think about my writing efforts of late.   I am grateful for those people in my life that were willing to serve and take care of me for those few days, for their patience and understanding.  I am grateful that I have given them skills they could use to care for themselves and for me.  

Reading Along With You

 I came across this picture the other day and had to pause. I couldn't help but think about my grandparents, and my parents and their examples of reading.  

I can never think of my Grandmother Ivie's house without thinking about the boxes and stacks of Reader's Digest magazines she had in her back entry hall. I know at one time one of my cousins and I discovered that she had copies of the magazine dating back more than twenty years.  Of course, why wouldn't she?  No matter what year or what month you opened there were articles and thoughts that were as timely in the present as they were when originally written.  Humor never grows old, and there were always several pages of  stories that would make you laugh.  Need an interesting topic for a school essay?  There was better place than the Reader's Digests in grandma's back room to find an interesting story or topic of discussion. I wouldn't be surprised if our first reading experiences began with reading to grandma.  Even if the newest volume was on the kitchen table, that didn't mean the previous three or four months were stashed away.  You could find a different month's worth of article in any room you wanted- the living room (you could read a joke during a commercial break), the bedroom (a nice story can give you pleasant dreams), and of course the bathroom (short or long reading material to help pass the time). 

My Grandma and Grandpa Pugh were also avid readers of the magazine, although Grandma Pugh didn't keep as many back copies. However, as they came monthly in the mail, and the articles fore timeless, there were still multiple months of the magazine available to browse through.  What Grandma Pugh did save were the Reader's Digest Condensed Books that came quarterly.  With the average of 4 -5 current books (fiction and non-fiction)  it didn't take long to gain a collection of good reading material.   I fondly remember reading not only the current writers, but also many classic stories.  I grew as a young lady to love these books and treasure them. I even borrowed many of these for use in English and Literature class discussions. 

With both sets of grandparents sharing the importance of this magazine, it is no wonder that my parents followed.  I would guess that mom and dad had a subscription to the Reader's Digest until the day dad died just short of turning 92.   One of the most heartbreaking things for me in cleaning out the den, was admitting that I didn't have room in my home to keep mother's collection of Reader's Digest Condensed Books.  I can't count, nor would I want to how many of those stories I read through the years, or how many mother used in some of her book club reading.  It didn't matter which book you pulled from the shelf, there were always multiple stories you just couldn't put down. 

It is my hope that someday my own children find themselves unsuccessful in cleaning out my attic or library.  May the love of reading good books and stories be passed from generation to generation, not only in my family but in yours as well.  

Have a wonderful day- Read a good story. 

A New Start

    Thank you so much for joining me today.   I didn't realize how long it had been since I last wrote on this particular blog.  Please forgive me.  

    It is a new year, 2024.  With a new year comes reflection, and I have much to reflect on and be grateful for.  I sincerely hope you have also enjoyed plenty of joy and happiness   

   As I started this new year, I challenged myself to make some new starts, or in some cases to restart enjoying things that have previously brought me joy.  Among these enjoyable activities is writing here and sharing my thoughts with you.   

   Over the past few years I have continued to write and share some of my talents.  I have self-published more of my Princess Jelisa stories as well as another self-help book.  I began a new coaching business with one of my sisters.  However due to health issues for her and work conflicts for me, that business has not, at this time, developed as we desired. Although we won't be as actively looking for clients this year, I am going to continue posting to our Facebook and group pages (Dream Weavers Wellness Coaching) (Get Fit Stay Beautiful), as over the past year, I have really enjoyed sharing some quotes and information.  In connection with our coaching business, I was happy to publish some journals, under the name Dream Weavers Life which I have received some positive feedback from. (I will share more about these later.) 

     I will continue to write this year.  I have already started working on my next two children's stories.  Thanks to a writing group I joined, I have gained some ideas on how to let people know about my stories.  Implementing some of the suggested ideas will definitely be a new start in a new direction for me.   I am also committing to reading for pleasure more this year.  I have developed association with a variety of authors and I look forward to enjoying more of their books this year.   In the fall I will be starting a new adventure with one of my daughters as she begins middle school and faces the challenges of growing up.   As you can see, I am starting a new exercise plan.  I have just finished day 6 of a 28-day Chair Yoga challenge. 

  What kind of new starts have you been thinking about for this year?  Are you looking at a new hobby?  Are you planning on building a new or stronger relationship with a loved one?  What are you going to different in your job/career this year?  What books do you hope to read?  Is there a talent you want to start developing you haven't before? 

   I sincerely wish you a very Happy New Year.  

     

   

Filling Your Bucket

A few days ago, one of my daughters was walking to the car with me afterschool    She was so excited to tell me about her day,   They  had learned about how everyone has a bucket and we need to fill our buckets, but sometimes we don't remember to fill our buckets with good things.  Sometimes we forget about our own bucket until it is empty.  We get tired and don't want to do anything. 

We can fill our own buckets by being nice to ourselves or thinking good thoughts.  We fill our bucket when we take care of ourselves by wearing nice clothes, washing our hands and face, brushing our teeth or brushing our hair.  We fill our buckets by reading, playing sports we like and doing our best on our school work.  We fill our buckets by smiling and finding something nice to think about. 

 

We can think about other's buckets.   Sometimes we take things out of the bucket and sometimes we put things in.    We should never try to make someone else's bucket empty by hurting them or being mean.  We shouldn't take happiness from their bucket by making them feel bad or stupid. When we do nice things for others that is like filling their bucket with good things,  We can smile at someone. We can share a book or an idea.  We can fill someone's bucket by telling them something you like about them.  

I am thankful for a teacher that took time to remind her students to think about others.  

A Fun Pirate Costume

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 When I originally wrote the story Prince Taylor's Corn Maze Halloween, ( one of the Princess Jelisa children's stories) one of the characters was dressed as Captain Hook.  In editing the story for publication, the character was changed to a simple pirate captain, which I felt made him more relatable.

When I started looking at clothes for the dolls, back in 2016, one of the articles I read suggested using clothes made for preemies.  In order to see how they fit, I  purchased  an outfit that my grandson liked.  The print on the shirt (a on piece that was long enough to snap over a diaper) was a teddy bear with a pirate scarf and eye patch.  Although it was too long for the doll's torso, I saved it, thinking I could use it later or remake it.

I searched Pinterest and online costume retailers and found a variety of ideas.  I decided I wanted something simple, the kids could see themselves as.  The shirt was a perfect beginning.   I cut the bottom off the shirt, keeping it a little long to go over his pants.   Next, I made a red scarf from some red cotton and tied it around his head.  The eye patch was made from black felt and held on by a piece of black elastic.  I was planning to pair the shirt with some blue pants but Lilly, my granddaughter, insisted he needed red pants.  So I used a basic pattern to make him a pair of red pants.    We used some boots, previously purchased for one of the other dolls.   Jilly, another granddaughter told me real pirates always wore a vest.  So she helped me find some felt squares to make a two-toned vest.  Finally no pirate would be complete without a waist sash.  His ended up being black satin.

This has ended  up being one of my favorite outfits to make for this particular doll.  Next to the camouflage outfit, it is also a favorite of my grandson.  I hope you like it as well as he does.

A Princess Inspired Costume

My 4 year old daughter hardly ever goes a day without wearing some kind of a princess dress.  Some days it is one of her favorite Sunday dresses, but most days she can be found prancing around the house in a dress-up costume.   For Halloween, she wanted to be Cinderella.  She found a dress at a local thrift store she decided was "perfect".  A week later another dress arrived, purchased by her mother from Amazon.  It was a brighter blue with an organza overlay. I thought she could wear the new dress for Halloween and the used dress for play, she insisted the first dress was her costume.  However it was the second dress which became my inspiration for a costume for one of the characters in my newest book. 

I bought some scrap pieces of blue silk and white organza from our favorite fabric store.  Since I was short on money and didn't want to purchase a new pattern for just one outfit, I used some creative knowledge to change a pattern I already owned.   Cutting the sleeve wider than the pattern I ended up with a full puffy sleeve.  I  figured out that two  half (1/2) circles would make a simple flounce. Jilly's dress had gold braid trim down the front, which I didn't have any of, but I did have about twelve (12) inches of ruffled lace,I could use.   I decided would look just as nice. Jilly was thrilled with the new princess dress for the doll.  Jilly wanted to wear long gloves with her costume, so of course the doll had to have the same.  Luckily I already had a pair of gloves which Princess Jelisa was happy to let us borrow for the night. A pair of clear sandals worked as her glass slippers.  

Here is a picture of the finished princess costume that one of the book characters wore in the book, Prince Taylor's Corn Maze Halloween.( one of the Princess Jelisa children's stories).

Sewing- My Unusual Step in Publishing

Time has flown since my last post.  I could say I wonder where the time went, but I know where most of it was spent.

Many of my fellow writers spent October facing a blank computer screen or paper, writing everyday and building their stories.  Others prepared for NANOWRIMO (National Novel Writing Month,) and the challenge of writing 50,000 words during the thirty days of November.   I hope they felt my encouragement as I replied to their comments on Facebook.

 I also spent time in October working on my Princess Jelisa stories, but it looked it little different.  During the first of the month I edited the story I had chosen to publish as the 8th book, and formatted the basic wording of the book I had in mind. I was hoping to publish the book by the week before Halloween, and was so far on schedule, with the next step being the illustrations. Under normal conditions I may have made my personal deadline, but not this time.

I love sewing.  I used to sew a lot, making clothing for my husband, my five children and myself, as well as things to make our home more presentable or comfortable.   Over the past year I had found a few hours,  when my granddaughter was not using the sewing machine,  to sew a variety of outfits for the dolls I had purchased.  At the time, I didn't really know exactly how I would use the dolls or the clothes they would need.  I still don't know how or when I will use what I already have.

Although the dolls have a variety of outfits, I realized they did not have the right outfits for the particular story I was hoping to publish in October.   In the story, I described several costumes which the children wore to Prince Taylor's Halloween celebration, most of which they did not have. So as part of publishing I now had the opportunity to enjoy the creative experiences of sewing some fun costumes, or adding pieces from former outfits to  make them part of a costume.  

In the end I ended up sewing all or part of the following costumes:

• Pirate
• Witch
• Cinderella
• Clown
• Victorian Vampiress
• Doctor

As part of sharing my writing experience, it seems appropriate to share the outfits either as I create them or as I use them in the stories.   Please feel free to submit your comments regarding the writing or sewing shares.