Pen 'n Paper Mama » family

Happy birthday!

Norma Hill — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 18:15:38 +0000

July 26, 2010

I am going to have 55th birthdays from now on! I had an amazing birthday on Saturday – and it even got extended into Sunday by some friends…

I had an all-day drop-in birthday party on Saturday, from 7 am to 7 pm (well, some folks stayed a couple hours later, lol)…

35 friends dropped by, 70 friends sent greetings on facebook, I got at least a half dozen phone calls, and more greetings by email.

We had blueberry crepes for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, and chili for supper, along with various snacks along the way. My wonderful friend Debbie brought a big birthday cake and lots of helium balloons (the first time I’ve had helium balloons for my birthday! I was as excited as a little kid).

I received a dozen birthday cards, 2 beautiful bouquets of flowers, 2 boxes of chocolates, 2 Starbucks cards, a wally-world gift card, and a wonderful assortment of other surprises.

On Sunday morning, I went to street church, and they had another big birthday cake for me. I took along the Saturday leftovers, so I ended up having a two-day birthday party. Awesome!

Many thanks to all my wonderful friends for spoiling me – and to my Father who has given me so many friends and family, because He LOVES me!!! And He loves you, too!

grandmothering, personal letter writing, aboriginal day

Norma Hill — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 20:27:35 +0000

June 22, 2010

Getting behind in my blogging and posting again! Well,of course, I did quite a bit of blogging over at the My Church Journey” blog, the past few days.

I spent most of today having an absolutely wonderful time with my 1 1/2 year old grandson and 1 1/2 month old granddaughter, as mommy was sick. It is so cool being a naanii (grandmother)!

I also came up with an idea for a “personal letter writing” business. Something like “Ye Olde Fine Art of Letter Writing Shoppe” (lol). Doing invitations, thank-yous, get-wells, Christmas letters (both handwritten on cards, and in newsletter form), personal letters, even family newsletters for people. I first thought of it because there are so many seniors around here, and I know that they value “old-fashioned” letter writing, but it becomes difficult for many of them in old age. And of course many people are busy, busy, busy, but would still like to send out personal notes and letters.

If you missed my article on earning money from your writing skills, I’ll repeat a bit of it here.

The fine old art of friendly/personal letter writing seems to be evaporating, and yet so many people are delighted to receive a handwritten letter. As one who has attractive handwriting, skill in writing personal letters, and some graphic design skills, it has occurred to me there are all kinds of people who might be happy to hire me to do some of this kind of writing for them.

It might seem as though hiring someone else to do one’s “personal writing” is a bit oxymoronic, but of course businessmen have been having their secretaries do it for them for years, movie stars hire personal assistants to answer fan-mail, the Queen has her ladies-in-waiting, and so forth. And of course there are plenty of ordinary people who are very busy or have valid reasons for being unable to do their own writing, who would love to have someone help them send out personalized cards, letters, and messages.

So…. anyone want to hire me?

Yesterday was Aboriginal Day in Canada, and we would have loved to have been “home” in Old Massett for the raising of SIX new totem poles, as well as the Jasper Raven pole being repatriated and raised! You can see a few details here. Well, we have enjoyed looking at all the photos posted on facebook by people who did attend all the events (it was a very exciting week, with the Haida-Gwaii renaming ceremony a few days previous and other related events)!

Anyway, we went instead to the local celebrations hosted by the Penticton band of the Okanagan Nation, and spent several hours enjoying singing, dancing and drumming, as well as eating delicious Okanagan fried bread! Thanks for your hospitality!

Getting back into my routine – perhaps?

Norma Hill — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 21:35:10 +0000

GETTING BACK INTO MY ROUTINE – PERHAPS?

15 – 16 June 2010

Arrived Penticton on bus 9:35 am. Hubby picked me up. We went home and I unpacked, then I fell into bed and slept till about 2 pm! There is nothing like one’s own comfy bed!

After I got up, I cleaned house. Ha! Before I left to Alberta, I cleaned it thoroughly. When I got home, it had turned into a bachelor pad!

Hubby had to go to work in the afternoon. I went through my several hundred Alberta-land snapshots and chose 45 to post on Facebook. Then over to Wendy’s to take care of Hayley, while they rushed Marcus to the hospital to have his head repaired after he jumped off the couch, poor little guy! Nasty gash and lots of blood, but all in all, he’s fine! Unlike Humpty-Dumpty, little people are tough, and generally can be “put together again” – in this case with a clump of glue!

I had a wonderful one-on-one with my wee grand-daughter – who in the short week and a half I was gone, seems to have left her wee-status behind! How true that little ditty, “Cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow, For children grow up, we’ve learned to our sorrow… So quiet down cobwebs, dust go to sleep; I’m rocking my baby ’cause babies don’t keep!” (lol… I kept quoting that verse to Sarah when she’d start worrying about the house being a mess or whatever).

Lionel and I took a drive down the valley to Oliver to check out the big mud slide. Wow! So many houses smashed and destroyed. A couple were actually pushed right onto the highway. They’ve cleared the highway itself now, but the flow of mud, and destroyed buildings, vehicles, orchards and vineyards stretch far above and below the road. The orchards and vineyards are wiped out, and the soil won’t be usable for agriculture for years to come. Several homes are totally destroyed. A little dam built back in the 1930s to create an irrigation resevoir gave way after recent heavy rains. A hiker had been up there a few days earlier and come back to town and warned officials that problems were developing, but nothing was done about it! Apparently there are dozens of such dams throughout the Okanagan – and as many as 2000, or so I’ve heard, throughout the province. So now the province is scrambling to check them all before another disaster happens. Well, it is a blessing that no one was hurt!

Next day I woke to dozens of comments and “likes” on the Alberta pictures I posted on facebook. Everyone loves a new baby!

I spent a lot of time catching up on facebook, and on my email, both personal and “business” related.

I really do want to get “back to business” – but Your will, Father, not mine. Hubby’s new job has been unexpectedly on-again, off-again, the past couple weeks, and I have been wondering, since my 3 months “separation package” from my last job just ran out yesterday, if maybe I am foolish to try to make a living from writing, and should just “get a real job,” and do writing as “moonlighting” income. My loving and patient husband says I should stick to the writing – but as I pointed out to him, if I do, I really need to focus, with set hours. When I am “working at home,” hubby and son have a hard time imagining why I can’t just drop everything and do whatever they’d like to do at any given moment! It does seem “sensible” to me to “set work hours” and stick to them tenaciously – but then I wonder – is that what You want for me? It does seem that so often when I “tenaciously” follow plans that seem sensible to me, they end up getting turned on their heads! Hmmm….

Father, I really do want to WALK WITH YOU!

(If you want to see the conversation I had with Father about this, check out Trust and Obey)

new grandson! I love family!

Norma Hill — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 21:33:22 +0000

3 June 2010 to 14 June 2010

Exciting busy day! My daughter Sarah had a baby boy, Logan, at 1:30 am on 3 June!

So I spent the majority of the day rushing about: cleaned house, packed, laundry, practiced my nonnie (grandma) skills by babysitting my grandson Marcus, cleaned up my computer stuff (going to take a break from it, mostly, while I’m gone!).

Climbed on the Greyhound at 5 pm, and hit the road. Interesting night! The gent sitting in front of me hacked all night (literally)… and I neglected to bring a pillow… so mostly I dozed rather than slept! But did enough dozing that I was ready for the day when we finally pulled into the bus depot in Leduc, Alberta at about 12 noon next day!

My daughter’s hubby, Daryl, picked me up from the bus stop, and we drove to the hospital to meet daughter Sarah and grandson Logan. Of course he is absolutely adorable! After doing the check-out stuff, we drove to their home. Family and friends dropped by all afternoon to see the little guy and congratulate the parents. My son-in-law made a wonderful supper of salad, twice-baked potatoes, and barbequed chicken for supper. I was so impressed! (lol… it turned out my daughter had made the twice-baked potatoes and frozen them before the baby arrived; thus they were actually twice-baked-then-barbequed! And she herself made the salad while I was admiring my little grandson, and I hadn’t even noticed! Still, as the next few days would prove, I do have a son-in-law who is talented in the kitchen!).

Sarah is a wonderful mommy! It is interesting to watch my kids take care of their babies. Seems that the rules for baby care constantly continue to change, just as they did while I was having my own babies (for example, I was instructed to place my first baby on her tummy, the second one on her side, the third on her other side, and the fourth and fifth on their backs – though the fifth quickly determined to lay curled up on his front no matter what the rules said!). I see that scheduled feeding is apparently in vogue again, as is offering epidurals and other pain-reducers to moms in labor. I gave birth in the “natural birth” heyday – five babies with no pain meds, just lots of huffing-and-puffing! And breast-feeding on demand, of course. I have to laugh at all the ever-evolving rules and regulations, as the majority of babies seem determined to make the rules themselves anyway!

Over the next few days I have mightily enjoyed the little one. At 6 pounds birth weight, he is much smaller than my babies were – but pretty much par for the course, relative to most of his cousins! My nights have been full of waking hours – but it is so worth it when I get to cuddle the little guy after he and mommy have had feeding time. Times like this, I can sure see the joy of living as extended families – or at least close enough together to be “on-call” at a moment’s notice.

Just being together as family is awesome. No need for “planned activities.” Caring for the baby together, cleaning, cooking, laundry, sitting and chatting, sharing memories, asking for and giving advice, going for walks around the neighborhood… together! That’s family! Oh, and of course taking dozens of pictures to hold those memories. I love my digital camera! I can take countless pictures, and not worry about the costs of developing and printing! Yes!

Little guy’s eyes are quickly turning dark brown – and he has long dark hair – just like his mommy when she was a baby!

After a few days, we went to the home of my daughter, Taryn, and her hubby Andrew, and I stayed with them for a couple days. Had a wonderful time with my grandson, Tony (age 9), playing table games, going to the park together, having a rental-movie-and-popcorn-sleepover in the living room. We also did some crosswords together – Taryn, Tony, and me. The cross-word book was British, and the clues had a definite British-English slant, which threw us for a loop! We cheated! And laughed! And cheated some more! Such fun!

Back in the day, Tony lived with us the first 6 months of his life, and then we spent many, many happy hours together as their little family lived close by when he was pre-school. It was fun to be together again and do the simple family things we’ve always enjoyed.

I also got to spend lots of time with my 8 month old grandson Apollo. I only saw him for a day or two when he was new-born, and he has grown so much. It was wonderful to be family together with him too – and of course with his mommy and daddy.

We did “go out” one evening for supper at an Indian restaurant. I had a kind of mild curry with lots of spinach and cream sauce. It was awesomely delicious! I have been craving Indian food ever since! Time to get a cookbook and give it a try! Taryn and I did some shopping (mostly window-shopping) together … another of those family traditions! Of course, mostly we talked while we wandered the stores, snacked in the food court, and rode the LRT! No matter what the activities, just being family together is the awesome thing!

Back to Sarah’s place. Taryn and family came along for a visit, and we had more family-together-time, going for a meander to a campground nearby where we might get all the family together next summer for a reunion – and wedding! Exciting possibilities – but mostly, just looking forward with joy to all being together, as family!

Spent a couple more days with Sarah and Logan (Daryl had to go out of town for a couple days), and we just, well, enjoyed being together!

Caught the Greyhound bus at Leduc at 6:45 pm on the 14th, and arrived back in Penticton at 9:15 am on the 15th. This time I had a pillow with me, and the bus was quiet, so I actually slept quite a bit! Hurrah! And happy to be home with my dear hubby, Lionel, and my son, Peter!

Later in the day got to spend some one-on-one with my wee sweet one-and-only grand-daughter, Hailey (1 month old), while my daughter, Wendy, and her hubby, Gavin, rushed my 19 month old grandson, Marcus, to emergency at the hospital, to get his scalp glued after he bounced himself off the couch and hit a sharp edge! He’s fine! That’s natural-family-togetherness too!

And in a couple months, I’ll be off to Campbell River to meet yet another new grandchild, baby of my daughter Robyn and her husband Alex, and sibling for my 20 month old grandson, William! I love family!!!

What to do about all life’s “unexpected distractions” ??

Norma Hill — Fri, 28 May 2010 18:50:28 +0000

May 28, 2010

In the past half dozen or so days, I’ve found myself being caught between my plans (my writing, what I really want to be doing) and a lot of unexpected “distractions.”

Or are they really distractions? What do you do when life throws all kinds of surprises in your path? Especially when they are things that MUST be dealt with immediately (like when the toilet plugged and water was flooding the house, upstairs and down?). Or things that involve people you have close and important relationships with (like my husband and children and grandchildren)? Or things that offer opportunities to develop relationships and networks in other areas of your life that are also important to you?

How do you really determine what your priorities are? What your passions are?

What if you are a “jack – or jill – of all trades” kind of person who is passionate about a lot of things?

What if important others in your life don’t understand or don’t share your passions?

Is it easier, generally, for men than for women to focus on “the One Thing” in their lives? (I have been watching different blogs with interest, in relation to this topic. It seems to me that the male bloggers are much more enthusiastic about preaching the “focus on your passion and toss aside your distractions” message than women bloggers are!)

Herewith, some of my “distractions” in the past few days:

- people dropping by to visit, or long-distance folks phoning and chatting (but I love company, especially family! Maybe I’m suffering from empty-nest syndrome? Or maybe that really is a priority, not a distraction?)
- preparing new resumes and “packages” for hubby, as he searches for a new job (We do need the income, after all)
- go for an afternoon drive down the valley with hubby, who wanted to see the site of a big fire! (relationship-building, right?)
- vacuum very thoroughly at hubby’s request, as he suddenly got inspired to steam-clean the carpet (and one has to take advantage of such amazing opportunities, doesn’t one? lol)
- spend half a day helping hubby put up the new gazebo, then cleaning up the yard, and sitting out and enjoying the new space (well, it was a beautiful sunny stat holiday after all… good day to take a break, right? … and I’ll be able to write outdoors, which is very inspiring!)
- all that routine stuff that just has to be done … laundry, dishes, house-cleaning (and no, I am not a perfectionist, but there are basics, right?), recycling, organizing
- book-keeping and filing (household stuff) (yes, I probably should “automate” some of that a bit more…) (and no, it shouldn’t be an unexpected distraction, just like the routine stuff shouldn’t be … I know, I know, I should have a scheduled time… and maybe I would if it weren’t for the other distractions…)
- go through a pile of boxes and files trying to help my son find his receipt for his 8 month old TV which suddenly decided to stop working properly (well, he can’t get it fixed for free without the receipt … and yes, I know, he’s 20 years old and should learn to take care of his receipts … but he was desperate … and we don’t do a lot together, so doesn’t this count as mom-and-son bonding? lol…)
- a friend dropped by unexpectedly to talk about a volunteer activity we are both involved in (well, he hasn’t been well, and was feeling a bit better, so decided to take advantage of his bit of extra energy … )
- get a chance to spend a morning in another community helping at their street-level outreach (and spent the previous evening baking goodies in preparation) (Now they want me to make it a regular thing. Hubby is not happy about that idea. And I’m not so sure, either…)
- the rearview mirror on the car windsheild fell off. So of course I had to fix that. Went to Canadian Tire to get the glue kit. Came home and meticulously followed the instructions. Final step: apply the glue: so I opened the glue package and the glue was all dried out. Back to the store… New package… Start again…) Grrrr….
- after making porridge for breakfast, had to run to the store, because son used all the milk the night before, eating most of the new package of cereal (Reminder: get cereal son doesn’t like so well!)
- babysit grandson while his parents take his baby sister to an important (and long) appointment (yes, they let me know ahead of time, and yes, I love time with my grandkids – they really are priority!)
- attend the monthly Strata Council meeting (important! right?!? especially since I work from home, and so my environment and neighborhood community is important)

What “distracts” you? How do you stick to your “passion?” How do you deal with important people in your life who believe that, because you aren’t working at a “real job” (ie flipping hamburgers at McDonalds 9am to 5 pm, lol!), you can be interrupted at any time, and can drop what you’re doing, and spend time doing whatever they suddenly decide to do? Without hurting their feelings or damaging your relationship?

Oh, and what about your personal values and beliefs? How do those all work together with the mix?

street church … days of rest (mostly) … Last Mountain memories!

Norma Hill — Mon, 17 May 2010 19:50:13 +0000

STREET CHURCH … DAY OF REST (MOSTLY)… LAST MOUNTAIN MEMORIES!

May 16, 2010 (Sunday)

Sunday (May 16) started with Another Chance Okanagan street ministry breakfast and gathering of the street church. If you’re wondering what it is about, check out the link, or go to My Church Journey site, and search “Another Chance” or “street church” for my observations!

Later, after I got home, I broke my “day of rest” rule for a few moments, and signed on to delicious.com! I also tagged my sites with Delicious and Twitter… hmmm…

When I went to university back in the day (University of British Columbia, 1977 to 1979), I wanted to take my last 3 years of university in 2 years. The rule was that to take 21 units per semester (plus summer school) instead of the usual 15 units, one had to maintain a 1st class average. Well! Most people were telling me that I’d have to study 7 days a week. But others told me I’d need to take a full day off each week, no matter what. I had been brought up in a church background in which “keep the Sabbath holy, by making Sunday a day of rest” was a key “Biblical” precept, so having already developed the habit, I decided to continue it. And I ended up with higher marks that I’d ever had before, in high school or college.

Later, I read research studies which strongly suggest that our human bodies do function best in 7 day cycles in which one day is always keep as a day to rest from our normal work! So here I am, really trying to follow the precept again. And generally, I’m succeeding – but sometimes I “fail” a little! I’m not going to beat myself up about it, though. Still, it really does give me time and space to relax (which I am not naturally very good at) and to enjoy Father and His world!

In the afternoon, hubby took me for a drive up the valley. When we got to Kelowna, he took me into the Chapters store, and announced that I could buy whatever books I wanted, as anniversary presents! How sweet! So of course I had a wonderful time browsing. And I ended up getting a book I’ve been wanting ever since the 2nd Edition came out in late April: ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income by Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett. Although I’d be happy to settle for a five-figure (or even a four-figure, at this point) income, I’ve been impressed enough by their blogs to want to take a look at their pointers! (Hmmm… does buying that book count as “breaking my day of rest rule?” lol…)

On the way home, hubby asked me to drive, since he was kind of tired, and I took the opportunity to explore some side roads that we always zip by when we are out-and-about! So we went through the old downtown core of Kelowna, and I pointed out to him the first movie theatre I ever went to, when I was about ten years old or so. Then I took a side-trip up Glenrosa to Last Mountain (aka Crystal Mtn ski area), where I learned to ski as a young teen. Of course there is no snow this time of year, but the ski hill hasn’t changed much, and it sure brought back some great memories!

happy anniversary! … trip to the Kootenays!

Norma Hill — Mon, 17 May 2010 19:43:20 +0000

May 15, 2010 (Saturday)

Happy 28th anniversary to my sweetheart! We had an awesome day. We drove 5 hours to the Kootenays to visit our niece for a couple hours, and then drove back. It was wonderful to see her, and the trip was really beautiful. You can check out photos on my facebook page if you’re one of my friends (if you’re not, and would like to be, send me a request!); or at our flickr pages as soon as I get them posted there – later today, hopefully!

epiphany: ah-ha moment! Novel Under Construction!

Norma Hill — Thu, 13 May 2010 18:56:09 +0000

May 13, 2010

(In case this seems a bit scattered – you have to understand that I wrote most of it between 3:15 and 4:00 am … but after some more sleep, and some serious thinking, and research, and reflection… I am going with it!)

I just woke up with an epiphany – that’s an “ah-ha! moment” for those of you who may not have your dictionary close at hand!

Here it is: Write my Mother’s Journey blogsite story (which is currently in the form of many chapters of journal notes, mostly conversations with God) as a novel!

So how do I go about it? Hmmm…

Read some similar novels (similar storyline, similar worldview/perspective…)

Study/review on how to write good stories; and on novel forms/techniques.

Maybe even contact writers of such novels and pick their brains, ask for advice…

Father! YOU spoke this idea into my mind – and heart! Wow! It certainly never occurred to me, though I’ve wondered and wondered what to do about that site…

E-book? Maybe… but more likely (first, anyway) paperback. Self-published? Or even produced by a real publisher?!? Oh, Father! Your will be done!

Get out those writing books I ordered and start learning…

NaNoWriMo the first draft? (You know, sit down and just write, write, write…)

Print out the online blogsite edition, and read it through. Start marking it up.

(Father, You eed to help me with that – give Your direction! Some one out there – perhaps many someones – need something this book has to offer… Or You wouldn’t have planted this idea! Something You can offer them – through this book?!?!)

Read The Shack again? Other books that feature conversations with You? Papa? Please lead me to any and all books, stories, etc, that You know I need to get prepared. Thank You!

Father, that blog/web story has seemed to have just “sat there” for so long… doing almost nothing… and yet – who knows? ___ read it, didn’t she? (And if she alone was helped by it, encouraged to turn to You, walk with You more closely, that would be enough in itself. But I sense You have more. A much larger plan. Thank You! In Jesus’ name!) Lead please! Your will, Your way…

Probably, start with a “present” incident – looking back… to the beginning. And then the story of those years – and finally, back to the present again?

Integrate any suitable material from the Prayers and Meditations part of my Conversations, Reflections & Meditations website, into the Mothers Journey material. (Hmmm… better do that on the computer since so much of it is typed already… but how? Just cut-and-paste it into the current version? But I don’t want to confuse things that way…)

I can print out and work by hand as well, of course. (Yes, that small laptop would be handy, lol… the one my son and son-in-law have been encouraging me to get the past couple days… still, I really like the one I already have…)

Maybe end up with an e-book options too? Perhaps… but I hear You saying, “Traditional novel format first!” Okay. Your will. Thank You, Father.

Oh! Integrate stories from The Hill Gang story site too? Totally makes sense. A novel is STORY – not just reflection and commentary. Well then, I better “fill in the blanks there, eh! I have jotted down so many “missed” stories since I did the original. Well, this will be excellent motivation to get those written down – and those will be great story-writing practice, too. Yes!

Father? How “real life” do I make this? Oh my goodness…. What will the “real” characters think? How will they react?

Include them in the process? Papa? Is that YOU telling me that? I mean, it seems like a great, exciting idea. IF it is from You … because at the same time it seems pretty scary….

Hmmm… maybe a multi-author book? For sure, send them the drafts, proposal, etc etc as the process unfolds. And include them and their thoughts, ideas, memories in the whole process?

Wow. That would be something! You speaking into their lives – my life too – our lives, together – through the writing process, drawing us together – with You! Oh Father, that would be so amazing!

What? Write this as the beginning of a blog? A blog that tracks the entire novel-writing process, and includes others’ comments and input and suggestions and feedback? I mean, the story is the story – but what should be included, how it should be presented, writing technique… Open to all blog followers who want to be part of the process? Their comments part of the whole process? They themselves part of the process? Maybe the process becomes, in some way, the opening chapter?

Well! That would be different, for sure. That’s what “they” keep saying new writers and new on-line entrepreneurs need to do. Find a unique niche. Offer something that not only is a passion for myself – but meets needs of others, and offers them the opportunity to participate, share, learn together, produce together. On-going conversation. Involvement. Excitement!

And of course, the process then becomes its own buildup to the book’s release down the line!

Hmmm… I could actually do the process right on the Mother’s Journey” site, couldn’t I? Or maybe better yet, start a whole new site – a site that could become a “hub” for the other sites, pulling everything together.

Record all the process. List and describe other novels I read, books and other resources I research, and what I’ve learned. Post my drafts and edits and encourage people to critique. A novel-in-process. Under construction. For all the world to see – and take part in, if they like! (Has anyone else tried this? I wonder? I know that some authors, like Piers Anthony with his highly entertaining and successful Xanth series, includes many puns suggested by his readers – and gives them credit! Very multi-authored in that sense.)

Network! E-mail the 110 plus e-mail friends I have – and also notify my nearly 500 facebook friends – and the members of the e-groups I belong to, especially the writing groups, and The Word Guild Canadian Christian writers group I belong to, and the local Penticton Writers and Publishers club I attend. Send out a survey to get initial input and ideas. (And more later on, if I get stuck). And ask questions at related blogs and websites I follow. And, oh my, guess it’s time to start tweeting on twitter and hooking up to other similar networking sites (well, yes, I need to do that anyway, on my present sites, including my two main daily blogs, Pen ‘n Paper Mama and my Church Journey blog (which, now that I think of it, also has some potential material! And my other two blogsites and my website which I’ve already mentioned…

Crazy! I love it!

Oh Father, if creativity comes from You – this is surely proof of it. You, the Creator, the Source of all great creativity! Amazing!

(If this is really from You…. yes, it has to be… please show me, Father! Thank You! Woohoo!) (Is it okay to say “woo-hoo” to You?!?!?! lol…)

The automatic sprinklers just turned on outside my window… reminding me of Your Spirit… watering the dry and thirsty ground… Reminding me of You, Jesus, offering Living Water to the woman at the well of Samaria – and to her whole city – and to the whole world! Reminding me of the waters of baptism. Reminding me of sprinkling rainfall, of spring showers, of new life!

That old song comes to mind:

It’s beginning to rain, hear the voice of the Father
He’s saying “Whosoever will, come drink of My water,
I promise to pour My Spirit out on your sons and your daughters,
If you’re thirsty and dry, look up to the sky,
It’s beginning to rain!

(Well, those are the words we used to sing! I checked the internet for the lyrics – and found many versions! The original lyrics are by William and Gloria Gaither, 1979).

Oh Father! Let Your rain fall on me, on my family, on all Your children! The world! Papa, please use this book, this story – this gift from You! Thank You!

Well, I was only going to jot down a couple quick notes to help me remember this ah-ha moment when morning comes, then turn off the light and get more sleep. But now it’s almost an hour later, as Your ideas just kept coming to me, tumbling over me – and I had to switch the light back on, and write them down… as they kept coming.

Oh! The automatic sprinkler just switched off. Does that mean I can go back to sleep now? Lol… Good night!

And to my readers: It’s almost noon now. And I’ve started my new hub site. It’s definitely in the “under construction” stages … but I’ve posted this “start” there – and your comments are welcome! Check out the original site of this story to get a general idea of what it’s about. And then come join in, and become a (recognized!) participant in this newNovel Under Construction project!

midnight madness… pondering our “poor youth!”

Norma Hill — Sat, 01 May 2010 21:00:42 +0000

May 1, 2010

So I actually went to bed at 8 pm, and figured I’d get up by 5 am, having had a good night’s sleep. However, shortly before I went to bed, my son came home from work, and was telling me how he had been told by his boss that he was being “unprofessional” for laughing and being happy in front of customers. I suppose my “protective mothering instincts” went into high gear, because I woke up about 1:30 am thinking about it – and tossed and turned till 2:30 am, praying for sleep, and for rest from my thoughts. But I couldn’t drift off again, so I turned on the light, and got out my pen and paper.

I won’t go into detail here about all my “mother hen” ideas about how to “solve” my son’s problem. Suffice it to say that I finally came to the conclusion that at 20 years old, he is a man, and I really ought to let him deal with these kinds of things himself, and develop into a responsible adult! Besides, I am sure he would not appreciate me running to his aid – and neither would his boss, lol!

Beyond all my wild ideas on how I could “help” or “rescue” or “stand up for” my son, I began to write about how we try to teach our kids about justice, fairness, equality, respect, etc … but how we live in a world that sure doesn’t seem to operate according to those ideals. I won’t burden you with all I wrote (lucky you!), but here’s the gist of it:

I especially got into how we push equality in relationship to gender, and race, and such, but don’t believe in it when it comes to age: especially youth and old age. That led me on to grousing about how we teach democracy in our schools, but the schools themselves are one of the most undemocratic institutions ever devised (which of course leads to a whole other discussion on what schools really teach…).

Then I went on to jobs, and keeping young adults at the “bottom of the ladder” as long as possible, and all the reasons for that. And how we promise big wages for those who stay in school the longest (and then often don’t pay those wages, oh dear), instead of tying learning to really important things, like becoming a responsible adult and citizen, able to think and make responsible decisions and care about the world (all things which schools don’t teach so well, anyway…).

And then I got in a flap about the rules of the road for drivers, and how kids get pulled over and charged far more often than adults (not to mention police officers) who are just as bad and often worse drivers, but should be setting a good example. And how young people who decide to become responsible young parents are scorned by older adults as “babies having babies.” And how we try to keep young people out of the workforce, or at least out of responsible positions, as long as possible, so us older adults can hang onto them as long as possible, in order to be able to afford to “own all the toys.” And then we lament because the young adults stay home with mom and dad so long.

And then I realized I’d been writing for an hour. And really wasn’t getting anywhere. So I decided it was time to stop and try to sleep again. I finished off my middle-of-the-night diatribe by writing the following words of wisdom:

Okay, I have opened a kettle of fish that is way too big for midnight ponderings. I’m getting tired just thinking about it. (Plus I had a nice big glass of chocolate milk, which made me feel better – part of my midnight wakening was because I was dehydrated from not drinking enough yesterday – and it also made me sleepy!

At least I’m not feeling in such a flap about my poor little son. Guess I better stop wanting to baby him (and his generation), and let him grow up and take his place in the fair and equitable and just adult world, lol!
(Oh dear. Maybe all that “poor young people” moaning and groaning should be reconsidered! When you think about about, young people really don’t have it so bad. Enjoy your youth while you can, my young friends! Adulthood “ain’t all it’s cracked up to be” either!)

today stuff …. and lots of work on my “writing business”

Norma Hill — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 22:04:53 +0000

fun at the Similkameen River by Red Bridge

24 April 2010

This morning on the “weekend morning news” on Global BC TV news, the “small town feature” of the day was Keremeos, where we lived a few years ago. The TV anchor person told watchers to email pictures of Keremeos, so I sent in three, and one of them got posted later in the program (Check it out!). It is a view of the Similkameen River Valley looking from Red Bridge toward the Keremeos townsite. And it features 5 little hooligans having summer fun at the swimming hole. Two of them are mine! So I told them that they are now famous!

Did more “catch-up” stuff … sort and put out recycling, finish up filing, read through the strata rules and regs as I have been elected to the Strata Council and will be attending my first meeting this coming week, put together my new magazine file boxes and organize my “business” cupboard a bit more, check out my igoogle stats, finish cleaning up my email… and then watched the Avatar video which has just come out (my son rented it, and we watched it together – mom and son bonding!). Good movie.

I spent quite a lot of time exploring The Word Guild (which I recently joined) and its associated websites. I ended up reading many of the blog entries from various Christian writers (mostly Canadians), on all kinds of topics.

One writer, NJ Lindquist, writes about the many changes in what it means to be a writer these day – much of which is related to computerization. Not just the actual use of computers instead of typewriters, but also multi-media presentation, blogging, websites and tele-seminars, marketing, multiple niche audiences, and more. She has ended up developing 8 blogsites of her own.

Well, that cheered me up, as I wondered if I was being silly or obsessive to already have one website and 4 blogsites of my own – not to mention active membership in a variety of social networking sites, email groups (a couple of which I myself moderate), an annual NaNoWriMo effort … as well as off-line writers clubs and other organizational memberships as well. And then of course there are a number of writing projects that I have going simultaneously….

Oh yes, and of course I am following RSS feeds of various blogs, keeping an eye on my blog and website stats with iGoogle, StatCounter.com and so on (and trying to improve them – which means some pretty major changes to how I’ve been doing thing). And learning CSS and upgrading my knowledge of XHTML (I love that “Creating A Website” book in “The Missing Manual” series!), learning to write queries and proposals (yes, I still want to write paper-based documents). And pondering publishing some ebooks. And getting back into sketching as well as improving my photography skills (to make my writing efforts more graphical: very important these days). And learning to do on-line business. Etc etc etc ….

So I guess I am going to want to add at least a couple of NJ Lindquist’s blogs to my regular reading list. After all, a good writer is pretty much inevitably a widely-read reader, right? Especially this blog: writewithexcellence.com.

I just finished reading several blog entries from NJ’s sites, and while I am a bit nervous about this whole writing business, I am also encouraged and excited – and I do believe Father is guiding me as I go down this path. Of course, I need to make sure I keep walking with Him, and not wander off on my own…