Inspiration Monday: Marty McConnell

  Frida Kahlo to Marty McConnell leaving is not enough; you must stay gone. train your heart like a dog. change the locks even on the house he’s never visited. you lucky, lucky girl. you have an apartment just your size. a bathtub full of tea. a heart the size of Arizona, but not nearly so arid. don’t wish away your cracked past, your crooked toes, your problems are papier mache puppets you made or bought because the vendor at the market was so compelling you just had to have them. you had to have him. and you did. and … Continue reading Inspiration Monday: Marty McConnell

Inspiration Monday: Jeanette Winterson

“Truth for anyone is a very complex thing. For a writer, what you leave out says as much as those things you include. What lies beyond the margin of the text? The photographer frames the shot; writers frame their world. … There are so many things that we can’t say, because they are too painful. We hope that the things we can say will soothe the rest, or appease it in some way.” — Jeanette Winterson Continue reading Inspiration Monday: Jeanette Winterson

Inspiration Monday: Alice Walker

“There is an awful lot of anger in the world … and … there is a real need to be creative with it rather than destructive. I think of violence as basically useless; it doesn’t solve anything. The more violence you create the more violence you have. So it really is an inconvenience. It’s like lying; if you lie, you’re constantly trying to remember what you lied about and how you lied. With violence, if you create it, you’re always trying to figure out why you did it or how to deal with the messiness of it or, later on, … Continue reading Inspiration Monday: Alice Walker

Hot Reads & Other Stuff

The wind is blowing fiercely outside whipping the trees into a frenzy. The wind chimes are clanging merrily, though, giving quite the serenade. All the little birds at the bird feeder are puffed out. I guess they’re trying to stay warm in the cold wind. It’s grey. Another grey day. Every time we have one of these days in NOLA it reinforces how glad I am that I don’t live where winters are harsh. Day upon day of greyness would do me in for sure. I don’t mind the occasional gloomy day – sometimes it’s nice to cuddle up on … Continue reading Hot Reads & Other Stuff

Charlotte’s Top Five

It’s end/beginning of year – list time! Although list posts are multiplying like rabbits online, I’ll go ahead and post my second annual Top Fives in books, movies, TV, and music. Note that these are not books, movies, TV, and music that debuted in 2015 but my personal Top Fives which means, although I’m not a slave to current pop culture, I am highly interested in good books, good movies, good TV, and good music regardless of when it was created. In addition, I’m posting my Top Five wanna-sees and wanna-reads for 2016. Wanna-listen is dependent upon mood. Here we … Continue reading Charlotte’s Top Five

Inspiration Monday: Jonathan Rauch

“Leave an extrovert alone for two minutes and he will reach for his cell phone. In contrast, after an hour or two of being socially “on,” we introverts need to turn off and recharge. My own formula is roughly two hours alone for every hour of socializing. This isn’t antisocial. It isn’t a sign of depression. It does not call for medication. For introverts, to be alone with our thoughts is as restorative as sleeping, as nourishing as eating. Our motto: “I’m okay, you’re okay—in small doses.” ― Jonathan Rauch White Chocolate Blueberry Scones recipe here. Currently reading:  THE LINEUP: … Continue reading Inspiration Monday: Jonathan Rauch