Thanksgiving

I love holidays.  I love to cook.  I'm not too bad at it either.  Even people who aren't family are willing to come and eat my food.

We were blessed today to have so many friends join us.  I loved that I was able to cook for so many people who would appreciate spending the day at our home. 

My only concern is how I interacted with everyone. I had all the food prepared. I had to ask the guests to help on a few items; but it was mostly done. 

I didn't really get to join in the conversatiosn though.   I am shy.  That is a fact I try and change as much as I can.

I was able to sit with everyone a few times but I really didn't get a chance to sit and catch up with anyone or get to know anyone better; which is really what I wanted.

How do I host, make sure everyone is happy and still have time to talk with the guests and get to know them better.  I haven't figured that out.  All the years I have been hosting.  I am never able to enjoy the party.  No matter how much I plan ahead.  

I was so lucky today to have friends over that I really want to get to know better yet I wasn't able to really engage in conversation.  A small part of that was because I am shy but it was mostly because I was busy getting milk for kids, drinks for adults, etc.

In a couple of weeks I am having a group of women over for a cookie exchange.  I would love any suggestions anyone has on how to overcome this problem before they arrive on the 8th.

Thanks.

I hope you all had a lovely holiday and appreciated what you have to be thankful for.

I have my family and friends and job and so much more. I am really blessed. 

Peace and love to all.

Life is Beautiful

I'm blessed to know an extraordinary woman who believes "life is beautiful" with all her heart.  She posts it as a tag on all her correspondence and has posted banners with this phrase every where she has been.
Even now, as she struggles with unemployment and an injury, she still firmly believes this.

As I labor to ensure that my novel is ready to be submitted I have stated that my antagonist is life.  The villain I needed was not a person but the unfortunate events that happen everyday in life to everyone, even to my firecracker of a friend.  My heroine has to rise above the tumultuous waves life is throwing at her family.  Finding a way to still see life as beautiful while you are still queasy from the buffeting life is giving you is a gift my friend has that I have taken inspiration from.

I have been through a lot that I merely survived.  It is a gift to be able to rise above and thrive.  It is a gift I am giving myself and hoping to impart to others through my novel I am writing.

Unwashed Grape

There is a line in "A Streetcar Named Desire" spoken by Blanche where she states a fear of dying from eating an unwashed grape.  This is by no means one of the most famous lines of the book yet I think of it every time I wash a bunch of grapes.

I remember this line because it is something that happens in everyday life.  More specifically it is something that happened in my everyday life.  My mother would never allow us to eat a piece of fruit that was not washed.  I had a connection with this line and it has stayed with me for all these years.

The fact that a single line from a book I read over 25 years ago has stayed with me for all these years attests to the power of writing.