December Blogging Plans

Strictly speaking, I should have begun my Advent blogging last Sunday, the first Sunday of Advent. But since Advent calendars usually start on the first of December, I'll begin tomorrow.

Those of you who are my friends on Facebook may have noticed that I promised myself to check Facebook only once a week starting December 1 (and for as long thereafter as I can hold out). Instead, I'll be spending time blogging, reviewing, and reading blogs. I have two specific projects for December, both of which I also attempted last year. One is the Geneablogger Advent Calendar of Family History; the other is Auntie Knickers' Advent Storytime.

Geneabloggers is an aggregation of people who blog about genealogy and family history. Each day from December 1 through 24 has a writing prompt. The prompts are the same as last year's, so if I can't think of anything different to write about I'll skip a day here and there. I thought it might be fun, when possible, to coordinate my read-aloud stories with the family history tales, so I'll be doing that when it's appropriate.

As I did last year, I'll be posting my readings of Christmas stories to a filesharing site where readers who wish can download them. I'm using MediaFire this year. The Sendspace links from last year are no longer active; if anyone requests it, I can repost them on MediaFire. Since Sisterfilms, for whose benefit I did this last year, is now in residence here, I'm not going to post individual files for Mac users unless someone else asks me to. The files I'll post are Self-Extracting Zip Files and seemed to work fine last year. After I've posted the first one I'll possibly have a few more instructions for you.

I've written at length about some of the stories and songs before, and I'll point you to those posts in the blog archive, but I'll also try to find some more information about the authors or anything else that seems interesting.

I hope a few people will enjoy these stories. One last note: there are a few tales that are a little more adult in nature; on those days I'll include two stories so there'll be one for kids too.

See you tomorrow!

Just a quick bit of BSP (Blatant Self-Promotion)

In case you didn't notice, I'm guestblogging at Meanderings and Muses today. North Carolinians, and alumni of Ludwigsburg American HS and Roger Ludlowe HS may especially want to read it.

Friday Five: Blogroll Spotlight

Over at RevGalBlogPals, Mary Beth remarks:

"On my blog sidebar is a list titled, "Blogs I Read Every Day." After my mother became a blogger, she asked me how I could possibly read that many blogs daily!? I had to confess it then: Okay, I don't read them all every day! I have over 100 on there! But I have favorites, and you do too.Some of you probably use feed readers to let you know when your favorite bloggers have posted...not me, not yet. I just have folks who are part of my day-to-day.So for today's Friday Five, give us five blogs you visit regularly, and tell us briefly WHY you like them. These can be RevGal and Pal bloggers and others ... or news sites, knitting sites, etc. Who are you showing the love to on a pretty constant basis?Hopefully we will all get to know some new bloggy friends this way!"

Well, oddly enough, I already did a very similar post earlier this week when I got around to responding to the Fabulous Blogger award I got from Kaye, a fellow mystery-reader who blogs at Meanderings and Muses. However, there are also some other blogs I follow, so here goes:

1. Rick Horowitz and I both went to A Host at Last U, and both worked on the student newspaper. Rick pitched for the baseball team and was the Sports Editor, among other things; and a couple of years after graduation gave me a fleeting moment of fame when he mentioned my name in a column he wrote for the New York Times which was widely syndicated. He actually makes a living writing, and his trenchant remarks on politics and other current events are well worth reading. He also appears sometimes on Wisconsin Public TV, for you lucky Cheeseheads out there.

2. Julie Bowe is Onkel Hankie Pants's cousin, and has also been making a living writing for quite a while. She's published two good children's books and I think the third is not far off. I like to keep up with what she's doing -- a post a while back about making aebleskiver with her son was especially great. Hmm, both my first two choices live in Wisconsin!

3. Crimson Rambler is a RevGalBlogPal and gives us the Canadian Anglican viewpoint. I think maybe we are kindred spirits and I just love the way she puts things. I'd read her every day if she posted every day, but I know she is very busy.

4. Celeste is a friend of my elder daughter's with whom I've spent only a few hours of facetime a couple of years ago. She's currently the stay-at-home mom to "the cutest baby ever" (according to my younger daughter who got to visit with the family recently) and as always, an artist who amazes me with her unending creativity. She also sells some of her art on Etsy, which is a site well worth looking at.

5. Poe's Deadly Daughters is just one of several group blogs I read, all connected with mystery/detective fiction in some way. I chose them because I won two books in one of their recent giveaways (never let it be said I can't be bribed!) They're all good writers and they also occasionally have guest bloggers or interviews with other mystery writers. They're quite entertaining even when they aren't writing mysteries.

Thanks, Mary Beth, for this Friday Five. Many of the blogs I read and love came to my attention through other people's blogrolls!

Announcing My Second Blog!

In case anyone is interested, I've started a second blog just for keeping track of the films I see. I'll review them, too, of course. It's called Queuing Up and has two posts so far. Check it out if you have a mind to.

Awards Scare Me!

Back on March 13, Kaye Barley from Meanderings and Muses emailed me that she had chosen me for a Fabulous Blog Award. (You can see her post on the subject at her place). This recognition comes with rules -- and I quote: "You must pass it on to 5 other Fabulous Bloggers in a post. (You might find their email addresses on their Profile page or, if not available, post as a "comment" to their latest post.) You must include the person who gave you the award, and link back to them. You must list 5 of your Fabulous Addictions in the post. You must copy and paste these rules in the post. Right click the Award icon and save it to your computer, then post with your own awards. To my way of thinking, this is not only a nice tribute, it widens the reading audience."

Whether from a paralyzing fear of success, too much time spent on Facebook, or sheer laziness, I haven't blogged since! But now I'm back and resolving to do better. How did I get started blogging anyway?

I remember a dinner party a year or so before we moved from City of Lakes where 3 of the 4 men present talked animatedly about all the blogs they kept up with each day. Onkel Hankie Pants was the fourth man, and I don't think either of us really understood what was being discussed -- we knew the word and that was about it. In retrospect, I think our friends were all reading professional or semi-pro political blogs, of which more later. We also wondered how these guys got any work done!

When we moved to Maine, we had a bit more time on our hands and we each got our own computer (my recipe for a happy marriage, especially in retirement or semi-retirement.) We were visiting different churches and looking at their websites, and one website recommended Songbird's blog. One visit and I was hooked. I started reading her blog regularly and then dipping into some of the others on her blogroll. About that same time my elder daughter started a blog. This daughter is the middle child, and as we know, the middle child is more peer-oriented; plus she was in the Pacific Time Zone, making telephone communication difficult. I read her blog simply to keep in touch! Some time later, Onkel Hankie Pants started blogging, and, not to be outdone, I began Exile's Return. After a while I joined the RevGalBlogPals blogring, and I continue to sample blogrolls. There are blogs on almost any subject, including many that interest me, and before the election I was even checking in fairly often at some of those political blogs mentioned above. (Now? Not so much, unless one of my favored bloggers links to one, except for my old college chum Rick Horowitz's funny take on politics and other aspects of the news.)

Some of my favorite mystery writers have blogs. Vicki Lane, who passed the Fabulous Blogger award to Kaye, who passed it to me, has a beautiful one -- just looking at her photographs of the Carolina mountains each day lifts my spirit. Some other writers have joint blogs (you'll find a couple in my blogroll) which is a Good Thing -- with only one post a week, they have more time to write more mysteries.

I wish all my friends had blogs! I've recently joined Facebook, and it's been fun keeping up with some more people that way, but the short status updates aren't quite enough for me. I want to know what you think! DorothyL and Goodreads have proven good ways for me to reflect on what I'm reading. I joined a site that promised to do the same sort of thing for movies, but I'm not pleased with it and I may need to follow Sisterfilms' example and start another blog for film reviews.

Without further ado, here's my list of Fabulous Bloggers -- check 'em out!
1. Meanderings and Muses -- where I'll be guest-blogging in June!
2. Cordeliaknits -- there is quite a bit about knitting, but more besides, and some great photos.
3. Are You There, God? It's Me, Elinor -- my younger daughter and a deep thinker, seriously.
4. Processing Counselor -- someone I don't know in person but who is in many ways a kindred spirit, and in others quite different, which keeps me interested in what she has to say
5. The Owl's Song -- taught me that people of faith and goodwill and eminently good sense come in all denominations -- even ones I've tended to think of almost as "the enemy."

And my Fabulous Addictions:
1. Reading and acquiring books: here's a photo of one of my TBR shelves,
note double-shelving!








2. Christmas music: here's a photo of where I keep it:
3. Genealogy: here's a photo of just some of my files and resource material:
4. Ripping Yarns: Here are two examples of the kinds of books and movies I call "Ripping Yarns"--
I'd probably count National Treasure movies as one of my guilty pleasures even without
Nicolas Cage, and Patrick O'Brian, while of another literary order entirely, writes a great Ripping Yarn.












5. And last but not least, How to Be Perfect books. These fall into many categories (if you look hard you can spot at least one in each of the two photos of bookshelves above) and here is my latest purchase, which I couldn't resist when I came across it in the used bookstore last week:

I've Been Tagged for the Meme of Tears

     Kaye Barley, who joins my blogroll today, has tagged me for the Meme of Tears. Kaye is a fellow DorothyLer, like me a reader of mystery stories, and lives in North Carolina. Later this year, I'll be a guest blogger on her blog, which is a scary thought given some of the other guests she's lined up. Here's the meme:

What's hit you on an emotional level and made you cry? An event, a book, a movie, a TV show - any or all of these?

     It's not really that hard to move me to tears. My father, in one of his more printable salty sayings, used to tell me, "Your bladder is too close to your eyeballs."  My daughters tease me about my propensity to choke up at movies, at church, or while reading or telling a story. Sometimes I can't even fully explain what it is that touches me, though I hope it has something to do with empathy.

     I'm surprised that the list of examples didn't include music, the surest way to make me cry.  It can be just the sound, or something in the words of a song, or the memories the song evokes, that trigger the tear ducts. I'm a sucker for cherub choirs, bands playing patriotic music (a severe handicap when I was in the Women's Army Corps!), and a lot of other music. Most recently, I was moved to tears (virtually outright sobbing!) when I heard a recording of my daughter Sisterfilms singing Koppången.  I've blogged about this song before [December 4, 2007] and it's definitely a favorite, but normally I can hear it sung without crying. Sisterfilms had sung it in church on the first Sunday of Advent (while I was still 1500 miles away) and with one thing and another I didn't get to hear the recording till after Christmas. Sisterfilms' voice ranges from tenor to mezzo-soprano, but she sang this squarely in the alto voice. I happen to feel that the alto and baritone voices carry more emotion than the soprano and tenor, and perhaps that's why I prefer them. Sisterfilms is also particularly good at conveying emotion in her singing, and she really outdid herself with this one.  If I had been present for the live performance, I don't think I would have wept as much or even at all, since I would have been nervous for her, but I heard that several people in church were also moved to tears that day.

Books often move me.  Even after many readings both silent and aloud, I cannot read the two episodes of the death of Jack the bulldog in the Laura Ingalls Wilder books without crying. (The first time they only think he is dead; his return turns on the waterworks too). The book that most recently choked me up is Naomi Novik's His Majesty's Dragon (or Temeraire in some editions).  The first in the Temeraire series, it's set during the Napoleonic Wars, much like Patrick O'Brian's sea stories, except that in this world, there are dragons who have been domesticated and form Aerial Corps for the warring countries. The dragons can speak, and form close attachments with their handlers/captains, and usually vice versa. But the hero, Will, and his dragon, Temeraire, discover one dragon who is sadly neglected by his unworthy handler. The scene of the neglected dragon's death, when Will forces the handler to visit his dying dragon, and the depiction of the dragon's pitiful gladness at some attention from the handler whom he loves despite all, had me reaching for my handkerchief. (One cannot use tissues whilst reading this type of book).

I'll stop there, although I could certainly come up with a movie, an event, or even a TV show that has caused me to weep. If you would like to reflect on this meme, consider yourself tagged, and let me know in comments if you play. And don't forget to check out Meanderings and Muses!

Looking Backward Meme

Singing Owl had this meme, which is to look back over the preceding year of blog posts and excerpt the first sentence of the first post for each month, then see if there's a pattern. So here are mine:

JANUARY: Well, I've already broken my New Year's Resolution about blogging, but my excuse is that yesterday was Sisterknits' last full day with us before she headed back to City of Lakes today.

FEBRUARY: Which Wife of Henry VIII Are You? The picture has disappeared and I can't remember!

MARCH: Here we go again! The snow started, as predicted, about 10 pm last night. 

APRIL: Another Friday Five: How has God revealed him/herself to you in a:

1. Book: I haven't been doing a lot of spiritual reading lately, mostly mysteries and some non-fiction dealing with economics (in a fairly superficial way).

MAY: Sisterknits said I'd better do a blog post before I take off, so here it is.

JUNE: Last week the Friday Five was about garage sales, and today we actually went to some!

JULY: Also Friday Five, since I was away from computer July 1-3, so: 1. Barbeque's or picnics ( or are they essentially the same thing?)

Not to me -- barbecues are usually at home or someone's home, and picnics are at a park or similar place. But, today we actually ate at an old-school drive-in with picnic tables, real cherry cokes, and deep-fried cheese curds! (Something you can't get in Maine.)

AUGUST: It was the Friday Five, so here's my first answer: ) How do you amuse yourself when road construction blocks your travel?

Since I am not ever the driver, I amuse myself pretty much all the time I am in a car -- in this case I would look at the workers, be glad I'm not working as a flagger for $8 an hour, and perhaps try to amuse the driver, if necessary!

SEPTEMBER: Yes, today everything came together perfectly and we took my birthday boat ride.

OCTOBER: Perhaps you've heard of the "Curse of the State Quarters." I'm beginning to think there may be a curse connected with my collection of coffee mugs! 

NOVEMBER: This morning began around 6:30 am when Rusty decided it was time for people to get up.

DECEMBER:It's a bit late in the day here on the East Coast, but I'm still going to start this out so that there will be a story and song suggestion for each day up to December 24th.

It's surprising how many times it was the Friday Five that got me blogging, when it wasn't necessarily the first day of the month. I think the pattern is that I have not been assiduous nor imaginative enough about my blog. That's a good resolution for this year.

Friday Five: What's in a Name?

RevHRod at RevGalBlogPals writes:

If you are a regular reader of Songbird's blog, you know that "The Princess" has requested a new name. Her older brother changed his "secret identity" a while back and now this lovely young lady is searching for a new name on her mother's blog. This got me to thinking. How do we come up with all of these names? There must be at least a few good stories out there.

In honor of the Princess I have posted a picture of one of my favorite members of fictional royalty, Robert Munch's "Paperbag Princess." She is a brave young woman who doesn't need anyone else to fight her battles. And she knows that what is most important isn't tiaras and finery but what's on the inside. If you haven't read this little fairy tale, I highly recommend it. But I digress.

1. So how did you come up with your blogging name? And/or the name of your blog? My blogging name comes from Onkel Hankie Pants, who started his blog first and referred to me as Auntie Knickers there. It's both a play on the pants theme and also on my real name. I named my blog "Exile's Return" for the reasons stated under the title.
   
2. Are there any code names or secret identities in your blog? Any stories there? Yes. Some of the names are self-chosen by those involved, such as Onkel Hankie Pants, SonShineIn, Cordeliaknits and now, Sisterfilms. For the rest, primarily I picked one distinguishing characteristic for each person. For example, Temple Truck Woman has an "art car" that is made to look like a temple. Brother #1 painted some of the images (maybe all); here is one.
3. What are some blog titles that you just love? For their cleverness, drama, or sheer, crazy fun? Good in Parts. Film Aching. Hey, There's a Dead Guy in the Living Room.
   
4. What three blogs are you devoted to? Other than the RevGalBlogPals of course! Well, Cordeliaknits, of course. Given the time difference between Maine and California and the concern about cellphone minutes (hers), it's the best way of staying in touch with my daughter. The Lipstick Chronicles, a blog by some mystery writers. And StoneSoupArt, partly because I've met the blogger (a friend of Cordeliaknits) and partly for the beautiful photographs.
   
5. Who introduced you to the world of blogging and why? I'm pretty sure the first blog I read was Songbird's. It was recommended in the newsletter of a nearby church, neither hers nor mine. I got hooked. Then Cordeliaknits started hers and it just snowballed from there until I couldn't stand it any more and had to have my own blog.
   

Bonus question: Have you ever met any of your blogging friends? Where are some of the places you've met these fun folks? Yes, apart from the ones I already knew before I read their blogs, I have met Songbird at the bean supper at her current church, and when I was in Minneapolis recently I had coffee with Diane from Faith in Community -- great fun! Songbird and I hope to get our dogs together some time, but I'm afraid Molly and Sam will be shocked and dismayed by Rusty's bad manners. Here is the traditional Blogger Meetup Feet picture from my and Diane's morning at the Birchwood Cafe:

Why I am So Strange

Because this is what I listened to as a young person:


Actually, I'm mostly doing this as a test blog post, because I've been having trouble with Blogger making me type verification letters to post. It also seems to have the idea that my native language is Hindi or Urdu -- not the case at all. And I sent in the request to have a real person look at the blog (to make sure it's not spam) on June 7, and it's now the 18th. So I'm going to send the request again, but to do that I needed to post. More tomorrow.

How Long Before Someone Writes This Novel?

In the half-sleeping time this morning, after Onkel Hankie Pants had taken Rusty for his walk, and before their return, I dreamed a plot for a story or book, possibly a romance novel. I doubt very much that I shall ever write it, so if you want to, feel free.

It's a blog romance! There is a blogger who is a youngish (30+) woman, a bit of a hipster -- she may perhaps spike her hair and have tattoos. In my dream her blog was (mystifyingly) called something like "always a suit." There is another blogger, a man in his mid-60s but still quite vigorous and good-looking in a craggy, slightly grizzled way. Both are unattached and assume they will remain so. Somehow they start reading each other's blogs, and commenting on them. This goes on for quite some time with the relationship unfolding until another person who reads both blogs gently points out that the two have fallen in love. At first they don't believe this but finally arrange a meetup and then another and pretty soon they are together. Oh, and the older guy turns out to be a fairly well-known poet (blogging semi-anonymously) who's originally from London.

I could go on about where all these characters came from (I believe most of my dreams are processing events in my life, books I've read and films I've seen) but I have much more to blog about. But when you see the first epistolary novel in the form of blog entries, remember -- I thought of it first! (Or maybe not. Maybe one has already been published, or at least is being written.) (According to Wikipedia, there is actually a novel/blog that is a blog...For Ilford Dyson, I Hope You Find This which is actually on Blogger just like me. But I was thinking of a print novel.)

Oh -- and the difference between this and other epistolary novels, also between it and stories of people who've hooked up via the Internet (with sometimes disastrous results) is that the whole courtship, at least until the face-to-face meetup, takes place in full view of, and with comments from, all the other blogreaders.