La Festa di San Giuseppe: Fava Beans and Cream Puffs
March 19 is the Festa di San Giuseppe: St. Joseph’s Day and Italian Father’s Day. Celebrations include fava beans and cream puffs (but not together).
Read on...sunday scribblings: inspiration
Prompt #51: Inspiration
Oh the irony that I vaguely posted on this subject a mere two days ago, and here I am doomed blessed to revisit inspiration once more.
I’m not going to lie to you. The first thing that came to my mind when I read this prompt was the 1984 heart-warming ditty of Chicago, “You’re the Inspiration.” But since I have no specific memories attached to that song other than singing obscenely loudly (hardly unique to this tune), let’s move on.
Let’s talk about writing. Again.
Many writers refer to their projects as their babies, and I feel the same. If we’re lucky, the reward is a healthy, well-composed baby, and the path to get there is paved with inspiration–great when it’s around, torturous when it’s in hiding.
For me, inspiration comes when it comes, and there’s just no amount of pushing that’s going to convince the baby to come out until it’s ready. (I’d say “good and ready,” but this writer certainly cannot guarantee goodness the first time around.)
As far as I know, there’s no writing inspiration equivalent of a C-section just yet, and doesn’t sound like a particularly enticing idea anyway, but I do hear that walking around sometimes helps move labor along; with writing, I have to agree with this tactic as well.
Breathing fresh air and connecting with other living things–people, animals, or simply nature in general–often gives me that extra push I need to complete something, to break through a mental block, to inspire me to continue. And this isn’t limited to just writing. That load of laundry that’s beginning to move by itself? The floor that hasn’t been mopped since B.O. (before Obama)? The layer of dust that blurs my niece and nephew’s photographed faces?
It’s not a sure thing, but all of these chores have a much better chance of being tackled after I reintroduce myself to the outdoors.
Procrastination? Nah. Inspiration!
And there’s no better time than Spring to drink in all the inspiration I can stand.
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[tags]inspiration, writing, spring, primavera, flowers, sunday scribblings[/tags]
i’m a nonna!
That’s grandmother in Italian, in case you didn’t know.
Now before you go thinking my Little Luna has succumbed to one of her admirers, let me show you the new little one around here (pictured with Mamma):
His or her brothers and sisters should be making their appearances later today and/or tomorrow, as this hen (our only brooding one) has about 10 eggs underneath her.
And before you ask–yes, someday this little one could be dinner. But let’s not dwell on that while s/he’s still yellow and fuzzy, umkay?
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[tags]chicks, hens, chickens, eggs, hatching[/tags]
peeking in on some pages
I’ve had my manuscript counter sitting over there on the sidebar for months (go ahead, scroll down; I’ll still be here when you get back), and the number has barely budged. I thought having it there would pressure me to write the second half of the book I’m working on. Hah!
I know that I should force myself to get up even earlier and just write those few pages a day that all the well-respected writing authorities assure me will mean a finished first draft in no time, and yet, no pages in months.
There are tons of excuses, as there always are when you aren’t doing something you know you should be doing. The biggest one for me is that other things like work that pays the bills gets in the way–and when work that pays the bills is other types of writing, well, the last thing I want to do is sit down and write in my “free” time.
Poor me, I know. I wish I could channel some of the enthusiasm of Christina, but for now, what I’ll do is play along with something I saw over at Nova’s place, Distraction No. 99.
After all, the first step in The Writer’s 12 Step Inspirational Program is to admit that you are a writer. So here I am. With the paragraphs to prove it.
Turn to page 123 in your work-in-progress. (If you haven’t gotten to page 123 yet, then turn to page 23. If you haven’t gotten there yet, then get busy and write page 23.) Count down four sentences and then instead of just the fifth sentence, give us the whole paragraph.*
*Since I like to make my own rules, I’ll give you a paragraph from pages 23 and 123 of the same
work.
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Page 23:
Just as that thought occurred to me, a light went on in Frank’s kitchen. Are you kidding me? Daisy couldn’t have woken him up. And anyway, he must’ve gone through this hundreds of times when Bianca was alive. Don’t your sleep patterns adjust to these sorts of things? The rain bounced off Bianca’s umbrella lightly but steadily as I turned my whole body to face Daisy. I thought maybe she would pick up the pace, fearing Frank’s wrath. Instead, I saw only the swaying tail of my new best friend as she trotted toward Frank’s kitchen. So much for being afraid of the rain.
Page 123:
But there was no time to think. I opened the glass doors of the china cabinet and felt around as much as I could without disturbing the various pieces of crystal waiting to clang together. Ah! There was a key in between two glasses. I tried to pry up the jagged edge, but just as I had a grip, the ceiling above me, which corresponded with the top of the steps, moaned. Anthony was coming. I pulled back my hand, shut the doors, and swiped my coffee mug from the dining room table just as he rounded the corner.
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Phew. Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?
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[tags]writing, writing fiction, memes[/tags]
love thursday: scribblings on a seawall
Not too long ago, a friend pointed me to an article about a lamp post in Rome that has become famous for lovers attaching padlocks and then throwing the keys into the Tiber River–hoping to lock up the permanency of their relationship so to speak.
Like nearly everything, this lamp post has become a political issue, which is what is discussed in the article, but my friend spotted the piece and thought it’d make for a lovely Love Thursday.
And indeed it would.
But then a few days ago, Shelley of At Home in Rome photographed the lamp post personally, and she has shared more of the story with the blogosphere. No need to rehash here as Shelley’s got it covered, but this past weekend, I made an interesting discovery–down here in Calabria, we have our own little lovely tradition.
It’s not as visually stunning as the padlocks, and some may call it nasty graffiti, but what I see is (I’m guessing) young love poured out onto a wall that lines the promenade in Catanzaro Lido.
Cristian,
You are my life.
Thank you for existing.
Valentine’s Day
You’re not with me…
I had wanted to spend this day with you…
Patience…
I will love you forever, Giù (Giuseppe)…
Your Cate (Caterina)!!!
Live with me without fear
(song lyric by Laura Pausini)
I love you Lilly
Happy Love Thursday everyone!
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[tags]love thursday, graffiti, catanzaro, catanzaro lido, seawalls, sea, ionian sea, love notes, southern italy, calabria[/tags]
Michelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived.
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