Posted in Jugular, Memoir, Personal, Practice, Secrets, Topic Writing, Writing Practices, tagged writing about risk on February 29, 2008 | 21 Comments »
I take a risk when I write, period. Risk that I might say something I can never take back. Risk I might say something that someone will recognize, like the time I wrote about going to the Taj Mahal with R. How we met in the lobby of our hotel before sunrise, and how I [...]
Posted in Art, Body, Bones, Family, Maps, Practice, Silence, Skies, Spirituality, Structure, tagged Bliss, circles, coloring as practice, Coloring Mandalas, mandalas, Marija Gimbutas. Goddess energy, Susanne F. Fincher, The Great Round, Wheel of Life on February 28, 2008 | 17 Comments »
These are our February mandalas for The Great Round: Stage Two - Bliss. Again, we used Crayola markers and colored pencils. The feel of coloring the Stage 2 mandalas was very different than The Void mandalas of January. I pay attention to the colors I am drawn to when I sit down with the circles. My [...]
Posted in 25 Things, Great Places To Write, On the Road, Photography, Place, Things That Fly, Travel, tagged airplane shots, cell phone photography, plane rides on February 27, 2008 | 9 Comments »
I get up at 4:10 am, the latest possible time I can rise and get dressed, make a cup of coffee, brush my teeth, warm the frost off the car, and still make it to the airport 45 minutes before my 6 o’clock flight.
The plane is almost empty. I sit alone on row 12, over the wing. [...]
Posted in Art, Body, Haiku, Poetry, Practice, Topic Writing, Writing, tagged Mano Poderosa, Omnipotent Hand, writing about risk on February 26, 2008 | 22 Comments »
Mano Poderosa (Omnipotent Hand), gouache painting and etching
on wood, retablo © 2008 by ybonesy. All rights reserved.
heart to head to hand:
what am i willing to bleed?
the risk of writing
-related to post, haiku (one-a-day)
-related to post, WRITING TOPIC - TAKE A RISK
Posted in Body, Bones, Culture, Life, Nature, Personal, Practice, Seasons, Secrets, Skies, Writing Practices, tagged Bone Moon, cabin fever, February Full Moon, Lunar Eclipse, Nature's secrets, Raccoon Moon, Snow Moon, winter in Minnesota on February 25, 2008 | 19 Comments »
The Full Snow Moon was bright, then blood red, the last Total Lunar Eclipse until 2012. There are many names for February’s Moon: Sleet Moon, Goose Moon, Coyote Moon. I even found a reference from the Sioux, Raccoon Moon. I thought of our resident raccoon. I bundled wool over exposed skin, stood outside in no [...]
Posted in Art, Haiku, Holding My Breath, Nature, Photography, Place, Poetry, Practice, Seasons, Secrets, Things That Fly, Wake Up, tagged Audio Art, Nature's secrets, recording nature, sound technology, the practice of haiku, the sound of snow and ice, winter in Minnesota on February 24, 2008 | 10 Comments »
Snow Flying On Ice, Minneapolis, Minnesota, February 2008, photo © 2008 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.
thick lumbering lake
bristles at the crackling sound
snow flying on ice
Lake Ice Booming - 1min
Recorded by Audio Producer/Editor/Mixer, Curt Olson at Track Seventeen
More sounds of Winter at: The Sound of Snow and Ice - Various Artists at Gruenrekorder
-posted on red Ravine, [...]
Posted in Authors, Bones, Books, Dreams, Personal, Photography, Practice, Reading, Structure, Writers, Writing, tagged Ann Patchett, Anne Lamott, book talk, Do You Let Yourself Read?, Natalie Goldberg, Sinclair Lewis, the practice of reading, the structure of writing, the value of staring into space on February 23, 2008 | 101 Comments »
Do You Let Yourself Read?, Minneapolis, Minnesota, October 2007, photo © 2008 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.
I had a voicemail from one of my writing friends yesterday. She said she was frustrated because she wasn’t giving herself time to read. Last year, she had structured it in: made a reading list, read the Classics over [...]
Posted in Authors, Bones, Home, Nature, Photography, Place, Poetry, Seasons, Structure, Writers, Writing, tagged American poets, listening to Robert Frost, places writers call home, Robert Frost, Robert Frost statue at Dartmouth, Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening, writers in their own voices on February 21, 2008 | 28 Comments »
Shadows Of The Cattail, Minneapolis, Minnesota, February 2008, photo © 2008 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.
Robert Frost was an American poet who lived from March 26, 1874, to January 29, 1963. He was born in San Francisco, made his way to Massachusetts via Harvard, and finally settled in New Hampshire.
My 3rd grade English teacher, Mrs. [...]
Posted in Animals & Critters, Haiku, Photography, Poetry, Practice, tagged paw prints, raccoons, the practice of haiku on February 20, 2008 | 14 Comments »
Printmaking (Raccoon), Minneapolis, Minnesota, February 2008, photo © 2008 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.
inhaling the cold
raccoon paws melt into prints
fall between the cracks
-posted on red Ravine, Wednesday, February 20th, 2008
-related to post, haiku (one-a-day)
Posted in Art, Art of Rebellion, Doodling, Jugular, Writers, Writing, Writing Topics, tagged Alma Lopez, controversy in art, Go for the jugular, Madonna in a Bikini, Natalie Goldberg, taking a risk through writing on February 19, 2008 | 31 Comments »
For anyone who lived in New Mexico in 2001, you will remember the “Madonna in a Bikini” controversy. Artist Alma Lopez depicted the Virgen de Guadalupe as a real woman wearing a bikini of flowers.
Many Catholics were offended, and even the Catholic Church protested, claiming that Lopez had turned the Holy Mother into “a tart.” [...]
Posted in Authors, Bones, Books, Creative Nonfiction, Gratitude, Memoir, Photography, Practice, Quotes, Reading, Structure, Writers, Writing, tagged bookstores, Common Good Books, giving back, how to write memoir, mentors, Minnesota, Natalie Goldberg, new book releases, Old Friend from Far Away, support Independent bookstores, writing community, writing practice on February 18, 2008 | 36 Comments »
Old Friend From Far Away, Minneapolis, Minnesota, February 2008, photo © 2008 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.
I bought Natalie Goldberg’s new book, Old Friend from Far Away: The Practice of Writing Memoir, on February 14th, Valentine’s Day. Actually, Liz bought it for me, the creative version of romance - a writer’s gift. We visited Common [...]
Posted in 25 Things, Animals & Critters, Family, tagged pug dogs, pug owners on February 17, 2008 | 46 Comments »
Sonia Wise Eyes, Sonia adjusting to her new home, February 11, 2008, all photos © 2008 by ybonesy. All rights reserved.
Her full name is Sonia.
She came to us via a friend who loved her but couldn’t keep her; the friend’s father was dying.
Sony is 10 months old.
She doesn’t come when you call her. She forces [...]
Posted in Haiku, Nature, Photography, Place, Poetry, Practice, Seasons, Wake Up, tagged circles, the practice of haiku, winter in Minnesota on February 16, 2008 | 12 Comments »
Circles On Circles, Minneapolis, Minnesota, February 2008, photo © 2008 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.
the pond from the house
shadows of living trees, ice
circles on circles
-posted on red Ravine, Saturday, February 16th, 2008
-related to post, haiku (one-a-day) and WRITING TOPIC - CIRCLES
Posted in Body, Bones, Nature, Personal, Practice, Seasons, Things That Fly, Topic Writing, Writing Practices, tagged feathers, Great Greys, osprey, raptors, writing about feathers on February 16, 2008 | 8 Comments »
The last feather I saw was a curved downy fluff next to Mr. StripeyPants on the bed. The two comforters are filled with the down of the goose. One is cinnamon, new and soft and fresh. The other, faded pink, old and wearing thin. We have patched the mauve one several times. But alas, there [...]
Posted in Family, Nature, Practice, Things That Fly, Topic Writing, Writing Practices, tagged feathers, writing about feathers on February 15, 2008 | 6 Comments »
The last time I saw a feather was a few hours ago. I pulled into the driveway after running an errand, and I noticed two turkey feathers stuck into the edge of a foamcore poster board advertising LIVE HERITAGE TURKEYS FOR SALE. All caps.
Turkey feathers are big and plain, at least these ones are. I like [...]
Posted in 25 Things, Family, Holidays, Love, Personal, Practice, tagged Valentine's Day on February 14, 2008 | 9 Comments »
Valentine’s Day is almost over.
I meant to say how much I love the simple act of acknowledging the day.
I meant to talk about how it seems that when we were little, the cards we gave to our classmates were so much bigger than the cards my girls bring home today. How much I loved coming home [...]
Posted in Holidays, Laughing, Life, Love, Photography, Practice, Seasons, Writers, Writing, tagged primroses, Ted Kooser, the practice of haiku, Valentine's Day, Valentines on February 14, 2008 | 14 Comments »
Valentine Primroses, Minneapolis, Minnesota, February 2008, photo © 2008 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.
red primrose surprise
fluffy white valentine hearts
fall from the gray sky
-posted on red Ravine, Thursday, February 14th, 2008
-related to post, haiku (one-a-day)
Posted in Body, Bones, Haiku, Holding My Breath, Nature, Photography, Poetry, Practice, Seasons, tagged cattails, the practice of haiku, winter in Minnesota on February 13, 2008 | 11 Comments »
Cattail Sun, -25 wind chilled February day, Minneapolis, Minnesota, photo © 2008 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.
ears red from the wind
snow flies off frozen boot tips
cattail fluffs her hair
-posted on red Ravine, Wednesday, February 13th, 2008
-related to post, haiku (one-a-day)
Posted in Body, Growing Older, Personal, Practice, Recall, Writing Practices, tagged body hair, Christine Swint, Desmond Morris, hair, Persian threading, The Naked Ape, writing about hair on February 12, 2008 | 32 Comments »
By Christine Swint
Whatever grows out of this pen, the ink, the spidery words trailing across the page, grow out of me like the hair sprouting from my scalp. The words are connected to my brain only in the instant the pen touches the paper, the same way that my hair is a part of my [...]
Posted in Animals & Critters, Art, Bones, Culture, Nature, Photography, Practice, Things That Fly, Wake Up, Writing, Writing Topics, tagged feathers as symbols, feathers throughout history, light as a feather, Shield of Courage, writing about feathers on February 11, 2008 | 12 Comments »
Let’s talk feathers. Light as a feather, feather in your cap, feathered pillows, feathered hair. I’ve been collecting bird feathers since 1984. I find them on long walks through the woods; I find them in the sidewalk cracks along city roads.
Feathers have been used in every culture since the beginning of time. In South American [...]
Posted in Body, Bones, Haiku, Holding My Breath, Nature, Photography, Place, Poetry, Practice, Seasons, Skies, Wake Up, tagged moonrise, the practice of haiku, winter in Minnesota on February 10, 2008 | 13 Comments »
Quarter Oak Sky, -25 wind chilled February day, Minneapolis, Minnesota, photo © 2008 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.
quarter oak moonrise
behind a sliver of sky
holds bonechilling peace
-posted on red Ravine, Sunday, February 10th, 2008
-related to post, haiku (one-a-day)
Posted in Maps, Nature, Place, Practice, Seasons, Things That Fly, Topic Writing, Wake Up, Weather, Writing Practices, tagged midwinter blues, mind maps, navigating winter, where safety hides on February 9, 2008 | 18 Comments »
Walking with my friend around a shadowed pond, -25 wind chills. We talked and talked and talked, ate tomato soup out of two ceramic cups while the wind floated snow between icy gusts. And then we slowly walked, holding crimson ears with the palms of our hands, ungloved to take a photograph of a tuft [...]
Posted in Body, Bones, Haiku, Nature, Photography, Poetry, Practice, Secrets, tagged midwinter blues, Northwestern Casket Arts Building, the practice of haiku, where safety hides on February 9, 2008 | 7 Comments »
Safety Hides, Northwestern Casket Arts Building wall sign, Minneapolis, Minnesota, November 2007, photo © 2008 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.
tree swing rocks the snow
blizzard swirls on the blue deck
no safe place to hide
-posted on red Ravine, Saturday, February 9th, 2008
-related to post, haiku (one-a-day)
Posted in Body, Essay, Family, Growing Older, Memoir, Practice, tagged hair, memories of hair, red hair, redhead, writing about hair on February 8, 2008 | 26 Comments »
By Robin
There’s a story about my birth that was told fairly often when I was growing up. It’s a short story, and involves hair.
When my mother was pregnant with me, my father was asked by a friend what his preference was: a boy or a girl? His answer was that he didn’t care if it [...]
Posted in Animals & Critters, Family, Practice, Random, Seasons, Things That Fly, Topic Writing, tagged dogs, dogs who kill birds, No Topic, roadrunners, writing on No Topic, writing without prompts on February 7, 2008 | 17 Comments »
Sitting here with my down jacket on. It’s lilac-colored, the wrists dingy and the patch on the sleeve coming off. It will be years, though, before I buy another. My desire for fashion as far as coats are concerned – long gone. Melted with the snow.
That was cliché. Melted with the snow, and here I am [...]
Posted in Gratitude, Haiku, Nature, Photography, Place, Poetry, Practice, Seasons, Skies, Wake Up, Weather, tagged image of sunrise, new day, New Mexico sky on February 6, 2008 | 11 Comments »
A new day, detail of sun rising on an end-of-January morning, Rio Grande Valley clouds and sunrise in winter, photos © 2008 by Jim. All rights reserved.
yesterday it snowed
the earth knows how parched i’ve been
sun rises in my heart
-related to post, haiku (one-a-day)
Posted in Bones, Everyday Art, Photography, Practice, Structure, Writers, Writing, Writing Topics, tagged Natalie Goldberg, writing on No Topic, writing prompts on February 5, 2008 | 17 Comments »
Yellow blur, detail of glass globe on a lamp, photo © 2008 by ybonesy. All rights reserved.
I’d been writing with a group of women locally for about a year when I told them, “Some day soon, let’s write on ‘No Topic’ as our topic.”
I explained that No Topic was like the mother of all topics. [...]
Posted in Haiku, Holding My Breath, Nature, Photography, Poetry, Practice, tagged Holding My Breath, Silence, turning of the seasons on February 4, 2008 | 23 Comments »
After The Storm, Holding My Breath Series, Minneapolis, Minnesota, March 2007, photo © 2007 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.
snow on the blue porch
quiet, listening to silence
in a pregnant pause
-posted on red Ravine, Monday, February 4th, 2008
-related to post, haiku (one-a-day)
Posted in Culture, Essay, Photography, Politics, Secrets, tagged 2008 Presidential primaries, Barack Obama, Democratic Primaries, Hillary Clinton, what influences how we vote on February 3, 2008 | 30 Comments »
Obama on stage, February 1, 2008, Kiva Auditorium, Albuquerque
Convention Center, photo © 2008 by ybonesy. All rights reserved.
I got a call yesterday from Mom. She wanted to know what I thought about Barack Obama.
“He was good,” I told her. I went to see him speak on the economy, in an auditorium where I’ve seen George Winston, Joan [...]
Posted in Animals & Critters, Art of Rebellion, Haiku, Holidays, Laughing, Photography, Place, Politics, tagged famous Pennsylvanians, get out and vote, Groundhog Day, Punxsutawney Phil, Smith Lake Jake, the politics of groundhogs on February 2, 2008 | 94 Comments »
Walking The Susquehanna River, Central Pennsylvania, taking a walk with Mom on on her 70th birthday weekend, November 2007, photo © 2007 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.
forget politics
cast your vote for the real deal
Punxsutawney Phil
-posted on red Ravine, Saturday, February 2nd, 2008, Groundhog Day
-related to posts, haiku (one-a-day) and The Politics Of Primary Season 2008 [...]
Posted in 25 Things, Culture, Essay, Jugular, Personal, Photography, Place, Politics, Structure, Vision, tagged A Presidential Primer, Barack Obama, get out and vote, Hillary Clinton, Minnesota Caucus, MPR Select A Candidate, politics in America, Super Tuesday States, the politics of primaries, the structure of U.S. politics on February 1, 2008 | 61 Comments »
New Mexico To Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, January 2008, photo © 2008 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.
I’m not a very political person. I don’t follow politics, and haven’t since my more radical days in the 1970’s. But this year has been different. I’ve been energized and inspired by the candidates on both sides of the fence. [...]
Posted in Body, Culture, Family, Film / TV / Video, I Don't Remember, Personal, Practice, Topic Writing, tagged curly hair, hair, memories of hair, writing about hair on February 1, 2008 | 13 Comments »
I have brown curly hair. I am the only one in my family with curls. Not just waves, but corkscrew curls. People asked throughout my childhood: Who has curls in the family? The answer to strangers was: Her grandmother had wavy hair. To friends and one another, we joked: Her father was Zorro.
Zorro is what [...]
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