Some dirt on Chele

Made you click!


The latest dirt on Chele has come from a new garden!! My good friend Jill and I are growing a garden together to see how green our thumbs are.


We did start with plants that were a few weeks old....but hey, we're new at this! Cut us some slack!!


We picked the plants at a local nursery. We figured if they were growing at the nursery, we'd be good. Living in a foggy area can make gardening fruits and veggies a little diffcult. But so far, so good!


I think we planted around Sept 26th our little baby plants























And today (10/16/10) ......

It's MASSIVE!!!!

I'm proud to say that I harvested a nice spring mix salad this evening and it was awesome!! I'm so glad we started the garden...maybe soon we'll try growing seeds!! Wish us luck. :)

~Chele

My first “fan mail” to a great author

I have some special people in my life that say, “Hey Rochelle! Haven’t seen a new blog post in a while…” Well, I come up with many excuses, one being I only have one internet connection at home, and one husband ADDICTED to Mafia Wars on Facebook. I am a Mafia Wars widow. :) But anyhow! I digress….

I was reading some posts from blogs I follow, and Weekly Geeks has challenged that we post a blog to an author vs. sending fan mail, but I already fan mailed last week!

I was moved by how this author’s work changed my life. Not just when I first read her book, about 16 years ago, but I have picked up the book again, and it is still amazing and life changing.

My e-mail to her was very personal, so I won’t share that part, but I am inclined to start working through some challenges, so that is going to affect my writing and blogging. I won’t get too emotional here in this blog, but it is on my heart to honor the author Jan Morrison, the author of “A Safe Place: Beyond Sexual Abuse”.

It was 18 years ago (this weekend), when my life changed. Years of secrets were unleashed, allowing me to finally be “Safe”, and start on the road to healing and recovery.

I am sitting here thinking right now how crazy it is that I want to post this to my blog, for all the world to see. I know I have come a long way in the past 18 years, and it’s time for me to open up again, share my story, and help others on their path to recovery.

If you are reading this post, and you are looking for support for yourself or a loved one, I am here for you!! I don’t have all the answers, but I know that health and healing can be attained. It is a life long journey, and by all means cannot be done alone.

Thank you again to Jan Morrison, for having the courage to share her story, helping so many people on their path to recovery and finding their “Safe Place”.

~Rochelle~

I love you, Mom!!!

I'm not real sure how to begin this post, as so many things are running through my mind. Lately in telephone conversation, my mom has been talking to me about Cindy Grasso's blog, and how great of a writer Cindy is. I agree!! Cindy is one of those kind of people who's writing is a reflection of her heart.

OK, it's been a long time since I've blogged, and now I'm trying to remember how to do a link. :)

Anyhow, back to my story. So, my mom said, "you and Cindy are good writers". Me?!? I was so proud to be lumped in with Cindy! Cause that's good writing. Then my mom says, "You need to start blogging". Really, that statement was made with her mom voice. You know what I mean...."you need to .... ". It's that statement that you're thinking "OK. I'll get right on that". But in all reality, when she said this to me, I thought to myself, "She's right! It's time to get moving on this."

So here are my excuses for not writing and/or blogging...

My life has been crazy.

My husband is a computer hog. (Well, I have my own computer, but it is very old and does not understand current technology, therefore the act of "blogging" is made very difficult.) :)

I also figured out, I'm afraid to write. Afraid of what I might find. And the thought of that began to overwhelm me.

Yesterday morning I came up with the idea, that as a Mother's Day present, I would not just write for my mom, I would post a blog in her honor.

My mom has been an active change maker in my life. It is because of her that I am a follower of God. It is because of her, that despite the negative circumstances of my childhood, I had a good upbringing. It is because of my mom that those negative circumstances have not ruined my life. It is because of my mom (and step-dad... hi Dan!!!) that I live in a cozy house, and am finding myself healing and growing every day. And now, it is because of my mom that I am writing this Post, hoping to continue on a regular basis, and face my thoughts head on!

Thank you, Mom, for being who you are to me. You are a blessing to me!

The Laughing Stranger

The Laughing Stranger
by Vina Delmar
1953
pages: 250

This is a story of a star-crossed family with all of the misfortune in life, and only the fortune of monetary wealth.

Based during the time of the Civil War on the coast of New Jersey, young Elizabeth Carpenter takes you through a year’s period of their life, recounting the full story of their encounters with the laughing stranger. Elizabeth, despite her circumstances, is a well versed, well mannered young lady. I wish more people in the world had a character like hers.

This book was an accidental read for me. I got it from the bookshelf in my local laundry mat, and kept it around. I was curious a few days ago what the story could be, and was immediately sucked in!

This book I guess is technically a love story, and I usually don’t read those!! It turns out that the love story has much more to it than just gushy romance, but it involves the character and integrity of people, or lack there of!

Because of Elizabeth’s circumstances, she has found a way to entertain herself with witty games and dream of the impossible. Until one day her dream is shattered. Sitting with her father, Powell, he says to her “It is the emptiness that troubles you now, Liz. The aching question of what to put in place of a dream. Shall I tell you what to put there, darling? It’s very simple. Just put another dream”. She answers, “there are no other dreams.” “Not for me.” He smiled in a way she had not seen him smile before. “I am an authority on the subject,” he said. “And I assure you there are always other dreams.” She shook her head. “For others perhaps. For me, no.”

I will share this, it wasn’t the end for young Elizabeth. She thought she’d live on in life with a disappointed heart, but something happened to fill her heart more than she ever could have imagined. This ended up being so encouraging to me on a personal level. Sometimes things don’t work out how we’d like to see them work out, but in the end, sometimes even more magical events can happen in our lives! I was feeling a bit like Elizabeth, wondering if my future would be one of trials and tribulations with my dreams quickly going by the wayside. I’m still kind of feeling like Elizabeth, that there are dreams for others, but none for me.

Coincidentally, upon completion of The Laughing Stranger, I saw on my bookshelf “Dreams Underfoot” by Charles de Lint. I tried reading this book before, and it just didn’t get moving for me. Probably because some inspiration was needed. :) Thanks to Elizabeth Carpenter of “The Laughing Stranger”, I am now contemplating my thoughts and feelings towards my own dreams. As I read the Introduction to Dreams Underfoot, I found my inspiration! A small portion of the intro reads,

“’Using archetype and symbolic language’, writes folklore scholar and author Jane Yolen, ‘[fantasy tales] externalize for the listener conflicts and situations that cannot be spoken of or explained or as yet analyzed. They give substance to dreams…[and] lead us to the understanding of the deepest longings and most daring visions of humankind. The images from the ancients speak to us in modern tongue though we may not always grasp the ‘meanings’ consciously. Like dreams, the meanings slip away, leaving us shaken into new awarenesses. We are moved by them, even when –or perhaps because – we do not understand them on a conscious level. They are penumbral, partially lit, and it is the dark side that
has the most power. So when the modern mythmaker, the writer of literary fairy tales, dares to touch the old magic and try to make it work in new ways, it must be done with the surest of touches.’’’

W.B. Yeats once wrote “Tread softly, because you tread on my dreams”. I hope Mr. de Lint does tread softly, because I look forward to being moved by his writing, and discovering the dreams that are under my feet.

Great advice from my friends!

I just wanted to post real quickly that I appreciate all of the feedback regarding my decision to participate in NaNoWriMo or try to meet my goal of 25 books this year.

So, 99% of my feedback was to read and do my writing on the side.  The other 1% was my mom.  She said, “write! write! write!”  She really wants me to be a writer.  :) 

Anyhow, thank you everyone for your feedback.  You helped me prioritize and see what is most important for now.  And not just that, but committing to reading will in essence help me with future writing (and will make me a better writer!) I’ve decided that I may not read 25 books exactly, but I’m going to go back to practicing my piano as well.  I’m guessing I’ll finish about 20 books and try to learn some Christmas songs before the end of the year!!  I figure reading music counts for the 5 books I’ll be missing for the year.  Reading music is hard!!

Thanks everyone.  I’m sure I’ll be back for more of your input.  There’s an old quote that says there is wisdom to be found in a multitude of counsel.  So congrats, you’re helping me to be more smart. ;)

~Chele

What should I do? Read or Write??

I have a goal, well, an informal goal to be honest, to read 25 books this year. So far I have completed 18! I'm pretty darn close to my goal, but something new has come up. NaNoWriMo.

NaNoWriMo is a challenge to take on for National Writing Month, which just so happens to be starting in about 34 hours from now. (Yikes!) Writers begin writing on November 1st, and have until midnight on November 30th to write a 175 page/50,000 word novel!! The idea is to give the writer a goal, concentrating on quantity and not so much quality. Not that quality isn't important, but sometimes the challege of writing in general is just sitting down and doing it!

So, a big THANK YOU to Care for mentioning NaNoWriMo. Whether I participate or not, I was very glad to learn more about the goings-on in the writing community. :)


Just a side note, author Sara Gruen, writer of Flying Changes, was birthed from her participation in NaNoWriMo. Wow. Big things are possible with NaNoWriMo!


What do you think? Should I try meeting my 25 books-read goal for the year? Or should I jump on this opportunity to see if I got the stuff to be a writer??

Is this life real, or just an Illusion?

Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach

Where to begin! This read was entirely by accident for me. A friend loaned the book to my husband because it is about pilots flying their biplanes. Turns out, it was full of hidden treasures!

The story is about two pilots, Don and Richard, the former being the “Messiah” in the story. During their adventures together, Don is teaching Richard about the power he has within him, and how this power is the reason for everything that happens to him. At first I thought I would be an Objective Reader, as I am a believer in the Messiah aka J. Christ. But I got to thinking, and discussed the title of “Messiah” with my co-worker. And basically, a messiah is a liberator. I can honestly say, the words in this book in no way changed my religious beliefs, but have liberated me in a new way of thinking. The book is very philosophical in nature, as in, if a tree falls in the forest, and no one is around, does it make and sound. And furthermore, if no one is around, does the tree even exist? :) So how have I been liberated? I have been reminded that I have the power of choice. Not just, will I have chocolate or vanilla ice cream??? I mean, the power to choose everything about my life. A few years ago, my husband and I moved to the ocean, a few hours from where we were raised. When we told people they said “you can’t do that!” Why not? Turns out I can do that. I rented a U-Haul, turned the key, and started driving. Simple as that. Well, this book has reminded me that I can continue to make choices in that fashion. If I choose to live somewhere and make the most of it, then so be it! If I choose to paint designs on hubcaps and sell them on E-Bay for a living, I can do that too! What my heart desires, with the proper focus, I can accomplish.

The challenge I’ve been given………

It’s funny how things work. I’ve always wanted to be a writer, and recently was VERY inspired by a book my friend loaned me about writing and what it entails to become a writer. It turns out, in the book Illusions, Richard received similar inspiration from Don. It’s sometimes funny how everything in life can start to connect, and you really can’t put your finger on why. :) I leave you with a quote from the “Messiah’s Handbook”… “Every person, all the events of your life are there because you have drawn them there. What you choose to do with them is up to you.”

So it looks like I have some work to do. The inspiration for writing is all around me, and I think I have the power to make it happen!