Friendship Week

While I write this blog mostly to report on my writing and storytelling projects, I am not above giving a boost to my grandson Evan.  His kindergarten class is having a Friendship Week February 7 to 11, which I think is meant to replace Valentine's Day and all the nastiness that holiday used to have for children who got no cards.  Remember Charlie Brown's misery?

Instead, Evan's teacher is using this week to teach the children about the post office, letters and the world.  Friends and relatives are asked to send cards, notes and postcards to a child in the class.  The students will have to sort the mail and deliver it to each "postbox".  Valentine Cards are accepted.   It would be wonderful if they received letters from around the world with colorful stamps.  Those of you with your own grandchildren could send photos.

So blog readers, if you so wish, you can send your greeting to:

Highlands Elementary School
Mrs. Zingler/Kosgard's Kindergarten Clas
2037 N. Elinor Street
Appleton, WI  54914
Put "Evan" on the bottom of the card so it will go into his box.  Mention that you know Evan from this blog.

I'll report later how this exercise went.  Remember the summer reading program theme:  One World, Many Stories.

Stranger in the Woods

When my grandson Evan made a snowman, he wanted it to look exactly like the one in Stranger in the Woods by Carl R. Sams II and Jean Stoick

A Lousy Trip

This morning, I began work on my next e-book, the story of my trip to China.  I enjoy most of my trips, but that one was a disaster.

I went to China to teach English to middle school children at a summer camp.  It was a state run program, as all of them are.  Part of the payment was a tour that took us from Inner Mongolia to Beijing.  Every step of the way was strictly regimented.  No matter what happened we had to stick to the itinerary, if it meant we ate dinner at 11:00 pm or had to get up at 4:00 am.

This was my first and last organized tour.  I like the freedom of going off the beaten track to make new discoveries and friends.  In China, we were herded cattle, never allowed to go off on our own.  I treasured every moment away from the group.  I made a point of "getting lost."  Those times I escaped were the best moments of the trip.  

This book will be an illustration of what can go wrong on a journey.  But cheer up, the next book will be about New Zealand and everything that went gloriously right.

The Benefits of Exercise

Our Saturday at the Green Bay RV/Camping Show made it clear to me that exercise is essential to my well being.

When we attended the 2010 RV/Camping show,  I walked with a cane, wore a knee brace, and took ibuprofen for the pain. I went into five or six of the big campers, but going up and down the stairs was too much for me.  We left after an hour.

I did some serious damage to my knee that winter.  My doctor recommend surgery, but that would have meant rehab over the summer.  I did not want to give up a moment of the camping season to an outpatient center, so I told him we would wait until September.  Meanwhile, I would tough it out and do what I could to improve the situation.  If nothing else, I would be better able to face the surgery if I were in  shape.  

I began daily workouts in the arthritis pool at our aquatic center and practiced yoga each morning.  By mid-summer, I was able to take off the brace and get rid of the cane.   I lost over twenty pounds.  By autumn, I was hiking on the North Country Trail and climbing rocks to reach the highest point in the Chequamagon National Forest.  The improvement was gradual, yet by September, I realized there was no point in having the surgery.  I kept up the exercises and added weight training at the fitness center.

At this year's RV/Camping Show I was able to go into every one of the campers and walked around and around the two massive buildings for over five hours.  No knee brace, no cane, no painkillers.

No titanium joint will set off metal detectors at international airports, which means one less hassle when I go to  Ireland in a year or two.  

Tax Time

While I enjoy the traveling life, I must always remember that this is a business. Someone in the arts has to keep pristine records.  Years ago, my accountant gave me a list of things that a traveling performer/writer could deduct.  As I worked through my tax records today, I thought about the past year and what 2011 will bring.

I can total my miles, not so many in 2010, but in 2011 I can expect to travel close to 10,000 miles. I keep all gas and motel bills, marking each off on a form for each day  I travel.

I can deduct part of my cell phone, land phone, and internet.  Since my office, one of seven rooms, is dedicated to my craft, I deduct one-seventh of the costs of the utility bills.  It goes without saying that printer ink and postage are listed in my reports to my accountant. 

By this afternoon, I finished compiling my records.  As I forwarded them to my accountant for tax preparation, I  was satisfied with the day's achievement.    

Critique Group

A couple of times a month, I meet at a critique group at a coffee shop.  We're all working on novels, short stories, or screen plays.  We critique each others work and do some writing exercises, but more importantly, we cheer each other on and celebrate when somebody sells something.

Writing is a lonely business.  Our relatives and non-artistic friends don't understand the process. When we working on a book, they want to know when it will be published, as if that were a given.   When we sell something, we hear questions about how we're going to spend all that money.  My February royalties will come to $2.10, so I won't be taking a cruise this year.  Only other writers know what agonies and frustrations we face.

These twice a month meetings with friends keep us going.

Fun tidings

This morning, Pastor Rebecca began the service by walking up the aisle with her daughter Hannah, age 4.  They turned to the congregation and Rebecca said that before the service could begin, Hannah had an announcement to make. She handed the microphone to the little girl who was wiggling all over with excitement. She blurted out, "My Mommy has a baby in her belly!"

I am still grinning over that one.