Sweet Treat

A couple of days ago I was hugely surprised to learn that Elizabeth at The Garden Gate had awarded me The Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award. Thank you, Elizabeth. (Check out Elizabeth's blog - she  has some great posts and writes really lovely poetry).

I have seen this recognition award on other blogger sites, and knew that it was rewarded by peer bloggers, but knew very little else about it. From what I can gather, I am at the very least supposed to post the award, tell blog readers seven things they likely don't know or wouldn't guess about me, and then pass the award on to between five and fifteen of my own favourite bloggers. And finally, I have to let those bloggers know that they are award winners.

So here goes. First, the lovely "award." Makes me crave strawberry shortcake.

Seven Random Things About Me:

• Back in the later 1970s, I worked as a bartender in the Yukon for two years before I was even old enough to be in the bars.
• In the academic world, I am considered an expert in the history of where terminal cancer patients in North America were cared for and by whom, during the first half of the twentieth century. 
• I was recently quite devastated to learn that Laughing Cow cheese isn't real cheese.
• I am perfectly content being alone for long, long periods of time and one day I look forward to seeing just how long I can remain in only my own company. I think I could go for months.
• I am most likely to retire when I turn 72.
• I have survived two potentially terminal diseases in my lifetime (active addiction over twenty years ago, and stage three cancer nearly six years ago). Cancer was easier, for me.
• I can stand and spread my toes so widely apart that it looks like I have webbed feet.

And now...the Award Goes (on to) the Following Ten Bloggers:

Jenni at The Engledow Chronicles because she writes about the everyday, extraordinary ordinariness of family life. And because she was the first person ever to leave a comment on my blog.

Moni at Being Cheap Never Tasted So Good, because her pictures feed my cravings, and her recipes and instructions are even easy enough for *me* to follow.

Julie at Beginning a Life at 50, because she "gets" being fifty and shares it so beautifully. She also reads and reviews great books.

Cynthia at KnowledgeMaven because she is smart, and lovely, and tells wonderful stories about the women in her family.

Tabitha at Tabitha's Blog, because she takes hauntingly beautiful photos, writes short, meaningful truths, and I know from her writing that she too knows what is it to miss a mother.

Corinne at Trains, Tutus and Tea Time, because she shares her amazing photos and writes with a lyrical cadence that just makes me happy and calm. Corinne also has an online Etsy shop called A Soft Landing, where she sells her unique hand-knitted creations.

The Act of Returning to Normal because she reminds me of where I come from in every single one of her posts.

One Crafty Mother: Motherhood, Art & Life One Day at a Time, because I respect the service she does for women who struggle, and I love her writing. You should also check out her beautiful jewellery at Shining Stones on Etsy.

Dawn at Grace Always Waits because she tells it like it is. And because she has a great first name (joking).

And finally, to the author of A Day Without Sushi. Because she is fricking hilarious.

I know there are others who I would recognize if I had more time to dwell on this fun task, but I'll leave it at this for now. Except that...I also want need to acknowledge another blogger who I read and enjoy religiously (and I am not even religious) but who has already received this, The Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award:

Kristen at the spirit that moves me for her very thoughtful Sunday posts on the divine feminine, and the gorgeous images provided for each essay.

In the end, I think it's important to say to all of the women who share so freely of themselves in the blogosphere, I salute you. Thank you all for inspiring me. 

Brenda Ueland and The Twelve Steps of Writing

Best Friend is one of the strongest supporters of my writing dream. We met when we were both 15 years old, and that girl has witnessed the best and worst times of my life. Although it wasn't always easy, Best Friend has loved me for 35 years, even through my least lovable moments. (She didn't have to like me, she just had to love me.) It was Best Friend who, twenty years or so ago, knowing about my desire to become a writer, bought me Natalie Goldberg's Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within. I devoured that book, and adore it still. I plan on blogging about it and a couple of other books that I have recently fallen in love with, over the next few days. But I have to start with another book, one that I also acquired several decades ago. I'm nearly but not completely positive that I bought this one myself. The book is Brenda Ueland's If You Want to Write: A Book About Art, Independence and Spirit.

First published in 1938, this slim volume continues to inspire. Poet and writer Carl Sandburg claimed that it was "the best book ever written about how to write." As a believer in twelve step programs, I am attracted to Ueland's claim that there are twelve things that anybody who wants to write needs to know and to believe. These steps or principles, according to Ueland, and presented verbatim are:

1. Know that you have talent, are original and have something important to say.
2. Know that it is good to work. Work with love and think of liking it when you do.
3. Write freely, recklessly, in first drafts.
4. Tackle anything you want to—novels, plays, anything.
5. Don't be afraid of writing bad stories. To discover what is wrong with a story write two new ones and then go back to it.
6. Don't fret or be ashamed of what you have written in the past.
7. Try to discover your true, honest, and untheoretical self.
8. Think of yourself as incandescent power, illuminated perhaps and forever talked to by God and his messengers. Remember how wonderful you are, what a miracle!
9. If you are never satisfied with what you write, that is a good thing. It means your vision can see so far that it is hard to come up to it. Again I say, the only unfortunate people are the glib ones, immediately satisfied with their work. To them the ocean is only knee-deep.
10. When discouraged, remember what Van Gogh said: "If you hear a voice within you saying: You are no painter, then paint by all means, lad, and that voice will be silenced, but only with working."
11. Don't be afraid of yourself when you write. Don't check-rein yourself. If you are afraid of being sentimental, say, for heaven's sake be as sentimental as you can or feel like being! Then you will probably pass through to the other side and slough off sentimentality because you understand it at last and really don't care about it.
12. Don't always be appraising yourself, wondering if you are better or worse than other writers. "I will not Reason & Compare," said Blake; "my business is to Create." Besides, since you are like no other being ever created since the beginning of Time, you are incomparable.

Brenda Ueland died in 1985, at the age of 93. This book is still in press. If you haven't got it, and you want to write, I recommend it highly.