Top Ten Tuesday

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Today’s Top Ten Tuesday, as suggested by The Broke and the Bookish, is Top Ten Bookworm Delights (things that have to do with books and why you love them).

  1.  The Smell of New Books
  2. Sitting in a library or bookstore surrounded by shelves upon shelves of books.
  3. Hunting for books on the Bargain shelves, at a used book sale or yard/garage sales.
  4. Relaxing in the evening with a cup of tea, a good book, and my dog at my feet.
  5. Meeting someone who likes to read the same genre that I like and sharing favorite books and authors.
  6. Following my favorite authors on social media.
  7. Reading books aloud to my children, using different voices for different characters.
  8. Memories of climbing my neighbor’s apple tree, where I would sit and read, as a young girl.
  9. Picking out a book to give as a special gift for someone.
  10. Being touched so deeply by a book that it makes me both laugh and cry.  These are the stories that are truly unforgettable.

Have you shared your list for Top Ten Tuesday?

Checking In

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Wow, I can not believe I didn’t get a single post done last week.  That’s quite frustrating and disappointing to me.  I enjoy blogging and I like to keep all of my readers reading!  Unfortunately, sometimes life gets in the way and other things take precedence.

I wear many hats.  I am wife, mother, taxi driver, homeschool mom and writer, and currently contest judge.  We will be finishing our homeschool year at the end of this week!  Then I have to prepare for our end of the year evaluations, which will take place on May 11th.  Next will be my middle son’s homeschool high school graduation — there are three activities planned for this on three different days.  We will have a private graduation ceremony at our church on May 29th with family and friends, and my son will be a graduating class of one.

I am planning on decluttering my house during our homeschool break as well as making some items to put in the freezer to make dinner on busy evenings easier and some of our other favorite items that I don’t have time to make more regularly.  I also plan to create a schedule that will include a schedule for all of my writing and writing related things that I hope to put into place and into use before the new school year begins.  I hope to have become disciplined and successful at it so that when the new school year begins, I will be able to keep it flowing.  I will only have one student in my homeschool this year, our youngest son, which should make having the time for writing easier as well.

I have made some wonderful writing contacts/friends over the past three years as I have been writing, some online and some in real life and I appreciate each and every one of them/you.  I completed a novel in November, but am not happy with it and have no intention of publishing it.  However, I will not throw it away because I have learned that a writer should never throw away or delete any writing, no matter how bad they think it to be because you can always go back and fix it, change it or use part of it in another writing project.

I began a new novel in January 2016.  I am still working on this one and am very excited about it.  I have enough ideas to write at least two more books following it that will create a trilogy or series.  I have completed five chapters and recently had the first chapter and part of the second chapter read by some people whose opinions are important to me, and I need to take some time to go back and edit these five chapters before writing more, so that is my new goal on my novel.  In addition to that, I hope to be posting regularly here on my blog again, and looking for some shorter writing projects that I can do in hopes of bringing some earnings into my writing life.

How about you?  Do you find life getting in the way of your blogging at times?  What are your current goals?

Flash Fiction Friday: Trials and Blessings

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She walked through the empty room, teddy bear clutched to her chest.  She read the verse upon the wall:  Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”  Matthew 19:14 NIV

Silent tears slid down her cheeks to think that before her little boy could come home to this room decorated with Noah’s ark, he had gone back to his heavenly home.  Her heart was empty.  Her arms were empty.  This room was empty.

He slid silently into the room, wrapped his loving arms around her.

She leaned against him, closing her eyes, absorbing his warmth, comfort and strength.  She silently praised the Lord for this man who helped her be brave and strong through this trial.  It was no mistake that she had married him.

The Weeping Willow

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The Weeping Willow

by Kelly F. Barr

The willow weeps over the fresh grave
underneath the shade of her branches.
The grave of a child whose life ended
much too soon.
A child who used to sing, dance and laugh
under the willow’s loving arms.
A child with golden curls, laughing eyes,
freckled nose and dimpled cheeks.
She held tea parties with Mr. Bear,
Susie Hedgehog, Peter Rabbit and
Jenny, her ragdoll, on a blanket
beneath the willow’s protective leaves.
Today the willow’s branches hang a bit lower;
her leaves droop in sadness,
and the willow stands alone.

 

Today’s poem is my attempt at writing a Free Verse Poem.  Do you write Free Verse Poetry?  Have you written any poetry for National Poetry Month yet?  Leave a link in the comment section below and I’ll be sure to stop by and read them.

Top Ten Tuesday

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This week The Broke and the Bookish have given us a choice.  The list is “Ten Books Every ______ Should Read” and we get to fill in the blank.  I have chosen to do “Ten Books Every Parent Should Read Aloud to their Child(ren)”

We’ll start with two of my favorites for Preschool to Kindergarten age.

  1.  

Now, some great books to read with children in their elementary years.

3.  

This is the first book of a fantastic series, and if you’re like me and you read to your kiddos using different voices for different characters and do accents too, you and your kids will build wonderful memories together while sharing good books.

4.  

Another great series by the same author as pick #3, with the same main characters.

5.  

The complete original Little House on the Prairie series is another great series to share with your children.

6.  Product Details

The Chronicles of Narnia is a great series too.  The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe remains my very favorite of this series.

7.  

These last three are great to read and discuss with your teenagers.  Yes, teenagers still like to be read to.  I could have listed more books for teens, but this is only a list of ten.

8.  

9.  

10.  

Yes, I have read all of these books with my older boys and am still working on reading some of them with my youngest.  They are good quality books with good lessons to be learned, and they have great topics for discussion and teaching moments.

Loving Sun

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The sky begins to grow light,
casting beautiful colors as it grows bright
at sunrise.

I love to watch it shoot through the clouds
as my heart warms and I cheer aloud
for sunbeams.

Through the window I glance
while dust particles dance
on sunlight.

Shades of pink, orange and red
fill the world above my head
during sunset.

 

This is a compound word poem, taking a word from the title, writing about it and ending each stanza with a compound word using that word.  I hope you enjoy it!

Flash Fiction Friday: Loyal Protector

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Gentry stood with his nose in the air.  A strange scent wafted through the window.  His muscles tensed.  The hair on his back stood at attention.  He sensed danger approaching.  He whined and pushed at his mistress.

“What is it Gentry?”

He barked. His mistress’s eyes grew bigger.  He was normally very quiet.  He sensed her fear.  He pushed her with his nose again.  She grabbed her little boy, went to the basement where she listened and waited.

Gentry returned to the main floor against his mistress’s protests.

Bang!  The front door burst open.  Gentry bared his teeth, growling.  Two large humans approached.  Gentry sensed something strange about them, something almost inhuman.  He barked a warning, but the humans didn’t stop.

Gentry lunged at the biggest one biting him in the arm.  The man yelled, slammed Gentry along side the head with his free hand.  Gentry yelped, let go and moved around behind the man.  He took a quick bite of the guy’s leg, moved toward the other guy who was backing toward the door.

“Nice doggie, n, n, nice doggie.”

Gentry again bared his teeth, growling.  The man backed out the door, then turned and ran.  The large man, cradling his arm, limped toward the door.

“This isn’t over!  I’ll be back.  I’ll kill this dog.  Then I’ll find you,” he yelled loudly, his voice echoing throughout the house.

He kicked Gentry into the air.  Gentry came down with a thud and a yelp.  The guy left.

Gentry lay quietly trying to regain his breath.

Finally he rose and walked to the basement where his mistress and her son wrapped their arms around him weeping.

Fun, Easy Poetry

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For today I chose to share two poems that I created from classic works of literature.  This type of poetry is part of “Found Poetry” and is known as “Erasure Poetry”.  You simply select some text from your favorite book, a newspaper, magazine, etc.  Then you take out (erase) words and create a poem of sorts from the text.  Always be sure to list the text you took your Erasure Poem from to avoid charges of plagiarism.

I found this type of poetry quite delightful when turning to the classics.  It was easy to create poetry this way and it was fun to do.

The Importance of Working Together by Kelly F. Barr

Mole and Rat went to work;
Rat cared for the horse,
lit a fire,
cleaned cups and platters
and got ready for breakfast.

Mole trudged to the village
for milk, eggs
and various necessities,
Toad had forgotten.

The hard work had been done
by the time Toad appeared.
He was fresh and cheery,
remarking what a pleasant easy
life it was now
compared with the cares and worries
of housekeeping at home.

*Taken from The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

Tea Party by Kelly F. Barr

Wonderful tea
with a nice brown egg,
lightly boiled,
sardines on toast,
buttered toast,
toast with honey,
and a sugar-topped cake.

When Lucy tired of eating,
the Faun began to talk:
Wonderful tales
of life in the forest.

He told of midnight dances;
of how the Nymphs and Dryads
came out to dance with the Fauns;
about hunting the milk-white stag
who could give you wishes
if you caught him;
and about treasure-seeking
with the wild Red Dwarfs
beneath the forest floor.

*Taken from The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis

 

Okay, so even if you’re not a poet or aren’t interested in poetry, I’m sure you could create an Erasure Poem.  Why not give it a try?  Let me know if you do by posting your poem or a link to it in the comments section below.  Have fun!

Wordless Wednesday/Writing Prompt Wednesday

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Easter 2009 and 4-13-09 097

I came upon a road
that twisted and turned through a wood.
Upon my back I carried a heavy load
I’d rid myself of if I could.

I trudged and plodded along
until I crossed your path.
You were kind, merciful and strong.
You eased my burden, gave me peace, love and made me laugh.

Now You and I walk side by side
and when I’m weak, you carry me.
You are my constant guide.
You are molding me into what I was meant to be.

 

I wrote this poem, creating each stanza to be a Quatrain.

Have you written any poetry for National Poetry Month yet? Maybe you feel some inspiration when you look at my photo above. Go ahead, try and write a poem about it, and post it or a link to it in the comments section below.