"Stopping by the Road on a Sunny Afternoon ... C.J. Alexander"

Photo Credit:  C.J. Alexander

"Monday; July 25, 2016 -- Phlox"

Photo Credit:  C.J. Alexander

"... a softer pillow ... -- Lord Byron"

Image Credit:  "Reclining Angel" -- C.J. Alexander

"Fabulous Find -- The WWG Presents ... -- Whitesboro Writers Group"

The Whitesboro Writers Group Presents: Our Best Stories 2011-2105

by Whitesboro Writers & Edited by CJ Alexander

-- Kindle

-- $2.99 -- Read with Amazon.com’s Free App

The best?  Really?  In a word, yes.

Though most of the authors are mainly recreational writers, each put their heart and soul into their monthly assignments. What you will find in these pages are twelve writers’ original and personal favorite stories, which were written for Dunham Public Library’s two main writing groups. Everyone has developed a recognizable style over the past five years, carefully injecting humor, metaphor, drama and much more into their prose. The authors hope you’ll find something you can relate to, or be inspired by, in this little book of bests.

In this short anthology you will find flash fiction and creative non-fiction written between 2011-2015 by thirteen members of the local writing group. In no particular order, they are: Barbara-Epley-Shuck, Susan Hansen, Miriam E. Waters, 

Linna Miller, Jerry Finkelstein, CJ Alexander, Joan O. Scharf, HT Longale, Jeremy Mortis, Darius Blake, Dennis Kininger, Cheryl Palmer, and Ginny Enea. 

You'll find thirty-eight fine examples of their humor, horror, whimsy, rant, anecdote and memoir. Each story was hand-picked for inclusion by the person who wrote it. Part of the proceeds of each of the WWG’s books helps to support Dunham Public Library, and gives aspiring authors the right to say "I've been published." The writers hope you enjoy this and all of their other group books (available in Kindle format from Amazon.com).

"Snowball -- in Falling Up -- Shel Silverstein"

Credit:  "Snowball" by Shel Silverstein as found in Falling Up

Picture Credit:  www.wired.com

Thank you, CJ for sharing this wonderful poem by Shel Silverstein!

"The darkest night ... -- Jonathan Lockwood Huie"

Photo Credit:  Amazing Shot -- CJ Alexander

Quote Source:  www.DreamThisDay.com

"Oz 'n Ends -- CJ Alexander"

"CJ, have you got anything you feel like posting on the blog?"

"Sure, ME, how about something from Breadsongs."

"Let's see it!"

"I'm on it...okay ... here goes ..."

The film, Wizard of Oz, debuted January 1, 1939. Times were tough, capital D Depression and WWII at hand. Guys in short supply everywhere. Women working on farms, factories, keeping things together. Heroines for sure. You put a number of strong womenfolk in a room and you know what happens next: one of them becomes the alpha and the rest fall in, do her bidding.

Picture Credit:  tvtropes.com

So Dorothy arrives in Oz. It's Dorothy accidentally killing the East Witch with her hurtling house, it's Dorothy who receives the magical ruby slippers as a gift (not Glinda the North Witch's to give) and it's Dorothy that Elphaba the West Witch mutters curses at. It's all about Dorothy! So now I get it: Dorothy must be the long-awaited 4th: The South Witch. The new alpha witch.

She heads off along the yellow brick road, carrying her yapping little mutt Toto in a hand basket. Determined to get home to her drudge-filled life on a dusty Kansas farm recently decimated by a tornado, she needs all the help she can get. So what does she get? A witless scarecrow, a heartless tin man, and a gutless lion. Gee thanks!

Meanwhile the old Alpha witch (Elphaba, some coincidence in that name, perhaps) tries everything and almost succeeds with the poppy ploy but ultimately it's the dog that tips the power scale in Dorothy's favor. Dorothy of course wafts home in an errant hot air balloon, but it was all a dream. And that's the end of the story except for the moral:

A girl can get into big trouble traveling her path with the witless, heartless and gutless,  but if she wants to come out of it alive,  she'd best stick with her dog.

"Gee, CJ, that was weird."

"Best I could do on short notice."

"Don't quit your day job, girl."

"Recipe -- Acorn Squash Soup"

A good friend prepared a luscious treat for me recently ... Acorn Squash Soup.  She shared her recipe for this delight on her blog "Breadsongs."  The blog, like the soup, is filled to overflowing with delicious pieces on a variety of topics. Stop by and explore this wonderful resource. 

(There's Just Not Enough Songs About) SQUASH

"Fabulous Finds -- VITA: Let it Rain "

"In many East Asian cultures dragons were, and in some cultures still are, revered as representative of the primal forces of nature, religion and the universe. They are associated with wisdom—often said to be wiser than humans—and longevity. They are commonly said to possess some form of magic or other supernatural power, and are often associated with wells, rain, and rivers. In some cultures, they are also said to be capable of human speech."
(Direct quote from:  http://mythology.wikia.com/wiki/Dragon )


Photo credits: CJ Alexander





"Lunar Eclipse - Moon Bean"

Unless you have a camera that can handle

 sky phenomena like the pros do,

 you have to wing it.

This is an interpretation of the recent lunar eclipse

 about 2/3 of the way into totality. 

Photo credit: CJ Alexander

"Fabulous Finds -- Mouli Grater"

Classic French cookware and gadgets are among CJ's prized possessions, like this genuine Mouli cheese grater - an engineering marvel - found at a local thrift shop for a dollar. It grates hard cheese better than anything else on the market.

Eggplant-from-the-garden Parmesan for dinner....yummy!



Photo Credit - CJA and pinterest

"The Garden -- Exquisite Fragility"

"The dragonfly, in almost every part of the world, symbolizes change

and change in the perspective of self realization;

and the kind of change that has its source

 in mental and emotional maturity

and the understanding of the deeper meaning of life. "



Photo credit: CJ Alexander

- See more at: http://www.dragonfly-site.com/meaning-symbolize.html#sthash.szJ2ncSz.dpuf

"The Garden -- Tangled Web"

"It appears to me that almost any man may like the spider spin
 from his own inwards his own airy citadel."

-Poet John Keats 


Photo credit: CJ Alexander

  



 

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/spider.html#bOiykisKrMdKJCE1.99

"The Garden -- Good Eats"

CJ's most favorite garden photo ever:

White caterpillar feasting on a Black-Eyed Susan flower.

Photo Credit: CJ Alexander

Yes, it's real!

"The Garden -- Weird Veggies"

Advice from CJ's garden:

"Don't carrot all about what others say, be yourself!"

Photo Credit: CJ Alexander



Click on this link for : Carrot Jokes

"The Garden -- Time"

"Time stands still or at least moves more slowly in the garden."

- Thomas Moore




Photo Credit: CJ Alexander:  Sweet Autumn Clematis from CJ's garden blooms in September

"The Garden -- A Place for the Soul"

Photo Credit: CJ Alexander----- A section of CJ's garden

"The garden is a proper place of the soul,

where the concerns of the soul for beauty, contemplation,

quiet and observance take complete precedence

over the busier concerns of daily life."

 - Thomas Moore, The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life

"The Garden -- A Magical Place"

 A garden is a sensual ritual in which the spiritual life emerges directly out of the dirt and the green and brilliant colorings of nature. The garden reconciles human art and wild nature, hard work and deep pleasure, spiritual practice and the material world.

 - Thomas Moore, "The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life"




Photo Credit: CJ Alexander -- A small spot in CJ's garden.

It is a magical place...

"Amazing World -- Gold Bug"

CJ found this tiny insect on her porch the other day.

It measured less than one-eighth of an inch in length.

 Imagine the care and attention to detail by its Creator!



Photo credit: CJ Alexander

"Nature will bear the closest inspection.

 She invites us to lay our eye level with her smallest leaf,

 and take an insect view of its plain."

-- Henry David Thoreau --

"Fabulous Finds -- Oriental Teapot"

CJ found this large oriental teapot in a thrift shop.

Note the two doves on its lid.

Below the photo are some interesting quotes about tea and teapots.

Sit thee down and sip with me ...



Photo Credit: CJ Alexander

Outside of a teapot life is but thousands of dusty affairs. ~ Terri Guillemets

Strange how a teapot can represent at the same time the comforts of solitude and the pleasures of company ~ Author Unknown

... A pure wind envelopes my body.
The whole world seen in a single cup.
~ Kokan (Zen priest, 1278-1346), quoted in The Japanese Way of Tea by Sen Sōshitsu XV, translated by V. Dixon Morris

Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves — slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future. ~ Thich Nat Hahn

Water is the mother of tea, a teapot its father, and fire the teacher. ~ Chinese Proverb

The sounds of the tea being made invite the peach blossoms to peep in through the window. ~ Uson, quoted in Sasaki Sanmi, Sadô Saijiki

All quotes found at http://www.quotegarden.com/tea.html