'365 Pictures' at Creativity Portal

Chris Dunmire, of Creativity Portal, has thought up a very exciting inspiration tool. There is going to be a picture a day up at the website below to inspire you! A writing prompt will be included as well. There are many different contributors and you may just get addicted to checking back daily!

Check out my prompts which will be up on:

• Sunday, April 12!
• Wednesday, May 13!
• Sunday, June 14!
  
  

http://www.creativity-portal.com/prompts/365/pictures.html

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thoughts on a snowy SPRING Sunday

I'd like to register a complaint with Mother Nature if I may. I don't know what her grand intentions are, if the fields and mountains need more snow to melt for drinking water or plant irrigation, but it's the second day of Spring and it's not supposed to be snowing. I don't like living in a snow globe. I would like to say that I absolutely loved yesterday, the sunshine and balmy 8C!!! That's Spring time weather in my books!

I'd also like to mention that I hope I remember the very witty blog post I wrote while trying to fall back asleep just now. I'm working on 5 hours of sleep, which is the norm for some of you, but I went to bed at 4.30 AM; I drank chai with dinner last night. Now, I know it's my own fault; I can't have caffeine after noon and especially NOT at dinner time, but we were at this great Indian restaurant we just found in the city and I just had to enjoy some chai - it was delicious! I accepted the consequences and spent the night writing and organizing my thoughts for my upcoming writing workshop and picking photos for the PowerPoint I'm making for fun. However, being up that late, I did stop a potential burgler from breaking into the cars or garage... or I stopped a moose from finding the apples in the snow. I couldn't see in the dark even when I turned on the porch light. But the heavy crunching footsteps stopped coming toward the house when I turned on the light and when I sat back down at my computer they walked away from the house (and the fresh layer of snow has covered up the footprints so I'll never know who tried to visit in the night; werewolf or pint-sized predator). So being up late at night when all the world, except nocturnals, are quiet has its benefits!

This weekend has been amazing. The kind where all this stuff happens and all you can say is "whoa" and then be silent, because after all, what other response is there to amazement? And I'm not talking the doped up "whoa." I don't believe in coincidences, even when I've been having a lot of them. Some might say "all my ducks are in a row" or "the planets are in alignment" or "Someone's looking out for you" or whatever people say to explain the hard-to-explain, but I'm going to say that they're all "God-happenings."

Don't worry, I'm not going to launch into a sermon. I'm no preacher; if you've been following my blog, you'll know that! :-) But I did have some people speak over my life this Friday night and they were total strangers so they couldn't have known the depth of what they were saying. Some call this prophecy and it was the first time I'd experienced it. It was amazing. Suffice to say that my creativity was seen and encouraged and one person said that my dreams were coming to pass. Flip over to God-happening #2 and I'm giving a Writing Workshop in Vancouver Sat., April 4 (more details to follow!) and that is exactly what I've been dreaming of doing!!!!

Facilitating the writing workshop came to pass thru a turn of events that saw me able to leave one week early for my visit to Vancouver. That meant two whole weekends there! So I called up my friend Linda and said that our dream that had been squashed with me moving could be revived if we could quickly plan a woman's night (sorry guys!) for Sat., April 4th! and she started laughing and said that she'd already booked it and yes I could facilitate the writing part of the night!!!

Now, the event is in a small church BUT hear me out: this is the kind of church that imperfect people like me can feel welcome. It's non-denominational and there's no religion or legalism (I LOVE that!). It's Bible-based, so it's not a cult. The people are real, authentic, everyday people and you're not going to meet any phony happy people you want to slap to see if they can cry (oh come on, close your mouth, I'm not the only one who's ever met a person who is so happy I've wondered if they're real, or what happy pill they're addicted to! and how I'd like to be around them when their happy pill wears off cuz all drugs wear off within hours!). You'll meet some happy people, but they're real-happy, not phony-happy. And the pastor: here's his philosophy if you ask him what he believes: "Follow me around for two weeks and then YOU tell ME what I believe." When he "preaches" it's like listening to a wise, older friend sharing wisdom with you. It's the furthest thing from preaching I've ever heard!

So... details:

what: Lasagna Dinner, Bible study on Tabitha (a woman who was valued, loved deeply and was raised from the dead!) AND a Writing Workshop!
when: Sat., April 4th, 2009 @ 6PM
where: Vancouver, BC (email me for exact location, k!)
who: women of any age (sorry guys, this one's for the girls)
why: to learn that you matter, what you feel has value, that you can give yourself permission to write and let it out, AND to laugh & have fun!
bring: a pen and paper


Hope to see you there!!!
Kristi

ps. another non-coincidence: did you know my former stray cat that lives at my parents I named Tabitha after this woman in the Bible (9 years ago)!!! I've never heard a Bible study on her (the woman, not my cat) so I'm quite excited to hear what Linda has to say!

writing prompt: LUCK!

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Writing prompt: Luck

Is the luck really with the Irish? What is luck? Are you lucky? How can you get more luck? Can you get more luck - is it something you can attain?


So go indulge in a pint of green beer, or a well-poured Guinness, and find a little luck at the end of the rainbow; you may have to buy a lottery ticket, rather than seek that famed pot o' gold :-).

HAPPY ST PATRICK'S DAY!!!

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news... & a writing prompt!

Well guys, I think I'll get a little personal in this post. First off, sorry for those of you who check the blog frequently, but after reading my news, I think you'll understand my two-week hiatus.

:-)

I have moved yet again. This is a temporary move, in between homes, but it is home-for-now. No more 1945 farmhouse. But I am still in the country (and this home is much bigger)! The photo above is my backyard view and it is a moose calf that you see! My mom took that photo!

So this latest move (yes, I am a rolling stone that does not grow moss - seriously, I should buy stock in Canada Post with all the money I've given them for address change forwarding!!!) and I only have dial-up right now where I live, so I get to plan ahead my time on-line and drive into town to sit in the Starbucks at the front of Safeway and use their WiFi as I sip a steaming vanilla milk (I've had a bit of an aversion to caffeine, and therefore lattes, the last few months).

I have been teaching now for about 6 weeks and man does it ever feel good to be back! I'm still waiting for my Teacher Certification to go through between the provinces, and it should take another 6 wks or so; so I really missed out on classroom teaching this year. Where I'm currently teaching, I don't have to have my Certification in the province.

I also wanted to remind you that not only have I lived in -45C and +45C, but where I currently live, we have just hit record lows for history with the temps these last 2 days in March. It's too codl and I want spring! I am thankful for the time change so that at least it feels like spring may come, just because it's light longer. I don't like being a part of history in regards to temperatures. Or being in extreme events... like wars for that matter.

Because of all the upheaval of packing up all my belongings, yet again, I haven't had a chance to write often, or to get in the habit of daily writing. That said, I just attended a "writing spa" at the local public library Saturday morning and what a treat! It was facilitated by a writer who knows what she's doing and facilitates along the same lines as me! She used art and music as writing prompts and it was just plain wonderful to be in a room with the freedom to write and be creative and to just "let go"! I came away inspired and with a whole new slew of poems with which to work. I'm still energized and will be uploading some of my recent collages on my next visit to the high-speed world in town :-)

I've also been perusing and re-organizing my travel photos from the last few years. I may be giving a talk for a series at the local library entitled: "Armchair Travelers" on one of my trips, complete with slideshow. I'm just waiting for the call back. I'll let you know so you can come if you're in town!!!

For those of you writers out there, here's your Tuesday Word Tinkering!!!

Look out your window. Yes, your everyday scene that you've looked at 1000 times. Describe everything you see. Now that you've written a list, which is something that so many of write daily, pick one thing that pops out at you, one thing that makes your stomach breathe in, and write those words out on a new page. See where your thoughts lead you with that one idea as your prompt. As always, feel free to post your creations here! I'd love to read your writing, as would the other readers!

Be healthy!

kris