Category: Uncategorized

As much as it pains me to say –  with four days to go in November, there is no way I am going to meet my goal of 30,000 words for NaNoWriMo this year. But the good news is, I am happy! I have a story and characters that I like. I am about a third of the way through and I feel like I know where the  story is going. So even though I won’t get a WINNER certificate this year  – I still feel like a winner. There will be plenty of time to work on the rest of the story after Christmas. The rest of the good news is that I still have my sanity and that is a good thing!

So how about the rest of you doing NaNoWriMo this year? How did it go for you? I would love to hear from you.

Marie

Hello all!

I thought I would share the poems that I wrote about Thanksgiving and Gratitude. The first one is in a cinquin format. Here it is:

Thanksgiving Blessings

Thanksgiving

Food, Fellowship

Praying, Laughing, Eating

Happiness with our blessings

Gratefulness

 

I enjoy this format of five lines. The first line is one word that describes the general idea of the poem. Second line is two adjectives that describe the first line. Third line consists of three action verbs ending in ‘-ing’. The fourth line is a four word description that captures the feeling of the main topic. The last line is one word that describes more specifically about the first line. You’ll notice that the poem looks a bit like a tree when you are done, that’s because it a ‘shape’ poem.

Here’s my more traditional poem about Gratitude:

For what am I Grateful?

The list of good things,

That give merit to my life,

Is a list too long to string

As a helix winding through my life’s strife.

 

Thankfulness of life’s blessings

During each moment in time.

Causes us to linger on the beauty pressing

Before our very eyes inclined.

 

To keep our hearts aglow

We embrace the goodness of it all.

We accept each single moment is part of the flow

Of life’s wholeness, big and small.

 

For what am I grateful?

In the relativity of time

Each moment’s allure of good things

That bless our life’s paradigm.

 

Why don’t you have a try at a Thanksgiving Day Poem? Share in the comment section.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING  To YOU ALL!
Marie

Okay I have to admit – sigh – real life has gotten in the way of my adventurous goal of 1667 words per day this year for NaNoWriMo. I find that I am so far behind as of today that I won’t meet that goal until Christmas Day, or there about. So I decided to reevaluate my goal here.

1. The story I am writing is interesting to me.
2. I really like the character and she is anxious to tell me her story.
3. There are too many obligations I have both with my writing and personal life, that writing more than one or two hours a day is all I can devote to this challenge.
4. If I want my roof redone, I am going to have to sacrifice some writing time.
5. If I want to save my sanity, I will have to sacrifice some writing time.

That all being said, I am going to scale back my expectations and aim for 1000 to 1200 words a day for at least a 30,000 word draft. Notice I am not quitting. I am still planning to write a draft – just a scaled back one.

How about all of you? Are you perking along on the path to a 50,000 word goal, or like me, lagging behind? Share with me how you are coping with NaNaWriMo in the comments below.

I have been diligently plodding away at my story for NaNoWriMo and have yet to make the daily goal of 1667 words, so of course, I am nearly 3000 words behind so far. But unlike other years, I’m not too bothered by this as I am just trying to get down the story this year. Like some others that are doing the NaNo challenge have said, “It’s a draft – so just put the words down to build the story.” I may be able to get to 50,000 words, but I may not, and that is okay this year. I do hope those of you that are doing this challenge this year will be successful in crafting out a story that will be a best seller (It’s happened!), or at least a story you feel worth pursuing to publishing quality. Good Luck everyone. Feel free to give encouragement or comment on how you are doing!

It must be the perfect pumpkin. I search my kitchen for just the right utensils. Ah, there it is, smooth and sharp on one side and has a great handle for making sure the cut is just right. The pumpkin has an oblong shape with a jaunty thick stem sticking out to the side. It will be just perfect for making sure it has a wide mouth, triangle eyes, and a silly round nose.

Once everything is ready, I set to work. I begin with the cutting. One must be careful during this process because you don’t want to make a cut too thick or too shallow, but just perfect. Oh, it is beautiful! Soon the kitchen full of wonderful smells, but I must admit my kitchen does get messy from all my preparations. I clean up all around as I await the outcome of my handiwork. They are perfect! I set them aside and wait a half an hour.

Next, I consider the deep orange color that is a must with my perfect pumpkin. It mustn’t be pale but a mixture of red and yellow with a hint of brown to make it that rich orange color of a ripe pumpkin. I spread the perfect orange frosting on the cookies. When I am sure the frosting is dry, that’s when I begin to pipe on the black frosting to decorate the pumpkin shaped cookies. I outline a wide mouth with a snaggle tooth here and there; next, I place the two triangle eyes above the mouth; and finally just underneath that a round nose. Then I mix a green to set off the pumpkin stem. Once everything is dry I take a bite! Yum! I allow the sweet taste to mix with the mild crunchiness of the cookie. Ooh so good! The perfect pumpkin!

Below is the recipe I found from In Katrina’s Kitchen to make the best sugar cookies to cut out. Enjoy!

Best Sugar Cookie Recipe

Yield: 3 dozen cookies

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 6-8 minutes

Total Time: 38 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup unsalted butter
• 1 Cup granulated white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. In the bowl of your mixer cream butter and sugar until smooth, at least 3 minutes
3. Beat in extracts and egg.
4. In a separate bowl combine baking powder with flour and add a little at a time to the wet ingredients. The dough will be very stiff. If it becomes too stiff for your mixer turn out the dough onto a counter top surface. Wet your hands and finish off kneading the dough by hand.
5. DO NOT CHILL THE DOUGH. Divide into workable batches, roll out onto a floured surface and cut. You want these cookies to be on the thicker side (closer to 1/4 inch rather than 1/8).
6. Bake at 350 for 6-8 minutes. Let cool on the cookie sheet until firm enough to transfer to a cooling rack.

Notes:

• If you must chill the dough just leave it on the counter top for 10 minutes before rolling or work the dough with your hands for a few minutes.
• You can omit the almond extract if you do not have it available, however, the taste is really fantastic with the hint of almond.
• Keep in mind that the recipe yield will vary according to how thick you roll your cookies and how large or small your cutters are.
• Bake for 6 minutes to test. They should be soft. Leave them on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to cool completely. If you reach 7-8 minutes and the edges turn brown your cookie will be crisper.

Original recipe © In Katrina’s Kitchen