Numbers are magical. Well, they can be. Numbers go on forever. We need fractions and percentages and formulas. As much as you may hate math, numbers are everywhere. They allow the Internet to work. They make sure you take enough medicine to help you but not kill you. Then there are those numbers people believe …
Author: mapelba
I'm a writer, artist, teacher, mother, wife, daughter, friend, coffee addict... What else? A success, a failure, a mess, a fan, a hater of housework, a lover of dogs, a liberal, an obsessive, and a bunch of other things that probably would never occur to me. I reveal myself in more ways in my writings and art than in any list of adjectives. And whoever you are, I hope most of all that you are a reader.
Christmas Pig
Christmas Pig appears in our neighborhood every year. My son, my husband, and I cheer when Christmas Pig's owners set him in their yard. "Yea! It's Christmas Pig! Let the holiday season begin!" Christmas Pig lives on a street not far from us, but we have to go out of our way a couple blocks …
The Questions
My son found the CNN page with profiles and photos of the victims in Newtown. He read every single one, and several he went back to. One little girl, for some reason, struck him more than the others. An hour later he told me he was thinking about that particular girl a lot. I asked …
Presents and Ungiven Things
My mind keeps coming around to the Christmas presents. Many parents have bought presents for their children and hidden them away somewhere in the house. Maybe these presents are already wrapped. Maybe not. It's hard to think of the parents who will, eventually, take those presents from their hiding places but who will no longer …
12 Days of Writermas!
After reading about what vampires get for Christmas, I was inspired to write my own holiday verse (something ink rather than blood inspired). On the first day of Writermas, my true love gave to me A contract with a publishing house. On the second day of Writermas, my true love gave to me Two coffee …
And this and this and this…
A person is supposed to try new things, right? Like a year and a half ago I began speed quad skating. I thought it was a crazy thing to do, but now I love it. In art, I've drawn a few things I didn't think I could. Like a whale and a tiger. (Not together, …
A student told me today that in her country if you told people you were afraid of dogs, they would think you were normal. But if you told people you were afraid of spiders, they would think you were crazy. Well, okay. I learn something every day. Have you learned anything surprising lately?
Water, water everywhere and nothing to write…
I've been avoiding writing for the blog. There are plenty more important to do in life, right? And years ago I named this blog writing in the water, and doesn't that sound like a place for writing advice? I don't have any writing advice. If you want to write, write. Don't say you don't have …
Continue reading Water, water everywhere and nothing to write…
Resistance isn’t always futile. Sometimes it stops progress for years.
I've been ignoring my blog. Maybe I mean neglecting. I'm supposed to be figuring a website for my art and all that. People ask me, "Do you have a website?" I feel most failure-esque to say, "I have a blog." I mean, you can't sell art on this thing. Sure, someone could leave me a …
Continue reading Resistance isn’t always futile. Sometimes it stops progress for years.
Perfect Sentences and Other Lies
Some people promise to diet or to exercise every day or to be more patient. Do you do that? Swear you're going to be different and somewhere between three minutes and three days that is all shot to hell? Mine is that I'm going to be less neurotic. I've been trying to come up with …
Marta Bacon 