No words to scream today,
But I am writing again, I have thoughts
As I meditate with each step, each noticing is my prayer of thanks:
For soreness in my legs, for water that reaches for my toes, for foamy surf that comes and goes
For soft sand caressing each step of my feet
A low radio playing a happy beat
For waves that invite and dare, crashing down every which way
And the slight trickle of sweat down my back as I turn when it’s time to walk away.
Welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Allison at Eclectic Alli
Coffee is a must today! I’ve been quite sluggish for the last week. You see, my son and I traveled to Rhode Island for five days in mid-July to see my dad. It was beautiful there! I’ll be honest, my dad is no dottering old man. He works full-time at age 74, attends many community functions, and holds a position of leadership in his church. He also lives a very healthy, active lifestyle despite having had three heart attacks.
Dad’s active lifestyle was witnessed firsthand by my son and me. I mean, Dad had things planned for almost every day we were there. He rents an apartment very near the beach in R.I. We walked from there to the beach many times. The weather was heavenly. Even on days he called humid, I was pretty comfortable, as it always seemed to be at least 10 degrees lower than it would be in Florida. Our activities ranged from walking to the “Clam Shack” for clam chowder, to the beach, walking on the famous and gorgeous “Cliff Walk” that was about 4 miles one afternoon, and walking to the town of Newport the next day. He took us on a ferry to tour lighthouses on the bay and took us sailing with his friend who owns a sailboat.
This is where I got to see his stubborn spirit that has likely been around since youth. He has had to be self-reliant all his life, as his family grew up poor. Having many siblings meant his parents had to send him to a farm to work in the summers. He entered the Navy in his twenties, and I guess his love for the sea never left him. His friend also sails several times a week, and they are quite the pair, fearless old men with sea legs. 🙂 We went way out beyond the bay and toward the sea. My son went down to the cabin, but one of the guys said that would make a person feel more queasy. After a while, I went there too, just to feel I had something to grab. (There was a table attached to the floor). I felt shaky, weak, and ready to be sick. None of us did, though. Soon, we were heading back from the sea and into the calmer waters again. We were out there for hours. I could safely say that I enjoyed 80% of our sailing excursion. Overall, it was a good experience. My discomfort was a minor thing; I didn’t ask them to head back, though I am sure at one point I asked “when” we’d head back. The calmer waters allowed for some beautiful views. At the end, I had to admit the old man was tougher than I was.
It was a really enjoyable trip, though, especially the Lighthouse ferry boat, and I attended church with my dad at a Center for Spiritual Living. It was great, and all of his friends there were quite lovely. He took my son kayaking one day, and I walked to the beach to enjoy the lovely weather. All in all, it was nice spending time with my father, and I even got some bonding time with my son. He learned a little bit more about who we are. When it was time to head home, I was probably good and tired. The airline flight and getting home at 1 a.m. didn’t help. The next day, I got new car tires. The day after, I woke up with a cold, and it grew more harrowing day after day, but I just stayed in, rested, and took the Mucinex. A week later, and I’m still awfully sluggish in the morning. At least the big excitement of this summer is over. All that is left is my mom’s birthday next week. July is, in a big way, about family this year. August 6th, I head back to work teaching. There will be lots of changes this year, but today it is still summer break, so I need to honor that.
Thanks for stopping by for my Weekend Coffee Share! Have a great weekend. How was your week? Are you looking forward to summer’s end?
Welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Emily at nerdinthebrain.com and soon to be hosted again by parttimemonsterblog.com. As you can see in the photo, there are many days lately where my coffee of choice is ICED! The heat here in Florida is amazing lately. This coffee drink was iced mocha. Yum! I actually met with some friends and fellow writers Thursday for a fellow writers’ chat. Hence, the above photo, which is perfect for summer! If we were having coffee today, on the 9th of July, I would tell you:
*Book News: Most days this week, I have sold one or two of the Detours in Time books at Amazon. Some days, I think it’s because of the book postcard I gave to the cashier or customer service manager at the grocery store or the coffee shop. This is one way I’m getting the word out. I got a graphic designer to make this design, and then I ordered the postcards to be printed. I hand them out in many places, and Wow! They look very professional, and they make me look legitimate, so they make me talk to people about my writing! Imagine that! People don’t know I’m an author. I need to tell them! I should be proud! I worked hard on this book. I paid for editing, cover design, graphics, postcard, formatting, and there’s something I missed, but you get the drift. I should be proud. Plus, I really enjoyed the writing of this book. I do this because I enjoy it, so I should be proud. I’m working on this poem in my mind about it. It’s like, I’m displaying my talent and hard work, so I don’t want people to ignore or to look away, even if I am only earning a few dollars on it. Well, there are some days it seems no one sees my Facebook posts, and sometimes you’ll have some days without a sale. Come on, you indie authors know what I’m talking about! Anyway, I’ll likely order more postcards. It has been fun talking about my writing with strangers. (It’s helping me develop my elevator pitch). 🙂 This is what it looks like, designed by Kat Mellon:
Also in book news, a big thanks to Jackie O. who, starting Monday, gave me a book/author feature on her blog this week! See it at https://acookingpotandtwistedtales.com/2017/07/03/bring-your-books-5-author-zone/
Another round of thanks to Katrina Robinson, who hosted my “Interview with a Character” from Detours in Time this Weds., 7/05. Please visit and give it a read at https://calliopewriting.com/2017/07/05/guest-blog-post-interview-with-a-character-from-pamela-schloesser-canepas-detours-in-time/ It is a different sort of post on the blog tour for my new sci-fi novel, Detours in Time.
This week I have also have a book spotlight at princessofthelight.wordpress.com. They are pleasant to work with, and have a lot of Twitter followers who have retweeted my book spotlight!
*A big topic of discussion with my fellow writers at coffee was recent movies. I had been bad about attending movies, but I have finally seen The Guardians of the Galaxy 2, (and then rented part 1 on Netflix) and more recently, Wonder Woman. I loved both! There has been a lot of talk about theology in Wonder Woman, and then, I saw another article that cited Buddhists principles in Wonder Woman! The point is, people are seeing a moral or spiritual element in the movie, and I noticed a similarity of the god Ares’ fall to that of Lucifer. I did not love it for the fight scenes, but for many of the other elements present. Many people are seeing different things. Go see it! GOTG: it’s just awesome, full of action, great music, and characters you can easily fall for. Enough said. See them both, especially if you love sci-fi and superheroes. Next up, War for the Planet of the Apes. I am there! I’ve seen people guffaw at it as racist. Huh? You can see it in many different ways. What I see is that the apes are closer to nature than mankind, and therefore they would save it (and fight for it) as opposed to our destruction of the planet. I know the original condemns mankind for blowing up the planet, and it made quite an impression on the young me. I am curious and will certainly see this one too. My next on Netflix is The Man From UNCLE. Yes, I’ve seen it before, but it’s worth a revisit! Spy intrigue, handsome lead, 60’s fashion, 60’s classic cars, exciting love story, and HENRY CAVILL. I am a fan. 🙂 Worth revisiting!
*Writing? Yes, I wrote a story this week! Well, two, but one of them is still secret. The other is a flash fiction that I wrote here on WordPress for the Flash fiction for Aspiring Writers Challenge. It is in reaction to a photo prompt. I love these and will likely try them with my English Language Arts students. Someone should love writing like I do! Here is my response: https://pamelascanepa.wordpress.com/2017/07/04/flashfictionforaspiringwriters-i-took-the-fall/
*So, beyond that, I got the dog groomed, spent some time with my son, went to Artwalk with my significant other, and read at least one book this week, and there were two yoga classes. I also went to a fundraiser yoga class this morning that was different than my usual practice. It was great, even though I modified a lot. Yes, it is a common thread in my posts. Yoga-dogs-books. If I spend my time doing those things, it means I am loving my life!
Visit Emily at http://www.nerdinthebrain.com/weekendcoffeeshare-the-one-where-i-pass-the-reigns-back/ for her week’s insights and for the coffee shares of some fellow bloggers. You may add yours by clicking on the InLinks button.
Thank you for reading this far, especially if you haven’t tired of me “spitting out the butt-ends of my days and ways,” (From a T.S. Eliot poem) which amounts to: Yoga, books, dogs. Add Family. Friends. Coffee! I shall have to add food next time. 🙂 Have a great week!
I am getting a little time for rest, relaxation, fun, and self-improvement this summer. That’s what summer is for! And while I’m working like mad to promote my book and have decided I’ll teach a Creative Writing class in addition to 6th grade English this year, I’m working on my sanity, as I should!
I’m spending time with my son and our dog at the park, before noon. Note the wonderful trees! (I promised my son relative web anonymity). Family time is good for the soul.
Speaking of family time, I’ve already mentioned the mom time, since she is on the mend. We’ve enjoyed a lot of Rom/Com.s together. My favorite: Kate and Leopold. (A time travel rom.com. Of course I love it)!
There’s nothing like a beach getaway. My significant other had a birthday, and we’re starting to make the birthday beach getaway a tradition. This is the guy who sings Bohemian Rhapsody with me. Not in public (not yet). 🙂 Getting away is great for my sanity. We had great food, relaxation on the beach, pool and Jacuzzi time, and we’re pictured here after some sunning, enjoying lunch in an open air restaurant called Oasis.
Bringing new meaning to “down dog.” I’m hitting the yoga studio 2-3 times weekly, and trying trying to work the yoga and program in between. I won’t get it done if I let my dog in the room though!
My brother’s wife is visiting, and we had dinner on the Riverside of town last night. It’s kind of an artsy area but seems to be getting gentrified. Still, the Wall Street lounge has been there for ages. We didn’t go in, but I was quite taken by this mural. It’s a slice of our town’s history.
I hope you all are having a great summer. Thanks for stopping by!
Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Emily at nerdinthebrain.com. It goes like this: If we were having coffee today on the 17th of June, I’d tell you:
*Summer is truly a time to renew and catch up! I’m promising myself I’ll go to yoga twice a week. There are so many kinks in my shoulders, and I’ve totally fallen off the exercise wagon. So far, I am meeting my twice a week goal. In fact, I wrote about it, in my imagining of “Yoga” as a deep-voiced, patient man who always leaves the door open and keeps me going back. Find it at https://pamelascanepa.wordpress.com/2017/06/11/if-yoga-were-a-guy-my-exercise-evolution-contd/ I’ve also been to the beach for a relaxing day that was great until I later discovered the spots I’d neglected when I applied sunscreen. Forida sun= great potential for pain.
*I have been busy, though. I have a new sci-fi book release, Detours in Time, that came out on 6/16, Woohoo! I’ve been trying to do the prep work to get this one seen before it drops. This means I’ve put it up for pre-order, contacted endless book reviewers and bloggers, and I’ve gotten several who offered to do an interview or spotlight on their blog, with just a few who can review my book at this time. At any rate, I have a busy schedule of blog appearances for June, and July is getting planned right now; I think there are three. Maybe I’ll take a little getaway in July? One more thing I’ve done is contact many in the Goodreads and Library Thing community in the hopes of gathering reviews that way. If you haven’t yet discovered Library Thing, check it out at librarything.com. I’m not totally sure if it is only in the U.S., but do check it out. You can also Google Library Thing for authors to find out how it could help you as an author. Visibility is my aim right now, because the hope is that this will motivate people to buy my book.
Graphic by Kat Mellon, who also did my cover. I got this graphic printed through Vistaprint as postcards, and I’m leaving them in random places all over town. Visibility! 🙂 New book available at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0711ZW6XF
Here is one of my Author Interview Posts on a fellow sci-fi and satire writer’s blog: https://vrcraftauthor.wordpress.com/2017/06/15/interview-with-author-pamela-s-canepa/
While we’re at it, here is an article I wrote to introduce myself on another writer’s blog, if you’re interested: https://mylife428.wordpress.com/2017/06/17/self-publishing-with-pamela-schloesser-canepa-pamscanepa1/
*Back to Summer time relaxation. I have to make time for this, daily. You see, I am a teacher and summer is a necessary time to rest and rejuvenate. Things have also been a little tense in my family, so I am somewhat a caretaker or manager lately, too. So I relax, care for others, seclude myself to write/promote, then relax again, write again, etc. I have to force myself off of the computer to let my brain relax. My mom is at home with a broken arm. We live in the same house, so I am here to help if she needs driving somewhere, and I’m mostly handling the meals. However, I also have a mostly constant companion this summer, and she is watching a LOT of TV. So, I introduced her to Bridget Jones via Netflix. We’ve seen two of the movies so far, and, oh, why not see the third? I think she is team Darcy, just like I am, and we love the somewhat naughty rom-com genre. There are lots of laughs, for sure. I’ve always loved the clumsy, flawed character of Bridget Jones!
Thank you for stopping by my Weekend Coffee Share! Feel free to share about your week or your summer in the comments. While you’re at it, think about writing your own Weekend Coffee Share! Visit Emily’s bog at http://www.nerdinthebrain.com/weekendcoffeeshare-the-one-where-im-in-wilmington/ for her Coffee Share, and leave a link to your coffee share by clicking on the inlinkz button. Have a great week!
pamelascanepa 