Posted in Life

#Weeklysmile – Beautiful Day

My dear friend Trent does a Weekly Smile post.  Here’s one for him (and me).

Today was an almost perfect early spring day.  There was almost no wind, which is something that I am SO thankful for!  The wind blows too much here.  The sun shone all day and the sky was a beautiful blue!

I took the day off.  I didn’t do much today other than enjoy the day.  I spent a lot of time outside with my little dog Rocket, sitting on the deck.  The boy loves to chase the birds and squirrels and he loves to sunbathe.  He competes with the neighbor’s dogs in barking for no reason at all contests sometimes.  He’s normally very quiet (unusual for his breed) so when he wants to cut loose, I usually let him.  He has a good time.

I put all of my flower pots out on the lawn to make sure everyone got some sun.  I’ve carefully covered my flowers at night if the temps dropped too low and I’ve been rewarded with some beautiful blooms!

I washed out the bird bath and refilled it.  I’m still waiting for the little birds to discover it and start enjoying it.  But then again, I guess I would be shy about bathing in a stranger’s yard. 🙂

I’m so thankful for this beautiful day and beautiful weather.  Today made me smile.  There are many places where people are not as fortunate, I know that and I’m thankful.  ❤

Remember to relish the little things.  It’s all those wonderful small, moments that make up our past.  Please enjoy Trent’s lovely post and join in! ❤

I had a lot to smile about this week. Last night friends I hadn’t seen in a while invited me to an impromptu get together. Saturday I saw a good movie about Vincent Van Gogh, At Eternities Gate (William Dafoe is excellent as Vincent). Friday afternoon I shut off my work computer to start a […]

via The Weekly Smile 12/24/2018 #weeklysmile — Trent’s World (the Blog)

The Weekly Smile 12/24/2018 #weeklysmile — Trent’s World (the Blog)

Posted in Life, Poetry, Writing

Reworked Work #weeklysmile

I’ve had a lot to smile about this past week.  Chuck, a friend of mine over at The Reluctant Poet (who is a sweetheart for sharing some of my work) made some suggestions about formatting my poetry and prose for my upcoming book. I’m sure glad that he did!

The process of formatting, editing,  and proofing everything has been tedious.  But it’s paying off!  While putting said book together, I’ve discovered, what I think, may be a few hidden gems.  In my humble opinion.  🙂

In order to rework these poems, I have been forced to look at my work with fresh eyes.  Doing this has given me a completely new view of things and I am amazed at how differently I see things that I thought were just fine and set in stone the way they were.

Below, is a poem I wrote a long time ago.  It’s always been a favorite of mine.  It deals with the struggles of resisting sin.  It never received the response that I felt it to be worthy of.  After a little tweaking and restructuring, I think that it now may be ready for the spotlight.

I call this Skirmish of Sins.  I hope you like it.  🙂

Stripped clean


Yesterday still ringing

in my ears

Bruised


But not

beaten


Never beaten


Sinner

or saint


Who

should judge


Slain

yesterday’s wrongs


Tomorrow

yields yet

another skirmish

of sins

Copyright (C) 2018 Penny Wilson

*This post is in response to Trent McDonald’s #weeklysmile.  If you would like to get in on the fun you can find out all about it HERE.

 

 

Posted in Life

#WeeklySmile-Self Publishing

This past week has been a blur.  I’ve decided to publish a book of poetry!  Along that line, I sent out a request for Beta Readers.  That effort didn’t pan out as well as expected, but I did receive some good feedback that I can use.

This effort is a real learning experience.  I have NO idea what I’m doing.  But that’s never stopped me before!!  🙂  heehee!!

I’m going the route of self-publishing through Amazon.  So I’ve been researching as much as I can.  I’ve gone through my stack of poetry again and again, eliminating some pieces and adding others.

I am now at the point in the project where I’m proofing and formatting each piece.  It’s tedious.  After you look at your own work for so long, you go blind.  What I mean by that is that the piece loses its depth.  You have to really concentrate and stay focused.

I’m excited about this project and am happy about the progress I’ve made.  I’m especially looking forward to the long weekend so that I can concentrate on it.

I’ve decided on a title for the book, but don’t have the artwork for the cover yet.

Once I am further along in this process, I may post another request for Beta Readers, with a more finished possibility of the book.  If you’re interested in being one of those Beta Readers, use my contact page and send me an email.  I’ll be in touch!

All in all, I’m a very happy girl these days.  I’m still loving my new digs, although I am having some plumbing issues.  But that’s for a different post.

I hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Thank you for joining me on this journey!  Penny ❤

*This is in response to Trent’s “#WeeklySmile” prompt.  If you would like to join in on the fun you can find out all about it HERE.  

Posted in Life, Writing

Halloween Smiles

I completely blew it with the #OctPoWriMo, 31 poems in 31 days.  But, I forgive myself.  🙂  I have been busy with other things.  I did manage to write a few poems this month.  I’ve also submitted a few for publication and got 2 of them published!  So I’m pretty happy about that.

I am continuing to put together my poetry book for self-publication.  It’s already been a good learning experience!  A big THANK YOU to my Beta Readers!!

I got some work done on the house.  I was given a bunch of concrete pavers, from a neighbor (score!) so I set some of them around my deck in the backyard.  It looks awesome!  Pictures to come, soon.

I’ve had plenty to smile about this week!  If you have something to smile about, be sure to share it with us.  You can join in on the fun on Trent’s blog and find out all about it HERE.

Rocket didn’t want to wear a costume this year, so he opted for the always classic holiday scarf.  He wanted me to be sure to wish all of you a Happy Halloween!

Copyright (C) 2018 Penny Wilson

 

Posted in Life

Something to Smile About

This is in response to Trent’s Weekly Smile prompt, which you can find out all about HERE.  

I had a lot to smile about this last weekend!

We had our first full weekend without rain in 6 or 8 weeks!  Texas has been drenched with rain, unseasonably so, for weeks on end!  Everything is soggy!  I don’t think that it’s rained for 40 days and 40 nights, but it’s seemed that way!

My sweet Sister-in-law had a birthday.  I joined her and my brother for a lovely lunch and some birthday cake, both of which my brother cooked!  I had a grand time.

Early Saturday morning I went to a sale at a local nursery and went a little crazy.  😊  Since buying my home, I’ve spent Way Too Much money, but I just couldn’t help myself!  I bought pansies, mums and some ornamental kale.  I brought back irises from my sister in law’s yard too.

Saturday afternoon, the sun came out!!  It was glorious to see after all the rain!

Sunday, I was a busy girl.  I got all of the irises planted and then I set about separating the mums and getting them and everything else planted.  It took me a few hours, but I think the effort is worth it!

The pansies and kale will last most of the winter as will the mums.  The mums will also come back next year and spread.  I’m very happy with the result.  My deck is looking very pretty, don’t you think?

Along with all the fun stuff I did over the weekend, I also did home home-owner, handy-man, type of stuff.  I filled some holes in the backyard where their dog had dug and I replaced the flapper in the toilet so it would stop leaking water!

I was Very productive and all of this makes me smile!