The Creative Process and Matisse

Last month, I went with some new friends to the Art Institute of Chicago to see the new Matisse exhibit. The exhibit focuses on a short period of his work, from around 1914-1919. It was a fascinating exhibit which highlighted the influences on his art and an extremely creative and prolific period in his life. A few things stood out for me.

First, I loved how the exhibit spotlighted how he revised his paintings and sculptures. The audio recording which accompanied the exhibit (which you must use if you go--it's worth the money) pointed out how he left sketches in his paintings which showed multiple outlines for the arm, for example. These lines blended into the background, but showed how he changed the shapes for his finished studies. In earlier times, as I believe was the point, he would scrap the canvas and begin again. But he learned to make revision part of his work. It was also fascinating to see four "drafts" of the same sculpture (I believe this was entitled "Back" or something like that. It was a roughly chiseled torso of a man).

Whenever I talk about writing, I always focus on the writing process and how revision is absolutely essential to any decent work that will be published. A rough draft is rarely--if ever--publishable. It is the spark, the promise of what the work can evolve into. But it is the layering effect of draft upon draft which strengthens and solidifies the work into something that not only communicates effectively but makes it complete. 

Second, the exhibit showed that this was an extremely creative and prolific period in his life. As I am learning, writers, as well as painters and sculptors, go through periods in life which are more prolific than others. During this time for Matisse, influences of Cubism appeared in his work (which makes his portraits appear geometric and slightly unsettling) but he forged through those influences to create his own unique style.

This also has direct application to writing. There are times in a writer's life when ideas dry up, desert-like. Creative writing, like all arts, reveals something of the self, some inner thoughts or feelings which rise to the surface through the story. And at times, we, as writers, pull back, unsure if we want to reveal that inner core. We hide away for a time. And then there are others times when ideas flow fast and furious and, creatively speaking, we are prolific and uninhibited.

But it's all part of the process, and I am very grateful for all of the writing opportunities I have--even in a time when book publishing is almost exclusively focused on YA vampire novels. As my family has often told me, I need more zombies in my stories. Maybe I should take the hint.

10 Things Everyone Needs When They're Moving

So, here's a list of 10 things everybody needs when a move is imminent. These things could be given as a goodbye gift for the person moving. If you're the one moving, make your own moving kit.

1. A box cutter. You thought I was going to say tape, right? No. Having many, many box cutters (preferably one that can be attached to one's body) is absolutely necessary. Many times during this move, I packed boxes which then I had to open before they were actually transported to the new house. For example, I needed a lampshade the night before we moved because I absolutely could NOT stand the idea of reading my novel by the light of a naked bulb before I went to sleep. But I had no box cutter, so I was using kid scissors and a pen to try to get into a box. Not pretty.

2. Packing Tape. Don't get that wimpy yellow-y kind. Get the super thick durable kind. The scotch clear tape is about $2 at Walmart. That's the best.

3. Many writing utensils and notepads, preferably sticky notes (again, having these items on a key chain is a good idea, if possible).

4. A cell phone charger.

5. A flashlight and extra batteries. These are necessary in the old empty house and in the new empty house. There are no nightlights left.

6. Dare I say it? Instant coffee or tea bags and a tea kettle (preferably borrowed from the neighbor).

7. The dog's leash and kitty crates, along with dog food, cat food, kitty litter, and a litter box. Some sort of bowl is handy too. Oh, and tuna in case your cat decides to go under the foundation of the house and you're trying to lure her out.

8. Many cleaning supplies. These are again necessary in the old and new houses, so bring all types along. Throw in some tp and paper towel while you're at it.

9. Air mattresses (again, for old and new houses) on those weird nights when you're camping out indoors.

10. Beer, wine, or Xanax. No further explanation needed.

Palate Pleasers

I've had a new idea for my blog. Since moving here to Chicago, I have been slowly getting to know some of the people in our new congregation, Redeemer Lutheran Church.

In the spirit of a "getting to know you" project, I've decided to start with some cooking. I was given the newest church cookbook on the day of my husband's installation. It is called "Palate Pleasers." What better way to get to know some of the cooks in the congregation than by using their recipes?

So, I pulled the book out today, and decided I could try some recipes. This all may sound very "Julie and Julia"-like, and I guess I mean it to. I read the book, Julie and Julia by Julie Powell several years ago, and loved the concept. She decided to make all of Julia Child's recipes (in her Joy of Cooking book) over the course of a year and write about it on her blog.

However, my version will use the church cookbook for my inspiration. Tonight's recipe: Savory Beef Strudel.

Any time a main dish recipe has a dessert term in the name, it's going to be made in my kitchen. I have a terrible sweet tooth. I don't dive head-first into a bag of Doritos, but Oreos at 4 pm sound like a terrific addition to my diet. (Sad, I know.) One of my other favorite main dishes is the classic Bisquick recipe called cheeseburger pie. I mean, burgers, cheese, and pie--how can it get any better?

So tonight's recipe involves strudel. Interestingly, the word "strudel" comes from the German word for whirlpool, apparently because if you take a cross-section of a strudel you can see a sort of spiral shape. Apple strudel is the most common recipe consisting of layers of strudel dough and filling. The strudel dough is very labor-intensive to make, and my recipe, while it still took about 45 minutes to prepare, saved me the labor of making the dough. Instead, it called for phyllo dough (puff pastry dough).

The first time I used phyllo dough in a recipe, I thought the dough itself was the packaging. The sheets are so paper-like that I kept picking up layer after layer trying to get to the good stuff. Alas, the "good stuff" was what I was ripping through and tearing to shreds.

Tonight I knew better, remembering that foray into phyllo dough in my younger years. This recipe is sort of like lasagne. I made a meat mixture with ground beef, celery, onion, garlic, salt and pepper, and layered that between buttered layers of the phyllo. Over the top of the layers went a milk and egg mixture. The whole thing is now in the oven cooking.

Well, the timer's about to ding, so I'd better sign off. I'll let you know how the recipe turned out!

My flowers are in bloom

As promised, here are some photos! Everything is a work in progress, but I do feel like we're MAKING progress, so that is good. Here is a photo of our "icon wall"--the idea we got from Dr. D. Scaer. These are our hand-painted and favorite icons from various places: Ethiopia, Greece, and one commissioned by us by a Russian icon painter. That was pretty awesome (it's the one to the left of the cross of St. Nicholas).







This is my Jasmine plant that I bought at Trader Joes. It's now in bloom. Love it!













Here is a photo of our new living room furniture (which, of course, Lucy just HAD to sit on).









Next are some odd ceiling pictures, but let me explain. The first is our ceiling fan which we now have put up in the kitchen, in place of the green pool-table-esque light fixture.







The second photo shows a much more reasonable placement of our dining room fixture (and I haven't hit my head on it once since it is now over the center of the table).








Next, we have the non-racing stripes in the bottom of the bathtub. Again, this may seem an odd photo, but when we moved in there were these stick-on white non-skid stripes in a zig zag pattern. It took me some elbow grease, but I got rid of those, and now the coral bathroom looks a tad bit better. Also, our wonderful handymen installed a bath fan yesterday, so now it's much better.


This is a photo of our new carpet on the stairs. Love it! We're also getting runners for the upstairs hallway and the area in the living room from the front door to the kitchen.












We also had a really plush shag carpet put in the master bathroom. I could sleep on it: it's that soft and wonderful!










Next, is the new fabulous kitchen sink faucet. The older one was gold/brass and was leaking and not looking all that great. This is the new update! I'm going to switch all of the cabinet pulls to silver/chrome and see how that works.






This is the fabulous table/chairs I found on Craigslist.

Finally a few pictures

Admittedly, these are not the best photos, and I have many more to add, but they capture at least a couple of things.

1. The installation of the new dishwasher. Yay! This day we also had a garbage disposal put in. Much needed upgrades, and I am so thankful for them (those can be my Valentine's gift). :)

2. Below are some pictures of the recent snowstorm that hit Chicago. It pretty much snowed for 36 hours straight. We don't have it nearly as bad as farther east, but still, it is up to Lucy's belly. Also, I've added a photo of our sunroom (still very much in transition, as you can tell). The sun is streaming in the window, brightening up the room. It's not captured well on film, but it looks cheery this morning.

The fun part of unpacking

One of the best (only?) things about unpacking is the decorating. We've gotten to the point where much of the house is unpacked. The bedrooms are finished, the linen closet is filled, the laundry room is organized, the kitchen is mostly done, and my work space is functional--oh, and the family room (maybe most important!) is comfy and cozy. Today I was working on the the living room. In every new space, the decor fits in a little differently. I'm trying to use what we have in a new way. Which candles fit where? Where should we hang the tulip picture? etc. It all takes time, but it's nice to see things coming together.

February already?

I can't believe how quickly the last few weeks have passed during our relocation process. Each day, each hour, something else gets unpacked and put away in our new house, so things are definitely settling down as the house gets in shape.

Scott's installation and dinner reception were last Sunday. It was a lovely service, and the dinner was magnificent. Wow--what an incredibly warm welcome! We are just so thrilled to be here. We know that moving is a roller coaster, and we'll have up and down days, but we've been so pleased and thankful for all of the warm and generous gifts the people of Redeemer have given us. Thank you!

The lost and the found

So here are things I've found in the last couple of days:

1. my wedding ring (yay! -- I had put it in a "safe" place so it wouldn't get ruined up with all the messiness of the move, but then couldn't find it right away).

2. my jeans!

3. my speakers for my office (so right now I'm listening to Pandora, and my speakers are working!).

4. the bus stop for Jacob--his first bus ride to school ever today.

The missing:

1. most of our drinking glasses...I haven't gotten back to unpacking more of the kitchen yet. Most of everything else for the kitchen is unpacked, however.

2. The batteries (AA and AAA type). So for now my clock is just going to say 4:00.

3. My extra chapsticks and lotion. Ooh! I need those!

Okay, will try to post photos later...

Another update

So, this morning I've been grading (for my online course), filling up the crawl space with storage stuff, and cleaning the upstairs bathroom and emptying boxes for the linen closet. I think we'll be okay as far as storage goes, but I'm still early in the unpacking process. It's a good house; it just needs some TLC and some replacement "parts."

Jacob got off to school today (his first day) and then called to say it's an early dismissal day. So, that's probably good. He had a peer "ambassador" meet him for the day, so hopefully that will help acclimate him to the school.

Cool news! Scott is featured in this article in what looks like a local edition of the Chicago Sun-Times.

At last

Well, as you may have guessed, life has been hectic and crazy the last few days. I've carved out a little quiet spot amidst all of the boxes and chaos in the new house. I'll take a photo and post it soon. Right now I just wanted to give a little update.

Jacob is all set up for school tomorrow, and he's adapting surprisingly well. Probably better than I am. But all is well. We're slowly becoming more organized and figuring out what will need to be fixed/replaced in the house. We're also finding nooks and crannies for storage. The house in Fort Wayne had tons of storage space. In this house, it's just different. We have a big crawl space, but closet space is hard to come by. Figuring out where everything goes is just different. I have a lot more storage space in the utility room, for example, but less in the bedrooms, etc.

I had lots of help on Friday and over the weekend. The other pastor's wife, Jan, came and helped for HOURS on Friday, cleaning and scrubbing out the new kitchen. It was so awesome. I don't think my refrigerator has ever been as clean as it is right now. Even when it was brand new, it was dirtier. :) She was a huge help. My sister-in-law also came down with food, quick decision-making ability, and a get-to-it-quick attitude. My brother David shoveled out our ice-packed driveway for us, and my niece and nephews helped with emptying boxes and generally boosting us up.

What I've struggled with most during this entire process is the weight of the anxiety and stress of it all. Every afternoon, I feel like I just need to take a nap. Some days I do. I know that people have much bigger problems in the world, and I'm so glad that we can be a part of this new community to share God's good news with others.

Had a lovely sunny day here. It got up to 37 or 38 degrees. We took Lucy for a walk and found the bus stop for Jacob for tomorrow a.m. I'll try to write more updates tomorrow.

Going, going...

This is a photo of the moving truck pulling away from our house, on its way to Chicago (well, actually, on its way to Scott's office, and then on its way to Chicago). The house is empty and echo-y, but I've set up air mattresses in two of the bedrooms and snagged a couple of lamps to make the place at least a little bit homey.

The movers were really excellent. Very hard workers, pleasant, funny, and they took good care of our stuff. They wrapped every piece of furniture in pads and taped them, around and around until the pad would be in place. That may not sound like much, but we've moved several times now and while all movers do some padding, this is the most and best I've seen. It would be extremely difficult to ding or scratch furniture when it's so carefully prepared for the move. I highly recommend Bekins.

I'm dreading the time when the unpacking will come, because it's like a mini-explosion with every new box. They pack the items so well, with so much paper that it's a huge amount of rubbish at the end of the unpacking process, but I am confident things will arrive safe and sound.

So, tonight Jacob's basketball team decided they should all meet at Pizza Hut for a going-away bash for Jacob. Then tomorrow morning, I'll bring some treats for his class to have a mini-goodbye before we leave for Chicago around noon. I've been in contact with the new school district, and it sounds like they really do a lot to help transition new students, so I'm grateful for that. But it's not easy for a 14-year-old to leave his friends and school.

Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to starting afresh with a new (to us) house, a cleaned-out frig, walls ready to paint, and a new place to call our own. But goodbyes are always difficult--and I suppose that's a good thing too because it means we have friends we love.

Packing, Day 2

The house is now officially in total disarray. I find I'm looking forward to the time when all the boxes are gone, but I also know how strange it feels to live in a house with no furniture. But it's probably best with the animals to stay here and camp until we head off to Chicago on Thursday.

It's unsettling, to say the least, to see the house being dismantled around me. Unsettling, but because I've been through it before, not devastating. I at least know what to expect.

Our movers are professional and great workers, so we certainly can't complain about not having to do all of the intensive labor ourselves.

A primer for moving in January:

Pro - cold food can come with us in a box in the trunk.

Con - having to haul giant trash bags through mounds of snow.

Pro - having clear skies (at least right now)

Con - shoveling the driveway before we can get into the house

Pro - avoiding at least a portion of the winter blues because life is so chaotic

Con - having to get used to everything new in the cold

Pro - don't have to mow the grass next week

Con - hoping that our one surviving plant won't freeze in the trunk

Pro - knowing that God is taking care of us, in all circumstances

Thanks for all of the offers for help and concern. We're going to miss our Ft. Wayne friends, but I'm confident that our paths will cross again--and hopefully soon.

The view from where I sit...

What more is there to say? I now have floor-to-ceiling boxes in my house. Hopefully, I pulled out everything we'll need in the next couple of days. If not, there's a Wal-mart not far!

Moving, part 5: Chaos

From now until--I don't know--three or four weeks from now, the house will be in total disarray. (As one of Jacob's friends put it: "Your house looks like a tornado went through here.") I've accepted that fact. So, amidst the chaos this morning, I thought I'd jot a quick note before going to late service.

The last few days have been a whirlwind. Everything went spectacularly well with the closing, and Scott and I are now homeowners! It's going to take some time to absorb that fact, but we're really excited about owning our own home and making it ours. We got into the house on Friday and brought in a few things after shoveling a path through about 8-10 inches of snow.

Yesterday, was a basketball day for our son. His team is fun to watch, especially when they are well-matched to the opposers. Sadly, he's not quite going to be able to finish the basketball season, but he'll be able to play in most of these last games. It's going to be a tough week for him. I know he'll enjoy our new home, but it's always difficult to say goodbye, especially when you're young and haven't yet lived long enough to know that God provides everything that you need--including new friends--wherever you are.

The movers are coming tomorrow for packing, so today is the last-minute surge to get everything sorted and cleaned. I need to separate the things that we're going to take with us in the car, etc. The packing will take a couple of days, and then they'll load the truck on Wednesday, drive to Chicago on Thursday, and Friday the 15th will be our unloading day. I also need to clean out the big freezer and frig today, so if I show up on your doorstep with some random food item (like a package of frozen chicken thighs), don't be surprised.

Thank you for all of your good wishes and prayers during this transition. I have to apologize to my friends who may not be getting quick responses from me via phone or email. I miss you and can't wait to catch up soon (you know who you are!).

Moving, part 4

So today, I'm paying bills, changing our address, and getting ready to go to Elmhurst tomorrow for the closing. I'm also starting my online class this session, so I have a little work time and errands to run today before enlisting help from the teenage boy in my life to help with moving boxes.

On a different, slightly more random note, I keep thinking about John Lennon's song, "Imagine." For those of you who watched the live coverage of Time's Square on New Year's Eve, you may remember that they played the song one minute before the crystal ball started to drop before the new year arrived. This song seems to have evolved into a sort of "gospel" anthem of our time, for our culture. Imagine that everyone gets along and people everywhere have everything they need. It's a nice sentiment, and basically, I think the song is brilliant in its simplicity. I take issue with the line about getting rid of all religion as well as heaven and hell, but notice that he doesn't say to get rid of God. Maybe that's a slight concession to believers in God.

Scott reminded me of David Archuletta's amazing performance of this song on American Idol from a couple of years ago. Here's the link on You Tube in case you're interested (I'm sorry--I'm really having trouble with posting links on Blogger): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbejACVh8F4&feature=related

Moving, part 3

Today is a day to finish up things in the garages and move onto the freezer. Blech. First, though, I shined (shone?) my sink. So, if you have heard me talk about Flylady, you can tune me out. If not, it's a great website for anyone who takes care of a house to look at.

Flylady helps you gain control of housework and CHAOS (which stands for Can't Have Anyone Over Synodrome). She suggests simple, quick solutions to making sure your house is at least somewhat neat and tidy. Her rule of thumb that has always stuck with me is to have a shiny sink. Start there. Make sure your sink is free of dirty dishes, and shining clean. To do this the first time, fill up your kitchen sink with a combination of bleach and hot water. Let it sit a little while, and then drain. Wipe out with a clean towel, and you have your first shiny sink. Then try to keep it clean all day. Before you go to bed, wipe it out, shine it up, etc.

This philosophy to me says: start simple. Start with the little things (a made bed, a clean sink), and those little cluttery things won't stress you out.

So, here's my shiny sink with my pretty angel figurines (from my girlfriends and sister-in-law and mom). During the move, I'm trying to keep some areas of the house relatively normal. The sink is one of those.

Below are some cute pictures of the kitties and Lucy.

P.S. Sorry the spacing and font are so weird. I don't have time to fuss with Blogger! Grr!

Moving, part 2

So, these are the counting-down days to the move, filled with the fun of sorting, cleaning, packing, and generally getting everything messy.

This morning I started in on the garage. Ugh. Cleaning a garage. In winter. In freezing temperatures. After mice have visited.

The kerosene heater helped to ward off the cold. I had to empty the thing out anyway to get it ready to move.

Here's Lucy in the garage, looking a little shell-shocked. I successfully sold her two dog crates this morning to a lady who runs a dog rescue. I thought that was great. The woman told me that she recently got a 6 year old dog that is pregnant, so she needed the large dog crate right away for her.

While moving around totes and sorting stuff, I discovered another dead mouse. Sad, long story, but suffice it to say that I'd rather have dead mice than a non-working blower on the car's heater. The second photo shows the remnants of the mouse nest.

The last photo is of my small bird nest collection (which, of course, were all gathered without babies in them).

Maybe later I'll post a before and after photo of the messy garage/clean garage, but I am too tired right now to finish.

Moving to Chicago, part 1

Well, I decided that while I'm in the middle of a relocation to Chicago, I'd keep a commentary going on my blog so that people can see what's up (if you wish to). I hate it that I haven't had time to keep in touch with all of my friends as well as I should, so here's a "form letter" type of way to communicate.

This weekend, we went up for a couple of days to get Scott settled in at his temporary lodgings while we await the closing of our house (set for this coming week). Here are some photos I snapped along the way. This is on the Metra commuter train in-bound to Chicago.

We decided to visit the John Hancock Observatory. Really awesome 360 degree views! Loved it.

Here's the view from the bottom:

And here's the view from the top:

This week will mean more cleaning at the house while I sort, sell, and give away stuff we don't want or need anymore. So, if you happen to want a 5-foot artificial Christmas tree or an extra large dog crate (or any other random item), just let me know!

More updates soon!

St. Nicholas Day is coming!

Here is the cover of a book I wrote, illustrated by Chris Ellison, published by Concordia Publishing House. It is called St. Nicholas: The Real Story of the Christmas Legend.

St. Nicholas Day (Dec. 6) always sneaks up on me because it comes just on the tails of Thanksgiving. But it's a great day to celebrate, especially to share with children the gift of giving.

While many legends and myths surround the person of St. Nicholas, we do know a few things about him for sure. We know he was a Christian pastor. We know he was a Christian bishop. We know he lived in what is modern-day Turkey around A. D. 200-300s. He is best known for his generosity and his gift of gold to a family with three daughters in need of dowries.

I think it's safe to say that he practiced generosity as an extension of the compassion and grace he received from God. This motivation to do good because good has been done to you is what I love best about Nicholas. It's not a call to works of charity because of duty. His example serves as a model for us to give back from the good we've received.

On the night of Dec. 5, encourage your children to set their shoes beside their beds, ready to receive a treat from St. Nicholas. Give them some gold chocolate coins or a small treat. Remind your children that all good gifts come from God and serve as reminders of that best gift of all--the redemption God gives through the gift of His Son.

This is pretty funny...

This is from:

GRAMMER MADE EASY

or

HOW TO RITE RITE

1. Don't abbrev.
2. Check to see if you any words out.
3. Be carefully to use adjectives and adverbs correct.
4. About sentence fragments.
5. When dangling, don't use participles.
6. Don't use no double negatives.
7. Each pronoun agrees with their antecedent.
8. Just between you and I, case is important.
9. Join clauses good, like a conjunction should.
10. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
11. A preposition is a terrible word to end a sentence with.
12. Don't use commas, that aren't necessary.
13. Its important to use apostrophe's right.
14. It's better not to unnecessarily split an infinitive.
15. Never leave a transitive verb just lay there without an object.
16. Only Proper Nouns should be capitalized. also a sentence should begin with a capital and end with a period
17. Use hyphens in compound-words, not just in any two-word phrase.
18. In letters compositions reports and things like that we use commas to keep a string of items apart.
19. Watch out for irregular verbs which have creeped into our language.
20. Verbs has to agree with their subjects.
21. Avoid unnecessary redundancy.
22. A writer mustn't shift your point of view.
23. Don't write a run-on sentence you've got to punctuate it.
24. A preposition isn't a good thing to end a sentence with.
25. Avoid clichis like the plague; they're old hat; seek viable alternatives.
26. Comparisons are as bad as clichis.
27. Do not use a foreign term when there is an adequate English quid pro quo.
28. If you must use a foreign term, it is de rigor to spell it correctly.
29. Avoid colloquial stuff.
30. It behooves the writer to avoid archiac expressions.
31. Do not use hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it effectively.
32. Mixed metaphors are a pain in the ass and ought to be thrown out the window.
33. Placing a comma between subject and predicate, is not correct.
34. Parenthetical words however should be enclosed in commas.
35. Consult the dictionary frequently to avoid mispelling.
36. Don't use tautological, repetitive, or redundant statements.
37. Don't use tautological, repetitive, or redundant statements.
38. Puns are for children, not for readers who are groan.
39. The Passive Voice shouldn't be used.
40. Proofread carefully to see if you have any words out
41. Hopefully, you will use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
42. Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.
43. Always avoid any alliteration, albeit agreeable.
44. Contractions aren't necessary.
45. Who needs rhetorical questions?
46. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
47. Do not put statements in the negative form.
48. Don't overuse exclamation marks!!!
49. Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more words, to their antecedents.
50. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
51. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."
52. Be more or less specific.
53. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
54. The passive voice is to be avoided.
55. If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.
56. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.
57. Understatement is always best.
58. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
59. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
60. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.
61. Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors.
62. Remember to finish what you sta