01/12/12
The Magic Pantsing Dog – A True Story
A dog park seems an unlikely place for an epiphany. But between the eager terriers and friendly retrievers, lies an “All I Ever Needed to KnowAbout Life I learned from the Dog Park” microcosm. One, I discovered, that applies to life, and even to writing. Read the rest of this entry »
01/2/12
The Musers have shared beautiful traditions and holiday insights with you these past Days of Christmas, and I hope to do no less than follow in their inspirational footsteps by sharing a culinary tradition celebrated by my Scandinavian-heritaged family since before I was born. It’s a tradition stemming from ancient days and intrepid explorers (along with a few pillagers), and born of resourceful women hoping to provide long, long, long term sustenance for their beloved Viking Warriors.
It’s a tradition of exacting culinary prowess and pounds of melted butter that my mother and father’s generation holds dear.
And, it’s a tradition that strikes dread into the heart of any “child” in our family under the age of seventy-five. Read the rest of this entry »
11/16/11
ET Phone Home or … What can you do with a piece of tin foil THAT size?
It doesn’t have to be a Wednesday for wackiness to reign in my world. Wackiness kind of follows me around and goes 
“boogity, boogity, boo” at inopportune moments just to watch me look like a Keystone Kop or Oliver Hardy slipping on a banana peel.
Once in a while, though, I get to experience someone else’s wackiness and that’s when life goes from me having the starring role in a Turner Classic Comedy, to me feeling utter relief that I am by far not the weirdest duck in the pond.
Let me tell you about the fellow I crossed paths with just a few weeks ago Read the rest of this entry »
10/10/11
I got to spend last weekend participating in one of the most romantic activities in the world: a wedding. Not just any wedding, but the marriage of my only son. There are a lot of apropos clichés that fit at this point. The wedding day was beautiful. The bride and groom were happy and obviously in love. The mother of the groom cried. The parents of the groom had a wonderful time and adore their new daughter-in-law, but are glad the party prep is over.
All true. (Clichés become clichés for a reason after all.)
What isn’t quite as unoriginal, however, is what I took away from my child’s special day: Five things the wedding embodied in microcosm Read the rest of this entry »
09/20/11
Ekki-Ekki-Ekki-Ekki-PTANG. Zoom-Boing
I have a dream as a writer – someday I’d like to write a line that people will quote. The “Here’s lookin’ at you, kid” kind of line. I think of this whenever I watch a favorite movie, hear people quoting Monty Python, or pick up a book and think, ‘why the heck didn’t I come up with that?”
I recently saw the last Harry Potter movie and made a list of the many things that make this series not only memorable but iconic, like Harry’s scar and his glasses, spells like, “Wingardium Leviosa,” and the oft-repeated epithet, “He who shall not be named.” I wondered, how do you do that as a writer? How do you come up with: “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn,” or “Nobody puts Baby in the corner,” or “May the Force be with you,”?
There’s obviously no quantifiable answer. As I was studying lines I thought were great, it came to me that many times, the best ones are simple. They convey a character’s personality and make him or her instantly recognizable. Who doesn’t know immediately the character belonging to these lines? Read the rest of this entry »
08/25/11
Thoughtful Thursday – My Life as a Raven
Hi Musers,
I’m Liz Selvig, another of your so-thrilled-to-be-here newbies. Although I’ve officially been part of the group for a month, I still feel like the brand-newest kid in school because, so far, I’ve barely interacted with all the amazing columns since moving into the district.
The thing is, I am so impressed with this group and am very honored to be part of it, so I’ve been trying to figure out why it’s taken me so long to get up to speed. My official excuses for the past month include: having a two-week visitor, traveling, taking a vacation, helping with a bridal shower for my soon-to-be-daughter-in-law, and attending a funeral three hundred miles away this past weekend. But those aren’t the real reasons I’m behind (I’m always behind, by the way). The real reason came to me a couple of days ago Read the rest of this entry »
