When the Beanery Writers Group voted to create a booklet of writings on the Ligonier area for its 250th anniversary this year, the members knew we lacked the funds for printing it. Most of the writings are in and done, but the problem remained.
Suddenly, I received a phone call. Jane asked, “Do you want some Beanie Babies?”
Huh? Now, what was I to do with a large collection of mint-condition, tags-on Beanie Babies when I’m trying my best to de-clutter (more…)
—written by Fran
Being a caretaker for a loved one is challenging, life-changing and a lesson in finding joy in the simple things. It is riddled with medical crises, often accented by runs to the emergency room. Below is a page from Fran’s journal—written on a particularly calm day, March 31, 2007.
5:00 Saturday morning…. Time to get up, BC (our cat) has the insane idea she is hungry and now is the only time that will work for her!!
5:20 - Coffee, hot, creamy, and absolutely divine….I am now awake and going.
6:30 - All showered and ready for the day. Time to check on Jim, get him his first of the 35 pills he takes each day.
7:30 - Help Jim get dressed, he decides on breakfast, we eat. It’s a pleasant time to “chat”. No (more…)
—written by jordan, age 9
If my Mom were
—a flower she would be a sunflower, because it’s her favorite flower
—a vegetable she would be (more…)
—written by Jane
My little girl, she struggled so. Her tiny form, on a flat bed with lights glaring, had more wires and tubes than there was a child. Her skin was so thin that it was translucent.
I started weeping the first time I saw her. I was sewn together like a chopped up (more…)
—written by Joe F. Stierheim
One day I had occasion to visit the manager of a strip mine at his on-site trailer office. Our conversation touched on the availability of coal in the surrounding Pennsylvania countryside. The area had been mined for many decades and though there were still sites on which there was viable coal, the manager confided, there were many people who had greater faith in the richness of coal deposits on their property than were justified. He told the tale of one man who had come to his office (more…)
BOOKALICIOUS!
We’re told one in four adults didn’t read a single book last year as if this is a shockingly low number, but I’m impressed that three in four did read a book. And why fuss over books? A lot of the books read are trash. (The linked article says the top picks were religion and popular fiction.) And plenty of serious reading doesn’t come in book form. —Ann Althouse (althouse.blogspot.com) from Tribune Review, Best of the Blogs, 26 Aug. 2007
For a different perspective, read the following post written by Beanery Writers Group member, Kathleen…
Mmmm! Mmmm! Sweet! Satisfying! Stimulating! Nothing is enticing as a can’t-put-down book that keeps me riveted to the seat. It promises to deliver life’s essentials: free therapy, (more…)
—written by Robert A. Woodall
You left me here in love, now I must find
Some solace in bereavement, heaven sent
To wash away the pain that grips my mind
And shrouds my heart in doubt. My strength is spent.
Can I, in faith, yet glorify His ways?
Your lifeless hand would touch away (more…)
At one of the initial meetings of the Beanery Writers Group, the prompt “THE TIME IS NOW,” was used. Below are the results from that exercise.
Pat wrote: The time is now to start writing. With that first burst of cool air, my energy returns in full. No excuses. Clean out those files. Discard useless clutter. Organize those delicate clips in a scrapbook. Start rewriting and sending out to different magazines. No more diversions–coffee breaks, pencil sharpening, petting the cat, scrubbing the floor. Sit in that chair and write, now!
Regina wrote: Hello. I needed a few moments to catch my muse and I thought this prompt (more…)
—written by Kait
When it comes
It burns with anguish,
The deep dreams so far,
So you can’t reach.
Deep desires float away,
How do I know?
Ask me (more…)
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CHILDREN’S LITERATURE CONFERENCE: 12th Annual University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg CHILDREN’S LITERATURE CONFERENCE WILL BE HELD (more…)
