Gratefulness

In honor of Thanksgiving, here is one of my favorite poems for you:

GRATEFULNESS

Thou that hast giv’n so much to me,
Give one thing more, a grateful heart.
See how thy beggar works on thee
By art.
He makes thy gifts occasion more,
And says, If he in this be crossed,
All thou hast giv’n him heretofore
Is lost.

But thou didst reckon, when at first
Thy word our hearts and hands did crave,
What it would come to at the worst
To save.

Perpetual knockings at thy door,
Tears sullying thy transparent rooms,
Gift upon gift, much would have more,
And comes.

This not withstanding, thou wenst on,
And didst allow us all our noise:
Nay thou hast made a sigh and groan
Thy joys.
Not that thou hast not still above
Much better tunes, than groans can make;
But that these country-airs thy love
Did take.

Wherefore I cry, and cry again;
And in no quiet canst thou be,
Till I a thankful heart obtain
Of thee:
Not thankful, when it pleaseth me;
As if thy blessings had spare days:
But such a heart, whose pulse may be
Thy praise.

George Herbert (1593- 1633)

RandomTravel Notes

A few observations from our California trip...

*- When the natives can't seem to answer a simple question about the weather, it's not because they are recalcitrant, it's because California weather is remarkably variable. You may start the morning wearing a long sleeve t-shirt under a hoodie and a leather jacket, then find yourself shedding it all for a short-sleeve t-shirt and flip flops by early afternoon. Whatever you wear, chances are you'll need to make adjustments throughout the day, so plan for it.

*- Everyone should drive up California's Route 1 at least once in their life. If you are a passenger, look out the window and enjoy the ride. Don't try to tell the driver what to do-- he or she can see that the road is flanked on one side by a mountain, and on the other by a precipice. Chances are, he/she doesn't want to fall off the edge any more than you do, so just enjoy the view. I've been driver, and I've been passenger on this beautiful road, and both are fun as long as there are no 'helpers.'

*- Big Sur is one of the most beautiful places in the country. We spent a few days there-- horseback riding in Andrew Molera State Park; hiking in Big Sur State Park; and walking, climbing, and tidepooling on the lovely beaches. It was mostly chilly-- I ended up layering t-shirts with my cashmere sweaters and a hoodie. Only at the top of the Valley View hike did I feel really warm!

*- The best place to watch the sunset is from the outdoor dining area at Nepenthe in Big Sur. The cliff-side location defines 'romantic,' and when the sun slowly sets, lamps are lit around the perimeter of the patio, and heaters provide welcome warmth as the suset's afterglow slowly fades.

*- San Francisco has a remarkably large number of non-productive citizens clogging the downtown streets. It's not entirely pleasant to walk anywhere when you know you'll be acosted by a number of unnerving strangers before you reach your destination. It's not that I'm not a city person-- I grew up east L.A.; I've been to New York, Paris, London, Florence, and other large cities and never felt quite as bothered as I did in San Francisco. It doesn't seem that these people can be good for the tourism industry. I normally love to walk in cities, but I did not enjoy the experience in SF, and was quite happy to leave.

*- Santa Barbara remains a favorite town. We honeymooned there about 25 years ago, and it was so nice to revisit. The weather was spectacular, and we enjoyed a great dinner on State Street. Neither of us could remember the name of the hotel where we stayed back then-- it had blue roofed cottages, and was just off Route 1. Does anyone know if it's still there?

I'll probably record a few more impressions, along with a few photos when we get home. It's been a lovely trip!

How to Start an Online Business

I am always watching for good information about creating a profitable home business. There are many things you can do from home, and the internet provides an incredible range of new opportunities for stay-at-home moms, teens who want to start a small business, and families who need to supplement their income.

Stephen Beck, a homeschool dad and online entrepreneur, offers an outstanding course, Secrets to Building Sites That Sell. This course, which made over $48,000 in just 5 days when it was first launched, reveals Steve's secrets to creating an e-commerce website that really works.

In 3 CD-ROMs with over 6 hours of video tutorials, plus a Getting Started
manual, over 8 hours of audio, 120 pages of transcripts, and more, Steve covers:

- How to find profitable niches
- How to create a profitable website
- How to upload your website to the Internet
- What kind of website works best for different kinds of products
- How to choose a domain name and web hosting
- How to get new visitors every day!
- How to set up a shopping cart
- How to make large commissions recommending other people’s products
- How to give your website that professional look

The course nearly sold out when it was first launched a few months ago, but it will soon be available again. Meanwhile, Steve is offering free sample videos of the course if you click here.

You'll be asked to sign up (just first name and e-mail) to know when the course is available, and I highly recommend that you do so. You can learn a lot about online business just by watching the previews! (This is how I learned how to do a lot of things I do in my business-- just by reading free newsletters, listening to teleseminars, and watching free how-to videos. This works only if you have a lot of time to spend. I have been working at it for about 6 years. If I had started learning with an organized course such at Building Sites that Sell, I would have progressed a lot faster!)

Le Guin Quote on Writing

Here's a quote to inspire you as you write your novel for NaNoWriMo!

"Writers have to get used to launching something beautiful and watching it crash and burn.

They also have to learn when to let go control, when the work takes off on its own and flies, farther than they ever planned or imagined, to places they didn't know they knew.

All makers must leave room for the acts of the spirit. But they have to work hard and carefully, and wait patiently, to deserve them."

Ursula LeGuin, author of the wonderful Steering the Craft:: Exercises and Discussions on Story Writing for the Lone Navigator or the Mutinous Crew, the Earthsea Cycle, and more.
(From Dancing at the Edge of the World: Thoughts on Words, Women, Places, 1989.)

NaNoWriMo- Go!

Today is the start of National Novel Writing Month. It's one of the most grueling, enjoyable months of the year for writers and writer wannabes.

What is NaNoWriMo (a.k.a. NaNo)? It's the wild and crazy brainchild of a guy named Chris Baty. The goal of NaNo is for everyone who signs up to write an entire novel, defined as 50,000 words, in the month of November.

Sign-up is free and eashttp://beta.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gify at the National Novel Writing Month official website. The site also offers offers encouragement, forums, and WriMo Radio broadcasts.

Why would you want to do NaNo? It will up-end your entire month; the book you write will be rough; and you won't have any spare time to dust the refrigerator or agonize over the the leaves cluttering your front lawn.

Trust me-- you want to do NaNo for all those reasons and more. An up-ended routine can spark all sorts of creativity; a rough draft of a book is something tangible to revise (but a blank page will get you nowhere); and you probably didn't want to dust and rake anyway!

NaNo is a great English assignment for students who enjoy writing. It's a tremendous learning experience, and if it's done right, you can foster a lasting love of writing in your student. Here's what I suggest:

* Assign the writing project only if your student is interested.
* Set daily and weekly word goals so that the project is broken into manageable chunks.
* Feel free to set a lower number of required words for younger students (but you may be surprised at how motivated a ten-year-old can be).
* Do not read your student's work unless invited to do so-- just check the word count each day or week to ensure that the interim goals are being met.
* Consider writing your own NaNo book. It's fun to have someone to share the inevitable moments of frustration or triumph.
* Use the forums on the NaNoWriMo site with caution. Some threads are not suitable for students.
* Try NaNo as a co-op or group project. Misery loves company!
* Get Chris Baty's book, "No Plot, No Problem!">No Plot, No Problem! It offers a ton of helpful tips, plus a supportive message for every week of November.

So, after all that, am I going to do NaNo this year? Unfortunately, I'm not. We have a trip scheduled for two weeks in November, and there's just no way to fit an entire novel around that (though I'm sorely tempted to try!).

What I plan to do is to cheer from the sidelines, with frequent blog entries to help you make the most of this wild experience. I'll post encouraging quotes and tips on writing, plus an occasional suggestion or recipe for NaNo food. For some reason, everyone thinks they must eat in November, so from past NaNo years (and my normal life as a writer), I have a lot of ideas for making good food fast. And that's a good thing to do any month of the year!

Be sure to subscribe to the RSS feed for this blog so that you'll receive encouragement and inspiration for reading and writing, delivered hot and fresh to your desktop. And please post comments about how things are going! Bon voyage-- I wish I could could take the NaNo journey with you!