Grace for the New Year

~~The turn of the year is always a time of introspection. Many of us look back at the past and consider our achievements and heartaches. But we also look forward and wonder what the future will bring--sometimes with trepidation and sometimes with anticipation.

~~Whatever your mood, I wish you all a Happy New Year and offer two songs for the season. The first is from Kevin Walsh of "Outlander--the Musical" fame.



~~The second is a link. Be sure to click on it, for it is an amazing rendition of the old hymn "Amazing Grace" sung by the Four Tenors while at the Coliseum.

 AMAZING GRACE

~~May grace be with you all this new year.

Scrivener, By Golly!

~~Have you read writers extolling the delights of Scrivener? To many, it's the ultimate writing tool that helps organize, combine, and link research into one easily accessible place.

~~Well, I've joined the ranks when I down loaded Scrivener for Windows in November. I'm discovering the bells and whistles now and have started moving my FRIENDLY FIRE files to it. So far, I'm creeping along with my hands out in front me in the dark, but I can see the usefulness and anticipate becoming one of the many telling you can't do without this program.

~~While I learn, I'm leaning on the info I've gathered from some writing buddies. Check out Claire's post on All the World's Our Page and Ron's post at the Books and Writers Forum.

And have a wonderful holiday season! May your celebration be bright and joyful.

Snow

~~No, we don't have early snow in Georgia, but we did have the first measurable snow fall on Christmas Day last year and I'm hoping for a repeat. So I thought I'd add to the mood with a poem from January 2008. Hope you enjoy it. ; )

Snow

Born of a meeting of opposites,
It floats as feathers on the wind.
Settling into Earth's warm embrace,
It gives its moisture away as grace.

Falling faster as time goes by
Bringing its fellows, and it flies
Obscuring our view of air and ground,
Settling ever deeper, dampening sound.

Glowing blue-white and moonlit,
Lovely to see, but chilling the feet.
 Cold and wind add their device
And it hardens and freezes into ice.

As the dawn breaks, clear and cold
A million diamonds greet the day
Glowing with the Sun's warm face,
It melts and leaves us edges of lace.

Reading the Classics

~~How long has it been since you read the classic novels? When I got my Kindle, I realized that there are a lot of old classics available for free. I know, I know, you're going to say that that's what libraries are for. But my local library has a really strong air freshener and I'm allergic to it. I've returned many books after only a few pages because of it. I'm happy to use the Kindle for my catch up reading.

~~Here's a list of some I've read lately:

• Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson (The first adult novel I read way back when I was 11.)
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
• The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas the elder

~~I have the following on my Kindle waiting for me to read them:

• The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas the younger
• Anna Kaenina by Leo Tolstoy
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin
• Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott

~~Do you have some classics you'd like to read? What are they? Or do you find the older, slower starts hard to get into?