TALES FROM THE BAYOU: Trick Or Treat, Smell My Feet...

Give me something good to eat.

Christmas is my favorite time of the year, yet Halloween will always hold a special place in my heart. For the child I was, this time of the year reminds me poverty doesn't keep children from being able to participate in the age old tradition of running around the neighborhood in costumes begging for treats. Poverty doesn't prevent youngsters from being able to sit on their beds amongst a mountain of candy as they try to stop their head from swiveling off their shoulders, gazing in wonder at their good fortune.

And poverty won't make the sweet goodies disappear the next morning as the kiddies wake up from sugar induced dreams of just how, if they try really hard, they will make that stash last at least until next Easter if they're lucky.

My costumes were usually homemade and my "bucket" merely a pillowcase but there was such freedom to prowl the streets of my hometown with my siblings, knocking on doors and giggling to see my bounty grow by leaps and bounds. To sneak a piece here and there, to savor what I could not hope to have again for another year.

So I welcome the coming of fall with it's swirling array of multi-colored leaves crispy crackling under my feet as I count down to today.

My candyfest.

My savorfest.

My Halloween!

Run Away To Fight Another Day

This past weekend I did something I desperately needed to do since about mid July...I took a mini vacation. 2013 has been a pretty challenging year for me so far and getting through the past 11 weeks of summer was particularly daunting. Despite my best efforts, I struggled with insomnia along with working 14 hour days while still trying to get my writing in, so needless to say I was a bit frazzled once school started up again.  

I counted the hours of sleep I missed out on...220 hours over 11 weeks...and for me that equates to 27 1/2 days of NO SLEEP out of 77 days of my summer.

So I took a break, gathered my pennies, and ran (drove) as fast as I could to the mountains for a little mental rest and a lot of physical relaxation. It was supposed to rain Sunday so I decided to spend Saturday at Dollywood. 

I thought I would forget about everything to do with writing for children and just have a little fun. But it's not so easy to say you're not going to be a writer.  These past three years have trained me to search out the story ideas no matter where I may be, and when I saw this statue as soon as I entered the gates I realized my "inner child" had come along for the ride.

There was the Lemon Twist teacup ride to remind me what to do when life throws a lemon my way.

I rode on the merry-go-round. I really wanted to ride that green dragon just ahead of me but I wasn't going to wrestle with the kid who got there first. Maybe I should have because as soon as I scrambled up on my horse he jumped off and picked something else.  Oh well, I'm getting used to not always getting what I want but still enjoying what I have...

This reminded me too much of all I had to juggle over this past summer so I just admired it from a distance.

One of my favorite rides at Dollywood is River Rampage. I am not much of a daredevil in other parts of my life, but this ride reminds me it's okay to take risks every now and again...even with my writing.

I even rode the Dollywood Express through the mountainside.  I have been on this train many times, but never actually listened to the history behind the engine that pulled us up the mountain.  I was so fascinated with the engineer's talk that I came away with another story idea. So much for running away from everything...;~)

After a few hours walking the park, I decided to grab a bite to eat and go watch a movie. If you've never had fried pickles before, you are missing out!  I haven't had steak in probably over a year but decided to treat myself to it along with streamed broccoli since I'm not really allowed to eat it any more. I was on vacation and wasn't worried about calorie counting...lol...

After a restful night's sleep where I actually slept EIGHT WHOLE HOURS I sat out on my balcony and welcomed the quiet view.  You can't see it very well, but I am looking over a park with picnic benches and the Tennessee River is flowing by those trees.  It's peaceful and I spend the next few hours reading until it's time to check out of my hotel room.

On my way out of town I passed this upside down tourist attraction.  I've been inside Wonder Works before and I thought it quite fitting this would be the last thing I see before heading home from my mini vacation.  The crazy, topsy-turvy life that I lead can be challenging but would I really want to change it?

Well, maybe with another published piece or two under my belt, but other than that, I guess not. I needed to run away this past weekend to be able to fight another day on this path to publication. It also reminded me that I can't truly run away from what I was born to be and that is a writer.  It's in my blood. It is the center of who I am and who I want to be. Now it's time to hop back in the ring for Round Two...

Have Some Alphabet Soup

Who doesn't remember sitting down to a hot bowl of alphabet soup on a cold winter morning as a child?

There is something heart warming about dipping a spoon into all those letters and seeing what words you could create before you ran out of broth.  Well, here is your chance to recreate that moment from childhood again.

During the month of April, bloggers all around the world will be participating in the A to Z challenge.  Writers everywhere will attempt to blog daily for 26 days with a new letter of the alphabet in the spotlight on each day...i.e. day one is A, day two is B, day three is C, etc.  The lovely head chefs for this challenge are busy in the kitchen cooking up tons of fun for April and there is still time to sign up...just go to their blog April A To Z Challenge and help them reach 1000 participants by March 1st!

I post daily on my own blog so THAT part won't be a challenge.  This is, however, my first year participating and I have given myself the added challenge of attempting a "double header" of sorts and if you don't know what I'm talking about, you will just have to come back in April and find out what I mean!  ;-)

I'm busy doing my research now and even called in reinforcements to help me get ready.  I hope I can do this.  Wait, I KNOW I can do this because I feed on all the energy of this lovely writing community I am so happy to be a part of.  So who's with me?  Who will don that chef's hat with me and cook up a pot of comforting blog posts in April?

And if I'm really lucky I will join my friend, Garfield, in dining on the best bowl of alphabet soup yet...