Very Little

To write a short story, is, for me, a lesson in traveling light. Condense. Refine. Edit. Simplify. Clarify my thinking. Ask - what exactly am I trying to say? Limit the words. Especially for short shorts, a short story limited to five hundred words: how to incorporate protagonist, conflict, climax, and a satisfying resolution in few words.

Working within a framework, within a given, limited space provides form and structure, like an architect designing a tiny house, including all the necessary elements, excluding anything unnecessary.

Process. Practice. Patience - to write, refine, edit, and do it again, over and over.

Every word matters.

Here is my next five hundred word short story. Not perfection, for the learning process, for practice.




Very Little


Interesting things happen in grocery stores. Anywhere, actually, where people are, interesting things happen.

Brandy and I went to the store for two loaves of bread, chunky peanut butter and bananas. We giggled and talked about something silly - I don't remember what.

An older man walked past us. I thought he looked grumpy. Even that made me giggle. Some days everything is funny. This was one of those days.

Brandy said, "A loaf of bread. Mom didn't say what kind, and I have no idea. Shelves, thirty feet long, five shelves tall, six feet high. We could feed two whole schools with all this bread. Shandia, what do I get?"

"What looks familiar?" I asked Brandy. "What does she usually buy?

"Whole-wheat, I guess. This looks familiar. Yeah, this looks good."

Three little girls ran around us. One grabbed Brandy's jeans, to hide behind her. We giggled, they giggled.

Their mom scolded, "Really, girls, can't you behave? Leave her alone. Isn't it enough you smacked into that man?"

"It's okay," said Brandy. "She's just having fun."

"All day long she's just having fun. Nothing serious, ever, for her," the mom complained.

We couldn't help giggling. Brandy squatted down to be eye level with the girl, who gave her a sheepish grin. "You are mischievous, aren't you?" Brandy said. "I think you have a pretty smile, and, I think you should listen to your mom."

The girl glanced up at her mom. The other girls drew closer, drawn by Brandy's friendliness.

"Do you know what my mom tells me?" Brandy asked them.

The three shook their heads.

"'It's good to laugh,' in fact, she quotes some famous guy, 'The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.' And she quotes another famous guy: 'Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.' So, listen to your mom. She knows what she is talking about. Okay?"

Brandy held up her hand, and high-fived them.

"Not bad," I told Brandy. "You quoted a poet and a Roman Emperor to three cute little girls who probably didn't understand a word you said."

"Nonsense," said Brandy. "They understood perfectly. It will give them something to think about while they look at bread and pickles and bags of apples."

The older man turned toward us, a loaf of bread in his hand. "Please, excuse me. I overheard you. My grandmother had that plaque on her wall, 'Very little is needed to make a happy life.' She loved that, she always had it to remind her. Sometimes she didn't have much, but she was happy." He smiled, "Thank you for reminding me of her."

Brandy and I thanked him, then went to find the peanut butter.  I told her, "Even a very little encounter with someone is interesting. Because people are interesting, and they do interesting things."


"And every day has a reason to smile," said Brandy. We giggled.



(In case you are wondering, the quotes are from e.e. cummings and Marcus Aurelius)

Martina's Cornbread

New cookbooks are fun to browse and explore. Some recipes work, and some - well, they are not put in the repeat category. This new cookbook, by Martina McBride, Around the Table, gives an interesting insight into her family life, her home, her style, and, of course, how she cooks. The focus of the cookbook is on hospitality, on the events and occasions and just-because times she welcomes others into her home. Each section has decorating ideas, music playlists (of course - what else would you expect from a musician?), menus, recipes, gorgeous photos, and practical tips for welcoming others into your home and life. And we have several new recipes that are definite repeats.

Her recipe for cornbread has become a frequent staple here. I cut it in half, this is a party sized batch.

Cornbread With Green Chiles And Pepper Jack Cheese

5 tbsp unsalted, melted butter
2 tbsp butter for greasing the pan
1 1/2 c buttermilk
1 1/2 c milk
4 large eggs
2/3 c vegetable oil (I use olive oil)
3 c all purpose flour
1 c ground yellow cornmeal
2/3 c sugar
2 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1 4oz can diced green chiles
1 c shredded pepper jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Generously grease a 13 x 9 baking pan with 2 tbsp butter.

Combine the buttermilk, milk, eggs, oil and melted butter in a large bowl. Combine the flour, cornmeal, 2/3 c of sugar, baking powder, salt and pepper in a large bowl.

Add buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture, stirring until just combined. Stir in the green chiles and the pepper jack cheese. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. (She sprinkles an additional 2 tbsp sugar over the batter - I omit this).

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

We're serving ours tonight with chicken enchiladas, Confetti Rice (also from her book) and salad.




This is my favorite of her songs. I have posted it before, but I think it is worth hearing again. And again. "Do It Anyway." A great theme song.

(Guess this cuts off just before the end - sorry. It's still worth the listen, just keep singing it in your head)

Best Buds

I do have something more serious I could write about.
But maybe you need a chuckle today?

I have these two face pots, and like to give them amusing (to me, anyway) names by what is growing in them at the moment.

Spike Jones

Do you know Spike Jones?

A musician from the 1940's and 50's, his group put a silly twist on whatever serious music they played.

Tchaikovsky or current hits, nothing was beyond their creative interpretation.

In the days before computer generated sounds, they added cowbells, gun shots, whistles, played tunes on air pumps, rearranged their instrument pieces, banged sticks on window shutters, or whatever it took to make the sounds they wanted. His early 50's TV show is full of the slapstick humor of that day. Nonsense, yes, light-hearted fun.

You-Tube has some of his music clips, if you want to watch.

My little Spike Jones even matches his checkered outfits.

You'll have to watch some of the clips to appreciate his style.

Cynthia

This is Cynthia. I planted these hyacinth bulbs last November, and tucked them away on a dark shelf in the garage, chillin'. After the leaves poked up, I brought them inside to keep in a low light corner for a week or so until the blooms began to form. Now in a sunnier spot, their fragrance and blooms perk up our winter landscape, making it smell like spring even if there is still snow on the ground.

                                                             Spike and Cynthia                                                                   

                                                                  Best Buds

(in)courage (in)real life

"Life is a patchwork of the meaningful things we keep with us - memories, moments, and connections that serve as daily reminders of where we've come from and who our loving Heavenly Father says we are in Jesus...[it] celebrates the way God, in His generous grace, sews together every beautiful bit of our lives to form one masterpiece creation after another."

Many of the bloggers that inspire me are part of the (in)courage team. On Saturday, 6,000 women from all over the country - the world! - met at local bloggers' homes (in) real life to meet and connect and learn and grow together. A wide range of ages laughed and chatted, shared  ideas and smiled, making connections that transcended the details of our busy lives. Some of us were writers, some were blog readers, others were connected by friendships.

What we had in common was love. Love for family. Love in friendships. Love to the Lord. This colorful, cozy quilt of gals, stitched together with laughter and love, created a real life way to share and (in)courage each other.

Dayspring generously shared gifts of inspiration for each of us. I received this watering can, the creative quote shared above is from the tag.

Links:
(in)courage
(in)real life
dayspring.com