Posts Tagged ‘quotes’
2021 – A New Year, A New Page
Posted on: January 3, 2021
- In: Books | Dreams | quotes | Writing
- 78 Comments
For many years I have set goals for the coming year. They help to keep me focused and be productive. This year I was reluctant to set any goals because it is hard to make plans when things are still so uncertain. But then I decided the best thing is to just carry on as usual. Goals are not written in stone. They can always be adjusted or carried over to the next year. So before I went to bed on January 1st, I wrote down some goals. I also believe goals need to be shared in order to be effective. Here they are!
Goals for 2021
- Come up with innovative ideas to market Amanda in Malta: The Sleeping Lady
- Plan a trip to Canada to launch Amanda in Malta: The Sleeping Lady
- Visit family and friends in Canada as soon as it is safe to do so
- Finish writing Amanda in Spain: Fire in the Cathedral
- Read and review at least 40 good books
- Visit new places in Spain
- Continue to help other writers
- Organize computer files
- Attend conferences and workshops on line
- Do podcast and video interviews and presentations
- Visit schools digitally and in-person if possible
- Find markets for my short stories
- Adopt a buddy for Dot
- Stay safe and stay positive
In recent years, I have been encouraged by other bloggers to pick three words for the year. I really like this idea and usually pick the first three words that come to mind.
These are my words for 2021.
Strength
Love
Hope
My wish for everyone for 2021 is to be strong, share the love and never give up hope! And drink good tea and read good books.
New Year, New Decade – 2020
Posted on: January 3, 2020
- In: Books | Dreams | Writing
- 85 Comments
“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.” Edith Lovejoy Pierce
I love the start of a new year. It´s an opportunity to re-evaluate my life and set goals for the next 12 months. They may not all be met, that’s OK, life gets in the way. But if there are no goals, nothing gets done and you just sit there. At least that´s how it is for me and I’ve got to keep on moving!
“Even though you are on the right track – you will get run over if you just sit there.” Will Rogers
With that in mind, here are my goals for 2020.
- Edit Amanda in Malta:The Sleeping Lady and send it to the publisher
- Write Amanda in France
- Decide if I should continue writing Amanda stories or venture into something else.
- Write more short stories
- Write more travel articles
- Help others with their writing as many have helped me
- Work on my TBR list, read at least 40 books
- Visit Venice
- Attend a family reunion in Alberta
- Travel to the UK and visit friends
- Organize my office
- Organize my computer files
- Learn more about writing and publishing a picture book
- Publish an anthology of short stories
My three words for 2020 are:
support – Support others in whatever way I can, as so many have supported me over the years.
connect – Connect with people, stay in touch, facilitate connections.
motion – Keep moving, physically and mentally.
My first goal of 2020 was to write this list and it´s done! I would love to hear about your goals and/or words for this year, the start of a new decade.
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go…”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
FEMINIST FRIDAY 2018
Posted on: April 6, 2018
- In: Family | guest posts | History | Inspiration | Memories
- 19 Comments
I am honoured to have my story about my inspiring great-grandmothers featured on Bernadette’s blog. Some of you may have read it before but if you haven’t, please pop over and have a read and leave a comment if you wish.
“We can have feminist icons, but the real heroines are just quietly doing what is needed.” Osyth
The following post was written by Darlene Foster who writes at Darlenefoster.wordpress.com. It is the tale of her two great-grandmothers who made a fulfilling life for themselves and their families while enduring great hardships. What struck me about this story, of these two real heroines, was that Darlene said that because of the legacy of these women it has given her the confidence and courage to know that she can thrive under any circumstance.
A Tale of Two Katharinas, a Legacy of Strong Women
“People will not look forward to posterity who never look backward to their ancestors.” Edmund Burke
I was fortunate to know both of my maternal great-grandmothers. They passed away when I was in my early teens but I remember them well. They were formidable women with hearts of gold. One…
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It’s That Time Again
Posted on: January 3, 2018
- In: Dreams | quotes
- 86 Comments
I hope 2018 has started out well for everyone! As is my habit, I sat on my terrace in the sun, took out a pen and paper and scribbled down my goals for the coming year. I feel I need to share them with you. So here they are
Darlene’s Goals for 2018
1. Finish Amanda in Holland -Missing in Action
2. Publish an anthology of short stories about growing up on the Canadian prairies
3. Go on a driving holiday to Paris with Paul and Dot
4. Attend a Writer’s Conference in the UK
5. Have the house painted
6. Take some mini get-aways
7. Visit places I haven’t been before
8. Start Amanda in Malta
9. Find new markets for my books
10. Promote other authors
11. Help my daughter with her pottery business
12. Create more girlfriend time (I miss this from my life in Canada)
13. Hold more dinner parties
14. Be with mom on her 90th birthday
There you have it. Wish me luck!
My three words for this year are
Create
Happiness
Friendship
I will leave you with a thought by Anne Lamott from her book “Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life”
“Oh my God, what if you wake up someday, and you’re 65, or 75, and you never got your memoir or novel written; or you didn’t go swimming in warm pools and oceans all those years because your thighs were jiggly and you had a nice big comfortable tummy; or you were just so strung out on perfectionism and people-pleasing that you forgot to have a big juicy creative life, of imagination and radical silliness and staring off into space like when you were a kid? It’s going to break your heart. Don’t let this happen.”
and from the amazing Neil Gaiman
“May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you’re wonderful, and don’t forget to make some art — write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.”
Have a surprising 2018 and thanks for following my blog, inspiring me and being my friend!
- In: Inspiration | quotes
- 30 Comments
This is me some days!! Thanks for this Lynn.
Grateful For Awesome Friends
Posted on: October 1, 2017
- In: friends | quotes | Travel
- 23 Comments
“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” -Marcel Proust
I was fortunate to see many of my awesome friends when I was in Canada. Some gave me a place to stay, some drove me around and everyone fed me so well. They have all been such huge supporters in whatever I do. Here are a few of them.
It was great that these good friends from Trinidad were in Canada at the same time.
A picnic with friends at English Bay before a Bard on the Beach performance
A special Bard Buddy who organized the day.
Always fun to be part of the cast with another special Bard Buddy
A longtime Calgary friend and travel buddy who drove me around, gave me a place to stay and fed me well.
A wonderful supportive Vancouver friend who gave me rides and attended events.
A special relative/friend!
A dear friend who provides me with a great place to stay and feeds me well.
A lovely mother and daughter team who gave me a comfy room to stay during my first week in Vancouver, fed me well and gave me tons of support.
Travel writer/photographer friend who took my profile picture and designed my bookmarks. Treated me to a lovely lunch overlooking a golf course.
A supportive writer friend who treated me to a lovely picnic and a Monet exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery.
A former coworker and her daughter who came to a book signing
My longtime friend who provides me with a comfy place to stay in Medicine Hat, a garden to relax in and delicious meals
As you can see I was well looked after. It was so wonderful to be able to spend time with these friends and many others. I am truly blessed.
“There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature.”
― Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey
“You can’t stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.”
― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
Metaphorically Speaking
Posted on: August 10, 2015
- In: Books | quotes | Writing
- 27 Comments
A metaphor is a figure of speech that identifies something as being the same as some unrelated thing for rhetorical effect, thus highlighting the similarities between the two. (the dictionary definition) I remember learning about metaphors in school. I love them! We are advised, however, to use them sparingly in our writing as many of them are considered clichés. I once submitted a story to an anthology call out. To my delight, my story was chosen. The editor asked me to make a few changes including removing some of the numerous metaphors and similes. I thought I was being so clever, but once I removed a good chunk of them or reworded them, I realized the story read much better. By using metaphors in my rough draft though, I developed some great ideas.
In a newsletter sent out by Jan Moore she writes about how metaphors can be useful, not just in writing. She mentions that Creative people use metaphors automatically. It’s our natural mode of communication. I certainly agree with her on that point. I often get strange looks from my non writing friends and family when I use metaphors in my speech.
Jan Moore has written a book called Work on Your Own Terms: Change Your Mind and Change Your Life in Midlife and Beyond which is worth checking out. Written by a former career counselor , Jan writes about how you can create meaningful work that nourishes the soul and sets you free, at any age.
Jan also goes on to say: Metaphors can be powerful guides for living. Writers and artists use them and so can you. Playing with metaphors can help generate new ideas. Here are a few to play with:
- If your day was a colour, what colour would you paint it?
- If an obstacle was a mountain, how would you climb it?
- If two paths diverge in a wood, would you take the one less traveled?
- If a project was a baby, how would you nurture it?
- If your life was a song, what would you be singing?
What would your answers be to these questions? Put your answers in the comments if you wish. I would love to read them.
From one of my favourite authors who passed away last year at age 92:
Words. Words. I play with words, hoping that some combination, even a chance combination, will say what I want.
…Doris Lessing
photo from Wikipedia
Life is Too Short
Posted on: September 24, 2014
- In: Dreams | Inspiration | quotes
- 22 Comments
I found this on the wonderful Beth Ann Chiles blog It’s Just Life. A blog I enjoy following regularly because you never know what gems you’ll find there.
Life is too short to not take the time to do something fun every single day.
Life is too short to not use the good dishes or eat in the dining room.
Life is too short to not wear the expensive perfume.
Life is too short to not say what is on your mind.
Life is too short to be wasted on silly disagreements.
Life is too short to not stop and admire every beautiful thing in nature that we happen upon.
Life is too short to not embrace new things.
Life is too short to not say I am sorry when we are wrong.
Life is too short to ignore someone in need.
Life is too short to not sample something new.
Life is too short to worry about a single thing that you can do nothing about.
Life is too short to blend in.
Life is too short to spend in negativity.
Life is too short to be living someone else’s dream.
Life is too short to not do something challenging.
Life is too short to not do what you love.
Life is too short to not tell those you love how much you love them every single day.
Life is too short to be mean.
Life is too short to just exist—go out and LIVE!
This week Beth Ann is giving away fabulous stuff everyday. (Because that’s just the kind of person she is!) Hop over to her blog, add a comment and you may win something marvellous.
I am about to make a major life change. (more about that later). This post helped me to realize I need to do this because after all – life is too short not to.
And this from Cynthia Baker’s blog Simple Pleasures where she matches her incredible photography with meaningful quotes.
Photograph by Cynthia Baker
Have you been given an opportunity to make a life change in the past? Are you glad you did? Was it worth it?
This post by Jennifer Stanchfield offers ideas for actively involving learners from the first moment they enter the room for a workshop, training or classroom lesson.
via Strong Beginnings: Another Idea to “Hook” your group, Quotes..
Darlene Foster's Blog 