My Story

The last month or so I've been doing something I've often thought of doing but could never follow through on. I'm writing a story. I used to write a bit when I was younger (before hubby and kids took all my time), but I was never able to write more than a few pages. Even though I've always got stories going through my mind, it's been years since I thought about putting any of them down on paper.

But then a friend signed up for NaNoWriMo--30 days and nights of literary abandon and mentioned it to me. Here's what they say about their program:

National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.

Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved.

Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It's all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.

Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that's a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down.

I guess the idea is to just get the story down and out of you. It was an intriguing idea, and so (too late for nanowrimo) I actually disciplined myself to sit down and start writing this story I'd had going in my mind, triggered by a dream I had.

My son Paul persists in calling it a book, and I have to keep reminding him that a book implies intent to attempt publication--which I do not have.

But I have been having more fun! The telling of this story has required me to do research, and I've learned tons. I find myself looking at writing much more appreciatively than I have in the past. I'm a voracious reader, so it's fun to analyze not just plot but the writing styles and descriptive abilities. (I'm terrible at description, by the way.) Suddenly the detail that an author like Robert Jordan puts into describing his character's clothing takes on a completely new dimension. It's hard for me. I've always thought I had a pretty good vocabulary, but it's been showing serious holes.

So now I've purchased three books that talk about writing--characters, viewpoint, plot, and structure. And I'm even thinking about taking a creative writing class.

What really led to all this? Some years ago I started writing my personal history, as my church encourages us to do. I realized I could seriously bore my ancestors to death if I wasn't careful, so I decided I should try to become a better writer.

Hopefully it will pay off. Since I won't be around to worry that my great grandchildren use my personal history as a cure for insomnia, that aspect isn't keeping me up nights.

But right now I'm having more fun than I've had in a long time. And I'm learning something while I'm at it. Hey, I figure anything that helps to ward off dementia is a good thing.

Oh, and I've managed to write nearly 70,000 words in a month. Not too shabby for someone who has never been able to write more than a few pages before! Maybe I'll sign up for NaNoWriMo in November.

Wisdom from Grandpa ...

My dad sent this to me, and it made me smile.

Whether a man winds up with a nest egg, or a goose egg, depends a lot on the kind of chick he marries.

Trouble in marriage often starts when a man gets so busy earnin' his salt that he forgets his sugar.

Too many couples marry for better, or for worse, but not for good.

When a man marries a woman, they become one; but the trouble starts when they try to decide which one.

If a man has enough horse sense to treat his wife like a thoroughbred, she will never turn into an old nag.

Many girls like to marry a military man - he can cook, sew, and make beds and is in good health, and he's already used to taking orders.

Old age is when former classmates are so gray and wrinkled and bald, they don't recognize you.

Winter Trip to Gardner Village

Erin flew in from Hawaii this morning. Just before she moved there she took up knitting. Well, obviously the knitting supply options on Kaua'i are rather limited, so she's been dying to go to a knitting store she found at Gardner Village last October. We went this afternoon with Paul's wife Kelsey. Here are some pictures.


The three of us in the Knitting Shop.


Erin and Kelsey outside some of the shops. Brrrrr (Erin was dying! It was 80 degrees yesterday at her house).


Kelsey and Erin at the restaurant.

Happy New Year

Well, another year has come to a close. This 2009 has been a tough year for us but it's also been filled with many blessings.

"I will seek elegance rather than luxury, refinement rather than fashion. I will seek to be worthy more than respectable, wealthy and not rich. I will study hard, think quietly, talk gently, and act frankly. I will listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with an open heart. I will bear all things cheerfully, do all things bravely await occasions and hurry never. In a word I will let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious grow up through the common."

~~William Ellery Channing

Happy New Year!

December Cruise

Last February, two of my married kids found a great cruise deal online that they booked, which would take place in December. It would remain inexpensive because we could all drive to San Diego together. So I went ahead and booked it too. Unfortunately, since that time many things have changed, and it turned out that Ed and I were the only ones who were able to go.

We got to see Grampa Hanson on the way there and even attended a ward in Beaumont that is the home ward for the son of a neighbor here in Utah. Boy is the world small.


The cruise was to Catalina Island and to Ensenada, Mexico. We'd been to Ensenada last January and didn't want to go again, so we stayed aboard on that day. It was a nice break, but Holland America (our January cruise) really spoiled us for Carnival. It was okay, but really paled by comparison. I doubt we'll ever do a Carnival cruise again.


The ship was decorated for Christmas and was very festive.

Catalina is fairly large, but the development is limited to one mile. It's filled with all kinds of cute little shops. It was VERY clean! Avalon Harbor is a fun name because it always makes me think of King Arthur.





Ed made friends with some birds.


We went on a glass bottom boat tour and watched a bunch of fish. Makes me want to see that Doris Day movie "The Glass Bottom Boat" again.

A Christmas Story

My daughter Erin shared this with me, and I loved it so much I had to share it too.

A Simple White Envelope
“For the Man Who Hated Christmas”
by Nancy W. Gavin

It's just a small white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree. No name, no identification, no inscription. It has peeked through the branches of our tree for the past 10 years or so.

It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas --oh, not the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it -- the overspending, the frantic running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder for Grandma -- the gifts given in desperation because you couldn't think of anything else.

Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass the usual shirts, sweaters, ties, and so forth. I reached for something special just for Mike. The inspiration came in an unusual way. Our son Kevin, who was 12 that year, was wrestling at the junior level at the school he attended.

Shortly before Christmas, there was a non-league match against a team sponsored by an inner-city church. These youngsters, dressed in sneakers so ragged that shoestrings seemed to be the only thing holding them together, presented a sharp contrast to our boys in their spiffy blue and gold uniforms and sparkling new wrestling shoes. As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear, a kind of light helmet designed to protect a wrestler's ears.. It was a luxury the ragtag team obviously could not afford.

Well, we ended up walloping them. We took every weight class. And as each of their boys got up from the mat, he swaggered around in his tatters with false bravado, a kind of street pride that couldn't acknowledge defeat.

Mike, seated beside me, shook his head sadly, 'I wish just one of them could have won,' he said. 'They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them.' Mike loved kids -- all kids -- and he knew them, having coached little league football, baseball, and lacrosse.

That's when the idea for his present came. That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously to the inner-city church.

On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me. His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and in succeeding years. For each Christmas, I followed the tradition --one year sending a group of mentally handicapped youngsters to a hockey game, another year a check to a pair of elderly brothers whose home had burned to the ground the week before Christmas, and on and on. The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas. It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning, and our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents.

As the children grew, the toys gave way to more practical presents, but the envelope never lost its allure. The story doesn't end there. You see, we lost Mike last year due to cancer. When Christmas rolled around, I was still so wrapped in grief that I barely got the tree up. But Christmas Eve found me placing an envelope on the tree, and in the morning it was joined by three more. Each of our children, unbeknownst to the others, had placed an envelope on the tree for their dad. The tradition has grown and someday will expand even further with our grandchildren standing around the tree with wide-eyed anticipation watching as their fathers take down the envelope.

Mike's spirit, like the Christmas spirit, will always be with us.

Random Thoughts

When I talked with Erin this morning they were getting ready to head to the beach. I'm looking out my gloomy windows, wishing we'd get some kind of moisture. It's been really dry lately, and the air is funky, the fun fall colors have now all dropped from the trees. I decorated the house yesterday, and I'm trying to finish up on the tree. I don't do nearly as much as I used to now that the kids are all grown.

We got through Thanksgiving with everyone healthy. It was odd only having seven of us to dinner though. Poor Robert had been assigned to bring soda, and he bought tons of it. He forgot our numbers would be down by more than half. It was very quiet with no grand kids around. It's a good thing I only baked an 11-lb turkey (we usually have 22-pound bird). We were able to talk with Erin on the phone, while everyone was here. She had company coming over. I'm so glad they've found good friends there already. Because of the time difference, we were only able to type a line to Dave and Shannon. They are planning to go to the Hong Kong Disneyland for their Christmas trip. What fun!

Here's Paul and Kelsey (and Adam from the side)


Robert and Michelle


Ed and Kelsey cleaning up after


Like my social commentary on the cupboard? *laughs evilly*

Last night Ed and I went to the Borders in Provo to see Brandon Sanderson who was doing a book signing. He's going to be here in Orem on the 5th, but Ed and I will be driving to California that day, so it was last night or not--and I really wanted to ask some questions about the Wheel of Time series.



I am usually not into the whole get your picture taken with an author/actor/singer/well-known personality thing, so this was a first. I figure once in over half a century isn't too bad. And he's one of my favorite authors now.

As we discussed one of my questions, he handed me a card:


Just have to wait for 2010 for the Towers of Midnight to come out. *sigh*