Stories, Laughter and a Sweet Potato

Three Beautiful Things

• telling stories for an audience - 50 strong - energetic seniors at a Methodist Church Senior Group in Burtonsville, MD. They enjoyed my stories and I enjoyed theirs. Lovely exchange
• seeing Jim laughing at my stories - that he has heard over and over and over.
• a richly delicious baked sweet potato for supper.

Also "did business". Worked out details on a new storytelling concert series I am producing which will begin in January. I am excited about it and look forward to it.

After 10 years I have changed the name of my annual Halloween storytelling program to: Scary Stories: Voices from the Other Side. Feels good.

Unexpected opportunity offered today. Considering entering an art and craft show in November and selling some of my textile works along with specialty cards. Any body in the market -------

PA, Green Shoes, 4 Storytellers

Enjoying the quiet in PA.
90 minutes from home - gives us a break from city noise - we don't have tv hooked up in the house - the result is that you can think without commercial interruptions.
and such a comfortable bed to snuggle into

on the way here
two hawks gliding toward earth - almost colliding - saved themselves with a quick swerve upward
just outside Gettysburg - on Boyd's Rd -a masked raccoon -stilled - slain no doubt by a bigger beast on four wheels - lay pitifully by the side of the road -
road-kill
well, that explains the hawks - - nature's opportunists.
(thought of the British tv series Doc Martin and the episode where a woman is gathering road-kill every day because her husband likes the "stronger taste.")
I slowed - but - no - - thought of those big salivating hawks - circling overhead -
I sped on to Jane's, the local grocery store - where they cook delicious ready-to-eat fried chicken -


How about these crazy green shoes.
They look more for fashion than basketball - don't they?
One look at these shoes and I forgot all about the poor raccoon by the side of the road.

• Thinking about stories - but then I always am thinking about stories - practicing those I know and trolling my brain and the world around me for new material. Its what storytellers DO.

I am looking forward to telling stories with
three friends:
Slash Coleman, Diane Macklin, and Adam Booth


September 25
7:30 PM Seekers Church
Takoma Park MD
Check: Facebook: Illumination: Four Tellers for info.

We were telling together in Hagerstown when we took this picture.
- having such a good time we decided to do it again.

Storytelling Front and Center

Three Beautiful Things

1. Jim stepping in and helping with hosting the storytelling workshop. And, he made delicious vegetable soups to feed the tellers.

2. Eight storytellers working with a Master , Elizabeth Ellis - good stories and insightful coaching.

3. That special inner richness you get from listening to stories.

Getting Back to Normal, Two Birds, the Golden Cycle.

Going Home

About a dozen coaches were parked on the drive at the National 4-H Conference Center on Connecticut Avenue. When Jim and I drove by very early this morning white steam poured out the exhausts as they warmed up getting ready to travel. Lots of people going home after the Inauguration.

Two Birds




A few birds were foraging in the cold.

This little woodpecker could hardly keep still flitting from one limb to another and then to the feeder and back.

A plump Starling, wearing his winter coat is hard to see -- love his camouflage.













The Golden Cycle

As we drove into our driveway we watched our neighbor drag this "golden cycle" to the curb and abandon it.

Sums up my love of exercise.

Storytelling and Blue Birds

Telling stories today makes me feel like the blue bird of happiness is perched on my shoulder.

3 Beautiful Things

1. The children greeted me with smiles and "good morning Ms. Ellouise" at the Audubon Nature Pre-school this morning. "I have two stories for you this morning." A small blonde sitting at my feet said, "can you tell nine suns?" I hadn't planned to but how could you not honor such a request - we had three stories.

2. This afternoon was my monthly storytelling at a local retirement home. I really enjoy being with these folks, especially Nadine, a 91 year old woman who is slowed by her increasing blindness but her wits remain sharp and wise. She loves storytelling, takes in every word and nuance and always has a comment or addition that enriches the stories. We talked about telling personal stories and after I did a brief bit about how to think about making a story, Nadine leaned forward. "I've got it. I can make a story on that recipe - and it doesn't matter whether I can see or not - I can DO it." YES!!!! And she DID! A precious story that she has passed on to me.

3. Thinking about Blue birds brings back a nice memory. . When I was six years old a neighbor lady who enjoyed hearing me sing my one song, Blue Birds Over the White Cliffs of Dover, took me downtown to audition for the Saturday morning talent show which was broadcast on a local radio station.
The audition was in an office downtown but the performance was held at the Visualite Movie Theater on Elizabeth Avenue. I was over-joyed when they picked me.

That Saturday morning when I walked up on the stage in front of a theater filled with people to sing, Blue Birds Over the White Cliffs of Dover, the 1941 hit song from Great Britain, I was scared to death. My neighbor friend waved encouragingly from the front row beaming at her protege. I rose to the occasion, loving every second of it. Now, if anyone ever asks me, I will tell them that was my debut as a performer.

After that everytime I saw a picture of the White Cliffs of Dover

I thought of the Visualite Theater and my first time on a stage.

In 1975 Jim put me on a train at Victoria Station in London. We had had a delightful two weeks in Great Britain and I was going on to meet a friend in Paris while he flew home. This was my "seeing all the art" trip. I was excited that I would also actually see the White Cliffs of Dover when I crossed the English Channel on the ferry from Dover to Calais.

It was a beautiful day with white clouds scudding across bright blue skies and a stiff wind stirring up white caps on a very choppy sea. We had barely lifted anchor and moved away from the dock when I felt my stomach begin to rise and fall with the waves. I had no time to watch the gleaming White Cliffs slip away. Something else was taking all my attention.

Very unglamourously I spent most of the trip sitting on a step outside the ladies room so that I would be close to a toilet in case I was over-come by mal-de-mer and began wretching.

Ah me. Not the way I had planned it - not at all.

Silver Anniversary and 3 Beautiful Things

Congratulations Jim and Monica on your 25th wedding anniversary.
Sending love and hugs and wishing blessings on your next 25 years together.

3 Beautiful Things

1. Monica and Jim, ofcourse, and their lovely daughters, Juliana and Alison.

2. HURRAY! We found an oven to fit the cut out in our kitchen cabinet. Hopefully it will be warmed and ready for bread to bake by next Wednesday.

3. Seeing less and less stuff as we get it hidden in the closets again.

Working on it

These vividly colored backpacks were a joy to behold outside my grandson's CA fifth grade classroom. In my day we carried a dull and practical plaid bookbags with a leather strap







3 Beautiful Things
1. First message on my cell phone this morning was a quick text - "arrived London safely. Love."
I can picture my son hurrying down the jetway at Heathrow, Blackberry in hand, tapping out messages to his wife, kids, parents, and others who were waiting for word. I love technology. I am sold on texting. Communication is everything.

2. Early morning coffee with Jim at Einstein's.


Well, that's two - one more to go. I am looking for the good, the beautiful, the up-lifting.

3. That's a nice #3 Granny Sue left on the "comments" - appreciate it.

3a. And - its a beautiful and heart warming thing when your daughter will take the time to listen and talk you through a bout of writer's block on a new story. Ran down my cell phone battery.




Loose Ends
That about sums it up.

More than a dozen years ago I took a free-form knitting class taught by a woman named Marcia. She was a knitting free spirit. Forget patterns, just hand her needles, a basket of yarn ends and let her loose. Color sketching with strings of color and texture. I love it.
I am very grateful to Marcia for showing me it does not have to be exactly "by the book."
Ofcourse there is a down-side. Thanks to Marcia's inspiration I have drawers filled with single balls of color or texture and a vast and vivid collection of yarn ends. All in my closets.

Now tell me, can you just toss those possibilities aside?

3 Beautiful Things

3 Beautiful Things

1. Patty's Gettysburg Blog
Seeing that Patty had stopped by my blog this morning reminded me that I wanted to check out her blog about her trip to Gettysburg. Its a great read. And inspires me to re-visit many of the places we have not been toin a long time. Don't miss reading her report on her visit to the Orphanage. It will raise a few goose bumps.

2. Girl Scout Cookie Time.
Two neighbor girls stopped by to sell Girl Schout cookies. Something very comforting about that. I remember when I walked door to door to sell them. At that time we only had the trefoils. Now its choices, choices, choices. But I know what I want - chocolate mint.

3. Cousins Expected.
My cousin Jim called saying that he and his wife Pam will be coming up from NC next week to "grand-parent" his daughter's adorable little girl while Mom works a political job which requires her to be near the Inauguration. Playing it smart they are going to slip into town ahead of the crowds before all roads are clogged. A visit with them is always great news for us.

Storytelling and Red is Sexy

3 Beautiful Things

1. Storytelling tonight. Friends walking into the room when you are getting ready to tell stories is a beautiful sight and warms my heart. I was telling stories for my annual adult HAUNTS program tonight. I selected stories that were tied together by a North Carolina connection. Started off with Jack and the Haunted House, then two family ghost stories, followed by stories of several ghosts I have crossed paths with myself and closed with a real nervous-making old story, The Evil Eye.

2. An unexpected gift of stories is a beautiful thing. Just after I started the stories a short and bent elderly woman with faded red hair dressed in pink gamely pushed her walker into the room and sat down. Afterwards she stood with difficulty and pushed her walker over next to me to chat. "I have stories", she said. Speaking in a softened European accent she told me fascinating stories of her childhood. "I will be brief." she assured me. Then she told how her family escaped from Warsaw, were shipped to Siberia and then how her mother's hats fed them all.

3. The sound of the vacuum cleaner - when I am not the one pushing it is beautiful music to my ears.

FYI:

CNN reports tonight that scientific studies confirm that men see women in red as more sexy.

Bits of Color

3 Beautiful Things

1. When I was telling a program of scary stories this afternoon I watched the kids' eyes widen and their mouths drop open as they followed the stories. Wonderful to see them let themselves into the stories that way. Among other short stories I told The Golden Arm, Jack and the Haunted House and Cat and Mouse. I particularly like telling the Jack Tales. At the end a fourth grade girl raised her hand and asked to tell a story. We still had a bit of time so she could. She did a really nice telling of "The Green Velvet Ribbon." Surprises like this are also part of the joy of these programs.

At the beginning, when I told the students that I was going to tell scary stories one girl, a fourth grader, jumped up. "Are they real.?" I could tell she was frightened. "No," I said - "they are stories." Then she sat down and I watched her relax and enjoy all the stories. And I tabled several true stories I had planned to tell. That's the trick isn't it? Watch out for the audience.

And its not just young audiences. There is a woman who lives at a retirement home where I tell regularly who reminds me often, "tell me if it is going to be scary." And I do. Sometimes she leaves and some times she stays. She choses.

2. Taking time to play with photos. Even when I should be doing something else.

3. Just look at these PA White Lady peaches from this summer. Beautiful color and I remember - they tasted so sweet and delicious.

Leveraging Memories

3 Beautiful Things

1. Memories are the building blocks I use to find and create personal stories. Connecting old memories and combining them with something that is happening NOW is one of my favorite games. When I am lucky - voila - a story.

2. Lately I am playing with old photographs - for the memories associated with them - and for the possibilities to create a new image from them. This block tower is made from a cropped and altered passage of a photo I took when my daughter and I visited a salvage yard in Oakland, CA a few years ago. She was looking for something for her house - I was hunting with my camera. We were both hopeful seekers.

3. Having a day at home so that I can play - with memories and photos. Lately I have not had blocks of time at home to concentrate and play - this makes today a beautiful day even though its grey and raining.

Irish Mocha

3 Beautiful Things

1. Playing around with old photographs from Ireland - making something new - Irish Mocha.

2. Gallery sitting today all was quiet. I love those hours when the gallery is filled with light and n no one comes in so I can focus on just a few tasks and get them done.

3. At the end of the day my friend Claudia
stopped by Gallery 10 for a quick visit before she takes off for Germany..

Chatting about what she will be doing in Berlin brought back memories of our visit there - "make a pilgrimage to see the Nefertiti" I suggest.

The bust of Nefertiti in the Altes Museum is definitely a beautiful thing to remember.

During our catching up when I tell Claudia about finding Lourdes in Paducah, Ky when I had to go to the hospital for a gorilla to save my voice - she laughs. "Oh, no, not another hospital."

"I know. I know. Ridiculous." Anyone that has read this blog for very long knows that Jim and I seem to attract hospitals whenever we venture into strange lands.

"Ellouise - its a story - your tour of hospitals across the U.S."

" Actually I have thought about that - "

Now - as I write this about Claudia's up-coming trip and stir my own memories about Germany I realize Jim and I launched that tour in August 1985 in Hamburg, Germany at the St. George Hospital - the same summer we went to made our pilgrimmage to see the Nefertiti in Berlin. Ah, yes - more to come.

Memories are wonderful. Connections. Connections.

Its like picking up stitches in a piece of knitting. Pulling the treads together.

New month, 3 BT Today

July 1 - I want to start the new month with three beautiful things - and gratitude.

1. This morning I gingerly slid my legs over the side of the bed and stood up - without whimpering - and walked slowly downstairs. Such a simple thing. Something I have taken for granted until - I tore the meniscus in my right knee and could not stand up and walk without whining, grunting or sometimes flat out screaming.

I walked early - and have been free wheeling in the world ever since. Mama tells me I started climbing out of the crib when I was nine months old - "you were too little to be doing it - but you did it anyway." You can guess the stories of young frustrated parents whose first child was a kid meant to be on the move. I am grateful to be mobile again.

2. This evening my mother and I had a lively, laughing telephone conversation when she answered the phone herself. For awhile she was not doing that and it broke our fifty-three year communication line. I have missed such easy access to my mother. I was grateful to hear her strong-voiced. She recognized me right off. We talked through her day and then I told her about my knee. And thanked her.

" For what?"

I reminded her how she had shown me her trick for putting her pants on - "put them on the floor, stick your feet in and then pull them up - that way you don't have to lift your leg."
"Mama that has really saved me with this knee - goes to show you are never too old to learn something from your mother."
"Ellouise, that's the truth - and you are smart if you have learned that."

I went on - "This knee thing has also taught me something about your life Mama, and how hard it must be for you somedays."
"Ellouise, I don't want you to pity me."
"That's not what I meant - I am saying you can't understand someone else's situation - if you have not walked a mile in their shoes."

Mama was quiet for a minute. I wondered if I had lost the connection with her. Then,
"That's right. You do have to walk in somebody's shoes, don't you. Thank you for telling me that."

It was a wonderful close hug between us.

Then she flew the coop. "I have to go now. I am going up to the third floor ( she lives in a one story building) to see Mama, and my little baby, Chris. They are expecting me."
"Who is Chris, Mama."
"You know, my baby."
"I don't think I know him. I wonder how I missed that one."
"I couldn't say. But you must have. And did you know little Kathy has disappeared."
"Mama, could it be that Kathy has grown up?" (Kathy is my sister who will soon be attending her 50th high school graduation reunion).
"That's what they tell me."

" But she's not gone - she is still in your heart as your "little piece of baby."
"Maybe so. Maybe so."
(Little Kathy with Granny and Dad Jack at their 25th anniversary reception.)

Then Mama came back.

"Dad Jack's birthday is in July. July 25."
"I know - - and mama who else has a big birthday in July."
She was quiet. She laughed. "Oh, its YOU!"

"You better watch out - I almost tricked you."

We giggled.

"But you didn't."

Truly a beautiful way to start my birthday month.
(Jack Baer - circa 1944, taken at Wrightsville Beach)

3. And speaking of mothers and daughters - this morning on 37 Days Patti Digh told a wonderful story about her four year old daughter Tess. The story takes you right into their sweet loving relationship and into the fun of living with a small child - when you are open to the fun of it.
Tess's story prompted a memory from my childhood and I shared the story on 37 Days.

Blogs are beautiful connections between people. I am grateful to be a part of the blogging community. Without Clare, I might not be naming these Three Beautiful Things.

Oops - I left my calendar somewhere

After dumping everything out of my purse and ransacking the car I have to admit it. I have lost my calendar - not just a calendar - my appointment book. I can't believe I have let the long, slim, hot pink book slip through my fingers.

I know exactly where I wrote in it last today - and so I have my fingers crossed that it is on the desk at Montgomery Municipal Cable. After I finished taping my latest story Melissa and I agreed on another taping date and I took out my calendar and wrote it down.

If this seems like a lot of space yacking about a calendar - think about it. After tomorrow I don't know where I am promised to be for storytelling. Man, that's trouble. Trouble for me and whoever might be expecting me.

I am hoping its a simple fix tomorrow.



Three beautiful things today:
1. When I came to tell stories today at the Audubon Pre-school 20 kids ran up to me smiling and calling my name. ready for stories. I was wearing a jacket that has a bit of bright braid and sequins. One five year old stopped beside me, " you look like a rock star, Ellouise." I love it.

2. Stopping by the library and finding The Mistress of Spices, a book Elizabeth Ellis recommended. No wait. It was waiting on the shelf. I sat down and dipped into it immediately. The language is beautiful and the intriguing beginning on page one caught my attention right away. " But the spices are my love. I know their origins and what their colors signify, and their smells. I can call each of them by the true-name it was given at the first, when earth split like a skin and offered it up to the sky. Their heat runs in my blood. From amchur to zafran, they bow to my commands. At a whisper they yield up to me their hidden properties, their magic powers."

I am always glad to start a new book - hoping to meet characters that will capture my imagination and carry me into their world. While I was waiting for assistance I heard the woman in front of me tell the Librarian, " I am coming in more often so that I can cut back on how much I spend buying books." Yes! And aren't we the luckiest folks to have libraries open and inviting us in?

3. Being home with Jim.

Getting Out of Town

This morning we are in Boston. Storyteller, Kate Dudding and I are on a "road trip" wending our way to a workshop with Elizabeth Ellis this week-end. I would have written last night except the computer hook-up was slow and to tell you the truth I was tired - having been up before dawn to catch a plane in Baltimore and then the excitement of new places.

There are stories to tell - and isn't that what happens when you "get out of town".

Three beautiful things today:

1. With only half a day in Boston we decided to concentrate on the Boston Museum of Fine Art where there is a special exhibit, El Greco - Velasquez in the time of Phillip III.
Turned out to be a very good choice. The audio tour is so well done with explanations of the paintings and the period, including stories and music that it becomes a very rich experience. I loved seeing a large El Greco painting and a beautiful Still Like by Cotan (on loan from the National Gallery). Felt like the surprise of bumping into old friends when you are away from home.

2. Kate is filled with stories and information about the Impressionist painters and paintings and about John Singer Sargent. In fact she has several storytelling programs about their lives and works. It was fun to watch Kate spontaneously engage people in the museum galleries by asking, " would you like to hear a story about that painting?"
and then delight them with her stories. "I like to tell in museums." she says. A treat!


3. Seeing Trinity Church
in downtown Boston brought back memories of a delightful and special week-end Jim and I spent in Boston with my aunt and uncle in the 1960s. When all our kids were at summer camp at the same time we jumped the fence for a parents' get-away.




In the evening the group of storytellers assembled for the workshop in South Duxsbury, MA


We are meeting at Saint Margaret's, a rambling former convent for Episcopal nuns, that has plenty of room and a warm and inviting atmosphere. You feel the positive energy when you walk through the front door into the book lined foyer. Elizabeth told us we have come to form an artistic community where we will work on our art and you can feel it happening. There are 11 of us - 9 women and two men - a diverse group of ages and outlooks brought together to support one another as we work - - an artists community. WOW! Talk about a gift!

I will add three beautiful things for yesterday - Thursday, May 15:
1. Talking, talking, talking with Kate from stories to the world.
2. Kate had said she wanted to show me the The Clark Museum, in Willliamstown - and it was a treat. Smallish with a grand collection - Constable, Corot, the Impressionists, Sargents, a surprising painting by Mary Cassett that is not a mother and child.
There is always one painting that remains in your mind's eys -- and for me - its the gorgeous Smoke of Amberis by John Singer Sargent - the image, the composition and the mastereful paint handling.
3. Kate said, "are you a knitter?" Indeed. 'Then let's stop at Webb's on our way to Boston. That's Webb's " America's Yarn Store"
in Northhampton, MA - - known throughout New England.
It did not disappoint. Aisles and shelves of wonderful colors and textures - all possibilities. I came away with some great yarn - on sale, ofcourse - and Kate has a bevy of gorgeous socks in her future.

A Day of Three Beautiful Things

1. Sunshine, glorious sunshine early this morning and after the heavy rains everything is lush and green and blooming.
2. After a tense ten minute wait, the technician handed me a report, " we are glad to tell you your mammorgram is negative." Breathing again and promising myself that I will be back on time next year for the annual screening- I left the radiology department smiling.
3. Trying out the new story today when I taped my TV show - and it worked.

Tomorrow I am off to a three day storytelling workshop so it may not be possible to post until Monday. I am looking forward to new sights and people and good stories.

Ciao.

Happy Mother's Day

3 Beautiful Things:
1. Mama answered the phone, " I had a wonderful Mother's Day - a perfect day."
2. Juliana and Alison gave me a talking card, " we love you Weezie." Just like the TV ad. Its a keeper.
3. Jim's card - to my beautiful wife, the mother of my precious children and grandchildren. A love-filled day.

And I am grateful to my kids today for their time and advice as I struggle with writing my grant project. The story just isn't jelling - their ideas might slip some light in this dark hole.

Memories in a Bottle

The other day I did not tell all about my finds in Beggars and Choosers in Pittsboro.

Yes, I found the "snappy shoes" but I also came away whistling with these two blue bottles tucked in a recycled plastic bag- not for the blue bottle tree but for the memories.

The squat blue jar is a Noxzema bottle. Can't you smell it as you read that word? When I picked it up from the shelf my head filled with the distinctive, sharp odor of the crisp white cream. The first time I remember Mama adding a jar of Noxzema to her store of wonders in the medicine cabinet we lived in the # 12 of the Virginia Apartments at 814 Hawthorne Lane in Charlotte. I was ten years old.

When I took my prize to the lady sitting beside the old style cash register I asked her if she knew of any other blue bottles in the store, "This is the only one I saw." She stepped around the desk saying, " didn't you see the Evening in Paris perfume bottle? or maybe its too small."

She opened the windowed door of a chest where the tiny treasure was tucked in a corner. I gulped at the price - because I knew I was going to buy it. 'Oh, no, that's too much." We looked at each other quietly. Maybe she was thinking about how long the dusty little bottle had been stashed on the shelf or asking herself when there would be another "live" buyer for it. She nodded and slid the price down to fit my wallet. She cradled the bottle in her hand for a moment before handing it to me. "This is an original 1920s bottle." There was a bit of a wistful note in her voice.
Then with her soft British accent she confided, "Evening in Paris was my first perfume."

Maybe she was seeing this small Navy Blue bottle sitting on her dresser as I was seeing it on Granny's dresser. I held it to my nose. It still smelled faintly of the familiar fruity perfume - and that scent took me back to 2308 East Seventh Street, standing next to Granny as she sat at her dresser, brushing her hair and powdering her face.

I am glad the woman did not realize - I would have gladly paid her price - for the memory.

Later I checked Google for some facts.

Evening in Paris came on the market in 1929 in this very style bottle. It was designed as an elegant scent in a distinctive bottle for those who could not afford Chanel.

3 Beautiful Things for today:
1. Jim made yellow dried pea soup for supper. Thick and delicious on a coolish rainy evening.
2. Long chat over coffee with Lucy at Starbucks. We rambled back through shared memories of the Washington Women's Arts Center where we learned new stuff and were free to try out ideas to see if they would really work. An artist's support community in the truest sense of the word.
3. Vivid green of fresh plants sprouting up after a Spring rain.