Oh Nuts

Far into the night, at the coldest time of the year, in a chilly grotto, more suitable for a flock of beasts than for humans, the promised Messiah – Jesus – the savior of mankind, comes into the world in the fullness of time. There are none who clamor around him: only an ox and an ass lending their warmth to the newborn infant; with a humble woman, and a poor and tired man, in adoration beside him. Found on Google Nothing can be heard except the sobs and whimpers of the infant God. And by means of his crying and weeping he offers to the Divine justice the first ransom for our redemption. He had been expected for forty centuries; with longing sighs the ancient Fathers had implored his arrival. The sacred scriptures clearly prophesy the time and the place of his birth, and yet the world is silent and no one seems aware of the great event. Only some shepherds, who had been busy watching over their sheep in the meadows, come to visit him. Heavenly visitors had alerted ...

Advent Meditations with Fulton Sheen The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them, light has shined. -Isaiah 9:2 The O Antiphons refer to the seven antiphons that are prayed immediately before the Magnificat during Vespers of the Liturgy of the Hours (or the Divine Office). Each antiphon begins with the exclamation “O”, thus earning their popular name of the “O Antiphons.” Originally written in Latin around the seventh or eighth centuries, these special antiphons are verses extracted from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah that are titles for the Messiah.

This is the first pattern that I ever used when I first learned how to knit. And I am a little surprised that I still had the pattern. Because for a while I didn't know where I had put it and thought that I had thrown it out. But I found it again and it is being stored in my pattern binder along with the rest of them. While it might look a little disheveled now I still have the scarf that I made with this pattern. Although the label is from a Red Heart Super Saver yarn label I made my scarf with Lion Brand Homespun yarn. Even though it is a beginner pattern I thought I would share it here because it knits up really easy and looks pretty, so it will make great Christmas or birthday presents. Red Heart © Super Saver®: 3 ½ ounces 319 Cherry Red Knitting Needles: 5.5mm [US 9] Yarn Needle Gauge: 17 sts = 4"; 25 r = 4" in pattern. Check your gauge. Use any size needles to obtain the gauge. Cast on 22 stitches. K 2 rows. Now work as follows: Rows 1 & 3 (Right Sid...

This is a Christmas ornament pattern that I found awhile back and really like. This pattern, from  Penny-Wise Knitting , is a Christmas Wreath Ornament pattern. When I found this pattern I immediately knew what yarn to use for it. And I love how easy the pattern is to follow and use. Because of how quick and easy the pattern works up, you can do it in one sitting. Though I had to spread it out over several days because of various other things that came up. I originally made this ornament several months ago for a group project that the fiber arts group that I am a part of was doing last month and part of this month. And I had originally shared this over on the knitting blog that I had started called "The Knit Potato" and then stopped updating back at the end of September. That is partially to blame on starting to prep for NaNoWriMo last month. Though I have been thinking of getting rid of the knitting blog since I haven't been doing much with it. In the meantime her...

And just like that, it has been a week since NaNoWriMo has ended! This year I ended the month with 50, 168 words, but my story is far from over. Today was my region's TGIO party and the first time that I was able to make it. And I had a nice time with my  fellow writers As an ice breaker to get to know other people from the region, one of the ML's gave each person a certificate with their username on it and then we had to talk with someone that we hadn't met/talked with before and share a goal that we reach or something that wasn't related to our word count. Once we had talked with someone about the goals or whatever it was that we did then we had to sign each other's certificate and hand them back to the ML (Municipal Liason) who was handing them out. Once we finished with the ice breaker we did lunch and then the ML's started handing out the certificates back to everyone. As we got the certificates we got to pick from pencils, red pens or purple pens an...

Every great once in a while a fun name/book title generator will show up on my Facebook feed from one of the writing groups I am in. Sometimes the names that I get from these aren't the greatest. But I actually liked the name that I got from this Fantasy book title generator and it is something that I would want to read if it was a real book. My generated Fantasy Book Title is "War of Evil Destiny." Not mine. I found it on Facebook.

Normally when I share anything that I have written in one of my stories, I usually try to keep it as current. But this is something that I o riginally wrote back at the beginning of March 2012. And it is from the Fairy Tale Novels Fan Forum that I was a part of for a long time and I only found this again because I decided to log on again and poke around. Title: All The World's A Zoo Characters: Freddy and Caleb the Unicorns, Edgar the llama, Frank the Alligator, Phillip the Frog, Jane the Tiger and Ned the Labrador Synopsis: After the arrival of Jane and Phillip, some of the animals at Cair Paravel are feeling a bit left out and soon things start getting a bit out of hand with the animals and only they can fix it *not long after Jane and Phillip show up* Frank: I don't think how a frog and I tiger are special they aren't fun to be with anyhow Caleb:*does a horsey sigh* I wish Sulwen would stop forgetting about me Freddy:*snorts* ...

A while back I discovered the editing site Canva and I have been dabbling in it on and off since then. Since I don't have a Pro account and just use the free version, I am a little limited in what I can do with it. But I still enjoy using it and I have been able to create quite a few things for Instagram as well as covers for the novels that I write during NaNo. And since I really haven't given you much of an update on how I am doing with NaNo I decided to share a few covers that I made with Canva. The cover with the mountains on it includes the original title for my novel and the other two covers include the current title which fits better.

This is another result of another picture prompt that I used. While this isn't the picture that was used as the prompt, I like what I wrote from it. Photo by  Markus Spiske  on  Unsplash As they neared the end of the race, the entire group of cyclists suddenly became tired. Unsure of what was happening to them they all stopped riding and got off their bikes. Before they could properly stand them up all the cyclists passed out on the ground where they had stopped, with their bikes laying on their feet. The people around them watching and directing the traffic seemed unfazed by what was happening with the cyclists. They continued with what they had been doing as if nothing had happened. A short time later the cyclists woke up and continued the race to the finish line. Shortly after the group had ridden away, another group of cyclists in the race came through the area and were affected by the mysterious drowsiness. These cyclists also dismounted and fell to the grou...

This is another Picture Prompt that the writing support group I am in did the other week and it made me think of the movie The Greatest Showman  that came out last year, and it is partially what inspired me to write this prompt. I included the picture we used as the prompt at the bottom of the post. Photo by  Becky Phan  on  Unsplash Walking along the dusty road the trio of weary travelers came across a small but strange sign placed in the ground. On the sign it said Magic Circle – Clothing Optional Area. ¼ Mile. Placed in between the words “Magic Circle” and “Clothing Optional Area” was a drawing of what looked like clothing laid out on the ground beside a cactus, the sun, and a mountain. A red arrow pointed them in the direction that they needed to head in. Curious as to what a Magic Circle with an optional clothing area was, the trio set off in the direction that the arrow pointed. After walking the quarter of a mile the trio came to a large red and whi...

I don't remember where my sister originally found this pancake recipe, but we all love it and it is the recipe that we use on Sundays when we make pancakes for breakfast. The recipe also works well to make waffles with as well. So it is a 2-for-1 recipe and is super delicious, especially if you add blueberries or bananas to the batter. The recipe is also easy to double or triple depending on what you need it to make. Since we made waffles the other week for dinner I decided to share the recipe here!!! Especially since NaNoWriMo starts tomorrow, or it has started depending on what part of the world that you live in. And I know that people are always looking for easy meals to prep during NaNo. Photo by  nikldn  on  Unsplash Homemade Pancakes Author: Domestic Dee Recipe Type: Breakfast Serves: 8 Ingredients 1 cup flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons sugar 1 cup milk 2 tablespoons oil 1 teaspoon vanilla Instructions Heat s...

This is from the same writing group video chat that I was a part of the other week. For this picture prompt, I have the actual picture that we used, though I don't know where it originally comes from. And the paragraph and a quarter that I wrote for this prompt is something that I liked and might possibly use for something in the future. But I could change my mind by then, I don't know. Anyhow, I wanted to share it with you all, like I did with the last two paragraphs that I wrote. Unknown The old house stood alone surrounded by dying trees and browning grass. No one had lived in it since the owner, a woman by the name of Miss Whitman had passed away several years before. Since she had no living relatives that people could find the house stood alone and forgotten. Until one day when a strange young woman appeared at the office of the only lawyer in town. Placing a small stack of papers on the surprised man’s desk, the young woman informed the lawyer that she was Miss Whi...

Sometimes the smallest step in the right direction...Will create the biggest change in your life! Photo by  Jon Tyson  on  Unsplash Everyone is afraid at some point in their lives to take the first small step in the right direction towards something great. For each person, that direction will be different, but we will all get there. Whether it is in the way that we expected it too. Or in a way that is completely different than what we had expected it too. But the moment we take the first small step it will create the biggest change in our lives. What that change is no one knows. Although the first step and the first change go hand in hand we can't see the future, though we are always trying to change the direction that we are going in. Even if we do change direction and go in the wrong direction that first step will take us to something that will change us for better or worse. Sometimes people plan on setting out to do great things in their lives, but then they e...

I don't remember if I mentioned this in my last post or not, but in a support group I am in for NaNoWriMo has been doing video chat groups and the other night we had another one where we did word sprints and talked in. And the first sprint that we did was a picture prompt. In the picture was a metal table with two chairs and what looked like an ashtray and a couple drink coasters on it. When it comes to writing prompts and sprints like this I tend to start writing without thinking about specific characters. Which is how I came up with this paragraph. Photo by  Henry & Co.  on  Unsplash "Sitting on the unoccupied table the ashtray felt the ambiance of the sidewalk as people strolled past minding their own business. It had made friends with the drink coasters that rested on the table with it. Emblazoned with the logo of a neighboring restaurant the coasters didn’t make a sound when patrons of the restaurant used them for their drinks. When no one was sitting at...

Typically I am not someone who readily shares stories that I have written with other people. This is mostly because I don't like the way that it turns out so I don't want to let other people read it because of that.  But today I have decided to share a short paragraph that I wrote last night while I was taking part in a video chat with other writers. The prompt for this was a picture of a loaf of bread (different than the one pictured here) and in the background was a banana or two. And since the story idea that I have for this year's NaNoWriMo is based on the Greek gods and mythology I decided to use one of the characters that I am slowly creating for this idea. So this is what would happen if the Greek god Zeus was a high school football player in the kitchen and trying to make banana bread for the first time. Photo by  Taylor Kiser  on  Unsplash "Standing in the kitchen Zeus looked at the piece of paper in his hand. Having never baked anything before in ...

Here is the last few days of NaNoWriMo's Prep Time Instagram challenge!!! Day 26: Paradox I was a little lazy on this one and just found a quote with a paradox in it. Day 27: Where/When in the World Some of the characters in my story for NaNo are from Greece. Day 28: Fresh Air Again I cheated a little on this one because this is a picture that I took back  on my family's vacation last month. Day 29: Suddenly... For this one, I was having a hard time coming up with something until I found this song called "Suddenly" on YouTube the other night. And the section of lyrics that I took a picture  of goes with the last day's prompt. Day 30: Time To Write While @nanowrimo doesn't officially start for another month I will be taking this time  to write an outline and organize my thoughts for the story that I want to write.

Here is days 20 - 25 of NaNoWriMo's prep time Instagram challenge #InstaWrimo. taken by me Day 20: The Sands of Time My original idea was something completely different and a little goofier.  But the Warren Dunes in Michigan works instead. Day 21: Novel Dedication Since none of my stories are finished or have dedications, I am borrowing the dedication from  a book called "A Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust" by Alan Bradley. Day 22: Banned Book There are a lot of books out there that are considered banned.  So I just had to pick out one. Day 23: Cliffhanger When I first read this prompt, I was going to do something on the sarcastic side, but I couldn't think of anything. Until I remembered that any good book series ends on a cliffhanger in one of the books. Day 24: Living Literature This was another one that I had a hard time finding something for. My first idea was to find a biography, then I decided to chan...

Here is the next round of pictures for NaNoWriMo's Prep Time Instagram Challenge.  Day 15: Plot Twist  Since anything can become a plot twist, these kids number and shape cards make a great plot twist by organizing them into a pile and then pulling one or more off the top and incorporating the number(s) and object(s) into the scene that you are writing. Day 16: Novelist Music  These are two of my writing playlists and there is a variety of music on both of these as well as my other playlists so that I don't get tired of listening to the same songs. Day 17: Main Character  Since I am still in the early stages of planning out my novel for @nanowrimo this is what I currently imagine my main character to look like. Day 18: Cast Your Villain In my head, the villain for the idea I am doing is more of a mean girl rather than a villain.  But that could change.   Day 19: Cast a Supporting Character A supporting characte...