I delivered a Thanksgiving Affirmation of Faith in 2004 at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin about finding thankfulness even when it might seem hard to recognize. The insights came from my living with M.S.

Perhaps you feel like you’ve had your fill of Thanksgiving (and then some), but if you can handle just one more leftover slice of that festive pie, perhaps check out the Affirmation (it has no calories and no trans-fats!)

A couple of days ago, while unpacking from our move into our new Austin house, I uncovered a wonderful symbol of my Canadian roots.

When facilitating a workshop in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, Canada in 1995, I bought an Artist’s Proof of “Talking to the Animals” by Simon Tookoome from the Matchbox Gallery. He is an important Inuit artist of the Far North.

Through much of the time following my purchase of the proof, my treasured art remained boxed up as I moved frequently (often every few months). Sometimes, I must regrettably confess, it was stored in less than ideal conditions.

Given this history, when I went to unwrap it the other day, I was hoping, hoping, hoping that the artwork would still be in great shape. To my relief and joy, it was! It looked as fabulous as the day I first saw it in the gallery!

Now I will hang it above my desk with a spirit of gratitude and honor (or rather, honour — Canadian spelling).

I love this artwork, the North, and the creative process that an Artist’s Proof signifies. This Tookoome piece embodies all of these things, and as I gaze at it, I feel very moved (no pun intended).

So, on the wall of our Texas home you’ll find Inuit art. It might appear out of place to some, but to me, it’s just right. The art is a reminder of my “home and native land,” and for that, I am thankful.

We’re now, finally, in our new house! It’s great, but it’s been a lot of work and the transition for me has been exhausting! In fact, it’s 9:15pm and I’m writing this quick note as I get ready for bed.

I just wanted to say a quick hello and to let you know that I’ll be posting again.

Sweet dreams!

The blogs of Captain Stottlemeyer, Dr. Kroger, and Natalie Teeger each “sound” very unique. Each character is writing about events from his or her own perspective and in a distinct voice.

For me, as a writer, stumbling upon “character blogs” represents the discovery of an amazing tool for novel-writing and beyond!

Currently, I’m working on differentiating my characters’ voices in my novel, Consumption, and I can see how creating character blogs could be very useful for this. Perhaps I’ll have each of my characters write blog entries about their impressions of important events in the story. Their entries wouldn’t be posted anywhere (at least not until after my book is published); rather, the characters’ blogs would be opportunities for me to delve deeper into their unique minds and voices.

Look at what I just said there: “Perhaps I’ll have each of my characters write blog entries…” Eek! I’m giving writing assignments to imaginary people! We writers are a strange breed!

Beyond helping writers, though, I think character blogs could offer a lot to readers! Personally, I think it would be great to read a novel, and then go online to read some characters’ blog entries. Character blogs could provide additional insights about how a character felt at a particular point in the story. As well, for as long as an author continued to update the character blog(s), our favorite hero or heroine could survive past the last page of a book!

I’m excited about partnering books and the blogosphere! Novels can bring a story to readers in an intimate and in-depth way, and blogs can offer a real-time existence for fictional characters! What do you think of this pairing?

Think of your most loved or hated novel characters. Would you be interested in reading their blogs?

Today’s SOB Business Cafe at Successful Blog included a link to 12 strategies for (finally!) letting go of stuff you don’t really need, an excellent article by Jessica Duquette.

While I poked fun at my clutter crisis in the 5 Clues post, I do have huge trouble parting with things. In a few weeks, we’ll be moving into to our new house, and I don’t want to be moving boxes and boxes of items with nice memories but not much usefulness anymore. I think Ms. Duquette’s suggestions will help me greatly in the process of sorting and letting go!

If you, too, feel submerged in stuff, take a few minutes and read some great strategies for climbing out of clutter. I’d love to recommend printing the post, but then there’d be one more piece of paper added to the piles — perhaps keep it saved and handy on your computer instead.

Good luck with your sorting!

And the #1 clue that your office has too much clutter… (drumroll)
National Geographic has come to photograph your Leaning Tower of Paper.

p.s. Kudos to the Lists - Group Writing Project at ProBlogger.net for inspiring this fun post. It’s a great project to get your creativity going! Have you got a list to share, too?

In addition to offering guidance, she has agreed to see my writing again after my next round of revisions. Given the heavy workload of agents, I appreciate receiving such targeted feedback!

I’ve carefully considered the agent’s suggestions and can see how a few changes will make a wonderful difference. I’m excited to be launching into this new round of revisions. Perhaps it sounds weird that I’m enthused about starting more work, but I do love the process (which is a good thing when the odds of getting a novel picked up by an agent or publisher sometimes seem daunting)!

Whether or not this agent and I are paired in the future, I’m grateful for feedback that will clearly improve my story. And isn’t that what matters most?

I think we all need to remember that when people comment they’re taking part in a conversation that WE INITIATED by posting. It’s as if, when we blog, we’re welcoming visitors to our home. We’ve put out a welcome mat, opened the door, and started talking to our neighbors.

Blogs are, by their nature, public and interactive. So, if you don’t want to engage others in your writing, perhaps you’d be happier putting your thought into a private journal. That’s great, too.

If you do decide that a blog is right for you, ask yourself these questions about whether you’re a good host to your commenting visitors :

Would you expect people to keep trying to have a conversation if you ignored what they were saying? To build relationships with your readers (or with anyone else), always respond when they talk to you. Answering comments doesn’t just reach out to the person saying hello, it also sends an impression of friendliness to those who haven’t commented yet.

Do you make your visitors feel welcomed and valued? Don’t pick and choose who to reply to. If your comments section looks like a closed society, it soon will be (whether you like it or not).

Do you make it very easy for people to drop by and say hi, or do your guests have the hassle of logging in? Sometimes, when a day or evening seems too busy already, one more little form to fill out just seems like too much bother.

For more ideas to ponder, be sure to read Liz’s article.

Overall, I think if we all extend to our blog visitors the same courtesy that we show to our “real-life” home visitors, we’ll build a friendly and strong community.

As for this blog, I’m keeping the welcome mat out and the door wide open — I’d love to chat with you!

I don’t know what I was hoping for exactly. I suppose I had envisioned a real-life, 21st Century, Brothers Grimm fairy tale — “The Elves and The Blogger.” Yes, that’s it — I had wished that some posts would’ve magically appeared in my absence.

I wasn’t expecting the level of elf-effort that would go into cobbling shoes, like I remembered from The Elves and The Shoemaker tale, but seeing a few simple words on the screen would’ve been nice.

On second thought, my blog is a place for me to share ideas and to connect with other people. Maybe it wouldn’t be wise to turn it over to some mysterious, mystical, and perhaps mischievous, little beings.

I suppose I’m glad to find my blog starving for posts after all.

I’m sure I’ll be back to normal within a couple days, but I just thought I should say a quick hello in the meantime.

Y’all take care of yourselves (I’ll do the same), and I’ll meet you back here soon!

Cuileann