deborah wiles: field notes

and now it's april

2012-04-06T13:46:00.009-04:00

What have I done with the first three months of this year off? So much. And now it is April and book two of the sixties trilogy is once again under my fingertips. So is a little girl named Cambria Bold. She is seven. She loves to cook. She makes me laugh. She has a little sister named Miss Moss and a dog named Old Dreadful No. 7. Her best friend is Queen Esther Washington who does not love

march

2012-03-05T14:43:00.001-05:00

In a year of being home and listening to myself, I have just entered month three. February was for.... lots of things. Some writing, yes. And more staying still, more creating routines. More discovery. It's hard to put into words. I didn't know making the decision to stay home this year was going to bring me feelings this... deep. I don't know when I'll write about writing again. I'm sorry if

some countdown news

2012-02-09T16:06:00.001-05:00

I just wanted to put it here so I can always remember. Countdown has been nominated for some state book awards and so finds itself in very good company in Tennessee, Illinois and Texas. Such sweet news. I'm honored. Thank you, lovely librarians! I went thrifting today during my writing break and bought a pair of very nice headphones for four dollars. When I got home, I plugged them into my

a flour sack quilt, and what january was for

2012-02-04T11:01:00.006-05:00

January was for putting systems into place. I organized and tossed, in my pantry and fridge. I bought fresh and organic. I scoured vegetarian and vegan cookbooks. I tried so many new recipes I got cross-eyed, but found some keepers. Still want to write a book with lots of food in it. Made notes.Routine has been my friend in January. Oh, how I have missed it. I decided very quickly that I still

good storytelling

2012-01-31T10:06:00.003-05:00

Hey there. I want to direct your attention today to the New York Times' annual feature "The Lives They Lived." Usually the Times profiles the famous who have passed away that year, but 2011's subhead is "These American Lives: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives." Not famous, then, but even better, to my mind, the stories of ordinary people. And they are amazing. The one that had me in tears was

weekending

2012-01-30T10:43:00.014-05:00

Hey there. Hope you had a great weekend. We stuck close to home, close together, and did a whole lot of nuthin' (which was really a whole lot of sumpthin') because that's just what we'd planned. Some work together, some play together, some eating together, some sleeping together. A together kind of weekend. Perfect. All those quilts and blankets were on our bed! They got a proper airing, and

mid-month check-in

2012-01-17T15:45:00.001-05:00

Whew. I'm almost three weeks in to this year of being mostly home and I'm realizing lots of things: :: Helpers are fun. Abby is digesting The Good Earth so I don't have to. Sunny is reading The Good Earth in book two, as well as 16 Magazine. :: Juicing is not my thing. I miss cooking too much. I felt good when following a whole foods, plant-based diet and have gone back to it. :: I want to

1 down, 51 to go

2012-01-06T12:48:00.004-05:00

I woke at 4am, wide awake, worried about my IRS appeal. hahahaha. Well, it's true. I've been hit with a penalty for late filing, but I filed an extension before my tax deadline. The IRS evidently didn't receive the extension, and my accountant didn't send the paperwork by return receipt or delivery confirmation. So I called the IRS last month, and we are working it out, and all will be well, but

new year, new routines

2012-01-04T10:16:00.002-05:00

This year I am home more than away for the first time in ten years. I have four gigs (as Jim calls them) in 2012, each purposely chosen for certain reasons we'll get to during the year when I actually do travel. I can't tell you how strange it feels to be looking into January and not planning for travel. Frees and lets loose all kinds of energy. Other than those four working travels, I am home

all kinds of progress

2011-12-14T14:17:00.001-05:00

And (ab0ve and below) preparing for long days in the writing chair after Christmas. This is progress, too.

preparing for the work ahead

2011-12-08T15:15:00.000-05:00

Just home from three days on the road, my last travel of the year. Thanks so much to everyone at Ridgeview School and Rock Springs School in Tennessee. I saw students in grades K through 8, spoke at a family literacy night, and worked a half-day with teachers. Whew. We had fun and did good work together. Today is for re-entry. So I'm not going to write every day in December. I might not

seized by the day

2011-12-08T14:20:00.001-05:00

Well, it's December. The month I declared I would write a bit each day. Instead (and I don't think this is avoidance), I've been seized by.... something. A sense of well-being. A je ne sais quoi. A que sera sera, as Franny might say in Countdown. I'm following my nose, my gut, my sensibilities as life presents itself. I'm going with it, slip-sliding in the stream of well-being, listening to what

::grateful for::

2011-11-28T15:49:00.001-05:00

:: walls to paint. Remember that wall I painted orange for my birthday a year and a half ago? It's not orange anymore. I covered it with chalkboard paint and it became an integral part of Thanksgiving dinner this year. I envision it holding all kinds of messages and lists and sayings over the years. I think I've got it just right now. :: family. Look closely and you'll find a gratitude list

let us love one another

2011-11-23T14:59:00.003-05:00

It's not possible to tell you all I am thankful for this year. I'm choked up just thinking about it. It has been an amazing year full of ups... and downs. Thank goodness for ALL of it. As Uncle Edisto says, "Open your arms to life! Let it strut into your heart in all its messy glory!" Yessir. Wise man. I have learned so much about the messy glory this year. And so, as I prepare for tomorrow's

around atlanta: smack into the city

2011-11-15T11:24:00.003-05:00

Downtown and South Downtown (SoDo), into Grant Park. It was a Sunday afternoon and I had questions. Where are all the people who live here, dine here, shop here, raise their families here?They aren't here. They have moved to Midtown and other neighborhoods. People may work in downtown Atlanta, but they surely don't live here anymore (for the most part), although there is a large homeless

good garden of peas: a writing prompt

2011-11-13T15:29:00.006-05:00

{a writing prompt. If you feel so inclined, link to your own good-garden prompt in the comments, so we can all be inspired!} <p>&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;

recent reading

2011-11-11T11:41:00.003-05:00

I'm catching my breath between three fabulous days at Brookstone School in Columbus, Georgia (where I was lucky enough to see every student in grades preK through 5, work with a lovely smattering of students in middle school writing workshops, and even an Honors English class for a fascinating hour) , and my trip to the D.C. area on Monday, where I'll work with all fourth graders and teachers at

good garden of peas: a writing prompt

2011-11-06T06:44:00.004-05:00

{a writing prompt. If you feel so inclined, link to your own good-garden prompt in the comments, so we can all be inspired!} Boone, N.C.

overdue thanks

2011-11-04T07:43:00.002-04:00

I sit this early morning in a hotel room in Boone, North Carolina. I will work here for the next two days. Today is a day in schools and a public library event. Tomorrow I will keynote the Appalachian State University Children's Literature Symposium and work with teachers throughout the day -- exciting! This fall has been full of travels, and I am overdue on some October thanks. Thanks so

good garden of peas: a writing prompt

2011-10-30T12:59:00.001-04:00

{a writing prompt. If you feel so inclined, link to your own good garden creation in the comments, so we can all be inspired!}

a little light housekeeping

2011-10-25T19:55:00.003-04:00

Quick fyi notes: :: It has been pointed out to me (such a passive voice!) that email is a difficult carrier for this blog when I post so many photos, as I did earlier today. I'm going to truncate the email feed from now on so I don't crash your computers when I send you a blog post that's a large file. :: I believe this setting will also truncate the post in your google reader, although I'm not

around atlanta: discovering home

2011-10-25T12:36:00.005-04:00

Mostly photos today, and a lot of them, all taken on Sunday when Jim and I drove around Atlanta, my new adopted home town -- I'm finally willing to admit it. Jim has lived here for over 30 years. I have been here seven. We have been married four. I now have grown children living in Atlanta, and a six-month-old grandgirl, too. I am once again grounded. It takes time. I know y'all know that. But I

learning from my mistakes

2011-10-22T15:27:00.012-04:00

At one point yesterday, an hour into the second session of what was supposed to be three 90-minute writing workshops with middle school kids in auditorium-seating chairs, I looked at the 250 eighth graders sitting in long, deep rows in metal folding chairs in the school's library, without their notebooks, staring at me, challenging me (in the best way) to entertain them on this exciting day

and so it goes

2011-10-19T22:11:00.000-04:00

Bad weather and travel snafus stuck me in the Providence, Rhode Island airport for hours today. I left this: And came to this: This is fall travel... a combination of school visits, conferences, teaching, and retreating with the group I've been writing with for fifteen years. Yesterday, Plymouth; today, Philadelphia. And so it goes. I'll be home Friday night. For now, thanks so much to

62

2011-09-28T16:01:00.002-04:00

The lights were low, the cake was chocolate, the musicians were in top form, the singers were like angels, and the love was all around. I think this is what happens when friends become family. I think these are the gifts of time spent together, years blending each into the next, good times and bad times shared. Gifts of music and birthdays and time to savor one another's company. Happy