Drops of Inspira

 Hello and Happy December! A little-known fact about me: I will wish everyone I meet a happy first of the month for every month. Why? Because I love celebrating the little things. The first frost. The first of every month. The first fire of the season in our wood-burning stove. The first daffodils. The blue-eyed grasses. New paints. First drafts. The list goes on. I figure the little things should be celebrated as much as the big things. Which is why, I think, that I love traditions, particularly those my family celebrates December with. Here are a few: We always get a live tree. We used to go as a family to get it, but these days, we just gather as many of us as we can and go down the mountain to get one. We string popcorn for the tree while watching It's a Wonderful Life. The first movie of the season is usually  Elf. I always wrap gifts in shiny blue wrapping paper. I do this because as a little girl, I heard Pretty Paper sung by Randy Travis and there was a stanza that sai...

  Hello! We are more than halfway through 2021! *slumps over, exhausted* Honestly, what happened to the year? I'm pretty sure it was April just yesterday. Oh well... If the year is more than halfway over, then that just means we are closer to Christmas! *breaks out Christmas carols and throws a party* Okay. Okay. It may be a tad bit early to do that, but you can never start too early. I love Christmas! But that is not why we are here. (Get back on topic, Julia.) Ahem... Today's topic is the halfway point. The idea of being in between something. So, this month's poetry prompt will reflect that idea. Hm... You know, for someone that is as terrified of the ocean as I am, I sure do write a lot of ocean-based things. The wonderful thing about the ocean is that it's a place of both fear and wonder. A place of in-betweenness. A place where you can have one foot on land, and the other in the sea. As always, please feel free to use the prompt to generate your own creativeness. U...

  Hello!  Gosh. I just realized that December 2020 is almost through and I haven't quite gotten around to this post yet, so here we are. This is the "Know the Novel" wrap-up post completing the link-up that I've participated in the past three months with Christine Smith . Since I've procrastinated long enough, I'm just going to dive into the post. Here we go. 1. Firstly, how did writing this novel go all around? A:   Writing went really well! I actually wrote more this past month than I have for the past three months, busy school schedule and all. Weird, but I think my brain likes the pressure of a deadline. 2. Did it turn out like you expected or completely different? And how do you feel about the outcome? A:  No... Of course not. My brain took my plot and ran amuck. It's been very inconsiderate. Yes. I had a plot. Shocking, I know.   Well, considering I still have about two to three chapters left, I feel pretty good about the outcome, but there are still...

  Hello! I've reappeared this week to share six of my favorite Christmas reads with you all this month. So, without further ado, here we go. The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree by Gloria Houston is about a little girl and her mother who are waiting for her father to come home from war. Before he went away, the little girl (Ruthie) and her father went up to the tall mountains and picked the town's Christmas tree. This is a lovely book about courage, family and perseverance. The illustrations by Barbara Cooney are the icing on the cake. So beautiful. If you need something to read to your child or are just looking for an easy, heartwarming read, check this one out. You can find it on Amazon here.  The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree by Gloria Houston The Christmas Candle  by Max Lucado is a book I read almost every year since my mother got it for me years ago. It's a tiny book about faith, hope and miracles. Perfect for Christmas. Here's a link to find it on Amazon....

Happy December everyone! Just finished November with the craziness of NaNoWriMo and Thanksgiving, but now I'm gearing up for Christmas! I'm so excited! Christmas is pretty big at my house and we definitely love putting up all the decorations and the tree.     For the most part, we don't have "White Christmas" because it rarely snows this time of the year. Still, you never know. This year might be one of the odd ones.                                                   I'm hoping to get some snow this year for Christmas, (maybe you are too!) and so with that in mind, this month's poetry prompt is: So, I thought I'd do a broader subject. Instead of just "snow", I'd extend it to all things wintry. So, Christmas, snow, candy, presents, long lines of people, time with family... Whatever is winter to you.   If you'd like to use ...