Retreat Day 5

This is the last day of our retreat. We had breakfast, then morning pages. We shared our celebration poems before lunch and they sure put us in a good mood..all that cause for celebration was catching.

We took out all the leftovers and had them for lunch because we knew this would be the last chance to eat them because Dolly and Diane would be cooking dinner for us. They created a typical Costa Rican dinner! The smells coming from our kitchen were heavenly. Arroz con Pollo,Salsa Lizano,colorful fresh salad, Corn Tortillas. Add to that desserts consisting of Key Lime Pie and Flan and you have a good idea of what happy retreaters we were. The women did such a wonderful job of bringing Costa Rica to Florida.


Sadly, Ann took her leave this morning for California. It was disconcerting for us to carry on without her but we soon got back to business. She left here in such a colorful way, I'll have to share a photo. Ann is a story teller to fourth graders and she wanted to get back for her presentation the next day. We sure missed her though. I was again amazed at how close you get to your friends when you do a retreat like this. We aren't sure what the dynamics are but we produce work and we cement our friendships in a way that we found difficult to discribe. This is only our second annual retreat so perhaps we will understand more as we go along. We knew that this retreat was significant in so many ways though.

Our afternoon assignment was to write a resolution to our theme chapbook. We shared our stories and a few other poems and then had our closing ceremony. We lit nine candles representing the Skywriters as a reminder of how bright we are alone and just brilliant together. J

I don't believe I've mentioned the Sorry Jar.Each time a Skywriter found herself saying "I'm sorry", she'd have to put a dollar in. We have saved a lot of money in that jar and it's still adding up so we aren't learning our lesson well but it sure is making us cognizant of that word in our vocabulary and whether it is really appropriate or not. We started out by saying that we couldn't complain, explain, or talk about how lousy our work was before we read it.LOL It's a habit I know and we want to tell everyone its not really that good and we know it. Not allowed here and it's been a good rule. This year we added the Sorry Jar to make ourselves more aware of our complaints and self deprecating remarks we make about our own work or even ourselves.


We had our closing ceremony with flowers, candles lit to represent us as Skywriters. Diane then led us in a meditation that was meaningful to us and we understood a bit more about meditation and its value when she was done.

Jeni came this evening to meet every one. I was so glad that they got to meet her finally. She had been sick earlier in the week and I thought she might not be able to come by. I was so glad to see her and am so proud of her . She's such a sweetheart and I love her so much!

The retreat is over and that's a little sad but we will be seeing Plant City tomorrow and also going to the Strawberry Festival so it's time to play a bit.

Today was not a beautiful sunny day. It was a beautiful rainy, cold day. Bill took us for a tour of the Tampa Bay area. We had a delicious lunch at The Colonade on Bayshore Blvd overlooking the gulf. We didn't get home until 7pm. The day was a nice break from the hard work of writing. JWe went over the Skyway Bridge and into St. Pete and Clearwater. The cold temps foiled our plans for dinner on the beach and watching the sun set. Oh, well, everyone can look forward to that another time. We did make it to the pink hotel, The Don Cesar and did at least get to see the beach from there. We also had drinks and snacks at the Vinoy hotel in St. Pete. We just had to opt for the indoor things and we did have a great time, though I am sure that would be the case wherever we gathered and in whatever weather.

We met to read our poems to Bill at 8:30. He came out ready for combat in his fatigues and MASH shirt. He doesn't like poetry and our assignment was to write something that a person who doesn't like poetry might appreciate. Oh, my, what fun it was, too. We had several that referred to engines revving and carburetors carbing, also a few references to riding a Harley. (Sly women here.)

The first place winner though was Diane. What was nice about Bill's critiques and choices is that he took his job seriously and told us why he chose what he did. He chose Diane's because it was a poem of her angst over trying to write a poem just for him and wishing she could get it just right. He appreciated that and loved the style and that some passages stuck with him. The reader of the poem also won a first prize and that was Dolly.

The second place winner was Lynne who wrote about this house and the love in it. (I was really touched by this one as well.) and the second place reader was Belle.

The third place winner was ME! Imagine that. I wrote about this tough man who picked himself up after tragedy and went forward. Lynne won third place for reader.

I didn't take a gift of course so he was able to choose a fourth place winner, who was Ann for her racy carburetor and car parts poem.

Congratulations to the winners!
Dolly, gave us a demonstration on how to cut, peel and slice a mango so you get a beautiful presentation. Dolly is certainly our exotic tropical fruit expert now since she has been in Costa Rica. Yum, the mango was not only beautifully displayed but YUMMY! We just keep learning at this retreat.

This morning we are writing a celebration poem. The girls who walk just got back and everyone is at their computers or with pad and paper in hand.

Its time for me to do the same.

Retreat Day 3

I won't say it's another beautiful day since it's getting redundant. (But it is)

The women who took a morning walk saw hawks and woodpeckers and wrote about some of those things. Seems a morning walk is always inspirational for Ann's poetry. I'm usually on the treadmill with a book so inspiration wouldn't find me in that situation.

Today we had some delicious Cuban bread with cream cheese and guava. Bill got us some at a bakery he used to go to when he was a firefighter in a particular area of Tampa. Oh, boy, was that ever good and quite a treat to start off our day of writing. We discussed how fast this retreat was going and that we couldn't possibly get everything done that we had thought of. We are picking and choosing and trying to combine. It is what it is; we'll do what we can.

After breakfast and morning pages we shared what we wrote about foreshadowing and then the poem that it foreshadowed. We all came up with some very interesting writing I thought. Some of them were really crafty in their foreshadowing. We had lunch and a lot of us chose some left over garbanzo bean soup and salad from last night.
!

Ann and Lynne will cook tonight and the smells coming from the kitchen right now foreshadows a delicious dinner for us. J

Ann gave a demonstration of making a book this time that was fancier and more decorative than the one she showed us before. Then she presented the finished product to me which I was thrilled with. I am getting lots of ideas of things to work with Hanna, including the binding and book making.

Today we are working on a poem for Bill. Here's the deal. Bill doesn't like poetry. It's a miracle if I get him to read a poem of mine. Our assignment is that, knowing how Bill feels about Poetry, we are to write a poem we think he WILL like. There's more. There's a contest tomorrow night. We will pass our work to someone else to read and we'll read to Bill tomorrow night. He will choose a 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd prize winner. If, for instance, Ann's poem is the one he likes MOST, Ann will get a 1^st place gift but also, the one who reads her poem will win one as well. The idea is Bill won't know who the author is.

We are also working with drawing paper and color pencil to draw some likeness of what our chapbook cover might look like. Nothing like grown women coloring to make you feel like a kid again, and get the creative juice flowing. I think all things creative must be connected. When we drew our book covers, not only were we surprised at what we created but names for the chapbooks came to mind when they did their drawings. Cool

Got to go make an appetizer and get busy on my drawing.

 

 

Break From Retreat News

A little break here in retreat news. My cousin, Darrell, writes beautifully on every day things in his life and the life of his wife, Mary, and his children, Jake, Sammy, Avery, and Elliott. His writing touches my heart and makes me laugh and cry and feel every emotion I think. He is a writer but busy now with the every day wonders and care of raising a family. I have tried to persuade him to do a blog of his own but I know how busy he is and that it might be retirement years before he writes.
Today I received this bit in my email and I wanted to share this snippet of family life and the wonders of raising a family. I just love this and hope you will enjoy it too.
************************************************************************


Hello All:
This is actually "old news", seeing that it happened over
two weeks ago. However, we just got the picture yesterday, so I
waited until now to write this.

What a night we had. This was Avery's first dance, and my first dance
with my only daughter. It doesn't get much more special than that.
Mary "did Avery up right", as you can see from the picture. My God,
how beautiful! My little 7-year old girl looked like a little lady.
And I dressed up too, as you can see. They said to wear your Sunday
best, so I obeyed. Some of the Dads didn't. There was even one Dad
who had the audacity to show up in one of those T-shirts that had a
screen printed tuxedo on it. Oh yeah, did I mention we live in Jones,
Oklahoma? There were several cowboy hats. But I digress. This was
about me and Avery, and I was determined to not let anyone else
interfere with our night.

When we arrived, there was a table set up where you could choose
flowers. Avery chose a bouquet with a rose, and some carnations. Of
course, it was the one bouquet that had some pink in it, and Avery is
all about pink. That is why we call her Miss Pinky. After she chose
her flowers, we got in line to get this picture taken. And what a
long line it was! The PTA sponsored this dance, and they were tickled
pink at the turnout. A lot of money was made for the school that
night.

After getting our picture taken, we got some refreshments, and then we
hit the dance floor. We had so much fun. First a couple of fast
dances, then a slow dance, then one where Avery stood on my shoes as
we danced. Then more fast dances, then, mercifully to me, a couple of
Avery's girlfriends wanted to dance together with her, and I got a
much needed rest. Dancing is tiring, for those of you old folks like
me, who forgot. WOW!! But, I was determined to never remove my
blazer. I stayed in full dress all night, trooper that I was.

The Hokey-Pokey was a hoot, and I soon realized what a workout it was.

As the night progressed, the dances seemed to get more energetic.
There were only a few Dads left who were brave enough to keep up with
the pace. I decided early on that this was one of those moments to
not pass up, so I danced almost every dance with my beautiful little
girl, and some of the dances were with Avery, and two of her best
buds. With each beat from the speakers, I got more and more
exhausted. Did I mention that I'm old and fat? I didn't care if I
broke something, life's too short.

Finally, things started to wind down. That's when they decided to
throw in the "limbo"--you know--"how low can you go?". Well, like I
said, I had decided early on to take part in everything because this
was a one of a kind moment. And I quickly discovered that I can go
pretty low. BUT I CAN'T GET UP FROM MY LOWNESS!!! I actually had to
have the help of a couple of other brave dads to get up! I'm serious
here! I now know that knee surgery is probably in the future for me.
And even now, two weeks later, I'm sad to say, my knees are still
sore.

But the funnest dance of all, was the last one, and I can guarantee
you that Avery and I both will remember it for the rest of our lives.
It was just so much fun. The basic repetition went like this: To the
left, to the left, to the left, to the left, to the left, to the
right, to the right, to the right, to the right, then we spun around
and around and around and around, then we went down, and down , and
down , and down. And then again, I couldn't get up! Seriously! I
couldn't! My knees are so bad in that department! I tried and tried,
but again had to have help. But it was so worth it. I felt so alive,
and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Fast forward to today. I am putting new brakes on Mary's car, and
that requires a lot of knee bending and squatting. And all the while,
as I'm grunting and groaning, and trying to make my knees work the
right way, all I hear in my ears is "TO THE LEFT, TO THE LEFT, TO THE
LEFT, TO THE LEFT, TO THE RIGHT, TO THE RIGHT, TO THE RIGHT, TO THE
RIGHT," and I remember why my knees hurt so bad, and I say, "COOL".

Here's to life. Seize the day. Live for the moment. Don't let
anything pass you by. Don't die with a bunch of regrets. Just get in
there and do it. There were a bunch of Dads at that dance who stood
by the sidelines that night, and watched the rest of us have all the
fun. I'll bet their knees feel fine tonight. But I'd rather have my
sore knees and priceless memories, thank you very much. And the
greatest gift of all is hearing Avery say how much fun she had.

Oh yeah, here's a little something we learned. Avery wanted to save
her flowers from the dance. So we went online and found a good way to
dry flowers. Go to Wal-Mart and get some Borax in the Laundry
section. Put some of it in a box, submerge your flowers in it for
several days, and the Borax will suck all of the moisture out, forever
preserving your flowers. We did it, and it works! Very cool!

We may not have a lot of money, but these types of memories make me
feel like a rich man. In particular, for those of you Dads who never
had a daughter, I say "I'm a rich man indeed". But, whatever your lot
in life, I hope that you will look for whatever those moments are that
make you feel, if even for a moment, that you are very very rich.
This was one of those moments.

Oh yeah, did I say how beautiful Avery is in this picture?

Warm Fuzzies to all of you....

Love, Darrell

Retreat Day 2

This is our moon and venus showing up on our second night of the retreat. :)
We had another beautiful and productive day: Sunshine and morning walks, coffee and breakfast and writing that brought us to laughter and tears and awe from the ability to create.
The process was the same as day 1: Morning pages(writing), breakfast,sharing, lunch, talk on and samples of chapbooks by Peggy and Diane, the assignment given by Lynne, writing, sharing. Tonight Bill made dinner for us: garbanza bean soup, salad, and cuban bread while we slaved away at our craft. Our chef AND the dinner was great. :)










We went on a tour of our property in the golf cart. Peggy found an old golf club of my brother, Bob's, that he used to practice his swing with in the back yard when he was here. So, that's a precious find for us. Poor Lexi suffered through another day of neglect and inattention.










Dessert was at the bon fire Bill made for us. We made smores and talked and talked and talked some more. We went into the hot tub, and talked more. Some might think we'd run out of things to say but, truthfully, there just isn't enough hours in the day to say all that needs saying. LOL
We just finished gathering around as those who wanted to read from some of the chapbooks Diane and Peggy brought to share. One of the poems was from the viewpoint of a dog. One about buttholes and danglies we are still laughing about. These readings gave us lots of ideas for further writings or chapbooks of our own.


What a wonderful day. This has been another day of great writing as well. We are all really pleased by the progress we are making and the bonding of these women who are Skywriters.












My poem written from Dolly's prompt of memorable meetings or moments:
Bill

I know what they say about love at first sight
that it doesn’t happen in real life, it’s a wive’s
tale or some woman’s dream. That’s when I
say, have I got a story for you.

His hair was sandy red, he’d later tell me brown
I saw him that first day at Zayre’s Discount Store
as I was introduced to the man kneeling in the toy
aisle sorting and stacking products for sale.

His corduroy slacks were a tawny color, he’d later
tell me they were his favorite pair, they were stretched
at the knees and made a contrast on that cold slate
tile of the aisle where I found him that first day.

His shirt was an awful mustard color, he’d tell me later
it was a beige polo, some girl told him looked good
with his eyes. That shirt was well worn but clean, it fit
his body well, a body I sensed more than I saw.

His eyes were illuminating, brown with gold flecks, he’d later
tell me they were hazel and deny their appeal. When he
looked up at me, and I down at him, I thought my heart
would explode, I’d never felt such a blow.

His smile ambushed me; he’d later tell me it was crooked
I didn’t expect the results of that smile. My body felt
the sensations of a roller coaster when I was afraid
of speed and the dizzying heights.

He stood at the introduction, took my hand in his, he’d say
he had to touch me right then. The moment my hand
touched his huge callused one, I heard it as clear
as day. This is the man I’m going to marry floated
into consciousness, then became a tidal wave.

He asked me for a date several days later, he’d say it was
right away. I said no so many times but he was the persistent
kind. I was in a relationship, I’d tell him without conviction,
he’d say if you’re not married, I’ll keep trying.

He did stop asking, he’d say he thought I was a snob
so I had to make the next move.
I broke if off with Phil, told Bill I’d go out
we went to the Florida State Fair.

He’s changed in thirty-nine years; he’d say I have too
but the love it just grows and grows. I’m fatter, he’s
wrinkled, we don’t have the same energy, our minds
aren’t what they used to be.

But if I have the choice; if the past has anything to do
with now, I’ll hang on for thirty- nine more.
Holding hands and sitting close, sharing stories of our day
thinking about what new adventure we’ll try.

Judy Roney
February 26, 2009

Retreat Day 1

Thursday, February 26, 2009, began the second annual Skywriters Retreat held at our house. We had a great day and accomplished a lot.

We were given the first assignment last night and this morning we had "morning pages" and wrote until everyone was finished.

Diane started the retreat with an opening ceremony. She lit a candle and read from her work she had written just for us and this occasion. It was amazing. I even got some tears in my eyes because it was so poignant and so true! J She did an amazing job and got retreat day started off right.

We wrote an opening "hook" poem (an idea taken from Robert's Poetry blog on Writer's Digest for the November poem a day contest), for our themed chapbooks and then read them aloud. I was blown away by the level of work that was completed today. After that we had lunch and Ann showed us how to bind books made from paper bags. It's a great idea and one I intend to show Hanna (Little Sister) how to do so she can make them for her Aunts for Mother's Day.

We had discussions about chapbooks with themes and the value of them and then Dolly gave us the afternoon prompt which was taken from Natalie Goldberg's newest book. The prompt was to capture our most memorable moment and to be very detailed. I wrote about the time I met Bill for the first time and how that felt etc. The others wrote poems relating to their theme and, again, it was incredible work. I guess I'm amazed because I didn't think we would have the level of focus here at this house as we did at Big Bear, California. That has not been true at all though. Everyone is very serious about producing this week and produce they do.

It was Peggy and my turn to cook. We grilled salmon (with Myers lemon taken from our tree), had asparagus and Peggy made an incredible, colorful and yummy salad. We made Strawberry Shortcake for dessert.

Then it was time for a nice soak in the hot tub and a glass of wine. It was so relaxing after that big dinner so I think I could go to sleep very easily right now. The others are out on the patio talking and I thought I'd try to provide something on my blog each day.

We had a great day and Lexi is really enjoying all this attention.

Tomorrow morning we will be writing again from Robert's prompt from the Nov PAD, Day 2. We will be writing a Declarative Poem. We will try to write it from someone else's opinion.

Skywriters Writing Retreat 2009

It has begun. :) Peggy and Lynne arrived last night. You'd think I hadn't seen them in a year the way I acted. Wait, it HAS been a year. LOL Bill asked me if I was nervous about my friends coming here for the retreat. No, not at all. Nice to have friends with this kind of comfort level. I suppose we should have after 10 years of being a Skywriter. I feel the same way about seeing and being with any of my HCC friends, just delight, no angst. :)
.
Bill treated us to an evening at Columbia Restaurant. We had a wonderful meal and floor show of the flamenco dancers. What a nice introduction to Tampa, Ybor City, and Florida. Neither of these women have been to Florida before. I find that amazing and fun for us to show them our little capsule of Florida here

Peggy and Lynne are still on California time. We were up at 1 talking this morning and they are still asleep this a.m.
Diane and Dolly arrive today and then Ann will be here tonight to round out our group of six for the retreat.
We sure will miss Victoria, Diane and Mary but hope to see them next year.
Positive vibes here. We are hoping our muse is at work and we crank out some stellar works here this week. We will be a sequestered group from Thursday until Monday, working away at our art. See, I'm already waxing poetic, donchathink? LOL