Prescott Girls - can you tell we're sisters?

July is Family Reunion month, but we don’t have to wait for a special occasion to celebrate those cherished memories. Family photos are everywhere in my house. Boxes of prints and hundreds of slides reside in my drawers and closets. Now that I’ve graduated to digital, computer files populate my hard drive. Polished and posed for special events  – graduations, weddings, and baptisms family and friends return my gaze in my personal gallery along with lop sided grins and bunny ears at family gatherings. Candid moments and orchestrated tableaus tell the stories of my life. How wonderful to be able to revisit what was then with the perspective of who we are now. Happy travels…

I like to buy postcards when I travel, whether it’s other parts of the world, or just a mile away from my house! I choose postcards because of the photography (which I could never capture myself) and the emotion the postcard evokes in me. And don’t discount the fact that postcards have a very small writing area. This is a good thing for people who say they never know what to write. Just the fact that you take the time to write a couple of lines about the weather and the fun time you are having means a great deal to your recipient. If you are having a “staycation” close to home, a postcard is a very personal way to connect with family and friends. Go ahead; send a postcard showing off beautiful downtown Main Street USA. Let’s keep in touch…

Let Freedom Ring

July is all about freedom. From the obvious celebrating our country’s independence with 4^th of July festivities to the obscure Social Wellness observance and including the borderline ridiculous National Drive-Thru Day. It’s all about recognizing the beauty of our glorious options and opportunities to change. The freedom to stop and stick our toes in a stream, river, ocean, or under a sprinkler attached to the garden hose. The freedom to smile at our reflection in the mirror (which is all about Social Wellness) and to know we have the gumption to follow our dreams. The freedom to choose our Authentic Selves.

July comes smack dab in the middle of everything. The middle of the year and the middle of the summer. We’re at a tipping point for all sorts of options. Is it time to re-evaluate or goals? On the other hand, is it time to celebrate being alive and seize the opportunity to play when it presents itself.  

When the calendar page turns to July for children, if they bother to notice the calendar at all, it may mean summer camp, trips to the beach/lake/mountains, or days filled with sweet unstructured hours. As adults, July may mean mid-year reviews/quarterly reports to be completed before a long anticipated family vacation. The freedom to be a family united in their quest to navigate a new hiking trail and tell the best ghost story around the campfire.

Our family vacations were more like Sunday afternoon outings because farmers with animals always have morning and evening chores. We were fortunate enough to have a boat and live in the Midwest where there is lots of water for the boat. My childhood summer memories are full of fried chicken picnics, feeling the mud squishing between my toes, splashing in the shallow water, fighting with my brothers about whose turn it was with the inner tube, feeling the wind in my hair when Daddy “opened her up” and drove the boat fast when we went around the lake. I also remember the smell of Noxzema and suffering with red arms, backs, and legs after many of those outings.

If your July plans keep you close to home, there’s still plenty of creative ways you can claim the freedom to choose to be your Authentic Self. Take a tall glass of your favorite ice-cold summer drink and a blanket out to the back yard. Lie down and do some serious cloud watching. Your whole body is allowed the freedom to down shift and relax as you observe the white wisps consolidate into dogs, bunnies, flowers, faces, even dinosaurs. Now that you’re in the back yard, are you thinking about the garden you meant to plant? You can still go to the garden center and pick up all the elements necessary to plant a beautiful flowerpot in no time at all! Want to get away from it all for an afternoon? Escape into a movie with lavish landscapes and gorgeous costumes, or visit an exotic art exhibit. Try your hand at pottery painting at a do-it-yourself pottery shop. Discover the soaring experience of flying with an introductory flying lesson. Take a bike ride and feel like you are 10 years old again. Watch the sun go down and wait for the fireflies to come out. Pick up a brand new notebook, some magic markers, or colored pencils, find a shady spot and write about your favorite summer vacation. It doesn’t matter if it’s a vacation you’ve already experienced, or one you plan to someday. Write about it right now. Relive the experience, or anticipate the adventure. Let freedom ring…

Maidu Library & Maidu Community Center, 1530 Maidu Drive, Roseville, CA 95661

Healthy Living Panel 

Noon – 1 p.m. (Meeting Room 1)

Mary will be moderator on the “Healthy Living” panel. with guests B. Lynn Goodwin (author of “You Want Me To Do What?” journaling for caregivers), Davis Liu, M.D. (author of “Stay Healthy, Live Longer, Spend Wisely:  Making Intelligent Choices in America’s Healthcare System”), Jennifer Martin (author of “Blue Fingers, Brass Knuckles), Joanne Neft (author of “Placer County Real Food from Farmers Markets:  Recipes & Menus for Every Week of the Year”) and Richard Simmons (author of “The Long Hard Ride” and “Collateral Damage: The Other Victims”). 

Also, Look for Mary at Teresa LeYung Ryan’s (author of “Love Made of Heart” and creator of Build Your Name, Beat the Game: Be Happily Published (the 22 minutes for 22 days workbook) booth and we can discuss how creativity can help you in your quest for “Healthy Living.”

My special thanks go to Jamie Finley, Dena Grover, City of Roseville Library, Margie Yee Webb and California Writers Club.

Enjoy author panels, writing workshops, how to get published information, children’s entertainment and arts & crafts. Books & food available for purchase. Visit the festival website for a complete list of authors and the event schedule.  http://www.roseville.ca.us/library/programs_n_events/lit_fest.asp  This project is supported in whole or in part by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian.

July is Social Awareness Month, which has nothing to do with social media and everything to do with empathy, friendship, and compassion. Today, seek harmony in your environment beginning with yourself:  smile at your reflection in the mirror, reward yourself for completing a difficult task, soak up some sun on a park bench, or go to bed early. Be aware of what keeps you humming with harmony and pass the feeling on…

Ah the 4^th of July – this mid-summer celebration means parades, picnics, and popping eardrums! I remember parades, church picnics, and carnivals growing up. Our little Coastside town hosts an old-fashioned parade every year where practically the whole town turns out to march down Main Street, little kids decorate their bikes with red, white, and blue crepe paper streamers, and big kids shine up their hot rods. While some light a sparkler or two in the twilight, crowds wait impatiently for the fireworks guaranteed to light up the sky with dramatic displays of color along with the sonic boom explosions. Perhaps you will take a picnic to the beach, to a local park, or to your backyard. I hope you have a chance to spend the day with family/friends expressing gratitude to our ancestors for this Independence Day.

Enjoy ice cream today – Coaxing Creativity Tuesday Tip June 22, 2010

Eat ice cream today – Last week’s trip to the county fair got me thinking about the treats and since June is Dairy Month (since 1939) I’ll encourage you to indulge in a frozen goodie today. What’s your favorite? Chocolate? Vanilla? Rocky Road? Maybe it’s something you only let yourself have on special occasions. Yesterday was the Summer Solstice and the official beginning of summer. That’s pretty special. Or, create your own special occasion…Care to join me in celebrating?

Rebuild Your Life This Month

Rebuild your life? June is Rebuild Your Life Month. Depending on your point of view, that could be a very odd phrase, or an exciting challenge. In some ways, we rebuild our life getting out of bed every morning. Each small decision builds upon the next, until you’ve chosen what to wear, what to eat, where to live, which career to pursue and who you want to spend time with. Sometimes those decisions are the direct result of random events in your lives.

After my first breast cancer experience, I bounced back into my old routine so fast I think I left tire marks in the hospital parking lot. Well, no. But, while my physical self regained normalcy, emotionally I was in a state of shock. Pretending it had never happened made it quite easy to get on with my life. My family was also anxious that I return to “normalcy” as soon as possible too. That way they could feel nothing had really changed in their world. After all, I looked the same, so it was a couple of days of bed rest and back to the usual routine. Putting the whole diagnosis, out-patient surgery and recovery into the recesses of my memory seemed to work quite well – for a time. It worked until I was diagnosed with D.C.I.S. again in the same breast 3½ years later.

This time, rebuilding my life meant taking part in my healing process and choosing to not jump back into old habits as if programmed, or just because it was expected. Instead, I followed my own path to exploring creativity and all the benefits of hands-on activities. I wrote in my journal about everything I was thinking and feeling. I gave myself time and space to explore what my body, mind and spirit needed. I’d always been drawn to many forms of crafts such as sewing, beading, collage, decoupage, and stamping. But never thought of myself as an artist. Artists had paintings and sculptures in museums; I liked to make distinctive beaded jewelry. I made dance and ice skating costumes, slipcovers and window treatments, and embellished journals with whimsical collages.

In the process of rebuilding my life, I have reinvented myself. I now claim the mantle of Artist of the Everyday because my works-of-art are to be used and enjoyed in day-to-day life. As a self-proclaimed Creativity Mentor, I encourage everyone I meet to claim your creativity to rebuild your life in whatever method, means or sector beckons you.

Do you remember the fun you had going to the County Fair? The excitement of wondering if there would be a new ride to thrill you on the Midway, anticipation of  discovering new treats to add to your favorites (mine were Tom Thumb doughnuts milkshakes at the Dairy Building), and the pride in participating in the 4H competitions. Attending a full-blown fair to see the cows, ducks, chickens, goats and pigs; climb aboard the magic carpets that spun, gyrated and rotated, and indulge at the concession stands offering various delectable delights on-a-stick is a way to relive your childhood. Or, perhaps you liked to listen to the “live” infomercials under the grandstand where the Veg-O-Matic and the Amazing Ricing/Dicing/Spliccing machine was being demonstrated (also a good source for free snacks). And if you didn’t get to do those things, keep your eyes and ears open because every summer weekend the newspaper or radio will advise you where to go to get in on the fun. Tonight, I’ll be speaking on Creativity 101 on the Literary Arts Stage at the San Mateo County Fair – so come on down to the Fiesta Bldg at if you’re in the area at 8 pm. We could share some cotton candy afterwards.

Have you ever received a note of encouragement in the mail at the exact moment you needed to hear good news? What better way to honor Effective Communications Month than to communicate with someone we are extremely close to, yet seldom acknowledge her strengths, talents, and passions. Who am I talking about? You, of course. Today take out a pen and some pretty paper, a note card, a post card,  (an index card in an envelope will do) and write a sentence or two in praise of YOU! Not sure what you want to say? OK, write down a favorite quote, or a line of poetry. Something that will inspire you, give you pause, or evoke a sigh of delight. I can’t wait to see what my mailbox will bring…