Holidays

I'm winding down for the holidays and finishing up last minute tasks like wrapping gifts and making cookies. Not much left to do on the preparations. I plan to consume all the oysters, dark chocolate, and champagne I can hold. I have just a week left on the 30:30 challenge on Inside the Writer's Studio (Rules are simple: Write one poem a day for thirty days. Repeat as necessary.). I've been working on a few other projects, but will return to those after the holidays.

I'm happy to say it isn't going to snow this Christmas in my neck of the woods. I'm not a fan of the white stuff. I'd like for it to be June all year long.

We have an unusual arrangement with our tree this year, thanks to Tucker, our terrier-hound mix we adopted last year. He's a wild boy---more rambunctious than the three poodles. Tucker has few fears, but he is quite afraid of my African masks. So guess what surrounds our tree this year to keep Tucker from tearing it down? Yep, we circled the tree with African masks! Okay, so the animals run things at my house. You mean you didn't know that? Now, should we sing carols, or maybe paint our bodies and do a tribal dance around the tree?

A few more poems have been accepted for publication. "Lunar Eclipse in Scorpio" and "Census of Seagulls" are forthcoming in Anti-, which is a new and exciting literary journal. Eclectica Magazine has accepted three of my poems, which were written in response to a word challenge: "OCD Patient Narrates the Picnic," "Nights in Apt 14," and "Hotel Prayer." And my poem "Oject Trouve" will appear soon in qarrtsiluni. The editors suggested some fine revisions to that poem, which I was happy to make. Thieves Jargon, which publishes fresh, innovative, and provocative work, has accepted two of my poems: "Armand" and "Applicants to the Garden of Eternal (more or less) Rest." I'm thrilled!


I hope everyone has a blissful holiday---and please don't forget all the homeless and abused animals in need when you consider holiday giving. While Christmas is not typically a good time to bring home a new pet, it is always a good time to volunteer and/or donate money and goods to help them. Check out the Activism Page on my Web Site for some organizations you might consider. These groups rely on donations and support to do their work. Please help where and when you can.

Cheers,

Jayne