News and views to inform or amuse
Thoughts-- drips becoming rivulets merging with creeks flowing into rivers creating puddles and pools backing up stagnating dry washes until new thoughts replace them in drips drops and drabs. It all flows downhill renewed re-energized unstoppable cataracts rapids hopping skipping, tumbling over rocks and occasionally themselves.
In Waters Deep' In ocean wastes no poppies blow, No crosses stand in ordered row, There young hearts sleep...beneath the wave... The spirited, the good, the brave, But stars a constant vigil keep, For them who lie beneath the deep.' Tis true you cannot kneel in prayer On certain spot and think, "He's there." But you can to the ocean go...S ee whitecaps marching row on row; Know one for him will always ride... In and out...with every tide. And when your span of life is passed, He'll meet you at the "Captain's Mast." And they who mourn on distant shore For sailors who'll come home no more, Can dry their tears and pray for these Who rest beneath the heaving seas... For stars that shine and winds that blow And white caps marching row on row. And they can never lonely be For when they lived...they chose the sea. The poem is called 'In Waters Deep' and was written by Eileen Mahoney
It’s Winston Churchill’s Birthday, National Library Week, and the week before National Park Week (17-25 April) so in honor of all of these, read this wonderful blog post.
With apologies to Sir Paul
You’d think that people would have
Had enough of silly glove songs
But I look around me and I see it isn’t so
Some people wanna fill the world with
Memes of Bernie in mittens
And what’s wrong with that?
I’d like to know
‘Cause here they go again
Since Teagan has indicated that the Sisterhood shares and spreads information, they may be an early form of librarians. In honor of National Library Week and the next Journey, I wanted to interview Teagan about her Deae Matres.
By Journey 3, we have met 4 Deae Matres: Boabhan, Mercedes, Zasha, and Tahira. Will we meet other Deae Matres as the Journeys continue?
Absolutely, yes. While the Society of Deae Matres in Emlyn’s day doesn’t hold a candle to the size and power the organization once had, it is still a large and impressive group – particularly to Emlyn’s inexperienced way of thinking. We’ll learn more of their present and past.
Boabhan and Zasha seem to have their own swordsmen. Do Mercedes and Tahira have similar associates?
When I first started reading high fantasy, one thing that intrigued me was how the authors left certain details of relationships to the reader’s imagination. Zasha and Tajín have a backstory, and romance is hinted at, but not confirmed. Boabhan and Hallgeir have a completely different backstory. Bits of both stories are revealed later when they impact the plot.
However, to your question, in this world, sisters of the Society may or may not have a swordsman who travels with them. In the backstory of the Deae Matres, such arrangements were structured into their organization, but not any more. In Zasha’s day, those arrangements might come about for any number of reasons. In any era, many Deae Matres sisters travel independently. That is true of Mercedes and Tahira, at least in the timeframe of this story.
The Deae Matres seem to live a very extended lifespan. Is that accurate? I do not think they are immortal, but if they are…
The sisters of the Society vary in age, but no, they have a normal human lifespan. You may be thinking of hints I’ve made about Boabhan. The Woman in Green is unlike the other sisters – but that has nothing to do with her being Deae Matres.
How do girls/women become Deae Matris?
There would have been a process in ages past. In Zasha’s day, if enough of the sisters agree that a woman is versatile and knowledgeable enough the Society will approach her. I didn’t “get into the weeds” with that for this story. Maybe for a future series… (winks)
Zasha, for instance, seems to have a small crush on Taigin. Do any of the Deae Matres marry their swordsmen or would that be a reason to have to leave the Society of Deae Matres?
See the question 2 for the answer.
Was Haldis, the Watcher, ever a Deae Matres?
Ah… Haldis is intriguing – mysterious in part because she is so damaged. More about her will be revealed as the Journeys continue.
Was/is Queen Ailbine a Deae Matres?
In fleshing out the history of Emlyn’s world, I mention several past rulers. That history comes into play in some details of the story. Various ghosts from the past interact with Emlyn. Queen Ailbine is one of these. Since Emlyn has difficulty knowing whether she’s talking to a ghost or a living person, Emlyn has learned to pay attention to details of their clothing and manner before she starts talking out loud to what turns out to be a ghost. Spirits from the past sometimes show up to make sure Emlyn is aware of something important, as Queen Ailbine did. Getting the message from a queen, made her pay more attention to it than she would have if one of the serving maids had pointed out what was happening. At other times, the ghosts simply come to her because she can see them.
Do the Deae Matres have a central authority figure or is it more rule by the more senior and/or dynamic members?
A question I’ve learned to ask myself when writing is “Does it advance the plot?” The structure of the Society does not impact the plot, so I don’t dig too far into the politics this world. As with most groups, the older, senior members tend to hold more authority than the newer ones.
Kindle: elinks.me/B08XTNZ9M8
Paperback: relinks.me/B08XXY3JXF
Kindle: relinks.me/B08VMNSF97
Paperback: relinks.me/B08VLMR2KD
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/dead-of-winter-journey-2-penllyn
Kindle: relinks.me/B08RBBVRGX
Paperback: relinks.me/B08R7RH4F5
Some routes are mapped out or are they now GPSed? Who determines our path: us or the wind or fate? Is the path of least resistence really the easiest? Set a course harness the wind, tack as necessary, hand on the tiller. Be the master of your own fate!
Derrick had me with the primary picture of three volumes called Hours in a Library.
During the night I began to realise that, although ‘Monkey’ by Wu Ch’eng En was snuggled up in the novels section of the library, there was no Gibbon among the shelves that I thought had been accurately filled yesterday. That meant that there had to be another History container somewhere among the 24 left to empty. This morning’s search demonstrated no such luck.
There were two.
To read more click here.
To celebrate, enjoy a brew If it tastes good, then make it two Poets, preachers and just plain sinners All agree that it's a winner Except to me, its just a waste I've never been able to acquire the taste. Cheers!
A childhood without books — that would be no childhood. That would be like being shut out from the enchanted place where you can go and find the rarest kind of joy.” Astrid Lindgren
From the Imagination Library webpage:
After launching in 1995, the program grew quickly. First books were only distributed to children living in Sevier County, Tennessee where Dolly grew up. It became such a success that in 2000 a national replication effort was underway. By 2003, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library had mailed one million books. It would prove to be the first of many millions of books sent to children around the world.
Dolly’s home state of Tennessee pledged to pursue statewide coverage in 2004 and global expansion was on the horizon. After the United States, the program launched in Canada in 2006 followed by the United Kingdom in 2007, Australia in 2013 and the Republic of Ireland in 2019.
The benevolent sun and the meandering breeze bathed us in a soft afternoon allowing us to continue to bask in wine's afterglow languidly lifting lighthearted laughter aloft where it drifted with lamb's wool clouds.
When was the last time you opened a map the paper kind that sat on your lap Used your finger or magic marker to trace the route before you parked her? Some marked the stops for gas or food no mention if either was cheap or good, maybe updated once a year no indication if the route was clear. Nowadays we use our phone a voice that seldom leaves us alone a gentle correction if you miss a turn some of us take longer to learn.
For the bibliophile in all of us.
From the American Library Association:
The theme for National Library Week (April 4-10, 2021), “Welcome to Your Library,” promotes the idea that libraries extend far beyond the four walls of a building – and that everyone is welcome to use their services. During the pandemic libraries have been going above and beyond to adapt to our changing world by expanding their resources and continuing to meet the needs of their users. Whether people visit in person or virtually, libraries offer opportunities for everyone to explore new worlds and become their best selves through access to technology, multimedia content, and educational programs.
Almost every day this week celebrates some aspect of libraries and the people who work in them.
What is your favorite thing to do in a library? Has your library reopened? Have you used your library during the Pandemic?
People are like Easter eggs of many different hues some you find immediately others found with clues A few of them are basket cases some of them are rotten some of them just roll arouond others lie in cotton You cannot always judge the egg by the color of it's shell Pretty is as pretty does You need the taste and smell
Cannonade of gusts Aimlessly butcher branches Warfare windblown style.
I tried to write a Zombie poem but all my thoughts went numb Maybe the Zombie ate my brain which is why this poem is dumb. Last night while I was fast asleep, he dined upon my brains leaving a mass of noodled thoughts like limp spaghetti strains
Poetry month is here once more just like it was the year before Limericks, sonnets, and other forms follow rules and the usual norms Some poems seem to meander around with a purpose that is seldom found Ego poetry is not a gift Like an unwanted guitar riff Some like structure, some like rhyme some think it is quite sublime Other think of Dr. Suess While other wonder what's the use. I'll try to write a poem a day Even with nothing worth while to say.
This is a re-blog from Rick and Lavinia Ross’s Salmon Farm Blog. I think that Thelonius may be a time traveler from the constellation, Capricorn.
“So, while things are budding out and getting underway this month, we will emerge from our Gopher Hole of tales from about the farm, and tell the story of a goat. Not just any goat, but one that could have come straight from the imagination of Ray Bradbury or Rod Serling. We encountered this very unusual animal during one of our travels up to Washington in 2005. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the story of Thelonious Goat.”
Windswept clouds surf along the Blue Ridge Mountains soaring over the ridge lines only to dip into the hollows before exploding upwards in a burst of white and gray spray
Saturday seemed to be drive your big pick-up truck around Front Royal, Virginia and share your political points of view.
On 55 east, heading out of Front Royal, we sat at a red light behind a large, black and white Chevrolet pick-up with the owner exercising his first and second amendment rights in white lettering on the window at the back of his cab. The top line had a silhouette of an assault rifle pointing at an Impeach Northam (Virginia’s Democratic governor). Underneath that was a white Trump Pence sign.
Later in the day, we saw two different F-151 Ford pickups flying large F**K Biden flags . The second one had the added line of “F**k you too if you voted for him.”
The next morning along the Interstate outside Front Royal, we saw three large crosses on a hillside. The largest one in the middle had an American flag hanging from either side of the horizontal portion of the cross. This was the first time I have ever seen a cross used as a flag pole.
