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Posts from the ‘Open House’ Category

May 22

Open House: Seven Sisters

Seven sisters in a symphony of creative blogs to sit and sip your coffee by….

  1. Kate Hopper shares wise words from a reading event, even though she was sick as a dog and shouldn’t have gone.
  2. Liz Hum considers how unfair parenting can be from one child to the next and why.
  3. Jennifer Johnson shares the loveliest love poem to her husband, on their anniversary.
  4. Bethany Hiitola shares a delightful craft gift to give to friends.
  5. Mary Duquette’s faith in human nature is restored.
  6. Carmen Torbus waxes poetic over zucchini gardening and gets soupily creative.
  7. Karen Winters posts a painting experience including a shot of her on site at the easel, the yellows and greens of the painting smack dab in the scene itself.

Have a wonderful long weekend!

May 8

1 Comment

Open House

Due to a terrible worm, my computer has gone kaflooey this week, so in lieu of a full reading list to while away your weekend with a scone and screen, you just have to peek at a few and find a way to fill your weekend with other things…maybe you’ll find inspiration in the blogs below.  Enjoy!

  1. Elizabeth Beck embodies the art of procrastination at its finest – and take a peek at the week’s posts prior to this one to really get a sense of how productive procrastination can be.
  2. Bethany Hiitola finds inspiration for independence in her little girl.
  3. Kate Hopper waits and a miracle happens.
  4. Georgia Geis knows nothing beats those three magic words (not please and thank you, the other magic words).
  5. Mary Gernamotta Duquette pulls a Homer Simpson in a writerly fashion, doh!

Apr 24

2 Comments

Open House

This installment of the Open House brings self-assessment and emergency care; says goodbye to the old and anticipates the new; and throws in a dash of brotherly love. So grab your preferred cup of joe, or bob or serena (my name for herbal tea) and read about Jacqui, Alana, Suzanne,Tracy, Elizabeth, Johanna, Liz, Jen, and Brittany. Enjoy!

  1. Jacqui Robbins flirts with new ideas while working on her current project (I can relate to that!).
  2. Alana Kirk Gillham waves goodbye beautifully in tribute to her family’s home on the way to a new one.
  3. Suzanne Kamata considers what she loves about being a mother after being tagged. (Why do we so often wait until someone else notices us being a good mom to look at how well we are doing?)
  4. Elizabeth Beck had an ER visit, and gave an anatomy lesson.
  5. Johanna Rupp shares a meeting of herself through May Sarton and views of her garden (which is much farther along than mine is so far this year!)
  6. Liz Hum throws tarot cards to check in with herself.
  7. Jen Johnson discovers she should not Frisbee the toys across her living room when she already has frustration adrenaline pumping, with a serious consequence.
  8. Brittany Vandeputte watches her two young boys play and is justified in her decision to have them close together: no, she was not smoking crack after all.

Apr 10

6 Comments

Open House

Another week, and time to get this resting puppy back on its feet! I feel for Miranda’s need to give herself a rest. So I hope she breaks out her cup of coffee, or Mother’s Milk herbal tea and relaxes to the music that is the blogs of creative women. And that you do, too! Enjoy!

  1. Liz Hum has gone a noveling and is excited it grows bigger bones.
  2. Elizabeth Beck overhauls her studio and admits she has a problem.
  3. Jennifer Johnson’s husband has hijacked her blog to show that poetry is in the genes.
  4. Kelly Warren is back on the market.
  5. Karen Winters is grateful she only lost some paintings in a tragic accident.
  6. Mary Duquette fights against the rising tide and wins.
  7. Brittany Vandeputte continues her war with disease while keeping pace with her renovation.
  8. Bec Thomas courts creative copyright laws.
  9. Lisa Damian’s writer retreat feels indulgent, but she makes it work for her by producing.
  10. Amy Grennell is making the most of of her shortened creative hour.
  11. Kate Hopper announces her toddler haiku contest winner and shares her favorite top seven (warning: lots of poopku).
  12. Carmen Torbus dreams big, feels vulnerable when dreams start to come true.

So, enjoy a lucky 13 blogs (and one more for luck, as I tapped 2 of Liz’s) with your morning cup of preference. Maybe it’s enough to last you through the holiday weekend.

Mar 20

3 Comments

Open House

Happy equinox, everybody! (This translates to “happy spring” for everyone in the Northern Hemisphere. We do have a few Aussie readers and I wouldn’t want to annoy them with my hemi-centrism.)

Here’s the latest in interesting news and notes from the personal blogs of Creative Construction community members.

    1. Jen Johnson is working on her smile. To that end, she made her own list of 100 Happies (nod to Cathy Coley).
    2. Kelly Warren opened a new etsy shop for her photography.
    3. Carmen Torbus made a commuting video tribute to some of her favorite artists.
    4. Leslie F. Miller became a superhero at the Hero Factory.
    5. Marsanne Petty entered a 99-words-or-fewer story in the GardenRant Short Fiction Contest.
    6. Amy Grennell opened an artfire shop.
    7. Alana Kirk-Gillham thinks about moving to her new — separate — creative space.

      Have a lovely weekend!

      Mar 6

      4 Comments

      Open House

      Wow, is it Friday already?

      Any fun plans for the weekend? I’m trying to get a sitter for tomorrow, as my husband will be installing tile in our new basement bathroom, and I need to work on taxes and take care of some pressing client work — not to mention a million other things, such as taking the last of our boxes to the recycling center (the bulk of them were picked up by “neighbors” for re-use). Hopefully we’ll find a bit of time for some family fun in there somewhere. I also commented on the Monday Page that I would spend 30 minutes with my manuscript, so I’d better make that happen!

      Here’s a peek at what’s up in the lives of Creative Construction community members:

      1. Kristine Coblitz burned her Superwoman costume.
      2. Liz Hum worked on a new strategy for scheduling her day. She also observed that painting chocolate on someone’s butt isn’t always attractive.
      3. Jen Johnson contemplated fleeing to Australia — or not.
      4. Marsanne Petty committed to a daily, six-sentence story.
      5. Bethany Hiitola finds that mornings are a considerable challenge.
      6. Jacqui Robbins made some progress in the office. (What do you think of the premise that the state of one’s work space is a reflection on the work itself?)

      Feb 20

      2 Comments

      Open House

      Happy Friday! I hope everyone has something fun to look forward to this weekend. Here’s our bi-weekly roundup of noteworthy blog posts from the Creative Construction community.

      1. Suzanne Révy shares a creative dialog with her son.
      2. Jacqui Robbins fights with part three.
      3. Elizabeth Beck sets the record straight on her favorite colors.
      4. Emma-Jane Rosenberg had some challenges with the challenge.
      5. Suzanne Kamata’s short story won an SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) Magazine Merit Award for Fiction.
      6. Kristine Coblitz took to evening power writing for the February Finish-a-thon.
      7. Kate Hopper asks why write?

      Have a wonderful weekend! Grab onto a few moments for yourself, somehow, somewhere.

      Feb 6

      2 Comments

      Open House

      Happy Friday, friends! Here’s a roundup of the latest interesting bits from Creative Construction community members.

      1. Kate Hopper is teaching an online version of her Mother Words writing class.
      2. Bethany Hiitola is capturing late-night creative inspiration on her cell phone.
      3. Alana Kirk Gillham is vaccuming under the couch instead of writing.
      4. Elizabeth Beck hung her mother and daughter art show.
      5. Emma-Jane Rosenberg drew and painted some beautiful tomatoes.
      6. Suzanne Kamata noted her publisher’s novel contest.
      7. Liz Hum is building new muscles. Really.

      I hope all February Finish-a-thon participants have a rewarding weekend! (Well, and everyone else who reads this, too.) Any great ideas for managing to fit family time, household time, and creativity time all into the same weekend?

      Jan 23

      3 Comments

      Open House

      Happy Friday! Here’s our bi-weekly roundup of interesting posts from Creative Construction community members.

      1. Christa Miller launched a new website.
      2. Georgia Geis is determined to find her creative mojo again.
      3. Kerry Bennett reflects on being alone.
      4. Emma-Jane Rosenberg thinks about patience.
      5. Mary Duquette finds undeniable beauty.
      6. Jean Van’t Hul has returned to her blog about being creative with your children. (Her blog is a treasure trove. Read our Breakfast interview with Jean if you haven’t already seen it.)

      And how about this? The Belly Project blog, as seen in the Well Mom newsletter. How do you feel after looking at all those other women’s tummies? Better about yourself, or worse?

      Jan 9

      11 Comments

      Open House

      A selection of interesting tidbits from the personal blogs of Creative Construction community members:

      1. Kerry Bennett contemplated homeschooling a 15-year-old and moving to Maine.
      2. Jen Johnson closed up shop.
      3. Kathryn Virello expanded on dreams, wishes, hopes, and aspirations.
      4. Brittany Vandeputte dug deep on food, passion, and happiness.
      5. Liz Hum made some goals for 2009, and put them right in her calendar.
      6. Susanne Fritzsche took a personality quiz that proved her uniqueness.
      7. Elizabeth Beck took stock of 2008 and adopted a fun way to track her creativity in 2009.

      Enjoy, and have a lovely weekend. Take a little time for yourself creatively, even if you can only steal ten minutes. You’ll be happier for it.

      And while you’re being creative, can someone please help me test my latest theory? To those who recently (or not so recently) resolved to lose weight and/or get in shape: I suspect that the best diet includes personal creative time. I seem to have observed that having time to express myself creatively is the best appetite suppressant out there. Avoiding sugar and simple carbs is key for me, but lately I wonder if creativity is actually a better diet “pill” or strategy than anything else I’ve tried. Your thoughts?

      Dec 12

      4 Comments

      Open House

      Our latest collection of interesting tidbits from the Creative Construction community:

      1. Liz Hum shares some important thoughts on happiness.
      2. Kristine Coblitz finished her outline draft. (Applause!)
      3. Carmen Torbus turned 32 and stated her intentions for the year.
      4. Kate Hopper appreciates her precious baby girl, just because.
      5. Brittany Vandeputte may have finished her revisions, despite the onslaught of bad health. (More applause!)
      6. Jen Johnson wrote an open letter to President-Elect Obama and other officials regarding the disastrous Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.
      7. Mary Duquette found a moment to be writer and mother, without being at odds.

      Have a wonderful weekend, friends.

      Nov 28

      1 Comment

      Open House

      Feeling a little overfed today? Have another slice of pecan pie and enjoy a bit of surfing. Here’s our bi-weekly roundup of interesting goings-on from the personal blogs of Creative Construction community members:

      1. Christa Miller is making a big change.
      2. Liz Hum regretfully abandoned NaNoWriMo. She also turned 30. Happy Birthday, Liz!
      3. Susanne Fritzsche reflected on the 18 different women inside of her.
      4. Kelly Warren is thankful for the little things, including fallen cake.
      5. Emma-Jane Rosenberg celebrated 11 years of marriage.
      6. Lisa Damian checked on her list of things to do before dying.
      7. Benita Larsson posted very cozy pictures of her snowy street in Sweden.

      Enjoy the long weekend, if you’ve got one!

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