I like the wordart.com site for creating word clouds that I then print out to make personalized stationery. If I know the recipient’s name [ex. if I’m writing to someone at moreloveletters.com], then I’ll be sure to make that person’s name the centerpiece of the cloud.
Plenty of writers are directing their thoughts and support to folks they know and some they don’t know, so my ‘project’ is nothing new or unique.
But it’s something that makes sense.
And…
it is a self-sustaining ‘volunteer opportunity’, which have dwindled ‘a bit’ since mid-March.
it’s one more feel-good checklist item for my day’s end ‘review’.
it’s so much better than watching the news.
it provides a layer of human contact
it’s been fun and rewarding and it will continue.
Let me know if you want to join me. I have a raft of resources that will make the project doable.
There are times when inspiration hits and I sit down and write three ‘notes to elders’ in one sitting. I have to do a better job of ‘setting the table’ [i.e. having my resources ready and available] for when inspiration hits, but when it all comes together…very rewarding.
Plenty of writers are directing their thoughts and support to folks they know and some they don’t know, so my ‘project’ is nothing new or unique.
But it’s something that makes sense.
And…
it is a self-sustaining ‘volunteer opportunity’, which have dwindled ‘a bit’ since mid-March.
it’s one more feel-good checklist item for my day’s end ‘review’.
it’s so much better than watching the news.
it provides a layer of human contact
it’s been fun and rewarding and it will continue.
Let me know if you want to join me. I have a raft of resources that will make the project doable.
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As part of my AOK Writing project, I’m creating a slide-based tutorial on fashioning your own inspirational message for those needing a little support and, using bit.ly, including the shortened/memorable URL in any handwritten note. There’s also no reason you can’t create a short inspirational video instead of a static message. Hmmm…
[Note: my tutorial includes the step of publishing a Google Slide to the web; there’s no reason you couldn’t just post your message on your blog and ‘bit.ly-ize’ your post. I just chose the other route to make the link more exclusive.]
The steps:
Create a PDF/PNG/JPEG poster of support or inspiration. I used Canva.
Place it on a blog page.
Create a bit.ly link to it and include the link in your handwritten letter/note.
Here is a 90-second video showing my steps that included Canva, Google Slides [optional], and bit.ly.
This off-kilter shot is all about featuring our beloved former dog Bear’s watchful eye.
I really had no choice.
It’s officially apple season and the golden delicious tree is burgeoning.
So, last Sunday I slapped together an apple crisp sans recipe, though my trusty assistant in culinary crimes–my wife and herder of Buddy the Rescue Dog–pulled up an Epicurious recipe for a crust topping as a guide. For the filling, I just knew what ingredients I wanted and went from there.
Result: a caramelly ooze —gee, go figure, when the cook indiscriminately tosses in plenty of brown sugar and enough flour…well, there were the sweet cherries and their juice, and the chunks of golden delicioius–well, you get the picture… and the crust was as good as the apple-goo.
On its own, this is a ‘will bake again’ item. As always, though, I did stray ‘just a bit’…
I added allspice to both the apple mixture and the flour mixture.
When it comes to cinnamon, I just don’t get the low doses in most recipes. Can’t remember the last time I actually measured cinnamon.
I added rehydrated Craisins.
I made my own ‘apple sauce’. I just mashed away at, and then seasoned, chunks of golden delicious with the pastry cutter. And mashed away some more.
Figuring on a more moist result, I used a loaf pan instead of a 9” x 13” pan.
Fearing there might be spillover, I scooped out about a cup of the mixture and slathered that into a greased pie pan. Gotta say, when revisiting this recipe, I’ll be tempted to go exclusively with pie pans. It’s a quicker bake and four smaller cakes open the door to more experimentation, say a little creme de cassis reduction for one of them…and Ree Drummond’s Easy Caramel Sauce for another. Come to think of it…I guess it wouldn’t hurt to have those on hand for slices of this current version…
The problem with a spillover cake is its insistence on immediate measures for quality control.
Buddy anxiously awaiting ‘his’ afternoon coffee time. He fully approves of fall flavors.
**“No, deeeear! I don’t know anyone named Autumn!”
I just noticed that I want a new default font on this program. I can’t move ahead with my day of extreme productivity (cool that I italicized it) until I change my default font.
I mean, it’s an expression of who I am and in 2020, it’s absolutely all about me.
So, what do I think?
Comic Sans?
Bodoni?
And do I want to bold it?
And god forbid, what font size do I want?
I might need a day to work through this and move my day of extreme productivity to tomorrow and keep today as my day of extreme angst over more important issues. (Still deserving of italics, I see.)
Yep, the life of a listless, shiftless writer is not an easy one. No one seems to understand that.
So I guess I am here on this earth to share that ugly truth with the world.
