Wednesday, November 23, 2022

Gratitude This Thanksgiving


I'm feeling very grateful this November. Since my post in September, a number of groovy things have happened. 


(photo by Kari Gunter-Seymour)

On October 15, I traveled to Coshocton, Ohio, to participate in the final I Thought I Heard a Cardinal Sing: Ohio's Appalachian Voices reading at the gorgeous Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum. I also spent some treasured time with two very dear and generous friends, Robin and Dick Mullet, and their sweet little Nora. 



James and I have been celebrating autumn: we had delicious meals at White Oaks and Antica and enjoyed a clambake at Jake's on the Lake.




 

November's Lit Youngstown Fall Literary Festival was fabulous beyond words! It was so good to see so many dear friends and to make so many new ones. The programming was excellent, and I thoroughly enjoyed the readings and presentations I attended. Much gratitude to Karen Schubert for making it all happen. I was honored to participate by giving my "NAG the Competiton: A Guide to Titles and Marketing" presentation. Next year's Festival is already on my calendar! 


(photo by Melanie Buonavolonta)

My poem "Up the Mountain" is in this copy of Slipstream. Many thanks to editors Robert Borgatti, Livio Farallo, and Dan Sicoli. It's such a beautiful magazine. This is their Bread-Blood-Beats themed issue. "Up the Mountain" includes the line Blood doesn't always call to blood.

I'm overjoyed to report I received a message that my poem "In the Thick of It" will be included in the upcoming issue of Pudding Magazine! Thank you, C.W. Everett, Kathleen Burgess, and Rose Smith for giving me the opportunity to be a part of Pudding's final issue.
                          
HOORAY! I finished my Winking Lizard Tour of Beers and got my Winking Lizard jacket (and a $25 Winking Lizard gift card)! Why am I so excited about it? It was one of my goals for the year after I retired in 2020. That —ah—didn't work out. It's nice to finally achieve what I set out to do almost three years ago. For the record, it took one hundred different beers over the course of the year (2022)!

                                                                              

                            

For something different, James and I went to the Empty Bowls by the Lake event at the Avon Lake High School this past weekend. It was fantastic! For a donation of twenty dollars each, we received our choice of a pottery bowl and unlimited soup and bread. There were twenty-one different (and oh, so savory!) soups from local restaurants and bars, and there were multiple tables of pottery bowls to choose from. In addition, there was live entertainment and a very impressive array of baskets for silent auction. All proceeds were to benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank and other local food banks. I couldn't get enough of Rocky River's Market's "Signature Chicken Paprikash" and James loved the shrimp and lobster chowder from Avon's Longhorn Steakhouse. 

James chose the "flame" bowl, and I chose the pastel one. Kudos and many thanks to the artists who created them.



Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and James and I will be enjoying a tasty take-out turkey dinner from Fat Cat's in Tremont. We both are truly grateful for all of you who make our world a better place with your love, generosity, friendship, encouragement, assistance, and acceptance. Salute!
 
                                         ("Borsenik's Law," Speak of the Devil, October 2022)