JumpstART Artists at the Chatham Experience

I was honored to be one of the recipients of a 2021 Chatham Arts Council JumpstART grant for my literary project, which donated copies of Peggy Noodle, Hula Hoop Queen to four elementary schools and three libraries, and copies of Mine By Design to three libraries in the county. Now, the county is celebrating the recipient artists at the Chatham Experience on November 7, 2021.

I’ll be doing a reading from Peggy Noodle, and signing copies of this fun, pocket-size book. I may even have some hula hoops for sale. If you’re a supporter of the arts, I’m especially thankful for your efforts to continue making the world a more artful place during the pandemic.

Adventuretime! Plus one edition

We decided to take it easy today and walked around downtown for a bit, then had lunch at the Small B&B Cafe. With my son, who everybody is crazy about. Neither Rah-Rah nor I bothered with fixing up our hair today because we’re still on the tail end of a super windy day yesterday. I wore my Paris beret, and Rah-Rah said she didn’t feel like setting her hair for a Cat-5, so you get what you get. What adventures have you been up to lately?

I’m adding this here because it’s one of my favorite photos. Mom’s always willing to do the craziest stuff for a photo. Here, she’s dreaming of being a hula hoop queen like Peggy Noodle, Hoop Queen, in my first children’s book. Go, mom!

Adventuretime! Silver sneakers edition

Patty Pineapple is a force to be reckoned with, and in her late seventies still runs circles around people decades younger than her. She’s an old pro at Silver Sneakers and has great advice and resources on stretching and senior yoga. This week, she wowed us with her exercise ball … by the time I got home, my husband had ordered one for me and Rah-Rah. Now we are all badass athletes with professional equipment.

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Adventuretime! Nordic walking poles edition

Now that Rah-Rah’s an ‘active senior,’ and basically an athlete, we got her some Nordic walking poles. Or as she likes to call them, “my sticks.” My friend Denise’s mother, Omi, is German and an old pro at the walking poles and gave me some good advice: “Make sure you stand up straight, don’t reach out.” It was good advice, and jives with Rah-Rah’s habit of getting her hips under her before she begins walking … she’s got two bionic knees. Check her out:

Adventuretime! Vaccine edition

Have you gotten your COVID-19 vaccination yet? Our family is underway. Rah-Rah, Patty Pineapple and our son’s girlfriend, Leighronious have already gotten their first shots. My husband is up next, followed by me (community college adjunct) and our son (frontline journalist). Within the next 10 days, we should all be somewhere on the vaccination spectrum. Thanks to everyone in the community who’s doing their part to keep each other safe, and thanks to our frontline workers who are keeping the country going! PS. Check out mom’s new specs. #winning

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Adventuretime! Birthday coloring

Whereas my mother-in-law is a watercolorist in her retirement, Rah-Rah is a color-pencilist in hers. Check out her new coloring book. She’s not a drinker, so she had OJ Simpson to drink while I had rose while we colored.

Adventuretime! Tomato soup edition

Laziness ensued today, so we opted to make tomato soup and sit and visit. Our friend Carol sent me some great French nesting measuring cups. Check out Rah-Rah’s new specs.

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Adventuretime! in the New Year

I decided to begin what I’m calling Adventuretime! … a playdate with my mother and mother-in-law, where we do a little exercise for healthy bodies, a little activity for healthy minds, and a tasty lunch. To, you know, keep everybody from turning feral.

For our first Adventuretime! of the year, it was just me and Rah-Rah, having chicken noodle soup at her house and playing Connect 4 (her fave), because it was super cold outside. We did some chair stretches to get the blood flowing. As you can see, we started this endeavor at exactly the right moment because mom is clearly smoking crack. PS. Sometimes we don’t even fix our hair before Adventuretime! #rebels

Quarantine-TV

One of the unexpected upsides of quarantining has been rewatching old tv series we loved. Really, our only criteria was something that would make us laugh; something to lighten the mood and give us something positive to focus on. Thank god for satellites, subscriptions and streaming, right? So far, here’s what’s saved the days:

• 30 Rock … started March 26, 2020
• Wings
• NewsRadio
• Community
• Parks and Recreation
• Everybody Hates Chris
• Monk
• Psych
• M*A*S*H

And into 2021

• Frasier
• The Office

These shows reminded me of some of the greatest characters written: Jack Donaghy, Liz Lemon, Jimmy James, Rochelle, Leslie Knope … as a fiction author myself, it’s important to see interesting, compelling characters with depth and complexity that make it easy for everyone to connect with.

UPDATE: MAY 19, 2021 :: It’s important to note that today marks exactly 62 weeks since my cyber-superhero hubby had to travel for work. It also marks the first time since the pandemic quarantining began that he took his first flight for a project. Sigh … this is the how it’s supposed to be. Eventually life returns to normal and we must return noses to grindstones, but it doesn’t make it any easier knowing this is reality. I already miss quarantining.

I guess now we’ll steal glances at episodes of shows from years past that stand out, like WKRP in Cincinnati and the turkey drop.

Blixxkrieged

Holy cow, I realized last night that once again, I’m one step away from greatness.

In 2008, while I was a freelance writer with WRAL.com, I had the opportunity to interview a mighty tough contender–my first professional wrestler, in fact–even if he was only about three feet tall. If you recognize his signature move in my title, the you know I’m talking about Blixx.

Blixx is one of the micro-wrestlers on TruTV’s new show, Hulk Hogan’s Micro-Championship Wrestling. And he’s awesome. Don’t let the lack of height fool you … rather, take a look at that black lipstick, tattoos, stretchy wrastlin’ pants, and long locks: he’s badass. Here’s the WRAL interview. That’s his dad, by the way, doing the ‘El Kabong’ on him, not some strange preacher-dude wailing on him. See his championship belt?

I will tell you, however, that the day I interviewed Blixx, I nearly had a wreck turning into the church parking lot where we did the deed–he was sitting on a bench outside smoking a cigarette. And he looked like a little boy smoking out there, in the church yard. I had a very guilty moment of hysterical laughing. But even better than the shock of smoking was the details of the day: he was hanging out with the youth group at his father’s church before going to a wrestling match at a strip joint. As my managing editor said at the time, “He’s getting his church on before he gets his freak on.” One of the funniest sentiments ever voiced.

Indeed he was.

So good luck, Blixx. Hopefully you’re still in the running for whatever winning title you’ll receive by participating with Hulk Hogan. If nothing else, perhaps you’ll get an insider’s look at how to maintain that California boy tan and natural hair color. Yikes.