Sprawled across the bed last night, lamplight shining warmly on my book, my hair in a loose knot sealed with a scrunchie, I saw something moving in the corner of my eye, and turned to follow it.

At first I thought I was seeing a reflection of the neighbor’s backyard light. It’s one of those tall arcing boat-dock lights and glimpsed through wind-blown trees often reminds me of a lamppost one might find in Narnia (or the back of a wardrobe), but their light was off.

I raised my hand, noticed the glittery fleck moving in tandem and had to laugh. I was seeing light reflected from my diamond rings, the larger engagement one, and the smaller wedding band with it’s platinum inset, sheaves of wheat on the sides, and microscopic diamond chips.

I laughed because these rings – both of them – are tiny, and in truth the diamond in the engagement ring is flawed. I know this because my grandmother told me the story of it often. How my grandfather bought it for all of $75, how she loved the way it would sparkle.

When I used to visit her in the nursing home, after she’d passed it down to me, she would hold out her hand for mine, and move our clasped fingers into the light. “See it shine,” she’d say, with a soft smile on her face and memories dancing in her eyes.

I knew, in those moments, that she was living fifty years in the past when love was new and her body and mind worked in tandem with each other instead of against.

Last night, after my moment of realization, I closed my eyes and imagined her voice, a little shaky, but still very much alive, saying, “Look at it sparkle. See it shine.”

And for just a fraction of a second, I smelled her powder and perfume.

It may be early in November, and not particularly cold, but the sky beyond my window is a chilly steel-gray, of the sort that creeps through the windows and hangs inside the house making it seem as though there’s never enough light.

I’ve kicked the heat on, just a little, to chase the chill from the air, but I still feel sort of drug-addled from the color of the light. So tempting to light every candle and put a log on the fire, but it really isn’t cold enough for the latter, and I desperately need to restock my votive supply.

I had cinnamon stick tea earlier, but I think a pot of coffee is called for now.

First, I’m cheating at NaNo. I’m using it to finish the concept I’ve been playing with and had hoped to have done by mid-October, but then had to put aside because of work.

I’ve since learned to balance work and life better. So I’m using November to write the draft, and am bringing it in pieces to Mexico, where my step-father, who wields the Red Pen of Doom and the Blue Pencil of Destruction with equal prowess, will help me create order out of chaos.

No, really.

Those of you who’ve agreed to read it will be contacted after whatever December holiday you choose to celebrate, or the first of the new calendar year, and be asked if you’re still interested in receiving a draft.

Please offer much encouragement. I have many days when I wake up feeling like every word I write is completely suckful. Coffee and flowers are welcome as well. Please do not send chocolate, as I’ve lost almost 30 pounds so far, and am still working on the project that is ME.

Well, maybe a little bit of chocolate.
The really dark kind.

Fragments are available at Universal Blend. Comments are welcome, but please be aware that everything there is completely raw, completely unedited, has no continuity yet, and is in no semblance of order.

Oh, and, as I just tallied for The Fabulous Clay, I have SIX other projects in the works after this one…

Thank you for your time and consideration.

A few weeks ago, kids from a local scout troupe were door-knocking in our neighborhood, asking if they could rake leaves for $5 / bag as a fund-raiser. Sadly, we have a gardener armed with rakes and a leaf blower, and had no leaves to offer them, so I gave them a donation of $20, and wished them luck. I’m not particularly pro-scout, though I was a brownie when I was a kid, but I think kids who are doing anything for a cause should be encouraged.

Besides, they’re so cute and eager at that age.

It got me wondering about the stuff I did when I was in grade school. The Scholastic Book catalogs, the candy sales, the M.S. Read-a-thon. Does anyone still do read-a-thons? And if they do, are they still raising money for research and treatment of multiple sclerosis, or is the cause more modern now. Are kids reading in support of treatment for malignant mesothelioma instead?

I participated in the read-a-thon for several years, but my favorite was the year we lived in Ocean Grove, New Jersey, a cute beach-front town, just up the shore from Asbury Park. I’d solicited all the neighbors, but one of them said he’d only sponsor me if I came and gave a brief report of each book I’d read. I thought that was fair.

I’m a fast reader, so every couple days I’d visit and give overviews of what I’d read so far. I think the neighbor was impressed, at first, and a little concerned for his wallet, by the end, but he kept his part of the bargain, as I had mine.

I kind of miss the days when picking up a book was a way to promote change.

I say… And you think… ?

1. Assets :: Joint
2. Concern :: Cause for
3. Over the top :: Lifestyles of the rich and tasteless
4. Supplies :: Office
5. Mustache :: Twirling
6. Doug :: Henning
7. Coach :: Purses
8. Bleachers :: Bums
9. Stripes :: White
10. Assortment :: Array

I found this week’s words a bit awkward. Nothing really struck me about them. Maybe it’s the cold meds.

Like this meme? Play along here.

When you run a small business, one of the things you have to resolve as early as possible is what kind of phone system you want to use. I remember endless conversations with providers, stacks of catalogs and finally, desperately, calling Mike the Phone Guy who came with his little green Radio Flyer wagon, clad in overalls and an engineer’s cap, to help us sort everything out.

Mike was great. He introduced us to the world of PBX phone systems, and explained how they worked, that we could have virtual extensions, headsets for roaming, and even a digital receptionist to route calls, as well as unlimited expansion of voicemail boxes without having to add numbers. At the time, we didn’t understand how cool PBX systems are. Now, after working with a company that refused to spend the money for good phone, and then working for one of the largest financial institutions in the world, I understand better why your phone system can make or break your company.

And that’s why I like Talkswitch. It’s a PBX system designed for small businesses, so you don’t have to buy a thousand pieces to get the best rates on hardware, and it’s a hybrid system. That means it works over VOIP and analog phone lines, and that combination is important, because VOIP saves you huge amounts of money on long distance calling, but if the network goes down, or there’s an emergency, you need to be able to just dial.

Talkswitch is also great because it’s designed for the do-it-yourself small business owner. It doesn’t require an office building with a whole phone room – you can install it in the all-season porch you’ve turned into an office, if you need to. It’s scalable, as well – you buy what you need, and the number of licenses you need, and expand as necessary.

The other really cool think about Talkswitch is that it works with offices in multiple locations, integrating all the different extensions so if you’re on the road, or have employees in other states, or any number of possible combinations of homes and offices, no one ever misses a call, and callers have one central number to dial.

Having experimented with many PBX systems, I’m comfortable recommending Talkswitch, which you can buy from a company called NeoBits. They work both over the phone and online (neobits.com) and have discussion forums as well as product faqs for you to browse through. TalkSwitch isn’t their only product, of course, but if you need a small business phone solution, it’s the one they recommend.

I think Mike the Phone Guy would agree.

From CafeWriting.com:

November: Option Five: Seven Things
In improvisation, one of our exercises is a game called “Seven Things,” in which we go around in a circle giving each other the challenge, “Give me seven things that [whatever]” We are not going to go around in a circle, here, but if you’re drawn to lists, this prompt is for you.

Give me seven of your favorite words. You don’t have to explain them, but it’s more fun for readers if you do.

• Vivacious – People who don’t know me really well sometimes think I’m bubbly. “Bubbly” implies “dingbat” to me, and I’m not a dingbat. I will claim vivacity, instead. It’s more sophisticated than perky, and more grounded than frothy, but still very much a word that goes with pink hair.
• Brilliant – I like saying this word. I like the way you can separate the i/a dipthong just a little and make it sound more grown up than when you let the last syllable be “yant”. I like the way it describes luminescence as well as intelligence. I’m not brilliant, but sometimes I can fake it well.
• Y’all – I picked up this word on the web, but never used it outside of text until moving to Texas. Most of the Texans I know aren’t from here either, but we’ve all adopted this word into our personal lexicons. Why? It’s sweet. It’s efficient. It’s cozy. And just enough southern to add regional flavor without coming off as a hick.
• Tintinnabulation – Anyone who loves Poe understands the appeal (no pun intended) of this word. In truth, I love onomatopoeic words in general, but this one is my favorite.
• Superfluous – I hear this word and I’m hanging out with my friends Devon, Michael and Karla in junior high, and we’re having fun mimicking our algebra teacher / gym coach (well, for the girls) Seena Rhine. She used this word a lot. If someone asked what it meant, she’d say, “look it up,” then tell them how to spell it. She was a truly kind person, but never coddled us. It’s funny, but I haven’t thought of her in years.
• Imagine – Fewer words have more power, more possibility, more danger, all wrapped up in their letters. If we can imagine it, we can achieve it, improve it, acquire it, appreciate it, and go to bed with satisfied smiles on our faces.
• Story – “Tell me a story.” “What’s the story, morning glory?” “That’s our story and we’re sticking to it.” “Get the story straight.” We live, breathe, act, trade parts of ourselves, share our traditions, hopes, dreams, fears, loves and losses, all through the medium of Story. We are a people of Story. Madeleine L’Engle wrote that we have a God of Story. Whether we are losing ourselves in fiction, or living vicariously through the accounts of real adventures, we are experiencing story, and creating our own stories. How can I NOT love this word?

November Prompts are ready and waiting at CafeWriting.com.

In honor of Na [Noun] [Verb] Mo, the theme is “writing.”

Come play in our sandbox, where the napkins are soft and the coffee is always free.
(But the croissants will cost you.)

CafeWriting: November Project