Another Award

I have one more award for the Papaya of My Eye Mystery Photo contest.

Old Brick

In August, I blogged (link, link) about the methods anthropologists use to determine the age of ancient ceramics.  

Here is an article about a brick from Roman times that turned up at Fort Vancouver. The brick may have been part of a cobblestone street or Roman ruin in Great Britain. Historians speculate that during Colonial times, the brick was recycled for use as ballast in an English ship that traveled to British Columbia. The brick is adorned with the paw prints of an ancient Roman cat that stepped in the wet clay about 2000 years ago.

Full Moon

Clouds dancing in front of the moon.

I didn't use special night settings on my camera, although I did modify the exposure to maximum brightness. Of course, I used a tripod. I haven't been able to replicate the effect I achieved with my old point-and-shoot camera.

Papaya of My Eye

As I'm sure everyone guessed, the Mystery Photo was papaya seeds.
















Awards:

I made the awards in PowerPoint which doesn't transfer well to blogger, so the writing is blurry.

Overheard #242

"All chords sound happy on the ukulele."

Mystery Photo

What is it?

The answer will be posted on Saturday (2/23/13).

Once again, there are no prizes. 

Last time I gave awards to the most creative answers.
They were all creative answers.

I never know if these are hard or easy. When I ask someone in my family if he can identify the photograph I’m planning to post, he usually reminds me that he watched me take the picture.

Sunday

I don't know how this chunk of ice got stuck on that branch, but he seems to be admiring his reflection.

(You can click on the picture to enlarge it.)

Overheard #241

"On top of that, you have to be perfect, and you have to be lucky."

Writing Advice

Yesterday I received this assignment for a writing workshop I will attend in March: 

“Please be prepared to introduce yourself by sharing the best piece of writing advice you have ever received. This advice should be presented "Pinterest" style--as a tag line....or epithet!” 

I was thinking of using, “Do whatever it takes to get the first draft down, then fix it.” Although, if I found a better, pithier, or more profound nugget of wisdom, I’d jump on it.  

My husband suggested, “Express yourself.” 

Jeremy said at his summer program at Berklee, they told him, “Write every day.” 

Help me out here. What is the best writing advice you have ever received?

Sunday

wilted tulips

Overheard #240

"I don’t think heavenly choirs do much with the lower register."

Sunday

I liked my daffs so much, I bought tulips.

Plus, we had a sunny day.

Later, the sky clouded over and the tulips opened.

A Fine Line

While most writers use exclamation points judiciously, many people apply them liberally to sentence endings.This punctuation mark confers various meanings, and the difference between a period and an exclamation point may be a fine line. 

A few weeks ago, I emailed the admissions department at The Berklee College of Music to inquire about an error on Jeremy’s application status page. His application fee had been marked both as paid and outstanding. I received a courteous reply acknowledging the receipt of the application fee. The email ended with, “Jeremy should be receiving a decision on January 31st!” 

I thought hard about that final exclamation point. Was it a mark of random enthusiasm, or was it a hint to reassure an overanxious mother? I decided it was the latter, but told no one. It would sound crazy. I’d be accused of overthinking arbitrary punctuation. 

It turns out, I was right, and I thank the kind administrator who nourished my little kernel of hope through the month of January.

Overheard #239

"They’ve figured out that there are a finite number of knots in free space."