Frances Ellen Speaks!

Archive for the ‘Writing’ Category

About a week ago, I sent an email out to several friends asking them to share a favorite childhood memory with me. Many of those who replied were the same people who have been telling me they can’t write.

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know I strongly feel everyone should be writing something –anything– so that the only thing one leaves behind isn’t just ashes. What would be the point of your being here if that’s all you leave?

Don’t even think about keeping a diary. Because you probably won’t. However, having a notebook sitting on an end table, a pretty one with flowers or something on the cover, might be just the thing. If it’s there, maybe you’ll write in it once in a while. I guarantee someone from the future will thank you for it.

From time to time, I’ll show some of the responses I received to my question. The ones I’ve chosen to share today probably took a mere five minutes (if that) for the respondents to write.

Here’s one from Judy H. It’s only two sentences long, but it says a lot about how kids entertained themselves before computers, and about the lack of crime in our neighborhoods.

I think my favorite childhood memories were playing games in the street – like “giant step” and neighborhood games like “Cops and Robbers”. Those were the days when you could run around the neighborhood without being afraid.

This one is from Judy C. Again, very few sentences. This one is a whopping three sentences. Who knew before there were Good Humor trucks, there were Good Humor bikes?

Let’s, see, I think it would be when my grandfather was a VP with Good Humor. I used to visit the warehouse where all the Good Humor Ice Cream bicycles were kept and riding them around the warehouse, not to mention eating the Good Humor ice cream birthday cakes he used to have made for me. Wow, that was a looooooooooooonng time ago!!

It doesn’t get much more succinct than this from Denise O.

When my sister ;o) got me Tony the Pony
>Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox LOVE THAT TONY!!!

For the record, Denise is my sister and I bought the Tony the Pony for her birthday when she was four or five years old. Tony is a legend in our family. But who would know the story of Tony if we didn’t write about him?

Trust me, you need to buy yourself a notebook.

I have recently become the Resident Expert on Astrology at LifeScript.com. So, instead of finding my usual post here, I will direct you to my latest articles at LifeScript. If you are interested in Chinese Astology, you might enjoy reading about predictions for the Year of the Rat.

Or you may be interested in Aura Colors . Take the Aura Color Test.

Okay, I’m on my soapbox again, encouraging you to write something this week about yourself. If you do, I can almost guarantee one of your children or your grandchildren will thank you someday. You are living in their “good old days.”

I can’t tell you how many times I could kick myself for not asking my mother more questions about her life. Now it’s too late. The only things I have of hers, in her own handwriting, are a few recipes she gave me over the years. At least when I see her handwriting on the page, it helps me to remember other small things about her. I’m going to share one of her recipes with you at the end of this post.

But to get back to journaling, there’s so much to write about. Some suggestions:

• any kind of travel would be good
• all of your favorite recipes
• right now, the campaign for the presidency furnishes a bushel full of options
• what television shows won’t you miss
• what movie did you see recently that you absolutely loved
• if you are reading a book, try writing your own review

And remember, there’s no rule against being humorous. You can go in any direction, it’s your show. Someone mentioned to me a few weeks ago that she started writing stuff down occasionally and she does it in letter form, as if she is actually writing a letter to someone.

Or maybe something happens in the course of a normal day that seems worthy of preserving as a memory. Here’s one from Ireland.

I was driving home yesterday amidst a flood caused by a thaw of snow. We came to a big enough pool of water that stretch the entire width of the road. We watched as the car ahead of us passed safely through the water and then to my surprise the car stopped and waited. The driver waited to make sure we passed through the water safely.

Short, sweet and cute. That’s all it takes.

If you go somewhere…anywhere, write about it. Here’s a very short travelogue and a chuckle from Walking Around. She just returned from a trip to Wales.

So there you have it, one of my pep talks to get you writing and saving your memories. Now to the promised recipe from my mother.

Italian Wedding Soup

3 heads of escarole (found in the produce dept.)
1 lb. ground beef
2 eggs, scrambled
Chicken Broth, either homemade or 2 large cans Chicken Broth (my mother used College Inn)

First roll the ground beef into tiny balls about the size of your thumb nail. Set aside.

Wash the escarole leaf by leaf in a sink filled with cool water. Place leaves on a clean dish towel. There will be loads and loads of leafy greens, but they will shrink down when you drop them into a large pot of boiling water. Keep turning the escarole with a long wooden spoon until all of the greens have been submerged in the water. Cook until tender–about 20 to 25 minutes. To cool–transfer the entire pot to the sink and run cold water into it until the escarole is comfortable to handle. To remove most of the water from the escarole, squeeze the greens into fist-size balls. Cut through each ball, using a cutting board, about 6 times, slicing in two or three different directions.

Rinse out the same pot you used to cook down the escarole, and pour in the chicken broth. Most of the work is now done. Just drop the escarole and all of the tiny meatballs into the hot chicken broth. Cook on medium heat for about an hour.

Now for the scrambled eggs. Make sure the broth is boiling, then pour the eggs onto the surface of the soup. Use a tablespoon to swirl the egg around gently on the surface, creating little bits of cooked eggs. (This is reminiscent of confetti at a wedding–hence the name.) Once the eggs are cooked, the soup is ready to serve.

Optional: Some people like to sprinkle parmesan cheese on top of their soup, so make sure you have that on the table for those with that preference.

Enjoy.  And if you have a recipe from your mother that you’d like to share, feel free to send it as a comment.

Can you believe it? My blog has been awarded the E for Excellence by Catherine from The Political Voices of Women.

Along with the award comes the opportunity to award the big “E” to ten of my favorite blogs. Here goes.

1. I ran across this blog purely by chance because I happen to like the song As Time Goes By.
2. This blog has always tickled me. Where do all these unusual maps come from?
3. My friend writes a very thought-provoking blog. Visit her at Lee Cantrell Speaks.
4. If you’ve ever visited Paris (or not), you’ll love reading about the City of Love here.
5. I often read this political blog written by a woman, Barbara’s Blog.
6. This is an eclectic blog. I never know what I’ll find there. Changing Places.
7. It’s especially nice to know that there’s a thirteen year old out there blogging for her peers. Take a look at Nicole’s Blog.
8. I’m bestowing the “E” on this blog, because it often makes me smile. Don’t Tell the Children.
9. It’s about food, chocolate and Ireland. What’s not to like. It’s Ice Cream Ireland!
10. And last but not least, there’s always some interesting information about Social Security and Medicare at Entitled To Know

I got it into my head that I should try yoga. Pretty much, the only things I know about yoga are, it’s a form of relaxation, it helps with flexibility, it’s good for one’s balance and it doesn’t require me to bounce around too much.

I had one problem with the yoga class; it’s held at my local hospital for the 55+ gang on Tuesday evenings and, as it happened, I had an appointment to get a pedicure last Tuesday. Pretty much, what I know about pedicures is it’s a form of relaxation, your feet and legs receive a massage and it, too, requires no bouncing.

Hmm. What to choose, what to choose…

Image from

Here’s something to think about from Yoga Informer regarding relaxation.

The eye-catching promise of poise, grace, and flexibility are the common reasons why people—especially females—are being drawn to yoga classes nowadays. Having a similar stance with ballet, more and more people see yoga as a relaxing yet more elegant form of exercise.

But there’s something to be said for the pure pampering of a spa pedicure, too.

It isn’t often that a woman’s feet get to relax. Constantly on the go, with careers, family, and other commitments, the feet often take more than they deserve. Making the time to visit the beauty salon for spa pedicures rejuvenates the feet and keeps them looking their best.

Hmm. What to do, what to do…

I decided to check in on MSNBC to find out what ideas the exercise experts have beeen touting lately:

…new guidelines call for healthy adults to engage in moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity for at least 30 minutes five days each week…

…The new guidelines offered specific advice for people 65 and older, urging them to consider lifting weights, improving their strength to prevent falls, and working on flexibility exercises and balance training.

Okay, I can forget about the weight training. That’s not going to happen anytime soon while I’m dealing with a rotator cuff tear. But there’s that flexibility and balance training again. It’s clear I should give yoga a try. And as an added bonus, if I yoga my heart out for an hour each week, I’m half way to meeting the five day requirement–well, almost.

Being a firm believer in having the best of both worlds, I attended my first yoga class on Tuesday; I rescheduled my pedicure for Thursday. The choice wasn’t so complicated afterall.

Photo from

PHOTO FROM

It doesn’t happen that often, but when it’s time for me to buy a new car, I cringe. Last Saturday, I thought I had myself talked into visiting some car dealerships to test drive a few cars. But when Saturday rolled around, I couldn’t make myself go. My insides seized up, my head began to pound and I think I actually had a panic attack. I couldn’t leave the house.

By Monday, after giving it some serious thought over the weekend, I decided there must be a better way. Maybe if I didn’t have to deal face to face with a salesman, I might be able to hold on to my sanity. I decided to try out internet shopping. Did you know almost all car dealers now have an internet management group?

Don’t be thinking it’s all peachy keen, though. In some cases, you still have to put up with salesmen who prefer to give you information that they want to give you, instead of information you ask for. And there are still a few holdouts who won’t divulge their out-the-door price. (That is the bottom line that includes price of car, taxes, dealership fees, option costs, rebates, etc.). Fortunately, when you are working with this type of salesmen via email, you can just “delete” them and erase them forever from your life. It feels heavenly.

But for the most part, internet salesmen are happy to answer all your questions; to let you know what cars are in stock and, best of all, dickering over price is much more time efficient. Instead of sitting in the showroom waiting for the sales manager to bestow his reluctant blessing on each and every price reduction, you are sitting at home checking your email whenever it’s convenient for you.

Forays into the land of the hard sell are kept to a minimum, because it’s a lot more difficult for a salesman to pressure you via email, and those that did make feeble attempts to push, I was able to weed out the first day. Finally, I decided to concentrate on getting the best deal I could get on a Toyota Corolla.

There are three Toyota Dealers in my town and I spent three days corresponding with each of them. In the end, I decided to do business with Andy. He works out of a dealership named Courtesy Toyota; their name says it all.

Courtesy Toyota

Although price was my major concern, finding a likeable saleman also enteres into my equation. As the days wore on, it was Andy who patiently answered all my questions, made suggestions, made concessions. When we finally talked on the phone, he worked out a few more minor issues that were troubling me, such as, how could I get two cars to my home since I wasn’t planning on trading in my old car. His solution: two individuals from the dealership would follow me home.

All in all, my car buying experience was painless. I never thought I’d ever say that in this lifetime.

So, here you have it. Yet another reason why you should learn to make your computer work for you. Blogging and writing memoirs are a plus, but when the computer can save you time and money, it’s time to get on the bandwagon and make 2008 the year you’ll learn to utilize your computer to its fullest.