Jul
31
2007
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The topic for this week’s Denver Post haiku contest is COLORADO. Sigh, you think the editors at the Post could have thought of something a little more, I dunno, universal?
I’m sure that most of you are from out of state, so if you do decide to write the haiku, maybe you could do one on the stereotypes around Colorado - ski bunnies, cowboys, John Denver, mountain men, and cattle drives. Have fun with it and make it humorous.
The deadline is midnight Thursday (Denver time). Send your one stanza (5-7-5) haiku to lifestyle@denverpost.com or go online at www.denverpost.com/haiku to enter. (You can also read everyone else’s entries there.)
The weekly winner will win a $25 gift certificate to the Tattered Cover bookstore.
Jul
30
2007
I’m back from visiting friends in Chicago and attending BlogHer07. I’m exhausted, swamped with unpacking, and have a zillion things to do including a major grocery shopping trip. It’ll be a few days before I can write a post over at my other blog, A Mama’s Rant, on my experiences.
Travel writing is a little different than regular writing in that you must use all five senses to describe the scene to the reader. Was the place loud or quiet? Was it hot or cold? What did you smell - the exhaust fumes of passing trucks or the saltwater at the beach?
Writing Invitation One: Write a travelogue
Did you go anywhere this summer? Write a story about it! Don’t forget to use all your senses - hearing, touch, taste, smell, and sight - in your writing. The more details you use, the better the reader can experience what you did.
Writing Invitation Two: Write about a trip to the store
A trip to the grocery store with mom or dad is pretty mundane and something we take for granted. So work hard on adding in all the details. Was the freezer section cold? How did it feel on your skin? Could you smell the roast chickens in the deli section? Did it make you hungry? Were there any screaming babies? Did that distract you?
Don’t forget dialogue, too! What did the cashier say to you? Did you run into friends? If so, what was your conversation? |
Jul
26
2007
Burro’s Tortillas
by Terri Fields and Illustrated by Sherry Rogers is a Southwestern version of the Little Red Hen. Instead of hen we have Burro and his amigos Bobcat, Coyote and Jackrabbit. He doesn’t grow and grind wheat to make bread, instead Burro grows corn, grinds it with a metate, and makes it into delicious tortillas on a tortillera (tortilla press).
As usual, his friends are no help until it comes time to chow down. Goodness, when will they ever learn?
Included in the “For Creative Minds” section, a wonderful feature of all Syvlan Dell books, is a Spanish/English glossary to help you with the Spanish words in the book. There’s also this recipe for making tortillas.
Tortillas
Makes 8
Ingredients:
- 1 cup maseca flour (You can find this special kind of corn flour in the hispanic food section of your grocery store or at a Mexican market. Maseca is made just like Burro did in the book. Corn is cooked with a little lime that comes from burning limestone. Then it’s rinsed, dried and ground into a flour.)
- ½ to ¾ cup warm water
Equipment:
Mixing bowl and spoon or mixer- Slightly damp paper towels
- Wax paper
- Rolling pin
- Cast iron skillet or griddle
- Spatula
- Tortilla press (optional)
Directions:
- In a large bowl, mix together the maseca and ½ cup of water. Add the rest of the water one tablespoon at a time as needed. Mix together until the dough is smooth and forms a dough ball—about two or three minutes. The dough should be smooth but not too sticky.
- Divide the dough into 8 little balls and cover with the slightly damp paper towels to keep them from drying out. Cut off two square pieces of wax paper. Place one ball of dough at a time between the two sheets and use the rolling pin to roll into a circle (as best as you can). If you have a tortilla press, you can use it instead of the rolling pin.
- With an adult’s help, cook on a very hot, ungreased cast iron skillet or griddle. Use your spatula to flip the tortilla every 15 to 20 seconds until cooked (light brown). Wrap cooked tortillas in a small kitchen towel or cloth to keep warm and to prevent them from drying out.
I can’t think of anything more delcious than fresh tortillas. You can serve them plain or with some salsa, cheese, and refried beans. You can also cut them into strips and bake them in the oven until they’re crispy. Fantástico!
Jul
24
2007
Tracey at ClubMom’s Picture This is having a Kid’s Photo Contest. No, not photos of the kids but photos taken by them. My daughter Lucie is an amazingly good photographer for a four-year-old, so I’ll be submitting some of her work. (Hint: they’re probably pictures of her stuffed animals or her brother - two of her favorite things.)
Click here to find out to enter. And let me know if you’ve entered, too!
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How’s the Harry Potter reading going? Have you a funny story about the lengths you’ve taken just to read a few more pages. Give us your HP confession at my other blog, A Mama’s Rant.
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Has anyone out there contributed a haiku to the Denver Posts contest? If so, comment below and share what you entered. Don’t be shy!
The topic for this week’s Denver Post haiku contest is HEAT. It’s been in the 90s here so I’m not surprised they picked that topic.
The deadline is midnight Thursday (Denver time). Send your one stanza (5-7-5) haiku to lifestyle@denverpost.com or go online at www.denverpost.com/haiku to enter. (You can also read everyone else’s entries there.) As usual, the weekly winner will win a $25 gift certificate to the Tattered Cover bookstore. Get writing and good luck!
Jul
23
2007
I’m leaving for Chicago Thursday morning for BlogHer, a women’s blogging conference. I’ve been busy trying to get my writing work done before I leave. I write regularly on four blogs (including this one), semi-regularly on a couple of more, and have an e-newsletter and website update due for a client.
So much for having time to read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, darn it! My husband is out of town, so I’ve been reading it at night after the kids are asleep when I’m too pooped to write. I’ll be taking it on the plane, too.
You’ve probably finished it by now, so how about writing a Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows review? I know we already had a review writing invitation. But Shelfari, a social media site for book lovers, is having a “Seven Days of Harry Potter Seven” contest where you can win a variety of Potter-themed prizes, including a J.K. Rowling signed, first-edition copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
.
Any Shelfari user who reads Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows within seven days of its release is eligible to win the grand prize. To be entered into the contest, you need to join Shelfari, add the latest Harry Potter book to your Shelfari bookshelf, and contribute a review.
I haven’t joined Shelfari yet, but it’s on my to do list as a way to network with people who love to read.
Writing Invitation One: Write a Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Join Shelfari. Get your page set up. Put Deathly Hallows on your bookshelf. Submit your review. Keep your fingers crossed.
Parents: this is something you should do with your child. You must watch what your child does online, especially at social networking sites. Shelfari doesn’t have an age restriction and it does connect to Facebook. Sign up as a family or make it a mother/father-daughter or mother/father-son project to do with your child.
Writing Invitation Two: Write 7 Things About You that No One Knows About
In blogging, this kind of writing exercise is called a meme. A meme (rhymes with dream) is a list of questions that you saw on someone’s blog that you answer on your blog. Then someone sees it on your blog, and answers the list on their blog. And so on, and so on. It has a viral quality to it.
Since you’re probably not writing on a blog, pass the meme on to your family members and friends via email. Include everyone’s list in a final email. It’s a good way to keep in touch with friends and family you haven’t seen in awhile. Plus, you’ll have a good time discovering new things about each other. |
The topic for this week’s Denver Post haiku contest is COLORADO. Sigh, you think the editors at the Post could have thought of something a little more, I dunno, universal?
