Today is "I Love to Write" Day!

From the website:

“My goal for I Love To Write Day is to have people of all ages spend time writing,” says John Riddle, Founder. “They can write a poem, a love letter, a greeting card, an essay, a short story, start a novel, finish a novel…the possibilities are endless. But I want people to take the time to put their thoughts down on paper. They will be amazed at the results. Writing can be fun, but also challenging. People need to be challenged, and writing is but one of many creative ways to express yourself. I am very excited because I Love To Write Day activities are already being planned all across the United States. When people become stronger writers, they become better communicators, and everyone wins.”

I have always loved to write--it's almost as natural to me as breathing. That's one of the reasons I love to blog. So this is a day I can definitely get behind!

I encourage you to write something today. In the meantime, here are some images and quotes to celebrate the day!

"It is necessary to write, if the days are not to slip emptily by. How else, indeed, to clap the net over the butterfly of the moment? For the moment passes, it is forgotten; the mood is gone; life itself is gone. That is where the writer scores over his fellows: he catches the changes of his mind on the hop." ~Vita Sackville-West




“From a thank-you note to the sonnets of Shakespeare, writing reveals the things of our hearts. Through writing we share everything from our summer vacations to fictional worlds filled with wonder. We write from the depths of our heart, the edge of our funny bone, and every place in between. And the only prerequisite is that you do it from your own heart. Even in our technology-driven world, writing keeps us connected and provides a conduit for our creativity.”--Thomas Smith

Source: ourbusyhomeschool.blogspot.com via Cindy on Pinterest

Flashback Friday: The Toys of Childhood

Mocha with Linda hosts this fun meme. Go here to play!

Oh, and once again I'm combining this with another fun meme, Company Girl Coffee.


What toys do you remember from your childhood?--I can remember, as a very little girl, getting a baby doll for Christmas that I absolutely loved. This was one of the first dolls that actually felt soft, like a baby, instead of being made out of hard plastic. (I am showing my age here!)

I remember it had a bottle with fake milk in it that never actually came out, but it could look like the baby was drinking it. I loved that doll!

I was never into the Chatty Cathy-type doll, because I had seen a Twilight Zone episode in which that type of doll came to life and killed a family. Eeeesh!

However, as you'll see in the next question, dolls soon became supplanted by a few passions: reading, writing, and recording. It's amazing how at a very young age, my future career was already being presaged!

What did you like to do to entertain yourself?--My sister and I created elaborate stories that we acted out. We were Kay and Donna, two teen-aged sisters (several years older than we actually were, of course.) Kay and Donna were pretty, grown-up, and had boyfriends.

Sometimes when we went out to eat with our parents, we were thrilled to get to sit in our own booth so we could pretend to be Kay and Donna.

My dad had a reel-to-reel tape recorder when we were little girls, and we would record ourselves singing and having our own radio show. I never dreamed that I would grow up to have my own radio shows!



Later, when technology graduated to cassette tape recorders, I would interview anyone who would let me. Some of the funniest recordings were those in which I was interviewing my baby brother and my little nieces. I wish I still had some of those cassettes--and something to play them on!

Mostly, I would read. My favorite thing to do was sit in my bed with my knees up, getting totally and completely lost in a book. A couple of times my knees actually got locked in that position--no lie!



Did you mostly play inside or outside? Did you ride a bike all over the neighborhood?

As I look back on my childhood, it's really amazing how much time I did spend outside. There were days my mom sent us outdoors, pretty much with instructions not to come back in until she told us to.

That was a much safer era, and kids could play outside and even run around the neighborhood without much fear. I feel really sad for the children of today who missed out on that more innocent time.

My sister Lisa and I would play outside tirelessly, but it usually wasn't organized sports. For example, we would hike through the woods across the street and pretend to be missionaries in the jungle. (Most of our play seemed to involve role-playing and/or pretending!)

Lisa was very athletic and would throw a football, etc, but I shied away from sports, basically because I stunk at them. However, I did have a bike, and I absolutely loved riding it.

Was there a toy you always wanted and never got to have? I would have loved to have had a Barbie Dream House. My cousin had one, and I coveted it strongly.

But all in all, if I had books and paper, I was pretty contented.




Hmmm...things haven't really changed much!

Click on the icon to check out Flashback Friday!




P.S. I hope it's OK that I'm once again combining Flashback Friday and Company Girl Coffee, another meme I enjoy. Click the icon below to participate in Company Girl, which is hosted by the lovely Home Sanctuary!