On Looking Out Windows and Joan Walsh Anglund

Robin in winter snow January 2014

"A bird does not sing because he has an answer. He sings because he has a song."

                                                                                                   --Joan Walsh Anglund

I watched the snowfall this morning from an upstairs window. Floating flakes. Thick, blowing flakes. A cloud of swirling particles in silent white motion. How beautiful it all looked. Of course I was content to savor the beauty from a warm perch.

Downstairs hubby was also watching the wintry bluster from the vantage point of our porch room. I know this because I heard him say, "There's nothing sadder than a robin in a snowstorm." Oh dear. Poor thing. I hadn't even noticed.

But at about the same time I glanced at the shelf next to my chair and noticed a thin, almost-forgotten volume tucked away--Memories of the Heart, by Joan Walsh Anglund. I remembered that I had bought it at a library's used book sale a couple of years ago. Opening it up, I realized it's a treasure worth revisiting.

Familiar with Anglund's work? She's author and illustrator of more than 120 books according to her official website (here) maintained by those dedicated to keeping her work alive.

Born in 1926, Anglund lived in Hinsdale IL and Redding CT. She was educated at the American Academy of Art and the Chicago Art Institute. The popularity of her winsome words and illustrations peaked in the 1960s and 70s. Her themes were built on love, friendship and faith. Among her most popular books are A Friend is Someone Who Likes You, What Color is Love, The Brave Cowboy, and Love is a Special Way of Feeling. Later, images of her endearing round-faced characters and beautiful words translated into dolls, stationery, featured mugs and other incidentals. You might have seen such items in gift shops and Hallmark stores.

A sample of Anglund's words from Memories of the Heart:

Thought is the work 

   of the mind

as 

love is the occupation 

   of the Spirit.

***********

Wisdom is 

                                        as the morning light

...a gradual 

                           illumination.

***********

What shall we hold 

          tomorrow

       but 

         the love 

            we gave

                 ...today?

Beautiful, huh?

The Anglund book I now want to track down is Look Out the Window. I wonder what I'll find inside those pages? Anything like looking out my window at the snow this morning? Hmmmm.

And the robin? Well, I braved the cold and stepped outside later today hoping to get a picture of him. There he was (although my above photo doesn't do him justice--but you know how long birds stay still!) He wasn't shivering or huddling. He was actually chirping. He was not letting the cold stop him from sharing his song.

Made me kind of wonder.

It's a new year. Maybe I need to do things a bit differently. Like open my eyes and notice things more. Get more of my own words down while enjoying the words of others. And sing.

Are you familiar with Anglund's work? Do you have any favorites from her book list, or novelties? Should we carry some of her themes more in our hearts this year?

Want to take a peek at more of Anglund's sweetness? I found pinterest boards dedicated to her. Here are a couple of links:
http://www.pinterest.com/patchsamkim/joan-walsh-anglund/
http://www.pinterest.com/gagumbug/art-of-joan-walsh-anglund/
Enjoy!
                                          _________________________________

Snow Gifts

Garden Friends December 2013

"He brewed his tea in a blue china pot, poured it into a chipped white cup with forget-me-nots on the handle, and dropped in a dollop of honey and cream. He sat by the window, cup in hand, watching the first snow fall. 'I am,' he sighed deeply, 'contented as a clam. I am a most happy man.' --Ethel Pochocki, Wildflower Tea, 1993

Snow arrived today (estimates of up to 7 inches!), bringing with it a sleigh filled with gifts:

1. An excuse for another cup of favorite tea. Savor.
2. A good book to read--particularly next to a window with a view of the wonder. Snuggle.
3. A slower pace. Sigh and Smile.
4. Beauty and freshness, a hush and a stillness. Serenity.

About Wildflower Tea (Grades 1-4) from School Library Journal: "'One sunny Monday in May, an old man went out with a basket in one hand and a walking stick in the other...He stooped to caress a white stone polished smooth by the water and there, by the toe of his shoe, he spied some violets their faces turned up to his.' So begins a lyrical, seven-month record of a nature lover's scavenging. In November, the bounty he has reaped all summer provides his wildflower tea." 

Who was Ethel Pochocki? 
From Goodreads: "Ethel Frances Pochocki (1925-2010) was a children's book author living in Brooks, Maine. She developed a passion for books and writing working at the New York City Public Library. While raising eight children, she turned to writing in the early morning hours. Her writing career began when she won an essay writing contest about her experience taking in inner city kids with the Fresh Air Project in New York City." 

From About the Author, Amazon: "Ethel Pochocki described herself as 'an ordinary person' who happened to 'make soup and raise kids and write stories.' Both kitchencraft and the experience of raising children--eight of them--contributed to a whimsical, down-to-earth and understanding touch...she concocted adventures with the ordinary but vivid ingredients of life--'books, cats, music, frogs, hollyhocks.'"

Ethel sounds like someone I could relate to--"making soup, raising kids, and writing stories." Though I'd never heard of her before, I'm thinking about checking out her books now.

But maybe not until the snow stops falling.

How do you enjoy a snow day?

Hope you're able to enjoy it in safety. Have a super weekend.

_____________________________

Story Beginnings and Endings

We had quite an adventure over the weekend when we decided to brave the elements and climb the hill across the road from us. It was a hike Bill and I've taken before, but this time we hoped to get a good look at our house from up there. On previous hikes, we've been unable to see it because of the trees' foliage, but this time we were certain that a winter landscape would afford us a clear view. Confident, we headed out. Who cared that, after two snow storms last week, seven inches of snow covered the ground?

As we began, I found myself thinking about important elements in story lines, including a story's beginning, middle, and end. Here we were at our story's beginning, facing the challenge of a "quest." What obstacles would block our progress in the story's middle? How would we reach the end, goal intact, and maybe even learn something along the way?

Well, if you include the roundabout route we had to take, the deep drifts that nearly swallowed us, and the biting wind at the top that threatened frost bite (not really, but it sounds ominous!), we faced plenty of obstacles. We trudged, trekked, and floundered. And for what? Turns out we couldn't see our house after all--except for a small patch of red roof off to the the right. The scrubby brush was just too thick, even without leaf cover.

But so what? Though the end of our story turned out differently than we expected, we came away with something better--a new perspective, a sense of accomplishment, a fun memory to add to our repertoire. Things that will last long after the story is gone.

Why, come to think of it, maybe these are among the elements I've been searching for as I write my new story. What about you? What recent adventures have helped you in writing--or living--your story?

Beginnings and endings remain with the reader long after the story is gone. They are powerful, emotive signs cut into the storytelling trees. Pay attention to them. Work hard on them. Ignore them at your peril. Otherwise you will get lost in the woods of your writing and never find your way home. --Jane Yolen, A Writer's Guide to Loving the Craft