Tag Archive for: Marilyn Meredith

Dreaming

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How’s your dream world treating you?

I’ve read some writers say that a dream gave them an idea for a book. I could never put anything I dream into a book. Not only are my dreams vivid, in color, but they are also weird.

After I quit smoking, for years I dreamed I was still smoking.

I dream about the house I grew up in–though I’m an adult in the dreams and the house was demolished for a freeway.

The house we had in Oxnard is often the setting for my dreams. We remodeled that house several times, and I’ve dreamed about it in all the different stage s of remodeling. The neighborhood around the house doesn’t resemble the true neighborhood at all. The houses are huge, three and four stories and in stages of disrepair. I don’t think I’ve ever seen any houses like that, yet I’ve dreamed about them many times. I’m usually trying to get somewhere.

One night recently I dreamed about a lady who goes to our church. She offered to take me home and we drove on a narrow mountain road (no, you don’t have to take a mountain road to get to my house) and all of a sudden she drove down another steep road that went right into a huge lake. She couldn’t stop and there we were. She couldn’t swim so it was up to me to save her. I woke up and have no idea how that ended. I’ve turned the woman down a couple of times when she’s offered to drive me home, just in case, but I finally rode with her and she managed to get me to my house without driving into the drink.

I’ve had a recurrent dream about driving high into the mountains and finding the road impassable because of snow and getting out and trying to hike to the place I needed to go. (I would never drive into the mountains on my own–and I’m not all that fond of snow so I’d never get out and hike in it.)

My most frequent dream is being in most any place: camping, a large hotel, someone’s house and trying to find a bathroom. If I do find one, there’s no door, or long lines waiting for only one bathroom, or a bathroom with no toilet. When I wake, of course I need to make a trek to my own bathroom.

I’ve dreamed that I could fly several times. All I had to do was stand in a corner, raise my hands over my head and off I went–and I could actually go right through the ceiling and up into the sky. (Sounds more like astral projection than flying.)

I dream a lot about writing conferences and not being able to find my way to where I’m supposed to be going. If I’m presenting in my dream, I can’t find my materials, or they are all jumbled up.

Though I can certainly figure what sparked a lot of these dreams, others are a puzzle. Many of them border on nightmares, but I kind of enjoy them.

So what kind of dreams do you have? Do you dream in color or black and white? Can you figure out what your dreams mean?

Marilyn
http://fictionforyou.com/

Angel Encounters

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Last week I wrote about Angels and was asked to tell about an Angel encounter.

Here’s my favorite.

A young mother I knew was coming home after attending a retreat, and was driving over a mountain pass. As I recall her telling of the event, the weather was bad and her car veered off the road, landing in a ditch. She was thrown out of the car and landed with her head back at an angle which made it almost impossible for her to breath.

A man came along and held her head up and gave her encouraging words. When the paramedics arrived a long time later, she asked to thank the man who’d been holding her head so she could breathe.

The paramedic told her, “Ma’am, no one was on the scene when we arrived.”

She was told it was a miracle she hadn’t choked to death on her blood.

That was an angel who kept that from happening.

Another encounter happened to my daughter and son-in-law years ago when they were very young and before cell phones. They were on a seldom traveled, narrow mountain logging road. They were with another couple and for some reason that I no longer remember, the women were in one car and the men in the other. The men were driving too fast, and the car they were in went off the side of the road. Horrified, the women stopped. The men’s vehicle was about halfway down a ravine.

The women didn’t know what to do. They were too far to walk anywhere to find help. All of a sudden two men in a truck came by. They went down to see if the husbands were okay–they were hurt but not seriously. The strangers had what was needed to pull the car back up on the road, checked to see if it ran–it did.

Before anyone could ask who the men were, they jumped back in the truck and drove off. They were angels. Skeptics might have other answers, I prefer to believe that angels are here watching out for us.

I bet other people have stories they could share.

Marilyn

Ghosts and Angels

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Anyone who has known me for anytime at all has heard about all the haunted places hubby and I have stayed or visited: The Queen Mary, Room 17 in the Bella Maggoire Bed and Breakfast, the hotel across the street from the Alamo. Just this weekend we went on a ghost tour and visited the haunted Ventura Courthouse (while wandering around in the dark halls of the jail I’m positive I glimpsed a wraith) as well as other old hotels in the area.

My grandkids sincerely believe our house is haunted–and it may be, we have doors that open and close on their own. I have my own theory about ghosts, I think they maybe no more than echoes from the past. If you think about the fact that their might be another dimension, what went on before could very well still be hanging around.

Angels are a whole other story. Because I am a Bible student, I firmly believe that angels are surrounding us all the time, many examples are in the Bible, Old and New Testament. Good ones, those who look out for us, and the fallen angels (demons) whose agenda is totally different.

I’ve heard far too many miracles where angels intervened. According to the Bible, angels sometimes take on human appearance–hence the stranger who helped out at an accident and saved someone’s life and then disappeared before anyone could find out who he was. (And yes, I do know some personal stories where this has happened, but it would take far too long to recount them.)

Anyone who believes in ghosts ought to believe in angels too. Ghosts are fun to think and talk about, but the angels are the ones who actually intervene on our behalf.

Marilyn
http://fictionforyou.com

Looking Forward to 2010

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I’ve been reading everyone’s resolutions with interest–some have long, long lists filled with self-improvement ideas, other write about hoped for achievements in the coming year, even a few include what they’d like to see happen on a more global aspect.

Frankly, I don’t write resolutions because to put them down on paper would mean I’d be overcome with guilt when I didn’t do them. Instead, I’m just going to try to do what I know I need to do.

First, because I write two series, I know I must hunker down in front of the computer and get my imagination fired up and put myself inside the world of Deputy Tempe Crabtree and make sure she has some intriguing mystery to solve along with a great deal of adventure. (That’s the book I’m working on now.)

My latest Rocky Bluff P.D. crime novel will be coming out sometime soon and I’ll need to plan a book launch, a virtual book tour and all the other things I do to promote both books.

A little more exercise wouldn’t hurt since I notice I’ve gotten a bit rounder after all the good holiday eating.

Spending time with my hubby and family is always a must–I don’t need to write a resolution to do that.

As far as what’s happening in the world, I know I don’t have any control over that–frankly, I don’t have any control over what happens in my family. I’ll pray for them both, that’s the best I can do.

For my fellow members of the Stiletto Gang and all those who read our blogs, I wish you the very best of 2010 and may all your dreams for the year come true.

Marilyn
http://fictionforyou.com

Church Christmas Dinner Big Success

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Despite the nightmares I had about oversleeping and not getting my turkey into the oven on time, I managed to bake my 17 lb. turkey, make two big trays of dressing, two with the “green bean casserole”, and one tray of yams with marshmallows ontop.

Hubby carved the turkey and we hauled the food over to church. The room was all set up with red tablecloths, candy in little dishes on each table, and poinsettia plants here and there. One table held a coffee pot, another container of punch and one with hot cider. Another table had all sorts of homemade deserts, pie, cakes, cookies and even fudge.

The serving table was loaded with ham, turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, yams, green salad, rolls, and sweet bread. Some of us stood behind the table and served up what people wanted. Others brought more food out from the kitchen, while others quickly prepared or brought out more of whatever dish we ran out of.

The paper had a notice in the Christmas morning addition and there was big sign inviting anyone who needed a place to go for Christmas dinner out on the highway. The dinner was to start at 1, but we began serving people at noon.

Many of the people we fed were the workers–and lots of members of my family since I usually have Christmas dinner at my house. However, we had many people come we’ve never seen before. And it was obvious they really appreciated (and needed) the Christmas dinner. We delivered 8 meals to people who called asking for them, and one family was picked up and brought to the church and taken home afterward.

It was a lot of work–but it was also a joy. What a great way to spend Christmas day! My daughter-in-law, son and grandson helped serve the food and enjoyed themselves. My granddaughter put people’s names on name tags.

I hope we do it again. I’m really proud of our tiny church, it is definitely a church with a big heart and I think we truly showed our Christmas spirit.

(I’m a terrible photographer–frankly I took these photos and then totally forgot to take any more. Of course most of the time I was behind the serving table, dishing up food for people.)

Marilyn

Christmas is Coming, Tra La Tra La

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Thought I’d show off one of great grand-daughters in her Christmas finery. Her daddy brought her to church yesterday and I thought she looked really cute. She’s six going on sixteen. She has beautiful curly hair and informed me that she’d straightened it.

That reminded me of when my girls were young they wanted their hair to be straight (no one really had curly hair but they wanted straight hair like the Skipper doll) and so they took turns ironing each other’s hair, putting waxed paper over it and ironing it with a regular iron. Things are much easier nowadays to make oneself beautiful.

Frankly I think Kay’Lee’s hair looks great curly, but I’m only her great-grandmother, my opinion doesn’t count. We took her and her dad out to lunch after church and she seemed to know everyone in the restaurant, her school bus driver who came in to get a to-go order, a fireman who was standing outside with other firemen when we went in, and others who came in. (That’s sort of the way her dad is too.)

You may have guessed, I just wanted to write something a bit lighter than what we’ve been reading and hearing lately. I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday time and for those who celebrate Christmas, I hope you’ve finished decorating, bought most of your gifts and have your Christmas cards ready to go.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays,

Marilyn
http://fictionforyou.com

A Wonderful Christmas Past

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Years ago I belonged to a sorority–no, not the college kind, this one was social–whose primary purpose seemed to be having fun. We had once a week get-togethers and a party once a month at someone’s house which our husbands were invited to. There was always a theme and we usually danced. We also had get-togethers with other sororities in our area, ones where we wore long dresses.

During this time I was a teacher at a pre-school for developmentally disabled kids.

It bothered me that our sorority didn’t do any service projects, I’d never belonged to anything where we didn’t do anything useful for anyone else. One of the consultants who worked with the kids at our school told me about a family with three kids, one developmentally disabled, and the father had lost his job and they had no money for Christmas.

I approached the sorority members, told them about the situation and proposed that we provide Christmas for this family. The women thought this was a great idea. We found out the ages of the children and everyone bought gifts. We also got a tree and decorated it. (This was before they sold all the pre-decorated phony trees.)

We gathered all the food needed for a Christmas dinner including homemade pies and some extra groceries too.

We loaded up the back of my station wagon (I always had station wagons, after all, we had five kids) and four of my sorority sisters went with me on delivery day. We located the address, an apartment house. A man was working on his car in front of one of the garages. We called out and asked if he knew this particular family. He said that was his family.

“Great, we have something for you.”

He looked bewildered, but started helping us carry everything upstairs to their apartment. He opened the door and we brought everything in. The mom and kids stared at us wide-eyed and open-mouthed.

When we’d deposited everything, the man asked, “Who did this? Where did this all come from?”

One of the gals said, “You have heard of Santa Claus haven’t you?”

We left giggling all the way down the stairs and on the drive back home. What a wonderful feeling that was and I didn’t feel quite so bad about belonging to a sorority that’s primary goal was having fun.

Marilyn
http://fictionforyou.com

Giving Something of Ourselves

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Today a new member of our church challenged us to give something of ourselves for Christmas. His proposal is that those who feel led to help put on a dinner for those at the church or in town who have no where else to go for Christmas.

Usually we give the fixings for a Christmas dinner for those who ask. We always do the same at Thanksgiving. This is something different though, this is a real commitment because not only do some of us need to cook, he suggested that there be greeters at the door, volunteers to transport people who might need a ride, someone to hand out name tags, and that we sit and visit with people we don’t know. It also means giving up Christmas day at home.

As I sat in the pew thinking about it, I realized that our family, those who actually come to the house for the gift-giving, do so on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Day we have the big dinner at one o’clock, the same time as this church dinner is being proposed. So–I could cook a turkey, make a big container of dressing and another of yams and take it to the church.

Since my son’s family live next door and always come for Christmas dinner, I wasn’t sure how they would react to this–but they were sitting on the same pew and heard the same proposal. After church we went out to eat together and I said, “I think I’m going to cook a turkey and some of the trimmings for the Christmas dinner.”

My daughter-in-law said, “I think I’d like to be a part of that too. We can all go over to the church and have our dinner there. My granddaughter said, “I could do the name tags.”

This is quite an undertaking as our church is really small. This morning I bet we only had about 30 people there–some were still off somewhere for the Thanksgiving holiday. Our little town is interesting–there are lots of rich retirees and there are a lot of down and outers, many of them live in what used to be a tuberculosis hospital that’s been turned into low income housing for the elderly and handicapped. I suspect that’s where a lot of people will come from.

You know what though, I bet this will turn out to be something we’ll all love being a part of–and if it doesn’t work out like we’re hoping, well, we’ll have tried.

And that’s how the Christmas season is beginning in my neck of the woods–or should I say in the foothills of the Sierra.

Marilyn

Thanksgiving Past and Present

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On Facebook a challenge was put out to tell something that we are thankful for everyday until Thanksgiving. That is not a hard task for me. I have so much to be thankful for, I’ve been truly blessed by having a loving husband, a large family, many friends, and a career that I love–actually there have been more than one of those.

Today, though, I’d like to write about Thanksgivings past and present.

When we were kids (my sis and I) growing up we always went to my grandparents house in South Pasadena for Thanksgiving along with my aunt, her husband, and their one child, a daughter. We were never allowed to wash or dry grandmother’s good dishes, so we always headed outside. Only a block or two away from grandma’s house were mansions. We loved to walk around and snoop, peeking inside gates and walking up long driveways to gaze at these huge houses. Once my sister and I played tennis (or tried to play) in someone’s tennis court that was right inside the open gates. The people came home and smiled and waved at us. (If kids did something like that today, they would probably be hauled away to juvenile hall.)

After we had our first house–and several children–everyone came to our house for Thanksgiving. We set up tables in the living room in order to have enough room. I was always the cook.

Once we moved to the home we’re in now, I still was the cook and we had all sorts of relatives who came for dinner, plus for many years we had the six women we cared for in our home. This house is bigger and we have a round table with a lazy Susan in the middle that hubby build. We can fit 16 around it and there’s room to set up an extra table or two if need be.

Last year I had a break, we were invited to our youngest daughter’s for Thanksgiving. Our youngest son and wife and their daughter went too. It was a good thing because I could never have cooked a big dinner because I came down with the flu and spent most of my time in bed.

This year we’re having dinner at home again. Guests will be son, wife and grandaughter, my second oldest daughter and her husband, their daughter (another grandaughter) her hubby and three kids, and her other grandma who lives with them. I wouldn’t be surprised if there wasn’t another guest or two, after all my grandson is a preacher–if he learns someone doesn’t have a place to go for Thanksgiving he’ll probably invite whoever it is to come to our place.

My daughter-in-law went with me to shop for the groceries needed and she’ll do the mashed potatoes and a great salsa that she makes with lots and lots of fresh tomatoes, avocados, red onions, cilantro and a jalapeno. Doesn’t sound very Thankgiving-ish, but believe me, it’s delicious. Granddaughter has asked to make the green bean casserole and I’m quite happy to let her.

I don’t like to bake so I ordered my pies from a new little place in town. I’ll pick them up later today.

Believe me, I’ve figured out the easy ways to do everything. We serve buffet style, putting all the food on the kitchen counters. I even use paper plates so I don’t have to spend time doing dishes after we’re through eating.

Of course the TV will be turned to football games, but the kids and I will play our favorite card game, Estimation. That’s sort of become a new Thanksgiving tradition.

And that will be Thanksgiving Present.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, hope you can all be surrounded by those you love as you eat your Thanksgiving meal.

Marilyn

An Idea for a Writer’s Christmas Gift

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While reading Nancy’s wonderful guest post about research, I thought about one of the ways that I do research is by attending the Public Safety Writers Association’s conference every year. Many of the members who attend and the speakers are experts in forensics, law enforcement, fire fighting, FBI and any number of professions that we mystery writers often have lots of question for.

I must confess, as the program chairperson for the conference after I’ve managed to talk the most outstanding speakers to come and make presentations at the conference, I’d really like to have a good crowd for them to share their expertise with.

You can take a look at the great line-up by heading to the website http://www.publicsafetywriter.com and checking them out. My suggestion is that if you are a mystery writer you might want to give yourself a Christmas gift by signing up for the conference–and if you know a writer who would benefit from a conference like this maybe you might nudge their significant other to register him or her for the conference.

Because it is a smaller conference, attendees have the opportunity to really network with everyone. And if you would like to be on a panel, all you have to do is say so on the registration form–and it would be great if you’d give a hint as to what kind of panel you’d like to be on.

You can bring your books for sale and PSWA will only take 10% as their fee for taking care of the selling.

If you think Christmas is too soon, since the conference isn’t until June, be sure to sign up before March 31 to be on a panel before the price goes up once again. (The price includes three great lunches.)

I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again, besides gaining some knowledge, I guarantee you’ll also have fun.

And be sure to check out the contest for unpublished and published short stories, articles, non-fiction books, and fiction books.

I promise not to say anything more about the PSWA conference until it gets closer to March.

I’m a confessed conference junkie–but this is one of my very favorites and not just because I’m on the board.

Try it, you’ll like it.

Marilyn
http://fictionforyou.com