Have you ever watched bread dough rising? I have. Trust me on this, it’s boring! When my Mamaw baked bread, she always told us kids to be quiet or the bread wouldn’t rise. I don’t know if that’s true … I think she was just making a feeble attempt to shut us up.
My cousins and I watched, fascinated, as our grandmother added hot water to the yeast germs … and they began to bubble! Mamaw told us that they were alive! She said that when she gave them the right ingredients (flour, salt, sugar) the yeast would ferment … or “leaven.” Her explanation was that the yeast was “breathing” which caused the bread to rise.
Now, my Mamaw was no scientist (nor am I) but she knew her “stuff” when it came to bread baking. She made some darned tasty bread, a skill that is not inherent in my makeup.
But, I’m not really talking about bread here … I’m talking about the fermenting. You see, I realized that I have a lot of ideas floating around in my head right now. There are many things I would like to write … but, like that yeast germ, they need to ferment.
I’ve decided to take a little quiet time for the holidays. I want to give my ideas the right ingredients (reading, enjoying my family, taking time for fun) that will help those ideas “leaven.”
Now, I’m coming upon my three year “bloggiversary,” and I’ve written 935 posts in that time. Over the years, I have gone in many different directions with my writing.
- I’ve bragged about my neck of the woods — the Lone Star State.
- For a while I was fascinated with trying to be artsy-fartsy and taking pictures in black and white.
- I participated in the Thursday Thirteen meme that was going around for a long time (and those posts were often funny)
- Sometimes I just write silly stuff.
- I’ve worked on projects for kids with cancer.
- And, I’ve had my Only The Good Friday series.
Those are just a few of the topics that have interested me. While I take time to let some ideas ferment, you can poke around in those archives a bit. I’ll be back with the new year. I’m not leaving … I’m leavening!
Y’all have a merry Christmas!
Here are some of my friends who also try to post “the good.”
RV Poetry; Candid Karina; All My Great, or Not So Great Adventures; Inside Mo’s Mind; Thorne’s World; Down River Drivel; Duward Discussion; Ramblings of an Unstable Mind; Insightful Nana; Newbie Lifeline; Everyday Tarot; West of Mars; Life’s Journey; Round Circle; Barbara’s Travels; Blog of Revelation; Desert Diva; Blogjem; My Life As It Is; Genre Cookshop
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{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Merry Christmas Shelly!
I have been a bad blogging buddy and blogger in general of late. It’s been a crazy one at the Tea Household since early in the year. I have for that reason opted to not blog a lot and today I stumbled back to your blog and it’s like a pair of cozy slippers, it feels good to be back. I’ll try to make an appearance much more often than this.
Know that I’m thinking of you and wishing you all the best through the holidays and a very Happy New Year!
Merry Christmas to YOU, my dear friend. I don’t make rounds much anymore either, but I have missed you! I think about you every time I do the dishes
Those dishcloths you knitted for me have gotten a lot of use.
Hugs to you!
Enjoy your leavening – I am still waiting for the bun to come out of the oven…
jeanie´s last blog ..Tick tick tick…
Hope you get a tax deduction!
Enjoy your well deserved kick back and have a good think time. May you and all your loved ones have a great Christmas and holiday season.
And, you, too, my friend. Enjoy the days.
I loved your analogy of letting your ideas ferment, get them time to rise, like a good batch of bread. Like you, I’ve always got ideas fermenting away and too often, I tell myself I’ll have to expand on that for a post or something and then, I let it ferment so long that I forget what it was it was fermenting on, ya know! That’s the dangerous part of those things we let to come to terms in our minds I guess once we get a few years behind us. Senility moments! But anyway, take a break, read, meditate and most of all enjoy the holiday! Here’s wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and very productive New Year!
Jeni Hill Ertmer´s last blog ..Sister, Can You Lend a Hand?
I have two words for you: sticky notes! I have them everywhere. Hope your holidays are wonderful.
Enjoy your time off and have a wonderful holiday season!!!
RainGardener´s last blog ..That Warm All Over Feeling . . .
Thank you! and back atcha
Merry Christmas Shelly – have a great holiday and leavening period.
Sheila
Sheila Atwood´s last blog ..Creating an Internet Marketers Swipe File
I hope your holidays are joyful.
Hi Shel–love the leavening analogy! I’ve been thinking of doing the same thing–taking a short blogging break, less because I’m out of ideas than to explore a new interest–cooking, which I’ve never really done before but am finding I’m pretty good at. Merry Christmas to y’all down in TX from the knobs of East TN!
<3
fairweatherlewis´s last blog ..Christmas Lullaby
Y’all stay dry and warm! Have happy days.
I hope you’re having a wonderful holiday Shelly, full of love and magic.
Robin from Israel´s last blog ..Acadia National Park
Magic! Yes, I love that. I hope yours is beautiful and magical as well, my friend.
Enjoy your break, Shelly!!! I had to do the same thing recently and now I have a million post ideas to run with. It is my mission to blog with gusto in 2010
Hey, I got a Sony Reader Touch!!! I LOVE it!
Jessica The Rock Chick´s last blog ..The Lost Symbol
I know you took a break, because I was watching. I hope I come back with a million post ideas, too. Sony Reader Touch? Too cool. You’ll have to keep me posted on what books to buy. Right now, I’m scarfing up everything that is free on the Kindle. Some of them aren’t my genre, but I can just delete them, or put them aside in case I change my mind