Laura Bruno Lilly

The road ends, but the journey continues...

Category: Laura’s Sumatra (Page 13 of 16)

my mixed bag of ideas, reflections, happenings, commentary

On Rewards, Reaching 25K and Mr. T

November 12, 2014 /

Note: this entry was written last year, but never posted.  I thought it appropriate to send it out On Day 12 during NaNoWriMo 2014.  Heck, it was fun to write; so it should be fun to read.  Enjoy! (ahem, notice my current word count in the sidebar!)

Day 12 (NaNoWriMo 2013)

Today as I took a short procrastination break after reaching a little over the halfway mark on my noveling, I opened an e-mail sent to me within a few minutes of my landmark word count victory.  My middle child, Michelle, had inadvertently sent on an appropriate reward for having reached 25K.  Sent as an encouragement and motivation in lieu of our normal lengthy conversations, her timing was impeccable.nanowrimo

Milestone indeed, but I’m not really one to bribe myself with rewards in order to reach personal or business goals. Continue reading

My NaNo Rebellion in 5 Bullet Points

November 4, 2014 /

NaNoWriMo participant 2014 buttonSo here it is, Day 4 of NaNoWriMo 2014.  I thought I’d send on an update about this year’s writing focus and progress.
I already mentioned that I decided to use November’s NaNo time for a specific project I had in mind to work on and hopefully finish.  If not finish, then at the very least bring it forward and closer to completion.
In NaNoWriMo terminology, anything written in the non-fic genre, editing of previous mss drafts, poetry, scripts, blog entries and a myriad of other categories, is considered being a Rebel.  When one declares such a status, one’s project is called their NaNo Rebellion.

My NaNo Rebellion in 5 Bullet Points: Continue reading

Here's to the Nines!

October 30, 2014 /

Here’s to the Nines:
Entering
and
Exiting


2014: my year for exiting the Nines.
Of course, by interpolation, 2013 was my year for entering into the Nines.

Joe and Michelle with GranPa (9/14)

Joe and Michelle with Dad/GranPa (9/14)


Dad turned 90 in April 2013 and I turned X9 last October 2013.  We got to share life in the Nines for an entire year.  As well, I’m blessed to have visited Dadland for a goodly portion of these past 12 months.
My times in the Nines have tended to be fraught with trepidation.  Starting with the one where I joined Jack Benny in declaring to be eternally 39, my journey through the Nines can be a bit rocky.
Okay so it’s not like Dad where he’ll be in his version of the Nines till he reaches his 100th b-day.  But still…
My Decade Cake

Count the layers on my decade cake*!


Once flipped over to the other side and into a new decade, I usually find it’s not such a bad age progression.  Ah, but those Nines…both entering and exiting…are a perilous roller coaster of highs and lows; ohs and nos.
Ironically, the number 9 itself has been loads of fun for me.  Perhaps I should focus on that…number 9, number 9, number 9…anything’s easier to tolerate when George, John, Paul and Ringo (my personal order of preference) sing about it.
That said; I am an October baby. Continue reading

Dawning of a New Day

October 8, 2014 /

Each day is new; we all know this.

The feeling of promise kisses each of us upon first awakening; however fleeting.

Before the Realities of Life sift back into our consciousness, this is how it all begins.

Dawning of a New Day

Dawning of a new day in central Florida

Thou dost make the dawn and the sunset shout for joy.
Psalms 65: 86

Everything's Coming Up…Daisies?

September 24, 2014 /

Contrary to popular belief, I am a snapdragon.

Come join me in a Daisy Dance

Let the Daisy Dance begin…


I never thought of myself in flower terms before, but even if I had, I’m not sure I would have associated a snapdragon with my personality before taking this little quiz.  Interestingly, I took it 8 times in a row and came up as a snapdragon each time.

But hey, I love giant purple irises, deep red orange poppies, daisies and…

Milkweed

Fractal Milkweed & beetle

Fractal Milkweed & beetle


Milkweed is one of my favorite plants. Such beauty in several stages of its life cycle: The fragrance of emerging flowers is intoxicating, the flowers themselves a gorgeous purple, and the resultant seed pods other-worldly. My family knows that I want milkweed to be planted on my grave when the time comes.  🙂
These past few months I have been preparing blog entries for a serious series I hope to launch before the end of the year; perhaps even before the November craziness that is NaNoWriMo!  Coming across this little flower quiz, I realized it could be used as a sort of relief for you (my readers) once I begin the process of posting those entries.  As a point of reference and contact with the little flower quiz as a  ‘respite’ (just a click away), a snapdragon badge will be displayed in the sidebar through out the duration of that series of posts.
I am still in a quandary as to what to name this forthcoming serious series.  Until that gets figured out, I will wait on presenting it.
In the meantime, take the little quiz and declare your flower identity in the comments section of this post!

I am a snapdragon.  How about you?snapdragons

My Love Affair with Cilantro

September 12, 2014 /

CilantrobannerIt’s been said that there are two types of people in this world: those that love cilantro and those that hate it.  This division of stances on the merits of cilantro has in fact been debated for centuries. The 16th century herbalist John Gerard described it as a ‘very stinking herbe.’  While the Chinese continue to refer to it as the ‘fragrant plant.’
I think the title of this blog post shows which side of the debate I stand on…however I will concede that those who ‘hate’ cilantro might have a biological basis for disliking its taste. Continue reading

One Year Later: Why Blog? Why Now?

August 24, 2014 /

In commemoration of my upcoming one-year blogging anniversary, I’m referencing Why Blog? Why Now? using it as a foil for reviewing the year-to-date.  As the introductory post written on 8/30/13, it serves as a starting point for re-assessing goals stated therein: whether they were met and/or if they’ve changed.  I guess you could say this is a sort-of evaluation post, re-examining the purpose of the blog along with how to proceed into its second year.

Why Blog? Why Now?

The obvious answer to this is of course, ‘Why not?’
Comment:  And thus began my official entry into the blogosphere… Continue reading

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