The following is the first part in my story "Bridges". As a writing exercise for a class that I am taking I will be writing and posting to it at least three times a week, and then posting to several writing groups. This may be the push I need.

Bridges

I love mint tea, it smells like gum." Mary sniffed the foil envelope, and dunked her bag into the boiling water.
Patty nodded in agreement.
Mary continued, "you know not bubble gum, but like double-mint".
"I gathered that much" she said. " are all your things packed?"
"Uh huh"
"Good"
Patty pushed back from the counter where she was leaning,
"I have a few things left to do"
She rinsed her cup out and placed it in the  strainer, then with a quick nod towards her daughter she walked out of the kitchen, calling out behind her. "I want to leave within the hour".
Mary surveyed the kitchen and sighed, "oh well, at least I won't have to clean you for a few months."

As they drove through the canyon to her Aunt’s house, Mary worried that the summer might be a little dull. She loved her Aunt Dani but only had her before in small doses before, after a while she thought making things like lavender pillows and dandelion tincture might get a little old. She wished she could go with her mother, but Patty assured her she would be really bored in Fresno. She was going there for a medical conference where her mother would become more informed on third world diseases. It sounded fascinating to Mary, but Mom could not be persuaded.

Patty steered the car,  crawling in and out of the shadows cast on the blacktop by the over grown oaks. Mary lost in her thoughts, was only vaguely aware of the light and dark as it played upon her face, lulling and hypnotizing her into deep thought. Lost there, she was surprised when her Mother swung the car wide and stopped in front of Aunt Dani's house. The house was back a bit from the road, and even though it sat in the shadows of the pines that surrounded it, it was cheerful and looked expectant, like it was waiting for her.

This was a real dream

Dream
I was in Japan, or Central Park. I was with a young man and his friend, we were showing the friend around. the young Japanese man who was my friend was the one who lived across the street from the park. there was an Ice cream building that blocked the view of the park from his apartment building window, but from the park you could see his apartment. I thought it was a cool place to live. We went to his father's house. When we got to the house, his dad was outside talking on his cell phone. He was looking down at the ground and talking. as we approached three blue alien looking ladies walked out of the house and started to walk around them. He didn't seem to notice them. They all looked the same, except one was a little thinner then the other two. The were about 5'6" tall. They did not have hair, but tentacles that laid down on their heads like hair. They seemed middle age. We went into the house to talked to the father. He was well aware of them, his son said something like they are your desires manifested. the father said no I manifested my desires. The son laughed and said well then that makes you the devil.

Trent, the car and my ability to hold my breath for 45 minutes.

Every time Trent (my son) borrows the car it feels like I put my life on hold until I get a phone call saying he has arrived safely at his destination. Then when the phone rings, I hesitate to answer because I'm scared that it will be someone calling to tell me there is an accident. When does this stop? He is 21, and the facts are he has had his license sine he was 16, but as he does not own a car and lives in the city most of his transportation needs are met by rapid transit. When does this end?

This is a link to The Center of the World Festival I have been involved in for the last four years. It's a great festival that celebrates the play write.

http://www.centeroftheworldfestival.org/

Making buttons out of shrinky dinks. What a great idea!

Trying Google Plus

Trying Google Plus not all that user friendly, think I'll stick with Facebook and Reddit for the time being. Anyway what a beautiful snow this last weekend, however I did do just about the dumbest thing I have ever done. I locked the key in the truck while it was in the ignition and running, with out a spare key in the middle of a snow storm. Triple A could not get to me until 18 hours later, because of the snow storm. I had to leave the truck running, with my purse locked in it overnight in front of the Gallery. I wanted to spend the night there and keep an eye on it. However,Security was really great and they talked me into going home, and they kept an eye on it all night.