A place in the woods where a flame can be seen now and again through the window, as a smithy tries her hand at hammering words into sentences and poetry. Sometimes, if you catch them at the right time, you'll see a dog sled team glide by during the winter, and hawks and owls perched in the maples that bend over the roof. Come on in, it's warm inside and we can talk awhile.
About Me
Name... Melissa
From... United States
I'm in my thirties, raising two children, two dogs and a cat, sharing life with my true love. I write young adult fiction, adult fiction, plays, and poetry. Fresh out of college I worked as a dog handler, helping to raise and train sled dogs for racing mushers in AK and PA.
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Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Aaaaand ...everybody wins!
Thank you to all who participated in the Forge Light Reader Appreciation and Sticker Sweepstakes! It was really fun to get all your answers and see what the tricky questions were. For all who joined in (and who thought about it ... that's you, Anon, KJ, and Ces) I'd love to send you your sticker prizes. Go to my profile and email me your (snail mail) addresses and I'll get them out to you pronto!
I decided to post the answers tonight because tomorrow is going to be nuts. Get up, get kiddos ready, get Charlotte to bus, drive Iris to preschool, dash home, load up Nell and take her to a orthopedic specialist. She injured something in her lower back leg and the vet is concerned ... he can't see anything in the x-ray he took today, and yet she's in a lot of pain. She came home tonight sporting a neon green bandage (photos to come). I also have a meeting tomorrow and have to collect the kids and the dog at their appointed times ... pant, pant, pant.
And ... without further ado ... the answers ...
1 -- Iris is from ... Guiyang, Guizhou Province, China! Many of you have followed my journey to her from start to finish, some of which was posted here at the forge. There have been many moments of reflection and love and worry with her, and I've appreciated having a forum to write about it.
2 -- I have been married a total of two times ... to the same guy ... no divorce in between. Eli and I eloped in November of 1996 and then were married Quaker-style six months later on the day between our two birthdays.
3 -- Although I use the towels, soaps and lotions provided by hotels, I only take the pens! I swear they have the best ones, and still have a pen I pilfered from the kennel I worked at in Alaska. It is from a hotel in Fairbanks and still works. I'm a writer ... I need those pens.
4 -- When I went to Alaska, I had the chance to work for the woman I had looked up to since childhood, Iditarod Champion, Susan Butcher. She passed away a little over a year ago at only 51 years old, after a lengthy bout with leukemia. I still can't believe she's gone ....
5 -- I could devote an entire blog and all its entries to my eating disorder ... I am recovering from compulsive overeating, which has been active in me since I was little. It seems to be the less talked about, but very prevalent, illness regarding food and addiction. Though I have arrested the behavior for two years, it will always be a part of me and it is something I deal with on a daily basis. It has taken a lot of hard work to get where I am and I'm really proud of myself. Most days it's fine -- I do certain things to manage food in a healthy fashion. But other days it's a real, heartbreaking struggle. I heard someone say it's like taking a tiger out of it's cage and taking it for a walk three times a day. Coming clean about it on my blog has been very cathartic. I have never been happier, healthier, or more peaceful, and I attribute part of it to writing about struggles and victories.
6 -- I coveteth this beauty ...
1951 Chevy Five-window PickupMy dad actually had a 1964.5 Mustang, which was pretty dang hot, and I owned my dream Jeep (her name was Idgie) for six years, but that pickup must be mine someday ...
7 -- The only bones I have ever broken were ... my two baby toes. And this is what my foot looked like when I broke my right baby toe on the bathroom door frame:
ouch
8 -- I would go nuts with a credit card, if I could, at D: all of the above (a bookstore, a music store, a stationary store). Thankfully, I never have ... but it's about impossible for me to leave any of these places without bringing home a new friend.
9 -- I don't recommend you touch my toes, unless I'm really, really relaxed and trust you. I don't know why but I just about turn inside out and hit the ceiling when anyone (including myself) touches my toes, especially the smallest two. You can imagine what it was like when I broke those baby toes ...
10 -- This caught a couple of people ... my imaginary friend was a dragon named Elliot when I was little. He lived in the chimney of our house and that's where he got his smoke and fire. I was known to get very irritated when anyone accidentally sat on him. I have a feeling this will bite me in the ass with Charlotte or Iris someday.
11 -- When I'm struggling with something, or need to figure out an emotional reaction, I start writing to someone who lives in a cabin. These conversations pop up at the forge now and then. It's an old man who lives in this cabin. He's always brewing me a cup of tea when I get there and he's usually doing the dishes by hand at a deep porcelain sink, looking out the window. There's a floral table cloth on the table and a white, chipped enamel pitcher full of flowers. It's amazing what happens when I just start writing his answers to me.
9 -- I don't recommend you touch my toes, unless I'm really, really relaxed and trust you. I don't know why but I just about turn inside out and hit the ceiling when anyone (including myself) touches my toes, especially the smallest two. You can imagine what it was like when I broke those baby toes ...
10 -- This caught a couple of people ... my imaginary friend was a dragon named Elliot when I was little. He lived in the chimney of our house and that's where he got his smoke and fire. I was known to get very irritated when anyone accidentally sat on him. I have a feeling this will bite me in the ass with Charlotte or Iris someday.
11 -- When I'm struggling with something, or need to figure out an emotional reaction, I start writing to someone who lives in a cabin. These conversations pop up at the forge now and then. It's an old man who lives in this cabin. He's always brewing me a cup of tea when I get there and he's usually doing the dishes by hand at a deep porcelain sink, looking out the window. There's a floral table cloth on the table and a white, chipped enamel pitcher full of flowers. It's amazing what happens when I just start writing his answers to me.
Posted by Melissa at 5:18 PM
11 Comments
Greta_Jane posted at 7:26 PM
I can't find the email address in your profile. Did you get the email that I sent you?
Melissa posted at 4:54 AM
I did, GJ -- I forgot to update my profile when Eli redid the site. It's there now, but you can use the other addy if you'd like. :)
kj posted at 1:54 PM
well! well! i scored 100%!! i knew every answer!!! don't believe me? well, you can't prove it!
i'm sorry i took too long and i loved reading this writeup.
really,ok, maybe i scored 90%. i didn't know about elliot.
Anonymous posted at 3:21 PM
All the mysteries have now been solved! Except one; I don't know what you are talking about in regards to 'stickers' but sending email address for doing NOTHING but read this post anyway, Hahhaa. I've only broken my pinky toe too Melissa!
Melissa posted at 4:09 PM
KJ -- good show! :) I totally believe you ... a little. ;)
Anon -- You totally deserve stickers, dear, just for breaking that baby toe! :) Stickers in the U.S. are little pictures or illustrations with adhesive backs that you can stick on paper or just about anywhere. What's the word for it "in Australian"?
Here's a great site:
http://www.stickerplanet.com/
And I realize I didn't specify that I need everyone's mailing addresses, not emails. :)
me posted at 5:08 PM
This post has been removed by the author.
Sarah posted at 5:09 PM
I got quite a few right! Woo Hoo!!
I think you have my mailing addy, but if not, I can send it again. I'm not ashamed to say I love getting little gifties in the mail!! Even just an envelope with my name on it. (well I guess in the case of a bill I could skip it... you're not sending bills with the stickers I hope? LOL)
Anonymous posted at 5:13 PM
OHHHH Hhahhaa, we call them 'stickers' here too, I just didn't know how you were going to stick them to an email :) You have had an exhausting day of rushing Melissa, so excused for not thinking about snails :)
Melissa posted at 6:13 PM
Ha haa, Anon! :) I'd need some good adhesive for that. ;) It was a three cup-of-coffee day, but the pup is doing well (in her bright pink temporary cast) and seems a lot more comfortable. She might need surgery, though, poor pup.
Hooray, Sarah! Not only will I not send bills ... but the stickers I send to you will ward off bills from your mailbox for an entire week!
kj posted at 2:35 PM
stickers? oh yes!
:)
Ces posted at 9:09 PM
I really do not like quizes and I score very low on every one of them but I knew that Iris is from China.
Ouch! That foot looks so painful.