What’s Happening at Casita de Luz?
We enjoyed such glorious rains in March that we hope April will bless us with even more showers. The hill country has been ablaze with wildflowers for weeks now: bluebonnets, white prickly poppies, Indian Paintbrush, wine cups, pepper grass, yellow groundsel, claret cup cactus and many more. At home the fruit trees have changed from fragile blossoms to full leaf, with a multitude of purple irises, blue and red sages, and deep pink roses offering delectable fragrances. Thanks to our wonderful friends Pat and Derenda Keating and their new greenhouse, we have over twenty container pots sporting tomatoes and peppers, plus cucumbers, zucchini and yellow squash. The corn and beans, asparagus, celery, mustard and collard greens, new lettuce and basil are all coming on strong. And thanks to our neighbor Jon (who also provides us with fresh eggs) we have a pile of dried cow patties to use in the making of compost tea. The plants love the smelly stuff and our raised beds are full of voracious earthworms. Bird life, squirrel antics, and butterfly activity make sitting in the garden an entertaining endeavor. WC and I accomplished the task of making a mulched pathway patch under the long expanse of the clothesline, which eliminates the old difficulties of dust or mud. Our newest project is creating a faux stream along the south-facing rock wall of the patio by using crushed glass from the recycling center (thanks to my friend Sandy Shaw and the master gardeners of Llano for this lovely idea). This is labor intensive since I insist on washing the glass first to remove paper, grit and sand. The result, however, is a sparkling array of flowing colors that is especially seductive on a moonlit night. Needless to say, a great deal of our time is being spent outdoors right now.
Where will WC and Laurie Be?
There are a bunch of fun events going on in the hill country this month starting with the Fiddle Fest in Llano on April 6, 7, 8th. I’m certain we’ll be checking out some of the excitement! www.llanofiddlefest.com
Friday and Saturday, April 14 & 15th—WC will be signing several of his new books at the Goldminds Publishing book table at the Burnet Creative Arts Spring Arts and Craft Show, part of the Annual Burnet Bluebonnet Festival, Burnet Community Center, 401 E. Jackson. Contact Joyce Weaver at 512 755 0257 or burnetcreativearts@yahoo.com
Saturday, April 21st, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.— We will have a book sale table at the annual Llano Lawn and Garden Show at St. James Lutheran Church, Schorlemmer Hall, 1401 Ford Street. For more information contact Judy Waddell or Roy Petty, chairpersons: judyee20@yahoo.com or rpetty@ctesc.net
Saturday, April 28th, we’ll make our way to Menard to perform at their annual Around the Campfire on the Great Western Cattle Trail event, which will include cowboy poetry, music and storytelling from 4:00 – 9:00 p.m. at the Stock Pen Crossing Park. Sealy’s Chuck Wagon Dinner will be served at 6:00 pm. Tickets are $15 for dinner and entertainment. For more information, contact Tina Hodge at the Chamber office, 325-396-2365. info@menardchamber.com
What else is WC doing?
Great comments and reviews are rolling in for WC’s new CD “Texas Tonight.” If you have enjoyed his previous albums you are going to love the songs, musicianship and vocal harmonies on this one. To order your CD, send your name & address, along with a check for $18.00 (postage paid) to W.C. Jameson, P.O. Box 989, Llano, TX 78643. Of course you can always catch W.C. at one of his gigs and get your CD then!
Texas Music Thursdays at the Badu House Wine Pub at 621 Bessemer Avenue/Highway 16 in Llano (north of the river) has become the place to be for great music! W.C. and Mike Blakely continue to co-host the show featuring a special guest songwriter. Here’s the lineup: April 5th—Bo Porter. April 12th—Wake Eastman. April 19th—Greg Whitfield. April 26th—Jed Zimmerman. Plus fabulous food and an amazing selection of beers and wines.
W.C. will be hosting the Texas Songwriters Showcase at Poodie’s Hilltop Roadhouse in Spicewood on the third and fourth and fifth Monday this month, 6:30-9:30 p.m. George Ensle will be hosting the first and second Monday and will join WC on the fifth Monday. April 16th—Buddy Case. April 23rd —Richard Dobson. Ribeye steak special on Monday, but owner Sharon Burke also has yummy black bean or veggie burgers on the menu, much to Laurie’s delight.
What’s up with Laurie’s writing?
Good news! The Heart of Nowhere received a second reader endorsement for publication. This means that my editor at the University of Oklahoma Press can now present the project to the internal editorial committee later this month or in early May. If my memoir meets board approval, a contract offer is the next step.
More good—if unexpected—news! After great deliberation and some genuine angst I decided to pull my novel Beautiful Snare from consideration with JET Literary Agency and Water Street Press. Why? It’s complicated, but in essence I no longer wanted to ride the emotional roller coaster of the publishing world, in particular the hair-raising (and for me, hair-pulling!) carnival of Internet Marketing. With WC’s blessing and Sonya Unrein’s dedicated expertise, I have chosen to bring out my future work independently through Seven Oaks Publishing Company. This means a delay on the release of Beautiful Snare, the other seven novels, the poetry collection Reluctant Traveler, and the creative non-fiction piece The Daily Kiss, plus ongoing projects, but henceforth I will have more balance with and control over my creative life. And that makes me happy! If you want to engage in further discussion of this shift in my writing life, please feel free to call me or email me.
Doctorate Update
With “Divine Laws of Prosperity” completed, fully appreciated, and incorporated into my daily life I’m gearing up to begin two new courses: “Ancient Tools for Divine Guidance II” and “Quantum Healing and Spirituality.” Part of my process during March, which I will continue implementing in April, has been to take a weekly meditative hike out at my friend David’s ranch. This has been a very different undertaking than my usual group hike with my women friends that includes ongoing conversation and socializing. By going alone to a quiet place in the natural world I am able to embrace the silence and ascertain intimate details about the landscape, weather, plants, animals, and our Earth’s exciting evolution. I find great pleasure in being a conscious and considerate co-creator of a new and ever-expanding reality. With half of my course work complete, I am beginning to explore topics for my dissertation.
http://www.aiht.edu/catalog/holistictheology.asp
Laurie’s Reading Picks
John Dofflemeyer’s Proclaiming Space, the very best finely wrought introspective poetry about life on the land and the dynamics of human relationship. John Dofflemeyer has long been a favorite of mine and I find myself reading each poem over and over again to ferret out all the lovely nuances of expression he cultivates.
David Seabury’s The Art of Selfishness, a fascinating (if sometimes dated 60s & 70s) look at how important it is to consider the self before others. Many thanks to my friend Pat Keating for recommending this book and loaning it to me. It became intrinsic to my doctoral work on self-healing.
July 2012 is only four months away!
W.C. and I have a full calendar for our month-long tour in Colorado in July 2012. We are really looking forward to seeing all of you there in the Rocky Mountains. We will post the dates and venues in our June newsletter.
Until next month let me say thank you for everything you do to create a better, wiser, more kind and loving World. I appreciate you more than words can say!