Signs You Might Be a Country Girl

Ann H GabhartAnn's Posts, One Writer's Journal 32 Comments

Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne Do you remember those “You might be a redneck” jokes made popular by Jeff Foxworthy? He had a bunch of them. Even had books of them. Well, lately, I’ve been thinking about things that …

Sunflowers of Joy

Ann H GabhartAnn's Posts, One Writer's Journal 7 Comments

“Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows. It’s what sunflowers do.” ~Helen Keller Sunflowers make me smile. I once titled one of my Heart of Hollyhill books, Sunflowers of Joy. That title was eventually changed to Summer of Joy, but my first idea for a title showed how I think of sunflowers as something that can …

Thistles, Butterflies & Memories of Dad

Ann H GabhartAnn's Posts, One Writer's Journal 6 Comments

“Die when I may, I want it said by those who knew me best that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow.”(Abraham Lincoln) It’s thistle season in Kentucky. They grow well here, rain or drought. Actually they grow a little thicker when there’s a dry spell. That’s because when the rains …

“Where Do You Get Your Ideas?”

Ann H GabhartAnn's Posts, One Writer's Journal 9 Comments

Ideas come from ordinary, everyday life. And from imagination. And from feelings. And from memories. Memories of dust in my sneakers and humming whitewalls down a hill called Monkey. ~Jerry Spinelli “Where do you get your ideas?” I’m guessing that is a question many writers have tried to answer, including Jerry Spinelli in the quote above. Imagination can be a …

Warning – Painter at Work

Ann H GabhartAnn's Posts, One Writer's Journal 22 Comments

When things become peculiar, frustrating and strange, I think it’s a good time to start painting.  ~James Rosenquist I know. I know. He’s talking about a different kind of painting. But that wasn’t the kind of painting I was doing. I’m painting my bathroom. Not exactly the most artistic thing. Truth is, about the only artistic painting I ever did …