tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74927302980767022932012-01-30T04:14:37.982-06:00heart to heart chats regarding the world of a writer who is something of a genre slut. jon-ra slut: writer who keeps no genre boundaries; creates new genresKathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.comBlogger591100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-52727941121762566222012-01-12T08:53:00.000-06:002012-01-12T08:53:57.769-06:00

Belated new year's greetings to all, and may I say, I'm with Emily Dickinson and Mark Kelly on hope and predictions. (Why bother with despair in predictions?) My predictions were nothing but hope, (except one--a gold star if you can figure out which one) and since they were caught up in cyberspace between here and Orlando where I hurriedly penned them, I thought I'd catch up with the 2012 crowd,

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-42801640845886601802011-12-11T07:05:00.001-06:002011-12-11T07:07:20.952-06:00

I became Gran the Cooker before Nicholas, my oldest grandson, was in first grade. Almost as soon as he could talk, he could instruct any babysitter on how to cook his favorite food, “noodles and chumchum cheese.”  In first grade when I gave a lesson to his class at St. Francis Xavier on writing poetry, and assisted them in writing a poem as a group, I knew that he had me forever characterized.

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-46528100090039954142011-11-23T08:13:00.005-06:002011-11-23T08:24:54.500-06:00

As a rule, I hate jokes. Perhaps it's because I'm not a good joke teller, or perhaps I'm not a good joke teller because I hate jokes. I don't know which. In any case, I'm about to break the rule. Two friends who worked on the assembly line for a car parts plant in Tuscaloosa died. One went straight to heaven; the other, straight to hell. After a few weeks the one in heaven telephoned the one in

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-52387258620828687002011-11-04T12:07:00.002-05:002011-11-04T12:07:39.089-05:00

I'm always interested in how an artistic rendering comes to be named. When I interviewed master weaver Clare Matthews for a profile in WELD http://www.weldbham.com/, I asked her  about the naming of her rugs/wall hangings.“I only name my pieces if they’re going to be in an exhibition or gallery. They insist on a title,  not Rug 40 or Rug 41. So sometimes I ask myself what does this remind me of?”

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-13740978833401019552011-10-29T20:47:00.000-05:002011-10-29T20:47:27.408-05:00

Today, poets from across the state convened at the Conference Center in Montevallo for the annual Alabama State Poetry Society meeting. Actually the events began last night for those who needed to come and spend the night. For years it was the tradition of both the Writers Conclave and the Poetry Society to meet at Montevallo. Driving down this morning at 7:30, I was struck by how populated with

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-807804134321818342011-10-06T10:02:00.002-05:002011-10-06T10:02:16.482-05:00

From my poetry chapbook Searching for Ambergris: Going Home Again Two Septembers gone, yet if I walked down across the salt marsh to the floating dock, the cord grass would be undulating, a breeze combing its wavy brown hair, as constant as the changing tides, or the Waving Girl on River Street, welcoming seaport traffic. Johnny can not walk without her walker. What grows in my window box I

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-71061857890478376342011-09-23T17:12:00.000-05:002011-09-23T17:12:32.664-05:00

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-4749830015647182362011-09-21T09:52:00.003-05:002011-09-21T10:23:58.404-05:00

September has its bittersweet choices: generally, I wake up during this month and realize that somehow I've whistled the summer away with the cricket and decide to become the ant again--writing, revising, or marketing my written stuff. Invaribly, though, I start wondering about the old pear tree in Anniston. Every year we think it will die. Every year its few remaining limbs cluster up with pears

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-24271618841742080952011-08-30T16:34:00.002-05:002011-09-22T06:07:27.039-05:00

I'm writing an article about Hudson Strode who taught at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa for years until he retired in 1963. He taught either Shakespeare or Creative Writing to  such Alabama literary notables as Harper Lee,  Helen Norris, and our current Poet Laureate, Sue Brannan Walker. If anybody reading this took classes under Hudson Strode, I'd like to hear from you.

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-20937836853346701692011-08-04T18:46:00.000-05:002011-08-04T18:46:53.459-05:00

What happened to spring and summer? Where did the months go? On April 4 I had kneecap surgery. Zoom, there went the rest of spring. Zoom, zoom--now summer is waning. And why don't things stay the same? Where are my Followers? Did the few I have give up because I've been so quiet? Where are their faces? I've bragged so many times about how easy it is to negotiate Blogger. Hah. who sez? Something

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-68848252570213539452011-02-22T09:25:00.005-06:002011-02-22T20:25:54.903-06:00

Ah, what does this phrase conjure up for you? Before this weekend for me it was Johnny Mercer's song, his star Emma Kelly, the poem I wrote for Emma that was published on SCAD's Pen and Ink page, the night I presented the framed poem to her (she had me read it aloud  but this audience was hardly ready or eager to hear a poem about St. Patrick's Day on River Street), and the day I was her driver

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-35610085812599115162011-01-02T22:30:00.003-06:002011-01-02T22:30:12.092-06:00

My post-Christmas card is so fat it needs a table of contents. Besides the card, a page of superlatives, and a page of pics, I've been including a five-page poem! Absurd. I've decided to lighten the snail mail load by posting the five-page poem here instead. The poem is a revision of the occasional verse I wrote for the 50th reunion of Northside High this past spring. I've used it as the final

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-2600706203515001522010-12-08T07:47:00.001-06:002010-12-08T07:47:59.130-06:00

Yesterday I had the privilege of again presenting my "Road Scholar" poetry gig with the Alabama Humanities Foundation. The biggest compliment was that this was the second time I was invited to LAMP by Ms. Leah Stoudenmier. (I met her first when I did this poetry program for Northside High--my alma mater--in Tuscaloosa County where she was a student teacher.) The next huge compliment was that one

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-67836721336857217912010-11-27T21:30:00.001-06:002010-11-27T21:34:04.558-06:00

for a God who listens whether I whine or sing for stunning sunsets for life for working limbs for family for grandchildren especially for fresh coconut cake with lemon/orange filling, cranberry conserve, pear mincemeat pie, pecan pumpkin pie--the whole of the meal

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-38995905390368531902010-10-26T08:25:00.008-05:002010-10-26T08:49:20.759-05:00

Annie Bell Poole and I are twins.Twins of a sort. She was born on March 25, 1925, to Tempie Savannah Taylor Smith and Jewell Smith who were married on April 2, 1924. Every two years or so thereafter,Tempie gave birth until she had a hysterectomy in the early fifties. I was born in 1942 when Mama was forty, the tenth of twelve children.Although there was no shortage of family names since Grandpa

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-50655405152655116342010-09-18T08:55:00.003-05:002010-09-18T09:05:31.581-05:00

So last night I "published" my little effort at creating a new web site for my writing which I could manage myself. I've actually been working on this project since my trip to Maryland in July when my buddy, Teresa, convinced me that it was possible.Possible, yes, but will it ever be what I've envisioned it to be??The first thing I noted was that I had a pic covered up with words. I've tried to

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-70407692331148633092010-09-18T08:53:00.000-05:002010-09-18T08:53:14.768-05:00

WordSpinning by Kathleen: www.kathleenthompsonwrites.com

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-42048548046344187302010-08-30T17:23:00.002-05:002010-08-30T18:09:00.660-05:00

Why am I not surprised that building a web site with GoDaddy.com was not as easy as I thought it would be? How many times have I jumped into a project, excited, a little overwhelmed, but certain it was just what I needed to do--only to discover o-ver and o-ver again, that the project is way above my pay grade technically?I'm worse than Charlie Brown trying to kick that football each fall.If one

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-74072696372902096452010-08-02T06:30:00.005-05:002010-08-06T20:33:07.575-05:00

Emily Dickinson is right. As busy as our lives are, as complicated as our schedules become, there is no avoiding death. Our own, certainly, and that of others as well.This month has been fun-filled with celebrating birthdays, picking blackberries, teaching children at the Sail Away Cinema in VBS--but like the ticking of a grandfather clock in a still bedroom, Grief is always there lurking on the

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-6412128464937849782010-07-20T09:37:00.009-05:002010-07-20T11:58:16.602-05:00

What were you doing this morning between 6:30 and 8:30?? Here I am after two hours in the no-briar blackberry patch! In the pic I'm holding my compensation for my picking 9 quarts of blackberries: one quart of berries, one quart of Roma tomatoes, and some basil for bruscetta tonight. When I arrived at the gardens at the foot of the hill where we're staying, Beth sent me to the hoop house (not a

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-82181002263569697352010-07-19T07:52:00.009-05:002010-07-19T15:38:40.798-05:00

I've escaped real life for a week in the woods of western Maryland! Thank goodness I'm not alone like Thoreau. The other writers here have just attended an SCBWI conference this weekend, and I've been involved with writers at home in the Alabama Writers' Conclave.Deciding which genre to participate in is always a problem for me at any conference, but this weekend was a no-brainer. Recently, I've

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-54376469614094682982010-07-06T08:47:00.006-05:002010-07-06T09:36:08.182-05:00

Victoria and Nicholas are trying to help Papa out! Is there a fire extinguisher in the kitchen??? (Note the zinnias. Note Will. "Give me the camera!" This is not a party pic but taken at home in his high chair. Couldn't leave him out.)Zinnias go well in a silver bowl, too! Below: a baby shower and I'm serving up Becky Bradley's lucious peach punch to Grandmother Diana Spencer.Zinnias are best

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-75386892308105472632010-06-16T07:29:00.009-05:002010-07-05T16:36:53.085-05:00

Northside High Class of 1960 as pictured at 50th Reunion:L-R Front Row: Joyce Espey Beard, Kathleen Smith, Doris Elliott, Jane Harkey, Anna Loyal Rogers, Sarah Frances Oswalt, Bernice Poeter, Nancy Clements Micklic, Ludie Jones.Second Row: Robert Earl Swiney, Billy Doyal Rogers, Tim Rodgers, Buster Bolton, Tony Lunceford, Charles Ray, Edwin Phillips, Eric Christian, Wyman Watson.Top Row: Donald

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-28305135614296471452010-06-16T06:30:00.006-05:002010-06-16T07:29:48.863-05:00

My own first cousins voiced twin complaints (Imo and Ema) when I saw them this past fourth Sunday in April for the annual decoration at Phillips Chapel in Tuscaloosa County. (There my tombstone is already in place close to Mama's and Daddy's.)They said, almost in unison, "You don't change your blog much, do you?" Would you say this is the understatement of the century? lolI could have given a lot

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-43189494464689653282010-02-10T20:48:00.005-06:002010-02-10T21:22:03.799-06:00

Check out my latest literary news at http://www.alabamabookfestival.org/.In brief: Alabama Book Festival, April 17, 10 - 4! A lot of great Alabama writers will be featured in Old Montgomery Town. Read about all the details--bio of authors, their mug shots, etc. Hope to see you there.What better way to celebrate National Poetry Month than to come and listen to a little poetry and buy a book?

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-84316904208979601042010-01-23T17:20:00.006-06:002010-01-23T18:04:42.768-06:00

Last Saturday was the beginning of a bread binge. Worry the dough. Worry the dough. Another oatmeal was a good Monday's start, along with two light brown loaves, and since I failed to capture those on film, why not repeat the oatmeal on Wednesday, so I did. . .and on Friday another pair of light brown loaves (1/3 whole wheat/2/3 bread flour) and yet one more oatmeal . . .and the grande finale

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-36466566353698336052010-01-16T12:01:00.007-06:002010-01-17T06:13:31.627-06:00

This is a nice little oatmeal loaf with raisins.[It has occurred to me that I should repeat this from a previous blog: With this story I had an epiphany about the whole series: it has to do with our free will and how we often aren't as free in our choices as we think we are. In this case addiction has limited Clyde's choices. Paul Zahl, a theologian who previously lived in Birmingham, has written

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-9871210111933553722010-01-13T05:31:00.002-06:002010-01-13T06:10:33.388-06:00

Good morning!Except for an occasional flitting of the Magpie's wings and Pickett's warm dropby's (thanks, Sheila and Dorothy), I rarely have anyone reading this blog, so I think I'll just warm up my fingers a bit from the current fluff in my brain which is bread. Bread! Flour, salt, yeast, shortening or butter, and a little water--what could be easier, right?Usually January is a cooking month

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-80413509244233770972010-01-03T18:42:00.003-06:002010-01-03T18:59:00.077-06:00

NPR ran what I thought was a very lame segment on traditions of New Year's Day--probably because it was too short and therefore limited. The singular phone call from Alabama that I heard was from Birmingham. A woman said she never did laundry on New Year's Day but she really didn't know why. Well, the reason why is that WHATEVER you do that day, you will do every day of the year, so take care

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-78605629641924223842009-12-20T07:20:00.012-06:002009-12-20T20:01:11.994-06:00

My grandson, Nicholas, for whom I began writing annual poems when he was seven (and the first became the collection's title poem) came by to wish me well. So did his beautiful mom, my daughter, Teresa. My dear son Stephen slipped in and out so quickly that we didn't catch him on camera. Nor did we get Tommy who was holding court over coffee in the Crape Myrtle.Here's a few more of Paul who was

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-29234532423036353112009-12-20T06:57:00.005-06:002009-12-20T19:18:05.350-06:00

Linda Busby Parker, editor, Excalibur Press, has once again given us a book to celebrate the season!The signing yesterday at Little Professor Books & Cafe was all a good party should be--family, friends, book talk, laughs, and more than a little silliness. I'll be posting some pics as I get them downloaded. These first ones are compliments of Harry Jones who came to see his friend and my

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-36533497567445248152009-12-15T06:46:00.002-06:002009-12-15T06:53:57.663-06:00

I will be signing my story "Finding the Lord" which is included in Christmas is a Season!2009 at Little Professor Books & Cafe, Homewood, in Birmingham on Saturday, December 19, 2009. Come and bring a buddy!Here's the introductory bio: KATHLEEN THOMPSON holds a BS from The University of Alabama and an MFA in Fiction/Poetry from Spalding University. A former teacher of high school English, she has

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-57755425719562264652009-12-12T07:19:00.003-06:002009-12-12T08:12:04.299-06:00

I first met Billy Collins in Charleston in the '90s when I was invited to have dinner ahead with some Poetry Society friends who had planned the reading: Denny Stiles, Susan Meyers, and Linda Ferguson. My good buddy from Savannah, Carolyn Watson, rode over to Charleston with me. That whole evening was such a memorable occasion, for one hysterical incident occurred. Billy was going to read the

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-82810142822868952172009-10-18T06:41:00.006-05:002009-10-18T07:23:44.642-05:00

Yesterday at WIK (writing & illustrating for kids/regional SCBWI) I was reminded that one of my deepest desires is to have a beautifully illustrated picture book with my words in it and my name on the cover in the hands of one of my grandchildren. Why is that so hard? Writers who haven't tried it assume writing for children only requires shorter words, fewer words, and simpler words. Wrong! So

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-89361310824674459672009-09-27T06:58:00.004-05:002009-09-27T07:40:52.809-05:00

Summer to Autumn. Green to gold. Hot to cool. Blue blog to orange/brown! You like? I like. For now anyhow.Last week I changed the furniture in my dining room to accommodate a large antique sideboard with an oval mirror that wouldn't fit into my daughter's condo when she moved the rest of her furniture from the basement. I thought about how we've about reached the end of a decade in this house.

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-85165197182197484322009-09-23T07:23:00.008-05:002009-09-27T06:28:17.981-05:00

In the south where these two words sound a lot alike, we pack summer away on Labor Day; Tommy and I often want to gratify our disparate passions as Autumn sets in. He wanted to vacation with some horses, and I needed to continue drafting a collection of stories. The perfect place for both? Cataloochee Ranch, Maggie Valley, NC. We'd been there before, and it's one place on this planet that hasn't

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-33910562115603743892009-08-17T08:17:00.010-05:002009-08-17T10:12:36.276-05:00

Ah, the winding road to the mountains, the smokey-blue overlooks, the trout at The Wine Garden, grouper with a sauce of lemon butter and capers at On the Verandah overlooking the Sequoyah, the temperatures of 60's/70's, the ice cream sundaes at Kilwin's, and, the best of all, Cyrano's, Cyrano's--the busiest, fastest two-hour signing I've had so far! Thanks to Clair, Arthur, and Stu for a

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-67086117380993051012009-08-10T12:38:00.002-05:002009-08-10T12:52:11.443-05:00

to a booksigning of my full length poetry book, THE SHORTEST DISTANCE. Saturday, August 15, 1-3, Cyrano's Book Store in Highlands, NC.Blurbs for THE SHORTEST DISTANCE:“…[her] poems are quietly earth-shaking—an oxymoron written like the moron I become when having read something that moves me, and Kathleen Thompson’s have reduced me to a quivering mass of admiration & greed for more.”-Nelle Harper

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-38087166211491536682009-08-08T07:12:00.005-05:002009-08-08T08:28:24.656-05:00

Victoria, Cousin Nicholas, and WillAnnouncing a new grandson: William Meron Thompson, born Thursday, July 30, 2009, at 3:03 p.m. 8 lbs. 4 oz. 21 1/2 " long!! Parents: Stephen and Tracy; big sis, Victoria, 6.His first name is to honor the Williams family name of my daughter-in-law, Tracy. The second was after my father-in-law, Meron James Thompson, June 18, 1918-December 4, 2004. He was named

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-36529920892632320432009-06-23T11:53:00.002-05:002009-06-23T12:03:47.599-05:00

Okay, if poetry doesn't interest anyone, how about the beach and all things peachy beachy?How about the dazzling white sand against the emerald green water of the Gulf--all hazed out and mixed like an impressionistic painting by the summer heat? That's where I am. I'm almost frenzied with decisions: to write (my new collection of linked stories is in progress); to paint (Nicholas and I are taking

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-60041188906706821982009-06-08T17:09:00.002-05:002009-06-08T17:17:58.350-05:00

Ah, and good Monday to all! Today-- the other "love" poem Robbins liked and published:AbsolutesPainting an acrylic skyand adding a bit of black--a must the teacher stressed--shattered my bent to extremesbut not then.Only the hottest coffee,the quickest route;right was right; wrong, wrong,and I knew which was which.Years after that sky had hardened,I walked alone on the beachat sunset in

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-20144763286622442832009-04-03T13:35:00.003-05:002009-04-03T13:41:25.782-05:00

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-23552042750491522262009-04-03T13:01:00.010-05:002009-04-03T18:24:22.914-05:00

Weather forecast for Alabama on April 2, 2009: Severe thunderstorms, high winds, possible hail and tornadoes. Who remembers the weather forecast on April 3, 1974? That was the day 100 tornadoes hit in the U.S. The previous Monday our neighborhood in Huntsville had been hit by a tornado, and many houses totally demolished. Our house only got a damaged roof and a door, along with a truckload of

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-4535137163165534472009-03-20T16:49:00.004-05:002009-04-04T06:59:41.098-05:00

Sailor-By-The SeaThis morning on my walk I picked up a Sea Purse, which is a little one-inch sea bean that washed in from who knows where--probably the shores of South America. It looks very much like the Hamburger Bean (whose name says it all) except that its "zipper" seam stops short of circling the bean; thus, its name, purse.Overhead a line of pelicans clouded the sun; thirty-four. I counted

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-5111857587653229272009-03-06T07:31:00.004-06:002009-03-06T09:00:18.647-06:00

Ever been shaken by coming up against a poem on the page that defies any meaning, one that might as well be written in the Finnish tongue as far as you're concerned? I brought up that subject at my Alabama Humanities Foundation Road Scholar workshop yesterday.Wow! What a lively and supportive bunch of writers in Calhoun County! Thanks for coming!Yesterday at noon we met at the library and I

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-63013975454247831672009-03-03T12:00:00.003-06:002009-03-03T12:13:48.151-06:00

Numbers are definitely no friend of mine; they hide behind the few brain cells that are left. The actual date for the last big Alabama snowfall that I saw was April 3, 1983 in Prattville. (I had to check the poem!) On a previous April 3, 1974, one hundred tornadoes hit in the U.S. One hit our neighborhood in Huntsville the Monday before that Wednesday.We missed the snowstorm in the '90s; that was

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-81253593235421889352009-03-01T11:57:00.005-06:002009-03-01T12:17:36.945-06:00

SNOW, SNOW, SNOW. . .March 1, 2009 SNOW DAY! Winter has wandered off-course and we have a snow-covered lawn and deck! Our pastor let us know earlier that all services are cancelled for the day. Nicholas, Teresa, and I had fun for a while throwing snowballs and making the requisite snowman on the back deck. The pots of pansies and snapdragons are completely covered over.The last snow I remember

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-7145535910093181022009-02-24T12:58:00.002-06:002009-02-24T13:12:41.185-06:00

In honor of my sweet niece, Picket, who may encounter this situation standing in line at the Pig once she's become famous (isn't she already?) enough to be recognized there. Not a humorous poem, but one that will make you stop and think, especially about names and what they mean. (And aren't we still discussing a name for my OTHER niece, Amanda?)The poem is all about appearance/reality as well.

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-1406130428401684822009-02-23T20:45:00.003-06:002009-02-23T21:16:28.961-06:00

Well, finding that word hasn't created much interest among Kathleen's Cadre (thanks, Sheila--we can try that for a bit and see how it slips off the tongue) but I think those who want to guess have guessed!Goody for you, Ms. Magpie and Carrie--both of you have taught me something! I just don't know what I called the process. Maybe it was simply initial. I know it wasn't rubrics because my

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-86378853274127205342009-02-19T17:25:00.003-06:002009-02-19T17:45:41.439-06:00

. . .and immediately the Terrific Twelve Bloggerettes became TAH-DAH: A Baker's Dozen.~~~The oldest known source and most probable origin for the expression "baker's dozen" dates to the 13th century in one of the earliest English statutes, instituted during the reign of Henry III (r. 1216-1272), called the Assize of Bread and Ale. Bakers who were found to have shortchanged customers could be

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-35640277658802209332009-02-19T15:45:00.003-06:002009-02-19T16:26:11.137-06:00

Ever try to remember a word that used to roll off the tip of your tongue and now you can't even google it? (If you say, "No," I don't want to talk to you. Just you wait, sistuh! Your brain cells are dwindling just the same as ours! ) Well, another of my sweet nieces, not Picket, (I have dozens) wrote me this question, but I can't help her.Okay, here's the question to my TERRIFIC TWELVE

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-68739866263251128722009-02-11T20:10:00.005-06:002009-02-11T20:47:58.900-06:00

Mobile and Savannah are twin cities! Perhaps Savannah is a little more humid and for sure it has more sand gnats, but a lot of things are similar. I spent the night with the Walkers (thanks, Sue and Ron) last Thursday night. All over the south those folks spoiled by temperate weather year round were whining about the cold. (Ivodean found an icicle at Melbourne Beach. Do tell. See this, girlfriend

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-68473170749719941402009-02-04T07:36:00.011-06:002009-02-04T13:57:08.993-06:00

They're here!And I've had two readings/book signings already!! First signing at Little Professor Cafe & Books!You've read a poem already from TSD!Would you like to hear what the poetry is like in The Nights, The Days? Well, get ready for something really different here: these poems are dream poems (yes, right from my real dreams--isn't that a scary thought) and each dream poem is accompanied by

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-15961955377818412802009-01-13T17:20:00.006-06:002009-01-13T18:00:48.634-06:00

Thank you, dear Picket. Thank you, dear friends of Picket.I can't believe I have a blog, and now I have Picket's friends at my blog!!!! Chris, I'm going to try and find the recipe for you, Chris.Paula's Banana Pudding3/4 cup sugar3 tablespoons all-purpose flour2 cups milk3 egg yolks1teaspoon vanilla4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter (My mantra from Julia Child: "If it isn't butter, don't bother.")3

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-16575918517743304532009-01-11T16:42:00.003-06:002009-01-11T17:12:00.320-06:00

Who could have ever guessed? The Shortest Distance is a full-length poetry book that I've been working on getting ready to publish since October 2007 when Susan Shehane, Publisher/Editor of Coosa River Books contacted me to ask me about publishing my work. The artwork, "The Sleeping Head," by my good buddy, Carolyn Watson, is worth more than the book costs at $15.00. The book will be available at

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-88992741169132195492009-01-02T23:10:00.002-06:002009-01-02T23:12:54.753-06:00

My first photos. Maybe I can move on into design and substance from here! Happy New Year to anyone who stumbles upon this.

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-88154371065964347072009-01-02T22:58:00.002-06:002009-01-02T23:06:04.831-06:00

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-40998044991088165462009-01-02T22:53:00.002-06:002009-01-02T22:57:53.955-06:00

So, here it is right out of the oven in my ovenproof M.A. Hadley fish bowl--banana pudding a la Paula Deen times 3!! (And situated just in front of the pot of blackeyed peas and next to Teresa's yeast biscuit project-in-progress. More photos if this works.

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492730298076702293.post-76889235104332439902008-12-02T05:53:00.000-06:002008-12-02T07:12:06.870-06:00

bluh-og, blog. What is it? Why is it? I've determined finally that blogging is what I've always done since I was about ten with my palm-sized diary which had its own little key so no one else in the universe could ever unlock my secrets except that with blogging the key is left in the keyhole. I've spent a lifetime of being very cautious about this, but I've taken the first step. Now it's your

Kathleen Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06836793296793377680noreply@blogger.com12