There are three 'Cs' in my life at the moment. The three are Cats, Colorado and Creativity. I'm sure if I took the time, I'd find more, but these three will do for now.
Cats! I love cats, always have and probably always will. As I sit here writing, I can look up at a photo my mother sent me. I was about two years old at the time. Our dog is lying on his back looking up at me. I am holding not one, not two but three cats in my short, two year old arms. I loved out dog, a collie mix, but the cats were something special to me. Even today I have two that share the house with me. Gabriel came to me because the wife of his owner got mad because he scratched their three year old. Of course my thought was, teach you child how to be around cats. But I was the winner. Gabe is so special, easy going and so loving. Of course he is primarily a black cat. (Did I say, I love black cats?).
Gabriella came to me from a co-worker. She was from a litter and no one would take this sweet little black kitten. Since I had an eighteen year old at the time, I knew Gabe would be alone soon. As a result, I took Gabby in and she soon was ruling the roost. She lives life on her own terms, and sticks to it. Still, she and Gabe manage and both bring me a lot of joy.
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| Gabe on the left, Gabby on the right |
I also am enamored of the history of the state, and the region I live in. While many areas were settled by people who were 'leaving' for reasons wide and varied, Colorado was settled because the people wanted to be here. Usually it was for the mineral that came out of the ground. What most may not know, Colorado was a large volcanic plateau. Pikes Peak is not a volcano, it is solid granite, but a lot of the area around the peaks were very active. That activity created the minerals, gold, silver, gemstones and more, that brought so many to this region. Also the clear, dry climate was a haven for health seekers even as the gold seekers were heading to the mountains.
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| Pikes Peak seen from the Northeast |
I started performing for audiences when two and a half. I've always sang. I started playing the piano at five, and sometimes still sit at the keyboard. Unfortunately the piano I inherited from the lady who raised my mother was destroyed by the flood. I've written plays, music and even recorded, both as an actor and musician. Yes, I've done film, even directed a short movie. I've taught acting and worked as a semi- and professional actor.
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| Helen (Hunt) Jackson at Seven Falls |
What is your focus? What fuels your life? What makes you happy? That's the joy of life. We all have those things that make getting up in the morning worthwhile.
ALSO: If you have been following, you know that Prairie Rose Publications and its imprints are now doing a themed 'blog a book scene' marketing tool. If you are not on the Yahoo Group, just watch Twitter for the hashtag #blogabookscene and if you see it, retweet it. Check with Kaye Spencer if you wish to know more.
Thus ends my first Sunday blog post for Prairie Rose Publications in 2018. It's a great venue to get your name and work/passion out there. We can all grow if we support each other. Life changes, but friends can be forever.
Doris Gardner-McCraw -
Author, Speaker, Historian-specializing in
Colorado and Women's History
Colorado and Women's History
Member of National League of American Pen Women,
Women Writing the West,
Pikes Peak Posse of the Westerners
Angela Raines - author: Where Love & History Meet
For a list of Angela Raines Books: Here
Photo and Poem: Click Here
Angela Raines FaceBook: Click Here
