someone who thinks good things will always happen and finds something good in everything
Bringing Not Quite Pollyanna into the world has been a little like birthing an elephant… there was a seriously long incubation period, in which some ideas grew and some were scrapped, and there were some wicked growing pains along the way… But the end product, (in this case, this site) SO worth it!
NQPA has been a-brewin’ since July 2013. I wanted a place where I could bring together a variety of ideas and creative ventures, as well as have a format for my quirky, sometimes absurd, silly, sailor-mouthed personality.
I’m bossy at times. brazen. bold. I hold my tongue. and speak my mind. I can be terribly crass. and delightfully couth. I am a pessimistic optimist (or an optimistic pessimist) so I always prepare for the worst and hope for the best. I try to find something lovely in everything, and look for silver linings when the fan and the shit collide.
I am a writer of poetry. blogs. essays. nostalgia. and the attempted stray novel or two (that shit’s hard, man!) I am a taker of photographs. I knit. I paint. I sing. I dance. I sew. I doodle. I dream.
and so, I present to you…my baby elephant.
So this is where I blahhhhg.
Witty, serious, sentimental, dark, bright, heated, or plain old “wtf!?” you’ll find it here.
My dear friend June told me, “The world is a better place when you are writing Karen.”
So that is what I’d like to do…make my corner better.
Joyous. Joyful. Jubilant. A celebration. Before we learned he was, in fact, boy…we thought we might be having a girl. Everyone I knew thought I was carrying a daughter. We were so convinced that we’d hardly even entertained boy names, save for a passing comment......
I’m just going to state the obvious… saying goodbye sucks. whether at the end of a relationship, the end of a chapter in life, the end of a friendship, or the passing of someone you love. saying goodbye just sucks. I’ve spent the past decade......
I recently saw a sticker, which reads, “live a great story.” Black letters on white background. Simple. Live A Great Story. A few days ago I received a message from one of my nearest and dearest, (a friend I found in high school, a sister,......
My father was never around much. My parents divorced when I was still a baby, so I never knew any different. It was just me, my mom, and my big sister. He died when I was 18. Three days before I graduated high school. Over......
I’m a bit sad. I didn’t think much of it at first. It was just another headline which caught my eye for a fleeting moment. Ringling Brothers final show. But these last few days it’s been sinking in. The circus. The place where, as a......
For a long time I was mama to one. A long time. Nearly twenty years. And then… surprise. Now I am mama to an almost 21 year old, and mom-mom to a 10 month old. Perhaps I’m biased, but believe me when I say I......
1. road trips. 2. ferry boats. 3. dancing barefoot. 4. the smell of the sea 5. the sound of the wind through the trees. ...
1. “I refuse to think of them as chin hairs. I think of them as stray eyebrows.” ~ Janette Barber … chin hairs. seriously. wtf!? I’ve had this conversation with several of my “over 35” friends. We all agree this is dumb. we should not have to......
1. I’m kind of awful when it comes to making notes/speaking points. I usually have a handful of things written down and then I improvise. Which really only works out about half the time. 2. I’m a big fan of discussions, conversation, creative brainstorming and powwow-like......
1. Spiders. Though not as much these days it seems. I guess it kind of depends on the spider. 2. Garbage disposals. I cannot even talk myself into fishing out items that don’t belong. I refuse to put my hand in there, and cannot watch......
Several times a year, it seems, conversation eventually drifts ’round to the age-old question of pj’s or nude. Now, I have very strong feelings about this. And it has nothing to do with insecurities or self-consciousness. Personally, I love to be naked, but there is......
1. Arcadia Ales – Cocoa Loco triple chocolate stout (I’ve only had this once. At Sergio’s in Louisville. It was love at first sip.) 2. West Sixth – Pay it Forward Cocoa Porter (sadly, it seems they do not leave Kentucky. no PiFCP in......
it’s not a real playground if it doesn’t have a swing-set. there is pure bliss for me on swings legs pumping forth and back rising ever higher laughing at the feeling of muscles strained air blowing past my ears wind rushing against my cheeks and......
I was told to turn left so I took a hard right and kept driving my teacher told me to dance so I crossed my arms shook my head and stood still in front of everyone someone once told me to watch my mouth nice......
I wrote a song today sat at a dusty old piano carved out a tune on tired ivory. Flimsy cobwebs broke along unused wires sent sleeping spiders scattering as my fingers timidly struck each chord. Weaving its way into the world like a newborn the......
In a small box in the closet where I keep certain treasures memories of my past there is a tiny news clipping an obituary four lines long four lines tell the story of a man aged fifty one his name. survived by two daughters. wife.......
there is a girl who hangs the stars (for this is how the stars are hung) she climbs a ladder to the sky and tiptoes to the topmost rung then tiny fingers gently lift each fiery glowing orb; each sun with care she pins them......
I am blameless and at fault. Innocent and guilty damaged, scarred stained, bruised. Someone please peel my battered carcass off the floor. I stumble to the mirror stare blindly at empty eyes watching me in the glass. I was temporarily lost; on leave of......
Hide and Watch.
Life is about opening doors and closing doors – walking through and knowing when to stay put. Sometimes, life presents you with so many opportunities the toughest decision is choosing which door to walk through. and every opportunity, every door, leads to hundreds more.
Get a copy of my poetry collection, Three Thousand Doors.
A collaborative photo project documenting the things folks fling. (I should probably mention my love for Oscar the Grouch and the fact that my sister and I used to run around the house singing “Oh, I love trash! Anything dirty or dingy or dusty, anything ragged or rotten or rusty!)
The Trashed Project – an Homage to OtG!
