Nadine Feldman, Author

celebrating strong female characters and whatever else strikes my fancy

good blogs

This Week’s Blog Winner Is…

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…Passionate Pursuits by Brenda Moguez!

If you haven’t read Brenda’s blog yet, you’re in for a treat. She weaves thoughtful, lyrical magic to all aspects of womanhood. Add the threads of sensuality and authenticity, and you get a blog that always intrigues!

While I’m reading Brenda’s blog, I’ve gotten surprisingly used to the sound of jackhammers. Yesterday I managed to do my Ellen Barrett DVD while they were going on! Gotta get my exercise, and Ellen, as you all know by now, is my fave.

In the meantime, have you seen The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel yet? It’s refreshing to see a fine film where older people are still vital, working, loving, and finding meaning in their lives. Judi Dench and Maggie Smith are just a few of the brilliant actors in this movie. Filmed in India, the chaos of Indian life is its own character, and many of the scenes were filmed among regular residents just going about their day. The beautiful line that threads the movie together is this: “Everything turns out all right in the end. If it’s not all right, it’s not the end.” The first time we tried to see it, it was sold out! Last night we were still sitting waaaayyy up front. Hollywood, we want more like these!

Remember that skirt I’ve been knitting? Well, next week I have a lot more to say about that. Let’s just say it’s been an “interesting” experience. I may also post a Tuesday book review. I know, I said I wasn’t going to do that anymore for a while, but I’ve been reading some great stuff that I want to share. Enjoy your weekend!

Sunshine Blogger Award

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Thanks, Tina Fariss Barbour of Bringing Along OCD, for the Sunshine Blogger Award! Tina writes with tender honesty about her efforts to manage a life overshadowed by OCD, anxiety, and depression. Her posts educate, and her determination and resilience inspire. Tina, you go, girl! You’re awesome!

Here are the rules for this blog award if you are nominated:
  • Include the award logo in a post or on your blog (see the flower photo above).
  • Answer 10 questions about yourself.
  • Nominate 10-12 other fabulous bloggers.
  • Link your nominees to the post and comment on their blogs, letting them know that they have been nominated.
  • Share the love and link the person who nominated you.
So here are 10 things about me:
What are your favorite things to do? Exploring in nature, gardening, writing, travel, cooking, crafts…I have an endless list!
Where would you most like to travel? I’ve been fortunate to travel to many different countries. With my recent move to the Pacific Northwest, I have many travel opportunities right in my own backyard. I am excited about hiking the Olympic Peninsula, Vancouver Island, and other nearby areas.
Who would you most like to meet who is still living? Jon Stewart
Who would you most like to meet who has passed away? Louisa May Alcott
What do you think is the hardest thing to do? Bury a child. I’ve done it and don’t ever want to do it again.
What is your favorite non-alcoholic drink? Herbal tea, especially if it’s served in a really pretty teapot. With little sandwiches and chocolates and scones…maybe a little pre-tea champagne…oh, wait, I’m getting off topic. Sounds good, though, doesn’t it?
What is your favorite charity? Donorschoose.org. I love supporting teachers and schools.
What are you proud of? I know how to persevere, and I do not give up easily. Good quality for a book author with a *sigh* small audience. (The Foreign Language of Friends is only $1.99, by the way!) 🙂
What ambition do you still have? To learn how to treasure every moment. Life is too short to waste time with dramas, whether mine or others’.
What is your favorite flower? Purple irises and yellow snapdragons.
My nominations (in no particular order): I always enjoy these blogs!
There are so many more, but these are faves I haven’t listed in a while or ever.
Have a great weekend! Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms!

Thursday Blog Shout-Out

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I’m feeling a bit guilty. I might have been tough on the guys a few days ago when I ranted about how we women often don’t take time for ourselves, while our male counterparts just go do their thing. If anything, I think we should admire the guys for that and even emulate that behavior — so I hope that my male readers will know that I never intend to “bash” men.

Anyway, it’s Thursday, and time for a blog shout-out. Normally I focus on women, since that is my primary audience, but since I am feeling a tad guilty, I want to recommend a guy’s blog that I consider worthy. One of his posts made me cry, and anyone who can move me with his or her words gets my vote!

So please go visit Brad the Dad to get a parenting perspective from the male point of view.  My own hubby is and has been an involved father, so I appreciate all the hard-working dads out there who don’t see child-rearing as “woman’s work.”

BLOG NEWS: Next week I will be in a virtual yoga conference, so I’m going to take a break and will be back on Monday, February 13th! “See” you soon!

Time for a Blog Recommendation!

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It’s Thursday, so it’s that time again to talk about someone else’s blog for a change! I always check my Twitter feed for people who are doing interesting things, and I’m never disappointed.

This week’s recommendation is Aging Abundantly, a great website for the over-50 set. It is so chock-full of information and inspiration that I won’t even try to sort it out here! Suffice to say that if you visit the site, you’ll find anything and everything you want to know about enjoying this stage of our lives!

I’m keeping things short today. I’m finishing the latest revisions to Blood and Loam in hopes of getting it into the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest, and I have a lot to do! At least I finally know, after a number of rewrites, the way it needs to end. It’s had an ending all along, and that doesn’t change, but my method of getting there is changing — and that’s a good thing. I finally feel satisfied that I am doing my absolute best!

Have a great weekend! I’ll be back on Monday.

Thursday Books & Blogs

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Good morning! As we prepare for another visit to our future hometown, we are also in the midst of listing our Houston house for sale. This morning the photographer comes, so the house is eerily tidy. The new house deal remains alive at this time — yay! Yeah, I’ve made peace with whatever happens, as I mentioned yesterday, but I won’t kid you. It’s a cool house, and I really hope it works out. We’ll see!

This coming weekend is my birthday weekend (Sunday is the day!), and I’ve given myself the present of taking a yoga workshop with the legendary Angela Farmer. Angela, now over 70, has been a dynamic force in expanding “feminine” yoga, yoga that expands on ancient traditions taught primarily by males for males. I took a class from her back in 2004 during a conference, and I treasure several moments from that class. I also thought it would be a great way to meet some people in the community in an intimate setting.

By the way, if you like yoga and haven’t seen the Yogawoman DVD, I highly recommend it. Angela Farmer appears in this video as one of many female yoga pioneers.

In books, this past week I finished The Time Travel Journals: Shipbuilder by Marleen Dotterer. The shipbuilder refers to Thomas Andrews, who oversaw the building of the Titanic. In this captivating tale, Sam Altair, a scientist experimenting with time travel, accidentally sends himself back to 19o6. Worse, he unwittingly takes with him Casey Wilson, a university student. I won’t go into how they connect to Andrews, but I will tell you that Dotterer handles time travel in a way I haven’t seen before. Altair and Wilson, rather than trying to avoid changing history, actively work to do so. The tension builds gradually to a powerful climax, and there’s a sweet love story, too! I loved it, and I hope you will, too.

Here’s another treat for you: The Art of an Improbable Life, a blog by Becky Green Aaronson and her husband, Jeffrey, who have created for themselves a unique, rich life that spans the globe. In this blog, you’ll find gorgeous photos and interesting essays. This week’s post shares the story of Lori Robinson, “Africa’s Beautiful Bag Lady,” and it’s a good one. Check it out if you get a chance.

I’m going to suspend Friday Fiction for now, but it will  return sometime after the holiday season. I’m currently revising Blood and Loam and will start posting it once I feel that it’s ready for viewing. Unfortunately, it’s been taking me longer than I expected! This has been a difficult, challenging novel to write, requiring more research than what I’m used to and punching all my personal buttons. If I can pull it off, it will be a fascinating book, but it’s demanding more of me as a writer than anything I’ve ever done.

Have a great weekend! Next week I’ll be sharing adventures from Washington State — I’ll try to include plenty of pics.

Blog Recommendation: Presence of Magic

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Good morning! Greetings from Washington State, where we are spending the next several days figuring out where we would like to live. We arrived on the Olympic Peninsula later than we expected, in large part because I left my computer on the plane! Ugh. We were about 20 minutes away from the SEA-TAC airport when I realized what had happened. Hubby was kind enough not to yell, and an honest soul turned the computer in, so no harm no foul — just some brief frayed nerves.

My NaNoWriMo novel is on said computer. I wouldn’t have lost it, because I store my writing on Sugar Sync, so I can access it on multiple computers. Still, I wouldn’t have gotten much writing or blogging done on the trip!

Keeping up with other blogs is a challenge during NaNoWriMo. I’m over 31,000 words, and I’ve done it largely by avoiding other people’s blogs. Since I enjoy reading what my fellow bloggers are up to, it’s a sacrifice I don’t always enjoy. I still have to sneak around from time to time and read a few, just to feel like I’m staying connected. Maybe it’s because I’m here in Washington State, getting ready to house hunt, but I am feeling the presence of magic in my life, so it makes sense that I would find a blog of that name. I found Brynne Betz via the magic of Twitter, and I am thrilled! These are sweet blog entries that will make you smile. Check it out!

In the meantime, we’re eager to check out Port Townsend. We arrived late and saw nothing, so I have no idea what the town looks like. I’m sure I’ll have plenty to say next week! Tomorrow I’ll add the next installment of The Foreign Language of Friends.