Sunday Letter?
Remember when letter writing was a thing? You may be too young to remember, but I do. I religiously wrote letters to my penpal in Australia. When I was away at camp, I wrote letters to Staci and Momma even though I got home before my news. Back home, I wrote letters to the new friends I’d made at camp (friends I would likely never see again). On occasion, my best friends and I even wrote letters. I could look from my bedroom window and see the water tower and stand of trees marking the town where many of them lived. During summer, we may as well have lived in different states.
On this icy Sunday morning in Northwest Arkansas (19 degree as I write), I’m writing a Sunday Letter to you. And if I can stick with it (no promises), this will be a regular Sunday thing each week as a way to recap my writing, my travels, whatever happens to be going on (or not going on). Sort of a “Dear Diary” entry.
Dear Sunday Readers,
KUAR’s Arts & Letters!
Last week, I had a recording session with Brad Minnick of Arts & Letters. Brad will be producing a radio show about The Accidental Salvation of Gracie Lee to air in the fall. He and his staff made me feel right at home. What a thrill for me to know that he really “gets” Gracie Lee’s story. If you aren’t listening to Arts & Letters (part of NPR), you should be. Start today by listening to A Million Lights on the Boulevard.
Home on the Farm. Afterward, I headed home to the farm for a few days of solitary editing time. (Working on book two!) I ate lunch with friends at my favorite restaurant—Wilson Cafe—and refueled my soul with drives through farmland and along ditch banks. I went to Sunday School and church services at home. I even poked around in abandoned places with a friend who likes to do the same. (Mark, we should have a television show.)
Let’s caption this picture. Choose a) Abandoned in the Delta; b) Yesterday’s Tea Party; c) something else (tell me in the comments).
Marvell and Stuttgart. On Thursday, I spoke to two classes at Marvell Academy and spent the afternoon at Marvell Library with a delightful group of book club ladies / library patrons. They put me up at Tru Hilton in Stuttgart, an unexpected treat in an area known for ducks but not hotels.
The Fourth River. To all my writer friends, keep submitting your work! I recently had a piece of flash fiction accepted for publication in The Fourth River, a literary journal published by Chatham University in Pennsylvania. My piece is entitled Ties That Bind. One acceptance negates lots of declinations. I speak from experience.
John is cooking bacon, so I’m distracted. Happy Sunday, everyone. Stay warm.
Your friend,
Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.
Musical Pairing:
Blessed Be the Tie that Binds, Violin and Piano
Yesterday’s tea party.
Thank you! It was so strange to fine china tea cups in this old property that once housed prison farm labor!
I love the idea of a Sunday letter. Caption: Gone but not forgotten. Will we be able to read ‘Ties That Bind’?
I believe so. I think it will be online.
Yesterday’s Tea Party – I look forward to the Sunday letters!
Thank you! Maybe I’ll keep with them if people look forward to reading.
Are you familiar with Ms. Lily Peter of Marvell? If not, look her up. You would have loved her! She was a writer, poet, teacher, farmer, and ahead of her time.
I will! Thank you!
What a lovey way to end the week and start the new. My Sunday starts by saying, “good morning miss wren !” A tiny wren that found a hole in the screen and comes in the porch every morning to eat from the tea cup I fill with food for her. If the cup is empty, she fussed at me thru the window till I refill it for her.
What a delightful story! Sounds like the basis of a book to me…
What a meaningful way to end this Sunday. The hymn was hauntingly beautiful.
Glad you enjoyed. I love the sound of a violin.
I like Yesteryears Tea Parties in the Delta. Love the Sunday letter idea. Love all your ideas! Have you ever written anything about our childhood escapades “plans” we carried out at mamma Ruby’s? (I may have asked you that before but I don’t remember it.) They were most likely silly shenanigans but still fun memories as I recall. Let me know when you’re coming nearby. Would love to visit! ♥️✝️♥️
Thank you! (some ideas are probably better than others LOL)
Glad you continued your Sunday letters! I enjoy them.