Chicago, a Sprained Ankle, and Drive-By Poeting

It's been an eventful couple of weeks since my last blog post.  Since I was on here, I visited Chicago, sprained my ankle (my first night in Chicago!) and did a poetry reading at the Stamford Art Festival.  My baby is a baby no longer, but is starting to string together words to form simple sentences, which is exciting to no one else except me as her parent.  And my older girls are running around like crazy, enjoying the beautiful summer weather we've been having.

First off, Chicago.  Here's the obligatory tourist shot at the Chicago Bean with my husband and my crutches.

I also fell in love with a blues artist who is new to me - Joanna Connor.  I have never seen a better guitarist in my life.  Pair her nimble fingers with her soulful voice, and it's a winning combination.  I could have listened to her all night long.

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My husband and I never had a honeymoon, since we were both working like crazy when we got married.  Three kids later, it was nice to finally take a few days to ourselves.  Huge thank you to my parents-in-law for watching the kids!!!

Next up is the Stamford Art Festival, organized by the very talented poet, Jerry T. Johnson.  Right on the water in Stamford, it was a lovely view and a lovely day, with some very talented writers reading, including Edward Ahern, Lisa Pierce Flores, Ann Cefola, Roberta Bisgyer, John F. McMullan, Gil Fagiani and Shanna T. Melton.

In addition to the reading, several of the poets (myself included) volunteered to do drive-by poeting.  What that means is we'd chat with people for a few minutes and write a poem for them on the spot.  I was super nervous to do it, but it ended up being a ton of fun.  Of course, I gravitated towards the kids, who I always find easier to write for than adults.

Thanks to everyone who came out this weekend!  Hope to see you again at the next local art festival.

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