A Writer's Revelations . . . . . . . . by Judy Ann Davis, Writer & Author

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

July - A Salute to Ernest Hemingway

Hemmingway 's Home

When anyone mentions novels such as A Farewell to Arms and For Whom the Bell Tolls, you immediately think of Ernest Hemingway. Often known as one of the great American 20^th Century novelists, he was born on July 21, 1899, in Cicero (now called Oak Park), Illinois.

Hemingway served in World War I and worked in journalism before publishing his story collection, In Our Time.

Carriage House

In 1953, he won Pultizer Prize for The Old Man and the Sea; and 1954, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. The Sun Also Rises is another of his well-known works.

Because he began as a writer of short stories, Hemingway developed what he called the Iceberg Theory for writing where facts float above the water and the supporting structure and symbolism operate out of sight. The theory involves pruning language and is often referred to as the “theory of omission” allowing the reader to draw his own images and conclusions about certain aspects of the story.

Writing Room in Carriage House

However, Hemingway’s life could best be described as one full of drama, debts, and many mishaps, accidents and injuries. He traveled widely and was married four times.

Sadly, he suffered from bouts of mental illness and paranoia. He committed suicide on July 2, 1961, in Ketchum, Idaho.

When I visited the Florida Keys a few years ago, I was able to tour his home where he lived and wrote during the 1930s. He has his own writing area above the carriage house as you can see in the pictures. Enjoy!

I'm featuring UP ON THE ROOF AND OTHER STORIES

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Wednesday, July 11, 2018

BON APPETITE: Amish Baked Corn

AMISH BAKED CORN

2 cups corn

2 eggs

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon sugar (optional)

½ teaspoon salt

1 dash of pepper

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

Topping:

2 tablespoons butter (melted)

½ cup bread or cracker crumbs

Directions:

1. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in fry pan and add flour.

Heat until a roux is made. Add spices.

2. Stir milk into roux and heat and stir to a make

thick sauce. Remove from heat.

3. Add corn and beaten eggs. Put mixture into
greased pan.

4. Melt butter and mix with bread or cracker

crumbs and sprinkle on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until

topping is golden brown.

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Sunday, June 24, 2018

Welcome June!

There are so many beautiful things about the month of June in the northern states. It heralds the beginning of summer. The weather turns warm and balmy while vegetation sprouts and turns greener and greener. Even the drone of the bees grow louder and more pronounced as the multitude of blossoms appear. And the song of the birds in the bushes and trees are an old welcome melody--and many times a morning alarm clock.

The fresh smell of mowed grass and summer roses in full bloom wafts through our open windows and forces us to pause for a second and just enjoy.

Summer is a reminder that we can slow down a bit. We can take a leisurely stroll or sit by an open camp fire. We can take a break in the sunshine—or in the shade—and read, observe wildlife, listen to the hum of insects, or just meditate.

For me, June is a month that allows for peace of mind. My favorite spot is a swing

on our covered patio where I can sit and watch the sun set, or close my eyes and

listen to the sounds of summer around me.There is something soothing about the dip and sway of a porch swing.

Where is your favorite spot on a pleasant June day?

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When architect Elise Springer’s father is injured, she immediately leaves San Francisco to care for him. The last person she expects to encounter in her Pennsylvania hometown is her childhood friend Lucas Fisher. Lucas is investigating his brother’s death, and Elise can’t resist lending a hand.

Lucas longs for the close family ties he never had. He’s back in Scranton to set up a classic car restoration business and build a future. The torch he carries for Elise burns brighter than ever, but before he can declare his love, he must obtain the legal rights to adopt his nephew—and prove his brother’s death was no accident.

As they unearth clues pointing to find a murderer and a missing stash of money, Elise faces a dilemma. Is her career on the West Coast the key to her happiness, or is it an animal-cracker-eating four-year-old and his handsome uncle instead?

Thursday, June 7, 2018

June Is Haying Season in Pennsylvania

June is the month that kicks off haying season in Pennsylvania. Along the byways and roads, you'll see farmers cutting, tedding (aerating the grasses), and baling their fields of hay.

It is the barns that fascinate me, especially the bank or banked barns. They are a unique style of barn noted for their accessibility on two separate levels. Often built into the side of a hill, or bank, both the upper and the lower floors area could be accessed from ground level, one area at the top of the hill and the other at the bottom.

In a typical Pennsylvania barn, the upper floor was a hayloft and the lower was a stable and milking parlor where the cattle were held in stanchions and milked twice a day.

The doors on bank barns were typically on the long sidewall. They were usually double doors, often on tracks, and were wide enough to allow for the hay wagons to enter. With William Penn's promise of freedom and inexpensive land, many settlers came to Pennsylvania. Among these settlers were the Germans, who are given credit for designing bank barns on their lands.

My family were farmers and we owned a bank barn. I have many childhood memories of playing in the loose hay in the loft. Later, of course, square hay balers came into existence, eliminating the need for hay loaders. Later, round balers became widely used because they allowed tractors to move the heavy bales which were cut, bound, covered, and stacked along the sides of fields—eliminating the use of the hayloft.

Hey Jude!