Lifting One's Stuffing

  By Maryanna Gabriel

With thanksgiving coming I have been feeling peculiar. Mostly because I miss my family. When I was young I would curl up with a good book and the world would fall away. To my surprise I have done just this. My studio is my happy place, cozy with pillows, flowers in a vase, and wood beams. Not only have I been reading one of my favorite authors, but I have been napping. Such pleasures I could only fantasize about when I was younger and not possible if preparing a massive turkey dinner.

Then I understood multitudes are in the position I am in. Many are feeling strange this weekend. Like Christmas, it is supposed to be a gathering of those near and dear. My thoughts went to the Dalai Lama and the practice of tonglen, where one joins energy in compassion for those in the same space. Funny thing.  I immediately felt better. Sending out compassion lifted my stuffing. Off now to make a pumpkin pie. 

Getting Published - I Believe

 By Maryanna Gabriel


I have been researching publishers and making inquiries about whether or not they would be interested in my book about the Camino. Such endeavors can be arduous so it was with some surprise I recently had three publishing houses look at my book proposal. To my even greater surprise, I heard back from two. The latest response arrived a couple of days ago and was complimentary. "You write beautifully." Gosh, awfully nice to hear. My book was not what they were looking for but it was encouraging to be given the compliment. 

One has to keep trying and putting one's best foot forward. If no publisher expresses an interest, I will self publish. There has been positive feedback from my beta readers which has also been encouraging. At this point there is so much vested with three years put into it, it makes my head spin. I believe. 

Maybe if I sprinkle tinker bell dust around my writing table. 

The Silence Of Gold

 By Maryanna Gabriel


A gold nugget has been kicking around my jewelry box for years. It came with a note. "Belonged to your great grandfather..."

A jeweler informed me that it was too soft for him to do anything with. Recently I discovered an assayer and gave it to him to price out. To my surprise it was worth almost two hundred dollars. "I'll take it," I said. It can go towards my tuition, an amount which is killing me. I wonder what my great grandfather would have thought if he knew one day he would help his great granddaughter with her education. 

Nobody in the family talked about him. My questions were met with pursed lips. I think he abandoned my great grandmother with three sons, but it is a mystery. There is no photograph or birthdate. Just a name. When I did the family tree I tried to find more information but the trail went cold.

I wish now I had been persistent and asked more questions. Maybe he panned for gold in the Yukon and hung out with Diamond Tooth Gertie and that is how he got the nugget. Or maybe he was a gambler and the nugget was payment. Whatever the answer, I will never know. It must have been quite the scandal at the time for me to have been met with such silence.