When I was young, I spent weeks each summer at my grandparents’ cabin on Lake Mille Lacs in northern Minnesota. When we weren’t in the lake or driving to nearby Garrison for a meal at the Jolly Viking or a chocolate-vanilla twist cone at the ice cream stand, my big sister and I hunted agates, dull-looking stones that held intricate brown, orange, and white stripes inside when broken open. We walked the gravel shoulder along Old 169, a narrow and winding two-lane blacktop highway frequented by barreling semi-trucks, disoriented tourists and fishermen, and from time to time, my narcoleptic grandmother.
Day after day, we filled jars with the elusive gems until when we closed our eyes at night, all we could see on the film screens of our minds was panel after panel of pebbles and crushed rock from which the occasional striped beauty would wink to us in the sun.
We took them home at the end of our stay and placed the best of them into the drum of my sister’s rock tumbler where they would roll around for hours in some sort of chemical wash and come out shiny, polished, exquisite. I was always tempted to put one of the polished gems in my mouth, like rock candy.
Last month WordCandy got herself a rock tumbler. Actually, WordCandy got herself a Tumblr. Maybe you love the search for the perfect candy at the app page, WordCandy.me. You love to browse through the candies and wraps until you find the perfect one. But maybe you like to see what comes out of the rock candy tumbler, too. You could head straight over to WordCandy’s Tumblr page where gorgeous candies are all packaged and ready for you to share on Twitter, Facebook, by email, or even to reblog if you’re on Tumblr yourself.
Two great ways to enjoy your candy. Stop by WordCandyMe.tumblr.com and check it out.
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You all had great comments to share about WordCandy when you drove by me there on the highway and rolled down your windows:
Monica Sharman: You amaze me with the frequent new categories (and new quotes and photos in the older categories)!
Esther Schwarz: Love how easy it is!
Shawna Ervin: I am having so much fun browsing through Word Candy and choosing something, especially on days I haven’t a clue what to blog about. It’s like a nearly endless supply of writing prompts.
Karin Fendick: The sweetness lingers…
Sheila Lagrand: It seems to be ever-growing in robusticity. (Sheila adds that she “likes to write more than she likes candy–except WordCandy.”)
Holly Grantham: WordCandy quotes and images are a fantastic writing prompt that I turn to when I need beautiful inspiration.
Lexanne Leonard: It is fun to see how the images just keep getting more and more lovely. I also love that there are quotes for every occasion that pops up. This makes it easy to share.
Leah Jlyn: Love that you’re on Tumblr now. It was fun unwrapping all the sweets as I went through every category.
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It’s always a treat for us to see what kind of WordCandy you whipped up each month. Here’s a sampling of your goodies.
Sandra Heska King: Call this Life
Monica Sharman: Prepared to Begin
Sheila Lagrand: Green and Growing Greener
Heather Truett: Full of Things
Holly Grantham: Things that Have Never Been
Lane Arnold: The Shape of New Beginnings
Elizabeth Marshall: Catch Me, I’m Falling into the Arms of Possible
Chris Yokel: In Work, Do What You Enjoy
If we missed you in our roundup, please accept our sugar-coated apologies and leave a comment with a link to your post. Watch for your next reminder letter for the super sweet-sharing day on February 1. Be sure to follow the link in your letter to upload your feedback and your post link for feature here so we don’t miss your gooey centers. And in the meantime, satisfy your sweet tooth by sharing and posting WordCandies all month long.
Photo by TPorter. Creative Commons license via Flickr. Post by Lyla Willingham Lindquist.
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I can’t wait to stop by and read some of every ones sweet thoughts
Thanks for the roundup. Wow. Can’t wait to read and sample the sweet offerings. I like your title better than mine. Think impossibility may be closer to the meaning of the piece than possibility. You may have inspired a title change
Oh gosh, Elizabeth! I didn’t mean to take such liberties. Must have been a reflection on the day I was having!
I’ve changed it back to “Possible.” I’d like you to keep seeing things that way.
Lyla, you make me laugh. (No really, I helpless before your wit; I must laugh!
Narcoleptic grandmother. You just threw that in there so casually. Made. Me. Laugh.
Love the agates. The unassuming, broken open, to reveal treasure.
Agate-Hunters
My narcoleptic grandmother
spent weeks each summer driving
the winding two-lane blacktop highway,
careful to stay inside the double white stripes.
We closed our eyes, day after day,
crushed we weren’t at the ice cream stand,
a chocolate-vanilla twist cone all ready to share.
Barreling by disoriented tourists who walked
the gravel shoulder along Old 169 to search
for dull-looking stones, Grandmother would end
our stay at the Jolly Viking, and rock and roll
all of northern Minnesota. Big sister was always
tempted to head straight back to the cabin but I would
browse the candies like I hunted agates
until fishermen would wink to us, the film screens
of their minds needing some sort of chemical wash.
My sister and I love to search at night now for perfect
polished gems. The best of them see beauty
broken open nearby, and bring home jars of sun.
Wonderful, Maureen!
Lyla….i am sipping on your words…slow.. I have too. There is so much in each word, phrase, line, thought. What you do is rich and sweet.
Your words took me back (and forth) Lyla! We used to travel when we were children, and hunt and hunt for agates and geodes. My brother taught me how to find them easily… the stones looked so ordinary on the outside, yet so spectacular if the risk to carefully strike them open was taken. As for me? I love to dig and dig and dig through the rock pile. He loved his rock tumbler though and it yielded spectacular results! I’d much rather mine and dig and split the stones wide open in the sunlight. It was the hunting and finding that I loved. You have given me something precious here. xo