by Cathy Baker | Home & Family |
It’s no coincidence that my hubster and I refer to the month of October as the month o’ love. We love everything about it! We were even married on the side of a mountain during the month of October (Pretty Place, Greenville SC).
Every open weekend during the month we plan a getaway. Sometimes it’s an overnight stay but often it’s day trips. One of my favorite day-trip destinations is Carl Sandburg’s home, perched atop a hill in Flat Rock, NC.
This past weekend we took a hike around the front lake, the one that sits at the bottom of the hill, below his home. The crimson-threaded leaves embraced the lake as if they were saying a final farewell, at least for now.
Could Carl Sandburg have been sitting on his front stoop, observing the same breathtaking views, as he penned Autumn Movement?
(It was a foggy morning but if you look carefully you can see Connemara at the top of the hill.)
Autumn Movement,
by Carl Sandburg
I cried over beautiful things knowing no beautiful thing lasts.
The field of cornflower yellow is a scarf at the neck of the copper sunburned woman, the mother of the year, the taker of seeds.
The northwest wind comes and the yellow is torn full of holes, new beautiful things come in the first spit of snow on the northwest wind, and the old things go, not one lasts.

What will you miss the most with the passing of Fall?
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven…
Ecclesiastes 3:1
by Cathy Baker | Faith |
by Cathy Baker
April is National Poetry Month so let’s celebrate!
5 Ways to Infuse Poetry Into Our Daily Lives
- Put a poem in a letter: “It’s always a treat to get a letter, but finding a poem in the envelope makes the experience extra special.”
- Celebrate Poem in Your Pocket Day: “The idea is simple: select a poem you love, carry it with you, then share it with co-workers, family, and friends.”
- Take a Poem Out to Lunch: “Adding a poem to lunch puts some poetry in your day and gives you something great to read while you eat.”
- Start a Commonplace Book: “Since the Renaissance, devoted readers have been copying their favorite
poems and quotations into notebooks to form their own personal
anthologies called commonplace books.”
- Visit a poetry landmark: “Visiting physical spaces associated with a favorite writer is a memorable way to pay homage to their life and work.”
To read the article in its entirety, which includes all 30 ideas, please visit The American Academy of Poetry.
3 Favorite Poetry Quotes
Poetry is an echo asking a shadow to dance. – Carl Sandburg
Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words. – Edgar Allen Poe
Always be a poet, even in prose. – Charles Baudelaire
In Him we live and move and have our being; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.'”
Acts 17:20
by Cathy Baker | Faith |

The view was spectacular, the home historical, but it was Carl Sandburg’s corner office upstairs that captured this writer’s heart. I pictured him at work in the wee hours of the morning, wielding his wordsmith weaponry on a black typewriter that sat atop an apple crate turned sideways.
The details of his work space both inspired and intrigued me. What writing utensil did he reach for first? How did he organize the slew of paper filling the slots that surrounded his worn wooden desk? What rituals did he practice, if any, before his fingertips began tapping the keys?
We can learn much from studying the surroundings of those who are successful and it’s for this reason I snatch up every issue of Where Women Create…Inspiring Work Spaces of Extraordinary Women.
The Nov/Dec/Jan 2012 issue is no exception. If viewing organized, creative, and successful work spaces inspire you, be sure to pick up your copy at Barnes & Noble.
Photo courtesy of fatquartershop.com
by Cathy Baker | Ideas |
In addition to being part of my local Word Weavers group, I’m extremely blessed to be one of the “4 Corners” in a small writer’s accountability/critique group.
Carolyn, one of the three amazing “corners”, challenged us to create our own storyboards (or purpose boards) as a visible tool for inspiration.
My storyboard actually begins at the bottom, to illustrate foundational truths for my writing. First, an image of the woman at Jesus’ feet, to always remind me where my journey began. It’s also foundational for me to keep my “spiritual tank” full. How can I share it from an empty one?
The picture of the waiting room reminds me that there is a purpose in the waiting. And, I must be patient and willing to wait for God’s timing.
Mid-way up the poster, I have pictures of pure inspiration that include places we’ve visited (Lake Lure, Carl Sandburg’s home, Thomas Wolfe’s home, etc), pictures of flowers from our garden, my grandmother’s house, and a picture of a sower sowing seed smack dab in the center of the poster to remind me that everything is written to be done so with the mindset of sowing God’s seed and bringing Him alone glory.
At the top, you’ll find pictures of what I pray the result of my writing to be, beginning with an act of worship. Also, that my writing will have a divine ripple effect much like a pebble being tossed into the water. One quote completes the board: “Write so that heaven is different.” – Lee Roddy. Thankfully, the results are all in God’s hands and out of mine.
I feel incredibly blessed to share my little corner of the world with such amazing women like Carolyn, Cynthia, and Beth. Thank you, friends!
So, how could you use a storyboard to get those creative juices flowing?
by Cathy Baker | Faith |
That is not the question.
Visiting Carl Sandburg’s home last October was the highlight of our trip, so it came as no surprise to Brian when we began making plans for this month’s getaway to the mountains, I went in search of another author’s home to tour.
Enter Thomas Wolfe. I’d read bits and pieces about him over the past few years, but nothing more. However, I was hooked by one visit to his site this week.
I’ve set out to read his largely autobiographical novel, “Look Homeward, Angel,” to become better acquainted with his work and the history surrounding his home place in Asheville.

After reading the following paragraph found on page 84, there wasn’t a smidgen of doubt that completing the remaining 424 pages would not only be possible before our upcoming tour but a pure delight:
“And they would go across the Square to the cool depth of the drugstore, stand before the onyx splendor of the fountain, under the revolving wooden fans, and drink chill gaseous beverages, limeade so cold it made the head ache, or foaming ice-cream soda, which returned in sharp delicious belches down his tender nostrils.”