I had to post this on. I carve out space for the Guild's Spring Retreat in the Santa Cruz Mountains {Bonny Doon} every year. I cannot describe how restorative/regenerative, inspirational and kind the IWWG culture is. If you write or wish you did (no portfolio necessary), bide awhile and take this in...

ring of stones thru eastern door

The International Women’s Writing Guild 's

25th Annual
Early Spring in California
VOICES Conference

Friday, March 13 to Sunday, March 15, 2009
Bosch Bahái School, Santa Cruz, California

with
Rachel de Baere
Contemporary Voices: Writing for the New World

Richelle McClain
Ancient Voices: Unearthing the Treasures of our Stories Past

Mary Reynolds Thompson
Original Voices: Exploring the Language of the Land

Workshops are Conducted to Facilitate the Creative Expression of the Attendees.
No Portfolio Necessary.

* * * * * *

WORKSHOP DIRECTORS BIOS

RACHEL DE BAERE, M.P.A., is a lifelong writer and native of the San Francisco Bay Area. She leads writing groups of all levels and teaches writing and literature courses. Rachel is a regular workshop director for the IWWG’s Early Spring in California Conference and serves as IWWG’s Regional Representative in the San Francisco Bay area. Her own writing includes children’s picture books, poetry manuscripts, essays, magazine articles, grant applications and short stories.

RICHELLE McCLAIN, writes fiction, essays and poetry. Her short story, Yellow Rooms, appeared in Streetlights: An Anthology of the Black Urban Experience (Penguin). An essay discussing the “independent versus the representative voice” was published in Switchback. With an MFA in Creative Writing, she has taught writing at the University of San Francisco and throughout the East Bay. She also contributes her time and expertise to various organizations throughout the Bay Area including Voices of Our Nation’s Arts and the Women’s Initiative. She is currently completing Conversations in a Camry, a series of personal essays about motherhood.

MARY REYNOLDS THOMPSON, CPCC, CAPF, is a writing coach and facilitator of poetry and journal therapy. Her work has been published in SageWoman, Front Range Review, cited in numerous blogs, websites, newsletters, and has appeared in two poetry/prose anthologies. She is the founder of two companies: Write the Damn Book, the heroic path from procrastination to publication, and Awakening the Eco-Soul: Paths to Healing Self and Planet. Her work leads her to teach and coach individuals throughout the country and internationally

Members: Full Weekend (including Room, Board and Program): $350 (reduced from $385)
Member Deposit: $40

Non-IWWG Members: Full Weekend Conference (including Room, Board and Program): $370 (reduced from $405)
Non-Member deposit: $40

Commuters Day Attendance Only
Member: Saturday and Sunday: $100 (reduced from $160)
Member: Saturday only: $70 (reduced from $110)
Member: Sunday morning only: $30 (reduced from $50)

Commuters Day Attendance Only
Non-IWWG Members: Saturday and Sunday: $120 (reduced from $180)
Non Member: Saturday only: $80  (reduced from $120)
Non-Member: Sunday morning: only $40  (reduced from $60)

Lunch and dinner are available to day attendees at nominal cost:
Breakfast $9.00
Lunch $11.00
Saturday dinner $13.00 

Annual IWWG Membership Fee: $45
http://www.iwwg.org

To register online for the workshop via PayPal, click on the following link: http://iwwg.org/index.php?page=1033

To register by Mail, send a check to: IWWG, PO Box 810, Gracie Sta., New York, NY 10028

To download, view and print the California Conference brochure and program guide, click on the following link:http://www.iwwg.com/pdf/ca90.pdf

St Wanda's Day & V-Day

love yourself always

Image lifted from: www.loveyourselfalways.net/2008/01/december-2...

 

*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

St Wanda was a character who came in a dream to a young woman who heartily detested and despised Valentine's Day.  With exquisite patience and gentleness the wise woman empathized with this dis-heartened young woman explaining exactly why she was so whacked out about the Valentine's Day culture. The essential, nay crucial part of the wisdom is missing if you are pressured by external forces to make a display of love when the primary relationship of self-love is languishing and desolate.

Thank you Britt Aageson for the original dream and the return of this piece of wisdom. St Wanda's Day, established in our calendars now for almost two decades, is another most timely and deeply needed tool in the process of healing ourselves and our world,
*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Add to this that Valentines Day is now also firmly established as V-Day:
Until All Violence Against Women Ceases.....

Celebrate the work of Eve Ensler & her utterly inspired

VAGINA MONOLOGUES
The 'V' in V-Day stands for Victory, Valentine, and Vagina. www.vday.org

About V-Day ~ V-Day is a global movement that helps anti-violence organizations throughout the world continue and expand their core work on the ground, while drawing public attention to the larger fight to stop worldwide violence (including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation (FGM), sexual slavery) against women and girls. V-Day is also a day (on or around Valentine's Day in February), for which annual theatrical and artistic events are produced around the world to transform consciousness, raise money, and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations.

Each year, V-Day promotes a series of innovative productions, events and initiatives that are identified collectively as V-Day and the year ~ thus we are approaching V-Day 2009.
V-Day is a 501c3 non-profit organization.

V-Day has now awarded $$$millions to grassroots, national, and international organizations and programs that work to stop violence against women and girls. Awardees are chosen and funds are distributed annually, in or around the month of February.
                                          HAPPY ST. WANDA'S DAY, TRIUMPHANT V~DAY!

v day is coming

200px-Cauliflower Fractal AVM Wiki

In 1989 I coined the word ‘PlaNetweaver’ (and the name was used for our UNICEF 'PlaNetweaver's Treasure Store on San Francisco’s infamous Haight Street!). PlaNetweaving represents a connectivity that is a whole lot more fun than plain old ‘networking’. The potential of me2everyone is as a tried and trusted holographic universe which truly supports and enhances our planetside 3-D endeavours. It would be so cool if me2everyone swiftly rises as an effective portal for people who wish to thrive and keep pushing the envelope in our 21^st century ‘new economy’ as described by ‘Whole New Mind’ author, Daniel Pink.
www.me2everyone.com/46463

 About "me2everyone":
This virtual-2-real world is in its pre-launch stage with launch imminent. You may be inspired to have a presence there, especially those of you offering real-time sites, goods or services.

At my daughter's behest, I just became a shareholder.  You don't pay to have shares, though there is another level where you can pay in small increments (starting with 3 pounds sterling or $4.48 in dollars) for something called "Ripples". I did get a few of these too after doing the background reading. Since I was hired to be a podcaster inside a virtual world and discovered a lot of 'real world' stuff does emerge from it, I figure the potential is there in this me2everyone also.

300px-2006-01-14 Surface waves wiki

me2everyone intros:
"We have lots of great features coming for the launch – most things you expect from Web 2.0 and some that you don't. We aim to become the most visited website on the web by 2012/13 and during 2009 we will become ever more innovative. If you have any suggestions for features you would like to see, please Contact Us.  Any ideas that we use will be rewarded with up to 100,000 bonus shares. "

"What makes Me2Everyone better than Second Life..?"
"Me2Everyone will be owned primarily by the people, it is a digital village that will eventually grow into a city and beyond that it will expand into a world. It will give users the ability to interact with each other in a way that is unique and exciting.."
http://www.yourblogismoney.com/2009/01/me2everyone-update/

Fairie-ality SLIDE DOWN LEAF

She's a deva

she's an elf

shape shifter

shadow

of her brilliant self

rainbow spirit

shooting star

that's how far

she came

to find you

From the deep and wild green places

from dimensions many faces

this world now her spirit graces

to remind you...             

upside down fun faery