A to Z Challenge: today is brought to you by the letter A, which is for Aberystwyth

Today is 'A' day. I am going to blog about Aberystwyth. A town in Wales, where a very good friend lives and I hope to visit someday soon.

I have this strong desire to see Wales and the magic that this little country exudes. Aberystwyth, which I am sure I could never pronounce as I don't speak Welsh. But, that makes me want to travel to Wales and Aber (as it is commonly called) to experience it and see it maybe I could learn.

Since my very early days have I wanted to travel across the pond to England, Scotland, and Wales (and Ireland too!). There is such an old world feel to that part of the world, but there is something else. When I read the children's series call "The Dark is Rising" Sequence, written by Susan Cooper which is partially set in Wales, I was even more convinced that I should travel there. Everything that Lynne has told me about life in Wales and Aber just make my heart soar with the hills of the countryside, the coast of Aber (even after the nasty winter storms that rocked the coastline), and the places that Susan Cooper (the author of "The Dark is Rising") exist. In many ways the world of of Aber and Wales is like a fairytale, without the actual knights and dragons. The stories revolve around Arthurian legends and myths (that's also A topic).

Aber and the surrounding locales of Wales inspire something in me. It's most likely the writing. I am dying to put to words that this beauty of a town and land has known since the early days of civilization, with castles dated back to the 12th century: Aberystwyth and Cilgerran Castles, gorgeous coastlines, and spectacular hills. And I got this from pictures and details from my friend, imagine what it is really like!

Aberyswyth Castle

Cilgarren Castle

The pictures are complements of the fantastic site Welcome to Aberyswyth! Go and check them out. Visiting the site has made me want to finally work , on saving the funds to go there and getting my passport, finally!

Wales is a place where names don't have vowels that we (of the rest of the world know them) have. Cwmystwyth (Cwm-uss-twith), Bwlchgwyn (Bull-ch-gwin), Rhydymwyn (Ree-duh-moin), Ysbyty Ystwyth (Uss-butty Uss-twith), Mwnt (munt, rhyming with a northern English pronunciation of hunt) are just a few examples of this vowel-less language that has me stumbling over the names.

Blogging A to Z Challenge

Blog-a-Day challenge: Day 1 boasts a sonnet

While at work I thought that I would like to try and do a blog-a-day for an entire week. Not an easy idea, right? I mean, I would have to post something everyday. I couldn't cheap by pulling out some old writing, it would have to be new, or at least relatively new. A blog post once a day for a week. It could be anything; maybe a poem I wrote at the coffee shop, or the beginning of a new story. Maybe I could do a couple of small interviews, or an editorial on some major news event. They all sound doable. There is some potential for me to really push myself. After least week I need to keep the energy going. My thought was that this would allow me a bit of freedom, but also give me a goal to strive for.

After all, we as humans seem to really thrive on this concept. I think I'm right in thinking that. If there a puzzle, our minds kick into gear to puzzle it out, whether a rubik cube or and the New York Times crossword puzzle. There is pride and satisfaction in succeeding in something. I think that is why I really started to blog. To succeed in something that is greater than myself. If I can get others to read my words, or find enjoyment, then I have succeeded, right? I definitely feel that.

So, what we I write about today. I mean it's almost 7 o'clock. I am running out of time....

...~hums along "Afternoons and Coffeespoons" by Crash Test Dummies~...

When I get a block, I often will go for a walk...or i will end up at my favourite coffee shop, the Soulful Cup. There have many a days where I have gone there and been struck by the muse. It's kind of amusing to know that my muses works on coffee. I drink coffee when I write (usually), I go to a coffee shop to get inspired (many times), I listen to music about coffee (see link above). Sounds a little to good to be true, right? Not really. I am prone to see the connections in things and people. So, to note that coffee and my creative are  kind of hand in hand, doesn't surprise me at all.

I also don't take the easy way out. When I say I am going to do something I go all the way. I have decided that I am going to write a Sonnet, right now, in the middle of this blog. Why? Because I can...rhyme scheme, 3 quatrains and a couplet. Ready? I am...

Bard of Stratford-Upon-Avon

Sonnet 1

Music is the food of the soul
that can only bind the wounds tightly
Never in the mood so foul
can the music be carried lightly

the message that it carries
can be a saver of of lives
and without that tarries
it can build structures that thrives.

A living thing, of sound waves
that echo from the outer to the inner
a sweetness the makes one crave
for a four course dinner

of auditory desserts of the simplistic flavour
to those fantastical recitations that you can savour.

Okay, clearly not in Imabic Pentameter! Sue me! Shakespeare and his contemporaries were a rare breed to be able to write like that in their works. I don't think I could write like that.....YET! You just give me time and lots of topics. "An iambic foot is an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. Iambic pentameter is a line made up of five such pairs of short/long, or unstressed/stressed, syllables." borrowed from Wikipedia....to break it down that simply, I realize I could probably write like that. I really want to write a sonnet a day....oooo, the ideas! See my twitter @draconicwitch for details!

If seems I have to challenges now....oh the terror. I shake with joy. The first is a blog entry everyday for 7 days. The second is a Sonnet a day. Kind of funny the I have both done at the end of this entry. :-) I think I shall try to learn this Iambic Pentameter.