Margaret Morris Expert Guru

I majored in English/writing in college, and in 2006 entered the online certificate program of the Celebrant Foundation, where I learned to interview prospective clients and create, write and perform highly personalized, unique ceremonies. I've discovered that asking lots of questions and gathering more information about clients than I could ever use is the key to writing a ceremony that sounds as if they wrote it themselves. The highest compliment I've received is, "It sounds just like us!" I also enjoy baking (breads, cookies, cakes), cooking (I've cooked for about 100 people at a time), piano, guitar, swimming, sewing, crafts, container gardening, and of course, reading and writing.

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Overcoming Writer's Block

Writer's block is just a phrase that somebody invented to describe the state of being disconnected from your right brain.

Most of us have been told that our right brain is the seat of creativity and language. What we haven't been told is why we slam its door shut, just when we need it the most.

For whatever reason - stress, lack of confidence, inexperience - we start to pressure ourselves to "think creatively" and then sit staring at a white screen or blank page.

One way of reconnecting to the right brain, or the creative impulse, is to free-write. This is a simple, 10-minute exercise in which you write anything and everything that comes to mind without editing, critiquing, or judging it. Let your fingers type, or write with a pen, without giving too much thought to what's being recorded. If you have any experience with meditation, it might help to think of it as "writing meditation," wherein you notice what's being written but immediately let it go.

You will probably be surprised when you re-read the words that came from your subconscious.

Freewriting is also a good way to "loosen up" your subconscious and help you to dream more actively. Many good ideas show themselves in dreams, if we're open to them.

Writing Ceremonies

As our culture becomes more casual, we're moving away from traditional celebrations and ceremonies. If we substitute a more relaxed ceremony, that will still give us a sense of marking a passage and celebrating an event. What we don't want to do is abandon ceremony completely.

Many people think of "boring" when they hear the word "ceremony" or "ritual," yet it doesn't have to be that way. A ritual can be anything at all that's meaningful to you and to the other people attending or participating in your ceremony. For example, you can celebrate the adoption of a child by performing traditional rituals of his/her culture, or you can invent new ones, like planting annuals together every spring to commemorate the birth of your relationship. At an adoption ceremony, you could have all your guests help you plant seeds.

When you mark a life passage with a ceremony, you give it weight and meaning. And you also give yourself a reason to celebrate.

Baking Bread

Baking bread is simple. It isn't easy, which might seem like a contradiction, but when you start working down the dough, you'll understand the difference.

Bread is made up of a mere handful of ingredients: Yeast, water, shortening, salt, sugar and flour. Yeast, since it's a living thing, uses the sugar as food. Start your bread by dissolving a cake of yeast in about two cups of warm (not hot) water, along with 1/2 cup sugar. Then add 8 cups more warm water, 2 cups of shortening, and 1/3 cup of salt.

Then begin adding flour gradually, a cup or two at a time. Your goal is a dough that is easy to handle, not sticky or lumpy. When the dough begins to hold together, is not sticky, and you can pick it up in one piece, you've added enough flour.

Let the dough rise in a warm place until it doubles in size. Then work it down with your hands (rub a little shortening onto your palms first), pushing out all the air bubbles. The dough should become elastic as you work. And remember, the more you work bread dough, the better the bread will be.

Let the dough rise again, work it down, and pan it. You should have 6 or 8 bread pans greased with shortening.
Cut off a piece of the dough with a sharp knife. Squeeze out the air bubbles and shape it into a loaf. (If you don't want to bake all of the dough at once, you can freeze some at this point.) Each piece of dough will be less than half the size of the finished, baked loaf. Repeat for the remaining dough. Pierce each loaf with a fork three or four times.

Let the dough rise again until doubled, then bake at 400 degrees for 40-50 minutes. Check for doneness by turning the loaves over and thumping the bottoms. When they sound hollow, they're done. Remove the baked bread and set it on cooling racks.

Deciding to Telecommute

There are many good reasons to telecommute, and if you're thinking about it, you're probably aware of them. No dress code, parking fees, dry-cleaning bills, costly cummute, etc.

What you need to consider is whether you are truly the telecommuting type. Cynthia Froggatt, a private consultant and author of "Work Naked," theorizes that you can tell whether you're the telecommuting type by your style of studying in college. If you liked studying in the dorm and don't mind mixing home and work, she says, then you'd probably make a good telecommuter. If you liked studying at the library or in a public place, then you'll probably be happier working in a public place, too.

It really depends upon how you look at the different demands placed upon you at home. If you welcome a chance to wash some dishes on your coffee break and exult that you're not wasting time at some office, and if you're happy to be at home when your kids get off the bus, even if you keep the "Do Not Disturb" sign on your office door until 5:00, you'll probably be content to work at home. Even though it might mean learning some new software programs, and attending meetings via conference call, you'll see it as a fair exchange.

Learning to Sew

Sewing is a skill that can be learned. You don't have to be particularly creative or talented to sew; you just need to be able to follow directions.

The sewing machine comes with directions - for threading, for winding bobbins, for using different stitches, for making buttonholes. It always includes a manual with illustrations, and many machines also include a videotape or DVD. A pattern comes with directions - for fabric yardages, for cutting, for assembly, for finishing. It also includes suggestions about fabric types, fasteners, thread and notions.

You don't have to go it alone, either. Most fabric stores sponsor sewing classes for all skill levels, and some vo-tech schools offer sewing courses as well. Fabric-store employees are usually experienced at sewing and can advise you about fabrics and explain terms you might not understand. There are many books filled with sewing tips and tricks, and tv programs on the subject (especially on PBS). You can also find sewing-related groups and instruction online.

It's best to start with a simple project first, like a scarf. You can experiment with different stitch patterns along the sides of the scarf to gain experience and confidence before you move on to something more challenging.