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Callie Feyen

Around Here – The Rest of June, 2023

in Uncategorized on 30/06/23

Jesse and I rode our bikes to “Top of the Park,” a series of summer concerts put on every year in the great town of Ann Arbor. We heard the bluegrass band, “The RFD Boys,” play. We love this band, and lucky for us, they’re in town so we see them a lot. Some of us play golf with some of the members.

I’m teaching myself to weave. Here’s my first attempt. This was made without a loom – a tool I thought for sure would be easy for me to use, but it turns out I’m horrible at following directions. I just cannot do it. So I was thrilled to find this book in the library, and went directly to p. 108 and gave it a shot.

We’re in the thick of what is called, “Long Course,” which took me until the season was almost up to understand that the name comes from the length of the pool, and not the duration of the season. I am sure this was explained to me – at length – in one of the many communications we get from Harper’s swim team. So many things about sports have been explained to me at length. For example, Hadley has been playing soccer since she was three years old, and I still don’t sit on the right side of the field when she plays.

Anyway, let’s enjoy looking at Harper warming up in front of the Michigan “M,” and the Olympics circles. What a thrill. And here she is killing it in one of her best events, the 400 IM. It looks like she’s swimming it alone, but that’s how far ahead she is from the other swimmers.

I wrote the introduction to Coffee+Crumbs’ July newsletter. We had an almost Taylor Swift moment, and it was as heartbreaking as you might imagine for a 16-year-old who loves this gal like an older sister. I made a little something from it though, and I think Hadley did, too. You can read it, here.

I’m putting the finishing touches on my first book writing course that will begin this September. Details will be on the blog soon, and readers will receive the information first. If you have a seed of an idea for a book, and you’re looking for a small group (I’m only taking 8 writers) to write with, this might be the workshop for you. We’ll be working together for the duration of a school year, ending with a Story Slam in May. I can’t wait.

Read:

  • Lit by Mary Karr. I’ve stopped at p.317, and I don’t know if I can finish it. I don’t like this book. What’s troubling me though, is that a decade ago I loved it. Why? Why did I like it then, and why don’t I like it now? What happened? What went wrong? I’m so confused.
  • The Witch Haven by Sasha Peyton Smith, pgs. 1-100
  • “Most Just Talk About The Weather,” “Walking Benefit,” “Tao Master,” and “The Widow and the Burial of Peekaboo,” by Dave Malone (from Tornado Drill)

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Hi! I’m Callie. I’m a writer and teacher living in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I write Creative Nonfiction, and in my oldest daughter Hadley’s words, I “use my imagination to add a bit of sparkle to the story.” I’m a contributor for Coffee+Crumbs, Off the Page, Makes You Mom, and Relief Journal. My writing has also been featured on Art House America, Tweetspeak Poetry, Good Letters, and Altarwork, and in 2014 I was one of the cast members of the Listen To Your Mother DC show.

I hold an MFA in Creative Writing from Seattle Pacific University, and I am working on my first book that will be published through TS Poetry Press.

Have a look around and be sure to subscribe to the blog. Thanks for stopping by!

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calliefeyen

When I was in fourth grade, I got my front tooth k When I was in fourth grade, I got my front tooth knock out during a baseball game. I was in the dugout, trying to make a butterfly in the dirt with my shoe. The batter, who’d hit not just a home run, but a grand slam, came running in and everyone cheered and so did I because I’d gotten really good at reading cues for when a good thing happens in sports. I even attempted a high five, and somehow I knocked my face into her batting helmet, thus spending the good part of that weekend summer day in the dentist’s office getting a root canal.

No teeth were lost in this latest incident, but I was lost in a bit of imagining on Sunday when I tripped and fell on Packard while running. I look like I’ve been in a bar fight and my shoulder looks similar to how Wesley’s looked after being attacked by an ROUS. 

But I’m going into work today, and when I told my boss I’m nervous about how I look she said, “It’s OK because you have a story,” and if that isn’t the best thing you could ever say to me, I’m not sure what is. 

So, here I am with a story. Thanks to all my friends and family who’ve been so kind and keeping me laughing.
A little Mother’s Day dancing is so good for the A little Mother’s Day dancing is so good for the soul. Thank you, @woodsbreeana 💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻
Last dances and first swims of the season and socc Last dances and first swims of the season and soccer and cherry almond scones and a new project with a friend and a lament for a fallen writer who paved a path for so many of us.
One spot left! C’mon, guys! It’s gonna be fun! One spot left! C’mon, guys! It’s gonna be fun! #linkinbio
Let’s bring back the Around Here post. Ok, I’l Let’s bring back the Around Here post. Ok, I’ll go first. #linkinbio
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