Gertrude's Commonplace Book

Gertrude: Although the family business of taking photographs started as just a way for my sisters and I to survive, I have grown very fond of the business and love meeting new customers. Each person I photograph tells a different story and has lived a different life. In a way, taking one's picture is almost like writing a story about them. You can capture different angles, change the lighting or background, and the outcome appears different. This is the same for writing. By making subtle writing adjustments, the mood or meaning of a story can completely shift. Our most popular customers…

Gertrude: Keeping up with the news and what is happening in our world has always been important to me. I am a practical person who wants to be educated. Reading The Weekly Times, London, has become part of my daily routine. I realize that most women this day and age are focused on other things but I see many flaws to that. I would much rather read the local paper and be informed on what is happening in my neighborhood than keeping up to date on the local town gossip. It is such an unfortunate stereotype that people just assume women sit around all day and gossip and talk about the latest…

Gertrude: As I wrote this poem I thought about the small things in life that can give us the most joy and the most meaning. Spending time with my family has always been very important to me. Although we do not have a lot, we do have each day which we are able to enjoy in the simplest of ways, which was expressed in A Game of Lawn Tennis. My favorite part is the second to last stanza with the contrast between the gentle description of the flowers, and the frantic energetic discussion of the game and “losing the set!” Through this stanza you are truly able to see energy I wanted to capture…