I'm NaNo-ing again.  I missed last year for various reasons (the second time in eleven years since I started NaNo-ing) and I decided to give it a go since I'm working on a new story.  That said, OT has me exhausted (as usual), the house always needs something cleaned (as usual), and my family is busy (as usual!).  I'm waaay behind on my word count, but I hope to catch up this week.  I'm still totally stoked that I've completed two first draft stories in this series over the past month.  This one for NaNo will be number three.

In the past my goal was to complete the first draft by Thanksgiving, but since it's on a day that's a bit early this year that probably won't happen.  We'll see.  I'm excited about the new 'universe' I've created, all paranormal with the magic, creatures and weres, and this time I've set it in Texas rather than in an alternate universe.  Lots of fun writing with characters than make me laugh, cry, sigh and startle.  More later when I get a better idea of what my Highlander hero wants. ;-)

~R

October went too fast again.  I love getting into the Halloween spirit and decorating, making goodies and partying in costumes. This year I had three separate costumes, the 'big' one I put all the work into for the main PARTY, two simpler ones for other occasions.  All in fun, and everyone smiled, especially me. :-)

And what's the point if it's not fun?  Why dress up?  It's a creative outlet for me.  Now I have another year to plan for the next Halloween.

I just got back from my local writer's group retreat.  Nice and sedate, our small group got a LOT of good writing done!  We got together at breakfast, shared ideas and talked about general writerly stuff, and the went our own ways for he day.  In the evenings we had dinner together (to give our brains a rest) then went back to write some more.  I actually finished one story, plotted a second one, and started a third in the middle of editing #4!  I was very busy, it was fun, and I look forward to next year.

Since returning to work this week, I haven't got the chance to even check my word count to see what I accomplished last weekend, but it was a lot.  So, gotta go check that...

Til next time, happy writing.

~R

I survived summer again.  In all fairness it wasn't as bad as the looong heat wave of last year, but it took a toll on our garden.  All the great veggies were pretty much done producing by mid-August, and I was too tired out from the heat to write much.  I am still doing at least one page per day, and I'm making progress.

That's about it for now.  I'm looking forward to some cooler air over the next few weeks.

~R

Last Day

School begins tomorrow for my son, and this is his last day of summer vacation. We've had such a full summer season with family and friends and gardening and my writing, I will be glad to get into the fall swing of things.

The temps last month were too hot for gardening, so we let it die back a bit and plan on a later fall garden. Not too many items, but definitely companioning them again because it worked so awesomely well.

I also got to go to my writer's meeting again this month after being away for so long. The lecture subject was about how to ramp up stories with big characters and make those stories commercial and very marketable. I get that, and I'm glad I went. Great information I can tweak my current projects with. ;-) And my local writing chapter is having a retreat in Nov again. I think it will be great to get in to the B&B early this year (rather than coming in late from work like last year) and just write for hours on end.


Now on to getting ready for tomorrow.

~R

New Job & Moon Day

Hubby got a PT job today, YEAH!! And we get to go to the Flight Museum this weekend for their wonderful annual "Moon Day." I can hardly stand all the great news and things! ;-)

~R

Friday

I love Fridays, and not just because of the obvious end-of-week relaxation. They are are wonderful day to begin weekend projects, party, and visit places. They are also a great day to finish things hanging on from the week. And today, especially, was a good day for me, because I made my decision and told the evil stepmother's associate I would not sign any papers for her benefit.

Happy Friday the 13th. Now to plan my fall garden.

~R

Evil Stepmother

The spring harvest is awesome and nearly done. Plants are starting to die back, our bean plants are growing nicely to add nitrogen back into the soil, and I'm still writing my page-a-day. If the heat stays reasonable (for Texas, at least) I might have a good chance at a fall garden.

I also got an interesting call this week. Seems that there is a misconception that I actually like the business partner my late dad was married to when he passed away two years ago. Now there is an issue she "expects" and "needs" me to just bow out of so she can get more money. Never mind that this person did not respect my dads wishes regarding my sister, me, and our families as to his last requests. And since choosing not to probate my dad's will, she's trying to take the easy way out. I refuse to cooperate. Why should I help a rich woman who has hated me for almost 30 years?

~R

Summer Is Here

Happy Solstice everyone!

~R

Wrapping ... with Music

Along with our garden project (which is going really strong, BTW) I decided to make wrap pants. My hubby loves to wear these on the weekends, at faire, to drum circles (where Ive also been dancing 1-2 times a month), and to generally putter around the house. They're oh-so-comfy, cotton, and easy to care for. What more could he want? :-)

Creating seems to be at the fore: the garden, pants, writing (still at least one page per day), and plotting. I keep getting ideas for a YA story, and I keep jotting notes and tucking them away for the future after I complete my current two projects. Could be fun.

~R

Impatience

Okay, I confess, I could not wait. The zucchinis were staring at me, and when I actually lifted the giant leaves to see the smallest one was 18 inches long (no kidding, I have pics) I just had to bring it in for dinner tonight.

Yummy zucs will be cooked with a little salt, pepper, garlic, onion, rosemary and oregano. Oh yeah!

~R

Are We There Yet??

How many parents have heard this from their kids? Now it's my turn. As I look out over our humongous green veggie garden it looks like a wild jungle with LOTS of ripening veggies. I even have two pumpkins in the volunteer patch. The plan was to plant in March and harvest in June/July. At this fast rate of growth, I hope we can make it to June. But no matter, I'll pick whatever we need when it needs to get harvested.

~R

Spring Planting

We've started a huge veggie garden in the yard, a lot bigger than in previous years. We'll still have some things in pots and the herb plot is going strong. With Merc going direct today (YEAH!) things will get easier as far communication and transportation (y'all know I keep up with Astro stuff). I'm also planting by the moon from my Almanac and boosting all the little plants' with "companions" around them. Sort of like writing a story from an outline that you've pulled in different elements to use. I sat in a couple of lectures and have read a lot about the companion planting technique over the years, but I've never really tried it to this extent.

Along with gardening to help keep down the grocery bills, my work has kept me running. Writing new pages is hard, and forget about editing right now. All focus is on the basics of life. And it's amazing how much "disposable" income is revealed when you really look at a household budget. So far, so good. One day at a time, lots of baby plants to nurture, one page of writing at a time. Eventually I think it'll all turn out right.

~R

Equinox Day

Happy Equinox day everyone! The days will be longer and nights shorter from now until spring.

~R

Chaos Rules My Life

So many birthdays this month plus loss of hubby's job does not make for a great prospective Valentine month. His attack plan is to chase lots of job options right now. Hope things will be better soon.

~R