Snow

I went away for the holiday.
I came home to a world of white.

I hope you all had a lovely Yuletide. I'll write again in the new year. It's time to make your resolutions known.

California dreams

I've been in Nor Cal for over a week now and it's wonderful. I miss it here so very much! I miss the sun and the birds and hanging out at the horse barn with my friends... it's enough to make a girl very homesick... which is a funny feeling when my husband and my beloved pets are all the way across the country. Sigh. One day I hope we get to move back here.

Things are just more... random and amazing out here. Like this for example:

I promise, window washing is random and amazing...

The other morning I was doing my NaNo writing at my father-in-law's house in San Francisco and I could hear opera... like... a really good baritone voice singing an Italian opera. I thought perhaps it was one of the neighbors. It's a classy neighborhood, after all. But no... no... it was this window washer!!! Seriously. Incredible.

Watson eating breakfast

I also have had three rides on Watson since I came to visit... and I kept myself together, no panicking or anxiety... just enjoyed the riding and relaxed. It's been a long time since I've done that. It felt nice to be back in the saddle until the next morning, of course. Wow was I sore! I really need to work on strength and flexibility more!! Sheesh!

Mallowmar the chatty kitty

Eva the beautiful

These are the two sweet kitties who sleep with me at night while I'm here and chat with me while I'm powering through my NaNo writing each day. I honestly thought I'd be so far behind on writing due to the trip. But thanks to some pre-planning and Write or Die, I am right on track! I even wrote extra on a couple of days so that I could take a day or two off in the middle. It's incredible and I'm actually excited about this NaNo lark of a novel. Things that I didn't expect have cropped up (like Clones!) and I'm just enjoying making it an outlandish story. 

I think one of my problems with writing is that I try to take myself too seriously. And I'm not really a serious person. Now that I'm just having fun with my novel, it's really become something I enjoy and I look forward to each day. I suppose it will be that way until it isn't one day... but I'm taking advantage of the good energy for now.

Aye me....

Character growth and a blog award

Ok, blog award first. A big thanks to the fabulous kmckendry over at Imagine Today who bestowed the "Kreativ blogger award" (and the Versatile blogger award, I think) on me the other day! Luv luv luv!

Since I have some new followers, I'll give you some new facts about me... haven't done this in a while :) If you think you already know enough about me, feel free to skip to the end of this post.

1. I have 4 cats and a dog... this may not be new to you if you know me already... but... I didn't MEAN to have 4 cats... they just sort of multiply... (and yes they are all fixed... I mean multiplied in the magically appearing sort of way). I'm trying to re-home one of them, actually... so if you know anyone who wants a nameless, needy, talkative female gray tabby/muted calico kitty with a short-ish tail, please let me know.


2. I have mild depression and anxiety (mostly self-diagnosed, but I went to therapy for a little while, too). There are days when I can't convince myself that I am capable of doing anything at all, much less anything creative... I hate those days. I am actively combating them... one of the BLOGS that has been super instrumental in my warfare against the monsters is The Fluent Self. I heart Havi and Selma! Seriously... they're better than therapy. Also, I have not openly admitted the depression before (at least not that I can remember)... although I would tell you if you asked me.


3. I am a painter. I'm not saying I'm Vincent Van Gogh... I guess really I'm more of a visual artist... because I like photography, too. But some days I need color, canvas, and abstraction to help clear my head. I say abstract because none of my figures ever turns out as I see them in my head. Same goes for my writing, actually.


4. Last one, I am sprouting seeds in a terrarium on a bookshelf so that I can grow my own veggies this summer. Right now I have heirloom tomatoes, sweet yellow cherry tomatoes, and collard greens sprouting... but I have seeds to plant for cucumbers, okra, and carrots, plus some herbs and flowers. I'm crossing my fingers that this project is successful. Usually I buy seedlings already started... but I wanted to try starting them myself this year. Eeep!

I so love all the new friends I am making out there in the blogosphere! I hope you'll humor me and claim this award for yourself if you want it. I'm not going to tag anyone to pass it on. I think you're all pretty "kreativ" and versatile! Luv!

Just a reminder from my last post that I'm looking for some questions to ask my main character so that I can get a better grip on her. You can leave your questions in the comments here. Between your comments already and some from my fab friends in the Fairfield County Writers' Group, I'm up to 40 questions! 10 more to go before I hit my goal of 50, but if I have more than 50, I'll just have to answer them... then I'll post the questions and answers next Tuesday so that you can get a look at my MC... and hopefully give me some feedback.

Thunderstorms on Wednesday

It's almost 11 in the morning and I'm sitting in the dark... yes, you read that right. It's dark here this morning as thunderstorms grumble across the countryside. Lori, Tag and I only got a little bit wet as we ended our morning hike through Town Forest... the rain made the woods more magical, whispering on the trees. Tag was aquiver with excitement as squirrels and chipmunks darted across the path, seeking shelter from the coming storm. And now at home, with the sound of the rain coming through the open windows, it is so peaceful here.

The time for sweaters is through

It's most definitely spring now... almost summer (except that we're a little behind on warming up here in the northeast). And so, of course, I have begun knitting a sweater! (in preparation for NEXT winter...). In all seriousness, I'm actually pretty excited about knitting my first sweater. I have had to overcome several hurdles already... one being that I knit far too loosely for the pattern. They call the # of stitches per inch x # of rows per inch your gauge... and when I do the recommended # of stitches and rows, my swatch is 2"x2" BIGGER than what it is supposed to be. I must be too relaxed...

So I had to do some pretty complicated math to make the pattern work. I don't know if that will work every time, either... but it's working this time... so far... so we'll see. I feel like it'll be an accomplishment either way... even if it only fits the dog :)

I've been enjoying being home the past couple of weeks. The weather has been lovely... I've relaxed in our hammock and read books (see my book list to the right of the blog), taken canoe rides with Noah, gone hiking a lot with the super awesome dog. Traveling and experiencing new places was most definitely fun. But Noah and I have made a nice home together... and I definitely don't like to be away from it for long.

N in canoe.

gratuitous puppy shot

gratuitous orange kitty shot

a new(ish) painting I'm working on

Goldfinch!

I'm thinking of starting a freelance photography business... photo sessions for people and animals, and maybe some product photography, as well... if you're from around here and you are interested in a photo shoot, send me an e-mail at fairbettyatgmaildotcom. It'll be fun :)

Ice storm and cat photos

I'm cozied up indoors today, during this gross day of winter storming. In my continuing quest to perfect my skill at photography, I spent some time taking photos of the ice on the trees outside... and of the kitties inside. I hope you enjoy.

The nameless grey kitty is hard to photo because she either looks terrified or she's in a bad position... but I think Bangs is hardest because his face is so white that it blends with his chest and you end up getting a too much underexposed shot trying to compensate.

The trees are covered in ice now, but we were expecting a foot of snow... and it seems a better trade-off to my mind. Of course, we'll see how I feel in a few hours when the trees start crashing down around us...

I'm hoping that tomorrow is a nicer day so that Tag and I can get out and about. I think he's getting a bit of cabin fever.

A shameless blog of pet photos

I don't mean to brag... well... maybe I do... but I have the cutest pets ever! I am having fun experimenting with Lori's camera and our little point and shoot and snagged some lovely photos of the animals... at least the ones that hang out with people during the day. Bangs and the NNK are missing from these shots because they antisocially stay upstairs pretty much all the time.

Enjoy!

This is Tag's "I'm so cute, I know you want to take me outside right now" face

Captain Jack is such beautiful shade of orange that B/W seems an odd choice, but doesn't he look so elegant here?

Posing for his photo

This is Tag's "I'm so cute, don't you want to play with me right now?" face

Lori brought a penguin blanket over. Tag is in love. Note the super awesome octopillow behind Gill

This is Tag's "stop dancing and stop taking photos of me" face

"I'm so vicious!"

Seriously, Tag's in love with this blanket.

It's been chilly here. Who can blame him?

In other news, the novel is coming along very well. Yay! I mean, the word count is definitely rising. We'll see if the content ever actually congeals into something substantial :) But, I'm having fun with it, which is, I suppose, the point.

How it's going on day 4

This is day 4 of "NaNoWriMo"... I've done my thousand words a day for the past 3 days (technically should be doing more, but I decided to shoot for 30,000 words instead of 50,000... and perhaps I'll surprise myself).

Nanowrimo Breakfast of Champions: Black tea with cream and Entenmann's donuts

Today for breakfast we're having tea, donuts and procrastination... plenty of procrastination if you want to share.  I've dragged Tag's bed into the kitchen and given him a bully stick to chew on,

Tag is ready to write

set the pandora station to Chopin, brewed my second cup of tea for the morning, and written 100 words so far... I have miles to go... at least it's raining outside, so I won't be tempted to go out and run about in the beautiful fall weather... and I made Noah take the car this morning, so I effectively marooned myself for the day. Sigh...

A portrait of the author hard at work

So now, with breakfast devoured and much time wasted, I really will get to work... really... right this instant... see? I'm working...

Last leg tomorrow: Updated

We're outside Cleveland tonight... everyone is snuggled up on the bed together. I think they're pretty tired. I know I am. Tomorrow we drive from Cleveland to Stamford where we'll be staying in a hotel for a few more nights. Our stuff doesn't arrive until likely June 7... which, incidentally is Noah's first day at the new job.

We're ready to be done driving. It's been a long journey and we are glad to be getting to the end of it.

Tonight we're watching Bones re-runs and a thunderstorm that is rolling past the window.

I'll leave you with a few random pictures of the Midwest.

*Updated: I forgot to mention I ate at Cracker Barrel twice in 2 days... sigh. Love CB!

Pet ownership: Not for the faint of heart

Today was a big day! We drove across Iowa



and across the Mississippi river



to Illinois.

Iowa, by the way, has tons of windmills generating large amounts of renewable energy. Way to go Iowa!



Around the 4th hour of the journey today, Bangs woke up from his drugged slumber... this is never a good sign. He began trying to escape his spot in the lap of the front seat passenger (me)... and even meowed a couple times (a sign he's stressed). We pulled off at the next exit, poured litter in the litter box, and shoved him inside. After a shocked second of sniffing, he pooed in the box, looking quite relieved. Sorry I don't have any photos to share with you :)

At the same exit, what should we find but a Culvers!



We are both, sadly, vegetarian, so no butter burgers for us, but we did have yummy krinkle fries and Noah got a chocolate shake (their chocolate custard was coming out in liquid form so we couldn't have any of that). Happy memories of times shared with our Madison, WI, friends :)

After arriving at the La Quinta in Tinley Park, IL, just south of Chicago, we decided to take Tag out for a walk/run about, so we checked on-line and found a wilderness-ish park area nearby. We hopped in the car and drove over.





Our enjoyment of this outdoor adventure lasted all of 20 minutes. About then 2 things happened. First Tag stepped on my shoe and I walked out of it. As I was retrieving my shoe, Noah began flapping me wildly with his hands because I was covered... yes, covered... in ticks. Immediately I thought "O my god, the dog..." Indeed, he and Noah were also covered in ticks.

Now, in normal circumstances, this might not be so horrifying, but... lest we forget, I have a collie... a long haired collie... I have no flea/tick shampoo with me in Illinois, and I have 4 cats back at the hotel that could also pick up ticks from the dog... I panicked mildly.

We nearly ran back to the car, grabbed Tag's brush, flipped him over, and started searching him for ticks. I've never seen so many!

We then proceeded to a PetSmart where we purchased flea and tick applications for the dog and the cats.

5 angry animals (they hate flea/tick medicine), one shower and 2 loads of laundry later, I think we can relax a little now.

Tomorrow, Cleveland!

Driving Miss Daisy

This is a quick video of what our drive was like today.



NNK had to stay in her crate today. She was too noisy and unpredictable... at least in the crate we knew where she was the whole time. :)

Traveling with animals

We had a better day today. Nobody pooped in their crates. There was no hail... in fact it was sunny and warm the whole day of driving.

We are safe in Denver now, with a free upgrade to a suite... lovin' La Quinta!

Let me tell you a little bit about what it takes to get 4 cats and a dog into and out of a hotel every day. I'll start with packing the car...

Back of Subaruby: Bottom layer, a baby gate and a fold-able soft crate. Next suitcases and cat litters. 2 crates with cats on top of that, then litter boxes, food bowls, and a scratch post crammed in last.

Back seat: The Ark (food bin with supplies for all the pets), lock box, lap top, blankets, dog bed, dog.

Front seat: miscellaneous essentials... passenger, driver...





When we get to the hotel, we unload the crate and gate, the Ark, litter boxes, litter, scratch post, food bowls, crates with cats, and dog bed onto a hotel cart, and bring the dog with us up to the room. While Noah is unloading the cart, I put up the gate in the bathroom door and set up the litter boxes. We release the cats in the bathroom with the litter box to make sure they know where it is... they can explore from there... we use a gate so that Tag doesn't go digging for buried treasure.

While the cats are exploring, one of us goes back for the rest of our stuff (suitcases/laptop, etc.) and the other begins doling out pet food. Once everyone has eaten, Tag gets a walk and we start thinking about dinner.

In the morning, we do the whole thing in reverse, loading the cats last to make the torture as short as possible.

Today we tried something different. NNK spent the first hour or so wailing in the crate. I think she was protesting being put back in the same crate as Mr. Poopy (Bangs).

After a little while of this, we decided to pull over and let the cats loose from their crates. Bangs was still pretty drugged, so we put him in Noah's lap.



NNK needed to be re-drugged after a while before she calmed down... but then she was out like a light.



The kittens spent a while looking around and then crashed out on the back seat with Tag and we had the calmest, quietest day of travel yet.









Tomorrow we're off to the Iowa side of Omaha... another long day but without the mountains. I'll leave you with some pictures of the drive today.