Diversion

In case you were wondering... this is what I do when I'm trying to distract myself from writing or obsessing over a scene that is getting me no where... (well, when I'm not lazy and watching re-runs of Doctor Who instead :)).

This is actually my first still life attempt.
I'm not usually so studious.

Noah decided he wanted to do a still life as well! Fun!

Knights of MicroFiction

I thought I'd participate in this new monthly blog hop of Write. Skate. Dream.'s and Imagine Today's. It's a chance to do a little flash fiction writing and oil the gears of my imagination a little. Play along if you will :)

Write a Flash Fiction (MicroFiction) piece in 250 words or less about someone who's done something wrong but doesn't have the guts to apologize. Whether they end up apologizing or not is up to you.

Here's my entry:

Stupid, stupid, stupid… my face was burning. How could I be so stupid? I looked at the smoldering, melted mess that used to be my sister’s yoga mat. The smell of incense and burning plastic seared the back of my throat. And there’s the smoke alarm. Fantastic.

I hurried around the apartment opening windows and waving frantically at the smoke detector. Fandango, Aya’s preening Pomeranian, danced yapping about my feet, his wagging tail and sparkling eyes mocking me. At least he couldn’t talk… he couldn’t tell Aya what I’d done. “You just better keep your tiny little dog lips sealed, got it?” I threatened. Great. I’m threatening a Pomeranian. I sighed.

I gathered up the molten mess of mat and stuffed it into a trash bag from under the kitchen sink. I took one last look around the apartment, sniffing the air to make sure the burning smell was completely gone. Eh. Could be worse, I suppose. I’d better hurry up and get out of here before she comes home and catches me. Oh wait, the dog!

“Damn it Fandango, get back in your crate, you little monster!” I chased the gleeful pup around the kitchen island for the fifth time. “Gotcha!” Fandango screeched as I dived and grabbed him by the middle and shoved him in his crate. “Remember, I was never here!”

Weekend writer blues and Lori is back, Yay!

It's really not so bad, I guess... but weekend writing can be the pits! Everyone is hanging around and waiting to do something fun... and I have to make my quota. Don't get me wrong, I did it... but boy I was unhappy about it today. I wanted to do ANYTHING else... I even contemplated cleaning the bathroom to get out of writing! Eh... but...

8,374 down and 41,626 to go! I am sure I can do this... I mean... I know I can :)

Here are some Halloween pictures to make you laugh :) The ones of me and Lori are from today. Since the power was out last week and Noah worked late that day, we dressed up today.

Tag was a Shark this year! Scary!!!!

For me, Halloween is just a reason to wear
face paint and a ridiculous turquoise ball
gown. Lori is actually wearing a cute costume :)

And one last picture from the internets...

It's still October, right?

That's the cable wire... we use it for internet... not disconnected, but
definitely down. We're supposed to get it fixed by 8 pm tonight. 

Catch the snowball Tag!

Still wondering what happened to the snowball...

This year's jack-o-lantern

It's still snowing, and supposed to keep snowing all day/night. Eep!

I went on a road trip

Over the past 10 days I drove South (and then North again) to visit family and friends. Noah had to work, so I loaded up the dog and he kept me company during the trip. I saw friends from high school, from my Asbury Hills camp days, and my family. Between driving, visiting, and eating there was little time for blogging. I did, however, manage to take a few photos for your pleasure.

Days before my road trip these fantastic friends came to visit.

Daughter of two of my great friends from Asbury Hills. Isn't she a doll?

Tag did so good with the kiddos!

Flowers for the puppy.

I love this tree and its roots!

Some interesting graffiti... food for thought...

Here is a sampling of my family.

The grandparents celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary the weekend I was there.

Us grandkids (not everyone was present).

My aunt had us all make a square for this quilt she stitched. (see mine bottom center :))

Family!

I had a really good time hanging out with people. We ate tons of good food, and the large majority of it was vegetarian! I'm so thankful and proud of my family for being willing and able to pull that off. :)

Tag, of course, was a huge success overall. He charmed everyone with his dashing good looks and his lovable personality. He was very tolerant of all the children we came in contact with (yay!) and seemed to handle the changing scenery well. I will definitely take him on more road trips. Too fun!

Now that I'm back, I hope I will have some time to write and renewed energy and focus towards meeting at least one of my summer writing goals. I am so close I can taste it!!!

Tag, happy to be home after a long journey.

Summertime, sigh

I really do love the summertime. It's warm, it's humid, and everyone seems more relaxed in general.

This week I'm a bit sad, because my good friend Lori is leaving for Yellowstone on Friday. After having her live with us for the past 10 months or so, I will miss her presence greatly! But, I'm happy for her. She is moving on, after all, to a job I know she'll excel at and in such a beautiful place! Sigh. I'll just have to visit her!

We've been doing fun things in honor of her last week (if not officially calling those things out as "going away, Lori" things)... like our vegetarian barbecue last weekend with grilled pineapple... and eating by a fire on the patio the other night... more reasons I love summer, if they also mean my friend going away soon... we'll do them in her honor when she's gone, too!

I finally edited the photos I took the other day... socks... it was time consuming! And I've realized how little I actually know about my camera, so I pulled out some good o'l books to help me figure a couple of things out. Hopefully the next shoot will produce improved results. I'm not disappointed with the results from this experience... just recognizing the room for improvement :)

That photo experience also helped me realize I'm not as young as I used to be! My knees and back were SORE from a lot of crouching and rising to get camera and subjects into the optimal position. I'm going to bring a stool with me next time to see if it helps... but I may need to re-imagine this "studio" to make sure I don't creak and groan so much after each session.

Also, I will do more yoga.

I have yet to sit down and work on my writing. I think I've become very good at making up excuses for NOT doing it. How I'm ever going to get around to it, I have no idea. I'm sure I'll think of something. I mean, I have to, right?

I'm using the time "well" though, reading more YA literature... and sketching... stretching the imagination...

and I am getting in my hikes usually... and had a paid photo session... so goals are coming together, if not how I envisioned them quite yet. Where would I be if I was not flexible? And now I'm off to practice more creativity and avoidance :) Here's to summertime!

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 :)

Spring!

I will get over it eventually, I'm sure, but... we just weathered our first Connecticut winter after moving from California... and I'm a little bit excited. :) I love watching the earth wake up after her long dark slumber... it's magical!

Today Noah and I took a hike with Tag at a place called Trout Brook Preserve. I brought the camera along because it was such a lovely day.

The snow has almost melted all away, but there were still slippery patches around along with the mud and slush. The rains we've had the past week have melted a lot of snow and caused the rivers and streams to overflow with water. It's been exciting in not such a good way. But our house is up on a hill, so not prone to flooding... and we were prepared to slog through the runoff where we had to today for a bit of exercise in the fresh warming air.

A Noah in his natural habitat.

The creeks were indeed full, and there were lots of puddles, but nothing too bad.

Near the end of our hike I spotted this lovely lady peering at us from a tree at the edge of the clearing.

Female Eastern Bluebird

We came home and opened the upstairs windows to let in some fresh air and let out the winter mustiness. The cats love staring out the open windows... no pictures of them though. It'll be time to start my spring cleaning when Noah and I get back from Florida next week.