It's that time of year

Somebody oughta tell these guys that it's not safe for them to be wandering about town this time of year...

On the back side of our block. There were a dozen total!

IWSG: Turning things upside down

This post is for Insecure Writer's Support Group, hosted on the first Wednesday of every month by the fabulous Alex Cavanaugh. Anyone can join. Sign up here!

Ok, ok, I don't have a good excuse for posting today instead of tomorrow, except that a few others have and I had this post ready YESTERDAY, so... here you go!

Sometimes when I'm painting I get frustrated -- I visualize where things are going versus where I want them to go and I can't make up the difference. I hate that. But then, if I turn the canvas upside down, I get a whole new point of view... and it's inspiring! That doesn't mean I'll leave it that way... but new perspective can help me get my vision back in focus, to realign my aim... and sometimes new and great things come out of it!

I want to figure out how to do that more with my writing... because things are not going at all where I thought they were going with my WIP and I feel pretty deflated about that. So I'm wondering what I can do to regain some inspiration. How can I turn my WIP on its head? Maybe my MCs motivations are more nefarious than I give her credit for. Or maybe my main villain is really my MC...

The cygnets are here and they are
the most beautiful ugly
ducklings I have ever seen.

What do you do to turn things upside down?

Big Island Dolphin Swimming

Not writing or YA related, but this is the vid of the totally awesome dolphin swim we did last month in HI. It was... incredible. I'm the one in the red shirt, and Noah's wearing a bright yellow shirt... we're easy to spot. Look how amazingly close they came to us!!! I swear, I could do that every day for the rest of my life and not get tired of it.

Sea Turtles!

Hawaii is amazing... especially because you can be walking down the beach and see these guys just grazing along... we even swam with a few at a different beach! Incredible.

Busy busy busy

It's always a good idea to participate on the web... I've been a tentative voice from the beginning... saying things here on my blog where I only have a few followers... and shyly commenting, although I'm getting bolder. Well, I decided I want to expand my reach... I want to join more actively in the conversation of the writers' world in the blog-iverse. So I'm joining in the Rach Writes Writers' Platform-building Campaign. I mean, why not, right? If anything, hopefully I will meet some new people in the on-line world of writers. And that's my goal for the campaign... because... aside from that I'm not REALLY sure what it is... I am just jumping in and trying it!

Whee!

In other news... it's February... but this February could not be more different from the last. Last year, we had SO MUCH SNOW!!! It was everywhere... piled up... packed in... and it was sooooo ccccoooollllddddd! This year we've had so many 50 degree days that even the swans got confused, thought it was spring, and came back to the pond.

The water in front of the swan is actually ice!

One thing I have accomplished this winter that I'm proud of is this quilt. I am excited to have finished it and that it didn't fall apart when I washed it!

Now if I could just have the same experience with my WIP, I'd be golden. Hopefully I'll meet some new people through this campaign who will help me find the courage I need to get it done.

NaNo Day #24... Happy Thanksgiving everyone :)

It's Thanksgiving Day, 24 November. I'm sitting pretty at 46,726 words on my novel. Yep folks. Today's benchmark is 40,000 and I'm well ahead. I have 3,274 words left to write to reach the 50,000 word mark and "win" NaNo. That doesn't mean too much in the grand scheme of things... and yet, it DOES because I have a novel written! Or I will have in just a couple more days... I mean, even 50,000 words does not make a novel... I will likely write more and cut more and edit plenty before it's in any sort of drafty stage to send to a publishing agency... but that's the goal... after reaching 50,000... dress it up and send it out to party :)

I'm pretty excited. At one point I wasn't even sure I could stretch it this far. Yay!

I've really enjoyed this process. I think I have found my stride, which is a good thing to feel. I discovered "Write or Die" which will help me with writing daily in the future (manageable bites are key). I've also learned the need for balance. I've spent the last month jamming on the creativity frequency. I need to have input, too, though... as well as output. I'm looking forward to getting back to reading more regularly and not feeling this crazed pressure for a while. At least until I come up with another grand idea... or until next year's NaNo :)

So... in other news, I volunteer at Blackbird Yoga now, down the street from my house. It's a nice way to get out a couple times a week and I get free yoga for helping out over there. Pretty cool! I try to walk there at least once a week (and drive the other day I go)... mostly for the getting outside. Our street is not the safest to walk down. People like to go careening down the hill and slam into the speed bump in front of our house (that includes snow plows in the middle of the night... right outside my bedroom window... good times...). I don't let Tag in our yard without his 30 foot lead on for that reason. I can't bear the thought of him getting hit. That said, I don't see to many animals (other than squirrels and chipmunks) that get hit on our road. And we have plenty of critters... heron, beaver, muskrat, deer, raccoon, and then I found this guy on the side of the road, a clear hit and run... who knew we had bobcats too? Sad that I had to discover it this way...

Leaving paradise

I think we're going to move here. No really. It's amazing. And we've found that property values are reasonable. And look at it!!!

Sexy surfing husband!

Red footed Booby

Poipu: Spouting Horn

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

A beautiful tropical island... and some chickens!

We are vacationing in Kauai right now and absolutely loving it!

Coconut!

North Shore: Ke'e Beach

There are wild chickens all over the island.
We think they are awesome!

More Yellowstone!

Here are some more shots from my trip to Yellowstone. I wish I had a more inspiring post for you today, but my thoughts are a little muddled. One of my dear ones is hospitalized right now, and I'm worrying for her, even though I know worrying won't help... but it's all I can do... and on top of that we're going to Kauai on Sunday for 10 days... and all the details that go into making that trip a success (and making sure all my creatures are happy and well-fed) are driving me a little to distraction. Sheesh! I need to go read a book... maybe a zombie book... to try to calm down. ;)

Enjoy the photos!

Yellowstone Public Transportation: some of these
babies still have crank engines!

Bison!

Hee hee hee!

Columnar basalt! Created by lava flows... ya know,
 from the SUPER VOLCANO!

A great book about the Sheepeater Indians:
"Mountain Spirit" by Lawrence Loendorf and Nancy Stone

Friend! At Osprey Falls

ELK! Blocking the bathrooms, no less...

Least Chipmunk.

Natural Bridge

Bison jam...

Raven!

I met a goal today

Well, half a goal at least... I had a paid photo gig this morning. :) I know a woman who needed some product photoing, so I took my tripod and my camera over to her house and she set up a backdrop and had lighting. That was a stroke of luck... I want/need a backdrop and some lighting and perhaps after a few more sessions I will look into that. She sells boot socks for equestrians... so I put socks on dummy legs and got to work photoing... and I think she was pleased, although all I can see are all the things I still don't know about my camera :)

Anyhow... The photos are unedited as yet, so I am not going to share any here. Maybe later... maybe you will want to buy socks from her after you see my pictures! ;) I have a couple pairs... they are comfy!

Ah, so it's been rainy here the past few days. Tag and I have still managed to get out and hike (except for yesterday when the bottom dropped out). The rain has also brought along a few interesting visitors. Here's one:

And now for a nice relaxing weekend with Noah and the prospect of seeing old friends next week!

Peaceful Morning

Heron fishing

I love the mornings. Of course, that is probably because I don't have to get up and go to work every morning. I might avoid them then, mornings. But on my own schedule (or more truthfully, on the cats' schedule) I so enjoy rising while the sun is and listening to the songs of the birds as they greet the new day.

The water is flat on the pond this morning except for the occasional ripple of a giant carp hunting for bugs or for a mate. The heron in the photo I took today has flown to the other side of the water in protest of my presence. We are intruders, the dog and I. But we sit quietly, take in the morning magic.