Petcetera

Last Saturday my niece and her family came by to visit. 10-month-old Micah got some one-on-one time with Brody. Can you tell he has his own dog at home?



Brody would have loved to get closer!



But even though he thinks he's a lap dog doesn't mean he's little!



In other news, our old kitty George is sick, and I don't think he's going to be with us much longer. A couple of days ago he felt well enough to be interested in the open window in the living room, though, so I took his picture.



The vet believes Georgie has abdominal tumors. He stopped eating over a month ago and barely drinks anything, even the tuna broth he's always loved. I keep putting it out for him, though, along with fresh water--George has always mistrusted water more than thirty seconds old.

There's more to life!

Although the main focus of this blog is the written word, there is more to my life than writing and reading. More than walking, too, though it does take up 1.5-2 hours of nearly every day for me since I joined a few friends last year in an online walking blog. I'm currently about 2/3 of the way north on the Appalachian Trail!

I've talked a few times about the farm, about the garden, about healthy eating. A few years ago I dabbled in a recipe book project but realized after a few months that I didn't have the drive to make that succeed. I've recently moved the recipes out of the closed forums and into a publicly accessible wiki: Healthy Recipe Box. If you'd care to browse through the recipes I've got stored there and use them, go ahead. You don't have to sign up for anything, and I won't even know you're there unless you wish to comment, in which case you'll have to join the wiki so that I can grant you the power to comment.

Most of the recipes there are fairly low G.I. (glycemic index), and most of them are ones we eat fairly regularly. I keep adding recipes as I come across other family favorites. I hope you enjoy our *down-home* recipes.

But that's only part of the story, of course. Where do the ingredients come from?

In our case, a lot of our food comes from our farm and garden. Jim and I grow our own beef and many of our vegetables. We live in a fruit-growing area: apples, cherries, peaches, pears, apricots. In the summer we don't spend a lot on groceries. We watched the back-to-the-land movement in the 70s and 80s from our rural background, wondering how folks had gotten so far away from knowing where their food came from.

In the past few years, since the books 100 Mile Diet and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle came out, there's been a huge resurgence toward local, organic, sustainable eating. That's a good thing. We haven't jumped on this thing with whole abandon, but are definitely increasing awareness once again, thanks to our kids. We're also looking at more ways to use the forty acres we have to contribute to our own food and that of other local residents. If this is the type of lifestyle that interests you, you might want to follow our new blog, Scratch. I won't be talking about most of those issues here much, so don't expect cross-posts.

Looking back at 2008

In the spirit of entertainment, I revisited my goals for 2008. In summary, I hoped to:

1. Keep sending out Marks of Repentance (now renamed Majai's Fury). After awhile, analyze whether the novel and/or the query package need another revision.
2. Complete revision of Quest to be Queen, get it out to critters and hopefully into submission in 2008.
3. Revise the opening chapters to Chloe's story (romance) and The Girl Who Cried Squid and submit both to the Genesis contest in April.
4. Revise both novels, send to critters.
5. Write something. Maybe two somethings.
6. Keep critting
7. Keep up with moderator duties at Forward Motion

How did I do?
1. I did keep sending out MF, but not nearly as much as I could/should have.
2. I completed the revision of QtBQ, sent it out to critters, and now have more work to do on it.
3. Of the two openings I planned to enter in Genesis in '08, I only entered one (TGWCS), but I did place third in my category for it.
4. But did not revise it.
5. Did not write two somethings or even one something. I did make reasonable progress on two separate projects, though, so I'll pretend that counts!
6. Critting? Well, that depends on my buddies having novels to swap. This year I critted two of them.
7. Mod duties at FM grew this year with the addition of the highly successful workshop program.

But in reality, many of the highlights of 2008 for me weren't related to my writing dreams, although some certainly were. The best things about 2008?

1. My hubby getting a local job again after 2.5 years of the nasty commute to his four-on, four-off job at the coal mines.
2. A two-day writing seminar in Couer d'Alene, Idaho, in April with Randy Ingermanson and my two new buddies, Bonne and Viv.
3. A great *Girls* trip to Victoria in May with my daughter and daughter-in-law. Even though the car broke down.
4. My daughter and son-in-law spending four months with us this summer--an unexpected but wonderful interlude.
5. A puppy, Brody. Some days he's not the best thing ever, but some days he is.
6. My walking buddies at Walking to Somewhere, with whom I have (virtually) logged over 1200 miles, and for my husband and the pup, who have been my real companions for many of those miles!
7. As part of the local hikes, we explored a lot of our local area and discovered some of the history with the native pictographs, etc, and got started in geocaching.
8. Placing third in the Genesis contest with the opening pages of my novel, The Girl Who Cried Squid.
9. My in-laws' celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in September, which was a great excuse for a family party and a time to honor them.
10. A great one-week trip to Lake Tahoe with Margaret in December, with lots of hiking and laughing.
11. Spending Christmas in Victoria with our kids and their spouses, spending great family time together. And surviving the nasty roads to and from.
12. No major flare-ups of degenerative disc this entire year!!!

That's a pretty spur-of-the-moment list, but definitely things I've been thankful for this year.

What are the highlights of 2008 in YOUR little worlds? Let me know if you've posted a list or recap!

Color Me Amused

Today I'm wearing a cute burgundy short-sleeved knitted top that I paid something like three bucks for at Value Village. I hardly ever wear it, sadly, because it is one of *those* that needs hand washing and laying flat to dry. That rarely happens, so it usually lives at the bottom of my laundry hamper.

So this lady on the street corner says to me, "I love your sweater. Did you knit it?"

I laughed and said, "No, I wouldn't have the patience for something like that."

As I walked away, I wondered what she'd say if I told her I write novels? Probably something to the effect of: "I wouldn't have the patience for something like that."

I guess we pick what we want patience for!

Haven't been posting much

I guess there are a few reasons. One is that you all don't seem to be answering much!

Life is quite randomly busy. Home is busy because there is a hyper puppy who ALWAYS needs walking and attention, a garden that needs weeding and harvesting, a daughter and son-in-law who are considerably less demanding than the puppy!--but still there. I've been going to Aquafit Tuesday and Thursday evenings as Hanna is teaching. I enjoy it, but it does shoot the whole evening all to pieces. I've got book tours coming up and almost no time to read.

There've been stressy health issues in the extended family, my own recurring back and hip pain, a hubby working too much over time, and an electrical breaker that keeps shutting off in my kitchen.

At work there's been a transient camped out between the store and the building next door (moved on, with aid, this morning), lots to juggle in ordering and freight, and it seems to have been the week for bizarre and random questions.

Writing-wise, I'm slowly getting words on Tempest, teaching a workshop at Forward Motion, and signed up for a six-month paid class offered by author Holly Lisle called How to Think Sideways. Right now it's a challenge to think at all: frontwards, backwards, let alone sideways.

I needs a vacation. How come December is so far away?

Where to begin?

I'll try to keep this short, but I'm not sure I'll succeed. Regulars to In My Little World may recall that my hubby, a heavy duty mechanic, worked out of town for several years at the mines. He worked four days away, then was home for four days. In January he began a new job here at home at an automotive dealership. We really hoped this change would work out, though it was obvious from the beginning that it wasn't quite perfect. As time went on, the hours began to shrink a bit here and there and we got nervous. Long story short, he began looking for another job. Not finding anything, he contacted the mines near the beginning of April with the intention of returning to The Great Commute.

As with all large companies, this took a bit of time to arrange and this past week saw us still waiting for the final clearances to come through and an actual start date to be assigned.

Last Monday one of my bosses told me about an unadvertised local HDM job opening a friend of his had told him about (when boss had told him my hubby was heading out again). Hubby zipped over to drop off his resume and then we had two phone calls to wait for.

We got the start date for the mines late in the week--hubby was to be there this coming Monday. Thursday the other company phoned for an interview. After a great deal of discussion, hubby agreed to go in Friday morning to talk, with the understanding that everything would have to be perfect AND they would have to offer him the job that day. At 2:30 they phoned to offer him the position...and he took it...and phoned the mines to say something had come up and he would not be returning.

This new job--man, I hate to get my hopes up, but I can't help it. I'm sure there will be a downside or two, there nearly always is. But honestly, to quote Mary Poppins, it's "practically perfect in every way". Good wages, good benefits, good holidays, good pension, 40 hours a week (some overtime, which is okay), a bit of driving as they have two other plants in the area (hubby loves driving). He'll be working 7-3:30 Tuesday to Saturday with the option of taking some Saturdays off. (I, of course, have the world's BEST bosses who don't know yet that I'll be looking for an occasional Monday off now! :P -- but will be fine with it.) He'll be the one-and-only mechanic on site, also responsible for the millwright position (fixed machines as opposed to wheeled ones). Oh, the position is at a small dolomite mine and stucco manufacturing plant that has been in operation for 45 years. Email me if you want the link to their website.

As with many stressful weeks, something else also happened: our water tank died on Monday. Because it is sits in our bathroom (and is natural gas) it requires special venting and had to be ordered in from Vancouver. It took a few days to arrive. Then hubby discovered that though the tank is rated the same (40 gallons) as the old one, the actual size is larger, due, I suppose, to increased insulation. At any rate, it doesn't fit without modifications, some of which have to be done by a metal-worker. I hear that will be done tomorrow, Monday. Meanwhile, I've been showering at the in-laws' place across the yard, heating water in a kettle for doing dishes, and washing clothes in cold water (which I usually do anyway.) I'm sure you noticed up there hubby's new job starts TUESDAY, which means he'll be able to do the tank tomorrow so long as the part gets manufactured as promised.

Meanwhile, many of you know our son and daughter-in-law spent three months in South America and had a great time except for getting their passports and camera stolen. However, they landed back in Vancouver this week and we'll be seeing them in a few days. Jen has landed a good summer job and Joel is still looking, then back to University of Victoria in September.

Our daughter and son-in-law are also in transition. Craig has landed a summer job HERE and they will be staying kinda with us. By that I mean in their grandparents' motorhome here on the farm, and in and out of our house as well. Hanna still hasn't heard back from the job she applied for here.

(In fact, if you're counting people in my family, you'll see that five out of six of us are starting a new job in the next couple weeks or are still looking! I'm the only one keeping my job...)

Still with me?

This weekend I'm going to Couer d'Alene, Idaho, for a workshop with Randy Ingermanson (aka The Snowflake Guy) put on by the Idaho Writers' League. The workshop is Friday evening and all day Saturday, with a consultation with Randy on Sunday. No, he's not an agent or an editor, but he's a multi-published author who teaches writing at a number of large conferences, so I figure it's worth it! I also get to meet a few people that I've only met online before, so that will be fun.

And then I'm off to Victoria for a week with my kids. The benefit to KEEPING my job? Paid vacation! So there's one week of it.

Hoar Frost

This brief essay is written in second person pov as a nod to the Effective Viewpoint Workshop we're running this month at Forward Motion



Since you started walking to somewhere, you've been dropping off your husband at work every morning--you start an hour later than he does--and, once you've parked the car behind the shop, you head out for a brisk walk. You pull your knitted headband low over your forehead and ears and tug on your fleece gloves. It's a cold one today, and you're glad you grabbed the coat that goes to your knees. It will help keep your thighs from going numb.

A damp fog settled over the valley last night, and the visibility is still low. It's not dangerous to walk, though, so long as you watch out for patches of ice. Yesterday's temperatures got several degrees above freezing, and the resulting melt-off was shocked to a halt overnight, icing over wherever it happened to be.

The air is crisp, smelling of wood smoke and frost, as you hike north on eleventh avenue, up the hill. Hoar frost graces every strand of nature. The shrub on your right has feathery fronds that reach heavenward, each minute hair delicately crisped with white. The cedar up the block, the pine across from it--each needle accentuated.

This chain link fence is utilitarian and normally slinks in the background. Today you marvel at the precision of the stark white grids, blazoning its presence. The wrought iron on the fence down the block is also covered with white crystals, giving it a fuzzy appearance.

Your cheeks and chin and nose are burning with cold, but when you cover them with your gloved hands, your glasses fog up, rendering you blind. You pause a moment, unsure of your footing until you can see again.

Your attention is caught by birds fluttering and chirping, so you hurry around the corner to see what they're excited about. You stop in awe at the sight of a mountain ash tree**, delicately painted in white frost, every twig, every clump of red berries frosted over. A bird feeder hangs from a branch, and the LBBs* are having the best time swooping from ground to feeder and back again, chittering with each other as they go.

Intended walking route forgotten, you catch a glimpse around the next corner and head over to see what new marvels await. You're so glad you did, for a majestic weeping willow stands streaming with tails of frost, hundreds upon thousands of them, each delicately outlined. In the corner of the yard, a clump of ornamental grasses at least ten feet tall has never looked as festive as it does today.

Beauty is all around you, and even though you can't wait for spring, you can't help but treasure this morning walk.

*LBBs are otherwise known as Little Brown Birds.

**Mountain Ash

Wayfarer's Journal

So...I broke the arm off my glasses this morning. I'm here to tell you that I am as good as blind without them, and couldn't even tell what I'd broken. Magnifying glass was only marginal help with that, but it did enable me to find my old glasses in my dresser drawer. Then, with a certain amount of neck twisting to line up the bifocal, I could kind of almost make out the problem on the arm.

Oy. Back to bi-focals from progressives. Scratched lenses. Wrong prescription. Of course it will take a week for the new arm to come in and repairs to be made. Gotta love living in a rural area during the holidays. Good times were had by all.

So this month's Christian Science Fiction Fantasy Blog Tour is for a webzine: Wayfarer's Journal. And even with Control +++, I'm having issues with reading on the computer, as a lot of pages have text that runs together at that magnification. (Might have to clean the store before holidays. I think I can see to do that, if one isn't too particular. Oy.)

Very briefly, the Wayfarer's Journal is strictly a science fiction 'zine. The site's founder, Terri Mains, selects stories and poetry that explore the moral, ethical, and spiritual implications of modern technology. Stop by the site and have a look--if you haven't broken your glasses.

Most of these folks are participating in the tour, so if you're interested in opinions, check out these blogs: Brandon Barr, Jim Black, Justin Boyer, Grace Bridges, Amy Browning, Jackie Castle, Carol Bruce Collett , CSFF Blog Tour, D. G. D. Davidson, Chris Deanne, Jeff Draper, April Erwin, Marcus Goodyear, Andrea Graham, Jill Hart, Katie Hart, Michael Heald, Jason Joyner, Kait, Carol Keen, Mike Lynch, Margaret, Rachel Marks, Melissa Meeks, Rebecca LuElla Miller, Mirtika or Mir's Here, John W. Otte, John Ottinger, Rachelle, Steve Rice, Cheryl Russel, Ashley Rutherford, Hanna Sandvig, James Somers, Steve Trower, Speculative Faith, Jason Waguespac, Laura Williams, Timothy Wise

I'll be the first to admit that this month, I didn't look at each of these blogs. I was saving it to do this morning, and we all know how well that worked out for me. Anyone with a slow site--anyone with a black or dark background--got skipped. I guess I'd even have skipped myself! But I did check out a couple spots to mention: Jim Black posted an interview with Wayfarer's Journal's founder, Terri Mains. John Otte explains why we should bat around ideas now, in a safe environment, before technology hits us with the unexpected and all we have left to offer is a knee-jerk reaction. I must say I was looking forward to what my buddy Steve Trower would say about Wayfarer's Journal, because he's a science fiction fan and somehow has managed to turn all the fantasy book tours into discussions of science fiction. But he doesn't have his Christmas tree up yet. (Go, Steve!)

Thankfulness

You know, we all have a lot to be thankful for, each and every day. No matter our circumstances--there is ALWAYS something to give thanks for.

I've had a rough couple of weeks. I've spent a lot of time with fog-inducing headaches. I've gotten very little done on anything writing related--THINKING related, really. The fog has lifted, at least a bit, and that is one thing I'm thankful for today. But I had a lot to be thankful for a few days ago, too.

Thankful for a husband who loves me and cares about my aches and pains and does what he can to make it easier. Thankful for a home, a shelter, that adjusts to the temperature I need (yay, it's cooling off these days--I even turned on the heat!). Thankful for a kitty's whiskers to brush my face while I lie on the floor and stare at the ceiling (which could use a paint job, I've noticed.) Thankful for friends and family who check in to see how I'm doing, especially when hubby's working out of town.

Thankful...for the enforced quiet time. I'm queen of multi-tasking, but there is a limit to how many things you can do while lying on your back on the floor. Can't hold a book straight up to read for long. Can't watch tv without cricking the neck. Time to just be quiet and think is rarely taken, at least by me.

Be still and know that I am God comes from the Bible. (Psalm 46:10) I don't much like being still. I avoid it. But it has benefits within us, and I'm hoping to learn them.

What are YOU thankful for?