I'm not going to do any vegetable container gardening this year. I'm still deciding if I want to do any flowers in containers. My neighbor installed a fence that runs along one side of my backyard so I'm going to plant some flowers along the fence line and see how they do. Keeping squirrels from digging in the containers and in the yard is a constant battle so I'm not sure I'll actually get any flowers along the fence to grow.
I've always wanted to try growing an apple and almond tree so I'm going to start the seeds in small containers and if they grow, will transplant them into bigger pots as necessary until they're sturdy enough to plant in the ground. I'll post photos from time to time to show their progress.
Friday, March 29, 2019
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
What's Up Wednesday
This week...
My Current WIP (Work in Progress): Last week wasn't as productive as I hoped it would be. I only managed to get seventeen pages of Spellbound done. This should be a good week though.
Quote of the Week: "There are two ways of attaining an important end, force and perseverance; the silent power of the latter grows irresistible with time." ~ Madame Swetchine (a 19th century Russian mystic)
What I'm Reading: I'm not reading anything right now. I'm going to the library on Friday and looking forward to getting a few good books to read.
Random Thoughts: I made it through the entire winter season without so much as a sniffle even though my mom (who lives with me) had a terrible cold around November. There was also a co-worker who had a cold around the holidays and two of my sisters had colds as well. Well, I now have a cold. In the spring.
Random Photo of the Week:
Somebody likes to knock over and cuddle with a giraffe my mom keeps on her bed.
My Current WIP (Work in Progress): Last week wasn't as productive as I hoped it would be. I only managed to get seventeen pages of Spellbound done. This should be a good week though.
Quote of the Week: "There are two ways of attaining an important end, force and perseverance; the silent power of the latter grows irresistible with time." ~ Madame Swetchine (a 19th century Russian mystic)
What I'm Reading: I'm not reading anything right now. I'm going to the library on Friday and looking forward to getting a few good books to read.
Random Thoughts: I made it through the entire winter season without so much as a sniffle even though my mom (who lives with me) had a terrible cold around November. There was also a co-worker who had a cold around the holidays and two of my sisters had colds as well. Well, I now have a cold. In the spring.
Random Photo of the Week:
Monday, March 25, 2019
Watch and Learn
I watched the movie, Green Book, this past Saturday. First, I'd like to take a moment and rave over this movie. It was wonderful. I can easily see why it won a number of academy awards.
When I watch a movie, I watch it for the enjoyment of it. I don't watch it to try and learn how to convey emotion, or how to set a scene, or to figure out the rhythms of snappy dialogue or any other technique that would help me write a story. Some writers do do this. I don't because I usually get caught up in the story and forget to focus on whatever technique I was trying to watch for.
Without even being conscious of it until after the movie ended, I realized Green Book is a great example of showing the evolution of a character. Dr. Shirley starts out very rigid and controlling. Tony starts out as a guy who is barely hanging on without actually breaking the law while trying to provide for his family. He is all about himself and what he wants to do. As the story progresses and their friendship develops and grows, each man also develops and grows. You can actually see the change in Tony's personality at the end of the story.
I don't want to get into too much detail and ruin the story for any one who hasn't seen it so I'll end my post here with one caveat. See this movie. Even if it wasn't on your To Be Watched List, see the movie. You won't regret it.
When I watch a movie, I watch it for the enjoyment of it. I don't watch it to try and learn how to convey emotion, or how to set a scene, or to figure out the rhythms of snappy dialogue or any other technique that would help me write a story. Some writers do do this. I don't because I usually get caught up in the story and forget to focus on whatever technique I was trying to watch for.
Without even being conscious of it until after the movie ended, I realized Green Book is a great example of showing the evolution of a character. Dr. Shirley starts out very rigid and controlling. Tony starts out as a guy who is barely hanging on without actually breaking the law while trying to provide for his family. He is all about himself and what he wants to do. As the story progresses and their friendship develops and grows, each man also develops and grows. You can actually see the change in Tony's personality at the end of the story.
I don't want to get into too much detail and ruin the story for any one who hasn't seen it so I'll end my post here with one caveat. See this movie. Even if it wasn't on your To Be Watched List, see the movie. You won't regret it.
Friday, March 22, 2019
This I know for sure...
Would it be blasphemous to say I hate March Madness?
It may have something to do with basketball being my least favorite sport of any kind of sport. It seems like the basketball season lasts nearly year round. This may be because there are NBA games, and then college games. I don't keep track of when the two seasons start and end, only that it seems like basketball games are played/televised year round.
At this time of the year, March Madness seems to be on everyone's minds from news reports, the televised games, radio DJs talking about "the game last night" ad nauseum, and of course, co-workers and friends who want to discuss how they're doing on their bracket sheets.
I don't like the month of March in general because it usually brings the worst weather of the winter season in my area. I'm always eager for winter to end and spring to begin at this time of the year, and March Madness just adds to my misery.
It may have something to do with basketball being my least favorite sport of any kind of sport. It seems like the basketball season lasts nearly year round. This may be because there are NBA games, and then college games. I don't keep track of when the two seasons start and end, only that it seems like basketball games are played/televised year round.
At this time of the year, March Madness seems to be on everyone's minds from news reports, the televised games, radio DJs talking about "the game last night" ad nauseum, and of course, co-workers and friends who want to discuss how they're doing on their bracket sheets.
I don't like the month of March in general because it usually brings the worst weather of the winter season in my area. I'm always eager for winter to end and spring to begin at this time of the year, and March Madness just adds to my misery.
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
What's Up Wednesday
This week...
My Current WIP (Work in Progress): Last week wasn't as productive as the week before. I only managed to get twenty pages of Spellbound done.
Quote of the Week: "Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: You don't give up." ~ Anne LaMott
What I'm Reading: I'll be starting Duchess by Deception by Marie Force tonight. This is the first book in the Gilded series.
Random Thoughts: I'm trying to teach myself new crochet skills. I've only ever made blankets or scarves, but have a pattern for a bunny that I want to try. I'm practicing crocheting in the round which is how most crocheted animals are made.
Random Photo of the Week:
Last Sunday was cold and windy so I spent the afternoon making bread.
My Current WIP (Work in Progress): Last week wasn't as productive as the week before. I only managed to get twenty pages of Spellbound done.
Quote of the Week: "Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: You don't give up." ~ Anne LaMott
What I'm Reading: I'll be starting Duchess by Deception by Marie Force tonight. This is the first book in the Gilded series.
Random Thoughts: I'm trying to teach myself new crochet skills. I've only ever made blankets or scarves, but have a pattern for a bunny that I want to try. I'm practicing crocheting in the round which is how most crocheted animals are made.
Random Photo of the Week:
Monday, March 18, 2019
St. Patrick's Day
Friday, March 15, 2019
This I know for sure...
I've just felt exhausted every day this week. I don't think I've stayed up past 9:30pm any night this week. Not that I usually stay up a lot later than that, only an hour. As I get up at 5:30am, I try really hard to make sure I turn out the light and go to sleep by 10:30pm.
I've been told by a few different people the reason I'm feeling so tired is due to the Daylight Saving Time (DST) change from this past weekend. I know studies have been done about how losing that hour really can impact a person.
I suffered from insomnia due to job related stress for about five years. If I managed to get four hours of sleep a night, it was a good night. (I have a different job now with next to no stress and thankfully, no longer suffer from insomnia.) If I could function on so little sleep on a regular basis, I find it hard to believe the loss of an hour because of DST would make me feel the way I have this week. But I've been stress and insomnia free for two years so maybe it is possible the loss of that hour is the reason for I've felt the way I have. I hope to sleep in for an extra hour this Sunday so hopefully I'll start next week feeling much more rested.
I've been told by a few different people the reason I'm feeling so tired is due to the Daylight Saving Time (DST) change from this past weekend. I know studies have been done about how losing that hour really can impact a person.
I suffered from insomnia due to job related stress for about five years. If I managed to get four hours of sleep a night, it was a good night. (I have a different job now with next to no stress and thankfully, no longer suffer from insomnia.) If I could function on so little sleep on a regular basis, I find it hard to believe the loss of an hour because of DST would make me feel the way I have this week. But I've been stress and insomnia free for two years so maybe it is possible the loss of that hour is the reason for I've felt the way I have. I hope to sleep in for an extra hour this Sunday so hopefully I'll start next week feeling much more rested.
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
What's Up Wednesday
This week...
My Current WIP (Work in Progress): I revised 65 pages of the second book in the series I'm working on. I haven't come up with a new title yet so I'm going to continue to refer to it by it's working title, Spellbound.
Quote of the Week: “Everything feels better when you have a plan. It doesn’t have to be a great plan. It just has to be one that you can use and follow each day, moving you one step closer to your goals.” ~ Unknown
What I'm Reading: I going to start Bearly Departed by Meg Macy tonight. This is the first book in Shamelessly Adorable Teddy Bear mystery series. My mom received the book as a gift. She enjoyed it and loaned me her copy.
Random Thoughts: The area I live in is forecasted to have weather in the mid 50's for the next few days. It's supposed to rain a bit, but it's better than snow. I'm hoping we're done with snow for the winter season. I'm really looking forward to spring.
Random Photo of the Week:
I saw this on Facebook and really liked the message it imparted so I thought I'd share it.
My Current WIP (Work in Progress): I revised 65 pages of the second book in the series I'm working on. I haven't come up with a new title yet so I'm going to continue to refer to it by it's working title, Spellbound.
Quote of the Week: “Everything feels better when you have a plan. It doesn’t have to be a great plan. It just has to be one that you can use and follow each day, moving you one step closer to your goals.” ~ Unknown
What I'm Reading: I going to start Bearly Departed by Meg Macy tonight. This is the first book in Shamelessly Adorable Teddy Bear mystery series. My mom received the book as a gift. She enjoyed it and loaned me her copy.
Random Thoughts: The area I live in is forecasted to have weather in the mid 50's for the next few days. It's supposed to rain a bit, but it's better than snow. I'm hoping we're done with snow for the winter season. I'm really looking forward to spring.
Random Photo of the Week:
I saw this on Facebook and really liked the message it imparted so I thought I'd share it.
Monday, March 11, 2019
The First Page
I read a blog post earlier this week about how many pages an author gets to entice a reader into reading their novel. The post stated an author gets one page, the first page, to get the reader interested enough in the story to keep them turning the pages.
The post stated readers familiar with an author's work will usually read further into a story before deciding to continue reading it or not. If the author is someone the reader isn't familiar with, that first page is all the author gets to hook the reader.
While the blog post had good points and made a case for its viewpoint, I'm not sure I agree especially with the above. I always, or almost always, read the first fifty pages of a book before deciding it's not for me. It doesn't matter if I've read the author's work before or it's the first time I've picked up a book by an author. Maybe I'm an outlier and very few people do the same thing.
It does make me wonder though if people make a decision whether to read a book or not after reading just the first page. So I'm asking you to leave a comment and let me know how many pages you read before deciding to set a book aside.
The post stated readers familiar with an author's work will usually read further into a story before deciding to continue reading it or not. If the author is someone the reader isn't familiar with, that first page is all the author gets to hook the reader.
While the blog post had good points and made a case for its viewpoint, I'm not sure I agree especially with the above. I always, or almost always, read the first fifty pages of a book before deciding it's not for me. It doesn't matter if I've read the author's work before or it's the first time I've picked up a book by an author. Maybe I'm an outlier and very few people do the same thing.
It does make me wonder though if people make a decision whether to read a book or not after reading just the first page. So I'm asking you to leave a comment and let me know how many pages you read before deciding to set a book aside.
Friday, March 8, 2019
This I know for sure...
It's time to change our clocks ahead one hour this weekend. While I'm not thrilled about losing an hour of sleep, at least it happens on the weekend. Not that my cats will let me sleep in an hour later to make up for the loss.
It's also one more sign that we are getting closer to spring. We've only had about 80 inches of snow this season, but I'm really ready for warmer weather. It's been a bitter cold winter. I say only 80 inches of snow because we average about 120 inches of snow in my area.
It's also one more sign that we are getting closer to spring. We've only had about 80 inches of snow this season, but I'm really ready for warmer weather. It's been a bitter cold winter. I say only 80 inches of snow because we average about 120 inches of snow in my area.
Wednesday, March 6, 2019
What's Up Wednesday
This week...
My Current WIP (Work in Progress): Managed to revise 31 pages of the second book in the series. I had a couple of appointments crop up so I didn't get as much done as I'd planned on. I'm hoping to make it up this week.
Quote of the Week: "...failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts." ~ Winston Churchill
What I'm Reading: I started reading A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn last Saturday. This is the first the the Veronica Speedwell mystery series. It's a historical mystery set in 1887.
Random Thoughts: I had to have a blood test done for an upcoming appointment where I had to fast for at least 12 hours before the blood test. I got up very early on Saturday so I could be at the testing facility at 7:00am. I was second in line, but had to wait for over an hour because they lost my paperwork between the time I checked in and handed it to them and they supposedly entered it into their system. I was told they finally located it and had my blood drawn. I got a phone call yesterday stating my blood tests were mixed up with another patient's because they had misplaced my paperwork so tomorrow I get to get up at 5:00am to go back and have my blood redrawn and still get to work on time. Ask me how happy I am about this.
Random Photo of the Week:
I tried this cereal last weekend. Surprisingly enough, it was pretty good. Definitely not healthy though.
My Current WIP (Work in Progress): Managed to revise 31 pages of the second book in the series. I had a couple of appointments crop up so I didn't get as much done as I'd planned on. I'm hoping to make it up this week.
Quote of the Week: "...failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts." ~ Winston Churchill
What I'm Reading: I started reading A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn last Saturday. This is the first the the Veronica Speedwell mystery series. It's a historical mystery set in 1887.
Random Thoughts: I had to have a blood test done for an upcoming appointment where I had to fast for at least 12 hours before the blood test. I got up very early on Saturday so I could be at the testing facility at 7:00am. I was second in line, but had to wait for over an hour because they lost my paperwork between the time I checked in and handed it to them and they supposedly entered it into their system. I was told they finally located it and had my blood drawn. I got a phone call yesterday stating my blood tests were mixed up with another patient's because they had misplaced my paperwork so tomorrow I get to get up at 5:00am to go back and have my blood redrawn and still get to work on time. Ask me how happy I am about this.
Random Photo of the Week:
Monday, March 4, 2019
You Read Romance???
Although romance novels make up a large part of the books sold each year, it is still, and most likely always will be, looked down on. I personally know a lot of people who won't read a paperback copy of a romance novel in public. They also don't admit to reading the genre to people outside their circle of friends and family and sometimes not even to them.
I write romance and one of my sisters always rolls her eyes and makes derogatory remarks about romance novels when they are brought up in conversation. It used to bother me, but no longer does. Reading is subjective. What one person likes, another may not and that's really all it boils down to in her case.
So if anyone makes a comment about your preference for romance novels, direct them to this article - Why You Should Be Reading Romance Novels It just might change their minds about the genre and maybe, just maybe, get them to try reading one themselves.
I write romance and one of my sisters always rolls her eyes and makes derogatory remarks about romance novels when they are brought up in conversation. It used to bother me, but no longer does. Reading is subjective. What one person likes, another may not and that's really all it boils down to in her case.
So if anyone makes a comment about your preference for romance novels, direct them to this article - Why You Should Be Reading Romance Novels It just might change their minds about the genre and maybe, just maybe, get them to try reading one themselves.
Friday, March 1, 2019
This I know for sure...
I have a twitter account and have had one for about 8 years or so, but rarely use it. I do follow some people and have people who follow me. I think they follow me because I don't clutter up their feed since I rarely tweet or retweet anything. 😀
The main reason I don't use twitter is it's so hard to follow a conversation or have a conversation with all these tweets coming at you every second interrupting the flow. I wish there was a way to separate out different streams of tweets so that anything promotional goes in one stream, anything news related in another, personal tweets in another etc. Or a way to see all the tweets relating to the same topic in one stream so it's easier to follow.
Maybe there is a way to set up your twitter account this way and I just don't know about it. Because I don't use it often, I'm not very familiar with the ins and outs of it.
Please feel free to share any suggestions or tips you find work for you.
The main reason I don't use twitter is it's so hard to follow a conversation or have a conversation with all these tweets coming at you every second interrupting the flow. I wish there was a way to separate out different streams of tweets so that anything promotional goes in one stream, anything news related in another, personal tweets in another etc. Or a way to see all the tweets relating to the same topic in one stream so it's easier to follow.
Maybe there is a way to set up your twitter account this way and I just don't know about it. Because I don't use it often, I'm not very familiar with the ins and outs of it.
Please feel free to share any suggestions or tips you find work for you.
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