I thought I would sit down and click out a few words before getting to some serious work. I am out in the Wookie Cave early, showered, fed, and in the mood. It doesn't happen often folks so I am taking advantage of it. I am also taking advantage of feeling like I want to blog. It is a new (old) thing so here I am. I let the birds out, and even though there is still frost on the ground they took to it right away. The dog, in her infinite wisdom decided that she wanted to hang with me in my studio. Right now she is 'on guard' at the window which is the perfect height for her, she can sit and watch for all the goings-on out there without having to be out there. The hubby is out in the woods waiting for an innocent Bambi to wander by so he can murder it. Don't tell anyone but I am secretly hoping that there be no Bambi murders for the next long while.
I also have a guy/person/Klingon coming to have a look at the set of tire I have up for sale. Kijiji rocks some times. How else would I get rid of something taking up a lot of room and being able to make money which will go towards new winter tires for the new automobile? There is the want ads in the paper, but does that even work anymore these days?
And fingers and toes crossed...but it appears to be a lovely day out there. And if the weather guys are to be believed, it might be a beautiful day for the next several days. If that is true I will be doing a happy dance. It would be sweet to finally get the last of the wood in. That being said I am now off to the Never-Never Land in my head.
Monday, November 10, 2014
Sunday, November 9, 2014
More of the Same...
Today what did I do but sit and write...well actually sit and edit a little bit more. Writing is infinitely better than editing, most especially because after editing for hours when someone else reads it they tell you all kinds of shit about your writing that you missed. "Do you realize you forgot an entire page?" "You spelled the wrong." "This part doesn't make sense, did you mean to put a wizard in the middle of a funeral?" And so on...
I tried a different tack with the birds today. You see some days it is easy peasy lemon squeezey to get them into their coop, other days I just want to borrow the hubby's shot gun and get rid of the little bastards. So today I went out and taped them, I figured that they might respond to their own annoying noises. They were pretty dam interested. I got four in the coop before I even turned the recording on. But f*cking Low Man still was being a serious pain in my arse. So I tried the recording...nada. Did not work. I can understand why he is at the bottom of the pecking order, I'd like to take a peck out of him myself. Grrrrrr.
I tried a different tack with the birds today. You see some days it is easy peasy lemon squeezey to get them into their coop, other days I just want to borrow the hubby's shot gun and get rid of the little bastards. So today I went out and taped them, I figured that they might respond to their own annoying noises. They were pretty dam interested. I got four in the coop before I even turned the recording on. But f*cking Low Man still was being a serious pain in my arse. So I tried the recording...nada. Did not work. I can understand why he is at the bottom of the pecking order, I'd like to take a peck out of him myself. Grrrrrr.
Saturday, November 8, 2014
Editing
I spent ten hours editing a 27 page chapter today. Ten hours! On something which has already been written. Is that crazy, or it that crazy? I'm sure it was a 110 times faster writing the original draft. Grrrr. No I'm not too picky. But the good thing is that at least I've gone over it once...and...I got it down to 26 pages. Oh joy.
I even managed to get a walk in about half way through. I had to. It was sunny out there. Cold, but sunny. So we donned our orange, neon, glow in the dark and daylight apparel and headed out. I don't have to tell you how excited the hell hound was. She literally pranced. Yeah so that isn't really all that different than her normal self, but she was pretty excited. And so was I. Sitting on your ass and concentrating for that long can be hard. Is hard.
Four vehicles passed us on the road. Four! Its a record for round these parts. Hunting season makes it like Grand Central Station here in the sticks. I don't like it. The crowds make me feel claustrophobic. We might have to move.
I just realized something...I have a finished story that would go along well with the whole Remembrance Day theme and I did not submit it to my editor in time. I put in something completely unrelated. That was smart. (No it wasn't.) It just shows how much, a) I don't pay attention to upcoming events, and b) that my brain is fried and has too many stories rattling around in it. Plus I'm pretty sure I don't really care.
I even managed to get a walk in about half way through. I had to. It was sunny out there. Cold, but sunny. So we donned our orange, neon, glow in the dark and daylight apparel and headed out. I don't have to tell you how excited the hell hound was. She literally pranced. Yeah so that isn't really all that different than her normal self, but she was pretty excited. And so was I. Sitting on your ass and concentrating for that long can be hard. Is hard.
Four vehicles passed us on the road. Four! Its a record for round these parts. Hunting season makes it like Grand Central Station here in the sticks. I don't like it. The crowds make me feel claustrophobic. We might have to move.
I just realized something...I have a finished story that would go along well with the whole Remembrance Day theme and I did not submit it to my editor in time. I put in something completely unrelated. That was smart. (No it wasn't.) It just shows how much, a) I don't pay attention to upcoming events, and b) that my brain is fried and has too many stories rattling around in it. Plus I'm pretty sure I don't really care.
Saturday, November 1, 2014
Dead Birds...Rainy Weather
I am down one bird. The hubby found its lifeless body down along the boundary of our property. No signs of violence, no blood, just a dead bird. It is frustrating to say the least. I don't know how many months it has been since I got them, but I have spent a lot of time trying to make sure they survive. Then suddenly....just like that...a dead bird. Sigh. Goodbye Ranch, if you were Ranch. Poo Baby has turned into Low Man and remains identifiable but Twinkle, and all the rest have become just one amorphous lump. As promised here are a few pictures of the girls? boys?
New home at three days old.
A week later.
Three weeks old. Sprouting feathers and everything.
First day in the coop.
First day outside.
New flag pole flies above Kitpu Estates.
Following the leader.
The leader.
Zombie adults. Icky.
Checking out the hot dude in the mirror.
Which brings us to today.
Such a rainy day. Such a good day to hang around in the house and enjoy the fire. I wish I felt better so I could get into some serious writing and or painting. At least I managed to drag my sorry butt into town to get groceries.
Such a rainy day. Such a good day to hang around in the house and enjoy the fire. I wish I felt better so I could get into some serious writing and or painting. At least I managed to drag my sorry butt into town to get groceries.
Saturday, September 13, 2014
My Bad...
Wow it has been awhile. Can I use the excuse that I've been busy? Because that is the truth. Although its not like I've been so busy that I couldn't take a few minutes to sit down and do some blogging. Those free moments when I could have been blogging I have been wasting my time surfing the net, playing games, or just plain old watching stupid things on Youtube. I admit it. My bad...I suck...life goes on.
This summer has seriously been a crazy busy summer though. I have spent far more time mixing concrete in these last three months then I have ever done in my entire life. And the shitty thing is that we aren't even finished. We still have one wall left to pour, and three, possibly four, footings. It is never ending, most especially when you happen to be married to someone who doesn't know the meaning of build to code. His idea is build to a code which will make the structure last until the next ice age. And based on how quickly the world is warming that isn't going to come any time soon.
But the good thing is that I'm getting to be quite the expert at mixing concrete. Four parts sand and gravel, one part cement, add a little water, mix to the consistence of cookie dough and Bob's your uncle. Yup you heard that right, mixing concrete is like baking. Add a little bit of this and a little bit of that, salt to taste. And always wear your safety glasses...you have no idea how many times my sunglasses have saved my vision this summer.
Have I mentioned my birds? No...well I got myself some birds this summer. Six guinea fowl. I got them when they were three days old and grew them into big, fat, seriously ugly birds. Wowza but they is ugly. They went from cute(ish) little brown fluffy things to big, grey, things with heads that look sort of zombie like. But of course I did not get them for their aesthetics, nope there is a method to my madness, I got them for their tick consuming powers. Have wood ticks, will eat, is their motto. Apparently one hen will rid one acre from the blood sucking little bastards, and...this is important...not ruin a garden. Had they been garden destroying I think our neighbours might come looking for them with a shotgun...and possibly us. At first when we let them go free it seemed like they were not holding up their end of the bargain because they were having issues eating enough, but that problem has gone away. Unfortunately I haven't a clue at how well they are doing on the "tick front" because tick season was over pretty bloody quick this year. But they are getting bigger and fatter so they must be finding enough creepy-crawlies to eat. So fingers crossed that they will survive the winter and that they will bring their super powers into full strength next spring.
I'll post some pictures when I find my camera. Anyway I best head out to the Wookie Cave and start a painting I promised to someone. Hopefully I'll get back here a little more than every six months.
This summer has seriously been a crazy busy summer though. I have spent far more time mixing concrete in these last three months then I have ever done in my entire life. And the shitty thing is that we aren't even finished. We still have one wall left to pour, and three, possibly four, footings. It is never ending, most especially when you happen to be married to someone who doesn't know the meaning of build to code. His idea is build to a code which will make the structure last until the next ice age. And based on how quickly the world is warming that isn't going to come any time soon.
But the good thing is that I'm getting to be quite the expert at mixing concrete. Four parts sand and gravel, one part cement, add a little water, mix to the consistence of cookie dough and Bob's your uncle. Yup you heard that right, mixing concrete is like baking. Add a little bit of this and a little bit of that, salt to taste. And always wear your safety glasses...you have no idea how many times my sunglasses have saved my vision this summer.
Have I mentioned my birds? No...well I got myself some birds this summer. Six guinea fowl. I got them when they were three days old and grew them into big, fat, seriously ugly birds. Wowza but they is ugly. They went from cute(ish) little brown fluffy things to big, grey, things with heads that look sort of zombie like. But of course I did not get them for their aesthetics, nope there is a method to my madness, I got them for their tick consuming powers. Have wood ticks, will eat, is their motto. Apparently one hen will rid one acre from the blood sucking little bastards, and...this is important...not ruin a garden. Had they been garden destroying I think our neighbours might come looking for them with a shotgun...and possibly us. At first when we let them go free it seemed like they were not holding up their end of the bargain because they were having issues eating enough, but that problem has gone away. Unfortunately I haven't a clue at how well they are doing on the "tick front" because tick season was over pretty bloody quick this year. But they are getting bigger and fatter so they must be finding enough creepy-crawlies to eat. So fingers crossed that they will survive the winter and that they will bring their super powers into full strength next spring.
I'll post some pictures when I find my camera. Anyway I best head out to the Wookie Cave and start a painting I promised to someone. Hopefully I'll get back here a little more than every six months.
Sunday, March 30, 2014
What a difference a day makes...
This week started out as a typical week in the early springtime of the eastern part of the western world. Cold and windy but nice enough to go for a walk/run. But the weather network and the radio people were all freaking out about the coming storm. One thing I have learned since moving here is to believe these people about the big storms...ie - hurricanes, nor'easters, drought, etc. So the kid packed up all of her stuff, left masses amounts of food for the cats, filled her bathtubs, and moved out to my place. After all, Nova Scotia is the land of the power outages. We went for a nice enjoyable (slightly chilly) walk in the afternoon, talked about the wonderousness of sunny weather and the fact that apparently we were in for a big one on Wednesday.
On Tuesday the weather was even nicer...iffin you can believe it. Sunnier, warmer, and less windy. No snow was to be found anywhere. It was bee-YOU-tea-full. Wednesday dawned cloudy but relatively benign. I had a few doubts about the storm as it had been predicted to start the night before. Still no snow on the ground. Then the wind started to pick up...
By the time five o'clock rolled around we had a four foot snowdrift in our back yard. You could not see across the driveway. That is when a little one decided that she wanted to go outside to play. After about a half hour of showing her what it looked like outside (horizontal snow) and opening the door (keeping a shoulder against it so it wouldn't get blown against the wall and create major damage) she still wanted to go out. So we packed her up and headed out the door with her. (Not we...her grandfather did) They tried to walk across the driveway but couldn't see because the small ice pellets were stinging their eyes, so she opted to try to "play" by sitting on a tree branch close to the ground and hang on so she wouldn't get blown across the yard. That is when she turned to her Papa and said. "Papa I think I made a bad decision. Can we go back in the house now." Sometimes you just have to experience things in order to really understand the ramifications. Ah youth.
The storm continued to rage into the night and the next morning the neighbour's cottage had a ten foot wind drift behind it. But the temperatures warmed up and by the next day...we were back to no snow. Today the weather network had these words...I shit you not. "Rain this morning with the possibility of turning into rain this afternoon." And yes, it is raining. And craptastic out there. March came in like a lion and seems to be heading out like a tyrannosaurus rex. Perhaps if I make a sacrifice to the weather gods they will take pity on us in April. (In other words let up on the fucking April showers will you!)
On Tuesday the weather was even nicer...iffin you can believe it. Sunnier, warmer, and less windy. No snow was to be found anywhere. It was bee-YOU-tea-full. Wednesday dawned cloudy but relatively benign. I had a few doubts about the storm as it had been predicted to start the night before. Still no snow on the ground. Then the wind started to pick up...
By the time five o'clock rolled around we had a four foot snowdrift in our back yard. You could not see across the driveway. That is when a little one decided that she wanted to go outside to play. After about a half hour of showing her what it looked like outside (horizontal snow) and opening the door (keeping a shoulder against it so it wouldn't get blown against the wall and create major damage) she still wanted to go out. So we packed her up and headed out the door with her. (Not we...her grandfather did) They tried to walk across the driveway but couldn't see because the small ice pellets were stinging their eyes, so she opted to try to "play" by sitting on a tree branch close to the ground and hang on so she wouldn't get blown across the yard. That is when she turned to her Papa and said. "Papa I think I made a bad decision. Can we go back in the house now." Sometimes you just have to experience things in order to really understand the ramifications. Ah youth.
The storm continued to rage into the night and the next morning the neighbour's cottage had a ten foot wind drift behind it. But the temperatures warmed up and by the next day...we were back to no snow. Today the weather network had these words...I shit you not. "Rain this morning with the possibility of turning into rain this afternoon." And yes, it is raining. And craptastic out there. March came in like a lion and seems to be heading out like a tyrannosaurus rex. Perhaps if I make a sacrifice to the weather gods they will take pity on us in April. (In other words let up on the fucking April showers will you!)
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Rock Solid
Well it looks like the world decided to slow back down and turn into a place that doesn't want to spin me off. Yippee! It has been almost 16 hours since my last tiny dizzy spell, so it looks like I may be over my inner ear thing. You have NO idea how wonderful it is. I have a hard enough time concentrating these days without having to endure spinny, dizzy, puky, barfy times.
The very strange thing about this episode came in the way of me finding out that pretty much everyone I've talked to about it in the last week either has, or knows someone who has, Benign Positional Vertigo, a condition I didn't know about until last month when I read a book where one of the main characters helps someone out with this problem. At the time I didn't think much about it because a) I actually didn't know if it was true or not, c) it wasn't a major story plot, and b) my world hadn't started spinning yet.
If you've ever read this blog you know that I live in the sticks. Like deep in the sticks. I have one neighbour then you have to go about three kilometers before you run into another neighbour, so not exactly in the middle of the Manhattan if you know what I mean. Anyway a day or two after I got my sea legs back I went for a walk and ran into the neighbour from three kilometers away. Normally I run into her about three or four times in a winter, we both walk every day, but typically not at the same time. Anyway it turns out that her husband has had BPV for over 20 years. Then I find out that a relative (the littlest bro) just found out he has it. Then I went to my writering class and the guy who sat down next to me says he has it.
WTF?
So what is this? Is it the universe trying to tell me something? Like - when you read a novel you should take better care to believe shit written there. Or - guess what...the world has shit going on around you all the time and you are just an oblivious dork. Pay Attention!
I do want to say that I am very, very, very glad that the world has stopped spinning. I am grateful that I don't have to put up with that for 20 years. And I would be very happy if it never happened again. Now I have to make some tea...yes you heard me - tea. And sit down and do some editing on my story and enjoy what the rest of the day will bring. I guess I did name the Old Shoes and Tea Society well...seeing as I on occasion can enjoy a cuppa.
The very strange thing about this episode came in the way of me finding out that pretty much everyone I've talked to about it in the last week either has, or knows someone who has, Benign Positional Vertigo, a condition I didn't know about until last month when I read a book where one of the main characters helps someone out with this problem. At the time I didn't think much about it because a) I actually didn't know if it was true or not, c) it wasn't a major story plot, and b) my world hadn't started spinning yet.
If you've ever read this blog you know that I live in the sticks. Like deep in the sticks. I have one neighbour then you have to go about three kilometers before you run into another neighbour, so not exactly in the middle of the Manhattan if you know what I mean. Anyway a day or two after I got my sea legs back I went for a walk and ran into the neighbour from three kilometers away. Normally I run into her about three or four times in a winter, we both walk every day, but typically not at the same time. Anyway it turns out that her husband has had BPV for over 20 years. Then I find out that a relative (the littlest bro) just found out he has it. Then I went to my writering class and the guy who sat down next to me says he has it.
WTF?
So what is this? Is it the universe trying to tell me something? Like - when you read a novel you should take better care to believe shit written there. Or - guess what...the world has shit going on around you all the time and you are just an oblivious dork. Pay Attention!
I do want to say that I am very, very, very glad that the world has stopped spinning. I am grateful that I don't have to put up with that for 20 years. And I would be very happy if it never happened again. Now I have to make some tea...yes you heard me - tea. And sit down and do some editing on my story and enjoy what the rest of the day will bring. I guess I did name the Old Shoes and Tea Society well...seeing as I on occasion can enjoy a cuppa.
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