This is NOT Sunday

Secret Caverns, Cobleskill, NY; some of my Weekend Fun

Something 4 Sunday posts have been a bust this year.  I’m almost always out doing things Sundays (and Saturdays), or I’m at home recovering from being out and doing things.  Yeah, I know, I could more effort with my blogging, and I should.

It’s doubts and distractions.  Am I just talking to the wind here?  Do I really have anything worth saying (this is big with me…  I really would like to offer content that people enjoy)?  Shouldn’t I be writing stories or spending more “quality time” with family?

Coverd Bridge, Schoharie

Basically I do this two days a week schedule because of the ROW80.  I need to keep an eye on my progress toward my goals daily, and these twice weekly  check-ins help keep me on track (somewhat).  But I know that my life, while busy, is pretty much Dullsville compared to many, and that my busy is not as fascinating or imposing to other people as it to me.  They have their own busy to deal with.

So…  thank you to those of you who come here despite your own busy to visit today.  I hope you enjoy my little internet offering and check-in.

ROW80 and More

The Old Stone Fort, Schoharie, NY; we didn’t get to tour because the site was closing as we arrived, but we walked around outside and I grabbed this picture and the bridge one above

Actually, since the ROW80 is the challenge that knows you have a life, all things could technically be filed under the check-in label, but…  well, you know.  Better safe than sorry.  😉

Thing is, I’m not getting a ton of writing in at the moment.  My head seems to be wanting food…  or at least lots of cool things to think about and relaxation time to process them all.  I’ve been:

• scribbling lots of notes (does that count as writing?)
• taking bunches of pictures (my Flickr photostream is woefully out of date, but then I have a lot of stuff to edit, and a lot that just looks crappy but reminds me enough of things to use for stories)
• reading lots of articles and some of my favorite comfort reads
• getting moving (daily exercise and exercise adventures…like the stairs [also called the prehistoric escalator] at Secret Caverns yesterday)
• not editing…  nope, none, nada, haven’t even tried

Not your local confectioner’s delight

We also have made homemade chocolate here at Chez Mabee… totally wrong texture, more like fudge than anything, but still quite delicious.  If you’re interesting in trying the kit yourself, it was reasonably priced around Christmas-time (about four dollars more now, oddly).  We cut the sugar in the recipe a bit and added milk (which was probably what ruined the texture) before the cooling.

The picture is after we had all eaten a few pieces…. Despite the criticisms in the Amazon reviews, I think it made a nice amount of chocolate for the price.  And if I’d used a double boiler instead of guessing temperatures with the microwave?  Who knows?  Maybe it’d have been even better.

So, as I said, not a lot going on here.  How about you all?  Did you have a good weekend?

Soap and Water

Clouds after a storm over the neighbor’s house

It may be Thursday and not Wednesday, but I still intend to go forward with a WIPpet today.  I’d considered doing it yesterday; didn’t.   Busy, busy day for me (wasn’t this vacation week?).  Today, despite my writing this from the garage (the passenger side airbag in our car keeps disabling itself, even when there is a passenger), is much more relaxed.

I’ve got some questions for you all before I start with this snippet: are you enjoying reading this story “in order”, or are you finding these quieter sections dragging for you?  Would you prefer to change back to a different story?  Shorter/longer snippets?  More explanation/background before each piece?  Any comments or suggestions you can offer would be appreciated.

And now, to the WIPpet itself…

WIPpet

Because today is the 24th, I’m giving you six small paragraphs.  However, because this post should have been written yesterday, the first paragraph is a repeat of last week’s post.  It’s the morning after Atyr’s and ‘Listii’s interlude, and they’re both dealing with “issues”.

Oh, before I go too far, let me respond to some comments/ideas that went around during last week’s posts…

• “mental fingers”  — Atyr is telepathic and was trying to mentally entice a response from ‘Listii; something was wrong and she wanted to know what.  (If this helps, then it’s just an “out of context” confusion; if not, then I need to do some rewriting.)
• SO very, very glad to read that people are interested in reading about older characters (this pair are grandparents; ‘Listii’s a widower (and a womanizer); Atyr’s in her second marriage (separated from her husband).  I like character’s with “history”.
• “Perfect people” — It’s a bit harder to show that these people aren’t perfect; they aren’t human and without having an external character to note the quirks of their aging process, I haven’t figured out a good way to show what is different (my fault!).  And with these two…  well, there are other forces at play that make it hard for them to notice flaws in the each other.

So now that I’ve probably confused the issue even more…  here’s six paragraphs:

He sighed softly and reached up to gather her fingers. “I know, Mouse. It wasn’t you. But she…” Tears he’d shed too many times before threatened to escape again.

“Riia.” It was a statement of fact.

He answered it as if it were a question, nodding. “Riia. I still miss her, Atyr.”
His present lover moved around to sit on the edge of his desk. “Of course you miss her. You loved–still love her, don’t you?” She didn’t wait for an answer but reached over to embrace him. “I’m sorry, ‘Listii. I have a ‘tianii. I should have realized what the contact would trigger. If I stay here tonight I’ll keep my shields up too.”

He murmured a thanks, kissed her and watched as she left before he rose to take his shower. His own grip on his memories and thoughts he held tight until well into the washing.

As if any soap and water could wash away what you almost did, he scolded himself.

Three cheers for our fearless leader and tamer of the flying monkeys, Kathi Schwengel of My Random Muse.  If you’d like to join the WIPpeteers, choose a snippet of your Work In Progress that somehow relates (even loosely) to the date and post it on your blog.  Then add your link to our WIPpet linky and visit your fellow writers to share in the fun.

ROW80 Check-In

Some progress despite being distracted by vacationing (well, sort of vacationing…  not much rest and relaxation, just a lot of driving and running around with the in-law’s kids).  I made great progress on my exercise goals, of course.  Not so much on the writing.  I took a bunch of pictures, but I haven’t uploaded them to my computer yet.  Reading?  Yes (it’s easy to read on subway trains and when stuck in traffic on I-93).  Editing?  No (I’m going to try porting CTSS to a .mobi file and see if I can do some editing via my Kindle app while I’m out and about, but I haven’t done this yet).

We’re still officially on vacation but home for a few days (doctor’s visits and karate promotions… Yay, Boodle!).  Time to catch up on a few things and to get another kitten (our JuJuBee was totally traumatized by being left in the care of a cat-sitter for a few days; hopefully, since we were planning on giving her a companion anyway, things will be better when she’s less “by herself”).

off Point Judith, Rhode Island

Oh, and time to wash out the Atlantic Ocean from our shoes…  😀

On Vacation?

Writing to you (very briefly) from the Boston direction, typing away at my laptop on my -in-law’s dining room table.  My SiL is …well, amazing (and she has a definite flair for interior design that I would so love to emulate).  And my BiL is such a sweet guy.  Though he does love the Boston Red Sox….*

The Boodle is having fun with his cousins too.  Vacation weekend…  I wish we could visit a bit longer, but Monday morning the grind starts again.  Today, though, will be sightseeing and the Children’s museum.

Sliced strawberries (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So ROW80ish, that means I’m not doing a lot of stuff.  No editing, just 5 sentences (I missed yesterday for long drive and migraine), some exercise daily but not nearly enough to counter all the yum food (who said sliced strawberries, fresh blueberries and whipped cream don’t qualify for a nutritious breakfast?)

So onto my visits…  I’ll be checking in with people later this week.   And I make no promises that I’ll have a Wednesday check-in on Wednesday (we’ll be home, but busy, busy).  So…  see you all Thursday!  ♥♥♥♥♥♥

*Disclaimer: I actually have no opinions about the Red Sox or the Yankees or any baseball team.  But by longstanding joke in the family, I had to mention this.