Sunday Sundries—The Odd Week

I know, welcome to my world, huh? 

Truth is, my life has been odd lately. It’s been a series of series, coincidences, feeling overwhelmed and doing my best to play catch up. But mostly:

And

I did a fair amount of editing on SEVEN DAYS—ROB AND MARY. Had to do a bit of proofreading, because that’s how I roll. I found this one that made me laugh:

This is another I had to look at twice:

It kind of hit close to home because one of my friends is looking for work and frustrated because almost all the jobs require you to apply on-line now. She is suffering from a super slow computer:

I wish I could hire her as an editor/formatter, but alas, that is not her skill set. I need her help setting up an Etsy store, though.

But, my second book is essentially done. I wrote the three scenes that are the bulk of Saturday evening in various notebooks. Just need to get the words from them and in my mind onto the screen. But, Rob and Mary’s voices are so much different from his brother (Will) and her sister (Elizabeth), I re-read the first part of the book to get back in their heads and remind myself of the word choices and styles. 

And I’ve figured out a way to organize notes that works for me. For the past year, I would copy and paste something (recipe, quote, short article, etc.) into a Word document in no particular order. OneNote was frustrating, because when I work on the files on my desktop, I can’t save the changes from the flash drive to the laptop or to the netbook I use while at work. So, I copy and paste into MS Word documents on the specific topics. Food is sorted into Main Courses, Side Dishes, Breakfast, Beverages, etc. I have a file on military notes, a file on parenting, one for jokes, another for quotes and so on. I sorted over two hundred pages of notes last week.

I was told, after a MRI (one of the oddest experiences of my life) that I have “significant damage” to my right shoulder. I’m going in for an evaluation Monday to see if I need surgery or if I can get by with something minimally invasive. 

They were playing an oldies radio station in the headphones, some Foreigner and a Beach Boys song. Of course, my nose started itching and the metal under my right arm got hot enough to actually burn my skin. It was not pleasant. You better bet I'm working it into a novel somewhere.

But the oddest thing is this involved my right shoulder. When I started my novels seven years ago, I gave my hero a major injury in the right shoulder. Payback, huh?

Take care and have a great week!

Sunday Sundries--From Our Past

I got to speak to a cousin this weekend I hadn’t talked to in forever. Carolyn is Uncle Bill’s daughter. He was my mom’s younger brother. Carolyn is tracing the family history and has found so many wonderful things.

We talked about the tons of pictures Mom and Dad had in shoe boxes in the attic. I come from a long line of pack rats and I've been trying to scan in the old photos, letters, newspaper articles, etc. and put them in some kind of order. Here is one of her at a long ago Christmas:

Carolyn is a few years older than me, a breast cancer survivor and a proud mother. My cousin Melinda and I spent a week with her family when Dad had surgery at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, back in the 1970s. Here’s a picture of us at a petting zoo:

Carolyn was horrified having to spend time with her younger cousins, but I have  good memories. We’ve only seen each other since then a few times, at a party for an aunt and at her mother’s funeral, then her father’s.

Her brother came to my parents’ funerals. It is sad we’re at the age where we usually only see family and some friends at life events like that.

I was jealous she got to visit with another cousin a few months ago I haven’t talked to in years. We keep talking about a family reunion, but no one has done anything about it. There was a family reunion in the 1960s at my parents’ house. Here’s a picture of us kids:

We talked for well over an hour, with me filling in some blanks and telling stories and Carolyn talking about the Ohio branch of the family’s research. Among our relatives, was an engineer great uncle who had a thermal physics equation named after him. We also had another great uncle who marched with Martin Luther King Junior and was friends with Rosa Parks. Pretty funny that my dad’s side of the family had friends who were members of the KKK. 

So, we come from a long line of smart people. There were also some odd coincidences. This picture of women from the late 1800s brought up some interesting information. In my novels, two brothers marry two sisters. Two of the sisters in this picture married two brothers.

And how cool was that? 

One relative was an author on Jewish history and quite famous in Germany. I wrote one of my characters as Jewish in 2009. 

The family was descended from a Baron and had a castle on the Rhine River. Another cousin recently retired from teaching German and made many trips to Germany and I made one of my heroes a member of the French royal family, with a castle.

Another relative was a hero in the War of 1812. I had one of my heroes reading a book on that topic. Again, amazing.

I was concerned that I had two coincidences that brought my hero and heroine together in my first novel. There is a third at the end that ends, shall we say, badly. But, with so many in my life, I think the literary gods are watching over me and smiling. 

So, I know we hear all the time about writing what we know. I say we should write what we don't know and find out by research and listening to old family stories. There are too many that have been lost, too many pictures that were tossed because they weren't labeled and no one knew who they were. Take the time to seek information out and be sure to back up and share it. I sent Carolyn several empty flash drives for her to fill with her newly discovered treasures. 

Are you the family archivist?

Sunday Sundries--It's a Sign!

Was looking through a bunch of files of things I'd found on Facebook and Pinterest and found a folder I'd labeled "Signs" that made me laugh. Here's the latest addition:

Mmmmm....pie. 

The next one is, I think, not quite what the creator (or Creator) meant:

This one appealed to my inner geek:

No, I never did use that year of college-level calculus. As my brother said, "If you're so smart, say something in calculus."
This kind of freaked me out, but still made me laugh:

They think they can slap a pair of glasses on a girl....

This one I just don't know:

I don't remember watching the Bob Ross PBS show, but this made me smile:

Please remember this next time you're tempted to ask someone for free help:

I don't go to a church, but it's not for this reason--

Good point.
I've seen this one at the local Jimmy John's sandwich shop:

Talking about food places:

Sorry, think I'm heading down to Mickey D's. I liked this one too:

Finally--wait--have I posted this one before?

Some laughs for this Sunday--hope you all have a great week! I promise, I'm almost finished with my Work In Progress and will have something of more a literary bent next time.

Sunday Sundries--Wassup?

While I haven't gotten any writing on my main Work In Progress done, I did write four major scenes on four other books. Don't worry, it's my goal for July, as I'm almost finished with WIP.

My petite physical therapist kicked my butt this week, but I'm getting twenty percent more range of motion in my right shoulder and arm.

My husband did dishes earlier in the week because of my injury and I swear I almost cried in relief. I did some more yesterday. I set up my big slow cooker full of spaghetti sauce:

Yeah, it's the retro olive green. Don't judge. It still works fine. Aren't the liners a great idea? It will be ready when I get home to eat on all week. Yum!

One of the things I put in was this:

Because:
1. I like lots of garlic flavor in my sauce and I didn't have any fresh.
2. This was in my pantry and it would have to do.
3.  I remembered a picture of my bedroom as a teenager. I had a Confederate flag on my wall. While I'd "studied" The Civil War, I didn't think of the implication or meaning. It was simply something cool to put on my wall. I suppose if I decided to run for Congress in the future (my husband has instructions to buy a gun and shoot me if I do, by the way), someone might bring it up, but you know what I'd say? IF YOU ARE GOING TO JUDGE ME ON SOMETHING I DID OR SAID THIRTY PLUS YEARS AGO, THERE WOULDN'T BE ANYONE ON TV OR IN POLITICAL OFFICE. Walmart and Target pulled her products. I don't think they should have. She wall rise above and make even more money. Look at the guy on "Restaurant: Impossible" who lied on his credentials? They fired him, then brought him back and gave him even more endorsement deals.
Anyway....

My husband hijacked my personal Facebook account and left a political rant on a mutual friend's board. He identified himself, but said friend took it personally. I didn't apologize for my husband, as that's not my job. I did say that if hubby didn't respect our friend, he would have just flamed him instead of doing a little research and posting a carefully crafted argument. This friend is radically conservative in some things and I have to hide some of his posts, as I'm sure he hides some of mine. But, reminder to all, our pages are our pages. Y'all play nice. And don't let your husband/friend/parent post under your name or you might have to make peace.

Some other stuff I got this week:

These are the little drink tabs you put in water and I love them. Of course, they're discontinued at the stores, but I found them at Big Lots and bought about a dozen boxes. They use granulated honey for sweetness rather than the artificial sweeteners.

Another Big Lots find and almost addiction. Again, don't judge.

Dear liberal honey and I have been watching our DVDs of this show again:

Yes, we've been through the shootings and the Thanksgiving episode. We've laughed, we've cried and we've realized how much we love good writing and acting.

We saw the first episode of "The Dome" the other day. Hope it lives up to its potential.

Got a shipment from Better World Books the other day:

The Marion Chesney was not in there, it was one I got from the reading room at work, but the others are ones on my teetering To Be Read pile. The Cynster series by Stephanie Laurens started me reading romance again and I'd read the Eloisa James series on my Kindle from the library, but wanted the hard copy. Here's another one I got that looked fun:

Yes, I am a total geek fangirl.

I got a bunch more needlework projects sorted through and put away and I'm ready to start reassembling my craft closet so I can have better access to things I want to use more often. Here's another piece I knew I'd never finish:

It was on a backed material that was difficult to stitch. If I ever restart it, I have some lovely deep blue hardanger I would use. Rest in Peace, Mr. Moon.

Finally, one of those face palm ideas--why didn't I think of this?

Duh, but admit it, if you've got a ceiling fan, you'll consider getting this, right?

So, it's been a productive week, in some ways. Will try to be even more productive next. Thanks for stopping by and sharing some of my world and see you again soon!

Sunday Sundries--That Which Would Be Thrown Away

Or deleted.

When I was doing some serious editing on my first in a series of novels, I took out big heaving chunks of stuff, scenes that were unnecessary, information dumps and awkward construction that was more easily rewritten than edited. It would have been very easy to hit the delete key. However, I channeled my inner hoarder. I cut and pasted into an archive folder that was saved onto a flash drive.

While those electrons may never again be seen, my paranoia would not allow me to let go. I am similarly fighting my compulsions in other areas of my life. Some things are easier to get rid of than others. I am going through my counted cross-stitch projects, so I can reorganize my craft closet in the office. There are a bunch of projects that haven't seen the light of day in over ten years. Here are a couple:

This is the center section (sleeve) from a pattern called Earth Angel. The designer is Marilyn Leavitt-Imblum and the company that put this pattern out is called Lavender and Lace. This is less than one twelfth of a very intense design.

I looked at it long and hard. I sent many other patterns from this designer to be sold on commission. Would I ever finish this piece? Would I ever even want to work on this again considering the hundreds of other patterns I had more to my taste? Finally, I grabbed the scissors and cut around the little bit of stitching. I was left with a large piece of blue linen and several small pieces.

This was my start on Just Nan's Creativity. I started on the wrong kind of fabric and it made it difficult to get some of the bands to come out correctly. This is what it's supposed to look like:

Again, I cut out the bands, giving me two large pieces on either side. I can re-purpose the bit stitched for a bookmark.
There were a few more, but there were still dozens I kept intact. And I still have more to decide about over the next few days. I'm proud of my progress so far, though.

I've also been going through a bunch of pictures. Those are just as hard to delete. I have to admit, I went through Mom and Dad's boxes and gathered a big zipper bag of what I called mystery pictures. I had no clue who was in them, many of them were out of focus or group shots that were at a distance. It was hard, but I gave the bag to some relatives in my home town. They took the pictures around to see if anyone wanted any of them. Here is one of the better ones I did keep:

That's Dad standing. I'm pretty sure it's his high school class get-together at a restaurant in our home town, but the other folks are long gone. Dad passed at age eighty-six eleven years ago. I'll post the picture on the Facebook page for our hometown and I'm grateful I scanned it in, but I doubt I'd put it in an album or anything.
Here's one of my girl cat I took the other day. She was not interested.

That's my husband laughing at her in the background, though, so I may keep it.
Here's one from later that's much better.

These are only a couple hundred kilobytes on a 16 gigabyte flash drive.

I was running into the same problem on my Kindle. It was freezing, taking forever to open and virtually unusable. I saw there were over 1100 titles on it, almost all freebies I'd downloaded whether or not I'd ever read them. The great thing about Amazon is those books are still on their "cloud." I deleted like a crazy person things I knew I'd never read. If I decide later I would like to, it's super easy and quick to download to the device again. Now, my Kindle works like it is intended.

So, there is much editing we can do in every aspect of our lives. Do we really need four ladles and five spatulas? Do we really need that background scene from a secondary character's point of view or can we tell that information in a throwaway bit of action or dialog with a main character? Will we ever do that project we were saving that paper for or should it go into the recycle bin?

What can you get rid of in your life or in your writing?

Sunday Sundries--Get Thee Writing!

I am truly my father's child, this Father's Day. I know exactly how he felt, all those years working on the railroad, when he had to be away from home and alone. There were a few years I had to be on the road for a job where I spent a third of my life traveling. I feel him when we walk into a Rural King or Office Depot. Cleaning out the old house, I saw dozens of folders and organizers he would use for a few months and then abandon.

This one made me smile--you can see Mom in the mirror behind him taking the picture. She had issues getting things done too. I remember her rushing around cleaning before the pinocle club took their turn at our house.

They are laughing at me. Dad passed in 2001, Mom in 2004. They are both asking me:
"Why don't you get to work so you can have the success you deserve?"
"Why are you still putting things off, when it would feel so much better if you do the work rather than sit and play your games?"

Don't have any good answers. It helps me to know they are egging me on in my thoughts, apologizing for bad habits from childhood, confident it can get done and done well.

So, here are a few things to help you and to help me get going. This one is my new desktop background:

Yes, Lord Vader. If you will let me continue to breathe, I'll get right on it.

Right? Keep plugging. Get it done.

I started physical therapy this week for a shoulder injury that involves a schedule of exercises every day. I'm thinking I will put specific times for me to check each email/Facebook/Pinterest account. It's got to help, right?

I know part of my problem is that I want to edit/rewrite as I go. So many professionals say you need to get the story down, then go back and seriously edit. As Christina Dodd says, "I can't edit a blank page."

I had several instances at my job outside the home last week where I had Learning Experiences. Yes, that's where someone points out I was wrong. It's okay. I long ago realized I wasn't always going to be the smartest person in the room. I believe a good part of my procrastination is a fear of making a mistake. I need to get over that, don't I?

This has been a real problem lately. With my shoulder injury acting up, I haven't been able to do even my minimal cleaning and organizing. It means, I have hundreds of magazine articles and pictures I want to scan in boxes in the office. It means, I remember writing that scene in a notebook years ago, but I can't find it in the notes I've transcribed. It means, I get discouraged and end up playing Jewel Quest III instead of recreating the scene and getting on with it.

I did work on about twenty pages of a story about a daughter of the two main characters of my second novel in the series. Reney and Carter's story is basically written, but I have it in third person. I'm putting all my novels in first person, because the stories seem more compelling and cleaner. When I mentioned I was working this other story, my husband gently nagged me to finish the book I'm almost done with first. He's right.

How many of these sound familiar? Number ten is hitting particularly close to home for me.

But this is my truth:

My characters have lived with me for almost seven years now and are as real to me as my local friends. I have almost thirty notebooks and boxes of files of ideas, research and snatches of stories that need to get put in some sort of order. Rather than saying, I'm going to work on something today, I need to break down specific, doable goals. And get writing that story that Mom or Dad would love to read!