Everything's Relative

Its been snowing all day! I think we're up to 8 or 9 inches on the ground, as I write this. In any other year, this would be huge news in Virginia. But this year, after years of Christmases and Winters of no snow, we have now had two 'major' snowstorms. The first making this most recent one kinda anti-climactic.

Back in December, just a week before Christmas, and over a 24 hour period, we got 25 inches! This storm just happened to fall on the weekend of our annual family Christmas party. The storm actually began on the night before the day of the party - and was, unusual in itself, correctly predicted by weathermen (national and local). Because of this, most of our usual guests opted out early, knowing that while they might be able to get to the party, they sure weren't going to be able to leave! The exception to this rule, of course, was my brother's family. My brother and his two sons took the weather as a personal challenge to their driving and survival skills. His poor daughters were destined to come along for the ride. While it took C'villians up to 5 hours to drive from town to their homes in southern Albemarle, it took my nephews 7 hours to drive from Virginia Beach to Charlottesville! The usual drive time for that route is around 3 hours. The next morning, Saturday, my brother and two nieces arrived after a 4 hour drive from Virginia Beach; I can only imagine how fast he plowed through the snow! One of my nieces was a nervous wreck after the drive!

In the photo above left, you can see one of my granddaughters wading out to the driveway. The yellow-orange glow in the snow is the tip of a 36" vintage plastic Christmas candle decoration! The photo upper-right was taken on Sunday, during the digging out process.

The Christmas party was still a success. Just our closest relatives, and they didn't mind staying until Monday when the roads became passable! We ate, drank, played games, built a snow-fort for the younger girls and had numerous snowball fights!

So, today's snowfall, as I said, is kinda anti-climactic. Only 8 inches. ONLY, we are saying to each other! Commerce didn't stop; people are still driving around and going shopping; and the kids are out playing and sledding. I guess its true, everything's relative.

NaNoWriMo - The Middle

This has been one wet, blustery and cold autumn week! Virginia was in the last throes of Tropical Storm IDA, which passed over us. It didn't feel very tropical! It became more of a nor'easter and had all those bone-chilling characteristics. Today is better; sunshiney and pleasant.

The month of NaNoWriMo is nearing its midway point, and I am further behind the corresponding word count midpoint of 25,000 words than I’d like to admit. Still, hope springs eternal and I tell myself there is the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend to use to catch up. This week's published author's pep talk by Maureen Johnson assures us that this "Middle" (as she calls it) is THE place to be. An author's secret paradise where they live in their pajamas and drink carafe after carafe of cold coffee! Hmmm. I'll have to get back to you on that.

It isn’t a matter of writer’s block or a shortage of ideas. Life just seems to get in the way – and when I say life, I am referring mostly to work – and television. Even though I work only the ‘normal’ 40 hour week, the older I get, the more exhausted I am by the end of the day. After spending all day at the computer, the last thing that appeals to me is sitting down in front of another keyboard for three or four hours. Instead, I am enticed by a different type of screen - the television screen. The TV is a kind and gentle friend. The TV requires absolutely nothing of me. It only asks that I sit there and stare at it. It really doesn’t even care if I fall asleep while staring at it; which happens more often than I’d like to admit. And, now it’s hooked me with programming. Always Jeopardy, but that leads into the 8pm show – which on Monday is "Dancing with the Stars". I normally wouldn’t care for this type of show, but they always seem to sign one celebrity that I have at least an obscure interest in. This season it is Kelly Osborne, and I’ll be damned if she hasn’t lasted until the final four! Tuesday is "So You Think You Can Dance", which I began watching during the auditions, and thinking, 'these dancers will never be as good as the ones in Joshua and Katie’s season', and then I stuck around to make sure I was right! Oh, immediately after "Dancing", is the new "Castle" series – part Moonlighting, part Law and Order, part Criminal Minds/Profiler – plus, the guy that plays "Castle" is real easy on the eyes. So, that takes care of Mon, Tues and Wed (the 'results' show). Then comes The Office and Housewives of WhereEver on Thursday, and Say Yes to the Dress and Criminal Minds on Friday!

Reading over this, it quickly becomes apparent that my life is scheduled around TV. OMG, my daughter is right! Okay, self-realization check. Kicking this damn TV habit could only be beneficial to my writing health! So, right here, in black and white, I solemnly swear to turn off my (large, flat-screened) television for the next 16 days...or I until reach 50,000 written words, which ever comes first. Hold me to that, will you?

It's all about Accountability?

Well, it's here. November 1st. The first official day of NaNoWriMo. It feels a bit anti-climactic, tho. I'm all about anticipation. That's probably why I have a poor track record when it comes to finishing projects. This is not a new self-realization, just a confirmation of an old one.

Because the goal is to spend all of my free waking hours writing for the next thirty days, I began yesterday with a trip to the grocery store to stock my fridge with quick and easy items for this week's meals. I judiciously avoided the healthy outer perimeter of the store - with the exception of picking up some butter and premade wild mushroom agnolotti. Focusing on the "made for home consumption fast food section" (the massive freezer area), I filled my basket with chicken and vegetable egg rolls, buffalo chicken wings, cheap pizzas and chocolate covered cream puffs, the latter of which with to bribe and/or reward myself during the grueling process of punching out a minimum of 2,000 words per day. Needless to say, I steered clear of those healthier frozen meal options - you ladies know the ones I mean. If I was going to submit to a month of tribulation, I was also going to indulge myself in the process. It's kind of like the theory that Diet Coke cancels out McDonald's french fries. This rationalization has made me the person I am today!

Back at home, I organized all my notes and research into pretty, pale green, 3-ring notebooks. Then, I gathered and stacked all of the reference books I'll be using for my novel at the end of the dining room table. This took all of ten minutes. Unfortunately, reviewing the notes began to stoke the creative juices. I say unfortunately because the Rules of NaNoWriMo specifically state that word count begins exactly at Midnight on October 31st. So I was left with the challenge of stifling that emotion and figuring out how to spend the rest of the day NOT writing. "That was easy", my Staples button intoned.

I went to Facebook - nothing really happening there; searched for real estate in the mountains of West Virginia (because when I am as rich from my novels as J.K. Rowling is from hers, I want to buy a horse farm there, and I need to be ready!); worked on one of my Snapfish projects that need to be finished by November 6th so I can use a coupon...you get the idea. I had the foolish hope that I could stay awake until midnight, begin writing then, and quickly get a jump on my word count. I fell asleep during a rerun of Saturday Night Live.

Waking at 9:15 am, which was really 8:15 am because of the time change, I had the pleasant sensation that I was given a gift of that extra one hour - not realizing that I had actually slept through it.

With my first cup of coffee, the anticipation phase abruptly ended and the actuality of the challenge hit me in the face. It isn't that I can't meet the goal, it's just that I have an inherent rebellious streak working against me.

I find as I get older I respond a bit more to accountability than I have in the past. As a free-spirited Aquarius, accountability was never a big motivator for me. The rebel in me would rise up the moment I was required to report progress of any sort to someone or something. The "someone" even included myself. I was a dismal failure at Weight Watchers - many times over. This is true even using their online program where one is on a honor system to put in your weekly data. But, I am getting better - at least that's what my piano teacher says. Yes, I'm taking piano lessons to work on my accountability. I don't always meet the weekly goals set by my instructor, but I am making progress in two areas - playing the piano and procrastination.

After a 2nd cup of coffee, and oh, I need to get some of that apple cake my neighbor brought over last night, I'm finally ready to sit down and write. But wait, I need to put some CDs on for mood; that'll do it. Oops, all my CDs are in a box downstairs where they've been since the remodeling last December. I'll have to do down and dig through the box. While I'm going downstairs, I may as well throw in a load of laundry. To do that, I'll need to do some sorting first. That's cool, I can do that pretty quickly.

And now I've written 800 words, all of which don't apply to my daily word count. I wonder if there's a "Criminal Minds" marathon on A&E...

Autumn in Charlottesville

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking successive autumns." - George Eliot

As I mentioned on Facebook - I am annually surprised by the beauty of our Charlottesville autumns. Today began wet and gray, against which the fall colors seemed to stand out even more than usual. But then, about 30 minutes ago, the sun broke out from behind the clouds - its late afternoon slant bouncing light off all the crimsons, golds, burgundies and peach - making each tree luminous.

It is amazing how autumn seems to begin so slowly and then pick up speed. It's as if an artist had dipped his brush into his paints and and held it over each tree in turn, allowing the color to drip onto the leaves. Beginning at the tip top of the tree, the tint slowly spreading down to cover the entire tree in a riot of vibrant color.

I can hardly drive down the roads I am so distracted! Even the shopping centers seemed to have given thought to their fall color display when landscaping! Their entrances lined with bright red trees, and flame colored trees scattered about the parking lots.

Some folks think spring is the prettiest season. Spring is nice, with its dogwoods and redbuds; its tulips and daffodils, but I don't think it can beat autumn's total immersion of color. And, although autumn and the shedding trees are portends of a dying year, I never feel so alive as when the season comes full force and I wake up to a light frost, the anticipation of a day on Carter's Mountain sipping hot apple cider, and ripe pumpkins everywhere!

"Bittersweet October. The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter." – Carol Bishop Hipps

It's That Time Again!

I can't believe it, but we are in the less-than-thirty-days countdown to the 2009 NaNoWriMo!

As I look back at this wimpy blog of mine, I can only offer up this excuse - I've actually been doing real writing for the last six months! It has been one of the most exciting times of my life!

When I went to the OBX in June, I carried along a stack of books to read and my laptop to (hopefully) write. My granddaughters are avid readers and had brought books, as well. The eleven year old is a huge fan of anything fantasy. Fairies, dragons, elves, if it has 'em, she'll devour it. It's even better if it is part of a series! Her friends, I found out, are the same; they even have their own fantasy book club.

Yet, I was totally unprepared for what happened the first day as I sat on the beach. As I relaxed in my beach chair and watched her and her sister cavort in the surf, ideas started to float around me. They came thick and fast, and suddenly an entire storyline fell into place - with that same granddaughter as the main character - or at least a version of her.

I quickly reached into my beach bag for my little idea notebook and a pen. Any of you that write will understand how important it was to get the essence of the inspiration down as quickly and clearly as possible. I scribbled and scribbled; first a rough idea, then a simple outline, a few highlights, some brief character sketches and the working title. Whew. When that happens to a writer - it's almost like a high - a writer's high.

During the next two weeks I did very little reading. I bought a larger notebook and each day, while sitting on the beach, I wrote and wrote. Each night I transcribed the handwritten pages onto my laptop. In those two weeks I wrote approximately 30,000 words, and that alone proved to me that, with available time, I can be a successful writer. (Successful meaning that I can formulate an idea, flesh it out, and actually tell an interesting story on paper!)

Since then, I have continually worked on the manuscript. The story has expanded a little, gained a nice amount of flesh, but the storyline is virtually the same as the original outline I jotted down at the beach. The story was obvious in its bent as a YA novel, so that is the direction I went, although I've never attempted that genre. My granddaughter has been helpful along the way - I've asked her numerous questions about how she would react in certain situations - or what would a girl her age think of such and such. When the manuscript is ready, I am going to turn it over to her book club friends and see what they think!

My current dilemma is - do I continue to work on this book during NaNoWriMo, or do I start another? I think my answer will be to set a goal of an "additional" 50,000 words for this book during the month of November. Things are going so well on it - and I've recently done a lot of research for some of the meat of the book - that I can't imagine putting it aside and losing the momentum.

So, continue it is. Onward into the fog! And for all you other WriMo folks out there - happy writing and flashes of brilliance next month!

Finally - Frisco!

We arrived in the Outer Banks a couple of days ago and are taking the time to leisurely settle in. This is really a luxury, as this year we will be staying two weeks instead of one. We always seem a bit rushed with only one week. This year we will have more than enough time to fit in everything we want to do - I hope.

The temperature is great; the ocean is beautiful - gorgeous greens and blues today; and the skies are sunny. Although it was great to be back at Edgewater (the house we stay in), the house did seem a bit dingy this year. Usually the owners have made some small improvement, or spruced something up. Seems this past year they did nada. Plus, it seems the owners have gone thru the kitchen and did a "clean-sweep". Half of the dishes are gone, as well as half the sharp knives and pots and pans. Hmm. Don't know what that's all about.

The cleaning crew from Midgett didn't help out much either. It appeared that none of the floors had been swept or vacuumed when we arrived. So, we set to cleaning before using. Unfortunately, the vacuum didn't work! (Maybe that's why the floors weren't done?). Midgett is to deliver a replacement vacuum today - but they didn't offer to come over and actually DO the vacuuming. We love this house and its location, but we may need to look around at some others, especially considering the price we are paying for these two weeks!! We could have gotten a villa in Tuscany, a flat in London or an apartment in Paris for less than we are paying!

But, the kids love it here. It has become one of their favored family traditions and they look forward to it all year. They flourish at the beach. They never stop moving and playing and eat like little horses. So, all in all, its worth every penny!

3 Posts in 6 Months!!

Like they say, 'best laid plans of mice and women'... I have really meant to post things on my blog, but just don't seem to find the time! At least I haven't lost my one 'follower' as yet. And, probably won't, as it is my son!

Memorial Day weekend was lovely. Attended our 4th (?) annual family reunion in Virginia Beach, VA. Weather was great; not too hot and no rain to speak of. Attendance was good; only one family member couldn't make an appearance. Spent lots of time eating, boating, swimming, playing games and eating. My aunt makes a killer shrimp salad that everyone waits all year for. Our family holidays are like that: Memorial Day = shrimp salad and crab dip; Christmas = Phil's Lasagna. Back home now, but OBX in just a couple of weeks! Really looking forward to that! Hope to get some writing, painting and jewelry making done the two weeks we will be there. Peace, out! (as my granddaughter says).