Wed. Nov. 13, 2019: Progress & Incoming Winter

Wednesday, November 13, 2019
Last Day of Full Moon
Neptune Retrograde
Uranus Retrograde
Mercury Retrograde

We’re supposed to have rain turning into snow early this morning. Since I’m scheduling this to post, I wonder if it happened? Yesterday morning was nasty when I woke up.

Hop on over to Ink-Dipped Advice, for a post about Creating Client Voice.

There was no meditation on Monday, and I missed it. But I came home and helped bag 6 more 30-gallon bags of leaves just from the center front yard before the storm. I’ll be making a trip to the dump on Thursday or Friday. I’m hoping it clears up later today, so we can start raking the side yard and back tomorrow and into the weekend. Every dry day, we do a little, and, eventually, it will all get done.

I’m pleased with the way the edits are going, although the fresh writing has slowed down while I focus on edits.

Got my next book to review. The pace and characters are good, the plot a bit convoluted, and easily-checked facts (about an area in which I grew up) are wrong, so it won’t get as high a review as it would if those facts were correct. We all make genuine mistakes; this is carelessness.

Reading books about Verona, Italy, and it’s giving me ideas for way down the line on GAMBIT COLONY.

Worked onsite with a client yesterday, trying to get ahead on a few projects, with Thanksgiving coming up. Doing the same today: up early thanks to the cats, writing, editing, on site with a client. While yesterday, I made a stop at the library on the way home, today I will pick up a couple of things at the grocery store and head straight back. I rarely go to the library on Wednesdays.

Still working on the GDR questions for 2020. Hope to have them up by tomorrow.

Remote Chat today. Looking forward to it.

I’m really proud of the progress the cats are making. Willa and Charlotte are starting to believe maybe they can stay after all, maybe they truly have a home and won’t be shoved around any more. Their behavior and demeanor has improved remarkably. They still get a little fussy with each other, but they are much better. When they find something new to explore (like the basement), they call a truce and do it together. We are trying to get Tessa re-integrated back into the mix, instead of her being separate, but she is not an alpha cat (although she needs to be, with these two). That will take some more time, but she, too, is getting more determined. It’s only been a little over five weeks, but it’s been a world of difference. I also think it’s hilarious that they prefer French and French Canadian jazz, rather like Celtic music, but dislike traditional classical and pop. Not that we play much pop in the house, but I wanted to see how they’d react.

I feel a little guilty for not missing the Nano participation this year. However, this year, doing Nano would be an obstacle, not an asset. And, this year, I’m enough of a grownup not to let my ego get in the way.

Live and learn, right?

Happy mid-week!

 

Wed. April 4, 2018: Writing and Family History

Wednesday, April 4, 2018
Waning Moon
Mercury Retrograde
Jupiter Retrograde

Hop on over to Ink-Dipped Advice for some of the answer’s to “Where’s The Work?”

Monday’s snow gave me the grumpies. I have yard work to do and other things to do, and don’t have time for any more bad weather. In the snow, I had to take 14 bags of leaves (420 gallons) to the dump at 7:30 AM, or I wouldn’t have been able to get my car out of the garage. Not exactly how I’d prefer to start my week! But it’s a part of the responsibility of stewardship of a yard, and it’s really not that big a deal. I’m just tired, on all levels right now, so everything is a bigger deal than it should be.

Some douchebag ignoramuses who don’t understand the first thing about citizenship or the Constitution are at it again. They’re not even worth the rant. Zero tolerance for stupidity and chosen ignorance.

Another coffee maker bit the dust. During a Mercury Retrograde. This one last only six months. At least the other one lasted six years.

Client work was fine the past few days; another day on site today and I’m wrapped with this client for the week.

A couple of LOIs went out this week, which is a good thing. I need to sit down and work on some article pitches next week. I also need to follow up with a publication for which I used to write (for a long stretch) — we talked about working together again, and they told me to get back in touch in April or May. I’d rather wait until Mercury goes direct to sign any contract, so I might wait until next week.

Edits on THE SPIRIT REPOSITORY are going slowly. I need to stop beating myself up for not seeing certain problems in the heat of the writing (or even the first couple of drafts) and just get it done now. What matters is to get it done.

Working on the outline for the serial (so that I can distill it down into a synopsis). One of the other characters wants to have sections in his point of view now. I’m worried it’s too many points of view, and too hard to switch back and forth. But, if I keep the story moving forward and not backtrack each event through multiple points of view, only have a little overlap, it might open the piece out in a positive way.

I need a day or two where the serial is the only thing I need to focus on or worry about. And it needs to happen sooner rather than later.

I found out some interesting information about one branch of the family tree, and, on Monday, after I wrapped with my client for the day, I went to the library to dig into Ancestry.com and see what I can find. It’s my great-grandmother’s family, my mother’s father’s mother. Turns out she was one of nine children — which my mother never knew (seven survived). I’m tracing each of the kids, and trying to trace back even farther, back into Belgium, where that family originated. My great-great-grandfather was a clockmaker. I wonder if that has anything to do with my fascination with clocks!

I’ve traced back into Belgium to 1782, and will see if I can go beyond that. I also want to trace her siblings and their families to find out if and where the connection that was brought up this weekend fits in.

It’s interesting, and as relevant or irrelevant as I choose to make it.

On top of that, last night, I took apart my favorite clock that wasn’t working and figured out how to fix it. Coincidence? Or channeling the ancestor? You decide!

Hopefully, the weather will hold and I can work on the yard, the ancestors, the outline, and SPIRIT REPOSITORY over the next few days. Oh, and do my taxes.

Back to the page.

Mon. Dec. 30, 2013: How I Develop Material & Juggle Projects

Monday, December 30, 2013
Day before Dark Moon
Jupiter Retrograde
Cloudy and cold

Friday was busy, busy, busy. Took the leaves and the recycling to the dump. The place was so busy! But it’s heartwarming to see how dedicated people are to recycling in this area.

Picked up a few groceries, ran some books back to Wheldon Library (and, of course, got out some more), picked up something waiting for me at Sturgis Library, and then headed back. Got out some job pitches, worked with students.

Set up the development notebook for the Stowe-Eliot-Bronte project, even though I’m not really sure what it is yet. Ordered some books for it via the library network. Wrote up the passage that got the wheels turning in the first place, sourced it, and copied out the bibliographic notes.

Dug out the Hedrick biography of Harriet Beecher Stowe. Using the index, I tried to cross-check the info from the Eliot bio, and didn’t find confirmation. So I’ll be re-reading the entire biography — which will give me plenty of background for the piece in general. Asked a friend who knows a lot about the Brontes if she’d ever heard the reference. Found the Rugoff biography of the Beecher clan, and there’s a reference to the same incident, but not enough to hang my hat on. I hope getting my hands on the volumes of letters will give me what I need!

My friend and colleague Nancy Rubin Stuart’s wonderful book DEFIANT BRIDES was named a Best Book of 2013! I’m so thrilled for her. It’s an amazing book, and well-deserved recognition.

Saturday, I finished and printed out the pilot episode of a one-hour drama. It’s in the editing queue. I started the third teleplay for this packet, an adaptation of one of my novels. Got some good work done on it and fell in love with my characters all over again.

Unfortunately, I was also under the weather, sneezing and coughing, although I didn’t feel that bad. I felt much worse by Sunday, where I ended up fighting some sort of stomach upset. Don’t know why — I’ve been the least self-indulgent during this holiday season that I’ve been in years. Irritating.

Read Donna Leon’s THE GOLDEN EGG, one of her Venetian mysteries, which I love. Also started Kim Edwards’s THE LAKE OF DREAMS, which is quite good, and got some reading done on the Stowe bio. Treated myself to a chapter in an excellent art history tome as background for a different project.

Got some good work done on TRUE HOME, the initial novel in the Sparkle & Tarnish series. I love the way it’s developing. I’m working very differently with this project — developing a section, writing a few chapters, typing them, adapting them to script. The amount of research is enormous, and I’m looking forward to layering in a lot more detail.

I spent hours with Gilded Age Mansion house plans over the weekend, and am about to design their NYC mansion, remembering that they’ve taken over a mansion that was originally built several years earlier by an eccentric, and then having their architect modify it for the Gilded Age. As always the librarians at the New York Historical Society, the New York Public Library, and the JP Morgan Library have gone out of their way to be helpful, and will all be thanked in the Acknowledgements.

Speaking of Acknowledgements, I start keeping a list as soon as I need to ask someone for something when I’m researching a book. Every time someone is helpful, I add that individual to the list, so by the time the book is ready to go through the production process, it’s all there, and I don’t have to worry about forgetting anyone. Again, something I learned the hard way by not keeping track during the writing and then screwing up and forgetting people when the manuscript went to press.

Hey, if you can learn from my mistakes, they’ll have been worth it!

Still a little queasy this morning, but have a lot to do. I have an editing intensive workshop starting on the 6th, and I need to polish up the exercises. Those students are getting a lot for their money, but they’ll also have to put in a lot of work!

I want to wait and run my errands tomorrow, but I will have to run down to Centerville Library later today to drop off/pick up some books. Yes, I go to one of the local libraries ALMOST every day.

I want to get some work done on the novellas, the teleplay, and the airship steampunk piece. I need to get back into the latter — I’ve lost my momentum in it, and that’s a shame. I need to find those threads again and get back on track.

Day before the dark moon is always my lowest-energy day of the month. I’d like to crawl back into bed, but that is not an option.

I can’t believe 2013 is nearly over. It’s been challenging, and I’m ready for a better year next go-round!

Devon

Fri. April 19, 2013: Loam and Lock Downs

Friday, April 19, 2013
Waxing Moon
Saturn Retrograde
Rainy and cool

The big news breaking all around is the hunt for the alleged Boston Marathon Bombers. Supposedly, one of them is now dead; the other on the run. Towns such as Watertown and its abutting towns are basically shut down; the MBTA is not running for the day. An MIT officer has been shot and killed. People are being told to stay inside. Another “suspicious package” has been found in Kenmore Square. That’s what’s been confirmed at the time of this writing (a little after 7:30 in the morning on Friday). I’m sure there will be more news throughout the day.

I’m over on Write Your Revolution today with an article on creating your jobs. Please stop by and check it out.

Yesterday certainly didn’t unfold the way I expected, but it was a very good day. Yoga was fantastic — I’m so glad I managed to get back to class.

Came home, ate breakfast, took the leaves to the dump. Saw that the loam was available, so went home, stocked the car with buckets, and spent the next five hours hauling loam from the dump home to put on the garden beds. Everything looks awesome, and now I have happy plants. It was hard work, but worthwhile.

It meant very little got done the rest of the day, and I’m sore as all get-out this morning, but it was worth it.

Another disagreement with the Robert Olen Butler writing book. He says that books that start with dialogue don’t work because there’s no context. I vehemently disagree. I prefer to be dropped in the middle of the situation, and, in good dialogue, the context is contained in the dialogue. Good dialogue works on multiple levels simultaneously. I agree with him about the need for sensory detail — in fact, I teach classes on “Sensory Perception”, but we approach the way we work from different angles. Whatever works for the individual, right? I’m sick of books that spend 200 pages to “set up” before they get to the actual story. I want to be dropped IN the story, not wander around waiting for it to start.

The weekend will be busy — lots to write and get straightened out. I’d love to just sleep, but that’s not an option. Today, I’ve got to get out a mailing, write a review, and work on both books.

To work! Have a great weekend everyone!

Devon

Monday, December 20, 2010

View from the front door at 7 AM

Monday, December 20, 2010
Waxing Moon
Neptune Retrograde
Mercury Retrograde
It’s snowing!

Yup, we have about two inches on the ground, and it’s coming down like someone’s emptying a bin of powdered sugar over us. It’s really, really pretty, and I don’t think it will be all that heavy to shovel. I don’t have to go out today, as far as I know, so I can stay tucked in, warm and writing, and watch it come down from the window, which is lovely.

Saturday was busy. Stopped by the garage in Osterville and asked about the plates and inspection. They did it right then and there, we were in and out with new plates, new stickers, all legal, in about 20 minutes. Love that! The RMV got the electronic filing that all is good and we are appropriately stickered, so we’re all set.

We took the remaining 21 bags of leaves to the dump, along with all the recycling. So now, there’s room in the garage.

Ran some errands, looking for a few things, most of which I didn’t find. Unpacked a stack of kitchen boxes from the garage. Slowly, but surely, I’m finding stuff, and what we don’t need for daily use is going in those padded dishware bags and onto shelves in the basement. Sent about three loads of dishes and glassware through the dishwasher, and they are lovely and sparkling. All good.

Stopped at the lake up the road — I think it’s very pretty.

I’m catching up on movies, since I have HBO free for a few months. Might keep it, if it’s cheap enough. Caught up on ALICE IN WONDERLAND (Depp is brillIant) and SHERLOCK HOLMES (disappointing, too much of the director doing extreme close-ups of Downey, instead of just letting him do his thing, which he does very well), and the end of Harry Potter #6. I have the DVD, and tried watching it a few times, but never got past the first 45 minutes. I saw the last 45 minutes on HBO. Now I just have to catch the middle at some point.

Indulged myself with a Boston Cream Cake, which is basically an oversized Boston Cream donut that serves six.

Slept in on Sunday, read the papers, ran some errands, did some more unpacking. Visited Fancy’s Market in Osterville, which has some of the Balsen treats I loved in childhood and haven’t been able to find (mostly because they changed the name to something that has nothing to do with its actual content). Also picked up the plum pudding for the Eve meal, and a version of stollen, which wasn’t really up to par. Too dry, and not really the preferred batter. It was more like a rather dry, sweet bread than a stollen. We are very fussy about stollen (something my mother grew up with, and, therefore, I grew up with). At some point in the winter, I’m going to try the recipe I have for Dresden stollen, and, if that passes muster, I may just start making it myself. Everything else from the market is exquisite, and they have lots of things one can’t get anywhere else.

We checked out some of the antique stores in Buzzards Bay, looking for the pieces we will need, but nothing spoke to us. Things looked old and tired, and I thought, overpriced. I don’t mind stripping and staining or repainting something that needs a little TLC, but if you’re going to charge me a lot just because it’s old, it better be in damned good condition, and these pieces weren’t.

Not much on TV last night, so we sat around with the tree on, the candles lit, and music on, reading. A lovely way to spend a snowy Sunday night.

This morning, I have to finish the article and get it out, get some other paperwork done, talk to a couple of my editors about this and that, work on another article, work on the workshops, post the piece for tomorrow’s BIBLIO PARADISE, get started on the next job for Confidential Job #1, and get some more unpacking done. I got up at the time I like, so I could do yoga and meditation without feeling hurried, and it was a good start to the day.

Tomorrow is the Solstice — I’m all excited — we’ll be using the fireplace in the ceremony.

Devon

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Waxing Moon
Neptune Retrograde
Sunny and COLD!

Busy morning yesterday. First load to the dump was the single bag of household garbage, and the rest of the car was filled with recycling. We just don’t generate that much garbage. That one 30-gallon trash bag was from nearly a month’s living. The rest of the car was filled to bursting with cardboard boxes, tins, glass, plastic, etc. for recycling.

The guys who work at the dump are so nice. They explained how everything was set up, the protocols, etc. It’s extremely well-organized. I walked the whole space to get a sense of it (‘We’re really not as fun as the amusement park,” one of them said drily, as he watched me take in the sights), but I wanted to figure out where everything was BEFORE I started carting stuff out of the car.

Trips 2-4 were leaves. I got 21 of the leaf bags emptied out, and have 10 more left in the garage. I can get 7 bags (30 gallons each) per carload, and, since the dump is only about a mile away, I just kept making round trips. The leaf piles are huge — I should take my camera next time, they’re really, really cool-looking.

Yeah, I’m new, and I even find the dump fascinating! 😉

Ran some errands, had lunch, decided it was too cold for yard work (procrastinator). We spent the afternoon unpacking the most of the rest of the kitchen boxes. We’ve got two left. But everything’s unpacked, and most of it is put away — the island has too much stacked on it, but I have to figure out a few things.

Of course, I still have 60 boxes of kitchen stuff stacked the garage, but I’ll go through that a little at a time — or a lot, as we get closer to the party.

Finished the assignment for Confidential Job #1, got it off, did the invoice (forgot I had the holiday paper still in the printer, oh well). It’s a FESTIVE invoice.

Violet is OVER all the unpacking, and Iris simply hides. I think we have mischievious pixies around, because things are vanishing and turning up in different spots in the house. Violet is very non-chalent about it all, but there are times when Iris enters a room, her eyes get huge staring at something I can’t see, and the she shoots out of the room like her tail’s on fire. Don’t get me wrong, the house has a great vibe — there’s just a sense of mischief around lately, and sometimes it’s okay, but when I’m tired and hunting for something — not so much.

Found the candles I put aside for the holiday, so I could put them into the candelabras (candelabrae?) on the mantel.

Wrote domestic cards A-D last night (about 20 cards) and packed 5 more of the gifts to ship. So, it’s off to the post office this morning again — I also have to buy some more packing supplies. I have about 8 more gifts to pack and ship this week.

Taking another carload of leaves this morning, helping my mom with some stuff for her prescriptions. I’ve already had to rip her former doctor’s office a new one and the insurance company a new one. They think because my mother is 86 and a nice person, they can take advantage of her and make things rough on her. Then, they get to deal with ME, who is not 86 and not a nice person. Sort of an immediate karmic return for them. Sometimes I think I do better as I am without insurance, although as a MA resident, I’m now required to get health insurance. Won’t the companies love it when I interview them — because guess what? It’s my money, I’m doing the interviewing. The health care industry in this country needs to be completely gutted and dismantled, and rebuilt from the ground up without profit to the corporate executives. It needs to go back to being what it was originally — non-profit.

Car gets fixed at 2 PM, so there goes the afternoon.

The Hounds of the Baskervilles went above and beyond in their arias yesterday afternoon. I think it’s hilarious — hey, it beats leaf blowers, right?

I’d like to work on the yard a bit today, in spite of the cold, but it’s also really windy, so I don’t know if it’s counterproductive.

Hitting the page for a few hours this morning first, though. I’m behind on everything, and I overslept again this morning. I didn’t want to get out of my cozy bed!

Watched the special Christmas episodes of both EUREKA and WAREHOUSE 13, and laughed my head off, especially during the former. Both were very clever and absolutely hilarious.

Devon