Reality Check

The pressure is on to create more income, as an essential piece of equipment (Oscar's computer) needs replacing. Add that to the increased time the yard takes and I've had little time to do anything but put up ebay auctions and take care of what I can around the house. I truly didn't realize how much time Ebay takes.

The issue is that I can only sit upright for a certain amount of time, and until we get a recliner, that means sitting to type, then lying down, then sitting, then lying down... and in between standing for 5 minutes at a time to do yard work and house work. Life could be LOTS worse, at least I can do what I can do!

I had been using the sitting time for writing, but its all sucked up by the ebay for the next few weeks. I didn't realize how much time away from my writing the ebay takes. I haven't written much of anything since we made the decision to buy a new computer for Oscar.

Long term, the current sacrifice will be worth it. Oscar needs the computer to take the certification classes which in turn will raise his hireability which will lead to a better job, hopefully in a more salubrious environment for our health. Sort of like that old song about the woman who ate a spider.

This will be a HUGE ebay weekend (the first weekend of the month always is) so after this (shooting for 40-50 auctions), I should only have a few more weeks until I go back to the more reasonable schedule of putting items (mostly books) up for auction every other week, 10-20 auctions each time. (mostly to buy gas and support my art supply habit). If any readers are interested, our ebay name is etroll.

Wordplay C is for....

Cherish- The older I get, the more I learn the value in cherishing anything positive that's in my life.
Calendula - a wonder herb. A beautiful sun in flower form, it adds color to rice, and makes a soothing cream for burn damaged skin. See image below
Castanets - Part of me wants to be a tall slender woman with long black hair, making my own music with heels and castanets, my skirts and hair swirling..
Cerridwen - Celtic Moon Goddes.. ties in with another lovely C-word, Cauldron.
Cow - I just like them. They are so friendly.. There's nothing warmer than leaning on a cow at 4 a.m. on a January morning while you squeeze her rich milk into a pail for your breakfast..
Corrie - round hollow in a hillside, from the Scottish Gaelic coire, hollow, from Old Irish, cauldron, whirlpool. I love to lie cradled in such a place, and look at the sky while being embraced by the Earth
Cardinal - My Grandpa Metzger's favorite bird. They cheer up the long cold winters. I'll never see one again without remembering my Grandpa's love for the unexpected.

Finger Puppet of Chaos and Compost

Ahh Kali.. she strikes fear into the hearts of many, but I kind of like her. I could do without the blood sacrifice and the dancing on dead men bits..And the necklace of skulls must get smelly sometimes, but there are some positive aspects of Kali that I can use now and then.

In her aspect as destroyer, she's wonderful for transforming negative or useless things into the basic matter of life, thus queen of compost (in the most wonderful sense, of course). Emotionally she can do the same thing for old anger, fear, sorrow. Emotional associations past their time, things that are dragging down the present and impeding healing can be broken down and cleansed away. Cycle of death and life, destruction and rebirth... I see her as the ultimate gardener.

And she makes a damn fine fingerpuppet too.

Finger Puppet of Prosperity

Despite the beautiful day and everyone in the house being relatively healthy, I feel a touch grumpy. Maybe I feel like being cantakerous. It feels rather good, actually. I'm not particularly depressed or angry, I just feel like being a grump. So, before Oscar gets up, I'll get out my Ganesh finger puppet and play for a few minutes and contemplate prosperity. That ought to cheer me up no end.. hmm.. just realized I haven;t had my coffee yet.. wonder if that would help? (Doh!)

Cowriters

My husband Oscar and I have started a weekly tradition. We grab our notebooks and head out every Friday morning to a local cafe to write a mystery together.
We've only done it a few weeks, but its already something we rely on. It gives us scheduled togetherness beyond watching our weekly favorite tv shows.
We are building something between the two of us, and it's giving Oscar a needed artistic outlet.
He is so immersed in work and in taking care of what I can't do around the house that his stress levels are astronomical.
I love that we both inspire and are inspired by each other's ideas. So far we've created the Sleuth, the Villain and the Victim, as well as a bit of backstory.
Of course the cherry on the sundae would be to sell the manuscript and many more, but the rewards are pretty fantastic already.

Discoveries

I was reading my Sister-in-Law's blog (LynnH of Color Joy yarns and patterns) and she referred her readers to a wonderful pair of singers, Seth Bernard and Daisy May. I took her advice and listened to the sample song ("Shine On") on their site and was blown away. They are high on my wish list as soon as some ebay funds come in :-}

Seth and Daisy

A link to Lynnie's blog is in my side bar. As well as being a fantastic fiber and polymer clay artist, she and her husband are also musicians. In fact, I listened to their "In The Garden" CD just the other day to help me move into Spring :-} Here's a link to their music site, much of their music is available for a listen, too :

The Fabulous Heftones

One last discovery today (well, so far, its early yet) was of a collaborative blogging project put together by some of my favorite romance authors. That link is also in my side bar.
I wonder if a group of fantasy or science fiction or mystery authors have done the same?

Other musical discoveries (and rediscoveries) this month include

The Yellow Room Gang

and

Mustard's Retreat

I still listen to David Tameluvich's "Simple Faith" when I need a moment to reconnect with my spirituality. It speaks to my heart as a Pagan, but the truly magical thing about the song for me is that it can speak to anyone, of almost any faith (the possible exception being a fundamentalist Christian who insists on the existence of hellfire and brimstone.)

Here's an excerpt of the Lyrics:
"Ours is a simple faith. Life is a short embrace.
Heaven is in this place, everyday.
Hope is the ground we till. Make each day what you will.
Thankful for dreams fulfilled, everyday.

There is no Hell to fear. No judgement day drawing near.
Trust that inner voice you hear, everyday.
Life's not a goal or race. It's about heart and faith,
And living a life of grace. Everyday."






image: pentacle found in a borage blossom.

Soggy as it is, I am SO glad Spring is finally showing up!

Wordplay B is For...

Blessings - I have blessings every day, and my days are always better when I take notice of them

Buttermilk - Yumm I love the stuff, especially with salt, a sprinking of freshly ground black pepper and lashings of dill.

Bartlby - as in http://bartleby.com/ It's saved my hiney on many an occasion

Boisterous - It sounds like what it means, and its loads of fun to be. Although not so much fun to be around.

Buddha - my cat, my baby. I adopted her when she was too young, (unknowningly) and had to feed her by hand, we bonded. (Photo below of Buddha all nipped out.)

Babushka - I just like saying it :-}

Baubo - one of my favorite Goddesses, a boisterous belly-bareing bawd :-}


These are all that come to mind, I may add a few later.

I actually DID stuff toward my goal of becoming a published author! I am pretty proud of myself, despite the small size if the steps.

1. I entered the first 1000 words of one of my stories into a small contest.
2. I committed to a critique partner through RWAonline.

3. I sent her the first part of another story and
4. I submitted the first part of that story to the 'critters' secton of RWAonline for feedback.
Of course as soon as I posted it I found two things to change, but that's how it goes. We writers call them 'duh' moments :-}

ARRGGH!! I feel as if my head is going to explode, I am having great trouble concentrating enough to get work done on my manuscripts. I felt so fantastic when I was on the allergy meds the doc first prescribed. I've been wrestling since JANUARY to get that scrip filled. WHen I was taking the samples, I felt better than I have in YEARS. My insurance company messed up twice, proscribing the wrong med (Zyrtec without the D) then the wrong TYPE of med (chewable? I don't need chewable, and it wasn't the right strength). And now they won't proscribe the zyrtec D without special dispensation because I'm also proscribed Singular.. hrumph. I had no clue I was allergic to so many things until my appointment in Jaunary. Then the meds really helped! and I've been in a holding pattern since the samples ran out. The Doctor's office and the pharmacy are fighting right along side me, and I have hopes it will be resolved this week, but in the meantime, my brain is about as much use as a half cooked rigatoni.

Anyhoo. thanks for listening

:rant off:

Its not QUITE spring here yet, despite the calendar. The sun is bright, but its cold as my elbow out there. No tulips yet (that pic is from a few years ago) but the daffys are about to bloom. The squirrel is humping the hedgehog again. If I can just hold out, it will warm up in a few days and I may actually get outside to dig around in the dirt. I want to edge the flower beds so that I can have a stranger mow the yard without fearing for my flowers.

I have a Critique partner! She's on vacation at the moment, be we;ll begin next week I'll start working on a scene for her to critique today!

Oscar and I have started a project. We're co-authoring a mystery, and having a meeting every Friday to discuss it. We had our first meeting yesterday. I think it willbe fun :-}
We had breakfast at a local place called "The Ugly Mug". Back when it was "The Mud House" I loved it, but I was a smoker then. Yesterday even though we sat as far away from the smoking area as we could, I still reeked of tobacco by the time we got home. The food was ok, but the coffee sucked big time. Not a good sign. So next Friday we'll try a different locale. I have high hopes for a place called "Tom Bombadill" but the access may be an issue.

Story Fodder

Its always fascinated me how real-life events can spark some wonderful plots, but the universe threw me a curve ball today. My dog leaves her stuffed squeaky critters out in the yard whenever she manages to sneak one out of the house. Then they get nasty and I leave them there until I can get out there with the grab-extender and clean up...

As I opened the kitchen door to let Kit out to do her business, I inturrupted a husky male squirrel in the process of humping one of the stuffed hedgehogs... His expression was priceless... It was even funnier watching him drag his unresponsive 'girlfriend' to the back corner to try again. I think I'll just let that particular stuffed critter become one with the elements...

The incident will HAVE to live on in one of my stories. I know it will.. what a gift!
I only wish I'd had the camera..

Wordplay A is for

A is for
Abundance – not worrying where your next meal or bill payment is coming from, looking at the garden overflowing with beauty, always having enough to share

Apathy – not caring, not even caring that you don't care. Entropy and Apathy have something in common.

Agrimony – of the rose family, yields a yellow dye, if placed under one's pillow, will cause the person to fall into a deep sleep until it is removed…a useful herb, for skin eruptions, jaundice, and is used in a spring tonic tea.. sweet scented, especially in spring.

Acrimony – Bitter anger, backbiting, when my heart is unhappy, and I haven’t reached apathy, I become like resting next to a hedge of thorns.

Assault – overwhelming force,. Can be physical, but I am more often assaulted by strong ideas, odors, and art. Commonly has a negative assotioation, but to me, it also speaks of surrendering to an overpowerig force, which can be a good thing once in a while.

Anger – can be a useful emotion, when allowed to flow freely, at its own pace. Like water, it becomes brackish and dead when dammed up. Also like water, can be destructive when hurled as a weapon (Katrina)

Alliteration – clever choice of words. The melding of intellect and music. Making words important for their sound as well as their meaning.

Astute – or Ass-toot… you be the judge

Astrophysics - Hmm. The heavenly bodies doing Pilates?

Allay- reduce intensity.. soften.. has a hint of deception about it?

Antinomy - Paradox... the contridictory opinions of two physicians?

Antipodes - a race of beings who's feet face opposite form teh way our feet face... with ass overhanging toes....

Axis - the central point about which all rotates. what is your axis? what is mine?

Ch ch ch changes...

More of an internal change than anything else. I've been working on anger stuff, it felt like a tangled ball of anger was blocking me from the inside out, and I've started using art therapy to clear the brush.. and its working! I am starting to learn about the craft of writing, and feeling more alive and alert! I've had dreams every night, in which I am writing, and I just feel better overall. I will be joining the Word play (link to be added later) and doing a few more exercises to keep that creative channel open! I am a member of RWA and RWAOL (Romance Writers of America, and their on line chapter) and have found it a tremendous resource for hard facts about the business, tips of all parts of the craft, as well as good old fashioned support when things go badly or well.

Some other goals.. get my Otterwise website up and running.... which means learning a bit more code....

Just too intriguing

Its just too intriguing, all this fun and sharing and color and wordplay and and and... I had to join! I had a livejournal but it never really took hold. Now that I'm delving into writing and I have some friends on this site, I hope to use some of the fun activities as tools to keep stimulating me into achieving some goals, both in writing and art.

Whoops! My pot of Italian wedding soup is boiling!