It's Not What You Think

No, I was not on vacation last week, although I truly wish I had been.  Sometimes work and deadlines and family completely take over life, and other things must take a backseat.  In fact, I shouldn't even be here writing a blog.  I should be working, but my conscience is bothering me, so, well, here I am.

It's a good thing February is a short month.  By the weekend, we'll have run the four weeks of the second month of this new year and be on our way to what will hopefully be spring.

Does anyone remember Spring?

We've been on a long run of cold and ultra-cold this winter.  Polar Vortexes, included.  I'm yearning for warm.  Not hot, mind you, but a nice 75-80 degrees to thaw my feet, hands, nose...  On the other hand, as I complain about the cold, and the snow, and the sub-zero temps, I realize that it could have been worse.  I could live in the Northeast. ;)  Blessings to all of you who have had a rough winter.  May you thaw quickly and soon!

I'm impatiently waiting to see the first green buds on trees.  They will come, as they always do each year, but sometimes the wait seems eternal.  Spring, it's been said, is eternal, but this year I'd have to say that Winter has been.  This week is supposed to be another cold one.  Not frigid, as some of them in the past couple of months have been, but still cold enough to wish for a few more days of 60 degrees, when a jacket is all that's needed.  I'm more than ready to put away the long, down coat, gloves, three pairs of socks and the rest of the layering.  I yearn to sit barefoot at my computer.  If I tried that now, I'd have a severe case of frostbite.  I'll even try to be grateful when my 6" fan, buzzing away on my desk, is needed to keep me cool.  And I know it won't be long until I'm complaining about unstable weather and threats of tornadoes, along with power outages.  Although I hope this year those outages don't cause another computer monitor to die.  Which reminds me, I need to find a chimney for my oil lamp.  One more thing to add to an ever-growing list of needs, thanks to the weather.

As I sit here, I gaze longingly at the photo above.  How I would love to have a hammock, where I could rest and dream!  I've been so busy, even dreaming has crowded into that backseat with work and deadlines and family.  But I have given myself permission to watch college basketball.  Our beloved WSU Shockers are now the only undefeated team in the nation.  I'm convinced that's the only thing that has kept me from complete insanity.

Oh, have no fear.  By May I'll be whining about storms and tornadoes.  By mid July it will be the heat.  By August it will be the need for school to start again.  If only I could learn how to accept and enjoy each season, each turn in life as it speeds by, faster and faster.  Maybe I'll work on that...when  spring arrives.  And maybe, if I'm really, really lucky, I'll get a vacation, even if it's a working vacation.

Now back to trying to dream about that hammock and the beautiful beach with a gentle, cooling, tropical breeze...  Dream on!

I'd like to dial it back 5% or 10% and try to have a vacation that's not just e-mail with a view. ~ Elon Musk

Oh, (S)No(w)!

MONDAY MADNESS aka MONDAY MEMORIES

Seriously?!

As I posted on Facebook this morning...

Dear Mother Nature,

What the (fill in the blank)?

Yes, I know February is one of the winter months.  I expect cold and even snow.  But the past week has netted us 13 inches of the white stuff.  9 inches last Tuesday, which had not melted away, only melted a little and froze...harder and harder throughout the week.  And now another 4+ inches over night.  One sweep of the car with a broom last week was quite enough.  This morning invited another, and I had no excuse not to accept.

I'll admit that snow can be pretty.  I've seen the beauty of Jack Frost's artistry.  But I'd really rather see it in pictures, not deal with the stuff.  My three oldest daughters and I once spent five hours sitting on a country road, two miles from home, and no way to get there, thanks to an unexpected blizzard.  The road grader/snowplow had gotten stuck, and five cars full of neighbors and friends, including ours, sat and waited, while he hoped help would arrive while we tried to stay warm.

At that time, my girls were 3, 5, and 7.  I'd left work early and picked them up at the babysitter, then drove ten miles farther--sliding sideways once--to meet their dad at a small gas station.  The plan was to follow him and the road grader.  Until the road grader got stuck.  And so did all of us who thought we were smart by follow the snowplow.  Uh, no.

We had no snacks, no drinks, and just enough gas to keep the car warm enough so we wouldn't freeze.  After four hours of waiting, we all walked more than half a mile to the closest neighbor's house.  They offered all us warmth and friendship, fixed us sandwiches and drinks, and assured us that help was on the way.  Help came from two other neighbors, who drove their four-wheel-drive tractors and picked us up to take us home, when they could have stayed snug and warm in their own homes.

No driving the tractors on the roads.  No one could see where the road ended and the deep ditches on both sides began.  We traveled cross-country over winter wheat fields.  And let me tell you, a driver (my brother-in-law and the only one seated), plus five of us in the cab of that tractor was not a picnic on the plains of Kansas.  (Hint: Tractors in fields are not smooth-going.)  The girls were bounced around like billiard balls, and I lost track of how many times my head hit the top of the cab.

When the driver let us out across the road from home, we headed straight for our house---only we forgot about the ditch.  We couldn't see it.  I nearly lost the youngest in the 4 feet of drifted snow.  I kept telling my daughters that we were on a great adventure, and that someday we'd look back and laugh.  I chuckle now, but a laugh is hard to come by.

We're not the only ones who've been dumped on this year.  The Pacific Northwest has had more than its share, as has the East Coast, the South, the Midwest, and most of the country.  Really?  If I wanted Canadian weather, I'd move to Canada.  It's beautiful there and they know how to deal with snow and blizzards and cold and...  All those things I'm not so crazy about.

Frankly, Mother Nature, I've had enough, and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one.  While Spring is not my favorite season---thanks to tornadoes---I really wouldn't mind if it came early.  This is one of the longest cold spells in winter that I can remember.  So cold, the City opted not to salt the streets to melt the snow and ice for two reasons.  Isn't that an oxymoron?

1. They're low on salt.  It's all sitting at the salt mines, fifty miles away, and the roads are too bad to go get it.  
2. It wouldn't do any good.  The temps have been in single digits, making the use of salt, well, useless.

But we'll thaw.  By the weekend, temps are expected to hit 50 degrees.  I'm not sure I want to look beyond that.  In spite of wishing for spring, we have at least five more weeks of winter.  I don't expect my feet to thaw until July.

What's your weather been like?  Have you been snowed in?  Spent far too much time clearing snow from your car so you can crawl to work, hoping you don't get stuck and/or no one slides into you?  Or are you basking in the Florida/Arizona/etc. sunshine?  (If so, a resounding raspberry to you. ;) )

A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water. ~ Carl Reiner

Crunch Time

It seems as if I'm always crunched for time, but right now, it's at the point of crucial.  Deadline looms for the last of the Desperation books.  I'm a scene + one chapter + an epilogue from having it written.  That will be done by the end of the week, but then there's editing and polishing.  Deadline is the 24th.

This past weekend, I'd planned to be much closer to being finished.  Weekends are usually my best time to get caught up on word count.  Not this past Saturday and Sunday.  I'd forgotten about college basketball.  I didn't even make a note of it, and the schedules I'd printed seem to have buried themselves under quickly scribbled plot notes and snips of dialogue. When I realized my beloved Wildcats were playing, it was far into the game.  And since two granddaughters were here for basically the weekend (more bad planning on my part) and had commandeered the TV, I watched the last half of the game on my computer.  The game wasn't going well, so I missed the last few minutes to switch to another.  Thanks to friends on FB, I realized that my beloved #4-in-the-nation Shockers weren't playing in the evening, but were just beginning their game.  It wasn't televised, so I listened to the play-by-play on the radio.  This game had a much better outcome, with a 23rd straight victory.  GO SHOX!!!  But then that other State university was playing yet another beloved team, the Longhorns, and UT was leading by a wide margin at half-time.  Obviously a must-see and well worth the time.  I giggled for a couple of hours over that one.  An impromptu dinner at oldest daughter's house took up most of the evening, but I came home and hit the keyboard, at least finishing two more scenes.  Can we say 'dedication?'  Can we say 'panic?'

My intention on Sunday was to bury myself in getting words on paper.  I ended up spending more time on line edits for the August book than I'd planned, and time went by without much notice...except for that nagging in the back of my mind that I really needed to finish the line edits and get cracking on that new manuscript.  Then came the sad news that Philip Seymour Hoffman had died, as I eagerly awaited 8 p.m., when the CNN documentary, The 60s: The British Invasion, a lead-in to a new series, was to come on.  But PSH news kept that from happening, and it wasn't until 10 p.m.that the CNN docu finally aired.  I'm really looking forward to the full CNN The 60s series in May.  I truly enjoyed The British Invasion, listening and watching all the great bands and music from that era and how it all shaped, not only the music of today, but the world.

So this is my life at this point.  The usual running back and forth to schools to drop off and collect the g-kids, checking Facebook off and on during the day, and racing to that deadline.  A threatening snowstorm over the next few days may put a crimp in my crunch if school is closed due to weather.  Which would be better?  Refereeing 5 kids or having to drive through snow to get them to and fro?  Something tells me I won't get to choose.  Mother Nature sometimes has a lousy sense of humor.  I'm working on mine. ;)

The thing that would most improve my life is 27 hours in a day. I could meet all my deadlines. ~ Yoko Ono

Or not. 

Old Man Winter Brings a Hodgepodge of Thoughts

The weather yesterday was beautiful!  62 degrees.  Not bad at all for late January.  And then evening came and so did the cold front, sending 60 mph winds through the area.  Today's high?  24, and I'd bet that lasted the few minutes it took for the weather guys to chart it, then dropped again.

It's been a weird winter for everyone, what with polar vortexes and snow in places that rarely see snow.  Last year, we were hit with a snowstorm that dumped 20 inches in our area.  A record, for sure.  I've seen a foot or a little more a few times, but 20 inches?  That's crazy!

With two more months of winter--we have our biggest snows in March--I shudder to think what else we'll get to deal with.  Then I shudder with the cold from what we have in the present.

I spent most of the weekend writing, trying to catch up on days I wasn't able to write during the weeks before.  My total for our first BIAW this month was 82 pages.  I chart that, and even my mouth dropped open when I saw my word total for so far this month.  Last January my total word count amounted to zero.  With a goal of 200,000 words for the year in 2013, I wondered if my expectations might have been too high.  But things have a way of pushing us, and I finished with more than my goal.  Some of that was need, some of that was determination, and the rest is just plain being stubborn.

Today brought line edits for the next to last Desperation book.  With a February 24th deadline, I don't get to lay around and watch TV.  In fact, what little TV I usually watch has dwindled to very little.  I like to watch TV.  I used to do a lot of it.  I was once a soap opera junkie.  General Hospital was my drug of choice.  I'd watched it for so long, I could remember the original characters from the early days.  Not necessarily by choice.  My mother was a soap opera junkie, too.  But one day I realized what a waste of time it was and I quit.  Cold turkey.  I set a date.  Felicia and Frisco's wedding.  I'd watch that, then no more.  Amazing, even to me, I stuck to it.  I haven't gotten hooked yet.  Strange, but I've never missed it.

We all have our passions.  Reading has always been mine.  Sad to say, but time for reading has shrunk to very little over the past couple of years.  I pat myself on the back for reading Stephen King's 11/22/63 last fall.  With over 800 pages, it took a while, and most of it I read in bits and pieces.  Considering the length, should I count that as at least two books?  I think so!  I'm currently reading, although it's slow going.  I work until midnight, sometimes later, then read a little before turning out the light.  When I realize I've just read the same sentence or paragraph more times than I can remember, I put it away.  I'm currently reading a book I'd wanted for some time, found it discounted on Amazon last week, and grabbed it.  It's slow going.  Not because it's not a good book, but because of the lack of time to read.  No doubt I'll finish.  I have to know if the main character's son is the murderer.

But tonight is Castle, so I'll enjoy an hour of it, then go back to the keyboard and see if my characters will behave or at least talk to me.  Yes, those voices in my head are real. ;)  At least I'm never alone.

Winter is nature's way of saying, 'Up yours.' ~ Robert Byrne

"So it Begins."

(Correction to the December 31st post.  The third sentence should read: It's a time to reflect on the year that has passed.)

***

There it is on the left.  The blank book of a new year, waiting to be filled, one day at a time.

For me, the first four days of this new year have gone by in a blur, mostly because family has been dealing with colds and flu.  Not a pretty way to start the year.  Now that the grandkids' holiday vacation is over, they're back in school.  In fact, yesterday was the first day in almost two weeks that has been close to normal.  Whatever "normal" is.

We spent New Year's Eve playing Wii Trivial Pursuit.  My thoughts were that it was slow and boring.  That pretty much described the turnover from 2012 to 2013, too, but then we're not a rowdy bunch and missed the (rerun) of the ball dropping at midnight.  Obviously, when it comes to celebrating and welcoming in the new year, we're not the most exciting group.  It doesn't matter to me.  I've said goodbye to many years and hello to the same amount of new ones.  It's not like it's something terribly exciting that only happens in hundreds of years or even when there's a blue moon.  No, once every 365/366 days, we add another number onto the year.

Why is it that we make such a big deal of the arrival of the New Year?  As far as I could tell, there wasn't a whole lot of difference between Monday, December 31, 2012 and Tuesday, January 1, 2013.  It's not much more than replacing the old calendar with a new one.  Nothing magical happened.  I didn't suddenly lose 30 pounds or win the lottery.  I didn't even find a penny on the ground.  But I wasn't expecting anything grand, so I wasn't disappointed.  See how that works?  It was as pleasant as any other family get-together, although we did have a very small bottle of champagne to share, almost half of which was poured down the drain.

I know I should be here blogging about progress made toward my goals for the year, but I'll be honest and admit that I haven't done much.  In fact, I'm trying to think of what I have done, and I'm coming up with nothing.  I'm going to blame that on yesterday being the first day and today the second day of "normalcy."  The truth is, I could use a swift kick in the backside to get me going.  I'm sure I'll soon regret not using this time wisely and making some kind of progress, even if bad.  That's pretty much a given.  Another truth is that I'm not sure what I want to do.  Or even need to do.  I'm in a state of limbo.

So instead of writing something pithy that will light a fire under us all---something I have no right to do at this point in time, considering---I'm going to share a couple of links.  The first is one I saved some time ago, but it has a lot of good information.  I have all these links of blogs and articles that I've saved, yet I don't get back to them nearly as often as I should.  I have a feeling I'm not the only one who does this.  But this particular blog post is about procrastination, and, being the Queen of Procrastination, I feel it's probably timely for those of us who are fully aware we should be making progress, but for some reason or other are dragging our feet.    Give What's Stopping You?, from the Happy Writer, a read.  You might discover a little of yourself in it.  I do.

The second link is new and came through my email today.  I enjoy reading Kristen Lamb's Blog, and today's post is another good one.  Writing Tip #2 - Writing is Pain, Learn to Take a Hit tells it as it is.  Writing isn't easy.  The business isn't sweet.  It takes hard work and tough skin, picking yourself up and dusting yourself off, and if you don't want to deal with any of those things, leave your dream of being a writer behind and find something easier.  Underwater shark wrestling is always an option.

And while I'm here, I might as well do a little shameless promotion.  My seventh Harlequin American book set in Desperation, Oklahoma, will be out in March.  I'll share a little bit about it as time grows nearer, and also about books of my friends that will be coming out around the same time.  Until then, have a wonderful weekend and smile at the fact that the first week of a brand new year is nearly gone, and we have the rest of the year to buckle down and get some words on paper.

Having used a J.R.R. Tolkien quote as the title of this blog post, it's only fitting to add another to end it.  And quite appropriate this one is.  Enjoy!

“It is the job that is never started that takes longest to finish.” - J.R.R. Tolkien

Soothing the Savage Pre-Holiday Insanity

If the weather hadn't suddenly decided to turn colder and yesterday hadn't dawned with snow (barely) covering the ground, the idea that Christmas is only a few days away would be either laughable or a total shock to the system.

Oh, we've been working toward the insanity of the holidays.  There was Thanksgiving...which is barely a misty memory.  And there's been the shopping.  Even last night Mallory and I were buying a few more mini-bows for packages.  The tree has been up and decorated since...well, whenever the Heisman Trophy winner was announced...and wasn't Collin Klein.

I admit I've lost track of time.  Deadlines are part of the problem.  The last was just a week ago.   And although I shouldn't admit it, I'm not a big holiday person.  I'm not sure why.  I loved holidays as a child...a teen...and even a young adult.  Somewhere along the line, something caused me to adopt a slight Scrooge-view of the winter holidays.  However, I do try.  In fact, I decided I needed to put on my jingle bells.

Music.  Christmas music.  From Trans-Siberian Orchestra's A Mad Russian's Christmas to Gene Autry's Frosty the Snowman to The Carpenter's Carol of the Bells and I'll Be Home for Christmas and back to Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite.  Those are my jingle bells.  This year it started later than usual, but only because I've been focused on so many other things.

Yesterday Mallory and I attended the program at the elementary school where the four oldest of the g-kids attend.  Kindergarten through fifth graders gathered in the gym-sized lunch room, along with tons of family and friends.  It was a real crush. ☺  Afterward over an hour of listening to their Christmas songs, we gathered the two boys to take them home, while the two girls went to their after-school activity.  To my surprise, I was given a stack of twenty thank-you cards from the third grade class where I gave a talk on writing last week.  I still smile when I think of those hand-drawn cards and hope I encouraged those who are sometimes too afraid to share their dreams and ideas on paper.  And gave them a tiny glimpse into the world of published writing.

All of this is a round-about way of saying that music can often make a huge difference.  Of course choosing the right music matters, but when it comes to Christmas music, it's really, really hard to keep the spirit of the season--no matter what the holiday and in spite of sunny, warm weather--while listening to favorites.  Ooooh!  Harry Connick, Jr singing Let it Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow.  What gets better than that?

Once the holidays have past, I'll be back on a regular blogging and writing schedule.  In fact, after Christmas we'll get started again on setting goals...because it's THAT time of the year again.

Sometimes You Just Have to Dream

Winter is doing its best to push aside warmer weather.  Although the sun is shining today, I've heard there's a chance of snow later this week.  Not my idea of perfection.  But it does offer a reason to dream.

When I say "dream," I'm not referring to that thing we do when we sleep.  The kind of dream we need to be doing to open our heart and soul to possibilities is done when we're wide awake.  I remember spending time with an old crush on a night filled with snow and ice and cold.  We were trying to think of ways to stay warm--beyond the obvious ☺--and we came up with  thinking about summer things.  Things like a warming sun and the feel of a sidewalk under our bare feet on a summer day.  I thought of an ice cream cone, and the spell was broken.

Dreaming is what gives writers ideas and characters and stories.  It gives painters colors and visions and brushstrokes.  For composers it's rhythm and tone and music.  But one doesn't need to be a writer or painter or composer, or even a dancer or actor or anything involved in being creative and artistic.  Each one of us can gain by letting ourselves dream.

So what if what we dream might not be possible to actually attain?  Anything is possible, if we begin by dreaming.  If we shut ourselves off from possibilities beyond what we believe to be attainable, how can we ever grow and change?  Without those who dreamed of going to the moon, our space program never would have happened.  Without those who dreamed of everyone being able to read and write, how many of us would be reading books and newspaper, and writing?

We're in that tension-building time of the run-up to Christmas.  Thanksgiving is behind us, and we're focused intently on the next holiday.  That tension can quickly morph into stress, and that's something we really don't need.  Not now.  Not at any time.  Just for the next few weeks, lets give ourselves a chance to unwind, relax, and dream, if only for a short time.  Instead of checking Done times off of our mental To Do lists, use part of that time to dream.  And before you know it, you'll be more relaxed and have a smile on your face.  And who knows?  Maybe your wish--or something close to it--will come true.

A dream is a wish your heart makes.

    Walt Disney, Sleeping Beauty