winter sky

reading the jeweled sky

I received this wonderful little artwork from Hybrid J today.  It's called "Reading the Jeweled Sky"... just perfect, don't you think? 
Thanks, J!

happy solstice

It is the Winter Solstice, welcome Winter. Time to go inside. Inside one's home,, and inside one's self. To get plenty of sleep, and to eat Yang foods (root vegetables, and ones that grow close to the ground) to keep one warm inside. A pinch of ground cayenne pepper in each sock, makes for cozy toes, and a pinch in a cup of tea does the same for the insides.


These are just some things that come to mind with the onset of winter.

It snowed here all day yesterday, and we got quite a few inches. Not quite enough to make for that really silent sound outside, but I did get to hear some of that.

Sitting now with a cup of tea, dear readers, and wondering what brings you joy? You can answer in my comments, or perhaps you'd like to make a post of your own in answering that question. Be sure to leave me a link, though!

Right now, this little one and his existence on Earth, is bringing me much joy!

Christmas troll

I haven't done much in the way of creativity in a while. Tonight I took the head and feet of a troll I was going to discard, and decided to dress him... wrapped in chamois; I do not sew well without a machine, and I don't own one, so I like to wrap. He doesn't have hands yet, but he does have a shock of buffalo hair. I imagine I will embellish him with other things along the way. For now, he is enjoying some time beside the Christmas tree.

click image to view larger

Logan at 4 days

from December 12th, discharge day from the hospital.  Melissa/mommy talking to Logan.

a blessing

a baby

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Just a note to say that I am the great aunt of Logan James, born this afternoon,12 days overdue.  He weighed in at a whopping 9lbs 4oz, and is 21 inches long.  My niece labored through for many hours, until it was decided the baby's head was just not going to descend into the canal, and a c-section had to be performed.  Both mother and baby are doing well.  Pictures will come in the future, for sure.

a day to remember

My niece is going to be induced today.... a significant day in that my father died 18 years ago on this day, and John Lennon died 28 years ago on this day... both heroes in my life....... so it turns out this day will be a birthday! I am glad about that. My dad would be glad about that, too. I trust he is looking down on his grand-daughter and smiling.


I am going to go down to the hospital to join my sister and my niece in the waiting, which is bound to be long, as the process has not even started yet.

I have put up my tiny Charlie Brown tree. It is maybe 2 ft. high. I couldn't find any of my hanging ornaments, or the manger, or the star... they are all at the bottom of a storage closet that I just can't tackle. But I did what I could to add a little Christmas charm, lol.  The little elf sitting in the tree was found on the street by my father many years ago.. it was tattered and torn, but he felt it deserved to be on a tree, so he picked it up and took it home.

friday night

I was writing my novel, and came to what was a flimsy ending, saying in one paragraph what should have been said for another thirty pages, probably. This made me feel like I was done with it for a couple of days, so I started editing it from the beginning. I kept having a nagging feeling that I wanted to write more, and felt bad I had ended it.... As if I didn't have the power to undo that.. or do it up better, rather. So, tonight I deleted that last paragraph, and I will be continuing to live with my characters for a while longer. Forget trying to edit on the computer; I need a hard copy for that, and have no ink in the printer right now.

My niece, who was due on Nov. 27th, still hasn't given birth yet. She is anxious as can be, and we are all anxious for her. Come on, little guy, come out and greet the world!

I am finding it hard to believe it is December. I'm not feeling very Christmassy yet, and I think that could change when the baby comes.

The 18th anniversary of my father's death is December 8th, so this is usually a rather down period of time for me. It would be something if the baby was born on that day, transforming it completely. Of course, it is already transforming this time, I believe.

I think about the 18 years since my father has died. I have never been the same since. I never truly regained the joie de vivre that I used to have. He was the dearest father, and my best friend. Such a large presence in my life that his absence is a huge hole unable to be filled, no matter how many years go by.

happy full moon to you

The National Writing Month ended last night at midnight, and I managed to write over 75K words in one month. I'm very proud of myself. I'll be continuing it, since I haven't reached the end yet. Not sure how long it will end up being. I learned that I can persevere in a project far beyond my expectations, which surprised me more than you can imagine. When this started I was more than daunted by the amount of words that needed to be written in one month, but I wrote practically every day, and if I didn't write one day I made up the word count the next day. It was very different from the writing I did when I was younger, which had a more autobiographical bent to it. This was pure fiction, just what I wanted it to be.
Creatspace.com has a free offer (which is actually free, no strings attached) for Nano writers who have finished their 50K (and beyond, up to 800,000 words)... they will print up a paperback proof copy of your book, which I think is very cool. I have 6 months to take advantage of the offer, so I believe I will be able to finish my first draft and do some revision on the whole thing before I send it off to be printed. It's strictly a vanity thing to do, but I am not beyond vanity.
The next time I write about this novel will be after I get it printed.. I'm sure all you readers out there have gotten sick of hearing about this for the past month!