Revisiting

Posted on September 17, 2018 by

I’ve been writing for over 2 decades now. In that time, I’ve discarded several books. Some will never see the light of day. Others I’ll be revisiting.

Revisiting is hard for me to do.

There’s a reason a story was put aside.

And really, I want to keep learning, growing, and honing my writing skills, so why would I go back and rewrite a story when I can start fresh?

For my latest writing adventure, I’m returning to 2013. In this case, I’d abandoned the story because it was written for a market, not out of passion for the story which is my normal starting point. And if I didn’t care, why would a reader?

So now I’m going back to those 6 chapters. Most of the writing is being trashed, but there are some nuggets being saved and built upon.

It is weird territory, like returning to a childhood home after years away. Familiar yet not.

Yet, here I go. Wish me luck.

Until next time.

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A Newbie Mistake

Posted on September 14, 2018 by

It happens to every writer.

You pour your soul onto a page, polish the prose, and submit it to your critique partner(s).

Only to discover you’ve done the data dump. Too much backstory had slowed the pacing to a crawl.

Oy! Facepalm

I think it is funny/sad that after not really writing for a year, I am back to square one.

The irony is, I had just skimmed ahead in a book because that writer had committed the same cardinal sin, and I was bored senseless.

The good news is that I actually like editing so it is an easy fix to the story and bits of it may be woven in later.

So, here’s to writing and rewriting, and rewriting again.

Until next time.

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Gadgets

Posted on September 12, 2018 by

I don’t really consider myself a collector of gadgets. Apparently, I like to do things the hard way. Let’s face it, there are good reasons why most gadgets exist: to solve a unique problem.

Here in no apparent order are some of my favorite gadgets:

Food processor. Yeah, okay, it’s not really a gadget, but as anyone who will tell you grating cheese by hand can cost about a pound of flesh, usually from the knuckles.

The stick blender. I love my stick blender especially for grinding up spaghetti sauce with lots of veggies. The whisk attachment is just plain awesome, too.

Apple corer, slicer, and peeler (all in one). Perfect and fast for any recipe that calls for apples.

Cherry pitter: Aside from the suspiciously bright red spatter from pitting cherries, this is a fabulous way to add cherries to fruit salad and lunches without having to spit out the pits. Bonus: you can actually aim the pits at someone although the range is somewhat lacking.

Can openers are worth their weight in gold especially if you’ve ever had to use that little opener on your pocket knife.

Vegetable peelers. But it has to be a good one. We all know the frustration of a bad one, might as well just use a paring knife.

Well, that’s about it from my kitchen. I’m sure there are others but those are some of the ones I’ve used in the last week.

Until next time.

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It’s never too early

Posted on September 10, 2018 by

Yes, I did it. I started decorating for Halloween. I think it was a cold snap we had with temperatures in the low 100s and overnight temps in the 70s.

Then I went to Michaels…

And well, they were decorating for Halloween, so I thought, why not?

So here are some of my  new decorations:

Because Halloween is just a month away.

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Yes, my door is Tardis blue:D

Until next time.

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We’re All Pirates

Posted on September 7, 2018 by

I’m not sure which is worse: the days coming to work after a vacation or the days after a Monday holiday.

Both require time to adjust as if the brain can’t seem to process the level of hell into which you’ve descended.

And let’s not forget the overwhelming number of things that need to be accomplished in a shortened period of time, and for added flavor, new things join the standard tasks, because the universe/fate enjoys screwing with you.

Around Thursday, morning conversation degenerates into letters: OK being the longest and Argh being a response we’re too tired to complete (coffee optional). Some, I’m sure, would be okay with a peg leg, if only because they could remove it and bean someone over the head.

But the most common trait of all, it the pirate squint. You know what it is. Friday, when the alarm goes off, only one eye opens. Evolution apparently worked it so half of us is asleep until the one open eye confirms that yes, it is time to get up.

For most of us, I’m sure such a state continues until that magical elixir coffee kicks in. For the rest, well that other eye opens about the time we’re driving to work:D

Just remember, it’s Friday. You can hang out with Captain Morgan after work.

Until next time!

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Cleaning Tip

Posted on September 5, 2018 by

We all have them. Some people have only one. (amateurs!)

I have at least three. Maybe it’s because I’m an overachiever. Or maybe it’s because I’ve lived in this house with 3 kids that I’ve had more stuff to hide in drawers.

That’s right. I’m talking about the universal existence of a junk drawer.

That stuff we’re afraid to throw away because we will need it. And according to everyone’s friend Murphy, you’ll need it right after you toss it out.

Recently, I was able to clean out one of those drawers.

I hadn’t planned to, but the hubbinator was making iced tea in the tea maker. He claims the pot was pushed tightly against the brewer but let’s just say the tea ended up on the counter and not the pot because of mysterious forces. He even made tea on the stove to show the brewer how it was done.

Which meant that a large quantity that wasn’t on the floor or counter ended up in the drawer.

I’ll confess it made the decision of what to keep and what to toss that much easier. And now I have only two more drawers to go. But don’t tell the hubbinator. I’ll clean ’em out on my time, or just dump the contents into a box and move it to our next house:D.

Until next time.

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Happy Labor Day

Posted on September 3, 2018 by

To those of us in the US this is Labor Day.

A day off to reflect on what our forefathers and mothers endured to give us a 40 hour week, child labor laws, and decent working conditions.

While you fire up those barbecues, shop those sales, and, in some parts of the country, prepare for back to school take a moment to reflect on where we were 100 years ago.

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