Stormy Weather - A Photo Blog

It's a weekend that will be wet and rainy, but the storms aren't as much from the sky as from DH who is a bit overly stressed right now. This too will pass, but right now we just have to live through this next small bump in hurt feelings and bruised attitudes. I'm in the mood for photos, and since we're a bit stormy at home, I'm doing beautiful storms for today's photo blog.

I'll start with this wonderful prairie shot. The lightning, the threatening
clouds, and the wide open spaces make a vibrant, stunning shot of
a threatening storm. 

Here's a fabulous pic of a stormy sea. The large ship in the background
is leaving the Tyne in the UK while being pounded by waves from
the stormy sea. 

Look at this approaching storm outlined in the setting sun. The
picture is of the California coastline. 

This is a great shot of storm clouds over the Greenwich Peninsula by
David K Hardman. Follow the link to see more of his work. 

December 2012 was the beginning of a very stormy winter for the
UK and Europe. This picture from The Guardian warned its readers
to brace for a difficult winter ahead. 

After the storm, the sun returns and often we are greeted
with the rainbow - one of the most beautiful gifts of light we see in
our skies. 

So there you have it - stormy weather pictures for stormy times. The promise held in the final pic will also come to pass, it may take a while but things will be calm again one of these days soon. Have a great weekend and I'll return on Monday.

Drowning in Words and Finding Characters

I'm editing my June of Doom and Gloom story like a madwoman (I hear that clock ticking... tick ... tick ... my time is running out). I'm pushing that ahead of other stories/assignments because June is quickly ending, but I still have other stories waiting for me in the wings with equally important deadlines, so I must continue writing when I can. Of course I must also read because reading is as essential as breathing is to me.

I was born with a book in my hands and I'm a voracious reader. Having
e-readers and apps in my life has allowed me to continue my life-long love
of books without needing shelf space and with the ability to change the
font size or color as needed to make it easier on my aging eyes. 

I think I was born with a book in my hands and nothing has changed that. I read constantly - usually on my NookColor or my Nook app on my phone. When I can't write, I usually can at least have one or the other screen next to me while I count, pack, or label at the shop. I put my reading aside when I'm working with customers, of course, because it's only polite and makes sense. But at all other times, my nose is in an e-book.

Looking for a good book and an easy read with interesting
photographs? Try "Miss Peregrine's Home for
Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs. 

Yesterday I finished "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" and immediately purchased the second book in the series, "Hollow City". I really enjoyed "Miss Peregrine's Home" and recommend it to those looking for a good YA novel with intriguing pictures throughout. Yes, there are some plot holes, and there are some plot and timeline questions that I was left with, but despite those minor questions it was thoroughly readable, the characters were interesting, and the premise was of great interest to me.

What story would you invent for this group of children? Are they
in a play? Did they just gather to go to a Renaissance Festival? Are
they returning from a time traveling adventure? 

What I really enjoyed was the author's interview at the end of the book. He explained how he is one of a group of collectors who peruse, purchase and collect old photographs. He said that he started collecting unusual old photos, many of children, and when he was unable to discover information about the people depicted, he began inventing histories for them. Many of these photographs and their imagined characters made it into the pages of "Miss Peregrine's Home".

What's the story of this girl with a mirror? What is she
holding in her other hand? Why is she barefoot? Why, in an
age when photos were expensive and time-consuming, is
she pictured in a sleep dress? 

Isn't that what we, as authors, do? We see a situation - people conversing at a street corner, a person in a dark alley, a soccer mom at the game, or the dog running across the street - and we ask questions. When we see these places, events or people, we begin to invent stories for them. "Why is she attending the soccer game today instead of being home with her visiting cousin?" "What is he doing back in the dark alley? Is he even still alive?" "Where did the dog come from and to where is he going in such a hurry?" The questions we ask about our everyday lives illuminate our stories, our characters, and the lives we put onto electronic screens and paper.

In "Miss Peregrine's Home" there is a character, Fiona, who
can make plants grow at a startling rate of speed. Do you
think this may have been an early photo of Fiona? Or, do
you have an interpretation of your own? 

So today, as you go through your daily errands, look around you. Check out your surroundings. Is your next character lurking around the upcoming corner? Happy Friday, everyone! Have a wonderful day!

Technology Has Come So Far!

Wow! DH and I picked up Minion last night (s/he's happily getting used to the garage as I write). Originally we were supposed to pick her up on Tuesday night, but an unexpected funeral called our sales guy out of the shop that day and I didn't want to turn the final step over to someone I didn't know. So we rescheduled for Wednesday night instead. After bringing her home and parking her in the garage, I was bouncing off the walls of 'things I have to do' all night long because there's so much to learn. Technology has moved ahead big-time since my last new car and I'm running in place to try and keep up.

I love classical music - although, I enjoy most music. As a trained
cellist for many years, I gravitated back to classical when I needed
to decrease stress in my life. It provides me with an anchor of beauty
upon which to hang each day. 

I know that the first two things I need to do is install the cargo cover (a matter of opening the box and attaching four ends into their appropriate locations) and set the radio for my Classical Minnesota Public Radio station. After that I'll be settling down with the manual to start working through the many other things I need to know about the car. It's a bit intimidating, but I really like it.

It'll be like being back in college again - lots of late night
studying until I really understand how Minion will talk to me. 

DH hadn't done anything except sit in the showroom sample car before last night, so he was pleasantly surprised at how it rode, the sight-lines and how comfortable the seat was. He loved that he wasn't hitting his head getting in and out of the the car, and also how high off the ground it was. He was an easy convert.

Da Grape was a fabulous car that was reliable and peppy right
through to the end. There were problems, sure, but of all my
cars, Grape was the one I loved the most. Now to see what Minion
can do for me over the next 10-15 years. 

They gave me a good trade-in price on Grape, so we waved good-bye to her as we left the parking lot. There was a bit of a tear in my eye, but the amount they offered me dropped my payments down to a level where I'm much more comfortable, so I'm happy. She was a fabulous car. I loved driving her and she never let me down. But there is something to be said about having a car with a functional air conditioner, has good struts, is stable, and has higher ground clearance for those snowy winter days.

I've always wanted a red car, and now I finally have one. Minion
is sharp looking, inside and out, and surprisingly roomy. I think
I'm going to be very happy, but I guarantee I'll rant on
my blog and you'll know if I'm not - LOL. 

So, this is the one and only "Yippee" post I'm going to write about Minion. S/he's home now, and I have my learning cut out for me. Suffice it to say - I'm very happy and s/he's pretty darned sharp looking. Now to just understand how to sync my phone to the Bluetooth setting....

Looking for Serenity - Pictures of a Japanese Garden

I'm running super late today so I'm putting in pictures of one of my favorite places EVER - the Japanese Garden in Portland, Oregon. This spectacular garden has something for everyone. It's sprawled over multiple levels and some serious acreage (5.5 acres) and contains several different types of Japanese gardens. It was designed by one of the top Japanese designers and frankly, I could spend days there. Unfortunately, I only had a few hours when I visited, but it was enough for me to fall in love. Enjoy the pictures.

The entryway is a steep hike up the mountainside, but there is a shuttle available
if you want it. You enter through a traditional gateway. 

This spectacular maple tree is one of several perfectly positioned to
excite and calm the mind and spirit. It's beautiful any time of the year,
but this fall picture really shows the coloring. 

Water is as much a feature of the gardens as the foliage and pathways. This
fabulous broken waterfall has a soft cadence that compliments the sounds
of the varied wildlife who live in the garden. 

Here is the koi pond. See the Japanese lantern across the water?
There are several different styles of lanterns throughout the
garden but we'll see this one from a different viewpoint
in a moment. 

Here's that same lantern from a different angle. Do you see how the garden
can enchant with every step? 

Of course there is a Zen Garden as well as a formal garden. The carefully
placed sand are carefully choreographed. It is peace and quiet for the soul. 

Of course, with my deep love of cranes and egrets, I had to also show these
wonderful crane sculptures on the pond edge. 

Here is a blooming cherry tree in the formal garden. Off to the side is a
deer-knocker fountain that I watched for a long time. Made of bamboo, it
gave a wonderful hollow sound whenever the tube fell to empty the water, and
again when it rose to refill. Lovely and haunting. 

I've run out of time, but here's a map of the gardens and if
you are ever in Portland, Oregon, I recommend a long visit.
Follow the link for more information. 

So there's my day. While I'm running around trying to get my errands done, I'll be grounded in a bit of beautiful serenity. I hope you enjoyed these pictures as much as I enjoyed sharing them with you. Happy Wednesday, and Happy Birthday to my friend Kathy in Poland - have a fantastic day of joy.

Swamped and Time Management

A major shipment arrived at work yesterday and we were buried in work the entire day just getting things checked in and ready for processing. I didn't have the time to respond to those of you responding to yesterday's LJ post, and I apologize for the delay. Today should be a little better, although we'll be pretty swamped for the week.

I'm in a strange mood this morning, so I'm visiting icanhas.cheezburger.com for
my photos today. No telling what I'll end up with. 

I'm looking forward to tomorrow already because I hope to actually get some "me" time instead of running around like a crazy person. But then, I am a bit of a crazy person, so perhaps I should continue to act true to myself.

Attitude - this owl has it in spades! 

I'll be working hard today, but I have to get some writing done early this morning because I've done NOTHING with writing for the past week! I am three (maybe four) drabbles behind, I've done practically nothing on my story for "June of Doom and Gloom", and although I've put in a good start for my "Ardor in August" tale, it still has quite a bit more to go. At least I managed to get my LOTR Community piece finished in time and the response to that has been gratifying. Of course, I've had no time to read the other people's stories in that community - MY BAD!

I'm becoming an expert at running in place. Time to actually try to move! 

I need to get my schedule back in order, and divide my time between beading and writing once again. After I pick Minion up tonight, at least I won't be driving back and forth to the car dealership week after week any more. That will be a relief in itself and free up more time than you would think - crazy how errands can mount up.

I get delusional before I have my morning coffee.  Or not...

DH is up and roaming around. He knows enough to not disturb me when I'm in my early morning mode. Before I get my cup of coffee, I'm mean, growling, and generally unpleasant to be around. I try to foster that image to keep my quiet time in the early morning hours solely for myself. Now it seems he's returned to bed and I'm not hearing him walk around any more. I'll see how long that remains, but hope that he can fall back to sleep.

Too cute to resist. 

Happy Tuesday to all. Have a totally wonderful day filled with adventures and good experiences.

Sunday Accomplishments and Monday Work

Sunday I awoke realizing I had to clean Grape out since I'm trading her in for Minion on Tuesday night. I wanted to make sure that everything was out - no CD's loaded in the player, no trash that needed to be thrown out. I started cleaning after my morning shower while DH began cutting down trees on the side yard with the chainsaw. I got the car completely cleaned up - then the rain started.

I even dusted the dashboard, etc. Grape was always pretty clean, I
took good care of her, but even a clean car can collect dirt and
miscellaneous stuff over fourteen years. 

Pulling the Yard Waste cart down to DH, we began stuffing it full with the branches of the small trees he was cutting down in an attempt to thin out our woodland. By the time the bin was full and we were heading to put the bin back into its place and return the chainsaw to its shelf we were dripping - soaking wet. What a mess!

By the time we were done and came into the house, we looked
like very wet kittens. 

We peeled off our wet clothing and hung them to dry (by late afternoon I checked and they were still so wet that I threw them into the clothes dryer). We settled down for a while, DH played a computer game and I beaded on the next section of my Toho Challenge piece, then he had a brilliant idea.

Famous Dave's is expensive, but really good. We don't go here
often, but I always enjoy it when we do. 

"Let's get Bar-B-Que," he said and I seconded that thought instantly. So off we went to Famous Dave's to get burnt ends and spareribs. So good! After we returned I found the other key-fob for Grape and pulled out her Title from the drawer where we keep such things. After I fill out the credit application, I'll be ready for Tuesday and Minion.

I love Famous Dave's Burnt Ends. These bite-sized pieces of meat are so
infused with flavor. Totally nummy!!!

Today I begin by seeing my Chiropractor, then I'll have breakfast, and then off to work where I'll be massively busy all day. We're expecting a huge shipment today and if it arrives on time, DH will be busy for the day just getting things checked in and starting to process it. It's well over 500 pounds of beads, so this one will take us a while to get completed.

Although we won't get quite as many boxes as these, I am still expecting
up to ten boxes and more than 500 pounds of product within a few days. If
it comes today, DH can work on it all day. 

Here's hoping you had a great weekend and have a fantastic Monday.