What To Say? How About More Meme Questions?

It's 5:30 am and I'm in a time crunch. Yeah ... I know that's a bit ridiculous. How can I be in a time crunch when it isn't even 6:00 am yet, and when I usually don't leave for work until at least 7:00 am? Well, after what seemed like a billion emails in my in-box this morning, I'm brain dead already. The morning has just started and I'm brain dead. This doesn't bode well for my day. But it does open the door to another bout with the 366-Day-Meme. So, I'm going to grab another 10 from January - walking slowly through the multitude = LOL. 

I grew up in the days of rotary phones similar to this one. When
digital phones and cell phones became available, and when
our cell phones became computers in their own rights, I was
hooked. I love my cellphone - can't imagine life without it. 

11 Have you ever been asked for your telephone number and you didn't want to give it? What did you do?

My usual on this one is to give a really old number, or just invent something - after all, how hard can spinning seven (or ten) numbers really be? I've had a lot of phone numbers in my life before finally settling on a great cell phone number which I've kept for more than a decade. 


12 Have you ever had a “crush” on a fictional character?

Of course. Although not a "romantic" crush as much as an "I need this person in my life" crush. Gandalf - of course - because he was the father I always wanted, the friend I never realized I had missed, and the companion with a quirky sense of humor that I realized I needed. 




13 What are your favorite pizza toppings?

Cheese - lots of cheese, and I love the standards - pepperoni, Italian sausage and lots of peppers of all kinds. I also love olives. In some cases, I'll also go with the pineapple and ham version of pizza, but just if I'm ordering a personal pizza for myself since that flavor combo isn't shared by my significant other. 


14 Who was your very first best friend? Are you still in contact or communication with them?

My very first very best friend was actually my cousin - Missy. We grew up across the street from each other. Our mothers were "Sisters From Different Mothers" the way good friends can be, and we were practically joined at the hip from the time we were babies. She moved back to Colorado a few years ago. If I ever get back to the state for a visit, I'll absolutely be visiting her and her horses while I'm there. And yes, we're absolutely still in touch with each other. 

How could anyone not want a Gandalf in
their lives. Sage, if obscure advice, a sharp
sword when needed, and a wicked sense of
humor. Drop the pipe smoking, and you've
got a perfect companion. 

15 If you could pick a new first name, what would you choose?

I always wanted the slightly fancier version of my name - Alexandra instead of Sandra. Still, I'm grateful for my mother's common sense in my name - Dad's choice of name was abandoned when I entered Middle School, never to appear again. No - I won't tell you what it was. 

16 What is your favorite board game?

I despise board games, but if I had to play one, it would probably be "Monopoly". I really don't do games, unless they're on-line ones. 

This ancient photo is my cousin Missy, her older brother
David, and me. I'm quite sure I wasn't much older than
six years old at this point, which would make David
seven or so, and Missy five. 

17 What self-care things do you find helpful to ground yourself or “talk yourself down from the ledge” when you’re overwhelmed by your feelings or by stress?

I'm always semi-overwhelmed by stress, but music and my computer (and e-books - always e-books) are lifelines for me. My on-line friends have lived through depressive episodes with me before, but I usually bounce back relatively quickly - sometimes with new cracks in my armor, but also new plates and rivets to re-enter the battlefield. 


18 What is the most extreme weather you have ever experienced?

I remember a torrential rainstorm that hit Denver when I was a child. Dad and I were at the local library and when we left, we were driving through streets that were roaring rivers. I was terrified. 

I am a trained Pipe Carrier for the Lakota Oyate and I do take
that responsibility seriously. I worked underneath the tutelage
of my brother for more than a decade. Once the responsibility
is accepted, it cannot be set aside. 

19 Do you operate out of any particular faith system that informs your actions? Do you intentionally NOT have a faith system, and if so, what beliefs or ideas inform your actions?

My faith system is very much an individual thing, honed through years of fine-tuning and teachings from Spiritual Leaders of various faiths. I suppose, if I entitle it, it would be more Native American Red Road than anything else, but it's tempered with so much else that it doesn't walk that straight Red Road at all. I can still do what's needed in Circle, though, and I'm still a Pipe Carrier - I won't abrogate that responsibility. 


20 When you go to a fancy coffee shop, what’s your go-to order?

I'm afraid I'm rather boring - my favorite is a Cafe Americano with one or two packs of artificial sweetener. I like the fancier drinks, but I think the prices are ridiculous, and I'd rather spend the money on more books. So, I drink tea at home, brewed coffee at restaurants, and spend the fancy coffee money on reading materials. 


So - there we have it - the next 20 prompts for January. There are LOTS of prompts left in the 366, so another day, another set. In the meantime, have a wonderful and happy Tuesday and I'll be back tomorrow. 

With A Little Help From My Friends

I did a photo post a few days ago - fountains and interesting buildings - and the single building that evoked the most commentary was the large stone building with the dragon's head. I had no idea where the building was located, but my ex-fiance came through on that - it's in southern Colorado. I have a lovely link for all of you where there are many interior and exterior photos. I guess this is one more reason for me to try and get back to Colorado for a trip. I need to do on-site research for my novel next year, visit my cousin who just moved back there from California, and now I need to drive south and visit a castle. Great! Now to just find the time...that's going to be the harder thing.

Here's a lovely side view. The dragon head actually breathes fire once a day. The
building is available for weddings, etc., although no alcohol is allowed and
any rooms used must still be open to the general public. It is all built by one man.
Here's a link to the owner's website and information about the Castle. 

I'll be speaking to another estate sale agent today about my father-by-marriage's possessions. He tried to phone me yesterday, but we were absolutely swamped at the store (I'm very grateful - it was nice to be super busy for a change) and I asked him to phone me today instead. I don't know if he will be able to do any more than the other agent who went through the place a week or so ago, but I wouldn't mind a second opinion.

My in-laws were solid middle class - no antiques, no great artwork, no
jewelry worth anything, but there is a pool table, a Victrola, some general
stuff and low-end collectibles. I doubt it's worth much, but I'd like a
second opinion because it would be a lot easier to have someone else
take care of all of this for us. 

In the early 2000's we bought a used Chevy Blazer for cheap - really cheap. It had a rebuilt engine and a good sturdy body. The guy who sold it to us was a friend of our youngest nephew. They had met while in automotive repair class together and formed a friendship that still is strong today. He is interested in getting "Beast" back and we are happy to transfer the title to him if he can get it out of our driveway. So, he's planning on coming by on Sunday with a new battery to drive it to his home, we'll give him the keys and the signed title, and it will once again be his baby. He said that he thought rebuilding the truck would be a great project for his seven-year-old son to share with him. I will just be happy to have a driveway again - I guess I'm easily pleased - LOL.

It's Saturday so most of you are enjoying the first day of your weekend. Deadlines are looming - SinS stories are due within the next two weeks or so and I'm sure there are other projects breathing down each of your necks. But take a small amount of time this weekend to thank the Powers for a totally fabulous world to live in and tell those closest to you how much you love them. It's worth taking the time for something positive.

Sleep? What's Sleep?

Obviously my body is squirrely - it has no idea that people are supposed to be sleeping at 2am, especially when I only went to sleep at 10:15pm - not very many hours previously. But I tossed and turned for 15 minutes upstairs, then went downstairs to see if changing to the couch would let me get another hour of sleep. No go! So, I'm operating on four hours today and I know I'll regret this BIG TIME by the end of the day. Crazy. You would think I'd at least get some writing in, and I do have one story out for beta and two others in the works, but I'm just catching up on Emails and posts from the weekend. Silly me!

The US Post Office had some special painting on selected mail boxes when they introduced their Star Wars stamps a few years ago. This little R2D2 was one of them - too sweet!

I did finish the bead weaving for my larger repair yesterday, and am just down to weaving in the loose ends before completing it totally. It was an interesting project, but would have been much faster if several people who had never worked on that type of project hadn't tried to "fix" it in the past. Their "fixing" caused me to have to double the time I had to take to get everything repaired. Now I have one more repair pending, then I can work on my own stuff again, just in time to mail things out for the holidays. Crazy! I'm still searching for the computer file where I put last year's holiday card addresses, so...if you want to receive a holiday card from me and haven't already Emailed or PM'd your addy to me, please do so. Also, I post this blog in three different places, so if you responded to one of the earlier call-outs I made on different hosting services, don't despair. I have those addys, it's the 2010 ones I'm missing.

I wake up each morning with a look at the Astronomy Picture of the Day and thought I'd share Saturday's pic with all of you just for the beauty of it. The pic, entitled "Light Echoes from V838 Mon" is a Hubble photo from February 2004. Isn't it just stunning? It's views like this that make me think the universe has to have a much greater mind than my own puny one behind it. Whatever name I put to it, I believe in the power of the Song and the Love, and isn't that all that's important?

Miscellaneous Thoughts

Have you ever wondered where I spend my days? I own and operate a craft store specializing in supplies for beading, leather working, and jewelry making. I finally got around to updating my Google Maps entry and Google also sent their own photographer through. So, there are finally photos of the shop available for people to see. If you would be interested in taking a look at what takes up my non-free time, feel free to click and view.

I finally received a shipping confirmation for Game of Thrones, Season One that I had pre-ordered. Of course, it won't ship until early March! But, at least I finally have a date and my order was placed months ago, so I am assured that it will come to me. I am deliriously happy about that, and thought that this might be their timeframe since Season 2 is scheduled to start in April 2012.

And please continue sending prayers and Light to my friends "G" and "I". "I" had surgery yesterday and will be recovering for the next week to ten days, so she's on the mend. "G", however, had confirmation that something very bad is coming down for her husband, and she's understandably terrified, angry, weepy, and all of the other things that any of us would be. She needs all of the positive thoughts sent to her as possible, so please think of her during your day today.

Now I'm off to try and be creative with at least three scheduled interruptions messing up my rhythm today *sigh*. Have a creative and wonderful "hump" day.

A Day of Remembrance and Words of Writing Wisdom

Today is many things, but at the top of that list are three.

It is a unique day - shortened in our shorthand of date writing to six identical digits in a row, i.e. 11-11-11. This is something that happens extremely rarely - in fact it won't happen again until 12-12-12 and then it will be another century before it occurs again. One more reason to think about today as being one-of-a-kind.

Of course it is also Veteran's Day (Remembrance Day in the UK). On November 11th 1918, bells rang out throughout the world celebrating the end of hostilities in World War I, the first industrialized war. It was hoped that it would be the last major war ever. That was a false hope. There is something within mankind that seems unable to live peacefully with others. I see that as the major tragedy of our race.

And it is also the birthday of Kurt Vonnegut. Now, you may ask, "Why should I care? Author's birthdates populate the calendar - why is he so important?" Although I love his writings, it is what he said about writing that causes me to put him here in my blog for the day. As said in "The Writer's Almanac": In 1999, Vonnegut wrote a piece called "How To Write With Style." He ended his essay by summing up his seven most important points: Find a subject you care about; do not ramble, though; keep it simple; have guts to cut; sound like yourself; say what you mean; and pity the readers. He wrote: "I myself grew up in Indianapolis, where common speech sounds like a band saw cutting galvanized tin, and employs a vocabulary as unornamental as a monkey wrench. In some of the more remote hollows of Appalachia, children still grow up hearing songs and locutions of Elizabethan times. Yes, and many Americans grow up hearing a language other than English, or an English dialect a majority of Americans cannot understand. All these varieties of speech are beautiful, just as the varieties of butterflies are beautiful. No matter what your first language, you should treasure it all your life. If it happens to not be standard English, and if it shows itself when your write standard English, the result is usually delightful, like a very pretty girl with one eye that is green and one that is blue. I myself find that I trust my own writing most, and others seem to trust it most, too, when I sound most like a person from Indianapolis, which is what I am. What alternatives do I have? The one most vehemently recommended by teachers has no doubt been pressed on you, as well: to write like cultivated Englishmen of a century or more ago."

Good Samhain to You

Today is All Hallow's Eve, or Halloween. The East Coast has gotten buried by an unseasonal snow storm (so happy that it is over there instead of here in the Midwest) and some towns are postponing Halloweed celebrations until Friday! Wow. I can visualize some very cold covens celebrating in the woods tonight.

Samhain is a time when the lines blur between the living and the dead. Probably NOT a good time to go and see Paranormal Activity 3, which I've heard is extremely scary. I've always wondered why spirits would want to be bothered staying around here. There is a whole universe to explore after death, it's got to be a real trip!

So, as you eat your Halloween candy and watch Ghost Hunters Live tonight between answering the door bells in your homes to costumed folk of all ages, remember those who have walked before us. They still have lessons to teach us and if we learn them, then maybe they can continue on into the Light. Good Samhain to all of you.

Picking Up Anotther Beta

As I stated earlier this week, although to many people Betas are beautiful fish, for me betas are people who I help authors with their writing.  I picked up a new girl yesterday.  It will require time that I really don't have, but I see a lot of potential in her writing and she really needs the additional help.  Again, she is a writer for whom English is a second language.  This time she is Brazilian, not German, but the basic issues are the same.  I really enjoy helping these authors fine-tune their work.  The imagination and visions are all theirs, all that I do is polish the flow, correct the word order and occasional incorrect words, and check the spelling.  After work with their pre-beta they send the story along to me for a look-over and correction phase.  Then, after one more back and forth look, they can post their story.  I don't like to do this without them having a pre-beta working for them also - changes are just too major otherwise and it's too time consuming, too much work.  But when the authors have a pre-beta I can commit.  She is asking me if I would be willing to do her next story that has 20 chapters.  I'll finish this little 3-chapter story first and we'll see if we can work well together.  If so, I might just agree, although I am crazy to want to fit anything else into my crazy schedule. 

I love these beautiful Halloween witches.
Happy Halloween

Tomorrow is Samhain, a day of celebration and renewal, thanks and gratitude, and prayers.  It is a day when the borders between the living and the dead weaken and communication between the realms happens with greater ease.  It is a day for reflection about the value of life and those who have passed ahead of us.  It is a day to spend with friends and family, enjoying what we have and thinking about the future as well as the past.  I will think about my parents, two wonderful people whose presence I miss in my life.  But I will look ahead into my own future also - it is a bit clouded and very uncertain at this point.  I am grateful for this last Sunday off for several weeks, though, and plan to enjoy the day even if I will probably spend most of it raking leaves. 

Ups and Downs

The road to creativity has some of the most elegant pot holes in the world. I keep making and applying for books and contests. Something things are accepted, other times they are not. My latest disappointment was my necklace for the "30-Minute Necklaces" book to be published by Lark Books. I thought my design was strong and very visual, but it didn't make the final cut. I'll be curious to see what did when the book is published, but I'll show put a picture of my entry below - you can judge for yourself.

Tomorrow is my last Sunday off until Christmas . I remember that I used to really love the holiday season - getting or making gifts for people and enjoying the lights and music. It might not be my diety, but I could enjoy the concepts of "peace on earth" and "goodwill towards mankind/womankind". However, since I have owned the shop, we've been open for extended hours for the holidays and that includes four hours of work on Sundays. That will leave me with my studio day during the week, so at least I will have one day off. So I'll enjoy tomorrow as much as possible because it will be the last for a while. I think I'll sketch and maybe play with my watercolors. Happy Halloween to all of you, and good All Souls and All Saints Days. Good Samhain to my pagan friends who follow that path, and be safe to all of you!

Clothes and the Mundane

Today is Tuesday. But I can hardly wait until Wednesday. I'm almost out of clean clothes because I didn't get my day off last week. My laundry hamper is full and my closet, although not empty, is actually almost empty of clothes that are comfortable to wear. Just one more day of scrounging clothing and then I can be extremely busy for my "studio" and "housecleaning" day. I have the possibility of company coming for dinner on Sunday, and I wouldn't let them see my house in the current condition, but I also have a serious need to do some design work for some deadline pieces and I have to get some sewing done. I'm already stressing out over what I need to get done for my studio day, and it doesn't even happen until tomorrow!

I also have to make sure that I get to Target. I have two items to return to the store and I need the credit applied to my account. (And they really don't do me a lot of good sitting in a bag on my computer room floor.)

Well, enough of the mundane, and on to the sacred. I'm trying to think of items in the sacred realm for another competition. I think I may have thought of an unusual twist this morning - time to think things through a bit more during the day. The problem - we've been busy at the shop. Of course, that's really not a problem, it's actually a really good thing! But it does make comtemplation much harder. I just have to concentrate - LOL. Have a creative day!

Project Dreams

Maybe I'm unique in this, but I doubt it. I'm trying to figure out some projects for a competition with a year-end deadline. The projects need to deal with the sacred and specific media is called for. I've been turning projects over and over in my head, but coming up empty. Last night, in my sleep, I came up with one possibility. Now I'll have to think it through during the daylight and see if it can survive the harsh light of day. It got refined quite a bit throughout the night, but it has a ways to go before a prototype gets made. The other projects that I've come up with are really fun, but use the wrong media .

It was a wonderful weekend. We had a really busy Saturday at the shop that kept all of us hopping and gave us good numbers for the day and the week - something that's become rare over the past year or so. I'm very grateful. I'm hoping that we've turned the corner, but even this little bit of busy was wonderful. And I get a studio day this week! Monday is starting to look wonderful :-)