Writing and then there is writing
I have discovered that by judging writing contests as a trained judge I become a better writer. It also gets my chair-sitting-apparatus ( butt) in gear when I am procrastinating. I read entries that I wish I had written and think ...well, mine are as good. Then I read some that are not even close to publishable and think... why am I waiting?
If people who really are not ready are taking the time and having the courage to put their work out there, then why am I in a slump? I am trying to analyse this during this week and will share my observations.
happy trails... oops.. Happy TALES to all.
kathi h
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Woe to the Toe
Friday July 1st 10 a.m.
Well, Charlie just left for North Platte, Nebraska. He is going to his sister's house to spend the night then on to Broken Bow for his 50th class reunion. The he will stay with her for the coming week until his family reuion in Broken Bow next weekend.
Normally I would be going, too. However; I have a broken toe which tripped me up last night and I hit the floor flat on my face ( right side chin and cheek, and jaw snapped side-ways.)
I have big bruises, swelling and look like I fought Mike Tyson.
To top it off I hurt my neck and back again, right knee is swollen and has a deep bruise, and battered my hands. I also sprained my jaw on the other side as it snapped sideways. so, I can't open wide! Soup and puddings are my friends.
All this wouldn't bother me so much but tomorrow ( the 2nd) is our 16th wedding anniversary and the 4th of July is special to me because it marks 33 yars since I moved to Colorado and celebrated my own independence day.
Charlie has been so sweet and so worried. I practically had to push him out the door.
We had planned for us to use the motorhome. He took it over for a loose belt yesterday and they found something else wrong ( with the steering) needed to order a part so Charlie will car camp in my SUV.
I have my little VW in case I feel like driving somewhere but I just realized I let the plates expire around Christmas!
I lead such a boring life.
I will be writing and judging contests and picking up the house as I feel like it. I hope I feel more like walking later in the week.
So happy 4th to all.
Kathi h
PS it's really hard to eat with a sore mouth and jaw. Kind of like after having a tooth pulled.
Well, Charlie just left for North Platte, Nebraska. He is going to his sister's house to spend the night then on to Broken Bow for his 50th class reunion. The he will stay with her for the coming week until his family reuion in Broken Bow next weekend.
Normally I would be going, too. However; I have a broken toe which tripped me up last night and I hit the floor flat on my face ( right side chin and cheek, and jaw snapped side-ways.)
I have big bruises, swelling and look like I fought Mike Tyson.
To top it off I hurt my neck and back again, right knee is swollen and has a deep bruise, and battered my hands. I also sprained my jaw on the other side as it snapped sideways. so, I can't open wide! Soup and puddings are my friends.
All this wouldn't bother me so much but tomorrow ( the 2nd) is our 16th wedding anniversary and the 4th of July is special to me because it marks 33 yars since I moved to Colorado and celebrated my own independence day.
Charlie has been so sweet and so worried. I practically had to push him out the door.
We had planned for us to use the motorhome. He took it over for a loose belt yesterday and they found something else wrong ( with the steering) needed to order a part so Charlie will car camp in my SUV.
I have my little VW in case I feel like driving somewhere but I just realized I let the plates expire around Christmas!
I lead such a boring life.
I will be writing and judging contests and picking up the house as I feel like it. I hope I feel more like walking later in the week.
So happy 4th to all.
Kathi h
PS it's really hard to eat with a sore mouth and jaw. Kind of like after having a tooth pulled.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
repeat of lost blog
In December I had redone this blog site and included the following blog as the explanation of a really frustrating year. I had lost access to ALL of my completed novels as well aas many other things. Here is a COPY of that tale of woe;
Back in the Groove
I deleted most of 2009 because I had become immersed in the daily grind and it was boring. Then early this year, 2010, the wireless card in my computer stopped connecting. I got a device that works around that and had wireless again, but the computer just wasn't working like it should... To make a very long and frustrating story short; On memorial Day I decided to get a new computer. The salesman asked what I was currently using and why I was replacing it and I explained. He thought all the problems were minor and could be fixed so I began investing in my old computer including updating to windows 7 which necessitated installing more memory.
The computer was in and out of the shop as one thing after another failed, and it was on the shop more than on my desk. I fought it all summer.
In September it died. Each time I closed down and restarted it was slower and more things were wrong. It died. I took it to the shop. I HAD A VIRUS THAT KILLED IT. Only I didn't just have a virus. In extracting my files to put on a new computer they encountered and fixed 57 viruses!!!
So I had a new computer. Within a few days it started doing the same things as the old one. Sure enough there were viruses in the new one. While waiting for the tedious process of having them work though each and every file... some 50,000 or more... they found another 30 plus viruses. Now, I am a sceptic about the security and safety of my files so I had bought an external hard drive ( 640 MB) and had continuously kept my entire computer backed up. They also had to scan these files as well as several flash drives because the problems had to be coming from the files that were transferred. Computer shops use a special server that holds your files and scans them before transferring them but this one got around the system.
While they were working I was loaned a display model of A MUCH nicer computer than the one I bought. I fell in love with it and even after they had mine clean loaded and ready to go, I was nervous about the safety of using it. In the end these wonderful people worked some magic and I was able to keep the loaner instead. I took the files off my flash drives myself running them through my new topline security and then...
I plugged in the hard drive to load my books. My precious edited complete copies of my novels. Only the hard drive wouldn't work. I took it in. It began to work then stopped.
I still am waiting for the maker of the hard drive to recover the files they can and replace the drive. The store that sold it has been getting a run-around and now so am I.
I have bits and pieces of all my books but will have to restructure and combine and edit them. I have decided to wait until after the first of the year to worry about this.
This is not the end of my computer woes. During the summer I was supposed to be a judge in 3 different major writing contests as I am a trained judge. I could not fulfill my promise to do that.
Now, my email has been hacked and spam went out to ALL my contacts including my business ones ( I am so embarrassed) such as editors and agents. I am sending each a personal apology but am distressed.
So that is the story of 2010 and why there have been no blogs until now. NO COMPUTER= NO BLOGS .
Back in the Groove
I deleted most of 2009 because I had become immersed in the daily grind and it was boring. Then early this year, 2010, the wireless card in my computer stopped connecting. I got a device that works around that and had wireless again, but the computer just wasn't working like it should... To make a very long and frustrating story short; On memorial Day I decided to get a new computer. The salesman asked what I was currently using and why I was replacing it and I explained. He thought all the problems were minor and could be fixed so I began investing in my old computer including updating to windows 7 which necessitated installing more memory.
The computer was in and out of the shop as one thing after another failed, and it was on the shop more than on my desk. I fought it all summer.
In September it died. Each time I closed down and restarted it was slower and more things were wrong. It died. I took it to the shop. I HAD A VIRUS THAT KILLED IT. Only I didn't just have a virus. In extracting my files to put on a new computer they encountered and fixed 57 viruses!!!
So I had a new computer. Within a few days it started doing the same things as the old one. Sure enough there were viruses in the new one. While waiting for the tedious process of having them work though each and every file... some 50,000 or more... they found another 30 plus viruses. Now, I am a sceptic about the security and safety of my files so I had bought an external hard drive ( 640 MB) and had continuously kept my entire computer backed up. They also had to scan these files as well as several flash drives because the problems had to be coming from the files that were transferred. Computer shops use a special server that holds your files and scans them before transferring them but this one got around the system.
While they were working I was loaned a display model of A MUCH nicer computer than the one I bought. I fell in love with it and even after they had mine clean loaded and ready to go, I was nervous about the safety of using it. In the end these wonderful people worked some magic and I was able to keep the loaner instead. I took the files off my flash drives myself running them through my new topline security and then...
I plugged in the hard drive to load my books. My precious edited complete copies of my novels. Only the hard drive wouldn't work. I took it in. It began to work then stopped.
I still am waiting for the maker of the hard drive to recover the files they can and replace the drive. The store that sold it has been getting a run-around and now so am I.
I have bits and pieces of all my books but will have to restructure and combine and edit them. I have decided to wait until after the first of the year to worry about this.
This is not the end of my computer woes. During the summer I was supposed to be a judge in 3 different major writing contests as I am a trained judge. I could not fulfill my promise to do that.
Now, my email has been hacked and spam went out to ALL my contacts including my business ones ( I am so embarrassed) such as editors and agents. I am sending each a personal apology but am distressed.
So that is the story of 2010 and why there have been no blogs until now. NO COMPUTER= NO BLOGS .
June: the month of fragrance!
Even with the nasty air haze from the fires in the southwest, I take deep breaths this month because it seems the whole world is blooming. I fall asleep to the evening scents of dame's rocket and the russian olives... that I sometimes curse because of their growing habits but have to admit to their intense perfume.
All of my April bulbs and May predicters of Spring are on the decline, although a few late lilacs join in with the mid blooming iris to add their fragrance.
I love gardening almost as much as I love writing and cooking. Sometimes I feel I was born two generations too late. Then I sit down to find an email from my granddaughter or pictures from a friend and I am all about the electronic age.
Yesterday I began an online album of the befores and afters of the complete yard do over that my brother and husband are asisting me to create...
At some point the link will appear here and I hope that everyone will take a minute to stroll through my beautiful rustic paradise.
May peace fill you today and every day.
Kathi
All of my April bulbs and May predicters of Spring are on the decline, although a few late lilacs join in with the mid blooming iris to add their fragrance.
I love gardening almost as much as I love writing and cooking. Sometimes I feel I was born two generations too late. Then I sit down to find an email from my granddaughter or pictures from a friend and I am all about the electronic age.
Yesterday I began an online album of the befores and afters of the complete yard do over that my brother and husband are asisting me to create...
At some point the link will appear here and I hope that everyone will take a minute to stroll through my beautiful rustic paradise.
May peace fill you today and every day.
Kathi
Friday, December 5, 2008
Happy Winter to all
Nancy,
I love the card. Is that one of your photos?
Very nice.
I am one of those nuts who love all the seasons including winter. When I moved into my first home away from my parents, my grandmother and I began a tradition that continued for decades and even lasted when she went into a nursing home. When the first snow began to fall we would race to call each other. I figure that in the end we had about the same success. She even called me at the store I managed. The girls who worked for me thought it was fun and participated one year almost by accident.
Shelly had taken our trash out to the compactor behind the mall and noticed it was beginning to snow. She raced inside to tell me so I could make the call only to be delayed because she was nearest when the phone rang. Instead of answering with the store name and her own, she shouted," It's snowing!"
You guessed it. It was Grama. Shelly had told her before she could get the words out so we were never sure who won that year. I said I should as shelly worked for me. Gram said she should because she had dialed first! I let her have it in her win column just because it made a cute story.
Gram lived to be in her mid nineties and to this day when the snow begins to fall, I look to the heavens and say softly, "Hey, Gram, it's snowing."
I think she hears me and smiles.
I love the card. Is that one of your photos?
Very nice.
I am one of those nuts who love all the seasons including winter. When I moved into my first home away from my parents, my grandmother and I began a tradition that continued for decades and even lasted when she went into a nursing home. When the first snow began to fall we would race to call each other. I figure that in the end we had about the same success. She even called me at the store I managed. The girls who worked for me thought it was fun and participated one year almost by accident.
Shelly had taken our trash out to the compactor behind the mall and noticed it was beginning to snow. She raced inside to tell me so I could make the call only to be delayed because she was nearest when the phone rang. Instead of answering with the store name and her own, she shouted," It's snowing!"
You guessed it. It was Grama. Shelly had told her before she could get the words out so we were never sure who won that year. I said I should as shelly worked for me. Gram said she should because she had dialed first! I let her have it in her win column just because it made a cute story.
Gram lived to be in her mid nineties and to this day when the snow begins to fall, I look to the heavens and say softly, "Hey, Gram, it's snowing."
I think she hears me and smiles.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
A Quiet Place
Is there a quiet place in your life?I am having work done on the kitchen wall. It involved removing an old odd wall and studding and putting up dry wall, plastering and sanding. Four days and counting. Okay, so they were partial days except for the first one, but were the four days I had cleared the calendar to write and finish projects.When I got the call that the carpenter had a cancellation and could begin work several weeks early, I was at once happy and disturbed. I have lung problems and there would be dust. Lots of dust. I would have to be the person here, because my husband would be at work.And, darn it, I wanted to write.I decided that this might be a test from the universe ( bear with me here) about my commitment to writing. Whether it is or not, I found out this;I am committed. I got a lot more done than I expected. I was so excited that the work was going on on the level below me that I focused more on my writing.I found that I felt like someone was looking over my shoulder, of course it was me, and I wanted to please myself for a change by doing what I love, writing.I wasn't answering to anyone for these few days, because I had to be at the house; no quick trips to help friends or long chats on the phone. I was in a room that had no phone and I kept the cordless downstairs and turned off. Plus it was too noisy to talk on teh phone, but not too noisy to write!Another discovery is that I don't have to run to a cabin in the moountains to find solitude, at least not if I am willing to put up with the sounds of construction. Once I started story-telling, the writing flowed and my brain shut out all of the extraneous sounds. I had scheduled this time to write knowing my honey would interrupt me and that life would pull me out of my zone from time to time.Instead, my honey went bowling or riding or what ever, because he couldn't help with the kitchen, and there was no room for him to sit in my little nook.I was in a comfortable chair being stored in an unused bedroom and had a window for good light and a sense of hiding out in a tree house! The room is in the upper level of our home. It is cluttered and looks like my attic would look if I had one.The most powerful discovery was that I could pull away from family and friends without them being angry and with me feeling relief instead of guilt for not doing the important things first. I couldn't work in the kitchen so we ate take out. I might not have done that if the work wasn't being done.I didn't have to do dishes, grocery shopping, laundry or cleaning, because, well, I couldn't.WHAT AN AWESOME FEELING!I think I have learned from this experience to give myself the gift of several days vacation at home. It is okay to have take out four days in a row. It is okay to be the guest in my own home and let others do what they think is important. It is okay to be out of reach of friends and family, and it is oaky if they don't understand. Who ever said you have to be understood all the time.I have freed my inner woman of mystery. I don't have to explain to anyone when I need time away from the ordinary. It is okay to feed my soul and let someone else feed my body.And it is not just okay but necessary to find solitude where ever you are.hugskathi h
A Quiet Place
Is there a quiet place in your life?
I am having work done on the kitchen wall. It involved removing an old odd wall and studding and putting up dry wall, plastering and sanding. Four days and counting. Okay, so they were partial days except for the first one, but were the four days I had cleared the calendar to write and finish projects.
When I got the call that the carpenter had a cancellation and could begin work several weeks early, I was at once happy and disturbed. I have lung problems and there would be dust. Lots of dust. I would have to be the person here, because my husband would be at work.
And, darn it, I wanted to write.
I decided that this might be a test from the universe ( bear with me here) about my commitment to writing. Whether it is or not, I found out this;
I am committed. I got a lot more done than I expected. I was so excited that the work was going on on the level below me that I focused more on my writing.
I found that I felt like someone was looking over my shoulder, of course it was me, and I wanted to please myself for a change by doing what I love, writing.
I wasn't answering to anyone for these few days, because I had to be at the house; no quick trips to help friends or long chats on the phone. I was in a room that had no phone and I kept the cordless downstairs and turned off. Plus it was too noisy to talk on teh phone, but not too noisy to write!
Another discovery is that I don't have to run to a cabin in the moountains to find solitude, at least not if I am willing to put up with the sounds of construction. Once I started story-telling, the writing flowed and my brain shut out all of the extraneous sounds. I had scheduled this time to write knowing my honey would interrupt me and that life would pull me out of my zone from time to time.
Instead, my honey went bowling or riding or what ever, because he couldn't help with the kitchen, and there was no room for him to sit in my little nook.
I was in a comfortable chair being stored in an unused bedroom and had a window for good light and a sense of hiding out in a tree house! The room is in the upper level of our home. It is cluttered and looks like my attic would look if I had one.
The most powerful discovery was that I could pull away from family and friends without them being angry and with me feeling relief instead of guilt for not doing the important things first. I couldn't work in the kitchen so we ate take out. I might not have done that if the work wasn't being done.
I didn't have to do dishes, grocery shopping, laundry or cleaning, because, well, I couldn't.
WHAT AN AWESOME FEELING!
I think I have learned from this experience to give myself the gift of several days vacation at home. It is okay to have take out four days in a row. It is okay to be the guest in my own home and let others do what they think is important. It is okay to be out of reach of friends and family, and it is oaky if they don't understand. Who ever said you have to be understood all the time.
I have freed my inner woman of mystery. I don't have to explain to anyone when I need time away from the ordinary. It is okay to feed my soul and let someone else feed my body.
And it is not just okay but necessary to find solitude where ever you are.
hugs
kathi h
I am having work done on the kitchen wall. It involved removing an old odd wall and studding and putting up dry wall, plastering and sanding. Four days and counting. Okay, so they were partial days except for the first one, but were the four days I had cleared the calendar to write and finish projects.
When I got the call that the carpenter had a cancellation and could begin work several weeks early, I was at once happy and disturbed. I have lung problems and there would be dust. Lots of dust. I would have to be the person here, because my husband would be at work.
And, darn it, I wanted to write.
I decided that this might be a test from the universe ( bear with me here) about my commitment to writing. Whether it is or not, I found out this;
I am committed. I got a lot more done than I expected. I was so excited that the work was going on on the level below me that I focused more on my writing.
I found that I felt like someone was looking over my shoulder, of course it was me, and I wanted to please myself for a change by doing what I love, writing.
I wasn't answering to anyone for these few days, because I had to be at the house; no quick trips to help friends or long chats on the phone. I was in a room that had no phone and I kept the cordless downstairs and turned off. Plus it was too noisy to talk on teh phone, but not too noisy to write!
Another discovery is that I don't have to run to a cabin in the moountains to find solitude, at least not if I am willing to put up with the sounds of construction. Once I started story-telling, the writing flowed and my brain shut out all of the extraneous sounds. I had scheduled this time to write knowing my honey would interrupt me and that life would pull me out of my zone from time to time.
Instead, my honey went bowling or riding or what ever, because he couldn't help with the kitchen, and there was no room for him to sit in my little nook.
I was in a comfortable chair being stored in an unused bedroom and had a window for good light and a sense of hiding out in a tree house! The room is in the upper level of our home. It is cluttered and looks like my attic would look if I had one.
The most powerful discovery was that I could pull away from family and friends without them being angry and with me feeling relief instead of guilt for not doing the important things first. I couldn't work in the kitchen so we ate take out. I might not have done that if the work wasn't being done.
I didn't have to do dishes, grocery shopping, laundry or cleaning, because, well, I couldn't.
WHAT AN AWESOME FEELING!
I think I have learned from this experience to give myself the gift of several days vacation at home. It is okay to have take out four days in a row. It is okay to be the guest in my own home and let others do what they think is important. It is okay to be out of reach of friends and family, and it is oaky if they don't understand. Who ever said you have to be understood all the time.
I have freed my inner woman of mystery. I don't have to explain to anyone when I need time away from the ordinary. It is okay to feed my soul and let someone else feed my body.
And it is not just okay but necessary to find solitude where ever you are.
hugs
kathi h
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