Snow!

We had snow the other night and woke up yesterday to this:

and later in the morning saw this:

My deer friend came back!

What I saw while driving back from Nia:

The house with sun-tipped trees in the background:

You can see more pics in my Picasa album.

We're supposed to get more snow/rain today. And glad as I am to see snow now, I'd rather see it in time for Christmas, but as I've learned here on the Coast, that is a crap shoot!

No writing over the last couple of days. I'm completely stuck and have to research a couple of things. And need to brainstorm some scenes. So this year's NaNo won't be quite as successful as last year's, but it still got me started on this ms, which is further along than I was before, so I'm not complaining.

I'm off to do errands now, before the weather gets any worse!

Teresa

Chugging along...

I'm averaging about 1000 words/day. Not bad. One of the scenes will likely need a full rewrite, but I figure at least I got down what I wanted to do with it. Today's words will be harder to produce as my shoulder is acting up again AND I have my library shift this afternoon. Ouch!

It was such a gorgeous day yesterday, we lit a fire to burn some brush and I spent 4.5 glorious hours outside dragging deadfall and feeding the flames. Meanwhile, back in Ottawa, they're getting ice pellets and snow today. Hmmmmm.

And last, but not least, Sean moved the final items out of our storage bin this morning!! So we're now officially completely moved in :)

Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends! Enjoy your holiday :)

Teresa

Currently Reading: Book for review

Character work...

Instead of actual writing on Friday, I managed some character work. I think part of my problem right now is that I don't know the black moment, and for a plotter like me, it's getting difficult to tell the story without knowing where it's going. So I decided I need to know my characters better so I can figure out what will be the worst thing that can happen and threaten their relationship.

My hero, George, is the best friend of my hero in What the Heart Remembers, so I already know a little about him. But Friday morning, while sipping a latte, I discovered some interesting details about his childhood and scribbled them down. I'm letting those mill around in my brain for a while and when I get a chance, I'll type those into the computer. Won't put that towards my word count though.

Things were crazy last week - lots of little things to take care of. And we STILL have boxes in storage. Even so, I hope to get some writing done this week, if possible. Our weekend was super busy as well, so I didn't have any time to write then.

UPDATE - I managed 1300 words today!! Off now to cook dinner :)

When I went out grocery shopping late Saturday afternoon, it was raining, but by the time I reached the grocery store, the sun had broken through over the Island, creating a gorgeous double rainbow:


Teresa

Currently Reading: Book for review

Windstorm...

The storm seemed to come out of nowhere overnight Sunday into Monday and we lost power Monday morning when a tree came down on the power lines not far from us.


Along with about 175,000 other people! We were fortunate that nothing hit our house, though we did have a small tree come down:

and the roof was blown off our little Rubbermaid shed:


Inside we stayed toasty warm thanks to the woodstove.

The girls spent the early part of the day in the basement, enjoying the residual heat from the baseboard heater:


By the afternoon the girls had joined us upstairs. The weather cleared enough so Sean and I could take a walk to see how the rest of the neighbourhood had fared. We encountered one our fave neighbourhood dogs, on guard as always:

With the return to standard time, evening came early, with a spectacular sunset:

Because we have a gas range, we were able to cook a proper dinner and enjoy eating it by candlelight. Then we sat on the sofa in front of the woodstove, talking and watching the flames and coals. Chloe took up her spot - she often sits with her paws just on the edge of the ceramic pad, as though she imagines a line there she shouldn't cross because it's too dangerous to get too close to the fire:

I forgot just how well the flash on my camera works!!

This morning Sean fired up the woodstove again and within 30 mins we were warm. Our one concern was the fridge and we finally started the generator when it became really clear we might not get power back today.

Sean then set off for work and the cats and I resumed our spots in the living room. I knitted for a while, then took a break to eat lunch and picked up a book. Next thing I knew, Chloe had discovered my knitting bag and climbed on top of it to snooze:

while Cleo appropriated her corner of the green recliner:

Just as I was getting ready to get a notebook and pen to write the old fashioned way, the house came to life again. Though it was nice to know we were back up and running, I was still kinda disappointed - blackouts always seem like mini-vacations to me and I wasn't quite ready for this one to end.

So now I've caught up on email and blogging, I'd best go clean up the pots and pans from last night and this morning and start on dinner. Tomorrow I'll write!!

Addendum - here's a video I took with my camera, showing the trees swaying in the 90 km/h + winds. Alas, it's not nearly as spectacular as it was in person.

Teresa

Currently Reading: Thinking of You by Jill Mansell

We remember...

Never forget - dedicated to those men and women who served and are still serving to keep us free.

Still plugging along...

I managed another 1360 words yesterday, for a total of just over 6500. Am hoping for more later today, once my errands are complete and workout done.

Time is flying quickly now, with Christmas coming up so fast. I have to get in gear for that as well!

The deer reappeared near the house the other day - this time I noticed it as I was coming up the driveway and managed another couple of photos, one from a distance standing outside the car, and one quite close from the driver's seat, with the window rolled down:



On the home front, we're hoping to get the family room set up this weekend, by retrieving the tv, entertainment unit, love seat etc. Sean did a great job with the paint down there last weekend. As we still haven't decided what to do with the floor, we'll just use a couple of rugs for now :) Pictures next week!

On with the errands, now. Hope everyone has a good weekend, and for those of you doing NaNo - keep on racking up that word count!!

Teresa

Currently Reading: Past Secrets by Cathy Kelly (yes, I'm on another British chick-lit glom)
Link of the Day: Surfulater - a fantastic piece of software for the internet researcher

Today's progress...

was a little less spectacular. Still, I did manage about 1200 words, which is better than nothing.

The rest of the day involved Nia, house inspections, company paperwork and assorted chores. All that had to be done before I could write. And now I have a headache. But I stuck it out for two more scenes, so I've managed to crack 5k, so will be content with that.

Off to see what the kitties want now and curl up with a book.

Oh, and here's what I found in the woodland garden when I arrived home this afternoon:

He/she didn't seem to mind the camera at all, not even the flash. Just posed, then continued to wander. If only it had been a nicer day, the photo would have been better.

Teresa

Doing NaNo is helping...

me get going with this story. I managed another 2100 words today and hope for the same tomorrow. As with last year, I didn't even try to get my words in on the weekend - just not enough time when there was so much else to do, especially as we found out in the afternoon that my brother/sister-in-law, niece and baby nephew were coming up for the weeked. We had a great time with them, which was nice :)

The story is starting to roll a bit now and I'm trying so hard to resist the urge to do anything BUT write, though I did look up a couple of things today. Still, it's cool to get a feeling for my characters and their voices and to learn more about them as I write. Ella has a harder edge to her than I originally thought, but that's ok! I'm just relieved to know that I might not have to give up on this story idea too, as it was looking bleak for a while. I know lots of writers go through this kind of thing and that often the real solution is just to shut up with the bitching and WRITE!!

This seems especially important now as at least two agents have blogged in recent months about a resurgence in editor interest for historicals. I'd be a fool not to try to take advantage of this trend, so I'm also going to have to return to What the Heart Remembers and complete that final read through then submit to a few more agents.

Now, however, I'm going to listen to my sweetie read the news, then head to the basement and put in some time on the elliptical trainer. I keep a notepad and pen on the shelf there in case any more brilliant story ideas come to me :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Oh, and here are some cute shots of the kitties from the other day.

We don't normally allow them on the stove, but they looked so cute I had to get the camera and snap this pic before getting them down and telling them "NO."


Chloe on the stairs.

Cleo in amongst the books on the bookshelf in my office.


Teresa

Currently Reading: The Scarlet Lion by Elizabeth Chadwick

Remembering Scotty...

Three years ago today, we lost our beloved Scotty. Below are some pics of him - the first was taken at Christmas 1989, when he was only 2½ - the others were taken during the three years before he died. He was a lovely, affectionate cat who was a constant ray of sunshine and we still miss him.

Teresa

NaNo - Yes or No?...

There's the question. Things here are a bit hectic, but OTOH, forcing myself to write would probably be a good idea. Even if it's only 500 words a day, it will still be better than nothing, which is pretty much my output (fiction wise) over the last few months.

What about you? Are you doing Nano this year?

I've added a new comment feature to the blog, so please let me know how you like it :)

Teresa

Currently Reading: Just Between Us by Cathy Kelly
Link of the Day: NaNoWriMo