My workspace...

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends!!

Melissa asked about what my workspace looks like. After organizing it a bit, I managed to take this pic:





It's been a busy week so far. I worked Monday and Wednesday, while on Tuesday I stayed home and did some organizing in my office, prepping for when I'll be a student again as well as some more NaNo work. This morning Sean and I took the car in to have its winter tires put on - it was nice to spend time together on a weekday morning.

This weekend there's a big craft fair AND a big pottery sale. We'll be attending both, in search of Christmas presents (I'm trying to buy local). I'm also knitting a hat for my middle nephew:

From November 2008

From November 2008

In between all this, I'm hoping to fit more writing in and at least break 15,000 words for NaNo this year. Better than nothing!

Oh - and I just found out I'm off the wait list and into the second course I wanted - Records Management - yay!!

How about you? Are you busier than ever?

Teresa

Currently Reading: Lucy in the Sky by Paige Toon
Link of the Day:Viking Kitties (an oldie, but a goodie)

Thanks to Margaret Moore...

for the link to this great post from her blog (she links to it, it's not a post she wrote).

Teresa

Currently Reading: Lucy in the Sky by Paige Toon

Out in the fresh air...

After two days in the library (which I thoroughly enjoyed) I spent much of today enjoying some of our glorious late fall weather here on the Coast, which has done wonders for our grass:

It was sunny and about 8º C, so I put on my work clothes and went out to haul pruned branches and assorted deadfall from various areas around the house:

Of course, I managed to get distracted by the sun and the scenery, and took this cool b/w photo:

I love playing with the black and white setting on my camera and have considered getting Digital SLR camera at some point - it will give me more flexibility and allow me to get even more artistic with my photos.

By the end of the afternoon, I'd achieved more than enough for one day:

Yes, I could've been indoors writing, but the weather just couldn't be ignored. The rain starts again tomorrow, leaving me with ample opportunity to add to my NaNo word count. Plot points have been flitting through my head, so I know the story is still percolating there. By tomorrow it will be ready to move from my head to the computer.

After I finished my work, I went for a walk to get the mail. Along the way I took another arty shot:


followed by one of the hill down which I walk and the mountain in the distance:

It sure felt good to light a fire and relax with my book, a sandwich for dinner (Sean was out at work) and a glass of wine.

How about you? Do you enjoy outdoor work - even the kind that makes you ache the next day?

Teresa

Currently Reading: Wedding Season by Katie Fforde
Link of the Day: Tufts Digital Library

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to school I go...

I arrived home from work today to a message from Langara telling me I've been accepted into the Library Tech programme, Flexible Option - which means, I'll be doing the course work online. Yay!

At first I'll likely only take one or two courses at a time, but I'll also get credit for some of my undergrad courses from Queens, which is nice.

It's very exciting and a bit scary too! Still, it feels right, which tells me a lot. I've always been one of those geeks who enjoys school (well, ok, except for the Math part, so when I got to Grade 13 and was allowed to drop Math, I was in heaven!), so I guess it really isn't a surprise. The first courses I'm hoping to take will deal with acquisitions and records management. (If Sean is reading this, he must now STOP laughing!)

My plans to write when I got home pretty much went out the window when I woke up at 4:30 this morning and couldn't go back to sleep. Tomorrow, however, is another day :)

So, if you could go back to school (and wanted to), what courses would you take?

Teresa

Currently Reading: The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
Link of the Day: Resource Blog for Library Techs

Slow but steady progress...

Another 2000 words yesterday, for a grand total now of 8032. I didn't write at all on the weekend as Sean and I had plans for Saturday. Sunday I probably should have written, but was in a total funk, despite exercise and yummy birthday cake from my m-i-l (chocolate zucchini cake - just scrumptious). It took me a while to figure it out, but finally I realized that even though I don't mind the rain on a conscious level, the overall lack of sunlight recently has left both Sean and me with mild cases of S.A.D.

On Monday I worked a full day and was just zonked in the evening - we watched two more eps of Robin Hood before turning in early.

We'll see how things go today. This afternoon I have a phone interview for the Library Tech programme I applied for, then have some related email testing to complete and return within a strict time limit. It's possible I'll get more of Henri and Madeleine's story written once all that is completed. Not sure I'll be able to concentrate on it before the interview. We'll see.

I know for many people this means I'm not taking NaNo seriously enough, but for me, NaNo is a chance to kickstart my stories and gives me a goal to work towards. I can't just drop the rest of my life, it doesn't work that way.

So - how 'bout you? Are you surviving November weather? (well, we know those of you in SoCal and TX are *g*, but the rest of us aren't so lucky!) Does the weather affect your mood/writing?

Teresa

Currently Reading (and almost finished): The Intelligencer by Leslie Silbert
Link of the Day: Cats in Sinks (silly fun for a grey November day)

Lest we forget...

Today, please join me in remembering those who served and all who are still serving to keep us safe.

UPDATED

This morning we went to the Remembrance Day ceremony in Sechelt, held at the cenotaph there:

From Blog Photos

It was a lovely service and lots of people turned out. The rain even stopped - it had been pouring up until about an hour before things started.

Teresa

Just past the 6000 word barrier...

Not bad for three days writing. In the end, yesterday, I didn't get any writing done. I went to work, came home and talked to my mum on the phone for quite a while, then made dinner. Sean and I also watched two eps of The Tudors and by the time he went to bed (he was working the early shift this morning, waking up at 3:30 am) I was just too beat to write.

But I've made up for it today and added another 1900 words to my total. It's possible I'll get more in later, after Sean and I have celebrated my birthday with lunch :)

Here's a photo of me with my little NaNo writing companion:

From Blog Photos

She made sure I stayed put, though in this shot the paw she had on my shoulder is kinda lost in my hair *g*.

After finishing today's quota, Sean and I went out for lunch to celebrate my birthday. It was back to the Wild Bistro for yummy sandwiches and more of that Licorice Spice tea. Now I'm settling back down with the laptop to answer some email and see if my characters have any more to tell me before it's time for dinner.

Hope you're all having a great day :) Even those of you here in rainy BC with me.

Teresa

Currently Reading: The Intelligencer by Leslie Silbert
Link of the Day: Old is the New New

Today's NaNo work at the Wild Bistro...

netted me 2184 words, for a two day total of just over 4000 words. Yay! I may even manage more tonight.

The Wild is a fantastic place to write - lovely atmosphere, yummy treats (the Elvis muffin is delectable) and a wonderful selection of herbal tea (today's choice - Licorice Spice).

Here's the setup I had there for a couple of hours:

From November 2008

Once again, the story just flowed AND my characters started adding to the plot. I was almost loathe to stop, but it was getting to the point where if I didn't, I wouldn't have finished the errands I needed to do on the way home in time.

Still, I was pretty thrilled to break the 4000 word mark in just two days and to have surpassed my daily goal by over 300 words :) Tomorrow will be more tricky as I have to work during the day and the lunch room isn't the ideal place to write. Hope to write in the evening instead, but it will depend on just how tired I am. Then again, Madeleine and Henri might not give me a choice!

Teresa

Currently Reading: The Intelligencer by Leslie Silbert
Link of the Day: A fun link from the Historical Archives of The Onion

NaNo progress at last...

Today I managed 1875 words and I'm pretty happy with that. Much of the opening scene had written itself in my head and fortunately it flowed out when I put my fingers on the keyboard. Interestingly enough, I was able to write with the radio on in the background, so I could keep tabs on the US election. I already know I'll have editing to do on the scenes I wrote, but much of that will be word choice etc - one of the things that slows me down is trying to figure out if certain words were in common use during the time period in which I'm writing. I hate jarring readers with something that's obviously not right. But I've learned when doing NaNo just to keep going and go back later to fix those kinds of things.

So, if you're doing NaNo too - how is it going?

If not NaNo, how are thing with your ms?

Teresa (very impressed with Obama's speech and really hoping he's able to stick to the promises he's made)

Currently Reading: The Intelligencer by Leslie Silbert
Link of the Day: CBC News America Votes