Gorgeous sunshine-filled day today. Here’s the naked ash tree that shades portions of the garden and patio in the summer

Elder went inside but left this arrangement of creatures atop the snow

Younger busily tunneling. At one point there was a cave-in and I pulled him out by the ankles

Winter days don’t get much better than this. And now that we’re gaining daylight, I’m especially happy. Belated HAPPY SOLSTICE!

It’s still snowing here and the boys are out tunneling in the yard. Their winter break has officially begun, with two extra days tacked onto the front!

Here’s my patio:

and here’s my garden off the patio:

This spring the butterflies will flit among the blooming iris, yarrow, lilies, vinca, coreopsis, valerian, and all the other flowers that will grow strong with the help of the 26″ of snow we’ve received so far.

I guess I can wait. There’s really no choice, is there?

I haven’t been around much lately, mostly because this is a hard time of year for me and I don’t want to be the resident Weinie Whiner. Today I woke to blowing snow, predictions of 1-2 feet of the white stuff in the next 24 hours, and school closure announcements. I remember lots of snow days from my Wisconsin childhood but this is only the second for my kids. This is a big deal!

So my boys are downstairs now, playing some game that apparently calls for frequent bellowing, and I’m thinking that although I would not have guessed it, this snow day is going to be the best cure for my blues.

Today is World AIDS Day and I wanted to highlight Bead For Life, an organization dedicated to helping Ugandan women survive the AIDS epidemic. These women make beads from colorful recycled paper they tear into triangular strips, roll, glue, and then varnish. The beads are then strung into gorgeous necklaces and bracelets. I have two pieces of the jewelry, and it’s stunning in its appearance but also because of the poignant stories behind their creation.

Please check out the site, read some of the beaders’ bios and inspirational stories there, and then order a necklace for yourself or someone you love.

Here’s a chance to spread some hope and beauty.

40,254 / 40,254 (100.0%)

I am so very happy! I started this LJ so I could participate in the camaraderie and support system of the JoNoWriMo+1.5 community, and it was the best thing I could have done. There’s no way I would have finished this draft so quickly without the reminders, gentle prodding, and encouragement of everyone here.

A huge thank-you and hug to joknowles for putting so much time and effort into this endeavor. You are a kind and generous soul, and I owe you big-time! Thanks and hugs, also, to my other new LJ friends who stopped by to cheer me on in my efforts to turn 100% blue.

I can’t stop smiling!

39,055 / 38,000 (102.8%)

HA! I’ve exceeded my word count goal but the story isn’t over. Will try to glide back down to earth tomorrow but if need be, I’ll crash-land this sucker! Must … finish … first … draft…

36,985 / 38,000 (97.3%)

I made good progress today. Still not quite sure where this sucker’s gonna end, though. At a couple points today it felt like just so much blah-blah-blah but I tried hard not to get overly-critical. And I’m going to cling to that resolve for the next two days as I try to finish up.

It feels weird not posting my word meter but I didn’t add many words today. Instead, I wrote notes about characters and plot lines because when I sat down to write, I realized I had hinted at lots of things to come without any clear plan for how the story played out. Now I have a much better sense of what’s what and will continue writing tomorrow. I even figured out that the big scene comes earlier than I’d thought so this project might truly be finished, on its own terms, by November 30.

34,585 / 38,000 (91.0%)

Seriously considering bringing this WIP down hard in the next couple days. As in crash-landing it. Plotwise, I’m still flying above the clouds where I need more room/time to let the story come to a conclusion. But because I really want to finish a draft by the end of JoNoWriMo+1.5, I’m tempted to forget the fleshy details and write in a more skeletal fashion than I have up to this point; aim the nose for the ground and roar back to earth. If I do that, though, I’ll have more debris to deal with next draft.

Anyone else ever finish a first draft this way?

31,331 / 38,000 (82.5%)

Felt as if I was spinning my wheels in little details instead of moving the scene forward. But I’m keeping what I wrote because I believe there are nuggets of truth buried in there, truths that will help me further develop the characters/story line in the next draft.

And possibly the coolest outcome from this day’s work came when I told my mate I felt as if today’s words were bogged down in minutiae. He paused, and then pointed out that Bogged Down in Minutiae would be a great name for a band.

I’m not working toward starting up a band but somehow his insight made me feel better. However I choose to describe it, today’s work is done.

30,011 / 38,000 (79.0%)

I’m grateful the words continue to flow and am sending out a big THANKS to my LJ friends who are cheering me along the way. Your kind words and encouragement have made a world of difference as I work on this project.

Wishing all of you a Thanksgiving filled with much love and laughter.

28,478 / 38,000 (74.9%)

Gotta jump in the shower and then race off to have Thanksgiving dinner with my in-laws…

27,147 / 38,000 (71.4%)

All I can say for sure at this point is that I got them down. One word over my daily goal: 1,301.

25,846 / 38,000 (68.0%)

Had to be extra disciplined to get my words done today since we’re serving our big Thanksgiving meal for the homeless and other needy folks this afternoon/evening. I have two sets of neighbors who cook turkeys and between them they donated and cooked 21 this year. And that’s not all we’ll serve. It’ll be crazy busy/crowded there and I won’t get a chance to chat with many of the Monday regulars because of the crowd, but it’s nice being part of an effort to provide a good meal for so many people. And even though most appreciate the break from our weekly spaghetti menu, I guarantee someone will ask me today why we’re not serving pasta. 🙂

24,444 / 38,000 (64.3%)

I didn’t make it to the scene I’d planned on writing today. These words feel like the skeleton of what is needed to advance the story so I’m guessing that months from now, when I read this first draft, I’ll be thinking of ways to add flesh to this portion of the story.

Or maybe getting out the knife.

23,080 / 38,000 (60.7%)

As I printed out my pages just now, I called out to my mate, “I’ve gotten 60% of my book written.”

To which he replied, “That’s nearly two-thirds!”

And so it is.

21,592 / 38,000 (56.8%)

I could push through a bit longer but am quitting since my eyes feel like boiled onions and my head seems a couple pounds heavier than it was yesterday. Where’s the Anti-Plague Fairy when you need her?

20,104 / 38,000 (52.9%)

Please understand I’m completely aware how dull it is to look at someone’s daily word meter posting. But at this point, the damned thing’s like a drug. I need to type in the day’s numbers just to see how much blue I’ve got. Must…have…blue! And maybe I’m like some Pavlovian dog, but the meter IS pushing me to get results. So if it ain’t broke, I’m not gonna fix it.

You’re excused, though, from reading about and commenting on my progress. I realize some things in life, like the neighbor’s baby videos or slides from the in-laws’ motorhome trip to Wyoming, don’t hold the same magic for everyone.

18,720 / 38,000 (49.3%)

I’m so afraid to jinx this by announcing I’m not only pleased with my output the past few days, but that I’m also comfortable with the quality of the words. Yet here I am, courting disaster by gloating in public! Sure, lots of stuff will have to change but at this point I’m not just typing “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” to fill the page. (Although, if I hit a dry patch and can think of a way to incorporate a carnivorous mammal into my story, I’m not above that sort of ploy).

I guess the moral of this entry is to graciously accept the flow when it presents itself, and get as much mileage from that puppy as possible!

17,366 / 38,000 (45.7%)

I wasn’t going to post my word meter so soon but my son insisted I should. He’s almost as proud of my increased word count as me!

Today I thought a little about how some writers have a muse, and I wondered what guides me and my writing. Some of today’s 1337 (but who’s counting?!) words were written on the computer at home, some in the eye doctor’s office, some in the hallway outside the men’s restroom while waiting for my son. I guess I don’t so much have a muse as an ability to focus in on the words in little chunks of time while sitting, crouching, standing, etc. in various locales. Not as romantic an image as a gossamer-winged muse, maybe, but definitely a useful talent.

16,029 / 38,000 (42.2%)

If I write 1300 words per day through the end of November, I’ll make my goal. Just the possibility of achieving that many words makes me happy.

Call me The Little Engine That Could…

I know I should be writing but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to share this funny clip from Craig Ferguson’s show.

14,724 / 38,000 (38.7%)

I’m far behind where I’d hoped to be at this point but am very excited to have figured out some characterization and plotting issues. How I love those moments of clarity during the first draft!

In honor of his departure, here’s the quote that says it all:

“Reports that say that something hasn’t happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns. There are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns. That is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns — the ones we don’t know we don’t know. And if one looks throughout the history of our country and other free countries, it is the latter category that tend to be the difficult ones,” Rumsfeld said on Feb. 12, 2002.

HEY, RUMMY – DON’T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU ON THE WAY OUT!