Wreader Fun

Okay, so you all know how much I like my iPod Touch . . . well, I’ve discovered a glitch and I'll try to explain it, but I'm not a techie so you'll have to bear with me. You see, my teen daughter and I have exactly the same iPods on the outside but of course, we have different applications and things loaded onto them. My daughter has almost 100 songs on hers, whereas I have some songs and podcasts and 35 eBooks. I guess the problem started when I began to load on the eBooks although I didn’t notice it at the time. I first uploaded ‘ More than Words’ by my friend Kelly Kirch. Once I figured out how to load that one, I uploaded some eBooks I had in my laptop’s memory that I been saving. I was on a role and decided I’d never be without a book to read again. So, I headed over to The Wild Rose Press and downloaded a bunch of free reads from their site. And that’s when I started noticing the problem. My iPod Touch seemed to be heavier. But of course, that's impossible, right...

I've been immersed in writing this past weekend and I loved it. But, it wasn't all while sitting in my corner in the house. Sat was the monthly mtg of the Sask Rom Writers (SRW) up in Saskatoon. Last time, I picked up a fellow member of our group blog Prairie Chicks Write Romance , and spent the trip talking about writing. This time, however, Karen couldn't make it so I was on my own. It's a 4 hr trip without stops, 4.5 to 5 with. One of my recent purchases had been an FM receiver so I could listen to my iPod in my vehicle. S ome cars/vans have a plug-in as part of the stereo system where you can plug your iPod in and the sound will come out through your vehicle's speakers, but my van isn't equipped with it. I needed to plug the FM receiver into the cigarette lighter which is normally just under the stereo system, around the air temperature controls. Not in the Chevy Uplander. For whatever reason, the cigarette lighter is an inch above the floor, under the pull-...

This week, instead of getting more spring-like, the weather reverted back to winter. As I watched the snow fall, I thought back to last summer. In particular, my treasure hunt to the Rock Pit in Souris, Manitoba last July. The pit is a working gravel pit. After paying a daily fee, I drove the short distance to the pit and parked in a designated area. With a squirt bottle of water, a bucket and a digging tool, I scrounged the pit. Click on any photo for a wonderful close-up showing the waxy texture that makes an agate easy to spot amongst all the other rocky material. Pictured in this main photo are 4 agates I found while exploring the pit. Some were lying at the bottom of rock slides, and others I dug for in the soft walls surrounding the pit. Agate is a microcrystalline impure form of quartz (silica), chiefly chalcedony, characterized by its fineness of grain and brightness of color. The following photos are close-ups of the above agate Top left in the main photo, this chunky agate ...

I'm blogging about Floating Body Parts over at http://prairiechickswriteromance.blogspot.com/ today. Floating body parts is one aspect of writing that I have a problem following the rules because I don't get them. I believe in this case, the rules interfere with creative license. Here's a small portion of my post: Have we come so far from the old literary masters in our drive for perfection that we’re robbing our writing of it’s voice? Draining it of all those delightful phrases that immediately bring an image to mind? Peeling back the layers until a child could grasp the concept while the rest of us tire from boredom? Stripping the beauty of our words for the sake of a new set of rules? What do you think? Do you use FBP’s or other metaphors? Should they be banned or glorified? (btw - I know, I said I was going to work on a movie set today but the roads were so dangerous last night when hubby drove back from the city that he adivsed against it. Car, trucks and semi's l...

I'm hyped! I've been called up to work as an extra on a new movie that's being shot in the city. This is my work other than writing, and since I haven't worked since last summer, I have to haul out my work bag and ensure all my clothes are clean and packed. And not just any clothes: - solid colors (no prints or patterns) - tops can't be black, white, red or yellow - no logos or other identifiable markings including footwear Then of course, it's the 3rd week of March. I need to be prepared for all types of weather. Oh, I sure hope we're not doing a summer scene. Brrr. Tomorrow night (Wed) I'll receive a phone call and someone will tell me: - my call time (start time) - the location (I believe this one's in Regina) - the season (I wore a parka in hot Aug weather once) - the 3 changes of clothing minimum I'm expected to bring (business clothes, casual, jammies or swimwear) :) Now this sounds like fun and sometimes it is, but usually, it's 3 hrs ...

With one week left before the deadline of the big Genesis contest of the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), I should have my entries out. I don't. But, for a good reason - one of the lovely ladies who support my writing as a Critique Partner (CP) challenged me to improve my ms, An Outlaw for the Lady . While critting it, she saw where I could put the heroine in a position to make the hero more redeemable in the eyes of the reader. Obviously, it hadn't occurred to me but now that it has, I'm wondering how to do it for the best advantage in the small amount of space available. The Genesis contest is only 15 pages long. An additional scene at the beginning would mean re-adjusting the last pages entered so it ends on a hook. Yes, we want the judges to read the 15th page and say, 'Wow! I want to read the rest of this.' Yet, I'm already on page 15 so now the question is this - once I've added my 'hero' scene, do I backup and find a new hook? Or do ...

So there I was answering my email and I heard these noises outside as if someone or thing was running through the bushes on the other side of the wall. Last fall the neighbor's pigs escaped and were running amok in the same spot. I grabbed my camera, slipped into my boots and charged outside, still in my fleecy jammies. (yes, again) And I stood there in awe. In a white world, a fog bank caused the world outside the yard to just disappear. No wind. The temp is sitting at -2C/28F causing the fluffy coating of overnight snow to melt and drop from the trees in small patches. As the snow dropped, the branches snapped back into place. Snap. Crackle . All over the yard like an orchestra. And every once in awhile, the crack of a rifle shot. As usual, I headed to my favorite viewing area along the driveway. As I stood near our farm sign and looked up to take a photo, the clouds slipped off the sun. Oh, the warm sun, gorgeous after our long, cold winter. While I trudged back to the house, t...