Brain Dead Here

I finally have a little time to think about the story thing I'm working on and what happens? 

I go brain dead. 

THAT's a heck of a deal. 

Well yeah, it's going on the middle of the night and I'm yawning after putting in a long shift at work. 

It might be a good idea for me to hit the hay, get some rest, and THEN try to be creative. 

No, I have to get up and mow my yard(s) in the morning before it gets too hot.  THEN I can get to work on the story. 

I hope. 

One Cheap Lawn Mower + One Cheap Tire = One Paycheck

And ain't THAT just a sad commentary on Life as I know it. 

Still A Long Way To Go

I have to laugh at myself. 

I'm a couple of months into a major project the likes of which I have never before attempted and I'm fretting because it's not already done. 

I DO have a significant amount accomplished, thank God, but there's still a lot more to go! 

I have 144 pages of text as finished as I'm going to get it and a bunch of artwork in various stages of completion. 

I have yet to do: 

144 character text pages
144 sketches
12  portraits
12  paintings

Is it just me or does the number twelve seem to be dominating this thing? 

One break that I AM giving myself is that I'm going to treat each of the twelve chapters as individual 'books' and finish them one at a time - God Willing and Characters Permitting. 

Also, from here on out it ought to go a lot more quickly as the basic story has been told and that will help when it comes to filling in details with the characters' inputs and the sketches. 

Perfectly Good Tire Mysteriously Goes Flat As A Pancake

Yesterday when I went to the store (only half a block away but I had to get a big bag of dog food so I took my pickup) our local State Senator noticed that one of my truck's tires was 'low'.  

Low?!  It was flat as a pancake! 

He offered to go get an air compressor but I carry a small one (plugs into the cigarette lighter in my truck) so I used it, hoping the tire wasn't wrecked and would air back up okay. 

It took a few minutes but it did indeed plump back up very nicely. 

And it has stayed that way. 

Now I'm not sure that it didn't suddenly open its own valve, let all the air out all by itself, and then screw the valve cover back on, but it's never done that before so I kind of doubt it. 

Should I Be Concerned?

Ever since I got the narrative drafts finished and ready for editing and re-writes, I've found myself thinking of the 'model' people I used for the basis of the characters, which isn't all that strange because I've always thought about them - they're my family after all - but But BUT just lately I've been having a hard time calling them by their REAL names instead of the names of the characters ... I haven't slipped up yet by CALLING them by the other names, but sometimes I THINK of them by the 'wrong name' ...

Just now I thought to myself, "Talorc and Kalann gave up their places for Mamm and Alianora." 

Really? 

Good grief. 

Matt and Mitchell are stepping back so Grammy and Helen can go to the Celtic Thunder concert with us and give us women an 'all together time' which is entirely too rare and so the men are very much to be thanked. 

I think maybe I'm a little over-tired. 

All Scenes Roughed Out And Ready For Editing

I have to say it seems a little strange to have finished all twelve drafts of the narratives that will be a part of my book project. 

It's like suddenly a piece of me is missing, not having them to work on any more. 

Except that of course I DO still have to work on them, some of them quite a bit - but for the moment they are DONE. 

A Thought About The Fruits Of The Spirit

Now, I'm no scholar.

I am most definitely not a Bible scholar. 

There is one thing I noticed, however. 

The following are listed in Galations as FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT:

Love
Joy
Peace
Longsuffering
Kindness
Goodness
Faithfulness
Gentleness
Self Control

There are other lists of Fruits of the Spirit. 

Here's one from a Roman Catholic Church site:
loyolapress.com

Charity
Joy
Peace
Patience
Kindness
Goodness
Generosity
Gentleness
Faithfulness
Modesty
Self-control
Chastity
(adapted from CCC 1832)

Now, there are yet other lists that refer to gifts of the Spirit, but for the moment I want to focus on these "Fruit" lists. 

I have a question here. 

Which gender bears fruit? 

I'm Having WAY Too Much Fun With This New Project

Considering that I have the outline done and have a pretty darned good idea about all the trauma, drama, and tragedy to come, I'm having a total blast with the fun (and funny) parts that I'm doing first with this project I've got in the works. 

Sketches that might or might not turn into paintings, written scenes to go with them, and portraits of characters - it just all adds up to a BIG project and a LOT of fun!

Hollyhock Dolls

 

I showed the neighbor girls how to make hollyhock dolls the other day; found these on my front doorstep this afternoon!!  We have an abundance of hollyhocks in our yards and they're putting them to good use!  They are precious, both the dolls and the girls!

 

Shingles All The Way To The Top Of The Roof!

I left the 2x4 up there because they're my 'ladder' to the top of the roof, where I still have work to do on the ridge, plus I need to finish the front ridge. 

 

 

I was pleased to have some shingles left, and a few nails even!  I was HOPING the nails would be enough, and they were - but only just barely!  And that's just fine with me! 

 

While I was up there I trimmed off some of the top branches; there are still some that have to come off, notably the big one that's on the dormer - but I'm working on it. 

 

AND since they're ash trees I can go through the branches I took off and cut some to make shillelaghs out of!!!