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Month: February 2021

The Other Cabin Fever

No, not that one. Well, originally that one. A few months ago I did something extremely out of character—I jumped on making reservations for a cabin I’d never seen, in a park I’d never visited, because there were nights available. Mount Lemmon had been closed because of the pandemic, then caught fire, and I didn’t know when we’d be able to go there again and I couldn’t imagine staying home any longer, and so I started looking elsewhere, and then I jumped on the first thing I found. Camping, you see, is about as safe as you can get right now, especially the way we camp—as far as we can get from everyone, avoiding people like they might carry plague long before the pandemic. Anyway. This past weekend was, at last, our weekend. Behold our weekend home, as the sun set. Ahead of the cabin, the lake. Behind the cabin, the mountain. I took this picture farther around the lake, so our cabin is in it. Meet some of our neighbors. Several of these guys dropped by Friday night to see if we’d left anything out for them. Sadly I did not take a picture. I did take a picture of the one I ran into raiding the snackbox (read: trash can) outside the restroom at four in the morning, but all you can see are its eyes glowing red, so we’ll skip that one. These birds would come in the evenings and chatter and flit about these reeds sticking…

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Why Lenormand is Like Esperanto

Hi, guys. I’m a day late, and I am so sorry. Yesterday I felt something gnawing on the back of my brain, something I was forgetting, but I was so busy, and I just couldn’t remember…I’ve been so incredibly busy with work that I literally haven’t done anything else. I mean, literally. Oh, I wrote 181 words one Wednesday in January only because my fellow Turtleduckers forced me to. (And it was GLORIOUS). But that’s it. Anyway, I was washing dishes today when it hit me like a lightning strike: I’d forgotten to blog here. AGAIN. <facepalm> So…life has changed a bit since we last “talked.” I’ve started learning Lenormand, which is similar to Tarot, and it’s been really interesting. And challenging. And frankly a bit frustrating. I guess it stems from knowing Tarot so well, and it being like an extension of myself that I literally don’t remember my struggles with it — it’s been years, folks. I mean, I started learning when I was sixteen, almost thirty years ago. And then in my twenties I continued on several non-standard decks, a big no-no, as there are no pictures to help make associations with the meanings, and I honestly don’t know how I managed that, as there weren’t the zillion Tarot groups or Facebook groups there are now, or websites that teach you meanings. It’s actually quite amazing. Anyway, Lenormand’s imagery is very simple, but its method of reading is more complex because you’re combining cards and meanings to…

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Freaky Fast February

Is it just me or is the shortest month of the year feeling REALLY short this year? That’s my excuse for posting today instead of Tuesday. Yes. But also, what, Monday is halfway through the month? What have I accomplished? Where has the time gone? (I am, at least, on top of Valentine’s Day. I pre-ordered heart-shaped pizza for my family.) (I can’t eat pizza unless I want to regret my life, so I pre-ordered something else for myself.) (Don’t tell my family, it’s a surprise.) Seriously, though, I feel like I’ve accomplished nothing all month. Mostly I’ve been focused on what I hope is the final revision of the first book of a high fantasy trilogy I’ve been working on for literally forever, but it’s not really getting anywhere. Which is quite frustrating, because I have the time and energy necessary, but am lacking direction. So maybe that’s why the month feels like it’s getting away from me. Lack of accomplishment. Or maybe it’s just going by really fast. Time is weird, especially lately, amirite? What do you think, friends? How’s time flowing for you this month?

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Just Keep Swimming, Again

It’s now well and truly into 2021, dear readers, and we’re still here! But wait…where is the new and shining not-2020-anymore we were promised? Politics has settled down, that’s huge. But the pandemic just keeps throwing new curveballs our way, winter is still happening, we still can’t travel or even (depending on where you are) socialize in person. It’s tough being human in this environment, and unfortunately for our devoted fans, writers are also humans. Writing has gotten much harder for many of us. Unfortunately for our loved ones, we’re happier and less neurotic when we’re able to write. But being sad or anxious or stressed makes it harder to write…you can see the problem. Seems like every year around this time, I blog about going back to writerly basics: write the smallest amount possible, write something fun, trick the brain into being creative again. In November, three of us wrote 100 words a day. In December, I did it again. 6000 words in two months is not a lot, but it was the best I’d managed all year. It was going so well that for January, I decided to inch the goal up to 4000 words. Then, of course, January knocked the wind out of me, as it always does. I wrote zero words of fiction. I did, however, determinedly do a lot of brainstorming and planning for my novel in progress. (I had hit my usual wall of just-under-20K where the beginning fizzles out and I realize I…

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