Castle in the Clouds

Well, tonight's the last night of my vacation. Tomorrow it's back to the ole grindstone. ~sigh~ I loved being home. I hate the thought of returning to work. But I love having a paycheck so come 5:45 tomorrow morning, I'll be dragging my butt out of bed and into the shower. Ick. I can't even imagine how much crap I'll have to sort through when I get into the office in the morning. Double ick.

Well, I made it back from Wisconsin. The long drive home was made longer by a blown tire in Chicago. That was fun. I heard some funky sound and next thing I know we can see black chunks of tire flying through the air. Must admit to being impressed by how well the 5th Wheel drove with a shredded tire. The day had started out ordinarily enough. A few clouds in the sky and projected rain for the afternoon. My sister and I carried our lawn chairs down to the concert grounds in the morning. We had a great view. Much better than the one I had had for Tim McGraw. After watching the karoake contest and listening to a new artist we headed back to the campground (about a mile walk one-way according to my dad--I'm hopeless with distance). We had just finished lunch and tending to Little O (my two month old nephew) when the bad weather struck. I've never seen such a scary sky. I think it looked even more ominous simply because of our vulnerable location. Sitting in the middle ...

So I took this week off so I could get ready for Country Thunder USA . I'm packed and ready to go. At least, I hope I am. I guess I'll have to live without whatever it is I'm forgetting to pack. Nothing new there. We were supposed to leave tomorrow morning at 5:30 am. That was the plan. But who needs plans? Not my family. Oh, no. They decided spur of the moment to leave tonight. Of course, it's 10:30 here and they still haven't picked me up. I imagine it'll be closer to 11:00 before they pull into the driveway. I'm already tired. I hope they don't expect me to drive all that much tonight. My eyes are already doing the lazy blinks. But enough of my grouching. I'm going to get excited and enjoy myself. The concerts should be a blast. I'll be back in a few days to let you know how it all worked out.

On July 10th The Times online posted an article about a Navy Seal operation gone bad. If you haven't heard anything about this and are interested in the continued search for Bin Laden or other terrorist leaders, give it a quick read.

So there's a group of us who hang out pretty regularly in chat. A while back we decided to do a BN class. Once a week on Wedsnesday evenings those of us who are available--it varies from week to week--gather to offer our insights, perspectives, experiences, and ideas on a specified topic. Last week we discussed the three types of conflict found in fiction. We were asked to give definitions and offer examples. Once a definition was generally agreed upon we'd begin discussing various formulas for acheiving that type of conflict. Now, I've been a member of little group for a long time and I know we all tend to approach things differently. Writing is such a subjective endeavor it would be more bizarre if we didn't. So I go into these sessions knowing I'm probably not going to see eye to eye with my friends on every subject. I also have come to realize we tend to share a common ground and disagree mostly in the details, which is cool because it gives us lots to t...

I decided to take the book quiz again. I really didn't understand how I could possibly get my original results. So...I wasted a few minutes answering questions. Strangely...the questions weren't the same! Sure a few of them were but there were some new ones in there. I didn't get the intuition vs. reptuation question the first time or the one about which animal do you prefer. And I like the results for this one better. Those rabbits have always been dear to my heart. I read Watership Down when I was a wee teenager. Loved it! Still love it. I'm waiting a few years to introduce my boys to it but it's definitely on the "must read to kids" list. You're Watership Down ! by Richard Adams Though many think of you as a bit young, even childish, you're actually incredibly deep and complex. You show people the need to rethink their assumptions, and confront them on everything from how they think to where they build their houses. You might be one o...

Ever have those moments when you're certain you can't write? Where it seems as if all the hours you've invested into this story and these characters are a colossal waste of time? I have. But I figure these doubts are pretty normal for writers, which means I can usually push aside such nasty thoughts and keep writing. Lately I've been in a real funk. I'm not worried that what I'm writing is awful because I just can't seem to write. Every time I sit down to try the mind goes blank and the eyes glaze over. New ideas aren't sparking. Current stories feel dead. Past projects seem dismal failures. I don't like feeling this way. Not at all. It's not normal for me. Even when the writing isn't going well, the passion has always been there. Yet, it seems the passion has disappeared and only the need to write remains. Every thing I look at or consider feels forced or contrived. The characters feel flat. The conflict laughable. I refuse ...

You're The Poisonwood Bible ! by Barbara Kingsolver Deeply rooted in a religious background, you have since become both isolated and schizophrenic. You were naively sure that your actions would help people, but of course they were resistant to your message and ultimately disaster ensued. Since you can see so many sides of the same issue, you are both wise beyond your years and tied to worthless perspectives. If you were a type of waffle, it would be Belgian. Take the Book Quiz at the Blue Pyramid .

Hubby's gone fishing for the night so the kidlets and I are just hanging around the house tonight. I rented a couple of movies, a Playstation game for my oldest, and bought some frozen pizza for dinner. I haven't even cleaned my kitchen yet! ~gasp~ I read the most amazing book over Thursday and Friday. It hasn't hit the stands yet but you should pre-order it. It's bold. Daring. Somewhat startling even. The author is brutal with her characters and, while I can't promise you won't experience some discomfort, I can guarantee this book will haunt you for at least a day or two. Perhaps longer. I know I certainly haven't stopped thinking about it. The author? Tamara Siler Jones. The book? Threads of Malice. Go pre-order it now. That's all I'm saying on the matter.

I'll be MIA for a few days. We're taking the kids camping on the shores of Lake Huron for the holiday weekend. It's supposed to be warm, not quite as hot as it has been but not cool enough to keep us from the water. So...See you in a few!