10 Pages Is A Long Time

This morning I sat myself down at my desk, pulled out the 10 pages of Seaview that I had critiqued in Madison, and proceeded to rewrite them following CDS's recommendations.  It took most of the day.  I took a break when the air conditioner tech arrived to report on the condition of the a/c next door and again to report on mine (all in great shape, thank god), then went right back to finish.  I'll start working on a timeline/scene outline tomorrow.  Cross my heart.  I've never outlined and I'm not sure how to go about it but I figure if I just start making scene notes eventually I'll have something useful.  CDS said that will be a way to make sure my timeline is correct and also help to see where things can be compressed or expanded.  Expanded is what I need.  Big time.

This little hummingbird came zooming up for a drink this afternoon.  I just love looking at them.  They don't look real, do they?  LC told me last week that hummingbirds only use their tiny feet and legs for perching, that they're not strong enough for them to walk on, and wouldn't you know it, she's exactly right.  Like I said, one of these days LC is going to rule the country.  Can't come too soon for my taste.  I think she will be a benevolent despot but very fair.  Also polite.




I tried out a new recipe for Orange Rhubarb Bread this afternoon.  It's yummy.  I should make a lot more of it.  The only problem is that then I would eat a lot more of it too.  Fresh picked rhubarb, fresh orange zest, and walnuts--what's not to love?


 

This evening I cast on May Preemie Hat #2.  This yarn will make a perfect hat for a little boy, don't you think?  Especially one whose daddy is a hunter.

22 May--Barbara Malcolm, Horizon.  On the last day of my old life, I sat on my porch watching the sunset.  It was the end of a perfect early September day.  I sat there as I had so many times over the years, first with Bert as newlyweds planning our future, then with the boys as they grew, and again with Bert after the boys were grown and gone making their own lives.  It had been eight years since my husband of more than twenty-five years had died suddenly one March day while getting the fields ready for planting.  Sometimes it seemed like it had just happened but more often thoughts of Bert brought warm memories.  

See? I told you that Durwood kept nagging at me to be thinking about my life after he made me a "young widow" (which never happened because I was 66 when he died).  I wrote Horizon in 2008 and 2009, that's how long I've thought about it.  That story popped into my head the other day so I thought I'd go look at it.  Funny thing, the most recent version of it has over 96,000 words.  Maybe I should tidy that up and start submitting it since I've got all the words already on paper.  Nah.  I'll stick with Seaview.

--Barbara