Dodged a Bullet

I got an email today from Ingram Spark (a book publishing site) with a proof of The Seaview from my submission of a week or so ago asking me to approve it before publication. I started looking at it and realized that there wasn't a title page or table of contents or any of that publishing stuff that makes a manuscript look like a "real" book. I had a momentary panic until I remembered that all of my books are on an app called Atticus, which is a formatting app that lets you get things all organized and then exported to a file that you can save and upload to make a book. Whew. I reloaded the manuscript, they sent it back for proofing, I found things that needed changing, and am in the process of going over the manuscript again. I'll spend tomorrow working on tidying up and then send it back in for the umpteenth time. I realized that in some chapters the paragraphs are indented and in others they aren't, some are half and half, so I'm going through to fix that. It has to be right and I'll get there eventually.

 

This morning I was lucky enough to see three Sparrows on the suet nuggets feeder at the same time. I snapped the picture and immediately one flew away. Whew. Got it.

 

And this female House Finch landed on the orange half and had a few pecks at it. It's been a while since I've seen a bird on there.

 

The carnation's alien appendage is still growing. I don't know how this is happening since these are cut flowers and shouldn't be growing. I don't understand.

 

The irises are opening. The blue/purple ones first. These are so pretty and are probably lying down now because we had a hard rain this evening. But they were standing up when I took their picture.

 

Today's drawing is a Puffin. It was easy and fun to draw and I got to use a white paint pen to make the feathers on the wing. So, yay, another art supply used. And speaking of art supplies, I got a text from a former neighbor who also paints with watercolors and we're going to lunch next Wednesday and on a little road trip to an art supply store and gallery about 30 miles away. None of us need more art supplies but we need to check it out.

The third Christmas cactus flower is opening. I love the brighter color of these last flowers.

 

Tonight was supposed to be OJ's first soccer game of the season but it was raining and thundering so they cancelled it. Naturally they didn't cancel it until I'd driven across town and was at the park when I texted DS and got the news. Oh well, I always wanted to drive across the tallest bridge in town in the pouring rain with trucks alongside. Slightly scary. 

--Barbara