Sep 30, 2013

Misology Monday

misology ~ hatred of reason or knowledge

For a week that was so beautiful weather-wise, last week was pretty crappy in every other way.

I was sick from about Wednesday on, and when I say sick, I mean sick to the point where Thursday I wasn't even able to read, let alone anything else. It's been a slow road to feeling better, but I'm getting there. But you can be sure I'll be taking it easy this week.

Anybody else out there doing NaNoWriMo this year? If you don't know what National Novel Writing Month is, go HERE.

This will be my eighth year doing NaNo. My first year I persuaded a friend to do it with me - she reached the 50,000 word goal, but my story was done at 34,000 words. But hey, I still ended up with my very first completed work of fiction. The second year I had my title and my idea and I think I wrote about two pages before grinding to a halt.

But year three . . . ahh, year three. Year three I nailed those 50,000 words, and I've done it every year since. If you've never participated, you should give it a try at least once. But be warned! NaNo is addictive. :-)

Blog Stuff For the Week:

Tuesday: Part twenty in my series on the Major Arcana of the Tarot is Judgement.
Wednesday:
A new hump day hunk for your viewing pleasure. ;-)
Thursday: Chapter 85 of Water. Well, the tsunami struck at last. But were there any survivors?
Friday: I'm thinking in honour of the epic amount of bad luck I've been having lately, this week's Ramble will be about luck.

Other Stuff

This week's TraxTime report runs from September 22 through September 28.

Crafts - 7 hours and 18 minutes ~ up from 6 hrs and 32 min
Emails - 8 hours and 43 minutes ~ way up from 4 hrs and 59 min
Games - 4 hours and 49 minutes ~ down from 5 hrs and 25 min
Reading - 8 hour and 38 minutes ~ way up from 4 hr and 30 min
Non-fiction - 12 hours and 00 minutes ~ down from 12 hrs and 56 min
Fiction - 2 hours and 42 minutes ~ way down from 12 hrs and 23 min
Editing - 12 hours and 44 minutes ~ way up from 7 hrs and 32 min

Not only was my Crafts time up, but I finished both sleeves of my Fair Isle sweater. My only problem is that before I start the yoke, I'm supposed to place eight stitches on either side where the sleeves go on the body onto stitch holders, but I'm not sure how I accomplish that when I'm working with circular needles. Looks like I'll be scouring YouTube for videos. :-)

My, looks like I was a Chatty Cathy last week, my Email time just about doubled. And it's probably going to be just as high this week 'cause I've got a couple of big ones to answer. And I can safely say I'm getting bored the MSN games finally, although I have revived my interest in Nethack. If you, too, would like to be a Hacker, check it out HERE. You can thank me later. ;-)

It's no surprise that my Reading time doubled. The best part of being sick is being able to take the time for guilt-free reading. Non-fiction remained about the same, while Fiction was way, way down. Normally I get most of my fiction writing in at the end of the week, but that's when I was the sickest and I hardly even cracked open my lap top.

This week I will be taking it easy while I catch up on my editing, writing and re-writing. Who knows, maybe I'll even get a little poetry time in along with my reading and crafting on break times.

And don't forget, if you're on Goodreads there's still time to enter to win one of FIVE print editions of my newest book, Magical Misfire. Just click on the link: Goodreads Giveaway.

Sep 27, 2013

Random Ramblings

On promises and road trips . . .

Early in the summer, or maybe it was the spring, I promised a friend that when she took her vacation this year I'd go on a road trip with her. Well, her vacation was last week and our road trip took us through Prince Edward County, specifically along the Wine Tasting Route. You can click on the picture to make it bigger.



I have to admit, I've lived in this area my whole life, and although I've been to Sandbanks National Park, I've never explored the rest of the penninsula. I didn't even know there was a Wine Tasting Route, nor a Gallery Route. Not only are there wineries all over the place, there's a plethora of art galleries as well. Who knew? Anyway, since my friend is into wine and not art, we stopped at a winery.



Now, I'm all for tasting wine, but these places charged a buck a taste (which was usually a thimbleful of wine in the bottom of a wine glass), although they waved the fee if you bought a bottle.

I have to say, this was a really picturesque region. I didn't take nearly as many pictures as I would have liked, but one I did get was of a ferry you could take for free across some stretch of water. Okay, I confess. I'm not sure what body of water this is. All I remember is that it was free. :-)



Now we come to the real point of this trip. My friend and her husband (who passed away a few years ago) used to come up here on a regular basis and they'd always stop at Lake On the Mountain. To my mind it's not much of a mountain, but it is well above sea level.



Of course I prefer the local legend regarding the lake. It was a sacred place to the Mohawk Indians, who called it O-no-ke-no-ga (Lake of the Gods). Spirits known as the Three Sisters - corn, beans and squash (named for the most important crops) - were believed to dwell at the bottom of the lake. The Mowhawks made pilgrimages to the lake to make offerings to the Three Sisters to express thanks and ask for blessings. A ceremonial fire was prepared on the shore and sacred tobacco was offered. Some was burned on the fire, some was scattered on the water of the lake, and some was tossed over the cliff into the bay below.

The Three Sisters didn't actually receive the offerings, they carried them, along with messages of thanks and praise, to the Great Creator H-wen-e-yo. The presence of the Three Sisters was merely a way for the Mowhawks to communicate with God.



My favorite legend of the lake involves a young Indian brave who was in love with the daughter of an important chief. She returned his love and they eloped, with the father giving chase. They were overtaken at O-no-ke-no-ga. The maiden threw herself over the falls; the brave dove into the lake, never to surface. Because of their desecration of the holy waters, the gods imprisoned their spirits. The maiden was to linger around the waterfall, while the brave was to remain at the bottom of the lake. But the Three Sisters took pity on the lovers. They showed the brave a leak in the thin, limestone wall containing the lake. The brave worried at the leak until he was able to squeeze through and rejoin his lover. In the spring, the hole in the lake wall can still be seen as water gushes through creating a waterfall. It's become a symbol of lovers overcoming difficulties.



Our final stop on our road trip was the winery of Waupoos. Don't you just love that name? This is actually a fairly new winery - it's only been open since 2001. But they have a huge variety of wine and it's all reasonably priced. Had we known ahead of time, we could have taken a full tour of their facility. It includes learning the steps of wine-making and free samples of wine. Yum!



And that concludes my road trip. :-)

I'd definitely like to go back again, only this time I'd like to plan it out a little better. We were pretty much winging it and half the time we had no idea where we were going. LOL It's a very picturesque area and I think it's a trip that requires more than one day to do it justice.

Sep 25, 2013

Sep 24, 2013

Major Arcana of the Tarot - Part XIX
The Sun


0 - The Fool, I - The Magician, II - The High Priestess, III - The Empress, IV - The Emperor
V - The Hierophant, VI - The Lovers, VII - The Chariot, VIII - Strength, IX - The Hermit,
X - The Wheel of Fortune, XI - Justice, XII - The Hanged Man, XIII - Death, XIV - Temperance,
XV - The Devil, XVI - The Tower, XVII - The Star, XIII - The Moon,



Number nineteen of the Major Arcana is The Sun. Since the dawn of man the sun has been an object of worship. It blazes with vitality, bringing light and life to all. It rises, without fail, each morning. It illuminates the world so that we can see things clearly. This is a positive card, representing elements that provide us with the confidence to make a success of everything we do. It's an image of optimism and fulfilment, the dawn that follows the darkest night.

In the Visconti-Sforza Tarot (15th century) The Sun is represented by a youth standing on one leg on what appears to be a blue cloud, floating over a green landscape. He is naked, save for a red ribbon draped over him, and appears to have small wings, the same dark blue as the cloud. In his hands he holds a red sun that is gazing upwards. The Rosenwald deck (16th century) shows a more simplistic image. The Sun is shown in the center of the card with clouds in each of the four corners that seem to be parting for it. It wears a benign expression on its face, and is surrounded by eight narrow rays and eight wider, less defined rays.

Le Soleil in the Tarot de Marseille (early 18th century)depicts two young boys standing in front of a waist high brick wall. They are dressed only in a blue cloth around the waist and are reaching towards each other. The face of the sun has a calm expression on it and is surrounded by rays that are shooting out colourful drops.

In the Tarot Soprafino, Piamontes o Milanes (1835), Il Sole shows a young man and woman walking together in a garden. They are holding hands and gazing fondly at each other. Above them the brilliant sun is breaking through the clouds - one of the few depicted without a face. In the Tarot de Oswald Wirth (1889), however, Le Soleil shows the young man and woman, naked save for cloth wrapped around their hips as they stand holding hands in a circle of what appears to be low-lying flowers or grass. There is a waist-high brick wall behind them and the sun shines down, its face staring straight ahead.

The Rider-Waite Deck shows a sun high in the sky looking outwards. In the foreground is a naked child holding a red or orange banner, sitting on a white horse. The child wears a crown or wreath with a feather sticking up out of it on his head. There is a grey wall behind them with four sunflowers growing either along the top or behind it.

The serene face of the sun is a reflection of the higher mind and is an indication of the peace of knowing oneself. The straight rays coming from it symbolize action, while the wavy rays represent vibration. The child signifies a new phase of life, representing the delight of our inner spirit when we are in tune with ourselves. He is naked, having nothing to hide. The white horse he is riding on symbolizes strength and purity of spirit. It is controlled without saddle or bridle, a sign of the perfect control between the conscious and subconscious.

There is an orange banner in the child's left hand that also represents action and vibration. It's bright and bold, a sign that a new day is dawning. Control has passed from the conscious to the subconscious. There is a wreath with a feather encircling the child's head, indicating the nearness of harvest time, the final realization and freedom from material ideals.

The four sunflowers represent the four suits of the Minor Arcana as well as the four elements. They're also an indication of life and the fruitfulness of the spirit under the sustaining sun. These sunflowers are not turned towards the sun, but to the child on the horse, directing their energy towards him and the power he holds over the material world.

The wall behind the child and horse is symbolic of holding back. It is a reminder that growth cannot be accomplished if we are closed off to it, and also that no matter how bad our situation seems there is always an opportunity to break through the walls impeding us. The colour grey indicates wisdom.

This is a card of break throughs. It's sending us a clear message that our hard work is about to pay off and we're about to come out of the dark. We've reached a point of clarity and understanding and are ready for a new beginning.

Life is good. The sun is shining and you're well on your way to achieving your goals. Your positive energy will get you through the troubled times and help you to succeed. You can expect to feel invigorated and bursting with enthusiasm. Get back to the simple pleasures and enjoy spending time with loved ones. Any obstacles you may encounter at this time are only temporary. This is a good time to start something new.

When The Sun appears in the past position, it's an indication that you're an optimistic, take-charge person who makes the most of every situation. You probably had a wonderful childhood. The successes you've achieved in the past have set the stage for your current course of a brilliant future.

In the present position there's an indication of a new friendship or a relationship that will lead to lasting happiness. You can get exactly what you want at this time - don't give up and you'll be led to success. When The Sun is in your future, it's an indication that you're on the right path. Take full advantage of this - you are on a path leading to enlightenment. The future is filled with possibilities.

Sep 23, 2013

Mystagogical Monday

mystagogical ~ of, like or pertaining to religious ritual initiation

Happy Autumn, everyone! Yes, I know it actually started yesterday, but it still brings a smile to my face. I love the fall! I love the HD quality of the sun, I love the cooler weather and lack of insects, and I love the changing leaves.

Of course this being Canada, we had a last gasp (I hope!) from summer last week. Starting about Wednesday it began getting steadily warmer and more humid until it was so hot when I went to bed Friday night that I turned on the fan in the bedroom. Then Saturday night it cooled down enough that I was pulling on the extra blanket.

So . . . the early part of last week involved a lot of napping and not feeling well. Wednesday I spent the better part of the day with social obligations, but rallied later in the afternoon to start getting some work done. Thursday, however, I went on a road trip I agreed to go on early in the summer. To find out how a five-hour trip turned into a nine-hour trip, you'll have to tune in Friday. ;-)

Summer is officially over, and not just because the calendar says so. Yesterday the new cover finally went on the pool and it is closed for business. The little forest creatures in the neighbourhood will be happy because it's easier for them to get a drink of water off the tarp than out of the pool itself. Plus they don't have to deal with all that chlorine.

Blog Stuff For the Week:

Tuesday: Part nineteen in my series on the Major Arcana of the Tarot is The Sun.
Wednesday:
A new hump day hunk for your viewing pleasure. ;-)
Thursday: Chapter 84 of Water. Will Ravi be able to stop the tsunami? Maybe, maybe not. ;-)
Friday: The ramble this week may will be about last week's road trip. With pictures!

Other Stuff

This week's TraxTime report runs from September 15 through September 21.

Crafts - 6 hours and 32 minutes ~ down from 7 hrs and 48 min
Emails - 4 hours and 59 minutes ~ way down from 10 hrs and 00 min
Games - 5 hours and 25 minutes ~ up from 4 hrs and 46 min
Reading - 4 hour and 30 minutes ~ down from 6 hr and 30 min
Non-fiction - 12 hours and 56 minutes ~ up from 9 hrs and 39 min
Fiction - 12 hours and 23 minutes ~ down from 14 hrs and 44 min
Editing - 7 hours and 32 minutes ~ way up from 0 hrs and 0 min
Poetry - 0 hours and 0 minutes ~ way down from 2 hrs and 15 min

To be honest, if it hadn't been for shows like Bones and Sleepy Hollow, I wouldn't have done much in the way of crafts. However, I have half of one of the sleeves of my Fair Isle sweater done, and with all the new seasons of shows starting this week I'm confident I'll get the first sleeve finished and the second one at least started.

I must not have been very chatty last week because I only spent about half the time on E-mails compared to last week. Or maybe I'm just typing faster. My gaming time was only slightly up - which was nice to see. I don't know if I've been too busy for games or I'm just getting bored with them. Doesn't matter, just so long as that time stays down. :-)

Again my Non-fiction time is high. I've been trying to journal on a regular basis and I think it shows. And I was also doing a lot of research on tsunamis - they're actually quite interesting, even if they wouldn't do what I want them to. LOL

No Poetry last week, but I got another couple of chapters of Water re-written as well as adding to the draft version. And I got some editing in on top of that. All in all, I'd say last week was a winner. :-)

This week I will be doing more editing, more writing and re-writing, and I might even work in some poetry time along with my reading and knitting. But NO ROAD TRIPS! ;-)

Sep 20, 2013

Random Ramblings

On computers . . .

Do you remember your first computer? I remember mine. It had a monochrome monitor (amber on black, unlike the more common green on black), two floppy drives (and we're talking the 5 1/4 inch floppies here), 250K of RAM and a 40 meg hard drive. That's right people, 40 megabytes.



You notice the lack of a mouse. There were no mice for computers back then. Nor were there any windows. You typed commands in using something called DOS - Disk Operating System. It was kind of fun actually. You turn on your computer and you'd get a DOS prompt: C:\ blinking at you. Say you wanted a list of files that were on your computer. You'd type in: C:\>dir and a list of all the files on your computer would appear.

My printer, at that time, was a dot matrix printer. Anyone out there remember them? You fed fanfold paper into them and they'd spit out pages of text that had to be separated along their perforated edges, and the text was made up of little dots which publishers found incredibly annoying.



My computer did not connect to the internet. I'm not even sure there was an internet back then. ;-) Okay, I may be exaggerating just a tad, but the internet was definitely beyond my means at that time. It would be several years and at least two computer upgrades before I was on-line, and in those days it was via dial-up access, which meant that when you were online you were tying up the phone line. It was an external 1400-baud modem that plugged into the computer. You had to enter a number given you by your ISP into the computer's dialing program, wait for the beeps and tones to subside, and then you were online.



Today I use a Samsung notebook with 6 GB of RAM, something like 600 GB of space on the hard drive, and wireless access to the internet. And my printer? I have a colour laser printer that prints as clear a copy as you'd ever want to see. I've come a long way baby! :-)



Sep 18, 2013

Hump Day Hunk


It's getting a little cold to hang out at the beach these days, maybe we should just stay in bed instead. ;-)



Sep 17, 2013

Major Arcana of the Tarot - Part XVIII
The Moon

0 - The Fool, I - The Magician, II - The High Priestess, III - The Empress, IV - The Emperor
V - The Hierophant, VI - The Lovers, VII - The Chariot, VIII - Strength, IX - The Hermit,
X - The Wheel of Fortune, XI - Justice, XII - The Hanged Man, XIII - Death, XIV - Temperance,
XV - The Devil, XVI - The Tower, XVII - The Star,



Number eighteen of the Major Arcana is The Moon, the card of intuition, dreams, and the unconscious. This is the card of dark depresssions and manic charm, of frenzied behavior and wicked mood swings, of artists and writers and musicians; of the lunatics whose art, poetry and music are pure magic. It is also the card of the land of dreams or hallucinations, the place where seers and sages find their vision. It is the wild card of the Tarot. It's light is only a reflection of the sun, but it is strong enough for us to find our way towards a higher state of consciousness.

In the Visconti-Sforza Tarot, this card shows a woman with bare feet wearing a long red dress with a blue dress underneath. She's holding a crescent moon in her right hand while she plays with the cords around her waist with her left hand. The Rosenwald Tarot is more simplistic, depicting a large moon with a face that has human traits.

The Cary deck is the first to show a crustacean rising from a pool of water that is nestled between two hills with a tower on top of each hill. Like the Rosenwald deck, the moon in the sky above has a face. The Tarot de Marseille shows the crustacean as well, with the towers on hills on either side of the pool. Again the moon has a face, and it is shedding twenty-two drops. Below it are crouched two dogs.

The Flemish deck shows a woman sitting on the right hand side, holding a distaff in her right hand and spinning thread with her left. On the left hand side of the card there is a tree and the moon is directly above her. One of the old Italian decks shows the moon shining in through a window while an Astrologer plots a horoscope, while the Mythic Tarot depicts the moon in the form of a goddess, either Artemis, Selene or Hecate.

The Rider-Waite Tarot shows The Moon as being very close to that of the Tarot de Marseille. A crustacean is crawling out of the water, although in this case the towers on either side are not nearly as well defined, nor are they on hills. There is a path that runs between them, however, leading to the horizon. There is a dog on one side of the path and a wolf on the other. Both appear to be howling at the moon, which is looking down on them with a somewhat stern expression.

The light that gently illuminates this card is a symbol of the soul that no longer reaches us directly, but is lit only by reflection, as the moon reflects the light of the sun. The face of the moon gazes on the scene below while dew drops of thought fall. The pool at the base of the card represents the subconscious mind from which is emerging a crayfish, which is a symbol of hidden psychic power. This speaks of coming out of the dark or out of hiding. The crayfish crawls up from the muddy depths of the subconscious, believing there has to be something more to its world, and into the conscious.

The dog, with its tamed instincts, symbolizes the way our mind has been tamed, while the wolf, representing our animal nature, symbolizes our primal urges. Neither is all good or all bad but they war with each other in our minds - one is barking at us to do the right thing while the other growls for us to break away from our set patterns. There is a path that separates them, leading to the horizon. What's at the end of the path is unknown, a mystery. Only by overcoming this fear of the unknown will the mystery be revealed. Both the dog barking and the wolf howling are expressions of lunacy or madness, advising us that it would be madness to set off down this path, yet it is the only way out. The only other option would be to return to the water, like the crayfish, submerging ourselves into the subconscious again.

The towers, aside from being phallic symbols that appeal to our primitive natures, represent the stagnation that comes with the easy route. They stand on either side of the path and promise riches, comfort, and safety, but this would be settling for less than we deserve and if we build our lives on these false illusions they will come crashing down on us.

The face of the moon on this card is in profile, indicating that we're only seeing half the surface. Many things can seem somewhat confusing now. You are more psychic or intuitive than usual, and you will need to trust your instincts, even if you don't know where they're coming from. Not everything is what it seems and if you feel that you can't trust something or someone, then you probably can't. Go with your gut feeling.

The light of the Moon is all about visions and illusions, astonishing creativity, powerful magic, and poetry. But the dark side indicates hidden enemies, mental illness, and substance abuse with accompanying blackouts. When this card appears it may mean you've been going through a particularly difficult time emotionally. You may be dreaming excessively or experiencing nightmares. Instead of losing yourself in this dream imagery, try to give it form through one of the creative arts - painting, writing, music. This card indicates that you're in touch with visions and insight, creativity and psychic powers.

If the other cards in a reading which features the Moon are more negative than positive, then you must guard against deception. Open your eyes to see what's really going on, the Moon might be showing you her hidden face and things might not be what they seem.

Often the Moon will appear in a reading when you're unsure of where you're going or even of the path you're on. You may feel like you've lost your way. You need to let go of your conscious mental blocks and let your intuition guide you. Your dreams and instincts will lead you forward to a higher level of consciousness.

When this card appears reversed it indicates a lack of progress because of deep rooted fears or anxieties. There may be a deep-seated unhappiness with your present circumstances or confusion over what you really want to do. These emotional issues will prevent you from moving forward if you don't face your fears to re-gain your self-confidence and sense of direction. You need to believe in yourself.

It can also warn of lies and deceit, or maybe just a misunderstanding. Don't be deceived by false promises or let your imagination run wild. You may have experienced a period of self-deception and fear, but this is starting to subside. You are beginning to work through your issues and are becoming less anxious about your situation.

When The Moon shows up in the past position you need to look for a recent period of confusion that is to blame for your current troubles. Maybe you had an inspiration that manifested itself into some artistic form of expression that helped you cope, the Moon inspiring you to find order amidst the chaos. You can look back on this time with satisfaction, knowing you made the best you could out of the circumstances.

If The Moon appears in your present you could be experiencing a period of deep confusion. You may be tempted to escape from reality through substance abuse, meaningless sex, gambling, or other hollow pursuits. But this is a chance for you to better yourself by ignoring these temptations and following a path of your own choosing, one of your own imagination and design.

In the future position, this card can be an indication that you will wander away from what you thought was important in your life and follow a different path altogether. This might signal a spiritual awakening or following a new vocation. If you are in one of the creative fields, expect a rush of inspiration to fill you. Your new muse awaits.

Sep 16, 2013

Mobocracy Monday

mobocracy ~ government by mobs or crowds

I'm actually a little surprised at how much I got done last week, considering Tuesday I drove to Peterborough to pick up a new cover for our pool. Which, incidentally, did not fit our pool. The package said it was for a 24 foot pool, but it only covered the water - there was nothing to go over the rim and tie down.

Got my Fair Isle sweater to the point where I can start on the sleeves. I have to admit I'm not looking forward to what comes after that, namely the Fair Isle part of the knitting process. Time to suck it up and come out of my monochrome knitting shell. :-)

I tried to get some work done on my afghan as well, but one of my cats, Dante, decided I should read instead. He plunked himself down right on top of the afghan that was draped over my lap. I've never wished so much for a camera as I did at that moment. The pattern I'm using is called Abstract Cats and he was lying in the exact same position as the cats in the pattern.

On Thursday I attended the Poet Tree Eulogy. It was for the last elm tree in Victoria Park, which is dying of some tree disease. Several poets, including myself, read poems and there were a couple of speakers, including the town Arborist. I didn't even know our town had an arborist. ;-)

Blog Stuff For the Week:

Tuesday: Part eighteen in my series on the Major Arcana of the Tarot is The Moon.
Wednesday:
A new hump day hunk for your viewing pleasure. ;-)
Thursday: Chapter 83 of Water. So how is a single Elemental supposed to stop a tsunami? Guess we'll find out.
Friday: The ramble this week may or may not be something computerish. You'll just have to check it out to see what.

Other Stuff

This week's TraxTime report runs from September 8 through September 14.

Crafts - 7 hours and 48 minutes ~ up from 6 hrs and 30 min
Emails - 10 hours and 00 minutes ~ way up from 4 hrs and 09 min
Games - 4 hours and 46 minutes ~ up from 4 hrs and 00 min
Reading - 6 hour and 30 minutes ~ way up from 2 hr and 03 min
Non-fiction - 9 hours and 39 minutes ~ down from 11 hrs and 57 min
Fiction - 14 hours and 44 minutes ~ way up from 5 hrs and 31 min
Editing - 0 hours and 0 minutes ~ way down from 18 hrs and 09 min
Poetry - 2 hours and 15 minutes

Boy, when I decide to put some effort into it, I can really get those Fiction numbers to jump, eh? But you notice there was no editing done last week. Yes, the two things are related, but not necessarily in the obvious way.

I have started the re-writes of Water, even though I'm not finished writing it yet, and because I'm re-writing, not editing, I'm logging it under Fiction instead of Editing. Once I finish the re-writes I will be editing it, and it will be logged as such.

So technically I did no editing last week. However, don't despair. I have editing of the finest kind to do this week. A tasty tale from my favorite erotic author, Trinity Marlow.

It was nice to see my gaming time held steady while my reading time increased drastically. It might have had something to do with changing books and getting caught up in the new one. ;-)

Not sure why the Non-fiction time jumped so high - it includes blog posts as well as journaling and research, so obviously I was spending more time on one or more of them. And did you notice the addition of a new category? I added Poetry to the line-up. I might not always have anything to log here, but even if I don't actually work on poetry it might remind me that it's something else I could be doing.

This week will be a mix of editing, working on Lucky Dog, and re-writing Water. I might even squeeze some knitting and reading in. ;-)

Sep 13, 2013

Happy Launch Day!


I am pleased and proud to announce the release of my third novel, Magical Misfire, Book 1 of the Moonstone Chronicles.

Be careful what you wish for . . .

All Jessica O'Connell wants is a little adventure, something to spice up her dreary life. Instead, her best friend Howard accidentally teleports her into a magical realm with their only link being a moonstone pendant that belonged to her mother. She's rescued from a cliff by a bona fide prince, attacked by a giant bird, makes friends with a squire and a real live bard, and vanquishes an army of illusions.

Then things get really interesting . . .



Cover art is by Jamie DeBree. Didn't she do an amazing job? :-)

* ~ * ~ * ~ *

Jessica's friend Howard talked her into being the guinea pig, so to speak, in an experiment he wanted to conduct on teleportation. However, he sends her much further than he intended. She awakens on a rocky shore and it doesn't take her long to realize the tide's coming in. Left with no other choice, she begins climbing the treacherous cliff that borders the shore. As she nears the top, and the end of her energy, she overhears two men talking.

Here's an excerpt:

* ~ * ~ * ~ *

“There is someone below!” a voice wafted downwards.

“Do not be a fool,” a second voice answered.

“I tell thee, my lord,” the first voice insisted, closer, “I heard a voice.”

Jessica clung to the cliff, dazed, as two shadowy figures appeared above her.

“Who are you and what do you there?” the second voice called down to her.

“Stupid damn question,” Jessica muttered under her breath. And what was with the hokey accents? “You’ll never find out if you don’t lend a hand,” she yelled back.

There was a momentary consultation before one of the figures ducked out of view and quickly returned. A coarse rope snaked down to meet her. Jessica caught it and with the last of her strength wrapped it around herself and hung on. The two figures at the other end began hauling and in no time at all she reached the cliff top and rolled over the edge in an ungraceful heap.

She lay for a few moments in the grass, breathing deeply. One of the voices began to speak but she cut them off with a wave of her hand. "Gimme a minute.”

When her breathing eased and she thought she could move without throwing up, she manoeuvred herself into a sitting position.

“Thanks,” she said finally. “It’s lucky for me you guys were up here.” Her breath came easier and she was starting to feel better. Pulling the hat off she wiped the sweat from her brow. “For awhile there I wasn’t sure I was going to make it.”

She untied the bundle from her belt and unwrapped her boots.

“But, but . . .” voice number one stuttered. “Thou art a woman!”

Jessica glanced up at the voice. The sun was behind the two figures rendering them indistinct shadows. “Nothing gets by you, does it?”

Now that she could see the damage she’d done to her toes they began to throb with pain. She eased her socks over them and carefully pulled her boots back on. “Look, I’m grateful for your help and all, and I’d be more than happy to thank you properly later, but I’ve had a truly horrendous day and I just want to get home and climb into a nice hot tub. Could you tell me where the nearest phone is?”

“We . . . ah . . . phone? What is a phone?”

Jessica pushed her hair out of her eyes and squinted up at the two shadows in front of her. “Cut the kidding. Which coast am I on, east or west?”

“This be the northern coast,” voice number two answered.

“North?” Jessica ignored the pain in her toes as she scrambled to her feet. “What do you mean, north?”

The two men in front of her glanced at each other. “We stand upon Death’s Head, northern most point of the kingdom of Ghren.” The taller of the two men spoke slowly, as though to a particularly dense child.

“Now look, I’m sure you both find this very funny, but I –” Jessica stopped abruptly and stared. She pivoted slowly, eyes widening.

The landscape in front of her was wilder and greener, more breath-takingly beautiful than anything she’d ever seen outside of a National Geographic magazine. Out on the water a three masted sailing ship was coming around another point of the bay. Beyond the two men, in the distance, were the tents of a camp and beyond that the barely discernible outline of a castle.

“Are you guys filming a movie, or what?”

* ~ * ~ * ~ *

Now, because you've been such a lovely audience, I'm going to tell you how you can buy your very own copy of Magical Misfire:

You can buy in all formats directly from my publisher: Brazen Snake Books

You can also buy it in pretty much any format from: Smashwords

Or you can buy it from the ebook giant: Amazon

As an added incentive, for the remainder of the month of September, the price will be $2.99. So buy now because October 1st the price will be going up to $4.99.

And for those of you who are financially challenged (as I so often am) there is a contest on Goodreads where you have the chance to win one of FIVE paperback copies. You can enter HERE.

Sep 11, 2013

Hump Day Hunk



With the temperatures forecasted to be super high today, we'll need to find a way to stay cool, don't you think? ;-)



Sep 10, 2013

Major Arcana of the Tarot - Part XVII
The Star



0 - The Fool, I - The Magician, II - The High Priestess, III - The Empress, IV - The Emperor
V - The Hierophant, VI - The Lovers, VII - The Chariot, VIII - Strength, IX - The Hermit,
X - The Wheel of Fortune, XI - Justice, XII - The Hanged Man, XIII - Death, XIV - Temperance,
XV - The Devil, XVI - The Tower,



Number seventeen of the Major Arcana is The Star, often considered a card of hope. It embraces the same optimism as when we look up at the stars in the night sky. It's a message to take heart, be at peace, and know all is well. It suggests a clarity of insight and vision, and reassurance that we can trust in the future. It offers a glimpse into what is to come, but it is up to you to decide if you're willing to go after it.

In the Tarot de Marseille (15th century), L’Étoile (The Star) shows a nude woman pouring water from two vases. The water on her left goes into a pond, and water from the right onto the ground. There are two trees in the background with the silhouette of a bird and a large star, surrounded by six smaller ones, shines in the sky. Some decks call this card The Astronomer or The Navigator, and in the Flemish Deck it is shown with an astronomer seated in the left corner with a tower in the right corner. He is using a divider to look above at a large star surrounded by smaller stars.

The Visconti-Sforza Tarot illustrates this card with a woman with blank expression on her face, looking at a large, eight-pointed star held in her left hand. She wears a red cloak that is adorned with golden stars and a long, blue dress with a motif of horizontal rays on top of vertical rays. The Rosenwald deck (16th century) is even more simple, showing an eight-pointed star with a motif at the top and bottom of the card. The Cary deck, however, shows an much more detailed image. A nude figure pours water from two large jugs into a flowing stream in which the tail of at least one fish is visible. The figure has long hair and a tattoo of a star on his/her right shoulder. A large, eight-pointed star shines brightly in the sky and is surrounded by four smaller stars.

In the Rider-Waite deck, The Star shows a naked woman kneeling at the edge of a small pool. She is holding two pitchers from which she is pouring water and above her is a large star with seven smaller ones around it. Her nakedness is a symbol of her ease - she has nothing to fear or hide and she is ready to face the world as she is without any artifice. With the pitcher in her right had she pours water into the pond to continue the cycle of fertility, while with the pitcher in her left hand she pours water onto the land in five rivulets representing the five senses. She has one foot on the ground, symbolizing her practical nature and common sense, and one foot in the water, symbolizing her intuition.

The pool of water represents the universal subconscious mind while the land represents the material world. The woman renews them both. The clear blue of the sky is a symbol of inspiration and creativity. On a small rise behind the woman is a bird in a tree. It's widely believed this bird is the sacred ibis of thought, a symbol of the Egyptian god Thoth, and the tree it's roosting in is the tree of the mind. The Star is numbered seventeen in the Major Arcana, which in numerology equals eight (1+7=8). There are eight, eight-pointed stars on this card, one for each of the eight planets.

This is a card of personal transformation, but you need to be open to new ideas. Listen to the voice within yourself. You are making some significant changes to rediscover your purpose in life. The card also indicates that you have a generous spirit. You have an open heart that's willing to share with others to help them transform their own lives. There is a need in you to pay it forwards and give back to others.

You may have been going through a rough time, but The Star gives you hope for the future. You're on the right path and things will work out. Better days are ahead. It may not happen overnight, but help is out there. If you've been worried about a situation, you can lay those fears to rest. You're able to forgive and forget so that you can move on. The Star brings with it a sense of renewed hope and faith that you are truly blessed at this time.

In readings, The Star often shows up in our darkest moments, when grief and despair have overwhelmed us. It's a message that there's light at the end of that long, dark tunnel. But while The Star is inspiring, it doesn't hold all the answers. It's there to let you know that you're on the right track, and that you have to take action yourself to find that peace of mind you're in need of.

When The Star appears in the past position in a Tarot reading, it indicates that a good idea you've had in the past began a series of events that have led to your present circumstances. If The Star appears in your present, it means you're on the verge of making big plans. Perhaps you're ready for your life to take a different turn, or you wish to make a contribution that will benefit everyone. In the future position, The Star advises you to keep hope alive. Whatever your current crisis is, you will figure out a solution to it. All you need to do is take a chance.

Sep 9, 2013

Motte Monday

motte ~ artificial mound upon which a castle is built

My foray into bowling last Monday served to reinforce the wisdom of my decision not to bowl in a league. I've never been what you might call "sporty" and bowling is no exception. You should see my collection of low bowler trophies - the silver crapper, the golden outhouse, a turkey, a skunk, and a beer mug with a donkey's butt on it - just to name a few. ;-)

Last week was mostly about the editing and the writing, which is the way it should be. But I did manage to spend a goodly amount of time knitting and I must say my Fair Isle sweater is coming along nicely. I've only got another couple of inches on the body and then I can start the sleeves - after I get to Wal-Mart to buy another ball of wool and a set of double pointed needles in the right size.

It cooled down some last week, which meant I was able to shut the fans off. What a relief! I love the fans when it's hot and sticky, but I was really starting to hate the noise. Now I can hear the birds during the day and the crickets at night. And we seem to have a frog in our pond as well - music to my ears.

It was cool enough one evening that I pulled the afghan out to work on, but I guess I'm in more of a knitting mode right now. Or maybe I just want to get this first sweater done to make sure I can do it. Even using just one contrast colour is intimidating for someone who's used to knitting in monochrome.

Blog Stuff For the Week:

Tuesday: Part seventeen in my series on the Major Arcana of the Tarot is The Star.
Wednesday:
A new hump day hunk for your viewing pleasure. ;-)
Thursday: Chapter 82 of Water. "The water comes." I wonder what Nereida meant by that cryptic remark?
Friday: No ramble this week, instead we have the much awaited launch of Magical Misfire, Book I of the Moonstone Chronicles.

Other Stuff

This week's TraxTime report runs from September 1 through September 7.

Crafts - 6 hours and 30 minutes ~ way down from 13 hrs and 22 min
Emails - 4 hours and 09 minutes ~ down from 6 hrs and 53 min
Games - 4 hours and 00 minutes ~ down from 8 hrs and 11 min
Reading - 2 hour and 03 minutes ~ down from 3 hr and 09 min
Non-fiction - 11 hours and 57 minutes ~ way up from 7 hrs and 58 min
Fiction - 5 hours and 31 minutes ~ down from 6 hrs and 37 min
Editing - 18 hours and 09 minutes ~ up from 12 hrs and 33 min

I appear to be finding my groove in my weekday schedule. I'm spending a lot less time on games and a lot more time on the important stuff. I'm not sure how my non-fiction time ended up so high . . . could be because I was feeling rather unmotivated on Saturday so I started work on my Tarot post for Tuesday. I probably spent more time journaling as well.

I fully expect my editing time to take a nose-dive this week. Last week's awesome number was thanks to editing two books: one of mine and one belonging to someone else. But those books are done now, and I'm trying not to hyperventilate at the thought I might have missed something. When I went through Magical Misfire to make sure the 3,500 words I added to it made sense, I found some more stuff that needed to be fixed and added another 500 words!

This week I will be diving into some fiction writing, which will be a relief after all that editing. Now that Magical Misfire is done, it's time to start going to town on the sequel. MM ends on a bit of a cliff-hanger, and I really hate cliff-hangers. Unfortunately, there was no other way to end it gracefully, so it is what it is. Which is why I'd like to get the sequel, Lucky Dog, finished ASAP.

As well, I'd like to try and jump ahead with Water. We're getting very close to the end, and all I can say is, it's about bloody time! And I thought Magical Misfire ran long. Jeesh! I'm really not looking forward to the edits on this one - a lot of it has to be scrapped and there are many, many changes to be made. *sigh*

If you saw my TraxTime for yesterday it would appear I didn't get much done. However, it only reflects the writing, editing, and procrastination tools. It does not reflect the things I get done around the house. Like baking. Yesterday I was up early and baked some apple crescents and cinnamon rolls, and in the afternoon I did a batch of raspberry bar cookies and then this crescent roll cheesecake thing I saw on Facebook. It was really yummy by the way, but next time I'm going to make a few of my own adjustments to the recipe.

As for fun this week (yes, I do occasionally take the time to do something for fun) I am going to The Poet Tree Eulogy on Thursday. It's a send off for the last elm tree in Victoria Park. This tree survived for over 75 years, but disease has caught up with it at last. I even have a poem to read for the occasion. :-)

Sep 6, 2013

Random Ramblings


On awards for stupidity . . .

I don't know about you, but it's the end of the week and I could use a good laugh. So here, for your amusement, is a selection of past winners of the Stella Awards.

The Stella Awards, not to be confused with the Stellar Awards which honour gospel music, are awarded for frivolous lawsuits, named in honour of 81-year old Stella Stella Liebeck. She took the lid off of her take-out coffee and put it between her knees while she was driving and then successfully sued the McDonald's she purchased it from when she spilled hot coffee on herself.

These cases were taken from the The True Stellas.

Sentry Insurance Company provided worker's compensation insurance for a Wisconsin "Meals on Wheels" program. Delivering a meal, a MoW volunteer (who was allegedly not even wearing boots) slipped and fell on a participant's driveway that had been cleared of snow, and Sentry had to pay to care for her resulting injuries. Sentry wanted its money back, so it sued the 81-year-old homeowner getting the Meals on Wheels service. It could have simply filed for "subrogation" from her homeowner's insurance company, but by naming her in the action, it dragged an old lady into court, reinforcing the image of insurance companies as concerned only about the bottom line, not "protecting" policyholders from loss.

Marcy Meckler. While shopping at a mall, Meckler stepped outside and was "attacked" by a squirrel that lived among the trees and bushes. And "while frantically attempting to escape from the squirrel and detach it from her leg, [Meckler] fell and suffered severe injuries," her resulting lawsuit says. That's the mall's fault, the lawsuit claims, demanding in excess of $50,000, based on the mall's "failure to warn" her that squirrels live outside.

Michelle Knepper of Vancouver, Washington, picked a doctor out of the phone book to do her liposuction, and went ahead with the procedure even though the doctor was only a dermatologist, not a plastic surgeon. After having complications, she complained she never would have chosen that doctor had she known he wasn't Board Certified in the procedure. So she sued ...the phone company!

Rhonda Nichols says a wild bird "attacked" her outside a home improvement store in Fairview Heights, Ill., causing head injuries. That's right: outside the store. Yet Nichols still held the Lowe's store responsible for "allowing" wild birds to fly around free in the air. She never reported the incident to the store, but still sued for "at least" $100,000 in damages.

Christopher Roller of Burnsville, Minn., is mystified by professional magicians, so he sued David Blaine and David Copperfield to demand they reveal their secrets to him -- or else pay him 10 percent of their lifelong earnings, which he figures amounts to $50 million for Copperfield and $2 million for Blaine. The basis for his suit: Roller claims that the magicians defy the laws of physics, and thus must be using "godly powers" -- and since Roller is god (according to him), they're "somehow" stealing that power from him.

Mary Ubaudi of Madison County, Illinois, was a passenger in a car that got into a wreck. She put most of the blame on the deepest pocket available: Mazda Motors, who made the car she was riding in. Ubaudi demands "in excess of $150,000" from the automaker, claiming it "failed to provide instructions regarding the safe and proper use of a seatbelt."

Shawn Perkins of Laurel, Indiana, was hit by lightning in the parking lot Paramount's Kings Island amusement park in Mason, Ohio. A classic "act of God", right? No, says Perkins' lawyer. "That would be a lot of people's knee-jerk reaction in these types of situations." The lawyer has filed suit against the amusement park asking unspecified damages, arguing the park should have "warned" people not to be outside during a thunderstorm.

Caesar Barber, 56, of New York City, who is 5-foot-10 and 270 pounds, says he is obese, diabetic, and suffers from heart disease because fast food restaurants forced him to eat their fatty food four to five times per week. He filed suit against McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's and KFC, who "profited enormously" and asked for unspecified damages because the eateries didn't warn him that junk food isn't good for him.

Sisters Janice Bird, Dayle Bird Edgmon and Kim Bird Moran sued their mother's doctors and a hospital after Janice accompanied her mother, Nita Bird, to a minor medical procedure. When something went wrong, Janice and Dayle witnessed doctors rushing their mother to emergency surgery. Rather than malpractice, their legal fight centered on the "negligent infliction of emotional distress" -- not for causing distress to their mother, but for causing distress to them for having to see the doctors rushing to help their mother.

And my personal favourite:
Utah prison inmate Robert Paul Rice, serving 1-15 years on multiple felonies, sued the Utah Department of Corrections claiming the prison was not letting him practice his religion: "Druidic Vampire". Rice claimed that to do that, he must be allowed sexual access to a "vampress". In addition, the prison isn't supplying his specific "vampiric dietary needs" (yes: blood). Records show that Rice registered as a Catholic when he was imprisoned in 2000. "Without any question we do not have conjugal visits in Utah," said a prison spokesman when the suit was thrown out. Which just goes to prove prison life sucks.

Sep 4, 2013

Hump Day Hunk



The end of summer is near - better make one more check of the beach to make sure you didn't leave anything behind. ;-)



Sep 3, 2013

Major Arcana of the Tarot - Part XVI
The Tower

0 - The Fool, I - The Magician, II - The High Priestess, III - The Empress, IV - The Emperor
V - The Hierophant, VI - The Lovers, VII - The Chariot, VIII - Strength, IX - The Hermit,
X - The Wheel of Fortune, XI - Justice, XII - The Hanged Man, XIII - Death, XIV - Temperance,
XVI - The Devil



The sixteenth card of the Major Arcana of the Tarot is The Tower. It's an unsettling card, even to look at, usually representing a sudden, dramatic upheaval or reversal of fortune. The change in circumstances can be gradual, giving you time to adapt, or it may be swift and explosive.

A sudden crisis is life's way of telling you to wake up. Something is wrong and you're not dealing with it. Are you stuck in a rut? Then you may be in for a surprise. Bottling up your anger? Expect the dam to let go. Maybe you're too full of pride? Then expect a blow to your ego.

But it's how you respond to the change The Tower brings that makes the difference in how the experience will affect you. You need to understand that the disturbance occurred because it was needed. And if embracing the change is too difficult, at least try to find the positive in it. You may even reach a new level of understanding or feel a tremendous release.

In the earliest Tarot decks, Sermones de Ludo Cum Aliis, this card is called La Sagitta (The Arrow), and shows lightning striking a tower. In the Visconti-Sforza Tarot, however, the card is missing and it is believed this card was not part of the deck. The Rosenwald Tarot shows The Tower as a large building being destroyed by fire, with flames leaping from the top and a large entrance gate at the bottom.

The Jacques Vieville Tarot (17th century), calls this card La Fouldre (Lightning) and shows fire falling to earth from a celestial body with debris in the sky, but instead of a tower, a man is shown standing close to a tree with his cattle. The Tarot of Paris, on the other hand, shows an image of the Devil beating a drum in front of what appears to be the mouth of Hell. The Belgian Tarot from the same century shows a tree being struck by lightning while a Flemish deck by Vandenborre renames it Le Foudre (The Thunderbolt) and shows a shepherd cowering under a burning tree that's been split by a bolt of lightning while sheep graze at its base.

The Minchiate Tarot, shows an image of two nude or scantily clad people fleeing through the open door of a burning building. The Tarot de Marseille calls this card La Maison Dieu (The House of God). It shows a tower standing erect in a hilly landscape. It has been blasted open at the top by tongues of fire from heaven and the sky is filled with brightly coloured balls. Two men, smiling slightly, are falling from the building. The Rider-Waite deck is based on this image, with small tongues of fire in the shape of the Hebrew yod letter replacing the balls.

The Tower sits atop a craggy mountain, representing ambition built on false premises. It represents a basic foundation of the past while the lightning striking it at the top represents intense and unexpected change. The tower is struck only at the top, signifying a clean break from the past.

The crown that is dislodged from the top of the tower symbolizes the end of an era. There are twenty-two flames in the sky, representing the twenty-two cards of the Major Arcana. Grey clouds of misfortune surround the tower, raining down on everyone randomly.

Two figures are seen falling from the tower, one with and one without a crown to illustrate that sudden calamity can happen without regard to wealth or status. These figures represent a head-first escape from the past and a sudden immersion into the immediate future. They symbolize frustrated plans, abandoned enterprises, and ruined ambitions.

The Tower is about changes, and you need to roll with the changes you're about to undergo. Things or people you've counted on may no longer be there in the same way. But this will only be a problem if you let it be. Trying to prevent change is like trying to row upstream without a paddle. You have all the resources inside you to deal with what you need to do.

The energy at this time will be of the more negative kind. You need to keep your temper under control . It could be that a relationship is about to end. Don't make assumptions about this, communicate with your partner to clear the air.

When The Tower comes up in a Tarot reading it's an indication of a time of great turmoil. An experience has shaken the foundation of your sense of security and forces you to question your belief system and behaviour. This experience will affect you profoundly - spiritually, mentally, and physically. This is a major upheaval, one that is likely to leave chaos in its wake.

But it's important to remember that with destruction comes creation. It is truth and honesty that come like a bolt of lightning from an impactful life event. It represents an important experience that forces you to leave your comfort zone in order to grow.

When The Tower appears in the past position, it indicates that whatever upheaval you're about to experience is rooted in your past. It could be an old argument about to start up again or maybe something that you've been putting off. Whatever it is, it's about to resurface.

In the present position, The Tower can take just about any form. The chaos about to be unleashed could involve relationships, work, finances . . . but whatever it is, it usually only affects one area of your life - thoroughly. The Tower in the future position indicates that you can see the change coming and it will be coming fast. The future is imminent.

Sep 2, 2013

Machair Monday

machair ~ low-lying sandy beach

Where did the summer go? One minute we were talking about how long summer was taking to get started, the next we were complaining about how hot and sticky it is, and now it's over.

Okay, so it's not quite over. It's still pretty warm here in the Great White North. Last week was not only overly warm, it was extremely humid as well. I'm surprised everything I own isn't covered in mould, it's been so damp this summer.

We had friends over for a barbeque yesterday and one of the things I did was clean out my salt and pepper shakers. You may be asking yourselves, why is that such a big deal? Because of the high humidity this summer my salt shakers in particular have become increasingly difficult to get anything out of. Plus, the metal tops started collecting moisture and becoming rusty. So I soaked them and cleaned them and put a few grains of rice in them before refilling, and now I'm crossing my fingers that the humidity goes down so I don't end up wasting all that fresh salt.

Another down side of how hot and humid it's been is that I haven't been able to wear my new sweater - it's too freaking hot.

Because my sweater is done I needed a new craft to work on, so I switched back to the afghan. However, once again I was foiled by the heat. The afghan is just barely long enough that I have to drape it over my lap as I work, and it's pretty darn warm. So there was only one thing left to do - I had to start one of the two Fair Isle sweaters I was planning for Christmas presents.

The thing about Fair Isle is that they're done on circular needles. Circular needles have the advantage that you're working in rounds, and you're not as likely to drop a stitch without realizing it. But it's been a long time since I've worked with circular knitting needles and I forgot how much your work can twist when you're getting started. To make a long story short, don't ask me how, but instead of ending up with a circle of ribbing, I ended up with an infinity symbol. It wasn't one of those things you could fix by pulling the work off the needles and untwisting it, so yes, I had to rip it all out and start over. *sigh*

Blog Stuff For the Week:

Tuesday: Part sixteen in my series on the Major Arcana of the Tarot is The Tower.
Wednesday:
A new hump day hunk for your viewing pleasure. ;-)
Thursday: Chapter 81 of Water. They're finally out of the cave system, but for how long? You'll have to read it to see.
Friday: This week's Ramble will be one of my surprise rambles. And I'm sure I'll be the most surprised of all. :-)

Other Stuff

This week's TraxTime report runs from August 25 through August 31.

Crafts - 13 hours and 22 minutes ~ way up from 4 hrs and 21 min
Emails - 6 hours and 53 minutes ~ down from 8 hrs and 53 min
Games -8 hours and 11 minutes ~ up from 5 hrs and 55 min
Reading - 3 hour and 09 minutes ~ down from 5 hr and 27 min
Non-fiction - 7 hours and 58 minutes ~ down from 9 hrs and 53 min
Fiction - 6 hours and 37 minutes ~ up from 5 hrs and 01 min
Editing - 12 hours and 33 minutes ~ up from 11 hrs and 32 min

In my defense, it was really crappy weather last week and it sucked the ambition right out of me. So at least when I spent all that time on crafts I was doing something, unlike my gaming time (which also went up) where I was accomplishing nothing.

No surprise the reading time took a nose dive. I'm reading a very enjoyable volume of faery stories (for adults) in a hard back book, but the book I'm reading on my kindle, though well-written makes for uncomfortable reading because of its subject matter. So I may have to set it aside and start something not quite as intense.

I must be writing faster with my non-fiction for the time to go down by two hours, but then last week's ramble didn't take much research. :-)

And while my editing time remained about the same, please notice that my fiction writing is taking an upward turn. Hmm. Maybe I should put these times in a spreadsheet and create a graph . . .

Yesterday, sad to say, I did nothing that required logging on TraxTime. The early part of the day was spent getting ready for our barbeque - making the salads, etc., and a triple chocolate cake for the son-in-law's birthday - and then the rest of the day was spent entertaining.

Today we're off to Neb's Fun World to celebrate the SIL's birthday with a few games of bowling. And it's 5-pin bowling, thank you very much, which is more of a game of skill than 10-pin. With 10-pin the pins are so close together and the ball is so big, that as long as your ball stays on the lane you can't help but score points. Whereas with 5-pin the pins are set further apart and the balls are much smaller - it is possible to throw the ball between the pins.

Now, if I could only remember where I put my bowling shoes . . .