so you think YOU have volatile weather

 These last two weeks have been wild with summer abundance. Canning, harvesting, riding, fencing (not as awesome, but still largely a summer project). It's been hot, I've been sweating and turning brown. Overall just happy to spend my days in my favorite weather, where the days are hot enough to play in sprinklers, but the evenings are crisp with the promise of orange pumpkins and yellow leaves.

Okay, I'll admit, it wasn't perfect. There was (and is) quite a bit of frustration with the fence and rogue ponies. But it's easier to look back and see only that golden sunlight on the apple trees.

(juvenile mountain bluebird)

Beautiful puffy summer clouds. Fair weather fo'ever, right?........

right.

This is what I woke up to Thursday morning. Overnight the soft rainy drizzle that fell the day before turned into this muck. (sorry, I'm a little bitter. Last year we had eight months of snow, and I've never much cared for the stuff ANYWAY.)

 I mean, what the heck. Technically it's still summer! The henpecked weatherman assures us that by this time next week we'll be back in the 80*s, but the damage is done. My tomatoes and squash and cucumbers and beans are all dead. *sigh*
  I'm glad we got the fence done. Now the hurry to winterize the farm will really get going:
     Wood to be chopped
 (so much wood... I love fire),
        ducks to cull (we can't have two piggy males),
 hay to stack,
      chicken houses to clean, and heatlamps to install.
 I kinda hate having to prepare for the bleak months ahead in September...
 I love where I live, but there has got to be a better climate for me - like the equator :)

White is in the winter night... {also: story help?}

White.
The color of purity. hope. salvation. rebirth and renewal.

 Looking out my window, that is all I see. White. The ground, the trees, the sky, the very air itself is dancing with white.
White is also the color of blizzards. Of relentless cold and icy wind.
 Frozen stars rarely chose to peek out upon this white country when the grey-black palette night at last comes.
 Day runs into day; hour into hour; deja vu is common place. Cabin fever, of which I am suffering, is almost mandatory.

 And it's only day two.

I have exhausted my creativity all yesterday and so today feel completely uninspired. I tried writing but that turned out nothing but frustration; as did drawing, sewing, baking, and piano. Even reading left me devoid of interest. 

 I need to move! Run, ride, climb, jump -- anything but this long, tedious sitting about waiting.... for what? For the snow to melt? I wish. 

 I have also reached a platue in both my stories. The first in my "NaNo" novel because 'Trent'{still pending} is at a modern day highschool in the suburbs of some East coast city/town. The problem? Several actually.

 1) I have nothing in common with him or his surroundings at the moment. I've only set foot in a real HS perhaps twice in my life and that was for my older brother's Out of Town basketball games. I have no idea what the classes are like - are they set up sort of like college ones? I know more about those. And what about the other kids that go there? I've heard many, many horror stories from friends of what goes on between people there, but surely they can't all be true? Aren't there some good, responsible teens left in the public system? Can you help me out, O those who have experienced it firsthand? I would really appreciate it!

2) I don't like writing modern day. I need history or fantasy! Modern is so... so... typical? real? boring. To me at least :) I'm really going to have to push myself to finish this part of my book. Soon they'll be in Palendí....

In my other book, The Legend of Skyrian, Cilla is just beginning the real adventure and is being introduced to new and important characters right and left, as well as learning a great deal and trying to forget the recent past. It's very daunting to me, the writer. I'm so excited to finely be getting into the real heart of the story, yet I'm a little apprehensive as well; This is important stuff I'm dealing with! keeps running through my mind, and I'm not ready yet! especially gets me. So I set my pen down. Sigh.

 Again, advice is most welcome.

Ah, it looks like the snow is starting to let up. Thank goodness! I thought we might get another foot today -- thought, not hoped.

Searching the interwebs for one-way ticket to Hawii,

-Gwyn

I return from the 'relative' dead

"Hullo hullo hullo!" to quote Prince Rhun{Lloyd Alexander's The Chronicles of Prydain}.
 Sorry I disappeared without a word, I was rather knocked for a loop by the flu last weekend and didn't feel at all like writing of any sort, plus it was my birthday weekend to boot. So my 'sweet sixteen' really wasn't all that sweet though I was recovered enough to enjoy it from my invalid's chair :) While it wasn't quite what I was expecting, I shall always remember my 16th, all thanks to a little virus :)
 Six days later I'm still awfully tired all the time and a little weak, though I'm getting stronger. But it's really not surprising since I lost nearly six pounds in two days. Wowzer, I think that's a new record! Not a great one, since it completely undid my entire workings for my New Years resolution to gain ten pounds. I hit seven last month making me a whopping 108lbs! *then dramatically* But no more.
 Well, I guess pile on the turkey at Thanksgiving and Christmas, wot? Haha!

But enough about me. How fares everyone else in the bloggy world? Still plugging away you NaNos? I confess that mine has barely stirred since the *gulp* 9th. But I did receive two awesome writing journal bookies! A beautiful blue velvet bound one, and a pink tooled leather one that I think I shall keep in my purse/bag-of-many-things to jot down ideas, sketches, etc in when I'm away from home... and peering at observing interesting people from behind a National Geographic. 

 Ooo! I must tell you! I also was given the first series of BBCs Robin Hood! Even though my inner historian screams and writhes at the almost complete inaccuracy of the period, {Greek fire? It's gunpowder you ninnies!! Greek fire is waaaay different! And black powder was invented by the Chinese, not the Saracens..!} I have for the most part accepted it just as a jolly good swashbuckling kind of show, telling my historian to close her eyes for the length of it lest she have a breakdown of sorts. It's not easy, it is my favorite and most studied era after all. And after the last episode she was just muttering to herself things like "Tudor houses...1192...flip-flops...ninja swords..."
*shrugs* Whatever. I'm enjoying it :)
It snowed here, as you can probably tell by all the photos I have up, and Hammie and my little brother are defiantly enjoying the wet white stuff. I am too -- photo ops!! Ugh, these last few weeks everything has just been dying yellows/greys and all the leaves have gone so there was nothing to photograph except indoor stuff and that's no fun.

 Mum and I went into an adorable little shop when we were in town yesterday. It the kind of shop that has antique style boxes, candles, lights, clocks, teapots, and all things delicate and yet cozy. You could spend years in there and not see every little thing. They're all decked out for Christmas, and the moment you open the door the warm scent of ginger bread and cinnamon fills your nose. And now I'm all Christmassy too :) Already I've dug out Enya's Christmas cd and been playing it, waiting for the angels, as it were. I'll leave you now with my favorite one...

-Gwyn

Second snow

... of this season is happening on the other side of these glass windows.
 It's both saddening and funny to read other blogs where they write that "autumn is finely here!" when winter is just beginning on my golden prairie. Disbelief is mixed in there too, now that all the beautiful leaves have been blown away. Part of me balks like a mule at thought of winter, yet there's always that eternal optimism that fills me at the start of each season, that this time will be different. This time it will be great! We have had a long autumn considering last year when we had about one week before the snow hit, and I'm thankful for the last few days that have been filled with absolutely lovely weather.
 The flakes that fall now are ragged and skinny; the first of the Valkyrie, so to speak. {Okay, perhaps that's not the best definition, but I love that legend and that name!} Pitiful to compare with the one- to two inch fluffs that will drift haughtily from the sky like ermine clad lords later this year. They can't even survive long enough to dust the ground.
 In other words, nothing worth photographing.

My Grandpa and Double Stuff are both doing much better, and I must thank you all for the kind words and prayers. Dudders seems to have made a full recovery though he coliced for another day after I posted last.
 My aunt flew up a few days ago and has been staying with us to be near Grandpa. My other aunt and cousin will be coming to see him this weekend as well. And I think that is what is making him stronger.
 They say laughter is the best medicine but I think it's family.

My music concerts were accomplished, more I can't say - I can remember! It all went by in such a blur.
 My NaNoing is very slow, I'm trying to write at every possible opportunity but I can't promise I'll hit the 50k by the end of this month. I've also been away from the interwebs quite a bit so I haven't updated anything or commented anywhere. I guess it's an unconscious decision to read more books{Allison Croggen's The Naming for the third time. Oh I love her writing!}  and less blogs - no offense or anything :)

But now dear peeps, I must go to the dentist to get my teeth drilled on :(
-Gwyn

Cilla or Gwyn? Cilla or Gwyn? Cilla or... Arrrrrgh! Help! and Goats??

Fellow people with opinions, I need your help!
For a little while now, I've been debating on whether or not to change my main character{from my main novel: The Legend of Skyrian} from Gwyn to Cilla. Can you help?
  Here are the Pros and Cons

Gwyn{short for Gwyniver}

Pros: 

• Has a Medieval ring to it
• Is suited for her era
• Full name is unique to my story 

Cons: 

• Looks too similar to "Gwinivier"
• "Gwyn" has been used in other medieval fantasy books
• I'm not positive it suits her character perfectly

Cilla{can be short for Percilla}

Pros:

• Has rarely been used at all
• Suits her character maybe a little better than "Gwyn"
• I like it's slightly musical sound and how naturally comes to me when I think about her character

Cons:

• "Percilla" is a period name from the 18th and 19th centuries
• It can come off as sounding "prissy" - which my character is not in the least!

Well, there it is. Can you help me out? Please leave a comment and vote!

Other news.....

The weather has been gorgeous around here{at last}! In the 70's and 80's! Can you believe it?
 I have been riding and photographing like there's no tomorrow. I want to stick all my pictures up on Wandering Stills, but the computer with the pictures, the iMac, needs a brain transplant aka new hardrive, so that's out until Da can find enough time to install it. :/


 Some more May news:
A few day's ago, while I was feeding the horses, I found that my brother's rabbit "Madam Miffy Fluffypaws" had died. And that it was probably my fault. *guilty look* You see, the day before I'd given her some fresh grass - and it might have been to much. Rabbits have extremely delicate digestive systems... I might have kicked her bucket, so to speak. Well, that's the only reason I can find anyway. I could have been something else I don't know of but...*shrugs*  She was young, bouncy, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed until I found her stone dead.
So that's it for the rabbits around here. It couldn't have happened at a worse time, either, when I'm trying to convince my Da to let my get a couple pygmy goats. I cacn do goats, by the way. I've had them before for years and we got on splendidly! But Da doesn't think we need them, Mum says if I can care for them and keep them off her lilacs it's okay.
  So really all I need is a purpose for them other than "pets" in Da's eyes. I don't fancy raising them for meat. And I don't think you can milk pygmies, can you? People with goats, please throw in your advice!

Thank you!!! Gwyn/Cilla :)

Quick update...

{May I call your attention to my new profile pic? Yes, it is me and Shyanne:)}
Hammie's operation went well. Bill{the vet} said it was a good thing we didn't wait any longer because the ligament was practically gone. O.o Poor baby! I went in Thursday to learn his PT exercizes, and so on. He had to be kept in a kennel for five days to keep him off his leg. That didn't go over well with him, being Corgi/Ausi and all. They said his leg won't be totally healed for about 8 months. That's a very long time for the active guy.
As my absence testifies, I have been extremely busy and still am. Hammie's PT takes up quite a bit of time and my brother and I are very popular this season for playing at churchs'. Too bad this isn't the ideal year for it people! For us anyways. Oh, well. Show must go on and all that.
Remember I mentioned awhile back that I had the flu? It turns out I don't have the flu but worse, there is mold in one of my bedroom walls. Eergh!! I do not need this right now!!
Sunday I was really sick, but couldn't stay home because I had to play 1st violin at two Church services and the Children's Christmas Program. Monday was the second Midnight Mass practice at the Catholic Church. I'm 1st violin there, too. Tonight's another and tomorrow night it's show time! This is the third year we've played at the Catholic's MN Mass. It's like the highlight of our music year; it's the biggest church around; their biggest holiday... so we're very flattered to be asked to play for them every year.{'specially cause we're Lutheran :D} Needless to say though, it's very stressful. There's new music this year, and... Okay I *love* the latin mass and the *beautiful* latin music tunes, but, it is very hard to play! It was originally written for voices alone, which is great!...If you're in the chorus.
With voice you can easily go from a low C to a higher B. But on violin you have to cross two strings. And when you put the C-B in a run O.o
We've got one more practice...<:)

Yesterday hor-frost covered everything in beautiful white spears. Got some awesome photos I'll try and post later on this week. Today we got an almost white-out snowstorm that's hitting most of the US looks like. Fist power out too. Joy.

If I survive tomorrow, I might post...
It's getting dark and I haven't feed my horses yet. So Happy Christmas Eve's eve! If you live some place warm, I envy you. ~Gwyn

The weather is frightful! "don't forget me! I'm in there too!" Be quiet, Newton!

Oy! You know its cold when your eyelashes freeze together when you blink and freeze to your skin when you open them!
Last night it got down to -16 with a wind chill[that hasn't warmed up] of -27*!! It's now a balmy 6* above! We were praying our water pipes didn't freeze last night, and thankfully, they haven't! YAY! That has to be one of the worst parts of winter.
Our water tank on the other hand is nearly frozen solid >~<. By some miracle there's still about 4" of water left so we won't have to start hauling water in buckets till tonight. UGH!! I HATE hauling water! Sorry, just had to rant for a second...
Today we also have music lessons and shopping. That'll be fun in the but cold ;l Oh, no. *moans* That means we'll get home after dark {it gets dark @ 4:00pm} so we'll be feeding and hauling water in the dark! Maaaaaann! "Suck it up, Princess!" Hey! Don't you call me princess! "You're acting like one." Newton! Shut up! YOU get to stay here inside and be plugged into your nice warm charger! *Newton: sticks disk tray out* I knew I should have gotten Clara. Even if she didn't have a WIFI card. But no, I got the smart mouthed $200s more you! "And you're glad you did, prissy" I've about had it..! "You know people are going to read this" ......Oh.Right.... Back on topic!...Newton, what was the topic?? "You were complaining" *glares* Okay. I get your point. Right. I'm doing it for the things I hold most dear: my fur-children. So I shan't complain. Right. *nods impressively, hands on hips*
On to the good news!
"About time..!"
Newton, I shall ignore that last snide comment and continue with my post. On to the GOOD news!
Today I finished my math book and so... am on Christmas break!!!!!!!! Whooohoooo! Three WEEKS off!!!!!! Can you believe it?? Sweetnes!
Its mainly because I have to help Mum a lot. We have 27+ cookie trays to make and send out for Christmas and I've got several horse-hair necklaces to make by next week. Should be fun. I got some really beautiful horse pendants for them; I'll have to post pics when I get them done. Speaking of pics, the reason I haven't posted any of getting the Christmas tree is because my Dad has been making a DVD of hi sculptures on the iMac which has all the pics on it. And Newton doesn't have enough memory to hold my story and 80+ pictures and run fast enough for me. "Say what?" That's why I got him under $500. :)

Update on Hammie: He's going to have surgery next Wednesday to repair his ligament. Afterward its going to be really hard to keep him from running about like he usually does. We might have to get "ace" for dogs or what ever they use for them. Have you ever tried to keep a corgi/ shepherd cross calm? Not easy. Even now, when it hurst him to move, he runs after the truck and jumps around. Hmmm. That dog:)

Well, I guess that's I really have to say. Cheers!~Gwyn Farewell~Newton
Oh, don't be so dramatic.
"I'm insulted!"
Oh please.....
"You just hush! Or I'll...I'll post all your passwords! Ha!"
You wouldn't dare!
"Oh, I think I would."
Don't look so smug. Remember, I have your power cord! Ha, trump that, Newt!
"Smiggamorphgrr...."
>:) I win.
"...For now...."

October first and a chance of snow

The title says it all. *sigh* Good-bye indian summer! I'm really surprised it lasted this long! But, I guess it had to end sometime... 

Yesterday it was 84*, today it's 48* and winds up to 60 mph, and tomorrow we're going to get snow. But that's just the Great Plains for you! You never know what the weather will do. Here come the ice chopping days....yuuuuuck!

So, is it snowing anywhere else?

Last night I drew Gwyn and Emy as little girls.:) Happy with it! I'll try and post it tomorrow, depending on wether I'm on time for school or not.{That's why I wasn't on yesterday}

 

Well, if I'm not frozen tomorrow or late, I'll talk to you later!

~Gwyn