Hello again

I have returned! Did you miss me? {You don't have to answer that...} It's been nearly a month since you've heard from yours truly and there have been some happenings. Nothing earth shattering... unfortunately. But a few things that are perhaps worthy of note.

+ The blog has undergone a few changes
As you may have noticed I have done a bit of changing-up here and there all over my blog. I thought it was time for a new color theme, and I was rather tired of the colder blue and greens I was using since Spring. Especially now that Fall is over, I wanted much warmer, cozier colors. Also, I updated the About page, if you'd like to buzz over.

+ We had our first snow.(And our second, third, fourth...)
It's actually piling up now - I reckon about eight to ten inches on the ground now, and 10*f. Enough to keep me indoors for the most part, near the stove where we are already preparing for Thanksgiving.  Mum and I are in the middle of jelly-making, but now is the part where you have to wait for the jars to seal, so I can write without feeling guilty. I feel completely spoiled at the moment having nothing to do but type and sip tea.

+ I found a new drawing niche
I have been struggling with my drawings. I really only know how to draw realistically and am very hesitant to try any style otherwise. Mostly because they look childish or poorly imagined to me {I'm thinking like graphic novel type stuff} because they all look as though they could have been drawn by the same 'artist'. At the same time I feel very constricted with real life, as I want something I can just jot down when I have the idea and not labor over the details, etc. At last I have what I've been looking for! Somewhere between sketchy and realism.

 Simple and to the point. Freedom of expression. I am one happy peach. I just need a lot more practice.

+ I turned 17
Pretty self-explanatory. I had a very nice, quiet birthday with the family... well, most of them. {:(} Anyway, the day was filled with chocolate cake and presents and reminiscing. And since it was my day I got to watch as many movies and read as much as I wanted while everyone else went about their usual day. Just call me Regina.

Regina [ORIGIN Latin, literally, 'queen']

+ Speaking of reading...
I should be doing a lot of that today. We are quite snowed in; couldn't even get out to go to church. I've zoomed through so many books over my little break, I really should update my sidebar 'bookshelf'. A lot of them were underwhelming, so I guess I won't put those up. But I did read the best WWII memoir in history {that's my opinion, at least}: With The Old Breed by E. B. Sledge. Sledge was a front line Marine in the Pacific war {Peleliu and Okinawa} and secretly took battlefield notes in the margins of his New Testament. A staggering firsthand account of war, I was riveted from the introduction. However, it is not for the young or faint of heart. Peleliu and Okinawa were two of the most bloody battles to be fought in the Pacific, and the conditions were beyond horrendous. This book is a hard one to recommend to anyone I don't know well because of that, but my stars it gave me true insight. It is now beyond easy for me to pick out authors who know nothing of war or battle {C. Paolini springs to mind as I read Inheritance}, and ensures that I will not make the same mistakes when the time comes in my own novels.

That pretty much wraps up what's happened to me for the last month. Though I left out the million-and-one music practices and performances and gigs. November/December is the busiest time of year for we who play stringed instruments publicly. My brother and I have pretty much made a pact that next year we're not going to do any performances and instead sit back and enjoy the Christmas season.

 Ha.

I have to say it's great writing and editing photos for posts again. My break was refreshing, but I'm glad to be back.

Dia,

-Gwyn