Because life doesn't stand still

I have few words today. I think it must be the abominable heat. Or perhaps because for the last four days I have been beating myself about the head with a blunt object in an effort to make it come up with worthy story material. As it is, what pathetic sum I have scribbled is most unsatisfactory.
 And so, instead of writing you with words of things & happenings I am going to let photos do most of the talking. For while my pen may have been idle, Jackson and I were not.

All sleek and shiny in their summer coats. This might sound like bragging -- promise it's not -- but I have some pretty horses. Okay, so I'm a little me&mine-monster. Sorry. But every time I see them out in the sun, all glossy and beautiful, I get a semi-ridiculous smile on my face. 'cause they're my friends. :)

 Water fights + 103* = a mustmust. One sided water fights? Even better. As long as I'm the one with the hose.

 {And learning how to set shutter speed -- pure awesome sauce!}

 Spanish labels have taken over a large part of my room, peoples. Pillows, walls, boxes..... nothing is safe.

I think I'm learning.

 Lots of this. Because running the dryer is stupid when outside will get your clothes dry 10x faster.

 90's... 100's.... Who cares. When it's this dry it doesn't make a difference. It's a terrible year for crops all around. A dry winter and spring have totally butchered any hopes of surplus for anyone this year. As far as hay, this year we'll be lucky if we get enough from our fields to last us much past Christmas, so we've already bought up a bunch from a friend east of us to last us. A lot of people are going to run short.

 Farmer's who got up to four cuts last year are now hoping they can scrape together one. I know one man who raises hay who has 90 acres he won't be able to cut at all because the grass is only six inches high. I can't imagine how it is down South.

Mum and I went to town yesterday and got our hairs did, and I.... I am no longer Rupunzel. It's the shocking truth. After growing it out for a year & a half {ma hair grows fast, people} I whacked off 13 inches for a light bob {what a dumb name for a hairstyle, if I may say so}. I saw this photo, thought about how hot my mass of hair was, Pinned it, thought how I love my waves, reconsidered, decided not to do it, got to the stylists, told her to have at it.

 Regrets? Not yet.

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

Find a happy place, find a happy place!!

*deeeeep breath*

Well. It's day two of NaNo how is everyone else coping? I myself am off to a rather rocky start. Friday my grandpa had to be taken to the ER, and it turns out he had pneumonia really bad. The doctors were amazed he was doing as well as he was with the amount of fluid in his lungs. He's still at the hospital receiving antibiotics and meds for nerve damage{something he's had for a long time}, so thank heaven he's doing better now. Even a cold at his age is worrying and could go either way, let alone pneumonia.

My writing nook by my bed.

That was all very concerning but what hit my planning/writing hard was on Sunday I woke up feeling positively awful. I didn't even go to church{I hate missing church}. I missed all the Halloween parties too. I guess it's a good thing then that I don't care much for All Hallows Eve.

L-H My pumpkin, My older brother's, and my younger brother's

A horseshoe. For me, a little predictable but me none the less :)

Not because of all the voodoo about how it's supposedly the devil's birthday or whatever {sorry if I'm being insensitive}, but more because I really don't see the point of the whole deal. I mean, what are we celebrating anyway? Cheap latex? Free candy? The basic urge to scare the dickens out of a fellow human being? It's worth a thought. :)

Anyway, where was I? Ah yes...
 Monday I was still feeling peakéd but was able to scrape out about a thousand words by midnight. Today I typed it out and wrote some more, and, as you can see above, reached 2,470. I'm still behind a bit, but I'm not going to worry about it too much because I have two music recitals this week (!!). Violin next Sunday and piano on Friday. I'm slightly apprehensive about both of them.

 The violin recital I'm playing in two separate groups. In the elite group we play Orinoco Flow by Enya, great song but a very difficult arrangement. It must have been a nightmare to compose!
 In piano I'm playing Brahms Lullaby duet with my teacher. I am ashamed to say I haven't practiced -- I hope my teacher isn't reading this *smiles winningly*

Okay this post is just sad so I'm going to stop trying to write with what's left of my fried brain and add some pictures.

-Gwyn