NaNoWriMo

 Around six o'clock last night I got a call from work.  I hadn't been asleep for long.  The recorded message was to make sure that the employees knew to come in an hour early for Mandatory Extended Time.  The holidays mean that more people are buying things so we have more work to do.  I'm happy I got the message and didn't end up being late for work.  Other things I am happy for today:

• Keziah was nice enough to drive me into town for a quick errand.  I was so tired after work and having lunch that I didn't want to drive.  The task was completed thanks to Keziah driving.
• Today, November 30th, marks the last day of NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writer's Month.  The recommended word count for adults to write is 50,000.  My personal goal was much smaller at 11,000.  I'm happy to report that when I stopped writing today my word count exceeded that.  I'm not sure if I will try to do this again next year.  But I reached this year's goal, yay!

☮

Currently reading: The Middle Ages: A Graphic History, by Eleanor Janega and Neil Max Emmanuel.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Footprints in the Snow

Before I start on my list of happy things... A family member passed away from cancer today.  He was a fun loving, hard working person who will be missed.  Putting a smile on people's faces was something he liked to do.  

                                                                                              

There are three days left in November.  At the beginning of the month I set a goal to write 11,000 words this month for NaNoWriMo.  It isn't a lot of words.  I know of a teenager who hit the 50,000 word goal on Thanksgiving.  Today I wrote 1,159 words bringing my total so far to 9,585.  I'm not there yet, but I am very pleased with today's progress.  Other happy things for today:

• This morning I came up to clean my room and got distracted.  My room didn't get any neater.  I started looking for jobs again and got side tracked.  It was a lovely rabbit hole where I became a business professional and traveled to Spain.  I don't see this dream becoming a reality anytime soon.  It did give me some lovely ideas that I was able to write about for one of my NaNoWriMo stories.  Taking time to dream is important and can be a motivator.
• There is snow on the ground.  Somehow I thought it was going to melt away today.  It is November 27th, so the snow stayed.  The fresh snow brought footprints!

These are Aesop's pawprints.

Unknown print.

Deer print

Not sure, possibly a neighbor's cat.

• Aesop was very cute when I took him outside in the snow this morning.  He kept snuffling and eating the snow.  Happy dog!
• Zed and I took Aesop for a walk on the back property.  I have been avoiding the north side of the property since spring when the rains came making it hard to cross the little stream.  We walked the two loops that make up a mile.  It is still very wet, but winter boots kept my feet dry.

☮

Currently reading: The Middle Ages: A Graphic History, by Eleanor Janega and Neil Max Emmanuel.
        
Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

First Snow Cover of the Season

Yesterday's writer's block seems to have gone away today.  I set a timer and only wrote for a little over twenty minutes, and I wrote almost 600 words.   It is a matter of believing that I can do it at this point and then carving out the time to do so.  I have a little over 2,500 words to write by the end of the month to achieve my 11,000 word goal for NaNoWriMo.  Other happy things for today:

• Last night I stayed at my friend Amy's house.  The room I use when I visit there is dark and quiet.  I had a good sleep last night.  I even slept more than five hours.  For me that is almost a long time.
• Everyone is home.  I have enjoyed the quiet of the house, but I am happy that we are all together again.  Aesop had a good few days with a sitter and was very tired today.
• Leftovers.  Keziah and Zed brought back a bunch of food from their Thanksgiving with Zed's family.  Cranberry sauce is still probably my favorite.  Two days in a row.  Yum.
• It is snowing.  I'm not sure how happy I am about this.  It is the end of November so it is certainly time to start seeing more snow.  

The white streaks are the snow falling.

Later, snow on the ground.

☮

Currently listening to: Gilgamesh, translated by Stephen Mitchell, narrated by George Guidall.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

If Cats Could Talk

 Gideon, Keziah, and I met some friends at a local cafe this morning to write and work on upcoming SCA things.  I added some words to one of my NaNoWriMo stories and worked on organizing a Yule event.  The food was good and the company, better.  Other happy things for today:

• There are things that we have been letting collect in the driveway because they needed the ladder set up to put them away.  Today we set up the ladder and put them away.  There are a few more things that need to be put away before the snow falls and we need to plow, but we are closer.  Yay!
• Keziah and Zed wanted a fire tonight.  I helped by building the foundation.  Then I went inside and had my accountability meeting with TF and then I made dinner.  I never made it out to see the fire.  I'm okay with that.  I took a picture of the indoor one to share instead.

• Before bed I still didn't have my steps for the day so I got ready to take Aesop for a walk.  Nanni was wanting attention.  After petting her for a few minutes she gave me this look:

What I think she is saying is, "Sure, just leave me here and go walk that dog!  I won't be here when you get back."   And she wasn't.  🤪

☮

Currently reading: The Backyard Homestead Seasonal Planner, by Ann Larkin Hansen.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Tired Tuesday

 Working late was an option today.  I was tired and decided to go home instead.  Good thing I did because I had forgotten that I had a meeting with my Protege to go over some exchequer/treasurer things.  We had a very productive afternoon that has left me exhausted.  Other happy things for today:

• Even though I was tired I still got some writing done for NaNoWriMo.  
• Around sunset, I realized that I had not taken any pictures yet and what better thing to take a picture of than the sunset.  

• There were sprinkles coming down that I could hear more than feel.  It was a mix of rain and either sleet or freezing rain.  Not snow yet, but winter like weather.

Raindrops and icy precipitation.

☮

Currently reading: The Backyard Homestead Seasonal Planner, by Ann Larkin Hansen.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Steps

 Monday's can be hard.  It is my day to try to reacclimate my body to working nights.  This morning I spent writing for NaNoWriMo.  I am pleased with my total word count as I have reached the halfway point and have slightly more than half the words needed to reach my goal.  My goal for the month is 11,000 words and I have written 5738.  It is possible that work will start having mandatory extra time as the holidays get closer.  Hopefully I'll be able to keep writing.  Other happy things for today:

• This morning the air was cold and there were clouds below us over the river.  I'm not sure how well it shows up in the picture behind the trees.

• Steps were made in planning for an SCA event in the spring.
• I stepped out of my shell for a moment and made small talk with a person in line at the store.  She reminded me of my ex husband's grandmother.  
• The afternoon clouds were absolutely fantastic today (except for the one that rained on me).  They were big and full of cold wetness.

☮

Currently reading: The Backyard Homestead Seasonal Planner, by Ann Larkin Hansen.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Rainy Day

 It was a rainy Friday.  For Keziah and I the first task of the day was to empty the septic in the RV.  Not the funnest of jobs, but I am happy that it is done and the biggest problem we had was getting the key to work unlock the drain.  Other happy things for today:

• When the rain wasn't heavy, I worked in the garden some.  I had a gentle (no injury/didn't fall) reminder that working in mud is slippery.  
• As the clouds started to break up tonight the sky turned orange.  I didn't end up with a picture that showed the color.

• For NaNoWriMo I have started another story.  Maybe if I could keep to one theme I would do better.  I got 411 words done and have a total of 4264 so far.  With a goal of 11,000 I think I am doing okay.
• It is Minecraft Friday!

☮

Currently reading: The Backyard Homestead Seasonal Planner, by Ann Larkin Hansen.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Nuts

 First, thank you -K, for letting me know the link wasn't working.  The setting for the YouTube video I tried to share yesterday is fixed.  Here is the link again for convenience.  Someday I hope to make less silly mistakes when posting things online.  🤪  Here are some happy things from today:

• For NaNoWriMo I wrote 701 words today.  That puts me really close to on track for my daily word count after missing last Saturday.  My total word count is 3244.  One of the short stories I was working on is basically finished.  I'm not editing at this point.
• The cats decided to sleep on the bed by me while I wrote.  

            At one point Winston, the orange tabby, reached out his paw in a long stretch and tapped on the             paw of Nanni, the brown tabby.  It was adorable but was not photographed.

• Aesop, the dog, has a new feeder cup.  It is supposed to make him have to think more to get at the food or treats.  He kept picking it onto the couch which we really don't want him to do.  I kept putting it back on the floor.  Aesop wanted both, to be on the couch and have the food so I got this picture...

• Just before dark I decided I needed to do something more productive and headed out to the back property to plant the four walnuts I was saving.  Considering my track record, I don't expect them to grow, but I have to try.  I used a yard flag and some tomato cages to mark them.  I expect that squirrels or chipmunks will enjoy them over the winter.  
• My timing was perfect as I came down the hill after planting the walnuts the sun had set with the sky still turning darker.  The moon had risen and seemed to be right between Jupiter and Venus.

Sun has set.

The planets are harder to see.
Jupiter is to the left and up a little from the moon.
Venus is to the right and down from the moon (much harder to see). 

☮

Currently reading: The Backyard Homestead Seasonal Planner, by Ann Larkin Hansen.
    This is the book I have been trying to read a chapter each month to follow along with the season and     forgot last month.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Guy Fawkes Day

 The plan to work in the yard took a back seat to some other things today.  I did get out to the triangle part of the yard and added some more mulch, but it is not yet complete.  Keziah and I are going to an event tomorrow and will be gone all day so yard work will wait until Sunday.  I'm happy that some progress was made; other happy things today:

• First thing this morning I had a dentist appointment.  Until I find out otherwise, the dental insurance through work seems to have covered the entire visit-cleaning and full x-rays.  I'm good for another six months.
• I made a checklist of things to do and everything on there has been checked off.
• I got a nice picture of Gideon and Aesop snuggling on the couch.

• I worked on what will become a braided rug and got to my first color change.  

I'm thinking of calling the rug Sherbert.

• When going to get the SD card from the wildlife camera I saw some footprints in the mud.

Pretty sure it is from a deer.

• I've only written a little bit for NaNoWriMo so far today.  Only 111 words so far.  If I can stay awake, I'll do more writing before I go to sleep.

☮

Currently reading:  Mount Washington A Guide and Short History, by Peter E. Randall.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Buckets and Buckets

There are wonderful things about being outside this time of year.  The days are cooler, the air smells fresh and clean, the leaves are colorful or fallen so the view is different.  There is also something to be said for coming inside and being warm.  Today I did both.  After work I took my tired feet inside and rested in the warm house.  TF and I had our midweek check-in to touch base on our goals for the week.  After that and lunch, I went outside and set to tackle putting mulch on the triangle part of the yard.  --K's suggestion of using a tarp was welcome and appreciated, but there were no tarps to be found.  I did find a six gallon bucket though.  After about 30 minutes walking back and forth, I was ready to rest again.  Progress was made though and tomorrow is another day.   

It looks rather scattered, because it was.
😀

Other happy things for today:

• We had a Zoom meeting with a dog trainer today.  I listened to most of it.  There were times when Aesop, the dog needing training, was barking enough that I couldn't hear.  We have more ideas and ways to train Aesop.
• My NaNoWriMo word count has fallen a little short today.  Only 115 words written today.  There are ideas, but my brain is too tired from working all night and not getting more than a cat nap today.  But I still wrote!
• The mulch is under an evergreen tree with many pinecones.  A pair of chickadees were, I believe, feasting on the seeds/nuts. They stuck around for me to take some pictures. Also, it is not a pine tree but some other type of evergreen, they may not be called pinecones...

There is a chickadee in this picture, really.

☮

Currently reading:  Mount Washington A Guide and Short History, by Peter E. Randall.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Day of the Dead

 The wagon is broken.  Okay, I broke the wagon by overloading it.  The mulch arrived today and I set to the task of taking the mulch from the pile and putting it onto the triangle.  The wheel barrow has been holding some other things for quite some time and was not available.  So the wagon got filled with mulch.  Filled may be a strong word.  I put twenty shovel fulls in, rolled it to the triangle, emptied, repeated.  It was on the third repeat that the wheels gave out.  And so the rest of the triangle will have to wait.

This is what two cubic yards of mulch looks like.

The incomplete triangle.

The red wagon has served us well.
It began as a way to carry a younger Gideon around at events.

Progress has been made with the triangle.  Tomorrow I will try to be creative on how to get the mulch where I want it.  Other happy things for today:

• After giving up on the mulch and coming inside to get ready for sleep, Gideon told me about some writing sprints that he found in NaNoWriMo.  I almost forgot to write!  Thankful for Gideon and that gentle reminder.
• My NaNoWriMo word count for today is 517.  It took a while to find words though.  Eventually I used a writing prompt generator for ideas.  
• The Norway maple tree is losing leaves but still looking good.  

☮

Currently reading:  Mount Washington A Guide and Short History, by Peter E. Randall.


Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Roses in the Rain

 As I paced the floor tonight to reach my 10,000 steps a day goal I thought to myself, "Not today.  Today will not be the day that this streak ends."  It has been about fourteen and a half months and I don't want to lose the streak because of laziness or forgetfulness.  So the goal has been reached.  Other things I am happy for today:

• Last November I set a goal to write for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writer's Month) and I wrote over 10,000 words.  To "win" a person should aim at 50,000.  That is a lot of words.  This year my goal is to beat last year, so I am aiming at 11,000.  
• Keziah is making a gardecorp (medieval clothing) for a friend who will be getting an award at an event next week.  I got to be the mannequin for a few minutes today.  It cast a cool shadow that had us trying to quote from the movie Princess Bride about being the Dread Pirate Roberts.

It didn't photograph well.

• There are still too many boxes that I need to go through.  I tried today and instead wanted to save it all.  The box is of old newspapers and clippings, mostly from the 1970's.  There was a series of articles in the Manchester Union Leader, "Hometown History," that my mom clipped and saved.  They seem to have been written by George Woodbury.  Some of them are filed in envelopes alphabetically by town.  Others didn't get that far.  This box brought back happy memories of my mom.  I also kind of want to read all the articles.  
• It has been raining all day.  The roses are beautiful.

☮

Currently reading:  Mount Washington A Guide and Short History, by Peter E. Randall.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.