What's Good

Even though I haven't sold my house yet, there's lots good about the fact, like I'm enjoying another summer on my awesome deck...

and my extra awesome Hydrangea...

a wicked fun new show...

I ripped through all 8 episodes in about a week

and last but not least, I found the motivation my character needed and revised all her chapters, which consequently caused more revisions, but finally got me past where I'd left off. So yay me!

Anything good in your life right now? Seen Stranger Things? Love summer as much as I do?

Monday pics

Yesterday I went to the Boothbay Botanical Gardens in Boothbay (no surprise there), which is about a twenty-five minute drive from my house. The weather was perfect, hot and sunny, and though it's late summer there was still plenty in bloom. Here a few...

one of the many wind sculptures that move...

wouldn't you love to have a little brook like this in your back yard?

The only negative thing I have to say is that the admission cost of $16 per person was a little pricey. I think the last time I went it was $12, which seems much more reasonable. On the other hand, I've been to a few botanical gardens and I think ours is exceptionally nice. The short drive is a bonus, too.

So. What did you do this weekend? Have any fun?

Progress and The Ringling Museum

First off, in regards to my WIP, working title RUN, I've been fairly productive since I got back from my vacation. I finished up chapter 19, which I'd been stalled on, and wrote a whole new chapter. There's some fun stuff happening. The town got a delivery, someone unpleasant arrived with it, and my main characters have just learned that the power will be going out soon, leaving them all in the dark. Oh, and it's winter. Good times.

As for The John & Mable Ringling Museum, this was the other place we visited in Sarasota, and it was so huge we didn't have time to see everything. We focused our visit on the Circus Museum, and Ca' d'Zan, John and Mable's winter home. John Ringling, in case you didn't know, was part of the Ringling Brothers Circus, which by 1889 was large enough to need to travel by rail. There's a whole diorama of the trains and then the depot and then the circus spread out over a large area with tents for everything. It was so cool and I took lots of pics. Next week I'll show you Ca' d'Zan, but today, it's the Circus!

I'll leave you with this last pic of a monkey statue that there's no way I'd have in my house. He's wicked cool, but oh, so creepy...

Have an awesome weekend :)

Monday pics and a job!

 Yesterday I went up to the Rockland Breakwater* again, this time with my son.

from June 2011 - a cloudy rainy day

from June 2013 - a gorgeous evening...

It was a perfect summer day: no clouds, temps in the low 80s, and a nice breeze coming off the ocean. The first thing we saw were these planes all coming from (I assume) Owl's Head Transportation Museum, which is just across the harbor.

That was pretty cool and then, for my son's enjoyment (he's the birder if you remember) we saw this guy and a few of his friends, the Least Sandpiper.

He's kinda hard to see here, sorry...

Pretty markings, eh?

Meanwhile, I finally got a job at a survey company after 8 long months of searching. It's part time to start but will work into almost full. Last week was my first week and you may have noticed I wasn't around much. I apologize for that but it's going to take me a while to get back into the routine of writing, blogging, AND working. I may be doing a lot of visiting/commenting on the weekends and Friday (my extra day off) until I figure out how to manage my time again!

What have you been doing? Go anywhere this weekend? See anything?


* Between 1881 and 1899, a granite breakwater, 4,300 feet long (7/8 of a mile), was built to help protect the harbor. Approximately 700,000 tons of granite was used for the project, which cost more than three quarters of a million dollars. As the work progressed, a small moveable beacon was moved farther out each time the breakwater was extended. The light was relocated four times between 1888 and 1895. The actual lighthouse was completed in the fall of 1902 and went into service that October.

Sunday Pics - California

I love California. I may have grown up on the East Coast but my heart is in California. I only lived there for two years but I will be forever wanting to go back. Some of you have seen this before but it's still one of my favorite pics. I took it last November while visiting my sister in Oakland.

Enjoy your Sunday :)

Sunday pics - where I'm going

Ok. So I'm not actually going to San Francisco for Thanksgiving, but I am going to Oakland, which is just outside the city and hopefully I'll get into the city at least once during my visit. Of course, this also means I'll be mostly absent so I'll wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving now. Enjoy your day and the time you spend with those you love and have a super Sunday!

Why I love my local bookstore

Last week I went into my local bookstore - The Maine Coast Book Shop - to spend the lovely gift certificates I received for my birthday. Needless to say it did not take me long to find something and while I was perusing the YA section - where I picked up  - the owner of the bookstore (who knows I love to read) approached me and asked if I might let them know what I thought of a couple of YA books. Of course I was more than happy to oblige. So back she goes after the ARCS and comes out with 10 (!!!) books, much to my delight:

MAGGOT MOON - read, mixed feelings
CREWELL - reading and enjoying
THE DROWNED CITIES
THE MAGICIAN KING
THE DARKEST MINDS
OUT OF THE EASY
A THUNDEROUS WHISPER
PULSE
SUMMER AND BIRD
JINX

plus I got THE PASSENGER, by Andrew Smith, THE GREAT NIGHT by Chris Adrian AND a $15 rewards certificate because I shop there enough. Am I a happy camper or what?

Happy Halloween all :)

Do you want one of these?

I know I do, which is why I'm blogging about it. Sharing with you gets me a chance to win one and I've been wanting a Kindle Fire ever since they came out. Plus if I won I could take it with me on my trip to California in November. It would be a late birthday present, or an early Christmas present. Either way, I'd probably do a little happy dance if I won.

But just who is giving away this wonderful little item away you might ask? inkPageant. Haven't heard of them? Here's what they do:

"We want to help writers improve their craft and reach their goals. Many authors and aspiring writers are willing to help each other by sharing experiences and advice on their blogs. Finding a useful post on a specific writing topic isn't always easy, but with inkPageant's growing database, we can help point you in the right direction.

Think of it as a search engine for writing blogs—by writers, for writers.

Ink Pageant has a few other purposes: you can share recommended reading or sell your books through your profile page, announce book signings, highlight conferences and other events, post interviews with authors/agents/editors, and share book or even movie reviews. These posts will be displayed in front of an interested audience, benefiting them and bringing traffic to your blog."

So go check them out if you get a chance, and sign up to win a Kindle Fire.

Have a fabulous weekend :)