Tag Archives: personal life stuff

March 25, 2014 · 9:36 pm

She’s making jewelry now….revisited

Portlandia–She’s Making Jewelry Now

I finally got around to sorting the remnants of the paperwork from my jewelry-making business of the mid 90s-2002. The big plastic box that held all that stuff when I finally decided that I was done with jewelry making needs to be used for other things, and it’s been well over ten years since I last sold any jewelry on a regular basis. The past few years, I’ve either traded small pieces at music festivals for things I wanted, or given the remainders as gifts to friends and colleagues. But I’ve not made any new pieces, much less even thought about selling the jewelry.

I did make some nice-looking stuff. Amongst the paperwork were pictures of some of my designs. For being just a bead-stringer, I did do some interesting designs that I’ve not really seen done by others. Not top-of-the-line award-winning, by any means (though one piece did win at an art show in Sandy), but midline pretty stuff in nice color combinations. That was the market I aimed for–the person who wanted reasonably priced nice stone beadwork but didn’t want to spend a fortune on pretty rocks.

I sold jewelry at neighborhood shops and craft fairs. Designed some sf and fantasy work to sell at various science fiction conventions, including a Worldcon (LoneStarCon 2), I think at least one Westercon, and some small local cons. Had a website at Bigstep for a year or so. But my bread and butter came from selling on eBay and Amazon auctions, early on in their tenure.

Looking back over the papers brought back memories. Auction descriptions evoked images of the necklaces and earrings I designed. I was surprised by how quickly I remembered a particular piece by just looking at the description. I did have a handful of dedicated and regular clients who didn’t just look for my auctions, they contacted me separately for design work. There were days when I was either at the computer writing or in the basement designing, and summers became about making jewelry for the big fall sales online, while winter and spring focused on the writing. I got a flow going, but….

It was never a big source of money. My skill level was too low, for one–I didn’t do metal work, just simple bead stringing design. The materials I used were not the most expensive quality beads. As beading became a more popular hobby, more people figured out how to make their own earrings, creating designs pretty similar to what I could do.

But that didn’t really push me out of jewelry. What did it was two-fold–the need for me to bring in more money to the household, but even more than that, 9/11 put paid to my jewelry selling. Up until that morning, I was poised for my best sales year ever.

And then it happened. My online business withered away that fall, between 9/11 and anthrax scares. Other commitments cut into what I could do at bazaars and craft fairs. The 2002 online sales scene was just a shadow of what it could have been…and I had been accepted into a teaching program.

Shades of Portlandia.

Will I do it again? Probably not at that intensity…but I might make a few pieces here and there. Just no more earring marathons. There is a certain calming rhythm about laying out a piece on the bead board and putting together the shapes and colors.

But I sure as heck won’t count on it for much.

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March 22, 2014 · 9:08 pm

Queen of Jelly

Yo. I am still a jelly/jam-making studette.

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Loganberries getting cooked for juice to make jelly.

We went down to our friend S’s in Clatskanie today to make jelly. He had five gallons of loganberries thawed plus a gallon of raspberries; we had a gallon of blackberries. Between the guys doing the cleaning and prep work while I did most of the cooking, we cooked something like 31 jars of jelly; 22 pints and 9 half-pints (plus leftover 2/3 pint of loganberries and miniscule bowl amounts of raspberry and blackberry jellies); 5 half pints of raspberry jelly, 4 half pints and 1 pint of blackberry jelly, and 21 pints of loganberry jelly.

I feel quite accomplished (and quite tired) tonight.

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Loganberry jelly

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Blue lids plus white ring in foreground are blackberry, red lids are raspberry, and the rest is the remainder of the loganberry.

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March 21, 2014 · 7:49 pm

So. Farpoint.

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Yeah. So we bought this house in Enterprise, Oregon. There’s a bit of a history with us and Enterprise, all wrapped up in how DH and I got together and politics and my inchoate longing to live in an arid mountain climate that isn’t Bend (I spent too damn many years getting drug up to Crane Prairie and, well…a toxic former boss lives in the Bend area. Do. Not. Want. Encounters).

Or…after ten years of teaching there…not the Mountain, either. Don’t get me wrong. I love the Mountain in its own way. It just isn’t…me. In the long run, it’s too damn wet. If there’s one thing that can sum up JRW after all these years, it’s my consistent longing to be someplace drier than Western Oregon with mountains. IOW, NOT the Cascades, lovely though they are. Nor the coast, nor the Coast Range. I’ve flirted with the Rockies, but…nah. Their Blue Mountain offshoots, primarily the Wallowa Mountains offshoot, are my heart. I discovered Montana in 1978, and the Wallowas in 1980, and the Wallowas always took primacy of place.

DH and I got engaged and married while living in Enterprise over 33 years ago. We always swore we’d come back, but, as time went by, it became clear that this would be a retirement return, not a return while we needed to accumulate money. So…until about a year ago, it didn’t seem possible. Then I found those jobs, and then we talked, and then we thought and…well.

Those of you who know me and DH well know that this sort of decision from us is not a hasty sort of choice. To outsiders, when we act, it may seem as if it’s a quick, impulsive decision.

(And the damn server just ate half my post. Or more. Grrr, 400 words just…gone. Pfui).

Nonetheless, when we move on something after about six months or so of discussion, it only seems fast to the outsiders.

So. Farpoint. We had been watching listings online, and this place kept calling to us. Other places (ironically, within easy sight of the house) attracted us and got sold. We made an appointment in December to drive up and look at the house, as well as a couple of others. One thing we were firm about was that we wanted a view. This house had a view, and the others? Um, not so much.

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Things about this house called to us. It’s not a fancy house. The place is rather stark and plain, industrial in design. It was built in 1917 as a boiler shack to provide steam heat for a local greenhouse complex (none of which remains). In the 60s, the owner jacked it up, put in the original basement, and added two bedrooms. It has radiant oil-fired heat, with both baseboards and the classic old iron radiators. One level.

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This pole light came with the place.

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The kitchen.

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The window and radiator in what will be my office, the original bedroom off of the living room.

And, of course, the reason for This Place:

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The view.

The house belonged to an elderly woman who had gone into a rest home. In talking to the local service people, it was clear that folks had gone out of their way to support keeping her in her home as long as possible, before that no longer became an option. The woman and her late husband were clearly handypeople in their own right, as well as folks who couldn’t throw anything away. I sorted through a lot of stuff our first weekend in the house, when we took possession. I found some neat stuff, but also a lot of junk. Nonetheless, the house is plain, with solid bones, and an interesting history. I’m hoping to find out more about it as we spend time there. Our friends who have lived there a while kind of remember the greenhouses and all. And our little steam boiler which powers the heat is a remnant of that steampunkish history…

We had started jokingly calling the house “Farpoint” before we even left PDX to take possession, just because of our SF connections and the number of Enterprise-related jokes we encountered when talking about it. Then, the lamp, and the discovery of the house’s history, and then, this…

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Drawing discovered when I was mucking things out.

So Farpoint it is. Right now, we’re not sure if it will be a second home, or an eventual retirement home. We’re doing upgrades, because while the house was maintained, it wasn’t maintained for current levels of electronic use, for example, and the windows are single pane. The plumbing is a mix of plastic and iron. We’re going to replace windows, fix the front porch, and…then we have a lovely porch to watch sunsets from. Or mornings. Or just about anything else. Farpoint is three blocks from the downtown area, an easy walk to just about every service available. The Fishtrap house is two blocks away. The nearest bookstore is three blocks away.

We plan to make a slow transition when/if retirement actually happens for DH. Me, I plan to start scrambling for more writing, tutoring, and editing work, starting June 16th. We’ll see where that goes.

Meanwhile, we keep dreaming of Farpoint, and longing for a change.

Gonna be a big one.

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March 13, 2014 · 11:05 pm

Of Writing, Teaching, and An Announcement (at the end)

TL:DR–announcement at the end. I’m evil that way.

So I’m kind of behind on what my writing schedule says I should be doing by now. Some of that has been due to things like, oh, um, work life, other writing projects, reinventing the work life, um, horse rehab life, ski life or rather the lack thereof, real estate craziness, um, reinventing work life yet again, and, and, and…

But most of the delays have been due to the plain and simple fact that I really don’t know what to do with Netwalk’s Children yet. I’m still figuring out why that is, but to a certain degree, the issue comes down to the reality that this book is a crucial point in the Netwalk Sequence. This book hands over the major part of the Sequence to the next generation; from Melanie and Marty to Bess and Alex, Sophie and Don. Plus friends and relatives.

Additionally, it becomes a turning point in the series arc, because Bess ultimately has to directly take on Gizmo. Not only does she defuse an immediate threat but she lays the foundation for further protection against the power that Gizmo represents. She becomes a foundational element in a human-digital fusion which has the potential to affect not just one world but many worlds. Bess transcends worlds…but as of yet, I’ve not gotten a full picture of what that looks like. I have imperfect realizations but they’re far from what I want. Yet.

I do have this image of a young woman with long dark hair, cinnamon skin, and high cheekbones gazing up as golden bytes flow over her, on a blue background. I have some idea of what that event is. But it keeps changing, even as I keep working and writing.

I’ve been ducking this story for nearly a year. There is a completed outline. It’s insufficiently reflective of current canon, and one reason is that I’ve spent the past year writing stories to flesh out the Sequence’s backstory. They’re available for free on the website under the Netwalk Foundations tab. I also have the illustrated trilogy, Dahlia, Winter Shadows, and Andrews Ranch. All but the last one are currently available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Google Play. I’m working on Andrews Ranch right now and having a lot of fun with it.

The whole writing world hasn’t been just Netwalk Sequence, though. I’ve also rewritten a couple of stories and managed copy edits for a short story and a novella. I have two short stories coming out so far this year, one in the inaugural edition of Fantasy Scroll Magazine and the other in Trust and Treachery (Dark Quest Books, April). My novella, Seeking Shelter at the End of the World, comes out from eTreasures Publishing in June. I’ve not exactly been idle.

But I am feeling tired. I do have projects to write. It’s just…getting to them in the face of the Day Jobbe.

Which leads to…Life In General.

I signed the final paperwork today. I am not renewing my teaching contract. After ten years, I’m not going to be going back to school in August.

This isn’t really new news. I’ve mentioned this in comments, and emails, and etc. It’s more of a matter of being tired, and tired of driving 80 miles a day, and tired of having to break off from a story because the clock says it’s time, damn it, and tired of being tired. Teaching, even part-time, is a physically difficult job. You are on your feet constantly, usually on tile-covered cement slabs. As a middle school teacher, you deal daily with the drama and agonies of early adolescence, and have to do so with a measure of equanimity and unflappability.  February and March are their own peculiar hells, and I’ve been experiencing those hells in a rather excruciating slo-mo this year.

I’m done with formal k-12 teaching for the moment. I want to leave while there are moments I still enjoy and savor. But I need to go. There are too many days when I hurt. Too many days when I am angry about what modern education has become. My ten years of teaching manages to span the effect of No Child Left Behind, and the taste is bitter in my mouth. No, better to choose the time, and go when I feel best. This year is a good time, not just for me, but for my memories of the place I have worked in and loved so dearly. I can make good memories with leaving this year–so it is time.

Doesn’t mean I won’t be a teacher of some sort or another. Even thinking about possibilities of some sort of teaching work that doesn’t involve a daily commute perks me up. I like tutorial work, and I’m a darn good remedial writing teacher. Heck, I like teaching writing, period.

But it’s time for me to move on from the daily classroom grind. What that will look like in a couple of years, five more years, ten more years–who knows? I get ideas all the time.

Where I go from here, whether that becomes Portland, Enterprise, or somewhere else–who knows. It’s a new adventure. The Next Adventure.

Onward.

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January 2, 2014 · 9:06 am

Looking back at 2013

I’m lagging a bit behind other folks this year in looking at what’s been going on in 2013, and, well, I guess that’s just the way things are these days.

So. 2013. A lot of stuff happened in 2013.

Professionally, I continue to see what it takes to recover in a school setting after several years of poor management. It takes a long time for a school community to renew itself after these circumstances, but it can happen. I took some interesting literacy classes focusing on the work of a major theorist in the field (Regie Routman) and found further support for the integration of neuroscience and education. Primarily, such linkages don’t come from “brain-based learning” techniques but through right brain resonances between teacher-student and student-student. I’ve also come to the conclusion that a certain degree of grammar understanding is key to developing higher level comprehension skills.

I’ve also developed a passionate dislike for high-stakes assessment and what prioritizing that does to a community of learners. Make no mistake, I think a single assessment and standards are necessary. But prioritizing tests and test-taking as the highest priority to the exclusion of the acquisition of other, necessary learning crashes and burns horribly. We are losing huge chunks of kids as a result of this test-driven culture. And that’s a rant in and of itself.

On the writing front, I’ve had some mixed successes. Several anthologies I’ve been in are doing reasonably well. I sold two books, a full length novel and a novella, to a small press. I brought out two independently published books and am working on more in that series. But I’ve not had the time to more aggressively pursue writing to the degree I want to do it. Emotions around the day jobbe, the fatigue of not only the day jobbe but the commute (80+ miles round trip each day) and the inability to keep on burning the candle at both ends have all interfered.

Mocha did spectacularly well (in my opinion) at this year’s show in September. She placed well and showed that she is particularly strong in Trail classes. Right now, though, she’s sidelined with a mild lameness that is tied into neck and shoulder muscle spasms. Light work seems to be helping, along with some massage techniques.

Skiing–um, well, no snow so far this year. I’m not enthused about skiing in low snow conditions and so the snow dances continue.

Personally–well, we’re looking at some huge changes ahead. Good changes, but scary, dramatic, and they’ve involved a lot of planning and worrying and agonizing. More on that later.

At least I seem to be reasonably healthy at the moment. It took most of the year to regain my flexibility from a hip muscle strain. My gut is still cranky but it’s settling, enough to give me hope that these upcoming changes will make it even happier. It’s amazing what ten minutes of yoga a day will do. My knees are making creaky and stiff noises at me, but I’m beginning to think that’s a sign that one particular pair of shoes have reached the end of their useful life, or else that I need to do something different for urban sidewalk hikes.

And so I march slowly into 2014, cautiously hoping that good things are coming. Just not sure about that.

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November 4, 2013 · 2:30 am

Furlough weekend

It’s not often that I get time to go out and about in late October/early November, which is sad. In my opinion that’s one of the nicest times to cruise through the east side of Oregon, but…don’t often get the time to do it.

Not so this year. We had November 1st off, DH found a Groupon for a Bend-area resort–so off we went this weekend for a belated birthday celebration.

Friday was stunningly gorgeous, in a late fall East Side way.IMG_9391

It didn’t start raining until early in the morning. We went cruising up toward Bachelor, but the snow got a bit intense. We retraced our tracks to the Swampy Lakes trailhead and went hiking in about 2-3 inches of snow, with 4 inch drifts.

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We hiked nearly 4 miles. Combined with about 1 1/2 half miles on the Deschutes trail in the morning, we did pretty good.

Then, today, on our way back to Portland, we headed out through Mitchell and cut back through Condon and Wasco. Saw some nice stuff there, too.

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We also discovered this cute little pioneer park.

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Amphitheater and stage on both sides of the creek, a smaller stage facing the picnic area. Very cute.

We also saw the critters–wild turkeys in two places, including a flock of over 100; deer, elk, grouse, various raptors, and a bald eagle (at least one). A nice break was had by all.

And now time to push on to Orycon, Nanowrimo (though I’m continuing an existing work project), and other stuff. I’ve been poking at Scrivener and I have some project ideas incorporating pictures for ebook and CreateSpace chapbooks.

Contemplating it, anyway. Might not happen for a few months, but…had fun taking pictures for some of the projects.

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September 16, 2013 · 4:16 pm

Well, that was a weekend

Those of you who know me personally are aware that I don’t have a lot of tolerance for high temperatures, especially humid high temps. I’ve done a lot of what’s recommended to help, but the bottom line is still this–I’m a lousy candidate for muggy, warm survival situations. Give me snow and ice any day instead, or else dry heat with cool evening temps. Hydration, electrolytes–no matter what, all of that is temporary. At some point, I succumb to the effects of heat exhaustion if I go through too many days of high heat without any cool relief. Come the big global warming, you’ll find me as high up on a mountainside as I can stand to be, probably seeking the last glacier for relief. If climate change turns to global cooling instead, I’ll be a happy girl.

Heat problems happened this past Friday. The temps hit the mid-90s on Wednesday, even on the Mountain, followed by two days where it was almost as hot. And muggy. Even worse in my south-facing classroom, where I couldn’t really open my door because of the noise and distraction from younger kids at recess for most of the afternoon.

Wednesday and Thursday were survivable, though the warnings from the ol’ bod started popping up on Friday morning with roiling gut, achy muscles, and general fatigue. But on Friday afternoon, as the room temps climbed toward 80+ degrees, I was struggling. I opened the door as soon as I could, but even that gave me and the kids little relief. I was simply grateful that my classes weren’t larger.

Still, I felt awful as I left work. I’d planned to go to the barn and ride Mocha, but realized that might not be too good an idea. I went home, self-medicated for the body aches with a couple of drinks after a good dinner…and ended up hurling it all back up. Fairly predictable, and it’s something that has happened in the past, even without the alcohol. It didn’t help that the house was hot because we’d had a contractor in to repair some dry wall, so the house had to be open to air out the smell while the mud dried. Even with ice packs on my neck I felt miserable and sick.

Saturday was pretty much a lost cause. I slept until noon, drank water mixed with sugar and salt to help my gut absorb it, but it wasn’t until 4 pm–about 24 hours after leaving that hot, muggy room–that I started feeling remotely human. Shortly after that I started writing, and got in about 1500 words. By Sunday I was sufficiently recovered, though tired, enough to clean up the room that had gone through dry wall repairs and move everything back, plus do lesson planning and write a little bit.

At least this is probably it for hot weather around here this year. Next spring, even if it is hot, won’t be so bad because of the angle of the sun. It’s only horrible in the fall (thank you so much Nasty Past Administrator who had the trees that blocked that sun cut down).

(And for those of you who’d offer advice, suggest ice pack head coverings, ice pack bandannas and the like–nope. All forbidden by dress codes for students which means I can’t do them either. And fans get subject to other issues of accessibility plus they don’t do that much for air movement. This is just a kvetching post, not a solicitation for advice.)

It wasn’t a completely lost weekend, for which I am grateful. Needless to say, I’m welcoming the coolness and wet today. It’ll still take a few days for the system to completely be happy post-heat, but like my rescue chrysanthemums that kept springing bigger and bigger the more I watered them this weekend, I’m coming back from the heat.

Winter is coming–and I’m one who’s looking forward to it.

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August 20, 2013 · 5:48 pm

Tap-tap, tap-tap. Anyone there?

Well, yeah, the WordPress site had problems. Long story short, for various reasons including cost, I’ve switched hosts and we’ll see how this does for crossposting to DW and LJ. I still had LiveJournal access and put up a few posts there, but it wasn’t what really worked well. I’m debating about posting the last “Daughters” story this month or waiting until next month and calling August a draw. But that will give me some breathing space on Netwalk: Foundations stories because I’ve just about got enough ahead to last for the rest of the year.

There’s a lot of other stuff going on writing-wise, but I can’t talk much about it yet–some of this is contractual, other parts are in very early development stages. If I can pull this all together, then let’s just say that Good Stuff Is Happening. And…cover squee!

netwalk-ee-cover   Yes, Netwalk: The Expanded Edition will be going live soon!

Besides an updated Netwalk (to include the Gizmo additions), I’ve reprinted two previously published Netwalk Sequence short stories (“The Ties That Bind” from Random Realities and “Cold Dish” from M-BRANE SF 9) as well as added two more short vignettes tied into the first two chapters of Netwalk in this expanded edition. As I’ve said before, this is the only time I plan to do this significant a rewrite and reissue of something already published, and the main reason I’m doing it is to insert some major series material that I developed in the second book.

Netwalk Expanded will also be available in trade paperback through Createspace. It was only available in ebook format before. I do plan to have all of the main Netwalk Sequence novels available in both ebook and trade paper from now on, but any novellas or short stories will be in ebook format only, though I will probably do some collections later on.

One project I can talk about is that I do plan to print a collected edition of some Netwalk: Foundations pieces in ebook format this fall. I plan to issue a collected version of The Daughters Cycle and a serialized Foundations piece, Problems at the Andrews Ranch for late fall Christmas sale.

Meanwhile, in other areas, I’ve finished my summer classes and am now getting ready for the school year.

Mocha is doing well, though we discovered a training hole that I’ll be writing about later (going downhill with a rider). The problem-solving around that is interesting. I’ve finally found the right stuff to treat her hooves with, and she’s showing much improvement. We’re gearing up for a show in late September, if everyone stays healthy and sound….

On that front, I bashed my foot pretty badly last week on a bedpost. It was a L-brace that I whacked between my fourth toe and my big toe. The picture is on Facebook, I won’t subject folks to it but suffice to say the colors were interesting. I don’t think it’s broken but now that the swelling’s gone down, there’s definitely been a significant strain to my tendons and ligaments. I’ve whipped out the Vetwrap (I wish, it’s actually the boring taupe human version. I’m planning a tack store visit for something cheaper and more colorful tomorrow) to bind it for support. Otherwise the tendons/ligaments ache worse. With school starting up next week, I’ve got to be able to walk soundly so I don’t bung up my hips. Again.

Growing old ain’t for sissies, but it sure beats the alternative. 😉

We’re at the stage of summer now where evening cooldowns are more likely. Cricket summer. My favorite part of the season.

Anyway, onward to working on stuff. Let’s see how this baby posts.

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July 8, 2013 · 6:18 pm

So that was a long weekend

Besides going to the Blues Festival, I managed to write 7200 words on a short piece–one of the Netwalk Foundations segments. It will be going up next week. And now I absolutely have to stop writing long pieces for what’s supposed to be a short snippet worldbuilding promo, not full-on short stories. Period. I’ll do that after the last Daughters piece.

Still, I managed to get some good ideas in place for what the conflict will be in what was Netwalking Mars and will now be Netwalking Space. Because, well, pacing doesn’t work for Mars, but the Moon and space stations and near-earth-orbit asteroids and killer drone satellites from God-Knows-What’s-Out-There do work. Boy howdy, do they ever work. I also figured some things out about Netwalk’s Children, but those pieces still need to come together. These long stories at least are serving a function–they’re helping me work on some of the main story concepts, while writing scenes that probably won’t be in any of the books, but are turning points nonetheless.

Meanwhile, Blues Festival was a lot of pleasant music, and I managed to pull off some exobrain stuff that actually works. I found a bus tracker app for my iPhone which worked right nicely for what we needed it to do. Then I was able to use my iPhone as a personal hotspot, write on my tablet (with detachable keyboard), and upload the day’s work to Dropbox, come home, download it on the main computer, and work some more. Worked smooth as can be. Yeehaw.

Plus I also figured out the Facebook app on my iPhone, and read everything I’ve downloaded in my Kindle. Okay, that took less time than I thought it would. I can see that if I ever get a job again where I can commute by bus, my e-book reading investments will go up. Not that such a thing is ever likely to happen (big sigh). Not unless I can find something that isn’t a teaching job, I think, and right now any job prospect looks pretty damn dim. I still want to get away from the 80+ mile commute, but based on the results of the last teacher hiring season–bleh. So not happening this year. Or next year, really, because I just don’t see the employment and economic situation improving. Bleh, bleh, bleh. Let’s just say that job world is a pit of despair and leave things at that.

At least on the horse front everything is going reasonably well. Miss Mocha has taken to nickering at me when I go out to ride her nearly every day. Her coat shines like it should this year. Now, if I could only fix those damn brittle hooves without resorting to yucky nasty soaks. It’s not that the hoof wall is particularly dry, it’s that the wall is thin, whether she’s barefoot or shod. At least when she’s barefoot she builds up a thicker sole and is less ouchy than she is in shoes (seriously, horse? Ouching across gravel with shoes on? Really?). She gets a biotin supplement (Trifecta) but we still have cracks and chips up the wazoo, mustang roll or no mustang roll, shoes or no shoes.

This year it’s pretty bad, but I keep wondering about the weird coat from last summer/fall and how it may have impacted her hoof growth. Still haven’t figured out why that weird coat growth happened, but nonetheless, despite no changes in husbandry, no changes in health, she had a hair coat that just didn’t grow in right last fall and winter. I keep looking at her hooves and I swear I can see the difference about an inch down with better, firmer hoof wall. I suppose that means we’ll have a few more months or so of dealing with that hoof wall.

Anyway, we’re having good works right now. Back in the curb, my thumb’s healed up so I can manage the neck rein like I should. I’m watching now for the first signs that we’ll need hock injections. So far, just the beginning hint that the time might come in August, but nothing for certain yet.

And that’s it for today.

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July 4, 2013 · 9:17 am

Busy, busy days.

Do I have any other sort of days? Sometimes I wonder. In any case, three weeks into summer break and I am busy taking online classes, riding Mocha almost every day, doing projects around the house, and writing. The heat of the past few days has sidelined me but that’s the usual state of affairs, especially when we have this rapid transition from cool to hot. Needless to say, I’m a typical west-side Pacific Northwest girl. I know that when I start struggling, the smartest thing is to go flat and read. So I have been. Problem is also that the heat causes my gut to make sad noises at me and go into random spasm modes. Not fun at all!

Today starts the Waterfront Blues Festival, which is one of DH’s favorite events. He’s already down there waiting to get in early and snag a shady place to sit. Because I struggle so much with the heat, I come down later in the day and join him. This year I’m hoping to be able to coordinate smartphone and tablet so I can do some writing work using Dropbox. We’ll see how that goes. Worst case scenario, I get stuck with writing longhand. Not that big a deal either–after I file down my nails today. I’ve already broken one, damn it.

I’m grappling with some of the issues coming up in Netwalk’s Children. I have several murky things I want to address–the nature of parental influence and control, the effect of prenatal and immediate postnatal virtual exposures (one symptom is a tendency toward extreme sensory overloads which create meltdowns that look a lot like autism), just what the hell Gizmo is and what its goal ultimately will be, matriarchal concerns across generations, matriarchal dynastic behaviors…oh yeah, this book has some interesting potential. Any book at this stage of development is full of potential, but this one in particular has me contemplating some big issues–and how to make it a whopping good story. We will be seeing Bess making a huge mistake which has monstrous consequences that will alienate her from her grandmother Diana (but will have the effect of endearing her to her great-grandmother, the Netwalker Sarah). We’ll see a more human side of Andrew (so far we’ve really only seen him fail). But the biggest piece is that we’re looking at the third/fourth generations to interact with Gizmo and the consequences thereof–not just to the humans but to Gizmo itself.

And space. Bess functions well in space, she adapts well to it and her children will be even more so.

So yeah. Good stuff ahead.

Mocha has also gotten into the regular work mode. I’ve been riding her in the bareback pad with a snaffle during these hot days (well, and also waiting for the farrier to trim her hooves, I don’t like working her in complex fast stuff when her feet get too long. Too easy to torque joints that way). She chuckles at me when I walk in the barn door and is right there ready to go out, even with fresh alfalfa in her manger. There’s been some interesting adventures in bareback pad world, including a moment where the cinch came off and I only discovered that because the pad was sliding back underneath me (a strange feeling when the pad is sliding but you are not). We’ve been working on spins, extension and collection at walk and trot, and I’m slowly working my way up to rollbacks and flying changes. So far Mocha’s let me know SHE doesn’t think I’m ready, mainly by doing simple changes and trotting the first steps of the rollback rather than her usual fast stop, whirl and run. In this case I’m respecting her choice, but we are revisiting it under saddle because I don’t want these behaviors to become habits.

The routines of summer. I still need to work on losing five pounds. I need to get more fit for skiing this winter. I went into skiing with poor fitness and hip problems last year, and it made the season not fun. This will not happen this coming season, not if I can help it!

The fourth of July really is the beginning of summer, at least summer in my world. What are other people doing for summer this year?

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