snow day!

We got one of those February snows that North Carolina used to have when I was a kid. Seriously, the weather would be great until about this time or maybe March, and then we might get one or two snows.

And yesterday was the day! We got two inches at the old homestead. I went out this morning to get some photos. BRRR  Baby, it's cold outside.

up to my second knuckle

 

looking towards the parents' place

 

same tree, different angle

Today is Sis2's birthday. She was born when I was almost nine, so I call her my birthday present (I was born on the 22nd). I'd wanted a pony, but Daddy said we couldn't send her back, despite the fact I already had a sister, thank you, so...

It's funny, too, that Sis1 got the same thing for one of her birthdays--she was born on November 7th, and our baby sister was born on the 4th--or was it the 3rd, I forget which, for some reason. For their birthdays, they often get an election!

Then there is Bro1, who was also born in November. His birthday often falls on Thanksgiving. Yeah, my mother must have loved November. Bro2 was born in January, so he's the odd man out in the family.

On a side note, I'm still working away at the writing challenge, I just haven't updated here. I have 22,241 words, which puts me at almost 42,000 for the novel--that's a light at the end of the tunnel that you see there.

I didn't write Saturday, since I was out with Sis1 and Mama, hitting the thrift stores. Fun times, for sure, but no progress on the book. Then nothing for yesterday, either, because my hands were hurting. Dang arthritis.

Bummer. Two zero days in a row. I was going to take my birthday off and enjoy the day, but I think I'd better write.

There's nine more days in the challenge, and if I get 4,200 words each day, I can still reach the goal. Totally doable.

So, Gentle Readers, I've got to get busy. Keep warm and winter on.

Still striving in the writing challenge.

One of my goals this year was to complete projects, and not start them and move on to something else. That's very frustrating to me, and rather counterproductive to my goal of publishing four novels this year.

In order to motivate myself, I did a little scrapbooking thing called "One Little Word", and I also joined a writing challenge for the month of February on the Kindle boards.

Things have been going pretty well on both fronts, despite my having the month from Hades health-wise. I seldom get really sick, usually only feeling bad for a day or so, but I started the new year off in January with an upper respiratory infection that knocked me on my butt. I got over it, then relapsed (or was reinfected), and when I was finally seeing the end of the mucus tunnel I promptly got a head cold.

Gosh darn golly gee!

I'm finally feeling better, but I have almost no energy. And I'm getting cabin fever from being cooped up indoors, having spent about 45 days moaning, sneezing, coughing and blowing copious amounts of--stuff--out of my nose. Gah.

Anyway, I'm only 1,958 words behind on the challenge! Go me. If I can keep the interruptions down (excluding grocery shopping, which is critical to a happy home, because the people here like to eat) I should be able to catch up. The novel I'm working on was already behind, having missed its scheduled publication in December. I'm ready to finish it and move on to the next project.

Until next time, Gentle Readers. Keep healthy and soldier on.

I'm doing a writing challenge this month!

A few of us at the Kindle boards Writer's Cafe have signed up to do a writing challenge, 60,000 words in 29 days. That comes out to 2,068 words per day. Starting today. argh

"Whoa!" you say. "That's a lot of words!"

And you're right, it is. But I think it's perfectly do-able for most writers, at least those who have been writing for a while. It comes out to about eight pages, if you use the old 250 words per page count.

I've got about 700 words of new writing so far this morning, not counting this blog, so I've got less than 1400 to go. whee!

I've made a page to list my daily totals, and I will update on the forum's challenge post, in order to stay focused and honest. Not that I'm not honest, but if it isn't written down, it didn't happen, right?

Well, time to get back to the novel, which waits for no man this month. Keep calm and create on.