When your daughter is pretty much your most favorite person in the world, and she is also a terrific artist, she gets an entire blog post dedicated entirely to her. She has this amazing web site of her work that will move you in the most delightful ways. You will just love her work. Seriously. You can imagine her work in video games, movies, and anywhere that there is a use for illustrations. “Incredible” and “captivating” is the way I can best describe her work. It’s hard to choose a favorite piece because there are so many absolutely wonderful illustrations. But don’t take my word for it. See for yourself. Go on. Click here and plan to fall head over heels for this illustrator’s unique and original style. So proud of her and her work.
Category Archives: Gah!!
Forest Meets Desert, Yay Me Pizza, the Morning Workout, Beautiful Sockeye Salmon, & Merlin Update
Yesterday was my day to take my test for National Boards which meant driving over the Yakama Indian Reservation and then to the city of Yakima beginning at 4 a.m. which I did. I took a four and half hour written test on computer. To make it more of a challenge, I couldn’t sleep the night before, actually fell asleep at 3 a.m., and the alarm went off at 4 a.m. Seriously. But it’s done. I slept like a babe last night. The most enjoyable parts? Seeing a coyote run across the road in the desert on the reservation and then seeing three herds of wild horses on the way back. The herds looked strong with many foals, some nursing. Then I always enjoy visually surveying the mountains on the line…the point where forests end and desert begins. It’s amazing to me how the landscape changes to desert.
The women at the assessment center were wonderful and sweet as well. When leaving they told me I HAD to celebrate being done and then celebrate again when I receive my scores in late November/early December. Very kind. So celebrate sensibly I did. I made a tomato/spinach/feta pizza last night and watched a movie. The movie, Brazil, was worthy of the garbage. If it wasn’t a Netflix dvd, that’s where I would have put it. Trust me, I have filed more than one dvd there that wasn’t to my liking. The pizza was amazing good. I bought a cheese pizza from a local store, loaded it up with sliced tomato, rough chopped spinach, and sprinkled on a carton of feta, baked, and then dusted with parmsan, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. A vegetarian delight.
This morning was exquisite. I rose early, checked the yoga schedule, and headed to the gym with the intent of seriously working out. And that I did. Three and half hours of gym time left me glowing. To begin, I had the absolute best yoga class everrrrr this morning. She was divine. I gave it my all. The music was perfect. And my friend was there! We had a chance to chat about exercise before class began. It was lovely. Then a half hour of intense cardio. I ended my gym day with aromatherapy steam, hot tub, and swimming lots of laps letting my thoughts be like clouds drifting by. Now most people would not put that much into their daily exercise, but me…I love working out. I love the way it makes me feel mentally, physically, and spiritually. The longest I have worked out has been four hours. So three and half is good for me. Then quick stop at the Saturday market and then the grocer before coming home to pick up fresh veggies, chicken, and fish, the stuff of my existence.
The meat department was putting out the most beautiful Sockeye Salmon fillets ever! Ugh! Beautiful! I commented on them, and they said that if I bought two pound the price was half! And that they were fresh!! Gah! Yes! So I now have enough salmon to last me a month! Tomorrow, I’m cedar plank smoking it. That is the absolute best way to enjoy it. Seasoned and smoked on cedar planks equals an unrivaled slice of northwest heaven. Cedar planks are soaked for four hours in water. Then the fish portions are placed on top. I season them with lemon pepper, garlic powder, seasoning salt, and a little ginger. Then put them on the bbq with a packet of cedar or hickory chips to smoke in flavor, put the lid on, and let it go for about 20 minutes. Then flip on the plank, season, and smoke another 20 minutes. Check for doneness which it usually is by then. I like my salmon moist and flanky, not cooked to complete dryness. I’ll vacuum pack and seal most of it but absolutely enjoy it for dinner tomorrow. Beautiful, beautiful fish. Then soon I want to go crabbing before summer ends. I have a place I like to visit on the coast where I catch big dungoness crab. It’s great! Outdoors on the water and hauling it these lovelies make for a wonderful day. Think I’ll get a room and spend the night. I so enjoy the ocean as I grew up on it and feel quite at home there. One day I’ll return to the ocean most likely to retire. I love the sound of water and being near the ocean. The most pleasant experience for me to relax is to read on the beach while the ocean sings in my ear.
Just a quick note about Merlin. He’s doing quite well now, getting around normally and seems to be settling down a little which is absolutely what I had hoped for. He’s with me for life, and I want to love him forever. Having him neutered was emotionally hard for me, but it was the absolute right thing to do. I would rather spend his days loving him more and loathing him less at times. He’s a part of my life, and I’ll enjoy him more this way.
Here’s wishing you a wonderful summer day and living in such as way as to make your heart light and your soul glad. It’s never too late to live your best life.
-Patricia
A Day to Remember and Neil Gaiman on Writing
Today was my day to go to Yakama for my National Board exam, the last part of National Boards. I had everything but my photo id. Seems I left home without it at 4:30 a.m. and discovered I didn’t have it as I approached Yakama. That makes me so human doesn’t it! So I turned around and came home. Two and half hour drive. Oh well. Nothing else I could do.
I was hoping to see wild horses in the Yakama Hills but none were around at that hour of the morning. Still sleeping somewhere. That bugged me more than not being ready for the test. It was wonderful being out so early on a new morning. I drove through miles of forest that were so fragrant in the morning. The smell of sage and laurel were intoxicating. Then the rolling Yakama hills. It still amuses me how quickly you can go from forest to desert in this state. It’s minutes. Watching the landscape change from timberland to desert is an experience unlike any other. Trees disappear and are replaced with sage and desert plants. I’ll be rescheduling my test for another day which will give me another chance to photograph the wild horses of the Yakama Hills.
A little something on writing for you. This one is Neil Gaiman on writing. Although it says it’s for young writers, it’s applicable for all writers, I think. Wish more authors made videos like these for the public, especially aspiring writers.
Writer's Conference, Bremerton, George Shannon, Writing
Hello. I’m finally home after a very long day that started at 4 a.m. Me and six sixth graders went on a road trip to Bremerton, Washington to the Young Writer’s Conference. The kids had sharing for an hour with other kids, then they went to an interactive lecture with George Shannon (Amazing!), went to a workshop with another author on creating books, lunch, another workshop on writing stories, and finally the trip home. What a great time!!
So, George Shannon. He really knows how to work kids! His suggestions were to ask questions that generate lists, recall events from childhood, and so on to generate topics. Then select a topic and consider the options for conflicts. “Make the character suffer,” he said! He said he likes to ramble when he writes dialogue, so continue to come back to the plot graph. He has notebooks of nothing but lists and events that are numbered, and he uses these to collect ideas for writing. Then when he writing, he says that for him, it’s like a puzzle. He selects pieces to create an overall picture that he wants to achieve. Cool. So just some useful writing information that I collected today. I’ll post more about writing from the conference following a good night’s sleep as I’m really wiped out.
G’night, all! Blessings to all creatures great and small. Thank you to the creator who made us all.
-Patricia
XO
Why I love dogs and books
It doesn’t matter how bad a day it’s been, my dog will always love me, and books are always inviting me to forget all the ridiculous things that have happened at the end of the day. Today, by description, was shit which makes for great dog snuggling and bed reading.
Woke up with a headache. Then, I drove an hour and 1/2 hoping to get 1 of 50 available tickets to Coraline in Portland. They wouldn’t sell them over the phone. I understood the risks and accepted my mission. I will accept the call and on my quest I went. Sure I dropped everything to become She-ra the Road Warrior, but doesn’t everybody sometimes?! Screaming “Road Warrior” was fun as I barreled down I-84 to Portland. I even threw in a middle eastern la-la-la-la, too, for effect. No, I’m not middle eastern or insane…just Irish!~ Dark hair, blinding white ass , and crazy bright blue eyes. Yeah… THAT Irish! Explains everything, right? So I get to the PCPA, park in a questionable spot, get in line, and the guy in front of me bought the last two. [resisting urge to swear profusely...] The ticket clerk at PCPA made a point of telling me this. Excuse me. …. F***! …. I’ll see it soon and better yet, add it to the home dvd collection so I can watch it as often as I want and I will. Every dvd should understand that it will be watched at LEAST eight times before getting a chance to just hang out on the ceiling to floor section of the entertainment center. I’m huge on home entertainment. Technology rules. Yep, total nerd…reading, writing, and computers. Okay, so on to Plan B.
So plan B...I made one when considering the chances of getting a ticket as I’m not a sidewalk camper…Chinese at Mandarin Cove on Columbia St. for lunch…the best Mandarin chicken anywhere…then Powell’s Bookstore with a vengeance…then some light shopping. I came home with three new books on writing that I’m anxious to begin. They are each on plot, character, and a new, recommended read on developing villains. I’ll review them here. And I’m still reading New Moon, Stephenie Meyers second in the Twilight series. Word of advice. DO NOT cut your finger when your birthday party guests are vampires! Bad…bad…bad idea. Everything comes undone instantly. I went to bed early last night just to read. I could not shut the cover. Finally… at 1 a.m. The cool thing about being an adult? There’s no one to make you turn your light out when you want to read until the morning. My large, looming stack of books next to my bed just got a wee bit larger. Okay…two stacks…I’m already “out” as a book nerd.
I was invited to score writing for the state which I hope works out. It’s a blast and in my (adopted )home city of Olympia, Washington. (Originally born Southern…See Brunswick, GA…little English colony that could) It’s like going home for a week. The cherry blossums should be blooming!~ I love reading student writing to see what they have to say and what they can do. It’s pretty cool
Then, just as a little foreshadowing, I’m trying plotting scenes with notecards. The idea is to write scenes individually on index cards which are then arranged to the writer’s approval. I want to try this and a couple of other index card strategies, but more about that later.
I think me and Bath and Body Works need a long, hot, steamy shower tonight to relax and wash away the cares of the day. So g’night world, g’night moon, g’night stars, and g’night creator. As my mom used to say, “Sweet dreams.”
-Patricia
