Yea!!! Hubby needs prescriptions from Georgetown, so we're getting out of the house! Maybe I can talk him into going to lunch, and maybe a movie,and of course I need groceries from Wallyworld, and maybe the bookstore..... Mmmm, bookstore may be pushing it.
We'll see....

Cabin fever

Ugh!!! I am so ready to get out of the house, and so are the kids. They have been griping and fighting almost constantly. They're tired of puzzles and books, and I finally gave in to my son today to play video games, although he's been on probation from them for discipline issues. I know, bad mommy. It was the only way I could get any kind of writing done though.
I went outside today and took more pics. The ice is stunning, even more so when the sun shines through it. I also went down and took pictures of our tree in the road. By coincidence, a plow was going through and I asked the county guys about moving the tree. They said they planned on it anyway, after they got the road clear. Yay!!! Since the John Deere won't start, and I don't know if it would be able to pull it anyway, that makes my life easier.
Kids are quiet right now, so I'm going to see if I can get more writing done. Night all.

Disaster area

So, I woke up this morning about 5 am, and saw a tree limb iced over and hanging down on the ground. It belonged to the oak tree outside our bedroom, and let me tell you, I have never seen a limb bend like this. I'm amazed it hasn't broken. Normally, it is tall enough that my 8yo has to jump in the air to grab leaves. Now it's laying on the ground.
Amazing, also, is the fact that we have not lost power. I think we're one of about 10 houses in the state of Ky that hasn't lost power. I know, I probably just jinxed myself.
I went out a couple of times to check on my animals. The first time, poor Moose was caked in ice, and shivering bad. I made him go into the barn and gave him grain, but he refused to eat. Moose always, always eats. If the sky was falling, he would not care as long as he had food.Anyway, I scraped off as much ice as I could and rubbed him down with an old barn towel. After half an hour of attention, he finally started to eat. That really scared me though. He never does that.
I opened the door for the chickens, but they flat refused to go out.
The second time we went out, Hubby and I thought we might check out the fence. I thought I heard voices down at the end of our driveway, so I wondered if somebody had gone off the side of our road. Our road is about the width of a driveway, and we live at the top of a steep hill. Most people avoid the hill in the winter time, but some people are stubborn enough to try. Just because. When we got down to the end of our drive, we saw that one of the huge fenceline trees had fallen across our road. It's a huge white oak, and it has to be about a hundred years old. Somebody, though, had cut the heavy limbs that were over the road and pushed them out of the way. The tree is still there, kind of wedged against a couple of other trees, but it will have to be cut out. What fun that will be.
Anyway, thought I would add some pics from the day. Enjoy.
Ok, I guess I lied. For some reason I can't load up my pictures. Guess I'll try tomorrow.

Lots to talk about today...

First off, I just got a response on my Gotcha! contest entry. I didn't win, of course, but I didn't come in last either. I really appreciated the constructive criticism I received, and 99% of the stuff they told me, I could see myself, finally. Sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees, right? It really helps when they bleed green and yellow highlighter all over your screen too. Needless to say, I was disappointed I didn't do better, but I really appreciated their input. I've been pounding away today, totally re-energized with knew ideas on how to revamp everything. One thing they all agreed on was that the story idea was fresh and interesting, so I'm building on that.

I just came in from outside, and I have to tell you, I am froze. So were the horses. The poor things stand outside all the time to eat and forage, and only go in the barn if they absolutely have to. Or if I trap them in, which they do not appreciate. I didn't even let the chickens out today. I threw food in and refilled their water bowl, and that was it. My egg problems have kind of been solved. I've put boards across the doorway so Murphy can't get in, but now he's nocking the boards away. I've gotten 4 eggs the past two days, and I think I may also be getting duck eggs. We have 1 pr of white Peking ducks that drive us nuts. They make a mess out of everything, and are always quacking, but I would feel guilty if they got eaten. A second pair got eaten this fall by coyotes. During the day, no less! Anyway, the ducks have been acting especially friendly recently, and I've been finding large white waxy shelled eggs on the floor of the coop, where the ducks stay. I cooked one up for my son yesterday, and he could not tell the difference between it and a chicken egg. I guess I'll throw it in the carton with the rest.

Part of the reason I'm froze is because I went around to the neighbors to check on them. I have a widow that lives down the hill from me, an elderly coople across the road, and another older single woman to the south a ways. I scraped the paths to their vehicles and got their mail so they wouldn't have to go out. The first wave of crap went through already, and we've got about 4 inches of snow, with a crust of ice on top. But they say there is a second, worse wave coming. So we're buckling down to wait it out.

Well, the kids just went out to play for a while, so I may go join them. Have a good day all.

Whoopin' it up

I had to laugh at a friend the today. She is older than me by about twenty years, and she made reference to 'Whoopin' it up'. Huh? As an ex-cop, believe me, I can tell you some stories that would make anybody blush, and I thought I had heard every colloquialism, slang term, everything there was to hear in reference to sex. But that one surprised me, and I had to laugh.

It seemed to be kind of a sex day. I was surfing at http://www.kaystockham.com/blog/, and her subject was love scenes, or lack thereof. Personally, I find love scenes easier to do than setting up a plot. How sad is that?

Anyway, she was talking about a good book she had read that totally fell flat at the love scenes. And I have noticed that some authors really do seem to struggle with these. I am no expert, by any means, but I do know what reads well and flows nicely. I have to wonder, though, if her inability to write love scenes has to do with her own inexperience. Or maybe she just has a natural reserve that won't allow her to enjoy what she's writing. I honestly do think that you have to like what you are writing for it to be sincere and believable. I think the more passionate (no pun) you are about the subject matter, the better the writing will be. Am I off track? Hmmm...

My duh moment...

So, I'm in trouble. I did not get a lot of writing done yesterday. What I did get done I think is pretty good, but word count wise, I didn't do much. I did get one of my critique partners wip worked on though. One thing I can say about the girls that are in my group, they are diverse. I generally read contemporary short or long romance, but they are leading me into Wild West and the Scottish Highlands. Not my normal cup of tea, but I find I am enjoying myself.

Today, though, I am going to WORK!

On to my duh moment.

I've been very excited because my hens have started laying. 8 eggs a day usually, which is awesome. Well, in the past week, egg production has gone down. I mean, to zero. For three days I could not figure out why I did not have any eggs. The chickens were fine, eating well, so they should be producing. Right? Wrong. And yesterday, I finally figured out why.

This is Murphy. I happened to go outside unexpectedly yesterday, and guess who I saw jumping out of the door of the chicken coop? Yep, Murphy. My 180 lb Mastiff. And as I looked around inside, I realized he's been going in there for a while. There are marks on the wall where he has been marking his territory, inside. So, in the past three days, Murphy has eaten about 24 eggs, if not more.

No wonder he hasn't been eating the other dog's food like he usually does.

Duh...

And yes, he does smile like that, because he knows he's so cute.

Today was a pretty uneventful day. We caught up on some cleaning, and I caught up on some writing while the kids cleaned their room. Honestly, I don't even know why I bother cleaning when the kids are home. It seems like they just follow along behind and wreck everything I just cleaned up. I want to be a good mom and be interactive, but they were just rotten today.

Yesterday we did something fun. It was my daughter's 5th birthday last wednesday, and my mother-in-law sent her a kit of suncatchers to paint. We all ended up painting a couple, even Mark. It occupied the kids for a couple of hours with no bickering. They actually turned out pretty nice too. May send a couple to the in-laws.

I was watching the pre-inauguration coverage tonight, and, I have to admit, am very excited for Obama to be sworn in. Mark and I were talking, and we decided that a certain un-named person is a waste of time, and we'll be glad to see him out of the office. We're both surprised at how hopeful we are that Obama can change the country. Heck, he already has, to a certain extent. I had to laugh, because today he was doing community service for MLK day, and he started asking the reporters that were filming him if they were going to do anything today for community service. I love that he puts people on the spot. Makes them accountable for their own actions. Or inactions, as it were.

Till tomorrow.