Mirkwood Cottage

Books and their covers...

If ever there were evidence that we should not judge a book by its cover, Susan Boyle could well be it.

If you're not averse to having joyful tears in your eyes, click away.

[Image from here]

I'm it!

The lovely Keris has graced me with an award! I thought that would be a nice start to my 2009 blogging after my 2-month sojourn into the abyss of non-blogging and incredible busy-ness.

In any case, to get this year started off with a bang (or something), the rules of the award state that the following questions must be answered in one word: 
1. Where is your cell phone?  Handbag
2. Where is your significant other?  Couch
3. Your hair color? Blonde
4. Your mother?  Mad!
5. Your father? Madder!
6. Your favorite thing?  Peace
7. Your dream last night? Suffocating
8. Your dream/goal?  Growing
9. The room you're in? Favourite
10. Your hobby?  Relaxing
11. Your fear?  Dentists
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Adventuring
13. Where were you last night?  Party
14. What you're not?  Lazy
15. One of your wish-list items? Egypt
16. Where you grew up? Imagination
17. The last thing you did?  Chuckle
18. What are you wearing?  Dress
19. Your TV? Computer
20. Your pets?  Husband
21. Your computer? Treasured
22. Your mood? Weary
23. Missing someone?  No
24. Your car?  Dory
25. Something you're not wearing? Shoes
26. Favorite store? Amazon
27. Your summer? Haaawt
28. Love someone? Family
29. Your favorite color?  Winter
30. When is the last time you laughed? Scrubs
31. Last time you cried? AugustRush (Well, it had to be one word!)

So, thank you Keris for loving my blog enough to tag me ;) I'm going to share the love and tag Amber!

Stories With Heart

Every now and then, you come across a writer who, in a few short paragraphs, says a thousand million things. You could make a film out of this one short journey.

My thanks to the ineffable Heather B. Armstrong for bringing this beauty (and a few tears) into my day...

Goal!

Well, I kept my word! Detailed outline of my second novel is DONE! Yahoooo! It feels wonderful to have achieved what I set out to do (after a bit of a detour, but hey, learning curves can be useful!). All of my chapters, including themes and events are in order (20 chapters, at current count!) and I've briefly outlined my locations and main characters, with descriptions of many of the incidental / side characters. There's loads more to be added as I go along, but I'm content with the outline for now!

Now it's back to the grindstone for Novel One and my agent submission! Eep!

[Image source: http://yummybrainfood.wordpress.com/]

Widget, The Goal Watcher...

When I was a kid, Widget was the bizarre little purple alien from the Horsehead Nebula that taught me about the dangers of pollution. In fact, he was a World Watcher!

Fast forward, well, quite a few years; and Widget is now my Goal Watcher. Indeed, I have added three new Widgets to my blog to keep me on task for three of my goals.

The first is to finish the detailed outline of my second novel idea (blogging title: Book One), which I told you about yesterday. The second, which I told you about a few weeks ago now, is to start seeking out a literary agent. The third? Well, it's to lose 10kgs by starting, for the first time in my life, a fitness routine.

I have made excuses about exercise, sports and getting fit for as long as I can remember. But about two weeks ago, I woke up and realised that fitness has NOTHING to do with being "sporty", being atheletic or even about liking sports.

It's really about my health. It's about setting a good example for my future kids. It's about being the best version of me that I can be. And so that's why it's my third 90-day goal (of what I hope will be many, many 90-day goals that I will achieve!).

The Diary of a Young Girl

You know that question? The one where you have to name three people, alive or dead, you'd invite to a dinner party and why? Well, I've always struggled with that question... until now. I now have my perfect three. And it took me for forever, because unlike many people my age, I was never required to read Anne Frank's Diary.

It was one of those books that had always fascinated me in concept (in fact, I've owned a copy for some years), but it had never made it to the must-read pile of books by my bed. One month ago, that changed.

I have always been fascinated by World War II more than any other war in history. I'm not certain of why... Perhaps because it hinged on a mad man's whim; or that the devastation was more incredible than can be truly appreciated; or that it feels so foreign and remote from the world I know, and yet it only ended barely 50 years ago; or perhaps it was because it shaped who we are and the world we live in today, more than almost any other event. In any case, it was on my mind those few weeks ago, and it was this that tipped the scales toward Anne Frank's relocation from bookshelf to bedside; and I'm terribly glad it did.

You know you're a word nerd when...

As we pulled up to the front of our house, I unbuckled my seatbelt at the same time David pulled on the handbrake and our elbows whacked together with a resounding "OUCH!"

"Why do you always hurt me?! It's just plain mean!" (said Erin in a persnickety tone...)

"It wasn't deliberate. It so never is," said David, who then promptly whacked his other elbow into the car door.

"Payback for elbowing you, I guess." (said he)

"Haha! CARma! Geddit?"

(And apparently it's those sorts of comments that make him love me so. Thank God I married a nerd!)

Echoes of the past...

I always find it a little odd reading things I wrote long ago. For starters, 1997 is eleven years ago. ELEVEN! When on earth did that much time pass by?! But it's not really the passage of time that I find so strange, rather, the way the words pull at you, tugging you to the past. I don't know why I stopped writing poetry - perhaps it was more of an adolescent thing to do - but it's a little nice to remember how vividly one felt back then. And how gushingly saccharine...

If a tree falls in a forest and noone hears it...

...does it make a sound?

If a writer writes, but has no audience, are they really a writer?

It's a lonely business sometimes.

[Image courtesy of the amazingly talented Greenplasticdave. His archives are well worth a look.]

An Ode to the Amoeba by Arthur Guiterman

I thought I'd add a little fun to your Thursday, by sharing with you one of my favourite geeky poems ever (EVER!). I have great admiration for writers who make a learned topic more enjoyable by fitting it to rhyme (and not reason). I first read this waaaaay back in high school and it's stuck with me ever since. Enjoy!