Tag Archives: creativity

Thursday Morning Ramblings

July 5, 2012 D.A. Adams 4 Comments

For now, I’m only going to focus on the positive that occurred in Louisville. Later on, I’ll vent about the negative.

For starters, The Galt House is a pretty nice place. Because I had the boys and my niece with me, I got a suite with two queen beds. Collin and Finn had never seen a suite before, and as we entered the room, both of them lit up like torches with excitement. All weekend, they referred to the room as our apartment. Their reactions to the room was worth the trip up there, and they had a great time playing in the pool and hanging out with Bri.

IMG_20120630_204700 — Bri taught Collin how to swim.

I also got to see many old friends and catch up with them. I don’t want to name anyone specifically for fear of leaving out a few, but if you and I spent some time hanging out and chatting last weekend, please know I enjoyed talking to you. I met several authors, as well, a handful of them fairly big names in the business, and enjoyed the opportunity to learn from them on panels and listen to their perspectives on the craft. A huge round of applause needs to go to Stephen Zimmer for organizing such a robust and diverse literary track. The quality of the track was top-notch.

Other than spending time with the boys and watching Collin pull his own loose tooth, the highlight of the weekend for me was getting to see John Rhys-Davies again and give him the new version of my series. I had met him back in 2005 when Brotherhood was in its infancy and I was a fledgling self-published author. He was kind enough back then to allow me to snap a few publicity photos, so I wanted to give him the new version as a way of saying thanks. Once again, he was kind and gracious, showing genuine interest in my successes as a writer and thanking me for the gift. We only got to speak for a couple of minutes, but I was grateful for the chance to thank him for what he did back in 2005.

Like I said, I’ll vent later. For now, I’ll relish the positive and take solace in the fact that my sons enjoyed the weekend.

IMG_20120629_143411 — My section of the Seventh Star Press booth.

General Posts

Friday Night Ramblings

June 22, 2012 D.A. Adams Leave a comment

Here’s an update on the farm. These pics won’t really do justice to how hard I’ve worked the last three days to accomplish this, but it’s the best I can do.

IMG_20120622_182252 — The newest cabin for the mushroom grove.

IMG_20120622_182307 — From left to right, elm, ironwood, and maple. The elm and ironwood logs are from the trees that fell on the spring house. The maple ones are from the first fresh tree I cut on the hillside yesterday.

IMG_20120622_182403 — The second maple from the hillside, about 26 feet long. Should produce six to seven more logs for the cabin.

IMG_20120622_182451 — The bottom of the slope I dragged the trees down. The path goes up for several hundred feet.

IMG_20120622_182702 — A shot of the hillside. Not sure it really captures the height and steepness of the hill, but the view from up there is pretty nice.

IMG_20120622_182232 — My favorite shot of the cabins.

There are still three or four trees to get from the hill, but I started with the two highest. I figured that would make the others seem easier. There are two more maples, at least two more ironwoods, and one elm that are the right size for harvest. I’m only taking out what I need for the cabins and am trying to minimize the damage to the young growth. I want to keep that hillside as natural and unblemished as possible. The other hill will eventually be cleared more because it faces south and should be good for certain crops.

Cutting those two trees and getting them down the hill was backbreaking work and took a lot out of me, but the feeling of satisfaction is worth it. Once we have enough logs for five or six cabins, we’ll begin the inoculation process. With any luck, in the spring, we’ll have fresh mushrooms ready for market. Eventually, we plan to have about 36 cabins total, but it will take some time to get there. Once that’s rolling, we should have a fairly steady supply. I’m pretty excited about it.

Working on the farm and writing book four have been amazing experiences this summer. For the first time in many, many years, I feel like I’ve found my place. My goal is to make both of these endeavors my full-time professions over the next couple of years. Working on the land nourishes my creative spirit, and writing feeds my soul. I’m grateful to have had the time to do both this summer.

General Posts

Saturday Morning Ramblings

June 9, 2012 D.A. Adams Leave a comment

What a difference a year makes. This time last year, I was beginning to feel the neurological symptoms that made me so sick last fall. Around this time was when my left hand started bothering me so badly. The worst of the symptoms didn’t really begin until probably August, but I remember my left hand cramping and twisting into an odd knot throughout June. At first, I ignored it, believing I just needed more potassium, but as the symptoms progressed, I knew something more serious was happening. At the worst of the illness, I could barely walk, and simple typing left me feeling utterly exhausted from the concentration required.

Today, I won’t say I feel 100%. My left hand still trembles, and my fine motor skills are not great. Typing still requires a lot of concentration, and I often jumble letters or strike the wrong keys as I type, which can be annoying while working on a book. However, the most significant improvement is in my energy levels. While typing still requires quite a bit of concentration, it doesn’t leave me feeling exhausted. In fact, my productivity is nearly double my previous amount in terms of daily output. Part of that comes from my sense of urgency for finishing this manuscript, but mostly it has to do with energy. When I finish writing for the day, I don’t feel utterly spent and look forward to the next day.

Physically, I also feel better. I certainly don’t feel like I’m staring down 40. In fact, I have more energy than I’ve had since my early 20’s. Part of that comes from working so hard on the farm, but most of it comes from getting over the worst of the neurological symptoms. My strength is returning, and my stamina has improved. Considering where I was just seven months ago, feeling nearly crippled, I’ll take it. I don’t know if I’ll see any more progress in terms of the fine motor skills and coordination, but I can live with how I feel today.

Until I see the specialist again in August, I can’t say definitively that gluten is the culprit, but that’s been the only change to my life. Since I cut it out of my diet, I’ve progressively felt better, and the one time I accidentally consumed it, I felt sick for three or four days, so to me, common sense dictates that gluten must have been the root cause of the neurological symptoms. Until someone can prove otherwise, that’s what I’ll believe. For now, I’m going to enjoy how I feel and continue doing what I’m doing. I feel strong, healthy, and productive, and to me, that’s about as good as it gets.

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