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General Posts

Sunday Afternoon Ramblings

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My apologies for not writing an entry before today, but this week has been busy.  At the building, I spent every day working on the drainage ditch.  My body is bruised, scraped, sore, and battered, but the majority of the labor is complete.  Unfortunately, all of the digging has inflamed the carpal tunnel in my right hand.  I’ve dealt with this on and off for a couple of years, but this round is by far the worst.  I spent all day yesterday and so far today resting my arm as much as possible to heal it.  I hate feeling incapacitated in any manner, but right now I can’t even make a fist with my right hand.

In other news, I got the  manuscript for book three back from Philip on Thursday, and from what I’ve seen so far, he did an excellent job.  I’m going to write another entry soon just about the edits he did for me.  I can’t wait to dive into the manuscript and polish it.  I’m ready for the book to be out there and read, and I know that many of my readers are ready for it.  I apologize for how long it has taken for me to get this one out, hopefully, it will have been worth the wait because I believe this book is the best so far.  There’s a punch to it that’s stronger than the first two, in part from the life experiences that have delayed it but also from my growth as a novelist.

That’s all for now.  Keep checking for more details about book three and more updates on the farm.

General Posts

Monday Morning Ramblings

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This weekend was a roller coaster to be sure.  On Friday, Dad called me around 8:30 or so to tell me that Mom’s oldest bulldog has torn her stitches and that Mom needed help.  I headed out there as quickly as I could, not sure what to expect.  I hadn’t even known that the dog had been fixed earlier that week, so I really had no clue what was going on.  When we got there, the scene was pretty bad.  There was blood everywhere, and the poor dog had vomited two or three times.  Mom was understandably upset, so we both tried to get her calmed down and assess the situation.  Then, we saw the dog.  I’ll spare you the gruesome details, but it was at least 100 times worse than I had anticipated, and I hope I don’t have to see anything like that again anytime soon.

The vet got there not long after we did.  He rushed the dog to his truck and did surgery on her for 2 1/2 hours.  She seemed okay that night, after he got her stitched back up, so I went home and was in bed by 1:00 AM.  The next morning, I had to attend graduation, so I got up early, drove to the Expo Center, and sat through the ceremony, all the while daydreaming about the nap I was going to take that afternoon.  I got home from graduation about 1:00 PM and ate lunch.  About 3:00, Dad called to say that the bulldog had just died and asked if I could come back out and bury her.  We think she threw a blood clot into her lungs.  Hopefully, it wasn’t a painful death because she had already been through enough.

I headed back out to the farm, where I dug the hole and buried the dog.  Mom was pretty sad but okay.  She handled it much better than I had expected.  Once we got that taken care of, we made it back home around 7:00 PM.  Needless to say, I was pretty wiped out.  The worst part is that this dog was one the sweetest and most loving animals you could ever hope for.  She was really a sweetheart and a good dog.

Today, I’m tidying up my office before heading out to the farm to work more on the drainage ditch behind the building.  My goal is to have the drainage problem completely fixed by the end of this week.  Then, I can get back to repairing the front wall and cleaning up the inside.  I’m excited about getting to focus most of my energy on the farm.

Remember, there’s big news about book three coming soon, so check back regularly for the announcement.

General Posts

Friday Morning Ramblings

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When I looked at the memo regarding grades, I read that they were due 5-6-11, so I spent the last two weeks grading feverishly to be done by today.  Yesterday at about 4:30, a colleague informed me that grades aren’t due until 5-9-11.  I’m not dyslexic and don’t normally invert numbers or letters, but this time I did.  The bad news is that I pushed myself excessively for no real reason.  The good news is that I’m done with grading.  After graduation tomorrow and tying up a few loose ends on Monday, I’m free from the college for a month.  All of my attention and energy can now be directed onto the farm and the final edit of book three (By the way, be looking for an announcement about The Fall of Dorkhun next week).

Last night, I was so exhausted I fell asleep around 8:30 and didn’t stir until 6:15.  I had forgotten to turn off the alarm on my phone or I probably wouldn’t have awakened then.  I’ve experienced both physical and mental exhaustion, and while neither one is pleasant, I’ll take physical every single time.  Mental exhaustion is excruciating.  When my brain is taxed, I can’t concentrate on anything and even menial tasks (like reading the date on a memo) become difficult.  Also, there’s an element of stress that comes with mental exhaustion that’s absent with physical exertion.

Today, I’m going to head out to the farm and get a little work done.  I’m not sure what I’ll focus on, but there’s plenty to do, so I’ll find something.  Mostly, I just want to get back in the groove of working on the building and recuperate from the end of this semester.  Please, keep an eye out for that announcement about book three, and in case I don’t get to write another post before Sunday, happy Mother’s Day to all the moms.