Hey, all! Can you believe it’s spring? According to the calendar, at least, today marks the beginning of the season, when the days are supposed to be growing warmer, the sun brighter, and little green things poke their head out of the ground. All I can say is: I’m still wearing my full winter regalia to work every morning! Spring as we tend to picture it doesn’t come until June, anyway. Until then, it’s all about dramatic temperature fluctuations, migrating geese, and mud. Lots of mud. Deep, squelchy, how-can-the-earth-stand-upright-in-this-stuff mud.
But for the moment, it’s all still frozen.?
Even so, in the sprit of the season, let’s talk about new stuff! Winter’s end is nigh, with warm air whispering around the corner, and that means a whole lot of things are gearing up to get moving again.
What’s New in the Writing Corner
I finally bought a new laptop! I’m actually typing this post up on it right now. My other laptop – and my first – is only . . . what? Eleven? years old, and still does most everything I ask it to, but it’s definitely seen better days. The W key has been missing for a while, and after an incident with an HDMI cord, its battery can no longer function without life support (aka, being plugged in). So, it’s basically a desktop. Even still, I’ve been reluctant to ‘replace’ it for years, but I’ve finally come around to wanting something a bit more . . . portable, at the very least. Something I can take to different places and continue working on my novels. In that vein, I’m trying to keep this PC pretty empty of distractions (except for the Interwebs, because research. We’ll see how far this not-being-distracted actually gets us). I still think I got something bigger and more than I really need for what my original intentions were, but what’s done is done. I now have a more portable, not-replacement laptop.
Recent work on Falconsbane has led to some new developments in the story that I want to incorporate into the plot. I’ve been struggling with one of the lesser viewpoint characters, trying to justify his voice and roll in the narrative, I suppose. He’s someone I haven’t spent a lot of time one-on-one with, but recent conversations have taught me a great deal about who he is. Now I’m eager to dive into edits (again) and flesh out his character, as well as some worldbuilding. I’ve had to cut so much worldbuilding in the last round of edits, and I’m glad I can pipe in a little more after all! I mean, the primary reason for writing fantasy is worldbuilding, right?
Right?
(My sarcasmeter is beeping. I’ll be right back)
What’s New on the Farm
Maple syrup! Well, it’s not technically a ‘new’ thing, since we’ve been processing it for the past few years, but it’s a sure sign that spring is fighting its way into our hemisphere. We boil down the sap in our makeshift sugarhouse/woodshed, then finish it off in the house. Which means it can get pretty warm and humid inside – particularly the second floor. No complaints here. Besides, it’s hard to argue with the scent of hot syrup permeating the air at all times. No candle smells this good.
Calves! We’re on our next round of calves in the barnyard, with two springy beans running around, keeping moms busy and everyone else occupied. Also, Barn Cat, the barn cat, looks to be expecting kittens (oops) The neighborhood orange tiger is not above our suspicions (he may also be the progenitor of my writing buddy ?♀️) While we didn’t intend for this to happen, I’ll not be sorry to play around with the wee fuzzballs. If we can find them, that is. There are a lot of places to hide dust-bunny sized kitties around here. Including, but not limited to, the ceiling.
Ninja-cat.
The vegetable garden has already been started, albeit in starter pots in the spare room. Flowers, tomatoes, and tigger melons are sprouted and growing, well, like weeds. They will shortly be moved to the greenhouse, until we can get them into the actual ground. I didn’t have much to do with the garden last year, but this year I want to spend more time in it. Planting, even weeding, and working with the produce. One of my goals is to make more in-season food this summer, which may get us sick of tomatoes and cucumbers, but it’s so hard to beat fresh food like that. Nothing from the grocery store can compete.
What’s New in Life
Books count as life, right? They do here! I’ve just recently got my hands on a whole stack of new books – and I mean not-from-the-thrift-store new. Bran-spankin’ new, mostly from an actual bookstore I found at the Outlet Mall. Of all the things going out of business, they’re still plugging. What a treat to stumble upon, no? But yes, in the span of an afternoon I shamelessly acquired a stack of to-read books as tall as my niece is long.
Which bring me to . . . my niece! The newest and most awesome thing to be going on around here. She was born just the other day, a long anticipated addition to the family, and I can’t wait to meet her. Fortunately, I don’t have to. The whole family is heading out on Monday to spend a week with the new folks. It’s just so amazing, because it seems like just a few years ago we were teasing my little brother that he would be the first of us three siblings to get married and have kids. Then in quick succession he graduated high school, joined the Marines, married an AWESOME woman, and is now a dad.
Mind. Blown. ? But praise God, right? He’s a great guy, and she’s a great gal, and now they have a tiny person that we’re all so thrilled about and praying for. I am so excited to see who she grows into. With a family like hers, full of missionaries and bakers, mechanics and nerds, it’s bound to be interesting!
So! What’s new with you? Got any springtime plans? New developments in your stories or homes? Do you do any spring cleaning? Trying any new books? Foods? Projects?
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