Goaaaaaaaaaalllllllllll!

Would ya look at that:



But, my work here isn't done. I'm about halfway done with the story and it's pretty good. I know, I'm biased, but usually I don't like my own stuff. It's not 'perfect'. Something I'm thinking at the moment is, do I really need to finish the book? I mean, I hit goal, plus, I already know how it'll end. Why bother, in that case? There's yarn to knit, you know.

It's cute, being about the Oregon Trail and all, and my husband knows the lay of the land in Wyoming. He'll ask me every so often, "Are they at Ft. Laramie, yet?" They're getting close, about 60 miles west of Chimney Rock.

The whole thing with National Novel in a Month is a person is supposed to be writing like a fiend with NO editing. Right. That's like telling me to go to a yarn store but NO buying yarn. Whatever. Usually, I'd edit the prior couple of pages, then continue with the flow. I do know the novel will need editing to get rid of echos. It's when the author has used the same word several times in a paragraph.

Example:

Taking his dishes, she looked at him in surprise. He didn’t inform her of his whereabouts often. Bethie indicated the dishes in her hand, “Very well. Mostly likely, I’ll be here or washing something.” He gave a little wave as she watched him walk away. Once Daggart was out of site, she put the washing up in the larger pail to take to the river.

In this paragraph, I'll have to change a 'dishes' and a 'washing'. They'll bug me otherwise.

So, anyway, I have to brag about hitting 50,000. This is my third year and not only did I write more than half the month, I wrote above 7000, beating last year's word count. :D

Thanksgiving is WHEN? But, I've not lost last year's weight!

Due to popular request, here it is, an update! Chelle is popular and did request, so I'm not entirely overstating it.

What have I been doing? A few things. The whole election thing had me down. I voted Democrat in the last two elections to no avail, and didn't have hopes for this one. I honestly figured it'd be like when Bush Sr won after the dry years of the Reagan era. Horrible. Even so, it wasn't as bad then for the nation as it is now.

I tried to keep an open mind concerning McCain. I vote for the people, not the party. When he slung the first mud, saying Obama was responsible for the oil prices, I tuned him out. Both men voted against offshore drilling, until McCain was bought out by the Bushites. He did an about face for the money, which is funny, considering the Democrats had more to spend.

Besides the issues, I had serious problems with McCain's lying during the debates. Hillary calling Obama a Muslim had the same effect on me. If they'll lie during a 'date' with the American people, what'll they do after the 'marriage'? Several times during the debates, McCain would say what Obama would do, Obama would have to refute or clarify, then McCain would repeat the erroneous information. I don't mind a person being wrong. It happens. But when they know they're wrong and continue to perpetuate the lie, I can't trust them.

See? I don't like blogging about politics because it's not only difficult to find unbiased sources, I lose whatever bit of eloquence I might have. I do know that the current administration and its friends have profited beyond anyone's wildest dreams. They continue to do so, judging by the frequent bailouts of banks. Funny how the auto companies are given a miss on the money train. I wonder why, since it's not the lawmakers own money they're passing out so freely, but ours. If they want to help those hurt by the housing crisis, why don't they give the money to the homeless shelters, since that's where those who've been forclosed on now live.

What else has kept me busy? Well, in November, it's been NaNoWriMo, and it's been going great! Woo hoo! I have a snowball's chance of finishing on time. So very cool. I love the story, romance on the Oregon Trail, have had to do tons of research, and have written well into the next day some evenings. If I'm seeming out of it, more so than usual, and can't seem to pay attention, blame NaNoWriMo. It's been fun writing the story so far and I'm sort of looking forward to finishing. Already, I'm planning the next story, so this has been a great jumpstart.

Here are Fry and Lucky in the park's creek. I run in the park three times a week, two if I get shinsplints. It's a one mile loop with some slight hills if you go one way, slopes the other. Most people go with the slopes, which I find funny. I mean, don't be half-assed about kicking your own ass, m'kay?

By run, I mean jog at a 13 minute mile, which, a mile is usually what I do. Sometimes it's 1.5 jog, others it can be 1 run, 2 walk. When it's nice out, the child and dog come with me, otherwise, they stay at home, dry and warm. :)


There was some Octoberfesting going on! Hubby and I went, Fry stayed home and worked on her teenage angst. We enjoyed beer and brats, funnel cake, and pig races. He's wearing the Liederhosen bought on our honeymoon, so be impressed. Seriously, because there's no way I could fit anything bought near our wedding.


This is why my Ziplocks of yarn have eensy little holes in them. SOMEbody likes pillows. Isn't Claude the sweetest? It's now cold enough for him to snuggle me every night. He also likes to use my foot as a pillow, making it tough to get drinks or take breaks. Wouldn't want to wake the spoiled rotten thing.


Finally, you'd think I'd blog about meeting the Yarn Harlot herself, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee.

My friend Chelle also posted about the Harlot, much more timely than I did. I've also stayed pretty busy teaching classes at the libraries. They've not been more than I can handle at all, just that there is prep time involved, of course. Materials gathering, driving to and fro time, then the two hours teaching. It's all really fun, though. I received next season's class schedule and there's fun there, too. We'll be knitting in the woods from the book "How to Knit in the Woods". I need to work out with the library how many books they'll have there. Being a writer type, I'm all about respecting the copyright.

There's been lots of fun minutia around here. Lunches with friends, shopping for yarn, hanging out with my child and husband. All of which is much more interesting if you were there, so I'll spare you. Instead, I'll go work on my novel.