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Something is driving me bonkers lately, though I'm trying really hard to go with the flow and not let the ... issue ... get under my skin. So I'll vent about it here instead of sending notes to the people I would love to yell at.
I was taught that if you make a commitment to do something, you carry through. 
Come hell or high water, you get the job done. You communicate with the people you have committed to and let them know if there are unavoidable problems that are delaying progress. You don't leave them to freak out, wondering if you've fallen off the planet or high-tailed it for the far country because you just don't want to participate in the task any longer.
Can anyone say "irresponsible"? Don't people understand how little things like this reflect on one's character? How in the future people will be less likely to trust them with other activities and responsibilities? I do not understand this neglect. IF YOU VOLUNTEER FOR A PARTICULAR JOB (I can't stress that enough), doesn't it make sense to uphold your end? In the least, tell me why you can't finish the task on time, or not at all, so I can find someone to take up the slack! It's not difficult. It's just a small mouthful of pride one must swallow to do this. Take it with sugar. It will go down easier. I'll even provide the sugar!
Now, I've vented. On with prettier things, like springtime and stories and fluffy kitties begging to come into the house to be in my company. Well, the kitties just want food, but they lie well and they're cute, so I'll let them get away with it. Back to the novels!
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.Ah, it's the last day of February! Spring is just around the corner. In fact, it feels like it's already here, at least where I live. We've had thunderstorms, warm south winds, and twice I've had the chance to sunbathe. Yep, in February. Which means March will likely be cloudy and cold. Time seems to get confused on occasion. Or maybe the issue is humanity trying to create order by naming a set of days and then expecting those days to behave a certain way. And then we're scandalized when things happen differently than we say they should. That's Philosophy In Your Corner by Court Ellyn.In honor of the cusp of spring, here are two timely masterpieces for your enjoyment:
An Orchard In SpringClaude Monet, 1886
Springtime at GivernyClaude Monet, 1880
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TODAY'S PROGRESS
Project: Falcons Rising
Pages Rewritten: 6 1/2
Pages Cut: 3 (oh, so many darlings, gone forever!)New Scenes: 0
Bad things that happened: the trial of an evil elf
Good things that happened: Aerdria does look lovely in that silver dress
Not much more to add really, accept that with this day's progress, I finished another huge section of revisions and will be spending the next few weeks (hopefully not more than three), typing in all those hand-written revisions. That leaves three or four sections of the same size still to go. Which means I will likely be posting on stuff other than progress reports. *taps chin thoughtfully* What shall I post? I'm sure something will come up ...
Onward!.
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TODAY'S PROGRESS
Project: Falcons Rising
Pages Rewritten: 5
Pages Cut: 4
New Scenes: 0
Bad things that happened: a demon is on the loose
Good things that happened: the best I can come up with is that despite all that galloping around, Kieryn didn't fall off his horse.
No writing yesterday. It was Wal-Mart day. Shudder. Why does grocery shopping drain me so? It takes up an entire morning, gives me anxiety for two days prior, and when it's over, my brain is shot. I hate it so. On the other hand, the afternoon was heavenly. Shopping done, the day so fine, I put on the bathing suit and sat in the glorious sunshine with a cool Great Plains gale whipping about me. I turned on the ipod, and over strains of haunting Celtic music, I listened to birdsong and wind, and read a chapter of A Wizard of Earthsea. A few hours like those are such a rare gift, and life, for the moment, is perfect.
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TODAY'S PROGRESSProject: Falcons RisingPages Rewritten: 4Pages Cut: 4 1/2New Scenes: 0Bad things that happened: Rhoslyn reveals herself to be the most needy person ever!Good things that happened: Um . . . the shellfish was nice?Today was obviously about cutting crap, while making use of (and greatly reorganizing) the few odd lines here and there. *whew* I'm still not happy with the flow of the scene, which was intensely emotional, and I'm not sure I was up to it. But there's always the next read-through, so I can relax about it and move on.Art of the Week:
Stairwell of the Hotel Tassel, a town house built by Victor Horta in Brussels for the Belgian scientist and professor Emile Tassel in 1893-1894. Considered the first true Art Nouveau building.Enjoy!
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.No writing today. I'm taking a few minutes during a break to blog a bit. Today being President's Day, my honey is off work, so we're taking the opportunity to get some early gardening projects started (and finished, I hope). So far we've only gotten some lavender shrubs transplanted closer to the house, though we've still got hoses to run and mulch to lay. The point of this particular project is to cut down on the weed problem. Last year was the perfect year for crab grass, and I gave up on weeding in despair for several months. There's just too much to be done by two part-time gardeners, especially when one (me) just likes it to look nice but hates the bugs and heat that must be endured to get things looking that way. To give a hint of the ongoing project, here are some photos to illustrate:When we first moved into our house, the backyard was a lumpy grassy area. We tilled that grass to create a blank canvas. The kitty posing so languidly is Raphael.
Then came the stone patio. Yep, we moved those stones ourselves. Stonehenge took on a new meaning:
The fun stuff started soon after:
And finally, after a couple of years, we started to achieve our vision:
Now we must maintain. So gardening fabric is making an entrance into the trouble spots, and so is bunny poo (believe it or not, we really do need to fertilize). This early in the season, I'm always hopeful that the beds will look better than the year before. *fingers crossed*Thus, writing is pushed to the wayside for today. Still, there is Friday's progress to report:FRIDAY'S PROGRESSProject: Falcons RisingPages Rewritten: 2Pages Cut: 1/2New Scenes: 1 (2 3/4 pgs)Good things that happened: A harp is carried back to its peopleBad things that happened: Prisoners of war are exchanged.
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WEDNESDAY'S PROGRESSProject: Falcons RisingPages Rewritten: 5Pages Cut: 3/4Good things that happened: Kieryn makes a rainbowBad things that happened: Rhoslyn's dress was found where?I didn't have the chance to write a word yesterday. I was invited to go to the zoo with my sister, mom, niece, and nephew. So I walked around the zoo for six hours yesterday with a 5-yr-old and a 2-yr-old, and a had a great time. Best of all, my honey showed up after lunch and had the rest of the day off to spend with us. But today, for some reason, I feel like I've got a hangover. Could it be only one day without coffee is killing me? Could it be the miles we walked yesterday that I'm not used to? Could it just be getting high on too much goodness? I hope it's the latter but bet it's the other two.Little Wonders: Feeding a peacock from my hand. The zoo people let the peacocks roam where they will, and when the kids stopped to ride the carousel, one came right up to my bench and I got to feed it crushed Fritos from my purse (don't tell the zoo people).Listened to pair of bald eagles fight over their hidden stash of meat.Looked and looked for a copperhead snake lying in it's usual pile of leaves, then decided "Aw, how sad, they took it out," then after a few minutes of still glancing over the leaves, saw it lying right in front of me! How could my eye not see it? Amazing and very scary camouflage.The kids faces. Watching them see and discover and get excited when they have something to show you. Best thing of all..
Come hell or high water, you get the job done. You communicate with the people you have committed to and let them know if there are unavoidable problems that are delaying progress. You don't leave them to freak out, wondering if you've fallen off the planet or high-tailed it for the far country because you just don't want to participate in the task any longer.
