Trying new things

Sorry to be so tardy inbetween posts, but I've been busy trying out all kinds of new and creative things.

Knitting:

I'm really excited about knitting! I've taken a few classes and have knitted three scarves and a hat. I'm working on another two scarves and another hat. In September, I'll take a five week class on knitting a cardigan.

Guitar playing:

I also picked up my old guitar and am taking a beginner's acoustic guitar class with a friend at a local senior center. I haven't decided yet whether I'll continue with the guitar or not, but it's been fun. If I continue it, I have to commit myself to consistent practice.  Right now, I'm having too much fun trying out different things.  Very soon, I want to take an introduction to pottery class and a crochet class.

Constants in my life since retirement:

The things I knew I'd consistently make time for in retirement are spending more time with friends and family, exercising, writing and reading.  I've now added knitting to that list. 

Trying out a local comedy club soon:

A friend from Woodlands is visiting soon and we're going to visit one of the local comedy clubs as well as a local live music venue. I'm excited! 

Things are blooming!

Here's Tomato Plant #1, in a sunny spot along the
side of my house.


And here's Tomato #2, already sporting a tiny
blossom.


I call this one "Training Bogey" -- I planted a
bouganvillia (sp?) last summer and this year I'm
trying to train it to climb along the fence.



Here are the Home Depot "Knock Out" roses,
under my kitchen window.

Here's a pale pink rose from the Olde Rose

Emporium, next to an antique water pump.

Roses in bloom!

Last year I planted several rose bushes, and I'm so happy to see them blooming this year!

Look at the photos attached, which include a pale pink rose from the Olde Rose Emporium, and several Knock-Out roses from Home Depot.

I'm waiting for the yellow and peach roses to bloom, also from the Olde Rose Emporium.

Great Writing "How To" Books

I'm furiously making notes for my novel's revision from the current craft book I'm reading. It's titled Don't Murder Your Mystery by Chris Roerden. Fabulous!

Other favorite books on Writing -- ones I've discovered so far -- are:

If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland, written in 1938 but still 'spot on.'
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
On Writing by Stephen King
Ten Rules of Writing by Elmore Leonard

Still revising my book!

I'm 75% through with the current round of revisions on my novel. I made some pretty major plot changes as a result of the feedback I got at the writer's camp I attended last month. One of my secondary characters, a seven year old stuttering, psychic little girl, has become more important, and Nana (another secondary character) is now mildly, non-violently schizophrenic.

Research:

I did a fair amount of additional research as part of my rewrite. For example, I found out what a dead body would look like fifteen years after the murder victim was entombed in an underground, abandoned coal mine! I also talked to a very nice man at the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources about abandoned mines, subsidence, and the events that lead rescuers to abandon their searches for entombed miners (they don't make that decision lightly).

I also researched the blooming time of the poisonous herb that one of the victimized secondary characters uses to try to off the bad guy. It turns out the herb blooms in the early spring and my novel WAS set in the fall! So I'm incorporating a 'season change' in this rewrite and moving all of the events to early spring.

Attending Writer's League of Texas Summer Conference:

I recently joined and will attend the June 2009 annual conference of the Writer's League of Texas, headquartered right here in Austin. I'm eagerly looking forward to it. I also joined the Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime and International Thriller Writers, Inc. I've been a member of the Romance Writers of America for some time.

Finished scarf #2 and starting #3

I finished my second knitted scarf last week. I like it so much that I think I'll rip it out and re-do it. Seriously, I really like the soft, fuzzy, 'hairy' (like mohair) yarn but mostly I LOVE the bright yellow-blue-orange-red variegated color combo. It looks GREAT with my denim jacket and my black Gap vest.

But now that I'm getting a tad better at knitting, all of the mistakes I made on it are jumping out at me. So I think I'll wear it while I knit another one from a second skein of the same yarn. I bought several skeins of several different color combos when they were on sale recently at Hobby Lobby. When I'm thru making my much-better-knit replacement scarf, I'll unravel the first one. And make something else with the yarn! I think I'll use the garter stitch (straight knit) because it knits up so fast.

I started my third scarf last night. It's a future gift for my sister. I struggled a couple of hours and ripped out several beginnings last night but I think I've finally got the hang of the 'seed' stitch. It'll be a narrow 5-inch cream colored scarf. I hope she likes it!

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