Shouts · of · Joy

Been a nice couple days in California. Friday night and most of Saturday I spent with my brother, sister-in-law and the kids (and the crazy puppy) at their fabulous house they moved into recently. Got tons of hugs and kisses from five-year-old Danny, and figured out what triggered the spray park fountains at Seeley park a couple blocks from their home. The kids had a blast, and I got lots of great photos of them to share with the Towners and my coworkers.

     Sunday was Mother's Day, so after church I treated my parents to a restaurant of my mom's choice, and she picked Romano's Macaroni and Grill--fabulous Italian food. I really enjoyed my mushroom ravioli with caramelized onions, and my parents enjoyed their meals too.

     And whenever my mom is ready, we'll be off to the Monterey/Carmel area for a couple days. I'm really looking forward to seeing the ocean again and the whale-watching trip we'll be doing!

Good stuff:

     Wednesday morning, my boss brought in bagels to share. It was also apparently the 4th anniversary of the 'great slinky race.' So Dawn was pestering Corey to build her another slinky track out of boxed. Then she and I went downstairs to get our bagels...and when we got back up, Corey had built a large wall blocking her desk!

     Then around lunchtime I succeeded with my second whole blood donation for the year. I wasn't sure, because my good arm got a pretty big bruise after my last platelet donation, which meant they used my more troublesome arm. But she nailed it on the first try, yay!

     Got a good start on chapter 4 of 'Delarun' section 2 on Wednesday evening, trying to get myself set up to get right back into it after my trip...

     And in less than 24 hours, I'll be in California!!

Worked from 7 am to 7:30 pm on Tuesday, with an hour break for lunch & dinner. Hopefully I got enough done that I won't have to do any more overtime before my trip. But there were treats: the Chipotle gift card I used to get dinner, and the pileated woodpecker and baby Canada Geese I saw on my drive home.

     Of course since the weekend is over, the weather is now quite nice! But that was great, because on Monday evening I was able to finally get the cats' outdoor enclosure set up for them.

     Monday night was also great because I finished chapter 3 of 'Delarun' section 2, and passed 90,000 words, yay!

     I thought I glimpsed a loon on the reservoir at Eau Galle a few weekends back, so ever since then I've had a deep craving to get up north and see loons--it has been FAR too long. Anyway, thanks to the Minnesota Bound Loon Cam I can get a temporary 'fix' right at home--and the first egg was laid just a couple days ago!

Recent good stuff:

     I'm glad to see that tomorrow there is actually NO rain in the forecast, after the repeated drenching we've had of late. Tons of rain and storms, (and tornado alarms going off at 2:45 am) and a little flooding, and no outing this weekend (would have been solid mud anyway) but there was not enough to have to bail.

     Had a blast seeing Avengers in 3d on Saturday. (And a preview of Pixar's Brave as well.) I'm tempted to go back Memorial Day weekend...

     Best of all, made some good progress with 'Delarun' section 2 this weekend. For the first time in a long time, I'm actually feeling something close to writer's adrenaline and really itching to make more progress. Of course good 'ole Murphy's Law gets the last laugh, since it had to happen a few days before my trip! =P

Hurrah for a payday Friday!

     And hurrah for surviving another overwhelming workweek without jumping out the window (good thing they don't open) or throttling anyone. I did get the treat of a free lunch at the company cafeteria on Wednesday--got to use my yearly health survey coupon for some cheese and black bean burritos, yum!

     Another high point of the week was finishing up chapter 2 of 'Delarun' section 2 on Wednesday evening. Been moving at a snail's pace, but at least I'm moving!

     Got a ton of stuff to get done over this last weekend before I'm off to California, but I'm definitely making time to see Avengers tomorrow. Hurrah for summer blockbuster season!

Recent blessings:

     Today I have a much-needed day off work, though it will probably disappear quickly between laundry, errands, and a platelet donation tonight.

     Still, the extra time meant I could take a long outing Sunday and not worry about the clock too much. Drove up to Wild River State Park, which I visited briefly for the first time last autumn. The weather dictated I go north rather than south to Nerstrand Big Woods as I had planned, but I'm very glad I did!

     Walked a total of 8.5 miles/13.7 km between two portions of the park, and was delighted by the abundance of wildflowers I saw. Almost every variety I'd spotted at both Eau Galle and Latsch, and also got to see my first sessile-leaved bellworts and some neat looking prairie smoke flowers. There was lots of wild blue phlox which reminded me of the ones my mom used to grow in her garden, and some Tiger Swallowtails flying around to remind me of the North Shore, and I even got a photo of an adorable tiny blue Spring Azure butterfly as well!

     The only disappointment was the lack of abundant/varied bird life, at least that day. But I did get to inadvertently spook a Bald Eagle away when I walked to the edge of the St Croix River for a view. Boy have I been blessed with tons of eagles this spring!

A grueling workweek, but there have been blessings:

     Wednesday was Administrative Professionals Day, and I was touched to find a card on my desk when I got in, signed by almost everyone in 'my' part of the department. I needed that, especially after my awful Monday and Tuesday.

     Then Shelley treated me out for lunch as well, so I got to happily stuff myself at Keys with a big blueberry bran pancake and side of hash browns. Delicious!

     My sister-in-law's birthday almost means its birthday time for my cats: Arun turned 12 on Wednesday and Shado turns 9 on Friday. I'm especially blessed by the latter, as with his heart condition, it was not something I could take for granted, seeing him reach 9 in such good shape. Now I'm praying for double-digits!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHRISTINA!!!

     I hope your special day is at least half as wonderful as you are, with lots of treats and spoiling and fun! Have a wonderful birthday! Looking forward to seeing you soon! =D

What a blessing!

     Been a bit grumpy about the forecast for the weekend (plenty of rain Saturday). This morning, I checked the weather in all four directions, and also the visible satellite, and decided to head east to Eau Galle in Wisconsin, as that seemed the best chance of hitting some sunlight without driving for two hours.

     And I struck gold! It was beautiful there, and almost perfectly clear for an hour or two. A treat from heaven, all the birds and flowers I got to enjoy. The hilarity of timing as well: while photographing a wild turkey, a pileated woodpecker flew right over me, and while inspecting a sparrow that a swallow seemed mad at, a bald eagle flew right over me! Also saw blue-winged teals, mergansers, herons, mallards, osprey, vultures, noisy Canada geese, beautiful goldfinch...the list goes on.

     Just as much of a treat on the flower side--got regaled by trilliums, two types of trout lilies (never seen the yellow ones before), tons of false rue anemonies, spring beauties, buttercups and marsh marigold, bloodroot and wild ginger, wild blue phlox, and my first butterflies of the season--including a black swallowtail. And I know I left something out! Did about 4 miles of walking and just had a fantastic time!

     Very pleased with some of my shots, so uploaded a few over here. The late spring birds (wrens, catbirds, orioles, thrashers) don't appear to have arrived yet, so my mom needs not feel jealous: I saw no indigo buntings! ;)

Hurrah for a payday Friday!

     A treat on Wednesday: my boss Bill treated us all to pizza from Little Oven to celebration some milestones. It was delicious!

     Had to cover for Shelley this week, which made things more crazy and exhausting, BUT--I'm grateful I only had to process once. It's been months since the last time, and the processor was sounding strange when I turned it on--but it went without a hitch. What a relief!

     I'm quite grateful for the various cancellations/change of plans that meant I could get some writing done on Wednesday evening, and I won't have a super busy weekend ahead. Yay!

     A treat this morning with Emissary Geren running around in my dreams making trouble for the bad guys--a rather confused mash-up of 'my world' with some books I've been reading lately. It sure was fun!

Monday's treats:

     So, my outing on my day off didn't go as planned, and I never even got to the state parks I'd wanted to visit, but it was not without its bright spots. Ended up at John A. Latsch State Park, of the 592 steps and 500 foot (152m) climb to the top of the bluff. Got rewarded with lovely bellworts and wild purple clematis that reminded me of my mom. Amazing to see them blooming in mid-April! At the top was another treat--at least three bald eagles, two flying together, and all three making adorable noises to each other. It was hilarious when one came shooting up past the overlook quite close, then did a funny swerve/flinch when he spotted me standing there. Took plenty of photos of the eagles, though most were blurry. Over the whole outing, I saw 6 adults, 2 juveniles, and a zillion vultures.

     Had a late lunch of spinach tortellini at Green Mill down in Winona, a year 'late.' Since I'd actually planned to treat myself to Green Mill after finishing book 5, but the whole crown mess wrecked things, and then I never got around to it. But late is always better than never!

     Stopped at Lark Toys near Nelson on the way back and got some gifts for my nephews and nieces. I wish I could take them there--they would love it!

     Best of all, prayers got answered Monday night, because I FINALLY got moving with 'Delarun' section 2 again! I'd asked my women's group to pray, and then in the shower last Thursday morning had a brainstorm as to how to get the characters out of the impasse I'd gotten trapped in. A bit of a shock to check my records and find that it was exactly one week short of an entire year since I last made progress with section 2. Hopefully I can get a little further this time!

Special weekend, special day:

     So today is April 14, the first anniversary of my life's biggest accomplishment in finishing writing the five Geren books, and the 23rd anniversary of when April 14 became a very special day for me. Of course such things must be celebrated! Friday was Chipotle for lunch and chips and guacamole to take home and enjoy in the evening. I looooooove guacamole! So glad God created avocados!

     And today a Domino's pizza run so I can feast on pizza and breadsticks today and tomorrow, hurrah! Plenty of fun working with my Tarlah figure in Poser too: finished my simple Portal Page illustration for 'Last Orphan' and am just getting started with the big in-story illustration. I'm glad it finally dawned on me that she's 51 for most of the story, as she's 12 in 'The Courage of Tarlah,' and in my brain she's 'stuck' at around 35. I'm looking forward to making me a Master of Delarun next, since I seem to have conveniently misplaced the one I used for my 'Delarun' avatar.

     Been nice to take it easy, listen to music, enjoy reading, pick up a book I've been waiting to get from the library for months, and otherwise enjoy the fact that this is my first three-day weekend since New Years. I really needed a reprieve!

     A treat from heaven on my drive to church this afternoon--didn't have a black cat cross my path, but a black squirrel! It's been years since I've last seen one, and I really love them because they remind me of both Tolkien's Mirkwood and the Black Prince. Yay!

     And now it's time to have my first cream soda of the season, dive into the pizza, and get back to celebrating!

Tomorrow is Friday the 13th, yeehaw!

     So grateful, after last week's craziness, to have three evenings in a row where I don't have to go ANYWHERE. Sure is nice to have time to do editing, working through a textbook, or just listening to music and brainlessly playing games as I recoup from another insane workday.

     Also a treat to have it be much cooler this week than it was in nearly all of March! Even some frost the last couple nights. A treat to be cool enough at night.

     Happiness is hot scrumptious Arby's mozzarella sticks to celebrate finishing 'Last Orphan.' I could do that everyday... ;)

     And this evening I finally had the time to get back into an art project again, after a nearly two week hiatus that was just about to drive me insane(r). So looking forward to lots of art time during my upcoming three-day weekend!

Lent is OVAH, hurrah!

     It is a treat to drink orange juice again, and blueberry pomegranate mix, and have a can of root beer at the Towners. And eat sweets and cookies and candy...perhaps a little too much. Lent is over!

     Between Saturday evening and Sunday morning before church, I finally got to the end of 'Last Orphan.' But it certainly needs some pruning, so my work with the story is far from complete. It wasn't supposed to be a novella after all, and certainly isn't structured like one. Still, feels great!

     Easter Sunday was such a perfect spring day (like Mother's Day on a 'normal' year) that I had to get out to a park after church and before going to the Towners. Took a walk at Tamarack Nature Preserve and got to enjoy the tamaracks budding out, as well as see some rue anemones. Just beautiful out there!

     Had a nice time at the Towners from 12 to 7:30, and far too much to eat, with dinner followed up by angel food cake topped with strawberries. It was a lovely time.

     And then Monday night I made a platelet donation, and not only did they get a triple out of me (the max) they managed it in under two hours! Yay!

Thank God, payday Friday at LAST!

     Did my food shopping Thursday since I didn't want to do it on Good Friday, and got a treat as I was driving back home: two sundogs that were red on the inside and blue-white on the outsides. So busy enjoying that, it wasn't until I was nearly home that I saw the nearly-full moon rising in the east. Lovely!

     Been blessed with, and greatly enjoying, a pair of book series I really like. Read the second book in the 'things-with-wings' loveliness series earlier this week, and now I'm having small luck putting down the second book in an incredible Christian sci-fi series. I hope I never lose my childlike intense enjoyment of a good story in an amazing 'world.'

     Well, after having my job devour my life for the past almost-six months, today was the day when I saw a reward for that labor. It's time for performance appraisals for 2011, and my boss actually tried (and failed) to get me an 'Outstanding'--the highest possible! Still, HR did let me get away with an 'Exceeds Plus,' and it was a blessing to have that as a bright spot in an extremely grueling and exasperating workweek.

Hump-day happies:

     Well, three workdays down and I'm still A) alive and B) gainfully employed. Just two more to go...

     Had to get off early today for my dentist appointment, and it went wonderfully. And thank God not at all like last April when I got surprised with that awful crown business!

     Some things always make life sweeter: beautiful sunrises, flowering trees...and baby manatees!!!1! =D

Recent good stuff:

     On Sunday morning, I got out to the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary, which was their first day open for the year. It was neat to see so many woodland wildflowers, and some blooming almost together that would generally bloom at separate times. Such as wild ginger, bloodroot, trout lilies and lovely snow trilliums while the false rue anemone, Siberian squill were also blooming, and the Virginia bluebells were very close, and some early marsh marigolds, as always, brought back warm memories of the first sections of Hope's Passage. Some treats with birds as well, such a couple wild turkeys, nuthatches and lots of noisy blue jays, and the special treat of spotting a wood duck as well as getting a photo of a great blue heron as they have recently returned from the south as well. Got to see a muskrat too, though my photo was badly out of focus, and it has been quite a while for that. The only thing that would have made the outing sweeter was it if hadn't been so dark so that my camera didn't spend most of the time yelling at me to turn on my flash.

     Also on Sunday, I finished the last portion of the season finale for the tenth and final season of 'Smallville.' Quite a bittersweet thing, as I've been procrastinating on finishing, both due to busyness and not wanting to reach the end. But those ten seasons were quite a treat, and I'm looking forward to rewatching more episodes sometime.

     On Friday, my long-anticipated swap for my second grab gab Young Poad was finally complete. So now I have three little Poads--and I took a photo for my mom of them, with a couple adult Poads in back for size comparison. My newest swap is the one with the green rear end and the dark blue eyes, and the person I traded with is very happy with her new purple Poad.

     It was real nice to have less than 100 error e-mails to deal with this morning, though I'll probably pay for it tomorrow!

Hump-day nearly done already!

     Monday morning, my boss dropped by 'my' section of the department and immediately commented on how hot it was (I've been roasting for weeks). Which was wonderful, because then he went and found out how I could submit a maintenance request to get that fixed. Doubly wonderful, because now it feels much better, AND I learned something new! (And I can give Dawn her spare fan back.)

     I'd been dreading today because Nancy is off on her cruise all week, which leaves us strapped, but then Sarin was off today as well...but thankfully it wasn't as bad as I'd anticipated, and I only had to spend a few hours in the afternoon helping Dawn and Corey with fiche conversion volumes.

     Between writing the Copper-novella and various Delarun stories that take place during the Geren novels, I have developed a deep appreciation for my Map Mania page. Now, instead of going to my files and trying to figure out if 'Small Map 11' or 'Small Map 13' is the one I need, I can just go to that page and see them ALL. Loving it!

Well, today brings me to my 1,111th post on this journal, so of course I had to do something special to celebrate such a neat number!

     I'd recently done an illustration for the short story 'Encounters,' and I didn't feel it did Winter-Mist much justice at all. So this milestone gave me the excuse to have more fun with her, this time in a sunny spring setting.

     The picture is now up in my Elfwood gallery, but that version is slightly shrunken. The full-sized image is here, for those who are curious. I'll admit I am loving having my new pc and new version of Poser because I can do so much with dynamic cloth that I could not before. Yay, technology!

     I'm also enjoying another cool morning that actually feels like early April rather than May, as well as passing the 15k word mark with 'Last Orphan' last night and actually being ahead of where I'd planned. And I'm excited about a Windstone PYO commission that's underway, all because I fell in love with an eBay auction and asked the artist if she'd do a similar theme on a different sculpture for me. Can't leave out a blessing: this week's chapter in my women's group book felt like it was written just for me, which leaves me curious to find out what happens Tuesday night.

     And then there are wonderful bits of research like this. Makes for a bunch of great goodies to celebrate my 1111th post with!

I love weekends...

     A blessing to have sleeping pills, and a pretty good night of sleep Friday night thanks to that. Made it past 6 am!

     Also had a lot of fun watching 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' Friday evening as well. I'll probably be thinking of the movie if I ride the San Francisco trolley this May!

     My outing this morning was to two local parks I haven't been to in a while. It was a treat to have a deliciously cool morning (only around 41 F/5 C) after the past two weekends, and I was out early enough in that chilly cloudy weather to have the places to myself! At Carver Lake, I got a pretty neat shot of some flying cormorants, and at Hamlet Park I was surprised to spot a pair of bluebirds--and the male was cold enough and grumpy enough he didn't try to dodge my camera. (Bluebirds are usually very good at flying away 1/2 second before I take a photo!)

     Very happy to manage a short writing session Saturday evening and one late Sunday morning. Hopefully I can make more progress tonight. Also glad that I'm getting more energy since my job's lightening up a bit, and the bad nights of sleep during this May-weather-in-March-heat-wave haven't quite crushed it yet.