One week

We are staying close to home while we have our shower redone so I was hoping to squeeze in a little more writing/editing here and there. If only the necessary changes were as obvious as where to lay the next tile, I'd be set!

(Before pic)

Unfortunately, I tend to write in a mosaic style--writing separate pieces and then fitting them together--rather than following a linear path.

If all goes according to plan, the shower will be done well before my novel is polished and ready to show. I'll keep you updated, though. (I don't plan my writing well ahead of time; the contractors planned, drew pictures and estimated 8 days. We're on day 7 now and they tell me it will only take one more week.)

Define help

I tell my children that I need help folding the laundry.

Their response?
"But the clothes basket is SO FULL!"

I am just never satisfied

I've got it pretty good. I have a large washing machine to wash my clothes, a dryer that dries them in record time. A decent dishwasher, an automatic coffee maker and two computers which allow me to type much faster than I could ever write on a notepad. Technology is wonderful. Now, if someone could take time away from developing the newest, smallest, most incredible "phone" and use that incredible imagination to develop a machine that would fold laundry, my life would be perfect.

(I do have children. They are capable of folding laundry! I just wish they could do it without asking every three seconds: "Am I done yet? Exactly how many things do I have to fold?")

Inspiring

I no longer play the piano like I used to but once in a while, a concert, a movie or a piece on the radio will make me want to practice.

Some books make me want to keep reading but make me want to stop at the same time--because I'm inspired to work on my characters, my scenes...and make them better.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter is one of those books. It's a gem.

The novel follows Dr. David Henry, who in 1964 delivers his own twins. He is thrilled to deliver a healthy baby boy but then is surprised when a second child is delivered. His recognizes that his daughter has Down syndrome and for a multitude of reasons, he sends her away with his nurse. He instructs the nurse to take her to an institution.
The story also follows Norah Henry, Dr. Henry's wife. Her husband tells her that their daughter died at birth. Her grief shapes and changes her life in ways she never imagined.
Over the twenty-five year span of the novel, we also get to know Caroline Gill, the nurse who was in love with Dr. Henry and who flees with his daughter.

Kim Edwards has crafted a mesmerizing novel detailing the way that love--and the mistakes that we make in the name of love--change the shape and direction of lives.

Summer vacation?

We're a week into summer vacation for the kids--which means I'm up even earlier, trying to write before they get up.

(Of course, I'm here until I get halfway through the first cup of coffee!)  

The Shack

Settle down in your favorite chair and make yourself at home in The Shack.  

Of course, when you read the first chapter, or even just the plot summary, you'll think I've lost my mind.  The subject sounds unsettling.  It is.

I read the back cover and waited to read the book.  I was afraid it would bother me.  It did.  I was sure that I would cry.  I did.

Still, it's a book that will make you think and just possibly, look at life a little differently.

I'm not a huge fan of the writing style.  The actual story however, is powerful.

And for any of you out there who are sure that you know what God looks like--it might be time to take another look.

Parental controls

I need a program that will give me a time-out each time I visit Facebook rather than doing actual research or writing.  Clearly, I am not disciplined enough to avoid it on my own.