lisahartjes.com

Tweets for 2009-06-10

Lisa — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 01:59:00 +0000

Finally back in the swing of things again - just in time for the kids to be out of school. #
Lunch today: two vine ripe tomatoes, a small handful of bocconcini, drizzled with balsamic vinegar, and a bit of salt and pepper. YUM!!! #
It’s 3:15. Where the heck did the day go? #
@museitupeditor Glad to be of service! #

When cooking with a crockpot…

Lisa — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:16:48 +0000

…make sure you actually set it on “Low” when you get it going before you go to bed. Trying to cook something on the “Keep Warm” setting doesn’t work.

Oy.

Tweets for 2009-05-28

Lisa — Fri, 29 May 2009 01:59:00 +0000

I finally remembered to turn twhirl on again! #

Tweets for 2009-05-19

Lisa — Wed, 20 May 2009 01:59:00 +0000

Mmm…. Grilled boneless top sirloin steak and a huge salad for lunch. I love it when Matt works from home. #

Tweets for 2009-05-18

Lisa — Tue, 19 May 2009 01:59:00 +0000

Egg salad sandwich for breakfast. Yum! Is this the start of a decent food day? #
Finished spreading another bag of mulch in the garden. Two more to go. #
Time for some lunch, and then some writing. I hope. #

Tweets for 2009-05-15

Lisa — Sat, 16 May 2009 01:59:00 +0000

@chartjes Hey Chris! Donovan has asked to learn programming, and he’s starting with Python with the “Hello World” book: http://is.gd/AcKI #
LOL! http://bit.ly/Iggw7
Another silly reason I wish I had an iPhone. #
@chartjes I’ll keep that in mind. Donovan’s first “lesson” is going to be this weekend, after Matt’s read the first chapter. #
More procrastination - should I do a Chef Lisa blog entry about my failed potato salad last night? Hmm…. Decisions, decisions…. #
Okay, if two people are both lying on their backs on a bed, how can one be looking up at the other? #

Another Reason Writing Is Like Gardening

Lisa — Fri, 15 May 2009 18:00:46 +0000

The weather is pretty good today. Temperatures are hovering around 70 (well, looking at the thermometer it says 66, but I will ignore it and say it’s 70-ish), a very light breeze, and the sun is shining. I’ve got the windows next to me open, and a cardinal and a blue jay are telling each other off in the maple tree. And now the morning dove has decided to get in on the act.

Things are moving slowly for TMA. Alex is alone again, and I’ve come up to another event that I need to rework as it no longer fits as originally planned. I see a way to work through this, but it will need some finagling*. I open up the document, get ready to start typing - and I decide to go out and do some gardening.

An hour later, a three gallon bucket is full of weeds and grass that had invaded the circle garden** and four cubic feet of red mulch has been spread. (There’s another six cubic feet in bags in the trunk of my car, waiting for Matt to get home and take them out.) That part of the garden now looks nice.***

I know my detour to do the gardening rather than working on the novel is a cop-out. Procrastination. I can’t really help it. Sitting on front of the computer is starting to get confining, like my mind is being smothered from the knowledge that I have so much I have to do, and no idea how I’m going to do it all. So, I find “excuses”, things around the house that really do have to be done, but really could wait for when I’m not supposed to be working.

Doing the gardening, though, helps me think. Usually, when I think, it’s a good thing. The people in the rpg games I run would deny it, as that’s often when I come up with the most evil things I can do to their characters. Or was that when I’m in the shower. Regardless, it happens when I’m doing not-writing things.

Working on the garden today made me think about the process of writing, or perhaps more like editing. When you start, you’re ruthless, pulling out all the stuff that doesn’t belong. You work hard and fast. Eventually, you slow down, and that part isn’t quite as much fun anymore. So you decide it’s time for the mulch. You spread it on nice and thick. It’s so pretty, and you hope you put enough on top of the stuff that doesn’t belong that nobody will notice it when they look. But, deep down, you know the weeds are still there and aren’t going to go away.

Weeding = editing, and mulch = flowery prose. If there are fundamental flaws in your writing, no amount of flowery prose is going to hide it perfectly. You need to pace yourself, and understand that editing is not a sprint to see who can get done first, but a marathon where the person who wins is the one who did their best.

* Finagling is my “big word of the day”.
** I discovered today, actually, it’s more kidney-shaped, but I’m not going to stop calling it the circle garden. So there.
*** Yes, Mom, I will send you pictures soon.

Tweets for 2009-05-12

Lisa — Wed, 13 May 2009 01:59:00 +0000

I’m hungry. I wonder if I can pull off Eggs Benedict for one person. #
Eggs Benedict for One was a success! I even made the Hollandaise sauce from scratch. With real lemon juice. #
My kitchen is flooded because of a broken pipe under the sink. What the frak else can go wrong today. #

Tweets for 2009-05-08

Lisa — Sat, 09 May 2009 01:59:00 +0000

@LisaHartjes Yeah, I know Audacity is for Windows. I’m looking for something other than Audacity. #
@TeeMonster I discovered I was allergic to sulfa drugs when I had it - I asked the dr if the drops should hurt. She said “Hell no!” #
@TeeMonster It = pink eye. Silly me. #

Tweets for 2009-05-07

Lisa — Fri, 08 May 2009 01:59:00 +0000

I really have to remember to turn twhirl on in the morning. #
Can someone explain to me why I read “Had a fun night” as “had a fight with”? #
@museitupeditor Me! Me! #
@chrismoody To be honest, I really don’t know. I’m tired of fighting with Audacity, and I’m slowly working on a book version of LisaCraft. #
Anyone have any tips and info about life in Madison, WI? There’s a chance we’ll be moving there this summer. #
@museitupeditor Born in Toronto, grew up in Mississauga, now living in Michigan. #
@chrismoody Can you recommend a good (or at least decent) program like Audacity that’s free (and for a PC)? #
@museitupeditor Yeah, we visit home, but it’s a 6 hour drive (when you include stops), so we don’t do it all that often. #
@museitupeditor Depends on what you’re looking for. Blogger and WordPress.com takes care of everything, but limit what you can do. #
@museitupeditor You can install WordPress at your own website, and have no limits as to what you can do (plug-ins, themes, whatever). #
@museitupeditor It’s gotten pretty easy to keep you own installation of WordPress updated now - built in updating ability. #
How on earth did I end up with half a dozen half-used boxes of pasta in my pantry? #
And none of them are the same kind/shape either. #

Twitter Updates for 2009-04-28

Lisa — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 02:59:00 +0000

If you shop at Kroger, check out this contest, and stay to read the blog! http://is.gd/veWI #

Why Gardening Is Like Writing (or vice versa)

Lisa — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 20:44:45 +0000

The weather here has been absolutely beautiful; records high temperatures, and though it has threatened rain, there really hasn’t been much more than a minute or two of light drizzle. It’s still April, and I know I’m taking a chance, but I went yesterday and bought all the plants I wanted, both for the beds and the container gardens.

The kids love marigolds, so we got two packs of those, along with some wave petunias. The “centerpiece” of each of their containers is a vegetable plant: Ari has a grape tomato plant, and Donovan has a red bell pepper. I got my own container garden going this year, with chives, rosemary, sage, cilantro and oregano. Oh, and thyme. Mustn’t forget thyme. The rosemary and chives are in their own pots because they’re perennials, and when we move, I intend to put them in the ground. We got a bunch of other plants, mostly perennials, to round out the garden. Matt’s out now buying the mulch because the bags are really too big for me to lift.

We planted the container gardens yesterday, and we just finished doing the two beds. I hurt now, and I’m going to hurt even more tonight and tomorrow, but that’s all good. I’m going to be able to enjoy the garden for the rest of the year (and it should help with the value of the house).

(And wouldn’t you know it, it’s starting to rain, so maybe I didn’t have to water everything after all. )

Now, I bet you’re wondering why I wrote all this and what it has to do with writing.

Getting my garden planted reminded me of the process of writing. Just like picking out plants, you pick out ideas that you think might go well together. You work with what you planted last year, just like you use ideas that have already been rumbling around in your head. And sometimes, things you’ve already done have a way of surprising you.

I love violas. Their tiny, delicate flowers make me really happy - I smile every time I see one. I planted two types of violas in the new bed we made in the front of the house last year. Now, violas are “supposed” to be annuals. The ones I planted last year most definitely weren’t. Not only have they come back with glorious abandon, but they’ve spread throughout the bed. It’s like someone took handfuls of baby violas and scattered them across the bed like someone scattering seed for chickens.

And that’s kind of the way inspiration works, doesn’t it? From one idea, a million others can spring up, often in the most surprising way.

Twitter Updates for 2009-04-23

Lisa — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 02:59:00 +0000

Good morning, everyone! #
Had cheesy scrambled eggs and sausages for breakfast with the girlie this morning. Earned me a huge Thanks Mom! hug and smoochie. #
And now that the house is quiet, let’s see if I can actually get some writing done today. I’d love to finish TMA Chapter 19. #
Me and my big mouth…. #
@cleshastaten I find that happens to me when I buy a bunch on sale. I think “Oh, I’ve got six boxes in the cupboard”. #
@cleshastaten I love Stash tea, especially their decaf spiced chai. Their herbal teas are pretty good too. Love their peppermint tea. #
@cleshastaten I think I’m being stalked by Stash. Shortly after that tweet I sent you, Stashtea started following me. #
@cleshastaten That’d be cool. I buy enough of the stuff. #

Getting Writing Again

Lisa — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 13:26:23 +0000

Oh goodness, I’m embarrassed. All the talk I had about still being stuck on a specific spot in TMA? Well, I just opened up the chapter I’m currently working on and discovered I not only solved that problem, but have moved the scene along. (blush)

I’ve got a good portion of the rest of the scene already written (the stuff from the speed draft/NaNoWriMo version), so we’ll see how quickly this goes. It’s funny. Sometimes I find that editing old work to fit with the new path the novel has taken actually takes more time than writing completely new stuff.

100 Book Challenge: #19 - Turn Coat by Jim Butcher

Lisa — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 12:02:25 +0000

I actually read this a couple weeks ago, but just now got around to adding it to the record. My bad.

Turn Coat is the latest installment in the Dresden Files - which I discovered is planned to be a 20 book series! The plot is starting to move faster now, bigger stuff is hitting the fan, and Harry has likely bitten off more than he can chew - as usual.

I do love both of Butcher’s series. I just wish there were more hours in his days so he could write them faster.

100 Book Challenge: #18 - The Reluctant Miss Van Helsing by Minda Webber

Lisa — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:51:27 +0000

Yes, she’s one of the Van Helsings, of vampire slaying fame. Webber has created a world where fictional beings truly exist. Frankenstein created his monster, there are werewolves in London, and Dracul and his vampires plague the world. This is a really amusing story, and I enjoyed reading it.

100 Book Challenge: #17 - Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews

Lisa — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:42:45 +0000

I had the distinct pleasure - and privilege - of briefly being in the same writer’s group as Ilona before Magic Bites came out. I love the premise of the series, and Kate Daniels is one of my favorite characters.

Twitter Updates for 2009-04-21

Lisa — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:59:00 +0000

At long last, I remembered to turn on twhirl. #
No! It’s supposed to be nice today. Why the heck is it *hailing*. #
And now it has stopped. Crazy Michigan weather. #
@cleshastaten How does a Caesar salad with roast chicken and bococchini (mini fresh mozarella balls) sound to you? #

100 Book Challenge: #13 - #16 The Devil Inside, The Devil You Know and The Devil’s Due by Jenna Black

Lisa — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 18:01:51 +0000

I wish I remember where I first heard about Jenna Black. It might have been a recommendation from Amazon. I’m glad I paid attention to it. It’s interesting to see, though, that different stores shelve them in different places. At one Borders, the books were in Romance. At the Barnes & Noble near my inlaws, they were in Science Fiction/Fantasy section.

I can see why they might have been classified as romance. There’s definitely a romance plot, but I don’t think that it’s the reason for the story. Yes, Morgan has a boyfriend/lover and she’s worried about the bad guys hurting him. Yes, Morgan is fighting the attraction she feels for Lugh. And yes, there’s sex going on in the book, but a Romance (as in the genre) is a story where the main plot is about love. That’s not the case with the Morgan Kingsley books.

Catching Up

Lisa — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:35:44 +0000

Has it really been almost a month since my last post? I don’t really have much of an excuse, other than things have not been what I would have liked. One of the few highlights, however, was having lunch at school with Monkey #1, otherwise known as my son, Donovan. His schools has “Have Lunch With Our Bunch” days, where parents and other family members are invited to come to school and have lunch with their kids.

I got to his school a bit early, so I waited in my car for a bit. As part of the kids’ gym class, they sometimes have them walk outside, doing laps around the school. The day of the Lunch was one of those days, and the look of surprise and delight on his face, seeing me there, was priceless. I’m looking forward to doing it again next month.

Work on TMA has ground to a virtual halt. I’m stuck on a specific scene. It worked just fine when I did the original outline and initial writing, but I’ve changed enough in the earlier chapters that it doesn’t work as anymore. I can’t just toss it, as it’s a set up for stuff that’s going to happen later.

Okay, enough with the self-pity. Time to get to work.

EDIT: Ack, that was a really bad hair day for me. Frizzy curls I couldn’t do anything with, and I couldn’t find any hair elastics to pull it back into a pony tail.