Sky Knights on the Lake

http://www.sky-knights.org/
This picture was taken as I floated in my kayak.

Summer in Oregon is so awesome, short though it may be, it is packed full of events to attend. The buzz over the lake at our weekend place was remote controlled airplanes and our eldest grandson was with us for the fun. All the planes had pontoons for water take-offs and landings. The competition lasted two days with greater challenges to perform, including stunts and speed, spot landings and more.

In the evening, there was a pot-luck-barbecue that included grilled burgers and wieners, and a big bowl of potato salad, but every other choice of side-dish to sample was a delight to the taste buds. Three of the warm side dishes featured bacon and cooked cabbage, including my own contribution – and the pan was scraped clean.

After desserts, we returned to the beach for fun flying and instead of one performance at a time, numerous RC planes were buzzing across the lake, doing loops in the sky and whizzing between the poles. Twilight on a lake shore is always awesome and there was no worry about potential crashes as even if the crafts crashed, the pilots were still standing on the shore holding the control pad.

Ed took one of our friends for an evening flight in his 1946 Piper Cub and since the paint scheme is also yellow with red accents, it was amusing but understandable when one observer thought it was just a big RC plane.

My personal delight, as an insider at these events, is observing the bond of community between people who share a passion. It’s easy to get them to veer away from chatting about their toys and hobbies and revealing their careers and heredity. There’s an equality that is created in clubs and events with a focus on their passion whether it is RC or light sport aircraft. The income, education, race, and even sexual bias dichotomy evaporates when the conversation is all about – whatever – from a sport to a hobby passion.

On our way home from this glorious weekend, our 9-yr-old grandson was replete and content with fun memories and so many stories to tell his friends. That’s what I love the most about summer, seeing through the eyes of a child the wonders available when we play.

50 Shades of Emmaline

We attended an annual summer event this weekend and I chatted with friends I only see at such events, and met new friends. I was amused that everyone wanted to know what I thought about 50 Shades of Gray. I really don’t think about it at all, haven’t read it and probably won’t. But I know about it as it has been discussed extensively on writer/publishing blogs for it is – #1 - rather ordinary as an erotic romance novel and #2 – had some rather awesome marketing.

Instead, if I’m going to chat about a romance novel, I’d rather share one that is a personal favorite from my keeper shelves.

I met Elizabeth Boyle in 2003 at a reader appreciation luncheon. It was my first event upon returning to the world of romancelandia as both a reader and aspiring author. My niece Kathy attended with me and a bond was born during that luncheon so that Ms. Boyle still calls me, “Aunt Mary.”

A week ago, I rushed through the library and chose a few movies quickly and later that evening was surprised that I’d chosen the 2002 movie The Importance of Being Earnest, which is based on Oscar Wilde’s classic comedy of manners play, of the same name. I’ve been dedicated to watching contemporary romantic comedies and had grabbed a historical, but Colin Firth was the star so I gave it a view and was delightfully surprised.

I was very busy this week as we were taking our 9-yr-old grandson for a mini-vacation but Elizabeth Boyle revealed “The Importance of Being Ernest” was the inspiration for her first book in the Bachelor Chronicles. I paused my packing and quickly found Something About Emmiline on my bookshelves and it was included in my supplies for the trip.

My copy was autographed “To Kathy” as we used to swap books and I quickly realized this FIRST book was the only one of the Bachelor Chronicles I hadn’t read yet. How’d that happen? As I read Emmaline’s story I was both entertained and amazed at the initial introductions of so many characters I knew well from having read their stories through the series.

This created a challenge for me while chatting with friends this weekend. I was reading this delightful historical romance novel by one of my most favorite authors while being asked about a much hyped fan-fic where readers were justifying that even without the nasty-bits, was a good story.

My dilemma in these conversations is that my opinion of a good story isn’t the same as my opinion of a good book. I also know many titillating nasty bits included in books like 50 Shades of Grey were the horrific reality in 1801, when the life expectancy of a young girl did not include attending college.

Elizabeth Boyle’s character Emmaline, inspired by Earnest, and who spawned a whole series of what I consider great books for their entertainment value and attention to manners, is a pretty shady character. Emmaline is a con-artist and card shark. There’s actually a whole host of shady characters in Elizabeth Boyle’s Bachelor Chronicles series, with all kinds of nasty bits in their past and present. Ms. Boyle is also a Seattle based author like E.L. James, author of the 50 Shades of Grey series…

The difference between the stories of then and now, in my opinion as having only read one of the two authors, is that in the past women needed to use their wits to avoid bondage and brutality. Now they can choose it for sexual pleasure. I guess that’s evolution or something.

So, from now on, when someone asks me if I’ve read 50 Shades of Grey I can simply respond, “No, have you read The Bachelor Chronicles by Elizabeth Boyle?” It may be a conversation stopper. BUT….

I’d really like to know what readers of the latest buzzed about book would think about a series that I feel has merit.

The Great Apple Abundance

Ed’s solution to keep the boughs from breaking and give the apples the opportunity to ripen, as long as we don’t have a strong wind…

The apple tree in our yard has never produced more than a few dozen apples the deer have enjoyed – not so this year.

Pele the cat inspecting what she usually has to climb the tree to sniff.

The tree was old and gnarled when we moved in fifteen years ago so we assumed it was past bearing fruit.

About five years ago we had most of the trees on our property trimmed and we were aghast at how severely the apple tree was pruned.

Three buckets of these baby apples were tossed in the far corners of our yard as they attract bees.

We were sure that pruning had finally killed the tree and we researched using the apple wood for summer barbecues.

This year there were tons of blossoms and we noticed all the really tall branches. Its surrounded by tall trees and  we really didn’t notice the height of the thin branches from the hefty trunk until they were covered in flower. It was pretty but we weren’t concerned. The tree had never produced more than a few dozen apples in 15 years.

We have no idea what type of apples they are, or if they will be worth eating as previously they only were enjoyed by deer.

We won’t know the next stage of this adventure for a few weeks, but we’ve notified all our girls to be ready with bushels and recipes.

Maybe this is the year for us to visit Leavenworth, WA in the end of September.

We love this Bavarian Town but we have never attended the Apple Festivals.

This new moon in Cancer

http://astrobuss.wordpress.com/

I’ve always preferred the New Moon as it is a time of initiating energy even though it’s a dark sky. The farmers almanac recommends all planting to be done after the new moon and until the Gibbous moon. Being in charge of initiating anything, whether project or attitude or hairstyle, at the new moon, means we’re tapping into growth energy.

The full moon represents the culmination, completion, and/or manifestation of what has been chosen or initiated during new moon energy. I think (I’m not an astrologer so this time span could be wrong) the full moon manifestation is not necessarily what was initiated during the new moon two weeks prior, but during the new moon in the same sign as the full moon, like six months prior.

I follow a few astrology blogs and there is a lot of excitement about the current planetary alignments but I want to share for those who don’t speak the lingo, my feelings about the 3 T-squares in this month New Moon chart:

A T-square is formed when there are two planets in opposition and one planet square to the opposition. T-squares are likely to be either cardinal, fixed or mutable. The planet at the apex, which squares both ends of the opposition, functions as the catalyst, mediating between the planets in opposition. This is an open, unstable, stressful aspect pattern but is often extremely effective and dynamic

It’s not uncommon for astrologers to be very excited about stellar aspects that sound horrific to the the rest of us.

One blog I follow is  jbuss Astrology and I felt my first inkling of concern when I read this line regarding this month’s new moon transit of one of the T-square:

So any Identity TransFormations that occur over the coming month will be permanent.

I’m not comfortable with anything being permanent, even if it is a stellar time stamp.

When I was avidly watching astrological transits to my natal chart, years ago, it was to see what was forming over the energetic aspects of the moment.

This  jbuss Astrology article with the beautiful Dravite (brown Tourmaline) pictured above, refers to the mundane planetary transits. Mundane astrology interpretations are about where the stars and planets are today in the sky and their energetic relation to each other on a global/universal scale. It’s not personal even though we are all connected. I was enjoying all the imagery of the hand made silk carpets until I read…

So, as Saturn Opposes Eris, it brings into full flower the Energy born at their Conjunction.  When and where was that?  Early March of 1998, at 19 degrees of Aries…

See, that’s what I mean about the full moon not representing the manifestation of what was initiated at the most recent new moon. Saturn moves a bit slower than the moon and generates long term lessons and challenges.

There’s no reason to worry, the scuttle through astrology world is all these T-square transits are amazing and fascinating, even if they don’t feel comfortable to us as change ripples around Mother Earth, through all of humanity, and our social, economic, and political systems.

On a personal note, I was instantly remembering the spring of 1998. We had only moved into our home here in Oregon in mid October, six months earlier. This house was a fixer-up-er and a bit cramped as we were a family of six with less space than our prior home in New Jersey. The animals were already multiplying.

We’d moved our 6-yr-old Golden with us but that spring of ’98 is when there were also three ducks, a long haired black cat (who had five kittens), and a bunny. These underfoot pets were shortly joined by a horse, and then another dog. I was often a bit stunned to scan my home and menagerie of animals and wonder, how did I end up in this life? I’m not a fan of the stories where the girl leaves the city to find love in the country… However, as each animal arrived I sort of thought it was a good idea at the time and went with the flow of our family life. But that’s past now, and 14 years later only the black cat is still around. She’s PELE, named for the Hawaiian volcano goddess.

I am a bit nervous about these mundane planetary aspects that will be enhanced with initiating new moon energy -3 days prior and after Wednesday/Thursday this week- because I checked to see if any of it was aspecting my personal natal chart and, of course, they all are. So take heart that no matter how scary it sounds, I sort of get it, and these T-squares are hitting me (and my family) on many personal levels.  Mercury is also retrograde and the message with that is always to pause and review, revise, redo, instead of initiate.

I will be cautious as I review transforming my identity. I’ve done the “go with the flow, it seemed like a good idea at the time” manifestation. So under the dark sky this week, be aware that a retrograde Mercury is often considered the dark trickster. I’ll contemplate if I want to dodge the dark side or embrace it.

It may be permanent – at least for another 14 years. (Cue evil laughter.)

Distracted by research

This research excuse for “not writing” is usually heard from historical and paranormal writers as they delve into their world building. I always felt there was enough in the here and now to fulfill my stories and all I needed to worry about was plot and character.

I’ve been absent from blogging here because of beautiful weather, places to go, things to do, stories to read, wood to stack in preparation of the winter months, and new adjustments to my writing schedule. My routine is being challenged by constantly shifting to new locations and grabbing a few hours of computer time because I’m totally not plugged in to all the wi-fi apps and such.  But the primary research distracting me from posting to this blog is – I’ve been exploring new homes of our friends and family.

Our youngest daughter got the keys for her new-first-home yesterday. It needs some work as it was vacant for almost a year, but they are young and have all types of resources to get it awesome in the next few weeks before they move in.   The bonus is the location and that a sister and a friend are within walking distance. Barely an hour after she pulled the for sale sign from the front yard this friend, and new puppy who are also new to the neighborhood, stopped in for the dogs to have their first meet and greet, which was a success.

Only two weeks earlier, I walked through one of my friends new home. She’s at the other end of the age spectrum and has designed her new home specifically for her retirement lifestyle and passion for quilting.

Since my primary writing is contemporary romance novels, and memoir, anything regarding home and relationships is research. I have become fascinated by all the variations of what “Home is Where the Heart Is” means to others, as well as myself. Young families are moving into urban settings so they don’t have the weekend yard work routine, others totally want that suburban setting of sidewalks and street parties.

Ed and I, at the youngest edge of the Baby Boomer generation, are watching friends building new homes and lifestyles in their sixties while anticipating decades of activities and no stairs in their homes. Ed and I are also exploring how we are able to work at our daughter’s home while watching our grandsons, or at my sister’s downtown condo, with a better internet connection and cell coverage than we have at our current home.

For decades I have designed my life around promoting the well being of my family. For me this has meant creating a home that was safe and nurturing for everyone in the family to become who they aspire to be. I’m aware that this is not how others see their homes. This has created a problem for me recently because our girls are settled in their own aspirations of being who they are. I, on the other hand, am suddenly only focused on aspiring to be me.

There are all kinds of life activities in my daughters lives that could claim my attention and be wonderful ways to fulfill my time and energy for the rest of my life. It’s strange to realize I don’t have to aspire to be – anything. I could just “BE” and that would totally awesome and more than many on this planet will ever achieve. But even writing that sentence made me laugh.

There have been many occasions for me to pause and reassess who the hell – I AM. These life/lifestyle opportunities were usually at the point of a big transition, and there have been many. A few months of turbulence included wallowing in memories prior to accepting the choices I made that have brought me to today.

The “What If?” and “If only…” are questions I reserve for my fiction.

The only thing I can change about the experiences of my life is my point of view. And now I know that can change depending on my age. My point of view on who I aspire to be today is different now than it was a decade ago. I will have a different point of view about who I am, and who I aspire to be, a decade from now.

Today is what matters. For now, I aspire to be a gypsy who wakes up each day with a sense of wonder for the adventure of the day.

My business is helping authors understand the basics of how to market themselves. My goals are to live each day in a happy place. My dreams are to write stories that enhance readers lives. I’ve already achieved more than many aspire to BE.

And my research has revealed that it is even more important for me to aspire to be more than I AM – while being totally content and fulfilled with Who I Am. Yep, that’s the ticket. Have fun with that, I’m still trying to figure it out. Please post your answers, I can use all the help I can get…

5-speed vacation

My life has been full of travel and activities that have interrupted my posting to this blog. This is a journal style blog and that means I need to have something to say – which I do – but one thought dissolves at a new idea. Lists of ideas do not a good blog post create.

I drove my daughter Lyndsay’s 5-speed VW Golf home from our “weekend-property.” She and Ed took a road trip to Idaho, for a cupcake event, in my car because it has air-conditioning. I haven’t driven a 5-speed manual transmission vehicle for many years. I stalled out once while reversing out of our eldest daughters driveway. Twice I started up from a stop in 3rd-gear but as soon as I realized it, shifted to 2nd…

I listened to Lyndsay’s song mix on CD while driving through the mountains. When I was near town I listened to her radio station of choice. For some reason she’s into ’80′s music and the tunes swirled memories of my college years. My goals then were for an office job and my own studio apartment in a historic neighborhood, maybe living above a row of specialty shops or a bakery. These weren’t big dreams but during college I was only passionate about singing and dancing, for fun, not with a desire for a life in musical theater.

The advice to “find your passion, then live it” was not promoted while I was in college. Passion was not the word I would have used to describe my interest in reading and writing. Those activities were as necessary to me as breathing and not ones I considered would generate a paycheck. Books were free at the library and there were enough on the shelves to entertain me for life. Typing my stories required nothing more than paper and there was always a huge supply in my childhood home, and a few typewriters.

In my journey through the decades, I have never lived in a studio apartment, or in a town, or alone. I’ve driven some fun little cars but most were vans, sedans, or trucks, and we’ve primarily lived in family homes in a country setting. It’s all been good and I do not look back with discontent but am reassessing how I look forward.

Today I did errands in this 5-speed and quickly found the zone between clutch and gears. Another week and I’d be as smooth as if it was my own car but we’ll trade cars back tomorrow night.

There is no pause in the travel scheduled on my calendar through the month. I’ll be scrambling for wi-fi connections to scan through dozens upon dozens of email and social media feeds in a few hours. I’ll make lists and notes of ideas to explore when I’m settled back in my office.  I do not take vacations from reading and writing as it’s a primary fabric in the tapestry of my life.

There are grandson-care-days ahead as their care provider is on vacation. Ed and I even plan to take our daily routines into town for a few days so he has a short commute and I get out of the country.

To take a vacation means we leave our familiar routines and embrace a new adventure. We focus on a different environment and pattern to our days. That’s why it is a vacation to drive a daughter’s car around for a day or two. It’s a unique experience that creates a new, and fun, view of the mundane details of my life.

Since I’m alone-at-home  for the moment, I had a late breakfast today with my astrologer sister and she assured me that I should expect more ideas to dissolve before they are explored.  We also discussed how we both have a spare tire around our waists and loose skin flaps on our arms. I attended a dinner party tonight with some of my author friends, but that’s another blog post idea to explore…

These are interesting times on planet earth so it’s important to have fun every day.