Outings! – Wendy Kroger Park
Welcome! Welcome back to Outings! – a blog series where I pick a different park/trail each week to experience and review. If you missed last week’s post, it was an actual hike(!) so you’ll definitely want to check it out. This week we’re back to exploring a new-to-us City Park. Let’s get to it! Wendy Kroger Park Tucked back on a side street of a side street, at the crux of a neighborhood and an apartment complex, sits Wendy Kroger City Park. Framed by homes on three sides, it’s west-most side abuts some sort of RV industrial business. Maybe a self-storage? I couldn’t quite tell. Point is, if you didn’t live next door and didn’t know to look for it, you may never know that this park exists. Evidence? Me! I’ve lived in this city for almost eleven years now, and have never once seen or heard of this park.…
Goals Summary 2023 – Wk #3
I haven’t had any ADHD meds since Thursday and I am in full-blown inattentive mode, so let’s get to this while I can still (sorta) focus! Last Week Write 3x this week Edit and post podcast episode Read a book Queries How’d I Do? Write 3x this week No, but I did write twice. Which is nice. Edit and post podcast episode Yes! The new episode is out now, have you listened in yet? Read a book Yes. Actually I read three books this week… Queries Yep! I had submitted to some agents with quick turnaround times, so I had some housekeeping to keep up on this week. Weekly Word Count: 2,034 Looking at these bullet points, I’d say this was a productive week. I did a LOT of reading, finishing Tombstone: The Earp Brothers, Doc Holliday, and the Vendetta Ride from Hell, and then starting (and finishing) both The…
You Wrote a Book… Now What?
Step 1: Celebrate that ish! You just did a thing SO. MANY. people dream about. How many times have we heard some version of, “I’d love to write a book someday”? Probably more than we can count. It takes remarkable committment and effort to work on the same project for months (maybe even years!) and actually finish it. Congratulations! Celebrate in whatever way is fulfilling for you — drinks, a special meal, a night out, or maybe just a little extra ice cream, as a treat. Now for the disclaimer: This is all merely suggestion. Try these various methods/ideas. Combine them, mix-and-match them. Experiment, until you find some variation that works for you. (This post also assumes that you’ve written a book length work with the intent to publish. If not, then just congratulate yourself and bask in the afterglow of creation, my friend.) Step 2: Put it away. No,…
Top Shelf Librarians December Episode – OUT NOW!
This month the Top Shelf Librarians say sayonara to 2022 and gear up for what’s looking like… an interesting 2023. Things are getting wild in the Top Shelf Librarians recording studio, gang. Heather’s got 99 problems, and Bluetooth’s one. Brittany’s chock-a-block full of advice, from recommended social media (hint: it’s tumblr) to the best foods to eat when you know you’re just gonna barf it back up in fifteen minutes. We say goodbye to the Goodreads Challenge, discuss our 2022 faves, and Heather vows to Betty Crocker This Shit in the Cooking Corner Formerly Known as Matt’s. By now you know that things usually get weird on the show, but in 2023, we’re choosing violence. Buckle up. Listen Here!
Outings! – Alsea Falls and Green Peak Falls
Welcome! For the first time, Outings! will cover an actual hike! Usually this series has reviewed a city or county park, but with Monday being a holiday I used it as an excuse to get out into the woods. I also managed to drag my spouse, our best friend Bolt, and her dog Yuki along for the ride! Alsea Falls and Green Peak Falls About an hour southwest of our house is an entire recreational site I’d never even heard of before. The Alsea Falls Recreational Area is located in the eastern side of the Coast Range, and follows the South Fork of the Alsea River. There’s a network of biking and running trails, hiking trails near the falls (which this post is about), as well as campgrounds. Swimming and fishing holes abound in the warmer months, but cold, wet weather doesn’t keep Oregonians from spending time in the park. …
Goals Summary 2023 – Wk #2
Not only was this a holiday weekend, but we also had a school dance I had to chaperone, so my entire routine is off-kilter. Hence, the late post. Let’s just get right to it, shall we? Last Week Write 2x/week Queries Finish reading a book Apply for workshops How’d I Do? Write 2x/week Yes! This week I sat down and worked at the novel two times. Each session was wildly different in output, but that’s why I track hours as well as word counts. Queries Yep! It was a bit of a chore, but I launched seven new queries out into the void. Finish reading a book Yes! I finished listening to American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land by Monica Hesse. Apply for workshops No? Here’s the thing. I researched workshops and retreats, and I found a couple that I could apply for, but none of…
On Writing Communities
When we think of writers, what do we picture? For many of us we see a cluttered desk in a home office, papers strewn every which way while a person sits staring at a computer screen with a permanent frown. The coffee on the desk has long gone cold, and this book isn’t writing itself. If you’re in my age bracket, you might actually just picture Johnny Depp from Secret Window. (Side Note: If I had a lakeside cabin with a cleaning service that I could run away to, I don’t think I’d be murdering anybody. That’s a sweet set up, mon frere.) The point is, when we think of the writing life, we picture a life of solitude, torment, and frequently alcoholism. I largely blame this on Ernest Hemingway, but I’m liable to blame just about any literary complaint on “Papa,” which is a topic for another post. Truthfully,…
Outings! – Secor Park
Welcome! That’s right folks! Outings! is back. If this is your first time reading this series, don’t fret. You can read all about it here, but the gist is this: rain or shine, I visit a local park every week and review it. It’s a way to sort of game-ify my mental health and love of the outdoors in an effort to get outside more in the “Off” season. So far, it’s working! So, where did we go this week? Secor Park This park is tucked into a neighborhood, and adjoins the neighboring school’s athletic fields, which helps it seem bigger than it actually is. There are some paved paths leading to the north and south edges of the park and out into the neighborhoods, but most of the trails are narrow bark dust tracks that wander beteween blackberry brambles. There’s a sizable playground with well-maintained, newer equipment. No lie,…
Goals Summary 2023 – Wk #1
Good morning Blogland! It’s another chilly, damp, and blustery day here in the Pacific Northwest. From my desk I can watch the bushes in our front yard shudder and shake in the wind, and it makes me grateful for my cozy office. Speaking of! I’ve made some updates to the space, slowly but surely bringing the vision to life. I’ve added another bookshelf, this one to display beloved knickknacks and keepsakes, and to display my growing collection of magazines and books that contain my writing. It is surreal to have them on display and it makes me smile every time I see it. I’ve also added a rug and a hanging Turkish style lamp to the converted closet. All that’s left is to get the decor up on that wall and then this room is officially DONE! It only took seven years… Last Week Write 2x/week Send Newsletter Writing Admin/Submissions…
Goals Summary 2022 – Wk #52
This post is late, as is the newsletter. Lemme tell you why. I just had the worst migraine I have had in almost 5 years. I know for a fact I have not had a migraine with vomiting in at least 4 years. This one had me either in bed, on the couch, or hunched around a toilet bowl. I haven’t been able to eat anything other than broth for the past 72 hours. I’ve barely kept water and gatorade down. I haven’t brushed my teeth because of the gag factor and because I couldn’t physically bend over the sink without wanting to cry/die. Today I’m doing much better. There’s still a twinge in the left side of my head as the migraine slowly makes its way out, and I am weak from all the puking and not eating. Putting a load of laundry in this morning had my heart…