October Ishness

It's a little belated, I suppose, but it's never really too late for an ishness update, right? October was a lot of fun, and still busier than I probably would have truly preferred, but it was less hectic than September, so that's a plus. So, what have I been up to? Ishness is a monthly blogging meme created by Deborah @ The Road of a WriterReadingAscent of the Nebula, which I also reviewed here.I also read When Comes the Spring by Jennete Oke (book #2 of her Canadian West series, upon which the show "When Calls the Heart" is loosely "based") the quotation marks are because the show bears very little resemblance to the books. This does not detract from my enjoyment of the show, as it is beautiful and poignant and dear in its own way, but truly, don't go pick up one or the other and think you're going to get identical stories. You have been warned.The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare. This one was a Sonlight Curriculum read for Leiana this year. We all just fell in love with this story. For the most part, the read-alouds from Sonlight have all been winners, and this one has wormed its way onto my favorites list. One of my favorite books we read in high school was The Crucible... and this was reminiscent of that, but without the tragically hopeless ending where you're left feeling like everything that happened did so in vain.Aztecs, Incans, and Mayans by John Holzmann. Not so much a "for fun" book, as it was for our history class, but it was still a fascinating read.WatchingFinished Stranger Things, which was entertaining and creepy, but not too creepy. Loved all the nods to the 80s - not one I'd recommend, per se, but the Sheriff is pretty cool. I'd watch it just for him.We watched Jessica Jones, as it has been recommended highly from numerous sources. I found it.... um... yeah, not recommendable. However, David Tennant performed brilliantly, and as he is MY Doctor Who, I have to give the show credit at least for casting someone who can do a fantastic job playing a myriad of interesting characters, from lovable Doctor to intensely creepy villain. The show is extremely dark and definitely has a lot of "adult" material which we fast-forwarded through. The story was interesting and the script was well-written.Return of the Jedi. Finished introducing the kiddos to the original Star Wars trilogy. For the most part, I don't think they've become avid fans... but they seemed to like it okay.National Velvet. An oldie but a goodie. Love Mickey Rooney in that one.The Parent Trap. The newer version with Lindsay Lohan. Still a fun movie.Now we're storming through season 4 of Person of Interest, which is by far one of my all-time FAVORITE shows ever. I just love it to pieces. I love Jim Caviezel, and Michael Emerson, and Amy Acker... they just do such a stellar job in their roles, and I love how the show has been able to morph and change and the writers have allowed themselves to smash some of the things they've built and now we watch the characters trying to recover from it and deal with the consequences. Just a truly mind-bending type show. If you like puzzles and mysteries and Batman (because, really, this show is basically the Batman story... if Alfred was the genius-billionaire instead of Bruce Wayne), I recommend this one.Also have watched a handful of episodes of Supergirl.And, of course, the Cubs winning the World Series for the first time in 108 years (okay, that was in November, but it was a highlight of the entire year).WritingI wrote 3,900 words in October on Turrim 2, most of those by hand in notebooks during various layovers in airports.Snippets!

“What if I told you that I have a very fast airship at my disposal?”

“Ah,” Nadia raised an eyebrow. “Well, that changes matters. If your information is as urgent as you say, we can leave tonight and be there by morning. Lady Ilya and Lord Elan are well settled in here and my need to remain has passed,” she smiled warmly at her son. “I fear I have outstayed my usefulness.”

“Mother,” Beren began, but Nadia raised a hand to forestall his words.

“I merely jest, my son. I have enjoyed being able to visit with you and your friends these past weeks. But your schedule is getting busier and you cannot afford distractions. And I have duties at home, and other children to tend to.”

“Thank you, my lady,” Dalmir said.

“Well,” Nadia’s demeanor became brusque. “Dinner is ready. We can dine together while the servants pack my things. Where is this airship of yours?”

“In the Academy lake,” Beren grinned. “Dalmir, are you planning to inform my mother that she will be flying with pirates?”

Lady Nadia drew in a sharp breath. “Not the same pirates who attempted to abduct my son?”

“No, dear lady, but rather, the ones who helped to save his life. I have traveled with them these past months, and though they are pirates and a tad unpolished, a nobler group you will never find.”

“Well,” Nadia rose from her seat in a fluid motion, smoothing her long skirts. “It has been too long since I had an adventure. If you vouch for them, Sir Dalmir, then I shall trust you. But in the future be warned: I greatly dislike surprises.”

“I will endeavor to remember,” Dalmir spoke the words solemnly, but his eyes sparkled with mischief.

And a second one, just for good measure:

“May it please the Council to hear the words of Dalmir and Captain Marik. They were instrumental in the rescue of my son when he was abducted by the Niveyan Syndicate a few months ago, an event I know you are all familiar with. I brought them here because I believe they have information which I believe the Council will find beneficial.”

She stepped away and seated herself next to her husband, leaving the two men to speak before the Council.

Marik grinned lopsidedly at those assembled. He shifted his weight slightly and crossed his arms, letting Dalmir begin.

“War is upon you,” Dalmir said, his voice booming in the large chamber. “You have seen its shadow and felt its rumblings. Even now you prepare for its arrival, but be assured, it is already here. If what I have seen is accurate, you face a serious imbalance of power. Your enemy will control the skies, because they control the power supply for the airships. Without flight, trade will suffer. Your economy will collapse. It will take your enemy little effort to defeat you once that begins to happen. You will lose, and the Ar’Mol’s troops will conquer your lands with ease.”

“We already know this and have considered the problem long and hard,” Duke Langston bristled. “We have many cynders stored up, and our best minds have been wrestling with the problems you mention and we are not without solutions.”

“Your solutions will not be enough,” Dalmir replied. “I am not here to insult you, but there is not time for niceties. I must speak plainly. Your enemy has allied itself with a powerful friend that you cannot defeat,” he paused, “not with any amount of preparation.”

Life-ingI was invited to vend at a Library Convention in a town about an hour away at the beginning of October, and since it didn't cost anything to have a table there, I decided there wasn't any good reason not to. I enjoyed my time there, sold a complete set of the three Minstrel's Song books, a copy of He Whistles for the Cricket, and gave away a copy of Brittany's album, "Leavin' Home" to a fellow Gordon Lightfoot fan. They've invited me to come back and do a panel on self-publishing, which we're tentatively looking at January/February for, so that's exciting.I got to travel to Oregon by myself at the beginning of the month for a friend's wedding. Three days by myself with no schedule (other than the wedding, of course) and nowhere to be and no one besides myself to feed and nobody asking me to do anything... definitely a recharge I needed. The last time I did anything like that was about seven years ago... so this was a nice change of pace. And also, as I hinted at earlier, allowed me to get back into the "writing mode" as I (quite unintentionally) hammered out quite a lot of words over the weekend.Derek and I have stepped up at our church to be the Sparks Directors for their AWANA program. That has been an interesting and new experience. We both grew up in AWANA, and I've helped out in various ways before, but "Director" is new to both of us. We're still fumbling about a little bit... but so far things seem to be going well. I love the AWANA program so much, and it's really fun to be able to be involved in it again.Morning sickness has decreased considerably, so I'm starting to feel better and more on top of things on my to-do list.Homeschooling is going pretty well, October saw us staying on top of the schedule nicely (feeling better had a big hand in helping out with that!)November PlansNovember is always the month where I don't stop and go, "What? How is it November already?" November and December are some of my favorite months of the year, so Halloween ends and I start to jump up and down like a 5 year old... "YAY! It's November! Finally!"  I actually have a writing goal for this month! November hit and I decided not to do Nano... not officially, as it is too much for me and I get overwhelmed and there's usually some big Thanksgiving travel or vacation planned.... But I did set myself my own, modest 10,000 word goal for the month. As of today, I have written 4,200 words in my WIP this month, and am feeling pretty good about most of them. I think, maybe, I might actually hit that goal! It's exciting to see this book coming together. It's been a very different and slightly more difficult process, as I have a more in-depth outline than I am used to, and am writing with it almost constantly open next to the manuscript. Also, I feel like the writing is coming together in pieces, and I'm still not sure what the book will look like once it's supposed to be bound together in a cohesive unit... but that's what editing is for... right? Overall, I am quite happy with the progress I'm making. So that's good.This is my birthday month... so that's always a fun thing to look forward to in November.We've got some vacation plans coming up as well, so traveling and seeing family will occur, which is always exciting!! I love my family so very much (and I say that with all sincerity. We are ridiculously blessed in that both Derek and I get along quite well with both sides of our extended family and in-laws). 

So that's it for October. What are YOUR November plans? Are you doing Nano? How's it going? Hang in there!!! Any Thanksgiving plans or favorite Thanksgiving traditions? I'd love to hear from you, dear Reader!