J is for Jane Austen

Of course.

In Winter 2020 I started a Facebook group called Winter of Austen. We read all of Jane Austen from January through March, and until the pandemic hit those of us who lived close enough to each other got together to watch the movies. Going with them to see the 2020 Emma was one of the last things I did before we all started staying indoors. It was a happy time. 

In 2021 the Winter of Austen group decided to have the Winter of Brontë, but it didn't go as well. I made it through Jane Eyre and Villette before needing to take a break that is still on-going. I found myself so depressed while reading Charlotte Brontë. It was a slog for me. I know many people love her, but I'll stick with my Jane.

Jane Austen quotes:

“You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope...I have loved none but you.” (Persuasion)

Alright, I guess just one Jane Austen quote. I suddenly realize I've got a movie to watch...

I is for The Inheritance Games

I read The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes in 2020. That makes it one of the more recently read books on this list. I read The Fixer and enjoyed it so much I quickly devoured The Long Game and then saw this one at Barnes and Noble and had to get it. I like the tropes in The Fixer series better, but this I enjoyed this one too, and it is more popular. She ended up not finishing The Fixer series because it didn't get enough readers, but the next book in this series comes out in 2021.

Quote: (the first paragraph)

"When I was a kid, my mom constantly invented games. The Quiet Game. The Who Can Make Their Cookie Last Longer? Game. A perennial favorite. The Marshmallow Game involved eating marshmallows while wearing puffy Goodwill jackets indoors, to avoid turning on the heat. The Flashlight Game was the game we played when the electricity went out. We never walked anywhere--we raced. The floor was nearly always lava. The primary purpose of pillows was building forts."

 

H is for Howl's Moving Castle

I had such a hard time finding something for D. Now I'm shaking my head, because Howl's Moving Castle is by Diana Wynne-Jones. On the other hand, it is certainly making today easy, because Howl's Moving Castle is one of my top 10 favorite books.

Howl is one of my favorite characters ever created. I don't think I would want to date him or anything...no, I think I would very much enjoy BEING him. I think the thing I love the most about him is the way he notices and admires the immenseness of Sophie's personality way before she knows it about herself. He teases her about it so much she is bound to see it in herself eventually.

Top 5 Howl quotes:

1. “I make that four horses and ten men just to get rid of one old woman. What did you do to the King?”

2. “Howl backed into the door to shut it and leaned there in a tragic attitude. "Look at you all!" he said. "Ruin stares me in the face. I slave all day for you. And not one of you, even Calcifer, can spare time to say hello!"

Calcifer said, "I never do say hello."

"Is something wrong?" asked Sophie.

"That's better," Howl said. "Some of you are pretending to notice me at last. Yes, something is wrong.”

3. “You are a terror, aren't you? Leave this yard alone. I know just where everything is in it, and I won't be able to find the things I need for my transport spells if you tidy them up.'

So there was probably a bundle of souls or a box of chewed hearts somewhere out here, Sophie thought. She felt really thwarted. ‘Tidying up is what I’m here for!’ she shouted at Howl.

‘Then you must think of a new meaning for your life,’ Howl said.”

4.  “Really, these wizards! You'd think no one had ever had a cold before! 

Well, what is it?" she asked, hobbling through the bedroom door onto the filthy carpet. 

"I'm dying of boredom," Howl said pathetically. "Or maybe just dying.”

5. “More about Howl? Sophie thought desperately. I have to blacken his name! Her mind was such a blank that for a second it actually seemed to her that Howl had no faults at all. How stupid! 'Well, he's fickle, careless, selfish, and hysterical,' she said. 'Half the time I think he doesn't care what happens to anyone as long as he's alright--but then I find out how awfully kind he's been to someone. Then I think he's kind just when it suits him--only then I find out he undercharges poor people. I don't know, Your Majesty. He's a mess.”

G is for Goose Girl and Girl of Fire and Thorns

 ...and Grave Mercy. A lot of great G books. 

But mostly Goose Girl. It's the kind of book that makes you smile the whole time you're searching for quotes, even while a tear drips down your cheek.

Goose Girl

Because of romance: 

“Geric," she called.
He turned back around.
"What kind of flowers were they?"
"I don't rightly know," he said. He made faltering gestures with his hands, forming their size and shape from the air. "They were yellow, and smallish, and had lots of petals."
"Thank you," she said. "They were beautiful.” 

 And friendship: 

"When you get tired of worrying and mourning your horse and trying not to be afraid, tell me and I'll do it for you a while so you can shut your eyes and sleep peaceful.”

Girl of Fire and Thorns

“I knew someday you would realize your worth. Your worthiness.'
I shake my head. 'Oh Ximena, he was right to choose me but not becuase of my worth...You, Cosme, Hector...were already willing to be heroes. But I would have done nothing, become nothing, were it not for this thing inside me. So you see, God picked me becuase I was unworthy.”

Grave Mercy

“It is this kindness of his that unsettles me most. I can dodge a blow or block a knife. I am impervious to poison and know a dozen ways to escape a chokehold or garrote wire. But kindness? I do not know how to defend against that.”

G is also for "Gee, this is hard!" I am really struggling to get all the letters finished, and I've never had such a hard time with visiting other people's blogs on this challenge. One problem I'm finding, that I've never noticed before, is that I've gone to several blogs on the master list, only to find that they are not actually doing the A-Z challenge, at least not that I can see. It's really made it hard for me to visit as many blogs as I've wanted to. See you tomorrow! 

B is for Sheena Boekweg

 I met Sheena a long time ago, in the Hatrack community of writers. Such happy memories, and so many friends were made in that online community. One day, Sheena, Sabrina West and I decided to write a book together. It was so much fun. We each created one character--I created Ana, Sheena created Sam, and Sabrina created Juliet. We did some initial world-building, and then one of us...was it me? I feel like it was me, but I don't remember!...wrote chapter one. Then I mailed it (!) to Sabrina, and she wrote chapter 2, and then mailed both my chapter and her chapter to Sheena, who wrote chapter 3 and then mailed chapters 2 and 3 back to me. We wrote the whole book that way, and then had a ridiculous amount of editing to do. For book 2, we moved to google docs, and got tangled in a lot of OPINIONS, but I am super proud of the way both of those books turned out. You can find them on amazon.

Alchemy is free on kindle, btw.

Oh wow. Prophecy of the Six is too! No wonder we haven't been making much money on them lately...

Sheena went on to become a published writer. She wrote
Glitch Kingdom, a book about a videogame gone awry, and her newest book, A Sisterhood of Secret Ambitions will be released on June 1. I got to be one of the beta readers, and let me tell you, it is amazing! It's the story of a secret society of women who both protect the weak and decide the fate of the United States of America. It's set in an alternate 1920s, and it follows a girl whose job it is to marry the man the secret society has chosen to become president of the United States. It is a sweet feminist marvel.

As for the quotes...I don't have a copy of the book yet, so I will give you the first line from Alchemy, which, as it happens, was written by Sheena (this means I DID NOT write the first chapter. Perhaps I did in the first draft, or perhaps my memory is completely failing me).

Sam's first line in Alchemy: "I always told everyone I wanted to be a mage when I grew up. Which is, apparently, how irony looks when it wears my clothes...I didn't think it would hurt to get infected with magic. I didn't think of the consequences...All I could see was the power. I never saw the fear." 

C is for City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

 I had SUCH a hard time finding a book for B, but dozens of choices for C. I'm not sure if City of Bones won out because of the alliteration of City and Cassandra Clare, or if it really is the best of the pack. 

I could just sit and quote for hours at a time? For me Ghostbusters is that movie, Psych is that TV show and City of Bones is that book. 

I could just make this blog post ridiculously long and quote them all, but I'm afraid at some point copyright would come into play...so here are my top 10 favorite quotes:

1.“Clary grinned. "A picnic? It's a little late for Central Park, don't you think? It's full of-"

He waved a hand. "Faeries. I know."
"I was going to say muggers," said Clary. "Though I pity the mugger who goes after you."
"That is a wise attitude, and I commend you for it," said Jace, looking gratified.”

2. “It means 'Shadowhunters: Looking Better in Black Than the Widows of our Enemies Since 1234'.”

3. “Can I help you with something?"
Clary turned instant traitor against her gender. "Those girls on the other side of the car are staring at you."
Jace assumed an air of mellow gratification. "Of course they are," he said, "I am stunningly attractive.”

4. “It wouldn't be my move," Jace agreed. "First the candy and flowers, then the apology letters, then the ravenous demon hordes. In that order.”

5.  “Magnus, standing by the door, snapped his fingers impatiently. "Move it along, teenagers. The only person who gets to canoodle in my bedroom is my magnificent self."
"Canoodle?" repeated Clary, never having heard the word before.
"Magnificent?" repeated Jace, who was just being nasty. Magnus growled. The growl sounded like "Get out.”

6. “I have a high pain threshold. In fact, it's more of a large and tastefully decorated foyer than a threshold. But I do get easily bored.”

7. "Oh, it's big enough," he said patronizingly, "but somehow I was expecting something… you know." He gestured with his hands, indicating something roughly the size of a house cat.
"It's the Mortal Cup, Jace, not the Mortal Toilet Bowl," said Isabelle.”

8. “Sorry, are you telling me that your demon-slaying buddies need to be driven to their next assignment with the forces of darkness by my mom?”

9. “It's a coffee cup."
She could hear the irritation in her own voice. "I know it's a coffee cup."
"I can't wait till you draw something really complicated, like the Brooklyn Bridge or a lobster. You'll probably send me a singing telegram.”

10. “This is bad," said Jace.
"You said that before."
"It seemed worth repeating.”

I could have done that all day... Enjoy! 

A is for Avi

 A-Z Challenge 2021

I haven't even signed up for this challenge yet, but I think I'm going to go for it.

My theme is Favorite Lines in Books...I was going to have it be Famous First Lines, but I don't think I want to tie myself down to just the first line.

April 1: A is for Avi

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, to be specific. Before there was Pirates of the Caribbean, there was this book. I've always loved books set on the ocean, and Charlotte Doyle is the ultimate power woman.

It starts like this, "Not every thirteen-year old girl is accused of murder, brought to trial, and found guilty. But I was just such a girl, and my story is worth relating..."

Articulate, ageless, and amazing, am I right? Possibly even addicting. This is a YA book, which is my favorite kind.

P Is For...Panjandrum

pan·jan·drum  (pn-jndrm)

n.

An important or self-important person; a pompous self-important official or person of rank; 

---

[After the Grand Panjandrum, a character in a nonsense farrago written by Samuel Foote (1720-1777).]

For the Letter O, my good friend Susan wrote a post about out of print books that reminded me of a story my children discovered in one of their grandmother's books a few years ago. It tickled their funny bones so much that they memorized it and would just start spouting it at random. This would usually make them laugh so hard that they couldn't catch their breath, or speak, except to gasp out, "a cabbage-leaf! (much mirth) To bake (gasp, gasp)...an apple pie!" "WHAT?!? No soap!!?" I have such happy memories of this poem that I decided to share it with you. You'll just have to imagine my children though. WHY didn't I take a video? I guess I thought those days would last forever.

The story was published in 1755 to test the memory of the actor Charles Macklin, who claimed he could read any paragraph once through and then recite it verbatim. It was published as part of an 1820 novel titled Harry and Lucy concluded (vol. 2) by Maria Edgeworth, and again as a poem in a picture book by Randolph Caldecott in 1885, with a few minor changes in wording ("grand Panjandrum" changed to "great Panjandrum" and she went down the street, instead of up the street.) My children memorized the 1885 version:

The Great Panjandrum

So she went into the garden
to cut a cabbage-leaf
to make an apple-pie;
and at the same time
a great she-bear, coming down the street,
pops its head into the shop.
What! no soap?
     So he died,
and she very imprudently married the Barber:
and there were present
the Picninnies,
     and the Joblillies,
          and the Garyulies,
and the great Panjandrum himself,
with the little round button at top;
and they all fell to playing the game of catch-as-catch-can,
till the gunpowder ran out at the heels of their boots

O Is For...Oz

We went and saw Oz The Great and Powerful yesterday, and I was pleasantly surprised. Maybe that's because I hadn't heard anything great about it. Most of the reviews I read focussed on the cleavage issue--which really wasn't bad, IMO. I was sitting next to my 14 year old son, and really, after everything I'd read, I expected to squirm a little, and I didn't.

Instead, I really loved it. It was the first 3D movie I ever saw that didn't leave me feeling like I needed to vomit and take migraine medicine at the same time. Whether that's because they are getting better at 3D or because my eyes are adapting is a topic worth studying more in depth. But not now.

Instead, I want to discuss world building. What is it about a world that leaves it open to inifinite storytelling possibilities?

Everyone knows about The Wizard of Oz, but it doesn't stop there...As a child, I used to love reading Frank L. Baum's series of books about Oz. There are 14. There's The Wiz, starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson, (which I never saw, actually). And of course there is Wicked, both the book and the Broadway play. I didn't enjoy the book, but Wicked the broadway play is lots of fun (at least the music is.)

I love Tortall, the world Tamora Pierce spins most of her magical stories in. Her stories span the centuries and travel across the world. Star Trek, Star Wars...what is it about all of these worlds that lends itself to page after page of storytelling?

I'm sure there's a more definitive list somewhere, but here's what I've got:

•  a simple and relatively fluid magical system--yes, there are rules, and some of the rules are definitive. But some of the rules can be broken from one story to another. On the one hand, this bothers me terribly. On the other hand, it seems to work.
• A story line that focuses on exploration. When merging with rule 1, you get characters that don't quite know what they will find around the corner--for example, the rules governing each world on Star Trek are different.
• Rich, complex characters--Did you ever wonder why Oz seemed like such a recluse and yet was revered as a great wizard? When you read the Wild Magic series (What? You haven't??? You should. Immediately!) did you ever wonder about Alanna? Lucky for you, there's a whole series about her. Every character has a story, and one story can't go into all of them. When characters are interesting enough that we want to know more...new stories are born.

L Is For...Line In The Sand

Do you love the point in stories where the nemesis (or the jaded ex-hero or the cynical sidekick--actually it could be anyone who is not helping the hero's cause)  hits the line in the sand? I especially love to see it when someone who seems evil says "Woah. I won't get THAT evil." The step they take away from that line always seems to be more of a giant leap than a tiny step back, as though the line in the sand is actually a catapult in disguise. That is the point when the plot really picks up speed, our adrenaline sings with hope, and we start having a really good time.

I hope it is like that in life too. That there are lines in the sand that can send us rocketing back to the right path. I keep thinking I've gotten there with my health--but habits are incredibly hard to break, and bad things have already been done to this poor old body of mine. I feel it sometimes, with family relationships. But how about housecleaning? Will I ever reach a line in the sand that will catapult me into the clean home of my dreams? If so, I'm ready. Someone draw a line in the sand for me.

K...Is For Kissing

I am sticking to one blog post today, and you can read it over at The Prosers.

FYI: I am not proud to say that I watched this show, and I can't, in good conscience , recommend it. BUT...this kiss. I should write this good a kiss someday. 

J Is For...Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

It's too bad today's letter wasn't T...for Torpor, because that's what I've been in. I woke up early with an insurmountable to-do list running through my head. So I wrote it down, because often, once I see it on paper, I realize it's not quite as long a list as I'd originally feared. It didn't work. It was definitely insurmountable. That would have been such a good word for I.

I got going on life, getting the kids out of bed, packing lunches...then my husband called. I'd forgotten I was supposed to pick up my daughter from seminary this morning. I dashed out of the house in pajama bottoms and a jacket, and hurried from one thing to the next until I got home from swimming at 9:00. I settled down to read a manuscript I need to have read before a meeting tonight and somehow ended up watching an episode of Alias instead.

I made a few of the phone calls that were on my list, and then found myself mindlessly scrolling through my facebook page. I decided to go on a walk, and realized I was still wearing my pajama bottoms. Drat.  It's too ridiculous for words, the way sometimes I just LANGUISH when I should be thriving.

Finally, I decided to clean the kitchen (which wasn't on my list, but still had to get done) while I thought of a good J word.

J...J...J...

I was half-way through the Joseph soundtrack before I realized that I was dancing and cleaning and back on track. Music is magical.

I have subtle issues with the whole premise of Joseph, to tell the truth. I believe Jacob was a prophet, not some indolent man reclining on a chair while women danced for him. Still, I can't help but love this show, especially the talented Maria Friedman. I can't help but belt it out when I'm singing with her.

Thanks for the energy Maria. I needed it today.

I Is For...I'm Yours

This is my cop-out post. Life was full of "Oh. I wasn't planning to do that" moments today. Here's another one. I wasn't planning on discussing Jason Mraz yet. But I've run out of time for doing anything that would take more time, so here we are.

I'm Yours was my first Jason Mraz song, and it belongs at number one on my list of Top 5 Summer Songs. Enjoy.

As long as I'm sharing "I" music, here's a more recent hit by Imagine Dragons. It's a sign of how crazy this day has been that I'm not going to have time to listen to either of these songs until tomorrow.

The A-Z Challenge

A Is For American Pie

B Is For...Blue

C is for...Carriage Roads

D Is for...Diets

E Is for...The End

F Is for...Fred Rogers

G Is for...Goals

H Is For...I'm Yours

H Is For...The Happiness Project

I know the list of goals I wrote yesterday seemed a little ridiculous. You should have seen the on-going list in my head though. It was at least 5 times that long, and I regularly beat myself up for not making a bigger dent in it. I never realized how long the list was until I started writing it down.

At least this current list is do-able. It's really only 5 goals, with a checklist of the next thing to do on each one. I could really add a section for preschool and education, but I didn't, since that isn't a part of this blog.

My inspiration for updating the blog and writing that long list of goals came from a book I just read called The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin.

Here's the amazon blurb:

Gretchen Rubin had an epiphany one rainy afternoon in the unlikeliest of places: a city bus. "The days are long, but the years are short," she realized. "Time is passing, and I'm not focusing enough on the things that really matter." In that moment, she decided to dedicate a year to her happiness project. 

In this lively and compelling account, Rubin chronicles her adventures during the twelve months she spent test-driving the wisdom of the ages, current scientific research, and lessons from popular culture about how to be happier. Among other things, she found that novelty and challenge are powerful sources of happiness; that money can help buy happiness, when spent wisely; that outer order contributes to inner calm; and that the very smallest of changes can make the biggest difference.

I really enjoyed this book. I'm a "memoir of happy things" fan anyway. It was one of those serendipitous book finds that helped to shape some changes that I was making in my life. There is also a fun and engaging website, if you are thinking about starting your own happiness project.

The A-Z Challenge

A Is For American Pie

B Is For...Blue

C is for...Carriage Roads

D Is for...Diets

E Is for...The End

F Is for...Fred Rogers

G Is for...Goals

G Is For...Goals

Lots and lots and lots of goals. I am focusing on Book Projects, My Home, Relationships, Joy and Health on this blog, and in my life. Each main goal has several smaller ones, most of which I've been working on haphazardly for years. 

Book Projects:

1. Straighten up all my files so I know exactly how many books I've got in the works and where they are.

2. Combine all the pieces of Lost Magic into 1 rough draft and begin editing.

3. Read all of Ironwood and make notes for my meeting on Thursday.

4. Keep waiting to hear back from the editor about Hidden Magic.

My Home:

1. Buy paint for the family room and dining room.

2. Box up my family room bookshelves for their trip downstairs.

3. Paint the family room and dining room.

4. Buy new couches, a new entertainment center and a few other odds and ends.

5. Get the deck attached to our house.

6. Buy the rocks for the patio, benches and fire pit.

Strengthening Relationships:

1. Make an effort to stay off the computer while the kids are at home.

2. Keep reading with the kids, cycling who I pick the next book for.

3. Do more projects together.

4. Do my visiting teaching every month.

Joy:

1. Sign up for 2 classes.

2. Make a list of the things that bring me joy.

3. Write in my journal for 2 minutes every night.

4. Find more things that bring me joy.

Health:

1. Sign up for the 5K on June 8.

2. Train for the 5K: 

     Swim on T, Th

     Strength Train on M, F

     Walk on W, Sa

     Yoga every morning

3. Remind myself where I am and where I am headed.

4. Take vitamin D for 10 weeks and get all my blood tests retaken. Deal with the results.

5. Get off of aleve and still have no shoulder pain.

The A-Z Challenge

A Is For American Pie

B Is For...Blue

C is for...Carriage Roads

D Is for...Diets

E Is for...The End

F Is for...Fred Rogers

F Is For...Fred Rogers

I watched Mr. Rogers as a child, and admit I wasn't really all that into him. But when my third child was preschool age, I was having a really hard time. She's a strong-willed little girl, and I felt like I had used up any residual strong-willedness inside of me. I just wasn't a match for her anymore. I prayed about it, and got the oddest answer to my prayer--watch Mr. Rogers with her. So we did, and it worked.

In my opinion, Mr. Roger's Neighborhood is actually a parenting class disguised as a children's show. We learned a new language for communicating with each other. And I held her tight for half an hour every day, which I soon realized was something she needed every bit as much as she needed food.

His show isn't as easy to find as it used to be. At least in my neck of the woods, PBS doesn't play Mr. Roger's anymore. (This is a crime, IMO). But you can still download his shows from amazon.

I own several Mr. Roger's quote books, and his insights on both relationships and creativity are pretty astounding.  Here are some of my favorites:

• You rarely have time for everything you want in life, so you need to make choices. And hopefully your choices can come from a deep sense of who you are.

• I believe it's a fact that what we have is less important than what we make of what we have.

• There's something unique about being a member of a family that really needs you in order to function well. One of the deepest longings a person can have is to feel needed and essential.

• I like to swim, but there are some days I just don't feel much like doing it--but I do it anyway. I know it's good for me and I promised myself I'd do it every day, and I like to keep my promises. That's one of my disciplines. And it's a good feeling after you've tried and done something well. Inside you think, "I've kept at this and I've really learned it--not by magic, but by my own work.

• Try your best to make goodness attractive. That's one of the toughest assignments you'll ever be given.

The A-Z Challenge

A Is For American Pie

B Is For...Blue

C is for...Carriage Roads

D Is for...Diets

E Is for...The End

E Is For...The End

If you are following both The Prosers and my personal blog, you should know that although the beginnings are similar, the 2 posts are very different, so keep reading!

I'm a great starter. This afternoon I sorted through my many Word documents and found at least 11 manuscripts in various stages of being edited. I made up my own quiz, which you can take over at The Prosers, and ranked each story. Here's the list:

(Partially) Completed Novels by Melanie Crouse

1. Hidden Magic--I got a 7/8 on this story.

2. Lost Magic--The sequel to Hidden Magic. This got a 3/8.

3. Lost Magic--Another sequel to Hidden Magic from a different point of view. Nearly finished, but will it be added into the first Lost Magic or turned into a 3^rd novel? Ack! 3/8

4. Lost Magic--again. Can you see how this book has given me fits? This one is probably mostly backstory, but I'm still rather attached to it. 2/8

5. Nanowrimo 2009--Tess's story. A completed rough draft. 3/8

6. An Old-Fashioned Girl--a partially completed screenplay 2/8

7. Pathway Through Insanity--Ick. What a dreadful title. Still, this gave me shivers of joy to find, because it was a fantastic story idea, and I didn't think I'd ever written it down. It turns out, I hadn't just written it down, I'd actually begun working on it! Partially finished. 2/8

8. Nanowrimo 2011--Amye's story. A completed rough draft. 3/8

9. Ironwood--My most recently completed rough draft, and my first attempt at a collaboration. It is in the beginning stages of being edited. 4/8

10. Ironwood--the sequel. I've written chapter one. 2/8

11. Lark Meets Alias--Not really a title, more a description. 1 ½ chapters written. 2/8

Somewhere, hidden either in this computer's memory or only in my head, is a story about a boy and a girl who hide out in her deceased uncle's home. The uncle was a hoarder. 1/8 

I also have plans to compile a Prosers e-book one of these days. (1/8)

Do you see how few of these projects are finished? Hidden Magic is the only one, and every now and then I still think of things that I really ought to tweak.

I became aware of the direness of the situation when Sheena, Sabrina and I finished the rough draft of Ironwood, and for some reason, I was completely pumped up about starting the sequel--immediately. For various reasons, which probably included sanity, Sabrina and Sheena were not ready to dive right into another book, and there was only so far I could go without their input (to be precise, I could write one chapter.)

In an effort to direct all that energy somewhere, I brainstormed a whole new story, which became novel number 11 on my list. It was great, and I was delving into my character's families and backstory and having a fantastic time when I stumbled upon some correspondence from several years ago. I was struck by one thing--my writing career hasn't really changed much over the years. There's really no excuse for that, except that I've become a chronic starter. A finisher? Not so much. One of my main goals for this year is to change that. Compiling this list was a huge leap toward...

The End

The A-Z Challenge

A Is For American Pie

B Is For...Blue

C is for...Carriage Roads

D Is for...Diets

D is for...Diet

Definitions from urban dictionary

a four-letter word that often leads to deprivation, frustration and, ultimately, failure 

n. A food consumption pattern lazy people take up in the place of regular exercise in order to lose weight  

A form of torture, hence "Die" with a "t" 

The statistics are in, and I would weigh a good 30 pounds less if I'd never been on a diet. It's true. Some people are terribly passive-aggressive about things like diets, even diets they put themselves on. I'm not certain how many of these people actually walk among us, but I know there is at least one...me! I gain an average of 5 pounds every time I put myself on a diet.

Diet books warn people that this might happen. They say something about how if you lose weight quickly, you'll lose muscle instead of fat, and when you inevitably go back to your old eating habits, your metabolism will be lower, and you'll gain weight back--more than before. But me? I'm efficient. I simply skip all those interim steps and move right to the "gain more than before" part.

That's the beauty of being over 40. I can look back over the past 2 decades and see exactly what I've done wrong. I hope that means I'm done with all those shenanigans.  I still think it would be nice to be drop-dead gorgeous, but being healthy enough to enjoy life has finally ousted it from the number one spot.

That's why I love this book:

It's a book about filling your life with eating routines that add joy. Most of the book is recipes, and I've only tried a few--the gingerbread straws and the biscotti. The important part is the story of her journey to a diet-less life. It's harder to copy than I'd realized, but it's worth it.

The A-Z Challenge

A Is For American Pie

B Is For...Blue

C is for...Carriage Roads

C Is For...Carriage Roads

Hadlock Brook Carriage Road

In 2011, I made a goal to hike all the carriage roads at Acadia National Park. I love the carriage roads. Some of my best novel ideas have come while traversing them. For me, they are the perfect mix of walking and hiking. I'm still chipping away at the goal a little at a time.  I didn't keep very close track last year, but I think the list looks something like this:

1. Eagle Lake Loop - 6 miles(bike)
2. Aunt Betty's Pond Loop - 5.9 miles 
3. Witch Hole Pond Loop - 6.8 miles 
4. Jordan Bubble Loop - 8.6 miles 
5. Jordan Stream Loop 4.0 
6. Day Mountain loop - 5.5 miles 
7. Little Long Pond - 3.5 miles 
8. Redfield Loop - This is one of 2 trails you have to hike to get to. I can't remember the other trail. This trail is 4.3 miles, but when you add in the additional hiking, it's closer to 5.5
9. Hadlock Brook - 3.9 miles  
10. Ampitheatre Loop - 4.9 miles 
11. Giant Slide Loop - 8.2 

The underside of the Cobblestone Bridge on Jordan Stream Loop

A little history of the roads:

John D. Rockefeller bought a summer home at Seal Island, Maine in1910. It was the beginning of the era of the automobile, and he feared that automobile roads would ruin Mt. Desert Island. His dream was to create an elaborate system of auto-free roads and bridges that would provide access to the most beautiful parts of the island, which would later become Acadia National Park. Between 1913 and 1940 he worked tirelessly to oversee construction of 51 miles of roads, 17 bridges and 2 gatehouses. He presented the carriage road system and much of the land that would become Acadia as a gift to the people of the United States. The roads are made of broken stone, and follow the contours of the land to take advantage of the scenic views.
Today, you may occasionally see a horse drawn carriage or a horseback riders on the carriage trails, but you are more likely to see bikers, joggers and hikers. They are both accessible and beautiful. It's quite a drive from my house, but I'm still hoping to cross one or two off my list before the kids get out of school for the summer.

B Is For...Blue

I'm going to paint my living room blue. This is a relatively new idea, and might possibly fit into the category of "passing fancy" or "whimsy," but I'm going to do it anyway. I found a gorgeous living room somewhere on the internet, all done in robin's egg blue with dark brown accents, but attempts to find it again have failed, making me wonder if it was all in my mind.

If so, that would be a remarkable turn of events, because, although I'm typically what you might call a creative person, I've had absolutely no ideas of the home décor variety.

I've always been more of a greens and earth tones kind of woman, but this has an extremely dark winter for me, and the earth tones just aren't cutting it anymore. If I'm going to be afflicted with seasonal depression, I'm going to do it in a house that screams "SPRING!"