Well, since you won’t be dropping by anytime soon, I thought I’d take a wander with you through the neighborhood.
Technically, our neighborhood is on the outskirts of a small village which has five shops, a church, and a library.
Despite the fact that everything is organized alphabetically there — not by genre (aaargh!), I’m really excited about the library.
Not much happens in this wee town, but every day, the football players practice … soccer. (Well, they had to call it something, and I guess soccer didn’t occur to them.) The butcher calls and delivers waxed-paper packages to some households, and the post man makes his rounds with his red bag slung over his shoulder.
It’s quiet enough to hear chickens clucking as they announce their newest egg, quiet enough to hear the bleating of the sheep, and the shrieks of kids as they play on their scooters. (Oddly, the kids and the sheep at times sound a lot alike.)
Ah, statuary. In our wee village, it’s EVERYWHERE.
In terms of wildlife, there are the cutest, softest looking, big-eyed bunnies, all sleek and swift, and shy. We’ve mentioned the sheep, and the chickens. Did we mention the spiders the size of East Anglia??? And that they occasionally come in the house, and appear bewildered as to why they are not welcomed? This is what it means to live… in the country. Or, at least across the path from great whomping swathes of countryside…
I can see these dudes from the kitchen.
While elsewhere in the world, people are harvesting the last odd vegetables – in some cases, very odd, and the harvest still is ongoing, we are really feeling the sharp nip of cold at night — ALREADY — and gearing up for autumn. Unlike where we lived in the city, however, autumn here means windy, stormy weather, and just as frequent sunshine — sometimes mid-rain. The quality of light probably draws artists to this region — it’s amazing how the light changes… even the weeds are beautiful.
Okay, technically, this weed is also the national symbol of the country, but … it still grows on the side of the road, and in the cracks of buildings. That equals weed, yes?
I won’t apologize for not blogging much lately – I’m revising THREE NOVELS AT A TIME. One might think that doing that many at a time means that one isn’t doing anything very well… er, that might be true. (It also might be true that when I wrote them initially, I wasn’t this distracted. Will revising whilst newly moved actually work better? Will I ever find a way to begin a novel that includes only necessary information, and not a lot of fluff? Will I keep being sent back to the woodshed on this?? Only time will tell…) Things are kind of chaotic at present, but I really need to get things sent out to publishers before the inevitable work stoppage of the holiday season. We’ll see if I finish it all. Meantime, very busy on the weekends as well, still trying to organize the closet to my satisfaction, tidy the garage, catch up on cooking and laundry, and enjoy the season.
And really, no matter how stressed I sound … I am enjoying the season. The spiders, not so much.
Until the workload settles a bit, I remain,
Crazy. Busy.
Thank you for the tour! It all sounds and looks really beautiful. Except the spiders. Ick.
And, no, because it grows easily does NOT mean thistle is a weed. C’mon, Tanita. Common things can be gorgeous. Just because it’s not a diva flower doesn’t relegate it to weed status:>)
Good luck with your revisions–you’ll do great. Enjoy the storms and sunshine of life and writing.
You don’t sound stressed — this post actually sounds quite tranquil.
You’re right about that beautiful quality of light — great photos here (prettiest weeds I’ve seen in a long time).
Love that you’ve got sheep and bunnies (!) to watch. I sympathize about the spiders. Just killed a huge one in the upstairs hall last week. He was furry and seemed certain the guest bedroom was set up just for him.
Good luck with those revisions! Wow, you’re a writing machine with 3 at once. I hope you’re rewarding yourself with three different kinds of tea and three different kinds of biscuits. 🙂
Your new surroundings sounds and looks really nice. Good luck with the revisions.
I am okay with *little* spiders, but *big* spiders? No. Very no. And my definition of “big” is maybe different than other people’s.