The Plot Bunny Farm

Well, it's been just about a month now. Everywhere we went, we saw the familiar signs of summer--signs that read "road work 1 mile," "left lane closed ahead," and "fines double in construction zones." Perhaps not every location, but just about every state.

Of course, we got to see a wide variety of rest areas and travel plazas as well. Hands down, the best are in Iowa--large air-conditioned buildings (with automated bathroom facilities), shady picnlc areas, large pet areas, free wireless Internet access, and nature trails or play areas in several of them. Kentucky's rest area--the one we stopped at--was pretty nice, too. On the other end of the scale, Utah (along U.S. 50) had amazing views, but facilities were limited to pit toilets. Nevada's are pretty spartan, too, though the one on the 80 near Wadsworth has more facilities, including wireless access.

As usual when I go somewhere, I had grand plans for how much I was going to get done. I took Sabra's completed manuscript along to do the first edit pass, as well as half a dozen short stories. I took reading material--five magazines (SFWA Bulletin, Asimov's, Weird Tales, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine) and assorted books. I took notebooks to write in. And I took along a tote bag full of yarn and knitting needles. Ambitious. :P

Editing? I did one short story (on paper only) and worked over maybe half of Sabra's outline. I think I've figured out how to fix the end of "Diamond in the Rough," too, so it doesn't sound like the beginning of something longer. Didn't have it with me to do anything with, though.

Writing? Two new novel ideas and one short ghost story idea that needs (so to speak) to be fleshed out.

Reading? Oh, yeah. All the mags but Alfred Hitchcock. Harry Potter 6 and 7. Anthology of fantasy mysteries. Pratchett's Feat of Clay. Gaiman's Smoke and Mirrors. Marcy Rockwell's Legacy of Wolves (which I hope to do a short review post of soon). And on audio, Tess Gerritsen's Body Double, part of Roth's Plot to Destroy America (stopped because husband found it too complicated to listen to in traffic), and about half of Stephen Ambrose's Nothing Like It In The World about the Transcontinental Railroad (very cool to listen to while traveling the 80, and we do plan to listen to the rest at home. We just ran out of time on the road, what with DVDs and such. (The Incredibles 4 times this week, the original Star Wars trilogy, and more.)

Knitting? I'll probably post separately with pictures, but I did complete three baby sweaters as well as one for the six year old.

Family trip to Disneyland and California Adventure. I took a book the second day--too many rides labeled "Expectant mothers should not ride"--and the 6yo enjoyed them a lot. The end of each ride was met with "Let's do that again!" We did find a limit to his thrill-seeking. When husband and 6yo got off the Tower of Terror, the child said, "Maybe I'll do that again when I'm older."

Early this week, I got the urge to check my e-mail. Also poked around on Forward Motion a bit. I'm ready to get back to my normal life. Of course, the rest of this week is going to be devoted to settling back in, stocking the kitchen, doing laundry, and sorting through a month's worth of mail (including paying bills). Next week, back to proofreading and indexing.

So . . . very relaxing month over all. No demands on myself.

If there's anything I missed in the last month that you think I should see, let me know. Meanwhile, I should get back to what needs doing around here.