Would you be surprised to hear I haven’t tracked since Friday? Didn’t write today, either.
But have a short video I took today. I apologize for the spottiness; kitchen window needs cleaning. (Also, I hope this works. I’ve never uploaded video through the app before!)
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Today’s subject line brought to you by this earworm that a friend gifted me with to cheer me up:
Good day. Finished a freelance job, visited the library, bought a watermelon from a farm stand (as I said, earworm), and managed to track down the particular notebook our son needs for one class. And I wrote 152 words and finished off the current scene.
This week, as I try to catch up loose ends and make sure the kids get off on the right foot for school, my goal is at least 100 words a day. Next week, it can go up again.
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… who follows a dream. Yes, this will evidently be my week to randomly reference musicals. At least this time, I’ll include a clip.
161 words today. Sleep now.
Originally published at Erin M. Hartshorn. You can comment here or there.
Friday, I was supposed to go to the library, but with everything else I did, I felt much too frazzled. So some books were overdue.
My daughter and I went today (Saturday) and discovered that they were having a birthday party for their pet lizard, complete with live music and birthday cake.
Excuse the blurriness at the beginning of this one. So amazed at the girl’s voice.
And this one, I’m including because bagpipe.
Oh, and I wrote 502 words after staying up late doing freelance work that I have to get out the door. I cannot believe I am this far behind!
Originally published at Erin M. Hartshorn. You can comment here or there.
Well, only a writing slump, but I did still get words.
I got about half the remaining chapters for Treachery of Doubt edited today, plus made some good strides on planning out the next urban fantasy.
Words written today: 354
Words written 2017: 39,194
Average words/day 2017: 1,452
Books completed 2017: 1
Pages read: 2 chapters
Books read 2017: 1
Exercise reps: 0
Feeling really tired — looking forward to sleeping in both days of the weekend. Saturday’s going to be some freelance work and visiting the library. Sunday, my daughter and I are on for an hour of Girl Scout cookie sales, but I think the rest of the day is free.
Friday bit of cuteness:
If that’s not enough cute for you, check out the #cuteanimaltweetoff on Twitter.
What’s up with you? Do you have any fun or exciting weekend plans? Have you seen cute pictures lately? Drop a note in the comments!
Originally published at Erin M. Hartshorn. You can comment here or there.
Summer? Well, the song puts me in mind of summer. My daughter’s been practicing a song they’re doing for the spring concert next month, which means it’s been running through my head fairly nonstop. To appease the earworm, I pulled up a YouTube video, which I now share with you.
Originally published at Erin M. Hartshorn. You can comment here or there.
You just can’t see the flowers today because of the snow.
What’s new in your neck of the world?
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Every year, Moravian College (and the associated seminary) have Vespers services for two weekends in December. The nondenominational* service begins with music (chorus, brass ensemble, woodwind trio, guitar ensemble, and flute troupe this year), moves to liturgy (including songs, readings, and prayer), and concludes with more music, partially in candlelight (choir, congregation, brass ensemble, and organ). We haven’t gone often (children squirm), but this year we did. ( Read the rest of this entry » )
Originally published at Erin M. Hartshorn. You can comment here or there.
Seems Wednesday is becoming my video day. Recently, my husband introduced me to the music of Scott Bradlee and Postmodern Jukebox. They take songs and make new arrangements of them — Dixieland, Roaring 20s, you name it. They also have some fun versions of Saturday morning cartoon theme songs.
So here is “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.”
Originally published at Erin M. Hartshorn. You can comment here or there.
The boy really likes Minecraft, as I’ve mentioned before, and he’s rather fond of Minecraft parodies of popular songs. He recently wrote one, and his dad saw it lying on the table. I told him that it was based on Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive.”
Well, neither of us had actually listened to the original, although I’d read the lyrics, so my husband pulled it up on YouTube. Then we watched the video in astonishment before sharing it with the kids. Here, to boggle your minds:
The boy was rather creeped out by the Muppet pit-fighting. The girl, on the other hand, was first horrified and then overjoyed by the pink bear. Now she wants to find one to make friends with.
Pleasant dreams, all.
Originally published at Erin M. Hartshorn. You can comment here or there.
And here to share a little bit of why, Ze Frank:
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Because this was the first thing that popped into my head when I heard yesterday’s news. (Yes, I’m a sucker for classic movies.)
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I’m sometimes tempted to do a mash-up of these two. (“Moses supposes the rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain, but Moses supposes erroneously.”) Someday. (“It’s always the someday!”)
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Because the Muppets are always wonderful. As is Queen.
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A few weeks back, I posted the video for my daughter’s favorite song. This is my son’s. Unfortunately, I can’t embed the video. WordPress app plus YouTube on iPad means to me, it looked like I was just posting a link. The wonders of technology. 
Originally published at Erin M. Hartshorn. You can comment here or there.
Didn’t get my flash finished today (although I did write one yesterday for a Coursera class I’m taking on exoplanets). To amuse you, I give you the video that is currently my daughter’s favorite. (She really loves the tiger.)
Originally published at Erin M. Hartshorn. You can comment here or there.
Those who know me know that walking is a biggie. I touch on this on my About Me page. I had a major accident, and as a result, I had to relearn to walk — more than once. Before my accident, I walked everywhere, and afterward, I remember telling my roommate that I resented her put-upon attitude about having to walk four blocks. I was on bed rest at the time and would have given anything to be able to get up and walk.
Now? I don’t walk as much as I used to. Part of that is because, despite the fact that we’re technically within city limits, we might as well be living in the suburbs for how close we are to anything, and there aren’t a lot of sidewalks between here and, for example, the closest supermarket (both Wegmans and Giant are about 2 miles away on busy streets). It’s not like living in Berkeley and popping over to Andronico’s or Berkeley Bowl. I don’t walk because there’s not a lot of places to walk to.
Part of it, though, is habit. Over the years since my accident — especially the years before I got my ankle straightened and fused — I stopped walking. It was painful, it was difficult, and there didn’t seem to be a lot of point. So even though I now can walk, I still haven’t as much as I used to.
Last year, I worked at running again. Even tried to start up again in December, which is a bad time to try to make a new habit with all the calls on my time. I will run again this year — I probably won’t aim for a half marathon, just another 5k in September, most likely, with the goal to finish in less than half and hour this time (cutting my time in half!). On days when I’m not running, though, and to work up to it, I’m going to walk and remember how grateful I am that I can walk, that I still have my own leg, that this is something I enjoy.
I leave you with this video, and the usual question: what are you grateful for this week?
Originally published at Erin M. Hartshorn. You can comment here or there.
We’ve been traveling a fair bit recently, and — having a modern minivan — we’ve played DVDs for the kids in the back. Sometimes, we make them use headphones; Looney Toons are fun, but “The Rabbit of Seville” loses a lot if you can’t see it. Other times, we listen to the DVD, too, and it’s given me a lot of food for thought.
As much as I enjoy the movie The Wizard of Oz — and who doesn’t like saying “Lions and tigers and bears. Oh, my!” or singing along with “We’re off to see the wizard”? — I can’t help thinking about how it changes the truth both of the book it is based on and the entire series. (Spoiler warning!)
Not only is Oz real, but it winds up being Dorothy’s permanent home, as well as Aunt Em and Uncle Henry’s. Yes, it’s an escape from their farm being foreclosed on, but it has its own dangers to face. The big, important thing about Oz for Dorothy (and Trot, Button-Bright, and Betsy Bobbin) is that she has found somewhere she belongs, with friends who understand her, somewhere she fits in.
Looking back on my childhood, I think that may be part of what I loved about these books, almost as much as the magic.
Finding somewhere the characters fit in is a theme in many stories, both in print and in movies. Goonies, the Ice Age series (“We look like a normal pack to you?”), Anne of Green Gables, even the Harry Potter books have it as a theme . . . on and on. As someone who grew up with only a few friends at any time (and rather unpopular with the world in general), I needed stories that said I would, eventually, find my place.
And that’s why I’m going to make sure my children know there’s more to the story of Oz than the movie shows. There is no place like home — but we all need to know we can find somewhere else to belong, too.
Originally published at Erin M. Hartshorn. You can comment here or there.
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timeasmymeasure
