Tag: Olbrich Botanical Gardens

Sunshine and Flowers

by eileentroemel, posted in Life

Saturday I spent an hour or so wandering around Olbrich Gardens in Madison.  It was a lovely experience being outside, watching the birds, looking at the trees, flowers, and water.  It reminded me how much I enjoy being in nature. 

Sunday Vicki grilled out.  I was supposed to be editing but I went on the deck and talked to her while she grilled.  I love our deck.  I love the weather where it’s warm but not smothering and sunny without blinding.  We had lunch on the deck and then sat around talking. 

The connection to the outdoors is vital for me.  It helps balance me out.  I love most weather – especially if I don’t have to drive in it.  I rarely complain about the weather and it annoys me when other people do. 

There’s something about spending even a short time outside which settles me.  Is it a throwback to my childhood on the family farm or something more primal?  I’m not sure the answer to that matters to me. 

Last night I finished the latest pass going through Wayfarer Resolve (#18).  I know I’ll be doing another paper edit on this one so will work on getting searches done and getting prepped for the edit.  Once I got through this pass, I opened up the five stories which have been pushing at me.  I worked on two of them.  By the time I was done it was 10:30 so I opted to stop writing and prep for bed.  I was reading a book and had four chapters left.  I finished that and started another book which I read two chapters. 

This sounds like typical stuff for me but I felt more energized while I did all of this because I’d had some time outside.  The time wandering the garden and sitting on the deck helped to clear my mind and fill up some reserve I needed. 

With my mobility issues, I’ve been feeling like I can’t do as much outside.  It feels limiting which is never easy to accept.  Going to the gardens and even the deck time reminded me there are alternatives to hiking through my favorite county or state park.  It reminded me I can still have the connection and the pleasure being outside brings to me.

A Good Weekend

by eileentroemel, posted in Life, Writing

Presents are done!  They are in my car ready to go.  I’m looking forward to giving them but I’m sad to be losing such good workers.

I’ve finished rereading the last two Wayfarer novels.  The last one needs a complete edit.  By the time I was done, I added over 10K words and a dozen new scenes.  When I finished reading it – it felt right, like it was where it needed to be.

Now I’m turning my attention to the new stories I’ve been working on.  Friday I crocheted until 11 and then I wanted to write a scene.  I had this scene I knew needed to go in Wayfarer Resolve.  I wrote it.  Then I continued to work on it until 2:45 in the morning.  Reluctantly, I went to bed but in reality, I wanted to keep working.  I had a hard time getting to sleep.

Saturday, we went to Olbrich Gardens.  They were lovely and I have a bunch of pictures from there.  It was inexpensive and we wandered around.  I took a lot of pictures which I’m sharing a few of here.

We had lunch in Madison before heading for home.  Vicki and I ran some errands before returning home.  Ken made a start on painting the one wall in our living room.  He stayed home so worked around the house.  By the end of the weekend, he had the wall yellow, the picture I wanted hung on the wall.  I LOVE how it turned out.  The picture the girls got for me really looks great on the wall.  The whole thing makes me happy.

We’ve been talking about what we’re doing on the backyard this spring /summer.  We are putting in a patio which will hold our three grills and a table for the “kitchen” area.  Then on the opposite side, we’re putting our big table with all the chairs and the umbrella.  On the deck, we’re going to put Vicki’s patio furniture with a sail to provide shade.

The deck needs painting so it will be power washed, scraped and repainted.  Next weekend we’re going to buy the supplies for the patio and Ken will start on it.  It is probably going to take a few weekends.  This is probably the big project for the summer but there are all sorts of little projects which need to get done.

I read two books and am almost done with a third.  I was looking for another series which I’m part way through and found this one.  They have been amusing and sexy.  The writing and the story is all right but a little repetitive.  They are almost more long short stories than full novels.  I’m also not sure the over arching plot will be finished by the end of the three so that is a bit annoying.

It was a good weekend.  We were busy but not too busy.  We got a lot done and we had some down time.  Now I’m off to write.  I have my 11:00 pm alarm set and I’ll try to remember to not turn it off.

I MUST Write!

by eileentroemel, posted in Crochet and crafting, Life, Writing

I’m half done with the last present for my student workers.  Tonight I’ll probably get one more skein done unless I decide to stay up really late to work on it.  Then tomorrow will be me finishing it.  After I’m done with all four, I need to take pictures so I can work on publishing the patterns. 

My middle daughter wants to go to Madison to the Olbrich Botanical Gardens so I think we’re doing that first thing in the morning.  It should be a nice time wandering around the gardens.  I’ve been there once before for a friend’s wedding. 

Currently, I’ve got five stories bouncing around in my head.  I’ve made a start with four of them and the fifth one I’m hoping to get at least the opening two scenes down on paper.  I see them like a movie playing over and over in my head so I know I need to get them written. 

While writing has been somewhat on the back burner for me, it is flipping now to me wanting to get all the stories in my head down on paper (or more precisely in the computer).  Last night I couldn’t sleep so I pulled out my phone and texted myself ideas in an effort to get them out of my head.  Now they are sitting in my email waiting for me to work them up in the different stories.

At the same time, I did rewrites on two Wayfarer novels.  I’ve reread, did a grammar check and other editing tasks on Wayfarer Evolution.  It’s almost ready to start the publishing process.  I’m hoping to publish first part of June. 

The other rewrite I did was pretty major and I thought of another scene I want to include in it, so I will write that up.  Once I get that written, I’ll start the editing process again.  In all likelihood, I’ll reread it first, then do my searches, and print.  I’ve added 7000-8000 words so it was a pretty big change.  In order to put out a quality book, I feel the editing process needs to start over. 

While I’m working on all of that, I still have these other five stories bouncing around so I need writing time.  Since I’ve been crocheting, I’ve been rewatching Midsomer Murders but those will go on hold now as I switch from crocheting to writing.  However, I still have several projects I want to get done so maybe I’ll pick a night or two a week and crochet in order to make progress on all fronts.  If only I could do both – write and crochet at the same time. 

In addition to the writing, rewriting, editing, and crocheting I have to do, I have several crochet patterns I want to get published.  I also have a batch which I need to get loaded onto Ravelry.  It all takes time which I need to schedule so I can get all these things done.  Sleep might be overrated.