It figures. Yesterday was a chaotic day from hell and what happens?

I have an idea for a novella.

Isn't that the way? You have a day when it's all hitting the fan and suddenly your muse decides to return from it's Grand Canyon vacation, or wherever the heck he was anyway.

It actually started out as a short story. I had to take my laptop to work for a meeting and decided to write a rough draft of this vague idea I had for a sci-fi story. I spent the entire hour writing and still wasn't satisfied. It was while I was hustling through the afternoon portion of the chaos that it hit me: What I just wrote was part of a bigger story. So I dug up some of my research from when I wrote Splinter. I brainstormed. And darn if I didn't come up with an outline by the time I left for work today.

The good news is that the story is set in the Jovan system just like Splinter, so I don't need to do any additional research. Well, that I know of now, anyway. You know how things pop up as you write. But still, I can reuse a lot of it and many of the pieces are in place. I'm so excited! I think this will be my summer writing project. And you know me - I'm most content when I'm working on a writing project.

Here's the basic outline I came up with:

Prologue - History of the future

1. Jovan Council discovers a nuclear weapon has been detonated on Earth & the magnetosphere is showing signs of shifting.

2. Council reviews/debates consequences. Speculates on causes. Decides to ban further immigration from Earth due to radiation & uncertain political situation.

3. Ship openly goes to Earth to deliver sentence.

4. Return to Jovan system to confirm the mission is complete.

Epilogue - Earth's fate.

This is general and will likely be changed by the time I finish part 1. Still, it's a plan to work from, and a plan is good. Truth is, I don't even have a working title, and I'm still not sure what Earth's fate will be. I suppose it depends on whether I'm having a good day or a bad day when I get around to writing that part :)

I'd like to keep this in the range of a novella; perhaps 20,000 - 25,000 words. I'd like for it to be longer than Quarantine but not a full length novel. I need to get some more "quick reads" out there for readers. People seem to enjoy those. Since it's so short, I plan to self-publish this piece.

Of course, I'll keep you updated on my progress and will no doubt share excerpts as it progresses.

That's all today. Take care and have a great rest of the week.

Bye!

Ah, Labor Day weekend - the unofficial last weekend of fall. How do you feel about that? Do you say "welcome fall" and embrace the change of seasons, or are you a bit blue that summer's waning?

I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, it's been a brutally hot summer. It was nice to have Isaac bring in some more moderate temperatures last week, but it has been warm again yesterday and today. Not that I mind the hot. I'd rather sweat than shovel snow anytime. But it is nice to have temperatures a bit more moderate. Human beings can live in 80 degree weather. But 110? Not so easy.

It's also kind of nice being able to go out to lunch again without every place being so crowded. With so many people "out and about" between school being out and traveling, I had to cut back on going out to lunch because I couldn't get in and out of places in an hour during my lunch break. Running errands was tricky too. It's nice to have our population sufficiently spread out so that it's possible for me to eat out or pick up a few things at the store during my lunch break without having to stress over getting back to the office by 2. And I'm talking about places right around the corner from my office!

But on the other hand, I am sad that summer's ending. Spring and summer are my favorite seasons. I like the warm weather, and the long days. It's already getting dark noticably earlier than it was a few months ago. The bluebirds have moved out of the birdhouse and won't be back. The rose blooms are smaller.  And the cicadas don't chirp nearly as much as they did. There is something a bit melancholy about things winding down.

Not that there's anything wrong with fall. People are back on a routine, so there's less stress with "covering" for vacations - and when you do go out, it's less crowded. There's also college football and fall festivals and TV shows starting their new seasons soon. I have to admit that the reruns are getting old. 

I changed some of the house decorations from summer to fall yesterday and it was a mixed bag for me. It was sad to put the roses away, but the fall bouquet is an inspring spalsh of color in that entry way - the yellows and oranges just look great and are a nice change of pace. And switching from roses to apple cinnamon isn't so bad either. It's nice to have something different. There are, after all, merits in every season.

That's all today. Have a great Labor Day weekend. Be safe, have fun, and enjoy an extra day off.

Bye!

Wow, we come home from a great vacation in Gatlinburg, TN to record heat. Today it was 109 degrees - a new record high temperature for us. And it's not just us here in central SC - I hear a lot of the eastern part of the country is under heat advisories for weather just like this.

Fortunately, 100+ degree weather isn't too strange to us around these parts. Truth be told, this year's heat wave came late, considering that we were breaking the century mark in May and early June over the past couple of years. So naturally we know what to do when it gets hot. The weather forecasters have given you their tips: Stay indoors, wear light colored clothing, limit exercise, stay hydrated, limit or avoid alcohol intake - these are all great tips. But I have a few more that I've picked up over the years that might not only help you keep cool, but keep those power bills from shooting up with the mercury in the thermemoter:

1.    Keep your blinds/shades closed, and if you have curtains, close them. A lot of people raised their eyebrows at us when we put up dark colored panels in our master bedroom and the other front rooms in our house, until the next summer when they saw how good those dark panels are at keeping heat out and cool in.

2.    Electronics and appliances put off a lot of heat, so you might want to limit use of them. The biggest culprits are ovens, dryers, and computers. Consider preparing meals that take a bit less time in the oven or on the stovetop. Only run full loads of laundry and dishes. Use cooling mats for laptops. Consider skipping the surround sound system when you watch television during the day at least.

3.    Use fans, but only in rooms that you're in. Fans work to help evaporate moisture in your skin as well as to circulate air, which means they don't do much good if you aren't in the room with them. So only use fans in the rooms you're using.

4.    Turn off the lights! Only turn on lights in rooms you're in, and try to use as few as possible. You might think a light bulb can't put off much heat, until you try to change one that was just on. Yea, those suckers can indeed get hot.

5. Those sun shades you see in cars might not look extremely fashionable, but they work. If you park outside for any length of time at all, get one and use it. Also, crack your windows or open your sun room to let air circulate and prevent your car from becoming a sauna (and potentially busting a window, which can happen if too much hot air gets trapped in there and can't get out).

6. Stick to indoor activities. I know it's tempting to head for the pool or the water park on extremely hot days, but that fun in the sun can wear you out. Consider seeing a movie or heading to an indoor shopping complex instead. Or better yet, just stay home. Read a book, do arts and craft projects, play a game, watch a DVD and make microwave popcorn, call a friend on the telephone - just stay in the AC.

7. Skip the sneakers and socks. Wear sandals or slide on shoes that you can wear without socks. And put baby powder on your feet to keep them dry and cool. If your feet are cool, it will be easier for you to cool off. I'm not sure why this is, but someone gave me this tip in high school and it works. It also works in reverse too - when it gets extremely cold this winter, put away the flip flops and put on socks.

8. Consider cool meals and snacks. Salads, ice cream, popcicles, watermelon, pineapple, cantelope - you can even stick apples in the refridgerator and they make good, cool snacks.

9. Take it slower. When the nighttime lows are above 70 degrees, it doesn't give your body or the environment time to rebound. That means that you're more prone to exhaustion and heat related problems. Your body is busy enough trying to stay cool, so what you normally do could put more strain on you than you realize. This is why the meterologists tell you to make sure you stay hydrated and to  limit exercise when it gets extremely hot. I usually cut back my treadmill time and try to space out my housework more so I'm not pushing myself as hard as I usually do when it gets extremely hot. Likewise, you might want to try to get more sleep too.

10. I know you've been told this, but PLEASE bring in your pets and make sure they have plenty of cool, fresh water. If you're hot, imagine how they feel with feather/fur coats on! And animals can't sweat to cool off, so they usually have to adapt in other ways like drinking more or immercing themselves in water. Come to think of it, Chloe wasn't as disagreeable about her shower tonight as she usually is and she isn't pouting as much either ...

So there are a few more tips from a native southerner on how to adapt to the heat. Because I don't care what they say - you can't really beat it. I've tried for almost 37 years anyway and I obviously haven't won that battle or we all wouldn't be cooking these days. But I've learned to adapt, and I hope sharing some of what I've learned can help you adapt as well.

Happy Friday to you. Have a great weekend.

Bye!