“It’s Friday, Little One. Go play.” “But Dad. I don’t have anything to play with.”
Looks like we made it to Friday. I hope your week was a good one. I can’t say much has been going on around here. We have had a full week of above 100 degrees F. Have to say it gets old after a while. Wednesday night we got a nice downpour. It was totally out of the blue. Not forecasted. It seems the big high-pressure area that sat over us all week moved slightly to the west. Nature abhors a vacuum so in rushed a little cold front and there we had it, rain.
I managed to keep the 1000 wood a day pace on my WIP this week. I’m currently at over 47,000. That means I did a little better than 1000 a day. I usually target about 90,000 so I’m a smidgeon over half way to a completed first draft.
Today’s JohnKu talks about unforcasted events. I hope you all have a super weekend.
“Okay Dad. Lucy doesn’t want to play tug of war. It is up to you.”
Another Friday (YAY). This week has been pretty standard around here. It seems odd not to have workers or furniture disrupting the day. Well, we are certainly glad for that situation.
The weather here in Austin has been in the 100’s all week. We are told by the local weather forecaster that it is going to be this way for another two weeks. There was no discussion about what happens after that, so who knows how long it will last.
I managed to keep my 1000 words a day goal. I’m now sitting at over 41,000. This book is a strange one for sure. Let me tell you about it. The protagonists are both dead and on a trip to the eternal home. They were allowed to choose some learning stops, so they went to Dodge City, Kansas in 1874 and ended up in the Longbranch Saloon. Then to Tombstone Arizona in 1881. It seems James (The protagonist) had an interest in Wyatt Earp. From there they ended up at the Alamo in 1836 but this time it wasn’t a destination they requested.
Apparently, they witnessed the devil taking a soul at the OK Corral in Tombstone, and now the devil wants to chat. He sent a text to James (His reply number 666), but he and Samantha (The other protagonist) decided to ignore it. So now the devil is manipulating their agenda. He definitely wants to strike a deal so that James and Samantha won’t be letting souls know about his personal visits at the time of death.
The devil thinks it might be bad for business if people knew the devil himself would be ushering wicked souls to hell. He thinks people might not damn themselves if they knew a personal meeting was the result. The devil believes it would be a good idea if James and Samantha joined his team. Joining him would guarantee their loyalty and silence. He decides to show them what it would be like being a devil’s disciple.
Their first stop is Wimbledon where James beats Roger Federer for the 2019 title. Next for James is the Normandy landing on D-day 1944. James is leading a company of troopers headed for Omaha Beach. James has no idea what to do and worse, not sure he can get back to the Bellagio in Las Vegas. That is where he and Sam were having dinner with the devil before he was willed to France. Stay tuned.
Today’s JohnKu talks about imagination. I hope you have a terrific weekend.
“Hey, Lucy, its Friday. Want to ruckus?” “After my nap, Little One. After my nap.”
Another Friday is here and thank goodness for it. As you know from last week. I was on a break. It was terrific having mt eldest daughter visit. We did so many things, and she was a delight to have close.
I didn’t do any writing on the break. My goal was to be with my daughter, and that was accomplished. I did get back to work on Wednesday and have managed a thousand words a day since then. So in all, I took a break of six days, and I worked on my WIP for five days. I was at 28,000 words when I last reported, and I’m now at 34,000. That means the days I worked, I did a little over 1000 words a day. You may wonder why I am going through these gyrations? To stay on point is why. If I have to report my output to you guys weekly, then I’m more dedicated. So I think you for keeping my nose to the grindstone.
“I call this living Little One.” “Me too, Lucy. Me too.”
Friday is here at last. “Gee, I wish it was Monday,” said no one ever. Always lovely to see the weekend within sight.
If you checked out my post yesterday then you know the landscaping at our place is done. We are all so happy to have that item checked off. We were plagued with gumbo mud every time it rained, which was often. The dogs were forced to stay on a leash until the mess dried, which was about three days. Then we would get a day or two of no rain followed by rain and another three days of the leash. Well, those days are hopefully over.
My WIP is plugging along. I am at 28,000 plus words, which means my 1000 word a day goal is being met. The story is developing well, and it sounds like it might fit the speculative fiction genre. A lot of stuff happening that is not necessarily confined to one or more traditional genres. All I know is it is fun to write, and so I’ll just keep plugging.
Today’s JohnKu talks about fun and writing. I hope you have a very restful and fun weekend.
“Lucy. No sunbath. It’s Friday. Time for a ruckus.” “You start and I’ll join you later.”
Ah, delicious Friday. Eight more hours till Saturday eve. I hope your week was a good one.
If you looked in on yesterday’s post, you know we are getting some action on our yard. The way it goes is one day of furious activity and then one day of nothing. I’m sure you all have had the experience of doing business with busy contractors. They have several balls in the air, and so one has to go with the flow. We are supposed to get grass today, but I seriously doubt it since the concrete needs to be poured before the sod. Yeah, yesterday was supposed to be concrete. We shall see.
On my WIP I managed another 1000 per day week. So, now I’m over the 21,000-word mark. The characters are starting their “Let us take the wheel,” program which they always do at this time. The male protagonist wants to go to Wimbleton and find himself on the court facing Roger Federer. I’m not sure that’s going to happen, but it is a fun thought.
Today’s JohnKu talks about letting the characters run with the story. I hope you have a great weekend.
A little bit of a short week. I hope everyone came through the birthday celebrations in good shape.
Lots of good stuff happening around here.
The gutter guys showed up on the third and finished the job on quote and on-time. I have to give them a super review.
I managed to keep the 1000 words a day on my WIP. There is a ton of research needed and so I was happy to be able to go forward. As of today, I have over 14,000 words.
The cement guys were postponed until next week. The contractor gave me the best excuse I ever heard. One that has no comeback. “I want to be there when the concrete is poured so I know it’s done right and I have to go out of town this week” What could I say? “Pour anyway and the heck with it done right or not?” I was speechless.
Today’s JohnKu pays tribute to that excuse. I hope your weekend is wonderful.
“Hey, Lucy. Wake up. It’s Friday. Time to play.” “You have that pizza toy, don’t you.” “How’d you know?” “It crunches. Drives me nuts.”
Friday again for all you full-time workers. For us, slackers, it is another day. Just kidding. I always love to see Friday come along. It is especially lovely when I have spent a good week writing. I gave you a sneak peek at the new WIP last week. I’m delighted that the story is going well and I managed 7444 words for the week. Doesn’t sound like much, but as a reminder, I only do 1000 words a day on my current WIP. This one takes a lot of research time as well, so my 1000 words are taking more time than usual. Couple that with having to go to several medically related appointments I’m pleased to hit the goal.
This week also saw ( as some of you might know from yesterday’s post) the arrival of the sprinkler system installers. I also got word the gutter guys will be here on Wednesday, July 3rd. So, call me stupid, but things seem to be moving forward.
Today’s JohnKu reminds us to keep the faith. Have a great weekend.
“It’s Friday Little One. You gotta move.” “Five minutes more, Lucy.”
It is Friday again. This week has flown for some reason. Maybe it’s that I’m back to writing on what I hope to be my sixth book. For some reason, I have thoughts of the paranormal in my brain. I tried hard working on an adventure with Ned Tranes. Ned is the police chief in the three John Cannon stories. For whatever reason, Ned continued to drag his feet, and the story became like pulling teeth. Not much fun.
I did sit down and write a short story which exploded into a whole new world. Let me give you a blurb, and you’ll see (hopefully) what I mean. The names are not the final characters but just placeholders.
Samantha and James were best pals in the second grade. One day Samantha suddenly disappeared with no explanation or resolution. James prayed his heart out for her return, but all his pleadings went unanswered.
Driving alone on a long trip to Kansas City, James picks up a hitchhiker. It has been fifteen years since Samantha went out of his life, and here she is in the front seat of the car.
Samantha explains that because of his prayers, she has been chosen to escort him to the eternal home. It is then James learns he is no longer of this world. She tells him gently that he fell asleep, and his body did not survive the car crash.
There are rules to follow for those on a journey to the eternal respite, and Samantha has been schooled in the proper procedures. Violate the regulations and a soul risks spending eternity seeking the place rather than being there.
Join James and Samantha as they travel toward the safety of his eternal place. They will be facing the challenges of abiding by the rules, different time periods, and staying clear of those who have an incentive to see that James never makes it home.
Maybe it will work. I know I’m more excited to write this story so we’ll see how it goes.
Today’s JohnKu talks about when writing becomes a chore. I hope you all have a great weekend.
“How we supposed to ruckus tied up like this, Lucy?” “The Boss wants out feet to stay out of the mud Little One. A couple days and the ground will be dry again.”
Friday has graced us with another visit to usher in the weekend. We finally got to see the first iteration of the landscape plan. We didn’t have any significant adjustments. Next week the architect and foreman will be taking a close look at access and amount of work so an estimate can be put together. We, of course, are anxious to get the mud covered but need to allow the process to move forward at its own pace.
Here is a shot of the plan.
I know it’s hard to see, but you can get the idea that there is an area of patio to the left and an area of grass to the right. The patio area features crushed granite and black star gravel stone borders. The grass is pretty much grass so the dogs can run.
Today’s John Ku talks about what makes a house a home. I hope you all have a delightful weekend.
Well, here we are on the cusp of a Memorial Day weekend. If we were at the coast, the store would have been visited, supplies laid in, and our loins girded for another onslaught. There would be drunks, illegal fireworks, bottles, and cans everywhere. A walk on the beach impossible without confronting, loose dogs, loud music, and city folks who believe littering is a God-given right.
But, we are not on the coast. We are in a quiet neighborhood where the cardinals and doves make up the bulk of the noise. Oh, sure there is a stray motorboat sound but nothing like a three-tier boombox putting out decibel levels to rival the Blue Angels at a five hundred foot flyover.
In short, we intend to honor those who made the mayhem at the coast possible. Those who felt a higher calling than the preservation of their own life. We will remember those who sacrificed all to maintain the freedom we enjoy today. We will do this honor in an elegant way far from those who only thought is where they left the bottle opener for that illegal glass bottle of ale.
Today’s JohnKu talks about Memorial Day. I hope yours is filled with joy and remembrance of those who gave all of us the highest gift possible.
