Michele Venne's Blog, page 21

Got balance?

It’s official today, at least in Phoenix, Arizona. The Autumnal Equinox happened on September 22 (in the northern hemisphere), but a few longitudinal degrees north of the equator and we’re looking at sunrise at 6:14 AM and sunset at 6:14 PM. Not that we’ll see it today, since we have clouds and rain in the desert. Just to be clear, I’m not complaining about the clouds, the rain...

Source

so much new stuff

Here we are, the end of August, and dogs days or not, I’ve got a lot to share with you! Glad you’re here 🙂 First up, this newsletter! You may not notice a difference and that’s fine. After a while with one email provider, it was time to switch to another. This one offers some features I didn’t have at the old one. As things grow and change, we’re invited to do the same. It was past time I left the...

Source

Midsummer update

Some of this, a sprinkle of that, a dash for excitement, and freeze overnight…sounds like just the thing to cool a body down. July has passed at the same rate as an ice lasts on the sidewalk in Phoenix at noon. I’ve been crossing items off my to-do. And since everything takes longer to finish than I plan, I suspect that’s where the time has dripped. The good news is that I’ve made final edits/

Source

Popsicles in the shade

It’s summertime, and with the heat cranked up in the Southwest desert, we’re all trying to live easy! It’s the end of June and halfway through 2021. I’ve been spending more time than usual inside, and when I look back at my production schedule that I planned out at the end of 2020, I’m very far off the mark. However, scanning my calendar so far this year, I realize I’ve done a lot...

Source

Spring flowers

Not that we’ve received much rain in the desert this winter or spring, but some of the desert plants are blooming! The ironwoods have been dotting the brown landscape with pale lavender blooms. The creosote shifted quickly from yellow petals to their fuzzy white seeds. The saguaros, an elegant cactus that appears to survey its domain, are crowned with white blossoms. I don’t think the chollas...

Source

Choose your own adventure

I hinted at this back in the fall, so time to follow up on my idea! The Internet and online retailers have changed how people shop. Personally, I don’t order much online. Sometimes I get stuff from the feed store, and sometimes I order through a retailer that offers the same items but usually at a cheaper price. Throughout this past year, I’ve continued to go to the grocery store instead of...

Source

Spring in flux

It’s hot, it’s cold, there’s rain, there’s snow, the power is out, the power is back on, a green holiday celebration, maybe vacation, jeans and a sweatshirt then a T-shirt and flip-flops, on and on it goes. I look out the office window and watch as storm clouds race each other across the blue background. I realize, in some logical part of my brain, that all these “things” that are in flux will...

Source

Share Some Love

In celebration of the month of love, I’m sharing some. I know the concept of self-love and self-care have been around for a while. After reading about it and applying a few ideas to see what worked for me, I thought I had a good understanding of self-care. I created “bookends” for my days, rituals in the morning and evening. They helped both to set up and review my days. I found I had less anxiety...

Source

A New Calendar

Many of us purchase a new calendar around the end of the year. It could be with hope that the next year will be filled with lots of positive experiences or an attempt to organize ourselves. This past December I purchased two calendars: 1) a 5 x 7 daily and monthly personal calendar with several pages for notes at the back, and 2) an 8.5 x 11 monthly calendar for my writing stuff.

Source

Process

Most authors compose their blog posts, social media posts, and even their books directly on the computer. Many of them begin with an idea, then construct an outline. It depends on the author as to how detailed to make that outline. The outline can include the acts, the scenes, the chapters, what happens in each chapter, which characters come/go in each scene/chapter. I think this helps authors...

Source