Jen FitzGerald's Blog, page 112

Audio Books

Are you a fan of the audiobook? I really enjoy listening them, but I've learned I can only listen to certain genres. Or should I say I can't listen to anything that has suspenseful action/adventure type moments--the kind where, if you're reading, you're going to read faster because the action calls for it. The narrators tend to read at the same pace--I suppose so general listeners can easily keep up with the tale. But it was very hard for me to enjoy the story because I wanted to "listen" faster.

So I choose women's fiction instead. Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Danielle Steele are favorites. I also like to listen to the Harry Potter books too, although I've only gotten through three of them I think.

I think last year we talked about free books, and I might have mentioned LibriVox--free audiobooks.

Most of you know I have a thing for Sherlock at the moment, the BBC TV series. I thought reading the source material would be a good thing. Since the original Adventures of Sherlock Holmes are in the public domain, audio versions of the books are available from LibriVox.

So I downloaded them. I started listening to them a while back but stopped. I understand that it's not easy to read for hours on end to create an audio recording, but the narrator couldn't keep his accents straight and it irritated me, so I quit listening. But the hankering to hear the original texts got me again, so, ignoring the idiosyncrasies, I'm listening once more. I'm three adventures in. On the other hand, I might have to go in search of an authentic audiobook with a British narrator because Sherlock Holmes with an American accent just doesn't quite do it for me.


But Benedict Cumberbatch, who has a lovely deep voice and plays the titular character in the BBC's Sherlock, has narrated a series of four Sherlock Holmes adventures written by John Taylor (among other things). He does a fab job with altering his voice for various characters and is able to maintain various accents as well. They're available on YouTube if you're so inclined.

Are you an audiobook listener?

Wintery Wednesday Woes

According to the legend, we're supposed to have six more weeks of winter. Phil apparently saw his shadow on Monday.

Obviously I don't rely on a rodent to predict the weather, although he certainly can't be any more or less reliable than the evening news...

Six more weeks of winter here in Texas is relative. At least I don't live in Boston or Buffalo or Madison or anywhere else they've gotten piled on.

But I'm not fond of the chill and the nip and the frost, so I'm certainly hoping that Phil is wrong this year.

Epistolary Writing

I really haven't the imagination for it, and if the author doesn't have the right combination of imagination and skill, the content could be dry or boring or just plain awful.

Back in late November or early December, I subscribed to a fic written by a skilled author. The fic is written in epistolary format and in mostly real time (the advantage of the Internet and other things) and has consistently used that tactic to brilliant advantage.

The story follows two people as they develop a friendship first via an online dating site, then via email and online chat. The kicker is, these two know each other although only one party is aware of that fact. We readers are in the know of course. We know bad things are gonna happen when the secret's out. And we can hardly wait to see it play out in Technicolor.

The author has used lack of posting (for close to two weeks once) or posting late as if she were one of the characters and the lack of response was due to whatever reason people use to miss participating including work projects, family issues, illness, etc.

This author now has hundreds of people following her story, subscribed to updates, and sqeeing or commiserating on various social media forums with each twist and turn of the tale.

Saturday was supposed to be the big, in-person meet. I, like probably every follower of this story, waited on tenterhooks all day for notification of the next chapter. We knew when the meet was supposed to happen (real time, remember), but when the hour came and went and there was nothing, many spent the day as best they could refreshing browsers, re-opening email, hoping against hope for an update that we eventually realized would come later rather than sooner. When it did come, all twenty-two words of it, the resulting reaction was like a tidal wave.

I had received an email from a fellow follower of the story at around the same time I received notification of the update (while I was sleeping). Her reaction was anger and disappointment. So much so that she unsubscribed from further notifications. Her comments gave me an impression of what had happened. However, the text itself left a lot to the imagination. My friend chose to assume the worst. I chose to assume a less violent, though no less emotionally-charged scenario. I fully expect the passage of days, at least, before the next update, while the one character deals with his emotions enough to reach out and make contact.

Only time will ultimately reveal what really happened, and the eventual resolution of the story and the relationship will be well worth the angst and the wait.

No real point to this, I guess, other than to say I'm completely invested in this story and these characters and in no small part to how the author played her hand.

To those of you writers in the group--use every tool in your writers toolbox to tell the story. This type of scenario is not limited to the fic world. There are mediums, Watt Pad for one, where you can write/post self-contained serialized stories or in conjunction with regular books in a series or box set.

Signing off until Wednesday and hoping I'll have an update before we talk again.

Hang on to my hat--here comes February.

My February is going to be rather crazy and so I'll have to balance my busyness with enough down time to keep me sane.

(Renwick, Professer W. L.: “The Works of Edmund Spenser, Volume I” (1930))

I have work of course. The first week of February is always a bit hectic due to a certain client of ours. Their membership year ends on the 31st of January and so there are tasks and phone calls that come in a flurry because of it.

In addition, my writing group puts on a contest, one of two, and I'm a co-coordinator. I was sole coordinator last year, so at least I have some help, but the next three weeks will see contest activity ramp up significantly.

My proofing business is in full swing, so gotta make time for that....

 I have a couple of personal projects on the books.

Gotta make time for enough sleep, eating right, and exercise to keep me on an even keel throughout...

Oh, and Sonshine will be home for ten days or so!

So how's that for a jam-packed month??

I'm tired already.

Yeah...

A really productive weekend...

Even the weather cooperated and I was able to spend some time in the back yard. I filled two lawn bags with grass clippings/leaves. That didn't even get half the lawn mowed... But it's a start. I was going to dead-head the dandelions but instead pulled up these huge plugs. A couple of these things were the diameter of a half dollar with the carrot-like root up to six/seven inches long. Yikes!

Looks like no rest for the wicked and I'll have to get back to dandelion patrol despite any cold spells we get. I've neglected my duties since October and now I'm paying for it.

In other news, I found this super recipe for cleaning soap scum. It doesn't take as much as elbow grease as one would expect even for a nice thick coating... 1 cup Borax, 2 tablespoons liquid dish soap, and 1 to 2 cups water. The instructions said add enough water to make thick pancake batter. It only took 3/4 cup water for me, though perhaps I should have just added the full cup for a thinner mixture that lasted a bit longer.

As it was, it took me three batches to completely clean DH's three by three foot shower stall and only the bottom 2/3 at that. I think it still needs a second going over, but I've rubbed the tile down with baby oil to prevent any further buildup in the meantime. I duly cleaned the rest of the master bathroom and promise to keep up with it now that it's had its big cleaning. (Part of the goals, remember?)

Laundry and groceries also done for the week.

There were a handful of other miscellaneous tasks on my list and all conquered. I'm feeling quite accomplished. Pleasure reading, writing, TV watching and napping even got some time too.

Hope you had a lovely weekend as well.

My teeth have never been so clean...

Back in October, I was forced to the dentist due to awful mouth pain. I'd suffered abscesses off and on for years and then I lost my bridge at some point in September so the two decimated teeth had finally had enough.

The teeth ended up being pulled and I experienced immediate relief, as you can imagine. After a thorough exam including x-rays, the state of my mouth was every bit as bad as I expected. Not much of the damage can be reversed, so the rest of my life will be spent keeping the inevitable progression to as slow a crawl as possible.

Borrowed from dreamstime.com.

The dental tech laid out a daily care regime I have adhered to morning and evening with few exceptions: flossing, brushing, rinsing with mouthwash, gum massage. Okay, the gum massaging fell by the way side for a bit--aside from just what they got from the actual brushing.--but I'm getting back to it, though just with my toothbrush. I do however, need to go back to the dentist for a thorough cleaning. I have bad plaque and badly stained plaque from all the tea I drink.

One thing I've added to my daily routine is oil pulling. Basically, I spoon a tablespoon or so, maybe a bit less, of coconut oil into my mouth each evening, let it melt, and swish it around my mouth for twenty to twenty-five minutes. The solid is a bit off-putting, but once it melts it's fine. According to Wellness Mama: Oil pulling is an age-old remedy that uses natural substances to clean and detoxify teeth and gums. It has the added effect of whitening teeth naturally and evidence even shows that it is beneficial in improving gums and removing harmful bacteria!


This is what I'm using now--a more nutty flavor than the Louana--and more pure. 
It's also helpful in dislodging any food particles that may have gotten stuck in my gums or between my teeth during the day. Once time is up, I spit into the trash can (it's oil and will harden in the pipes...) and then floss, brush, and rinse.

In addition to that, I've switched from store brand toothpaste to Wellness Mama recipe involving coconut oil and baking soda. Baking soda helps eliminate bad breath and helps break down plaque--the coconut oil makes the soda more palatable and has its own variety of benefits, which I may cover at some point.

All that to say, certain things have started tasting different and my conclusion is that now that my mouth is so clean, now that I've removed whatever coating or bacteria or whatever, I am experiencing true flavors.

 I still have more research and learning to do about homeopathic mouth care, but I think it's going to really make a difference in the long run.

The back yard is in bad shape...

This past weekend was lovely and on Sunday, I finally spent some time outside enjoying the warm temps and the sunshine. I took stock of the mess, but wasn't quite ready to tackle anything.

Besides just having a generally healthy lawn by the end of the year, I have two--no, wait--three, four... projects that need tackling. They are not listed in the order in which they'll necessarily be accomplished...

First project: trimming the holly in the planter built into the front of the house. I had delusions of digging up the holly at some point ages ago, but it really was going to be a whole lot more effort and probably money than I was willing to expend. And it grows quite nicely there. No guarantees anything else would, so I left it. It does eventually grow past its boundaries every now and again since we have never been diligent about trimming. And now it's time to square it up and dig out all the leaves that have taken up residence as well.

Second project: several trips to the dump to finally, finally clear out the dead tree limbs that have been lying in the yard since before Sonshine went to boot camp in October. We had a hellacious summer storm that knocked the dead branches out of the tree. But with one thing or another, we've just never gotten around to taking care of them. There's also another pile on the side of the house that needs to go. You've seen those in previous years...



Third project: clean out the bird feeder and flower beds...




Fourth project: the lawn. That's going to take ongoing weed pulling along with treatments of some sort or another, as well as regular mowing and weed whacking.

Well, now I finally have the goals in place. Now to come up with the plan of attack--fail to plan, plan to fail. I'll get back with you on the plan.

What about you--do you have a yard you enjoy working in?

Voracious Reader...

Yes, that's me--a voracious reader when I'm in the zone. As I have been of late. Last Monday I mentioned my progress and now, a week later, I'm here to report that I've read over ONE MILLION WORDS. The spreadsheet with dates, titles, and word count is a click away to the left, the list is to the right and down a bit.

Almost all of those words have been fan fiction. I came across a treasure trove of fascinating works, and the cold weather has been conducive to snuggling up and reading, reading, reading...

However, I did also pledge to read 26 real, published, official books that I could track via Goodreads and so, with a milestone of one million words+ under my belt, I somewhat sadly turn my reading attention to making a dent in another of my personal challenges. As a bonus, I will also be working at the ramping up the proofreading business goal. I have a series bible project to do and the books are historicals and highlanders to boot!



However, a proofing job has come in and so the historicals must wait too....

What about you--favorite romance sub-genre?

PS--I think the three million word goal is going to be a cake walk....what do you think?

Working From Home

Good news! I get to transition into working from home again. If you remember, I'd started working from home back in mid-summer, but got called back to the office to help keep an eye on our new employee. Well, he's no longer with us and so I get to start working from home again.

There's a balance that needs to be worked out, but we're beginning with two mornings from home. That's been a nice change.

 Yes, that's the corner desk, not in a corner, and a faux wicker patio chair, but it works for now.

I love my husband, I really do, but our personal energies are very different and I'm very much an introvert, so being around people 24/7 wears me out. Being home in my personal, comfortable space helps restore balance to my inner universe. And that goes a long way toward maintaining my emotional health and well-being. I can feel a difference in just the two weeks/three work-at-home mornings I've enjoyed.

Of course, all I have is my laptop now--my work PC had to go back to the office when I did, and until we can get a second PC that will allow me to remote my work PC while it remains at the office, directly on the network, I can only do so much from home. Another reason for the slower transition.

But I'm not complaining. I'm just happy to get the process started.