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21 08, 2023

Garage Sailing

By |2023-08-19T17:48:16-05:00August 21st, 2023|A Writer's Life, Writer's Life|1 Comment

Unfamiliar with the term garage sailing? No surprise. I made the word up to describe the habit of perusing garage/estate sales.

A habit or addiction that I share with many others. I can’t resist a sale sign stuck by the side of the road. I’ve been known to make U-turns on busy streets to follow the arrows.

Do I need anything? Heavens no!

My house is overflowing with stuff and I should be downsizing not collecting.

Should I be writing my next book? Of course. But the thrill of the hunt is too hard to resist.

You just never know what you might discover while garage sailing. And, if the seller is motivated to get rid of stuff, the prices can be cut-rate.

Finds are hit or miss. One time I scored flowerpots for $1.00 that retail for $30 or more. I’ve replaced broken water glasses with matched sets or found the exact glass.

Another time I found nothing. No treasures or great buys, but I met interesting people, who shared fascinating stories. That was still a win for me. I store away lots of ideas for character traits and plot twists.

Outdoor sales where I live are held pretty much year-round. Spring and summer temperatures near broiling this year cut down on my garage sailing. Not too many sales and way too hot to be outside shopping.

I fed my habit from Facebook Marketplace and other online markets in the air-conditioned comfort of my home.

But it wasn’t nearly as much fun.

I’m looking forward to fall and cooler temperatures so I can garage sail again.

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18 08, 2023

New Music Room

By |2023-08-16T09:14:15-05:00August 18th, 2023|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|1 Comment

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

For the past 5 years, I have taught music for a small charter school.  Most of the classes meet in portable buildings while the rest of the campus occupies what used to be a church.

Music class has been held in the sanctuary which is also used for morning and afternoon assembly.  All the musical instruments and materials are stored in what used to be the “cry room” at the back of the sanctuary.

It was cozy, to say the least.

           The classes met in an area partitioned off at the back of the sanctuary. I made it work.

 

 

 

This year I have my own music room!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am ridiculously excited! This will be the best year ever!

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14 08, 2023

A New Book and Creative Juices

By |2023-08-13T13:11:16-05:00August 14th, 2023|Uncategorized|1 Comment

I started a new book. It’s a romantic suspense loosely based on a true event that happened in 2008. A dead body was found on the riverbank below a friend’s home. Story ideas have been tossed around and around all these years until at last I have a story.

Lately, the words have not flowed. I’ve been too distracted by interruptions.

Time vampires suck my creative juices.  Vampires like my phone, email, and social media. I forget to turn them off when I’m writing and my creative juices dry up. If I’m not listening to my characters, they stop talking in my head.

In The Power of Myth, Joseph Campbell describes how to keep creative juices flowing:

“You must have a room, or a certain hour or so a day, where you don’t know what was in the newspapers that morning, you don’t know who your friends are, you don’t know what you owe anybody, you don’t know what anybody owes to you. This is a place where you can simply experience and bring forth what you are and what you might be. This is the place of creative incubation. At first, you may find that nothing happens there. But if you have a sacred place and use it, something eventually will happen.”

Austin Kleon, another creative whose blogs I enjoy, calls Campbell’s place a bliss station. His wife suggested, “Our bliss station can be not just a where, but a when. Not just a sacred space, but also a sacred time.”

A corner of the dining room is my Joseph Campbell bliss station. It’s where I tuck away with my characters and keep my focus on their story. They stare at me from their poster.

I may have followed the bliss station advice, but I haven’t disconnected from the world’s interruptions. I need to calm my brain, to find quietude and solitude for creative juices to flow.

I’m going to start again. This time with no phone, no email, and no social network interruptions. I suspect my characters will start talking again and those creative juices will again flow.

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11 08, 2023

Odd Duck

By |2023-08-10T08:19:38-05:00August 11th, 2023|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

Over the summer we hatched some duck eggs from our next-door neighbors. They have some breeds that we do not, so it added to the gene pool.

Among their ducks, they have some crested Khaki Campbells. One of these eggs hatched so now we have a very interesting duck.

It reminds me of something out of a Dr. Seuss book which makes me smile!Dr

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7 08, 2023

To Speed Read Or Not To Speed Read

By |2023-08-06T15:29:47-05:00August 7th, 2023|Uncategorized|0 Comments

Speed reading is defined as the process of recognizing and absorbing phrases or sentences on a page all at once, rather than focusing on individual words.

Research points to three advantages of speed reading.

  • Increased comprehension
  • Less eye time on the page
  • Less eye fatigue

It’s a handy skill in today’s world where we spend so much time reading—emails, web articles, texts, etc. We likely feel pressure to get through all this information more quickly, so that we “stay in the loop” and make informed decisions. Speed reading allows us to do that.

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko Pexels.com

Photo by seyfi durmaz, Pexels.com

Reading to gain information or facts is one type of reading. I use rapid reading to wade through writing craft articles, blogs, and book research.

I don’t use speed reading if I’m reading for pleasure.

Then I want to savor the story and the author’s style of writing. I read every word.

My go-to technique in speed reading is skimming and skipping smaller words, i.e., prepositions and articles.

The technique creates a problem when I’m writing, though. I tend to leave out those words there too. Fortunately, critique partners, beta readers, and editors put them all back in.

Average adult readers read at a speed of 238 words per minute. Learning to speed read can raise that rate.

President John F. Kennedy was a big believer in speed reading. He read 1200 per minute. President Jimmy Carter’s reading speed is reported at 2,000 words per minute. Evelyn Wood read 2,500 words per minute. Check out other famous speed readers speeds here.

Speed reading is not for everyone, but it is a skill you can acquire. Want to learn more and whether it’s for you? Check out these articles.

http://www.mindtools.com/speedrd.html

http://english.glendale.cc.ca.us/methods.html

Or give speed reading a try with this eight-minute free YouTube video that teaches speed reading techniques.

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4 08, 2023

Complete Pack

By |2023-08-03T09:29:10-05:00August 4th, 2023|Uncategorized|0 Comments

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

We picked up our new puppy last week. The timing was perfect because we said goodbye to Coco in July. She was the last of our original pack of four.

The puppy is one of three that were born near Memorial Day. The foster mom named them Honor, Legacy, and Valor and they are the Tribute Puppies. Honor is ours and she is wonderful.

It has been 8 years since we had a puppy and I had forgotten some things.

  1. Puppies have sharp teeth which they use to chew on anything available – including noses. Beekeeper Brian has dubbed her “Baby Shark.”
  2. They are small and can fit through small spaces – like the bars of the baby gate – so they must be watched carefully. Fortunately, she will grow and be more containable.
  3. Puppies, like babies, get up at night – sometimes a lot. I’ve decided it is ok. I have to get up to use the bathroom frequently at night so we have a “potty party.”  To clarify – I use the inside facilities and take Honor outside.
  4. It is incredibly fun to watch them run and play. Honor wrestles with Mini, our other rescue. They play and play until Honor is worn out. Then they recharge.

Max, who is the only male and 8 years old, is taking this all in stride. He has always been a calm dog and is very patient with the new additions.

It is good to have a full house again!

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31 07, 2023

Anthropomorphize

By |2023-07-30T12:22:06-05:00July 31st, 2023|Make Me Think Monday|1 Comment

 

Simply put a big word that means attaching human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities.

This Calvin and Hobbs cartoon is a great explanation.

“Historically, anthropomorphizing has been treated as a sign of childishness or stupidity, but it’s actually a natural byproduct of the tendency that makes humans uniquely smart on this planet. No other species has this tendency.” —Nicholas Epley, a professor of behavioral science at the University of Chicago and anthropomorphism expert

Why and how humans have this ability can’t be fully explained because our brains are so very complicated. Finding human characteristics in inanimate objects signals the brain’s creativity at work.

We are social animals. We want to befriend everyone we meet, give them a name, and talk to them.

If you saw the movie Castaway Tom Hanks’ beloved best friend was Wilson, a volleyball with a face. If you haven’t seen it, you should. It’s a great film.

Aesop’s fables personified the wind and sun. Beauty and the Beast brought knives and forks to life. Personification is a literary technique like anthropomorphizing, but not the same.

When I talk to my dogs, my plants, my car, and lots of things that can’t talk back, I’m anthropomorphizing. Naming non-human things is another example.

Our downstairs iRobot vacuum is CP3O, upstairs iRobot is R2D2. The canning strainer that we use to make applesauce and tomato juice is Shirley. The metal art dragon guarding our backyard is Custard.

Houseplants have names too and sometimes they even perk up when I talk to them.

Violet needs a pep talk. The summer heat is taking a toll.

My Old English sheepdog Finnegan MacCool and I communicate well. Not that he’s thinking, it’s more hours and hours of training.

Because he has more understanding than Violet or Custard, I use facial expressions and key phrases when talking to him.

Fellow anthropomorphizing pet owners will relate. Others think I’ve gone cuckoo.

That’s okay.

I take comfort in Nicolas Epley’s words that anthropomorphizing demonstrates superior intellect and creativity.

Do you have any inanimate friends you have anthropomorphized?

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