Category Archives: TRAVEL

New Release: Circling Uranus

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5.0 out of 5 starsBrilliant!!!!!! ByThe old one!on August 30, 2017 Kuddos to Ms. Baeli! This story is fantastic. Talk about covering some ground (or space) in a short book—this is a prime example of brilliant writing. Science Fic—yes. Les/fic—somewhat. Adventure—yes. Homesteading–yes. Perseverance—-yes. Bravery—yes. Humor—yes. I liked Story but it was Shrtz that really grabbed me—-and can she ever “grab”! I enjoyed he references to “Clan of the Cave Bear” because it is one of my all time favorite series. I also thought the POTUS anagram was exceptionally well done. If you have any trepidation about reading this—-just go for … Continue reading →

Circling Uranus

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Done with final draft of Circling Uranus: Samegenders in Space & Elsewhere. Edit/betaread in the hand of Melissa Walker. My short story turned into a novella, and this might be Episode One, as i have ideas for future installments. The blurb isn’t written yet, but here’s the BEFORE WORDS: (at the moment) This story was inspired by the character, India Bell, of the Rain Falls series. As a ruse, she had supposedly written a science fiction book titled Circling Uranus, and it became a bestseller, much to her chagrin. It reportedly included some form of tentacle sex with an alien. I … Continue reading →

Projects, Pitfalls, Promise

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Shame on me. I haven’t posted a blog in a long time. SO much going on with us lately. Dealing with sudden health issues happening all at once, burned out, exhausted, feeling ill all the time, I was certainly not inspired to write. So I decided to take a 6-month sabbatical. It turned into 8 months when I found out in the middle of it I needed major surgery. So, I had to face my #2 biggest fear, (surgery) and I’ve been recovering from a full abdominal hysterectomy, and after almost 8 weeks, I’m still having some issues, which I … Continue reading →

Why I changed my Pinterest boards to SECRET

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Today I had a revelation. I had forgotten to address a very big problem that had recently applied elsewhere. One I had addressed already in the obvious places, but overlooked for a while. I switched almost all of my Pinterest boards to secret. At first, I was horrified to think I was going to have to delete them all and start over, or cancel my account to prevent a looming disaster. Only recently did Pinterest offer a solution to the legal quagmire they so blithely pied-piper’d us into. By now, you’ve probably guessed I’m referring to copyright infringement. Thankfully, Pinterest … Continue reading →

Simple Procedures I Get to Sleep Through

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Today, I had a dentist appointment, to get a tooth pulled and cavities filled. That’s what I get for avoiding dentists for–what? 15 years? I’ve been fortunate, since I have always enjoyed healthy teeth, but I should have gone to a few of those appointments along the way. I accept the mantel of shame in that regard. We had to go to Springfield, so we didn’t get home until evening. When I laid back in the awesome Chair-I-Wish-I-Had-at-Home, It soon became apparent that they were not sure why I was there. Seems the VA had not sent over the records of the checkup … Continue reading →

Day of the Turkeys

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For our first wedding anniversary, Melissa and I went to Onyx cave in Eureka Springs. Heading out, we were, as usual, watching for good pictures, our cameras at the ready, as I steered the Avalanche (whom we lovingly call Ava Lanche, as in French style Launch-SHAY. She is like another one of our pets.) Just down the road on Highway 23, we stopped to take photos of a tree full of turkey vultures. Creepy and wonderful. This was balanced by a precious little bluebird Melissa captured nearby. But not a turkey bluebird. We were starving, but thought we’d just stop … Continue reading →

Inflatable Travel Companion

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Most of my adult life, I’ve wanted a full-sized female mannequin posted in my foyer. Not just for comedic value. For practicality. I’m very utilitarian. I figured I could use her to hold the stuff I need by the door. She could wear my hat, hold my keys, my bag, my jacket– either wearing it or draped over one stiff arm. Or I imagined I could just put her in the house somewhere and dress her up in different outfits. Since my wife and I are always talking about our future life on the road in a travel trailer, throwing … Continue reading →

Nom Nom Nom de Plume

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How delicious. To be someone else. To reinvent oneself. I’m not talking about who you are at your core, but about characteristics that might not be serving you anymore. I’ve done it several times over, and not only with names. As long ago as my early twenties, I began referring to myself and introducing myself to others by another name. Eventually, it led me to legally change it. Psychologically, that was one of the best decisions I ever made for my health. I maintain that the name-change wasn’t running AWAY from something, but running TO. Seeking identity. I wanted to … Continue reading →

Operation Homostead & Dooflingywhatsit

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While I’m battling The Change of Life, we are also dealing with A Change of Life. Major changes on the horizon, all of which we have chosen for ourselves, which of course, makes it easier to weather. Our decision to make homesteading our goal, had to begin with all the preliminaries. Where? When? How? We know we want to settle in central Wisconsin, mostly because Melissa is from that area, and around Chicago, and her family is all there. She needs to be close to her grandmother, who is well into her 90’s and has had some health scares. But Melissa has … Continue reading →

Stupid, Honorable, High-Road Seeking Fool

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In a post from a few years ago (two posts, actually, under Going to Denver Because You’re Dead) I chronicled this transition of moving to Colorado to start a new life; again reinventing myself, with the hope of somehow finding my new place in this ever-changing, ever-challenging world.  I got rid of three-quarters of everything i owned, packed a U-Haul trailer behind my Cherryot, and off I went. A journey that lasted 30 hours on many days of little sleep. By the time I arrived in Denver, i was exhausted, lost, and had this sensation of being on another planet. … Continue reading →

Why not Me?

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Pulitzer and Nobel Prize-winning author, Pearl S. Buck  said, “A human creature born abnormally, inhumanely sensitive. To them… a touch is a blow, a sound is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an ecstasy, a friend is a lover, a lover is a god, and failure is death. Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create~ so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, their very breath is cut off…They must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency … Continue reading →

Being Fully Human

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Theodore Roosevelt once said: It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who … Continue reading →

Kindred Romance

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This is a bit retroactive, but felt I should post something…. I‘m almost afraid to say it.  I think I’ve finally met someone normal. Stable. Real. A Kindred.    After the debacle of my last relationship, i am quite gun shy, and yet, this woman has managed to get around my defenses. It’s so easy to be in her company. Everything just seems to flow smoothly. It’s effortless to spend time with her, and I find myself feeling genuinely happy whenever she’s around. Kelly and I have been dating 3 to 4 times per week for the last month–long, all-nighters … Continue reading →

Deerly Beloved

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Things can change in a nano-second. One minute, you’re moving along in your life, perhaps even having a great day and feeling hopeful, and the next, you are reminded of how precarious life can be. Last night Kelly and I had one of those moments. If anything had been slightly different, it’s possible we would not be alive. We had spent the entire weekend enjoying various activities and meals and socializing with friends. We were on our way back from a fly-fishing excursion in Deckers, and moving through the pitch blackness of Highway 85, between Sedalia and Highlands Ranch, near … Continue reading →

Spider in my Car

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This was the only picture of a spider i could stand to put here, because it’s cute in a creepy, spidery kinda way. I couldn’t spend much time looking for one, anyway, because i would have seen too many spiders at one time, and that would have screwed up my whole day. My best friend called me not long ago, and in the middle of our conversation, she said, “Hang on, there’s a spider in my car and i have to pull over before I freak out.”  She takes off her shoe to kill it and I warn her that … Continue reading →