Category: weekendcoffeeshare

Posted in #weekendcoffeeshare, creative writing, weekendcoffeeshare

#weekendcoffeeshare 77

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

#weekendcoffeeshare

Please come in and grab a cuppa! I have several different brews of coffee and a couple of tea blends – a green Japanese sencha along with my ever-present cinnamon blend and a wonderful orange pekoe. If we were having coffee today, I would first tell you about the lovely family reunion I attended beginning early in last weekend and extending through part of the week..

The reunion was for my mother’s side of the family that originated from eastern KY, a part of Appalachia. The roots of my mom’s family began there in the years before the Revolutionary War and some of us still live there. This reunion was really in honor of my only remaining aunt who turned 90 a few days ago. A very vital, active 90. She’s amazing. When her daughter asked what she wanted for her birthday, she said she wanted to go home,,,,home being here in Kentucky. So they planned a trip and brought her home. I had not seen her in eight years, so I really enjoyed seeing her.

On Thursday night, we all had dinner together at one of the restaurants in the city in which she is staying. The closest large city to me. The whole family didn’t show up but a very good representation. It had been a long time since I’d seen most of them, so it was wonderful to catch up. Then, on Saturday, we all went ”up in the country” to where my grandfather’s beautiful farm used to be. I have a cousin who still lives there at the old homeplace. Some of us cooked a spur-of-the moment dinner but we did have the traditional green beans and cornbread plus more. Almost everyone was there although there are a handful of family members lost to us. At least, I feel they are lost to me, but I guess that happens in most families. I could only stay for a few hours, but it went very well and many in the family got to relax, talk and enjoy the day even though it was stormy. The house is in the picture below and you can see the big wraparound porch. We hung out there, and in the house, most of the day.

@Rosemary Carlson

This is a picture of our old homeplace in eastern KY. It was built by my grandfather in 1901 and this is where he raised my mother’s family. This is also where we just had our family reunion. The house has been upgraded and restored. Our reunion here was a great success!

This was probably my 90 year old aunt’s last time to come back ”home.” She lives near her daughters in a wonderful retirement center in Scottsdale, Arizona. The cousin who lives in this house is also elderly at 84. Chances are slim that she’ll ever be able to host us again even with help as she has some ongoing illness issues. Sad for me, as this is where my roots are and it always feels like home.

Other than the reunion, Hubby and I have been busily preparing to have a new roof put on our home. What a big job! We have storm damage to the roof, as do most other people in my area. We may have to wait weeks and maybe months, but it has to be done before winter. Building materials, although dropping in price now, are still expensive so the estimates are coming in for the roof way on the high side.

I haven’t had much time for creative endeavors amidst the reunion and the roof on my home. I’ve only been able to do a little writing recently, most of here on this blog. I have read a few really good books and as we all know, reading is essential for a writer. I try to read many different genres and styles. My next project, which may have to wait until cooler weather, is a fantasy story for young adults that I am working on. It’s set in medieval England, but more about that when I dive back into it.

I’ve always been a political animal and I find myself very interested in not only American politics right now (which are a mess) but also into worldwide politics. The next two years will be a fascinating and scary time for American politics. I’m considering starting another blog where I would write only about politics, mostly opinion pieces but fact-checked to the max. What do you think?

We are probably not traveling this summer. We waned to travel some, in a limited area, in the US in our RV. But with high gas prices (at least high to us), we’ve decided not to. It would take $500 to put gas in the RV once!

We are having a very hot, and now humid, summer. Here are some photos of my flower garden to end our coffeeshare time.

Rose begonias @Rosemary Carlson

New Guinea Impatients @Rosemary Carlson

I’d love to hear about your weekend!

For #weekendcoffeeshare

Posted in Flash Fiction, weekendcoffeeshare

This Week – weekendcoffeeshare #72

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

Weekendcoffeeshare

Good Saturday morning and welcome to #weekendcoffeeshare #72! If we were having coffee, I’d have a selection ready for you – espresso, cappachino, and more. I’d also offer you tea. I buy flavored black teas (cinnamon is wonderful!) and a selection of green tea. Please help yourself and thank you for stopping by!

Now that you have your beverage, how was your week? It’s been an interesting week for me. How do you feel about high school class reunions? Not only did I have a high school class reunion this week but an ”all-school” reunion. I went to a small, private school on the local university campus for grades 0-12. Each class had about 30 kids and we moved lock-step through the grades. The bottom line is that we got an excellent education and grew up more like siblings than classmates. The school was for the purpose of training student teachers. It is long since closed and student teachers are trained out in communities in the public school system.

We’re still close, those classes that went my school – Breck. We still have individual class reunions and all-school reunions and this week was our 5-year all school reunion. Of course, we enjoy seeing each other. But as the years pass, it starts getting a little sad. Maybe someone has passed away since the last reunion. Maybe we’re just all starting to look and feel old. Maybe….well…a thousand other things. I only went to an event or two this year, but it was a little sad for me and since I’ve been feeling particularly aware of my age anyway, the reunion didn’t help! Something to think about, I guess.

I’m used to living a pretty quiet life. Quiet both figuratively and literally. The reunion shook that up this week. This may sound contradictory, but I’m also used to living as a bit of an activist for causes I believe in, so I’m around people who tend to have similar viewpoints. At a reunion, you find many different viewpoints and some of them, at least for me, were fairly shocking. But this is the country we live in these days.

Speaking of both silence and activism, do you remember the Simon and Garfunkel song, ”The Sound of Silence,” from WAY back? There is a version of that song covered by another band that I love. I think it could be an anthem for the times we live in now as it was 50 years ago. Here’s a clip. Hope you enjoy it!

Are you reading anything particularly good these days? I’m reading ”Bleak House” by Charles Dickens. When I retired, I promised myself to read a great deal, both classics and new literature. It’s really good so far!

It’s been cool in northeastern KY this week. The nights have been very cool for June, but the heat and humidity are supposed to arrive soon.

Have a wonderful rest of your weekend!

Posted in #weekendcoffeeshare, Gardening, weekendcoffeeshare

Life – 6/4/2022 – #weekendcoffeeshare

Posted on by R.M. Carlson
#weekendcoffeeshare

Please, come in, and share a cup of coffee or tea with me! I have breakfast roast and several different types of teas including apricot. So glad that you’ve come to visit and have a cup of coffee this morning. If I were having coffee with you today, I’d want to start to get to know everyone I don’t already know since I’m new – or really ”old/new.” I blogged here from 2016 until I started writing full-time. I’ve been gone a couple of years, but now I’m back because I’ve retired. I’ve missed blogging here and all of you.

You know, retiring when you’ve worked all your life is a huge adjustment. I wish I could still work at least part-time, but all good things must come to an end and I guess I’ve entered another phase of my life. I’m trying to adjust. Have you experienced retirement yet?

I’m trying to define my day, set up a ”sort of” schedule, so I won’t feel so lost. One thing I’ve done this spring is gardening and I’d like to share some of it with you. I can’t grow vegetables where I live unfortunately. Living in the forest means gardening challenges and you are stuck with shade gardens. I have a small patch of ground in my backyard where I can grow a few plants that need more son. My gardening zone is 6b in the U.S. We have four distinct seasons and a temperate climate. Here are some of the plants in my backyard garden that bloom in early June:

Here are my beautiful rose begonias. My grandmother grew them and I find them to be so beautiful.

Rose Bush, early June

Here is my little rose bush and it’s beautiful right now. That’s mint growing at its base.

Purple clematis

Here is my purple clematis. It had been here for 22 years, but last winter killed it to the ground. It is just getting started again, but I hope it once again will be lush and beautiful. Do you see the green bulb in the coach light? Our state’s governor asked that we all burn a green light until the pandemic is over. I wonder if I’ll ever get to replace it?

Now for my shade garden which is in front of the house:

Hostas

The hostas are large and lush this spring!

I grow many types of ferns:

Ferns under the azaleas

This is just one of my ferns.

I’d love to see pictures of your garden! These are just snapshots I’ve made of a little bit of the garden in spring 2022. Gardening is one of my hobbies now that I’ve retired.

It’s been great to have you here for #weekendcoffeeshare! I look forward to reading your posts.

Copyright @Rosemary Carlson

Posted in Flash Fiction, weekendcoffeeshare

#weekendcoffeeshare – 8/8/2020

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

Hi all! It’s been a while since I have participated in a #weekendcoffeeshare, but I’m glad to be back. Please join me in a cup of coffee and I’ll share with you what’s been going on in my life.

For several years, I blogged extensively on this site – mostly fiction and mostly flash fiction. I learned a lot! I had been a writer for years, but this blog helped me get back into it after a long sabbatical when life got in the way of writing. After several years of writing on this blog, I took a writing job and then another and a freelance writing career was born. I’m still working for both companies, but I’m also going to make time to blog here because of two reasons.

First, I’ve missed it. I’ve missed writing here. I’ve missed all of you. I need to get back to it. Second, I’m working with a literary agent who wants me to have a platform. I detest social media, but it is the way of the world now. I have a limited presence on social media, but I’d prefer that my platform be this blog. I’m interested in writing a book with (possibly) this agent or another one. So, I’m back and glad to be back!

This blog will be a little different going forward. I’ll still write some fiction, but I’ll focus more on non-fiction. Women’s issues such as gender inequality and wage inequity and many offshoots of those topics. Writings about where I come from which is a part of the US called Appalachia, a very interesting cultural region. Politics and cultural/social change as they relate to women’s issues and just in general. COVID19 and its effects on us and our society. You get the picture. I will slowly reorganize this blog into just a few categories – fiction, non-fiction, Appalachia. Maybe a few more. I’ll probably blog twice a week and I’ll participate in some of the prompts as well.

I look forward to seeing the posts of my old friends as well as making new friends, so please join me!

 

Posted in Non-fiction, weekendcoffeeshare

#weekendcoffeeshare – 11/3/2018

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Good morning, everyone! Thank you for joining me for our #weekendcoffeeshare this week! It’s cold outside today. I hope you can make your way through all the fallen leaves on the ground. You can see a picture of our fall color above. Those trees are in my backyard! We measure leaves in the fall here by the foot! Please come in and fix yourself the hot beverage of your choice. I have several kinds of coffee and tea, so pick your pleasure!

I haven’t had a #weekendcoffeeshare for a couple of weeks and I apologize. It’s been a very busy time at my house. I try to find four or five hours to write every day, which is sometimes difficult, and then the rest of the day is taken up by a million little (and sometimes big) things. The most important thing is always my writing, but sometimes, the most pressing thing is Tucker, my eight month old Cardigan Welsh Corgi.

Oh, Tucker! That boy not only requires, but demands a great deal of time. He looks like a grown dog, but he’s still a baby with a puppy brain. When I look at how big he is and how much he looks like an adult male, it’s hard to remember. Tucker is now 35 pounds which is very close to the size he should be at maturity. Cardigans don’t mature until they are two or even three years old so I shudder to think of his size at maturity! 🙂 He’s very sweet, but he requires a lot of training. You can see a picture of Tucker, my yard long dog, above!

Now, down to business! I am still working on characterizations and settings for my novella that may actually become a novel. I have no way to know at this point. Novellas are usually around 40,000 words. Above about 60,000 words and you are approaching the word count of a novel. Since the public’s attention span seems to be getting shorter all the time, the word count of novels is getting lower. So I don’t know what I’ll have when I’m finished!

One interesting setting I’m developing is New York City, circa 1943. I need to develop two settings, one in Brooklyn where I’ve never been and one in the middle of Manhattan, where I have been but obviously not in 1943! Manhattan is surely proving to be the easier of the two. I’m having to do a deep dive into research to find much about Brooklyn in the middle of World War II. This is a novella (novel?) full of different settings so I’ll gradually mention a lot of them! Both my protagonist and antagonist are traveling around a lot.

Traveling is another issue I’m having to deal with. Travel in 1943 and today are completely different. My antagonist has travel provided. My protagonist does not. I’ll talk more about this next week.

Feel free to stay and finish your beverage. Thanks for stopping by. I’ll hope to see you next week!

 

Thanks to eclecticali

 

 

 

Posted in Non-fiction, weekendcoffeeshare

#weekendcoffeeshare -10/13/2018

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Port Charlotte Bay, Florida, USA

Good morning, everyone! The picture posted above of the ocean is in memory of the Hurricane Michael victims.

So glad you could join me here at my home and have coffee with me this morning! I have set up a coffee and tea bar in my kitchen for your drinking pleasure. I wish we could have coffee on my deck, but fall has come to #Kentucky and it’s too cold. So grab whatever beverage you want and let’s go to my writing studio!

Kentucky was still hot and in the midst of full on summer until about four days ago. That’s pretty unusual for this time in October. Then, four days ago, the season suddenly changed, cool weather arrived, and fall is here. I’m glad! It was the most humid summer in Kentucky that I can ever remember. The cool weather is so refreshing!

If we were having coffee, I would ask each of you how your writing is coming along? I also hope just the general course of your life is going wonderfully. The world, at least in the U.S., seems to be an increasingly difficult place in which to live. I hope it’s being kind to you.

A few weeks ago, I promised one of you who was reading my #weekendcoffeeshare, that I would talk a little about my use of Scrivener in writing my novella, so I’d like to fulfill that promise.

For those of you who don’t know, Scrivener is a very powerful writer’s software program. It is very detailed and complex, but you don’t have to use all the functions. You can, of course, write your entire manuscript on Scrivener which I will try in the future. Since I’m not familiar with it or wasn’t until this past week, I’m going to write my manuscript for my novella on Word, but use some of the functions of Scrivener for specific things.

I mentioned last week that I’m developing the setting for my novella. Scrivener has a cool way for developing your setting. You can develop multiple settings and insert them into your manuscript when they are needed. I’m using the setting function because my novella does indeed have multiple settings. Since I’m writing historical fiction, I have to research each setting and Scrivener is a good way to summarize each setting and save all my notes. Then, as I write the manuscript using Word, I can refer to those notes in Scrivener.l

When I get bored with developing the various settings, I switch over to developing my characters. Scrivener also has a very nice interface for character development. You can develop characters with deep attributes and have your notes at your fingertips. In historical fiction, I have to find out the way each character would have spoken, the clothes they would have worn, how they would have reacted to current world events of the time, and much more. I can keep those notes on Scrivener and refer to them as needed as I’m developing my characters. I can develop each character on Scrivener, with prompts, and accomplish, I think, more complete character development.

In checking out the Scrivener software program, I found that if you type your manuscript in Scrivener, there is a function that converts it to Word. I also found that Scrivener will put your manuscript in the format necessary to self-publish on Kindle publishing. I will report more on Scrivener as I use it more. I’d love to hear what each of you think of this program?

On a personal note, I’m home on top of my mountain this fall. The leaves have not really started to turn yet so it is a very late fall. It will be beautiful here when they do. My plans for the fall and winter is to write and finish this novella. It will be a race to get it done, but this is my goal. I try to write 4-6 hours per day. My puppy, Tucker, usually has something to say about that, but he’s starting to get better. He’s 7.5 months old now. I just realized that I don’t have a current picture of him, but I’ll post one the next time I write a #weekendcoffeeshare. I’m going to try to write the occasional blog post just to change things up for me.

I’d love to hear your stories. How is everything with you and what are you doing this fall?

Thanks to Eclecticali

Posted in weekendcoffeeshare

#weekendcoffeeshare – 10/4/2018

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Good morning! Thanks so much for joining my #weekendcoffeeshare! Grab a cup off the kitchen island. I’ve got just about any coffee that you desire and several varieties of tea, both black and green. Join me in my writing room. I’m so happy to have you this morning.

I promised I would try to return to my blog at least for the #weekendcoffeeshare even though I’m deep into working on my novel. I would love to talk to you about my progress this past week.

Writing a novel is certainly a process. Since I am writing historical fiction, I am doing a lot of background research in advance. I have to make sure that my story is set in the proper context from beginning to end. Just think of what this encompasses! It is a story set during World War II and parts of it are in the U.S.,  but other parts are in both the Atlantic and Pacific theatres of the war. Even though I studied World War II in college, this requires a deeper level of understanding.

Since my novel is set in the early – mid 1940’s, everything was quite different than it is today. The cliches people used and the way they talked, the clothes they wore, the modes of transportation, the Depression-era mentality. I’m having to research all of that. Fortunately, I have a source for primary research. My mother, though she is gone now, kept boxes of World War II memorabilia. It is a gold mine for primary research for the novel.

In summary, I have been doing research this week on the settings in my novel. World-building, I guess. Making a lot of notes. I have a stack of note cards and, on each one, is a part of the setting. My settings will be in Kentucky and Northern Michigan, U.S.A., the Northern Atlantic Ocean on a War ship, the Pacific Ocean on a War Ship, various islands in the Pacific, and brief periods in the cities along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.. It’s a big job just to get the setting right, particularly when writing historical fiction.

Personally, I”ve had a disappointing week. One of my cousins and I were going to take a trip to Marquette, Michigan. Unfortunately, that trip fell through. I’m not going to be able to go until the summer of 2019.

How are all of you? How was your week? Your writing projects?

Until next week….

Rosemary

 

 

Posted in Non-fiction, Uncategorized, weekendcoffeeshare

#weekendcoffeeshare – 9/29/2018

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Good morning everyone! Thanks for coming to my #weekendcoffeeshare. Please grab a cup of coffee or tea, your choice, and join me. I have some news for you today! I’m looking forward to sharing it with you and getting some of your comments.

If we were having coffee, I would want to know how each of you are doing? How is your writing going? Is the muse with you? That muse is sometimes hard to capture, isn’t she? I hope she is by your side and that you are doing well. When that happens, it is so gratifying.

I’ve not been blogging as much as usual. I’ve had a lot going on personally and I’ve been doing some dog training. My corgi, Tucker, is now seven months old and he’s been a difficult pup. Some days, I think he’s getting more difficult rather than less! But, seven months is a tough time for corgi pups, so I will be patient.

Now for my news. I’m going to be taking a bit of a break from this blog. I’ll be back off and on and will try to at least write this #weekendcoffeeshare on a regular or semi-regular basis. But, I’m going to dive headlong into a novel and I find, as I get older, that I don’t multitask as well as I used to. I just turned down a lucrative consulting contract because I very much want to write this novel. Writing the novel and taking care of the rest of my life is just about all I can handle at this point in my life. I may post some chapters off and on for you to read, but I won’t be blogging any flash fiction for a few months.

My novel, just to whet you appetite :), is historical fiction set in World War II. I’m lucky enough to have primary research at my disposal. It is romantic fiction and I honestly don’t know if it will turn out to be novel length or a novella. Publishing is changing with short fiction becoming ever so much more popular and serialized fiction even more popular. I’m not going to serialize this novel, but I may serialize my next book. Our audience is different than it used to be with shorter attention spans and busy lives. Instead of buying books, they tend to read on mobile devices.

I’d love to hear your comments as you are my writing buddies! This won’t be a complete sabbatical from this blog and I’ll hope to see you here on my #weekendcoffeeshare, but I will mostly be banging the keyboard on the novel. Please keep in touch. I would love to hear from you at any time at my email address which is carlson.rosemary@gmail.com. You can also reach me through my Facebook Author Page.

I wish all of you the best in your writing projects and life.

 

Rosemary

 

Thanks to eclecticali for hosting #weekendcoffeeshare!

Posted in Non-fiction, weekendcoffeeshare

#weekendcoffeeshare – 8/2/2018

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Hello everyone! Thank you for joining my #weekendcoffeeshare. I asked you to join me at the coffee shop this weekend instead of at my home because I have multiple projects going on at home and it is a cluttered mess! Maybe we can go back to my study next weekend. I’ve asked the manager to set up the coffee bar for you, so please help yourself to coffee or tea there. There should be a wide assortment for you.

If we were having coffee, I would ask you how your week was? Did you have a good week? Did you accomplish your goals? Here we are, suddenly, in early September! Where did the summer go? I’ve not enjoyed summer as much as I usually do largely because of the weather patterns here in the Ohio Valley. Instead of the beautiful, blue days we usually have in the summer, we’ve had beautiful blue days with extremely high humidity. This part of the Ohio Valley is always humid in the summer, but this year it has been exceptionally so. We’ve seldom had a day’s break from it. I’ve been reminded of the humidity in New Orleans, where, when you step outdoors, it feels like a heavy, hot, blanket has been dropped over you! I’ve felt trapped inside my house this summer!

For those of you in the Southern Hemisphere, you’ve been experiencing winter and I hope it hasn’t been too difficult. I find myself looking forward to fall and winter this year.

Oh, I have to tell you about a book I’m reading that I’ve fallen in love with and I don’t give book recommendations easily. I am writing a novella in the historical fiction genre; specifically set in World War II. The novel that I’m reading, called “Letters to the Lost” by Iona Grey is set in World War II in England. The author is masterful, She has wonderful characterization throughout the book and changes voice throughout. It’s a great novel to study those techniques, not to mention a wonderful read.

We’re still in puppy training mode at my house. I have a feeling we will be doing this for a long time to come! Tucker will be six months old on Wednesday! He is now a big gangly puppy, half again the size of the two Cardigan Welsh Corgis that I’ve had earlier in my life. He’s strong as an ox, sweet as a peach, and the most stubborn animal on the face of Planet Earth. 🙂 In some ways, his behavior is improving. We’re using all sorts of training methods to help him (and us!). I’m hoping that the slight improvements I see are the start of something good. He is still bouncing off the walls! He goes to puppy day care at our wonderful local kennel twice a week for purposes of socialization and he loves it. He plays with other puppies all day. At home, his best friend is a big frog who only comes out at night. They sit on our deck together. I’m desperately training to get a photo, but no luck yet.

I mentioned, in another #weekendcoffeeshare, that I was going to try #Schrivner when writing one of my books. Someone commented that she would like for me to post my comments about it, so I will. If you are a free writer – in other words, if you just sit down and start writing without much planning – Scrivener is probably not for you. It is writing software for the planner. If you are a planner of what you are going to write, then it doesn’t get much better than Scrivener, It gives you the structure in which to plan. I hope this helps.

Enough from here! How has your week been?

 

Thank you to Eclecticali Alli for hosting #weekendcoffeeshare!

Posted in weekendcoffeeshare

#weekendcoffeeshare -7/18/2018

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Good morning! Welcome to my #weekendcoffeeshare! Grab a cup of coffee or tea off the kitchen island. I believe there is also decaf of both there and some green tea. Help yourself to whatever your pleasure is and join me in my study.

I hope all of you are well and happy and getting along well with your writing projects. I’m proceeding with my novella and have had time to do some writing this week. I am working on the characters right now, fleshing them out, making them interesting. Do you use Scrivener? I am using it for my character studies as it seems really convenient for that, but I use Microsoft Word for my actual manuscript. This is the first time I’ve used Scrivener, so I’ll let you know how that goes. Do any of you have experience with that program?

I’ve also spent the week following the story about the environmental devastation in Florida. If you’re in the U.S., I’m sure you’ve heard about it. If you’re not, you may not. In short, the Gulf Coast of the Florida peninsula is being devastated by chemical runoff from the sugar cane operation around Lake Okachoobee. There was already a red tide on the Gulf Coast. Now, the runoff has caused a blue-green algae bloom that has caused a massive fish kill. Hundreds of sea turtles have been killed, which breaks my heart. Thousands of fish. This will impact the people of the Gulf Coast and their jobs for years to come.

We have a small place in Florida right in the middle of this runoff. We don’t think we can even go back except to get our belongings. Even then, it will be dangerous to our health. Tourism will be dead in Florida this coming winter which will destroy their economy. It’s very sad and unnecessary. I’m a bit of a political activist, so I’ve been involved in this during the week. A picture of the blue-green algae slime that is so toxic is below this post.

I’m also involved in trying to tame my wild puppy, Tucker! He’s so sweet, but completely out of hand at 5.5 months old. I’ve had five corgis in my life, but never a corgi with his temperament. I told my husband that his needs are above my pay grade! Together with his breeder, we’re trying to find a professional trainer for him. Not only will that be good for me, it will be good for Tucker. I have to be trained as well. I have to learn the secrets to controlling him and he has to learn to control himself. Herding dogs, like Tucker, are alphas by nature. After he’s trained, I want to involve him in something fun for him. I’m going to enter him in herding trials and let him do what comes naturally to him.

Environmental issues and character studies for my novella have been at the top of my list this week, along with dog training, of course. What have you been doing this week?

*Thanks to eclecticali for hosting #weekendcoffeeshare!

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