Nano and Other Things by Bonnie Le Hamilton

 

As you know, this is November, better known to writers around the world as Nano. I am yet again trying to accomplish this challenge. For those of you who haven’t heard of National Novel Writer’s Month (better known as Nano) it is a challenge to write fifty thousand new words toward a new novel in the month of November.

It is a challenge, especially when you haven’t been writing regularly in the months leading up to this, but I did have an excuse most of the time. Not just my work schedule, but my old computer dying on me last month.

(Yes, folks, I have a new computer. Thankfully.)

Its nice that this computer will work with me, instead of fighting me. With my old computer, I had to hit buttons several times for it to do anything  at all, and it would take multiple times to highlight any text so I could copy it. (Let alone it wouldn’t highlight all of what I needed.) I was constantly taking longer just to get my post from word to our blogsite than to write it and that was driving me crazy, but I was trying to make do with it, because I didn’t want to spend any extra money right now.

In the end I didn’t have choice.

I needed a working computer.

And this one is fantastic!

Would you believe I can start to type some phrases and longer words and my computer will, on its own, fill in the rest. I just hit the tab key when it does that for me to skip to the next word. I’ve never seen anything like it before, but its great. Some of the longer words, I don’t need to try to remember how to spell it, the computer will do it for me!

On another note, I am doing great on the Nano. I reached the halfway point a few days ago and am on track to finish early (per my usual).

Of course, I have had some extra time on my hands since I stopped working at DI at the end of last month but the new program, I applied for has yet to place me in a position. So, I’ve all day to waste and I promise, while I am doing well with my writing, my screen time on my phone is way up too.

I really need to curb that.

Also need to wrap what Christmas presents I do have, figure out what I still need, and get those gifts going out of town shipped this month.

Does anyone have gift ideas for a few of the men on my list?

If it were Tom, I could manage. Mostly because he was good about giving me a wish list. But also because I have a knack for seeing things someone I know would love and, well, I think about that person. So, if I think about that person, it’s a great gift for them.

I just wish it would happen more often with men like my one sister-in-law’s husband, Claire’s husband, and well, Konnie’s husband and one son. The other one I hope I finally picked the right gift for him. I did think about him when I saw it. So, that is a good sign.

And it would be nice if I were better at finishing projects, because I did start a gift for Konnie’s husband a couple of years ago and I still haven’t finished it. Yeah, that’s me, started but never finished. Is it any wonder I have so many more unfinished WIPs and only a handful of finished WIPs?

I’m counting myself lucky I actually got to “the end” as many times as I have. By the way, I believe my number of finished WIPs is six, but don’t quote me on that, I’m not looking at my list and for once my computer isn’t helping me.

I’ll figure it out, new system and all.

And I would write more right now, but I do have other things to do. Like write my newest WIP.

Are you doing Nano this year?

If so, comment your username on the Nano site and I’ll make you one of my buddies.

My username is FaithfullSpirit2. Look me up.

Happy writing, everyone!

Of Jury Duty or Not by Konnie Enos

Quite recently my income earning, therefore tax-paying, not to mention registered voter, son received a jury summons.

When he got his mail that day he came to me ranting about being called and asking if he could just ignore it. Not a good idea. Jury duty is mandatory but what consequences you’ll receive for ignoring one differs by the jurisdiction it’s for, local, state, or federal. The consequences range from receiving another summons for a different date, up to criminal penalties, including fines and up to 180 days in jail.₁

I explained to him that it was his civic duty.

He was not happy as he grumpily left my room and I heard no more about it until several weeks later. When he again came to talk to me. “You guys might have to take Andrue into work Tuesday.”

“Why? Why aren’t you going to work that day?” Tony has been driving Andrue to work since Tony does have a driver’s license and a car. But now they are also both on the same shift. Not to mention how close Andrue lives to us.

“I don’t know if I’ll be working that day.”

“Why not? Are you sick or something?”

 “No. I might have to report for jury duty. I find out Monday.”

Oh, yeah. Been there. “Okay.”

As it turned out, he didn’t have to report to jury duty.

Then I recently read something else about the writer getting out of jury duty because they had a nursing baby. Now I’m not sure about all jurisdictions, but in some, taking care of small children, especially nursing said child, is an automatic exemption from duty.

Oregon is one state that does give this exemption.

I know, because technically I got it.

While we were living there, I received a jury summons (i.e. before our boys were born). In this particular jurisdiction, they requested you hold three specific months for possible service.

I looked over the paperwork. Among the exemptions to serving would be a hardship in some way or you were a nursing mother. Technically I wasn't nursing. However, my third child was due in the middle of those requested months. So I would be nursing. Then again, this was my third child. Not only that, but I provided childcare for my sister-in-law. So at some point, I’d have primary responsibility for five girls under 6. Three in diapers/pull-ups and one of those I’d be nursing.

I let them know all of the above.

I never heard from them again.

I also know you can be released from serving for extenuating circumstances. One of those is not currently living in the area where you are registered to vote, such as being away for college. In my case, the first time I ever received a jury summons, I had only been on my mission about a month when my mail from home caught up to me. Yeah, I wasn’t anywhere near my home state and couldn’t return for about a year and a half.

So I received a jury summons in my mid-twenties and again in my mid-thirties.

Now I’ve had people tell me they’ve had multiple jury summons and even served a few times. And that’s including that a federal summons will exclude you from being called for several years after you've served.

So as the years went by I wondered when I’d get called again.

Now, mind you. Unlike the majority of people I’ve heard talking about it, I’m not opposed to serving. And ‘third times the charm’ so I have always figured I’d serve eventually.

Well, in my mid-fifties, I did get that third summons. Okay, I’m completely available. Jerry could deal with any appointments or anything the kids needed while I was serving. I did the paperwork and was notified when I’d have to check to see if they still needed me. I discussed it with Jerry so he was prepared for me being busy during that time.

Then before I got another notice. I was no longer needed. Because I was willing to serve on a federal jury that still exempts me for at least a year. It’s been longer than that so I’m wondering when I’ll be called again since they’ve been so few and far between.

I had about a decade between my first two calls, and two decades between the second and third call. If my fourth call is three decades after the last one I’ll be in my mid-eighties when I get it. At this point, I’m wondering if I’ll ever serve on a jury.

How many times have you been called for jury duty? And thank a vet for their military service.

Smile. Make the day a brighter day.

Nano and Covid by Bonnie Le Hamilton

Nano (National Novel Writers Month) is finally here, and I finally have a brand-new computer! Yeah!

And I’m sure Konnie is cheering too. I can post this week for a change.

I can also access my notes and get to work on my Nano writing, which is even better. I have been stir-crazy this last week or so because I couldn’t so much as edit my sci-fi let alone prepare for Nano.

I might have been able to work on something, if I had hardcopy notes, but guess what, I didn’t. It’s way easier to type than to write longhand.

I’m so glad I finally have my new computer.

I just wish we could gather in person! I’m tired of only meeting on Zoom.

In-person is a lot more fun, but I guess I can put up with one more year of keeping my distance. After all, I do know Covid is real. I’ve lost family to it. The most recent was a week ago when an uncle of ours, and his wife both died of Covid.

Konnie called to let me know while I was shall we say, “otherwise occupied.”

When I noticed I missed a call from her, I called her and asked her why she was calling me so early in the morning.

Honestly, I should have realized it wasn’t good news.

Because of that call, I was running late for work, and then when I was finally on the road, I looked ahead to see a train blocking my path. For nearly a year I was working at DI (Deseret Industries) and I crossed those tracks every working day of that time both going to work and returning home. Never had I seen a train in all that time and now on the day I was running late, there’s a train!

I was thinking I’d have to call in and let them know how close I was (Close as in about a block away on the wrong side of the tracks.) and why I was going to be late when the train finally came to an end.

And the only reason I managed to clock in on time is that they give you a three-minute leeway. It was precisely 10:03 when I finally clocked in. My usual is to be three minutes early.

Not a good start.

At one point during the day, one of the other supervisors came into the area where I worked, and he didn’t seem all that happy, so I asked him how he was. He answered he was fine, then asked me how I was.

I let him know I wasn’t having a good day and even mentioned my uncle and aunt who had died the night before.

The supervisor immediately asked if they were from Pocatello, which they were, and he asked because a couple in the ward of one of the other supervisors had died of Covid the day before, just like my relatives.

Well, I have seen them on occasion, but I’ve never been to their place, I didn’t know what part of town they lived in. He asked me their names and went to find out who the other supervisor had lost.

Turns out, it was my uncle and aunt.

The other supervisor came by asking how I was related and asking about their kids and if they had grandkids, and I hadn’t seen the kids with spouses or children when I last saw them at our older aunt’s funeral.

But it gets worse, my supervisor came up to me after hearing about my loss and said, “He didn’t seem that old to me.”

Yeah, she knew him.

So, I spent most of the day talking to the bosses about my uncle and his wife, and about the fact that he was only five when Konnie and I were born.

Though this time it didn’t come up that he went to school with my husband, a fact which someone once remarked, “I thought he was quite a bit older than you.”

Excuse me? I’ve seen larger age gaps, so not even four years doesn’t seem all that much to me. I know couples who had ten or more years of age gaps. Starting with our father, whose second wife was ten years younger than him, and ten years older than Konnie and me.

And now I need to get going on my writing my Nano project! Are you doing Nano? What is your project? Mine is a romance, again. My usual.

Look me up on the Nano site. I am FaithfullSpirit2 on there.

Happy writing everyone and good luck with Nano!

 

Of Words and Surprises by Konnie Enos

 

I’ve enjoyed Reader’s Digest for well over forty years. I don’t remember the first issue I picked up, but I do know our stepmother had a subscription. One time, I picked up her copy and glanced through it, and enjoyed it so much that I got in the habit of reading it regularly.

Back then I rarely read all the articles but I did read all the humor sections and I’d read an interesting article or two. The “drama in real life” or a condensed story. I first read James Herriot in a Reader’s Digest magazine condensed story.

For years I just read my stepmother’s copies and when I wasn’t in the house for college etc. I just waited until I got back home then skimmed through all the past issues I could find.

Not long after I got married, I got my first subscription and I’ve had it ever since.

I was still only reading the parts that interested me. I’m not even sure when I started reading more but eventually, the Reader’s Digest coming in meant I was spending at least a day consuming it from cover to cover.

As the magazine got lighter (they print fewer pages in each addition now) I was able to read through them in less and less time. Now, I don’t spend a solid block of time reading it but the amount of time I need to consume each issue is only two or three hours depending on how “heavy” their articles are.

When I first started reading it, I might glance at the “Word Power” section and maybe spend a few minutes trying to get the correct meaning but often it meant that I had to “peak” at the answers. But I got older I was finding I needed to peak less often so I started marking my guesses and then seeing if I got those I guessed at correct.

Eventually, I got to where I was marking (or now that I have a digital subscription, writing down) all my responses then turning to the answers and seeing how I did. As a rule, I miss three or four of them though I do remember a few times missing six. There aren’t many times that I missed less than three nor more than five so I was always “middle of the pack” by their score chart.

I’ve always felt I was doing pretty well since I only have an average vocabulary, despite living with a living, breathing, walking, talking dictionary for all those years. (I mean Jacki did try to increase our vocabulary but I never bothered to retain anything I wasn’t using regularly.)

So what brought all this up?

I was reading my most recent issue of Reader’s Digest and finally got to the last pages where “Word Power” is. I read the caption first.

Oh, great. Science. Since that isn’t my strongest subject, I figured my limited knowledge in that department wasn’t going to help my final score. Even the proclamation that the words were also used outside of labs didn’t boost my confidence.

First word. It’s easy. Who doesn’t know that?

Second word. Well, duh.

Okay, they should get harder as we go.

Third word. Really. You’re going to make it that easy?

I continued. For each word, I either knew the answer or it was super easy to figure it out from the available choices, as in only one made sense. Then I got to one that stumped me a bit because I knew one meaning of the word, but it has nothing to do with the scientific use of the word and I wasn’t sure which of the choices to pick. I could make a case for all the possible answers being correct so I made a guess, knowing I was probably wrong because my rate of correct guesses is pretty low. The last few words I was sure I knew the meaning of.

Now I was really curious about the outcome because I had only questioned one answer. I was certain I knew the other answers, but I’d been wrong before.

I turned the page and checked my answered one by one circling each answer on my paper that I’d gotten correct. As I circled I was thinking, see I knew that, or that was easy to figure out.

Then I got to the one I did guess at. Guess what. I was right.

The outcome?

For the first time in my life, I got a full 15 correct answers. It has got to be the easiest Word Power yet. Either that or I know a great deal more “science” words than I thought.

Smile. Make the day a brighter day.

Apologies by Konnie Enos

Our apologies but we will be unable to get a new post up this week. Bonnie's computer issues are beyond her limited resources to fix or even replace at this time and she hasn't got the means to even write a post, let alone get it on the internet. She is looking for a temporary solution but she hasn't been able to fix it this week.

In other circumstances, I would make the effort to write something for her, but between my college classes and some pain I'm currently experiencing in my arms (I have no idea what's going on, but the carpal tunnel braces are helping), I am unable to manage it.

I will put all my effort into getting a new post up next week and then hopefully Bonnie will have found a solution, however temporary it might be, to her computer issues so she can do her posts going forward.

Smile. Make the day a brighter day.

 

Of Late Night Muses and Desperation by Konnie Enos

 Jerry decided to go to bed early but I was still doing school work and attempting to make sure I’d completed all I could for one day. I also knew I needed to write this post so after closing everything for school work I went searching for ideas. While I was thus engaged, and Jerry was now snoring beside me, someone knocked on our bedroom door.

Now it’s not uncommon for our kids to come into our bedroom for various reasons but while our girls will knock when it’s closed, our boys generally don’t. And at that hour it wasn’t likely to be the girls but my first inclination was they would just come in because as far as I knew it was unlocked.

Then I heard the distinct rattle of someone attempting to open a locked door.

Wonderful. He locked it and now he’s fast asleep.

Now you have to understand because I’m a full-time student I was half-buried in books for my classes, and had most of my tech around me. But most importantly was my computer on my bed table in front of me.

The first step, push my computer away from me.

The second step, make sure none of my paraphernalia is going to fall off the bed or otherwise make a mess or get lost somehow. Jerry is good at burying things under blankets, pillows, and such. Or simply knocking them off the bed. If it also ends up under the bed I may not find it for a while.

Of course, while I’m still moving things so I can get up, whoever is at the door knocks again.

“Give me a minute.”

Third step, the whole turning to get my legs off the side of the bed, sliding to get my feet on the floor, and pulling me up to a standing position. I generally manage this by pulling on the handles to my closet doors.

The fourth step, maneuver clear across the room, past two dogs who are more intent on seeing who is at the door than they are at getting out of my way so I can reach the door. I shove past them while realizing that my bladder knows I’m moving. For some reason, it thinks my moving is the time to empty. I’m hoping I’ll be able to get to the bathroom in time.

I get the door unlocked and Tony walks in. He has a transportation issue and wonders if he can have our car tomorrow.

I aim for the bathroom as quickly as I can. “Someone has an appointment tomorrow so no. Talk to dad.” I shut the bathroom door and quickly take care of business while he wakes Jerry up enough to talk to him.

That solves Tony’s issue and Jerry went right back to snoring.

It did not solve my issue.

I still have a post to write. My idea bank is too low to tap and my muse likes abandoning me when I need them the most. I decided to check just one notification on Facebook.

I don’t know why I even attempted that. It is never just one notification. Facebook is nothing more than a rabbit hole and sensible people should avoid it when they have deadlines to meet. I suppose this means I’m not sensible.

Now, a couple of hours later, I’m officially up way too late again. I weighed my options.

Option one, get right to bed and wake up by five so I have time to write and post before this has to be up. The downside is this means not getting enough sleep.

Option two, quickly figure out an idea and write a post then go to bed, preferably after I also set it up so I can sleep until seven or even seven-thirty. Might not be enough sleep but certainly more than getting up at five.

Thankfully desperation seems to help the muse do its job.

Thus inspired I begin typing. Fortunately, I know touch typing and my words per minute are decent. I can fill three pages in about half an hour as long as my muse is still cooperating.

Now it is closer to the morning than the middle of the night and my head doesn’t like the fact I’m still awake. Though I’m almost free to get some rest.

All I have to do now is choose a title, choose a picture to accompany it, edit the whole thing so it makes sense, then get it scheduled to go live at the appointed hour.

It’s wonderful how desperation can inspire you to work quickly.

Oh, happy day of birth to my beautiful new granddaughter, Aria Danielle Plagmann, born Monday, October 11^th.

Smile. Make the day a brighter day.

Long Hair and Other things by Bonnie Le Hamilton

(Bonnie is still having computer issues so she finally set this to me so I could post it. I had to take time from my school work to do so. Again, sincere apologies for being so late.)

A couple of times in this last week, I went out with my hair down, and both times someone commented on my beautiful long hair then asked how I take care of it.

Huh? What is so hard about taking care of long hair? And my hair isn’t that long; barely even past my shoulder blades, not to my waist, yet. I believe Konnie’s hair is longer, and I know that one of her daughters has way longer hair!

But the point is, it doesn’t require special care beyond putting it up in a braid or ponytail at night. Washing might take a little more shampoo, but it's still shampoo. And it’s still conditioner too. Why would anyone think it takes special care to have long hair?

I have had both long and short hair, and I have seen no difference other than ponytails and braids are out when your hair is short.

Honestly, asking about how to take care of long hair is as ridiculous as asking, “What’s it like to be a twin?”

No. It's worse. Because anyone can grow their hair long or cut it off short. I’ve had both hairstyles, anyone can. But I can’t know what it is like not to be a twin, because no matter what, I am a twin.

I’ve said this before.

I do have other siblings, but my relationship with them, somewhere in there, includes that I have a doppelganger right in my own family. It includes that someone else in my family shares my exact same birthday.

I’d say about the only people who see me as a unique individual don’t know about Konnie.

Sure, we have different personalities and different temperaments, but we are alike in so many things. And let’s not forget the mirror opposite part.

We are so alike that growing up I couldn’t stand when Mr. Rogers sang, “You are special, you’re the only you, . . .”

Hate to break it to you, sir, but my look-alike is sitting next to me.

Of course, Mr. Rogers couldn’t see through the TV and I don’t think he ever dealt with the issue of identical twins. At least I don’t remember any such episode. Then again, I didn’t watch Mr. Rogers that often because I hated that song!

Sure, there is only one Bonnie, but Bonnie and Konnie look an awful lot alike!

Which reminds me of a story I once read in Reader’s Digest. It was about a set of identical twins who both worked for the same company (ergo they wore the same uniform) and at one point some tourist quizzed both of them on their upbringing, where they were born and such, and he insisted they memorized rote answers to the questions because they said the same thing!

They were identical twins.

Konnie and I can do share vital stats. Ours were identical until we graduated from high school and subsequently got married and started having children. But come on, we were born in the same hospital, in the same town, on the same day, to the same parents! We also went to all the same schools, right up until Konnie switched colleges, but we didn’t start attending college at the same time because I stayed home for a year after graduating from high school to help out while our stepmother went back to school to become an RN.

But, since we were behind in school, that meant for the twenty years of our life our information was pretty much identical unless you count that we didn’t take all the same classes.

And we did have different experiences.

It was Konnie, not me, who had trouble with her locker mate in seventh grade; my problem that year was an over-amorous 9^th grader who seemed to think both of us were me until he finally saw us together!

In 8^th grade, the issue was a guy I knew saying hi to who he thought was me, and of course, Konnie ignored him. I’ve told that story before.

And that year I also had trouble with a teacher, who insisted on assigning seating, and refused point-blank to change from an alphabetical arrangement when that put me in the back of the room!

He insisted that since I do wear glasses, I shouldn’t have a problem seeing from back there. I tried to point out I was the shortest student in the class, but he refused to listen to me. That is until he caught me leaning out into the aisle to see what he was writing on the board.

Not that he figured out the issue even then. He didn’t get it until I pointed to row in front of me, saying, “They’re all taller than me!”

And my classmates took my side.

Anyway, happy writing everyone!