Update #2 - December 2024

 Slow progress again - still plodding intermittently through chapter 19. Not a busy weekend ahead, so I hope to finish it soon, before I get bogged down again with holidays and Oak Leaves. The weather looks better too - no snow in the forecast for a while. It will probably wait for Christmas / New Year's. The last snow storm was very cold, but we only got an inch or two, most of which disappeared after a couple of sunny days.

Happy winter holidays to anyone who reads this. At least I'm getting my Thursday posts done on Thursday this week! :)

Update #1 - December 2024

 Slow progress, but that's better than none. I spent one morning rereading part of Flight of the Hawk, the second Storyteller book, which takes Gwernin and Neirin to Scotland. This was because Fráechán was asking Neirin about Druidic ceremonies he had seen among the Picts. This chapter (# 19) is called "A Little Teaching", and Fráechán is preparing Neirin and Mael for a visit to Oweynagat. 

The weather has been mild this week for December; most of the previous snow which isn't in shaded places has melted, although we may get a little more Sunday night. I spent yesterday taking Ruay to the vet for his annual exam and booster shots -- important because he spends part of the day outside, and sometimes, er, interacts with one of the neighborhood cats (not in a friendly fashion, let's say!). Then I spent most of the rest of the day doing assorted errands. I'm hoping
today will be more productive, writing-wise.

Update #4 - November 2024

 Finally started getting a little writing done this week. We got a little snow yesterday - maybe a couple of inches following some rain - so there's no temptation to do yard work today. So far I've got about a third of chapter 19 ("A little teaching") done, and have an idea of what needs to be in the rest of it. After that Gwernin and friends will be moving on to Oweynagat in the next chapter.

Rowen and I and a couple of friends celebrated an early Thanksgiving last weekend at her house, so the friends could celebrate today with their family members. Among other things we had roast duck, and I made a cheesecake. Good food, good wine, good company. May everyone reading this have as pleasant a Thanksgiving today!

Update #3 - November 2024

 Another week without much writing progress. I decided I needed a database of character names from my books, and especially from the last three involving Ireland - The Fallen Stones, The King's Druid, and what I've written so far in The Well of Wisdom. I am trying not to use the same name for different people - at least important ones. Common names for secondary characters are less of a problem. I realized a while back that I'd used the name "Fedelmid" for both Togi's chief Druidic teacher in Ireland and Fráechán's magical teacher and predecessor as Archdruid, but since there was 500 years between them, and it was a popular name in early Ireland, "borne by mythological and historical figures, kings, saints, and many exalted ancestors in genealogies", according to the Oxford Dictionary of Celtic Mythology (one of my name sources), so that's okay. I hope to make more progress on chapter 19 soon, once that's done.

In other developments, my neighbor on the south asked Sunday if he could take some branches off the fence-line elm tree which was overhanging his power line due to the snow, and I said, take what you want, I'm thinking of having the whole tree removed, and could you take some branches off on my side which are on my lines while you're at it? The upshot was that he took the whole tree down in pieces, and I have been spending a couple of hours a day reducing big branches into smaller pieces for large item pickup Monday. I'm going to have all the firewood I need for quite a while!

Update #2 - November 2024

 The last week was somewhat chaotic, to say the least, which is why I'm writing my Thursday post on Saturday. Last weekend involved three days of snow shoveling in order to get out of the drive and attend the last farmers' market on Sunday, and another day's work removing a lot of the plum tree which was blocking the front walk due to the snow having bent it over. After that I tidied up chapter 18, and got a little writing done on chapter 19 - about 700 words. 

Then on Wednesday evening my furnace developed problems (it was doing something called "short cycling", where it repeatedly tries to start and then stops), and it started to get rather cold in here. I managed to schedule a repairman for Friday afternoon. Thursday I went out and ran various errands, including buying a second little electric heater like the one I keep in the bathroom. The repairman arrived as scheduled on Friday, rapidly diagnosed the problem (a gadget which tells the furnace if it is getting enough air had died), located, fetched, and installed the replacement part, and did a complete evaluation of the furnace using a bunch of high-tech instruments. (The rest of the furnace checked out fine.) This all took a little over two hours, and was not inexpensive, but now the house is warm again, and I can try and figure out what day it is <grin>, and hopefully start writing again!

Update #1 - November 2024

 I didn't mind dark days when I lived in Juneau, but now I miss the sunlight when I don't have it. A little of it this afternoon is nice. We've had - 7? 8? 9? - inches of snow over the last couple of days, with more in tomorrow's forecast. Winter has come down on us like a wolf on the fold, after the last 3 or 4 dry months and a mild autumn.

I more or less finally finished chapter 18 Tuesday, although it will need a little tweaking. In the latter part of it, Fraechan tells us a little more of what happened to him during and after his last creation of the Druid Fence. It was worse than what he told Gwernin et al in The Fallen Stones, and he only survived due to King Suibne's folk aiding him and taking him back to their camp, and later to their rath for healing. King Diarmait would have left him to die on the hillside after his magic failed.

I should get more written soon, when I'm not shoveling snow!

Update #5 - October 2024

 Heavy frost this morning and 25 degrees F. Rather appropriate for the night before Samhain. I was sad to see frozen morning glory blossoms, but they had a good run. 

Very little writing in the last week. I've had some other priorities, including a last minute emissions test and getting license plate tabs for the truck, as this was the end of the grace month. They've changed the system again, sigh, but next year I can do it on line again. Preparation for the Retreat resulted in my being later than usual. I've also spent time preparing for this morning's frost. I should finally get back to serious writing soon.

Update #4 - October 2024

 First frost here this morning. 30 degrees F, light frost on roofs and a little in the middle of the yard, thin ice on the high birdbath, but to my surprise the morning glories are still blooming. They should have a few more days, but that will be it - our usual Halloween snowstorm is due Tuesday or Wednesday. 

I finally got a little writing done yesterday afternoon -  only 175 words, including some editing, but it's a beginning. It will probably take me a while to get going again, since I had about a two months' break due to Oak Leaves and our Rocky Mountain Retreat, including writing a book review and creating a PowerPoint presentation for the Retreat on prehistoric rituals in British and Irish caves and passage tombs. The latter subject is actually quite pertinent for this book <grin>. 

I also have to make sure place descriptions match those in The Fallen Stones, since Gwernin is going back to the North, along the same route but in a clockwise fashion this time. In the process he's meeting people we've seen before, and finding out what has happened with them in the last six years. Fráechán is traveling with the group, and we're hearing more about his experiences, too. And Gwernin's twelve year old son Ianto is developing unexpected talents. All in all, things are getting interesting.

Update #3 - October 2024

 No writing in the last week either, but our October Rocky Mountain Retreat is this weekend, and after that I can get back to Gwernin and company <grin>. The last month has been busy, busy, busy, but I'll have pretty much free time to write until mid December, and I'm looking forward to it.

Autumn is definitely here, and we are approaching Winter's doorstep. Leaves are turning gold and falling, especially on the ash trees. I may have the first frost tomorrow night, so the geraniums and rosemarys will go back in the garage today. Some of the morning glorys may survive the weekend, but I wouldn't bet on it. Garden cleanup will probably start soon.

Update #2 - October 2024

 Again, no writing progress, sigh. Some work on my presentation for the October Retreat, and am beginning to panic on that front. When it's over, however, I expect to get back to Gwernin and company. At this rate I might publish the book by Samhain next year...

On the other hand, we're having pleasant autumn weather - mild to warm days, cool to cold nights. No frost yet, and I hope it doesn't arrive over the retreat weekend, as I don't want to bring the geraniums in before I have to - they are happy in the cold frame, and two of them are blooming.