Yes, it's been a while...

... and no, nothing's happened. I was busy last weekend with second-draft changes in The Ash Spear before printing some copies for my proofreaders. Also I've mailed out the three copies of my first poetry book as part of my on-going promotional give-aways on LibraryThing, which I suppose I should have mentioned here sooner. I've also entered some pre-release information about Ash Spear here.

More blogging soon, I promise.

-GRG

Arwyddion cyntaf y gwanwyn / First signs of spring

Dim eira am fwy na wythnos nawr, a mae'r tywedd wedi bod yn cynnes ac yn sych. Roedd Chwefror 'ma un o'r pedwar sychaf yn fwy na can mlenydd. Dw i'n meddwl bod yn mynyddoed wedi cael digon o eira, ond mae pethau dim yn edrych yn dda am y ffermwyr. Mae'n rhaid iddyn nhw cael gwlybanieth y gwanwyn er bod yn posib am y gwenith gaeaf cael ei dyfu.

DDoe rhoais i ddwr i'r coed a'r rhosynnau yn yr ardd. Mae ychydig o twlips yn dod i fynny, ond dim crocis eto. Mi fydd amser i ddechrau y tomatos yn fuan.

Dw i'n gweithio o hyd ar yr ail draft Y Pren Onn - mae e'n ddod yn dda.

-----------------------------------------------------
No snow for more than a week now, and the weather has been warm and dry. February was one of the four driest in more than one hundred years. I think the mountains have got enough snow, but things are not looking good for the farmers. They need spring moisture for the winter wheat to grow.

Yesterday I watered the trees and roses in the yard. There are a few tulips coming up, but no crocus yet. It'll be time to start the tomatoes soon.

I'm still working on the second draft of The Ash Spear - it's coming well.

-GRG

Eira newydd / Fresh snow

Gawson ni tipyn o eira neithiwr - bron a ddwy modfedd a hanner - a mae popeth yn wyn y bore 'ma. Doedd dim olion yn yr ardd pan es i allan yn cyntaf, cyn i'r codiad yr haul, ond welais i olion y cadno yn y lon. Nawr mae lawer o olion traed colomen a gwiwer - a olion traed cath eto, wrth cwrs. Tynnais i sawl lluniau - bydda i'n postio un yn hwyrach... A dyma un.
----------------------------------------
We got a little snow last night - about two and a half inches - and everything is white this morning. There were no tracks in the yard when I first came out before sunrise, but I saw fox tracks in the alley. Now there are lots of pigeon and squirrel tracks - and cat tracks too, of course. I took some pictures - I'll post one later... and here's one.

-GRG

Quiet day

Yesterday was cold and gray, a good day for writing. Last night we had a little powdering of fresh snow and a heavy frost, but today's sunlight will soon remove that. This morning I'm celebrating finishing the first draft of Ash Spear; tomorrow it's back to work on revisions. But I should have more time to blog regularly now.

-GRG

I've done it!

The first draft of The Ash Spear is finished, a day or two sooner than I expected: 116,000 words and 310 pages, plus appendices.

Now I get to start on the revisions ;-)

-GRG

Only two more...

Only two more chapters to go before I will have finished the first draft of The Ash Spear. In the meantime, check out my chat on LibraryThing.

Update

I've finished chapter 28: only three more to go. It feels very strange to be approaching the end.

Numbers on the side-bar as always.

-GRG

Yma o hyd / Still here

Mae'n drwg gen i, dw i ddim wedi bod yn "blogi" ers y penwythnos. Ddecreais i un pennod arall nos Llun (neu roedd hi nos Sul?), ond mae lawer o bethau wedi bod yn digwydd. Gobeithio mi alla' i orffen Pennod 27 y penwythnos 'ma, ac efallai dechreu y pennod nesaf.

Mae'r penwythnos 'ma calan gwanwyn hefyd ... mwy ohoni hi yn fuan.
------------------------------------------
I'm sorry I haven't been blogging since the weekend. I started one more chapter Monday night (or was it Sunday night?), but lots of things have happened. I hope I can finish Chapter 27 this weekend, and perhaps start the next chapter.

This weekend is the first of spring too ... more about that soon.

-GRG

Yn araf / Slowly...

Dw i wedi gorffen pennod arall ddoe - dim ond pedair ar ol i ysgrifennu nawr.

Neithiwr mi es i'r Gwyl Dwynwen ein cymdeithias cymrieg leol. Roedd fel Noson Lawen, a mi ges i lawer o hwyl. Siaredais i stori wrth pawb, stori Tristfardd, bod yn fy llyfrau. Roedd lawer o ganu a dawnsio hefyd - noson da iawn.

------------------------------------

I finished another chapter yesterday - only four more to write now.

Last night I went to our local Welsh Society's Dwynwen's Festival. It was like a Noson Lawn, and I had a lot of fun. I told a story to everyone, the story of Tristfardd, which is in my books. There was lots of singing and dancing, too - a good evening.

-GRG

More progress...

And yet one more: 26 out of 31 done now. I was up till midnight with that one last night, but it was worth it...