In Between NaNo

In between attempting to write 50,000 new words during the month of November for this thing called National Novel Writing Month (NaNo) that I now fondly refer to as National Are You Out Of Your Blasted Mind Month, here’s a rundown of some of the other stuff that’s been happening in the Purcell house:

-Macy figured out how to get the lid off the bone jar. Go figure. The dog that doesn’t enjoy food, rarely begs (unless it’s cheese or cheese by-product or semi-related to dairy), and turns her nose up if her dog food is even remotely stale has made a game out of trying to snatch extra bones from the jar. I’m pretty certain Alice is paying her off to do the deed.

-I recently had my palm read by a psychic palm reader. I was at Nervous Dog Coffee Bar (best beans in Akron!) with fellow writers and friends, Cristy and Suzanne. There was a palm reader looking for palms so we supplied her with ours. Long story short, she told me I’m stuck on my novel and she was fuzzy on potential for publication; I apparently have “healing hands”; I eat well except I should be downing cod liver oil to lubricate my joints and muscles; I should by no means run outdoors at the beginning of January; I need to call on my grandmother Cass when I’m stuck on the aforementioned unpublished novel; and I get distracted easily. ‘Natch. Oh, and I have no past lives and no spiritual guides like Crisy and Suzanne. I feel jipped!

-The psychic palm reader picked up that Dave was feeling “grumpy.” Really what he was feeling was strep throat. Dr. Dave needs your sympathy votes as he recovers.

-The psychic palm reader also didn’t pick up that I was obssessing over a hot pair of Nike Air Pegasus 25th Anniversary Special Edition running shoes. After being denied the shoes at Second Soul because they have been waiting for the shipment of these special shoes since early October, I received a call the next day from the store saying that the shoes had just arrived. I’m now the proud owner of a sporty grey pair with a ”plum” swoosh. Very Chariots of Fire. Very 1985. Like my hair.

-Speaking of the 80s, my friend Cristy is on the hunt for a wicked 80s costume for her husband’s work party. If you’ve got vintage 80s gathering dust in your closet, help a sistah out!

-I’m woefully behind in word count on this NaNo adventure. I’ve already cheated by using some old words from a short story I’ve never finished that fit in with the new words. I could cheat by using all the new words I write for work every day but I’m not sure my characters would appreciate that. The good news is, the act of writing every day, regardless of word counts, is good for helping Amy get her groove back on. Groovy.

-I raked approximately 18,423,567 leaves from the back yard. Three tarp loads later and they’re all in the street where the very kind leaf picker-upper guys are hauling them away to make mulch or some such with them. If leaves were words, I’d be in better shape with NaNo. Where’s my magic wand when I need it? Maybe I should write fantasy instead.

-I’m even more seriously behind in my Fall Hiking Spree walks. Gotta do five more walks before the month ends or I won’t get my shield. Must get shield. Must get shield. The shield has a cute cartoon chipmunk on it this year. I cannot be denied the chipmunk.

-Apparently, not only am I easily distracted, I also volunteer myself for too much, though the volunteer effort for Gift of Sight this week in Cleveland is well worth my time. Gift of Sight volunteers, including me, will be helping thousands of kids see better all week at the Quicken Loans Arena.  

-If you’re looking for some good new music, check out Joseph Arthur and the Lonely Astronauts, currently in constant rotation in the Purcell iTunes. Have I mentioned how much I dig the genius shuffle option on iTunes? It’s my new favorite thing, almost as favorite as my new Nike Air Pegasus running shoes.

-I went to The Gap and bought Dave some clothes. A jacket and two sweaters. I purchased nothing for myself. Either I’m the picture of restraint or I experienced a break in sanity.

-Blueberry Muffin Shredded Wheat? Two thumbs up.

-We’ve been watching The Wire non-stop. In fact, for the first time in our 18-year marriage, we watched back-to-back episodes of a television series. We. have. never. repeat. never. done. this. It’s monumental, folks. We love us some Wire. Seasons 1 and 2 are behind us - it’s on to Season 3.  

-House project of the month: paint the downstairs office area and put up some bookshelves. Big question of the month: what color to paint. I spent two days studying color chips and waffling between Corn Husk Green and Caramelized Orange. Green won out and Orange is being saved for the attic. My designing diva sister Mary and I decided we want jobs naming colors. How fun would that be?

And now that I’ve spent my NaNo writing time blogging instead of writing new words, I’m even more behind than I was yesterday. But I love a crushing deadline so it’s all good.