What's Up Wednesday- October 22nd

Unexpected Road Trip Edition

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop geared toward readers and writers, allowing us to touch base with blog friends and let them know what's up.  Should you wish to join, check out Jaime's or Erin's lovely blogs and sign up with the link widget at the bottom of the post.

WHAT I'M READING

Most of my "reading" was via audiobook this week, as I spent 18 hours in a car with a cat. (more on that later) But after listening to DAUGHTER OF SMOKE & BONE, Boy Chris announced that a "Chimera would be a way cool Halloween costume" Hehehe..If you remember from last week, that was my ulterior motive..to spur him into a Halloween costume that wasn't "Pseudoscience" or some other abstract concept. I am diabolical people. Diabolical. (Have Horns Will Travel)

WHAT I'M WRITING

Very little actual writing done this week. But we did brainstorm on our collaborative project. (which coincidentally has Chimera in it) *wink* And we talked over some plotting stuff for my Nano project. I made copious notes. We'll see if I can read them later.

WHAT WORKS FOR ME

Brainstorming sessions with people who are excited about what I'm writing and have good ideas. I have awesome people in my life who support all my crazy ideas. That is a priceless thing.

WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO 

A series of unfortunate events, which I am deliberately saving you from hearing about, resulted in a very impromptu road trip to Alabama this week. And when I say "impromptu", I mean shove your toothbrush in a backpack, grab the cat and hit the road. But despite all the last minute scramble, and the fact that we packed 8 soy yogurts and no spoons, it was actually a very lovely drive. The Deep South, is a strange mixture of old and new. I love the tiny towns, dilapidated shacks by the roadside, cotton fields, pecan orchards, little white churches and silent, dark rivers lined with stately trees. In some places, the cotton, around harvest time, escapes the back of the trucks and drifts up along the roadside like snow. 

We had a contest for the craziest billboard. There were many contenders, both hand painted and otherwise. But if you take the average of all of them the general message is that "the second coming is now so you should buy boiled peanuts at the next exit". 

Clockwise from top: Fall leaves in Chris' parents' woods; Lotus blossoms on Paine's Prairie FL (I want to bring my kayak next time because paddling through acres of lotus blossoms *happy sigh*; Pitcher Plants (also on Paine's Prairie); Spartacus the best traveling cat in the world, sitting on my lap in the sun (18 hours in the car & he didn't make a peep); Cool mural in Georgia; Cotton fields for miles and miles.

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