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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13 comments:

  1. I still haven't read Daughter of Smoke and Bone - I need to get on that! It sounds like you had a really nice drive, and I hope the series of unfortunate events that propelled you into the trip have all been sorted out. Have a lovely week!

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    1. I highly recommend the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series. Imaginative and fun. And thanks for the well-wishes. Hope you have a lovely week too!

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  2. Sounds like a fun trip! :) A collaborative project involving a chimera sounds awesome!

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    1. We thought about doing the collaborative project for NaNo, but that miiight be pushing it. Still, all the brainstorming made the 18 hours in the car fly by.

      Hope you have a great week!

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  3. Love the pictures you shared. I read Daughter of Smoke & Bone - I got to hear Laini Taylor speak at my local library and she was great, so I bought her book. I enjoyed it a lot. Have a great week, Kris!

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    1. Thanks Rachel! And that's very cool that you got to hear her speak. Sometimes it's easy to forget that books have real people behind them, even when you're a writer yourself. ;)

      Hope you have a great week too!

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  4. These pictures are awesome! And wow - I can't imagine throwing all my stuff in the car and just going, but sounds like a great trip! And yay to chimeras! Have a great week!

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    1. Thanks! And I'm getting far better at 'fly by the seat of your pants' travel. Usually, I'm a planner, but some of my best/favorite adventures have been accidental. :)

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  5. Spartacus is awesome, no question about it :)

    I've never been farther south than Richmond VA so I'm pretty much the worst Southerner and traveler ever.

    Hope this week involves less time in the car and more Halloween planning!

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    1. Spartacus thanks you for your compliment. He says you're pretty awesome too. ;)

      And mawr Halloween planning... always. I was out in the dark last night testing out glowing animal eyes for the "forest"...and building a bat mobile.(mobile of bats, not car) Today, I'm building a life-size wolf head, painting white stage antlers and making birch trees for the walls.Yup. Mawr Halloween planning For The Win. :)

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  6. omggg what gorgeous gorgeous photos from your roadtrip. I'm sorry about the series of unfortunate events :( but you painted such a beautiful landscape when you spoke about the journey -- the drive must have been quite something.

    <3

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  7. So happy to hear that Boy Chris came around to the Chimera costume. That will definitely make your Halloween that much cooler. :-) Those photos from your roadtrip are gorgeous! I haven't been to the south since I was a kid (we drove from Ontario to Florida and hit a bunch on the way there and back), but I remember being fascinated by so many things. So much beauty and history. I laughed out loud at the craziest billboard thing. So funny and weird! Hope you're having a great week, Kris!

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  8. Wow, a chimera totally would be an awesome Halloween costume! You go! Your pictures are awesome and now I want to head south. :) Have a great weekend!

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