There was a lot going around Chez Greene in the last week.
First up, almost snow on the farm. We were sent photos of snow - just a light dusting - about a 10 minute drive away but nothing at our place. It was cold though - apparent temperatures of minus 5 and 6. We have a very shy group of cows on this year - most have calved, but as you can see by the photo above, the babies are doing great. That's them checking out the trough. Their mothers were hiding in the trees. Then there was the Pluto Flyby - I was glued to Twitter watching it unfold. Funny, because when they launched New Horizons in January 2006, it was another two months before Twitter was developed and another six months before it was launched. That's how long it takes to get to Pluto. I think I need some serious world building for my interplanetary series I'm writing, because everyone would be dead by the time they get where I'm sending them. And last, but by no means least - Home For Christmas finalled in the Romance Writers of Australia Ella Competition for novellas published in 2014. What a lovely surprise. I've added the other finalists to my to-be-read pile and am looking forward to finishing their works before I see them in Melbourne in August. I'm signed up for an online course on using Tarot for writing inspiration and I wanted to get my first set of Tarot cards.
Look what I found - Steampunk Tarot! The artwork is spectacular and already, after just one lesson I can see they are going to come in really handy. Ok, so here is my "famous" Butterscotch Brownie recipe. This is one of the favourites around my place, and once you've tasted it you'll see why.
Melt 60g butter with 1 cup of brown sugar till smooth. Add a generous teaspoon of vanilla, and cool, then add 1 pre-scrambled egg and a pinch of salt (optional). Stir in 1/2 cup SR flour and 3/4 cup coconut. Spread into a slice tin, smooth top and bake at 180 degrees C for 20-25 mins. Happy baking! So how are those goals going? I'm midway through the year, so the pressure's on.
1. Futuristic in Edit - First 3 chapters submitted. Watch this space! 2. Year of the Novel - I've done a lot of pre-writing - the plotting and thinking about scenes, but I parked this work (contemporary, sweet) to get the futuristic off. Now that's done, I'm back in full force AND I'm committing to writing a minimum of 20000 words in July. 3. Writing Day - I'm keeping it, but some days (like today) I've taken some time away for other things. Still writing though. And I completed some online courses on setting, scene and characters which were valuable. 4. Running - I can run 4km without stopping, dying after or being so stiff I can't run again for a week. That's progress, although my weekly totals are still a bit grim. 5. Balance - Some days I wonder if I'm going to spend the rest of my days juggling commitments. Probably. But its getting there. This week I spent a day at the farm. The above photo is the river, which flooded again in April/May and is now flowing steadily at a depth of about 30cm. I'm standing on the sandbagged bank restoration from last year, so that's a positive - its still there. Sadly :-( it does need some repairs, and the other side now needs bagging as well. The never-ending work at the river. All in all, June was a good month for my goals. |
Fiona Greene AuthorWhen you set out on a journey and night falls, that's when you will discover the stars." Archives
November 2022
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