Standing Into Danger: 2020

Thursday, December 31, 2020

Bring on the New Year!

Just hours to go until the new year arrives in Colorado.

Bring it on!

I hope it is a much better year for all of us!

I had a long and unplanned hiatus from blogging.

I'm sorry about disappearing without warning.

I'll try not to do it again.

As 2020 ends, I am grateful for all the good that it brought.

Yes, it has been a tragic year, but there was much good with the bad:

love, kindness, generosity, heroism, strength, and courage.

So far Terry's and my extended families and friends have survived the pandemic.

No one has died, even if there has been illness, medical issues,

lost jobs and/or income, and deferred dreams.

We're all hanging in there with great hope for the future.

The Covid vaccines have arrived in Colorado, and I am eligible to get the shots.

The rollout has been a confusing mess.

Terry has been doing everything he can to get me vaccinated,

but there is little apparent information, planning, or process.

Who is this Terry, phoning hospitals, the press, our state representative,

and the governor? I've never seen him like this before.

He's been too worried about me in recent weeks,

and this is something he can tackle.

I'm lucky to be loved by such a good man!

Santa Thinks He's Good Too!

Christmas Morning, 2020

We did have a lovely Christmas filled with FaceTime and Zoom,

Champagne, and great food.

Special Bubbly for a Different Christmas!

Christmas Morning, 2020

Bubbly, A New Robe, and a Book of Ojibway Meditations

It doesn't get any better!

Christmas Morning, 2020

Chilling at Home

Christmas Morning, 2020

Our Tree Topper

Doves from our Wedding Reception,

the gift of my Maid-of-Honor

who died far too young.

Christmas Morning, 2020

Always Front and Center

The Reindeer Made by Our Beloved Niece Deidre

when she was in kindergarten.

Christmas Morning, 2020

I Love Christmas!!!

Christmas Morning, 2020

Wishing each of you a healthy and happy new year!

I'll be visiting around tomorrow!

Till next time ~
Fundy Blue

On the Bay of Fundy
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved

Wednesday, December 2, 2020

It's the first Wednesday of the month,
the day that members of the
Insecure Writer's Support Group
share their writing struggles
and writing successes
and offer their encouragement
and support to fellow writers.

To visit the IWSG website, click here.

To become a member of the IWSG, click here.

Our wonderful co-hosts who are volunteering today,
along with IWSG Founder Alex J. Cavanaugh are Pat Garcia, Sylvia Ney, Liesbet @ Roaming About, Cathrina Constantine, and Natalie Aguirre!

I hope you have a chance to visit today's hosts and thank them for co-hosting.
I'm sure they would appreciate a visit and an encouraging comment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Every month the IWSG announces a question that members can answer
with advice, insight, a personal experience, or a story in their IWSG posts.

Or, the question can inspire members
if they aren't sure what to write about on IWSG Day.

Remember the question is optional.
This month's featured question is:

Are there months or times of the year that you are more productive with your writing than other months, and why?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy December, Everyone!

I hope that you and your loved ones are safe, healthy, and happy.

My productivity as a writer depends on what life throws at me

and on the state of my frequently perplexing computer.

November? Nuff said (LOL)!

I did participate in NaNoWriMo for the first time and accumulated 51,410 words.

However, I was not working on a novel, I was working on my memoir.

My manuscript is a mess, and I still have lots of material to add;

but, NaNoWriMo served its purpose in getting me going again.

So, I'll claim that winner's badge and keep moving forward.

Congratulations to anyone else who participated and survived.

Onward and upward as you continue with your WIP.

Walking outdoors has kept me sane during this hectic month.

Inspiration!

Aurora, Colorado

November 23, 2020

I wish each of you a wonderful holiday season, however you celebrate.

Please, please be careful and safe!

Terry and I will be celebrating Christmas by ourselves at home,

but the day will be filled with FaceTime and telephone calls with the people we love.

Hopefully, we'll be together for real in the coming year.

Those long, bear hugs are going to feel so good!

Seasons Greetings!

Aurora, Colorado

November 30, 2020

Happy Writing in December!

Till next time ~
Fundy Blue

Friday, November 20, 2020

A Baker's Dozen of Math Funnies

I'm sorry that I have been missing in action.

The past ten days have raced by,

as Covid has struck in multiple spots in our neighborhood,

and a shoulder injury, medical and dental appointments,

and computer woes have absorbed my time.

Time to escape into some funny math jokes to distract myself

and hopefully bring you chuckle or smile.

Hope is on the horizon. We just have to hang tough a little longer.

Happy Thanksgiving on Thursday to all my American friends and family!

I'm looking forward to catching up with everyone.

Till next time ~
Fundy Blue

On the Bay of Fundy
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved

Wednesday, November 4, 2020

IWSG: Wednesday, November 4, 2020 ~ Unfocused

It's the first Wednesday of the month,
the day that members of the
Insecure Writer's Support Group
share their writing struggles
and writing successes
and offer their encouragement
and support to fellow writers.

To visit the IWSG website, click here.

To become a member of the IWSG, click here.

Our wonderful co-hosts who are volunteering today,
along with IWSG Founder Alex J. Cavanaugh are Jemi Fraser, Kim Lajevardi, Tyrean Martinson, and Rachna Chhabria.

I hope you have a chance to visit today's hosts and thank them for co-hosting.
I'm sure they would appreciate a visit and an encouraging comment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Every month the IWSG announces a question that members can answer
with advice, insight, a personal experience, or a story in their IWSG posts.

Or, the question can inspire members
if they aren't sure what to write about on IWSG Day.

Remember the question is optional.
This month's featured question is:

Albert Camus once said, “The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself.” Flannery O’Conner said, “I write to discover what I know.” Authors across time and distance have had many reasons to write. Why do you write what you write?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy November, Everyone!

I hope that you and your loved ones are safe, healthy, and happy.

Tonight I'm finding it hard to write anything.

It's election night, and I can't focus on anything.

So I'm going to pass on the question, other than to say

I write what I write because I must. I have no choice.

I have these voices inside me that have to come out.

I just finished another awesome book by an IWSG member:

Psycho Hose Beast from Outer Space by C.D. Gallant-King.

Goodreads

OMG! This was a scary fun read!

I finished it for the second time back-to-back at 3:10 am last night.

Even though I knew what would happen, I still couldn't put it down.

It's a page turner that is outrageously funny, poignant, and suspenseful.

Niall, Pius, and Harper, three awkward, engaging twelve-year-olds,

struggle to defeat an ancient evil posing an existential threat to humankind.

These kiddos are so real:

geeky, vulnerable, curious, pathetic, and courageous.

They'd much rather be riding their bikes or playing video games

than confronting a horror devouring the people of Gale Harbour.

The psycho hose beast is great fun, but what makes the book memorable

is the relationships among the kids and the challenges they face in their personal lives.

Bring on book 2!

The Insecure Writer's Support Group has a special event coming

on January 20, 2021: Its annual IWSG Twitter Pitch!

Hop over to the IWSG Anthologies blog where Ninja Captain Alex

shares his expertise on how to pitch your novel to agents and publishers.

I think I'm going to turn off the tv and take refuge in a new book.

It's Pat Hatt's Zero Usage; and guaranteed,

a rollicking story by Pat is just what I need!

Good luck to everyone participating in NaNoWriMO!

Happy writing in November!

Till next time ~

Fundy Blue

Waiting for the Ferry to Tiverton

Grand Passage, Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, Canada

July, 2016

Friday, October 30, 2020

Fall Has Fled

Fall has fled,

its beauty stripped by cold winds and driving snow.

I had a chance to wander afield in Red-tailed Hawk Park

a few hours before a winter storm arrived howling in the dark of night.

It was fun to enjoy the last of a gorgeous season.

Cottonwood Stand

Red-Tailed Hawk Park

Aurora, Colorado

October 19, 2020

Doves in a Willow

(Eurasian Collared-Doves and perhaps a Peachleaf Willow)

Red-Tailed Hawk Park

Aurora, Colorado

October 19, 2020

Cottonwood Leaves

Red-Tailed Hawk Park

Aurora, Colorado

October 19, 2020

Cottonwoods and Willows

along a stream in Sampsom Gulch

Red-Tailed Hawk Park

Aurora, Colorado

October 19, 2020

Cottonwoods in Sampson Gulch

Red-Tailed Hawk Park

Aurora, Colorado

October 19, 2020

Swallows Nests

Underpass Below Aurora Parkway

Sampson Gulch Trail Just Beyond Red-Tailed Hawk Park

Aurora, Colorado

October 19, 2020

Pond in Sampson Gulch

Sampson Gulch Trail Just Beyond Red-Tailed Hawk Park

Aurora, Colorado

October 19, 2020

Rabbitbrush Gone to Seed

Sampson Gulch Trail Just Beyond Red-Tailed Hawk Park

Aurora, Colorado

October 19, 2020

Female Red-winged Blackbird in Willows

Sampson Gulch Trail Just Beyond Red-Tailed Hawk Park

Aurora, Colorado

October 19, 2020

Painted-Over Graffiti with an Autumn Luster

Underpass Below Aurora Parkway

Red-Tailed Hawk Park

Aurora, Colorado

October 19, 2020

Milkwood Seeds in Sampson Gulch

Red-Tailed Hawk Park

Aurora, Colorado

October 19, 2020

Mule Deer Before the Storm

Near Red-Tailed Hawk Park

Aurora, Colorado

October 19, 2020

Oak Leaves

Red-Tailed Hawk Park

Aurora, Colorado

October 19, 2020

Young Cottonwood and Rabbitbrush Gone to Seed

Red-Tailed Hawk Park

Aurora, Colorado

October 19, 2020

Black-Tailed Prairie Dog

Red-Tailed Hawk Park

Aurora, Colorado

October 19, 2020

Wednesday, November 4th is IWSG Day

(Insecure Writer's Support Group Day),

so I'll be posting on Wednesday instead of Friday.

Take care!

Friday, October 16, 2020

Awash in Gold Before the Snow Flies

Both Terry and I are dreading the arrival of winter weather.

Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are increasing in Colorado,

and our governor is worried about hospital capacity.

It's on Terry and me to do the best we can to avoid catching the virus,

and that means being really stuck at home when the weather turns bad.

So, on these warm fall days we've been out walking as much as we can.

Cottonwood Leaves Turning

Along Piney Creek

Aurora, Colorado

October 9, 2020

I love this time of year when the landscape is awash in gold,

the sky is a brilliant blue, and rare blazes of scarlet jolt the senses.

Awash in Gold

Along Piney Creek

Aurora, Colorado

October 9, 2020

Brilliant Blue

Along Piney Creek

Aurora, Colorado

October 9, 2020

A Blaze of Scarlet

Along Piney Creek

Aurora, Colorado

October 9, 2020

All too soon the snow will be here:

A Snowy Day

Aurora, Colorado

Last Winter

So we'll enjoy a last opportunity or two to enjoy dinner at Parkway

and store up memories of gorgeous days outside.

Terry: Parkway Bar and Grill

Aurora, Colorado

October 12, 2020

Into the Park

Aurora, Colorado

October 9, 2020

Along Piney Creek

Aurora, Colorado

October 9, 2020

Rabbitbrush Along Aurora Parkway

Aurora, Colorado

October 9, 2020

Along Piney Creek

Aurora, Colorado

October 9, 2020

Cottonwood Leaves

Along Piney Creek

Aurora, Colorado

October 9, 2020

Middle Pond on Piney Creek

Aurora, Colorado

October 9, 2020

Milkweed Fluff Everywhere

Aurora, Colorado

October 9, 2020

Milkweed Seed and Rabbitbrush

Aurora, Colorado

October 9, 2020

Louise: Parkway Bar and Grill

Aurora, Colorado

October 12, 2020

I'm taking next week off from posting.

So I'll see you on the 30th.

Take care!

Books Read in 2024

"5 Languages of Love: The Secret to Love That Lasts" by Gary Chapman
"At Home in the World" by Joyce Maynard
"Cockroaches" by Jo Nesbo
"Death's End" by Cixin Liu
"Eruption" by Michael Crichton and James Patterson
"In Darkness" by L. Diane Wolfe
"In My Time of Dying" by Sebastian Junger
"Nothing to Fear" by Julie McFadden, RN
"The Bat" by Jo Nesbo
"The Dark Forest" by Cixin Liu
"The Frozen River" by Ariel Lawhon
"The Last to Vanish" by Megan Miranda
"The Montauk Monster" by Hunter Shea
"The Road to Character" by David Brooks
"The Song of Achilles" by Madeline Miller
"The Twist of a Knife" by Anthony Horowitz
"The Uninhabital Earth: Life After Warming" by David Wallace-Wells
"The Women" by Kristin Hannah
"Where the Crawdads Sing" by Delia Owens
"Writing the Shadow" by Joanna Penn

Standing Into Danger

Pages

Thursday, December 31, 2020

Bring on the New Year!

Wednesday, December 2, 2020

Onward and Upward!

Friday, November 20, 2020

A Baker's Dozen of Math Funnies

Wednesday, November 4, 2020

IWSG: Wednesday, November 4, 2020 ~ Unfocused

Friday, October 30, 2020

Fall Has Fled

Friday, October 16, 2020

Awash in Gold Before the Snow Flies