Standing Into Danger

Friday, January 28, 2022

Aloha!

Okay, time to get back in my blogging routine again.
I am feeling so much better!

Hawaii is working its magic, and so is my medication.

I've been taking random shots of things that have caught my eye.

Here are some recent photos:

My Favorite Subject ~ Terry

West Maui, Hawaii, USA

January 26, 2022

Bougainvillea

Waikiki, Hawaii, USA

January 20, 2022

A Regal Pigeon

Waikiki, Hawaii, USA

January 20, 2022

Wave Breaking Near the Queen's Walkway into the Ocean

Waikiki, Hawaii, USA

January 20, 2022

Surfer on a Wave by Robert Pashby

Queens Beach Near Waikiki, Hawaii, USA

January 20, 2022

Surfer Searching for a Wave

Queens Beach Near Waikiki, Hawaii, USA

January 20, 2022

Hula Dancer

Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

January 25, 2022

I Wouldn't Know This Was My Shadow

if I Didn't Take the Photo

Maui, Hawaii, USA

January 26, 2022

Don't Forget Your Furry Friends!

Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, USA

January 26, 2022

Our Plane Comes in for a Landing at Kahului International Airport

Maui, Hawaii, USA

January 26, 2022

The Pavillion at Queens Beach

Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

January 20, 2022

Spores in Ferns

Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

January 25, 2022

Kids Playing

Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

January 25, 2022

Kahoʻolawe from Maui

Wailea, Hawaii, USA

January 26, 2022

Waiting for Our Landlord

Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

January 9, 2022

Work in Progress on Front Street

Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, USA

January 26, 2022

Boardwalk by Resorts at Ka'anapali Beach

Maui, Hawaii, USA

January 26, 2022

West Maui from Wailea on the Southern Leeward Coast

Maui, Hawaii, USA

January 26, 2022

Hula Dancers

Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, USA

January 26, 2022

Sunset at Waikiki

Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

January 9, 2022

Next week I will be posting on Wednesday, January 2,

for the Insecure Writer's Support Group's monthly get-together.

I'm still catching up with my blogging friends.

Stay happy and safe!

Till next time ~
Fundy Blue

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

Wednesday, January 5, 2022

IWSG: Wednesday, January 5, 2022 ~ Writing Regrets

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 Erika Beebe, Olga Godim, Sandra Cox, Sarah Foster, and, Chemist Ken!

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:

What's the one thing about your writing career you regret the most? Were you able to overcome it?

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

Happy New Year Everyone!

Here's hoping 2022 is a good one for each of you!

I'm keeping this short because I'm still dealing with

a raging thyroid and worsening eyesight.

I now weigh what I weighed when I was eleven!

As of today, my endocrinologist is treating me more aggressively with drugs,

and I see an ophthalmologist who specializes in Graves eye disease on Thursday.

Feeling better, seeing better, is getting closer.

So is Hawaii!

Yes, fingers crossed, Terry and I are flying to Honolulu on Sunday.

Waikiki from the top of Diamond Head

Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

March 10, 2018

My biggest writing regret?

I wish as a university student I had seen writing as a career option.

But it was drilled into me throughout my young life

that I must have a career,

that I must be able to stand on my own two feet,

and I must not depend on a husband.

Generations of tragedy on both sides of my family fueled these imperatives.

My parents sacrificed everything for their son,

and their four daughters, to graduate from university,

so I never considered writing as an option.

I needed a solid and secure career that came with good pay and benefits.

I regret not having decades and decades of writing

what I wanted to write behind me now.

But if I had followed that path,

I would have missed the wonder of rocks and geology,

the thrill of searching and drilling for oil in the Oil Patch,

and my rewarding teaching career with all those amazing kiddos.

Driller Jack Taylor and I in the Doghouse

DNB Rig, Western Kansas Oil Patch, USA

February 1982

I never did anything halfway.

I was always called an overachiever ~ How I hate that label!

I was not an overachiever!

I was passionate,

and I poured my heart and energy into my different careers.

I had nothing left over to write the books inside me.

I wrote constantly connected to my work,

but it was not what I wanted to write.

I think we all must wonder about the roads not taken.

I took a different road from that of a professional writer,

but my chosen road was a rich and fulfilling one.

Regret is a powerful emotion. Maybe I feel more of a what if.

My life is what it is, and now I can write.

I'm greedy for life, and I'm greedy for time to write.

I've smacked into a giant pile of downed trees obstructing my path,

but I'm sawing through them,

and soon I'll be back to writing as I want to.

This past month I've been beaten down physically.

I had a wonderful visit with some of my family in Calgary

and a lovely Christmas Eve with Terry's family,

but most of the time I've felt rotten and exhausted.

My brother Roy, me, Terry, and my sister-in-law Susan

My best day in December (10th)

Fish Creek Provincial Park, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

I haven't looked at my blog or opened my email in a month.

I'm posting today because I care so much about the IWSG.

I can't promise that I'll get around much to visit today.

I have three medical/ophthamalogist appointments in the next two days,

and I have to pack.

I cannot wait to see the ocean, palm trees, and Diamond Head.

Our apartment on Waikiki has good wifi,

and my stronger and new meds should kick in soon.

So, I will get around to all my blogging buddies and IWSG visitors very soon.

My manuscript is traveling with me.

And, even if I have to crawl, I'm getting to the top of Diamond Head.

Our Great Niece Ella Grace MacBeath

An Independent Young Woman at Four

December 10, 2021

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

I hope each of you has fun visiting around today.

Happy writing to each of you in January!

Till next time ~
Fundy Blue

https://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com

Saturday, December 4, 2021

Taking a Little Breather!

I'll be back on Wednesday, January 5th for the Insecure Writer's Support Day.

I'm taking a little breather.

I hope to pop in and visit blogs during this time, but I won't be posting.

Hopefully by then, I'll be feeling lots better!

Wishing each of you the best of holidays, however you celebrate the season.

And may 2022 be kind to you!

Till next time ~
Fundy Blue

https://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com

Tuesday, November 30, 2021

IWSG: Wednesday, December 1, 2021 ~ Stresses and Delights in Writing

Our wonderful co-hosts who are volunteering today,
along with IWSG Founder Alex J. Cavanaugh are P.J. Colando, Diane Burton, Natalie Aguirre, Jacqui Murray, and me, Louise - Fundy Blue!

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:

In your writing, what stresses you the most? What delights you?

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

Happy December, Everyone!

It will definitely be a happy month for me!

I'm flying to Calgary on Sunday to see some of my family.

I haven't seen anyone in my family since the pandemic began.

We are very close, and it has been really hard for me to be so far away.

We Five

Barbie, Bertie, Roy, Me (Louise), and Donnie

Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada

August 7, 2019

Stresses and delights in writing?

Right now it's very black and white for me.

If I write, I'm delighted, and if I don't, I'm stressed.

November has been a frustrating month for me.

Graves Disease is impacting my eyesight, and my double vision is worsening,

making it difficult to drive and sometimes difficult to read and to write.

This has led to my battling depression.

My glasses that I bought to correct my double vision in late August

are almost useless, because my vision has changed so much.

I look like a turtle with an outstretched neck when driving,

with my head lifted up and my glasses perched on the tip of my nose to see in focus.

And then there's the big pair of wraparound sunglasses on top of my prescription glasses,

because the sunlight hurts my eyes.

Nevertheless, I tackled NaNo and managed 39,605 words.

I'm disappointed I didn't get to 50,000 words,

but I've promised myself I'll reach that 50,000 words

after I return from Calgary and before Christmas.

I'm sorry I neglected my blog this month.

I didn't have the energy to both blog and participate in NaNo

I know I'll get on top of things. This is transitory.

My endocrinologist and my ophthalmologist will work their magic,

and I'll be back to a more normal me.

I'm looking forward to a lot more writing delight!

And I have a new working title for my memoir: Northern Exposure.

This has been resonating with me lately,

because my memoir is about more than Lansdowne House.

My book needs Fritz and John and Two Point on Lac Seul.

Meanwhile, as an IWSG co-host, I am looking forward to making the rounds.

I plan to visit lots of members today!

Northern Exposure 1

Mom, Gretchen (our dog), Donnie, Roy, and Barbie (back)

Baby Bertie, and Me (front)

Lansdowne House, Ontario, Canada

Late Spring 1960

Northern Exposure 2

Mom, Gretchen (our dog), Donnie, Roy, and Barbie (back)

Baby Bertie, and Me (front)

Lansdowne House, Ontario, Canada

Late Spring 1960

Northern Exposure 3

Bertie (left), Fritz, Barbie, and John (front)

Lac Seul, Ontario, Canada

Summer 1960

I hope each of you has fun visiting around today.

Have a wonderful holiday season however you celebrate,

and happy writing to each of you in December!

Till next time ~
Fundy Blue

https://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com

Tuesday, November 2, 2021

IWSG: Wednesday, November 3, 2021 ~ This or That?

Our wonderful co-hosts who are volunteering today,
along with IWSG Founder Alex J. Cavanaugh are Kim Lajevardi, Victoria Marie Lees, Joylene Nowell Butler, Erika Beebe, and Lee Lowrey.

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:

What's harder to do, coming up with your book title or writing the blurb?

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

Happy November, Everyone!

Can you believe we're into the tail end of the year?

American Thanksgiving and Christmas are racing at Terry and me.

Throw in a trip to Vegas, a trip to Calgary, and NaNoWriMo,

and I'm dancing on the tips of my skates trying not to fall.

Goggle

This or that? Title or Blurb?

I find both coming up with a title and writing a blurb daunting!

I've written a lot of things, but they are typically short.

Titles are much easier to create, and one will often come to me as I write,

usually a significant phrase or words in the piece.

I've rarely written a blurb.

I do have my first book underway, my memoir.

I don't have a title for it.

For a long time its working title was Human Refuse, but that was too dark.

Now I'm using A Place Called Lansdowne House as a placeholder in NaNoWriMo.

I don't have a clue what the actual title will be.

Lost in the Bush

As for a blurb, my memoir is gushing like a broken water main,

overflowing with voices, themes, trauma, history, and everyday life.

I can't stem the flow, let alone reduce it to a blurb.

Right now I'm rewriting everything in a massive chronological narrative,

hoping my path through it all will emerge.

If any of you have participated in NaNo while rewriting,

how did you count your daily words?

I worked over four hours yesterday

and ended up with fewer words than when I started.

I decided to give myself 400 words for each hour I worked

for a total of 1624 words.

My purpose in doing NaNoWriMo is to get back into writing daily,

after a year of upsets, the latest my just being diagnosed with Graves Disease.

Should I move forward with my plan, or should I be kicked out of NaNo?

Good luck to any of you participating in NaNo this year!

Here's a little humor to help you along.

I hope each of you has fun visiting around today.

Happy writing to each of you in November!

Till next time ~
Fundy Blue

https://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com

Books Read in 2026

"18 Days in Heaven" by Gale Poirot
"A Serial Killer's Daughter: My Story of Hope, Love, and Overcoming" by Kerrie Rawson
"Eat Your Ice Cream: Six Simple Rules for a Long and Healthy Life" by Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD.
"Is Math Real? How Simple Questions Lead Us to Mathematics Deepest Truths" by Eugenia Cheng
"Project Hail Mary" by Andy Weir
"Tell Me Everything" by Elizabeth Strout
"The Covenant of Water" by Abraham Verghese
"The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity" by David Graeber and David Wengrow
"The Life Impossible" by Matthew Haig
"The Lord go the Rings" by JRR Tolkien
"The Match" by Harlan Corben
"The Night the Path Disappeared" by Terri Bergen
"The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper" by Roland Allen
"Theo of Golden" by Allen Levi
"Think Twice" by Harlan Corben
"Why Christianity Must Change Or Die" by John Shelby Spong

Standing Into Danger

Pages

Friday, January 28, 2022

Aloha!

Wednesday, January 5, 2022

IWSG: Wednesday, January 5, 2022 ~ Writing Regrets

Saturday, December 4, 2021

Taking a Little Breather!

Tuesday, November 30, 2021

IWSG: Wednesday, December 1, 2021 ~ Stresses and Delights in Writing

Tuesday, November 2, 2021

IWSG: Wednesday, November 3, 2021 ~ This or That?

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