Living in interesting times

For those who may not know, my father had his left hip replaced on Monday. So this week I’ve been in caretaker mode. Luckily my family has been awesome with helping, but the upshot is that I’m working from his house and sleeping in my old bedroom for the week.   Interesting times indeed.

Learning to live in a new normal

It’s been a difficult year. I feel like every time I sit down to write something on this blog, it’s a variation on that theme. I used to not understand how people who had lost someone could keep living in the past. Now, I’m finding it hard not to stop myself from saying things like …

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(writing) More Advent, of course

It’s getting to be that time of year again, after all. Yes, there WILL be a Carter’s Cove story this year. But I’m doing other things as well. I’ve just sent out a short story to a magazine for consideration, and I will be doing more short stories in the future. It’s an interesting exercise, …

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(writing/personal) Sunday updates

Today is the first day of October. This year has seemed to fly by, and yet it’s been the longest year of my life. I’m told that grief is like that.   Today is also the 10th day in a row that I’ve written on Advent. I’ve got an accountability buddy, and it’s really working. …

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(advent/writing) The times they are a-changing…

The leaves are starting to change again. Normally, I hate the shorter days and longer nights, the cold of the mornings, the dying of the year. But I’m actually not hating it this year. While I’m not looking forward to the holidays as much as I used to, I’m still working on getting both a …

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(writing) Day 2 of #100daysofwords

Day: 2 #100daysofwords Starting Count: 2511 Ending Count: 3823 New Words: 1312 Opening Line: The ring of the doorbell woke me from a half-confused state, somewhere between research and sleep. For a moment, I thought the book in front of me, open to a confusing swirl of stars and what I think might have been …

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Names from the List of Witnesses Signatory to Murad I’s 1365 Vakfiye

Introduction This article contains the names of forty men who signed the vakif in 1365 of Murad I. A vakif,or waqf as it is called now, was a document that endows property to a religious institution. There are both Christian and ex-Christian names included in the signatories, showing that the early Ottoman empire had made …

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(creative/sca) 100 Days of A & S

I’m totally stealing this idea from my friend Sue Young, who put it up on her blog. Also, you should follow her blog, because she’s amazing. But basically, the challenge was set up to do 100 straight days of doing at least 10 minutes a day of Arts & Sciences in the SCA, and I’ve …

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Dear Brian

Dear Brian,   It’s July now. The air is hot, and the beach is calling to me, the way it called to us. I haven’t been yet, mostly because I haven’t had time. And because I’m sure it won’t be the same without you.   Facebook has been showing me pictures of us. They hurt, …

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Day 1, again

Day: 1 #100daysofwords Starting Count: 2989 Ending Count: 3380 New Words: 391 Opening Line: Sapph filled him in quickly. “So if we take her words at face value, there’s no reason for this place to be haunted,” she finished. “But I can feel the Ghostwind here, a lot stronger than if there were no ghosts.” …

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