Friday, January 9, 2015

Channeling a Writer- Day 4

Just to re-iterate what is going on over here at Gray Gables Farm...we are feeling creative and with that we have taken on a new challenge encouraging us to write with prompt words.  I have, in turn, challenged my readers to try this challenge, with me, to wake their inner creative side.

That being said, I think it is ONLY fitting to say:



Ahh...I thought you would never get here Friday!  It is going to be a totally unpractical day at Gray Gables today, but it is Friday, so WHAT?  

My kiddos are home. One is sick (my l.o.- boo!) and my other had School Cancelled

I am excited!  Probably more so than she even is!  I got the message of a 2 hour delay for this morning last night and seriously said....BOO!  I sent a text to my Hubby and told him that they were being Sissies, they should just call it OFF, and to my surprise, at 6:30 a.m. this morning the text came through saying SCHOOL WAS CLOSED! (again!)

Anyways, I decided that with the roads being less than good, it was a day home for these girls.  Right now, I am "working" and they are busy using markers at their Art Table. (it's great!)

So, enough about us...let's get our minds right!




Writing Challenge word of the DAY:


Bones


Detective Kat got to the scene first.  Her black Dodge Charger put to work to ensure her arrival, safe, and within minutes, leaving her partner in her dust.  The call came in 9-1-1, stressing the urgency of the scene.  

People were everywhere, from the public, news crews, to Police, Fire and EMS.  The air was cold as it hit her lungs, tunneling through her scarf to catch within her breathe.  Ice covered the lawn, she knew, due to the fire crews having to put out the blaze that was happening minutes before.  

"What am I seeing?" she said in a scruffy, hurried voice to no one in particular.  She was all business, from her no fuss pony tail, her curly light brown locks matching her attitude.  Her black North Face coat was always zipped clear up to her cleft chin, ears covered with none other than leopard print ear muffs.  

"A Crime Scene Kat." he called out in his egotistical manner that he was known best for.  His blue eyes reflecting the shiny ice, his slight, upright smile casting a shadow of something better than what it seemed. 


"Asking for Details, Chevaz, keep up."  she said, matching his confidence, his smile.  It was always a game between the two.  Some kind of adolescent banter. 

"Kat, your here already?"

"Sure, Captain.  What am I looking at?"

"Bones."

She scratched her head, looking at the blackened pile of ash that was just beyond her right foot.  She would have walked right through it, thinking her crime scene was just beyond the yellow, do not cross this line, tape.  She took a hard swallow.  This was a first.


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I am going to try to new approach, something i was thinking of before I fell asleep last night.  I am a kind of all over the place, person!  I think that, in order to challenge myself, really challenge myself, I need to focus. I need to take this format, these characters and compile something that can be read as one.  





Yes, I just went crazy!







Please let me know how you are doing- any suggestions that you might have- any ideas for future posts- I LOVE FEEDBACK!






Have fun everyone and have a FANTASTIC weekend!


#thankgoditsFriday






~Kel

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Channeling a Writer- Day 3 (Yes, I am LATE!)




It has been a busy day! It is a wonderfully warm -1 degrees outside today with a windchill of -28!  Oh YES! Makes me want to go find the SUN that is teasing us so, and lay out....RIGHT!

Right now the TV is blarring Parenthood and my kiddos are tucked in tight and I am finally....sitting down to BLOG my little heart out!

Let's get to it!




CHALLENGE for TODAY:



T E E T H

 
 

She put on her coat. Hat. Mittens.  She bundled herself up trying to find the warmth within, knowing that just beyond those entry doors lies a winter wonderland.  One that she was pretty sure Elsa herself had put into motion. North Mountain is what this vibrant five year old has discovered.  

The first step outside proves her theory. The wind caught her coat first, whipping her little body in the immediate direction of the dreaded bus stop to wait for the four minutes that it took for the bus, that was now in view, to come to the restless stop at the end of the drive. 

She walked quietly, one foot in front of the other.  Her only stop was at the stone pillars that introduced Gray Gables to the outside world, greeting them tall and proud. Her teeth started to chatter as the yellow school bus pulled to a stop.  The visible cold showing on her pale face as she walked to the bus to take her seat in the warmth that greeted her, kindly.


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Yes, my Kindergartener is my inspiration this evening, as she is fresh on my mind with her sweet heart and the impeding details on whether or not there will be school tomorrow!  Right now, we are on a 2 hour delay.  I say - Sissies!  They let them have a SNOW DAY today- why not tomorrow too?  FRIDAY!!



Short and sweet tonight!  You all have a great evening and I will put this on my agenda for tomorrow!  (consistency!)

~Kel

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Channeling a Writer- Day 2

Today is yet another day.  It was a rather uneventful evening at the Amstutzes of Gray Gables Farm last night.  


Took my little ladies out for a roll in the snow- unfortunately it was just a taste considering it was 9* out there with that lovely W I N D


I feel great though. I love that I am using the potential of my own mind and really shaping my blog in the creative way, which is exactly what I could wish/hope for long term


I was even lucky enough to watch..in peace.. Fixer Upper's premier last night on HGTV. 

Side note: I am in love with this show. I am serious peeps!  

I was hooked one day back in October when a marathon was going on, I could not turn it off!  I love Joanna's style, I love Chip and his quirkiness and I love what they do!  I love the meaning and the style and the whole package and I must say that I LOVE MAGNOLIA MARKET!  My Mom even got me 
Y U M to hang on my walls in the Kitchen from the store for Christmas! (She so knows me!)


Anyone else watching?  

Is it causing inspiration in you? 


Well, I am inspired, let me tell you.  My ideas are coming to fruition..but that is the only teaser I am allowed right now!

Anyways!  It is time to get on with our Challenge.. Anticipation building yet?

Our Writing Word of the day is: 

A S H



He went to the door, knowing he must go, out..into the cold air to find the warmth that lie just behind the carriage house.  The air struck him in the face like a hard slap, leaving his cheeks red and cold.  The walk was long from the times taken so recent.  The snow was deep, crunching whiteness with each step.  The air was silent with a simple glow of reflection. 

He made it to the big black building.  The smoke billowing from the flue, the door creaked as he opened it, preparing for the fire and warmth that lie just insides its belly. The ash sprinkling the earth from what once was of the wood that lies inside. 

He used his pitchfork to lite the embers bright, to stir the ash around and reignite the fire that once burned so hot within.  The warmth would soon reach the house. 




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Of course, this reflects my Hubby filling the Wood Boiler, which is currently heating our house, nice and toasty, I might add!  It is a sweltering 11* here today and the wind will not let up.  The plus side is that we do have the snow, not quiet as deep as I exaggerated above, but it is present and it does crunch- thanks to the temperature



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Please share!  I want to hear your words with ASH, your story and what it brings creatively to your minds eye!



Until Tomorrow all!


~Kel

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Book Review: Gone Girl by: Gillian Flynn


Let's talk about this book.  I am one of the few, I am sure..who chose to READ the book before seeing the movie.  I finished on Saturday evening around 11 pm and still have not caught the movie...but the whole time reading it, I won't lie.. I was picturing Good Old Benny as Lance...I mean Nick Dunne. 

So, this book first off, before giving any real details...was one of the hardest books I have ever had..just getting INTO.  This is not an understatement.  I started this book in November...That is a sad admittance.  I have picked it up...put it down...picked it up..put it down.  It lacked interest for me while in the first hundred pages and really took some boredom and discipline to insert myself back into the picture.  But, I can say that once you hit page 100...get ready because it really gets moving.  There are twists, turns, things that I knew were going to happen...then wham!  I would get hit with something completely off the way. 

OK...Disclaimer!  If you have not read the book...or saw the movie and you INTEND to---do not read ANY FURTHER or you will be entering SPOILER ALERT ZONE.-----------

You have been warned!

We are met with two characters Nick Dunne (Chapter 1)  and Amy Elliot (Chapter 2).  Amy is the beauty who is snared by Nick, ,who can't believe his good fortune. Amy is well off and adores Nick.  Both are writers living in New York until they lose their jobs.  While this is happening, Amy's parents become financially bereft and ask Amy to borrow her money.  Now Amy and Nick are poor, using the last of Amy's money to buy a bar in his hometown of Missouri, which Nick and his twin sister, Go, run. 

Amy has another side to her personality, one that  she has only begun to show Nick and found that he dislikes this Amy. The marriages begins to fall apart.  

When Amy disappears in mid-day, Nick is believed to be the cause of her disappearance.  Did he murder his beloved wife?  It is a question that you will continue to ask yourself throughout this part of the book.  Nick knows he did not , but all the signs point to that conclusion.  The police believe believe he is responsible, her Parents, who stand by him at the beginning come to think that he is responsible.  The evidence is stacked again Nick.  The public and media are likewise convinced.  Nick starts to wonder if his own twin sisters thinks the same of him. 



Before we discover the TRUTH, we get a lot of details of every perspective. 

This is where the pages kept turning, one by one as the who dun nit echos loud in your ear. 


You are on a ride that is showing you this diary of a poor woman who is so lonely and sad and just wants her husband to love her...the twist is when you find out how truly messed up, what a liar she really is.  Slowly, you find that you have been lied to, over and over again, as a reader, as Nick.  There were times when I even thought that Nick was behind this whole thing...like he was such a liar, even being called a liar by his own twin sister.  His actions speaking a different language than the true story. 


It is when Nick goes on his wild goose hunt, alone...that I finally know. I get it. I question his Andie, side piece. Maybe he was telling her he wanted a divorce and she was tired of waiting- but she was to nice, to childish to be able to handle murder.  I thought of Go, maybe finding out that Amy was going to frame her brother, maybe being smarter, with her dislike for Amy and finding the things in the shed.  I thought maybe it was one of Amy's crazies, especially Desi. He just seemed suspicious or off from his character when Nick met him.  It was a wonder that he did not put together Amy's crazy before hand either.  I loved how that karma came back to Amy though, it was a little slap in the face...that obviously did not work.


At the end of the story, the plot twists again, in a weird way.  I was hoping, praying at that point that more karma came Amy's way...only to be sadly disappointed because it did not.  She got what she wanted.  I wanted her to burn for her craziness.  The last sentence left me in a wonder... she had to make sure she had the last word...did that mean that he said that wrong thing and she killed him?  I am still left in wonder. Interpretation, I am sure.

Opening quote from Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. Credit: danicadawnt.tumblr.com
This can be found at the beginning of the book.

To Read or NOT TO READ?

I think it is a  reader.  It had a weird twist, a weird angle and I was left in disappointment, but I liked the twist.  I, at one point, told my hubby that I was reading a really messed up book!


Readable.


To see the movie...Um, Ben Affleck!  DUH!

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I am moving onto the last (third) book in my Nora Roberts Series, Blood Magick- Cousins O'Dwyer Trilogy.

County Mayo is rich in the traditions of Ireland, legends that Branna O’Dwyer fully embraces in her life and in her work as the proprietor of The Dark Witch shop, which carries soaps, lotions, and candles for tourists, made with Branna’s special touch.

Branna’s strength and selflessness hold together a close circle of friends and family—along with their horses and hawks and her beloved hound. But there’s a single missing link in the chain of her life: love…

She had it once—for a moment—with Finbar Burke, but a shared future is forbidden by history and blood. Which is why Fin has spent his life traveling the world to fill the abyss left in him by Branna, focusing on work rather than passion.

Branna and Fin’s relationship offers them both comfort and torment. And though they succumb to the heat between them, there can be no promises for tomorrow. A storm of shadows threatens everything that their circle holds dear. It will be Fin’s power, loyalty, and heart that will make all the difference in an age-old battle between the bonds that hold their friends together and the evil that has haunted their families for centuries.
Don’t miss the first two books in the Cousins O’Dwyer Trilogy

Dark Witch
and
Shadow Spell





Until I have read this one...

~Kel




Channeling a Writer- Day 1

I have been pretty clear from the beginning of where I wanted Life at Gray Gables to be.  I want this BLOG to be an overview of my Life, my heart, my soul, my likes...dislikes, my children, my Hubby and the fun that we have had and will continue to have at good Old Gray Gables Farms.  




We made a HUGE move out here- kind of country, still within the city- but with land, mud,
dirt, nature and I can not forget W I N D.  Since living on this land I feel that I have really had an incredible chance to get to know myself, reflect and as I work, I am trying to find the better in all. 

With all this serenity, I have found my voice.  Something inside of me that has been trying to escape for a while now.  I read and become so inspired by the words on the paper pages that I want to burst inside with my own story.  The problem that I find myself facing is that lovely little clock (or perhaps BIG) that hangs on the wall, eating away at the seconds...minutes...hours until I am left with a warm bed and a sleepy grin.  



So, naturally, I am challenging myself.  I am giving myself a word, one word a day for the next 30 days and I am forcing myself to write....write...write what that words triggers in my brain, through my fingers and what lands on the white space that is before me.  Bare with me.  This might be brutal

The flip side is that I, in turn, challenge my readers, my followers, my friends...to give this a try yourselves.  Leave comments..Leave links to your blogs (as I would love to follow as well!)  and try your hardest over the next 30 days to envision what these simple words might trigger within your own creative zone!


Todays word of the day is:

H E R O

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of a Hero, is a strong, powerful being.  Someone who puts others before themselves in all things. Someone who stands proud and pushes their own limitations to help save those around them. 


The character that I put into that word is:

He stood at the mirror, fixing his tie one last time before heading out the door.  Already late for work, as the commute would surly put him into that category.  He grabbed his belongings and keys before walking out of the dark, leaded glass door that lead to his after work retreat. Noone to kiss goodbye or shout I love you to.  He knew how his life should be and worked hard to focus on his place in the world. 

The call trembled in his body before the sound resignated from his ears.  Alert.  He jumped into his older SUV and after fastening his seat belt headed in the direction of the calls.  Someone was in trouble. 

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This is just my corny way of putting it into book reference.  I think of hero, I instantly, 80's child, go into COMIC BOOK MODE. (Doesn't help that Hubby is a CB buff himself!)  I think of the call for help and the hero taking action to be that help.  I guess that with my Dad being a Firefighter, this kind of sounds a crossed the board for me.  

I do, however, think that hero's come in many shapes and sizes, as well.  This was just one perspective. Kind of sexist at that.  I was thinking that as I typed it...Why, Kel, is this a Man?  Why could this not be a Woman?  (Yes, this actually happened.)  Conflict.  But I have to be real with myself, I was writing it from the top of my head and since I do seem to reference Male Characters when I write (their thought patterns so much simpler than a Females) it just flowed



OK, now it's your turn!  Don't forget to share!



Hopefully I am doing OK here.  I have three books that I have written.  Two of them I have not done the editing yet because with the first, the editing I did was BRUTAL!  I basically re-wrote the whole darn thing. (OCD tendency's here!)  I love writing. Something about it is so relaxing to me and so fun to be a new character, to think like that character and just BE.  But, then that whole time thing happens, and I am one of those people... you know the ones... my thoughts are here, NOW...and when I am interrupted...FORGET ABOUT IT!

One day it will happen!  For now, I will just have fun- with my bloggy's- sorry guys!  





Day 1 is done...Bring on Day 2!!



HERO!


~KEL

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