Who goes there? Please leave comments so (An Aries Knows)!
I must mark that not only is Book Six ending in 1975 (having finally cast off the long shadow of 1974), BUT THE ROUGH DRAFT IS DONE! I can now edit and hopefully get some good reactions so I can move on to number seven! It’s an exciting moment for me.
There are, of course, no footnotes or endnotes.
Name that mood!
Paint on concrete. Posted many years ago, this is graffiti I photographed in New Orleans in May 2006.
The original quote is the title of a song by Gil Scott-Heron. I have no idea who scrawled the answer back. It’s not necessary for me to add any words of my own.
Didn’t feel so great today and thought I probably needed to get some perspective on what I was writing now that I’m at least halfway through the final chapter of the sixth book in the Neverending Saga. I also needed more rest. So after getting up too early and taking care of some household things, eating breakfast, and showering, I took a long nap under the friendship quilt I posted yesterday. More rest did help, and I figured coloring would be a good way to think about what I’m writing.
I flipped through one of the coloring books I got in late May/early June and haven’t used yet. Of course I picked the 70s because I’ve been trapped there in my own fiction for years now.
When I saw a drawing of Debbie Harry, I knew that was the one. When I posted it to Instagram (that’s where all my coloring buddies and I follow one another), I mentioned that I can still remember the first time I saw Blondie and Debbie Harry on TV. Lynne may not remember, but we were at my house, watching “Midnight Special” because the Beach Boys were hosting. Blondie was was one of the bands featured that night, and Debbie Harry was really good (as was the band). Lynne may remember that Debbie was dancing on stage and nearly tripped, but recovered and never stopped. Attagirl, Debbie.
If Lynne doesn’t remember Blondie, she might remember me cussing as I sat on the floor capturing photos of Dennis from the TV screen. The cussing was because that’s when I found out our dogs had fleas, because I was being mercilessly bitten by them. Right now as I’m composing this, I’m being mercilessly bitten by a mosquito. The more things change, the more they stay the same?
Today, July 9, is Fashion Day, and Debbie Harry was a fashion trendsetter when she burst onto the scene, part glam, part punk, all Debbie. You may remember that back when I was doing Runway Monday, I found Mattel’s Debbie Harry doll not in a box and without her original fashion. But I quickly made her an outfit all her own.
Funny thing. In the work in progress, my record producer character mentions “Midnight Special.” Here’s the lineup and music from that night.
S07E24 Hosts: The Beach Boys
April 27, 1979 NBC
–The Beach Boys (hosts) – “Good Vibrations,” “Here Comes the Night,” “Surfin’ U.S.A.,” “Angel Come Home” & “Lady Lynda”
–The Beach Boys, Roger McGuinn & Wolfman Jack – “Rock ‘n’ Roll Music”
–McGuinn, Clark and Hillman – “Don’t You Write Her Off,” “Surrender to Me,” “Backstage Pass”
–Blondie (clips from 19-Jan-1979) – “Heart of Glass” (lip-synch); “One Way or Another” (live) & “Hanging on the Telephone” (live)
–Tavares – “Straight from Your Heart,” “More Than a Woman” & “Never Had a Love Like This Before”
Music videos: –Bad Company – “Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy” & “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love” (concert footage)
And here’s my coloring page.
Last March on one of the days Lynne was visiting, she, Tom, and I ran a bunch of errands. One of those was to Joann Fabric and Crafts on 10 West. I’d never been to that location. Lynne said it was a good one, and she was definitely right. I can’t even remember what all I bought there, and who knows what I’ll do with some of the fabrics, but I’ll have them when I need them!
She’d been doing a lot of quilting at that time for friends and family, and she said she’d messed up something and was looking for a replacement fabric with colors drawing from her memory. (This was also the time she picked up the fabric she used as a small border on my mother’s family quilt that I posted a couple of weeks ago. But I digress.)
Turns out she was working on a quilt for my birthday, which she knew was going to be late, and on her recent visit, she brought me the finished quilt. It’s a smaller quilt, the perfect size to curl up with on a bed or chair when I’m reading or watching movies on my laptop. And it’s GORGEOUS!
I’ve been holding off photographing it until we picked up a product she recommended, Shout’s® ColorCatcher® Dye Trapping Sheet, to use when we washed it for the first time. That product is a little miracle because if any color runs, it goes to the sheet and not on the rest of the fabric.
Here’s the front of the quilt.
The center panel is a magical tree in colors, both flat and shiny, that I love.
Here’s a detail photo.
The back of the quilt is the fabric she picked out that day while we were shopping, and it is indeed a great match for the color borders around the tree.
Detail of the borders.
I’m always so awed by everything Lynne sews and creates and by her color palettes. It’s the best birthday friendship quilt I can imagine. Thank you, Lynne! All these wonderful gifts, and I’m STILL not finished with the chapters you’re waiting to read.
Current Photo Friday theme: Sand
I shot this on film from Venice Beach looking toward the Santa Monica Pier in California in 1998. My favorite ocean and a view I loved so much that I wrote it into a pivotal scene in my work in progress. The pier was different for my characters in 1974, but the vibe was the same, and the sand on the beach is timeless.
Time is like a handful of sand – the tighter you grasp it, the faster it runs through your fingers.
Question 2386: Amethyst or aquamarine? (and why…)
Amethyst is a beautiful stone and a great one to use for its energy and attributes, but aquamarine is my birthstone, so what do you think?
These are different polished aquamarine stones, except I’d guess the class ring could be simulated/synthetic. I have raw aquamarine stones, too, so color variations don’t surprise me.
You don’t have to be a March baby to appreciate aquamarine. Here’s info from a quick Google search:
One of my character dolls in his Edith Ann chair. All he’s missing is his dog Buster.
“She’s An American Girl”
acrylic and glitter on 4×6-inch panel canvas and 8×10-inch back-stapled canvas, 2013
Wishing you a safe and satisfying Independence Day. I’m thankful for all we have, hopeful for a better world ahead, and grateful to artists who remind of us of both. Here’s a favorite song/video, and a favorite interview.
Name that mood.
title unknown, circa 2020
street mural in Torremolinos, Spain
©Nesui, urban artist based in Malaga, Spain (on Instagram, he’s nesui.src if you want to see more of his work)
I’m not yet finished with this book, but it’s a much faster read than I’d expected it to be (at 750ish pages). Set in 1969, published in 1971, it captures the mood of a time and generation (or three generations). Based around six characters from around the world, one narrator, and a very large supporting cast, and in that way, there are similarities to the Neverending Saga, though the writing styles are quite different. I feel like I’ve traveled–am still traveling–all over the world (including the Spanish coastal town of Torremolinos, where this art can be found).
I can imagine my character reading it when she was twenty-one, her age at that time roughly corresponding to the six main characters (which is why I decided to read it). She would be reading with very wide eyes.
It’ll have such a tiny mention in her story, but these are the paths I like to take in understanding who I’m writing.
July 2 is National I Forgot Day. Seriously!
True story–I didn’t forget what I wanted to say, but it’s taken me some time to figure out how to phrase it.
I’m open to anyone who wants to financially back my proposition to transform a nonexistent “wrong” done to me into a lawsuit and take it through the court system all the way to our highly dysfunctional, partially corrupt and perjurious, capricious and contradictory, Supreme Court of the United States. If you’re an attorney with an outraged reaction to injustice, hit me up for details.
If you’re not an attorney, forget this post. It’s your lucky day!
ETA: This should have been read in /sarcasm/ font.