Nothing New Under the Sun

How am I supposed to create unique characters when I'm not even sure I know unique people?

Seriously, in my brief and all but halted experimentation with facebook, that was my take away lesson. None of us are unique. Everyone (mostly) works so hard to craft the most clever status updates, charming list of interests, and surreal photos, and yet each one has a twin even in my meager friend list.

Blogging generally gives me that feeling too. Hundreds of thousands of us would-be writers out here toiling away into the ether, pulling up the same ideas, same struggles, same issues. Each mom blog churns out variations on the same mom observations of the same classic kid foibles and fun.

If actual people are this predictable, how can I possible create charactes that are outstanding? Fact is supposed to be stranger than fiction, right?

Whoa. I'm really not trying to be a downer here. I'm feeling practically jubilant about the cast of Upturned Stones. I've spent significant time with each of them over the past couple of weeks, and three of the four biggies are alive enough to push back when I try to cram them into subplots or situations that don't fit.

I'm hopeful that they are not two-dimensional cliches. My vision of them certainly isn't. I'm not sure how to convey it on the page. I imagine the very thing that disturbs me about the facebook/blogger/twitter portrayal of humanity offers a lesson.

The common bits, those things that keep reappearing in everyone's status updates and blog posts, exist because people within one culture share many experiences, and social networks are disgned to share those common experiences. Everything else, the detail that isn't showy enough to list under interests, the inner turmoil that isn't suitable for a status update, that is where real life is lived, and that is where an interesting charater starts from. The details beneath the window dressing. And from what I can see, internet personas, sadly even mine, are just that, window dressing.

Wish me luck as I furnish the complete houses of my characters. An at home mom, an out of work engineer, a feminist icon, and a retired sorceress with a dark secret all need my full attention.

Upturned Stones & Summer Break

Have you noticed the Work in Progress gadget on my sidebar? Well, my poor writer's blog has been silent for a while, but my writing, thankfully, has not.

I've been giving myself as much time as possible for both writing and daydreaming. In the past, I've sat down at the keyboard during my allotted (read: stolen from my real life) writing time with a frenzy of ideas, but no unscheduled, wandering, thinking time to draw them all together.

I think I expected journals full of random notes, snippets of dialogue, and flashes of insight to weave themselves into a story as I typed.

I'm having much more success daydreaming first. Lately, my mornings have all featured long walks with the little ones munching apples in the stroller while my mind was a million miles away. It is so absolutely effective! I realize I learned this lesson a while ago while running, but all my company caused some brief amnesia... oh but I'm back!

I haven't added to the official word count of Upturned Stones, but I have come up with a decent and very brief summary and a few pages of notes on the characters, key settings, and key plot points of the book. Over the next two weeks, I hope to finesse these notes a bit more and conduct a little research on stone and crystal enchantments (you'll see), and then dive in with a Nano style first draft to be edited later.

So that's the plan.

And here's the summary:

Evelyn Butler-Lydell, at-home mother of two and the daughter of a late feminist icon, has lost her balance and her lucky pendant. With her children off to school, she sets out on a mission to find them both and gets swept away by the meandering adventures of her audacious neighbor Greyson Roy, an out of work engineer on his own quest for meaning.

When Evelyn is not testing uncharted waters with Greyson, she is searching her mother’s cluttered lakeside bungalow for the pendant that she’s certain was lost there a year earlier, when the balance of her lovely life began to wobble. There she is faced with her mother’s past and her own forgotten ambitions, and so she decides to put her talents as a landscape architect back to work. She volunteers as a gardening assistant for in a retirement village where she becomes enamored with Abigail Giltch, an aging and self-proclaimed sorceress whose charming obsession with Evelyn draws her, and Greyson along with her, into the strange world of stone magic.

Suddenly Evelyn sees magic everywhere, most vividly in the sudden animation of her mother’s belongings. Everything from lost essays to a vintage piggy bank appear with alarming consistency just as the need for them arises. Though Evelyn vows to leave no stone unturned in her search for her lost pendent and her self, she instead uncovers the truth about the lurking stranger from her childhood, the full force of her mother’s love, and her own unexpected capacity for magic… and murder!

Photo Friday: Peas in a Pod

And on the vine...
A helpful harvester....

Tender treats for the girls and the ladies...


Growing bounty and endless weeding....

And delphiniums, our new favorite flowers....

Dueling Maidens

As parents of two young girls, we don't want weapons in our house... even weapon-like toys. For a list of reasons, check today's (or any day's) international headlines.


After a string of 90 degree days, though, we have made a routine of splashing in the wading pool and running through the sprinkler. We needed to spice things up, and a new set of water guns seemed like a great idea.


Someday, I'll probably give in on the water guns, as long as they don't resemble actual guns, but today, serendipitously, I spotted a couple of empty spray bottles. I usually save them to whip up a batch of my favorite cleaning solution, Alice's Wonder Spray, but today they were awarded the role of honor in a very special cleaning-lady duel.

As you can see, Elliot wasn't sure what we had planned for her. Poor thing, she never did master the spray mechanism and had to resort to buckets from the sandbox. She mostly watered our feet as if we were flowers.

Maya was a natural. She took to the water fight like a mermaid to... well, water. She even added a little innovative twist: mom blows bubbles while she shoots them with the spray bottle.

These girls are a funny pair. Like me, Elliot loves the heat! All day, even on these sweltering "heat advisory days," she says, "I go OUTside" and brings me her swimsuit and sandals. The instant we're out, Maya, a bit more like her daddy, gives me the saddest Precious Moments impression and says, "Mama, I don't like to be hot, can I go inside."



So we change clothes often, toggling between water fights and sprinklers outside and quiet play with the doll house or puzzles inside.

I may need another clothesline!

Photo Friday - Happy Early Father's Day!

...And if you knew how scattered I was last week, you could guess the truth behind the title! Here are Joe and his girls tossing bread to the ducks at the new St. Anthony park.

Adventuring the Artsy Way

The forecast this morning threatened volatile weather, so we transformed our adventure day plans from a rugged outdoor hike to a hoity toity trip to the art museum. The girls were up at six, and doors at the Minneapolis Institute of Art open at 10, leaving us with a substantial time gap in which to play Artiste.

The girls donned their aprons, pulled out their supplies, and expressed themselves. We experimented with water color...

~By Maya - Water Color

~By Elliot - Water Color

Multimedia collage....

~By Maya - Multimedia Collage


~By Elliot - Multimedia Collage

And clay sculpture....

~Maya - Clay Sculpture of Dog

~Maya Again- No Sculpture For Elliot, we lost her at the sink for some splashy water play

Then we let the glue and paint dry while we trotted off to the museum in our best dresses. Unfortunately, I only got one picture of the girls en route, as I left my camera in the coat check... and neither of them look all that impressed on their walk into the building.

Maya picked out both their dresses and did both of their hair. I should have taken a picture before we left the house, since most of the clips and head bands ended up in my purse. I love wearable art!

But I assure you that Maya flip-flop-skipped through nearly every exhibit and followed all of our "Museum Rules" with only the slightest reminder not to climb on the Frank Lloyd Wright chairs or steal the chess pieces from the Charleston Drawing Room.

After our own artistic expressions, Elliot was worn out and content to sit in the stroller. In contrast, Maya led us around the museum. She was enthusiastic but a little confused about the point of our wandering. She seemed surprised to find chairs, necklaces, pots, masks, and rugs on display along with the pictures. At 4, she's already coming to terms with the concept that anything and everything can be art. She really enjoyed the Buddha statues, the recreated rooms, and the kids' gallery, where the art on the walls strongly resembled the art drying on our kitchen table.

As expected, we haven't signed her up for personal art instruction just yet... When asked about her favorite part of the museum , she eagerly shouts, "The Elevator!" But I'll give her a little credit - it was a super cool old fashioned elevator with a sliding gate for a door.

What an adventure!

Now I know

Last week was my first full week without writing in more than a year and a half, and it's official. I'm a writer. One who writes. Published or not. Good or not.

I need to write.

My sanity swung shakily on rusty hinges all week. By Friday, I was teary at the drop of a hat and seriously plotting an escape from my life. Not permanently... of course. I love my girls and hubby and much of my life too much for that.

But last week, every spare second was swallowed up. Nap times, post bedtimes, and even Cassie's cleverly effective dinner time escape. Every second was just gone, and I was beat. Without any time to siphon off a few words or thoughts or scenes, I was much worse off than I should have been.

Only a few days after my breakdown, after a few days of focused writing sessions and a little daydreaming, I feel fine again. Centered. Happy, even.

And now that I've reconnected with my story, the words are flying again. It's fabulous. The writing may not be any good at all, but now I know that doesn't matter as much as the fact that the words are flowing, the ideas are coming, and somehow, that is keeping me sane.

So I write.

Stroll Through Summer Showers

Our summer officially began this week. Leisurely walks in the park, child-led meandering, and a general do-what-we-feel-like attitude. The unscheduled life is perfect for me.... as are coffee shops with built-in, creatively done, baby-proof play areas in them. Java Train is the best!

Today we were actually quite industrious with thank you letters and noodle necklaces. We were stuck inside due to the rain. Well, stuck for a bit anyway. Then we busted out for a Water Walk, as Elliot likes to say. Of course, it comes out "wata wok" because her one-year-old tongue hasn't mastered pronunciation. We find the effect charming!

Here are a few shots of our Wata Wok... Elliot didn't stop moving the entire time, so unfortunately she's blurry in all of them.

Home Sweetly-Crafted Home

Braving the cold wet north of middle America, the girls' Oklahoma Greats arrived yesterday and, with great fanfare, unveiled their hand-crafted doll house.

The three story, six room house, complete with real shingles and lace curtains, recalls lovely childhood memories of the dollhouse they made years ago for me, my siblings, and my cousins. I am almost as eager as the girls to spend this quiet rainy day playing with the doll house and its little family.


My girls are still so little, I will have to defend the house from them for a bit, or at least earnestly teach them how to handle it with a bit of care. Elliot seems interested in the house's ladder-like quality, and some of the small pieces pose a choking hazard for now. We'll have to put those bits away until they are older, and wait a year or two to add to the set. Our old house had a teeny tiny tea set and plates of food reminiscent of Beatrix Potter's Tale of Two Bad Mice. We'll track these amenities down as the girls get a little older. And we'll wait a while to add the deck railings... those seemed entirely too fragile to add now!


Of course, the house is already a hit. Elliot has to be physically removed from it if the rest of us want to leave the room, and Maya headed straight there when she woke up. Our new neighborhood kids thought we were getting a dog right away (a purse-sized dog could probably be quite comfortable in this house), and nearly followed us in when they realized we were carrying a doll house.


Assuming I can defend the house from Elliot's eagerness and keep a bottle of wood glue handy, this house will offer years, possibly generations of entertainment. I couldn't be more excited!

Oh, and take a minute to examine the artwork. See anyone you know?

Fair Weather Campers

Alternative Title:

Birthday Girl Swallowed by Giant Frog on Super Granola Camping Trip


Or wait...

Birthday Girl and Birthday Sister Thrilled By Upgrade From Freezing Campsite to Cozy Poolside Hotel Room

We had the best of intentions. Honestly! We hoped to spend Maya's birthday weekend exploring the trails in Gooseberry State Park, toasting hot dogs for dinner, and sleeping under the stars.

Unfortunately, it was a drizzly 39 degree night Saturday night. Thanks to modern Doppler radar and a vast array of acquaintances offering frequent dire weather reports, we didn't even bother to pack the sleeping bags.


Instead, we got in a few good hikes when the temperature peaked at about 55 degrees. We shared elaborate and messy picnics along the Gooseberry River both days (why do I keep making peanut butter and jelly as a "traveling" food?!).

We did run into a bit of good luck. The first weekend in June happens to be Minnesota State Parks Open House, meaning no permits or entry fees required. We toured the Split Rock light house, and parked in three different parks without having to buy our parking permit. It was also "Take a Kid Fishing Weekend," meaning adults with a kid under 18 could fish without a permit. This appears to be an annual event in Minnesota, so we'll have to keep it in mind for next year.

A bit after our picnic, when Elliot started cramming her hands down the back of my shirt and complaining, "cold... I want cozy," we ran for the Silver Bay AmericInn and its lovely indoor pool. Maya was still able to set up her tent in the room, so our promise of a "camping trip" seemed fulfilled in her eyes, and we were all able to enjoy a relaxing Saturday evening.

Now, let's hope they don't equate future camping trips with hotel stays!


We did luck out, stumbling on the tamest deer I've ever seen. They barely looked up when we passed.

As our very first family vacation, the weekend went remarkably well. We all had fun, got some much needed adventure time together, and gained enough confidence to start planning the next camping trip. Hopefully by August, the weather will cooperate!

Birthday Flashback for Posterity

Maya's fourth birthday observance was quite the bash. Though it was a quiet family affair, attend by the same trio that attended her birth four years earlier, we managed to thoroughly and completely wear her out.


The gift opening, made spectacular by our generous and widely dispersed family, was as frenzied as you would expect.


The cake, a gift from Maya's doula/almost-aunt/partner-in-crime, catered to Maya's unique specifications. When asked what kind of cake she wanted, Maya's response wasn't "chocolate" or "Dora." No, our girl requested a cake with a picture of her mom and dad on it.

Thankfully, this friend of ours since wilder college days picked a remarkably uncompromising picture... the perfect picture in fact...


Then we were off to ComoTown, for the rides and a bit of the zoo. Mostly rides. Elliot accompanied Maya on a few old favorites, and then, can you believe it, Maya rode her very first roller coaster!



That's my girl!

The grand finale was a trip to Red Robin. While it didn't enthrall the adults, Maya was thrilled to have her turn at the free dessert.



Over indulged? Absolutely! Overstimulated? Yup... Too much sugar? No argument...

And it was a very Happy Birthday!

Photo Friday: Happy Birthday Maya

Maya - 4 days old

1 year old

Maya 2 years old at Como Zoo

Maya 2 years old

Maya 3 years old - and a sister!

Maya 4 years old, striking a pose

Getting measured

She was delighted to find a stack of presents on the dining room table and a room full of balloons. It has already been a full week, and still we have presents and cake, the zoo, and a chilly but adventurous camping trip ahead of us!

4 is Wonderful