Tag: Pets

Totally Random #ThursdayThoughts

Published on by Joan Hall30 Comments

Some days, you need a challenge. Okay, maybe not the kind I had at work, but nonetheless, a challenge.

After I spent almost the entire day troubleshooting a problem due to a software upgrade, I needed to prove I could learn something new.

For months (maybe a year) I’d put off learning the new WordPress editor. I tried it on a new page for my website and ended up more than frustrated. I installed a plugin that allowed me to use the classic editor and told myself I’d learn Gutenberg when I had time.

Time? What is that? Are there ever enough hours in a day? So days turned into weeks, then weeks into months. You get the idea.

But today when my friend Staci said she’d been using Gutenberg for a while and actually preferred it, I decided what the heck. I was going to make time.

A random photo I took a few months ago.

And I did. It took me less than ten minutes to write a random blog post, select the featured image, insert a photo with captioning, add the category and tags.

And guess what? I’ve decided the new editor is easier!

I still have some things to learn and I won’t say that in a rush, I might use the classic editor. But overall, mission accomplished. I learned something new.

Made me feel pretty good about myself after failing to resolve the data issues I had at work. Speaking of which, a quick note to the software company yielded a phone call within an hour. The support person said the problem I had was not uncommon after an upgrade and that he would work to resolve the issue right away.

Could have saved myself a lot of time if I’d contacted them sooner, but as I said, I like a challenge now and then.

On the writing front, I’m finally getting back to my WIP. I had high hopes of publishing Cold Dark Night this month, but that’s not going to happen. I’m shooting for fall.

Little Bit (on the left) and Tucker

This weekend is a three-day holiday in the USA. I’m looking forward to it. Not sure what we’ll do, except take Little Bit for his annual vaccinations. Maybe I’ll accomplish something on my WIP

And now you have my totally random post, written using the new editor.

Week in Review

Published on by Joan Hall29 Comments

Hey, Everyone. Happy Friday the 13th! Thirteen is a number surrounded by superstition. While I come from a long line of superstitious people, I’m not one of them. I’ll purposely do things such as walk under a ladder, open an umbrella in the house, or cross a black cat’s path.

I have a cousin who claims she isn’t superstitious but “just cautious.” Once when I visited her, I made the mistake of placing a hat on the bed. She promptly removed it, saying it was “bad luck.” Another time when she visited us, she tipped the salt shaker, spilling some on the table. Immediately she sprinkled salt in her hand and threw it over her shoulder. On the floor, mind you! Ridiculous.

However, I do enjoy hearing the stories behind the superstitions. Oh and speaking of black cats (I’ve owned several in my lifetime) I haven’t posted a photo of my Little Bit in a while. I took this one a few years back. He was less than a year old then.

Cute, isn’t he? How could anyone believe something so adorable could bring bad luck? For now, it’s time for this week’s links. Sorry the list is shorter this week, but it’s been a crazy one and I haven’t had time to read as much.

On this site:

On Story Empire:

On Other Sites:

Back in the Groove and the Week in Review

Published on by Joan Hall19 Comments

Changes are inevitable. Some are expected, others are sudden. Just as we have four seasons, there are seasons in life. My husband works evening shift during the school year and that means I have to adjust to him not being here. Most of the time, I don’t have a problem but this time I did. I enjoyed this summer – probably more than I have in the past few years. We did a lot of fun things together and even though he’s a TV watcher, I was able to tune it out and do some writing in the evenings.

So, can I confess to being a little melancholy? Even the cats had to adjust. Tucker, our oldest cat, was beside himself at bedtime because my husband wasn’t here. It took a few days, but I’m into the new routine and so are the kitties.

The photo? Not even one of my own, but the vinyl record seemed to fit the title of this post. Since I started a draft post two weeks ago, I already had some links embedded. I decided to leave them, so consider it a bonus to get extra links. 🙂

And speaking of which, here we go:

From Story Empire:

From Other Author Sites:

Quiet Week, Cats, and The Week in Review

Published on by Joan Hall11 Comments

No new exciting photos, so I’ll share this one taken a few years ago. The clouds were a bit differnt than what I usually see around here.

It’s been a quiet week for the most part. The dust isn’t as noticible, the triple digit temps have somewhat subsided, and I’m looking forward to a four-day weekend.

It appears a third cat has found himself a home with us. I began seeing a black cat hanging around. Acted like he was at home. We haven’t enouraged (or discouraged) him and he’s obviously well fed. We figured he might be a neighborhood cat.

Then he stared sleeping on our deck and this past week has taken to the front porch. He won’t let us get too close but won’t run away either. Of course, my indoor cats are curious and are constantly looking out the windows. If new cat hangs around, I’ll call him Midnight.

And now, here is this week’s writing links:

From Story Empire:

And from other Writer Sites:

The Week In Review

Published on by Joan Hall16 Comments

Hello, readers. It’s Friday, and that means it’s time for the weekly wrap up.

I promised myself that I would show a new photo this week. But as it is I’ve only taken pictures of my cats.  Nothing wrong with showing cat pictures, but I can’t show one cat without showing the other.

This is Tucker. I call him the bold one. He’s very headstrong and also very spoiled. Of late, I’ve been coming home to find one of my shoes in the hallway. Doesn’t take much to know Tucker is the culprit. Keeping him out of the closet is impossible, as he knows how to open the door. He always gets the same shoe, but earlier this week, he grabbed the pair.

This is our Manx cat, Little Bit. I call him the brave one. He’s also very sweet. When he was a small kitten, he used up one of his nine lives from being attacked by our dog. We rescued him from her jaws, and he survived. He put up a good fight with her and she carried scars on her nose until her death. Little Bit thinks my desk chair belongs to him at night. It’s his favorite sleeping place.

So there you have it. Not one, but two recent photos. And I promise to have a new one next week!

In case you missed it, friend and fellow author Mae Clair was a guest on my site this week. She has a brand new release which I know you’ll love. Click here to read about Cusp of Night.

Now, without further ado, here are this week’s writing links:

Helpful Advice for Writing Blog Content That Matters – Just Publishing Advice
Sixteen Things I Learned Attending my First Writer’s Conference – A Writer’s Path
Why is My Book Not Selling – Nicholas C. Rossis
When to Show and When to Tell – A Writer’s Path
Emotional Layers The Gateway to Deep POV – Writers in The Storm

And this week on Story Empire:

Fun Tools to Engage Your Creativity by Mae Clair
Basic Plots, Voyage and Return  by Staci Troilo
Writing Question – Conflict by Stacy Troilo