Sticks and Stones

Sticks and Stones

Because I have become so sick and tired of all the branches (e.g. very large sticks) in my yard from all of the storms we have been experiencing, I decided to talk about stones today.  Don’t get me wrong; I love my trees and Michigan’s summer storms, especially after the dry summer we experienced last year.  I am just a little tired of the spring clean-up being extended and making playing in the backyard (and having a fire) a bit more hazardous.

But, I digress.  I came here to talk about stones.  Sound boring?  Wait.  I’m about to reveal something that isn't widely known.  You know of some very well-known stones, right?  Come on, think about it.  Not gemstones, and not Petoskey stones.  I’ll give you another hint.  It’s in the shape of a ring.  If you are thinking of wedding bands, I’m going to be extremely disappointed in all of you.  STONEHENGE is the correct answer.  Well, while they sound really awesome, it’s awfully expensive to go overseas to view them and I've heard you can’t even touch them anymore due to erosion.  I can tell you of some stonehenges in the United States that you probably weren't aware of before.  A couple of them are in my native state of Michigan, just you still can’t touch one of them – they’re a bit hard to get to.

So, I’ll start with America’s Stonehenge.  It’s located in Salem, New Hampshire and they have tours offered for a fee (you can even snowshoe and see alpacas).  No visa required!  It’s a fantastic touristic attraction and no one knows for sure who built it or when.  It could be as old as 4,000 years old.  William Goodwin was known to have done some quarrying around the area, but others are convinced there are pre-Columbian and “Old World” evidence.  But there is evidence of Native American occupation at some point too.  Sounds like a great place to visit and see for yourself what you think is really there and how old it really is. Circa 1907.

Then there’s Sam Hills Henge which is a replica of England’s Stonehenge located in Maryhill, Washington. This was built as a memorial dedicated to the fallen of Klickitat County in World War I. He was a bit confused about the function of the original Stonehenge, believing it was a place of human sacrifice.  He’s reportedly buried at the base of the bluff it was built on overlooking the Columbia River.  Circa 1931.

For my southern friends and acquaintances, you can always go visit the Georgia Guidestones.  Located in Nuberg, Georgia, this replica has its origins deep in mystery.  No one knows the true name of the person wanting it built.  A granite company near the site was approached by a man reportedly called “R.C. Christian” who was carrying a model of the Stonehenge in a shoe box and had very specific requirements of it.  The company built it and became $50,000 wealthier, but the “R.C. Christian” disappeared from existence after making the deposit.  There are several messages in many languages carved on the six stones that make up this replica, one of which demanding we not become a cancer on the earth.  Circa 1980.

For the fun-loving, quirky folks visiting this page, you might want to see Carhenge.  Apparently, this all started with a family reunion and also became a memorial.  Wish mine were so fun! (Uh, reunions, not memorials.)  So, for my Midwestern folks, a visit to Alliance, Nebraska will bring you to the site of some ancient cars (or classic as the case may be) set up like the ancient stones of Great Britain.  It’s a mechanic’s delight!  Be sure to visit the site’s new visitor’s center and the adjacent car-art sculpture park.  Circa 1987.

Then there’s Stonehenge II in Kerrville, Texas.  Not actually stone, except for the single limestone piece the idea sprung from, but steel frames covered in plaster.  There are some Easter Island heads at this site too.  Guess it Al Shepperd thought that another Stonehenge would be better than a fake UFO crash.  I would have gone with UFOs just to be different. Circa 1989.

Now, I’m asking you…FOAMHENGE?  I think we are way too far away from stone to be even close to interesting now.  But, if you want to see a foam replica of Stonehenge, you can see it in Natural Bridge, Virginia.  Circa 2004.

And the last ridiculous one I’m going to talk about before getting serious again is Stonefridge.  Ok, I’m just going to say it, the guy who built it was a bit nuts.  Adam Horowitz spent nine years working on a 200+ refrigerator monument that looks like Stonehenge, but is not even remotely close to replicating it.  It just looks like it – with painted refrigerators.  And he decided to have it made by workers wearing loincloths and using teepee poles, ropes, pulleys, and muscle to build it.  He totally set himself up for the vandals who reportedly set off bombs inside the refrigerators. Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico. Circa 1997. Thankfully removed for good in 2007.

Ok, so back to Michigan.  In 2007 (how ironic is that?), researchers from Northern Michigan College were using a new sonar system to map the bottom of Lake Michigan for evidence of historical events since archaeology cannot be successfully conducted underwater.  During the scans they found old cars, a ring of stones, buggies, boats, Civil-war era piers, and a stone which appears to have a mastodon carved into it.  The stone carving hasn't been verified by the “experts” yet since none are trained in scuba diving, but some believe that it and the ring of stones it was a part of could date back 10,000 years.  That is when humans and mastodons were believed to be in that part of Michigan (Grand Traverse Bay).  These are just another set of standing stones found in the Michigan area.  Beaver Island has a stone circle discovered in 1985 (again, there’s some irony in there if you’re a Back to the Future fan).

References to some of these incredible and incredulous information is in part from an NBCNEWS.com article entitled “America Unhenged: 7 great Stonehenge Replicas”, although America’s Stonehenge doesn't sound like a replica….  Oh well.

Happy Reading!

Discouraged

In a word…discouraged

Well, exactly what I thought would happen did directly after my editor looked over and marked up my novel.  I lost my desire to write more.  I think about all the time I put in just to feel like it’s not good or good enough for public consumption.  Seeing all the blocks, all the nit-picking details requested, all the sections being written out and the sections requiring rewrite has effectively put a stop to my writing.  If you have noticed, I haven’t blogged, I haven’t gone on Twitter, I haven’t pulled up any of my drafts to work on….  It just wasn't worth seeing all the red anymore.  I haven’t even been reading and seeking new inspiration.  And at the same time the world seems to be taking on black and white dimensions instead of the full color brilliance I am so used to.

I need to write, though.  Even as discouraged as I am, I know in my heart and deep in my marrow that this is what I must do in order to feel complete.  Has anyone felt this discouraged and off course before?  Have you found your way back?

I could use a few pointers….

Warning: Graphic Photo Within

WARNING!!  GRAPHIC PHOTO WITHIN THIS BLOG

Surprised?

I know.  You were probably expecting far worse, so this should be a source of some relief.  This was the surprise awaiting me when I came home from work today.  This is a nice surprise.  I praised and praised my cats for the gift - because it keeps the rodent population down and that means there will be fewer in my house and in my inhumane traps.

But, don't you wish more sites came with some sort of warning regarding the content?  

Recently, I was seeking costume ideas.  Having lost a significant amount of weight, I wanted to wear something tasteful as I took my children around for trick or treating.  I mean - goodness - I haven't lost that much weight, but it does make me feel better about myself to want to be noticed a wee bit.

Since one child is going as an angel and the other a cheerleader, I thought I would have a costume as a Disney character.  This is the type of stuff I found:

Unfortunately, my children were looking over my shoulder while I was doing the search and pointing out how they were pretty dresses and giving their input on which one I should get.  I don't know about you, but I don't remember any of these Disney characters wearing dresses that short and revealing.  I'm just a mom trying to find a costume to wear alongside my kids, but it appears like the majority of the women seeking costumes are college-aged women intending to party it up on Halloween.  Well, that's the impression I'm getting from the type of costumes available in these search engines.

I explained to the girls that Mommy wasn't comfortable wearing so little clothes on a very cold Halloween night while trick-or-treating and moved on in my search for something less revealing.  So, I looked for more generic ideas such as fortune teller, pirate, etc. and all of my size were taken.  Guess the other moms got to them first.  After hours of searching I finally found the perfect costume:

And just in time too.  There are none left.  This was way more the type of costume I was hoping for.  Tasteful and non-threatening and long enough that I might not need a coat.

On a side note, there is a Zombie Walk in Kalamazoo, Michigan this weekend to try for the Guinness World Records.  My sister plans on going and asked me to join her and her boyfriend.  They are going as hippie zombies.  This created a hunt for another costume - a scary one that won't be appreciated by my offspring.  I am going as a corpse bride.  I'll try to get photos and post them in a follow up after the weekend.

So, now for the readers to chime in.  How many parents out there still dress up for Halloween?

Happy Reading!

The Never-ending Triathlon of Life

Ever feel like you're juggling too much?  That could be the reason why you haven't heard from me since July.  Since the draft of my paranormal romance was completed and I found beta readers to assist in critiquing it, I've been juggling that with work and the kids heading back to school.  I even managed to work a bit in the back yard and started working on weight loss (have to look good for that author's page and all the websites that will be going up as a result; please see the new badge on my blog).

So, add all that up, sprinkle in some major cleaning activities, fair trips, four new goldfish to take care of, birthday parties, vacation bible school, and very little me time and you have one tired out writer mama who dropped the ball on her blog followers.  I would apologize, but I'm sure many of you have had the same things happen in your life.  So my apology will come in the form of a follow up.

As a follow up to the last post, I have to say that two out of five beta readers have given me their input on the book; very favorable responses both of them.  I've been editing the draft and am up to the middle of the book so far.  I've added in two chapters and a prologue so far along with the editing.  I'm having a slight problem with formatting, which I am going to try to hold off on fixing until I'm done with the editing.  Once I'm done with editing and formatting, I will have to find an editor.  Anybody know anyone reasonably priced?  

After the editing, I'm hoping to snag a few ARC readers to do a preliminary read and review on the book before I actually publish.  My goal is to have all this done to have a release date between December 1st and 15th.  ~knock on wood~  Anyone have a spare four-leaved clover?  I may need to borrow a silver horseshoe for the front door, too.  People have those laying around, right?  

Until next time....

Happy reading!

Unfinished Work

Hello, Sia followers!

Did you ever have way too many irons in the fire.  Having a yard for the first time to work with has given me way too many projects to do outside.  I managed to finish using Mold Armour to get the disgusting green mold off the outside of my house and it's a beautiful baby blue again (I didn't put the mold there in the first place; that was the previous owner).  I got rid of that awful pile of wood and I even have a deck, table, and grill set up.  I still need to get a photo of my new shed too.  Still haven't used it - need some tidying up first - but it will really improve the state of my yard.  Then, there's my most recent addition to the yard - an unfinished tree bench.  I would have had this done back in June, but the screws kept acting stripped and pulling apart as soon as you finish a section.  Then between long hours at work and the heat wave/drought we've been having, I've been trying to stay in the A/C to keep cool and hydrated.  So, it remains unfinished. 

Another unfinished project is the raised bed I was supposed to have gotten put together last summer to start a garden in.  I had these big plans to start with one raised bed and put chicken wire around it for a place for the sugar snap peas and green beans to grow.  And, if it was successful, I was hoping to add another each summer until I am able to have enough produce over the summer and some to freeze and can.  Well, that hasn't happened either.  Which, considering the drought, might be a good thing.

Some people believe one of the reasons why spirits still walk this earth is because of unfinished business here.  I really hope my unfinished yard work doesn't become my unfinished business - roaming my yard and wailing about the work to still be done.  Oh, wait....  Did that last week.  Ok, moving on. 
So, yes, I believe in ghosts.  I've been on ghost hunts and have been slowly collecting all the equipment I would need to help in measure activity.  I have an EMF detector, my phone has an application that supposedly picks up voices, and I have dousing rods.  I even took a class and have a signed certificate saying I have completed a ghost-hunting course that included hands on experience.
Recently I have practically become a specter to my Twitter and Facebook friends and family.  I've been so wrapped up in doing anything but go on the computer and finish the draft of my first Atlantean book that I am sure you all have been wondering where I have been and what I have been up to.  Well, I was afraid.  Honestly afraid of finishing the first draft.  I was afraid to get the book out there to be criticized and found lacking.  I was afraid of editing - because I felt like I would be cutting up something I poured so much of myself and my life into.  I was afraid of costs to get a hard copy to beta readers.  I had found just about anything and everything to be afraid of.  But, I should have been afraid of never finishing.
Needless to say, the draft is done and now I am in the process of brainstorming cover ideas to give myself a wee break before I dive into editing.  Anything keeping you from finishing your life's work?
Happy Reading!

Starting Fires

I have a story to tell you about an outdoor experience I had at the beginning of June and some insights I received while working at it.  Imagine you have a pile of wood like I have shown above.  Yes, this is a real pile of wood.  It was nearly the height of a man of six feet.  My children, myself, and my ex-husband had gathered this wood together over the course of a week or two and it has been sitting in my yard, marinating.  I was planning on having a birthday party outside at my place and had to be rid of this monstrosity.  I was taught that to get a fire going, you have to start little fires, and, considering its considerable size and mass, I knew I would be putting these little fires all around until it caught. 

It
took
me
an
hour
to
get
it
to
look
like
this:

Then it blessedly took off! 

Patience and perseverance was necessary to get the blaze needed to consume the monstrous horde.  The insight I received from this work was that people are often setting off small flames in their lives, hoping to find the all-consuming blaze.  That was too metaphorical.  To put it bluntly: exploring relationships hoping that one day they will find their one true love.  Or, enjoying the small flames, but moving on as soon as they blow out in search for the next brief fire to enjoy the small warmth from and never nurturing something into the blaze it could be.  If I had given up 15 minutes before the little fires took off, I would not have accomplished the goal I set out to achieve and that huge pile of wood would still be cluttering up my back yard.

So, the fire blazed for a long while.  I was always close to the flames trying to push in the branches with my bare hands closer to the blaze or watering the surrounding grasses to keep it from getting out of hand.  Last thing my neighbor needed was a grass fire heading to his new home.

That was when the next insight hit me:  when we have accomplished something, there is still work to maintain it.  When you find the flame you've been looking for (whether a job, relationship, education, or enlightenment), you have to continue working at it or you will lose it.  As an aspiring author, I have been neglecting my writing because I have been putting my energy in maintaining familial relationships, reading for a yearly goal, working overtime to get caught up to enjoy my vacations/time-off guilt-free, keeping up with my health issues, and keeping up with the yard work.  I had plenty of excuses, but I was still neglecting something important to me and now I find myself with writers block - again.  It's time to get back to work, regardless of the discomfort getting close to the fire will bring.

And like all great blazes, even this one began to die down. 

Even at this level, the flames were hot enough that my face felt seared and puffed with redness as though I was sunburned.  At this stage, I was gathering more around the periphery to throw into the center and risking my shoes in the hot embers surrounding the still burning limbs.

That's when I found this: 

This snake was hiding under a large piece of bark trying to find a safe warm place to stay for the night when I stumbled upon it.  We managed to eye each other cautiously without having any issues before I moved on with my task.  I kept a wide berth of the area I found it in to avoid making it nervous.  Unfortunately, the cold was increasing and the snake decided to look for warmth.  The most promising warmth it was feeling was the fire mere inches from its cold-blooded body.  So, naturally - although remarkably suicidal - it got closer to the fire.

I know this is difficult to see in this photo.  The light was fast disappearing and I was a little unnerved to find the snake getting closer to the white embers.  It didn't stop that close, but got even closer, especially as the flames died down to the hot embers.  The snake acted like it didn't know it was in danger and continued to get closer and closer.  I went around the fire, closer to its location, and it reared back and hissed and snapped at me threateningly.  I understood and backed up, but it foolishly entered the hot embers and immediately began rolling in pain.  I grabbed the hose and doused it liberally, but it lay belly up for the longest time, I was certain it had died. I approached it again, but again it rallied and snapped at me threateningly, even though it was wounded.  And I finally left it alone.

The next insight I received was how people search for warmth like this snake did and end up hurting themselves.  As though desperate in their loneliness, they throw away their good sense and self-preservation, taking unnecessary risks to have just a moment of warmth from outside of themselves.  Sometimes the journey is uncomfortable and cold, but it is much better to seek out a safe, warm place by traveling through the cold, dewy grass than to go up in flames.  And, when people are hurt because of bad choices, they often strike out at those who are trying to help, just as this poor snake did.

Back in February, I blogged about Past Revealed for Future Growth.  In it I mentioned the Temple of the Sacred Flame.  Lessons from the element of fire are often painful, but memorable.  Recently I found a site that gives the location of the temple in Luxor, Egypt.  The site mentions how this once great temple is now a retreat for those wishing to ascend.  When you have succeeded in elevating your perceptions, you can move on toward the next room and the next insight.  I succeeded in gaining insights in every day work without having to go all the way to Luxor, or deprive myself of anything in my daily life such as my work, children, family, food or goals. 


Don't set yourself up to believe one thing only.  Life is about the revelations to come and you can move forward if you just remain open to Possibility.  Let go; let life move forward; and happy reading.

Have you Googled yourself lately?

Ever try to Google yourself?  I did today.  I'm pretty easy to find between the Gmail account, Twitter account, Facebook account, Linkedin account, this blog, and the blogs I comment on.  I even discovered today I'm the only person with my name (First and Last) in Michigan and the United States. 
I wonder what the pros and cons are of having as much exposure to myself as I have.  My grandparents are from the era that anything they hear in the news will happen to you.  Identity theft is something I am being continually harrassed about at home.  I'm constantly being reminded that I can endanger myself, my children, my finances, and my reputation if I put anything on my Facebook or Twitter feeds that would be considered "too personal".  Since I'm the only person with my name, I would think it would be easy to find someone impersonating me.

But, being an aspiring author, you also have to consider exposure as a good thing.  The more traffic to your blog, the better you'll be received into the community of authors you need to have as your support base.  The better your writing on that blog, the more interest you'll receive from book reviewers, publishers, agents, etc.  Word of mouth used to be your ally with respect to your reputation as an author, politician, caretaker and other pursuits.  But in the age of technology, being found in a search engine so someone can see who you are, where you are from and where you are going is today's "word of mouth".  If you are on Google, you just may be somebody.

"I'm ready for my close up, Mr. DeMille."

Happy Reading!