Semi-Professional Muse for Hire: Reasonable Rates

On the fourth day of January ...

2012-01-04T17:16:00.000-08:00

... I was a bee so busy I missed the light completely. So I rested in yesterday's light, instead.

another snowtograph

2012-01-03T18:42:00.001-08:00

From another snowy day in the neighborhood.

snowtograph

2012-01-02T18:35:00.000-08:00

The first snow of the winter - maybe the last?

As I went outside, Dr. Nick said "Are you going to make snowtographs?"

Yes, I did.

carry on, then

2012-01-01T18:20:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

been a long time since I rock and rolled

2011-10-08T19:49:00.001-07:00

I'm slightly weirded out by 84 degree F temperatures in October, but I'll take it. It keeps the butterflies around.

I have a dj gig coming up in a couple of weeks - the first live in gig in at least 3 years! I'm nervous, but I've been listening to music like mad, and Dr. Nick and I rocked the living room tonight. We have such fun playing music. The dog doesn't like it much, though. Not even the Skinny Puppy, which is supposed to be his favorite band :)

You & me

2011-09-03T19:51:00.001-07:00

You and me won't be unhappy

(Too hot to go outside, playing with photo booth inside)

So many books

2011-09-02T18:58:00.000-07:00

So many books, so little time

Saddle up.

2011-09-01T17:48:00.000-07:00

Saddle up and ride out, cowgirl.

(contemplating my first live dj gig in over 3 years)

home again, home again

2011-08-08T17:47:00.000-07:00

We're back home as of today; now begins the re-integration into life. It was an excellent vacation in so many ways, and I'll have many things to blog about. For now, here's a photo of the place I left Saturday morning, and where I'd love to still be: Silver Bay, NY on Lake George in the Adirondacks.

The house at the corner

2011-07-22T07:41:00.000-07:00

So how's my Y/A novel going? Not so well, maybe. The title of this blog is "Semi-Professional Muse for Hire" because I'm very good at encouraging and inspiring creativity in others. I'm not as good at motivating my own self to sit down and do the work. I read Chuck Wendig's "25 ways to defeat the dreaded writer's block" several times this week.

However, I've roused as much of the crew as possible (especially Yarnberd and Metahari ) to join me in a Fear of Writing 10K Day tomorrow. Eep. Should be ... fun?

Stay tuned.

Waiting for the Muse

2011-07-18T11:40:00.001-07:00

Another from the Ann Arbor set. (You can see all I have so far here.)

I'm still working my way through my many, many photos from the past couple of months. This one strikes me, though. It's a rather emphatic example, for me, of the creative life.

People say it over and over again, in books like "Do the Work" by Stephen Pressfield or "Mugging the Muse" by Holly Lisle, and in countless blogs, but the idea is: you don't wait for the Muse, you get to work, and she meets you there.

She usually meets me in the shower or while I'm driving, but those are brief visits: if I go down to the diner and get to work, she usually will hang around.

I'm struggling to work, but I'm working. She'll find me with a damn fine cup of coffee and a pencil, or camera, in hand.

You may have seen it, but I'm sharing it again - a most excellent graphic representation of some wise words from Ira Glass of This American Life:

Storm coming

2011-07-04T06:29:00.000-07:00

This is Evelyn. You'll be seeing more of her, soon, since I was practicing portraits with her and her sister this weekend. I couldn't resist that face!

We were out at a Lake for a party, and there was weird storm light in the afternoon that provided this sepia atmosphere. I didn't touch up the color in this at all.

I've missed the Midwest.

Red hot pokers

2011-07-03T13:44:00.000-07:00

I don't know what these are really called, but Jillian calls them "red hot pokers".

Greetings from Ann Arbor, where it's very hot, but kind of awesome, and we have eaten many delicious foods, swum in a too-warm Midwestern lake, and partied with derby girls.

Not to mention, played several rounds of Settlers of Catan. I think another round is starting up now, in fact. Hope you are all having a wonderful Fourth of July weekend if you live in the States; and a generally wonderful summer weekend wherever you may be!

Rip it up and start again

2011-06-27T04:47:00.000-07:00

After writing yesterday about Nick tearing up the carpet, I got into the act to help the process move faster. We split up the tasks, so that he was on "slicing and dicing" duty to tear the carpet into rollable strips for easier transport, and I was on staple/nail duty - given the happy task of pulling staples up from the floor with a pliers, and using a hammer & screwdriver combination to pry up the wooden trim nailed into the floorboards along the walls.

THIS WAS AWESOME. Nick said it was boring, but I had a great time. I love physical labor - it frees my mind to wander around and play with ideas. Also, I love creative destruction. I love tearing things up. I love making a huge mess and getting filthy. Or, as Austin Kleon might say , "Creativity is subtraction". I highly recommend a little creative destruction for getting the juices flowing.

While we were also moving furniture around to pull up the carpet, we decided to also rid ourselves of some of the heavy, unwieldy furniture. So the bulky gigantic chest of drawers/mirror that a former symphony co-worker gave me for free? Down to the curb. We earned pizza and beer moving that thing. Heavy ornamental screen? Gone. I see that someone picked it up from our curb already this morning. And much joy may they have of these items (or, money).

Once you start, though, downsizing gets to be addictive. "Let's throw everything away!" Well, probably not everything, but we're now committed to a campaign of cleaning out the closets and the attic, and taking stock of which furniture items are going to be discarded/put into a yard sale when we (hopefully) move next year.

Now, of course, my office is a tremendous mess, since it received the overflow from the bedroom. I'm kind of revved up to throw more stuff away and organize today.

A note on the carpet - we found a date sticker on the last strip of it. Feb 14 2007. We bought the house in May of 2007. So the previous owners painted the bedroom and slapped the carpet down over the damaged hardwood. Cheeky.

post office

2011-06-26T14:01:00.000-07:00

A cool, grey, and rainy day at Chez Nick & Heather WV. So I thought the photo above was appropriate. That's the shut-down post office at Thurmond, WV. If you're waiting for the mail, you'll be waiting a long time. I have that same kind of feeling of waiting for something today.

Dr. Nick is pulling up the nasty carpet in the bedroom, revealing the hard wood below. It needs some sanding and refinishing, to be sure, but it's still perfectly lovely hardwood. We are starting to think that the closets are not original; and then when someone did a shoddy job with the closets they also put down the horrible carpet, which somewhat covered that up. Anyway, Nick's doing the hard work - pulling up the staples and tacks & so forth that held the mat down - and I'm helping by moving things around and sweeping and rolling the carpet back a little at a time. Oh, we are making a grand chaos in the bedroom.

We've had a quiet weekend. I went downtown yesterday morning to the Library Book Sale (I only spent $5!) and the Capitol St. Art Fair. I ran into some artists I know, and had a few pleasant conversations.

I've still got hundreds of photos that are unprocessed, all the way back to May. I'm not sure why I'm dragging my heels, probably because I'm feeling a bit insecure. Surprise.

My novel-in-progress is going rather slowly, too. I have about 5,000 words on paper, but many more thoughts in my head. I am not out of the game yet, and this is no NanoWriMo. I consider any progress by the end of August to be success.

Still there are things to look forward to: we're going to Ann Arbor next weekend - and friends are visiting - and the upstate New York trek happens at the end of July/early August too. I'm not really in hiking shape, but there's still time to improve that.

For my friends who like 80's music, which is most of you, you might enjoy this John Maus album that you can stream at NPR First listen. It's called 'We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves'. Love it!

reflection in a disco ball

2011-06-03T08:12:00.001-07:00

I'm out for the weekend to the Wilds of West Virginia with good friends; it is expected that we'll be off the internet grid. (horrors!) Take care and do good work while I'm gone!

soft dog nose

2011-06-02T05:02:00.000-07:00

Summer is a'comin' in

2011-06-01T16:34:00.000-07:00

This is one from the archives, from our trip to Bemidji, MN last summer. It's appropriate.

1. It's pretty much summer here in tha WV, and hot enough that we've had to use the air conditioning already.

2. We had our Third Annual Memorial Day party on Sunday; it was a great day for it. Good company and food was had.

3. We reprised our party for an audience of two on Monday; Mohnacky, the guitarist from our wedding and much-missed Charleston friend, is visiting from NYC with his girlfriend Megan. So we grilled with them again on Monday. Also, we're taking a long weekend away with them starting Friday. We're heading to the wilds of West Virginia! We'll be bunking in a cabin in the Greenbrier State Forest and doing some day trips for activities and sight-seeing. For sure, we won't have internet for four days. I expect that to be lovely.

4. My physical copy of Kate Bush's new album came today (Thanks, Amazon Prime!). The photography in the liner notes is pretty great, and I recommend fans pick up a hard copy.

5. I won't have internet this weekend, but I will have my laptop along, so I can upload the (hopefully) many photos I'll be shooting, and so I can work on my summer project.

6. Which brings me the Summer Project; I feel I should come clean about it so people can help keep me honest. I'm writing a Young Adult novel in three months this summer, starting today, as per this blog post by excellent writer Theodora Goss . I've gathered a small but mighty crew, I'm aiming for 1,000 words per day and a goal of 75,000 - 90,000 words total. So that's happening.

7. Dr. Nick and I have been married now for three years. Yay!

8. Dr. Nick is making me his Caesar salad; and then we're going to watch more Farscape. I have no complaints.

In Our Angelhood

2011-05-15T15:06:00.001-07:00

Summer is around the corner

2011-04-28T15:56:00.000-07:00

groan

2011-04-28T15:51:00.001-07:00

Another ent.

there she goes, my beautiful world

2011-04-26T17:21:00.000-07:00

This is from my first shoot with the new DSLR camera. I'm so in love, and we've only just met. We have such a long way to travel together, and so much to learn.

ground control to major tom

2011-04-05T18:05:00.000-07:00

Astronauts in the spring.

snowdrop

2011-03-08T14:24:00.000-08:00

first blossom

2011-02-17T18:47:00.000-08:00

Day 365 of 365.

As seen today, February 17th - the first flowers of the season.

I thought this would be an appropriate way to end this project. Thanks for following along. I promise more photos in the future.

weathered links

2011-02-17T18:41:00.000-08:00

Day 364 of 365.

I'm always grateful for my friends. The links may get rusty, but they don't break.

spring peeks

2011-02-17T18:38:00.001-08:00

Day 363 of 365.

peeking

2011-02-17T18:34:00.001-08:00

Day 362 of 365.

eep.

2011-02-17T18:15:00.000-08:00

Day 361 of 365.

pulling our weight

2011-02-17T17:53:00.001-08:00

Day 360 of 365.

knocking on heaven's door

2011-02-17T17:45:00.000-08:00

Day 359 of 365.

fire & ice

2011-02-17T17:37:00.001-08:00

Day 358 of 365.

ghost under rocks

2011-02-17T17:15:00.001-08:00

Day 357 of 365.

true grit

2011-02-17T17:07:00.001-08:00

Day 356 of 365.

secret heart

2011-02-17T17:01:00.000-08:00

Day 355 of 365.

stop making sense

2011-02-14T18:39:00.001-08:00

Day 354 of 365.

treeple!

2011-02-14T18:30:00.001-08:00

Day 353 of 365.

looking up

2011-02-14T18:25:00.000-08:00

Day 352 of 365.

Here's hoping things will be.

could be an organ donor the way I give up my heart

2011-02-14T18:15:00.000-08:00

Day 351 of 365.

Soundtrack to this photo:

Happy Valentine's Day by Outkast

urban dreaming

2011-02-03T17:50:00.001-08:00

Day 350 of 365.

Last of the afternoon light

2011-02-03T17:43:00.000-08:00

Day 349 of 365.

Duck crossing

2011-02-03T17:36:00.000-08:00

Day 348 of 365.

I fear for the ducks who may actually cross near this sign. It's on a very busy road with many fast drivers, and by the time a driver sees the sign they'd be on top of the ducks already.

long tall shadow

2011-02-03T17:31:00.001-08:00

Day 347 of 365.

outside ornaments

2011-02-03T17:27:00.000-08:00

Day 346 of 365.

waiting for the mail

2011-02-01T17:47:00.001-08:00

Day 345 of365.

snow & pines

2011-02-01T17:42:00.001-08:00

Day 344 of 365.

shadowy steps

2011-02-01T17:37:00.001-08:00

Day 343 of 365.

winter magic

2011-02-01T17:28:00.000-08:00

Day 342 of 365.

winter bare

2011-02-01T17:25:00.001-08:00

Day 341 of 365.

berries in winter

2011-02-01T17:18:00.000-08:00

Day 340 of 365.

was this your card?

2011-02-01T17:13:00.000-08:00

Day 339 of 365.

9D

2011-02-01T17:09:00.000-08:00

Day 338 of 365.

O__o

2011-02-01T17:05:00.000-08:00

Day 337 of 365.

fiesta!

2011-01-31T18:30:00.000-08:00

Day 336 of 365.

glass abstract

2011-01-31T18:26:00.001-08:00

Day 335 of 365.

bunnies play for keeps

2011-01-31T18:19:00.000-08:00

Day 334 of 365.

While my in-laws visited, we played a few rousing games of Dixit.

crossing bridges

2011-01-31T18:13:00.000-08:00

Day 333 of 365.

next steps

2011-01-31T18:06:00.001-08:00

Day 332 of 365.

good advice

2011-01-26T17:15:00.001-08:00

Day 331 of 365.

say hello to my little friend.

2011-01-26T17:11:00.001-08:00

Day 330 of 365.

I call him Paul the Penguin. I don't know where he came from.

my favorite ornament

2011-01-26T17:01:00.001-08:00

Day 329 of 365.

star

2011-01-26T16:55:00.000-08:00

Day 328 of 365.

a very bokeh Christmas

2011-01-26T12:10:00.001-08:00

Day 327 of 365.

Our Christmas tree this year was an Island Pine - $13 at Lowe's - that now doubles as a houseplant.

required reading

2011-01-26T12:02:00.000-08:00

Day 326 of 365.

One of my goals for 2011 is to read more fiction written by authors who were not born/raised in primarily English-speaking countries. So this is part of my stack. I hope to read one per month, minimum, and of course, 100 books per year.

snow loops

2011-01-26T11:54:00.000-08:00

Day 325 of 365.

weave

2011-01-25T18:24:00.000-08:00

Day 324 of 365.

fluffy tufts

2011-01-25T18:18:00.001-08:00

Day 323 of 365.

something in the water

2011-01-25T17:40:00.000-08:00

Day 322 of 365.

Ice cold ice

2011-01-25T17:28:00.001-08:00

Day 321 of 365.

Foraging

2011-01-25T17:21:00.001-08:00

Day 320 of 365.

Riverscape

2011-01-25T17:14:00.000-08:00

Day 319 of 365.

sunset over South Charleston

2011-01-19T18:59:00.001-08:00

Dy 318 of 365.

first snow

2011-01-19T18:51:00.001-08:00

first snow, originally uploaded by Bloodlossgirl.

Day 317 of 365.

first steps

2011-01-19T18:45:00.000-08:00

Day 316 of 365.

Lemurs are smart

2011-01-13T05:41:00.001-08:00

Lemurs are smart, originally uploaded by Bloodlossgirl.

Day 315 of 365.

I'll meet you in the middle

2011-01-13T05:33:00.001-08:00

I'll meet you in the middle, originally uploaded by Bloodlossgirl.

Day 314 of 365.

Reach

2011-01-13T05:25:00.001-08:00

Day 313 of 365.

snowbound

2011-01-13T05:20:00.001-08:00

snowbound, originally uploaded by Bloodlossgirl.

Day 312 of 365.

Shocked!

2011-01-13T05:15:00.001-08:00

Day 311 of 365.

getting jolly

2011-01-13T05:10:00.001-08:00

Day 310 of 365.

You need to give me more texture

2011-01-13T05:06:00.001-08:00

You need to give me more texture, originally uploaded by Bloodlossgirl.

Day 309 of 365.

Rails

2011-01-13T04:55:00.001-08:00

Day 308 of 365.

Head on

2011-01-10T19:12:00.001-08:00

Day 307 of 365.

early winter light

2011-01-10T19:06:00.001-08:00

early winter light, originally uploaded by Bloodlossgirl.

Day 306 of 365.

I am a unique snowflake

2011-01-10T19:01:00.000-08:00

Day 305 of 365.

Psychedelic South Charleston

2011-01-10T18:57:00.001-08:00

Day 304 of 365.

Paws for reflection

2011-01-10T18:46:00.000-08:00

Day 303 of 365.

Folded pansy

2011-01-10T18:41:00.001-08:00

Day 302 of 365.

An architect's dream

2011-01-10T18:32:00.001-08:00

Day 301 of 365.

Gold rush

2011-01-10T04:46:00.000-08:00

Day 300 of 365.

Pay no attention to the man in the puddle

2011-01-10T04:36:00.000-08:00

Day 299 of 365.

More puddletography

Leap

2011-01-10T04:25:00.001-08:00

Leap, originally uploaded by Bloodlossgirl.

Day 298 of 365.

I have a feeling that 2011 will be one big, flopping, clumsy leap.

Back on the chain gang

2011-01-10T04:20:00.001-08:00

Back on the chain gang, originally uploaded by Bloodlossgirl.

Day 297 of 365.

before the winter winds

2011-01-10T04:14:00.000-08:00

Day 296 of 365.

S/he's got legs

2011-01-09T16:54:00.001-08:00

S/he's got legs, originally uploaded by Bloodlossgirl.

... and I presume s/he knows how to use them.

Day 295 of 365.

Series: Mythical beasts

2011-01-06T17:37:00.001-08:00

Day 292 of 365: Choked up. The vines are trying to keep this ent from speaking.

Day 293 of 365: Goblins at the gate. Goblins guard a vault of antique treasure.

Day 294 of 365: Chain your Crocodile down, sport.

Dream on

2011-01-06T17:24:00.001-08:00

Dream on, originally uploaded by Bloodlossgirl.

Day 291 of 365.

The sky's the limit

2011-01-06T17:19:00.001-08:00

The sky's the limit, originally uploaded by Bloodlossgirl.

Day 290 of 365.

Urban sequence

2011-01-06T17:10:00.001-08:00

Here's a set of 3, as I try to save space while detonating a photobomb:

Day 287 of 365: Turning Back on Yourself.

Day 288 of 365: Hourglass.

Day 289 of 365: Crowning Achievement.

It's all happening at the library

2011-01-06T16:58:00.001-08:00

It's all happening at the library, originally uploaded by Bloodlossgirl.

Day 286 of 365.

A frequent destination of mine.