April 24, 2011

Part two of Somtimes


Now about my writing. Everybody writes; in emails,  letters, blogs,  and books. I will always write even if it is only in my journal. Though I don't think that will ever be the case. I love writing letters. I love telling stories on paper. I like to read my short stories to my sisters,  the scary and funny ones are  particularly fun.
I have been working more on my NaNoWriMo novel. It is a fantasy, and my favorite, but also the one I have the most difficulty with.
I am trying to finish it so that I  get the free proof copy of it. So I can let others read it in a nice formal cover. I feel like I am far from that. But I am going to get the proof copy even if I don't finish my book like I'd want to. I already have the cover designed.  
My book 

But this here, is where I am stuck.

“What kind of private business? Are you doing something I should know about?”
Ivan looked into Michael's eyes, for a trace of a lie.
“No.” And there was that gleam. He was lying.  And then, another thing was in his eyes. A spark of gold. Like at the peace banquet. But it disappeared instead of growing.
So strange.
“My business is my business, and no one is going to pry me open. So stop it, and lets go help the others.”

Okay, what is Michael doing? That's the question. I thought I knew, but I have changed my story so that my original idea wont work. This is where my POV character, (Ivan,) has gone on a school hunt ( for deer) with his friends, and they had been attacked by wolves who turn out to be large hunting dogs bred by the rival nation Kerroma. The dogs took a particular interest in Ivan, and as he is later to see, even more so in Michael. 
But Michael had been wounded prior to that by a boar, so he stayed with another boy ( his cousin, ) in the other part of the Forest while Ivan and the other's hunted.  When the other boys had chased the dogs off, Ivan realized that the dogs had took off in the direction where  Michael and his cousin were. So Ivan goes to look. They find Michael's cousin all alone high on a rock surrounded by the remaining dogs.
Where was Michael? had he been killed? stranded? Ivan rescues Michael's cousin, though the cousin is bitten on the foot by one of the dogs so he jumps off Ivan's horse and kills the dog, another startles Ivan's horse who takes him for a wild ride and Ivan slips off the back. He finds Michael, who seems to be unaware of the entire dog attack. Plus, Michael has been drinking strange gold potions. And when Michael and Ivan join everyone else, every single wolf turns on Michael.

 Okay, some time has passed since I wrote that, I think I know now why Michael was separated from his cousin, more or less, or not not so much at all, but I know what he was doing.
So there's a buffering point for you. I told my Nana that I would be done with this story by February. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened. 
But I am not putting this book down until I finish it. In the past I have written pieces of stories and could never finish them. but now, I am finishing this one. 
NaNowrimo has helped me learn that first drafts aren't perfect and I should not make them so. Just get it out. It doesn't matter if there's too much detail, or in my case, no detail, or if you antagonist isn't original. Get it out. Then put it down. After a few months, pick it up and edit, rewrite, cut, or even add. All that stuff. And Then again. But a... to cut out seems painful. I had to do that for the first time. 

April 14, 2011

Robin hood is working on his basket merit badge

Girls in my ward say they are going to die on this summer's pioneer trek, with out showers, or a fresh set of clothes, and sweating all the way. But this is what I caught Robin hood saying:
"I'm going to die! Mom, I can't make any more dumb baskets. "
Well Robin, I don't get it.
Why do you say this when you talk so much about those silly girls who say that I will have to bury them by the roadside on the trek? How can you call them silly? We are talking about a pioneer trek. And you know what? Lots of people died on the way to Salt Lake .
But I have never heard of any one dieing while making baskets.


PS: To save his honor, and reputation, Robin hood request that I write this after post.

He says it wasn't as bad as he thought, it is hard, but he thinks it's fun. ( and he has actually has a talent for it.)
So maybe we will both live through the trek. Oh no, Robin said it again!
"If I don't die," But this time I think he is joking.
But I am really exited. I just got my pioneer dress. Now all I need is a bonnet.

April 10, 2011

Somtimes...









I think too much on what to write about.
There are so many ideas in my brain, there is never nothing, it's only what, and which one?
So today I will write about a career I will take on for life. I am going to be a writer and an artist. anyone who can draw a stick figure, can be an artist.
That is my belief. See mine at the top? You might notice one I never finished. My stick people are always cowboys and Indians, or fishermen. And sometimes my family. I like to decorate my envelopes with them. I used to draw possums on envelopes too. Mischievous ones. I have been drawing since I could hold a crayon.
But that is mostly because I have such a art- supportive mother. she gave me pencils, crayons, glitter, paint, markers and scissors, ( yes, there were times, my mom says, when I cut my hair, and drew on myself; I remember going to church with green marker all over my hands,) and over the years even a couple desks. Right now I have two.Desks, not green hands. He,he.
But the only problem is that when I was six I caught horse fever and since then I drew only ponies and horses. of course there was the occasional Kittie and dog in my picture, and a bird, but I drew only stick people. They were not important. And now, almost ten years later, when I feel like I want to have people riding my horses, I realize my people are no match for my horses! I can draw any animal realistically if i can see it,
(You can see some on my art bog, though I admit it's old,)
but people? Eh, he, need a few more years. I wish there was a smiley face I could put here. :)
When I was ten i dropped markers and crayons, and I never did much with chalk.
I started to lean to pencils. i loved the dark against the white, and it was then when mom said, '
"Okay Tali, it's time to learn how to shade."
She told me to get my coloring books and color them with a pencil. And from there I learned to shade. I like colored pencils to, but they have no erasers!
(The col. pencils that do aren't as good as the ones that don't.) And I have recently discovered water color paints, after watching a movie with my family about Beatrix Potter, and I decided that I wanted to be able to paint as well as her. In that I have lots of room for improvement. I have in everything.
My Nana was also an artist and she worked as an apprentice for Evertt Thorpe. He was a Utah artist, and some of his works are so real looking, like his mountains, it makes me feel like I am looking up. Evertt thought she was to good to get married and raise a family, he wanted her to keep working for him. He was a stickler for anatomy. Nana says I need to study anatomy.
And so I do, though not as much as I should, I think.
Dad got the Drawing on the right side of your brain video for the whole family to work on for an hour or two each Saturday. So far we took two lessons. The first was a self portrait. Yikes! We all got mirrors, and stared at ourselves for a while. At least I did. I drew myself quite small, maybe so that I couldn't see the mistakes. It was pretty okay. I will eventually get better.
These are some of the envelopes i have done in the past.


March 19, 2011

March comes in like a lamb



Here are some of my other pictures. Unfortunately not my lamb ones. sheep are such friendly creatures, once you make friends with them.
This year we have eight sheep all together, last year for a short while we had sixteen sheep, until we sent four rams to the freezer. Now the boy lambs of last year are ready to be either sold or sent to the freezer. A sad thing about this set of lambs is that their brothers are their fathers, an accident really, which means that we will probably have to send the females of this year to the freezer as well. It isn't good for breeding a Strong heard because it causes defects. we have never had any, unless you count miscarriage , that happened twice in our experience so far, and we don't want to have unhealthy sheep.
Did you know that sheep always have a leader of the flock? An older ewe, ( female sheep) that has the trust of the other sheep? The sheep leader of our flock is Arabia. It is true that sheep are much easier to lead then to herd or round up. Every once in a while our sheep get into our neighbor's Pasteur's, and every once in a while his cows get into ours. He doesn't tolerate anything that has to do with our animals getting on his land ( I probably wouldn't either, with how many times it's happened, with his cows ruining our garden,) and yesterday he talked to Robin hood about it, telling him that our sheep were eating the grain he put out in his feeders for his cows,
" Now that's bad for us to, Mr., because that stuff is poisonous for our sheep."
That's what I would have said. This particular neighbor thinks we are taking advantage of his grain.
But we got our sheep leading them with a reward of corn, which is candy for them, a reason why the big meat animal factories haven't been doing sheep. The thing they feed their animals is corn, and sheep can not live on that.

March 14, 2011

In an Icy Winter wonder land









We have ice storms every year, some are a little disastrous, but not near as bad as some people get them. Sometimes ice storms can cause a roof cave in on people inside their house. but they are all beautiful. This was in my opinion, our smallest one. last year we had big ones. And there is big Ben of the Ozarks trying to get his tongue stuck at the top.

Here's our lambs!


Two of them any way, I have much better pictures but haven't up loaded them to the computer yet. These are Robin hood's sheep, the mother is Alaska and her babies are Ice cream and toasted marsh mellow.

February 6, 2011

the first Fish of the year

Can you imagine? I caught this in the middle of winter. Actually, this particular day was very warm, as it might look in the pic. This fish tops all I've ever caught, at four pounds and a half, and 19 in. I caught him on a slow little plastic worm, in pond We named Discovery.
Like My mom starts thinking of gardening every spring, I start thinking of fish.

February 1, 2011

This is why Dad is catching up...



This is why my dad is catching up to how many blog posts I have. I entered and won A novel writing contest with my brother's and sisters. You should check it out. But I declare, November is not a good month to have this sort of thing. It was really fun, All you have to do after signing up is put away your inner editor, and lock him tight in the basement, (And use up all your spare time ). Then write, write, write, until you've reached your word goal, the dead line is November 30.

Here is a summary: The Dragon Lords, a Summary:

Three young men, A Prince and his friends, warriors in training, meet at battle school and influence each other, and in turn are influenced, for good and evil. Entangling family, kingdom, ambition and political alliances create complications that overshadow boyhood and hint at diverging, power wielding, destinies.

November 5, 2010

Halloween, holloween, this is halloween


Too bad I don't have a pic of my full costume. Oh well. Can you guess who I dressed up as?

Halloween, holloween, this is halloween





October 8, 2010

Mom says they look like sausages

Here is Emma and her one week old puppies. They are 3 weeks now though and look a lot more fluffy. They have started to develop their own characteristics too. These aren't good pictures to see them with all their cute faces, but its what I've got right now. One has a name, but I am still thinking what the other puppies names should be until they go to their new homes... maybe Peter, Johnny, Guinevere, and Jasmine or something else. The one puppy that does have a name is Oliver. He is the one on the far right in both pictures with a "y" white marking on his neck. I want to see the others personalities more before I name them. Aren't they cute? Wait till I get some pic.s where you can see them better.

September 29, 2010

In the basement...




... are 5 new residents living in our basement. Five fuzzy residents. Emma, my English Shepperd had puppies on the fourteenth of September. Just seven days before her own birthday. There are 2 girls and 3 boys. they were born near my room or, actually in my room. All of them are bob tailed except one boy. The bob tails are from Emma's side of the family. She really doesn't have a natural bobtail, more like naturally tailless. Not even a stump.
Aiden is their father, pictured above. I'm not able to put up recent pictures of Emma or puppies because Dad and I are still looking for that Camera cable. Oh, cable maple