Here in North Dakota, we don't have "April showers bring May flowers"...
Instead, we have April showers, April snow, April sleet, April rain, April drizzle, April fog, April graupel . . . and they only bring headaches.
But spring weather is just right around the corner! (Hopefully)
This month's writing update.
Only a brief update. I'm working on two stories from February's flash fiction, plus I've added three more drafts to my inventory of "stories to continue."
Nothing's ready to submit yet, but at least there is some writing happening behind the scenes!
What I'm reading this month.
I haven't watched anything except Survivor and 90-Day Fiance, so I have accomplished more reading than usual!
I finished Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains, by Bethany Brookshire. I heard about this book at a professional conference I attend every year, and Bethany was one of the presenters this year.
The book was great, and I highly recommend it if you are an animal lover, squeamish about "pests" like mice and roaches, or are curious about/intrigued by where the lines are drawn between "this animal is cute and we should protect it" versus "ick, this is a nuisance that must be destroyed." That was one of the discussion items of her presentation at the conference: for many people, research using beagles, bunnies, etc. is unacceptable; but for many of those same people, research using mice and rats is acceptable because they are pests.
Back when we lived in our trailer, I used to put out food for the little chipmunk that lived under our shed...until I opened the hood of a rental car I was using while my car was under repairs and found the engine compartment full of that food.
We used to feed the squirrels when we first moved into the new house...until one of them decided to make a shortcut to the backyard by chewing a hole up through our deck . . . which made the board unstable, and caused chubby little Honey Booboo to fall through the deck. She was okay, but she could have been badly hurt (or hubby could have, if it had happened to him and his weak ankle), so the squirrel was no longer a friend.
So I could really relate to the concepts in the book, lol.
Next, I read I Cheefully Refuse, by Leif Enger, for a book club, and then I forgot all about the meeting date and missed it! I wasn't that crazy about the book, so since I wasn't able to discuss it with the group, I kinda feel like I read it for nothing, lol.
Not to mention, this would have been my second meeting at the club, so I showed up for one meeting and "didn't come back." They probably think I didn't like them, lol (which I did; they seem like a fun bunch).
So now I'm suffering from choice paralysis. I can re-read Watership down for a different book club, read the selection for the regular book club (though honestly, this next selection sounds even less interesting than the last one I read, so I'm reluctant), or read a challenge book (the local library has themed challenges, and the latest is for books about libraries; I ordered The Giver of Stars, by Jojo Moyes just in case I want to try the challenge). or read the newest book from Stephen Graham Jones.
Or, I could read either of the two "favorite authors" books I recently ordered: The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, by Stephen Graham Jones, or Wandering Stars, by Tommy Orange.
Or, I could read the one book I ordered from an author who presented at the UND Writers Conference, Seek You: A Journey Through American Loneliness, by Kristen Radtke.
So many books, so little time.
Whatever book I choose next, I'm going to keep trying to attend one book club or another because it's good motivation for me to actually set things aside and take time to read.
What I'm learning this month/class report.
I'm not taking classes this summer at the university, so my next class will be in the fall. I've registered for a sociology class, Technology and Society.
I have roughly four classes left to finish the social science major (including my fall class). I have four credits left for the computer science minor (one or two classes, depending on how the credits shake out). So taking classes in fall and spring, I should be done by Spring 2028 (Fall 2028, if I can find a single computer science class worth four credits). I can push that up to Spring '27' if I start taking summer classes again, but it's not like I'm in a hurry to finish.
I'm still doing Duolingo for Spanish, and I passed my one year anniversary (365 days straight of practice).
I'm also still doing a Spanish class through Skill Success and lessons through Dreaming in Spanish. I'm still learning Java through Udemy, and full-stack developer through Codecademy (I'm on Javascript. Yay!) I'm also doing a refresher HTML/CSS course through Free Code Camp.
The newest subject added to my "education" is meditation.
It seems to help with the stress and with anger management. But the area it helps most with is sleep!
I rarely have trouble falling asleep, but I often wake up several times during the night. And when I do, my mind starts churning, and the next thing you know, I have insomnia and can't get back to sleep.
One of the first courses I took on meditaiton talked about monkey brain, and that is EXACTLY my problem. It can be bad during the day, but my monkey brain really goes full tilt when I should be sleeping.
So now when I wake up in the middle of the night, I immediately go into my meditation mode (relax, take some reset breaths and do a body scan), and then repeat the first "mantra" I learned. I just repeat "I am...I am...I am..." over as I mostly focus on my breath. Sometimes I separate them by breath ("I" on the in breath, "am" on the exhale), and sometimes I just say it independently of the breaths. But whichever I do, I don't repeat it more than two dozen times before I'm sound asleep again! For that alone, learning about meditation was worth it!
Why it works, I have no idea. Especially considering it's just the incomplete phrase, "I am." Maybe becasue it's close to "Om"? I don't know, and I don't really care. I'm just glad it works!
And speaking of meditation classes, I took several different ones. Some were good, and some were meh. I hope to get some of the certificates uploaded this month or next.
This month's playlist. The ten songs I'm listening to on repeat.
This month's pondering or rant.
Camping is cancelled this year.
Nope. Not a late "April fools."
Hubby's replacement ankle is failing, so he will be having another surgery.
We've camped in the past while he's recovered, but I'm not doing it this year. It's a whole lot more work for me because I have to do all the camper set up and tear down, all the dog care (including potty breaks), etc. Plus it's a bummer that he can't walk with us, and he almost always ended up frustrated that he's stuck at the campsite. So why do it if it's going to lead to more work and more frustration?
On top of that, there's the risk of bad luck. We've had a tire blow out before, on our old camper, so we were stuck on the side of the road while vehciles whpped past us at 75+ and it was 105 degrees outside.
We've had skylights bust and need to be repaired immediately to keep out rain and bugs. We've had tornadoes nearby so we've had to get out fast.
And last year, our awning got stuck in the "out" position.
If any of these things happen while hubby is recovering, he won't be able to do much about it. Worse yet, he'd probably TRY to do something about it and mess up his recovery!
So I think it's more prudent, less-stressful, and safer to just take this year off. If everything goes well, hubby can get his ankle fixed up and finally be pain free (or near to it) so that next year's camping season can be the best one yet! He's really been limited in how much he can enjoy the season, as he's not been pain free and/or fully mobile for most of the trips since the 2018 season.
So this month, leading up to his surgery, is all about getting the yard ready for staycation. We are still going to enjoy the great outdoors, we just won't be camping...not in the campground, anyway. I will be camping in the backyard with Penny in the new tent I bought. We will have fire pits in the backyard. We will grill out. And we'll take lots of walks here in town and out at Turtle River State Park.
But all this means work. We have to make sure the fence is secure and do repairs. We haven't used the big back yard much, but we will during staycation. I need to make sure all the fencing back there can keep in my little demons.
It also means making things dog safe. This means trimming the lower branches of the pine trees so that I can SEE the corgis to keep an eye on them, and blocking off the area behind hubby's workshop with chicken wire so they can't get mess with any of the stuff that's stored behind the workshop.
An additional project on my to-do list is to get rid of the pine needles under those three trees in the big backyard, as well. Hubby's done a good job of keeping the needles raked up beneath the pine in the dog yard, since we use that every day. But the three pines in the big back yard were neglected when we moved in, and we haven't gotten around to dealing with the needles, either (when you spend all your time off camping every year during the warm season, there's not a lot of time leftover for yard maintenance). So there's about 6-8 inches of pine needles under each tree. I'd like to have it taken care of by the time we start our staycations, but I'm guessing it's going to be a summer project.
Though I'm going to miss hanging out in the camper at Devils Lake this year, I'm excited to see how the staycation goes. We have a really beautiful yard, and this will be the first time I will be taking the time to actually enjoy it. We have a pond back there, and I basically just pass by it on my way to and from Hubby's workshop. I don't think I've ever just sat beside it and enjoyed it! This summer will be a good time to start!
That's it for this month. Until next month, Stay Spooky, my friends!
~~Here be monsters . . . and corgis.~~