Ignore this thread!

[Jean in Newcastle]

Krissi doesn't like what I planned for supper. 

 

J/k

[ikslo]

I thought maybe she was annoyed with me for only having two bras in rotation.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Just now, ikslo said:

I thought maybe she was annoyed at me for only having two bras in rotation.

That's all I have too.  But I will only tell you that here on ITT because we are invisible to everyone else. 

[Slache]

6 hours ago, Another Lynn said:

Slache, do you like my new siggy?

I wanted to take the spaces out and I saw on a chat board thread that Reguheert (sp) said he uses the list format to type lines without spaces.  Is there any other way to do it?

Mine is a paragraph. It was the best I could do.

6 hours ago, Slache said:

Morning Time, start washing pillows

School block 1, rotate pillows

Scrub & reorganize kids room, rotate pillows

School block 2, final pillow rotation

Quiet time, phone calls and emails

Remove carseats and wash them so Matt can scrub the car tomorrow 

Some school prep stuff before bed

383 steps to go.

24 minutes ago, myblessings4 said:

I only have one bra now 

I have two. I win?

[lanalouwho]

1 hour ago, myblessings4 said:

I only have one bra now 

I have three and it's the most I've had since before my first pregnancy.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I'm so tired.  But I am tackling in slow motion.  At least I have my flank steak marinating. 

[prairiewindmomma]

I decided a few years ago that it was completely ridiculous that I only had two bras.

Like, really, why do we twist ourselves into spirals of self-denial over a very necessary part of our wardrobe?!!  My IRL BFF was wearing her one ratty hole-ridden bra and talking about how she had just taken her daughter to go buy a few more bras (when she already had an entire drawerful) and I had this epiphany that my behavior was just kind of stupid and not helpful.  I just don't think it's a great example to set to not value caring for ourselves (when finances can be arranged to buy more).

[prairiewindmomma]

We're having gyros for dinner....pre-cooked and sliced meat.

[KrissiK]

It’s the one on discipline. I should know by now to just ignore those and I will stay out of the seas, but those kind of threads still bug me. I still remember one from here years ago one woman emphatically and quite proudly said that she “never yells at her kids” and I was devastated. I felt like such a failure. And then I finally grew up and realized that whether you yell at your kids has more to do with the type of kids you have (and probably how many) than the type of parent you are. My mom could brag that she never yelled at me. And she didn’t. Ever. But that’s not because she was such a good mom. (She is a good mom, i’m Not saying that) I was just a really compliant child.

 

There!! Off my soapbox.

[Jean in Newcastle]

My bras are $70.  Even on sale.  I cannot afford more than two bras at a time.  And yes, I really need this particular bra for reasons that I don't want to go into on a public message board. 

[KrissiK]

1 hour ago, ikslo said:

I thought maybe she was annoyed with me for only having two bras in rotation.

Well, that can’t be it because that’s all I have, too.

[prairiewindmomma]

1 minute ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

My bras are $70.  Even on sale.  I cannot afford more than two bras at a time.  And yes, I really need this particular bra for reasons that I don't want to go into on a public message board. 

Hence my comment about finances....I get that some need very expensive ones.  I wish I could be a bra fairy and give bras to everyone who wants/needs them.

[Jean in Newcastle]

O Frabjous Day!  I have rice. 

[prairiewindmomma]

 I shall futterwacken in celebration with you, Jean!

[prairiewindmomma]

We had rice for lunch.....with a little bit of olive oil and sea salt and some lentils & broccoli. I got the slightly crispy bits on the bottom, which made me happy.

[ikslo]

I suddenly feel very, very tired.  And we have not yet schooled.  :(

 

it’s a tired BOOYAH!

this is the thread that never ends...

[Jean in Newcastle]

Holy Partridge, Batman.  There were two big birds I have never ever seen before at my birdfeeder.  Grey with a white ring around the back of the neck.  The closest I can come to identifying it is that it looks very close to a Grey partridge.  Which do live in my state but not on this side of the mountains, usually. 

[Slache]

10 hours ago, Slache said:

Morning Time, start washing pillows

School block 1, rotate pillows

Scrub & reorganize kids room, rotate pillows

School block 2, final pillow rotation (tomorrow)

Quiet time, phone calls and emails

Remove carseats and wash them so Matt can scrub the car tomorrow 

Some school prep stuff before bed

I think I might work out before bed to wear myself out and because my weight loss has plateaued.  :glare:

[ikslo]

Quick - like Susan’s post so she gets back up to third on the leaderboard!

[ikslo]

Bummer, Slache.

[Critterfixer]

I didn't write for camp today. I did 2K yesterday, and I only planned to do 1K a day. So I'm good. I editing for HOURS today. I worked over Chapter 4 and my query letter. Now I've got to go print Chapter 5 and subject it to my intensive line editing process. Did I tell you about my line editing process? I bought a book by an editor. While I felt the first chapters weren't really worth much, the last chapters were gold. I now have a list of key words to search for. Once I find and highlight them all in the manuscript, I think about each sentence and decide if and how to change it. It's a pain to do--it takes me well over an hour to mark up a chapter, and more time than that to go through each sentence and decide what needs to be done. But by ginger, it works!

[Slache]

9 minutes ago, ikslo said:

Quick - like Susan’s post so she gets back up to third on the leaderboard!

I got 4? on the last page.

[Critterfixer]

I'm also considering the purchase of an editing program that can do most of what I do in about half the time. But...it's not quite as thorough as the by-hand process I'm using right now.

[lanalouwho]

11 minutes ago, Critterfixer said:

I'm also considering the purchase of an editing program that can do most of what I do in about half the time. But...it's not quite as thorough as the by-hand process I'm using right now.

Perhaps you could use the program to do an initial pass. It could catch a lot of things, and you could fine-tune it by hand. That could still save time.

[lanalouwho]

18 minutes ago, Critterfixer said:

I didn't write for camp today. I did 2K yesterday, and I only planned to do 1K a day. So I'm good. I editing for HOURS today. I worked over Chapter 4 and my query letter. Now I've got to go print Chapter 5 and subject it to my intensive line editing process. Did I tell you about my line editing process? I bought a book by an editor. While I felt the first chapters weren't really worth much, the last chapters were gold. I now have a list of key words to search for. Once I find and highlight them all in the manuscript, I think about each sentence and decide if and how to change it. It's a pain to do--it takes me well over an hour to mark up a chapter, and more time than that to go through each sentence and decide what needs to be done. But by ginger, it works!

Could you use a computer to highlight the words for you before you print it? 

[Critterfixer]

11 minutes ago, lanalouwho said:

Could you use a computer to highlight the words for you before you print it? 

I could, but I can only do one word search at a time with the program I have. It would waste paper. So I highlight my hard copy by hand. This forces me to look hard at every sentence. It's laborious, but it's also a good thing for me to do as a novice writer. It's easy to sweep foggy writing under the rug until you have to look at everything you wrote and ask yourself, "Did I really say exactly what I wanted to say?"

I'm getting faster by the day.

[Critterfixer]

15 minutes ago, lanalouwho said:

Perhaps you could use the program to do an initial pass. It could catch a lot of things, and you could fine-tune it by hand. That could still save time.

That's what I'm doing now. I had a free trial of the program. I use it to pre-check, and then I post-check when I'm done with my editing. 

[Critterfixer]

I'll be happy to write out the checklist for the creative writers if anyone wants it.

[Junie]

54 minutes ago, Critterfixer said:

I'll be happy to write out the checklist for the creative writers if anyone wants it.

Yes, please. :)

[Junie]

I'm back from my MRI.  It went well and I could almost say that it was fun.  I'm weird, I know.  ;)

While I was in the MRI I had an idea for a children's book.  I don't know that I'm going to actually write it anytime soon, but the seed has been planted.

[Tsuga]

12 hours ago, Slache said:

Whiteboard question. I think I want to buy a shower board sheet that's about 6X4 because it will be 4 feet wide and as tall as I am just standing there. Is that what I want? And that will be relatively inexpensive, correct?

 

To do:

Morning Time, start washing pillows

School block 1, rotate pillows

Scrub & reorganize kids room, rotate pillows

School block 2, final pillow rotation

Quiet time, phone calls and emails

Remove carseats and wash them so Matt can scrub the car tomorrow 

Some school prep stuff before bed

 

We bought whiteboard paint and just painted it on so many things.

 

However, I am a big fan of the 6x4 or larger whiteboard. I feel like my brain gets bigger with the space available regardless of font/handwriting size.

[Tsuga]

2 hours ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Holy Partridge, Batman.  There were two big birds I have never ever seen before at my birdfeeder.  Grey with a white ring around the back of the neck.  The closest I can come to identifying it is that it looks very close to a Grey partridge.  Which do live in my state but not on this side of the mountains, usually. 

We have new birds this year too!!! Something with a red breast. But not a robin. The head was brown, not black.

I wish I could talk to the people who lived here before. They left us many bird books. All focused on the west side of the mountains though. Nothing is as useful as a real live birder though.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Day 81 done ✅ 

[Slache]

Write the book!

 

According to my Garmin I walked 1.87 miles while cleaning the kid's room. We took everything to the living room, sorted it, wiped it down and put it back. We got one trash bag to the dumpster but the main point was to reorganize things to better fit everyone's lifestyle now that Babiness isn't ripping books and eating legos.

It is so adorable seeing Alex grab his bigger than him favorite book off the shelf and tote it to his crib saying "toot toot toot" with joy for his book.

[Another Lynn]

Good Friday Morning!  COFFEE!!!!  Light School.  Older kids going to homeschool formal tonight.  Mid-day hair appt. for dd.  <insert willy nilly guy>

[Susan in TN]

19 hours ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

9 hours ago, Critterfixer said:

I'll be happy to write out the checklist for the creative writers if anyone wants it.

Yay!  I'd love one!  (For dd15)

[Susan in TN]

Good morning!

I had a lot of ITT ketchup to do because I've been trying to get things together for our Backpacking Jr. overnighter next week with the 4 youngers.  Staying in a hotel requires a lot less planning. :D

We have an Old Lady Party this afternoon and the kids will bring instruments and play some oldies for the Oldies. :D  It's supposed to rain off and on all day and possibly SNOW early tomorrow morning.  Fainting guy.  I'll need to give Lynette and Barb and Ruby a blankie to sleep with.

Coffee!

[Junie]

Good Morning!

Is it Saturday yet?

[ikslo]

I'd be happy with Friday at 5 pm.

[luuknam]

I have zero bras, so I think I win. 

[Paige]

I am back in but having issues still so it's hard to ITT. Is anyone else having problems with this thread specifically? I am having problems getting this thread to load but others seem fine. 

[KrissiK]

Good Morning!!!!

COFFEE!!!☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️

Friday!!!!

We’re supposed to be getting an atmospheric river again this weekend. Although now they say it’s tracking more to the north, so i’m Not sure how much rain we’ll be getting.

[AMJ]

Good morning!

Yesterday I took Dad to a local branch of a bank and we got bank accounts set up for him.  This morning Dad's tax accountant called to discuss Dad's taxes, and I was able to give him the new routing number for direct depositing Dad's tax return.  Serendipitous timing!

 

[KrissiK]

41 minutes ago, myblessings4 said:

Morning!  Friday!!!   Coffee!!!  

 

Working today, split between both places, and picking up lunch between.  I had to laugh this morning.  Although I have been told I'm easily amused.  Someone on the bra thread said they match bras and undies.  I looked this morning amd I matched undies and shirt!  Does that count?

Lol!! My undergarments fall into the purely functional category. Nothing is pretty and nothing matches.

[Critterfixer]

Good morning.

Line Editing List: Check for these constructions with the "find" or "search for" feature on your word processing program. Highlight in manuscript. I do this manually, and use a different color to mark each problem. The goal is to see the sentence issues and work on them individually--to clear "fog" from your writing. Each construction *may* indicate a problem in thinking, expression, and/or distance from the story. DO NOT USE ON EARLY DRAFTS!

1)      –ing (Participle phrases used as adverbs have a tendency to be problems. Check ‘em.)

2)      to (Checking for infinitives. Not all are a problem, but they should be looked at. A check for to will also bring up prepositions and all kinds of words. I mark each infinitive that shows up)

3)      has/ have/had (Check your perfect and your pluperfect. Watch out for I’ve, he’d, she’d, you’d. Immediacy is important in creative writing, and these words create distance.)

4)      that/there (That—check for fillers. Usually that shows up as a coordinating conjunction for me. Sometimes it can be eliminated. Sometimes it just means I need to thing about whether I want a phrase or a second main clause. There—expletive constructions can and should be eliminated. Obviously, you would leave there when you need to identify a spot.)

5)      was/were (Are never your friends, and they are like ticks in a manuscript. They get used all the time in description. “Her hair was red and curly and fell to her shoulders.” Compare to “Her red hair curled from the crown of her head to her shoulders.”)

6)      –ly (Adverbs should be used with care.)

7)      –hear, see, saw, feel, felt, think, thought, know, knew, smell, taste, notice, wonder, get, got, look (Character filters. They create distance from the character and the writing. Compare: “He heard the bell ring and woke up” to “The bell rang, an iron note that jarred him awake.”)

8)      –then, up, down, out, in, off, over, just, some, very, just, even (Throwaway words. Sometimes you need them. Sit down vs sit up. Many times you don’t. Stood up. Can you stand any other way?)

9)      –eye, ear, hand, finger, head, chest, leg, foot, mouth (Body count. Eyes really don’t crawl across the landscape, and those constructions can go. But sometimes writing becomes littered with body parts doing the action. Some is fine. Too much needs to be checked out.)

10)  –of the, by the, on the, to the, in the (Prep check. We all have our pet prepositional phrases. Be watchful for embedded prepositional phrases. The longer your preposition descriptions get, the more likely you have not painted a clear picture and were trying to use more paint to cover it up. Revise as needed.)

11)  –good, bad, high, low, small, tall, big, large, little, narrow, powerful, beautiful (All of these are generic terms. They don’t always enhance your description. Find your favorites and hunt for them. See if they can be eliminated in favor of something more specific.)

12)  –arrive, make, made, took, take, put, place, -ion (Possible fog makers. They tend to be used in tell sections, and don’t give a lot of information. Check them.)

 

 

Inevitably, you’ll find pet words in your writing to hunt for. Always good to make a list and keep it close.

 

Tips come from a very handy book: Editor-Proof Your Writing by Don McNair. I didn’t include the wonderful advice on checking for double verbs and eliminating where you can, hunting down and killing double adjectives, nouns and heaven-help-us double adverbs, or the useful advice on dialog tags. Also recommended for self-editing: Self-Editing for Fiction Writers (Renni Browne and Dave King) and Noah Lukeman’s A Dash of Style.

 

[AMJ]

19 hours ago, KrissiK said:

Hmmm, Susan. I need to think about a name for the lemon tree. He’s a little guy, but has blossoms. Very sweet looking.

 

Limon'?  Thorne?  Meyer?  Bud?  Limonero?  Citro?  Lemony?

[AMJ]

17 hours ago, Junie said:

I napped.

This evening I am going to take myself out for dinner and then go get an MRI.

 

What are they MRIing?

[AMJ]

14 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

We had rice for lunch.....with a little bit of olive oil and sea salt and some lentils & broccoli. I got the slightly crispy bits on the bottom, which made me happy.

 

Recipe, bitte?

[AMJ]

11 hours ago, Critterfixer said:

I'll be happy to write out the checklist for the creative writers if anyone wants it.

 

Yes, please!

[AMJ]

11 hours ago, Junie said:

I'm back from my MRI.  It went well and I could almost say that it was fun.  I'm weird, I know.  ;)

While I was in the MRI I had an idea for a children's book.  I don't know that I'm going to actually write it anytime soon, but the seed has been planted.

 

Write it down before it fades!