Category Archives: Blog

Grass, grass and more grass.

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Summer is here with a vengeance. It’s suppose to be 93F today. Bleh! While I like heat, that is a bit too much heat, and it won’t help my new grass any.

I know I haven’t blogged in a while about my garden, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t been busy. After weed & feeding, putting lime and a layer of 1/2 & 1/2 mix of compost and sand down on the spots that can’t seem to grow grass if it’s life depended on it, we seeded the entire lawn. Then commenced the watching, waiting and endless watering. Of course once we laid the seed, it turned 85F and the rain that never seem to end came in sporadic spurts. Go figure! 😛 After a month and some change, we now have grass in areas that haven’t had grass in a long time. A lot of that had to do with the fir trees. Needles do not help growth of grass. In fact, it can kill it. That and not enough sun. Now that the trees on one side of the house are gone we have lots of sun and a lot less needles.

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Before: This is an area I weeded and meant to seed last year.

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After: Finally seeded, it’s looking a lot better.

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Before: There are dead spots in the yard.

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Dead spots gone!

As you can see, there are still some areas that need to grow. Those are the areas that have a lot of sun and were hard to keep wet when we were working all day. I figure we’ll put seed down this fall and see what happens. Although, as I was mowing the lawn the other day, I realized something. I have added a 1/4 again the grass I once had, so more to mow. Maybe I should have thought this through a bit more….. 😐

The rest of the yard is finally coming under control. It was hard to get out there with all the rain. Although, I did go out in the rain a couple of times. I figured, why not? If I didn’t I’d still be under the weeds.

We just had some of the fir trees limbed up because they were too close to the house, and a couple taken out behind the shed because they were dying. The down side, what was once shaded and so planted for shade is now in the afternoon sun. I can hear the plants cursing me now. 😛

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SUN!! Well, there will be this afternoon.

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There is a Hemlock missing and the other two trees have been limbed up about 10 feet so they are off the roof of the house.

Well, that’s all for now. Summer is just beginning and there is lots more to do.

Have a wonderful day. 🙂

Fated to Be (Book 2)

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Well, it’s here! I have finally published book two of my Destiny series. Where it is not yet on Amazon (there is a 3-5 business day process for the physical book) you can buy it on CreateSpace here. The Kindle Version should be up on Amazon shortly. I will put the link up on the Destiny Series page as soon as it goes live there.

I’m so excited!

Fated to Be Cover

Never say never.

Not everything is set in stone, and not everyone is who they seem to be. Life throws you curve-balls and people change. Some for good, some for evil.

Emma Kessler’s life has been anything but easy, and there are those who threaten to take what little peace she has carved out of the chaos that surrounds her and destroy it. What she does not expect are those she trusts with her heart to turn their backs on her when she needs them the most. All because of a destiny she never wanted.

Fated to Be (book 2 in my Destiny series)

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It’s almost here! Just a few more finishing touches and I should have it published on Amazon.com next week! Yeah!

Fated to Be Cover

Never say never.
Not everything is set in stone, and not everyone is who they seem to be. Life throws you curve-balls and people change. Some for good, some for evil.
Emma Kessler’s life has been anything but easy, and there are those who threaten to take what little peace she has carved out of the chaos that surrounds her and destroy it. What she does not expect are those she trusts with her heart to turn their backs on her when she needs them the most. All because of a destiny she never wanted.

Date Night

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It’s Friday! This means two things to me. One, the weekend is finally here. We only have 32 more days of school (that is not counting weekends and Memorial break) and I will be off for the summer, but at the moment it seems a long way off. Two, it’s date night. My husband and I started this about seven years ago when the kids were in collage. We said we were practicing for when they moved out. They weren’t sure how to take that. LOL

So, date night. This consists of me driving down to the mall where there are restaurants and a big theater where my husband meets me once he gets off of work. This means I can have a drink, or two, during dinner, see a movie and be alright to drive home. Tonight my hubby was suppose to be here around 5-5:30, but because it’s the end of the month and they are trying to finish shipping product he called to say he’s running an hour late. No big deal. Some chips and guacamole with a drink and I’m good to wait. Also gives me a chance to finally blog.

I could go into how it’s been a long cold wet winter and the fact I work in a school where sickness runs rampant, but why be morbid. It’s date night! Let’s talk about alcohol.

I’ve always been a rum amd coke gal. Rarely deviated with the exception of my college days when Southern Comfort would sneak in on the weekends. Ah, those were the days…I think. Kind of fuzzy really. 😛 Recently I decided to branch out. My mom made me martini with gin. Can I just saw EEEWWWW! Not only does it make me sneeze, smells like fir which I’m allergic to, I’m farely certain I could suck on the Juniper bush and get the same taste a lot cheaper. Now vodka martinis are a different matter. My mom calls me a woose for not drinking gin, but at least I can swallow the stuff. Being a sweet drinker I like flavored martinis, pomegranate being my favorite. Maggianos has the best.

My oldest found out I had never had a Long Island Ice Tea and set out to remedy that oversight. I see where the danger lies. It’s so easy to just suck it down as if it were coolaid. I was limited to one. Just don’t have that college tolerance anymore. Another my mom suggested, which I had tonight, is a Whiskey Sour. She told me to be careful because they sneak up on you. I didn’t head her warning the first time. I do now.

Although my new favorite drink is a Mule. It consists of ginger beer (non-alcoholic), lime juice and the liquer of your choice. Where it is not sweet I do like it.

So now I wait. Not sure what movie we will see. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 doesn’t come out until next weekend. It’s one of the ones we’ve been waiting for. So I will say adieu. Have a wonderful weekend! Until next time.

Sad Love Songs

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Okay, so maybe my melancholy thoughts could be blamed on the fact I’ve been listening to a playlist I have dubbed Love Forsaken. Yeah.

So there are a lot of us out there that write to music. We have favorite albums or make up playlists. Or we just try and find that sound that clicks with what we are writing and go with it. When one of my favorite writers gets desperate and can’t find that right sound she turns on the Christmas music. I did try that once. Can’t write a love, angry or fight scene to Christmas music. Just can’t do it. 😛

Anyways, the scene today wasn’t necessarily a love scene, but I needed that feeling of angst in order to put the right words down to convey right feeling. This playlist, as all of my playlists, is work in progress. I’m sure I’ll remember some more songs that need to go into it. Here are the ones I have now.

Say Something by A Great Big World feat. Christina Aguilera
Show Me the Meaning by Backstreet Boys (Yes, I am reaching deep into my past for some of these, which reminds me….)
Stay by Rihanna feat. Mikky Ekko
Wide Awake by Katy Perry
Hello by Lionel Richie
Rise by Katy Perry
Father Figure by George Michael
Grenade by Bruno Mars
Unconditionally by Katy Perry

And last but not least Here Comes Goodbye by Rascal Flatts. This particular song it about a break-up, but the video is something much different. If I have the song playing in the background I can make it through without dissolving into tears. The video not so much. If you watch it you will see why. This particular video hits far too close to home. I will say my dad is still very much alive and leave it at that. If you decide to watch the video you will understand that some pains will fade with time and might even disappear. Others…others only stay hidden until the right memory, the right picture or the right song comes along and opens that jagged wound that barely holds itself together to once again overwhelm you as if it were the first day.

Time for some Kleenex.

Here is the link for the video on YouTube if you care to take a look. Here Comes Goodbye.

It’s time for me to get back to writing. Have a good weekend.

Let It Snow!

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We have had some cold days this year. Even a smattering of snow, but nothing like what we woke up to this morning. Eleven inches fell where we live in the Casacade Foothills. To the north where I grew up they recieved one to four inches, more the farther north you go. South up to fourteen. And there is suppose to be more coming.

I say, let it snow! 🙂

Daily Prompt: Year

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via Daily Prompt: Year

A year. 365 days. Seems like a long time, doesn’t it. Yet it seems to fly by in a blink of an eye. December is suddenly here and one starts to think, did I do everything I set out to do? Then the year turns in to years and the thought, Why didn’t I go on that trip I planned to go on when I was twenty? Years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, seconds. All gone before you know they are there. I may not accomplish everything I set out to do, or go on that trip I wanted to go on. But I do have to say there is very little I regret in my life. Mostly stupid things that came out on those instances when my filter decided it wasn’t going to work. Very annoying.

2016 is gone. Regrets are wasted energy when 2017 looms before us. Do I hope we have a better year than last? Yes. 2016 was one filled with upheaval, death, and anger. Here is hoping for a year we can be proud of. A year that we live through relatively unscathed. Only time will tell.

Happy New Year!

Heidi

Copyright 2017

Light in the Darkness

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It seems to come in spurts. Loss is never easy, but when you lose more than one person in a short period of time it’s hard to see the light for the darkness.

In the town where I grew up, in a twenty-four hour period there has been a loss of three people that have touched many lives. One of them a classmate of mine. Suddenly mortality is front and center. If someone I knew as a child, is the same age as I am, is now gone. When will it be my time? When will I suddenly not be here? Makes one stop and think, have I done everything I want to do? Have I told those that I love that I love them recently? Another is a classmates mother. That is luckily something I have not gone through yet, but at the moment scares me. I am not ready to lose a parent. It was hard enough when my grandmother passed.

I know this is slightly depressing for the holidays, but even though loss  can be devastating, can surround you with darkness and pain, the light is always there. You just need to look for it, search high and low until you see a glimmer and then hold on for all it’s worth. Even though it can feel like it, life does not end, it does not stop just because a loved one has moved on. You must still live yours. Do it as best as you can. Where the pain never really goes away, and it can come back and knock you to your knees unexpectedly, it does become manageable.

There is light in the darkness. Find it and live on.

Copyright 2016 Heidi Barnes

Word Bank Prompt

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A word bank. I love to write to word banks. One came to me just now. No prompting, just appeared. I know they are usually only four or five words, but I have seven.

tea, spark, wind, time, anything, nothing, empty

Use them all or only a few. I am interested to see what you may come up with. I will see what comes to me and post.

Have a wonderful day.

Heidi

The Joys of Editing

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Editing. Such a lovely pastime…..not. I know I’ve written about this before. A lot of the times there are gaps in my posting, whether blog, poem or story, it’s because I’m not sure I’ve written about the subject before and I don’t necessarily want to repeat myself. This particular subject, probably because I’m in the middle of editing right now, has been bugging me to write about so here I am. Early Sunday morning when I should still be sleeping, with my first cup of coffee, definitely not my last, talking about editing.

So where was I. Oh yes, this lovely pastime we as writers struggle through for some unknown insane reason. 😛

At the moment, I’m on my second proof of Fated to Be from the Destiny series. Like my series Obsession, Destiny has been rewritten many times over the years. Each version changing and evolving. But not so much as this last time. This time I realized what was missing and decided to add it to the story, a supernatural element, and wallah! It started to make sense to me. Unfortunate, it also added characters and changed a lot of what I had already written. The hardest part for me is what of the already written pages still work and what doesn’t. This dilemma has slowed down the writing process, a lot.

Now I don’t know about you, but there are some passages that when I first wrote them I really like them and I don’t necessarily want to lose them. So I spend hours, sometimes days, trying to make them work until suddenly I decided it has to go. To me, this is like cutting off my right arm. These words are my baby come to life on paper. Some passages that are large enough that I cut and paste them onto another document that I label “excerpts” of whatever book I’m working on. This is an attempt to save their life, telling myself that maybe I’ll use them at some later date when I know that will probably never happen. It doesn’t mean what I come up with isn’t just as good and probably fits much better in the story as it is now. It’s just hard to let go of something that has been written down for a very, very long time. (Yes, I’m old enough to use ‘very’ twice when added to the word ‘time’. :P)

Hopefully, when I open the proof today, I am still in that mindset that if it doesn’t work, stop trying to make it fit and let it go. As I writer I want you to enjoy the book. Have it flow like it does in my head and feel what I feel. Not get mired down in the convoluted mess trying to use something that no longer works can create.

So on that note, I bid you have a lovely, and if you live in Washington, hopefully not to wet Sunday and I will see you all later. 🙂

Copyright 2016 Heidi Barnes