A Day in My Life, Day 28

Jan. 29th- Day 28 of #ADayinMyLife

Welcome to Sunday sit-back-and-relax! I sleep in late, which was so much needed, and spent time with my man last night sharing laughter and a little poetry, which was also much needed!

My side of town was mercilessly busy last night. Chris and I had a hard time getting seating at Chili’s, so we went to a smaller scale place for him to get a burger. I was chilly,so I had soup and a Mediterranean wrap.

After that, we went to his place and started watching The Palest Blue Eye on Netflix. One of the characters is a young Edgar Allan Poe. It is quite intriguing those slow-moving. I believe I fell asleep halfway through, and Chris understood, because sleep is important to both of us!

At any rate, this morning, I’ve been hanging out with my dog, Bixby, listening to Alanis Morrissette’s A Jagged Little Pill. Oh, it brings back memories of the 1990s, of my divorce, of my reintroduction to freedom, and the first time I started dating Chris a year after my divorce. It was not the right time for us back then. Anyhow, it also later got me through lonely times as well, learning to enjoy just spending time with myself.

Internet image of Alanis’ album.

After her album, I went back to listening to Lord Huron, a more relaxing vibe for today. It was mostly a day for errands to prepare for the new work week, but I had time to relax and read. After dinner, my son and I watched the last halt of The Pale Blue Eye. In it, Poe is a young cadet at a military academy where several murders occur and helps in solving them. In reality, Poe did attend the Military Academy in Virginia. The actor has an eerie look as you’d think young Poe would have. All well done!

Have a good night, everyone. I’m amazed that I’ve done 28 days of blogging daily!

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A Day in My Life, day 7 #MyLife

Day 7, Jan. 8th

I went to church this morning. It is a Presbyterian Church and such a nice place. The windows let in a lot of sunlight, and today Florida is not disappointing! I’m trying to figure out where I can help with one of their many community missions. Time will tell.

After church, I got my grocery shopping done, had lunch, and left to pick up my mom at the airport. She was on a cruise with our friend and neighbor whose dogs she took care of. Her friend was taking off on a second cruise the next day, so she got Mom a plane ticket. It was a short flight from Ft. Lauderdale! I was glad to see her get home safe. Bixby was really glad to see her too!

The ride to the airport was uneventful. I got there and went to the “cellphone lot” where I parked and waited. They had a big sign showing which flights were arriving or had arrived that hour, which was a nice addition. She was tired, but glad to be home.

My evening consisted of a nap, reading, talking to my boyfriend, and watching some more of The Inside Man on Netflix. This episode was pretty haunting. It’s pretty dark. Something I recently saw and really liked on Netflix was White Noise. I read the book years ago.

Maybe I’ll get in a little more reading. Have a good night, everyone!

A Day in My Life, Day 5 #RRBC #ADayinMyLife

Day 5 #ADayinMyLife, 1/06/23

Good morning on what is the fifth day of my daily blogging. This morning, I listened to Lord Huron as I got ready. I find this song particularly dreamy and beautiful and love his voice and the instruments used:

Music frequently sets, and helps, my mood for the day. That, and a good, healthy breakfast, as you may know by now! 🙂

School went by quickly, as I had students doing a move about activity called “carousel.” Since they have a test next Tuesday, I wanted to have some review. I gave them a unit test from our curriculum guide that was highly based on poetry, which is something we haven’t studied since before Thanksgiving. They were able to use notes and my anchor chart posters in my room. There was a gallery of drawings in the hall with questions on them for part two.

I had emailed my principal to see if she might stop by and see what we were doing. After first period, I felt that things were going well despite students chattiness. They were really engaged! The drawings in the hall were done by students and also contained dialogue between characters which applied to types of reasoning and argument. When the principal came by, she had a smile on her face. It was wonderful! She really praised the students as well. Win/win!

After the workday, I ordered dinner through Doordash, glad to eat dinner and take in a show on Netflix. I’ve started watching New Amsterdam, a medical drama that is just wonderful so far!

Time to put my feet up on the couch and let my hair down. Have a great evening!

Weekend Coffee Share, Succeeding

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. Today’s cup is a donut shop brew, and man, it tastes great with vanilla creamer and a cacao ashwaganda powder blend ( more on this later). It’s quite a warm day, but I wanted hot coffee, so why not? I am really overdue for this.

I’m proud to report that Summer Break has started, and I’ve already had two celebratory naps in three days! My sleep schedule is going very well. I also made my first trip to the beach for a one hour beach walk with my friend Judy yesterday. The sun was hot, but the breeze was lovely, and the conversation always just flows between the two of us. I feel very successful at enjoying summer break so far!

So far, I’ve had extended breakfast time each morning, enjoying my cereal and fruit with juice and either coffee, chai tea, or green tea. I’m trying to write in my affirmations journal at breakfast time instead of perusing social media or daily news. It should help my relaxation! Considering, news and social media lately has been all about deadly shootings and a celebrity studded abusive relationship. Seriously, who needs to ponder those things delay? Makes it hard to enjoy your life

I’ve started a trial of a cacao ashwaganda blend in coffee or a cup of tea. Ashwaganda is supposedly good for anxiety (and sleep as a result), hot flashes, and achy joints. I will say, I had it in my hot green tea a few days last week, and the day I had to move around and clean up my classroom, I felt I had the energy and strength that was needed. Of course, I was a little sore the next day, but I think I should probably expect that. So, I’m hopeful. I just need to pay attention to how I feel and recognize if it’s really helping. Has anyone out there tried ashwaganda? What were your thoughts?

My dog had a visit to the vet Thursday, and his report was good, though his nerves were awful. Thankfully, his bordatella vaccine was oral. I brought up his snarling at night, and the vet indicated it was a “grumpy old man” issue. Not a big deal. 🙂 I still need to get him to the dog park and let him work out some energy. 🙂

Season 4 of Stranger Things is my current streaming habit, which is entertaining, but the first two episodes weren’t totally connecting with past seasons for me. There are plot holes, but I still love the characters. If you haven’t watched seasons one through three, you’ll feel sort of lost. My boyfriend was asking lots of questions. On the horror scale, it is great, though. I’ll give it that, and I plan to watch the rest.

Overall, I’m feeling great about summer break. It only took me one day of feeling listless to transition to my summer self, and that may have been sheer exhaustion as well. I’m going to love the next two months of freedom! I hope you all have a great weekend and a happy summer! I can’t wait to have some travel experiences to share. 🙂

Weekend Coffee Share, January Exiting

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. It is not quite 40 degrees yet here, with last night in the 30s and a wind chill in the 20s. We’ve had unusually cold weather here in Northeast Florida lately. Since I had hot coffee yesterday, I’m drinking green tea with ginger today.

If you follow my blog, you know that I don’t drink coffee everyday, and I’m a believer in health benefits of green tea. Today’s tea is Tazo green tea and does have a caffeine content, something I prefer in the morning. 🙂 What is your morning drink of choice?

With this recent cold weather, I’ve felt like being in semi-hibernation mode. Rarely is it this cold for so long in my area. My sinuses have been a pain, but I never have a fever. Being an allergy sufferer, I chalk it up to that and just add Mucinex to my routine.

My dog Bixby is in need of a haircut or trim, but I’m letting him keep his fluff through this cold weather. He is a cutie and a great companion during the cold spells. I just have to let him out to the backyard and try to walk him at least once a day.

Every morning with my dog is a little bit like Christmas. Once he’s ready to get up, I’ll say “Wanna go outside?” He responds by jumping off the bed and trotting to the back door. I let him out with the door slightly closed with a sliver of air; once done, he comes barreling through and trots back in. He always seems to leave the door open. He’s so fun to watch! He’s overdue for a dog park visit….as soon as it warms up again, hopefully in February!

January is over soon, and I’m fine with that. February is short, and then March brings Spring Break for me and milder weather at some point. Work keeps me really busy, as always, so it’ll pass quickly, I’m sure.

In January, I read two books: one was The Curse of Lochness, obviously about the Loch Ness monster, imbued with all sorts of local lore and myth. Quite interesting, but chilling. I found the book through an Amazon search of books about Bigfoot, which cross-referenced with other books of folklore and monsters, a subject of interest. The other was a novella introduction to a series called The One Chosen: the Diadodz Short Story, which I’d found in a Christmas online event for the Rave Reviews Book Club, of which I am a member.

I’ve also been re-reading Wuthering Heights since December. It’s a classic that always stuck with me for the characterization of Heathcliff and Catherine. There is so much exposition, that I cannot read too much of it at once, so it’ll take a while, but I’ll continue. In the meantime, I’ve started an espionage story that hopefully is fast-paced. I’ll tell you more later!

My Netflix habit is quite active, what with the semi-hibernation mode I seem to be in. My son and I enjoy watching Blacklist; James Spader is a dynamic actor! Mom and I like to watch Grey’s Anatomy, and Seinfield is a lifelong love of mine that will keep perpetuating itself! I am almost done with the whole series that I started shortly after it became available on Netflix.

That’s my life for now. I hope you all are well, and please keep warm! I’m pleased to see we do have some sunshine today, at least. We haven’t had much of that for about a week. Good day!

Weekend Coffee Share, Greetings from My Little Corner

 

Morning, Day 14 of Social Distance Haiku by Pamela Schloesser Canepa, (c)2020

Morning birds sing out

Mankind has taken a pause

Breathing and waiting.

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Allison at Eclectic Ali.

It’s a beautiful morning, and it’s poetry month, so I thought I’d share a haiku reflecting some thoughts on nature (and mankind’s place in it).  I took a nice walk twice around the block in 83 degree weather this morning, sun shining and nature in all of its glory.  There were a good number of people out, most on their own.  A man with his child in a stroller waved at me.  A boy on a bike was riding me way but then turned around in a circle.  Good move, I thought.  Socially distance yourself.  A woman was walking my way, talking on the phone.  She seemed oblivious to me.  So I moved to the sidewalk on the other side of the road.   Still, it was nice to be out in this wonderful day.

I feel a little cut off from this community, since I have been trying to get a grip on the online teaching requirements and methods our county is using.  Still, I have to tell you, it has been overall positive for me! The students are so polite online, and I’ve received several e-mails from parents expressing appreciation.  I wrote a post on Medium here, this is a link which does not require membership:

A Day in the Life: Teaching in the Coronavirus Era 

I am learning a whole lot from this experience, and while we owe the doctors and nurses of our world a debt of gratitude, I am pleased to feel as if I have a purpose in this whole situation.  It is good for my mind.  I am also trying to exercise regularly; I take yoga or pilates online a few times a week. The outdoor walks are also helpful, providing my Vitamin D and a feeling of well-being.  Hearing the news does not help.  I only turn on Netflix and try not to look at any news reports more than once a day.  The stress and anxiety do not help me sleep, you know.  I started The Witcher earlier as I love to watch Henry Cavill, and my son and I sometimes watch Money Heist together, though he is way ahead of me!

Tomorrow is Palm Sunday, and I will be viewing my church service online.  Maybe I will wear a dress, just to get a sense of normalcy.  When I have to go to the store this week, I will wear a mask and gloves.  The mask was bought for me last year when the flu virus seemed bad; I work in a germ factory being a middle school teacher, but there has not ever been a germ like this.

My manuscript, Malachi, should be ready for release in 2-3 weeks.  My formatter got it formatted, and I need to check those files and get the paperback cover done.  It’s happening!!! I am excited.  We all need something to read right now.  Please stay tuned….

Malachi is a college drop-out who just lucked out and fell into an unusual job, once that promises excitement, a good rate of pay, and the chance to put his acting skills to work.  Will Malachi do anything for a dollar?

I am still sort of working on the description and bi-lines for this book.  Malachi is sneaky, a great actor, and really good at lying.  He also needs a good meal.  The book is somewhat of a young adult/new adult book, appropriate for those 16 and up.  Malachi gets a chance to find out who he really is.

I hope you all have a great weekend with family or loved ones, practicing your social distancing and staying away and safe from coronavirus.

 

 

Weekend Coffee Share. Keep Your Family Safe.

 A week ago.

Come on real quick,  Come on outside,                                                                                          Just sit and breathe with me                                                                                                         There’s a beautiful breeze that I hear in the trees                                                                  Before it rains,  come see!  

Poem (c) 8/25/19 by Pamela Schloesser Canepa

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Allison at Eclectic Ali

A week ago, my dog beckoned me to go out in the yard. Now, we prepare for Hurricane Dorian, and I think about all the dogs that get left behind when families must evacuate.  Please, check a list for pet-friendly shelters or hotels!  They are family.  Here is a list for my fellow Floridians:

https://www.bringfido.com/emergency/hurricane/

Pet-friendly hotels in Fla.: https://www.bringfido.com/lodging/state/florida/

Before yesterday’s rains.

Bixby can smell something in the air….

While I could go on and on about my son’s new job (Hooray)! Or, my job and the fever I had this week due to rampant middle school germs, or the progress with my authorship, I am weighed down with thoughts of preparing for the hurricane and will have to finish out our coffee chat quickly.  You see, I live in Northeast Florida, and we may not get the worst of the storm, but it is predicted to be a level 2 when it hits us.  I pray for those in South Florida.

My drink today is a V8, trying to stay healthy today, but I’ll still likely need a nap later!  At any rate, I should get a chance for writing and more reading if the weather keeps me sequestered this Labor Day weekend.  I’m not sure what I will find to watch on Netflix, since I just finished the second season of Mindhunter which has started in me a Forensics/ Behavioral Science interest.  When the lights go out, I will read by candlelight!  Forge onward!  I hope you all have a great weekend, and if you are in the Southeast, I pray that you and your family, including any furbabies, stay safe and calm during the impending hurricane.  God bless!

Weekend Coffee Share, 7/13. A Writer’s Life.

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, where the Florida temperature may tempt you to take your coffee iced, hosted by Allison at Eclectic Ali

Be sure to check out my flash fiction for this week (there is one, a quick read on one young man’s struggle growing up): Take a Hike #RDP

This week, I was fortunate enough to have lunch with a writer friend at Whole Foods Tuesday and lunch with a teacher friend on Wednesday!  I am passionate about writing and passionate about teaching, so both days, I was fueled.  Sometimes it doesn’t feel like much is going on with my writing, but I really do have a lot in progress and a lot of ideas in the hopper.

In fact, I wrote a Facebook post about this, as I really am working on a lot this summer, but I tell people, “No, I’m not working a summer job.”  People need to appreciate the work a writer does, though.  Here is the post:

I am a Writer Living the Dream, Edition 1~
1. Since I am an introvert (mostly), I am find staying inside a few hours this morning at my laptop, promoting the Undercurrents in Time Kindle and working on the next book, “Malachi,” a natural thing to do. I’ve posted on Facebook & Twitter about the promotion. Crossing my fingers. Sold 1 yesterday and 1 today.    Undercurrents in Time is the sequel to Detours.  You can check it out or order it here: Undercurrents in Time on Amazon

-1. Conversely, being able to sit so long at the laptop doing “book stuff” (which includes sometimes seeing what everyone on Facebook is up to), makes me stiff and causes lower back pain. So, I get up when it screams at me. I got up to type this, in fact. 
2. In my blog world on WordPress, I am promoting some other authors who are part of this online Book Club where authors or readers read and give reviews, sometimes getting reads and reviews.  I also plan to put more Flash fiction there in the next weeks; I am just itching to do so. It will be on my own schedule, though.  The blogs on other authors are for members of Rave Reviews Book Club and RWISA (an International Writer’s Association).  They are under the category of Authors Discovered and can be found by clicking that category to the right of the page or try clicking this link to see the most recent posts on the various featured authors:   https://pamelascanepa.wordpress.com/category/authors-discovered/
3. I’ve sent the first few pages of the work in progress “Malachi” to a writer friend for thoughts and ideas. I am not sure who I am marketing it towards, but it intersects with events and characters in Detours in Time Book2 (Undercurrents in Time).  Mom said, it’s really different, that I am “branching out.” This could only be a good thing, right? Though I’ve read it’s good to find your own niche, however, I want to do different things as well, and I don’t like formulaic advice. Gotta be me! I also have contacted two professional beta readers about this new manuscript. I have typed the whole book including the ending! Now, I just need to see if there are plot holes that I can’t see, as it is my own personal work of art. We aren’t that objective about things we create and love. I love all of my books and my characters, how could I not?
4. I sent a newsletter yesterday to 365 people who don’t seem to care. Each time I send one, 5-7 unsubscribe, but that happens when they may have signed up just to get a freebie. My freebies are only short stories or previews now. Learning as I go. Haven’t tried for new subscribers in a while, but I will soon.
5. This felt good, though: I chose a chapter that I think is quite interesting in “Malachi” that I will put through Calbri (not sure about the name) to put in BookFunnel as a free sample. I’ll let you know when it’s available!
6. With the writing of “Malachi,” I have interjected the character of Ellie from Undercurrents in Time. Lines come to me while I’m driving or brushing my teeth. I’m writing down bits here and there and then will develop my outline for the book to follow “Malachi,” starring Ellie, who is another unique character from Undercurrents in Time. They will both intersect in Ellie’s book as well (yet to be titled).
7. I anxiously await the narration to be done on the Detours in Time audiobook as I am hoping I will gain lots of new Detours readers/listereners in that way, and it should come out this fall, between Sept. and Nov. is the plan. I have decided on text for the audition for Undercurrents in Time as well so I need to set that up on the Audible production site.
8. When people ask if I am working this summer, I say no. I guess I love doing this stuff, but let’s be honest:  It is work. Call it a labor of love!

So, that pretty much sums up my week!  On Friday morning at 9:30 a.m., it was 80 with 88 degree humiture, and my dog and I couldn’t quite take coffee hour on the porch; we had to go inside.  I took him to the park Thursday around 10 and he was panting so much.  I need to start waking up earlier!  My summer Netflix habit has had me staying up until midnight watching Ozark, an awesome but dark show sort of like Breaking Bad but set in hillbilly country, and the first season of Outlander.  This is what teachers do in the summer, isn’t it?  I’m sure I won’t have much time once school starts.  Have a great week and enjoy what is left of summer!

Weekend Coffee Share. A Bird’s Eye View

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Allison at Eclectic Alli .  The weather looks beautiful, but I’ve been moving slow this morning.  I also have had some coursework, and I am almost done.

Last night, I went with my mom and my son to a Mexican restaurant with a really hip, cool vibe.  It was packed, so we sat at the bar.  After a while, a guy comes over, and I recognized him as one of my cousins.  We are all glad to see him and chatted for a good, long while.  He travels a lot.  It was really nice though, to feel connected to family beyond our small unit.  He tells interesting stories, but my family is awesome story fodder.  🙂

I am going through growing older and having new health issues pop up, having to go through tests.  Throw a prayer my way, please.  I may or may not need it, but it is greatly appreciated.  Enough of that.  No need to worry.  It makes me wonder, if I were a bird or a spirit looking down on my life, what would I think?

 

Which makes me think of my writing life and experience.  I posted this on Facebook this morning: The space that a story inhabits is important. I have been drawn in by spaces and places, as in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and the movie, Bladerunner 2 as well as in The OA, my new Netflix obsession.
Visualizing yourself in a place or places adds a level to any story. On the left is a crude map I drew of a few city blocks in Undercurrents in Time during my drafting. These blocks also appeared in Detours in Time, but the street names changed due to events and time shifts in that first book.  (Of course, all this followed by an invitation to read my books and a link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0711ZW6XF in Kindle, K.U., or print.)  Shameless self-promo done, but it is Independent Bookstore day!  They carry everything.  One independent bookstore in Jacksonville called the Book Nook carries my books, but I’ll work on expanding that.

I am sorry coffee was brief today, but I do recommend that you watch The OA if you like mystical sci–fi or anything uber weird.  It is delicously weird, but full of hope.  Imagine if, in the worst of moments or crises, you could leave your body because your spirit was free.  The thougth is quite addictive.  See?  I am off to a massage now.  Must relieve a lot of stress caused by worry, no doubt, and the constant drive to be better.  Well, maybe that and getting older.

Have a great day, my friends!

Weekend Coffee Share. Dogs and R and R.

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Allison at eclecticali.wordpress.com

Here we enjoy our favorite java, tea, or smoothie, and chat about whatever comes to mind and what is going on lately.

I’ve been blessed with a week off. Did I do any writing, you may wonder? Well, yes I did! My current WIP is around 35,000 words and is based on a side character from my book, Detours in Time. I already have the ending in mind, which means now I need to meander through it again and show a little bit more about the characters. It seems to be a more pared down manuscript when I start with the end in mind. It has been almost three years since I published my first work of fiction, and I started out as a pantser. Now, thought I write with the end in mind, I still am really pantsing it through the rest of the manuscript. I sort of leave it to stew until the muse hits me.  What do you all think? Does too much planning kill the details? Sometimes they just have to come to me at the right time. My next work break is this summer. I am making a date with my manuscript for several weeks at that time! It’s been great having a week for w-riting and relaxing!

Other than that, I grew tired of sitting at the computer for too long. I do a lot of that while I am working, plus adding in certification endorsement classes to my schedule. So, I did a little loafing this week. I saw friends for dinner one night, and I went to see Glass with the boyfriend last night. I enjoyed it. It was not as tense as Split, but it was definitely a psychological thriller with satisfying twists! The characterization is amazing, and it helps to have seen the two previous movies involving these characters. I am a fan of M. Night Shyamalan, overall, and certainly a raving fan of James McAvoy. His face goes from glee, to penitence, to murderous terrorizing in seconds, perfectly. At home, I’ve watched a little Netflix, and I even got slightly hooked on Shameless. The acting is great, but there is a lot of inappropriate material. It is drama/comedy centered around the family of a “shameless” drunk. It is actually pretty sad at times. Like a train wreck….which actually is a plot point in the movie, Glass.

I plan to take my little canine to the dog park later. We have had several walks this week and morning coffee on the front porch days. He loves it, because he is off the leash on the front porch. Why not?? It’s his property, and he is a little more well-trained now. What he hates is when I walk him on a leash and we pass by a dog watering their own lawn, off-leash. Such dogs are well-trained and don’t leave their own lawn. I am trying to get Bixby to that point, and it seems to be going well. If he needs to do any serious potty time, though, he will give the begging eyes so I will leash him and walk him a bit further. Works out for me as well!

Would you believe, I haven’t gotten up before 8:30 a.m. at all this week! I was fighting a sinus/allergy issue, so that may be part of it. I went to yoga yesterday for the first time in two weeks, and my shoulders are sore. I have to get back into it. Things happen: work meetings, sickness, etc., but I did use a stretching app at home. No, it’s not the same, but it’s something. Back to the grind this coming Monday.

I hope you all have a great week! Thanks for stopping by to share a cup with me!