I’m closing in on my deadline, (10/4/16) taking a quick break to retouch some old images.
Enjoy, and have a great week!
Happy Monday
Swan in Amsterdam
Monday flew by quickly followed by the rest of the week. Fortunately a friend sent me something that inspired me about art and I took a break last night to have some fun with this image from Amsterdam taken three years ago.
Have a great weekend.
Birch Aquarium San Diego
My husband I loved this aquarium. I joke that this is really the only way I want to see the life teeming in the sea. If I were snorkeling when encountering all these critters, I’d be terrified! But the aquarium is an atmosphere of such peacefulness, beauty and education that being there is bliss.
There’s a great room that explains global warming and the effects of too much CO2 in the atmosphere. Photos of the polar ice caps before and after are shocking. The CO2 also goes into the ocean turning it acid. We don’t yet understand the effects of that on wildlife, but they do know that all the animals that form shells need a certain Ph to do that. This information was presented in plain and simple terms.
Individuals can do a bit to make ourselves feel better, but we really need a massive overhaul as we all know. Fortunately there are people and governments working on the issue. Let’s hope the humans’ ability to cooperate, which is what allowed us to get so far, will help us solve this problem in time. I don’t think ocean health is an optional thing, a nice-to-have. I’m pretty sure how they go, we go.
There’s a gorgeous outdoor area at the aquarium.
Here’s hoping you have a great weekend!
San Diego
Sorry I missed my post yesterday. I was busy relaxing which, for me, includes writing!
But I was up before dawn today, taking photographs. This is the San Diego Temple. It’s amazing that you can get onto the grounds before 7 a.m. The church is generous to make their site so accessible to photographers and others.
Despite the early hour, people were already in church, and a few more arrived while I was taking pictures. The grounds are gorgeous, the architecture amazing, and the way the landscaping dramatizes the temple is pretty impressive. I keep wondering how much this land must have cost, and the fact that this much land was available. A quick Google search says it was announced in 1984, but to me that date is a bit ambiguous. I assume it was finished then. It stands on 7.2 acres of land.
I think maybe the close-up picture is better than the ones with all the grounds in front. It’s more dramatic.
Google Maps then helped me navigate to Windansea Beach. This is better at sunset, but early morning with fog is good too. Different conditions yield different photo opportunities, and then it is fun to play with editing.
I encountered an interesting rock formation immediately after the stairs, and later decided my favorite part was the way the sand color bleeding into the black color looks like a crashing wave. Hooray for high-resolution pictures because this is very cropped.
This palm hut is lovingly maintained by volunteers who replace the palm fronds whenever some blow away.
Here I played with the image to make the scene feel dark and stormy, which of course it was not.
In fact it was a lovely morning for surfing.
Have a great week.
Convict Lake
An unfortunate name, but such a lovely spot! 
I need to develop more shots, but we also need to hit the road for final destination: San Diego! However, first I wanted to give you a taste of what I captured this morning.
I liked getting up while it was still dark and going out to get the photo. There’s something very exciting about that. I think I’m going to change my retirement lifestyle a bit and start setting my alarm again.
Here are some different perspectives.
There was a nice couple there taking photos too. They made my day as much as the photo opportunities. It’s so nice to chat with people, after the photos are captured at least. They were from L.A. and they gave me some recommendations for taking photos in this area in the fall. I guess we’ll need to come back. Oh no.
Have a great weekend!
Half mast Monday
Have a peaceful week.
Happy Monday
I hope your week is off to a great start. Here is a sunset I’ve been saving up for you.
Not too much new with me. I’m starting to get some writing in again after taking all of May and a lot of April off. It took a while to get the ball rolling again, but I’m making progress.
Have a great week and if you are so inclined, let me know how you are doing.
Checking in for Monday
I don’t have a whole lot to say but wanted to wish you all a great week ahead. Father’s Day is coming up this weekend on the US, and I’m looking forward to that. I get to see my mother in law this week, which is always fun, and I’m working on a brand new book.
I used my new factor analysis method to choose a book to work on out of the many projects on my list, and that helped me sort out which one makes the most sense for me to work on, not just sense but feeling as of course excitement about the project is one of the factors.
I did not get a request for full for the proposal I sent to Harlequin, though they did say they hope I consider them in the future. I certainly will!! I think they liked one of the secondary characters. I know the child was where my writing shone in that piece, and I think that potential was why they hoped I would try them again. For a time I disagreed, and worked more on that book, completing 25,000 words. But when I looked afresh at what I want to do, I was no longer getting a strong go-ahead feeling on that project, so I took out my inventory of ideas and projects left in various stages (21 projects), put the ones I am interested in writing now (based on gut feel) into a spreadsheet, and ran my factor analysis.
One of the factors is the chance to start completely fresh using a new process I’m eager to try. Another factor is the book being something I might be able to pitch to Harlequin (although I’m not constructing it specifically for that, I’m just trying to write a great book), another factor is the project’s ability to shift me toward romantic suspense, another factor is it is a cowboy romance (very popular), and finally my excitement level. Well not finally, I think there were actually 15 factors.
I started working on it and interestingly almost immediately, the hero started talking to me. That was not happening with the Desire proposal one. The child was strong for me but not the main characters, not that I realized it at the time, but the Harlequin editors did. This guy in the new book is talking to me a bit like Jason did, the hero from Third Strike’s the Charm. Now he was difficult to me until the third draft, but I hope I can take what I learned there and start with a respectful relationship with this man, that way he won’t punish me by clamming up until I listen properly. I think this guy, though tormented, also has a very dry even dark sense of humor…
Anyway, I guess I did have a few things to share after all! I also mined my archives for some photos for you, because photos make the web go round.
Summer
It’s getting hot in California! This perspective is from the swimming pool. The giant plant is actually two artichoke plants. We are eating a lot, and I mean a whole lot of artichokes! I picked about 25, washed out the bugs, a process that takes a half an hour, lots of submersion, shaking out the chokes, and a few squeals when I touch one of the bugs. I do all that poolside so the bugs can rejoin the environment. Then I boil them, the artichokes, not the bugs. We figured out to put a lid that is smaller than the circumference of the boiling pot on top of the chokes to push them down into the water. Otherwise the ones on top are half out of the water and don’t cook.
They are good cold as well as warm, so the leftovers make a great snack or side dish the next day (or week, as the case may be). I make a dressing of garlic infused olive oil, regular olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt. Yum!
It looks like my Friday post didn’t go. I did it from my phone. Sorry about that, and for the late Monday post. I’m going to see if I can post Friday’s now.
Nicci Carrera 