Upgraded Abodes, Dedicated Reading

For once, this is not about my new house. I mentioned a couple weeks ago amidst discussion of turtle eggs, that I bought upgrades for my gerbils’ tanks. I’d kept gerbils in 10 gallon aquariums for years–since 2002, when we got our first pair, and even back in the 70s and 80s when I had them as a kid. Even back in the early 2000s, it was the standard–10 gallons per pair.                 

Digger shredding a TP tube – his second favorite thing to do (his name is the first)

Recently, I joined a huge Facebook group, and found that that’s no longer the case; in fact, in some European countries, it’s illegal to house a pair of gerbils in anything smaller than a 20 gallon tank, which is now the minimum standard.

The toppers allow deeper bedding for burrowing, an activity Valkyrie also enjoys

My gerbils are both single–not that that’s good either, but Digger’s brother passed away back in November, and Digger’s over three years old. You can’t just put two gerbils together who don’t know each other, as they’ll fight. They have to be introduced in a split tank, and Digger’s old enough that it doesn’t make sense to go to this much effort when three years is the typical life span. My other gerbil was a rescue who came to me alone, and with all that’s gone on over the past year, I haven’t had the chance to look into getting her a buddy. “Her” being the key word as to why I can’t put her in with Digger, either–I don’t want to wind up with twenty in a couple months!

Digger hoping I’ll give him a treat – yes, our pets are spoiled

So they would probably be OK in their separate, 10-gallon tanks. But I wanted something more, so I got tank toppers. They’ve gone from living in studio apartments to townhouses! Digger has already figured out to go to the top level to beg me for treats (sunflower and pumpkin seeds).  Valkyrie enjoys her “upstairs” too.

What I’ve Been Reading

The Amortals, by T.S. Hottle. I downloaded this science fiction book from my friend T.S. Hottle’s newsletter. It’s one of the offshoot novellas in his Compact Universe space opera series that I was looking forward to reading.

It did not disappoint. This main character was last featured in The Marilynists, about a crazy religion devoted to the late Earth actress Marilyn Monroe. Tom pulls a lot of humor from this, which makes for a very entertaining read! I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys science fiction with a good bit of humor, but read The Marilynists first for the best experience.

But what really blew my mind–and I’ll admit, might make me a bit biased–was when I saw the title page:

I have never had a book dedicated to me – wow, what an honor! So cool!

What I’ve Been Writing

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Unfortunately, this was one of those “not much” weeks. I only wrote three days this week, and added about 600 words. The wordcount is no big deal since that’s not my goal, but I need to spend more time on it. I’m not quite stuck, but not sure where I’m going is where I need to go. Or maybe I’m just bored because I’m redrafting a scene (the same one still–ugh) from another character’s point-of-view–it’s better, but not vastly different. I’m almost done with it, so if I can just get there, things should pick up again. So that’s what I’ll shoot for again this week–five days, for at least a half-hour per day.

I did meet my learning goal of finishing a week’s worth of my online workshop, so there’s that. I’ll do another week’s worth this week.

What about you–do you have pets, and if so, how do you spoil them? Have you read any good books lately? And how are you doing on whatever goals you might have, whether writing-related or otherwise? Please share in the comments–I’d love to hear from you!

Jennette Marie Powell writes stories about ordinary people in ordinary places, who do extraordinary things and learn that those ordinary places are anything but. In her Saturn Society novels, unwilling time travelers do what they must to make things right... and change more than they expect. You can find her books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo, iTunes, and more.

Busy Critters

Me? I’m no more busy than usual (which isn’t trivial, but…). My pets, on the other hand, have been doing all sorts of things this week.

My turtle Sand Dollar has been laying eggs. Sand Dollar is fifteen years old, and has been with us for over ten years. She’s a Red-eared Slider, which typically start laying eggs once they’re about five inches long (shell). She was that big around eight years ago and has been nine inches long for years, but I’ve never seen eggs until this week.

She has exhibited egg-laying behavior plenty of times–basking a lot, digging with her hind legs, and acting like she’s trying to get out of the basking enclosure on top of her tank. I’ve put her in a nest box and taken her outside. I took my laptop and worked on our front porch a couple weeks ago, and Sand Dollar acted like she was laying, but four hours later, no eggs. I guess they could’ve fallen down the snake hole she was sitting over, who knows!

So the other day I was sitting at my desk doing day job work, and glanced over to see Sand Dollar nibbling at something that looked like a small, white hot dog in the bottom of her tank. An egg! Or more like two or three fused together, for it was three inches long! She had dropped four more this morning, this time normal size (slightly larger than robins’ eggs). Oh, and if anyone’s curious, I discarded them, as they wouldn’t be viable even if she hadn’t laid them in water, because Sand Dollar is a single girl. 🙂

Sand Dollar sleeping (and probably dreaming of food)

My gerbils have also been busy. I’ve had gerbils for years, but just recently joined a Facebook group about them. Typically they do best in pairs, but one of my sweet little guys died in November (he was old and had cancer), leaving his brother alone. My other gerbil, a little rescue gir,l has always been by herself. I don’t put them together because I don’t want to wind up with twenty in three or four months (yes, that has happened before). 😀 After lurking in the Facebook group, I realized that my babies sleep a lot because they don’t have enough to do, especially being alone. So I bought tank toppers, and upgraded them from studio apartments to townhouses! This will enable them to collect more bedding below and dig and burrow, which is what gerbils do. Upstairs is for the wheel, eating, and of course, getting treats (which my boy Digger has already figured out). I also got some wooden toys and houses for them, but those haven’t come yet. So, more on the gerbils next week.

As for me and my husband, we did get out yesterday for a nice motorcycle ride. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is still closed… except for Foothills Parkway. Seeing it has been on my bucket list since we started looking at land here almost four years ago, and we finally drove it in the truck a couple weeks ago, just to get out. It was even more fun on a motorcycle, and the views did not disappoint! Yesterday, we talked to a family (from six feet away, of course) who had lived in the area all their lives, and this was the first time they’d seen it. Definitely worthwhile, and something else to share with guests once they can come visit!

One of many fantastic views from a scenic overlook on the Foothills Parkway

What I’ve Been Reading

Finding the Perfect Mate by Stacy McKitrick is the latest in her Bitten by Love vampire romance series. I love this series because her heroes aren’t super dark and broody, but more like regular guys who have some special abilities (and limitations) to contend with–guys you’d like to spend time with. This book is about Perry, who appears in most of the other books as the snarky, irreverent sidekick, and one of the more entertaining characters. Glad he finally got his own story! And now I’m wondering who will be in the next, which I’m definitely looking forward to. Highly recommended!

What I’ve Been Writing

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My goal last week was to spend at least 1/2 hour, five days, working back through the book to work in the changes needed after my outlining and notes. I only hit four days, and only added about 500 words, though that’s partly because I also cut a lot. But the good news is I figured out what the story needs, which just outlining and taking notes didn’t tell me: there are not enough scenes in the main heroine’s point of view. Rewriting one scene should fix that (I hope). So my goal is to do that, and then continue with cycling back to do the changes, spending at least 1/2 hour on it for at least five days.

I did meet my learning goal of completing week 5 of my online workshop. I also did some reading about copyright, but this is getting long, so I’ll summarize what I learned next week.

What about you–do you have any pets? If so, do they make you feel like a slacker, or are they like my dogs, and you’re super productive in comparison? 😀 Have you read any good books lately? How are you doing on whatever goals you might have, whether writing-related or otherwise? Please share in the comments–I’d love to hear from you!

Jennette Marie Powell writes stories about ordinary people in ordinary places, who do extraordinary things and learn that those ordinary places are anything but. In her Saturn Society novels, unwilling time travelers do what they must to make things right... and change more than they expect. You can find her books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo, iTunes, and more.

Pet-pourri

One thing that’s taken some of my time lately has been our pets. Now, I love animals, especially mine, so this isn’t really a problem. I got a new tank for my goldfish a couple weeks ago, and while that took some time to set up, it’s so much easier to clean than the old one–and the goldfish loves it.

Birthday girl is worn out!

Birthday girl is worn out!

Isis had a birthday, too–she’s now officially a terrible two. Well, not really too terrible, as long as we’re throwing the ball to her. For her birthday, a trip to Pet Supplies Plus was in order, where she picked out not one, but three new toys. Now I’m waiting for her to chew the squeaker out of them. After that, we went to the ice cream shop, even though it wasn’t Dogs Nite Out, and got her a doggie cup (and treats for DH and me, too).

But what’s taken more time is one of my gerbils.

It all started back in November, when my dad stopped by after visiting a rental property that was infested with fleas. He didn’t come into the house, but Isis was in the yard, and she brought them in. A trip to Wash Your Dog took care of her, and we thought, the fleas too.

Then I saw fleas in my gerbils’ tanks. I immediately cleaned the tanks, then brought them (and the turtle) to the dining room, and bombed their room. One of the gerbils was fine. But the other one, Spaz continued to scratch like crazy, because hey, freak out and get stressed is what he does, hence his name. A few days later, he’d scratched himself bloody.

So I took him to the vet, who found Spaz had mites (carried by fleas) and mange (carried by mites). He also had an ear infection, and had chewed the toenails off of one foot. Some gerbils do that when they’re stressed, but the problem with Spaz is, even after the mites and mange were cured, he kept going.

This is one ticked-off gerbil

This is one ticked-off gerbil

Now Spaz has no toes on one foot, though a month ago, it looked like he’d finally stopped.

Until I took him to the vet for a follow-up. Right after that, he started back into chewing, and this time, the vet went to what he said was the last resort, short of amputation: an Elizabethan collar.

As pitiful as Spaz was, the vet assistants and I couldn’t help laughing at his antics trying to dislodge the thing. It did its job in that he has not chewed his foot since then, even after he finally got the collar off about ten hours later (by doing somersaults!). Now to see if he continues to leave his foot alone.

What I’ve been reading: This vet is very good–he treats my turtle, too–but the wait times are way too long. Usually it’s an hour. Yesterday was two hours. I actually didn’t mind for once, because I had nowhere else I needed to be, and it was an excuse to read the really good book I’m working on right now. I’m not going to share about it just yet because I’m not finished, but I will next week. I know I’ll finish soon, because this is one of those I can’t wait to get back to–as in, it’s done a great job getting me to the treadmill, but it’s also one I have to fight the temptation to read, rather than do my own writing.

ROW80Logo175ROW80 Update: It took until yesterday, but I finally did get started on my revisions. Still not sure about the new scene I’m writing, but at least I’m having fun again. What I finally figured out: even though revision uses the critical part of the mind, I couldn’t get myself to focus on it at my Internet computer. Only when I went into the critter room and sat at my writing computer did the resistance fade. So I guess that computer is not just for new writing. I didn’t get as much done as I’d have liked, but I did get through one revised scene, plus part of a new one done. For this week, I’m going to shoot for finishing this new scene, and revising the next two.

What about you–what has kept you from reaching your goals lately (or what has tempted you)? Do you ever have to fight the urge to read, rather than write? Do you have pets? Please share in the comments–I’d love to hear from you!

Jennette Marie Powell writes stories about ordinary people in ordinary places, who do extraordinary things and learn that those ordinary places are anything but. In her Saturn Society novels, unwilling time travelers do what they must to make things right... and change more than they expect. You can find her books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo, iTunes, and more.

ROW80: Just Zippy!

On the gerbil front, things are just peachy! We removed the divider on Monday, and things were a little touch and go as there was a lot of chasing and confrontation to establish who was the alpha, mostly between Sandy (our older gerbil) and Finn. They were still at it when we were ready for bed, so we replaced the divider.

Later in the week, it occurred to me that a cage cleaning might help, as the bedding would have had more Sandy-scent on it than the young gerbils’ scents. It did the trick, and we now have a happily-slumbering pile of gerbils in the corner of the tank!

I also added to my menagerie yet again the other day. Last Christmas, I asked for a fancy, lighted 5-gallon aquarium and other stuff for a betta fish. One of my coworkers has one at the office and her fish is so fun to watch! I got a couple things, but didn’t receive the aquarium until my birthday a couple weeks ago. So Friday we made another trip to Pet Supplies Plus, where I bought food, gravel, and the tank’s occupant.

I chose the fish that got the most excited when I reached for his cup, a pretty red betta with iridescent blue highlights. Boy does he love his new home! He zips around in it all day. Thus, his name: Zippy. He sits on my desk, so hopefully he’ll bring a little “zip” to my writing process.

Unfortunately, there hasn’t been much of that this week, and even less in the fitness department:

  • Complete Lesson 7 of How to Think Sideways, plus Lesson 6B, which I missed last week. – Lesson 7 done, still working on 6b. It’s more time-consuming than I expected.
  • Cover design for Times Two – started, but not done.
  • Three interval workouts and two shorter workouts. I can blame migraines and too much running around, but that’s just an excuse. Going to do better this week!
  • Track exercise and consumption – uh…. no.

I checked with my beta readers for Hangar 18, and that’s not going to be ready in time for the deadline. So my focus there has switched to Times Two. Overall goal progress:

  • Release Time’s Fugitive, in both ebook and print – Done!
  • Complete Holly Lisle’s How to Write a Series workshop – Done!
  • How to Think Sideways workshop – complete through Lesson 8 – on track!
  • Release Times Two (Time’s Enemy/Time’s Fugitive box set) as an ebook – on track!
For this week, I’m going to go a little easy again. I have a  Memorial Day party later today, and a Readers con this coming Friday and Saturday, both of which will be fun but make it hard to track food. So I’m scratching that for this week, but still going to try to get my workouts in. It does, however, mean less time to work on my writing.
  • Complete Lesson 6B of How to Think Sideways
  • Cover design for Times Two
  • Three interval workouts and two shorter workouts

How are you doing in this round of ROW80 – or if you’re not a writer, or not doing the ROW, for this spring?

ROW80: What’s in a Name

First of all, the baby gerbils have names! It took us until Thursday to come up with the ones that both my daughter and I said, “Yes! That’s it!” We took Ginger Calem‘s  suggestion for the lilac gerbil, and named him Finn, short for “infinity,” which is how far he’d run on that wheel if he could. Thanks, Ginger, and to everyone else who offered suggestions!

Reggie and Finn (curled up sleeping) in a rare moment of stillness

The spotted Siamese boy was trickier. It turns out, he likes the wheel too – when Finn stops long enough for him to get a turn. He’s also calmer, and friendlier – when we hold him, he often purrs. (Finn has a couple of times.) My daughter thought with how pretty he is, he deserved a regal-sounding name. After several “nah, that’s not it,” I came up with Reginald – or Reggie. She liked it. So today we’ll remove the divider, and see how Finn and Reggie get along with Sandy.

And how did I do with ROW80? Not as well, I’m afraid. The various celebratory dinners and such cut into writing time. It’s also been nice out all week, so that cuts into motivation as well. However, it’s a new day, so I’m going to do better next week!

  • Complete Lesson 7 of How to Think Sideways – Got about halfway through. This was a long one.
  • Follow up with beta readers for Hangar 18 – Done! One is almost done, waiting to hear back from the other.
  • Write two guest blogs I promised – the one from last week, and a new request – Done!
  • Three interval workouts and two shorter workouts – Nope. Got the three intervals in, which is the more important.
  • Track exercise and consumption – Not even close. This was a lost cause with it being birthday week. I’ll do better next week.

Overall goal progress:

  • Release Time’s Fugitive, in both ebook and print – Done!
  • Complete Holly Lisle’s How to Write a Series workshop – Done!
  • How to Think Sideways workshop – complete through Lesson 8 (1-4 done previously) – on track!
  • Release Hangar 18: Legacy – OR – release Times Two (Time’s Enemy/Time’s Fugitive box set) as an ebook – on track!
  • Bonus: Both of the above – on hold until other goals accomplished
For this week, I’m going to go a little easier. This coming weekend is Memorial Day weekend, which means extra socializing, and we also have my daughter’s choir concert to attend one evening.
  • Complete Lesson 7 of How to Think Sideways, plus Lesson 6B, which I missed last week.
  • Cover design for Times Two
  • Three interval workouts and two shorter workouts
  • Track exercise and consumption

How are you doing in this round of ROW80 – or if you’re not a writer, or not doing the ROW, for this spring? Do you have any big plans for Memorial Day weekend?

ROW80: New Babies – Help Us Name Them!

I got some new babies for Mothers’ Day. No, not human babies. Furbabies!

We’ve had gerbils for years, ever since my daughter wanted “a small pet” when she was seven. I had gerbils when I was a kid, so that’s what we got. We’ve gone through a couple dozen since then, and once again were down to one as of a couple weeks ago when our little Onix passed away.

His cagemate, Sandy, has definitely been mopey since then. Gerbils are social animals, and are happier in pairs or trios. So we stopped at our local Pet Supplies Plus to see if they had any potential new friends for him.

They had three darling babies there, and two were boys. Since we didn’t want two to turn into two dozen a few months down the road, that was a must. But we don’t yet have names for them.

Sandy’s name is actually Sandslash, after the Pokemon. His former cagemate was also named after a Pokemon. We’ve had gerbils named after snacks (our original two were Ho-ho and Twinkie), and drinks (like KC [Kahlua and Cream] and Bailey). But none of those are  a requirement.

The lilac one (silver-gray) is a wheel fanatic. They’ve been here about four hours, and he hasn’t stopped running on the wheel since. He’s jumpy and squirmy – not unusual for gerbils, especially young ones.

The other is called a spotted Siamese. He’s mostly uninterested in the wheel (it usually seems to work that way). But even after this short a time, he’s warming up to us. The last couple of times I’ve gone to check on them, he’s practically climbed into my hand. He’s relatively calm, and will sit still to be petted. Sandy (gold one in the background, above) is the same way – he’s the calmest, most mellow gerbil we’ve ever had. And like Sandy, this new baby purrs. Yes, gerbils purr! You can’t hear them, but you it feels like they’re shivering, yet they’re relaxed, and aren’t trying to get away.

Yet even now that we’re getting to know them, my daughter and I aren’t sure what to name them. So please comment with your ideas!

Luckily, I don’t have the same problem with characters in my books. They usually freely give me their names. (Don’t be too jealous – that’s the only thing they give up that easily!) One of my goals this week was to work through How to Think Sideways, Lesson 5. I not only did that, but whipped through Lesson Six (which was just reading, no worksheets) and started on Lesson 7, where we started defining characters. Names? No problem.

Here’s the rest of my goals results:

  • Complete Lesson 5 of How to Think Sideways – Done!
  • Develop Book Info sheet for Hangar 18: Legacy and follow up with other beta readers – Book Info done, forgot to send the emails.
  • Write guest blog I promised, and email the written one to the blogger – Emailed the one, didn’t get to the other
  • Three interval workouts and two shorter workouts – Got three intervals and two short workouts
  • Track exercise and consumption – Did well until yesterday. Lots going on, at least that’s my story!

Overall goal progress:

  • Release Time’s Fugitive, in both ebook and print – Done!
  • Complete Holly Lisle’s How to Write a Series workshop – Done!
  • How to Think Sideways workshop – complete through Lesson 8 (1-4 done previously)
  • Release Hangar 18: Legacy – OR – release Times Two (Time’s Enemy/Time’s Fugitive box set) as an ebook – Cover design for Hangar 18 done! Also got some great feedback from first beta reader – thank you, Carey!
  • Bonus: Both of the above – on hold until other goals accomplished
For this week:
  • Complete Lesson 7 of How to Think Sideways
  • Follow up with beta readers for Hangar 18
  • Write two guest blogs I promised – the one from last week, and a new request
  • Three interval workouts and two shorter workouts
  • Track exercise and consumption

Do you have any ideas for names for our new babies? Please comment and let me know! How are you doing in this round of ROW80 – or if you’re not a writer, or not doing the ROW, for this spring? Let me know that, too, even if you have no name ideas!

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