Meaghan’s Blog

You know what? Lists are awesome. Why did I not think of making one sooner? I made a long list - fifty-eight items so far - for what I must do for my story. I found instead of attempting to solve one or two problems, and being unsuccessful, if I have more than one option it is so much easier to deal with it. Most of it is for only the first book, and some preparation for the second. I have lots to do. It also helped me remember things I'd forgotten and think up new things that I should have thought of before. All in all, a very helpful thing in the story department.

We have still not gone to see the neighbors, though they have had many visitors over already. I remember when we first arrived here, Rosella made us some very delicious cinnamon rolls. Mmm . . . I could really go for some of those right about now. Oh, Sarah has come back, too, since Saturday. I haven't the time to write a long post today, as I really must go work on story things.

P.S. I do not believe it - my pajama pants are becoming too short! This is funny, for I am dreadfully short . . .

I mustn't  ever make things up again without running it through a search engine, you know, because again I have taken something that already existed and thought it was something I thought of. I do not know if I took it directly from a book we have, called the book of lists which has, unsurprisingly, lists of things in it, like best novels of all time - Pride and Prejudice was number four! (War and Peace, some book with ridiculously small text and nearly a thousand pages long, was number one. We own it, but I believe nobody has read it . . .) - and things of all sorts. Anyway, they had a list of extinct birds - or I think it was a list of ones that couldn't fly. As it turns out, one month I have for my story, Moa, is actually a bird, which became extinct in the 17th century or something. It was some sort of ten-foot-tall turkey, according to them. This book was published in 1977, so most of everything is outdated by now. Still, I think I may have known this when thinking up my months, but I lost this book around September of last year and only found it a few days ago, and I think it was already lost when I made up those months. I will still keep it.

Sarah has gone to visit Addison and Kaytlyn (my brother and my sister-in-law) until Saturday - I guess I should take this opportunity to work on that third chapter, but I have not been thinking about it much so I have no real ideas for it. My eyes have improved, too - I do not know if I have said that - and I am trying to take it easy. No looking outside too much - it is very snowy everywhere, and very sunny, and therefore very bright - if I look at lights too long, my eyes will hurt. I can't watch the television too long either, since it's making me tired lately. But I can write all day, or as much as my hands can stand to. I know eventually the ideas I need to continue with my story will come to me. I cannot skip ahead, though, and keep on writing - that is a bad habit of mine as things are, and if I do that it is exceedingly likely I will have to write the part or parts all again, which is dreadfully a nuisance. However, at times I do not much mind it if I have found there is much more I need to add anyway.

My mother has just read the title of this and inquired, 'Moa? What's Moa?' and experimented saying it differently, though the first time was right, and I told her I had written about it before with exaggerated disappointment. She mumbled something as she went away about me being crushed and I told her it was explained in this blog entry. Oh dear, we are far too sarcastic sometimes.

Now I am not just saying this so I will not need to see an eye doctor, but my eyes really do not hurt anymore! I can write (and read!) again. Most of this moring was spent writing a later part in my story, most of it I had bits and peices written down,  so now I am constructing it.  And yesterday I wrote a draft letter to my aunt Glenda and then copied that, since I do wind up scribbling things out or leaving out words, sometimes writing the wrong letter, and other things. It is better that way, trust me. I hope to send that off soon - I only need her address, which I'm sure is kicking around here somewhere.
Dad has gone off on a plane to Toronto for I think overnight, I am not certain since I forgot. He had to leave very early for that this morning but I was not woken up for it. We intend to go out today, for shopping and the library. I usually stay in the car unless I have something I need to get, which isn't often, and I always bring a notebook - you never know when you need to write something down, and if there is no notebook to write it in, it's likely forgotten.

I have been doing plenty of work on my story, mainly thinking up names for places and possibly creatures. I like to watch television, sometimes the Food Network is apt, for inspirations for places. I do not know if it will become obvious I get ideas this way. Nevertheless, I have plenty of places thought up that I need to add to the map I drew, which I also mean to draw a larger one so I can put all of these new places in. It is such tiring work! Map drawing is easy, however, since you really need only to draw squiggily lines everywhere and put names down - it just takes so long that it is very tiresome.

I have not slept the best the past few nights; I'll wake up in the night for no real reason. I know it could be worse but since I have gotten my new mattress, seldom do I ever wake up in the night, unless I am sick (and then I do not sleep at all on the first night). And then falling asleep I am bothered by one of my eyes - or both, I cannot be sure, since I may be going cross-eyed with both of them without me trying to, or just the one I can feel, which is my right eye, looking to the left and when I open them it goes straight again. The only reason this is a bother is because it's uncomfortable. Am I rambling? Never mind. The point is, I was telling Dad about this (not the cross-eyed thing, but my eyes hurting in general), and he suggested I may need glasses. It is a possibility, one which is better than going blind though I do not particularly like it, but this is a very sudden thing and it was not this way on Monday, when I was reading that atrocious book; it began on Tuesday. Small text has not bothered me recently, you know. My eyes just tire very easily now . . . a pity, because if it stays this way I will be unable to read or write much of anything - both are my favorite things to do. You would think if it were a temporary sort of thing, it would have gone by now, in five days.

My parents have stepped out to look at paint colors, pick up stove pellets, and perhaps another thing or two. I would have liked to pick out paint colors, and as I told my mother, I was 'not invited.' She said something I cannot remember, and patted me on the head fondly and consolingly. She has promised to bring back plenty of paint chips. You know - samples of paint colors. Not a moment ago I started to consider what we could paint this room, and my thoughts instantly flew to yellow walls with the trim and waynscotting (I know I have that wrong) white. This room is not the brightest. Perhaps that is because there is only one window facing somewhere in the East, and the paint on the walls is a beige/ tan color - on the walls, the trim, everything, with a blue and burgundy paisley border. Do I need to say how it is maybe not the best combination? . . .

I think the neighbors - Earl and Rosella - have returned at last, after a very long winter vacation. I certainly hope so, anyway. It appears, if they are back, that they indeed did not come back in March, but in February, since we saw lights on last night. However, we did not actually see them, so we could be completely off on this one. I did see, though, that their newspaper box was cleaned out; it had snow in it not long before! So if they really are back, I shall be glad to see them. Meanwhile, I have paid a long overdue visit to Emma's blog and I left her some comments. I never seem to get them right for anybody, but I have tried. I wish I could go read or write. Oh! I have just remembered I was going to clean the kitchen. I had better go do that.