Monday, August 20, 2007

Good News--Bad News

The Good News--is that I'm closer to finishing my book than I have ever been before! I've revised everything I have written half a dozen times, I've taken a few steps closer to my actual ending scene and I feel good about the book. I've lined up a few readers ready to give me feedback!

The Bad News--is that on August 27 Mars will be closer to the planet Earth than it has been for something like 6 mazillionfinite years. It will look like a full moon to us earthlings, and yet the distance between the two planets will still be 34,649,589 miles. All of this only goes to show that 'close' is a completely relative word. I still can't figure out that blasted ending.




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The Good News--is that I finally bought a raccoon trap to catch the raccoons that are slowly picking off my poor little chickens (I'm down to 13 of my 17 batch I bought last month after my second batch of the season was massacred by said raccoons--see this post for more details.) And, I figured out how to use said trap, which means my neighborhood Raccoon's days are numbered.


The Bad News--We didn't catch a Raccoon. Instead, we caught a skunk. And how the #@#$% are you supposed to get the skunk out of the trap without needing a bath in Tomato Juice? Not to mention the fact that if he gets out of the trap alive, he'll likely come back tomorrow night.



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The Good News--Summer is almost over. As of next Monday (six days and 16 hours from the time I post this blog) all of my children will be at public school and I will have FREEDOM. It's so close I can taste it.

The Bad News--I'm not sure I'll last that long (see the bad news about how close Mars will be to Earth on the 27th)

15 comments:

Lisa said...

So what happened with the skunk?

Kimberly Vanderhorst said...

Wow. What a chaotic tumult you've got going on there.

Tristi Pinkston said...

Now, see, *you* don't get the skunk out of the trap. You take the entire trap down to animal control and let *them* get it out. It's their job. They're paid. And their tomato juice is tax deductible.

Josi said...

Tristi--trying to move a trap with a skunk in it is tricky business, and Animal Control considers Skunks a scavenger, which means they don't come and remove it for you.

And Lisa--We had no choice but to administer a little country justice, smith and wesson style. Makes me sad, I hate that stuff. The coons we were going to let go in the mountains--but the skunk was a whole different animal (no pun intended of course)

Thanks for the sympathy girls--oh, and it did manage to spray one last time on it's way out. Peeeeyou

Julie Wright said...

YAY for school! Bummer about the skunk but look what good blogging fodder it made? I'm sending closure vibes to you about the book :)

Tamra Norton said...

Sorry about the skunk business--ugh!

And I had to laugh when I read in your blog about your excitement over the kids returning to school. As a homeschooler, my "freedom days" to write are numbered. (3 left--sigh) School starts Monday and I'm back to night-writing.

Good luck finishing the ms! :)

Unknown said...

Ha! Fun blog. Sorry, but skunk problems are funny when they're not yours.

Re the end--you could always leave it blank and have a grand competition with a prize for the best ending.

Just kidding. I have contests on the brain at the moment, since the one on my blog is still way undersubscribed. Lots of lookers but not lots of takers. So, all you thousands of readers of Josi's great blogs, come on over and send in an entry. Results may surprise you.

Unknown said...

Ba ha. I feel so positive!

ali cross said...

ROFL laughing at your mars comment and the ending of your book. Cracked me up!

Josi? You can do it! Congrats on all the progress you've made so far!

Anna Maria Junus said...

You can always use the skunk story in a book and you can come up with a creative ending.

Ronda Gibb Hinrichsen said...

Smith and Wesson visit us quite regularly when we have skunk problems, too. I also think you're brave to want to let the racoons out in the mountains. They can be pretty vicious, and as far as we're concerned, they are just as much a varmit as the skunks are.

Good luck. And you know, as far as your book goes, maybe you ought to take a few extra naps. I seem to get some of my best ideas in my dreams. Maybe my muse is a night owl.

Anonymous said...

hi again: so close you can taste the freedom ... happy for you girl. you can make it.

why do you have to remove the skunk alive? hmmm?

hope writing feels so so good to you today. if you feel so inclined, come read my 100th post on 18aug. it meant so much to me to write this and i want to share this with the world, that would be you. hee hee

you can get through this and then you will have other problems to bug you. i am just joshing you. but it made me smile to tell you that.

hope your day is groovy.
blessings,
kathleen/grateful

Erica Ridley said...

Yay for being super-close to finishing the WIP! That's so exciting. Even if you're not quite sure how to wrap things up. *g

Interesting re: Mars... I always intend to go outside and see the cool once in a lifetime stuff and then somehow end up spacing it.

(Heh. Spacing it. *g)

Anonymous said...

Don't bother with the Mars thing...it's a hoax.

http://www.snopes.com/science/mars.asp

Josi said...

Oh bummer...but then maybe that means the whole theory can be flushed and I CAN finish the book. Hmmmmm.