I spent the day in Calgary.  Gregor lent me his car, so I managed to get to Chinook Mall to buy some gifts for my boys.  I then spent the afternoon at Joey Tomatoes, reading and revising and outlining.

Right after Gregor got out of work, we loaded up his Gold TDI and started the drive back home.  Right now, we are outside Medicine Hat, and my laptop is, you guessed it, on my lap.

Reading
Kushiel’s Avatar (Jacqueline Carey)

Writing
This list is priceless, I recommend you read it!

I re-read the critiques of “Elya”, and this time it didn’t throw me into a funk.  I made a list of the top concerns, and edited the story.  The original is about 3000 words, but I deleted a scene or two, and added a bit more.  It looks like I’ll be at about 5000 words for the next revision.  We’ll see how it goes.

I packed Marnie and the kids into the van this morning.  We were heading out to do some hiking in Whiteshell.  There’s a nice easy trail called MacGillvary Trail, that I thought the kids would really enjoy.  On the way there, we stopped at the Alfred Hole (yeah, A. Hole.  Funny stuff for a simple mind like me) Goose Sanctuary.  It’s mid summer and the number of geese was pretty small, only 145.

While we were there, we found that anything to do with the back country was shut down.  No hiking, no canoeing, no nothing.  We’ve been so hot and dry this year, that the fire hazard is EXTREME.  So, they shut down all access.  It’s better to be safe than sorry, I guess.  They even blocked the trail around the lake at the Goose Sanctuary!

Once we found out, we decided to add an hour onto our drive and head to Kenora.  They have this excellent ‘chip truck’ there.  Fresh cut potatoes, deep fried to perfection.  The best chips ever.  And guess what?  The chip truck was closed.  They ran out of french fries.  This was not turning out to be our day.

We ended up at a bar patio called Hap’s, and had some fries there.  They were good!  Then we drove home, put the kids into the tub, and relaxed for the evening.  The boys were actually in bed at their regular time!

And that, my friends, was my Sunday.

Reading
Kushiel’s Avatar (Jacqueline Carey)

Writing
This site held my interest for quite awhile: http://faculty.ncwc.edu/toconnor/criminology.htm There is so much information on criminology there, it’s frightening.

I don’t think I’ll normally post on weekends, but this blog is still new so here goes…

What a great day.  The boys and I got along perfectly today, and we all had a fun time.  I took them to coffee with me, since Marnie is in Miami, and they ate and played and had a wonderfull time.  They never once asked to go home. When I finally said it was time to go, at about 3:00 PM, they were actually a tad upset.  That would be 3 1/2 hours at a coffee shop.  Well done.

After coffee, I had a kind of ‘adult withdrawal’.  It’s been 4 days with just the boys, and I craved some more adult interaction.  I love the boys to pieces, but for my sanity, I really need to maintain adult contact.  When Jared was at school, it wasn’t too bad.  I met the other parents when I dropped off and picked him up (plus some additional activities).  The summer is a little bit harder.  Maybe, as I mentioned in yesterdays post, routine is something I need as well.

So Gavin came over for supper (hot dogs) and beer.  It was good to talk about adult stuff.  The boys ended up sleeping together, and all is quiet.

Reading
nothing
Writing
this blog