My writing life is very busy lately: Launch party for Fish-Eye Lens is the Sunday after Thanksgiving and there are all sorts of marketing things to attend to, not to mention writing 1,660 words a day in the NaNoWriMo challenge. I need a break! So today I'll visit my island life.
I'm certainly not rich enough to dash off to North Caicos, so I'll content myself with thinking about what I would be doing if I were there.
First of all, I probably wouldn't be staying at my own house. A pet spay/neuter program of the Turks and Caicos SPCA is going on through this weekend; the vets from Provo stay at Aloe House and set up a mobile clinic in the garage/storage area under the house. It's the contribution Tom and I make to the effort to keep down the overpopulation of dogs and cats. We're proud to be a part of the effort, but if I were there I'd be out of a home. I'd probably crash at the home of my friend, Lynn Rae McLean, and help her with her contribution of managing food and logistics for the team.
Next, I'd probably be drinking a lot more. I'm no teetotaler in Richmond, but North Caicos at this time of year is particularly social, as Canadian and American snowbirds flock back for their winter stays. I know Lynn Rae is busy making pizzas, calzones, chicken satay and crostini for cocktail hours. I would definitely be partaking of those and whatever rum or vodka or gin is offered.
I'd also be admiring the new thatch roof on the Barracuda Beach Bar. Clifford Gardiner, its owner, insists on thatching the gazebo in a traditional manner, with palm leaves gathered from the island. No artificial or Indonesian thatch for him! I was part of the the group that gathered thatch for the place in the early 2000s. Since then, there have been several hurricanes, so the bar has been a bit drippy on rainy days. I hear he has finished the chore of replacing the roof.
So, oh yes! There I am at the beach bar, sipping a drink, catching up with old friends and hearing about how many animals were "taken care of" today. That's a really nice respite from the writing life.
NaNoWriMo Report: 27,000 words! Over halfway now. Some of it is true rubbish, but I think I might see a few gems in there whenever I get around to reading the thing ... after a long and healthy time away from it!
I'm certainly not rich enough to dash off to North Caicos, so I'll content myself with thinking about what I would be doing if I were there.
First of all, I probably wouldn't be staying at my own house. A pet spay/neuter program of the Turks and Caicos SPCA is going on through this weekend; the vets from Provo stay at Aloe House and set up a mobile clinic in the garage/storage area under the house. It's the contribution Tom and I make to the effort to keep down the overpopulation of dogs and cats. We're proud to be a part of the effort, but if I were there I'd be out of a home. I'd probably crash at the home of my friend, Lynn Rae McLean, and help her with her contribution of managing food and logistics for the team.
Next, I'd probably be drinking a lot more. I'm no teetotaler in Richmond, but North Caicos at this time of year is particularly social, as Canadian and American snowbirds flock back for their winter stays. I know Lynn Rae is busy making pizzas, calzones, chicken satay and crostini for cocktail hours. I would definitely be partaking of those and whatever rum or vodka or gin is offered.
I'd also be admiring the new thatch roof on the Barracuda Beach Bar. Clifford Gardiner, its owner, insists on thatching the gazebo in a traditional manner, with palm leaves gathered from the island. No artificial or Indonesian thatch for him! I was part of the the group that gathered thatch for the place in the early 2000s. Since then, there have been several hurricanes, so the bar has been a bit drippy on rainy days. I hear he has finished the chore of replacing the roof.
So, oh yes! There I am at the beach bar, sipping a drink, catching up with old friends and hearing about how many animals were "taken care of" today. That's a really nice respite from the writing life.
NaNoWriMo Report: 27,000 words! Over halfway now. Some of it is true rubbish, but I think I might see a few gems in there whenever I get around to reading the thing ... after a long and healthy time away from it!