I chortled in my glee. Because . . .
I finished my rough draft!!!
It has been seven years since the last time I could truthfully say those words. Seven years!!
Now to make it less rough. Which will take some doing. But once upon a time I enjoyed rewrites, so I shall roll up my sleeves and commence.
Soon. Must first take time to savor the moment. And brew a cup of tea.
~~
Monday begins my third year of teaching literature for our local home school co-op. I have only one class this time around, which will make life much easier. It is high school American Literature. We are beginning the class with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Yay! One of my students memorized "Paul Revere's Ride" for a speech class and has agreed to present it for the class Monday. How is that for a dashing start to the year?
And our first reading assignment is The Song of Hiawatha. All of it. I have read the first five chapters so far, and I am in awe. I think my students will enoy it, especially since we live in the land of the Big-Sea-Water and all the flora and fauna described here in beautifully poetic terms.
I love teaching because I learn so much!
~~
In other news, Monte is sick. My poor baby has been feeling poorly for weeks, which (avoiding graphic detail) involves decidedly unpleasant clean-up chores for his mum (that would be me). Today I rushed a sample to our vet, who is a family friend, and learned that my kitty-boy has a urinary tract infection or UTI. So now he is on two antibiotic pills a day and one prednisone every other day. I count it a great blessing that Mr. Pinky Nose (his nickname) is angelic about swallowing pills.
Whitefang Spot DeFuhr Montgomery turned twelve in April--hard to believe--so he is no youngster by any means, but I really want to keep him around to snuggle and inspire me for a few more years!
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| Monte the lap-warmer |
I hope your kitty feels better!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Hannah! :-)
DeleteCongrats on finishing your rough draft! I hope your cat gets better soon!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sarah! He is happily curled up in my lap right now--I think maybe the antibiotic is helping. Hoping so, anyway.
DeleteYay! What's the title of your work-in-progress...or can you say? And poor little Monte! I know how hard it is to have a sick pet, but I'm sure he'll get better soon:)
ReplyDeleteHmm. I'm not sure I can tell the title yet--my publisher (whom you know quite well) is planning a cover reveal in a month or two, so the title might need to wait until then. I CAN say that I think it is the best cover I've ever had on one of my books--and this one will be #22!
DeleteMonte sends his regards. He does like to milk this being-sick thing for all it's worth--he has me and Peter escorting him on walks in the garden once or twice a day recently.
Yay! You have a blog! :) I'm going to enjoy reading it. :) And congratulations on finishing your rough draft. That's exciting! :)
ReplyDeleteI love you!!
Love you too, Rachel!
DeleteNow I'm working on rewrites, which is actually pretty fun. :-)
Yay for finishing your rough draft! I've only done that a couple times; both times, I leaned back, let out my breath, and realized that I just ended a novel, and wasn't ready to go on to editing yet. I've still not edited either of those books.
ReplyDeleteI hope that Monte will be doing better soon.
Uh oh! Rewrites can be intimidating. While I'm writing my rough draft I think of so many things that I will need to go back and fix, but unless I write them down while I'm thinking of them, I forget. I did write down a lot of things this time, but I probably missed a few.
DeleteHope you can finish those novels, Athelas.
CONGRATULATIONS! :) You finished your draft! xoxox
ReplyDeleteI did! But now I'm a bit intimidated by my rewrites . . .
DeleteXOXO back. :-)
Hi Jill,
ReplyDeletePlease forgive me---I am a month late in commenting---but HAD to comment since I've just realized you had a sick kitty. :( I'm sure by now he's much better (it's now early October) but I'm sorry Monte was feeling poorly. He is beautiful, and what a blessing he's good about swallowing pills! :) Unfortunately none of my furry children comply when I gently *attempt* to help a pill go down their little throats. And I must add that I have a grown nephew named Monte who LOVES cats! ;) So I'll be sure and tell him about your handsome boy who shares his name. Hugs, Patti Jo :)
Hi Patti Jo! Yes, Monte is feeling so much better. His recovery really is amazing--and I am so thankful to have my spotty boy around for awhile longer.
DeleteHeh--yes, both of our male cats have names that belong to people we know! Makes for a bit of awkwardness. They were named after brother characters in some of my old HP books. :-D
Hugs back, Jill
I love the section in this post about teaching in a homeschool co-op. I also teach on Monday's for my co-op, but I teach logic. While I really enjoy logic, literature is my passion so I enjoy that class as much as the one I teach.
ReplyDeleteI've never read The Song of Hiawatha; sounds interesting!
What are your favorite books?
Hello Hannah!
DeleteOne of the things I have enjoyed most about teaching for this co-op has been introducing my students to some of my favorite books and authors. It's hard to narrow down to a few favorites! I love Jane Eyre, A Tale of Two Cities (always makes me cry) and anything by Dorothy Sayers. I enjoy a Georgette Heyer book now and then, and I'm recently on a kick of Rafael Sabatini's swash-buckling adventures. :-) I also have a passion for well-written YA fantasy, such as Megan Whalen Turner's Queen's Thief series, just about anything from Diana Wynne Jones, and my daughter Anne Elisabeth's Tales of Goldstone Wood.
Of course, for American Lit. I am introducing students to Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and, currently, Mark Twain. After Christmas we will be reading Uncle Tom's Cabin, which surprised me by being a very good book. Then on into London, Melville, Faulkner, Steinbeck, and others. I'm using mainly short stories, since class meets only once a week and time is limited.
So what are your favorite books? I think teaching logic would be fascinating! It is a sadly neglected subject in our modern society.