Geekstress Wonders

I'm finally doing it! After all these years. I'm doing NaNoWriMo! It's a bit scary when first considering it. 1,670 words a day, everyday, for the month of November. Write one, long book during that time. With the goal of 50,000 words (minimum) by end of November 30th. Truth is, it's not as hard or as scary as it sounds. Some of my days  will be more productive and make up for the days when I'm overwhelmed with life and unable to write as much. Also, when I log my progress on their website, no one actually sees what I write. I actually never show anyone what I wrote. Unless I want to. A NaNoWriMo veteran made sure I knew that I was to write furiously and with ZERO edits during this time. First rough draft only. Do NOT go back and edit, no matter how badly I wanted to. It's how this fantastic annual writing event works! Many people have gone on to publish what they wrote during that November. After heavy editing, of course. Reminder: Only editing AFTER November

Knitting is a forever-learning craft. Sometimes answers are hard to find. Sharing my go-to knitting resources accumulated over the years. I would love you to share your favorite resource!  Absolute Favorite Sites Handy Knitting Calculators and Charts  - This website contains other calculators you will use over and over again! Also, look at the bottom of the page to links of other useful tidbits of information!  https://www.lovecrafts.com/en-us/knitting-calculators#countryYarnWeightConversion Knitting Calculator - Want to know how much yarn you will need to knit that women's sweater? What about when you want to use a specific weight of yarn? This is the only website I can find that does these calculations for you!!!  https://www.jimmybeanswool.com/secure-html/onlineec/knittingCalculator.asp Ravelry - The world's largest collection of free knitting patterns! Did you know that it allows you to do amazingly detailed searches? You can even save these searches and get alerted when n

  Photo by Peter Conlan. Friends are a strange lot. The definition of friend changes over the course of our lives. It means different things to different people. We have different expectations for different friends. When I was a child, a friend was someone I got along with and played with. Best friend was someone I did this with frequently and who I could also trust. Sometimes they broke my trust, but I’m sure I did the same. Friendships evolved as the teen years arrived. I continued to have friends of both genders, but things became complicated by hormones. Inevitably, one side would develop a crush on the other. Ray, my best friend, and I thought we might be perfect as a couple since we were fantastic as best friends. We attempted a kiss while alone in his truck one Saturday night. Almost as soon as the kiss started it ended with both of us backing away immediately. We just gaped at one another. Slight disgust was apparent on both faces. We agreed it felt too familiar and to neve

My anxiety is through the roof. Surgery on my right elbow tomorrow. It is more than that. It is everything going on my life at the moment. Too much happening at once, yet so many things I need to do and can’t get done soon enough. Some timelines are beyond my control. Thankfully, I have a great therapist to talk this through with. She is actually the one who suggested I blog about my anxiety today. I am overwhelmed and want to avoid the world. Anyone else’s anxiety manifest in that manner? Avoidance? It’s a horrible habit. I wouldn’t recommend it. Your brain and your body scream for you to do anything but what you need to do. Sleep, knit, watch TV, but don’t do what you need to do. Even if it is something I might enjoy, I still avoid it. Avoidance habit is so debilitating. The more you do it, the worse it gets. The act of succumbing to it reinforces it and makes it worse. Don’t misunderstand me. I don’t always react to anxiety this way. Not even under the most extreme pressures. My min

WRITERS!  Why aren't you using Instagram yet?  Use Instagram as a writing resource and to share your writing! 1 st Way - Hashtags to find the writing community on Instagram (1) #writersofinstagram (2) #writerscommunity (3) #writingprompts (4) #writinginspiration (5) #writerlife (6) #amwriting (7) #amediting (8) #bookstagram (9) #nanowrimo (10) #askagent (11) the name of your city or state + writers (12) your genre + writers, writing, or books (13) the name of an author 2 nd Way - Search ideas for visual research on Instagram (1) Where your story is such as City, State, or Country. (2) Search for people who look like your characters. (3) A Noun you are writing about. (4) Looking for inspiration? Search for the topic of your story. (5) More inspiration? Search the topic you blog about! (6) Discover quotes by people relevant/important to your topic.  (7) The look of your story. Is it Victorian times? Search for a Victorian ho

My dog is old. I hold my breath for the day she goes downhill. My best friend, Lilly, is comparable to an 80-year-old woman. Her hearing has worsened this past year. She no longer hears when I arrive home, nor when I rattle her leash to signal it's time for a walk. Her mobility is possible because of medications and a special diet. She will notice I have moved to another room and follow me. I thought this meant she didn't feel well. She didn't use to stick close by my side. I took her to the vet. Discovered following mamma is a good sign! Instead, I need to worry when she hides. She now makes weird noises, not only snoring. Vet assured me this was part of the cognitive changes with age. I try not to be a helicopter mom but know my beloved canine rarely complains, even when she is in pain. This knowledge keeps me vigilant to any changes with her. My heart will break when she passes. I've lost other dogs because of aging and sickness, and it hurts. Yet, Lilly is the

“Hell no, I won’t go!” is all I could think of as she blew her top, sending the mushroom cloud of ash and gases over 15 miles high into the atmosphere and 40 miles wide. Harry R. Truman was on everyone’s mind on May 18 th , 1980, when Mount St. Helen erupted. Our local legend and folk hero refused to leave his home, Mount St. Helens Lodge. He chanted that phrase repeatedly to the media and anyone who would listen. Harry was beloved by not only his friends and family, but by the entire Pacific Northwest. Before his death, he was already a celebrity and caused a media flurry. He attracted the attention of National Geographic, United Press International, and The Today Show. He appeared on the front pages of The San Francisco Examiner and The New York Times. Many other major magazines did profiles on him such as Newsweek, Life, Time, Field & Stream and Reader’s Digest. They continued to pay tribute to him after his death. Oscar-winning actor, Art Carney, portrayed Harry Truman in t