Welcome to the website of Barbara J. Webb
Below, please find links to some of my hobbies, projects, and friends.
Kittens, Rainbows, and Unicorns - LiveJournal.com
Loss
P1000010, originally uploaded by zhidarkivel.
Zifla, our cat, died yesterday.
It all happened very fast. In only a matter of hours, she went from perfectly normal behavior to being unable to stand. At the vet, they immediately admitted her for surgery. When they opened her up, they found the cancer raging through her tiny body. They had no choice but to put her to sleep. We didn't get to say goodbye.
It all happened very fast.
All pets are transient companions, but we didn't get near enough time with Zifla. Not quite six years together. I try to console myself with the fact that she was a rescue kitten, due to be put down within days if she couldn't find a home, so we were able to give her six years more than she would otherwise have received. Right now, that doesn't help.
Like children, I'm sure you're not supposed to play favorites with your pets. But Zifla really was the best cat I've ever known. She was an important part of our family, and now she's gone. I'm still looking for her to wander in to see what I'm doing, expecting her to be lying on my computer chair or her kitty tree or my side of the bed. Still wishing that yesterday wasn't.
Because it happened so very, very fast. And I miss her.
Going out in style
Going out in style, originally uploaded by zhidarkivel.
The weather outside may be frightful, but we're going to enjoy ourselves, dammit. cheese fondue, champagne, and a movie. A cozy evening.
Again? That trick never works!
So, we are almost exactly a year past the big ice storm that nocked out power for five days. And I mean to the day. I checked my Flikr set -- all those pictures are dated January 29.
What do we have on the weather forecast for tonight? Freezing rain. Lots of it. At least an inch of ice.
Spare-dot-me.
Last year, they were calling the storm a once in a century event. Let's hope. I like my power. I like the things it brings me. Civilization -- I'm a fan.
So I'm waving to j_cheney over in Oklahoma and to my Yetis here in Fayetteville and Ft. Smith. Let's nobody piss off the sky gods, okay? Everyone else, please keep your fingers crossed for us.
In closing, a blast from the past:
January 20, 2010
January 20, 2010, originally uploaded by zhidarkivel.
The Cameronium tea blend is such a pretty color. And tastes good too, but that's almost secondary as I stand here watching it cool.
Smoke on the mountain, fire in my heart
So today I received my acceptance into the Taos Toolbox writing workshop, a two-week Master Class in science fiction and fantasy, taught by Walter Jon Williams and Nancy Kress.
I'm excited about this. It's a chance to learn from new people. It's a chance to hang out in the mountains for two weeks. I expect to learn a lot. I'll try to take good notes.
Today has been a day where I'm definitely lost in the trees. I'm so buried in the minutia of this book that I've lost my sense of the story. I'd love to step back and get a more distant view, but how is one supposed to do that? All I can do is look at it page by page.
It's just that a novel is so big! It's long and involved, and some days I can't figure out how anyone wrangles these beasts. How great is our hubris, thinking we can write something this big and complex -- much less make it interesting and meaningful and unique?
The only way I've found to deal with feelings like this is a) in the short term, step away. Today I climbed. I may kill zombies. I bought a new kindle book. Activities designed to knock the anxiety away from my brain. b) In the long term, just keep picking at it. Three chapters (approximately) to go on the rewrite. Then print it out and read it again. There are going to be things I broke in this draft. It's okay. I'll be able to fix them too.
There's a balance point between obsessing over the little details and just letting go and surrendering to my writing instincts without second-guessing them. If any of y'all figure out how to find that point, let me know.
January 19, 2010
January 19, 2010, originally uploaded by zhidarkivel.
Pretty clouds tonight, for January. As Kelley and I are on the road to Ft. Smith for write group.
Home at last
Today feels like the real first day of 2010. Late, I know, but this was the first morning I woke up in my own bed, in my own home, with nothing in a suitcase or otherwise waiting to be unpacked.
Despite my resolve to travel less this year, I've already got time away from home booked and looking at more. GenCon and WFC in August and November are definites. Orkfest and Conestoga in April. Kansas in July for CSSF workshop goodness. Buyback in May (and probably December). And now I'm looking at the Taos Toolbox in June. So...right. Even all that is less travel than last year. But I'm going to have to draw the line. (Or Seth is going to start chaining me to the house.)
Today, I woke up and wrote. I finished a scene. Worked out some. Started putting together my Taos application. Played lunchtime EQ2. Still need to finish the application, read some Crimson Pact stories, and get halfway through the next scene before I can go climb. After climbing, need to finish my scene and then I'm free to play some SIMS 3. A full day. A productive day. I feel pretty good about that.
I'm energized by the nice weather. Two months ago, 40 degrees had me shivering and complaining. Now, it's a balmy escape. Ah, perspective.
January 9, 2010
January 9, 2010, originally uploaded by zhidarkivel.
Good-bye Christmas. Good-bye Columbia. After a breakfast of eggs Benedict, prepared by Mother, Mike and I are hitting the road.
(Yes, the trees are still up. So sue us. We turned off the exterior lights. What we do in the privacy o our own home is our business.)
January 8, 2010
January 8, 2010, originally uploaded by zhidarkivel.
My last pizza from Shakespeare's before I head back to Fayetteville. Probably leaving it behind for several months. How sad. But with this, I renew my resolve to make the perfect pizza at home.
I'm glad to be going home tomorrow, to be returning to my regular life. No trips planned for a few months. Grand plans to get writing done, and climbing, and exercise, and time with my husband and my cat.
Oh, and cookies. I'm told I'll be making cookies. It's possible Seth will be standing with a bag of chocolate chips in hand as I walk in the door.
January 7, 2010
January 7, 2010, originally uploaded by zhidarkivel.
Made the second cake out of the new book today. The old fashioned devil's food. Better, than the first one.
We had to frost it in two different flavors to satisfy everyone's icing needs.
January 6, 2010
January 6, 2010, originally uploaded by zhidarkivel.
Mother and I braved the snow tonight to try out another of the new Japanese food joints. Kobe - sushi and hibachi.
No question, it was the best hibachi I've ever eaten. I didn't get sushi this time, so can't comment on that, but, absolutely, two thumbs up. Even worth the ride across town in mother's car with the broken heater.
No dessert, because we're heading home to try out another recipe in my new chocolate cake doctor book. So, all around, a day of tasty food.
Let it snow.
January 4, 2010
{introduction}
January 4, 2009, originally uploaded by zhidarkivel.
Marie hangs out on Daddy Herb's couch. She's been banished to Lebanon for a while.
It's pretty here, with snow all around. The good kind of snow - enough to turn the world white but not enough to block off roads. a quieter drive back to Columbia without our feline passenger.
Today is 2010
I didn't have as bad a 2009 as many of my friends. In fact, for the most part, it was a fun year. The problem is, it wasn't a very productive year.
I travelled a lot last year. When I did the math, I was away from home over a third of it. In retrospect, that's really too much. Even if home is in Arkansas. :)
I made a lot of new friends this year, from my wonderful Ft. Smith writing group, to the awesome attendees of this year's CSSF workshop, to the delightful writers I met at GenCon and WFC. Now someone really needs to invent teleportation so I can easily go visit all of them.
I finished writing Pax this year, and got 2/3 through the revision of St. Petersburg and a lot of plotting and a bit of writing done on Whispers. This is no where near the amount of writing I should have done. While I can blame the travel a little, I have to blame myself too. This year, the goal will be to write every single day. No days off. Even if I only write 200 words that day. One day off leads to another far too easily.
I'm not much of one for big summing-up posts, or for grand sweeping predictions. So I'm just going to say it's good to see everyone here in 2010. I'm looking forward to spending the next year with all of you.
December 26, 2009
{introduction}
December 16, 2009, originally uploaded by zhidarkivel.
Cardinals in the snow - what better representation of Missouri winter?
Did our last bit of Christmas today with Seth's family. Susan and her crew escaped this afternoon to try to make it back to DC. I'll still be in Columbia a couple weeks, but starting tomorrow I'll be back to a semblance of normal life. We'll see how that goes - if I can overcome months of disruption.
December 23, 2009
{introduction}
December 23, 2009, originally uploaded by zhidarkivel.
Family has been distracting. I haven't gotten the writing done I hoped for the last couple days, but I'm okay with that. It's too nice being able to visit.
Last night, Seth and I had a great evening with Mike and Kat, Hth, and Dave. I miss being in Columbia.
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