Marilynne's World

You know how hard men are to shop for.  Well, Roy is now an exception.  Today we went to LA to shop for Roy’s Christmas Gift.  Since we used to live in this area, it’s always fun to go back.  I’d never been in LA’s Toy District, though Roy shops for me there at times.  (Yes, I’m just a kid at heart.)

Here are some pictures to get you in the mood.

This part of downtown LA doesn't look like I remember. I remember the skyscrapers in the background.

It's like being in a foreign land.

For several years now, we’ve named our own “big” gift and gone out and bought it for ourselves, just the style and color we wanted. Then last year, we changed it. We realized we could buy our big gifts for ourselves any time we wanted to. We also don’t really need much now. We decided to name our favorite charity and have the other person carry it out. We didn’t know exactly what happened until Christmas Day.

I’m rather fond of giving goats, ducks, and such to people in poverty. This year Roy said he’d like to give toys to the Salvation Army’s Christmas Toy Drive. Not only that, but he said, “Let’s go to LA and buy them wholesale.” I quickly agreed. We only have one little kid in our family and I send him a check so he can buy what he wants. I love shopping for toys.

It was so much fun.  I’d ask what the price was on something.  Then I’d ask how many I’d have to buy to get the wholesale price.  It was usually around a dozen, and so we bought a dozen dolls, and a dozen transformers, and on and on.  I’ve never before bought so many toys (and I’ve never paid so little for them).  We bought 70 toys and didn’t break the bank.   Tomorrow we’ll take them all to the Salvation Army for distribution, but Roy needs something to hold in his hand for Christmas.  I’m afraid it only shows some of the toys.  We did buy a lot.

I'm sure this is the largest number of gifts Roy's gotten for Christmas and definitely the first time he's received dolls. You can't see them all. If I'd spread them all out I wouldn't have been able to take the picture.

Mid way in our shopping spree we stopped at a Vietnamese restaurant on Main St. named Blossom. It’s pretty small, but the food was superb and superbly served. Lucky the people who chance by here. It was also reasonably priced, about what I’d usually spend for lunch. I’m sorry I didn’t take a picture there. In the lady’s room there was a marvelous ink and watercolor of peonies I’d love to have in my home, but it resides in the lady’s room brightening up a small spot.

Happy Christmas shopping to you all.

Marilynne

We’ve had solar power from the panels on the roof since late August.  At first the summer sunshine really made those meter dials spin – backwards.  So, how are we doing in December?

Our last bill was for November.  On it we show a huge CREDIT left on our bill.

We haven’t paid anything yet.  Because we have solar power we settle up yearly.  Every month we get a statement of how much power we used and what we have to pay.  It’s OK for us to pay monthly – if there’s money due – or we can wait and just settle up next September.  WOW!  How would you like to pay a year’s electricity all at once?

December is cold for Southern California.  It’s in the 50′s and 60′s most days and lots less at night.  The meter spins forwards when the heat is on or when I’m running something that takes a lot of electricity.  But during a sunny day, and we have lots of them, the meter runs backwards for a while.  Even with the sun laying low in the sky and with shorter days, we still run backwards at times.

One day, when it was overcast, the grid electricity went out.  My husband called to me to come and look.  Even on that gloomy day, our solar was putting out enough electricity that the lights came on dimly.  We had a little power when no one else had any!

We are really sold on solar power.  My husband tends to be a bit fanatical about it, but I work to keep him steady.  I would recommend it to anyone who can afford it.  I especially recommend it for new construction.  There are still government incentives out there to help with the cost of installation.  Even a solar water heater would help.  Solar water heaters are less expensive than an array of solar panels on the roof, yet they provide hot water for the household, saving lots of dollars.

So happy winter to you all.

Marilynne

My Sycamore tree has gone to fall colors, but my red roses are still trying. These are over-my-head tall.

It’s December and I’ve just dead-headed my roses one last time.  I could just let them grow wild and rangy, but they’re already as tall as the eaves of the house.  I’d love to be able to see them and put my face into them to smell them.

By January I’ll cut them down to knee height.  Here in Southern California I don’t need to cut them way down or to protect them from the winter cold.  I just need to cut out the old wood and give them a good feeding for Spring.

My roses are the hardy type.  In the heat of summer I mostly stay inside under the AC and my automatic watering system cares for them.  Sort of.  By the end of summer, they’re usually a little tired.

But then, here comes the sunny cool days of fall and it seems to bring new life into them.

More pictures follow.

Marilynne

Red roses from another angle. In winter the flowers take on a preserved look.

The peace roses lose their vividness and become beautifully pale.

NaNoWriMo is over for 2009.  Many of us are winners.  We wrote 50,000 words in the month of November.  Tonight we sought the company of others in our neighborhood who were feeling the same loss and triumph.  Loss that we didn’t have to write all those words any longer, and triumph that we did it!

When you are writing in NaNoWriMo you have the option of connecting with others in your area, either by forums or by write-ins at favorite hangouts.  In my area it was a local Panera.   Anyone who wanted to come and work on their novels was free to hang out with other people with this same goal.

I didn’t do that this year, but I probably will next year.  I was afraid that my social side would take over instead of my writing side.  I was afraid I would lose writing time.

Tonight I went to Panera to celebrate TGIO, which I think means “Thank God It’s Over.”  That wasn’t our feeling.  The dozen or so people who met there tonight to discuss the process seemed to feel enriched and accomplished by meeting the challenge.  For me, it was the first time I had met these people.  I loved them at first sight.  We had a common accomplishment.  I loved being there and meeting the people I had met only in the Forums.

Several of us brought our “beautifully flawed drafts.”  One person had her newly printed book in a manuscript box and just couldn’t let go of it, even when we teased her about it.  Another kept her book close to her heart the entire two hours while we talked.

We told each other about our books.  The genre ranged from science fantasy fiction to children’s stories to books that deeply searched a person’s thinking and emotions.

I’m a braggart at heart.  I had my draft printed and bound.  It looks like a book, even though it’s 8 1/2 x 11 inches and spiral bound.  I let people handle it.  It cost about the same as a hardcover book to have two copies printed and bound.  I’m going to keep one copy pristine to remind me of NaNoWriMo.  The other copy I intend to use for editing and polishing.  I’ll write all over it trying to bring it up to a good book.

I think most of us intend to keep working on our novels – to make a real book out of our draft.  I hope that we can all keep in contact so we know if someone makes it big.  For me, I’d like everyone to make it big.

For some the experience of writing this draft is enough.  For me, it’s just the beginning.

I would encourage everyone to try NaNoWriMo next November.  I’ll probably remind you on this site so you won’t forget.

Marilynne